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Show 1 SHORT STORY OP THE DAY7 forts. He went away before I o'clock, asklna br to lock up wcn she "felt j like It" and to "show up at In the. J moral rnr." ...... A rather f!ahy-lookIng woman caHed after he had gone, who stared at the new stenographer In a wap to! &stU4 her. ' . v ' The routine of the oflce of the Vulcan Supply company continued thus for two weks. Then young Thurlow salt to Miss Knight: "How dk you like tout work. Miss Knlbtr "I d like It if there was enough of work to do," she said "I'm not earning earn-ing my salaryi If things dont pick up soon 111 think yoa took me Just out of. Iftrrdness." reassured her - In an affect adry brusque way, and wrote more letters. The correspondence grew apace; aa swers, orders. Inquiries, began to pour la, The Western agency commenced tw be more than a "bluff." One day Miss Knight films; the letters, let-ters, saw one from her employer father. fath-er. It congratulated the son on his sudden sud-den seal for the establishment, and1 especially es-pecially on the quick Increase of business busi-ness from the Western territory. "God bless you. Howard," it conclud- ' ed; "if yoa keep on this way J'U forglTe-you forglTe-you everything' you did or didn't do. What started you? I nope it's some rood girl. I don't care who ah to; If she cot yon going: right she' a good woman, wo-man, and I hope you'U marry her." Miss Knight blushed a little when she read this, and wondered who "the good girl" might be. She would hare blushed still more if she had read Howard Thurston's scrawled answer to that paternal pa-ternal congratulation. "Dear Dad," It Went, "it was a good girl got me started, as you guessed. 8he Is the daughter of old man Knight, your eld friend, of whom I wrote you as beinjr my new stenographer at ten per. She lan't like any woman I ever saw or heard of. "At first I thought she was the homeliest, home-liest, peakedest little witch I ever saw. She had on a black alpaca dress In No-, vember. - But she's got enough grit for i a dozen ordinary women, and she's so . smart I feel tike a blockhead every time I dictate a letter. "I'm going to marry her If I can, but that's worrying me. I don't think I'll get her easily. Her name is Kate, but I haven't got close enough to her yet to call her anything but 'Miss K night.' . "I wish you could corne out and see her. She's 'saved up enough in a few weeks to get a new dress and a warm coat, and I believe she'll turn out a itr if she keeps on. Don't tell ma n ; . Kate won't make much of a'hitV ..,.h ma or the girls, I guess. That'll be all now." . Kate Knight never saw the letter, but -she knows about It now. - As a matter of fact iht "business" of Howard A. Thurlew, Western agent of the Vulcan Supply company. . capital J5,00fl,000.. was Juat a. bluff. -His father was the president of the Vulcan com pany and Howard, with sumptuous offices of-fices In lb Oalnea block and a saJary of J5000 a year and commissions 'was ; only going through the motion of seem-: seem-: tag to be a business mam' ; j Thare' weren't any commissions be-: be-: cause the young man never sold any-i any-i thing.- but he did manage to have a pretty good tim on the salary. He had a vague Idea that, besides wishing to give hlm'a chance to make a man of himself, his father also wanted to eliminate elimi-nate his sporty heir frota the home offlce. of-flce. The elimination of a good-natured, but scandalous son- had been affected, but making a mar, of him that's dit ferent The young man. having a "bad head.' one cold morning, was sluing In his leather-lined offlce chair, when the door opened apd a timid, homely girl came in and handed him a letter. He looked wearily at the address, saw It was for him, and kindly asked her to sit down. When he had read he looked at her with new Interest. She was poorly dressed. The old kid gloves she wore had been mended much; her Mule Jacket, Jack-et, threadbare at the seams, struck him as pitiful. Her black eyes, bright and alert, gave back his searching gas with a maidenly but unmistakable courage. , "My father knew your in California, you know," she began, "and be gave me that letter when I came to Chicago to support myself. I've been here six montha" "Why didn't you come to see me 7" he asked. Interested in the direct candor can-dor of her gentle manner. "I didn't hke to. I preferred to depend de-pend on myself. I got along pretty well for a while, but I'm out of work now, and, if you need a good stenographer, why, I'd like the position." Thurkyw wheeled In his chair and looked out of the window. - "She prefers to depend on herself," he muttered.- It was a new mental attitude at-titude so far as his experience went, and, somehow, he felt a bit ashamed of himself in the presence of this frank, poor, self-reliant girl "Ah right. Miss Knight." he said, presently, "I'm glad you came In There lan't much work; that Is, not Just yet; but" "Mind you. sir. I don't want the place Just out of charity. Ill get along. I guese, but" "Oh, I want you." he laughed, looking look-ing eagerly at her spirited face. "Only maybe I can't pay you what you're worth at first." "I can't live decently on less than W a week. I an capable of earning three tunes that much if you have the work, but ril start on M if you" "I II give you $10." he said, "and you go right tn that little' offlce and make yourself at home." "Where's the machine, sir?" she came back from the next room, wondering. "I'll send you one Inside of an hour. Mis Knight." He went out and got a bromo-seltser. end then to the typewriter agents where he bought a machine for his offlce, the flrst he ever hid. Toung Thurtow came back In the af-ternoonv af-ternoonv spent an hour looking for a list of customers, and then began to dictate lettera rive completed his day's ef- |