OCR Text |
Show when office routine begins to slacken. You're doing very well, Miss Barrett," Bar-rett," said the manager encouragingly. encouraging-ly. "And now I'm going to tell you something. When Miss Kearney leaves next month I'm going to ask to have you made my secretary in her place, at the salary." "I didn't know Miss Kearney wa3 going." faltered Miss Barrett. "Oh well, it's a sort of secret." said the manager, smiling, "but .he's going to be married. I'm glad ihe s on the mend, poor girl." "Yes," said Lucinda. And she almost al-most danced out of the office that night. Mabel's leaving was nothing to Dixon. And he had resolved that she should fill her place. He had talked and joked with Mabel, and It had all meant nothing! It happened that that night Tom, unable to endure his treatment any longer, came to Lucinda's boarding-house, boarding-house, resolved to put his fortune to the final test. "See here, Lucy," he said, taking her hand in his. "I guess you don't care for me any more. I've tried my hardest, hard-est, but if I can't make you love me, why, of course, I'll let you go. Po you think there is any chance 'or tue, dear?" "Tom, you are so absurd." "But you have never answered me." "Why should you pester me?" Tom rose up with dignity and took his hat. For the first time he was really angry with her. Lucinda, seeing see-ing his face, felt a new awe of Tom. "J won't pester you any more, Lucy," he said. "But I'm going to wait one month just one month, for you to find out if you can care for me. I thihJc when you don't see me, perhaps per-haps then you'll be able to know better. bet-ter. Good-by, dear." He was gone before Lucinda could recover her breath. She stamped when he had gone, and cried. How she hated him! And the days passed. There was no doubt that Mr. Dixon really cared for her. It was true he had been even more animated -with Mabel, but then he cared nothing for Mabel, lively live-ly little beauty that she was. Lucinda Lucin-da felt that she had a great deal in common with Mr. Dixon. They drew very close together in that time of Mabel's illness. When the day came for Mabel to resume her place, and Lucinda "was relegated to her old desk, she anticipated antici-pated the time when she would permanently per-manently be Mr. Dixon's secretary. She felt that a love such as she hoped to inspire must be of slow growth. But when she saw Mabel, less animated ani-mated now, taking Mr. Dixon's notes, she pitied her. She had tried and lost. Lucinda omitted the . Paris gown, which, she had gathered, was thought too stylish for business. She could win on her merits now. About a week after Mabel's return the manager called Lucinda to his desk. "It's all right about that position," he said, extending his hand to her. "Miss Kearney leaves at the end of the week, you know, and after wo come back from our honeymoon what, didn't you know? Why, all the girls have been chaffing me for weeks about it!" Poor little Lucinda, shut up in hei fool's paradise! "And I want you," went on the manager. man-ager. "I told Mr. Jaffray you are the most sensible girl in the office, and that we get on famously together " It was the hardest effort Lucinda ever made, not to burst into tears in front of him. But that night, at home, she realized the depths of her folly. And, in her humiliation, she sat down and wrote a long letter to Tom, telling him everything. That this was the surest foundation founda-tion for winning back his love was evidenced from the fact that Lucinda Lucin-da turned the tables on Mr. Dixon three months later, when she announced an-nounced her resignation "to get married." mar-ried." (Copyright. 1915. by W. O. Cliarman.) it iii I In a Fool's 1 1 rParadis8n ! I ! 1 1 1 i 'X By FRANK FILSON Ik z( : J (Copyright, 1315, by W. O. Chapman.) - r n heaven's name, why 'Lucinda'?" her Uncle Joe had asked when the baby was christened. Lucinda's mother could not explain. Hut to her mind Lucinda was the acme of a romantic ro-mantic name, and the thought that her little girl was to be a beauty, and to marry a rich man, was the secret se-cret solace into poor, plain Lucinda's head. So at twenty-one. when her mother was dead, and Lucinda found herself hired at nine dollars a week as a stenographer in a metropolitan business house, she cast about her to see who was going to fall in love with her. Mr. Dixon, the manager, was the ideal of most of the young girls. Thirty, Thir-ty, attractive, indispensable, and with private means, their aspirations soared toward Mr. Dixon as a fledgling's fledg-ling's toward the freedom of the air. Lucinda had been nearly a month with the firm before she discovered that she was really plain, dowdy, and unattractive, although an excellent worker. Disillusionment is the test of character. char-acter. To Lucinda it brought bitterness. bitter-ness. The false ideas on which she had been nourished proved an indigestible indi-gestible pabulum. She saw around her girls far less conscientious, far less able, earning more money, and she attributed it to their personality nd looks. She knew that she was not unattractive unat-tractive when expensively gowned. Her savings went for clothes not for the outside world, but for office work. The outside world was represented simply by Tom Smith, a plodding young fellow who had in him, without with-out Lucinda's knowledge, the germs of future success. He was earning twenty-five dollars In an insurance office, of-fice, and he had pressed Lucinda to marry him almost since the time when they were schoolchildren together in Mapleville. They had been almost engaged; but when they met in the city the "You're Doing Very Well, Miss Barrett." Bar-rett." glamor of the office was on Lucinda. "I know I'm not worthy of you. 3car," Tom would plead hard, "but at least I'll be true to you and and care for you, Lucinda. I'll be getting thirty thir-ty soon, and then " Lucinda repulsed him almost angrily, an-grily, but Tom, who had guessed in a measure what was the matter with Lucinda, bided his time and refused to be shaken off. Halt scornfully too jrir' allowed him to take her out on Saturday nights. And all the while Chey talked there was a large picture of Mr. Dixon in Lucinda's heart. Mabel Kearney was the girl in w-hem Lucinda saw her most dangerous danger-ous rival. Mabel and Mr. Dixon were the greatest friends. It was bitter when Lucinda. approaching the manager man-ager on some point of business, mostly most-ly invented, felt herself a wet sponge upon the -conversation. But though 3Iabel, earning fifteen dollars, earned Lucinda's hatred, she seemed blithely unaware of it. Her friendly greetings greet-ings were gall and wormwood to Lucinda's Lu-cinda's heart. Lucinda s Paris gown was the sensation of the office. It was a mod est gown enough, but it had no busl n ess there. A suddenly acquired tiauteur was also a marked feature of Lucinda in those days. However, envy as much as mirth was aroused by aer appearance. And so she set forth to the conquest of Mr. Dixon. Mabel Kearney had an attack of pneumonia in the early days of winter, win-ter, and Lucinaa was promoted to her place, it almost took her breath away. The salary was the same, but the presence of the manager was a constant inspiration. For the first few days she almost cried when she left the office: but afterward things began to go swimmingly. Dixon, who -was a kindly man. Insensibly adapted himself to the girl's nature; they got along very well, an-' even discussed thiiKH in that afternoon interval |