Newspapers / Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, … / May 1, 1910, edition 1 / Page 15
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& E KM AN Mil ANGE Copyright 1909 BY ALLAN UPDEGRAFF 1 HE Leooird Advertising Agency, Junes Leonard, Manager, tat at its desk in the rear of "Bucher's Havana Tobacco Em porium," spoiling- good i jllWW'l stationery with despond l ent hieroglyphics. The Agency'a whole attitude, indeed, expressed despondency: the droop of its bead, the angle ' of its elbows, the sprawling abandon of its long legs. And yet business was good, " con sidering"; so good, in fact, that the manager hafi fraHallir llrminMl Its oiv tin ti! tn square feet of "desk room" in the stuffy to bacco store and move into a real office. To ' put the matter plainly, the Leonard Advertis ing Agency's difficulties centered in an affair of the heart A certain name, many times repeated, might have been deciphered from the mana gerial nierogiypnics. Miss uara iiuaretn was the name: "Miss Clara Hildreth MISS CLARA HILDRETH," the last and largest repetition running, in a huge scrawl, across the skulls, scrolls, Spencerian birds and Maltese crosses with which Mr. Leonard symbolically expressed his dejection. He .hid written her a letter, explaining, apologiz ing. She had not answered. Why pry into the painful causes of an agonizing situation ? The present status, the thing-in-itself, is enough. The manager drew a dissipated house and ornamented its facade with a creature resembling a winged chimpanzee: or more nearly, perhaps, a Blue Devil. Mr. Bucher, corpulent, fifty, German to ,his finger-tips, perambulated aimlessly in Leonard's direction, putting a sudden stop to the hieroglyphics. "You vas you are busy, Mr. Leonard?" " "Nope," returned Jimmy, crumpling up the Blue Devil, and summoning a grin. The German drew up a chair and sigh fully sat down. " The Trust vants this cor ner. So they puts in a little shop down the street, and gives coupons and cuts prices, and takes avav mv trade. Then thev offers me what ain't half my stock is worth, see ? But I makes no money any more, not efen enough to pay rent. I guess I vill I will sell them." " What'U you do then ?" asked Leonard. "Upholsterer by trade," explained the other succinctly; and added: " I used to teach -the scholars how to do it in Morrison Manual Training School once." Leonard was surprised. "You used to teach it?" "Yes. But they asked me to to quit, you understand. My English language, you see, vas was not very good." This information seemed to strike the Leonard Advertising Agency as very inter esting. The manager leaned back in his chair and surveyed the old German as if he had suddenly become an entirely different person. (" It was a good job that teaching," said Bucher, shaking his head. "A very good job." " How would you like," inquired Leonard suddenly, "to teach upholstering by mail?" The German drew himself up as if he had been insulted. "By mail!" he repeated. "Vat you mean, anyhow, by that, eh ? Teach ubholstery bymaU!" "Sure as you're alive!" declared Jimmy. "Why, man, there's a fellow in Chicago who clears about ten thousand a year by teaching taxidermy by mail. They sell coal by mail nowadays and college educations, too! There's money in this upholstery scheme; more. Ill bet you, than in the taxidermy one. All you'U have to do is to get your lessons printed out on slips just like you used to teach 'era to your classes, you know. Then vou answer inquiries, and make any extra ex planations by special letter. Easy as falling " off a Jog! How does it strike you ? " With characteristic German reticence, Mr. Bucher did not say, immediately, how it struck him But after he had produced and lit a particularly black and evil-smelling pipe, he remarked: " Everything is lovely, but the main thing; that's all. How do I get any customers ? " "Advertise!" cried the Leonard Agency, getting to its feet and walking the floor in its excitement "Advertise! YouH be sur prised stiff at the number of customers half a dozen ten-dollar ads., placed in the proper magazines, will bring you!" "Sixtv dollars." commented Mr. Bucher doubtfully. "Sixty dollars. Humph!" "Look here!" retorted Leonard. "Just tered the door and went is to Mr. Bucber's in day or so." He arose, got out Us cas te show you I believe in this scheme, IU put office Mr. Bucher 's office was in the for- vaising portfolio, and took down his hat from up the sixty myself, sad you can repay me out ward part of the store, while the Leonard its peg on the wall. " Guess IU go out and of the profits." Advertising Agency's desk occupied the ex- try to drum up a little business of my own," The German was impressed. treme rear; and the golden play of the bright he said. "Maybe I ain't up to these fast times, Mr. June sunshine about her trim figure by con- " Good luck!" returned the German cor- Ltonard," he admitted doubtfully; "but I trast with the pale glow from the iky-light dially. am not too old to learn yet. You chust that lighted his desk seemed to him symbol!- Jimmy put his portfolio under his arm and show me that there's money in that scheme, cal of their respective positions. She did not started tor the door, with a half-defined in- nrl mavhe I haf sixty dollar, and then see him at alL But. for some time after she tention of stoppinc in Mr. Burner's office. aeveral." bo ixonara got out a pencil ana a piece oi tuner, and nmrnened to show him. At the end of strenuous half -hour, Mr. Bucher was as enthusiastic, in his careful Teutonic way, as Leonard himself. " But my English language ain't just so fine as might be," he demurred at last "You vill help me with those ads.; but I am shaky a trifle on letters that must be written.' Leonard's brain registered another idea, so " Atvartiaa! " criad tha Uoaarf startingly brilliant that it paled his previous ones into insignificance. "You will have to get a good stenog rapher," he said. " I know of one just the one you want." "Not too egspensive, you know," cau tioned the German. "Oh, no; of course not," agreed Jimmy. "Vere is he now working?" "She," said Leonard deliberately, "is now employed by the Hallowell Advertising Agency where I got my start, you know. Her name is Miss Clara Hildreth." "Friend of yours, perhaps?" suggested Mr. Bucher. After some slight hesitation, Jimmy de cided that this question could be answered in the affirmative. At any rate, he was her friend; and, unless she had changed dis tressingly He looked up to find Mr. Buchcr's shrewd eyes twinkling at him. "You think perhaps vc had better send for her right away ?" suggested the German, smiling. "The business it requires her at once, eh ? " Leonard laughed. " Well, yes," he admitted. "Good!" said Mr. Bucher. "I agree! I will write her this afternoon, saying you haf recommended her so highly " "No oo." interrupted Jimmy. "You might just say, a friend recommended her." Mr. Bucher looked puzzled. " You see, the fact is," explained the man ager, persuaded to confidence by the other 'j friendliness, "I'm as friendly toward her as ever; but she, you understand: she, you know " "J a, I reckon I know!" said Mr. Bucher. "A misunderstanding, ain't it? Too bad, too bad ! But it might be figsed up, yes ? " "Well I hope so!" admitted Jimmy. "But that isn't business! I'm going to turn out those ' ads.' right now, and place them this afternoon. The three I'm going to put in weeklies will be out in a week or ten days. So you'd better get busy on your lesson sheets. We'll have inquiries and checks piling in here from all over the country!" In many cases it is painfully true that the more brilliant the idea, the more quickly it becomes tarnished. This truth was brought home to the manager of the Leonard Adver tising Agency when, in the interims of writing and soliciting " ads.," he revolved in his mind the probable consequences of having Miss Hildreth established near him. At first the mere prospect of her proximity had seemed so delightful that it gave life a new and more cheerful color; but he soon reflected, if she refused to answer his letters, the chances were that she would not be much moved by the sight of his person. It would be "sorrow's very crown of sorrow" to feel, daily, that she was so near and yet so frigidly far away. When Mr. Bucher, with an insinuating smile, informed him that Miss Hildreth had ac cepted and was to begin work the following Monday, he was rendered at once happy and miserable. His agitation subsequently ran to new neckties, socks, and suit-pressings. Leonard was at his desk, that momentous Monday morning, when Miss Hildreth en- ML W jt a qtfnl V. S -I'll had disappeared, be preserved a mental image oi ner wiae, wavy-onramea straw n, inc sTadous oval and soft color of her face, the admirable starchiness and hang of her white duck dress. Curiously enough, this charm- ing ensemble reacted upon biro in such a way ss to produce numerous sighs and pages of Blue Devils. The dick and whirr of her typewriter, which soon began, merely added volume to the sighs and viciousness to the facial expressions of the Devils. Ajmcy. rtlin to Ita frat Mr Bucher presently Ame out of his office and perambulated in Leonard's direction. The angle of the German's pipe, as much as thc expression of his comfortable counte- nance, expressed satisfaction with all the world. . "You vas vou are busr, Mr. Leonard?" he inquired punctiliously. "No," replied Jimmy. The German sat down. " She vas a a corker, a tine stenographer! " he remarked. " Intelligent, ja! Und, also, si him! A h, if I vas you, 1 vould surely, surely " He shook his head and beamed on Jimmy for completion of the sentence. " I'm glad you like her," said Jimmy, with unnecessary dryness. Mr. Bucher seemed to view the matter somewhat in the light of a joke. Now, really, it was very far from a joke. "Vere there's a vill there's a vay," re marked the German, apropos of nothing at nil; and added: "Vat you think I hear from that Trust this morning ? " "Don't know," returned Jimmy disconso lately. "What?" "They offer me much as my stock is vorth, and more for my lease than vat I pay," said the German. " That lease, it has seven years to run yet, and they need this corner. I guess they vas losing money in their shop." " Going to sell ? " asked Leonard. Leonard was at his dtk that morning- "Not just yet," returned Mr. Bucher. "Vait a time longer. If that upholstery -by-mail idea goes good, vait a long time. The place is vorth a lot to tbem. As sooa as thev find out they can't starve me out, tbey vill pay! I haf tbem, jaf" " I think the upholstery-bv-mail business mill go all right," returned Jimmy. ,; You ought to begin to bear from those first ' ads.' MwSflf " TV. JL. I( V H ;, But as be approached the office-entrance he ocgau w mi, iu tttj uvinuin, weakening way, as if he were not himself but somebody else in his shoes; and when a person is troubled by such feelings, be is in no condi- tion for making, or putting into practice, radi- cal determinations. The sharp, business-like sound of Miss Hildreth's typewriter was not encouraging. W alking very slowly, he reached the door of the office and looked in. Miss Hildreth looked up, saw him, flushed scarlet, and then horrible omen her hps shut In a straight line, her eyes and fingers returned to the typewriter. The Leonard Advertising Agency fled into the street. It did not even have the satisfaction of knowing that its sudden appearance had resulted in such a series of "pied" lines that Mr. Buch cr's stenographer had been obliged to re write the page on which she was working. Leonard got into the subway and went down-town to see the inventor of s new hook-and-eye; but the inventor bad sold his rights, and didn't want to adverti. The advertising solicitor of the Leonard Agency was unrea sonably discouraged by this failure. He gave up active soliciting, and spent the rest of the morning idly walking the streets, making and un-making plans which centered about Mr. Bucher's office-force. Possibly, if that hook-and-eye inventor had invested in advertising, Jimmy woutd have been emboldened to face his problem squarely: which meant fadng Miss Clara Hildreth. But even this slight rebuff, added to Miss Hildreth's failure to notice him, had the effect of rendering him ut terly miserable. After a luncheon which the ptomaines of disappointment rendered in digestible, he returned to his desk. Miss Hildreth was out. The Leonard Advertising Agency spent most of the afternoon in won- dering whether life was worth living, The occurrences of that day formed the foundations of a habit. As he had not sum- mqned the courage to speak to Miss Hildreth then, Jimmy was inclined to let matters drift Sometimes he glanced into Mr. Bucher 't office as he passed in or out: but Miss Hil- dreth betrayed no further sign of being cog nizant of his presence. Mr. Bucher himself made matters worse by a continual jocular cheerfulness. The answers to his advertise ments, while not overw helmingly numerous, were highly satisfactory. "I say, Mr. Ionard," he remarked abruptly one afternoon; " I don't like to butt in; but you ain't, vat you call, very spunky, it seems to me." Jimmy pretended not to understand. "How's that Mr. Bucher?" "Humph!" returned the German, puffing his pi)e. This remark seemed to require no com ment, so Jimmy made none. "These young peoples I don't under stand," continued the German philosophic ally, after a short silence. " In some things they seems always to cgstartt the vurst. They makes Kcx ky Mountains out of garden mole-hills; and there they vill sit, vonder ng and vondcring how they vill ever get over. Ain't it ? " whan Mil, Hildreth entarrd tha eff.t Jimmy felt that his philosophical frieml was going a little too far "How's your businesi coming on, Mr Bucher?" he asked. "Purty good, purty pxxl," replied the other. "I haf raised Miss Hildreth's salary." he added " Pretty soon, maybe, I vill ask her to take partnership vith me. She learns very fast. I baf to do nothing scarcely but give her some suggestions, now and then." " Glad to hear it," said Jimmy. His tone made it plaia that he wouldn't be glad to bear any more at a. ill. Bucher rose abruptly. If you U egscuse me," he said, "you are aomethinc oi a duMmkepi with respect to sev eral important matters, Mr. Leonard." He returned to bis office without waiting for a reply, puffing his pipe furiously Jimmy dedded that the time was ripe for him to move into an office. He spent the afternoon looking for a place, finally selected one, and determined to notify Mr. Bucher, the following morning, of his contemplated change. But Mr. Bucher anticipated him by coming to his desk, shortly after his arrival, with an open letter. look vai i geis in my mui iuk mnrn ing" said the German excitedly. cnust look at it!" The letter, written in heavy ascrawl on a piece of wrapping paper, was a violent denun ciation of Mr. Bucher's upholsterv-by-mail scheme. The writer declared he had been swindled out of $c sent for lessons, and threatened to come down, that same morn ing, and knock Mr. Bucher's "block" off in partial satisfaction. He also suggested that he might "rough-house" the office, and put the whole business " on the bum. " He signed himself "John Hobo." "The man is drunk!" declared the Ger man, when Jimmy had finished reading the letter. "I vill inform the police ! " " It looks like the work of a raving idiot or a practical joker," said Leonard. "Did be really send you $5?" " Yes," admitted Mr. Bucher. " And then he writes me to send him all the tools and stuff to work with; and I writes back telling how each student must furnish tools, as says my advertisement plainly always. And then I gets this!" "I wouldn't worry over it," said. Jimmy. Mr. Bucher seemed unreasonably excited; in fact so much exdted that, considering his usual Teutonic phlegmatism, his exdtement did not seem altogether natural. Jimm looked at him in astonishment. "Subbose be comes here and fights Tit me!" continued Mr. Bucher, waving his arms, and losing control of his English con sonants. "Subbose he does dsd? Dad is fine, eh ? Ach, to the bolice station at once I vill gol . Subbose he is a lunadick, and shoots mine gizsard out? Fine, jaf Gulf I geds me to dad bolice station P. D. Q. ! " Jimmy stared at him without replying. The German turned back, as he was about to go, and added: " You vill stay here till I get back, yes? I would hate that Miss Hildreth be left alone, you understand ? " " Why, sure," said Jimmy, conscious of a certain thrill at being left ss the protector of Mr. Bucher's stenographer. " But, I swear, I don't see why you need be so excited over that fool letter. The fellow's probably only bluffing." " I takes no chances," replied Mr. But her. "You vill see!" "I will see!" repeated Jimmy, as Mr. Bucher took his hat and left the store. It struck him that the German was almost mak ing himself responsible for John Hobo's ap pearance. Which was decidedly queer. Al most as queer as Mr. Buchcr's unnatural ex citement. In fart, the whole affair was queer. All except the fact that James Leonard was left as the contingent protector of Miss Clara Hildreth against the insults of a ruffian. That part was delightful. And Mr. Bucher had emphasized that part. -Which, again, was rather queer; and suggestive. Jimmy noticed that the German, in his ex citement, had left John Hobo's note behind. He picked up the scrawl and perused it care fully. There was a German "s" in one of the words. Jimmy pondered this find; and gradually over his perplexed fate came the expression of a person on the verge of making an interesting discovery. Whistling gently to himself, he hunted an advertising contract, signed by Mr. Bucher, out of one of the drawers of his desk . By carefully comparing the handwriting of this signature with that oi John llotvo's letter, he came to an interesting conclusion. With excitement almost equal to Mr Umber's own. he thrust the papers into his desk, pulled his chair farther back into the shadows of his corner, and awaited the arrival of John Hobo. He was convinced that Mr. Burher was perfectly right: he would see. John Hobo arrived without much tit-lay He was. as far as Jimmy could judge, an r cellent specimen of Bowery tough Slam ming the outer door behind him, he strode heavily into Mr. Bucher's office. Me talked. a! was to be expected, w ith unusual loudness and force. " Is this the office of that Burlier iellrr, the guy wot teaches how to do upholstenn' by mail?" he asked. By straining his ears, Jimmy managed to catch Mis Hildreth's afiirmalive It sounded very tool and self possessed. "Well. I wanter say right here," roared Mr. Holio. in excellent character, "that I don't stand for no flim-flam game from him, nor you, nor anybody else ! " Jimmy saw no reason to postpone the denouement. He arose and strolled toward the office entrance. "111 have to ask yon to wait and explain your difficulty to the proprietor, Mr. Bucher, " came Miss Hildreth's voice, calm, but with an undertone of excitement that quicker ed jimmy s steps. " Wait, eh ? " growled Mr. Hobo, in a voice that would have secured him a place with any Bowery melodrama. "Wait, la it? You just shell out those five beans I loosened up on, and do it about as sudden as you can, too!" . Jimmy stepped into tne orore. " How do you do, Mr. Hobo?" be said. The man started, and struck an attitude. "Foiled, eh?" remarked Jimmy, smiling st biro. "That's what you ought to say under the circumstances, you know. Now, then, after me: 'Foiled! Hal' Come on; don't be bashful. You were carrying it off mighty well." " I didn't mean nothing, Mister," returned the villain, slinking, in the approved manner, toward the door. " Excuse me." " Oh, don't be in a hurry," begged Jinny jiolitely. "You haven't earned your money yet. By the wiy, how much is Mr. Bucher going to give you for your little exhibition? I'd like to know, you ire, because I feel that I ought to repay him. Is he waiting for you at the rorner, eh ?" Mr. Hobo's fare took on a look of genuine surprise and chagrin. He backed rapidly out of the door and disappeared. J immy, with a good deal of an effort, broke the silence that followed the villain's exit. I suppose you're wondering, Cla Miss Hildreth,' he began, "what all this is about ? ' " I presume I ran find out from Mr. Bucher," replied the girl. He glanced at her, but her eyes were directed resolutely toward the window. "Oh, I say," he protested. "Please give me a chance, anyway. Wont you let me ex plain this matter, at least? That isn't very much, is it?" The proverbial camel, trying to get its proverbial nose into its master's tent, was not half so humble and forlorn. "Well" admitted Miss Hildreth slowly. "You see, it was this way," resumed Jimmy, eagerly taking up the thread of his discourse, " I happened to find out that Mr. Burher had hired that man to come here and make a disturbance he expected me to come to your that is, to play the melodramatic hero, you know. He didn't altogether bke well, you see, he thought: that is, be hap iened to find out that you and 1 bad been friends, and that you weren't very friendly with me any longer; and I presume be thought he could get us to to speak to each other, anyw ay, by his little trick." Mis j Hildreth fixed her eyes on the Door, antl made no comments. " I didn't find out what be intended to do until after he went out this morning," con tinued Jimmy miserably, "or of course I'd have stopjied him " He pondered the sig nificance of this last remark, and hastily re versed himself. "That is to sar, I wouldn't have stoped him at all, if I'd thought the idea would do any good." Miss Hildreth made no comments. " I've been rather short with him, ben he tried to to talk aUmt our affairs lately," he resumed, "and if he didn't hae a heart as big as a waterbui ket, he wouldn't have tried to work this last si heme for my benefit. And een if it doesn't do my good, it's given me this finance to s.iy him 1 regret having lost your friendship Oh, say"' he burst outsuddcnlv ' Isn't ihcre anything I can do to make vou forgive me? I'm sorry, dead sorrv. honestlv . vuu don't know bow sorry 1 am! It there weic only some dragon or something or other 1 could lick to prove it " Miss Hildreth glanced up at him at that. " I guess '1 you're really very sorry that's enough,'' she said. Walking nry alaavlj, b raMiaO d fear tt tka aflat aa4 iMkW la
Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, N.C.)
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May 1, 1910, edition 1
15
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