THE COUEIEK.
vu always welcomed back by tbe aaan
agemesta the repeataat prodigal is
welcomed by hie doting sire. It must
be Hid to ttk credit, bow ever, that since
tbe advent of "The Little Gray Girl" far
had been tu regulars clockwork in hie
attention to hk duties.
Al hare said, tbe gift of the dog
teemed to win a good deal for the office
Hercules; aa for myself, I marked cer
tain thing, hitherto doubtful io mind,
aa certainties, when I came in at dusk
one evening acd found "The Little Gray
Girl" trimming Mr. Billy Bradshaw's
fingernail. Tbe two were alone, and
tbe tall youth, quite irreproachably
dressed now, waa leaning languidly back
in bia awivel chair, with bia handsome
feet on bia desk, bis left hand lying in
tnat of tbe you ok woman, who waa
opeiatingon it buaily with a file. He
did not alter bia posture at my entrance
nobody cared what tbe spectacled old
exchange editor might think on aoy
subject and there waa a complacent,
exasperating grin on bia face that made
me yearn to kick htm. She, for ber part,
kept on at ber taak until it waa finished,
though I noticed that abe kept ber little
gray oack turned to me, and that there
waa a charming pink flush in ber usually
pale cheeks when she finally nee and
returned to her own desk.
No one in tbe office, so far aa I am
aware, knew anything whatever of little
Miaa Croisac'e affairs. She came and
went regularly from her work, and abe
might have lit ed in a bouae full of people
or alone in a hovel in Jersey for aught
that anybody knew to the contrary. It
waa shortly after Bradsbaw bad fallen
into tbe way of knocking off work at
about the same time she did, and leav
ing the office wi'h ber a practice that
reawakened the atorms of envy that bad
swept over the others at the first evi
dences of the mutual attachment that
she astonished every one by remaining
away for a full week. On tbe fourth or
fifth day tbere.came a black bordeied
note addressed to the managing editor.
Every one knew tbe handwriting was
hers, but no questions were asked, and
tbe Old Man himself (who I can confi
dently assert was quite as sorely smitten
as little Perry, tbe police reporter, tbe
youngest cub on tbe staff) of course vol
unteered no explanation. On tbe fol
lowing Monday morning "The Little
Gray Girl" came into tbe office, but a
little gray girl no longer. She was clad
in deepest black, and about the big soft
eyes there were linen and discolorations
of tbe sort created by incessant weep
ing. We soon learned that she had lost
her mother in the interval.
Of course we were more attentive ana
considerate than ever after that. There
was no more loud talking, no laughter,
no chaff. The atmosphere became one
of gloom and solemnity, and one hardly
knew whether to cry, to sing songs .of
praise at the sight of the heroic manner
in which she stuck to her work. I used
to watch ber as she sat there somet tnes
late at night, her white, nervous fingers
flying oier the paper, and my old heart
ached at tbe sight How much longer,
I wondered, would it be till the strain
should become too great and the plucky
little creature collapse utterly?
At about this time Bradshuw began
to drink heavily. He was never really
dm nk in tbe daytime, but managed to
keep "on edge." as Jorkins expressed it,
until nightfall, when his potations be
gau in earnest. He never failed, bow
ever, no matter what bis condition, to
make his appearance toward 11 o'clock,
prepared to escort his patient and hard
working divinity home. The miracle by
which he retained his hold on the paper
reinaineu unsolved As for Miss Croisac,
she never appeared to notice anything
unusual in ber escort's conduct Her
evident admiration for the giant was
pitiful and, oh. Lord! how we hated
him for it. One night while waiting
for ber be fell fast asleep, with his long
limbs stretched out and his great head
thrown back, and snored like a thunder
storm. When she was quite ready to go
she touched him on the shoulder, saying
softly, "Come along, Brownie," and they
went out together.
"Good Lordr snorted Jorkins, before
tbe door had fairly closcu behind him,
"she calls him 'Brownie.' "
"That's because of tbe tas'e he has in
Jiis mouth every morning." chirped Ed
wards, as be deftly rolled a cigarette..
"Shut up, you young idiots." I snarled,
for to tell the truth the use of this pet
name had exasperated me somewhat.
"Haven't you anv more decency than to
laugh at a tragedy like that?''
Within a very few weeks a certain
change began to creep over little Miss
Croisac Her attire, which had always
been the picture of neatness, grew grad
ually careless and shabby. The seams
of her dresses looked woro,and tbe qual
ity of ber gloves asd boots could have
been improved upon. Her dear little
face waa as pretty aa ever, but there was
alwats a tired look in tbe patten eytrs
bow. I sighed aa I noted it all. though,
truth to tell, it waa cone of my business.
Then there came one night it was
bitterly cold, and scowine, I remember
when tbe news reached the office that
Bradsbaw bad performed bis tinst grace
ful act in year?, and got himself run
over and nearly killed by a cable cr.
We hoped, of course, that the injuries
woulu be fatal, but none of us was to
deeply moved by tbe news aa tbe Old
Man I mean the managing editor. He
was a really handsome old chap, by the
way, with crisp, curly, iron-gray locks,
and eyes whose kindliness was not con
cealed by the heavy gold eyeglasses that
be perpetually wore. He a6ked me as a
special favor to follow the injured man
to the hospital whither he had been
taken and see that proper provision
waa made for his comfort. I found him
badly hurt, but conscious and quite
talkative.
"1 say, Saunders,7 be beaan, "this is
fretty damned tough, don't you think?
hope I shan't lose a leg or two. It
would spoil my good looks, eh? And
Saunders"
"Well," I said, as sympathetically as I
could.
"It's about that kid-that girl, I
mean," he went on uneasily; youve
probably observed that ebe'j stuck ou
me."
I resisted an inclination to choke him
and nodded.
"Well, don't let her come up here
bothering. I don't want ber. ana well,
if you must know, I owe her some
money, which makes it awkward, and"
"Do j ou mean to say, 1 demanded,
wholly without sympathy, "that you've
been robbing that girl of her earnings?"
"O, it's not as bad as that," be an
swered, squirming slightly in his bed.
"I've occasionally borrowed a little.that'e
all poker, and all that, you know. But
I bay, Saunders, don't imagine that
there's anything wrong"
"If you were to insinuate that there
were," I answered, ascalml as I cou.'d,
"I'd wring your arm out by the roots
and smite you ovei the jaw with it"
The speech was not elegant, but as I
left tbe building I was glad 1 bad made
it. You see, although an old bachelor. I
can feel very strongly on some subjects
In spite of all that this moimed Her
cules had said to me, he permitted Miss
Croirac to visit him in her spare hours.
I myself fancy that she spent half her
nights nursing him. Of course I hoped
h. would die, as did, no doubt, more
than one other man in the office. As
for the girl herself, bhe went about her
duties in a dull, mechanical sort of way,
and I soon regarded it as a certainty
that if Bradshaw should ever show him
self in our midst again he would stand
a good chance of being mobbed. All
this time, I may add. the comfortable
bachelor's quarters that I had occ pied
so contentedly all these jears looked
particularly empty an' forbidding to
me.
It was on Friday morning that a great
surprise was sprung. There vas an
article in one of the papers that told us
about Bradshaw. It was a tale of a
cracky and millionaire westerr father
becoming reconciled with a wayward
son. The same article told of our former
associate's recovery and of his departure
for Europe with his doting parent, who,
aB we afterward learned, had had an ar
rangement with the publisher of the
paper to pay him a certain amount of
money each week so long as her.frained
from going quite to the devil. This ac
counted for the young man's pull.
I entered tbe office at about 5 that
afternoon. Miss Croisac was usually
alone, or nearly so, at that hour. For
once, however, it was otherwise. The
young lady war sitting by the Old Man's
desk, apparently taking something from
dictation, but at tbe very moment that
I entered she leaned forward slightly
and began to sob. rle I don't think
either one of them saw or heard me
placed one hand ently on the box'ed
bronzed head, saying, with great com
passion, "don't cry, my child; tie's really
not worth it"
I stole away guiltily, but with a cer
tain celSsh joy at my heart Time is a
great healer. I was glad Bradshaw had
gone.
"The Little Gray Girl," as we called
her, did not appear at the office on the
following day. At G o'clock in the even
irg, as its cus om was, the staff held its
usual weekly conclave in a neighboring
resort kept by the mo9t hor est of honest
Dutchmen, and tbe conversation, of
course, confined itpelf :o one subject.
"It's a d d shame, said Jorkins. fin
ally. "He's broken her heart," said Ed
wards. "Jum lhinV of it the beast!
to win he r Hre like f bat acd then run
away from ei tbe minute begot money.
What do you thick of it, Saunders?"
I smiled and said nothiog. Outride
tbe weather was black acd forbidding,
but my heart had a private sun of its
own snimng within it
At that moment Perry, the police re
porter, entered. His step was elastic
and hie eye bright. He was obviously
charged with a sense of his own import
ance. "You haven't bearc I can see you
haven't" be remarked, triumphantly, as
be sat down, after a lightnicg-iike glance
at our faces; "well, Tbe Little Gray
Girl' has turned up a winner after all.""
-Hon Why?" hallooed the rest in
chorus. I alone remained silent
"She was married Ibis afternoon," re
plied Perry placidly, as he buried his
nose in his stein "to The Old Man."
Was it any wonder that I choked over
my beer?
The Scribbler in Town Topics.
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If yon wast to travel cheap, note the
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July 4 asd 5 to Buffalo. N. E. A.
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Get information asd tickets at city
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