Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 121: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ee ee ane ‘well as she knew Denny; SOAP AND asworn-out, discarded piece of furniture, fit only for the shop of a second-hand dealer. As he rode home in an empty subway train, early in the afternoon, his mathematical mind busied itself with the debit and credit columns of his resources. His savings had shrunk to a trifle over two hundred dollars since the birth of Dan, Jr. He had seen that Dorothy and the baby had the best of care, and only during the past two weeks had he been able to make his usual savings deposit. With nething coming in and the usual expenses to meet, two hundred dol- Jars could not possibly be stretched over more than two months, He called himself an impulsive fool for having angered the old man, for having turned down seventy-five, eighty, dollars a week because of a “ lily-white ” scruple. He wondered what Dorothy would say to him when he told her. She had been Judson’s private secretary; she knew him almost as maybe she wouldn’t understand why he had refused to do as Amos wanted him to. The fear that she wouldn’t understand, that she would see it from Judson’s viewpoint and think Denny silly, frightened him. He wondered if a man wasn’t justified in practicing any trick of the trade, any dishonesty, if in do- ing so he could provide comferts and hap- piness for his own loved ones. Dorothy was sewing when he entered the flat. She looked up in surprise when he came in. “ Are you sick, Dan?” ‘“ No—I don’t know. No—not sick, just fired.” He smiled tentatively. “ Fired?” she echoed. “ Don’t be silly, Dan!” | It was preposterous, impossible. “Ves,” he nodded. “ Fired, requested to resign, kicked out, canned. Listen, Dot.” He sat down beside her, took her hand in his, and told her what had happened. When he came to his fimal interview with Amos Judson, and his chin jutted out as he re- enacted his rebellion, Dorothy glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and smiled. And when he came te the end of the story she leaned over and kissed him softly. “Good!” she whispered. ‘“ I’m glad you did!” SOPHISTRY. His heart leaped. She understood how he felt about it. She was proud of him. It was altogether too wonderful that he should be married to such a.girl. Then they fell to talking of ways and means, other jobs to be had, economies they might practice without knowing it, until the baby awoke from his afternoon nap and ordered them to his cribside with cries that ~ demanded obedience. As the days passed and hope sprang diur- nal in the Denny household, Daniel, Sr., made the weary rounds of trade. But every- where he found conditions as they were at the Judson office. Few men were being employed; many were dismissed. There seemed to be three men for every vacancy he heard of, and invariably it was one of the other two that was chosen. Denny had got into a rut; before the managers te whom he applied for work he acted as he did to- ward Chisholm. He had so little confi- dence in himself that they had none in him. After a week of futile job-seeking he went home one afternoon, more worried and per- plexed than ever, and found a gentleman named Gage waiting for him. “Ym from the General Supply Com- pany,” said Gage. ‘‘I want to have a little talk with you. You’ve been with Judson for a good many years, haven’t you?” “Yes,” Denny admitted, wonderingly. He had not applied to the General Supply Cempany for work, because he had vaguely felt that it would lead to unpleasant results. Either they would not want a mar who had worked for their chief competitor, or they would want him for reasons other than his ability as_an accountant. “‘ Yes,” he ad- mitted again, “ a good many years.” Dorothy, at a glance ftom Gage that seemed to request that they be left alone, went out of the living room. “ T understand you know the Judson busi- ness pretty well, Mr. Denny?” Gage ob- served. ‘‘ Well—well, I don’t know. Yes, I sup- pose so. I’ve worked in most of the de- partments at one time and another. Yes, I know the business from top te bottem, as you might say.” ‘““ We can use yeu,” Gage said. “‘ We’ve got a place fer you in our consulting depart- _ a comicbooks.com