Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

584 ment. How’d you like a hundred dollars a week, eh?” Denny blinked his astonishment. “What would be my work?” he asked, Striving to’ speak calmly. “ The easiest thing in the world!” Gage winked again. ‘‘ We’d just want to consult you now and then about how Judson & Co. does one or two things. For instance, we’d like to know something about their Superfine Soap. You know we’re going into the fine soap business, and we need all the inside dope we can get.” ‘““And that’s worth a hundred dollars a week, is it?’? asked Denny. His voice be- came strangely decisive. “‘ For how many weeks?” “ Why, for as long as we need you. That mostly depends on you, I guess. If you make good the boss is no piker. I’d say you could stretch out this consulting job over three months, and by that time there’d be something else you could fit into. Look at me! That’s the way [ got my start. I used to be with Dells-Naptha. Now I’ve got a life job! What do you say?” Little old Denny got up. For a moment he did not speak. It seemed to Gage that he was gravely considering the offer. As a matter of fact, however, he was only strug- gling for self-control. The struggle was unsuccessful. He turned suddenly on the winking, complacent Gage. ‘* Get out of here!” he shouted, half chok- ing with rage. ‘“ Get out and never come back, you rotten little sneak!” And Gage, his mouth open in surprise before the upraised fists of Denny, backed toward the door, felt for its knob and fled incontinently down the hall. Alone again, Denny sank into a chair and held his burst- ing head in his hands. His rage of a mo- ment before, as uncontrollable as the tide, receded before the realization that again he had turned down an offer of royal wages for a scruple that may have done him honor, although it did not provide milk for Dan, Jr. IIT. It was when only fifty dollars of the Denny. savings remained that little Dan fell ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. sick. It was not serious, but it necessitated calling a physician and purchasing supplies they otherwise would not have needed. Added io the six weeks of unsuccessful search for employment, with his consequent feeling of worthlessness, the illness of the child was almost transmitted to the father. Denny came home after a more hopeless day than usual and surprised Dorothy seat- ed before a borrowed typewriter. A girl friend, a public stenographer with more work than she could do, had loaned her the machine and given her some work. Dorothy had intended to keep it from her husband, but now she had to admit that it seemed the only way to meet their unexpected expenses. ‘** Now don’t be silly about it, Dan. It’s no hardship for me to type a few hours while the baby’s asleep and there’s no rea- son why I shouldn’t do it now that we need the money. And to-morrow—or the next day at the latest—when you get that won- derful new job, we’ll neither of us have to worry again. The baby’s sleeping beautiful- ly now, and the doctor says he’ll be healthy and hungry to-morrow.’ = But little old Denny did choose to be silly about it. He didn’t argue the matter with Dorothy, and he smiled hopefully when she spoke of the job she was sure he would get in a day or two. But he knew all tod well that jobs were scarce and that he had called on every firm that could be remotely expected to hire him. He lay awake most of the night, thinking of what a fool he had been, yet not sorry that he had acted as he had. He thought of Dorothy working and keeping house and caring for the baby. He thought of Amos Judson, bitterly, angrily; and yet there was more anger in his thoughts of the General Supply Company and Mr. Gage. As the hours passed, and he tried to get down to what he would have called brass tacks, the possibility of finding work seemed more and more remote. Insidiously the thought recurred to him that he was a fool and that he’d better go to the General Sup- ply people and become one of their con- sulting department. He’d be in good com- pany there, among successful, prosperous men like Gage. He remembered that he had insulted Gage, that he had ordered him CORMICLOOOKS (E@)