For Love or Gold? The Story of a Great Department Store — page 90: what you’re looking at

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

a _*T don’t remember how I happened to be in the base- Ks ae ee ey es ¥ - A Pe 4 a ; . ~ + \ ri . . : eas Sp le io Rents s) 86 The Parkes ‘Dot a Little ‘Talking. _ her only comfort, and if I ever saw an angel + saw oa - at that moment.” -__ Some one tapped on the door, but no one rose to open | yt OS Mr. Denton waited a moment and then went on with as subject. ment that day. Oh, yes, I do. Mr. Forbes was away, _ and Mr. Gibson sent for me. I was waylaid on the first ~ floor by one of those Government Inspectors; she went - with me to the cloak-room. I simply couldn’t stop her! - When I got there that girl, Miss Jennings, was dying, and what do you think, with her very last breath she - looked me in the face, and said she ‘forgave’ me.’ Mr. Day leaned fovwerd with astonishment on his fea- tures, ; Mr. Forbes half arose from his chair, and then fell back E caviy Before he spoke again Mr. Denton began pacing the ‘office floor. He was becoming more and more disturbed as he continued his recital. : “They tell me that girl has-been with us six years, ae _ that she has never lost a day except from sickness. She a was a consumptive always—inherited it from her mother | Shut in spite of it, she had to work to support herself and -a brother. She was getting ten dollars a week at the : not time she died, yet the cashier tells me that her checks for one hour alone have frequently amounted to twenty dol- aes I tell you, this bit of information has set me to § thinking. and the outcome of my thoughts is a simple 4 _ question: “Are we men or brutes?’ That is what | want LX know, and as it concerns you two as well as me, I’m going to ask you to answer it!” There was the silence of death in the superintendent’s office. Even Mr. Denton stood perfectly still as he asked his question. Suddenly Mr. Day raised his head with a little _jerk. His cheeks became inflated as he tried to assume his ‘usual | MA _ bearing. “Tt is possible we have been a little thoughtless,” e he. oy comicboo ‘S com i y