Page 32 - 1913 November - To Dragma

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 37

A row of lockers with the name of its owner on each one held the
out-door garments of the girls, who sat at a long table running length-
wise of the room.

During a lull in the demands of the customers Madame came
in to see how the work was progressing. She passed round the
table in silence inspecting critically what had been done.

The continual ringing of the telephone bell in her office, which
opened off the work-room, called her away.

"Billy is going to catch it for not answering that 'phone," remarked
Hannah. The most noticeable thing about her were her jolly little
pug nose and her huge teeth—when she smiled they gave her a look
of strength and force.

"Serve him right, the lazy kid," answered the girl beside her in
a curious husky voice. Her eyes large, dark and restless, were set
too near together, and her eyebrows projected unusually. She was
rather remarkable but somewhat repellant.

"What's he got to do aryway but hang around that cool store.
He don't have to work here day in, and day out over hair that comes
from Heaven knows where. Bah! I hate i t ! I wish sometimes
every blooming woman was as bald as—as a tomato, that's the smooth-
est thing I know of."

"Lots of good it would do us." from Hannah. "Madame would
sell wigs instead of rats, that's all. You sure get me tired with your
endless whining, Sophy, you are never satisfied. You know per-
fectly well that little chap Billy is on the dead jump every minute of
the day. When he isn't delivering parcels and Madame can't find a
blamed thing to keep him busy, she sends him out into the broiling
sun to wash windows. He certainly has a cinch—well, not hardly!
And here you sit in a comfortable chair and only have to keep your
fingers moving. By the same token we better be doing it. Cimbria's
pile is growing too fast."

They worked a while in silence.

"Only have to keep my fingers going," quoted Sophy bitterly.
"That don't look so awfully good to me. Why should I spend my
days in this hole trying to make other women beautiful? Why
shouldn't they work for me? Why can't I have the things I ' d like
just as they do? I want stunning clothes and a red auto and a big
house. Oh D O N ' T I want them I " her fist came down upon the
table making the scissors jump.

"We all W A N T those things," replied Hannah, "but only a few
of us get 'em. So what's the use of hating what you have got
'cause you can't have what you're not likely to ever get? Besides
if you did have 'em I ' l l bet you wouldn't be any happier. Didn't