a better apartment for Angela,
better clothes for her, more entertainment for both of them, freedom
from worry over the future; for a little bank account would soon result
from a place like this.

"Do you do much business a year?" Eugene asked curiously.

"Oh, about two million dollars' worth."

"And you have to make drawings for every ad?"

"Exactly, not one but six or eight sometimes. It depends upon the
ability of the art director. If he does his work right I save money."

Eugene saw the point.

"What became of the other man?" he asked, noting the name of Older
Freeman on the door.

"Oh, he quit," said Summerville, "or rather he saw what was coming and
got out of the way. He was no good. He was too weak. He was turning out
work here which was a joke--some things had to be done over eight and
nine times."

Eugene discovered the wrath and difficulties and opposition which went
with this. Summerfield was a hard man, plainly. He might smile and joke
now, but anyone who took that chair would hear from him constantly. For
a moment Eugene felt as though he could not do it, as though he had
better not try it, and then he thought, "Why shouldn't I? It can't hurt
me. If worst comes to worst, I have my art to fall back on."

"Well, so it goes," he said. "If I don't make good, the door for mine, I
suppose?"

"No, no, nothing so easy," chuckled Summerfield; "the coal chute."

Eugene noticed that he champed his teeth like a nervous horse, and that
he seemed fairly to radiate waves of energy. For himself he winced the
least bit. This was a grim, fighting atmosphere he was coming into. He
would have to fight for his life here--no doubt of that.

"Now," said Summerfield, when they were strolling back to his own
office. "I'll tell you what you might do. I have two propositions, one
from the Sand Perfume Company and another from the American Crystal
Sugar Refining Company which may mean big contracts for me if I can
present them the right line of ideas for advertising. They want to
advertise. The Sand Company wants suggestions for bottles, labels, car
ads, newspaper ads, posters, and so on. The American Crystal Company
wants to sell its sugar in small packages, powdered, grained, cubed,
hexagoned. We want package forms, labels, posters ads, and so on for
that. It's a question of how much novelty, simplicity and force we can
put in the smallest possible space. Now I depend upon my art director to
tell me something about t