her, and the more cogent reason that though she admired
Mr. Fein, found him as cooling and pleasant as lemonade on a July
evening, she did not love him, did not want to mother him, as she had
always wanted to mother Walter Babson, and as, now and then, when he had
turned to her, she had wanted to mother even Mr. Schwirtz.

The incident brought Mr. Schwirtz to her mind for a day or two. But he
was as clean gone from her life as was Mr. Henry Carson, of Panama. She
did not know, and did not often speculate, whether he lived or continued
to die. If the world is very small, after all, it is also very large,
and life and the world swallow up those whom we have known best, and
they never come back to us.

Sec. 2

Una had, like a Freshman envying the Seniors, like a lieutenant in awe
of the council of generals, always fancied that when she became a real
executive with a salary of several thousands, and people coming to her
for orders, she would somehow be a different person from the good
little secretary. She was astonished to find that in her private office
and her new flat, and in her new velvet suit she was precisely the same
yearning, meek, efficient woman as before. But she was happier. Despite
her memories of Schwirtz and the fear that some time, some place, she
would encounter him and be claimed as his wife, and despite a less
frequent fear that America would be involved in the great European war,
Una had solid joy in her office achievements, in her flat, in taking
part in the vast suffrage parade of the autumn of 1915, and feeling
comradeship with thousands of women.

Despite Mr. Fein's picture of the woes of executives, Una found that her
new power and responsibility were inspiring as her little stenographer's
wage had never been. Nor, though she did have trouble with the women
responsible to her at times, though she found it difficult to secure
employees on whom she could depend, did Una become a female Troy
Wilkins.

She was able to work out some of the aspirations she had cloudily
conceived when she had herself been a slave. She did find it possible to
be friendly with her aides, to be on tea and luncheon and gossip terms
of intimacy with them, to confide in them instead of tricking them, to
use frank explanations instead of arbitrary rules; and she was rewarded
by their love and loyalty. Her chief quarrels were with Mr. Truax in
regard to raising the salaries and commissions of her assistant
saleswomen.