“Sumtimes they do lite londry wark.” ses Miss Flimflam, yoning perlitely in her hand.
“Thin” ses the lady in disthress, “What am I to do? I moost have me wark dun.”
“Why” ses the clerk, a little more awake, “hire other girls, as the rist of our pathrons do.”
“Oh” ses the lady. “I suppose” ses she after a moment of deep and thrubbled thort, “if I get an exthra woman in to clean and wate on table the cook will wark cheeper?”
“Hm?” ses the lady at the disk. “I big yure pardin?”
“Well to be frank, Mrs. Hodge Podge” answers Miss Flimflam at the desk, “a cooks an expinsive proppysition in these days. Now we have thim all the way down from $200 a munth to—er—well, you mite git an inexperienced beginnir for about $30, tho I cant promise.”
“Your fooling Minnie. Shure no cook gits such a forchune” ses I.
“Its thruth I’m telling you. Why I heard the uther day that Mrs. Vanderfool do be paying her cook $20,000 a year, and whats more the papers state theres an agytation now on foot among the bizzy club wimmin to let the poor hard warking girls, whose been impoased upon for sinturies, yuse the parlor wance a week to see there company in.”
“You don’t say” ses I, “and to think of me drudging for the starving wage of $20 per month.”
“Well” ses Minnie, “I wont misguide you Delia. $20 is the wages of a green girl who niver saw a Frinch pertater fryed on airth and who broils a stake in a sorspan cuvered snug wid water.”
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I aroze at the ushil our. Washed. Dressed in me best. Miss Claire cum into me room brite and airly. Ses she: “O Delia, heres that auld green skurt of mine you always liked. Your welcame to it.”
“Thanks” ses I, “but I expect to be making sooch grand wages soon, Miss Claire, I’ll be bying finer skurts than that.” Wid that I pushed the skurt aside with contemshus tooch.
She got all red and pretty, as she has a habit whin angry, and she put up her hed hy in the air.
“O well, if that’s the way you feel!” ses she and marched out.
“Delia” ses he “heres a quarter. Now hussle wid me brikfust, will you?”
“Mr. Johnny” ses I, “me munth is oop at 7 A.M. this marning. I’m after waiting for me wages.”
He drew up his brows frowning and wint aff into his mothers room.