“Well, ’mid pleasures and palaces—–­” Philip smiled at his mother.

“Charades to-night!” shrilled Betts, from the kitchen where she was drying lettuce.

“Oh, but a walk first!” Susan protested.  For their aimless strolls through the dark, flower-scented lanes were a delight to her.

“And Billy’s coming over to-morrow to walk to Gioli’s,” Josephine added contentedly.

That evening and the next day Susan always remembered as terminating a certain phase of her life, although for perhaps a week the days went on just as usual.  But one morning she found confusion reigning, when she arrived at Hunter, Baxter & Hunter’s.  Front Office was to be immediately abolished, its work was over, its staff already dispersing.

Workmen, when she arrived, were moving out cases and chairs, and Mr. Brauer, eagerly falling upon her, begged her to clean out her desk, and to help him assort the papers in some of the other desks and cabinets.  Susan, filled with pleasant excitement, pinned on her paper cuffs, and put her heart and soul into the work.  No bills this morning!  The office-boy did not even bring them up.

“Now, here’s a soap order that must have been specially priced,” said Susan, at her own desk, “I couldn’t make anything of it yesterday—–­”

“Let it go—­let it go!” Mr. Brauer said.  “It iss all ofer!”

As the other girls came in they were pressed into service, papers and papers and papers, the drift of years, were tossed out of drawers and cubby-holes.  Much excited laughter and chatter went on.  Probably not one girl among them felt anything but pleasure and relief at the unexpected holiday, and a sense of utter confidence in the future.

Mr. Philip, fussily entering the disordered room at ten o’clock, announced his regret at the suddenness of the change; the young ladies would be paid their salaries for the uncompleted month—­a murmur of satisfaction arose—­and, in short, the firm hoped that their association had been as pleasant to them as it had been to his partners and himself.

“They had a directors’ meeting on Saturday,” Thorny said, later, “and if you ask me my frank opinion, I think Henry Brauer is at the bottom of all this.  What do you know about his having been at that meeting on Saturday, and his going to have the office right next to J. G.’s—­isn’t that the extension of the limit?  He’s as good as in the firm now.”

“I’ve always said that he knew something that made it very well worth while for this firm to keep his mouth shut,” said Miss Cashell, darkly.

“I’ll bet you there’s something in that,” Miss Cottle agreed.

“H.  B. & H. is losing money hand over fist,” Thorny stated, gloomily, with that intimate knowledge of an employer’s affairs always displayed by an obscure clerk.

“Brauer asked me if I would like to go into the big office, but I don’t believe I could do the work,” Susan said.