“I went where I was sent,” I told him. “The head waiter stationed me in the dining-room. Since the hotel required me to sign a contract I shall require the hotel to live up to that contract.”
Being accustomed to handling uneducated women this man fancied that all he had to do to intimidate me was to talk loud. When he paused in his shouting I repeated my first statement—the hotel must live up to its contract with me. After a second bout at loud talking the stenographer came to his assistance. She assured me “as a friend” that I had best take the amount offered me, as it was all that I would get. Besides I had no copy of the contract I claimed to have signed.
She gasped on being assured that I did have a second copy of the contract—the copy Mrs. Wilkins had sent for. Taking another tack, this girl reminded me that the difference between sixteen and thirteen was too small to dispute about. Whereupon I inquired why the hotel was unwilling to pay it.
Declaring that nothing could be done until my contract was found, both the stenographer and the paymaster went back to their work. After waiting thirty minutes by the clock I again asked for my wages. The paymaster informed me that my contract had not been found and that I would have to wait till they had time to look for it. At the end of the second thirty minutes, and seeing that no effort was being made to get the contract, I remarked that perhaps it might be just as well for me to call on the clerk of the district court while waiting.
Simple as that statement may seem, it had a surprising effect on the paymaster. Hurrying to the door of his enclosure he urged me to enter, sit down, and wait for the manager. The manager, he assured me, kept all contracts locked in a safe of which he alone knew the combination. On my persisting he followed me along the passageway, begging me “as a friend” to have a little patience. Another odd feature of the performance was that the housekeeper of the Belgrave, though she had held the position for more than ten years, could not direct me to the city hall.
Once on the streets every passer-by was able to point out the city hall and tell me in just which corner I would find the clerk of court. This man was or pretended to be as ignorant of Sea Foam as the housekeeper had been of his whereabouts. When I first stated my case he had some difficulty in recalling that there was such a hotel in the place—it is one of the best known thereabouts and less than five blocks from his office. His negro man of all work was so well informed that he was able not only to locate it exactly but to give the names of the stockholders.
The clerk of court, when warning me against “invoking the law” for such a small sum, informed me:
“The judge is all right, of course, but when it comes to a case against one of our large hotels there’s never any telling which way the cat will jump. I strongly advise you to go back to the hotel and see the manager. Maybe they will have found your contract and will be willing to pay you at the rate of sixteen a month.” Then he added, as he handed me his card: “I wouldn’t be surprised you’d find them with the money all counted out ready for you.”
“Neither would I,” I answered, keeping tight hold on the muscles of my face to prevent myself from returning his smile.
And it proved even as he said. Not only was the money ready for me but the paymaster’s manner had undergone a complete change. Telling me that the manager wished to speak to me, he held open the office-door and politely ushered me in.