"There you are! You promise with one hand, and grin with the other. Oh, pshaw!" she said, when I laughed. "You know what I mean!"
I saw she was getting a little provoked, so I said: "Go ahead, I won't laugh."
She handed me a newspaper clipping in which some big steel man said that, whenever he wanted to hire executives, he always tried to find out something about their home surroundings, in the belief that the home influence, to a big extent, makes or mars a man's business efficiency.
"You see, boy dear," said Betty, "you never saw Jones' girl, and you never saw Mrs. Larsen. Of course, Mrs. Wilkes we do know—we know she used to do washing before she married again. She's a dear body, and I know it would please her to come. And if you please her, she's going to make Jimmie work all the harder."
"I see! You're going to turn into a female gang driver!"
"Now, if you knew Mrs. Larsen, it would perhaps give you more insight into Larsen's character than you have now. You would know what his home influences are, and whether they are helping him or hindering him. And Jones' young lady—she may or may not be a girl who is likely to help him; and if she isn't—"
"If she isn't, I suppose I've got to tell him to change his girl, or fire him! That's a crazy idea!"
"I didn't say that. But, if she isn't the right kind of girl, you can't afford to look upon Jones as a permanency, that's all."
"You're making the suggestion for the best, I know; but I think it's a foolish idea."
"I don't think it's so foolish," interrupted Mother.