Drawing upon all her resources of salesmanship, she presented her plan. She wished to organize a crew of subscription solicitors and cover the state, section by section. She would interview chambers of commerce, boards of trade, business men, and farmers, gathering material for an article on local conditions; she would get free publicity from the newspapers; she would stimulate interest in the "Pacific Coast."
"Every one likes to read about himself, and next he likes to read about his town. I will see that every man and woman in the territory knows that the "Pacific Coast" will run articles about his own local interests. Then the solicitors will come along and take his subscription. The solicitors will work on commission; the only expense will be my salary and the cost of writing the articles. And the articles will be good magazine features, in addition to their circulation value."
His smile was pityingly superior.
"My dear young lady, if I used our columns for schemes like that!" She perceived that she had encountered a system of ethics unknown to her. "We are not running a cheap booster's magazine, angling for subscriptions." And he pointed out that every article must interest a hundred thousand subscribers, while an article on one section of the state appealed only to the local interest. The talk became an argument on this point.
"But towns have characters, like people. Every town in California is full of stories, atmosphere, romance, color. Why, you couldn't write the character of one of them without interesting every reader of your magazine!"
He ended the interview with a challenge.
"Well, you bring me one article that will pass one of our readers and I may consider the scheme." He turned to a pile of letters, and his gesture indicated his satisfaction in dismissing her so neatly and finally.
It left a sting that pricked her pride and made her nerves tingle. She was passed outward through the suave atmosphere of the offices, and every shining wood surface affected her like a smile of conscious superiority.
She went to see Mr. Clark, who welcomed her with regrets that she had left the organization, and at her suggestion readily promised her a place in his office at a moderate salary. But to take it seemed a self-confession of failure. Mr. Clark's offer was left open, and she returned to San José smarting with resentful humiliation.
The sun was low when she alighted at the station. Amber-colored light lay over the green of St. James Park, and the long street beyond glowed with the dull, warm tone of weathered brick. The tall windows and gabled roofs of the old business blocks threw back the flames of the level sun-rays. In the gray light below them the bell of El Camino Real stood voiceless at the corner of the old Alameda beside a red fire-alarm box, and around it scores of farmers' automobiles fringed the wide cement sidewalks.