“Oh, ‘A Word about the Rosenbaums,’ ‘Useless Navy-Yards,’ ‘Who Killed Cock Robin’—”
“Wait a minute.” O’Mally checked her flow. “What was that one about—Cock Robin?”
“It was all about why the secretary of the interior dismissed—”
“All right, all right. Copy those letters, and put them down the chute as you go out. Come in here for a minute on Monday morning.”
Becky hurried home to tell her father that she had taken the editor’s letters and had made no mistakes. On Monday she learned that she was to do O’Mally’s work for a few days. He disliked Miss Milligan, and he was annoyed with Ardessa for trying to put her over on him when there was better material at hand. With Rebecca he got on very well; she was impersonal, unreproachful, and she fairly panted for work. Everything was done almost before he told her what he wanted. She raced ahead with him; it was like riding a good modern bicycle after pumping along on an old hard tire.
On the day before Miss Devine’s return O’Mally strolled over for a chat with the business office.
“Henderson, your people are taking vacations now, I suppose? Could you use an extra girl?”
“If it’s that thin black one, I can.”
O’Mally gave him a wise smile.
“It isn’t. To be honest, I want to put one over on you. I want you to take Miss Devine over here for a while and speed her up. I can’t do anything. She’s got the upper hand of me. I don’t want to fire her, you understand, but she makes my life too difficult. It’s my fault, of course. I’ve pampered her. Give her a chance over here; maybe she’ll come back. You can be firm with ’em, can’t you?”