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86 Jim raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled with quiet amusement, and then walked on beside Clara, who had noticed the snub and was angry and indignant.

"What impudence!" she exclaimed, when they had passed out of earshot. "And from Katie Glaston, too! Why, Jim, her father is nothing more than a manager in a department store."

"I know," said Jim, nodding. "He's my chief. I'm in his department at Marshall Field's."

Clara shivered and stopped short. Then she walked on more slowly, with a red face and eyes staring straight ahead.

"Don't joke, Mr. Ingram," she remonstrated.

"Oh, I'm not joking," rejoined the young fellow, with a light laugh. "Did n't you know? I thought I had told you that I am a mere clerk in a department store."

"I—I'm afraid one of my terrible