be made on January 15th. Over-supply of our market and the
prohibitive price of cotton make this action a necessity.
ATWATER MILLS COMPANY. December 28th.

"Why, dear me!" murmured Bess. "I thought it might really be
something terrible. Come on, Nan. It's only a notice of a
vacation. I guess most of them will be glad to rest awhile."

"And who is going to pay for their bread and butter while the
poor creatures are resting?" asked Nan seriously, as the two
girls moved away from the group before the yellow poster.

"Dear me, Nan!" her chum cried. "You do always think of the most
dreadful things. It troubles me to know anything about poverty
and poor people. I can't help them, and I don't want to know
anything about them."

"If I didn't know that you are better than your talk, Bess," said
Nan, still gravely, "I'd think you a most callous person. You
just don't understand. These poor people have been fearing this
shut-down for months. And all the time they have been expecting
it they have been helpless to avert it and unable to prepare for
it."

"They might have saved some of their wages, I suppose," said
Bess. "I heard father say the other night how much money the
mills paid out in a year to the hands, some perfectly enORmous
sum."

"But just think how many people that has to be divided among,"