Author(s): Sinclair Lewis; James M. Hutchisson (Introduction by)

Classics

Book Excerpt: the Panama Annual Chautauqua. She could have a job selling dry-goods behind the counter in the Hub Store, but that meant loss of caste. She could teach dancing--but she couldn't dance particularly well. And that was all that she could do. She had tried to find work as office-woman for Dr. Mayberry, the dentist; in the office of the Panama Wood-Turning Company; in the post-office; as lofty enthroned cashier for the Hub Store; painting place-cards and making "fancy-work" for the Art Needlework Exchange. The job behind the counter in the Hub Store was the only one offered her. "If I were only a boy," sighed Una, "I could go to work in the hardware-store or on the railroad or anywhere, and not lose respectability. Oh, I hate being a woman." § 3 Una had been trying to persuade her father's old-time rival, Squire Updegraff, the real-estate and insurance man, that her experience with Captain Golden would make her a perfect treasure in the office. Sq Read More