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THE LONG STRAW

Mr. Mays reached for his *wallet. It was gone.
*quickly he looked through his other *pockets, in his *desk, in his *coat. He went back to the front door of the building which he had entered a half-hour before.
Then he remembered. He knew he had the wallet after he came to work. He was in the office when he gave a dollar to his *secretary toward a *gift for one of the girls.“The wallet must still be in my office,” he thought to himself.
He turned around and started back to his desk again.
As he opened the door to his room, he took a short, quick *breath. There on his desk was his wallet. He opened it to make sure everything was all right. The wallet was empty.
“So,” thought Mr. Mays, “it has happened again.
This time our office *thief has gotten quite a bit ofmoney.
“I can call the *police, which I think I should do, or I can call an office meeting, which I think I will do,” he said to himself.
Mr. Mays pushed the *button that called his secretary.
When she heard the sound, she came into his office *immediately.

* Wallet case used for carrying money and important papers
* Quickly rapidly; in a fast manner
* Pocket place in clothes forcarrying small things
* Desk kind of table used for writing
* Coat an article of clothing
* Secretary an office worker
* Gift present; something given to another person
* Breath air taken into and sent out of the lungs
* Thief person who takes things that do not belong to him
* Police men who keep law and order
* Button small, round object you push to make somethingwork. In this case, the button causes a sound
* Immediately without waiting; right away

“Yes, Mr. Mays?” she said.
“Gloria, tell all the *employees that we are having a meeting in Room 3. There can be no *excuse for a not *attending.”
“While we are in the meeting, I want you to stay at your desk by the front door and answer all telephone calls.”
“Yes, Mr. Mays,” answered Gloria.
She hadbeen Mr. Mays` secretary for almost fifteen years, and nothing *surprised her.
“*Meanwhile, Gloria, I don`t want anyone to come in.”
Mr. Mays walked up and down his office for about five minutes and then he went to the *basement of the building. He returned almost immediately with a *broom.
“May I help you, Mr. Mays?” Gloria asked as he walked by her desk, broom in hand.
“No, thank you,Gloria,” he answered, as he walked into his office and ºshut the door.
“Is Mr. Mays cleaning his own office these days?” asked Joey.
“*Apparently,” Gloria smiles back at him.
At eleven o`clock Mr. Mays walked out of his office.
He *nodded to Gloria, saying, “Please stay at your desk now.”
When Mr. Mays *arrived al Room 3, he *glanced around quickly to see that all the employees *except Gloria werepresent. When noted that they were, he ºbegan speaking.

* Employee worker; person who in employed
* Excuse reason given for not doing something
* Attend be present; go to a place
* Surprise (v.) to cause surprise
* Surprise (n.) feeling caused by something happening which one did not think was going to happen
* Meanwhile in the time between; during the time somethingelse is happening
* Basement the lowest part of a building, often under the ground
* Broom something used for cleaning floors
* Apparently that`s the way it appears, or it`s easy to see
* Nod move the head up and down a little
* Arrive reach a place; come
* Glance take a quick look at something
* Except leaving out; but; besides

“It is difficult for me to inform youthat my wallet was *stolen this morning by one of my own employees.”
A *murmur went through the small crowd in the room.
Mr. Mays continued speaking quickly.
“I have thought about this *problem and now I am surer know who the thief is. I ask the thief to speak now. All he must do is return the money to me and *explain why he took it.”
No one in the room moved. No one in the room turned....