‘ O l
'KH*!1
!•
*
TOILERS OP THE CO^lHiBIA
By Ptiul IKLoney
of “ U r t or «1C «cacrt/* “ Orcgaa Sketches,"
• M outer «M in e Cooat sto rk s
C H A P TE R I I I —Continoed.
Loft master of tbe situation, old Boa-
d o« pursued his investigations.
Tbe
sbip had filled with sand in the neigh
borhood of tbe raptain'a quarters. I t
was this Tory point that attracted the
crafty fisherman's attention.
Bhoveis were secured and the hoys
were ordered to delve their way into
the captain’s room. I t was easy to find
the door since the sand only extended
about half way to the ceiling of the
cabin.
W hile the boys were shoveling back
the dripping sand, old Seadog was al
ternately on tbe lookout inside and out.
H e let nothing on the stranded vessel
escape his observation and kept a con
stant vigilance out over the bay to see
that no one was approaching.
“ I f I can make sure that they were
aboard my future is no longer an nn-
oeitainty,’ ’ said tbe old man as he
mused to himself. “ I t was impossible
for any one to survive,” he continued
“ The whole crew and all aboard went
to tbe bottom of the sea and the crabs
w ill have disfigured their bodies be
yond recognition before they rise to the
surface. And even should they escape
these busy scavengers they may drift
back to the ocean where they w ill fum
ish food for the larger fish.”
The fishermen were already suspici
ous of old Seadog and when driven from
the wreck at the mussle of his gun they
immediately returned to the village
and spread tbe news.
“ The officers ought to take the mat
ter in hand,” said one.
“ Tea, he is up to stealing the ship
and cargo,” said another.
The justice of tbe peace was appealed
to aa well as the village constable, but
these two functionaries declared that
they had only jurisdiction on the land
and not on the sea.
“ But the pillaging should be stop
ped,” insisted the honest fishermen.
When the justice of the peace saw
that his neighbors were bent on some
Kind of legal action, he informed them
that the higher courts had jurisdiction
on th ew sters; that the government
itself would act if it were informed;
that tbe vessel was a foreign one and
that the consul of the country from
which the vessel came would protect it
from tbe hands of the land pirates.
As|oria then had her customs offi
cials and she had a United States com
missioner. Gape Dissappointment had
her lighthouse, but it was before the
days of telephone and telegraph service
at that point and there was no way to
communicate with the government
authorities at Astoria, sixteen miles
away on the south bank of the river,
except by crossing the stream in a
small boat._______ __
But those men of the river were not
slow in arranging for the trip. A small
sail boat was launched and three of the
most intelligent went aboard and were
soon cutting their way across north of
Sand Island aa fast as the wind could
carry them.
Old Seadog’s watchful eye did not
let them escape unnoticed, and he
knew that ordinary matters did not
prompt his neighbors on such a jour
ney.
“ Dig for your lives, boys; l i f t out
that sand! We may have trouble be
fore our job is done. 8ome of those
halfbreeds have gone to Astoria to
raise trouble and we must get well and
through before tbe storm blows back.”
Old Seadog did not mean to disturb
the property left on the vessel.
He
had s personal motive in view.
His
mission was not in quest of gold;
neither would he have carried away
tbe smallest thing of intrinsic value,
but would have risked his life and that
of his boys for that which be sought.
While delving their way into the
cabin they came upon many valuables.
These were cast aside as so much rub
bish. Gold and silver trinkets were
thrown upon the heaps of sand as if
they were of no value.
It was several hours after^they had
begun work and old Seadog was already
casting uneasy glances toward tbe
south side of the river when the boys
struck the sea captain’s iron chest.
W hile battling with the storm the
rocking, tossing vessel had shaken this
heavy receptacle from its usual place
and had hurled it about the room like
a ping pong ball. But like a wedge it
had been driven into a heap of fur
niture and baggage jammed together in
one corner of the room and backed by
these and the heavy bank of sand piled
upon the top of the whole, it seemed a
thing as solid and immovable aa the
hull of tbe vessel itself.
It was at this crisis that old Seadog
discovered a revenue cutter approach
ing from tbe south, at whose helm
floated tbe stars and stripes.
“ Exert yourselves, boys, exert your
selves for your lives, or all is for
naught I those fools have informed tbe
officers and they w ill soon be upon us,”
said tbe old man. __
.
Then they all put to and gave
their energy to securing tbe iron cheat.
The old man abandoned his lookout
and joined tbe boys in tbe work. Tbe
timbers were interlocked about it and
at the same time deeply imbedded in
tbe sand.
"G e t the capstan lever, boys; get
the capstan. We must have her now
or it w ill be too late!” exclaimed the
excited old Seadog.
Borne crowbars had been unearthed
front the ship's tool room sad with the
addition of tha capstan levar they set
to work with renewed vigor.
“ Pry down to tha. left, boys, pry
down to the left I” shouted the lather.
Already tha exhaust of the govern
ment launch could be heard aa it «lowed
up to weigh anchor at a safe distance
from the sandbar.
I t would only require the lowering
of a boat and a few strokes of the oars
to land the officers upon the fishermen.
Fortune had always favored old Sea-
dog and it favored him again. With a
heavy lurch they brought the chest
from under the timbers that held it
down.
Fortune doubly favored him. When
the iron receptacle had been turned
round it was found that the keys still
remained in the lock. The captain
had possibly attempted to open it at
the last moment and had been driven
out by the waves.
“ Rush outside, boys; rush outside;
I w ill do the rest!” commanded the
stern old parent.
The boys were
barely in time. They were confronted
by the officers immediately upon climb
ing to tbe deck.
“ In the name of tbe government,
men, we proclaim yon oar prisoners.”
calmly spoke one of the officers.
The boys looked bewildered bat
spoke not in the absence of their fath
er, to whom they had always looked
for advice and guidance.
Bat the old man was busily engaged.
With a surprising qnickneee he had
opened the cheat and tore from it tbe
register roll.
Then he closed the
chest, locked it and cast the keys into
the water at the lower end of the hole.
Then be climbed ont through a port
hole at the rear, hurriedly secreted
the roll in the sand at a safe distance
from the vessel, climbed back through
and joined his boys who were prison
ers on deck. But before he had hidden
the parchment upon which the ship’s
register was made he had turned
through it quickly.
His eyes bad
reated upon two names. This brought
from him the ejaculation:
“ Old Seadog rejoices at last; old
Seadog rejoices at last; old Seadog baa
cause to rejoice 1 In the language of
the convict who swam to the Diamond
Islea. ‘ tha world belongs to old Seadog
now!’ ”
C H A P TE R
IV*.
Odd Companions.
After releasing the old man and the
child from their entanglement they
were carried to the nearest fisherman’s
cabin. Tbe man, though lashed to the
spar and pinioned to the earth by tbe
driftwood was held no closer than was
tbe babe. Hia arms held it like a
vise. They had been so long about it
that they had formed like clasps
around the body and, benumbed by
the cold, they were as difficult to pry
apart as are the creepers which bold a
vine in ita upward climb.
Yonng as it was, only a few weeks
old, tbe infant poase sed more vitality
than did its aged protector.
It
stretched forth ita little bands and legs
with surprising strength and cried piti
fully, though in a voice that showed
that ita lungs were still strong and
healthy.
But the old iLan scarcely breathed.
He opened hia dnll eyes for a moment
and stared blankly into the faces of
those directly in the line of his vis
ion, and then cloeed them. He was
nnconscious of all that was going on
abont him. His long gray hair hung
in strands abont his face and neck.
His silken gray beard was matted with
the sand and trash of the beach. Bnt
for the alow pulsation of his heart be
would have been pronounced dead by
those around him.
The women were running abont as
bnsy as only women can be when they
sre doing some great a-t of charity,
and their devotion was increased by
the fact that some dead mother’s chi d
had fallen into their hands, and each
felt a double reeponsibility on this ac
count.
Some were bringing dry clothing
from the wardrobe of their own chil
dren, others were warming <*ow’s milk
in a small basin on the stove, while a
more thoughtfu1 mother was sharing
the breast of her own babe w ith tbe
little waif. And those good women
smiled with tears in their eyes as the
little stranger tugged greedily at its
new found mother’s breast.
“ Oh, it w ill get along all right,”
said one.
“ Yes, so long as it eats, the signs are
good,” said another.
“ Just so yon don’ t give it too ranch,”
remarked an elderly woman who was
watching the proceedings.
“ But I fear it is all over with the
old gent,” whispered one of the women
who had jnst returned from the adjoin
ing room where tbe men were working
with the child’s elderly companion.
Tbe men were tabbing his arms and
legs, and irons were being heated to
place At bit feet.
Some brandy had
been forced throufeh his lips, bnt it
was slow in showing encouraging
effect«.
His eyes were fixed in his head, his
features were as pale as death.
Hia
firm lips were set aa if in his last con
scious moment be had fixed his determ
ination upon some given object.
He was a little more than five feet
as he lay. npon the bed. Still he was
rather plnmp and well-kept for his age.
But bis skin waa smooth and bis mus-
clat soft, which indicated that ha had
T-
not baen a man of toll.
When the hair war pushed fatrk
from bie face a broad, intelligent faro-
head was exposed. Had those fisher
men been able to read phrenological
signs thay would have discovered that
tbe aged man before them wag no, or
dinary being.
Hia intellectual fore
head, small feet and bands'; dress and
general appearance indicated that he
had followed one of tbe professions.
In the meantime the village physi
cian arrived and aided in reenaeitatiDg
tbe old man.* Tbe child gradually
passed away to sleep after Its wants
w en satisfied and slept as soundly as
if its own mother still hovered over it.
I t was e soft sweet sleep such only aa
is seen in the repose of the innocent
before the trials and tribulations of
life have come to their knowledge.
I t knew not of its lost mother end
father, tbe fearful storm at see, tbe
hours in the water, the terrible night
among tbe driftwood on tne beach. It
slept in a repose akin to perfect bliss.
“ She’s a darling little girl,” said
the woman who had shared her own
child’s clothing with the little sleeper.
“ What pretty blue eyes she has,”
remarked she who had warmed the
milk.
“ Such dainty little limbs,” said the
woman who had ran about tha pla e
nervously trying to do everything and
had accomplished but little.
“ But look what pretty feature# and
sweet lips,” said the one who had
nursed the child to sleep, with an air
of superiority.
The child did not exceed one month
in age. It was probably younger. Ita
light hair, fair skin and pretty blue
eyes even at so young an age showed
that it was a born beauty.
Still its
features were much like thoee of ¿he
Finlanders, ao many of whom had Bat
tled along the Columbia in the fishing
districts.
“ They think the old man is dying,”
said one of the women in a whisper
who had been watching the men work
with the aged sufferer.
“ Oh, such a pity,” remarked the
women in a subdued chorus.
“ We w ill never learn the child’s
name or anything about the late of its
mother or father.”
“ It must have been born on the.voy-
age,” said one, " fo r they say the ship
was a Finnish vessel and has been
many weeks at eea.”
“ Old Seadog’s action in the matter
ia a mystery to everybody.
W hy he
made such quick haste to board the
ship is beyond all understanding. And
he actnally pointed firearms at tbe men
when they attempted to go aboard the
vessel,” said a woman who had jnst
been talking with her hut band on the
outside. ‘ -But the officers w ill ravel
the matter ont,” she continued aa she
remembered the details ot the episode
as given her by her husband.
Then there was a commotion out
side. A fisherman had just arrived
from the sand spit. He had brought
news' of tbe arrival of officers at the
scene of the wreck.
“ Old Seadog and his boys ara all nn-
der arrest!” was whispered from lip
to lip.
Ttit DAYS GONE BY?
»'■■■'
""»I
; *' w * ■
O the days gone by! O the days gons by!
The apples in the orcWn), and tha path
way through the rye;
;
Tike chirrup of the robin,.and tha whistle
of tbe qqail
Aa he piped across the meadows sweet
as auy nightingale;
When the blAoni wae on the clover, and
the blue waa> In the sky,
And my happy heart brimmed over—in
the daye gone by.
t
| l
In the daya gone by, when my naked
feet were tripped
By the honeysuckle tangle# where the
water lilies dipped.
And the ripplee of the river 'Upped the
moss along the brink.
Where the placid-eyed and Iaiy-footed
cattle came to drink,
And tlje tilling snipe stood fearleee of
the truant’* wayward cry.
And the aplaahing of the swimmer, in the
duya gone by.
O the days gone by! O th# daye gone by!
The music of the laughing lip, the luster
of the eye;
Tbe childish faith in fairies, and Alad
din’s magic ring—
The elmple, soul-reposing, glad belief in
everything.
For life was like a story, holding neither
sob nor sigh,
In the golden, olden glory of the daya
gone by.
— James Whitcomb Riley.
F course.” said Polly, shoving
her heel down Into her skate
with a little tramp and striking
out over the Ice like a bird Jearnlug
to hop, “ It was the fault o f the other
woman!"
W e had been talking about the
breaking off of Abblngdon Dare's en
gagement to the auburn-haired Down
ing girl, and o f how Miss Downing
had discovered the other flirtation by
listening down the dumb waiter shaft.
“ O f course,” I agreed. * It Is always
the fault of the other woftaan."
Polly gurgled mirthfully and I
thought satirically.
"Surely,” I asked anxiously, "you
do not blame the dumb waiter shaft?
I never saw a dumb waiter shaft
with peroxide hair and a dimple In its
chin."
Polly gave me a reproachful glance.
"A n d ," I went on. “ y iu certainly do
not blame Miss Downing for breaking
It off when she found out----- ”
“ And, o f course,” broke In Polly, “ I
could not possibly blame— Abblngdon
Dare, for Instance."
Won’t yon take hold o f my hands,
I ’olly? The Ice ia—er— very slippery."
For answer, Polly burled both her
hands deep in her muff and continued
to mope along in Jerky little semlclr-
cles.
“ And now,” she went on. Ignoring a
brilliant pigeon wing I had cut for
her benefit, "the auburn-haired Down
(To te continued)
ing girl and the other girl don’t
spea k.”
“ Then,” said I, bringing tip beside
T h e O th e r F e llo w ’ s Job.
There’s a erase among us mortals that la Polly with a Sourish, “ Miss Downing
blames tbe other woman, too?”
cruel hard to name.
Polly looked at me as though know
Wheresoe’er you find a human you will
find the case the same;
ing things like that were the moat
You may seek among the worst of men or natural thing in the world.
seek among the best.
“ O f course!" she declared emphatic
And you’ll find that every person is. pro-
ally. “ A woman always does blame
„ cisely. like the rest.
........... _.J
Each believes that his real calling is the other woman. Thnt Is the funniest
thing about it.
She seems Just as
along some other line
Than the one at which he’s working- anxious to make a pack-horse for the
take, for instance, yours and mine. masculine sins ont of some other wom
From the meanest "me-too” creature te an as the man himself. I suppose to
the leader of the mob,__
morrow that. If you held one hand"
There’s a universal craving for “ the oth-
over your heart and the other over the
______ er fallow*# Job." —
family Bible and took an oath o f al
legiance,
and If the very next moment
There are millions of positions in the
I detected you admiring a pretty
busy world to-day,
Each a drudge to him who holds it, bat free----- "
to him who doesn't, play;
" I t would have to have a brown
Every farmer’s broken-hearted that la 1 [pompadour above It and a dimple in
youth he misaed his catt,
Its left check,” I declared, looking at
While that same unhappy farmer is the
Polly.
envy of us all.
Polly blushed.
Any task yon care to mention seema a
“ Or saying nice things to another
vastly better lot
Than the one especial something which girl in the conservatory,” she went on.
you happen to have got.
"Everybody would expect me to blame
There’s but oue sure way to smother the pretty face or the other girl. Hut
Envy’# heartache and her sob;
1 shouldn't!" and In her momentary
Keep too bnsy, at your own, to want
excitement Polly forgot to be fright
“ the other fellow’s job."
ened, and almost did some real skati*
— 8uccesa.
lng.
“ W ell," I grumbled, “ why shouldn’t
T h e W o r d P ic n ic .
The derivation of the word picnic Is you?”
“ Because," said Polly, "it wouldn’t
uncertain. In London Notes and Que
ries of 1853 attempts were made to be the girl who owed me allegiance.”
“ Then I suppose," I remarked, “ that
trace ita origin.
you approve o f the fact that Miss
One correspondent says:
“ Under a French form the word ap Downing has cut Abblngdon Dare off
pears In a speech o f Robesp'erre, ‘t’ est Irretrievably ?”
“ I would,” said Polly, " If she had;
icl kqu’ll dolt m’accuser, et non dans
les plquesniques.’ An earlier Instance but she hasn't He’ ll only have to wait
occurs In one of Lord Chesterfield'« until the first burst of temper wears
off and then come around with a
letters, dated October, 1748."
Another writer o f the same date pathetic story o f how the other wom
trlea to trace the word from France an lured him----- ”
“ And Invited him to call."
Into Italy. Starting with the assump
“ And fed him with flattery and Job
tion that plquenlque In French Implies
a party at which each guest provides ater a la Newburgh."
“ And told him a sad little story of
some particular dish or performs some
special duty, he finds the Italinn ex her past life.”
"And actually pursued him to his
pressions nlccbla (duty) and plccola (it
trifling service), and from these he office."
"And had her brother bring him up
coins plccola nlccbla (picnic).
A French encyclopedia. 1843, has It to dinner."
“ And sent him plhk notes— that ho
that the word Is compounded of tbe
simple English pick (to choose) and couldn’t, in politeness, refuse to an
ulck (In tbe nick of time, on the spur swer.”
“ Well, that's the way they do it,”
of the moment). In France tbe term
said I.
Is also used for Indoor picnics.
“ Do— what?"
Polly
had to wave her. arms wildly
v*
A Domestic C h ef
Mrs. De Style (after giving her order to catch her balance.
"P o lly ," said I, "the moment a man
for dinner)— Can you remember all thatl
New Girl—Sure, It’* a French rhsf becomes devotedly attached to some
yez think Oi am.
one girl all the other girls In her set
" It i* our ordinary company dinner. begin to find him fascinating. I fancy
Gnest* are expected, you know."
It’s something like setting a new style.
"W all, mum. Oi’ll just make y*r an
I f one o f you wears a fur hat or a
Oirieh stew, an’ thin yes can sort the
tbinge out to euit y’rsiivee, an’ call ihtm feather boa Immediately all tbe rest of
aa many nose-crackin' French names aa you buy .fu r bats and feather bon*.
I f one of you finds a man worth while
yas loika ”
■*; r-'> »
‘‘Yen couldn’t
all the rest o f you step Into line to spa I*oHy sarcastically/
If you can’t wrest him from her, Add possibly have escaped her, Mr. Sylves
ed to this faslitou, the very fact that ter. , No ban could!" ’
“ But It v^rasn’t Allclq," I erplalned.
he la not attainable makes him all tba
more popular. That’s a little: twist 1» As f knelt down to unifasten Polly's
skates. * t i couldn’t hAve been, you
the feminine make up. Polly, dear,".
“ Hr- Sylvester," said Folly—-and the know— beef use. ^ t ' that time, Alicia
Ice' looked warm beside her voice— '.'I waa iny fiancee." •
can
skate ------------
quite as ------
well ---
If ytu ,do not
------------
q a q b l j- M y skates, which Polly had
hold uiy hand. An engaged man—or a * bhen hoifflnfi, fell with n fla tter,
married man, either," she continued, j . "And,” I went on. Ignoring the stndv
“ la exactly like the IK tie fox terriwf y fa a in rls t abov* me, "when /bu Invited
who couldn't be made to come out ep' me to that dinner and I met you there
his bouse until they tied him up. Thqit lu that gausy, yellow thing yon wore,
he chewed up tbe rope and begqq apd you stnelt o f hyacinths and
romping around tbe back yard. Tha danced Ilka a butterfly----- ”
very moment a man feels the cords
“ Jack,” aald Polly, “ It’s getting per
o f an engagement or the bonds of mat fectly dark.”
rimony binding him he wants to slip
“ And.” I continued, “ you simply
them off.
Why, a man who would wouldn’t take a refusal for the sleigh
laugh at pink notea and snub the girl ing party, you remember----- ”
who pursued him with lobsters before
“ jir^ 8ylveat*r,’’ said Polly, "there
marriage will succumb to them like Isn't A son! left on tbe Ice.”
a violet to the sun or an Icicle to the
“ And tha little note you wrote me
fire after matrimony.
But I dou t on scented paper was so very----- "
blame him!” declared Polly, trying to
“ In a minute they'll be lighting the
wriggle her band away.
lamps,” persisted Polly.
"Neither do IT ’ I agreed, enthusias
“ Why, so they w ill," I remarked aa
tically, clasping the band tighter thau I rose from the Ice and flung my
ever.
skates over my shoulder, “ and,” I con
“ I blame tbe woman," announced tinued, coming closer to Polly, “ I have
Polly.
only a moment In which to----- ”
"W hich woman, Polly?" said 1.
“ 8top! Stop! Stop!" cried Poliy.
"The other woman?”
“ You're mussing my hair!"
“ Why, no," said Po ly. “The other—
“ — kiss the other woman," I fin
that Is, both o f them.
Now -If they ished.— Travel.
would only Join hands----- ”
S A F E T Y IN M O T O R ’8 NOI8E.
“ What!” I exclaimed. “ Twowom en?"
“ And co-operate for the punishment
i f P e r fe c t ly S ile n t A u to m o b ile# W o u ld
and confusion of the man----- "
G iv e P eo p le N e W a rn in g .
"Polly Lee," I asfed tragically,
The
qplnlon la commonly expressed
“ would you undermlnethe whole aocal
that
a
decided Improvement In motor
system? Why, co-operation between
two women would be worse than the vehicles would be' gained If the notes
Servant Girls’ Union. Ever since there o f the motor oouki be reduced or sup
have been two women and a man on pressed altogether. The enormous num
earth there has been feminine war ber o f small explosions which take
place in the engine o f tbe motor car or
fare."
“ And that.” said Polly, “ has been bicycle create a noise which is un
the cause o f most of the masculine doubtedly at all times offensive to the
sins. I t Is always a case o f woman ear, but which la far worse when tbs
against woman.
You find It every chauffeur or rider la not a master o f
where, from the nursery to the divorce bis engine, for then tbe explosions ara
court. When Bobby Is a 'small l»oy often Irregular. Rhythm makes even
he promises Marjorie and G rade each the noise o f a motor Jess disagreeable
’his box o f candy. When Marjorie and to the ear than an ill-timed succession
G rade find out this perfidy, Instead o f o f reports.
It ia debatable, however, whether,
uniting against him and taking It out
of him, they begin pulling one an after all. It would be desirable to re
other’s hair and scratching at each duce the present loudly palpitating ma
other’s eyes; and Bobby walks serene chine to an absolutely noiseless vehi
ly off-and gives the candy to little cle. The noise o f th e engine In tha
Mary Anne around tbe comer. When present motor give# ample warning of
he grows up Bobby may have as many its approach on tbe road, a warning
wives ns Solomon, but when he Is which, considering the comparatively
brought Into court there are always high speed oftentimes attained by tbs
half of them dying to send him to car, might be sounded by tbe horn too
prison and the other half aching to late. It is common on the highways to
take him back to their arms again, find coachmen who are driving restive
r.nd all o f them glaring daggers at horses on the alert long before the <oar
comes up to them, warned by the dis
each other----- ”
"And," I added, "there Is always tant sound o f the regular beating o f
still another woman waiting round tha tbe engines.
corner with a heart full o f sympathy."
.A motor car proceeding, say, at
“ And such fascinations as peroxide twenty miles an hour in perfect si
hair.”
lence would almost be certain to be a
"Is it absolutely necessary that the source o f terror and disaster. Even In
other woman have peroxide balr, the case o f fce ordinary bicycle there
Polly?" I Inquired.
Is danger in Its silence o f action and
"Oh, that’s a way with othe.* when the noiseless rubber tires first
women." said Polly.
came upon the scene a continuously
“ And yet," L remarked, gilding along Jingling bell accompanied, them.
In
meditatively, “ 1 once knew— another the same way other rubber-tired vehi
woman— who didn’t dye her hair.”
cles carry a similar signal, although the
Polly wriggled her hand out o f mine clatter o f the horses' hoofs upon the
and tucked It In her muff.
road conveys some sort o f warning.
“ It was— let me see— about the time It Is doubtful whether a bell continu
I announced my engagement,” I went ously ringing on a motor car or bicycle
on. reflectively.
can ever be as effective or timely a
Polly turned and struck out for the warning as tbs penetrating beat o f tbe
shore with a spurt of which I had not motor engine.
thought her capable.
Tbe shrieking whistle o f an express
“ She was,” I continued, “ a girl iu train is often too late to enable dan
your set."
ger to be avoided and It la appalling to
“ I do believe the sun Is going down. think what would happen If an ex
Mr. Sylvester," remarked Polly, »low press w ere designed which could trav
ing up perceptibly.
el at the rate of sixty mile* an hour
For reasons of my own I did not without the slightest warning noise be
attempt to carry on the conversation. ing given by its wheels rotating or by
After a few moments’ silence what I Its Intermittent escape of steam. The
expected happened.
same holda good for motor vehicles,
“ Who," said Polly, faintly, "was and though as It Is they add to the
the girl In my set?”
dangers o f locomotion on roads these
“ Why, the other woman, of course.” dangers would be considerably accentu
I replied. “ She had hardly observed ated If It were not for the perpetual
my existence before the day that iny and penetrating beat of the engine.
engagement was announced. The very
next evening she asked her brother to
-HOW 8 H E G O T EVEN.
Invite me up to dinner.”
I fancied Polly said something like A W o m a n ’s M ethod o f H u m b lin g a
Conductor,
“ contemptible!" but I must have been
She
was
one
o f those women with a
mistaken.
righteous
look
and firm chin.
“ O f course you didn't go. Mr. Syl
"Please stop at Thirty-ninth street,”
vester ?’’ she remarked, aloud.
“ I'm afraid I did," I confessed, rue she said to the conductor, aa tbe car
fully. "You see, I didn’t exactly un whizzed past Thirty-sixth.
A t the next corner she rose, to he
derstand things then, aa I do since you
and I have been engaged for some ready to alight, but the car did not
time. And the girl waa very pretty slow up, the conductor being busy do
and alluring----- ” Polly gave a little ing the hospitality o f hia car to a
chance acquaintance. Before she could
gasp., and sped on.
“ And," I continued, keeping beside catch his eye and stop the car she had
her, “ when she Invited me for a gone a block past her destination. She
sleighing party on the following night put her foot on the step, then drew It
back and calmly sat down again. The
and named a nice girl----- ”
Polly stopped short in the middle of conductor, his hand on the bell rope,
waited, the picture o f vigilant duty.
the ice.
She gazed straight ahead and made no
“ I accepted,” I finished.
sign.
With a profane remark he Jerk
"You— went—Jack Sylvester?” Pol
ly’s voice would have been awful, If ed the rope and the car moved on.
Tw o blocks further she arose and
it had not threatened to be teary.
“ Oh, no," I answered quickly. “ I caught his eye again. This time he
didn't go. You see the snow melted managed to atop at the first corner.
next morning, and so she sent me Bnt she apparently changed her mind
and sank comfortably Into her seat
around a little pink note to say that
while an appreciative smile overspread
she would be at home, anyhow."
the faces o f tbs passengers.
“ I know whom you mean,” said
A t tbe end o f another two blocks
Polly, striking out for shore once more.
she ones mors signaled to him to stop,
" It waa that Edgerly girl— the one
and though he was bursting with
who rouges and wears such awful
wrath, a dozen pair o f eyes were upon
hate.”
him, and he controlled himself. Ths
“ Oh, no— not the Edgerly girl,” I car came to a standstill, but she did
said, scornfully. " I t was----- ”
not move,
“ Then,” declared Polly, "It must
“ It’s ths next corner I want," aha
have been Alicia Brown. That’s her explained, In a clear rolce, ns s titter
only method o f getting attention, Mr, went around the car. “When I asked
Sylvester. She keeps a little Hat o f you to stop at Thlrty.-nitftk street yon
eligible men on her dressing-table. carried me to Fortieth, so I supposed
Doubtless you are on the Hat. I think, If I signaled you for Forty-third you’d
though, It la rather detestable o f her carry me to Forty-fourth.”
to tfeat me so sweetly----- ”
And at the next corner she smiled
“ But you sion't blame me, do you, graciously at tba conductor as she step-
Polly?”
I ted down and o u t— Chicago Inter
“ Not If It was Alicia Brown,” aald Ocean,
*
1
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