Efiquette by Telephone

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 441, 29 September 1904, Page 8

Efiquette by Telephone

§ m xwta sakb.tov romzx. ¥ WWeOO«H3OIXH»I>fXrrXKXHKHX^ ACBOWD of mbnrbanitei ■warmed toward the waiting ! train. On Its outermost fringe came the Little Gray Nun, as the Young Jisn had already named her; but she w*a not meek or holy, or nunniah n* all, and only her clothes and her hat. were gray. She walked light- : ly, s*j»rir»gily, on her toes, and she : was radiant and smiling. To look at her, one would say she might be a . bride or a young mother with a baby waiting out there in the suburbs somewhere- But the Young Man refused to entertain either of these ■appositions. She was the Little Gray Jinn, spinster. He had been watching- her for 15 minutes. Suddenly he saw the radiance of her face tarnish and a minute beginning of horror dawn in her eyes—for he was an young man. j He saw her searching her chatelaine ' bag, then her gray skirts, as if a pocket might have been hidden in them by mistake. Then he saw the horror itself spread from her eyes over her piquant little faee. The Little Gray Nan, then, was in trouble. - "She has lost something," the Young Man sighed, as if the loss were his own. He took two giant : strides forward, then stopped. The Little Gray Nun was talking to the conductor. He could not hear her j ▼oice, but the conductor's was Strident, and might have been booming through a megaphone. "Sorry, miss, but it can't be done —contrary to our rules 'n*' regulations Horii I cant put you through." V:">'alever the Little* Gray' Nun answered r<6J* lost, in the echoes from tbe megaphone,,.but ,as she turned =;-*a.y the offended dignity. ,of her , ■ irriage was marred by. the tremu- j tout fiutter of ht»F sinalL gray-gloved f ; hands. She walked new, heavily, on \ her heels. '*' ••■ I "I beg your .pardon.** The Young j Man-, raised his hat courteously. ■ "But if th*t fellow in the brass; button* biaU there said anything in- . suiting, fc" .era's just time for me to braai hit bones for him before the . train suru>. B*g pardon, but you'll ' have bit-ell me qui«k!" \ "Oh" d;: tpied the little Gray Nun, in spite -»<* herself. "Oh, no, please don't! lie only told me that—that— j why*, that—— ** , > T«f t&pped the Young Man im-j pr>.|oTsJly, s thoßgh the courtesy of his j lifted hat and interested face was perfect. But there was so little time —H takes time to break a fellow's insolent bones for hrm. The engineer was already awaiting the conductor's signal. "He only said he—couldn't let me ride home without a ticket. I've lost my purse, but of course I should send Lack the money to-morrow, i I'm not a tramp t" ■ "The brute! HI have him reported j St headquarters—it's going!" "And I'm not ou it!" groaned the Little Gray Nun. "And this is Chub-i by s birthday, and-I always frost his ] cake!" ... j Then there was a baby out there i where the train was going? It was' not Little Gray Nttn, spinster? But! €he Young Man hejd his.ground val-J iantly. She was a woman, anyway,] and in distress. < -. j "Bnt that conductor will be just as "horrid as this one. I wouldn't ask another conductor to let me ride free if I had to stay a'vay from home all night—evept—oh, -1 forgot poor little Chubbv'. I could do almojt anything fr.r { hubby!" 'There's another train leaves in three «!'.:• :?rs of an hour," he said, encourag :.;:giy. That was always the way with young mothers. The Young Man felt •he romance of things slipping through his fingers. Bnt he plunged his hand into his p"ci.\;l and drew out a fat lit-Jo silt" - > ::\,e. "Then do this fin- Chubby," he smilffi. holding it out to her. "I h«-»e-i"t any need for it, you know. ;'.'* —*r —in my way. I use a iaile•igti. myself." "the little Gray Nun recoiled. The -M": des fro/e in her cheeks and her 'ln. Her small, well-set r,?r..-i lifted and lifted—Scott, »: n, do you see how tall the Little Grey Nun !s growing! *> "Thank you—let -ie pass, please," the Little Gray, Nun said, fr: B ndly. And lis stood looking after her ia cpy > ■■ &■ -' • > • - « • •U • ?"■" <* -'•' ? • H iil t,-ri «uu t*.i i. etii it

= —■ -• e. ' (.rt his 10. • i . •;? By George, she looked nr; j .t cue i.ad a job for the conductor U\i~ time! "i*U try another tack," he muttered. "The little thing has fit In !>e befriended somehow, or Bubby or Cbnbbj or Whatever T -is-Narue wi'.l hr.ve to eat his birthday cake without uny frosting. Never!" He overlook her in the waiting-room. I beg your pardon," he said; "1 don't nun; to bore you, but if you'd accept the loan of a mileage book—l don't nee-; mine. It's in my—er, that is—l rr.e^.u. —oh, say, you'll take it, won't you?" he burst out, boyishly. The Little Gray Nun was vanquished. The dimples trooped back again. "But we haven't been Introduced, she murmured. "How could I? TVe don't even know each other's names." "Sure," he said gloomily. He had not thought of that. "But there ought to be a way—let's get the depot mammy to do it. Tell her who we are, you know. Mammies are always ready to accommodate." The Little Gray Nun's laughing eyes followed his to the comfortable, black face of the fat Aunt Chios across the room. "It would be fun," she cried, but instantly she was grave and proper again. "If we had a mutual friend—" "The mammy's a friend of everybod—" "But I don't know a soui m this ~ity except Cousin Althea." "Jones or—er Pettengill?" the Young man said, eagerly. "I know Joneses and Pettingills to burn." The Little Gray Nun's dignity bad j>»oin come back. She drew away a !iny space. "Smith," she said, prira!y, "Cousin Althea Smith. I should %o right up to her house if it wasn't for Chubby." He laughed aloud in his relief. "Oh, I know Smiths!" he eried. j slathers—er, I mean quantities of '■ 'em." ' "I am not aware that you have the honor of knowing my Smith," she responded, crisply. It did not look promising. The Young Man hod a mind to give it up. But the Little Gray Nun needed championing, an I then there was Chubby always Chubby. "He's the only little/nephew I've got in the world," murmured the Little Gray Nun, as if in answer to his thought. "And he'll nev-er be six years old again if he lives a hundred years!" * Nephew—nephew? Had he heard aright? The Young Man felt the romance of things in his grasp again, if Chubby was a nephew, Heaven bless him!—then what were obstacles? A sudden inspiration was born in the Young Man's brain. He motioned toward a seat near by. "Won't you sit down?" he said. "And would you nund naming over some of your friends at home?" lit did not realize that he did not knovt her own name yet, or the name of "home." "At home? —fci Bu'tonwood, you mean? Oh, thares grandfather and Uncle Joe and Unele Sam —" "Their last names, 1 mean. Brown or Robinson or So-and-ho, you knoV,v' "Why, of course! What a stupid!" She ran over a list of surname* rapidly. He caugh i at one as at a straw. "Scott —J. Bradley?" he cried. "Yes, James Bradley." "Broker ?"- "Well, he was. He's broken now, poor man! He stays right at home." "Telephone connection?" "In his house, you mean? Why ye-es—yes, 1 xnow there is." "Then we're aii rifht. We'll get Mr. J. Bradley Scott to jnfcroauoe us. Housed to be Jonathan to my father'? David. De you miud coming over to the central office? Just across the street?" Buttonwood was called sp. Then Mr. J. Bradley Scott. "Hello! That you, Uncle Brad? Know my voice? What? Yes, sir, Jime old sixpenee! Y«s, Berlin—lsm I stesmw. Bod? He's all right. What? 30, not a professorship, unless you' ve got one up your sleeve for me—But, Uncle Brad, I say! There's a youi.ij laoy here waiting to speak to you. She wants to be introduced to me-r----oh, I mean 1 want to be introduced to her, you know. We've got to Oe introduced, and you're viie man to do it. She .s going to speak now." "i;eilol" called the Little Gray Nua, cleu.' y. "Do you know me, Mr. tjeolt.' Not Dolly? Then I'll never speak Lo' you again—oh, you do know me? ft tdi, I'm on my way home, you know - you haven't seen Chubby to-day, have you? It's his birthday. Whut? iiirthday—six years oiu. x've got to get home to frost the cake, and I've iost ir.y pocketbook. There's a lovely young in—oh, 1 mean there's a young man here who wants to lend ..;c- nis mileage, but we ha.ven'l b. on introduced. It's a dreadful scrape, for there's Chubby's cake, you know. Wnat? Both of us stand up heve?" Slil- motioned to the Young Man. "Well, we're here. Oh, yss, i can hear y*>n —Yes. Yes, hj« says he osn. too." They stood there an instant together, while across 27 mdes Air. ,7. Bradley Scott introduced uhem. Doth facta vrsrs grave, but ail iuur eyet, *c. ; dicing. At the proper Lime ana in the proper way they touched .Cngers and bowed to each other politeiy. .t was over. "Now, we're all right," cried the Young Man, briskly. "And there's the whist Ie of our train. We've got to run Tor it." The conductor tore off mileage for two aiid left them then to the .v.itler mareittts of little Dr.;i Cupid. Littie w*:.-o: ;r, is ama;!n;; the cmoum ai work be r>an get into a 27-mile run! Ladies' World. New York. *» Uepsrtee. ■*•*•*•» ■ ■ '■ ■'■' -ei :» m--,n s rersttt&tior. . :ii; >. hi •: to i 0.,« i;is jo. —Ciiicu£.j News.