Wichita eagle., 1888-05-23
A NIGHTS LODGINGS.

Nhen she started she didn't know She would
fail in company like this.
No matter. Who was she, anyway?
Only q moving vertebra in the disorderly
column dragging its wretched length TO Oal
street station house. An ugly beldame
nudged her, with leering glance.
"What you goin' this way for, We goose
Better lodgin's for face like yours, girl"
She shrank little, drawing her head
covering more closely over her face The
pelting storm was excuse enough for that
There was a kind of protection in the ole
home shawl that she would not have ex
changed for the smart hat which went fol
last nights lodgings. In view of the
tattered, tawdry finery of some of her com
panions, she was not sorry that the cock:
plumes from the old farmyard were not
dropping over her disgrace.
What bieared, british wrecks of humanity
were these OF either side of the way Better
10 have found bed in the riyer-in the river
alone But, then, there would have been the
terrors Of the Judgment after such a watery
Sleep. She remembered stiil, with a shudder,
the picture painted on her childish imagina.
tion Of the dreadful day of Judgment.
Yet, oh, heaven! how like the damned
these creatures looked but there was nc
Smell of fire and birthstone like that which
Parson Adams had blown from his warning
trumpet in the village church at home.
At the gate she glanced up at the long line
of men fling in-blear eyed, vicious looking,
yet not, after all, so repellent as the women.
She even marked one, with face close muffled
from the storm like her own, who bore an air
Of rough responsibility. To her benumbed
fancy-though she could have given expires
zion TO no conscious thought Of this kind-he
was like one of the dead russell leaves that
she had seen driven on the wild winter wind.
But the press of the crowd bore her within
the station, and, sinking ia a dark corner,
she waited stolidly the disposition to be made
Of her by the authorities in charge.
Groans, lanIents profane and vulgar eiacu-
iations smote her dull ears, but she had
thought of little beyond her own misery.
" Evenin', miss. Seen We when We was
COMM in, an I've got leaf to speak to ye"
The voice was hoarse and gruff as with
rold, and she did not see tthe speaker clearly
In her dim corner, but Sic thought this the
man she had noticed at the gate.
Somehow t seems t me yer in the wrong
place 'Tain't no nights lodgin fer a likely
young gal sech as | take you to be. What
dye come here fer Z"
Because She turned away from the
intruder as if she would have dismissed him
Hey T. he insisted.
Because | amt got nowhere else to gon
''Gol Well-well-nor | nuther.n was the
cheering response. ''But yew-why, yew
hadn't orto be comm to sech place s this.
Why don't We try G git in the country where
2olks S respectable Nothin' but wick dniss
81 this dretful, turrybul, bad city. | came
sere t'other day arter my darter-yew make
Ele think on her, some way 'nother-an' |
run a-foul of blasted picllpocket the very
fust thing, an he took every blest cent had,
luther wallet an all / tore round like mad
when / foun' t out, an knocked down the
Teller that / reckoned tux it-knocked him
hard, tool But 'twan't him tall, an I got
rested for Whence an marched of down here
an tried fer reg'ler salt an battry, an was
cast int Jaime, a deacon of the church in
Mapletaown an respect BILE, likely man till
l come daown to this dumb heather city an
got robbed an cast int Jail, instid O. the
thief that's prancin' round somers havin a
good time with my money"
The deacon stamped his heavy foot upon
the floor with a religious zeal that would
FIRE of his wrath possessed a sufficiently
consuming power.
when | sarved out my ten days. he re-
sumed, Il looked ten yeer older; but as I'd
got kind O. quainted with the place, come
back 10 sleep nights while I'm kind o. picllin
up odd jobs to arm some money to git back
hum agin. This ere snow II make power
o shovelin' t du. It's n i'll wind t don't blow
nobody emmy good"
'And-and your girlr' suggested his list
ener, in q breathless way.
''Oh, that's the worst on tn was the de-
spairing response; Il dunno nothia' what to
do. Ye see, feel jist like tellin' We bout it
some way. 1t may DE a kind O. warnin' to
We. Sary Lizy-that's my Garter--was bout
rs sweet, purity gal as We often see. She
was jist tn apple o my eve since her ma died,
an we KEEP haOuse together all hunkadory,
with John Sampson COMM in, every
evenin' putty nigh, to talk over the news.
John-I don't mind tellin' ye--was Sary
Lizy's beau ever sence they was boy
and gal, an d sort o. growed UP with
tn understandin' that they'd be man n
wife arter while. But bout this time there
come to taown a dashin' kind O feller-no-
body knowed who he was-but he he'd things
{ sell raOund { the stores. and Sary Lily, she
happened TO meet him t her Cousin Hirams
who's a storekeeper in Mapletaown-an' he
TUX arter her like a houn' arter hare, an
she jiSt let him. l declare, the cretur acted
Jest as ef she was bewitChed an hadn't no
sense nur reason. 1t made me mad The
FIRST sharp words ever spoke t Sarv Lizy |
spoke then. But 'twa'n't no arthly use. The
fellcr hung raOund, an hung raound, an
went way, an come back agin, an she man
aged I see him n spite o me. As fer John,
she'd treated him so shameful be didn't come
nigh her more. At last l RELY thought the
rascal d gone way fur good n all, but fust l
knew one moTnin Sary Lily had Hoped OH
with him. Declare fort t most broke nv
heart Idunno but in my unsettled state o
mind 1 might a tux up with til Wilder
Jones who come in I look arter the haouse;
but couldn't forget Mellissy-Mell1Ssy my
dear dead wife, We know"
The speaker paused to blow his nose.
{ $50 I got along good spell th'out hearin'
from Sary Lily But finely there come q
letter from Cousin Mirandy, in Jersey. sayin'
as how't she'd got line from Sary LILY in
New York. a-asllin' her TO send Jest money
nuf to get Sary Lily to her haouSe, where
she'd work her fingers { the bones to pay il
Said she was all lone n q great city, n
didn't know what t do, but she'd ruther die
than write 70 pa, an wouldn't Cousin Mi
ran5y jest help her e git away from the city,
an she'd try TO git good enough { 60 back {
Mapletaown some day. But Cousin Mirandy
said there want no street nor number in
Sary Lizy's letter, an she didn't know bout
sendin' money loose to great city ike New
York, 50 she thought she'd jest let me know
bout it Gracious goodness! to think the
child should ha' been fraid TO write 70 her
pal ] didn't know notbin' bout streets an,