The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1889-07-27
WILLIE LEE.

His hair was what might be called a
blue white, his eyes were pale and with
out expression, and he was altogether
very plain person. He and his sister
Mary had little house in the outskirts
of the city near the car barns. His close
proximity to the barns doubtless was
what led him to think he would become
a car conductor. AT any rate, he did
become one, and Mary, as she used to
be wedding in her little garden beside
the street, would look up and see him
pass and say to herself:
"Now, don't he just look fine with
those blue clothes and brass buttons?'
His sisters eyes could not see that the
navy blue of the clothes painfully
brought out the sickly pallor of his face
and made his sleepy eyes DINNER. To
her he was handsome and the uniform
made him handsomer. Mary was partial
to uniforms. There was policeman in
that suburb for whom she had the great
est regard, and in the evening when she
would go out to watch for Willie's car
going by on its last trip the policeman
used to come and hang over the gate and
she would tell him what good boy Will
lie was
The men at the barns did not know
much about Willie. He never met at
their gatherings in the Office and stables
and sung and danced and joked as the
others did. Half of them did not know
his name. but the time keeper said his
car was always on time and the nickels
he turned over were always right in
number
Willie's passengers did not like him
either. They said be opened and left
open the door in winter and shut it in
the heat of summer. He made them sit
close on the seats, and gravest offense of
all he would make the men go inside the
car when, there was room instead of
standing on the rear platform in crowd.
All this served to make him unpopular,
still he never violated rule of the COM
pany, and the keenest "spotter" could
never have reported him for a single mis-
demeanor.
Willie did not like girls. He used to
say to Mary, "Girls are nuisance.
wouldn't let one of them get on my car
if I could help it." There was no use
trying to get up Irritation with Willie,
he was adamant. A neighbor, rosy
checked Rachel Moore, had loved Willie
ever since they were children and played
in the dust of the road before the city
had moved down to them. Willie liked
Rachel, too, after fashion, very much
as he loved Mary, but he never thought
of marrying her or any one else. Mary
used to say to him, "Willie, suppose
should die, what would you do for :.
housekeeper?" Mary didn't think OF
dying, she was thinking of the police
man, and Willie would answer, Don't
talk about such absurd things, Mary"
That was all the satisfaction she ever re-
ceived
Yet it was through girl that Willie's
life was changed. How these women do
change our lives, some In one way and
some in anotherl Willie was supersti-
tious. He said he was unlucky every
time he ran on car No. 113. A man
had shot himself in it once, and another
had fallen off the front platform and bro
ken his leg, and Willie was always hav-
One February day car 113 started from
the barn at its usual hour with Willie
Lee as conductor. Everything went on
well all day and Willie was hattering
himself that he was going to escape i'll
| luck for once, but she turks around us
when we are least conscious of her pres
ence, 1t was nearly night and rain set
in, rain that froze to everything and
made the track very slippery. A young
lady who often went down on Willie's
car asked to be left off at the avenue and
Willie rang the bell.
She stepped off, but as fate would
have it another car was coming from
the opposite direction, the track was
slippery new driver was managing
the brake, and instead of stopping, as ii
the usual etiquette in such case, the
car came on. Willie standing on the
step took in the situation at a glance
and though he was always slow he mad,
this the exception. He jumped from tn,
car and almost threw the girl from tn,
track just in time to save her, but h,
slipped and fell and was ground unde
the horses feet and the cruel wheels
Then the car stopped and the passen
gers crowded out and around him.
sis he dead, OF is he dead?' cried tn
girl whom he had saved, and she knel
down beside him, took Off his cap ant
brushed the damp hair back from hi
} forehead.
"No, he is not dead" said policeman
Mary's policeman, who happened TO
once TO be where he was needed. "H
lives just below here. We will carr
him to the house." They picked him u
and carried him gently into the littl
cottage. Mary was overcome wit
fright and would have tainted had nc
! 'Teddie" been there to assure her tina
Willie was all right, "only hurt bit"
The next day the young lady whor
Willie had saved came down in her cal
riage to see how he was. She swept
through Mary's little kitchen like
queen, and Rachel, who was sitting o
the step of the back door, looked at he
I in amazement; at the long sealskin cloa
: and the diamonds in her ears. "My
g amt she grand?" she said to herself.
i wonder if Willie knew her before?
wonder if he would have jumped rigl
in front of two great big horses and
car if l had been in her place." Jealor
! little Rachell OF course he would hay
o done it just the same had the person bee
the lowest of the lowly.
9 Day after day Helen Carpenter can
to inquire after "the brave fellow" {
she called him, and when he began
D. get better she brought him flowers an
. hot house fruit and all sorts of thinl
l. that he could not eat, and would n,
have dared to had he wanted them. 81
brought him books, too, and read to hi
e by the hour stuff that he did not hea
He did not care for books, but he like
10 look at her as she sat by his side read
ing. He liked to hear the tone of he
voice and smell the perfume of the vic
lets she always wore, and after Will
her daily visit was what he lived for an