Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-02-10
n Chase Of a Sweetheart
by rDwARp n. vALLANDIeHAM.


afternoon Arnold Hall stood at the tele
pbone in his Law Office down in Nassau
street. Receiver at ear he patiently await
ed an answer to his call. He heard odd
bits of confused generations mingled witt
sounds like the buzzing Of bses, tha frying
Of fat and the winding Of clocks A voice
heard az "a 3 dream called for two har-
rels like the lsst delivered al the ships
side by p. m. tomorrow. Some one
laughed hollow ventril,quil laugh
and said, DINNER at $50 snap, mind. "
Then then the-e was . sputtsred senterci
about "bsst NV Orleans moiassess," fol
loved by 2 babel of distant to9gaes deliv-
ering varied messages Of business ard pleas
are. While thss still We1t o. al irritat-
ing t. minnie voice draWled in nasal tones,
"Throaeh ~ and was answered with a
sharp masculine. "Damn it, no, Central
oct of the wire" Mt. Ball was 20 inter
sstsd in this great whispering gallery that
re forgot to be impatient and there ls no
knowing hoa long he might have been con
tent to await the answer to his signal bad
he not suddenly hesyd sweet, familiar
voice call quite distinctly: "Yes, Harry
I'll meet you ct the Cortland street ferry
4 q qus ter OF two"
Mr.. B,riamin HoTlaad, senior partner
in the firm Of Rowland & BaD, Locked mp
at that moment and exclaimed with coz
siderable show Of alarm;
"Why, my dear Arnold, what hsye you
heard through the telephone? You're the
co'o- of ashes" g.,
Mr.. Ball spessily regsiGed his Wonted
hue. and saia with III concealed embarra5s-
meDt.
Nothing, nothing I merely felt 1t
tie faint. l think that luncheon was too
much for me. If you're TO be here until 4
o'clock I'll go cut now and take run
through the park"
IA he said this he rapidly changed his
cfice ticket 70: street dIes', ciughl up his
umbrella aad put on his hat Mr.. How
laud beheli this api1 transformation with
soue surprise. and said: Cant You stop
foc Elizabeth and take her along?'
Il suppose 1 might" said Ball with al
odd lcOk, which Mr.. HOwlend misinter-
p.eted, somewhat 10 the younger mans re-
lief.
"O2l oh! I ses, - said the old gentleman.
Il hoped your little quarrel had been
patched up by this time. Did you know,
By the way, that Henry JOhnat0ne had re-
tlrned fiom EuIope?'
THE devil he has, =" answered Ball with
a look of surprise aud enlightenment thai
sent Mr.. HOWland's eyebrows toward
the ceiling. Without word to
allay his partners establishment, Mr..
Bali looked at his watch, discovered with
s'gcs Of pertuberstiOn that it lacked only
% minutes Of ,, and started with quick
strides for the door, when Mr. Rowland
called after him, "O6, Arnold; come to
think of it, you'll only lose time calling
on Elizabeth, shes to g over this after
noou to lcOk sitter her Aunt Ellen WHO'S
scmeg hat under the weather"
Mt. Ball paused with his hand on the
doorkuob and stared at Mr.. Rowland as if
that geutiemon had announced soms piece
of peculiarly startling intelligence. The
vOurgar man looked for a second as il he
we're about t. answer in much the same
words he had employed on hesyiug OF Mr..
Johnstone's arrival, and then suddenly
opening the door he dashed eff without a
VOID. Mr.. Rowland stared after him snd
ssid, Nov what 10 heavens name Is the
matter with that fellow"
The case with Mr.. Ball stood thus: He
was engaged to marry Elizabeth How
land. aged 81, daughter Of his partner He
had heard delivered in her voice . pTomis e
to meet Harry" at the Cortland street sta
on. and moment later he had learned
that Henry Johnstone, four years earlier q
toJish lover of the girls, had j0st returned
from abroad. He might have believed
that his ears had deceived him in the mat
ter of the voice; he might have accepted
JohGstone's arrival ss q coincidence, but
the information that Elizabeth was going
out of town that very afternoon confirmed
his felrs. In so far cs Mr.. Ball had given
out the impression that be was going to the
park he had told an untruth-for he was
Fastening as fast as his legs could carry
him to the CORTLAND street ferry. All
things that impeded travel in the streets
OF New York seemingly conspired to de-
lay him, and when he reached the ferry it
was already Eve minutes past the time Of
appointment. As he entered
the ferry house people were hurrying to
the boat. Hastily mutterirg 10 bimself,
''her Aunt Ellen Austin, Of course" he
bought a ticket for Philadelphia and
rushed after the crowd. The gang plank
was hauled in when he was still twenty
yards from the edge of the ship, bat
net before he had caught sight
of Henry tombstone standing on
the deck Of the ferry boat in company with
a Young woman. Was it Elizabeth? No,
it was Johustone's sister, TO whom Ball
had never been introduced and whom he
barely knew by sight. Ball whistled in
vain to the men at the gang plank. There
was a churniDg of white foam in the slip
a loud sp'ashing Of troubled waters and
the crab-hke ferryboat moved slowly to-
ward the New jersey shore Just as this
was conveyed to Bali g senses a roagh hand
seized his arm and voice hoarse with salt
air c,ied close in his ear: Young fete7,
if You go to do that you'll Il get slapped into
bits By the paddle wheel. The last man
wot tried to Jump aboard moving ferry
boat was an ugy corpse"
Ball, realizing that he had been saved
from piJcs Of madness, thanked his
rough admonisheE and SUNK back to
await the next boat. lie felt sure that
Eizabsth was with tombstone and his
sister.
While he waited an idea seized him, and
setting upOa IL, he took his place in line
and presently found himself face to face
with the man from whom he bought his
ticket on entering the ferry house. Bell,
with an impatient fat man fumirg IN the
rear, leaned his head toward the ticket
seller AID said in q low tone: ibid gen.
tlemsu buy three tickets to Philadelphia
about ten minutes sgo?n
Toe agent, with sharp, suspicious
g'ance, seemed about to refuse informa-
ton, bat apparently recognizing Ball as
his customer Of few minutee before, ami
supposiDg him a belated member of come
party going to Philadelphia, answered:
''No, II; chsp in dude top coat bought
two Phillies and one Baltic" Then TO the
now enraged fat nan, yes, sir; excursion
ticket good for five days, 81,
Ball passed into the waiting-room, still
convinced Of Elizabeth's presence on the
ferryboa., blt wondering at the ticket for
Baltimore
s.Vop'1l hova IN hurrv - sold the rata