The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-11-05

| threw all the papers he could collect that
were not too much rumpled, and even
purchased the comic papers for her, at
the Fitty-eighth street station. To a
large and choicely selected package of
these he attached q note, with much fear
and trepidatioa, which read:
"Would you do the writer the pleasure
of taking you to the Eden Musee this
EVENING" If so, will be pleased to wait
for you at foot of Twenty third street
station, south side, this evening, half
past seven. ANDY CLAF1N."
He tossed this in through the window
on his 10:30 trip up, and was disap-
pointed at not finding her at the window
on his return downtown, but on his way
up he saw her there, and as he passed
she threw package back to him, and
he caught it gladly and with numerous
mods and smiles. He had not played
first base on the Harlem Tarriers base
ball nine for nothing.
He tore open the paper covering
anxlously, and found to his dismay that
the package consisted of the periodicals
for which he had paid $1.15, and that
his note was returned with the words
sNo, thank you," written across it in
pencil. Andy hurled the comic papers
down on the head of an unfortunate and
unoffending old lady on the street below,
and banged the gate on another old lady's
skirts because she did not get out quickly
enough.
After that rebuff there were no moro
papers tossed in, and Andy turned his
back when he passed the window. He
found this harder for him than for her
after week of it, and continued to look
in at her window; but with such deep
and dreadful scowl that even had the
young girl wished to smile she would
have been scared out of it.
Then Andy found his romance was
causing him great unhappiness. He
took no pleasure in shouting airy per-
siAages at the ticket choppers or in
smiling at the blonde German girl or
the Jewess, and he became so gentle
and civil that the passengers decided
that he must be i'll, and imposed upon
his good nature in consequence. He
thought she did not look very happy
herself, and her profile, which was all hc
ever saw of her now, grew somewhat
pinched and sharp. He wondered if she
was pining away for him, or whether
she had another "feller" who was not
treating her well. He felt inclined to
punch this other feller's head. And then
one day, just as the car drew out of
Fourteenth street station, he saw man
running to the fire alarm box, and look
ing up the street saw smoke coming out
of a third story in the middle of the
block, her block! And as the train
drew ON he saw that it was from her
house that the fire came. She was at
the window as he passed, with dark
background of black smoke sweeping
up behind and around her. She had one
kree on the sill and both hands against
the sides of the window. She was white
with fear, and trembling, and she could
hear the people below shouting to her
not to jump.
"Ho!d on, he calleAto her "don't
let go for Godssake, wait '
When the train slowed up at Eight
eerth street he was out of it and down
stairs like madman and through the
crowd about the blazing shop-tront as
though they had been so many stalks of
corn.
He went bliudly up the stairs through
the smoke and across the floor that
cracked and bent under his weight. He
could see her dimly through the curtain
of smoke that blinded and choked him,
but he reached her just in TIM, so they
told him aftcrward, as she fell back
fainting. He put one arm around her
and felt his way back to the door with
the otael, and stumbled down the stairs.
At the bottom the flames rose up in
front of him suddenly and cut of the
way, but he jumped from the fifth or sixth
step out and over them and fell into the
aims OF two brawny fremen, one of whom
picked up the girl as though she had
been baby, while the other threw Andy
over his shoulder with quick twist and,
holding him by the left wrist and the
right leg, ran STOPPING with him through
the hall to the pavement.
The newspapers made a great deal of
the rescue the next day and Andy was
forgiven for deserting his train, as the
results seemed to justify so fragrant
breach Of discipline. Since then there
have been among the visitors to the Eden
Musee young man of prepossessing ap-
pearance, carrying one arm in a sling,
who was accompanied by a remarkably
pretty girl hanging on the other one.
And one has or to look at them to see
that they are engaged.-Nea' York Ecen-
iag Sun.
The Perfection of Politeness.