Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-04-24

plodded through plowed fields, ana
climbed fences. till at length he came to
a factory of some sort from which sever
al little branch railroad tracks ran TO
the main line near by. Freight cars
were being loaded there; and Drane,
watching his chance, got aboard of one
unobserved. On the top of big box
he stretched his weary limbs and fell
asleep.
The train was in motion when he
awoke. 1t ran on for nearly an hour, he
thought, without stopping Then came
a lot Of humping and switching about.
followed by prolonged pause. Listen
ing, he heard a strange sound like the
splash of waves. He erept 50 the side
of the car and found crevice through
which he peered. To his establishment
he found that he was sailing on broad
river. A great city lay to the right, and
IL did not take him long to discover that
it was New York. Apparently the me-
tropolis was hard place to get away
from.
The float which bore the freight cars
was pushed against pier. Drane stood
up and stretched his cramped limbs.
This isn't exactly vestibuled palace
car he thought, but have at least
come through to New York without
change, as the timetables say and he
thrust his hands into his empty pockets.
Travel by freight-car without hand
bag has its disadvantages, and among
them is the lack of water, soap and a
chance to brush ones hair. Drane looked
out through the. hole in the side of the
car and wondered whether, out of re-
spect to cleanliness. he ought to jump
into the dock. Then he noted the color
of the water and decided that he ought
not. However. he resolved TO give ef
imitation Of good citizen making MS
toilet, so he picked up piece Of broken
glass from the floor Of the car, and prop
ping it against daub of black paint on
a box he combed his hair with his hands,
after which he decided thathe was ready
for breakfast. But the rolls and coffee
didn't come
BY the exercise Of discretion he es-
capped from the car and from the pier,
and stood again in the streets of New
York. Then came more wandering,
more hunger, more perplexity. At
noon he found himself in park which
looked familiar. lie dropped upon
bench and tried to decide whether it
was the one where he had sat with her.
Then he asked himself frankly whether
he would rather see her at that minute
or sirloin steak with fried potatoes
and cup of coffee,
al don't know he muttered, burying
hts face in his hands. ATS hard ques-
ton. must be in love-"
He fixed his eyes on the ground and
wondered why he didn't find half dol
lar there. No doubt there were coins
enough buried in the dust of New York
streets to pay his way to Kansas City.
Why couldn't he find one? He began
TO accuse his guardian angel of serious
neglect of duty. She ought at least to
throw enough in his way to get him a
breakfast. He poked around in the
little heaps of rubbish at the ends Of
the bench with the toes of his delapi-
dated shoes; but his guardian angel APP
parently had no change to spare. He
didn't find penny.
The only article which differed from
the general collection was a piece Of
pasteboard which looked like theater
check. 1t had evidently been dropped
very recently, for it was scarcely soilsd
at all. He remembered, with sudden
start, that restaurants sometimes sold
tickets that were good for meal. With
a hasty hand he snatched the piece of
pasteboard from the ground and read:
This ticket entities the bearer to one
Turkish bath at Hubbard's, No. so West
Twenty-seventh street. An extra
charge for alcohol or electricity"
This is the way that Fate takes advan-
tage of mans position to insult him. 1t
was not Drane's fault that he had not
washed his face. and it was aggravating
to have a hint like this thrown out by
fate to embitter the results Of her own
doings. Drane was on the point Of tear
ing the ticket in rage and disdain when
his better Judgment checked him. A
Turkish bath-house was a nice. quiet
place to rest. 1t offers the greatest Of
Injuries on a hot day. True, a severely
thorough bath is not good thing to take
on an 100 empty STOMACH, Dut st4i4 ne
was sure that it could not make him feel
any more hollow than he did without it.
He arose and began his search for West
Twenty-seventh street. II was not far
away, and in less than half an hour he
stood in front Of No 49, A handsome
building it was; perhaps little TOO or
nate. but eminently suggestive Of lux
ury Drane entered and presented his
ticket at the desk. The attendant
stared at him.
How the dickens did you get this
ticket?" he asked.
Then Drane saw that he would have
to lie. He was determined to get inside
the bath now, and a small matter Of
falsehood should not stand in his way.