The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-18
lNor FIRST PubHshedl
A NOTE.
BY GEORGE r. SIMS.
lcoppighsed, 1892, By TIE AutAor.I

places OF amusement. were waiting pa
tiently for the heav1ly-laden buses that
drew mp one after another.
As each bus drew up to the curb the lit
Gle crowd pressed forward. and there was
the usual wild struggle for places. In which
men and women alike forgot the first prin-
oiples of politeness. and remembered only
that il was late ut night, and home was O
long way of.
On the pavement, laughing. singing and
hnstling each other. were q number of
loungers male and female. who bore upon
their faces the brand of their mlsfortunes:
of men, old and young. who sauntered
leisurely. cigar in mouth. MP and down.
surveying the scene.
A tall military looking man of about
forty, whose Inverness cape. worn wide
open, revealed his evening dress, stood at
the corner smoking q cigarette.
A pale-faced girl. neatly dressed in black,
after passing him twice. came back and
stood beside him. he looked at her, almost
contemptuously, and, turning on his heel.
walked in the opposite direction. She fol-
lowed him, and. coming mp By his side,
said:
IL want to get homeland I haven't q
copper. Won'tyou give me my bus fareT'
The man laughed.
II am not pretending, SIT. 1.-THE girl replied.
"Pve a sick child at home. and l haven't q
shilling IN the world. If you'll give me
the money or my bus, you can see me get
into it.n
The man shrugged his shoulders. and
handed her what he believed to be six
pence.
The girl took the coin. thanked him. and
turned away. A minute afterwards she
was by bis side again.
81 bQU Uonr parfon IN hrf uon1uo Civap
me half q sovereign" she said. holding the
coin up that be might see it..
Now, John Alister was q man about town
in the worst sense of the word. He was an
hsbitue of the. West-end t~horoughfares.
where the night side of life" Is TO be seen.
You're q queer SORT" he exclaimed.
staring hard at the girl: Whats the
camel Dc you think i shall take the half
sovereign back and give you a sovereign
for yonr honestly Have you tried the
dodge before and found it answerp
NO. SIR replied the girl Indignantly.
IL told the truth. / wanted enough to pay
my bus fare. You meant to give me a
sIxpence and you made q mistake. Here's
your half sovereign; I'll walk home"
Alister shook his head.
No. my girl" he said. '.you'd better keep
It 1t will do you more good thap il will
me. Pm sorry if I've offended you, and l
beg your pardon. shake hands"
He put ont his hand and the girl took it.
He held IL q moment to get q good look at
her. They were standing in the light Of q
street lamp. John Alister saw that the
girl was young and had been pretty, and
the tears were in her eyes.
Come. come. little one." be said, kindly.
81 see I've made q mistake. but you needn't
take IL TO heart. When a girl asks o man
for money in such q place rs this
You're right" replied the girl, inter-
rupting him; "Pve never done il before.
You looked u gentleman, and / was 50 tired
and SO faint / didn't feel strong enough to
walk home. and / wanted 10 get back TO
well. you shane 90 away and think Pm
ablackguard. don't mean to insult you
again. and i believe every word you say.
pm sure you're in great trouble, and l
this for the little onesi'
He took q five pound note from his pocket
and pressed IL into the girls hand.
The girl hesitated q moment. Then she
closed her hand upon the gift.
II will take 10" she said. 'for God knows,
Iwant 1t Ali SIR. you don't know what
You have saved me from; but / can only
take IL upon one condition
THAT you give me an address to which l
can return it."
John AlIster lau ghed-
IF It will make the gift more acceptable
own terms. You can return it 30 John Ais
ter. the Talbot Club. P~iccadilly."
tn girl repeated the words slowly, to i'm
press them IN her memory.
lnh JOas 1IAs AAAotCAouQ kOOu ulRut.
She shook hands with him and In a mo-
ment was gone.
"Thi is q queer gow exclaimed Alister.
looking after her. Il wonder what her
the old one-s little work-girl who's come
TO grief. and wants Co keep straight If sne
can. suppose l shall never see my flyer
again."
Mr.. John Alister was what is popularity
known as q good fellow. He had inheri-
ted q considerable sum of money from
bis father ut the age of five and twenty,
and he had had his fling with iG. At the
age of thirty-tive. he was q little tired of
the game. and he sat down to look the
future in the face. he saw that if he went
on at the rate be had been going he would
dropped some OF his ex pensive habits. rock
oned mp his available capital, found that
Dy investing it he would be sure to secure
f5O0 q year. and this be presently did.
Then he looked about him for q means of
employing his leisure and keeping himself
out of mischief. He found q secretary ship
which was worth another f6O0. and the du-
ties of which were not too onerous.
On a thousand q year he could live CON-
fortsbly in a set of modest chambers, and
having no desire to marry. he was able TO
live q pleasant. enjoyable life.
Enjoying himself in this way. 1t was not
likely that his adventure in PIccadilly
would make any great impression upon
him.. In u few nights he had forgotten II
hltOReIner, ana III was, therefore, with con-
siderable establishment that, about q month
afterward, opening q letter, one eveninr
winch had been sent to the club for him
he found in nc q brand new five-pound
note.
For q moment he thought 1t must be from
some friend who owed him q flyer for q
bet which be had forgotten, or something
of that kind; bnt when he had read the
curious adventure In Piccadilly came bach
TO him at once
This was the letter: "Sir-I send yor
back the money YOU SO kinkly lent me on.
night In PiecadIlly. / shall always b,
grateful for your kindness. Yours sin
cerely, Lillian Wilson,
We'll. Pm hangedw exclaimed Johr
Alister. as he looked at the note. This /,
honesty with q vengeance. / never EXPECT
ed 10 see that again. Poor little girl, | hon,
she has not put herself TO any trouble Z,
pay this again. She was welcome TO it.
de turned 10 the letter again. TO see If Their,
was any address on 10. There was nothins
but London" lie was evident that Lila
Wilson did not desire an acknowledgment
John Alister pur the five-pound note in
his waistcoat pocket. and the lerte- in IN,
breast pocket. n strolling into the smok
1ng-ro0m. sat down and picked up an even
ing paper and began TO read.
Presently his eye Was attracted bv
sensational headline A terrible outrar,
had been committed in q railway train
An old gentleman had been murderousl,
assaulted and left for dead in n frst-cIas
compartment of the London. Brighton 4
south Coast railway late on the ~previou
evening