Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-30
ler. Icven lsaraed his name. 1t was Byron


1T seems that he had found her an orphan,
| with light purse and no one to look out for
her. SO he had helped her TO get work on
morning paper. and she had got to thinking
so much of him that il broke her all up
! when she found that he was getting very reck-
less to whisky. She tried to reform him. but
be did not reform so easily. Then they had a
quarrel. and she broke the engagement and
left New York.
Then he didn't exactly throw off on her, "
ventu.ed Bunzie. Bu; be went no further
when be saw our dark frowns.
| well. to tell the truth. don't know exactly
how II wa.. continued johnson; but at any
rate, she on he Shield staff. and there was
| great big anchor back in New York For |
saw readily enough that the man who had won
| her hear: still had it In his keeping"
''All OF which is very much mixed, as John
| sons stories generally are"
| That shot from Gordon.
"Not SO much mixed az your account Of the
| De Puey-Slmpson runaway match" fired back
johnson. when you married the girl to the
| wrong man."
Let him go on" cried, shyins q clod at
Gordon.
| ''She repented and wrote to him. Two or
three letters came to her in return, vowing
that the cause of their trouble had been re-
moved-he had sworn never to look upon the
| fiery fluid again, and was coming out before
| long TO marry her and take her back to New
| York.
Il
] porter didn't make any great Roadway with her
| bank account. As have said. there wasn't
/ much for girl to do on the staff Just then.
| and. as You know, you can't depend on SUNDAY
sup stuff for living. But she got along. Her
| friends OF the local room would have helped her
through anything if she'd have let them, but
she was nightly independent.
Il didn't think to tell you about Johnny
Maddern. lie was the hardest smitten of the
| whole staff and would have gone through fire
I for Ear hon, had
! ment he would cut short his own work to 60 to
| "a hall or elsewhere and see her safely to the
Office, and somehow he generally managed 10
see her home, too. after she had handed III her
| report. Well. Johnny WAS good boy and so
| bhnd.y in love that he couldn't see the Law of
the land. or. rather, of her heart, and didn't
| feel like spelling his dream by telling him OF
the Palethorpe fellow back i'll New York
| lone night when the wind was bowling Ike
| mad and 1t was raining copy files and blue
| pencils ] me. the girl on Market street she
was all bundled up in her rubber gussamer,
| and her white face showed through the dark
ness like wraith's, and am sure that all the
specks of water on her cheeks were not RAIN
| drops. II took me aback for time-that
white face-and don't know whether or not
| nodded as l passed. l am sure she did not see
me, for she gave no sign of recognition. When
| had walked half block further turned
| about and ran back to her.
| What's the trouble nowY / asked, as l
walked by her side putting as little as possible
| of my usual bearish tone int the query. She
said nothing for while. Something seemed
| to be choking her. i thought she grew winter
| as she said at last, in her low sweet voice. but
with none of its old cheeriness or confidence
| of tone:
| "'You have been kind to me. Mr. johnson.
| but do not know why should further burden
you with my troubles. Still II you feel enough
| interest ID me to know. will tell you. Hes
here
Il think she must have felt me start for she
was lightly clinging to my arm AS We walked
| along the street. That was the trouble with
the whole crew of us-we all thought too much
| of that girl. Not too much. either, for devil
| take me if she wasn't worthy of all our adora-
/ ton aud good deal more.
"'You mean Palethorpe? 1 put in. Has he
been to you?'
| much intoxicated. did not dare to make N.Y.
| self known to him while he was in such a state
! And yet would like to know where he is now
Perhaps could help him.
Then indignation. strong and deep. laid
| hold upon me. Why, in the name of all her
| worshipers, couldn't she leave that fool Pale
| thorpe to work his own rum? felt very much
| like hurting out the question But then she
was so deadly III earnest | know she would
have asked me to 60 and hunt him up if she
dared, but was not equal to that Silence
! iay between us all the way to her door, but
thought she seemed more at ease when sne
said her good night and knew in my heart
| that IL my rough, laundering way had helped
| her. Sympathy goes a long way in such cases,
| you know, though my sympathy wouldn't carry
me SO far as to place her III Palethorpe's arms,
oven if he had been as sober as a mule in q
treadmil.
Next day the girl reporter was among US as
usual, but she was no longer one of the boys.
As viewed her she looked to be more OF
woman than before, and-yes, the gang OF US
4 ~. -. IL. II 4
dern aided fame to the fire BY proposing to
| her. Though she let him down as easily as
she could, know that this was another pain
for her sepltive heart. From that timcshs
| seemed to hold aloof from u Perhaps she
ealized the fact that such a one as she might
MISUNDERSTANDING lot Of men in the way
that Johnny was suffering; butthere may have
been another thought in her mind-that she
I should keep IN the darkness with her
trouble, and struggle there with herself alone.
| In those days l am sure she passed very
closely to the fires that try the souls of women.
| and OF which great brute Of man can know
| nothing. Still he did not come to her, and
| sent no word, though she knew that no was
| still In the city. 1t was mighty rough on her
to sit at her desk. grind out her copy and keep
herself within herself, and yet 50 far as her
real trouble vent. she gave no sign The boys
| thought she was waiting for the Maddern affair
| to cool down and then she would come back
and be the merry girl she had been before.
But i. who knew that it was deeper than that.
| was only praying that Palethrope would bark
back to where he belonged, for then she might
| feel some peace OF mind.
"Weu, winter came on in earnest and the
weather reports, which are very wet affairs at
that time of the year, showed more inches of
rain than we had had for many q season. There
| was an ALFRED lot of work to do and it kept
| US hyin. about like many ants around an
| overturned stone. One night when the Office
| was bare of men, there came in telephone
/ message that there had been q suicide out at
North Beach. Then the night editor wanted
some one rushed out to hunt up something
about St Louis scandal with local side to
it And, to cap it all, in came q report Of q
| shooting affair on Stockton street.
| 1T made Fenslow tear his hair when he saw
| there was no one to send out He rang up the
| Press Club, but there wasn't Shield reporter
| there. Then he sent out to a meeting that
Madden was covering, with an order to hustle
| into the office at once, for il was IL o'clock,
\ and there was no time to lose. But Madden
had heard Of another meeting, nobody knew
| where. and had gone of to get that. Fifteen
| minutes past, and nobody came. Feuslow was
| getting badly ratified. His assistant would not
be back until midnight, and there was no tell
| ing where to send for him. He telegraphed
for the man on night police, and found that he
had gone after the suicide. But who was there
to cover the shooting? That was the awful
| question of the moment, and il made Fenslow
dance up and down while he struggled with it.
Then IN came the girl reporter
| "Fenslow swore. If she we're only q man,
he growled- That's the deuce Of keeping wo-