Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-02-20
TIE PANCAKE MAKER.

AZ
window on Broadway and pour batter
upon the griddle. Thousands of persons
stopped before the window every day, and
watched Mary as she dcftly creased the
griddle or with turn Of her hand Topped
the pancakes over TO be Drowned on the
other side Mary had been selected foi
the Job because she was pretty. Her
selection proved to be profitable invest
ment for her employer. Those persons
who were insensible TO the charms of pan
cakes were not insensiblo TO the attrac.
tions of beauty, and so many came in 10
eat the cakes and 20 wish that Mary was
waitress as well as cook.
One day, when the bubbles were rising
from the freshly poured batter, and Mary
stood waiting with her spatula in her
hand, n young man stopped before the
window. His dark eyes took In the
smoking griddle, the rounded arm above
IL, and tho white brow which was wrinkled
in the effort to determine when the cakes
were properly done brown. She looked up
and TIER eyes met. Then he passed on.
VIVA. dark eyes he had thought Mary.
What q nice looking girl that was thought
he. And all day long Mary looked up
from ,hc Pancakes, half expecting to see
those eyes looking into hers. Even the
bubbles in the pancakes seemed to take
on the expression of his eyes and TO look
at Ecr from the griddle with stare OF
admiration. AS for the young man--who
was u clerk In dry goods store-a
rounded arm seemed to beckon him to
come In ana cat pancakes and become
saturated with maple sugar. =,
Eyely morning lie stopped at the win1
dow Ct the restaurant and was greeted
with Il glance from pair of bright eyes|
and an evidently studied desire TO bel
graceful in turning the cakes. After al
week hal passed he left his boarding|
house earlier than usual one morning and
stopped at the restaurant TO get his break
fast. Mary saw him como In. She did
not turn her head nor give any sign Of
recognition, bat she listened with bent
heal and attentive ear for his order. It.
camc like sis:
Some pancakes, pleaser'
How carefully she poured out that batch
upon the griddle! With what an anxious
eye she watched the edges harden and the
center of The cakes become perforated
with holes Ike hose in spongel And
when the cakes were done to a most de-
hghiiul brown oa one side, she held each
one mp oa her spAula and creased the
gridalc anew before putting the cakes on
again, 50 that they should not stick to the
griddlc
In her ca-crnCss To bake the cakes TO q
turn she burned one of them, and so In
disgust She threw the whole batch away
and began once again Meanwhile she
stole . furi,ve glance at the young man,
who was drumming on his plato with his
knife and watching admirngly the curve
of Mary's graceful neck and the dainty
coil of hair on the back OF her head, and
which Jack wished was against his shoul
der. AT last the pancakes were done to
the fair cooks liking and were placed be
fore jack. lie said to himself, as he cut
u section of the full moon of buckwheat:
"Well, never ate pancakes like those
before. They're so light and flaky, and
the sirup is real true maple sugar, and
not made of watered molassesn
Jack didn't add that the cook was
charming, but he thought It all the same.
The next batch of cakes which Mary
cooked was not rs well done as the one
Jack was eating. It was perfectly nat
ural that they should not be, for was not
Mary anxious to see how he enjoyed them,
and did not she make an excuse TO leave her
post and 20 to the other end Of the restau-
rant 10 get new piece Of pork TO grease
the gridtllc, so that she might steal a
glance at him as she went by? And when
Jack had eaten his cakes and had fingered
twice rs long rs usual over his coffee so
that he could feast his eyes as well as his
palate, he arose to go and their eyes met
for just one tleeting glance. Jack flushed
and said 10 himself that it was caused by
the coffee. Mary's face was tinged with
crimson, but ofcoursc it was due to the
heat OF the griddle. And so the days
came and went Each was attracted to
the other by the loadstone Of love. Each
one fearful to make overtures to the other
for fear that the illusion would be dis
PEELED. But the mysterious alchemist was
busy mixing the sweet potion which each
of these young hearts drank. The potion
I'm Mary's heart conjured up visions Of
what glorious man Jack must be rs she
lay awake at night in the dark with her
eyes wide open. Then she closed her eyes
tight, and thought of him as mailed
knight clanking into the restaurant to re-
fresh himself with n plate of pancakes
and cup of coffee ere he started out In
search Of his hearts desire. "But I'm
afraid he don't care for me-" thought
Mary, opening her eyes again in fear. ~
saw him smile at Miss Bellows today"
And SO between her hopes and her fears
Mary fell asleep and dreamed Of pancakes
and her favorite customer, and only
awoke when the sun was shining in the
window, and she hurried down TO the res
taurant so that she might see her knight
as soon rs possible and catch q glance
from his dark eyes.
In the meantime Jack had not been
idle. He had cultivated the acquaintance
Of the proprietor of the restaurant. BY
5 al questioning he had learned that
= was one of the many girls who had
Zen rescued by the Five Points mission
when she was nero child. Mary's
mother had died In tenement In Baxter
street from consumption, brought on BY
the neglect and unkindness of her hus-
band. Since her death the husband had
gone on from bad TO worse, only saved
from killing himself by his excesses by
being sent TO Blackwell's Island ut various
intervals for at least eight months in each
year. During one OF his sprees he had
tigned paper which committed his little
daughter to the care Of the mission. And
so Mary had grown up TO be an exemplary
young woman and the pride of her bene-
factors.
Jacks curiosity was awakened to find
out what Kind of n man Mary's father
was, and so he started out one night to
search for him. 1Io spent three nights
after working hours In the search, and
found him at last in miserably squalid
room on the top floor Of tenement house
in Pearl street. lie was far gone on the
road 10 the grave. The ueighbors did