Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-15
MYRA'S ADVENTURES.

sisters. The eldest Miss Lipsett went to
the depot with her in the cab, and on the
way began a course of advice to unpro-
tected females that lasted until the depot
was reached. The main point of the advice
was to speak to nobody. OF all things cal
culated to bring an unprotected young,
single female traveller to grief, speaking to
an unknown person was the most danger.
Gus.
Remember" cried Miss Lipsett from
the station platform, and she put her fin
ger to her lips. Away went the cars, and
Myra sat wrapped in her veil and saw the
familiar land scape vanish, and thought
how the girls would miss her and how she
would miss them, until by slow degrees
future hopes replaced past memories.
And / am on my way to be married."
she said to herself; what a queer girl |
am to have forgotten all about it,"
1t was odd, but then Myra's engagement
was an odd one.
She had been brought up by her grand
mother, sentimental lady of the old
school, who was very fond of her How
ever, her gran1father-who was afflicted
with the govt and a bad temper-made his
house no home for a child, and the girl
was soon sent to school. She spent the
summer vacations at home, however, and
the next place and whose mother had been
her grandmot hers schoolmate, though
Mrs Ferris had married at sixteen and
Mrs Cooper at forty. Ben was the only
child of the more mature couple, the idol
of their hearts.
At first he was, of course, a big boy, al
ways ready to amuse the pretty little girl
next door, but 10y the time Myra was six
| teen, he was young man, a very pretty
fellow, with blue eyes, curly hair and a
dimple in his chin. And he fell in love
with Myra and Jold his mother so, and his
mother told Myra's grandmother, and
Myra's grandmother asked Myra to confide
in her, and the girl said, with bushes,
that she did like Ben"
Then the elderly ladies resolved to make
| the young people happy, and they were en-
| gagged to each other, and Ben set to work
| to make his fortune and Myra went back
| to school
In the course Of making his fortune Ben
was obliged to 60 to California, and there
| he had now remained five years, and Myra
/ had been kept at school perfecting herself
in many accomplishments until she was
one-and-twenty. And now the poor old
| grandfather, no longer driven mad by his
aches and pains, lay at rest in his grave,
and when Myra reached home the wedding
| day would be set, and Ben would go into
business for himself near his old home
They had wri ten constantly; she had
always thought Of him fondly. He wrote
that he would be the happiest man alive
when once he hel her hand in his again
Il shall be very happy, know" Myra
said to herself, and l suppose all the talk
in plays and novels must be exaggerated,
that in real life people never go wild about
each other, but just feel nicely, as do to
! Ben"
She had come 20 this conclusion, when
the word junction" reached her ears. She
was to change a Croydon junction, and
springing to her feet she ran to the door
| and was helped to the platform by an ener-
| getic brakeman. A moment after she rec
ognized the fact that she had made mis-
take. This was not the place at which she
should have aligned. She must return to
| her car. But sometimes at the functions
cars do very erratic things.
While Myra had been gazing about her
and realizing the fact that at Croydon
! junction there was a grocery and not a
| hotel at the corner of the one long street,
that the station was on the other side, and
that the church there visible had a steeple,
whereas the one in sight had tower her
car had glided away and another taken its
place. 1t was New York train from
which people had alighted to take lunch
con, and as it few upon it's way without
making pause, Myra soon began to feel
uneasy. She wanted to ask questions, but
the awful warning to be silent prevented
her from speaking to her neighbors. In
vain she called to the conductor as he went
! by; he would not stop.
"Can be of any service?" asked a mas
culine voice at her elbow. But Myra only
shook her head, and at last, with the word
'ticketsp' the conductor really paused be-
side her seat.
81 gave you my ticket" she said. It
have to buy another at the junction Pm
going to Chicago.
The conductor stared at her in silence,
then shook his head
"This is the New York express" he said
"How did you come here?"
Myra explained.
"Well," he said, all that you can do
now is to go on and take the Chicago ex-
press from New York. This trip won't cost
you much. Well be in the city within two
hours" He wrote something on a ticket
and handed it to her
Myra put her hand in her pocket. Her
purse was gone.
"Oh," surely ! must have dropped it
here" she cried. She searched about; so
| dld her nelghpors; 30 dlo the conductor.
Finally the conductor walked away.
Big tears began t. pour down Myra's
cheeks She was terrified beyond express
sion.
81 beg your pardon, said the gentleman
beside her, "but see how terribly alarmed
you are. There is no reason. l will see that
everything is right. You shall get safely to
Chicago, give you my word for that; I'll
take care of you"
For n moment Myra reflected; then she
turned and looked at the gentleman. He
was handsome, brown bearded young
man, with nice eyes, broad shoulders and
that protecting air that women love. De-
spite all the warnings that had been given
her, she could not feel afraid of him. Be
sides, what could she do, penniless and
alone, on her way to great city where she
had never been beforef
you are so kind, sir" she said Il feel