The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-09-26

| ayes, and she went out to the front
! of the store to see those japanese
flowers"
| WAS it before then that we met the
| man with the balloons, and she
wanted one?'
"Oh, dear, I don't know" said Dora
almost crying. We must so bach
and look for her.
Then 4 happy thought occurred tc
Lillian.
Perhaps she went back to Lawson's
to look in the window again. Don't
you remember how she wanted US tc
go back for one more look?'
So the girls fastened to Lawson's
finding the usual crowd before the
window, but no sign Of Betty. Then
they went straight to policeman
and told the whole story, and then
there was telcgraphing to the centra:
station, and the policemen were noti
fed 10 he on the lookout for little
girl, five years old, yellow hair, blue
dress and little black silk bag in heI
| II was "
start for her mother. But Lillian ard
the policeman advised her to wait o
little longer, and the policeman, sure
that the little one could not have
strayed far, began a systematic walk
up one street and down the next, the
girls following and looking into all the
stores.
"Somehow. I cannot help thinking
all the time Of Lawson's," said Dora,
finally. Lets go back there once
more, and then, if we do not see her.
| | will 60 straight to mother, though
know l shall die if have to tell he1
Betty is lost-poor, little frightened
thing, as know she is this minute!'
So to Lawsons they went again,
and mingled with the crowd in front
| of the window, but no Betty was
there. They were too disconsolate to
look inside. and the crowd, which
seemed bigger and more amused than
| ever, hustled them along. They had
almost passed, when suddenly there
| was a little stir, and sharp rap on
| the glass made them turn their beWil'
dercd eyes, and there, with doll in
each arm, the rocking chair from
which she had risen still swaying
back and forth, with shining eyes,
brimming over with fun and excite-
ment, her yellow hair tossed back and
her cheeks aglow with delight, was
Betty, not frightened, not troubled,
but supremely, radiantly happy.
Dora and Lillian stood motionless
| with amazement, and If Lillian at
least felt that she would like to shake
the unrepentant cause Of all their sufs
| fering perhaps she is hardly to be
blamed. But in Dora's mind the JOY
of beholding again her little sister,
alive and uninjured, banfshed every
thing else. An attendant who was
watching from the inside then beck
oned the girls in, and they heard the
whole story. Betty had walked in all
alone, and going up to. a clerk an
nounced unhesitatingly her desire "to
be an advertisement" He was sur
prised to see so small child alone,
and asked her if she were lost.
"Yes, 1 suppose I'm lost, but they'll
find me pretty quick, and want to be
an advertisement while they are hunt
ing" The clerk laughed, and called
to o gentleman who was just passing
| in the aisle of the store.
, "Mr. Harris, here's an applicant for
the position Of window girl, and I
think she'll make a good one"
When Betty had repeated her story
and told her name, the gentleman had
her take off her jacket and hat, and
lifted her carefully to the big win
dow seat. '... r.t. g..
They'll find her quicker there than
anywhere else" he said. Resides, 1t
will please her, and her mother is one
Of our best customers. 1t isn't bad
advertisement, indeed, to have the
daughter of Hon. Hamilton Warren
as one of our employees" And he
laughed as if he enjoyed the joke.
The girls must have passed the first
time before the preliminaries were
settled.
Il hope you'll like it," said the child
who yielded her undesirable place to
Betty. To Betty it was anything but
undesirable, however. She felt that
her time was short, and simply set to
play with all the 'single-mindcdness
and apparently all the Inconsistencies
with which she would have played in
her own roon at home.
"Well, l knew she was never shy
in her life~ gasped poor Dora, divided
between joy at the recovery and shame
for Betty's shortcomings. "But 1
never dreamed of her doing a thing
like that! How could you run away
from us, Betty?" she said, reprovingly,
as the child's jacket and hat were
being restored. I'VE were dreadfully
frightened"
Didn't run away" was the coaXirg
answer. Didn't run away at all. l
took hold Of lady's dress, and l
thought it was you, and was turning
my head to look at the balloons. And
when I looked around it wasn't you,
and the lady looked cross at me, and
this was just next door. And l
couldn't see you, and l had to come
in"
Just as they were leaving the store.
accompanied to the door by several
admiring clerks, the gentleman who