The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-07-27

therefore looked at the hand more at
tentively now that he held it within
his own, and, suse enoagh, he found
the large joint of the third finger and
the curved end of the fourth.
"And you think this hand proves
blue blood, Mrs. MARTINI
II do said the matron positively.
| "Then we will make her blueblooded
father provide for her." replied Mr..
Mitchell.
"That's the talk, sir, and luck go
with you" said Mrs. Martin, her first
opinion of Mr.. Mitchell much altered
in that gentleman's favor.
"Take care Of the little lady till her
father calls for her," added Mr..
Mitchell
THAT will, sir, and heaven bless
you for good manv'
! Leaving the building, Mr.. Mitchell
crossed over to Third avenue and
boarded an elevated train, going down
town as far as the Chatham square
station, where he descended to the
street. One minutes walk brought
him to the quaint old burial ground
rising ten feet above the street level
and guarded by brick wall, sur
! mounted by an iron fence with spear
! topped pickets. AS Mr.. Mitchell stood
peering into the place an elevated train
went by with a rumbling noise, re-
minding him that he was in one of the
city's most public thoroughfares. Yet
this little graveyard, passed by thou
,, sands daily speeding down to their
place Of business and surrounded by
tenements crowded to suffocation, had
been chosen as fitting spot in which
to abandon child, and only one Of
the many human beings thereabout
had found time to interfere in behalf
of the stray waif What an astonish-
ing commentary upon civilization that
such things could be!
/ Mr.. Mitchell passed on to the next
corner and, turning soon found him
self in front of the number given to
him as the address of Gertrude Crit
fin. He paused a moment, consider
ing what would be the best way to
find the woman, and then accosted q
young hoodlum of 10 who came out Of
the house.
"Do you know whether Gertrude
Griffin is at homer" he asked.
NAV! How sh'd I know? I amt
her keeper
"But she lives here, does she not?'
maybe she do, and maybe she don't
amt runnin this lodgin house, so
amt 'quainted with the hull gang what
sleeps here"
do you suppose I could go up
| stairs?"
"Sure! There amt nobody holdin
you, is there?'
With laugh the incorrigible young
ster ran off down the street, leaving
his questioner as wise as before they
had met. A number of small children,
with pinched faces and inquiring eyes,
had gathered about the we'll dressed
man, who was something of curiosity
in the neighborhood and stood gazing
at him expectantly. Believing that he
might succeed better with one of the
girls, Mr.. Mitchell accosted bright
looking child about 8 and asked her if
she knew where Gertrude Griffin lived,
but the little one shook her head mega
lively and shyly retreated behind her
companions. Patting her caressingly
on the head, he went into the house.
The hallway was so narrow that,
leaving the sunlight without, he found
at first that he could see nothing at all,
the darkness by contrast being so
| great. In few moments his eyes be-
came accustomed to the gloom, and he
made out that there was narrow pas
sageway, on either side of which he
could see three DOORS but at the oppo-
site end nothing but inky blackness.
Was it possible that human beings
lived in such structures as this? A
loud scuff1e, scream and the angry
voices of a man and woman in drunken
brawl, coming from the mysterious
realms somewhere over his head, an
swered his mental query
He knocked at the door nearest to
him. and after long wait it was open
ed few inches, and black bearded
head with two shining eyes looked out
at him.
wat do you vant?" was the greeting
in foreign accent.
Does Gertrude Griffin live in this
building?" asked Mr.. Mitchell.
How in de world should l know"
was the answer, accompanied by
noisy bang of the door as the head dis
appeared, shutting out the whirring
sound of sewing machines which had
given evidence of life within.
The man evidently thought it pre-
posterous proposition that he should
know the names of the other occu-
pants of the building in which he had
his habitation, and indeed this is true
in much more fashionable quarters of
the great metropolis, for up town,
where the enormous tenement houses
have the higher sounding title of "ho-
ter or apartment house," the inmates
know as little of each other as they do
in the Sums
Thus it began to be apparent to Mr..
Mitchell that the street and number
were an inadequate address in this
neighborhood, but he was determined
to find the woman, so he went to the
next door, where he received no re-