The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-10-26
THE EVOLUTION OF AGNES.

/ ne VIII PROBABLY see the nuInor OF IL
Just now it hurts. for Tom is too
much Of a man Of the world"-in his
1 own estimation. at least-to enjoy being
made fool of even by pretty woman.
Young Tom" is good deal of a
swell. He runs TO top hats and Inverness
/ overcOats. One hot night in July he had
been out on the South Side TO a party
and he came home by way Of the Alley
10 He wore silk hat and light
cape coat over his oress clothes.
| On his way across town TO the State
/ street trolley it suddenly occurred TO him
that he would like cup of coffee. At the
same instant he walked past the door
| Of a little basement all-night restaurant
Try our coffee. with cream. for a
nickel. Full meals from 10 cents up
1 Half unconsciously, young Tom step
ped on one of the high stools around
/ the trough" As he did so a young
woman got up from her chair inside the
! breastworks and come forward to to take
! his order Tom" looked ar Ter and
| gasped.
! She was slender, graceful, blue-eyed.
| and pretty. She was dressed all in dark
/ blue, with spotless white cuffs and col
/ lar. Her hair was yellow, and Tom s.
/ practiced eye saw at a glance that il
was the genuine article. She looked SO
/ young, and innocent, and unsophisti-
Gated that Toms first impulse was to
feel sorry for her. 1t seemed too bad that
! she should be working all night in a little
! basement "hash-house." patronized chief
/ " by 'nighthawk' cab drivers and other
| late-fying birds.
/ Next minute Tom was struck by her
| pretty manners and by the modest way in
which she took his order. When she or
| dered the cook to draw one in the
/ dark il sounded TO Tom as if she
was singing. He ordered a second cup
/ Of the vile coffee in order to get her to
repeat it. Then he asked her for the
/ bill, and after a long inspection decided
to try some scrambled eggs as the least
! Objectionable thing he could find on the
/ list.
"shipwreck three" called the pretty
waitress in her soft voice. and Tom
! smiled with mingled pleasure and amaze
! ment.
Thereafter young TON" developed an
| amazing appetite for poor coffee as it
was served at the dirty little "Silver
! Moon" restaurant He even took one or
/ two of the fellows down to see the girl,
| and they all agreed that she was wood
/ land violet strangely transplanted and set
| out to bloom unseen in a city street after
I nightfall.
| Tom" was persistent, and finally he
/ learned that her name Was agnes. Then.
| little by little, he discovered bits of her
| history. She came from a good family in
| the country. Her father had been
/ Judge out in Iowa, and she had originally
come to Chicago to study music. Then
| her father died, and she was left to earn
! her own living She earned S. a week
| and her board at the silver Moon and
that was better than she could get in
shop. She didn't see anything to be
ashamed of in working in a restaurant.
Did he?
OF course, young Tom thought IT was
all extremely heroic and pathetic and
! he became one of the most regular Of
the Silver Moons" patrons.
One evening when he and Agnes had
been talking about her disappointment
| in being obliged to give up her musical
| education it struck young tom" that it
would be rather fine thing to do to take
| Agnes to the opera He asked her, and
she blushed and laughed, and finally con-
scented. Once started. Tom thought he
might as well do things UP properly, so
he sent Agnes a dozen American Beau
ties and drove out in hS fathers car
riage on the appointed night OF course,
he wore his dress clothes and he was
rather worried thinking about what might
be the effect of all this magnihcence on
/ the little waiter girl He hoped she
would not be wholly overcome, and he
was caddish enough to hope also that she
would make an appearance which would
not be too startling in the theater- He
| had prepared a long story to tell his
friends, if they should ask, about an old
friend of the family from the country
who had come into town Unexpectedly
and asked him to take her to the
show" He hardly dared hope that
/ Agnes would be really 'up to the game
he was steering her against"
The night before Agnes had given him
/ her address, and he was much surprised
when he drove up TO see that the belle
! of the Silver Moon lived in handsome
h,~s-f l. IN Gr,a
street on the South Side. With the shock
Of this surprise still fresh on him he
went up the steps and rang the bell.
colored maid opened the door and let
him in. Tom was beginning to be badly
surprised himself.
Great Scott. He didn't even know
Agnes last name. But he put on the
air Of an old friend OF the family and
asked for Miss Agnes. The maid let him
into a handsomely furnished reception
room and went TO call the young woman.
Good evening. Mr.. Dawling," she said
as she came gliding into the room. I'm
so sorry to TO have kept you waiting"
Tom" Bowling was practically speech
less. His bewildered mentality was
throwing a series of interior fits. He
was dazZled.
He went to the theater in a sort of
trance out Of which he had not come
when. Just before midnight, he handed
Miss Agnes out OF his carriage at her
home.
Next night he vert down to the silver
Moon" prepared to drink all the coffee in
the big nickle-plated coffee urn. But
Agnes was not there. The next night
she was still missing, and though he
visited the restaurant every night for
two weeks he never laid eyes on her
again.
Agnes had become only a mysterious
memory TO Tom Bowling when one
evening last week he went TO see a vaude-
VILE show at a downtown theater. About
/ half way throug.. the program was a
number listed as Jenkins and Jsne-the
I Double Stars-in Their Side-Splitting.
/ Sensational. and Spicy Skit, One in the
Dark
When jenkins and Jane tripped onto
the stage. one coming from either side
OF the stage to the music OF the full or
chestra. young Tom Bowling had an
attack OF heart failure
The Jane OF the vaudeville team was
without the slightest question the Agnes
OF the silver Noon" restaurant The
skit was all about the experiences Of
Young swell who had come into Testau-
rant and tried 10 mash the pretty
waitress Young Tom was properly
and 6eeplv indignant. He sent note
back and asked Agnes what il all meant
+ She answered him briefy-by mail
You needn't be angry with ne she
wrote -.That wouldn't do Bit OF good
/ What 7 told YOU was true enough Papa
used 10 be q judge all right. and I die
T come TO ChicaEo TO study music. I work
"a in the restaurant because ] wanted a
Z lob IN the FIRST place. but chiefly because
+ wanted to get some local color Tor our
new skit one IN the Dark IS the best
{ turn OF. all the bills and I want 20 thank
you for giving ne lots Of material for l.
( C,odhv AGNES