The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-02

voice.
'"Ah, indeedw Thcr. was eylden,
surprise In the mans exclamation. 81
suDi,uSe
Tickets, please!" The conducto,
stood waiting. The little woman hand
ed over her ticket. while Willard ex
tended the 500 check, saying, LET me
OH ut the first station"
Can't accept that" the conductor
SAID grnftiy waving tis. check aside
Eighty-fve cents in silver, please"
willard ran his hand into his pockets
IN the vain hope Of finding the deShed
amount. His search resulted in bring
ing TO view a bunch of keys, q quarter
and nickel. He was desperate. "Ii
you Will let me off now"-- lie began
when sweet voice interrupted:
"Onc fare to New York" The little
woman IN black hnndsd the conductor
several pieces Of gold MS she spoke.
Willard tried to stammer protest,
but the sound of his confused words
was drowned In the noise OF the NOV.
Ing train: The conductor passed OH
down the aisle, and, with grim smile,
the helpless author handed the check
to his companion.
mot now" she said, with little ges.
ture OF annoyance. when we get to
Ne" gcris, you Gun settle with met
Was ever man before placed In like
position? Literally he was carried
away by q woman. And that hundred
dollars-his friends money-would 60
for naught. They-Brooks and he
would have to sink together. The
thought was maddening. And yet he
could not feel angry with the sweet
faced little woman who was the cause
OF all the trouble. But what could she
l. ,an by insisting on his accompanying
her? Was she an adventures, an es-
capped lunatic or an innocent little stu.
pid? He gave q cautious, sidelong
glance at the mysterious creature.
Surely she looked neither bold nor dan.
gerous rs she sat there, her white,
plump hands clasped In her lap He
could not see the expression on her
face. but the thick coil Of yellow hair
visible through the heavy veil did not
impress him with the thought that she
was stupid. What then?
Presently the woman opened her grip
and took out several magazines. "Do
you care to read?" she asked. offering
him one, the cover Of which was
strangely familiar. 1t was the June is-
sue of The Blue Ok.
'Thank you!" he answered, with a
self conscious air Us he recognized the
book. He turned to the prize offer and
read it through, regardless OF the fact
that he knew 1t by heart, word by
word. AS he sat thus, like fash Of
light in the darkness thought came
TO him that made his heart leap for
Joy. II have 1.-THE idea" he cried to
himself. little Of story, kidnapped by
Woman" He pressed his hand
against the outside of his coat to see II
his notebook was In his breast pocket
Yes; 1t was there and his pencil too.
Excusing himself to the little woman
In black. who sat quite absorbed In
reading, he laid The Blue Ok In his seat
and betook himself to the smoking car
The mood was on. His thoughts
came thick and fast, and his fingers
fairly danced over the white sheets of
paper. He felt that the story was 60
Ing to be the best thing thnt he had
ever written, Guccess seemed certain.
His hopes went up to the highest notch.
He could feel the crisp $4,000 note In
his fingers. He saw his name In large
type on the cover Of The Blue Ok. No
more 10 cent meals and threadbara
clothes for him or Brooks.
While the train stopped at the sta
tion for supper he sent the following
telegram to the artist:
"Safe on board train for New York.
Have found idea. Shall return soon."
Then he went back and seated him.
self by the little woman in black. He
felt and acted like new man. He &C.
tually beamed with joy. He expert
ehced Wild desire 10 embrace his kid.
naper-the little woman who had Civ.
en- him the idea. He, grew talkative,
confidential, mirthful. He was tempt
ed to tell her about his story, but he
didn't. He compromised by telling her
about himself. And the little woman
listened and smiled. but she told him
nothing, not even her name
AS the train neared New Yorl, vii.
lard Hess began to wonder vaguely
what Ills kidnaper was going to do
with him on their arrival In that city.
For the success Of his story he wanted
her to do something extraordinarily un.
usual. He was willing and anxious to
do exactly as she commanded him
! that Is. without risking his life Even
marriage would be considerable she
insisted. Since the first day of their
Journey he had been her devoted slave.
They had become good friends, after a
fashion. But she still remained mys-
terry to him.
"May trouble you to hand this note
20 a messenger boy?" said the little
woman In black just as the train drew
Into the metropolis. "It Is very i'm.
portant that It be delivered at once"
"No trouble at ALL" said Willard, tax.
ing the note and pushing and crowfling
his way through the passengers In his
haste to comply with her request.
When he returned to the car few mo.
ments later, the little woman in black