The Savannah morning news., 1901-04-30
1T WAS A-ooP.-A MICE.
Frantic Episode of n sedate Little
Dinner Party.
From the New York sun

of them an unmarried young lawyer or
this city, who was the escort of par
ticularly charming young woman from
Washington, who was the guest of one of
the two married women. They were all
dining in the Pabst Hotel, in Forty-sec-
ond street. and were very cheerful and
sociable
They say that before the advent of an
appalling catastrophe there is at least
some momentary wsrning-some premon-
itory chilling of the atmosphere such as
| precedes and accompanies spectral APP
pearances. 1t isn't so. If you had looked
over all that brilliantly lighted dining
room and had been told that over one
/ Of the merry groups there was hanging
the black pail of an awful tragedy, this
one comfortable little party would have
been the last you would have picked out
as the victims.
| 1t came upon them without breath
! of warning. like a very thunderbolt from
! heaven. In one little moment this pleas
/ ant picture of mirth and youthful jollity
was transformed through instantaneous
| crescendO gradations to one of bewildered
amazement, CONSERVATION and wild panic
| and then sudden death itself had been
wrought.
The conversation was at it's merriest.
The young lawyer was telling a story II
was good story and he knew how to tell
it-not story that flowed demurey on
in placid stream to roar of laughter
a the end, but one that rippled and flashed
over sparkling points of fun all the
way through it's merry meandering
course 1t was rushing swiftly on to its
climax. In another instant it would have
got into its final burst of merriment The
laughter that had kept it company all the
way from the start was momentarily held
in suspense under all the mirth-wreathed
faces, in anticipation.
And at this critical instant fell the de-
vastating blow. The charming young wo-
man from Washington, whom the story
teller was escorting and who had been
laughing the most gleefully of all at the
yarn he was spinning, and with the rest,
was hanging with bated breath on every
word that brought the climax nearer and
nearer suddenly made a wild clutch at
something under the table and with a
low, shuddering moan Strengthened her
self back in her chair with d face
CHASTITY, a face that bore such an express
sion of the very concentration of horror,
that for an instant all her companions
were literally stricken dumb and notion
less with amaZement. Tremors shook
her entire body as in an ague. Her
eyes were dilated; her very lips were
white. The lawyer who had been telling
the story was the first to recover his
senses.
What is it?" he exclaimed, half start
ing to his feet. MY dear Miss Gertrude,
what is it? Are you ill?"
10 this the young woman only replied
with a half-suppressed cry.
"Oo-oo-ool It's there. l feel 1t! Oo-oo-
ooo-oop'
Her voice, in spite of all her evident
efforts at self-contro, was clear up to
the line where shrek of hysteria begins.
She was clutching with frenzied fierceness
at the left side of the skirt of her close
fitting gown
TITS oo-oo-oop! It's there! 1t squirms!
loo oo-oo-oh kill it! Kill it,!
By this time all the party were on their
feet in CONSERVATION. The unfortunate
young woman, even in her agony, had
been not unmindful of the conventionali-
ties. She had restrained her outburst as
well as she could. Still the other diners
had seen that something was wrong. Some
of them had stopped eating and were
staring curiously.
XIII WHAT exclaimed the two other
women in a strained whisper. What is
the matter? What is it?'
"It's-oo-oop- It's ats a-mum-
mum-oo-oo-r oop-its a mice!! Oh-h-
h! Kill it! Kiln itv'
As though moved by the same mechan-
ism, both the other women made a stimuli
taneous move upward climbing first upon
their chairs and then upon the table
among all the litter of dinner. crockery
and glassware. Then they restrained
themselves and. gathering their skirts
tightly about their feet, looked utterly
helpless in their panic.
One of the men-a brute by the way
laughed and sank back into his seat He
is married man and the father of fam
lily and has lost his finer feelings.
| What is the matter with her, Jim?"
BY Jim" he meant the young lawyer.
James Alexander are the lawyers two
front names. He is unmarried and has
ideals, With quick, firm, manly. clasp he
grasped the young womans Historically
clenched hand.
Remove your hand, Miss Gertrude"
he said, in the firm. dominating masculine
way. The strained little hand was snatch
! ed away; the lawyers broad and more
comprehensive grasp held all the hand
had held.
There is something there" he said.
meditatively, that isl mean there is
something alive there. I mean"
James Alexander" said the elder of
the two women, who had by this time be-
| gun to recover their composure James
! Alexander, what do you mean?"
She came around to the side of the table
| where the tragedy was going on, stop
/ ping however. at a point where there was
! still room for retreat. There was chem
| ical trace of some thing more than inquiry
! in her voice as she asked the question;
| there was an explanatory shade to the
| ntonation-eXciamatory, with a dash of
! the indignant matron.
| James Alexander" she said again, ere
move your hand-that is. If it's dead"
and here she cast a nervous glance at the
nearest chair
But 1t isn't dead; IT'S alive" she said
! James Alexander firmly
james Alexander" exclaimed the lady
severely. remove your hand. Are you
man?'
| "Of course | am man." said James
Alexander Indignantly That's why I'm
holding on. Do you want 1t 40 bite her?
If you want me to turn it loose again,
all right, only"
He did not finish the sentence. The lady
| hastily retired to within easy leaping dis
tance of her chair. The unfortunate VIC
! tim of the disaster meanwhile was lean
! ing back rigidly in her seat. making no
further outcry. 1t had been an affair of
a moment or two. The brute had gone to
eating asparagus with look OF sneering
| cynicism.