The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-12-09
A FOOTBALL OF FATE.


Arthur Billings rose from the light Sun
day evening supper which supplemented the
heavy noon dinner on that day at the hotel
where he boarded and hurried 10 bis room
to hold telepatnic Conference with his
sweetheart IN another state, Who was sup
posed 70 Be holding at tie same moment
teiepataic Communication With him. The
hour between seven and eight p. n had
been agreed upon b. letter, and Arthur had
not missed the elaire-audient privilege once,
although no results had indicated any wave
d thought transference between their
souls- Il his sweetheart Kitty Lincoln had
but her experience vii come later.
Arthur was one Of those excellent youths
Sho are born to be the footballs q fate He
did night, not from conviction, bat simply
because be could not Do otherwise. Good
ness was temperzmentzl WITH him He vas
50 amizblc that he would not strike hack for
fear Of hurting his enemy Old ladies and
babies zdored MIN He vas docked rart Of
his salary ever Gay while be Ess rescuinz
the pershiEg from under the feet Of frze-
ti0us horses OF from trolley cars Il vas
natural for him 10 DO al tlese things besides
going on innumerzhle eFrznds for die people
who knew Of bis good temper and ais utter
inability 70 say 20"
Il IS not z saving grace to Be obiixTng and
self-eIaeing and zmisble, especially II these
cardinal virtues are exploited At tie expense
o. those possessing them, and ire zenerOsity
that exceeds justice is seldom appreciated
A Arthur Billings left the supper room be
encountered an old lady carrying = hzndfL1
Of railroad folders SIZE intercepted MIN
''Oa, sfr. Billings, ! was Just looking for
you / an going 20 California to vizit my
daughter. ard / wznt you 70 show me the
best route and hgure up just how much Il
costs and how long the tup EiU be, and
where the eating stations are You have
been there and know al about It. !"
Nov ArthuF vas working overtime on his
telepzshic hour. but he could Tot say no to
the ineonsiderate demand OF = helpless
woman. 50 he sat down and patiently traced
On the railroad map the route to California,
marked the stations and stopping places
With a red pencil. figured up the slst Of the
trip and answered al questions with that
considerate gentleness which be had ze-
quired With lis hair and eyes Then the
clock struck eight His tsieTataie circuit
vas broken Wat il Kitty felt his defec-
ton and missed the transference Of tho=e
thOught waves for which she waited He
would explain IN his letter
Tbs Sunday night letter had not bumped
up sgainst any snags Of fate since their En-
gsEenenr- Il held al the news Of the week
that interested them, as vel IS tire lore OF
his heart. Il often barely escaped not being
written, OF vas written Al railroad SPEED IN
order 70 be mailed that night. ard the one
he was writing On this occasion was rushed
as usual Actors and sporting men Eho be
lieve IN hOoioOs have a panic Il they en-
counter black cat on the eve of an event
Arthur Billings vas not Esylzid By any
black cat. nevertheless be encountered
hoo6oo Ehen be stepped ont with hi~ sweet
hearts letter addressed and stamped n Ms
hand II II went out that nigaf II must be
mailed AZ once. and Re was hurryinE 10 the
post Office when be vas nearly upset By
man going the other way al a On rate OF
speed he recognized fellow clerk
Hello. Bling he cried, heard the
news. Sterling has been run over bI an zu-
tonobile and IS dangerously hurt .
Sterling vas their head bookkeeper, and
a popular man Billings vas Immediately
crushed --I'll 20 with you he said, AS
soon as mad this letter"
-Oh. never mind the letter: come along
and drop It in the first box We see"
The ast mai has been taken up. Here,
boy" 10 passing youngster, take tins let
ter into the post office aud drop II II the box
az the door and here Is ten cents for your
trouble Do you understand
The boy looked at the letter and then az
the tsn-cent piece.
You bet do" he said, with grin, and
ran Of
When the two men reached the book
keeper they found the accident had been
greatly miSrepresented. the vsctIa beng
more frightened than hurt. No bones we're
broken, and the bruises would easily heal
Billings stayed to comfort him. and was
honestly glad 70 Be OF service What that
service vas costing him he never dreamed
A week passed and be did not tear from
Kitty Lincoln He wrote asking If she were
II, and received no answer Then As wired.
and a lacouic telegram. ~Al eel came.
signed with her name He knew 10 more
than the man IN the moon wat Was wrong,
and waited for enlightenment with his &C
eustomsd patience and sweetness
In her home IN Ohio Miss Lincoln vas
waiting for her Sunday letter from her
lover IN Illinois She had skipped the
thought trsnsfersnee vigil on that evening
because she had no faith in Il anyway. and
two girl friends had asked her 70 20 walk
ing. which Sue much preferred 10 shutting
herself up alone with bogy thoughts Dear
Arthur vas a little queer al times and
rather hard 70 take seriously, When Non
day failed 10 bring q letter size was
piqued. Tuesday she was angry at its rOn-
appearance "Wednesday the DELAYED let
ter was hsn,Aad 10 her in the post Office. IL
looked ike a tramp misSivs, Soile6 and d.
spi62tei. but addressed in Arthur'S semI-
lar writing Bat across the top OF the letter
were some words in a strange hand. The
envelope read:
Picked NJ on the street and