Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-10-03
Comedies
Deception
and the Outcome

NORNELIA had two invitations to
go to the Country club on Satur-
day afternoon. The Watsons asked
her to meet them at their house at 1
o'clock and drive out for dinner, and
Archibald Clever wanted her to go
with him. For reasons very obvious to
all who had given Cornelia's case even
superficial consideration, she decided
to go with Archibald.
Archibald, being a lawyer, put his
instructions clearly.
iii be fearfully busy all the fore
noon,' he said, land shall possibly
have to work an hour or two after
luncheon, but I'll make a desperate ef-
fort to meet you by 2:30 o'clock, which
will enable US to get into the country
in time TO see a game Of something or
other. / don't like to ask you to go
dangling around places by yourself,
but if you could make an exception in
this one instance and meet me some
where convenient for us bOth-saN the
Fifty-ninth street station of the Sixth
Avenue Lit would save me the trip
over to your house and give US a much
earlier start"
And Cornelia being 90 years old
and fully capable of taking care of
herself, was in nowise shocked by this
unconventional proposition, and prom
ised to be on hand at the appointed
time and place.
Il wish, though she said. that you
could make it 2 o'clock instead of 2:3O.
l really think that you ought to lei
work go by the board for this one
time and give me the first considera-
ton"
But Archibald was un%yielding. The
matter have on hand is very impor-
tant." he said. "and must be attended
to on Saturday. I'll hurry it through,
however, with all possible dispatch.
and will Join you at 2:3o or a little
later"
1t was 1925 o'clock when Cornelia
sat down to catch her breath in the
Fifty-ninth street station. IT took
several minutes for her to recover
from the putting fit superinduced by
climbing the stairs. but n tolerable
degree of composure being finally
re%gained she looked around for Arch
ibald. He was not vet there. but as
his additional clause, "or a little later"
allowed him still a few minutes of
grace, Cornelia was neither surprised
nor disappointed. As the time sped
by. however. and still no Archibald APP
peared. she began to feel worried. At
the end of half an hour worriment had
deepened into stiff resentment.
"He has no right to treat me sol"
she stormed. Just because Archibald
has known me since ! was inches high
he thinks he can trife with me as he
chooses. I'll teach him better. His
talk of extra work was only a bluff.
He just wanted to find out how big a
goose he could make of me. I'll wait
N longer. I'll go up to Mary Wat
son's-l still have time to get there
before they start-and 90 mp to the
club with them. That will show him
that I am not dependent upon him
for my pleasure. | wonder what he
will say then?"
Cornelia's comminatory soliloGuy
was accompanied by a decided glare
thatmeant business. but no%twithstand-
ing this fine squirt of spirit it seemed
for a time as if she would be deferred
from putting her threat into eXecu-
tion. In short Cornelia was destitute
of carfare. The position was peculiar
ly embarrassing under the circum-
stances. Still she was o entirely
without resources. Although il was
her first experience of the kind. abiect
poverty. so far as ready cash was con-
cerned. was a situation with which She
had long been familiar through hear
say, and she ran over in her mind a
dozen ways by which people thus tenn
porarily and unexpectedly impover-
ished gained transportation to the
desired point.
While debating which of the make
shifts thus recalled would be most com
patible with her dignity, Cornelia's
attention was attracted by a woman
who rushed out onto the platform
dropped her ticket into the box and
craned her neck far out over the
tracks for a sight of the oncomina
train. These maneuvers occupied
but a few seconds. Suddenly the WON
an drew back from the edge of the plat
form even more quickly than she had
reached it and returned in haste tc
the ticket choppers chair.
Dear me-" she said, "I've forgotten
something that ! must take up tow
with lie, Won't you allow me to 90
back, please, and get ito" l dropped
my ticket into the box not a minute
ago, and / don't want to have to pay