Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-09-20
Corr1elfo'S
ecepfior1
and the Outcome


go to the Country club on Satur-
day afternoon. The Watsons asked
her to meet them at their house at
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 lawyer, put his
instructions clearly.
"I1I 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 desperate eff
fort to meet you by $3.50 o'clock, which
will enable us to get into the country
in time to see a game of something or
other. I 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-say 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 % 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.
ST wish, though she said, ''that you
could make it 2 o'clock instead of $3.50.
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 unyielding. "The
matter have on hand is very impor-
tant," he said, land must be attended
to on Saturday. I'll hurry it through,
however, with all possible dispatch,
and will join you at $3.50 or a little
later
1t was 2:25 o'clock when Cornelia
sat down to catch her breath in the
Fifty-ninth street station. 1t took
several minutes for her to recover
from the putting fit superinduced by
climbing the stairs, but tolerable
degree of composure being finally
regained she looked around for Arch
ibald. He was not yet there, but as
his additional clause, cor 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 ap-
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 bluff.
He just wanted to find out how big a
goose he could make of me. I'll wait
no longer. I'll go up to Mary Wat
son's-I still have time to get there
before they start-and go up to the
club with them. That will show him
that I am not dependent upon him
for my pleasure. I wonder what he
will say then?'
Cornelia's comminatory soliloquy
was accompanied by decided glare
thatm business, but notwithstand-
ing this fine squirt of spirit it seemed
for time as if she would be deferred
from putting her threat into execu-
ton. In short Cornelia was destitute
of carfare. The position was peculiar
ly embarrassing under the circum-
stances. Still she was not entirely
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 q
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 oncomine
train. These maneuvers occupied
but few seconds. Suddenly the WON.
an drew back from the edge of the plat
form even more quickly than she hac
reached it and returned in haste tt
the ticket choppers chair.
t'Dear me-" she said, give forgotten
something that 1 must take up towI
with Inc. Won't you allow me to &c
back, please, and get it?" I dropped
my ticket into the box not minute
ago, and 1 don't want to have to pay
another fare. Won't you let me pas:
when 1 come again? I won't be gone
more than ten minutes"
The man said "Um-m-m," doubtfully
at is against the rules he added.
'sBut it isn't right to make me pay
another fare persisted the woman.
He hesitatingly hemmed and hawet
again, and, in accordance with the
honored adage, was straightway lost
''Well," he said, ''I guess it'll be al
right. When you come back just say
I'm the woman that gave you.a ticket
a few minutes ago. and I'll know i
is you and will put you through"
Ever while the woman said, 'Thanl
you" Cornelia's blood quickened will
the conception of her moral obliquity
The platform was deserted at the mo