St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-07-26
The Girl from -
- Philadelphia.

BY w. r. ROSE.

AHiNI NdS d Suutlcu jar ana Inc
L car stopped. The lights paled
and a cloud of dust filled the interior
The conductor hastily leaped from
the rear platform and was joined by
the motorman. There was some
sharp blows struck at the ironwork
beneath the car. Then silence fol
lowed.
Presently the conductor returned
His gloves were off and he was blow
ing on his fingers.
Rod snapped he said to the soil
tary male passenger. Have to lie
here until they send motor to push
us ahead to P]ympton's crossing"
"And when will that be?" inquired
the passenger.
Dunno" replied the conductor.
ITS begun showing again, an gettin'
colder, too. It'll be slow work pushin'
through if the snow begins to drift.
Motorman's gone ahead to the first
telephone box to call up Miggs.
They'll do the best they can for us"
where are we?"
"Bout three miles from the Center,
and a mile'n-half from Pugsley's.
We're on the curve that runs round
Bald Hill, and the long trestle amt
more'n twenty rods ahead. Good
place for breakdown, too. The hill
keeps the wind Off"
The passenger looked at his watch.
Mine O'clock" he muttered.
"Wen," said the conductor, philo-
sophically, 1--WE might be a good deal
worse otf'n we are. We can keep
warm all right, an the light is good
an tn seats comfortable
The passenger peered out of the
window. The snow was dimming the
glass. He could hear the wind whin-
ing among the bending trees.
Then his eyes turned back to the
interior of the car. There was but
one other passenger, woman.
'The wind is rising" the man said
to the conductor, who was COM
fortably seated on the last seat, close
to the door. 1T may keep the track
clear of snow"
It'll keep it clear in some places"
said the official. It'll drift in others.
Guess tn road'll be clear enough on
this long side hill, but there'll be
plenty of snow in the valley below"
The man threw his overcoat over
his arm and went forward. He passed
the young woman and then turned
and lifted his hat.
II beg your pardon" he said, "but
I fancied you might feel some anx-
iety regarding the cause of this de-
lay"
She looked up at him. She was a
very pretty girl, not more than two
and twenty, he guessed, and some
how he remembered just at that mo-
ment that he was thirty, and that
twenty-five and thirty were not SO
very far apart. And then he gave a
little start and a sudden flush tinged
his cheek. "Why, it's Miss Ainslee!"
he added.
The girls serious eyes studied his
face.
Pardon me-" she said little cold
~, "but I quite fail to recognize
you"
He dropped his overcoat on the
back of the seat ahead of her. and
placed himself beside it, half turning
SO that he could talk to her comfort
ably.
A slight frown gathered on the
girls face.
81 don't wonder at your not recog-
nizing me-" he smilingly said, "be-
cause I never saw you but once, and
I rather guess you didn't see me at
all. If you did could scarcely expect
you to remember me. My name is
Marshall, Arthur Marshall"
The girl slightly bit her lip, and
looked out of the car window. But
the man was not at all abashed.
ut was at the Wilmington recep-
ton that I saw you,' he said. 81
don't like receptions, but didn't
have much chance to form an opinion
regarding this one, because I'd only
been there fifteen minutes when
messenger called me away on bust
ness of some importance-to me, at
least, and 1 failed to secure a pre-
sentation. I was sorry, too. And
then I have had to be out of town
for few days. Just getting back,
you know. But I mean to have Anna
ask me to come up the first conven-
tent evening to meet you. You are
coming in from the Bellamy's l sup
pose?"
The girl slightly nodded.
'Of course they thought it was all
right to let you start alone" he con-
tinued. "The car runs by the Will
mington door, I believe the stop is
exactly opposite the front gate. But
you can't foresee these breakdowns.
Still, there's nothing serious about
It,"
The girls lip trembled very little.
evil we be detained long? she
asked.
Il wish I could tell you" he re-
Piled. "Something's broke and we are
anchored here, in heavy snowstorm
waiting for an extra motor to come
along and push us towards town. The
is struggling ahead some
where to get to telephone and call
for help. But we are very COM
Portable, and there is no reason to
worry. We could stand siege here
for several hours without losing
fraction of our peace of mind
"But can't something be done?"
queried the girl.
"Nothing that wouldn't be fool
hardy" replied the man. eve