The Minneapolis journal., 1903-01-23
AT THE FORD - s,ee~xr ELLIS
STREET CROSSING a.
BY GRANT ELLIS

that slip Of an ambulance DOCTOR
After many earnest consultations with
Bessie, Miss Dawson decided that it was
emlnently proper tor her to show her
appreciation OF Dingwalls life saving
pfoWess, and SO there arrived at the
tn precinct headquarters one evening
q simple fob OF gold, inscribed on the
reverse side, I'm grateful remembrance,
NJ. Z. D." It had cost more than she
had ever spent before at one time, but
Bessie, whose chief sin was not ingrat-
itude, had willingly forgone a new dress.
| to help her aunt pay the unrecorded
debt.
So, of coupse, Policeman DingwaIl, uni
! form and all, stalked that same night
down the narrow corridor leading to Miss
Dawson's fiat and acknowledged the gift
| in person. In truth it took him a long
time to express his sentiments, and when
| he left he bore the invitation to come
| again, an invitation which filled him with
a strange satisfaction.
Then commenced happy days for Miss
| Dawson. The chickering's which occurred
daily in the great office where she di-
| rected a score Of trifiing girls, fell from
her memory like fluffy snow flakes. There
had been days when the burden of life
| weighed heavily upon her, but new it
seemed lifted by invisible hands. People
| spoke of Maggie Dawson as capable
young woman Of exceptional executive
ability. Little they knew how She longed
! for some Cne to lean upon. Though no
deep student Of social conditions, sonie-
| thing told her that II she had been less
| capable, she might have had less respon-
sibility. People, always looked to her for
help, for little favors, and never seemed
| to think that she might long to have any
| thing done for her. Her heart hungered
for sense of dependence, for something
to lean upon, for some one to do for her
| not from a sense Of gratitude as Bessie
did, but because Of love and interest GEN.
tered purely in her.
And In a vague way she felt that Ding
| walls coming into her life meant this.
| She liked to look up at him-he was SO
| tall and straight She liked to feel his
| touch on her arm each morning as they
met at the crossing. He was a born pro-
| tector-and at 80 Maggie Dawson felt that
| she needed protection as she had never
needed it before. She had seen other
women marry weaklings, mental as we'll
| as physical, and she had said a gentle
| mo- to every offer which fell short Of her
standard. And as capable woman Of
good earning capacity she had many
| offers.
Policeman Dingwall got into the habit
of dropping round for Sunday night tea,
and Bessie, as housekeeper, always took
| special pains with the meal. Once or
twice she managed to squeeze out Of her
housekeeping allowance enough for flow
! erS 1Or lI6 tdDle, ana dl1IOSl Invariably
she managed to have an engagement for
the evening. She fitted about these two
people dearest in all the world to her
with a smile on her lips and a strange
pain tugging at her heart.
She read in Dingwall's eyes what her
happily unconscious aunt never saw, and
the night when he finally found her alone
at the social of the st. Paul's guid-she
new the hour had come. She listened
quietly at first, then teasing smile came
to her assistance.
"Oh, I couldn't, Mr.. Dingwan I am 50
young, you know-and you-why, you are
quite old; 40, if you are a day. No, no;
l must have my fling. 1 couldn't settle
down to the life you would like
In vain he protested, her merry eye.
l Knocked him, and he could not recognize
the tremble in the voice that made light
! Of his suit. Then he left her, and sitting
r down beside Maggie Dawson looked into
her calm, happy face and wondered how
he could have made the mistake of think
4 ing that it was that little butterfly Of a
s niece who had attracted him. He knew
S his mind at last, but he shouldn't speak
it-not just yet.
e The light burned low in the bed room
| shared by Maggie Dawson and Bessie
|, | The former, tired by the evenings gaiety
S had fallen to sleep almost directly, anG
e in the faint light her niece gazed down or
u the happy lace tnat nad grown young ths
y past few months. The girl clasped hand:
d tightly, then bent over and kissed hel
d aunt tenderiy.
Safe in her own white iron bed shs
d buried her face resolutely in the pillows
n 1T was right; it was the only thing tt
: do. and he will never know the truth
: Dear little auntie, you don't know what Il
d has cost, but am young -and-and you've
t done SO much for me. You deserve 1t al
O -all-even the love Of the best man iI
# the world