Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-10-13

janghng bells.
1t was generally eleven before Red
lOOl had sounded his signal and Miss
Maher had connected him somewhat
perfunctorily with the other end of
the wire. Suffer S691's answers in
these conversations were rather short
er and more to the point than they
were at the earlier hour, yet on sew
eral occasions Miss Maher heard her
make engagements for drives OF
box parties to the theatre. When she
made these engagements so easily and
carelessly, Miss Makers soul was
troubled. She knew she ought not to
listen to these conversations, but she
was interested, and human, and so
-. But she wondered what Main
As would say.
The weeks went on, and the calls
came as usual, until a certain day
when, having rung up Suffer 1851,
and opened the switch as now was her
daily custom, Miss Maher heard the
steady tones she liked to listen to say:
"How's the world this morning?'
Existing, I suppose" returned the
voice with n subtle reflection that
Miss Maher instantly recognized as
displeasure. Il saw your picture CT
Joy last night"
you did? The paint isn't even dry.
Are you going to give me a telephone
dictum on it?"
Its rather pretty, 1 think, but
pretty" Main ASS voice was just
a little ruffled. We'll go on. But
what?"
Il don't see how a dark person can
represent Joy"
"Oh, that's all right. Intensity OF
feeling-strength of emotion-union
Of heart and head, and so on. Don't
you see?"
HIM" was Suffer S691's brief COM
ment. Her hairs SO black she looks
like an Indian, and her eyes" An
expressive silence followed this, and
Miss Maher felt the smile at Main As.
They're gray. Don't you like
them9"
you do. That's evident"
II like them in the picture"
There isn't any reason you
shouldn't like them out of it. Perhaps
you do"
Perhaps I do what? Like gray
eyes? They are uncommonly rare"
You'll Ike them all the better
when you ind them. Don't despair.
Fate will be kind to you in time"
Il hate t. doubt it, but she does
not seem very kind just now"
I'm sorry. Would you pardon me
if l hung up? I've an engagement in
a few minutes"
please wait a second. +"
Miss Maher heard the decided little
click. So did Main As. His half-fin-
ished sentence remained suspended in
air, and only the telephone operator
heard the amazed exclamation of three
words which followed the closing OF
the wire.
When the rush was over, Miss Ma
her, casting g. swift glance about he,
to see that She was not observed, went
quickly over to the unframed square
of glass hanging blankly on the
w~hitewashed wall, and looked boldly
into the reflected eyes. They were
gray, with black lashes. Irish eyes
dark and sombre, with the shadows
smudged in. Her cheeks grew a beau
tiful rose-pink as she gazed. Their
suddenly a lingering smile curved the
corners of her lips as she turned away
For some inscrutable reason, she was
glad her eyes were gray.
The next morning the signal sound
at the usual hour, but Miss Mahel
was forced to ring vigorously three
distinct times before getting her reply
The CHEEKY little trick had gone from
the girls voice as she took down the
receiver, and without the slightest
preliminary announced coldly:
"Sutter 1851 is not in"
Miss Maher gasped. So did Main
As. The shock was sudden, if not
altogether unexpected, and Miss Ma
sher's sympathy turned wholly to the
man at the other end of the line
She decided that Suffer 1851 was
cruel--heartless. Miss Maher was
young, too, and it counted in her COZ
domination.
So, as the days went by, and each
morning brought only the same little
sentence, repeated in the crispest OF
tones, Miss Maher added the admirable
trait Of long suffering to the mental
picture she had formed Of Main As
and rang her bells so viciously that
the fourteen subscribers on the party
line sent in a united complaint asking
that "Central's' service, and incident
ally temper, be amended. 1t did not
please Miss Maher either that the glib
person at Red 1901 should have slipped
SO easily and defftly into Main ASS
place. These conversations were moi
long, but they always ended in some
fragmentary phrase which apprised
keenly interested ears Of some pro-
jected plan for an evenings amuse-
ment. Red 1901 seemed to enjoy So
cial functions as much as Main As
had detested them. This phase OF
affairs bothered Miss Maher a good
deal. She meant to see it through
now that matters had reached this
stage, and she listened without any
conscience tremors. She felt she knew
for whom the girl at Suffer 1891 really
cared. Why, then, did she trouble
about Red 1901? Two lovers at once
was a novel idea to Miss Maher, and
she inwardly wondered how it would
end.
1t ended in a way totally u~nexpect-
ed, at least by the waiting Miss Ma
her, whose dislike of Red 1901 was,
by this time, SO intensified that when
he rang up late one afternoon. she al