Ellsworth American., 1904-07-20
"A Change
In the Wind"
iorlgiual.1

I'm tell you the story. though don't
that If | had seen it In fiction would
have considered the author a fool to
write such an improbable yarn. George
was poor as church mouse. He had
been more or less of waif, having
lost his parents when he was too
youns to remember them. He hardly
knew who had taken care of him, ex-
cept IA aunt who had educated him.
At eighteen he had entered the count
ing room of a mercantile house and
bad never got more than $40 a week.
AS for Alice, she was dependent ON her,
father. who had hard time to get on
with a pitiful income of $1,000 Il year.
George aud Alice were scrabble and
made up their minds that taey must
give each other UP or be sure of life
of misery. for George was an orphan
with no one to help him. George went
out to the Treat home to spend Sunday
and say goodby. The lovers had
narrowing time of it, for there is moth
Ing more dreadful than one of these
long goodbys. On Monday morning
George was obliged to go back to town
to his desk, and Alice trumped up an
excuse to go to the city and buy few
needles and pins and such things. which
she needed to patch her wornout
clothes.
George was to get off at the B street
station, while Alice was to go on to
the main depot. You know the tunnel
is near the Il street station, and the
train pulls up just as 1t leaves the tun-
nell George and Alice took advantage
of the darkness to indulge In long
embrace. Passing an air hole, George
thought 1t was the tunnels end and,
preferring that the other passengers
should not witness the parting, got up
and went to the door. But, seeing his
mistake, he returned to finish the kiss.
Without a word he sat down, put
his arm around the figure beside him.
drew her to him and kissed her. There
was a shrek, and few moments later
the train shot out of the tunnel. George
Spicer was sitting in seat beside a
strange woman. Alice sat directly be-
hind.
There was a racket and no mistake.
Alice couldn't understand it. George
saw that he had made an unfortunate
mistake. and the woman kissed was
furious. Casting a piteous appeal at
Alice for suspension of sentence,
George was hurrying to the door when
the woman cried, stop thief?' The
passengers interposed between him and
the door. and he was not suffered to
leave the train till the woman had
been satisfied OF his identity and his
address.
Whether she really felt very much
outraged or was In hope that she might
bleed George, / don't know. Be Tint
as 1t may, that afternoon a constable
entered the counting room where le
worked and arrested him for assault
on complaint of Mary Stringfellow,
widow. George was taken before
magistrate and held to answer to the
charge under bail of $1,000. He could
not raise 500 to save his life and was
obliged to go to jail. The poor fellow
WAS locked up, and 1t seemed as IL the
world had turned its back on him.
The next morning the newspapers
gave an account of his transgression
and its result. AS soon as Alice saw
1t she went to the jail to see him and
was perfectly satisfied with his ex-
PLANTATION. But the affair was a bad
mixture Since Alice and George were
not engaged and didn't intend to be en-
gagged, 1t wasn't pleasant for her to
come forward and explain matters.
George preferred to simply state that
he had made q mistake and had in
tended to kiss some one else. The re
suit was that he was sent up for a hun
dred days. He appealed from the de-
cIsion of the court. His case did not
come up until just before the expira-
ton of his time, and then the higher
court instead of reversing the decision
added hundred days to the sentence.
During all this time the newspapers
discussed the affair, the public being
much interested. The case found its
way into journals far and near, and
when the unfortunate though ludicrous
addition to the term of Imprisonment
was announced every newspaper in
the land had something to say about it.
The day before Georges time was
up man came into the prison to see
him. He had a newspaper in his hand,
with an article announcing Georges
approaching discharge, and asked the
prisoner II he was the George Spicer
named. George admitted that he was,
though he did so with. fear and trem-
bling lest some other charge was to be
brought against him. Then the stran-
ger asked a dozen or more questions
about Georges parentage and his
childhood. Finally he announced that
twenty years before Georges father
kad died in the far west and left $l9,-
900 in gold in trust for him. The trus-
tees had been hunting for him ever
since, and the money had grown to be