Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-01-29
A Disastrous
Cab Ride 3 3
By HOWARD DEv1Ns


IF ANYBODY had told Ralph Huston
| that one short cab ride of six blocks
could destroy the reputation he had
Quilt up by years of hard work and
righteous living; lose him the position
at the bank which he had acquired by
so many years of faithful work and
drag his beloved wife and himself intO
the divorce court, he would have laughed
at the idea. Now. however, he laughs
not at all at such story and shuns
cabs as something diabolical and devil
ish.
And yet the cab ride referred to was the
most innocent thing that could happen.
On the morning of September 10 as Hus-
ton was gulping down his breakfast in
his daily effort to catch the 7:30, his
wife spoke from behind the coffee pot.
How much was the gas bill this
month. dear?" she asked.
He paused in the process of throwing
large spoonsful of the newest advertised
health food into his mouth, and start
led expression spread over his eoun-
tenance.
by lingo. forgot to pay 1t" he an
nouhced in dismay. Lets see, what day
morning paper.
"Oh, it's all right. It's the 10TH
"Well, don't forget it, continued
Mrs. Huston. This is the last day and
remember the gas Office closes at one
O'Clock on Saturdays"
No danger of his forgetting it. The
discount on the bill was e8 cents and
every cent counted In the effort they
were making to pay for that suburban
cottage they had bought on the INSTALL
ment plan. He could not get away
from his desk until 11:30, when he had
a half hour for lunch. The gas Office
was six blocks away and he had to
calculate pretty closely to find time to
make the trip and get time to snatch
mouthful of lunch in the brief half hour.
AS he dashed down the stone steps
three at time and started on half run
down the street, familiar voice hailed
him:
eli there, Huston; where We going
90 fast?"
Turning, he beheld his old friend Ben
Phillips sitting on the box of a shiney
new cab driving leisurely down the
street. He and Phillips had been ship
ping clerks together in wholesale
house years ago, when he first went to
work. He knew in general way that
Ben had become cab driver, but had
not seen him for years.
Mentally chatting at the loss of pre-
cious moment he shouted in reply:
Coin to, the gas Office. I'm in the
deuce of hurry How are your"
He waved his arm and hurried on.
wait a minute shouted Phillips.
I'm going right past the door on my
way to the barn. Hop in and I'll land
you there In a jiffy."
This struck Huston as a most prac-
teal suggestion, and in he climbed and
moment later was being hurried along
at thrice the pace he could have made
on foot AS he whiried along the grim
humor OF the situation appealed to him,
and he chuckled to himself The cab
was a new one of the latest model. rub
Der tires and all that sort of thing. and
It shone like piano. Here I am riding
in a swell cab like a drunken sport to
save % cents on my gas bill,'' thought
Huston. and he laughed aloud
Phillips was true to his word and
made his best time. dashing down the
street as though he was making train.
finally coming up In front of the gas Of
fee with whirl and flourish He pro
posed to show his old friend that he
was strictly onto his job
Huston leaped from the cab. waving
his thanks to Phillips and rushed into
the office. where he paid his bill to an
sstounded clerk who had beheld his an
preach. and a moment later was whist
ling up the street toward the dairy
lunch room. where he arrived In ample
time to swallow his pie and coffee with
no more than normal haste
Now All this seems innocent enough
and commonplacs enough. dees g noef