Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1904-06-02
WHEN
.nABBERWOCk
W RODE
BY Keith Gordon
Copy right, 1853, by 4. c. Mcclure.

rived IN Ilt uSudl way. III ulueT
words, IL was Il letter in n square
white envelope, and the rtOlid post
man stuffed II into that one of the row
OF mail boxes which bore the name
"Loring" just as indifferently as he
tucked an advertising circular into
Smiths box and an envelope bearing
ali the outward and visible signs Of a
bill into the Lymans'. TheI he blew
a shriil note on his whistle and con
tinued on his impersonal err nd down
the block
Barbara heard the whistle and won
dered with mild interest whether there
was any mail for her. Being IA mat
ter OF fact young person. she went
calmly on about her affairs, having
learned from experience that ier tiny
share OF the United States mail was
not usually OF character TO make
trip down four fights of stairi' worth
while. Having no presentiment that
something supertine was hanging over
her head, II was fully an horr later
when she was ready TO 90 out on an
errand She fished Il small key out OF
the brass bowl that stood on tn man
telshelf and. making her way in an
unhurried manner to the vestlbule.
fitted it into narrow slot in tG mail
box and took out the letter.
Even then, with the momentoui doc
ument in her fingers she failed To
feel 1t In her bones" as her great
Ireat-grandmother would have done,
that something unusual was about to
happen. \ CLEAN of curiosity did.
however, light up her face wa she
glanced at the superscriptlon and,
tearing the edge of the envelope Off
daintily, passed out into the street,
reading the note as she went,
When she had finished she stopped
quite still and looked about her in
dazed way. She felt that it was the
sort OF letter that could only arrive
by a page on silver tray, heralded
by a fanfare Of trumpets.
Still she seemed to be awake. All the
familiar landmarks were there-the
church across the way, the house op-
posite where the Ivy was just tingeing
the walls with a faint green and the
Inevitable group Of children Of assort-
cd ages and nationalities scurrying
hither and thither with small regard
for the usurping pedestrian. 1t looked
precisely like West - street Town.
She began to read the note a second
time, moving automatically down the
street. The blood rose in her cheeks,
and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
An elevated train thundered by just
ahead OF her with as much fuss as If 1t
were the Cyclone limited. 1t disap-
peared, and the commotion Of its pass
ing died on the air. But 1t had serv, l
its purpose and established the realit
Of things.
In the next block she ran into port
ly colored woman, with large bundle.
Twenty million" she began in ex-
tenuation of her awk wardness. Then
az the woman stared at her In aston
ishment, Il mean | beg your pardon"
and she continued on her way toward
Fifth avenue with q somewhat tius-
tered countenance. Once there she
swung along as If she were walking on
air, saying over and again to herself,
-"Mifilons- do you understand
lionsY'
Then she tried impatiently to get
away from that thought, to think of
what the note meant in more concrete
things. 1t would mean cabs and violets
and maid. That was her first thought,
and she laughed outright at its mea-
gerness. An Imagination Injured TO pow
erty could not reach the possibilities OF
such a fortune all at once. 1t would
have TO be trained up to II, just as
contralto voices were sometimes trained
up to sopranos Cabs and violets, in
deed, Orchids and victoria, with two
men on the box, was more like II.
But what were those things? Mere
bagatelles. 1t meant Paris, London, st.
Petersburg and Rome; aye, and India
and Egypt. II meant all the dreams OF
her life come true and in addition
splendOrs that she had never even
thought OF In her widest flights or
fancy.
She drew her breath in sharply. The
realization Of what II would mean to
be the wife Of Il man with score OF
millions was almost oppressive Even
now she was beginning to feel the re
sponsibility Of wealth. and as she
turned into an art gallery at the corner
of Thirty fourth street, where In the
silence she meant TO sit and think 1t
out there was a little frown upon her
forehead.
For the third time within the hour
she read over the note. Now that the
first dizziness OF the magnificence Of
fered her was over, she began to have
an acute sense OF something else than
the twenty millions meant.
II meant being the wife OF man
older than her own father would have
been had he lived and one for whom
In her most enthusiastic moments she
had never more than an Indifferent toll
Grafton. Still, with the glamour of his
great fortune about him, he did not
seem repehent. She tried TO think what
their life together would be like. But
In spite of her best efforts il was an
other face-young, strong and frank
Peter MiIward, but 1t was Jack Car
ruthers that appeared and insisted
upon taking his place at her side.
She shook herself impatiently, and
from the expression of her face 1t was
evident that she willed Satan not to
get behind her, but 10 come out into the
open with all his most alluring temp
Ia lions
-I've been poor so long" she was
thinking. "Of course ii won't be-wOn't
e"-she caught her breath and then
forced herself to think the unthinka-
ble-"it won't be like marrying Jack.
But | should have everything in the
world besides him. No life is all beer
and skittles, and, after all, If | had
never met him | should have lived and
been happy without him. | shall make
believe that | never did"
Having reached this worldly conclu-
sion, she leaned back IN more com