Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-05-12
DAILY SHORT STORY
AMERICAN PoLiTENESS.

John Townsend OF New \ OEk. are
generous people. lavish with yonr mon
ey. but so different ffom us French.
who set great stone toy deticatesways OF
doing things"
HIM said thel American. ''I' think
! can give you little storyt that indi-
Gates the contrary"
do. by all meansS'
AN acquaintance OF mine ! Billy
Ford. from Chica go. GShO had made
great deal Of money in pork -thaa is, his
father had. and Billy inherited both
the old mans money and the business
came abroad to travel. IA. llkel Paris
and stayed here a goOdi while. one
morning he saw In n shop lin the Rue de
la Paix = lady who at Onee captivated
his fancy She was taste fully dressed
and bore the impress OFF Refinement.
Having made her purchas PS she went
out to her carriage and drove away.
Billy went to the man who's had waited
on her asked who she wasa and receiv
ed the Information that she was the
Countess NJ and belonged ttO one of the
oldest families in France.
BILLY Travelled all over Europe. went
home. where he superintende d the kill
ing OF more hogs: added new fortune
to the one he already had tind in five
years was again in Paris. He hadinev-
er forgotten tlse face he lntd seen in
the shop In the Rue dc la PaiX. aud no
sooner was he settled at hiSthotel than
he began to walk In the eliza mpS
ElyseeS, drive in the Bots de BOU ogne,
sit in his box at the Opera-all in the
hope Of again seeing the face'and fig
ure that had captivated him. Not that
he had any idea of lndIAging his fancy;
he had the good sense TO know that
countess. even in a republic. especially
a countess able TO ride in,her carriage.
must he far above pork packer. tie
only wanted too her again.
..OnP day WHEN Billy wasi walking
ON the street helSaw woman coming
leading a little child. As she drew
nearer he noticed that her clothes were
worn and those Of the child +were in no
better condition. Az she passed him in
her sad. wan face he seemed to see the
Countess NJ. IL so five years and trou-
bic must have altered her. for Billy
needed 10 confirm his discovery. He
crossed the street. walked rapidly back
on the other side. recrOsSed and passed
her again. This time all, doubt was re
moved. She was indeed the woman he
had seen in the shop.
1T WAS plain to Billy that she had
met some misfortune; that her circuIH-
stances were altered. He burned TO re-
store some Of her former comforts, at
least TO reliSve her present necessities.
But how? He had not even her ac-
dJaintance. And if he had how could
be offer her money?
"She had not gone far before she en-
tered shop in the window of which
hung hair made up in every variety.
Billy waited for awhile outside, then
entered the shop and inquired for
wig, though what he wanted one for
was not apparent. his head being Gov
cred by bis own Iuxuriant hair. In an
adjoining room the woman who had en-
tered before him was standing with
her hair unlOoSened. and the shOpman
was inspecting it, 1t was a fine sight.
thick and so long that it fell far below
her waist The hair dealer was dancing
about her with an infinite variety of
gestures and words, all OF which be
spoke the pOffteness of the Frenchman.
'Magnifique" he said. so thick, so
long! l will give you napoleon
oh. mSieu. / need 3 napOleOnS.
This sum must have or be turned out
OF my apartments. Can you not give
| napOleonsY
Two! 1t grieves me TO be obliged
TO pay only what my business permits.
| will give You a napoleon. but l fear
shall lose money at that price
The man stood firm. The woman
Yielded and told him to cut OF her hair.
Billy Ford, without having even the
pOliteness TO ask permission, as this
| haggling Frenchman would have done,
walked into the room and said In the
best French he could muster:
would you sell your hair to me,
madam
eff You think il worth more than a
napoleon
81 am quite sure it is worth more
than that said Billy. AT any rate, l
will give you more than that. l will
buy your hair on condition that you
leave the price TO me, II being under
stood that It is to he more than ma
poleon'
The sad eyes looked into Billy's in
quiringly. AS you please. monsieur.
she said, lowering them.
Billy called for pair Of scissors
and gently taking up the end OF a
thin strand. cut on a few inches. care
fully-roIIed il on his finger and put it
in his pOcketbook. at the same time
taking ont some notes aud handing
them To the lady.
'M'sieu' she said. suspecting char
ity. it may give you wrong impress
sion for me TO look TO see what you
have given me. but ] fear it is too
much
'She unrOlled the notes. There were
FIVE OF them. for 100 francs each"
The narrator paused as though he
had come to the end of the story.
But why leave of at such an inter
esting point?" asked the listener.
Because l only know the final eli
max Whether the countess accepted