Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-27
THE TIAN
ON THE BOX
By
HAROLD MAC 0RATH

\
| House-no-to the Waldorf Yes. the Wall
! dorf; and keep your nag going"
! waldorf IL Is. srr' The lid above closed.
| Clouds had gathered in the heavens. 1t
| was beginning to rain. But Warhurton
! neither saw the clouds nor felt the first few
drops of rain. All the way uptown he
planned and planned-as many plans as
! there We're drops of rain: the rain wet him,
| but the plans drowned him-he became sub
| merged. If | were expert at analysis.
which am not, should say that Mr.. Rob-
! ert was not violently in love; rather 1
should observe that he was fascinated with
| the first really fine face he had seen in sew
eral years. Let him never Miss An
| nesley again. and in two weeks he would
| entirely forget her. | know enough of tho
| race to be able to put forward this state
ment. OF course 1t is understood that he
would have to mingle for the time among
other handsome women. Now. strive as he
! would he could not think out a feasible
| plan. One plan might have given him
| light, but the thousand that came to him
simply overwhelmed him fathoms deep. IL
he could md some one he knew at the liol-
/ land House, some who would strike up
| smoking room acquaintance with the
| colonel, the rest would be simple enough.
Annesley-Annesley: he couldn't place the
name. Was be a regular. retired. or vet
| eran of the civil war? And yet the name
was not totally unfamiliar. Certainly he
| was a fne-looking old fellow. with his
white hair and AleXandrian nose And hero
1 he was. he, Robert Warburton. in New
| York. simply because he happened to he in
the booking Office of the Care du Nord one
morning and overheard a very beautiful girl
| say: Then we shall sail from Southamp-
ton day after tomorrow. OF a truth, II is
the infinitestmal things that count heaviest.
SO deep was he in the maze of his tenta-
| tive romance that when the cab finally
! stopped abrutly he was totally unaware OF
| the Transition from activity 10 passivity.
Hotel, Sir.'
"Ah, yesr' warburton leaped out, fum-
| bled in his pocket. and brought forth a Ave-
dollar note. which he gave to the cahby.
He did not realize 1t. but this was the only
piece of American money he had on his
person. Nor did he wait for the change.
Mr.. Robert was exceedingly careless with
| his money at this stage of his infatuaton;
being a soldier, he never knew the real
value of legal tender. know that should
never have been guilty of such liberality,
not even if Mister Cabby had bowled mo
from Harlem to Brooklyn. And you may
take my word for il, the gentleman in the
ancient plug-hat did not wait to see If his
fare had made a mistake but trotted away
good and hearty. The cab system Is one
of the most pleasing and amiabie phases OF
metropolitan life
Warburton rushed into the noisy. gor-
geous lobby, and wandered about till he
espied the desk. Here he turned over his
| luggage checks to the clerk and said that
| these accessories of travel must be in his
| room bfore s o'clock that night, or there
would be trouble. 1t now half after
| 5. The clerk eagerly scanned the register
| Warburton. Robert Warburton; 1t was not
| q name with which he was familiar
| thin film of icy hauteur spread over MS
| face.
VERY well, sir; Do you wish bath
with your room?"
Certainly" Warburton glanced at his
| watch again.
! Hang the price! room, a room with
| bath-thats what / want. Have you got
| it?" This was said with a deal Of real I'M
| patience and hauteur that overtopped the
| clerks. ---a-.' %. ~
| The film of ice melted into a gracious
| smile Some new millionaire from Pitts
| burg, thought the clerk He swung the DOCK
you have forgotten your place Of resi-
| dence, sir" he said.
place Of residence!'
Warburton looked at the clerk IN plank
astonishment. Place Of residence? Why.
heaven help him, he had none, none! For
the first time since he left the army
the knowledge cam came aea home He 10 can nlt
up the pen, poised 1t an indecisive
moment, then hastily scrubbed Paris; as
well Paris anywhere. Then he took OUT
his wallet comfortably packed with Eng.
fish and French bank notes. and second
wave Of establishment rolled over him. Al
together 1t was rare good chance tlat he
ever came to the surface again. NO plan,
no place of residence, no American money!
Good Lord. l forgot all about exch2ng-
ing it on shipboard!' he exclaimed.
Don't let that trouble you. sir. said the
clerk, with real affability. Our own bank
will exchange your money in the morning..
But 1 haven't penny of American
money on my person.!
How much will you need for the even-
ing, STRIP"
Not more than fifty"
The clerk brought forth a slip of paper.
wrote something on 1t, and handed IL 10
Warburton.
Sign here" he said, indicating a blank
space
And presently Mr.. Robert having depos-
tied his foreign money in the safe, pock-
eted the receipt for its deposit along with
five crisp American notes. There is moth
ing lacking in these modern hostelries, ex-
cepting 1t be a church.
Our homeless young gentleman lighted a
cigar and went out under the portico. An
early darkness had settled over the citv,
and heavy, steady rain was falling. the
asphalt pavements glistened and twlnkled
as far as the eyes range could reach. A
thousand lights cleaned down on him. ana
he seemed to be standing in canon dap
pied with freflies. Place of residence!
Neither the fig-tree nor the vine! Did no
lose his money tomorrow, the source of his
small income. he would be without a roof
over his head. True his brothers roof
would always welcome him; but roof-tree
of his own! And he could lay claim TO no
city, either, having had the good fortune
to be born in a healthy country town.
Place of residencei Truly he had none; a
melancholy fact which he had not appre-
ciated till now And all this had slipped
emily blue as a ra jah's sapphirei
h.. +f,,,,1