Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1905-01-12
A MORSE
IRTATION
g NoING over from Philadelphia to

NOlNG over lIon AniiAu0AP "
VI New York on the train the othel
day" said division inspector for one
Of the telegraph companies, Il found
myself involuntarily eavesdropping on
an innocent little Morse filtration.
ut happened in the dining car
There were only three Of us to respond
to the last call for dinner. The girl
sat alone at the table across the aisle
from mine. For all that she was obvi-
ously a business girl, she was as pref
ty and graceful and groomed as show
apple in the window Of fancy fruit
shop. The man, who sat at the table
behind her, with the back Of his chair
all but touching hers, was a personable,
well-cared- for looking chap Of 30 or so
type of the hustling, alert young man
of business.
"As We three were the last to avail
ourselves of the dinner, all Of the wait
ers except one had gone OF duty and
hung UP their aprons. The remaining
waiter took the orders of the three Of
us in a bunch, and then disappeared
into the diner kitchen. He was gone an
Internationally long time. Probably
the cook hadn't expected any responses
to last call, and had to begin over again.
The young woman was the first Of us to
show impotence. She didn't look peeV-
ish over the walters long absence, but
she sighed YEARLY several times and
rested her pretty chin in the palms Of
her hands and gazed drearily out Of the
window. could see that she was a
mite irritated over the walters pro-
longed sojourn in the kitchen.
Then out of the corner Of my eye
1 was passing away in time by glanc-
ing over the headlines Of newspaper
I saw her pick up her knife In an alb
stracted sort of way. The water jug
was right beside the place from which
she picked up the knife. H.
I'm an unconscious sort of way she
began to tap on the side of the water
bottle with the end of the knife. This
is what she tapped:
Blame that waiter!'
1.-THE young fellow seated with his
back to her instantly chirked up. He,
too, had a newspaper spread out in
front of him, and until the tapping on
the water bottle began he had looked ex-
bored. At that sound, however,
he looked up from the paper and gazed
straight ahead Of him, his face screwed
into an expression Of keen attention.
1.-THE young woman dropped her knife
as soon as she had tapped
her mild objurgation of the waiter on
he bottle. The young man instantly
picked up his knife. This is what he
tapped, MorsewiSe, and with q good deal
II speed and finish, on his water bottle:
i. Thanks. Same here. But why
planet" That let's him down too
easily =..-.-..
ut was the young woman's turn to
.merge suddenly from her bored state.
She flushed slightly, and smile lurked
round the corners Of her mouth, but
he didn't turn her head.
1.-THE young man hadn't twisted about
N his chair to look at her, either.
Mighty self-contained young people, I
thought She picked up her knife again
q soon as his tapping ceased.
"'Well, hang him, then. she tapped.
"Not strong enough yet,' he tapped
n quick reply. Want me to say 1t? 1t
night help some
"'Please DON'T she tapped, almost
breaking in upon him. ! hate pro-
anity.'
well, that was pretty good start |
kept my eyes on my paper, looking as
innocent as I could. They went ahead |
nth that water jug. conversation for Is
minutes before the waiter appeared with
ur dinners. utthey never even turned
nee to look at each other. have a
hrewd suspicion that they'd surveyed
ach other sort Of casually before sit
Ing down.
"she tapped that she was perishing for
BOD. because she'd been compelled to
zee for a train that day without break
ast. II was the same with him, he
apped in reply. Had oversight himself,
nd had only made the train BY an eye
lsh.