Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1906-08-30
AN
ELEVATOR
CUPID
BY CARROLL WATSON RANKIN.

4 lDu.
- Katherine however was not an inhab
!, tant. In her own town elevators pu
~ sued the even tenor Of their way withol
vagariCs OF any sort; SO, when her bus
r ness with the photographer on the to
floor was completed the young woman
). with every reason 90 expect a swift an
uneventiul journey to the street, steppc
!, confidently into the elevator.
= AT the fourth floor the elevator stoppe
to admit a second passenger, a ma
, | named Westcou Westcott differed fror
Katherine in that he entered the cage
like apartment with full knowledge OF il
! treacherous tendencies, but Mcstcott wa
b that morning in a frame Of mind 20 cour
disaster He assured himself as h
stepped in that it was a matter Of com
plete Indifference 10 him whether the elc
vator shot suddenly upward and crashc,
through the skylipht or dropped wiihoa
warning into the basement
The elevator, however. did neither Of
these things Under the guidance of
chubby, blue-eyed youth, il pursued IL
downward career until it reached tn,
space between the first and second floors
there il stopped.
At the sight Of her fellow passenger
Katherine had turned pink with embar-
r1ssment. The man had mu,tered some
thing under his breath and bowed frig-
idly; for, before counting disaster. he had
courted ka;heriuc-apparenty it had
amounted 10 the same thing. They had
| parted forever only the evening before.
and the ring She had worn for three
/ months was al that moment in WestcOtt' $
/ trousers pocket, where he had thrust 1t
! sayagely al tie end Of their quarrel.
Why are We stopping here" asked
Katherine, turning 20 the elevator boy OF
cherubic countenance.
Cause We can't 90 on" returned he
boy producing q bag Of peanuts and q
dine novel, ard proceeding 10 make him
Stl comfortable. The blamed power
off,
Has it eyer-does it often 60 off Ike
this"
oh, yes" replied the boy cheerfully
" There's nothin' TO be scared Of Some
times she runs al right for as much a.
a week. then, again, she won't nudge
for SIX or seven hours al stretch"
Six or seven hours! ' gaspcl Ka,h-
crime.
Yep" replied the boy settling himself
more comfortably ON his stool Once
it was longer but giu'rally they get her
goin IN go hour or two There's no dan
ger at all, miss"
The boy gently discouraged further
conversation by buryiug himself in his
book Katherine moved to the end of
the long, lcather-covered seat. Wcstcoit.
Il the extreme other end, stared gloomily
at the wall
Katherine lokcd at her watch Il was
already past luncheon time. and she had
been too miserable 20 eat much break /
fast Still-she Frightened o. the thought
she should not siaHe. for she had with 1
her box of chocolates she was taking T.
home 70 her sisters children.
She looked at her watch again. Only
four minutes had passed, but pangs OF
hunger were becoming unendurable The
chubby boy munched peanuts with app/r
emily no thought OF ms fellow sufeJrs
katherine united the pink string/ tb,t
bound the candy box. unfOlded .he1,,n",
lifted up the lid and ate a choCGi1tr
When she had eaten three sh4 gisrced
at Westcott. He was still gsEng AZ Tie
wall The walls in eleyatE sbstts ~
seldom interesting. This NJ vs. tirtcj
with a bilious green-a - tbat W.
colt abhorred
How be must hate M - ,to,,o,,, E,,,b
crime, eating anothe1/ cbo,,,iat. 81,
he'd rather look al ~ vii ,1,n ~ me
wonder what ! Fought to dor II we
W w. u'.1i - d. ers, cast away on a des-
81 i''e SNu hSehad one biscuit and three
., NsxsGr, | should think him hor-
rid If he Hdn't offer me half / suppose
| ought to offer him some Of these choco-
lates, even if we're not on speaking
/ terms"
Katherine sitting very straight and
with her eyes straight ahead. pushed
the box along the seat. Westcott paid
no attention
"Will you have a chocolate" asked
| Katherine, somewhat unsteady.
| Westcott was SO sure that he was
dreaming that he did not make any an
| sWer
The lady spoke to you prompted the
| elevator boy
Westcott looked inquiringly at Kath-
crime.
viii you-will you have n chocolate ?"
No, thank YOU replied Westcott, re-
turning to the contemplation of the green
wall.
There was another long pause. The
neglected box remained half way between
the suspended passengers.
Il think you're ry-ungentlemanly,"
said Katherine, at length
so you said last night" responded
Wcstcott cOldly
You're more so to-day"
GLOW SOP
"You-you know I'm too polite 20 ca.
those chocolates and let you 60 hungry
and I'm fairly starving
Wc5tcott, with an air Of exaggerated
politeness, took a chocolate and ate IT,
with his eyes fixed unsociably upon the
green wall lie dared not trust himself
to look at Katherine Katherine nibbled
a bonbon, waited in silence for ten min
utes, and again offered the box 20 West
colt who grayely helped himself This
operation was repeated until only one re-
NAMED in the box. The remaining one
was heart shaped
It's a hcartw exclaimed the elevator
boy, who had read too many dime novels
not TO recognize an interesting situation
when he was face 10 face with one, and