The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-06
. OUR DAILY SHORT STORY


 Tom was telegraph operator at the depot and his cottage was not far from the tracks. The main street of the town led past both. so Tom sell dom missed seeing Nellie each night and morning as she went to and from work. Once as she passed the cottage he was washing his few dishes, and he saw her toss her head and quicken her steps. More often, however, he was at his post in 1he depot He hop ed against hope that she would drop him a forgiving line or fling him nod of friendship as she passed the depot. Instead, each week he heard more of Nellie's social popularity The boys the new suspender factory organ ized a club and gave a dance. Nellie was the belle, of the evening. Miss Me- | Carthy, who had come over to the cot | tage to do some scrubbing, told him all about 1t, concluding with graphic | description of the wonderful new frock | whcih Nellie had ordered from the city.
 | That afternoon the weather changed suddenly. The snow came down first in soft swirling cloud, then with crisp. needle-like insistence Tom threw more coal into the depot stove ana made a quick run home to take the geraniums out of the window. When | he came back to the station he knew | that d blizzard was closing down on Ridgefield. He wondered how Nellie would get home-and then Syracuse called and he had to put his thoughts on h:s work
 It took all his strength to reach | the cotts ye across the track. His first l instinct was to close all shutters and draw the curtains, but he remembered
 his mothers custom of setting lamr | In the window for those who might | be abroad on stormy nights. Such a cozy little kitchen as it lighted, with
 fire snapping in the old fashioned | cook stove which Miss Mccartney pol
 ished to brilliancy at each visit He hummed contenredly as he sat | over the teakettle and brought the
 bread and butter from the pantry | Then he stopped short and listened in-
 tently. What was that sratching noise | on the door-yes-and now the sound l of a muffled fall?
 He flung open the door, and the
 wind blew out his lamp. but against | the blur of the snow, he saw a dark | figure huddled on his doorstep. | He carried the woman indoors, laio | her on the old fashioned settee and re- l lighted his lamp, Then with some. thing like a groan he sprang back tc
 the inert form. It was Nellie! Fifteen minutes later a white and
 very quiet Nellie sat before the snap. | ping fire, with blankets wrapped around her still trembling figure ant
 a cavalier in short sleeves serving hel
 and toast.
 And now tell me how it happened | Tom said with authority.
 "I didn't realize it was storming SC | dreadfully. and my machine brok, down just before closing time. Th' i foreman-the new man, you know | from Boston---said that if I wanted tc
 make up the time I'd lost-Tm doins | piece work now-he had some extrs
 work to do, too, and he'd see I go
 home all right. I was sort of glad tC | stay because it's fierce to go home tx | a cold room in the hotel night like
 this, and when you have a headache
 you just hate to sit evenings in thu
 parlor with a lot of folks and tn, | piano dangling, So stayed, but | but her voice was low and tea | heavy, lon the way down the stair l --he-he tried to kiss me and then
 ran through the snow, sort of blind
 I guess, and the first thing I didn' l know where I was. I just saw tn
 light--I didn't know 1t was your cot | tage-
 Pride struggled with relief in hel
 tired voice.
 abruptly and then for some minutes
 he busied himself around the room
 standing before her at last in hi
 heaviest outdoor raiment.
 Where are you going2 Please don
 leave me alone"