Evening star., 1907-11-10

a;sg laSghiss; iss: had adj been ss35sBB; ssB; q
too b1l1S we'll: Tii AtrT two Young young ass.ss
in dinner coats and y - = =.
straw hats sat farther a&S Sr~
down the car, near the -
door; huddled in the s-----SSSlssesas-
corner opposite was a -
fat woman in a red silk TSV@@z<
waist, a black alpaca
skirt, battered straw
hat, and shoes that had
been white: next
to her were two
dressed Negroes The only other passenger besides
myself was young man with putty locking face,
and remarkable only for very bright pink shirt,
and d an unt cigarette hanging from his lips
The girl got on the somewhere in the 60 streets,
and at her approach my fellow passengers shook
themselves from the lethargy of the early morning
hour rubbed their eyes, as it were and took notice
Looking neither to the right to the left, appar
emily oblivious of her surroundings, and wholly
conscious of the fact that she alone, she took
seat about the center of the car directly opposite
my own. She looked and dressed like the kind of
girl that one does not expect to in the city in
july, except at great intervals, and then only at
through town, The close fitting gray dress, the
glimpse of flmy shirt waist, the black straw sailor
hat the patent leather ties the gistening white kid
gloves all perhaps as simple as they well could
be. And yet, the vereSt layrnan in such matters
would have known that in their way they
as costly money could buy. 1t was not, however,
the clothes that seemed so curiousy incongruous
surrounded by the riffraff of Broadway night car,
it the exquisite beauty of the girl herself
the refined high bred beauty of the carefully nur-
tured American girl.
With her hands stuck deep in the pockets of the
bng, gray coat she stared through big innocent eyes
directly across the car me; and yet l was quite
at this time that she unconscious of my
presence. At her coming, the young with the
pink shirt shuddered slightly rubbed his eyes, and
permitted the stale cigarette to fall to the floor
Then he turned his gaze on the young woman, and
did not remove it until she started to leave us at
46th-st.
However great may have been my curiosity and
that of my fellow passengers in regard to the night
ride of the beautiful young woman, quite
that If it had not been for the youth with the pink
shirt she would have passed out of lives
nlolested unknown and as quickly forgotten mys-
terry. But when she rose to 60 the young
too and this sudden movement on his part seemed
to me, in the capacity of general defender of the
weaker sex, to be essentially my to get into
action.
l quickly got up and was just in time to block
the aisle of the and separate the girl from her
would be pursuer. Apparently unconscious of what
taking place, she hurried down the aisle to the
PLATFORM and |, following lesurely, swung off the
car just it started with jolt it's way down
Broadway, So far as could tell the girl on alght
ing looked neither to side the other but hur
ried eastward along the south side of the street
Hoping to assure her that her safety was my only
present object in life, followed at a considerable
distance. The girl must have been several hundred
feet in advance of me; and thus continued until
| saw her run up the steps of large apartment
house, and disappear behind the stone pillars which
formed the somewhat imposing entrance to the
place.
l had done all that I considered a gentleman
should do under the circumstances, and nothing
renamed but to continue my way home. Having
crossed far eastward however, | found it some
what nearer my apartment to continue on as | was
going. Finally reached the apartment house into
which my mysterious friend had suddenly dis
appeared, and was about to stop to look at the
name carved in stone the door, when | heard
voice behind one of the broad pillars say, Look
out for the behind you, and here later!
L must talk to you tonight!
1t was very low, sweet voice, but very distinct.