Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-06-25
A Ticket Scalper's Story.
[Original.].

any n else. \ scalper may feel in
clined to bestow that heart upon a wo-
man. l had that inclination once but
I'm never going to have it again. Wo-
men are the most ungrateful creatures
in the world. \ M who would
treat a mar as one of 'em treated me
isn't fit to live on the face of the earth.
One day a pretty, melancholy looking
girl of perhaps twenty-five came into
my office and said she wanted to get
to her mother, who was lying sick in
Cincinnati. She said she was broke
and wanted a ticket for about nothing.
1 had half a mind to give her a ticket
charging up the amount to myself, but
that would be giving a stranger some.
thing like $40, and, while, as l said, a
ticket scalper has a heart, he isn't the
kind of mar to give things away
that he can't afford to give. 1 was
looking among my old stock for some
thing pretty cheap when 1 came across
an unused half Of an old excursion
ticket, the limit of time of which had
long ago expired. 1t occurred to me
that if the girl worked on the sym
pathies of the conductor as she had on
mine she might induce him to pass hel
through on it. l told her what l was
thinking about and that if she was in.
clined to try it on l would give her the
ticket free of charge. She asked if
there would be anything dishonest in
such an act, and l told her l didn't
think there would be; there would be
no misrepresentation. If the conductor
wouldn't accept the ticket the worst he
could do was to put her off at the first
stop and she would be just so far on
her journey. If she got stranded in q
strange place she could get on the next
train and go farther on the same ticket.
and so On.
She said she wouldn't do that, but if
the conductor would let her go through
on the ticket she would do so. The
ticket had been paid for by some one.
and she didn't think the road had g
moral right to refuse it. | agreed with
her as to that, and she accepted the
ticket with heartfelt thanks and tears
in her eyes. She looked hungry, and l
asked her if she vas going through
without anything to eat. She said
she'd have to. and l felt so sorry for
her that | asked her to go out to q
restaurant and filled her VI with oys-
tiers, heefsteak and u lot of other
things. l reinember the bill was $3.50.
Her train went at 1905 o'clock, so |
took her to the theater, If you want
to love any one. just do something for
'em. The luore l did for this poor girl
the more | thought what d lovely home
she could make for me. By the time |
left her at the station | would have
bought her 4 good ticket, but I'd spent
all my money. l told her to keep up
her courage and she'd 60 through all
right. She said that | was one of ma
lures noblelnen and | would be re-
warded for my kindness to her. AS
the train moved away she waved her
hand to me out of the coach window.
looking at me with fearful eyes.
1t wasn't q week before l received
a note from the attorney of the road
over which I'd given the girl a ticket
stating that they had Il case against
me for swindling and must either shut
up my shop or they would send me to
state prison. | went at once to the
attorneys office and asked to know
what it meant. He showed me the
ticket ] had given the girl with a sick
mother and asked ne if I'd sold it to
a deaf and dumb girl. l denied the
charge and admitted I'd given it to a
girl who could talk as We'll as l could.
Then he told me how the ticket had
been used.
The girl had poked it at the conductor
when he came around, and he told her
it was no good. She began to talk to
him With her fingers, and, seeing her
condition, he had given her a pencil
and paper on which she wrote that a
ticket scalper had sold the ticket to her
lOl lllC iSSulil ldIG. Inc IOuu Was
trying to get a case to scare us scalp
ers, and the conductor, backed by the
passengers. who We're indignant at
such treatment of q poor deaf and
dumb girl. passed her through. but he
stipulated that she should give the
name of the scalper. which she did
willingly, expressing the hope that they
would punish him soHadly.
Well, I told M side of the story.
and when they @ to the sla:css the
girl had given them for confederation
of her side they found there was no
such street and number in existence.
The officers of the road believed that
the poor girl shrank from appearing
against me and had. therefore. thus
concealed her abode. But. not having
my evidence against me, they didn't
prosecute me, though I remained u
der a cloud with them.
Not long ago in looking over q news
paper my eyes were attracted to an
item headed. working the Deaf and
Dumb Racket" The item stated that
Mary Meyers had been arrested for
travelling Oh railroad trains ON worth