Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1908-11-05
HER FIRST
FLAT CALL

She had come TO town to call on a
woman whom she had met in the coun-
try the previous summer and who
lived in a fiat in Harlem. She was
dressed in her best--a choice black
lace gown and a bran new pair OF
gloves. pearl gray, and the tightest
fit she'd ever got into. She certainly
looked. trim and PRETTY. After riding
for what seemed TO her to be hours
she finally came to the house she was
looking for She never had been in
fiat. and when she found herself in
vestibule where there we're a lot OF
letter boxes with names over them and
little buttons above the names she was
rather at a loss how to proceed in or
der to get the door open. But there
was the name of her friend, who had
said she lived on the top floor. so she
touched button by way of expert
ment.
Suddenly, with a great rafting, the
door flew open all by itself with no
body anywhere in sight, and stepping
over the threshold she looked eau
tiously around and couldn't for the
moment think OF anything but spooks
as a solution OF the mystery. Nor did
the back part of a long, dark hall,
where the stairs seemed to lead up to
still darker places, serve to dispel the
uncanny impression. But she knew
she had to do it, so gathering up her
courage and her black lace skirt she
began the ascent-up, up, five steps
to a fight then landing and an alb
rupt corner to go around. She was
quite sure she had never in all her
experience come across a staircase
where she had to keep turning cor
ners all the time and still more GER
tain was she that she'd never before
gone upstairs in the dark in the day
time. But that was what she found
herself doing then, for after the third
cluster of steps there wasn't light
enough to see where the next was and
all she could do was to feel until she
! had to sit down in sheer exhaustion to
get her breath And how profoundly
did she wish she was safe home in
stead of all alone in a strange city
darknessl
4 Every blood-curdling story she ever
had heard flashed into her mind about
innocent country people being in
weighed to their doom on some plaus-
ible pretense or other; and she fairly
shivered with apprehension as she
thought how easy twould be to have
trap door on those stairs for I'M
suspecting country callers to fall into.
Then suddenly she jumped to her feet,
for somewhere up above a door had
slammed and she wanted to let some
body know she was coming: but some
way in her hurry she took wrong
step and before she knew it had gone
headlong all over a landing-place,
bursting both gloves and tearing the
choice lace-she could hear il ripping.
Twas awful, and as she arose she
was half tempted to go back again; but
she felt she must be near the top and
so kept on. not even trying to stand
upright, just creeping along, till final.
ly skylght shed some light on the
scene, and the weary climber. liter
ally gasping for breath, reached the
top floor where gazing sadly at the
ruptured gloves and torn gown anC
feeling her hat clinging deiectedly tC
the side of her head, she told herself
she could have fought over a bargain
as respectable.
But she was at the friends very
door. Not wishing, however. to go il
breathing like a porpoise, she decided
to lean against the side of ~ bah
way to rest moment befo rs
the bell and to put pin in ~
and pun the gloves together rhen
touching a button that was close by
she continued TO lean and rest unit
the door suddenly opened and she fel
in backward on the girl. who shrieket
for help and jumped aside, letting tn
invader fall over on top OF two o
! three umbrellas in the hat rack.
There's no kind of use in trying t.
describe the variety Of feelings phys
ical and rental. that assailed tn
caller as she laboriously extricate,
herself The maid. at a safe distance
was gazing. at her with an open sus
picion mixed largely with genuin
: fright and asking who she was an
. what she was doing. The country cal
ey. realizing vaguely that only a vel
chosen speech would in any measur
retrieve such a critical situation
fastened to collect the remains Of
badly scattered dignity and remarked
Ioram not at all certain what
am-at least I was calling but pleas
, tell Mrs --- that I'm in quite hun
ry, as must be-er-somewhere els
very soon Besides l don't feel YER
we'll" Then detaching herself fror
an especially aggressive umbrella sh
hurried into the hall and down tn
stairs, saying to herself as she fie
reclSlesslv round and round curve