The Prescott daily news., 1908-11-18
ATurnIn the Tables

would only confide to my bosom friend. A terrible blunder for which l alone am responsible has made q great change in my life. can never think of 1t without horror shame, mor- titication, humiliation-indeed. every frightful emotion for which there is a word in the English language. And yet l confess that this incident has brought me the most exquisite happi- ness. 1 have to announce to you. my dearest, sweetest, loveliest friend. my engagement Bob has won my con- sent at last
 But I must admit that Bob took an unfair advantage of me. While love him and feel that he is the one man to make me happy, I can never forget that he turned to his own account this frightful fatality to compel me to ac- cept him. True, had all along intend ed to do so. But you know how sweet it is for woman to have man hum ble himself before her. tell her that without her he will become wreck, implore her to have mercy upon him. All this I might have had were it not for my mistake.
 l had kept Bob dangling for year. l had given him but little hope. con- fess that his pain was my pleasure When he fretted I laughed at him. when he rebelled I assumed naughty tone and asked by what authority he presumed to dictate to me, and never after the slightest sign of independ- favor except he came to me through the valley of humiliation.
 Now, when I consider that he not only compelled me to desist from such treament, but assumed to make cond'- tions; when 1 think that he got me- so to speak, i'll hole, acted in a mean. contemptible. selfish, disgusting. bru- tal-
 But l am forgetting that I am en- gagged to him and love him devotedly It Is dangerous for me to give you this story, for in the telling of it I am liable to wish that I had my lover on spit roasting him before slow fire. llONcNtI, SiliNe mUNt ltil SOilltDOdN and you are my own true, loyal friend, I will hurry through 1t lest my indigna- ton get the better of me and I send Bob about his business.
 You must know that Bob and Alice and Sue and Lillie and a lot of boys and girls were together on the coast. Well. we came home in the same train, making the journey in the night. Alice and I occupied a lower berth, while Sue and Lille did the same. The boys bunked toge .her, except Bob who took q berth for himself alone We were a merry party on the train, talking and laughing. til, a disagreeable old man why are old people permitted to live I wonder?-called out from his berth that the fool killer was coming through the train. Thinking that this might possibly be a hint for us to get int" our berths, we did so, and the car soon wore the silence of slumber. Of course the silence of slumber is different in sleeping car from nursery. X mum. Der of people snored frightfully.
 In the middle of the night I awoke with a terrible thirst. I was in my wrapper and had my slippers on. I crawled over Alice, who slept on the outside. went to the end of the car to the cooler. got a drink and started back.
 Now. these sleeping cars, when one wishes to find ones berth, are perfect ly awful l was lost. looked for the porter. but he was not visible. 1 peeped into several berths, fin each case seeing q stranger asleep. Then it occurred to me that my berth was the fourth from the rear end of the car. Acting on this, l made plunge. A figure rolled in the bedclotheS was on the outside. l climbed over 1t and it, the other hand and knee on the other side, when the sleeper stretched forth a hand, pulled the curtain aside, and the horrid lamplight shone down on the face of
 How shall 1 ever get the story told? What was 1 doing? What frightful fate had possession of me? There be heath me lay man-not only man, but the man whom I had been perse- cutting. I was getting into bed with oh, horrors!-with Bob. He was look ing up into my eyes. l down into his.
 "'Mercyv' I cried and, rolling out into the aisle, rushed back to the other end of the car. There l found the porter coming in at the door, and he put me in my berth.
 Of course didn't sleep wink. How could I? The next morning Bob made no reference to the matter by look or