The sun., 1909-11-21

she Teus How. ON q nay Unexpectedly
Rainy. she Saved Ber Bix HAT.

L
she Teus How. ON q nay Unexpectedly
Rainy. she Saved Ber Bix HAT.
II had read these stories In tho papers.
said Lucinda. about the boys with UNI
brellas who wait around subway and
elevated stations on rainy days to make
what they can by esoorting people home.
but IL had never occurred to me that 1
should ever have any such experience.
1t only goes TO show that anything is
likely to happen to anybody. O.
do you know that big hat Of mine.
the hat have to tip my head sideways
in to get through the narrow doors Of the
pay as you enter carsl I've just had
to buy another smaller hat to wear to
run about in; but the big hat Is a nice
hat and didn't want to get it wet IL 1
could help il. and the other day | got
caught in II In the rain.
do you remember that day when it.
was so lovely all day and then came ON
to rain about half past s? l was out
that day in my big hat and I went home
on the elevated; It. began TO rain while
l was ON the train. and then l thought
Of those umbrella boys and hoped I'd
meet one.
q station where many people get of and
where there is likely to be a number OF
umbrella boys, but l went one station
further. so as to be nearer home. 1
thought would take q chance Of meeting
a boy there. I could telephone for an
umbrella IL there wasn't any, but there
was Just one boy there. He told me
later that he had come there himself
to this station because so many boys
Q n. 49,. Ns.... ~ "A
here. where l found him. there would
be less competition and he would be more
likely to get Gust omers. Not bad for
the small boy, do you think2
We'll, saw that boy standing with
his umbrella at the foot of the stairs
when I started down from the top. and
just ahead OF me we're two other women
and was in mortal terror for fear they
would hire him; but they didn't. and
when | came along:
Take you home under the umbreilay'
he said to me. and said:
Certainly and then he lifted the
umbrella and We started on.
He was about II and am older. you
know. and | was a good deal taller than
he; his head came about up TO my shoul-
der; but he didn't try to hold the uu-
brella over me, he opened it and just
handed il to me and I carried il and he
walked alongside; and he didn't try to
get in under the umbrella--he just walked
along beside me IN the rain.
We had quite some distance to go
three long blocks across town and one
short block down-and | thought l had
better talk to him a little to sort OF occupy
the time so that the distance wouldn't
seem 30 long to him. | was his very tirst
customer. This was the first time he had
ever tried the umbrella business and he
hadn't been waiting there more than
minute when | came along; 50 he had
made a grand start and naturally he was
very much pleased.
Il had asked him when hired him how
much it would cost to take me home and
he didn't know. We talked about that
as we went along. | told him no ought to
have a regular schedule OF charges. ac-
cording to the distance. and l asked
him what he would think OF charging say.
cent block, charging long blocks a.
two; but he thought that would be too
htte; he was inclined to think that 10
cents would be about right.
Il asked him il his mother knew he was
out on this work. and he said oh. yea,
she had given him the umbrella; and |
might say here that il was a very good
umbrella, and big; il protected my big
hat perfectly. Incidentally ! learned
that my escort had a sister. older than
himself, and that he went to Public
School So-and- so. he told me. and he told
Then | asked him what he was
going to do with the money he earned
this way, and he said he was going to
keep il in a bank. but lac didn't know
yet what he was going to do with il.
i asked him IL he knew what he was going
to do when he grew up.
L don't know yet. he said: so l inn
agiDed that he had not yet got his mind
very firmly fixed.
BY this time we had gone some dis
tance and we were still keeping stead
lily on; presently the boy said to me;
-'Is il much further" and / told him
not much; and then he explained TO me
that he wanted to get back il he could
and get another customer in this rain.
But he was just as nice about il as could
be-he was a nice boy-and in a minute
more we came to the end Of the journey,
with my hat all right. Ii had been under
stood between us that was 10 give him
10 cents, but I gave him extra 10 put
in his bank and then he took the UNI
brella and scurried back to see IL he could
get another customer.
wasn't that all very interesting?
| had never dreamed OF anything like
this happening to ME. but here l was
now hiring an umbrella boy myself. just
like I'd resd about in the stories in the
papers. We never can tell what's going
TO happen to US