Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1909-09-23
The Resource
fulness of Sue

plCAly VI ClOStI lOOluo dAN
bath, to be exact. Sue usually stopped
on the way home and bought two
lamb chops and head of lettuce, if
it was the beginning of the week, or
five cents worth of stew meat and
no lettuce, if it was toward the tag
end of the week, near pay day. Sue
was generally the one to negotiate the
purchases because shs left the Office
at five and came up town on an ex-
press train, while Ethelinda's shop
didn't close until six.
Now, upon certain evening they
had invited Marie and Ralph to dine
with them. They could say dine"
because they intended to turn in the
necks of their shirt waists and wear
their nearBrussels lace collars and
because Marie was going to bring
over her finger bowls. 1t behooved
Sue to shut up her typewriter on
the very stroke of five, therefore, even
if the manager passed her the glance
frappee, and make all possible speed
to the express train.
She had the list of dinner items
complete. Chops, bread, lettuce Ooh,
this was Monday evening", corn on
the ear, a meringue pie and some Der.
ries for desert. She looked like the
Goddess of Plenty as she reached the
door of the fiat house.
bread and the lettuce on the floor of
the vestibule while she dug in her bag
for the keys.
Keys? Keys? Here was her pen.
knife, her handkerchief, pencil. three
hairpins. some chewing gum, a pow
der puff, a nail file, mirror and her
list of dinner supplies-but no keys.
Clearly she must have left them at
the office in her hurry. Now, here was
indeed a pretty how-de-do!
Ethelinda wasn't due for an hour,
the guests were apt to come along
any minute, and she had ordered the
grocer to send around the four bot.
ties of ice cold" right straight away,
and now she couldn't even get in to
open the dumbwaiter door.
1t was comparatively easy to col,
lect the pie, the chops, the bread,
the lettuce and the berries and go
down through the cellar and up the
four flights of stairs to her apartment
door. But then what? She sat down
on the stairs and thought come more.
could ring the bell of the next-door
lady and beg to be let climb out her
kitchen window, across the fire es-
cape and into her own kitchen Win
dow. Fine! Whereupon she rang.
No answer. Lady away. Lovely!
Now what? And time was flying.
There was but one other way. The
fiat just over theirs was vacant. She
might get into that if the door was
open, go out the kitchen window, and
down the fire escape to her own
She carefully deposited the chops.
the berries, the corn. the lettuce, the
pie and the bread upon the floor and
started upstairs. The door of the
empty fiat was unlocked. All, joy!
She rushed to the kitchen window and
gazed down through the fretwork OF
the fire-escape to the street. My! 1t
was long drop if she slipped. Fur
thermore, the ladder was rusty old
thing, and as the fiat house was al
the corner of the block, the fire es,
cape hung to the outer wall of the
building. The openings in the iron
platforms at each floor were right
over each other, and offered clear
drop, if anything happened, straight
nice and plumb into the area, and
not out on the sidewalk, where every
body passing by would have to see her
all mussed up.
She stepped forth courageously
desperately, and put her foot on the
iron ladder. 1t seemed firm. She
tried not to look down in the street
but she couldn't help noticing a man
driving sprinkling cart. He gazed
up in her direction and shouted, pleas
antly: "Oh, l say. Maude. the waters
fine. Drop in"
Two small boys playing ball in the
street yelled at a companion BLOCK
away: Hey. Chimmie, hurry up! Pipe
de lady burglar!"
"Oh, you blue stocking!" remarked
a college youth from across the way
And two men who were repairing the
street stopped their steam roller anG
called out: Don't jump! Well save
you!"
The ladies in the tenement opposite
nearly fell out of their respective win
dows in their enthusiasm over the un
usual spectacle. The grocery boy
from the corner store dropped barre
of potatoes on the grocer's foot, the
driver of delivery wagon paused
with his parcels slipping from his
arms-and all because desperate
young person was descending a fire
escape. 1t seemed to Sue to take ar
hour at least to get to the platform
outside her own kitchen window Hel
hands and dress We're red with rust
and her hat was on one ear She
ducked hastily into the open kitchen
window with triumphant cry-inte
the arms OF the amazed Ethelinda
"Suai"