The Cairo bulletin., 1909-08-14
The Resource
fulness of Sue

inda sod lovely laces in big shop.
They lived in an apartment that had
silently Of closet rOom-tve rooms and
bath, to be exact sue usually stopped
IN the way home and bought two
amb chops and head of lettuce, if
it was the beginning OF the week, or
five cents worth oi stew meat and
no lettuce, if il 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 Ethelnda'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
lecks of their shirt waists and wear
heir near-Brussels 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
# the manager passed her the glance
frappce, and make all possible speed
to the express train.
She had the list of dinner items
complete. Chops, bread, lettuce (oh,
this was Monday evening", corn on
the ear, merlngue pie and some ber-
ries for desert She looked like the
Goddess of Plenty as she reached the
door of the fiat house,
She had to put down the chops the
bread and the lettuce on the floor of
he yestibu4e while she dug in her bag
ior the keys
Keys? Keys? Here was her pen
knife, her handkerchief, pencil, three
hairpins, some chewing gum, pow
der puff, a nail fife, a 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 pretty how-dedo.
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
loct 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
nh
on the stairs and thought some more.
There were two fats on floor. She
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
nat 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 nre-escape to the street. My II
was a long drop If she slipped. Fur
thermore. the ladder was rusty old
thing. and as the fiat house was at
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 a clear
drop if anything happened, straight
to the areaway. She hoped she'd fall
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.
&c sperately, and put her foot on the
iron ladder II seemed firm She
tried not To look down in the street,
but she couldn't help noticing a man
driving a sprinkling cart He gazed
up in her direction and shouted, pleas
antly: "Oh, / say, Maude, the waters
fine. Drop in"
Two small boys playing ball in the
street yelled at companion block
away: Hey. Chimmie, hurry up Pipe
de lady burglar
"Oh. YOU blue stocking" remarked
college youth from across the way.
And two men who were repairing the
street stopped their steam roller end
called out: Don't jump! Wen save
you"
The ladies in the tenement opposite
nearly fell out Of their respective win
dows in their enthusiasm over the I'M
usual spectacle. The grocery boy
from the corner store dropped a barrel
of potatoes on the grocers foot. the
driver ol a delivery wagon PAUSED
with his parcels slipping from his
arms-aud al because q desperate
yoHE- .erson was descending a fire
escape. II seemed to Sue to take an
hour at least to get 10 the platform
outside her own Kitchen window. Her
hands and dress were red with rust