The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1910-01-17
Confusing to
Lucinda


Three of US girls started to come
down town on surface car. There
was l and friend of mine and a
friend of hers who was with her Now
usually, you know, we girls pay each
her own fare, but my friend wanted
to pay the fare of her friend, and
what my friend wanted to do was to
give me dime for herself and her
friend and have me pay for all three;
and what l wanted to do was to give
my friend my nickel and have her
pay all three fares. l hope you I'M
6erstand this as far as I've got, for
it's going to get more complicated
right away.
We'll, the car was crowded when
we got aboard, and we all had to
stand up, and We tried to arrange that
fare business as We stood there in
the crowd, so that everything would
be all right and ready when the con-
ductor came around, and SO dropped
my nickel in her handbag SO she
could pay, and she tried to hand her
dime to me at the same time so
could pay, but in the crush somehow
the dime was dropped between us
and it fell down between the stats on
the floor of the car, and there we let
it rest, because we couldn't get at Il
in the crowd
Then pretty soon my friend and
her friend came to the street where
they were to get Oh, which they did:
and this, you understand, before the
conductor had got to us to collect our
fares. So, you see, they got of with
out anybody paying their fares, they
or / or anybody. And now things be-
gan to get more mixed up.
pretty soon after they had got of
the conductor came along for my fare
I had got seat by that time, near
where l had been standing-and l
told him / had dropped dime on the
floor and he could take it out of that.
But there we're some people still
standing in the car and the conductor
couldn't get the mat UP with people
standing on It, but evidently he De-
lieved me about the dime for he
didn't ask me again for my fare but
went out and stood on the platform.
And then more things happened.
Sitting next to me was a mother
with her little daughter, very pretty
little girl and handsomely dressed, as
for that matter her mother was, too,
and presently the mother spied that
dime down between the stats on the
floor, and she told her little daughter,
and of course the little girl at once
began to dig for. it. But she couldn't
get it out with her fingers and in q
minute she looked up and said:
Mamma, give me hairpin'
And mamma smiled at that, but
she gave her hairpin, and in min
ute more the little girl had got the
dime-which she handed over at once
to me. don't think the mother knew
it was mine, but somehow the little
girl did.
$50 now I had the dime back, and
when we came to the street, where
was to get off I handed it to the con-
ductor as I passed out, telling him
that there was the dime that
dropped. and he took my fare out of
it, and gave me back nickel
And then tried to cipher out who
had paid, and how much, and with
whose money; and the more
ciphered the more got mixed up.
had certainly paid two fares, one to
my friend when l gave her my nickel,
which, if she knew it at ALL she had |
forgotten all about, and then I had
paid another five cents to the con-
ductor.
'I had paid twice and yet was
really out only five cents, for that !
nickel to the conductor was paid out |
Of my friends dime, and of course
The change from it belonged to her
My friend had lost a dime, but | had
given her five cents with which to
pay my fare, which she couldn't do,
because the conductor didn't come for
t, and she would get from me five
cents more, the change out of the lost
lime, which 7 had recovered.
$50 who had paid and how much
lad anybody paid or lost, and the
more I thought about all this the
more confused I got, till | got so I
ust couldn't think, and then I asked
Jlaude If he could figure it out
"My brother Claude Is great on fig
res, he can do sums with signs and
ii that sort of thing, and he said, as
told you, that it was all simple
nough that all wanted to bother
bout was what he called the net re-
ult, and he said that when I had
iven my friend back the nickel out
( the dime the net result of the en-
ire transaction would be that this
arty of three would have paid out .
ne fare. the fare paid by me, and
hat the company would be out two
ares.
"And I think I can understand Il
ow, but ] hope I shall never have
mother experience like that. because
wing to get this one straight in nv
ind actually made my head ache"
|