The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1910-03-03
Confusing to
Lucinda

what you think.
Three of us girls started to come
down town on surface car. There
was i 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 / wanted to do was to give
my friend my nickel and have her
pay all three fares. | hope you un.
derstand 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 I
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 1t
in the crowd.
Then pretty soon my friend and
her friend came to the street where
they were to get off, which they did |;
and this, you understand. before the
conductor had got to us to collect our
fares. So, you see, they got off 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 a seat by that time, near
where ] had been standing-and
told him had dropped a dime on the
floor and he could take it out of that
But there were some people still
standing in the car and the conductor
couldn't get the mat up with people
standing on 1t, but evidently he be.
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 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 II. But she couldn't
get it out with her fingers and In
minute she looked up and said:
Mamma. give me hairpin.'
"And mamma smiled at that, but
she gave her a 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 had the dime back, anf
when we came 1.-The Street where
vas 70 get off handed 1t to the con
ductor as passed out, telling hin
that there was the dime that
dropped, and he took my fare out o.
1t, and gave me back nickel.
"And then tried to cipher out who
had paid, and how much, and will
whose money; and the more
ciphered the more got mixed up.
had certainly paid two fares, one tc
my friend when l gave her my nickel
which. II she knew 1t at all. she had
forgotten all about, and then ! had
paid another five cents to the con
ductor.
81 had paid twice and yet I 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 1t belonged to her
My friend had lost dime, but had
given her five cents with which tC
pay my farer which she couldn't do
because the conductor didn't come foi
It. and she would get from me five
cents more, the change out of the lost
dime. which | had recovered.
80 who had paid and how much
had anybody paid or lost. and the
more thought about all this the
more confused ! got. till ! got so
Just couldn't think. and then ] asked
Claude If he could figure it out.
my brother Claude is great on fig
ures. ne can do sums with signs and
all that sort of thing, and he said. as
told you. that IL was all simple
enough. that all / wanted to bother
about was what he called the net re
suit. and he said that when had
given my friend back the nickel out
of the dime the net result of the en-
tire transaction would be that this
party OF three would have paid ou,
one fare. the fare paid by me. and
that the company would be out two
fares.
And think can understand 1,
now, but hope ! shall never have
another experience like that. because
trying TO get this one straight in my
mind actually made my head acne"