Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-12-26

-resses were rushing back and forth
with orders of chicken patties, lob
ster salad chocolate cellars and Nall
the other things that women have when
they lunch alone.
Helen had ordered tea and chicken
broth as something quickly served and
eaten The waitress put It down before
her, scrubbed off check for thirty cents
and hurried on.
Helen slipped at the broth slowly.
1t was interesting to watch the women
and they were all women. In the
whole Of that huge lunch room there
were hardly half dozen men. And what
tired, worried, MISUNDERSTANDING wo-
men!
Instinctivey Helen drew out her pocket
mirror. smoothed her hair and rubbed
a leaf from a powder book over her face.
There was nothing that made her more
uncomfortable than feeling of untidi-
ness and consciousness of shiny nose.
She was not rested; she would have
liked to linger longer over the tea, but
there were still many small things to be
bought and it took so long now to get
waited on. Slowly she drew on her
gloves and gathered up her packages.
When she opened her purse to pay the
stead of having a ten-dollar bill and some
change-she had only the change!
With a sick sinking at her heart she
searched breathlessly through her purse,
handbag, muff and under the table.
Again she searched through her purse,
handbag, muff and under the table-but
stil no bill! womanlike, she was futilely
repeating this same process for the third
,G,r,o ,.ybar tho yuaifraga cana nm
Lost anything, ma'am?'
oh" excitedly, 1--WE dropped a ten
dollar bill somewherel I don't know
where"
did you have it here, ma'am?"
Il don't know where ! had IL lot.
only know l started out with fifteen dol
lars-a ten-dollar bill and five ones-and
I've only spent the five"
And again Helen began her nervous
search through her purse, handbag, etc
1T is a curious fact that when woman
loses anything she will search over and
over again In the same places and in the
same way.
Now the head waitress came up WITH
perfunctory sympathy, and perfunctory
moving back Of chairs and looking under
the table,
With last lingering look about, Heller
went down TO make inquiries at the los
and found department And yet she fell
the hopelessness of finding it there.
mo ten-dollar bills been turned II
here" said the man at the desk with q
note Of amused tolerance in his voice
tilsd any should expect there would be
And Helen hurried on. Where cOulC
she have lost It? she asked herself fo
the twentieth time. Did she drop It on
Of her purse when she was paying To-
some purchase? or could she have giveI
Il out as a one dollar bill?
At length she started to leave the store
She might as well go home; she had NJ
heart to shop any more now-and N
money. Her mind was fun Of all sh
could have bought with the $40 A
she made her way out OF the shop ever!
attractive article she saw now stood II
her mind as something she might hay
had-if she had not lost this money.
Helen was not mercenary as all TIL
might imply. But above everything els
SHE dreaded to ask Warren for money, ]
was a humiliation from which she hat
always shrunk. Each month he gave he
a certain amount for the house and 70
herself And she always managed mos
carefully to keep within this amount
preferring TO do without many thing
rather than ask him for more.
And now this was part of the none,
he had given her for the family Christ
mas presents. She had figured il ali yer.