Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-05-07
Wasted Effort

husband should have done under the
circumstances. For on the previous
FIVE evenings dinner had waited, cool
ed, collapsed into sodden mess be-
cause Of his nonarrival at the prop
er time.
81 will be home tonight" he assured
his wife, Eat 6 o'clock. shall start
in plenty of time to allow for distrac-
tions-and, anyhow, don't think /
should be blamed because an old
friend sprung up out Of the earth and
talked a half hour, or for slow
watch or for slow client! However,
barring earthquakes and commissions
of nature, this evening will see me
here when you expect mel"
81 certainly hope So" Mrs. Bellfire
told him. 81 am sure the cook will
leave If it happens again."
Bellfire started that evening for the
suburban express train, which left at
5:o5. He was going to make good
job of it and arrive home with fifteen
minutes to spare. 1t was bitter cold
and the train so crowded that the best
ne could do was to wedge himself to
lodging the rain Of cinders.
Ordinarily 1t took the express train
fifteen minutes to make the run. 1t
had been travelling five minutes when
it stumbled and then stopped. 1t did
not resume its progress. Men began
to fold their newspapers and scowl
Then they began to Investigate. 1t
seemed that the locomotive was frozen
up! A roar of indignation arose from
the passengers. Somebody scratched
the frost from a window and announc-
ed that they were nearly opposite an
intermediate station. Then a local
train pulled in at that platform.
In the exodus which ensued Bell
fire found himself crushed off on the
snow covered ground He stood knee
deep in snowbank and blinked at the
distant platform, the trainmen swing
Ing warning lanterns and ordering
their escaping trainload back. Then
he, too, began hopping over interyen.
ing tracks. He might lose his life,
but he had to be home at o'clock.
He lodged through train, knocked
down fat man and joined the shiv.
ering crowd clustering about the
wrong end of the local platform. The
ascending spirals of frosted breath
that went up from every individual
looked like dozens OF little campfres.
On the end of the platform the ever
present busy person was giving or
ders.
"Now, we've got to get the ladies
up here!" he said. This man and I'll
give 'em a hand-and you fellows
down there get 'em started"
A riot ensued, punctuated b. shrieks
of. "Oh, it's so terribly high Take
Willie first! Wil.l-ee! Stay away
from the edge of that PLATFORM!
"Oh, I've dropped my bag!" why
don't they have steps here? I should
think there would be steps,"
Bellfre, being large, soon found
that he was doing most Of The heavy
work. The process of boosting mum.
berless women. each weighing twenty.
five pounds of furS and other wraps
above normal, is eXhausting. When
Bellfire at last clambered up he was
disheveled, putting, limp. He dragged
himself to that level just in time to
see the last Of the crowd swing on the
last platform of the local that had
pulled in.
When he had become petrlfied to his
knees another headlight loomed up
and dashed by without stopping. Ii
was an express train temporarily out
OF its orbit because of Bellfre's fro
zen train. BY the time another ap'
peared Bellfire was ice to his neck.
Stiffly he stumbled on board and
dropped himself against a door. He
did not dare sit down because he was
firmly convinced that if he did so he
would splinter into icicles. When ne
had thawed out enough to have hui
man intelligence Bellfre observed that
the train was making no stops what
ever. Just as this fact dawned upon
him the lights OF his own station ap-
peered, blinked. vanished. He
grabbed the conductor and protested
raucously.
Nope" said the conductor. This
train is special and doesn't stop
again till it gets to Flowerdale at the
end of the line"
F1owerdale is exactly twenty-one
miles beyound Bellfire's station. A
veil will be drawn over the commun-