Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1914-09-03
A THRILLING
MISTAKE
By THOMAS r. DUNN

WIS blfNNIIiS III NIillIItl OIlt " tIl-
ing when the telephone bell rang.
Stepping to the instrument, / heard II
very sweet feminine voice say
rs that You, Mr.. Pcmberton"
Eyes, I'm Pemberton."
"YOure to be at the corner Of Eighth
and Walnut this evening ut 3. Take
the cab you will find there and
"Who are yOuf' / asked, not under
standing all this talk.
Pm Ellie Strong. You will be driv-
en- to the park entrance. 90 to the
fountain, where you will find Edith.
Carry a rose in Oh, heavens. some
one Is coming"
There was click and that was the
end Of these remarkable Instructions
1t was evident that there had been II
call for some one bearing my name.
and the telephone girl or the person
calling or some one had made mis-
take.
Now. | would not on any account
take advantage of such Il blundcr to
crafty curiosity, pry into other pcO-
pies affairs or for any other purpose.
But ! felt II incumbent on me to cor
rect the error If possible. This other
PcmbcrtOn would not get the message
intended for him, the driver Of the
cab might wait all night on his box,
and Ellie might grow so desperate as
10 drown herself in the fountain. 1t
b"hooved me to set matters right
| called up the telephone office and
asked who had given me the last call
| might MS well have asked the OBJ
orator to tell me how many grains
there are on an ear Of corn ! look
ed In the directory for the name Penn
b"rton, but mine was the only one
there.
There vas nothing for it but that |
should go to the corner of Eighth and
Walnut streets, take the cab, proceed
I" the fountain ana tell Edith that she
needn't wait any longer because the
fcAl-her pembcrton had not
been informed Of the meeting.
confess | was somewhat curious TO
know why conveyance had been pro
Vlded and what was to be the upShOt
OF the business. But | resolved sim
ply to state that mistake had been
made and ask no questions. | thought
II necessary to carry II rose in order
that | should be recognized for the
other fellow or | might as well stay
away. SO on my way to the place
where ! should meet the carriage |
stopped at a flower shop and bought
Ihn (Ih i'm IN |
opened the door The driver asked if
| was Mr.. Pemberton, and ! told him
that | was. Then he drove me to the
park nlightcd and went up the
walk to the fountain.
Two girls were standing looking at
the dripping water, and one of them
on seeing the rose in my hand left
her friend and made straight for me.
Il have come to tell you" said. rails
ing my hat, that there has been n
mistake
Good gracious! What's gone wrong?
Is it all orr"
"A telephone message came to me
'his afternoon from lady whom
don't know"
"Certanly you don't know her. You
are not expected to know her"
You see, I'm not-that is. there's
only one person of my name in the
telephone book
You're Mr.. pcndleton, aren't youY
"Certainly I'm Peudleton, There's
no doubt about that, but
Come! Let MS hurry. Wen be too
!ntc. Maud told me that If | failed her
1t would break her all mp; She wouldn't
be able To get through with it,"
II this young woman had been a
scareCrow or suspicious looking
might have attempted further eXpIana
tion But She was ms pretty rs Il
peach, and If she wouldn't give me Il
chance II seemed to me that was
cNcuSahIc for letting her have her way.
Putting her arm through mine. she
hurried me To the cab. We got in.
and the cahmm drove away without
any instructions. presumed he had
been given them before
NOW III explain" said my kdnap
n, You see, Maud FarnSworth and
Ned BiglcS have been dead in love
with each other for n long while
Maud'S parents think they know bet
ter whom Maud wants to marry than
she does herself She and Ned are to
be married secretly, and You and are
80 he the witnesses"
"Oh! That's ALP
THAT'S all, Why. isn't that Il good
deal?"
'Rut please tell me what have to
DO with It,"
why Maud has made all the ar.
mngcmcutS, She asked me whom
would like to take me IL the parsonage.
and said 1t didn't matter to me; she
might find some one herself She said
she would and made all the arrange
mentS."
leaned back on the cushion and
Chuckled
"Wbot unluS,S van - uSL,p1 my rnr, q.