Evening star., 1915-02-06
LITTLE TAHERED GIRL
FINDS COMFY HAVEN
Holding Shivering Puppy, She
Faints Over Threshold of
Bachelors Abode.
Now Happy Laughter of Child Has
Driven Away Lonesome
Boredom.

There is reticent bachelor who
lives in the vicinity of Scott Circle in
this city He has two pet aversions.
or. rather, he had two. One of these
was newspaper publicity and the other
was children. He is extremely fond of
dogs and wears a huge fur overcoat-
At all events, he is an actuality, but
very reticent as far as the press
goes.
Now, as every one remembers, there
was q day recently which was desira-
BILE to forget as rapidly as possible.
They say the polar bears out at the
Rock Creek Zoo think differently-but
then, that is another story. And, hav-
ing nothing in the world to do but to
take good care of himself, the reti-
cent bachelor had ordered his servants
to draw the curtains of his library, that
the Grayness of the day might be shut
out, and was passing the hours with
his books, seated in a cushioned chair
before fire that glowed ruddily and
defied the sleet that tried to discour-
He was lonely, but then. being bach
elor, he had grown accustomed to
that.
Then Comes Sound Of Bell.
From somewhere in the recesses of
his house there came the muffled sound
OF a bell, ringing persistently. 1t con-
tinued, and the reticent bachelor pre-
cipitately arose in a rage. Where the
deuce were the servants? But as has
been intimated, he was bored, so he
went to the heavy plate-glass door
himself and opened it.
Through the doorway was blown, in
blast of wind and sleet and rain,
what he expected least in the world
a child. She was about as tall as the
reticent bachelors walking stick; she
was clad in the tabled rags and tat
ters, and in her arms she held a shiv-
ering parody of a puppy. She brushed
her wet curls out of her eyes, smiled
as one who has learned smiles in
marble floor Of the reticent bachelors
entrance hall.
Scene as She Comes Back.
When she came back to an ahprecia-
tion of the good things of life she was
reclining in the big chair before the
fire, and was conscious of a pleasant
warm sensation from within. The reti-
cent bachelor stood nearby with a
glass in his hand and an anxious eX-
preston on his face. At the corner
enticing the dog to drink warm milk
The dog, which was apparently the
puppy offspring of long-haired grey
hound and a bulldog, apparently en-
joyed the attention he was receiving.
The reticent bachelor asked no ques-
tions, SO the ragged little girl felt
called upon to explain her presence
She spoke a curious lisping mixture of
Italian and English, and informed the
kind man. that they had been cold,
her puppy and she-too cold and hun
CRY to go any farther-and that that
was why she had runs his bell. They
talked for a long time.
What Reporter Found.
And when a Star reporter called at
the house of the reticent bachelor the
next day to find out if there was any
truth in the extraordinary story which
had been told him by an excited neigh
Dor he caught glimpse of the puppy
which is alleged to have come with the
little girl. And he learned just this
much of what happened that day.
The reticent bachelor admitted that
this much of the story. was correct.
He spoke of Lucia" as II he was quite
laccnstomed to her, and described her
puppy as ''jolly little beast" He
said that he had not gone to the dance
that night And he declined to dis
cuss what his plans for the future are
To he or whether the numerous boxes
seen on their way into the house COR
tanned clothes for Lucia.
! Al all events, the reticent bachelor is
not bored today. Aud The Star re-
norter heard some one laughing happily
in the recesses of the big house.