Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-09
THE DAILY STORY Fire Doors to MoLlu

The first door was the front door, and
Lee Bateman passed that threshold one
day toward the middle of that memorable
senior year at college.
OF course he had to ask for Mrs. Dare,
not Molly, because the only excuse that
he had been able to invent for going to
the Dare house at all was to solicit Mrs.
Dare's name as a patroness for the
senior ball at college. Molly was the
adorable little girl with the golden hair
who went past the campus I'm her pony
cart every day for a morning drive just
as Lee was dashing from the dormitory
to $50 classes. Only after he had once
seen Molly and the pony cart he altered
the dash to a leisurely stroll so that he
could get the full benefit of Mollys ap-
pearance. And then one day Molly had
smiled ever so slightly, and after that
Lee had raised his hat, and so things
progressed.
But Molly was different from the other
girls in the college town None of the
boys knew her. 1t was said that Doctor
Dare had refused to allow Molly to waste
her time with the college boys, and
wasn't this very fact, added to the golden
hair and the bewitching smile, enough to
fire any college seniors spirit of adven-
ture?
But that first door-the front door-of
the rambling old mansion was the wrong
way to find Molly. To be sure, Lee was
received into the stately old mahogany
drawing room and Mrs. Dare talked to
him with unenthusiastic courtesy and had
even made out the check that patronesses
were expected to contribute to the senior
dance. But Lees expectations of seeing
Molly were disappointed. He had thought
that perhaps she might be practicing on
the drawing room piano when he entered,
ia m he
mother He had timed his call at tea
time on purpose. But his only glimpse of
Molly was a fleeting vision through the
window as Molly went out for an after
noon drive.
Somehow as the old mahogany front
| door closed on Lee that afternoon Lee
| felt a damper cast on his confidence, and
| the latch on the door seemed to close
| forever on his hopes of seeing Molly.
"sun there are other doors" he
thought. Molly doesn't come out Of that
| door when she goes driving. She uses
| the side door" But the next day when
Lee tried to approach that door in the
| disguise of a book agent he found that
| the door was guarded by Molly's pet
| bulldog, who treated Lee with the usual
| canine cordiality toward book agents. He
| had shown his wolfsh white teeth when
Lee approached and had successfully
/ forced his retreat.
Then there was the back door. All
| houses had back doors, Lee knew, and
| perhaps II he made his entrance that way
! he might find Molly making fudge in the
| kitchen. Luck had been against him so
| far and II was bound TO turn. II was not
hard to induce the grocer boy TO let him
deliver the rice and tea and coffee; and
a little change in the way of a cap and a
| coat transformed him TO the part. But
Molly wasn't making fudge that after
noon. To be sure, the cook was kind. She
even stopped work to give him a newly
fried cruller all covered with sugar. just
| to show that the new boy was welcome.
But except for the thought that Molly
would probably also eat an identical
! cruller that day Lee had no satisfaction
| in the encounter
The fourth door seemed the most diff
ncult IL was the doctors Office door,
and Lee had little reason TO hope that
Molly would be found In that quarter Of
the house. Still, the door was always open
for patients to come and go TO the wait
! ing room. He might take his place Will
the rest and perhaps the fates would be
kind. But somehow Lee went directly
into the Doctors private office. and before
he realized what had happened he found
himself being questioned by the doctor as
to the trouble which had brought him
there,
6pIdlncu dhhlcf Sdiu Lee On tfc bpot
and the doctor Immediately got to work
with bandage and liniment
Ten minutes later. when Lee paid the
doctor his fee, there was a twinkle In the
old doctors eve. Lee had casually men
toned having seen the doctors daughter
driving by the campus, and apparently
the statement had given no offense.
Lee was emboldened Would Il be pos
sible for me TO leave by way Of the
houseY' he said. 1T Is nearer the campus
and II IL hard 70 walk" The doctor
seemed 20 agree perfectly and Lee limped
out through the passage into the hall OF
The house and there-the fates had re-
Tented az last-he saw Molly, the gold
hair and lhe sweet smile and the merry
gray eyes. and even the pet dog. who ac-