Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1915-03-18
By EPEs WINTHROP SARGENT
Copyright by Frank A. Munsey c,


he had finished his newspaper. ii,
leaned back in his chair and looked
out through the window
Why is it that Il man is M ne liz,
pressih.e while travelling than s,,ri.e
the ordinary routine of !i.e, uuties
pleasures, rests? Animal t!l 4ers s.
that if they Wish to train 4 cog tn, 8
try various dogs till they find one
whose attention they can secure Per
haps this is SO with Cupid The liltle
god waits till lie gets a man in con
tiguity With a woman when he has
nothing else to think about At any
rate, many Il man has net his fate OH
train
Clinton Cosgrove mentally gave
thanks that the girl across the aisle
was so absorbed in her newspaper
Cosgrove could not DO much reading
on the train. The shifting lights made
his head ache.
crowd of noisy drummers, .iubilam
over their nearness to New YORK. We're
filling the cafe car with the smoke
from their cheap clears and had ron
dered the place unbearable 1t Wa
pleasant to sit back in his chair and
study the girl opposite
Cosgrove enjoyed mysteries, and
here was one ready at hand to beguile
the tedium Of the trip to town
To begin with. she was rather more
than pretty and. moreover, possessed
an air of distinction that added to her
physical charm. She wore her fash
ionably tailored gown with the air of
one used to good dressing, vet the
hand bag that rested at her feet was
worn and shabby-a relic of the days
when paper limitations of alligator hide
were "quick sellers" in the shodd,
shops.
She occupied her seat in the chat!
car as though she were used to sucl.
conveniences, yet the woman who hae
escorted her on board and taken en- at
fectionate farewell with the wish that
the Job" would come quickly, sug-
| gested the day coach rather than the
| Pullman.
Almost before the train had pulled
| out she was engrossed in New Vol.
paper, turning, after brief glance at
the headlines, to the want" advertise
ments. She was so interested in these
that she was not conscious of Cos
| groves steady if polite scrutiny.
For man who spent the major por
ton of his waking hours in an Ell
deavor to get the lest Of the Wall
street gamble Cosgrove possessed an
Imagination Of singular fertility and
delicacy, and from the meager fact:
apparent he wove romance about the
girl.
From between his half cl"sad eyelid,
he observed the mass OF golden hal.
that crowned the shapely head ans
shaded the high. white brow. lie re
joiced in the purity of her profile ana
the soft coloring of her skin and note
with an artists appreciation the 18th;
lines Of her slender figure an ] the per
lection Of detail in her dress From
every point Of view she was admirable
Then his thoughts reverted to til,
mother. with her coarse, red hands. he
ford cOloring, the rusty hat and til,
plaid shawl surmounting the skirt o
some rough dark stuff that long since
had faded from any defnable tint
From the comparison the inferenc,
was obvious
The girl must have inherited her re
fnement from her father. He coult
picture the very type of broken dow
fellow of good family-glad to wed {
woman Of coarser fiber who would pu
him on pedestal Of adoring love. con
tent to slave over the tubs and scrub
bling bucket that he might enjoy TIL
q leisure that was SO clearly his due.
Those fellows seldom lived long Usu
ally they drank themselves to death
Then the love that had worked uncon
plainingly for him had worked for tn
baby.
She should be lady as her fathe
e had been gentleman. He could in
i lagine the sacrifices and privations tina
had been endured that this tender gil
might be reared to life Of gentility.
Now her education was complete
and she was faring forth to New Yor
In search of a job. Perhaps a fey
months in an Office and then the stag
would claim her for its own.
s Show girls Of her rare distinctio
o We're eagerly sought. Somehow he di
i not like to think Of this flower girl Ell
} quilted in the vortex Of Broadway.
And so, as the train sped throug
the Pennsylvania valleys Cosgrov
speculated on the outcome Of th
quest. He started guiltily as the pol
ter gave the first call for lunch an
+ the girl rose quietly to go forward t
the diner The meal meant the pric
Of days work for the toll worn hand
Of the mother, yet it seemed perfect
right that she should go.
She had carelessly thrown the Lape
on the seat, and with an assumption
Of Indifference Cosgrove reached for il
With a confident smile he turned t
: the "want" pages.
1t was just as he had supposed. TIL
| advertisements she had been clipping