The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-27
CHAPTER [.
, The Dawnins Of a Tender Passion.

The Downing of Tender Passion
 A COAL wagon, naturally chOos- 5 ing the rush hour for the per- A- formance, broke down in front
 of 5an extra crowded car, and trafac was promptly knotted for three blocks. A shining big automobile, fol lowing up the hill, came so close be- hind that the glare of the street car ahone with unpleasant brightness on the occupants smiling red checked girl at the wheel; by her side gray vandyked man with, sinister lines run ming sharply downward from his down pointed nose; in the tonneau plainly dressed and modestly pretty black hair ed girl with large and rather tin4id eyes and slender golden haired girl whose chief mission in life, from her expressfon would have beeh taken to be mischievOus fun.
 Hello, Bert!" called the girl at the wheel Gan you uncrush yourself?''
 The rather large young man in the neatly fitting blue suit who had been jammed against the rail of the rear platform had already begun to worm his way out of the i'll humored throng on the street car.
 sT'n try it, he laughed, although I don't expect to have a button left-''
 The crowd, its clothing stiu clammy from the recent rain, made way for him reluctantly, even though it needed The space he occupied, for the pompous looking, vandyked man in the car was Frank Marley, by all odds the most unpopular man in the city. He was che president of the street car com spany,
 The y0azng man in the neat blue suit, lFwhose cheeks were f1awIessly pink and whose luxuriant black nustache was curled in two amazingly perfect ring lets. picked his way daintily through the slush.
 Bert, this is the treat I promised sy0u," said the girl at the wheel.
 Niles Fern Burbank he guessed. .clAsping the blond visitors hand, and at the same time he gave his left hand cundescendfogty to little Jessie Peters ssWe1come to our muddy city, ! Thank you" smiled the golden hair ed young lady. 'sOf course this is handsome Bert Glider
 s'Mo1ly's been telling on me-" he lightly answered as he took the folding seat just behind MT. Marley, sitting sidew1se sc that he could address the two girls in the tonneau and still en- j&y the clean cut profile of Ethelyn Marley, known to her intimates az Molly, for no better reason than that Rt was handler name.
 ] The lights in the car ahead .E1ddeEly went out, and groan arose from the miserable passengers on that sufroeat- ling vehicle. A roughly breatked man, who had been resting his elbow in the fwishbcne of gray whfskered little Hen ry Peters, reached the point of heroic ideAarce
 He cursed the street car company and demanded. tsWhy don't they put on more cars?'
 Lnttle Henry Peters, who admitted ' he was. a stockhoIder, took the com pany's part,
 The conductor crowded back through the solfdIy packed aisle and the sQufrming platform. to jerk hopefully at the trolley rope, and little Henry Peters. squeezed between his oppo- nent and the fat butcher until bones could stand no more, popped from be- tween their peripheries like the inside of grape, landing in the solar plexus of tired Hibernian, who had endured more than enough.
 Get out of my stomach, stockhold- er," he grufly ordered and pushed lit- tie Henry's derby tightly down over his ears just as another machine drew out of the fretting rearward line and, stopped by the ragged gutter, rested abreast of Marley's machine. The con- ductor having restored the lights, the attention of the uncomfortab ble passen- gers was now directed to the new conner, heavy Jowled man of middle