Saint Mary's beacon., 1916-08-24
TaE ORANGE
maAaaaan aa.anA
sy LoulsE oLIvER.

Lucia stopped At Tony's fruit stand
on her way home and bought q dozen
oranges. II was raining. and besides
two other packages she had an UNI
brella to manage against strong
wind.
Gradually the beg softened with the
dampnssB and ciung like q plaster to
the round. yellow spheres within. A
tiny crack appeared. widened, length
ened, and ths whole dozen oranges cat
spuited into the street as though shot
out of machine gun.
Nike Kubelik, carter for sellem 4
Hatch. was hauling . wagonload Of
oranges from the Bay street market
TO 9 West end branch. Crossing South
avenue. rear wheel caught In car
track and came on And Immediately
there was an avalanche Of oranges in
all directions.
Now when Lucia's bag broke. she.
too. was crossing South avenue. and,
moreover, II was It the same instant
that Mike lost . wheel. So she looked
down to see. not dozen. but hundreds
Of dozens Of oranges roll about her
feet.
Already half q dozen urchins had
gathered around and were fllina
jacket pockets as fast as they could
Mike, with nst. whip and many ours
ings, was doing the best he could 70
defend his treasure. but Il was futile,
Lucia. seeing no chance OF revivins
her bag into . semblance OF use. dc
cided TO use her umbrella as q recep
tacie and closed IL. Then she stopped
and started deliberately to count G
dozen oranges into its silk recesses.
"Hi therel" Mike came MP bellig'
erently fouriahing his weapon. you
putta dem down"
Mike reached for the umbrella Just
asa man stepped between them and
put out q restraining hand.
Lot the lady alone" he said quietly.
At the tone Of authority Mike stepped
back without another word and his
whip fell.
go and attend to those boys and I'll
get policeman TO help you" the new.
conner said. and 70 Lucia, Have you
got all your property II 90. III help
you out Of this"
Il think have. II was hard count.
ing with that man shaking his ist un-
der my nose" she laughed. "The or
anges are all here IN my umbrella"
but It's raining hard. YouTl get
soaked"
1--WE no other place TO put them"
What's the matter with these deep
pockets In my coat7"
"But you mustn't 60 home with mo.
! live--oh. ever 30 far
$50 much the better. There, and
there, and there. and tharsi I gussa
I've got them ALL raising the UNI
brella.
At the door the oranges had TO be-
transferred. Won't you come in?''
asked Lucia. I'm get q dish for
them" 30 the man went In and they
emptied the fruit into = blackand.
white china bowl
~Thjrteeni" he exclaimed. by Jovo,
we've cheated the dago.-
The man divided the odd orange
carefully in two parts and gave her
half.
I'm movies" he remarked, they tear
cards. or smash shells and each takes
piece. A sort Of kismst. you know.
for each OF the two contracting par
ties. Now why not an orange skin.
Seel"-atting two pieces together.
"You take one and IN take the other.
To keep as long az we liyei" solemnly.
When her gallant defender had de-
parted. II suddenly occurred to Lucia
that she did not even know bis name.
A week passed. Busy days for Lu.
cia. as all days we're. but not too busy
for many. thoughts OF her recent &C
Quaintance and his Identity. But she
WAS TO have a shock. One evening she
opened the paper, and there ON the
first page was the picture OF the mani
Below II she read. "one OF the sus.
poets arrested In connection with the
Alison Jewel case. Tho man, who
gives HIS name as John Emerson, was
seen coming out OF the alley In the
rear Of the residence at $50 Thursday
evening. and he could not explain his
presence there. although It was a doz-
en- blocks away from his lodgings and
place OF business"
tuesday, That was the night he
had taken her homsl And $50 was
about the time he had left her. The
alley IN question was between her
street and the Allisons'. He had prob
ably been taking q short cut homel
But why had he not told them his
errandf
Lucia thought over all the details,
and the orange skin popped Into her
head. She would send II 70 him and
he would not refuse TO see her. she
knew.
An hour later. among grim surround
ings, Lucia was shown into o little
white room. and John Emerson came
In moment later.
Why didn't you tell them where
you were last Tuesday7" was her
breatkless greeting. This 10 terrible
Il couldn't without bringing your
name into II and thought I'd rather
be convicted than have your name
breathed here. You shouldn't have
come-unIess there is something can
do for you"
There Isl Tell shem all about IT,"
Il won't"
Then will"
The district attorney heard the
story. Mike was sent for and added
his share to the testimony. Then John
Emerson was allowed to depart
And that was only the beginning Of
the end. for John and Lucia were mar.
ried the other day.
Copyright By the Mcclure Newspaper