The Wrangell sentinel., 1916-12-07
 The Lack Of a Nickel
And a Dilemma and Its
 Solution.
By JOHN HAZEN HASKELL.

ed out. He was already five min- utes late to d dinner engagement, and he could have made it in ten if he could have caught that express.
 He had visions of a pretty little woman in a violet colorcd evening gown tapping an impatient foot on the oriental rug in the corner of the library and wondering at the delay of her invited guest.
 He also had visions of another woman whom he dearly loved and who, he had every reason to be- lieve, used to regard him with the tenderest of feelings. And it was to relieve his mind of the misery that this latter vision conjured up that he banished it as hastily as he could and turned his attention to the matter in hand, that of getting to his destination with as little loss of time as possible. So he turned to scan the tracks for the approach of the next train.
 An empty express whizzed by on the other track on its way down. town; then a southbound local pull ed in on the opposite side, unloaded a passenger and went on its way.
 The passenger was tall girl in gray, with a fluffy gray fur about her face and a big black hat-the dim. light and the distance across tracks between revealed no more to Halloway.
 She did not leave the platform, but sat down on the edge of Il bench in the uneasy way of some one who docs not expect to stay long.
 Waiting for some one," said Halloway. He thought she must be pretty and wondered what color the hair under that big hat was.
 Three or four minutes passed. The pair, divided by the glistening lines of rails, eyed each other GOV ertly and tried to look unconscious. The girls foot was tapping the floor, and she turned at every sound to peer down the stairs. At last she leaned forward and called across the chasm:
 Pardon me, siri Can you tell me what time it is"
 Halloway stopped suddenly in his walk. That voice had familiar sound- He consulted his watch.
 Certainly. It is now ten min utes past r." he called back.
 He heard the girl gasp, whether in surprise at the hour or in recog- milton of his voice he could not tell.
 "Thank you," she said after sec ond, then silence, and another emp ty express whizzed by.
 After awhile she spoke again. "Have you been here long?" she asked.
 "Seven minutes or so."
 "Did you happen-that is, you might-did you see-a-a-gentle- man waiting here?"
 Halloway was sure of the voice now and also that she did not rec ognize him "No; l am sorry to say I have not. You are waiting for some one?"
 "Yes, but am a little late, l fear. Are you quite sure your watch is quite right?" "Quite so, Pm afraid. It was with official time at G."
 ~Thank you just the same," she said and sighed.
 Halloway's express pulled in, and, banishing the vision of an irate hostess, he let it go without him. When the train had gone and the girl saw him still there she sat up very straight.
 "Wasn't that your train3" she asked, with suspicion.
 "Why, yes-no-that is, am waiting for some one also," he lied cheerfully.
 A long silence followed. Trains came and went; passengers alighted and disappeared down the stairs; theater goers began to arrive and in due time were carried on to the city. Still no man came to meet the girl, and still Halloway paced the platform. He had let two ex- press trains go by now, and he meant to stay till he saw the girl safe aboard a downtown train; also he burned with an Othello-like de- sire to see who the gentleman" might be.
 When once more they. had the platform all to themselves the girl spoke again.
 q am going to ask you a ques- tion," she said. If a man had an engagement with a girl for 6:20 and she did not come till after !, do you think he might not wait for |