The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1916-09-26
"a DIFFERENT man
BY SARA HOLT.

Lettle Mortons two short visits ia
New York with her parents had shown
her only the New York of hotels and
department stores. When she went
there alone to study social service she
discovered many phases Of life Of
which she knew nothing.
One night she sat far into the night
reading a book called "Greed and
Grind" This book had been the means
of causing many changes in the fac
tory management where girls had been
overworked In bad air and unsafe sur
roundings. 1t made Lettie feel that
she must do something to helpwgirls
whose daily work held them In wise
stronger than the social customs Of
Marshyille had held her, so she began
to study their problems. She went to
lectures and even to courtrooms to
hear trials.
With the enthusiasm of a new con.
vert, she entered into the question
with more zeal than judgment. One
afternoon, when an open meeting in
Union square was over, she sat still
after tile crowd scattered and looked
about her.
On a bench near her sat young
man she had seen at nearly all such
meetings she had attended. He was
always in the crowd, but apparently not
of it, and she had come to think of
him as the different man." He was
perhaps thirty. with dark eyes and
hair.
Deep in speculation about "the diff
ferent man." Lettie did not notice that
another. sort Of man had sat down on
the same bench with her. AS she
turned her eyes from the slowly de.
parting figure of ''the different man"
she met the confidently familiar smile
of the man who had sat down beside
her. He was fat and florid blond
dressed in a loud suit of brown tweed
"Never mind, grille he said, with a
Ieering smile. Hes gone, but I'm
here, and wouldn't 1t be fair bargain
to take me in his placer"
Lettle turned pale and with her
chin In the air, quickly arose without
taking any apparent notice of the
speaker. She started away in q fast
walk and was surprised to see that
"the different man" had turned and
was walking toward her. She failed
to see that a wobbly beginner on roller
skates was close behind her, and the
next moment her feet were knocked
from under her and she landed on top
of a frightened little girl.
When Lettie was once more on her
feet she started forward and almost
bumped into ''the different man. She
was holding her right wrist as If in
pain and the whiteness Of her face
arrested the eyes of the man.
I'm afraid you're hurt" he began,
his dark face glowing with confused
flush. won't you let me be of serv.
lce?'
AS Lettie looked into his kind eyes
she did the very thing she didn't want
to do--she let the tears that had been
burning her eyes roll down her now
crimson cheeks.
"Thank you," she said simply.
There's a drug store right over here
where you can have this properly BAN
daged," said the man, as he examined
the injured wrist.
As they emerged from the drug store
a little later, it seemed quite natural
for them to continue walking to-
gether.
did you get an overdose of local
color this timer the mans gray eyes
were Laughing a little now.
"'Local color? | don't understand"
"Why, | thought" the man hest
tated and looked puzzled. 'You may
think l was presuming to think about
you at all, but I've supposed that you
went to all these queer meetings 10
get local color for your stories, as !
dO.i
"Oh, so that's what you do? I've
wondered and wondered who you
were" This unconscious admission
made the man smile, and he drew a
card from his pocket.
"I'll tell you what we'd better do y
lie smiled assent to her enthusiastic Of
fer, and she continued: "You give me
your card and I'll give you mine, but
we won't look at the names until we
get home Z"
A few moments later they were in a
taxicab and being whirled along to-
ward Lettie's lodging.
Suppose we look at our cards
aowr' Lettie became suddenly
piquant.
Miss Letitia Pembroke Morton"
'ead the man impressively. ''What a
big name for a small girl"
"Never mind, sir now shall see
now big a name you havel" She drew
his card from her purse, cleared her
throat affectedly, and turned her head
critically to one side. but when she
pronounced the name. 1t was an ex-
clamatiOn. John Wood Thompson.
Oh-h-h! Not really the author of
Greed and Grind'g" She looked
straight into his eyes as she asked
for this confirmation of her discovery,