The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1916-10-27
HOW THE ICE
WAS BROKEN
BY ALAN HlNSDALE


lady on a steamer Oh my way from
New York to Naples had not seen the
one to absorb me. | would have given
much for an introduction. but there
was no one to introduce me. As soon
as we reached port | made a detective
of myself in order to learn where she
was going, with view to following her.
She was travelling with an elderly lady
and girl of twelve. The lady l pre-
sumed to be her mother, the girl her
sister On reaching Naples l was
obliged to lose sight of the family, but
went the rounds of the hotels until
found them. Then, too. had the good
fortune to be on the same train with
them on trip to Pompeii.
Usually Americans travelling abroad
make one another's acquaintance with
out formality but in this case nothing
occurred to warrant my opening con
versation with them. The older woman
seemed to be very offish, the girl re-
firing. and | was fearful of intruding.
So there we were-I wishing to be on
social terms with the girl. she doubt
less wishing for the companionship Of
a young man. but kept apart by con
ventions
When they had left Naples learned
from the clerk of the hotel where they
had stopped that they had expressed
| their trunks to certain hotel In Rome.
A day or two later | went to Rome
n nd OF "a
morning after my arrival l breakfasted
in the same dining room with them.
But they did not appear to notice me,
and | refrained from looking their
way when they were looking mine.
Their next stopping place was Flor
ence, and, having learned that it was
their policy to express their trunks,
did not find 1t difficult to trace them.
But this time an overconsciousness of
guilt sent me to different hotel.
Florence is contracted, and l was sure
to meet them in the picture galleries.
And so l did. The mother passed me
with high head but the girl admired
| showed signs of consciousness.
And so | logged the footsteps Of
these persons till l cornered them In
an inn in Switzerland so small that our
rooms were very near together. Each
one of their party had sleeping room
At the end of the hall was the moth
er's; opposite was the older daughters;
| next to the mother was the little girls
and next to the little girl was my
apartment.
In the middle of the night l was
awakened by soft hand laid on my
forehead.
Feel better, 6earie?
The voice was feminine, and, since /
had heard 1t before, I knew 1t to be
that of my charmer. Realizing that my
masculine tones would not be mistaken
for a child's. simply made no reply.
The girl took my hand, and l knew
that she was surprised at its size, for
she evidently became agitated. Indeed,
she must have become conscious that
she had made mistake, for without
word she hastily left the room.
The next morning while dressing
noticed on the floor a little gold pin of
the safety kind. Picking it up, put 1t
In my portemonnaie. knew very well
that my visitor of the night before had
dropped it. | knew also that it was
erty, though it was Of very little value,
but at the same time that to return 1t
would be embarrassing to her. there
fore took no action in the matter.
1t was evident in the morning that
the little girl was indisposed, for she
was not in the breakfast room with
her mother and sister. 1t was also
evident from that sisters appearance
that she was much embarrassed by
consciousness of having the night be-
fore got into the wrong room. / knew
that If l returned what she had
dropped | would make a mistake. l
thought over various methods of re-
turning it that might not appear In
delicate, but none of them satisfied me.
Besides, wished to keep 1t for
souvenir.
I wondered if the girl was not in
some such position as |. Did she not
wish to apologize for her intrusion, and
was she not prevented by delicacy?
am ashamed to confess that it was
she who solved the problem between
us. One morning she came out Of her
room at the same time that came out
of mine. She paused, hesitated, then
said to me:
81 owe you an explanation. The
other
Don't give yourself any concern as
to that" I said. II understood at
once you had made mistake. In the
morning l found pin on the floor that
you had dropped"
took the article from my pocket
and handed it to her. She received 1t,
smiled, half poutingly, half amusedly.
and went her way.
But the ice was broken. The next
time she met me in the hotel she
nodded to me and dropped a passing
remark. Before very long was hand
and glove with the party and attend
ing to the thousand and one things in
which a man is needful to women.
especially when they are travelling
abroad. 1t is perhaps not necessary to
add that improved the time and be-
fore any of us returned to America
had achieved an engagement condi-