Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-02-13
The Social
Ladder
TWAS Successfully Climbed
by a Mother and Daughter.
BY ETHEL HOLMES

& By ETHEL HOLMES
A stagecoach numbered up q zigzag
road in the Rocky mountains. On the
outside seat behind the driver sat .
gentleman whose eminently respecta-
bic travelling suit and his clean cut fea-
lures indicated that he was to the
manner born. Beside him sat q young
man In the costume Of the country.
His shirt was flannel; his hat was a
sombrero.
On the next seat back sat lady, the
aristocratic gentleman's wife, and be-
side her girl Of nineteen, their daugh-
ter. The man In the sombrero was
telling them about the mountains and
It's people and pointing out the more
prominent peaks, to which the travel
ers listened with great interest.
The sun was hot, the pace was slow,
and the two combined tended to make
the driver drowsy. When the coach
reached an eminence and started down
an incline, instead of being wide
awake to the dangers Of mountain
travel he was nodding. He not only
failed to put on the brake, but drop
ped the reins. He was awakened by
the shouts of the passengers behind
him, who saw a terrible death staring
them in the face. The horses, un-
checked, started down the slope and
were soon going at a breakneck pace.
The driver basely abandoned his
post and, putting his foot on the iron
step beside him, swung himself to the
ground. The young man who had
been pointing out objects of interest
let himself down over the footboard
on to the tongue, gathered up the reins,
quickly remounted to the box, put on
the brake and managed to reduce the
pace sufficiently to enable the coach
to turn a curve without going over a
precipice. Then after further short
descent he brought the horses to
standstill. The first sensation that
came to him after it was all over was
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gentleman about his neck.
One day a couple Of years after this
episode Mrs. Murphy and her daugh-
ter, while bowling along Ocean avenue
at Newport, received terrible shock.
"Oh, heavens, mother, there's Barton
Keith! Look the other way, quick!'
Miss Murphy, pretending to see some
! hi ko nh1 IN
mothers attention, pointed In the op-
posite direction from the young man,
the carriage rolled by, and the women
began to discuss the situation.
"What in the world could have
brought him here?" exclaimed the
mother.
II would as soon have expected to
see a Mississippi pilot"
Bart has been stage driver"
Hell tell everybody here all about
our antecedents."
He won't know any one to tell"
1T seems hard to cut him after that
affair you had with him."
"There have been changes since then.
At that time father was building his
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on to the main ine.''
"Well, I don't think there's much
danger, considering that he can't have
any entree here. Heaven knows what
time we've had even to get in on the
outer circle. How can Bart Keith with
no money get in at alp
"He may be prosperous. He's well
enough dressed"
eyes, he quite looked like one of the
swells. l wonder why he's here?"
That night there was a grand func-
ton at one of the cottages" and the
next morning Mary Murphy ran to her
mother with newspaper in her hand
and her eyes wide open.
. "For lands sake. mother, listen to
this: Among those present at Mrs.
Atherton's last night was Mr.. Barton
Keith"
"You don't mean it!'
How In the name of conscience do
yon suppose he got in there?'
II can't imagine know we couldn't
get bid"
"He must have pull somewhere"
"Your father had pull. but it didn't
work. He offered Peter Jones a tip
on the stock of our road If he'd get
him an invitation to the Athertons'
But Pete said they were of the old
New York blue blood and rich besides
These people who have both blood and
money are the hardest of all to move
''Oho! Here's the explanation" and
she read social item:
"'Mr. Barton Keith is visiting Mr..
and Mrs. Emerson Forbes"
"Oh, my goodness gracious! ex-
claimed the mother. "How in the
world did he ever get in with them"
There was silence between the two.
which Mary ended by saying:
Mother, we've gone and done IT,
$50 we have"
I'VE must find way to take back
track" :"
$50 we must"
"But we're entirely ignorant Of the
key to the position"
"What do you mean by that?'
I'VE don't know what reason the
Forbes have for taking in Bart"
"Do you suppose they know what
he's beenY''
"Of course they do Bart couldn't
keep 1t If he wished. That's the sim
gular part Of it. The Forbes have
been prominent in New York and New
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