Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1919-06-20
ELIZABETH ANN.
BY ELIZABETH AcKENs.

hot. Little hall bedrooms under the
ave Of old-fashioned houses, three
stories high are, as a rule, freezingly
cold In the winter, and unbearably hot
In the summer. Her tiny room was nc
exception. Besides. she wanted des-
perately to go home. A letter from
her father that morning had made her
homesick. "Better come home, Liza
beth Ann" it read. 'GThe climbing
roses r all pink and white and
sweet; also5 we r getting wonderful
vegetables from the garden. Too bad
you are SO far away; we would send
you some If New York were a little
nearer to Ohio"
mo-" thought Elizabeth Ann dis
mally.1 Nothing keeps here-not even
my usually sweet disposition" She
shook her small fist at the image
frowning at her from the mirror.
'"They all expect you to come flying
home, Lizzie-Ann, the first time any
little thing goes wrong, but you're go
ing to fool them. You are not going to
do it. Not when that blessed daddy
of yours has raked and scraped every
cent together to give this year of mu-
sic In New York."
Two salty tears ran down the side
Of her straight little nose, but she
brushed them away impatiently. She
decided to take a ride on the Fifth
e bus and forget her troubles.
She dressed carefully, putting IN a
rufled white dress and white shoes
and stockings. When all else was
ready, she took from its box and tissue
paper wrappings a broad-brimmed
white hat. It was a lovely hat, with
its wreath Of dull blue corn flowers,
and Lizabeth Ann adored 1t.
She went down stairs, tying, as she
went, three dimes In the corner Of
her handkerchief. Two were for her
fare and one for a soda water after
ward. AS she climbed the perilous
stairs to the top of the car, her at
tention was attracted to a young man
sitting on one Of the front seats. He
looked so white and Ill that Elizabeth
AIMS heart went out to him in pity.
AS 1t happened, the only vacant
seat was the place next to him, and
as the girl sat down she heard a
smothered exclamation. Realizing
that her broad hat must have grazed
his cheek, she flushed.
sim so sorry she said gently. "It
must have hurt, and / am afraid you
have been i'll, too"
Typhoid" he said briefly, but Liza
beth, seeing him smile, knew he was
not offended.
She found herself thinking Of him
as the bus rolled and lurched on its
way, and as for Richard Bennett, he
cursed the convention that made 1t
impossible for him and this sweet
voiced. pretty girl to talk together
and then, in the midst Of these rebel
llous thoughts, he saw her handker-
chief lying on the floor at his feet. AS
he stopped to pick it up, he felt the
coins In the corner, and a wild idea
came to him. Why not? He had heard
many times that everything was fair
In love and war. Unobserved by the
girl, he placed the little piece Of linen
in his pocket.
When Elizabeth Ann saw the con-
iductor starting on his round to col
lect the fares, she felt for her hand
Ikerchief. It was not where she had
put it, in her belt, and she frantical-
tly looked under the seat and around
the floor. She cast a desperate look
lat the young man beside her.
slave you lost anything? Can / be
of any service to yOu2" His voice was
the voice Of a gentleman.
'Tve lost my handkerchief, with my
money In 1t. II you will be kind
enough to pay the conductor, ard will
give me your name and address, I will
send you the money in the morning"
Richard smiled reassuringly into her
troubled face as he dropped the two
dimes in the box.
'Tt's funny, isn't It, how accidents
win happen at the most inopporturle
finest I remember one time" and
before she realized 1t, Elizabeth Ann
found herself listening to the inter-
testing conversation of this stranger.
When she got off the bus, he got
on, too, and 1t seemed perfectly nat
ural for him to walk to her door with
her. As they reached the steps he
held out his hand. Elizabeth Ann
put hers into 1t, thinking he wanted
ito shake hands. When she drew 1t
away, she saw that her handkerchief,
with the coins In the corner, lay in
her palm. She stared at it bewilder-
led. "But-I don't understandV
Richard took her two hands tightly
In his.
"Of course. you don't understand,
little : Girl : Whose : Name 1-DOn't
Know, because you don't believe any
more than / did in love at first sight.
But Tn going to make you believe
In love at second or third sight - If
you'll give me the chance"
Her answer was very brief: MAY
be-" But as she ran upstairs on wing
ed feet, the little handkerchief, SMELL
lng very much Of tobacco smoke now
was held tightly against her lips.
kCopyright, 1917, by the Mcclure Newspa-