Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1920-03-10
A POINT OF
CONTACT
By GEORGE ELMER COBB

ih6 up tdI NtHuOWs ESl1b sat uONn
resignedly, although the breeze tossed
her fair golden hair and disturbed her
from reading the book she had brought
on her home journey,
let me try, please" spoke pleas
ant masculine voice. and, turning to
note the accommodating suppliant,
Lettie's face came so very near to
the handsome smiling one of the young
man in the seat behind that a swift
flush enhanced her natural girlish
beauty. He had no difficulty in ad-
justing the window by leaning over
toward it, acknowledged her thanks
with courteous bow and resumed his
own seat with companion with whom
he had been conversing.
The juxtaposition of eyes in that
fleeing moment had quite upset Let
tie, and while she set her gaze stead
tasty upon her book her mind took
In little of its meaning. She could
not help but take In the conversation
going on directly behind her She
caught most of its import-allusions
to Juice" in which the speakers
seemed interested in business way.
Wadham, the young man Lettie had
not seen called the other whom Lettie
had seen and would not readily forget,
Leslie Wadham, who, judging from
what Lettie overheard was
salesman of current and electrical par
aphernalia for great light and pow
er company.
I'm on the track Of lot of wire
bought on cheap market and prob
ably available at a fair price" she
overheard Wadham say, and was re-
minded instantly Of her father. He had
wire, coils Of it, hundreds of yards of
II, thousands. Levi Austin was the
inventor of an automatic telephone
system, and for over three years his
one ambitious dream had been to util-
ize the contrivance and bring to dead.
isolated Blairville, the little town
where they lived, telephone connection
with the busy city of Springfield. 35
miles distant
1t was dusk when Lettie arrived at
Blairville and she did not notice that
the chevalier of the window incident
left the train also.
1t was a walk of a mile to the great
barn of place she called home. It
was remote from the village, a broom
mansion of another era and had been
taken by her father because its room
mess favored his mechanical ideas. 1t
was the last habitation downward
from the great stretch of woods be-
yond except a boys home, sustained
by charity from the city. AS Lettie
came in sight OF her own home she
started and stared. The usually
gloomy mansion was aglow with lights
from garnet to cellar, and against their
radiance she could make out nimble
unfamiliar forms passing from room to
room. There was waited on the
gentle night breeze the echo of many
strange voices.
"What can it mean?" she spoke in
mystified vagueness, and she hurried
her steps to reach the front of the
house where her father was conveying
what looked like sheets, blankets and
pillows from a wagon, assisted by half
dozen boys.
Cldu YOU We COLutt Sdlu auStlut
relievedly. 1.-THE boys home burned
down this morning and they had no
place to go. A few things were saved
from the blaze and we're trying to
make the lads comfortable"
Between getting supper for the jol
ly, grateful group of castaways, and
seeing them comfortably bestowed for
the night, Lettie sat down finally COM
pletely worn out, but with a happy
smile on her face.
The next day there came word from
the city that the old home would be
rebuilt and pledging repayment to AIR.
Austin for any cost he might incur in
keeping the boys together. 1t was
the next afternoon when Lettie, COM
ing down the hall, heard voices in the
library. Her father had a visitor; he
was the young man of the train.
"There's no use discussing It," Mr..
Austin was saying, "rll not sell my
wire after scraping and saving for
years to get it. I've just arrived at
a point where I see my way clear to
string the line from here across the
woods to Springfield. Your company
will make the connections and sell
me current, I suppose"
"Oh, that, certainlyw replied Leslie
Wadham. 81 declared you interest
me. If you'll show me how you are
going to get the labor to string the
wires, I'd like to buy share In the
proposition"
"The labor?" repeated Mr.. Austin.
"Say I've got nearly a dozen nimble
young lads here fairly wild to climb
trees and ford morasses and get the
line strung complete within 60 days"
That was a great two months for
the old inventor and his delighted
Juvenile assistants and Lettie and
Wadham. The days were full of va
riety, adventure and progress-of love,
too. The young man came to Lettie
one day with the optimistic statement: