The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1921-12-01
THE DAILY
SHORT STORY
Follow the ARROWS
BY r. RAY BAKER
NJ 7HEN May Rathburns return.
nv ed from Chicago she felt
n,.,h YnH- Tt-1,ro9t-
much Ike a Cinderella.

much like a Cinderella.
Only there vas no glass slipper,
oScruel stepmother, or fairy god
mother,
Sat there was a prince and =
wondertul ball. and a hurried
Eight.
No chino OF the midnight hour
tcaused May to take bel hasty de-
q parture from the Nnttingdon dane.
ing party. She had no pumpkin
carriage in waiting. and there was
no fear that her raiment would
change into rags. She al Just
afraid, that was all.
Frank Humphrey was the prince
4hd he had been seeking Mays
company with more ,.an fair sue
cess) since the night they met,
(Which was two weeks before the
ball. May was visiting her cousin,
Mrs. Alfred jenkins aEd Frank.
who was a business acquaintance,
IT Mr.. Jenkins. had been invited
out to the home to meet May. No
matchmaking was intended. Frank
would have received tho Invita-
p4bn II May had been a boy
Tho prince looked the part, be.
yond any doubt. He carried a noble
lead on his shoulders. and he
dressed like q prince, as far as
modern custom and costumes per-
NIT. He quite captiyated May, al.
though she would not admit it, and
ne was constantly or her guard.
May a reared on o farm in
Michigan and the city Of Grand
Haven was her idea of a metropo-
lis. It was o fair in the first
place to keep May in rural seclu-
bp, because hers was a tempera-
Smentthat required travel and ming
ling with people.
But Mays parents who were city
dVSellers, were dead and her grand
parents had taken her under their
care. They were hard working,
honest people, but they lacked Wis.
ion. They had lived always on Il
4isrm and could not e why their
granddaughter should desire other
environment. They did not realize
that the cit, was ID Mays blood.
The girl tried to make the best
of 1t. She obtained high school
J education in a seminary located in
a strict religious community and
: fhat ought to suffice. her grand
parents decided. But she pored
over books on travel and read ro-
mances. and she yearned for eX-
periehces of her own in the world.
The visit with her cousin was her
first invasion OF the wide world
she was now twenty,
The grandmother's last words to
May when she left for Chicago
we're:
'sTake care Of yourself and be a
good glrlie-and above all, don't
falls in love with any city men.
They're not sincere, especially with
country girls. They never mean
tat they say. SO be OF your guard
sor you'll come back with Il broken
heart"
May tried to obey his mandate.
and that was the reason she fled
from the dance. 1t was because
Frank proposed marriage to her
while they were sitting out a dance.
Terrified she sprang to her feet and
dashed from the house. Down the
|, street she ran. At the corner she
paused, q Withholding creature in
her cousins evening gown. A
street car came along and with tn!
assistance OF n kind hearted con
1biuctor and an elevated train, she
managed to get to the jenkins
home. The princess had fled from
the prince; for May was Of the
nobility, too. when 1t came to looks
and personality. The culture Of her
parents was inbred In her.
Next day May took a boat for
home. She had left her cousins
cloak at the Nottingdon residence.
bGt Mr.. jenkins said he would
i re no trouble in recovering it.
AS a matter OF fact the prince
took careiof the cloak. in lieu OF n
glass slipper. and returned 1t TO
Mrs. jenkins. At the same time he
pleaded to be told Mays address in