The Little River news., 1921-03-26

vance or their lifelong service, Robert is driving one of the sixty-three thou sand taxicabs that infest the streets of New York" 5
 Poor dear!" said Pamela, tears ris- irG to her adorable eyes. Then she dis missed MT. Milyuns, who would gladly have fingered. q have to go out now I'm so sorry, but thank you very, very much"
 Can't I drop you wherever you're gofngf' asked the very human mind of the leading legal authority on corpora ti9n hedge-rows and byways.
 "Oh, no," said Pamela, translucent as love itself; T shall go in taxis.'
 How many vulgar vehicles for hire were blessed by the transient presence of Miss Thornton during the next seven hours is matter of gross mathematics and consequently beneath the ken of an intelligence that can chat along about nice things like Pamela and Rob- ert Randolph for pure pleasure and subsequently, sell the remarks for cold cash. Five minutes to spot a lively cab, five minutes to ticket the driver and pile him on the discard, two more to find her purse, three more to look innocent; then start all over again. Divide seven times sixty minutes by all that. and you've got her number. Let us leave the statistical fiend and pass on to seven o'clock of the near Christmas evening when Miss Thorn ton was momentarily out of a cab and strolling down the slope of the hump in West Fifty-seventh street. A mushy snow-rain had just begun to fall giving anyone with the price a splendid excuse for taking a cab any where for anywhere. Before the portal of the Great Northern Lights squatted four taxis in line. In the drivers seat of the rearmOst of these, and con- sequently the last on the rank, a lank human being was buried in an enor- nous turned-up collar roofed by a chauffeur's cap set at an angle of slumber.
 Pamela, the very moment her eyes fell on the recumbent figure, felt that short quick leap of the blood in her veins which is ordinarily termed a 'hunch." >She longed to step forward and raise the yelling headgear, but she dared not, for not only was the hotel starter on the job but also the window shades of the Poppy club next door were still elevated by special request, owing to the slippery state of the side walk in conjunction with the home ward-bound stream of dress-models.
 As consequence, she was necessar- fly content with opening the car door for herself and stepping in. The starter politely begged her to pass to the taxi at the head of the rank and just as politely she informed him that her feet were wet enough as it was. In the meantime, even her light weight on the running-board had startled the driver into wakefulness and, without going through any motions, he had heard the unforgettable tones of her voice.
 The starter shrugged his shoulders, parked out an address in Fifty-ninth street and kindly offered to turn her over for him." The driver laid trem- bling hands on the wheel and cautious ly drew himself up to. a sitting posi- tion without disturbing the shielding angle of his cap. Far from his trou bled mind were thoughts of snow, the slush and skidding. He threw in his clutch, started her with jerk, round ed the cab in front successfully, skid ded nightly thereafter, straightened her out, skidded again, and crashed with great splintering of spokes