The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1921-03-12
A FILTRATION
BY TRAHAH.

Copyright. IVA Western Newspaper Union !,
a small. Irnid hand on his arm ar.
rested the r~.stless pacing II che tall,
remembering gentleman who had
been walking to and fro in the waiting
room OF The Grand Central station. He
turned with a welcoming smile, but his
expression altered slightly as he per.
.vlved the person who had accosted
him. She was a pretty girl, neatly
dressed in a trim, tailOr-nade blue
serge suit. Her age might have been
anywhere between twenty-five and
thirty. Smiling quizzically, he raised
his hat and said:
81 beg ySur pardon?'
"Oh :" she exclaimed, IN q shy, timid
little voice, which was hardly in keep
ing with the roguish CLEAN in her eyes
"Oh, excuse me-, | thought
you thought l was some one else?'
he concluded, Smilingly, as she paused
apparently too embarrassed to finish
her sentence.
YES. | thought you were Dick-I
was so glad! My purse has been pick
ed became aware of it only a mo
ment ago when | was about to buy my
ticket for homeland when | saw You
| rushed right over.
She did not vouchsafe any furthe
Information about Dick"
What a coincidence! My name
happens to be Dick, TOO. Wouldn't |
do inst n wall gf 10 ..I.1 -.-.
you will allow me to advance you
enough money for our fare homer
And he slipped his hand suggestively
into his pocket.
"But you don't know where my home
is she objected naively. Suppose I
lived in California, for %instance?'
Heaven forbid! !" he exclaimed fer
vently.
At this they laughed merrily; but .
sudden thought sobered him, and he
glanced at her speculatively. Then:
Il wonder if you'd be offended at q
proposition I'd like to make to your"
SuSpiciously, she quickly looked up
at him, but was apparently treasured
by the expression of his eyes.
well. that depends a good deal on
the proposition" she answered non
committally.
III be absolutely candid with YOU
he said. ITO tell the honest truth.
when you approached me, | was Won
derlng what on earth | could do tc
while away the evening. / happen TO
| have tiplntc for tnnioht'. opforn,,,a ~,
at the Palace, but there isn't much fun
going alone, is there? Now | though
i hoped-Oh, hang it; would o
care to go to the theater with a per-
fectly strange man?' he finished with
apparent relief.
Il would moi care to go with a per
fectly strange man." At her words
he looked crestfallen-"but I'd love TO-
go with you"
you will? Fine !" he exclaimed joy
ously when he realized that he would
no be refused, after all.
Up the street they strolled, strug.
Cling through the throng for a few
blocks till they reached the Palace
theater. When he finally handed his
tickets to the usher the second act was
already in progress 1t was almost
eleven O'Clock when they emerged on
the street again.
Slowly they made their way back to-
ward the station.
Lets go in here. and have supper"
he suggested as they were passing q
cafe.
"As you like she assented.
An obsequiouS waiter, on their en-
trance ushered them to a table near
the dancing floor. He then took their
order and departed. While awaiting
his return, the man and the girl chat
ted together.
"Oh, boy!" he exclaimed, 81 wish /
was young again." A disinterested OBJ
server would have given him about
thirty as his age.
Don't you know the saying, "A man
is just as young as he feels?'" she
asked, demurely.
Back in the station once more, he
gravely asked her:
well, young lady, do you still in
sist that your home is in California,
or shall l buy a ticket for some other
part of the Union?"
"BronXville will do very nicely,
thank you," she answered primly.
1.-Two tickets for B~ronxville," she
overheard him say to the ticket agent.
An hour later they descended at the
little station of Bronxville. A five-min-
ute walk from there brought them to a
neat little cottage that stood a few
steps from the street. They walked
inside the yard and up the porch
steps, but paused at the door for an
instant while he searched his pockets
for his latchkey. When he had finally
found 1t, he unlocked the door and
they stepped inside. She Immediately
went upstairs, but he DOTTED his hat
and coat and hung them on the clothes
tree In the hallway before he followed
her.
A few minutes later he was tugging
industriously at a snarled sh%oe-lace ;
while she, with her hair down over her
shoulders, was sitting before her dress
ing table engaged in her nightly trib-