The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1921-07-07
The Girl in the
Thin Coat
BY WILL T. AMES
lS, 1871. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate

broadway, where 1t traverses the
upper West side, is divided into two
parts. Between brace of ample
thoroughfares lies long, slender park
way, string of narrow parallclo-
grams of fenced greensward, scored
across at regular intervals by the
transverse streets.
Down the westerly side Of this
double street fits. each morning an
amazing horde of motor vehicles-pri-
vately owned cars of all degrees save
squadron Of taxicabs; while up the
! easterly side hurries somewhat
smaller stream, largely consisting of
taxis whose drivers are hustling for
their share Of the "golng down" bust
ness.
For here are passing on their way
to the days affairs, tens Of thou
sands of those who scorn to battle
their way downtown by subway or l.,
and whose time is worth far too much
In dollars and cents to be sp,nt on
dawdling surface cars.
To the humble citizen who cools
his heels beside the parkway railing
at one of the cross streets, awaiting
perhaps one of the very occasional
trolley cars which, lower down, sheer
off TO penetrate the squalld Tenth
avenue region, there Is haunting
arrogance about that rushing river of
automobiles that arouses envy, vicari-
GUS pride, cynicism or the blues, ac-
cording to his temperament.
Patrolmen Dan Travers. trim, slim
and clean-eyed. loved, better than any
other duty that fell to his lot, the oc-
casional detail from eight to nine
o'clock, at the Elghty-second street
crossing. For II filed with Joy the
breast of the amiable Dan to raise his
gloved hand against the progress of
"a dozen grandiose. limousines or
breathless taxls and bring them to an
impatient halt while some skinny
legged little girl of nine led her six
year-old brother over the crossing to
the west sidewalk, on their way to
school.
! AS there are many hundreds OF
these children who must daily cross
the Broadway vehicular torrent to
reach the big public school over to
ward 'The Drive" Dan had plenty
of opportunity to interpose that In
exorable limb of the law, his own good
right arm, between the wheeled Molocl
and its potential sacrifcants. And
as he privately confessed TO his moth
er, 1t "tickled him blue"
Yet no traffic officer in New York
regular or detailed, better knew tn,
drivers rights nor more minutely re
spected them than this serenely digni
fled young copper.
Eighteen months on the force was
Dan, and his record was perfect. Il,
his work he brought all the sense o.
responsibility, the understanding o
discipline, the dauntless will to serv
ice, that had developed "over there
In the A. +. f. And he loved II anC
was proud of his uniform.
Came u time when shift In tn,
system brought Dan to the Eighty
second street traffic post every morn
ing instead of now and then. 1t wa
at the beginning of this period tina
he first noticed the girl In the thil
coat. The morning was keenly col,
and the coat was very thin, indeed
the girl shlvered bit as she waite,
for a surface car. II struck Dan n
odd that In that nelghborhood one s.
good-loolling should be unfitly clad
for luxurious coats and furs are a
common as the very taXis themselves
Dan saw the girl every morning TO
a week, and noticed that she alway
, took a car of the same line. One
when she glanced at him he caugh
himself on the very point of noddln
10 her, out of the friendliness he ha
felt toward her from the first, and II
turned quite red and stopped the mex
squad of cars with an even more aus
tere gesture than usual when he rea
lied 1t.
But when he saw the girl next da
absent-mlndedly preparing TO board
Broadway -Forty-second-street car.
ventured to suggest: "That one doesn
1 go down Tenth, lady" And when tn
| girl bestowed on him a fairly be
l wildering smile and said: "Oh, than
! you !" In voice of vocal velvet Dan
!, heart gave a jump such as no Gel
| man shell had gotten out of 1t In tn
| Argonne.
After that the girls thin coat b;
came positive personal worry {
| Dan. He wasn't sure, but he had
| shrewd notion that policeman's VIII
| could dress better than that, eve
| though he did keep his fingers clea
| from all the graft And when tn
| girl. each day for three, greeted hi
| with a cordial Good morning, officer
| Dan almost, but not quite, lost hi
| head, between the kiddles and the al
tomobiles.
| II was on the fourth morning thf
things broke badly far officer Traver