The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-03

hotel, old and respectable.
 On the day of the teams arrival home, Jenkins took Lynn's pad. You put up here" he wrote. They'll treat you right. Come along, and I'll introduce you" Jenkins kept the pad. As he introduced Lynn. he wrote down the name of the party of the second part, as they say. Lynn did a lot of handshaking. Jenkins sud- denly scratched his chin, grinned and wrote two full pages on the tab.
 That girl back of the cigar-stand Is Nellie Milliken," he wrote. She's the whitest little skirt that ever rooted for baseball or church-no nonsense, no 1allygagging. She likes you or she doesn't, and you find it out the moment the game is called. She cottons to me because I'm mar ried and got a couple of kids; and she and the missus are great pals She works because she has to. Paralytic father, and a shrimp of a brother who's always getting in Dutch. The girl hunts him up job, and he goes and loses it regularly. She's game and loyal. All the free yaps on the team have tried to lure her out to shows and dinners. and nothing doing. Of course, she's homely, but she's the goods"
 "Homely Why she's the prettiest girl I ever saw"
 'Uh- huh. Come on-Nellie. this is Lynn"
 The girl smiled brightly and of fered her hand; her grip was warm and firm.
 He can't hear. Nellie; and it's a rotten shame. But mind your step; he's wiz at reading lips. That cauli- flower ear-the ball hit him there. They carried him off the lot, stone deaf. Tough"
 I'm so sorry!"
 Here" said Jenkins, offering the pad. Write down here that he pitched great ball Saturday"
 Nellie scribbled: Great work, Sat- urday."
 Thanks. I'm human, and I like ing.
 The girl stared at him dumfounded. then turned to Jenkins.
 Gee, I forgot. He can talk like anybody" Jenkins explained. "Fusses you up at first. It gives you the jumps some times when he answers you like he could hear. But he's born pitcher, Nellie; and there's going to be series-dough for the missus next winter"
 Tt must be dreadful" said the girl in an aside. He's the nicest-look- ing ball player I ever saw
 That was the beginning. The girl went thoughtfully back to her work. and Lynn played very poor game of Kelly. Thereafter, when the team was home, you were likely to find Lynn at the cigar stand from 10:30 to 10:45 in the morning and from 5:30 to at night He talked, and the girl scribbled on the pad between sales or talked so he could see her lips plain 1y. And always her heart swelled with pity and admiration. He was what Nellie Milliken called a hero.
 One morning, just after Lynn had left the stand. Swan approached.
 What's going on here?" he de- manded with elephantine amiability.
 What do you mean?" Nellie shot back, for she hated this man, and with reason.
 why, this Dummy stuff He hangs around here like he was spoonin'."
 He can, If he wants to. It would be clean spooning,"
 ''Uh-huh Surei But you ain't aimin' to marry a guy like him, are your"
 "rd rather marry a deaf man who was a gentleman. than man who could hear. and wasn't"
 "Meanin' me-"
 Meaning you"
 "Aw Nellie! Don't be so hard on fellah. I've played the game straight. I asked you to marry me"
 And I declined. MT. Swann. You asked me to marry you-after you found I wasn't the kind of girl you thought I was I have to work for my living, in the open. So have to put up with a lot. I stand for it be- cause the counter is between. But off duty. no. And my name is Milli- ken-Miss Mil1iken."
 "All right, if you feel like that about it. But I'm goin' to knock that deaf guys block off before we stack our bats"
 'You might be disagreeably sur prised.'
 ..Is that so! What's the idea? Sure. I forgot. His old mans rotten with money. Sure-business is business. I'd hook up with a deaf-mute, if she had money enough. But this guy ain't goin' to git any O Pas iron boys. He's been dumped because he's a four flusher."
 And he turned away before Nellie could think up a retort sufficiently hot to wither the brute. When her rage subsided, an idea came into her shapely head: and she applied this idea the following morning. She wrote on Lynn's tab: Come up ana have supper with us tonight"
 Do you mean that?"
 She nodded.
 What time2"
 "seyen," she wrote. Don't come hafora hecausa Pm the cook"