Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-04

nOtonouSly safe and sane rule. Good
people seldom make interesting copy.
You must look to the exceptions for
headlines"
And while they talked the worry
minded lady touched the bricks just
as a blue-black machine slowed up to
keep from moving her down.
X X X
! CONVENTIONAL man is a riddle
- seldom solved this side of the
wedding ring. But man is not con
VentiOnal in the small hours.
He is Drimeyal, and shows up good
| or bad to the unprotected woman he
, comes across in the black silence OF
that mystery we know as night
There Is a woman whose former
work made her keep hours that gave
viewpoints not granted to her shell
| tered sisters. And her experiences
| would make story with headlines
To tell about them would require a
| platform. but even an instance or two
will illustrate her claim that when the
chaff of street caddiness is sifted from
the grain of average human nature
| man, after midnight, is as good and
wholesome fellow as his blond
brother. the man of high noon. HeI
| first experience came after she had
encouraged herself to expect none
| And in telling about it, she reeled her
| little incidents off about like this:
II was sprinting along in the middle
of the street--policeman told me al
ways to avoid pavements on account Of
alleys and the extra black shadows
made by areas and tree boxes-1and
had come to the + street side of the old
| Post Office Building o'clock in the
morning. with the place as silent as
| a country churchyard-except for
three men. They were colored. One
had guitar and sang TO its accom-
| panment with the others joining in
| When they saw me they stopped, as
| tonished, ! reckon, at sight of a
woman plodding alone in the night
And the one with the guitar left the
| others and came to me. very politely
touching his hat.
Anybody sick, LADY,
II have always had a respect for
| colored people, and, for that reason
| had no special fear because of the
mans race, but all the same / was
so scared l could hear my teeth strik
| ing against each other, as | told him
that | was going home from work.
II thought you might be going for
doctor and maybe we might hell
you. Kinder late for ladies to be out
| by themselves
II told him l would soon be home
| and that II they would go on singing
| it would keep me from feeling
nervous. .
And those three young men didn't
do Il thing but follow after me. sing
| ing. until got to my door. l thanked
| them and they said I was welcome
And that was all there was to it, ex
cept, when l read about troubadours
To- nd ch I | "
| a kiping. so that l could do II poem
about three truly gentlemen and rea
| troubadours who made II their mis-
sion TO guard an unprotected woman
| in the night.
"One part of my way lay along
| the always lighted market space
| where / felt none of the shivery fear
| that beset me after / had left Seventh
street and turned into the black lone
| illness that swallowed me along the
three deserted squares that led to my
| apartment at T. street and the park
| There was a harvest moon. and the
| leaves of the trees made dancing
shadows on the slvery asphalt. You
may remember the time we had an
| invasion of what people called cleo.
trio bugs; big fellows that ran over
| the pavement like tiny automobiles
| knocking each other down. One chap
| had been pushed on his back, and his
| efforts to turn over appealed so 10
| my sympathy-you know how you
| feel about helpless creatures-that
| took my hat pin, stopped down to get
a proper lever on the job, and had
| turned him over. when an old night
| Waterman of one of the stores came
out of the shadows and began t,
! preach:
| Daughter, what are YOU doing out
| a o'clock at night. when all honest
women are in bed? Waiting for some
man. | suppose, criminal, perhaps
who may at this minute he trying tc
| rob some store. 1t is not too late
daughter. Go. beg you. and return
to your old parents who may he griev
ing for their hayward child. 1t is
never too late to repent.
| 'I wish you could have heard him
| Il was doing a good bit of theatei
| work at that time, and the dramatic
| figure of him was something fine
| so l told him just who ! was, anG
when he found out about the Ions
squares I had ahead OF me, he said
bless his old bones:
"I cant leave my job here. but
have a policeman friend who comes
| by ahour this time and he can take
you home before he goes on his beat
And this is the only real thrill ]
got out OF my adventurings: for the
policeman did come along, and he die
take me home. with promise to post
the regular officer on my route. and
he was as kind and as chivalrous as
a man could be-but not so very lone
after that. counting by trials, he was
hanged for numbering woman-ir
a park"
Which shows what havoc that thing
you call infatuation can make Of q
! kindly, honest man.