Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1934-12-28

away, leaVlnP nef staring dICef Jneln
with an expression of wondering JOY
in her eyes that they really should
have seen. 1t would have been a real
reward for their generosity, careless
as it had been.
She watched them out of sight,
and then she began to examine the
lovely coat she still held in her arms.
She slipped it on again, and admired
it from that angle. And those Won
derful men had paid the peddler
hundred dollars for it! Oh, why
hadn't she told them her story and
asked them to give her the money in
stead? Now she would have to sell
the coat.
She slipped it off again, and fold
ed it carefully over her arm, and then
she began to study the passers by for
possible customers.
want to buy nice fur coat, mis-
ter? Only a hundred dollars"
Up and down Sixth avenue she went,
stopping a girl this time, man that
time. And then at last
"a fur coat, huh? Let's see it."
Hopefully she held out the coat
to man who grabbed it, but, mind
full of her experience with the pay
envelope, she kept one corner of it
clutched tight in one hand.
The man rubbed the nap of the fur
the wrong way, peered closely at it,
turned it to look at the lining, peered
at the places where the label had been
ripped out-and then caught Bethna
roughly by the arm.
"Sure want this nice fur coat, sis
ter. Come along"
"Wh-where?" she gasped, sure
something was wrong by the sudden,
grim change in the mans manner.
"Not very far" he said, dragging
her toward the corner, out into the
street and straight to traffic cop.
81 want this girl arrested" he de-
manded. "She tried to sell me this
coat that was stolen out of my shop
this afternoon. This and a lot O.
others"
81 didn't steal it! l didn't she
babbled, trying frantically to pull
away. 1.-TWO Fifth avenue swells
gave it to me! Honest, mister!"
But all she got for her answer to
how hx,St ar;ca llx, x,,l;,,Narsccs eko~x, MN -
ride to the nearest police station
in the patrol wagon. Who would be-
lieve that two philanthropic "swells"
had bought coat from street ped
dler for a hundred dollars and given
it to shabby looking girl like Btu
ma for Christmas present?
! Not hard-boiled fur shop owner
who recognized his property. Not
police, who heard all sorts of alibis
every day.
The coat stayed at the police sta
ton to be used as evidence against
the girl in court later, the fur shop
owner went home to his family-and
Bethna Ruggles, sobbing, protesting,
pleading, went into cell.
And there she stayed, and nobody
paid any attention to the tiny girl
who clutched the bars of her cell and
show them in a frenzy of eXaspera-
ton and begged them at least to tell
her family where she was and what
had happened.
They did bring her some supper
after while, though, and Bethna COB
bled it up hungrily. Food was food,
even prison food, and the girl was
half-starved. But food couldn't divert
her for long. Her poor family was
just as hungry as she had been. She
went back to her post behind the bars,
and she whimpered her appeals to ev-
eryone who passed.
Finally a man stopped. A man
with careless, bored SLOUGH, his hat
on the back of his head and a cigaret
dropping from the corner of his mouth
But he listened, and that made him
wonderful to Bethna.
He not only listened to the whole
story, but he asked her exactly where
on Sixth avenue was the policeman
she had told about losing her pay en-
velope.
ooh, that doesn't matter!" she wall
ed what really matters is to tell
my father and mother where am.
Please, mister! They're hungry and
they'll think something awful happen
ed to me-"
The man chuckled.
"Well, something awful has," he
told her. "And if you want me to
help you, you'll have to let me check
up on your story. Where was that
cop that you told about losing your
pay envelope?"