Evening star., 1939-02-05

become 3 IamluarlCy 10 nef. ono
was interested in Mr.. Evans obser-
vations on the subject. He begins
by quoting certain horrid warnings.
There Is, he says, the story Of "the
fragile old lady from beneath whose
petticoat peeped the cuffs Of .
mans trousers or from whose knit
ting bag protruded the muzzle Of q
machine gun-I forget which. At
any rate. the kind-hearted motorist
who was about to let her get into
his car saw 1t in the nick Of time
and stepped on the accelerator.
She's become quite q legendary fig
ure, this dear old menace. She fits
in the dusk on the outskirts Of
Chicago and appears in the dawn
southwest Of Denver. Late revelers
have passed her on the Boston Post
road and the winter visitor sees her
in Florida, where her artillery is
sometimes hidden under Spanish
moss and sometimes wreathed in or
nnge blossoms.
"She proves" continues Mr..
Evans, that you never can tell
And the narrator Of her exploits
has an unfailing warning: Don't
pick 'em up! Don't pick any Of 'em
up!'"
And then he adds, "still, I go on
picking them up"
The rest Of his article Is an ac-
count of harmless and amusing
characters whom he has thus
picked up," and at no time, he says,
has he ever been seriously in
danger.
In fact, he says that he does not
know that he has been in danger at
all. One hiker, to be sure. asked
him. on dark isolated stretch of
road what he would do If somebody
held him up, adding meaningly,
Some guy you'd picked up maybe?"
To this Mr. Evans replied intrepidly
that he would try to stop the car If
such a thing occurred. but would
probably be so scared that ne would
drive right on over the cliff. And
then he added inspiredly that there
had been a great deal of insanity
in his family. The hitchhiker got
out at the next town. Beyond this,
a reader Is left to believe that Mr..
Evans experience as good Samari-
tan of the roads has been entirely
peaceful
Reviewer Is Guilty.
The reviewer had a great fellow
feeling for his state Of mind. She,
too, picks 'em up. She. too, re-
ceived the grim warnings. But it
is. to her. even as he says
Il pick them up because I am
sorry for them. Their appeal is ele-
mental; they are footsore. tired and
hungry. and it's a little thing
to let them sit in the car for a
while"
The reviewer at first meant to ad-
here to the advice given her by her
friends. And for a while she did
so. It is on her conscience now
that, In the first months Of her
motor committing. she sailed hard
heartedly by numbers Of patient
thumbers. It was rain that broke
her down, rain last fall, too early
In the season to be recognized as
cold, but indescribably miserable
Just the same.
She was speeding along the high
way between Middletown, Del. and
Elkton, Nd, when a tall, thin scare
crow stepped into her headlights
cit was before daylight and made
the unmistakable signal. He had NO
overcoat on and his jacket was
hauled around his skeletonic figure
against the downpour in heart
sickening ineffectuality. The re-
viewer said harsh word to herself
and put on the brakes. Never will
she forget the glad dog-like graft
tude which shone from the fellow S
foolish face as he came up to the
car door.
He was just tramp. He was not
going anywhere. He asked first for
a lift to Elkton but, when he found
that the reviewer was going on to
Washington he said that would do
just as well. He rode the whole way,
chattering happily. His mind. prob
ably, was that of 10-year-old child
In fact, he made only one remark
which the reviewer can now remem-
ber. That was when he first climbed
into the car.
II didn't expect no lady to stop
for me-" he exclaimed. If I'd a-seen
you was a lady wouldn't even have
waved at you. I haint a feller
that goes round a-scarin' ladies.
If you'll carry me to Elkton prom
Use you you won't be sorry for hit.
I wouldn't do nothin' wrong. I aim
always to act right when there's
ladies present"
To this the reviewer, suddenly
mindful Of the frightful warnings,
said. curtly:
well, If you don't act right I'll
open the door and put you out =
(Though just how she was to ac-
complish the heroic feat was not
clear in her own mind--she SIM
ply thought 1t best to put up
somewhat splendid front)
It was then that the poor tramp
made his sole contribution to her
mental collection of Americana.
IVY. ma'am," he said. admiring-
ly, II reckon you must be school
teacher!"
Robbed Once.
She has to admit that she was
robbed once. 1t was not a great
loss, however. She had picked up
another tramp-likewise uninter-
esting-and after a few miles de-
cided that she wanted a cigarette
Common courtesy indicated that she
offer her passenger the package
He lit up, with expressions of graf
itude. In the course of the jour-
ney the reviewer took several Gig
arettes and each time repeated the
offer. Each time 1t was accepted
When she reached the edge of the
Nations Capital, however, she Is
grieved to have to report that her
package, which had been full when
she first rendered it, had only two
cigarettes remaining in 1t. The
tramp had been stocking his private
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