The card bore the conventional “Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Harvey announce——”
Miss Young slowly crumpled up the letter and shoved it into her pocket. “Heinie,” she said, “one of these days I’m going to take advantage of some guy and marry him while I’ve got him down.”
ONE WAY—AND ANOTHER
By Noble May
“That’s where my finish will be,” said the girl. She rested her odd-looking bundle on the railing of the bridge and looked moodily down into the river.
Tough Muggins wasn’t particularly strong on the conventionalities, but he had stopped on the bridge to look at the river coquetting under the moon’s rays, not to listen to idle talk from strange girls. It listened like a touch, too, so he slid an indifferent eye around in the girl’s direction and advised her to chop it. Something, however, about the tense look of her as she gazed fiercely down into the rippling water compelled him, in spite of his natural inclination, to carry the matter slightly farther.
“What’s got you sore on the livin’ proposition?” he asked grudgingly.
If he had expected melodrama he was doomed to disappointment.
“Same old trouble,” she said quietly. “I was workin’ for some swell folks up on the North Side—real swells they was, believe me. They thought I was bad. Maybe I am. I don’t know. He promised. What more could a girl expect? When they found out, the lady she says to me, ‘Of course, I can’t keep you here, Molly. It wouldn’t be right with me with two daughters of my own, but I’m awful sorry, and I hope it’ll be a lesson to you. There’s plenty of chances for you to start again. It ain’t never too late to turn over a new leaf. Don’t tumble down them stairs,’ she says when I kind of stumbled. Like it would make any difference! Then she shut the door on me. ‘There’s plenty of chances for you to begin over again.’ That’s what she said. Lord, ain’t it funny?” cried the girl. Her laugh rang out high and shrill, seeming to cut into the clear darkness.
Tough agreed that it was funny. Having, perhaps, less sense of humour than Molly, he qualified the statement by adding that it was kind of tough also.