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Show A Close Shave It lacked five minutes of th& time for the Ceparture of the 6:C0 x;i-s?, and the carriage was rapidly filling op. Jared Stone, a well-dressed, meeklook-lng meeklook-lng little gentleman, had just settled down in a corner of a first-class compartment, com-partment, when he heard a familiar voice addressing him. "Why, hello, Stne; how are you? Im light in luck today. I was just looking for someone to take charge of Aunt Martha's bundles and assist her out of the train with them when she reaches Manchester. You're going through, of course?' "Y yes," answered Stone, faintly, as he glanced up and recognized his friend Raemond, with his arms full of kundles of all shapes and sizes and y,Tint Martha" grimly looking up behind be-hind him like one of Napoleon's grenadiers. grena-diers. Now Jared Stone was of a decidedly rhy and retiring disposition, besides being a fossil of an old bachelor (Stone was fifty, still single, and not only willing, will-ing, but anxious to remain so), and If he could have had his choice he would sooner lead a bayonet charge, face a gang of mutineers or a midnight burglar, or encounter almost any other trifle in thnt line rather 1han take charge of a woman and her luggage during a railway journey. Therefore the reader will kindly imagine the remarks re-marks (they will hardly do for print) that Stone made under his breath as he got up and, with forced politeness, bowed the waiting female to the seat next to the window. "Thank you," said Raemond, as he began piling bundles on Stone's feet and into his lap, whichever came the handiest ; "I knew you'd just as soon do me the favor to take charge of Aunt Martha as not, and I'm glad I happened hap-pened to run across you. She Is a trifle hard of hearing and er a little eccentric in some respects, but you'll find her first-rate company when you tet acquainted vilth her. By Uie way, I came near forgetting to introduce you to each other. Mr. Stone, this Is my aunt. Miss Martha Eakins." Then, raising his voice, he shouted: "Aunt Martha, allow me to present my bachelor bach-elor friend, Mr. Stone, who will look after you and see you safely off the train with your luggage when you A clammy perspiration broke out on Stone. "Excuse me," he interrupted hastily, "I said a fine day; not gay, but day; d-a-y!" "Say? Let them say what they've a mind to. I fancy Martha Eakins has got money enough, so she doesn't ask any odds of anybody present company com-pany excepted. Of course It is different differ-ent with you. The minute my nephew introduced us to each other I felt that we were going to be friends intimate friends, as I may say." Stone's face was now the color of an Italian sunset, and he was earnestly earnest-ly longing for the bottom to drop out of the carriage and let him through, or for some other catastrophe to come to his rescue, but as usual in such cases his longings were In vain. "Yes, Mr. Scone, the very Instant I set my eyes on you I said to myself, here Is n congenial soul, a man that I can trust ; and I hope we shall have no secrets from each other. I am rich, but wealth Is not all that Is worth living liv-ing for. You may be poor, Mr. Scon; " "My name is Stone, madam, not Scone," shouted the embarrassed bachelor, bach-elor, "and if you will change the subject sub-ject to something less personal I shall be greatly obliged to you." "Obliged to me? Not at all, Mr. Spone. No obligation whatever. I am only too happy " "Great heavens:" groaned Stone; "what on earth is the old lady driving at, I wonder?" And then raising his voice, he fairly howled: "Madam, your nephew expects me to see you safely out of the train at Manchester, and I'll do It, but in the meantime I propose pro-pose " "To read my paper in quiet until we reach 3-our station," Stone was about to say, but Miss Eakins was too quick for him. Her ear caught the word propose, and that was enough for her. The supreme moment of her life had arrived and last or at least she thought It had and with a cry of Joy she flopped over on Stone's shoulder, knocking his hat off and sending it spinning on the floor, and nearly smashing in his libs against the side of the car. "Oh, you dear, good man, I felt sure right from the start that you were going go-ing to propose ! I knew the symptoms well, and What's the matter, lovey? Ilaven't been taken 111 all of n sudden, have you?" Put Stone had wrircled out of her embrace, leaped to the other side of the compartment, and, fortunately for him, the train was Just slowing up at the first stop. He tore open the door, and slammed it to. Then dashed down the platform to the conductor's compartment. com-partment. The stop was brief, and the conductor signaled the driver to go ahead and turned to enter the train, he noticed Stone for the first time. There was no time for explanations, explana-tions, and both leaped into the car. "Great Scott I" cried Stone, puffing hard to get his breath. "That was a narrow escape. If I hadn't got away when I did I should have found myself my-self a married man before we arrived at our destination. Do you want to earn a ten-dollar bill?" The conductor was not quite sure of the man's sanity, but keeping a sharp eye on him, he intimated that a banknote bank-note of that denomination had Us charms. Then Stone told his story. J "If you'll go to about the fifth car when we make another 6top, you'll find in one of the compartments a six-foot female, all alone. You might tell her that I am dead, and that the remains would like their hat." "Yes, sir."' "And then, when you have done that, if you will see that she doesn't find me, and help her out at Manchester with all her goods and chattels, and get her away from the station so that I may go on my way in safety, I'll put another bill on top of the first one." "All right, sir; leave it to me," responded re-sponded the conductor with a smile. And all the rest of that Journey Jared Stone rode in the conductor's compartment. And fearfully he peered from the window and watched every movement of the dangerous and gigantic gi-gantic female when at last the station was reached and the passengers poured out upon the platform. Not until he saw the cab into which 6he had been deposited with all her baggage disappear out of the' station, did he emerge from the train, and then only to leap into a closed carriage, which the conductor had secured for him. . I ne vowed to himself that that $20 was the best Investment he had ever made in his life. reach Manchester." "So good of him, I'm sure. Happy to meet you, Mr. Stone," responded Hiss Eakins, with what was meant to le a whimsical smile In Stone's direction. direc-tion. At this moment the starter's bell rang, the train began slowly moving out of the station, and with a hurried "good-by," Raemond dashed out of the compartment, leaving Stone alone to face the responsibility of delivering Miss Eakins and her collection of luggage lug-gage safely at Manchester station a responsibility which even the bravest f Stone's sex might well have hesitated hesi-tated to face. ' Now Stone, as I have previously Intimated, Inti-mated, was not cast in a heroic mold. He was a timid little gentleman, measuring meas-uring probably five feet two In his patent pat-ent leathers, and his great aim In life, eo far as the so-called gentler sex was concerned, was to leave them severely severe-ly alone and quietly flock by himself, as Lord Dundreary used to express it. Miss Martha Eakins, on the contrary, con-trary, though she had chiefly flocked by herself through flve-and-forty simmering sim-mering summers and the same number num-ber of dreary winters, had done so unwillingly un-willingly and under protest, as It were. For a full quarter of a century the tall and stately Miss Eakins (who loomed nearly a foot above Stone, and looked every inch a grenadier, as I believe be-lieve I have before hinted) had been on the matrimonial bargain counter $he had a snug little fortune in her own right waiting patiently for some enterprising and appreciative gentleman gentle-man to appear on the scene and take possession of her willing .heart and other personal property. But, alas! Thns far her waiting had been in vain. ' Ainons her list of acquaintances other maidens, young and old, attractive or otherwise, some with fortunes and gome without, had been taken, andshe alone had been left to mourn over the perverseness of mankind. Much" brooding on the subject, coupled with her infirmity of hearing, had at last resulted In the harmless delusion that every man who treated her at all politely was desperately In love with her, and as Stone had not been warned of this fact, it can readily read-ily be surmised that his present position posi-tion was one of extreme peril that is, 60 far as his peace of mind was concerned, con-cerned, at least. After several tunnels . had been passed and the train had emerged once more Into daylight, Stone transferred most of the bundles from his lap to the rack overhead, and presently ventured ven-tured upon the remark that It was a fine day. "Reg purdon. sir!" said the female p-enadier, suddenly straightened up and glancing Inquiringly at Stone. "I said It's a fiue day." explained gtoue, raising his voice to a shout. "Gay? Oh, well I try to be, but It's father hard sometimes for a lonely fe-piale fe-piale to keep her splr " |