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Show 1 His Night 1 Off H ' And What It Accomplished I j I For Him H b 1 By CLARISSA MACKIE BBBJj ' W Copyright by American Press Alio- J PHj i elation, 191L g BBBv l xjK$$-tfJ-$KjJ-4-t-5J-?$'Jj'?' K Dunbsr stepped out of tbo tall Park H row building with a pleasant senso of Hl , freedom. IIo find turned In his last BBf , pago of copy for the Sunday edition, BBJi and bo hnd twenty bours of rest and Hj I relaxnllon ahead of him. To Sam Dun- K bar, tho most Indefatigable worker on Bf , tho Dally Universe, relaxation meant HBK :, seeking bis pleasure among haunts that HBH- ' must furnish copy. In bis youthful BBmI' ', enthusiasm his Mfo had thus far con- BBl't stated of work, steep and work. BBBj On this Saturday night Sam was In- Bli splrod to seek tho garish lights of the BBBBi Bowery. In somo restaurant there he BBBB! might Ond the typo of young man ho Hl was looking for tho weaker brother Bl i who bad lost hope nnd self respect and Hr who was burdened with a multitude BpBI of vices, yet In whom tbcro might bo BBpB Bomo slumbering spark that could bo Bpfl) ; funned to a flnmo of renewed Interest H) ; In life, ambition and. in tho ond. rop- BpB utablo citizenship. If bo could provo ' that this might bo done with some of tho degenerate sons of tbo city, per- PpB '.( haps a measure of tbo gold that was BBH ' steadily poured toward tho enlighten- H I ment of the heathen of other lands might bo diverted to that greatest of BpS all charities at homo. BBpB Now bo strolled along tho Bowery, BBH mingling with tho crowds that throng- BpH , ' cd tho sldowalks, looking horo and BBH ' . tfcero for n cheap eating houso wherein BftpB ' tw might find what ho was looking for. BBJB ' i Bam Dunbar was hanging up his bat flBpH ''In a chop houso preparatory to tnk- flBH' j Ing a seat at one of tho polished clier- flBH l 7 tables when tbo vacant eyed youth flBH j I -whom he bad picked out for his prey BBBn ' "Oil, TAKE Hill AWAYl" BUB C11IK1). BBBB ft suddenly aroso from bis seat and up- BBBBj j proached the cashier's desk. Sam look- PPBK"' cd around at tho other patrons of the BBBBTj'I place. Two flashily dressed tucn sat flflBB jj In a distant corner. Uerc and there PPBB'K a man was eating a solitary meal, and BBBB 5 , directly opposite bim a girl was beut Bi'h over tho greasy bill of faro. BBBB If ' There was something In the droop of PPBBm tier shoulders that appealed to him. PBYBpU They looked tike shoulders tliut were BPPp,J nccustouied to carrying themselves PPBBaj proudly, but now they hunched to- BBhBBb, n getlicr. and the enormous beaver bat pBpBpj was so flopped Uowu ubout the girl's pBpBp) ' face that be could see nothing save n PPBB,, ' round white chin and a pair of red BPPlj J Ups that undoubtedly trembled. PPBBr Itepirdles') of the waiter's disdainful BBpflBY' clnnce nnd tbo tiiiultlng laugh of a PPHBu man In a striped suit of clothes, Snm BBpBpJl reclaimed His mil and mined across to flHflflH. tlic table (iceupled by tho girl. Shu did BBVBBw tior lift her bend at bis approach. Sho BBVBBb! merely bowed It lower over the framed flBVBBW curdlHiiird until the broken feather on pBpBpJi her nearly xtrept the table. BBbBK The tirnKen feather decided tbo mat- BBpBpf ter tor Sum Dunbar If them was no BBVBBWj diTi'iiiTnti' minis mun to be reclaimed BpBB, thin nleht here was material to bis BpBB nr ns he told himself, for his BBpBVBJ waiter shoved n card under BBVflBV Sam's nose and thumped n glass of BBBBBBi water on the table. "A porterhouse steak and coffee." BBlBlBYl was bis L,., ' "AnJ fours?" Tbo waiter snapped PPPptti j tho question at tbo girl. PPPBV I "A sandwich nnd n cup of tea," pBpBpKj enmo from under tbo beaver hat In a BBpflBpj very small BBpflBW Tho waiter departed and returned BBpflBpT nlmot Immediately wjtb tho tea and BBBJ candwlch. BPPB Tho girl slowly lifted her head and BBpflBpj . v made a pretenso at eating the food. ! Bam. apparently absorbed In n nuws- BPPB paper, noted that she ate daintily and pBpBpfl that her bauds wero pretty and well pBpBpH kept Her face was charmingly sweet PBflBBV pBVBpi Where bad she come from? What BBpBpB was she doing here on the Bowery? BBpBpB Sam asked himself these questions as BBBm lie discussed his meal no wished BBpBpB rl there wns something that he rould do. BBBBB Tie fell that she needed protection. BBBB Tiers was the timidity of Innocence. B; There was no guile In the frightened K' blue pyes thai evaded bis, BBBBBBBL jaa. An opportunity ramp The door BBBBBBBVIBBBbl awnng a rann entered, a BBBBBBBBBBBBBB, awAcgertng, half drunken who made slow progress up the room, supporting himself by a dirty band laid on the tables. Wben he reached tho table where tbo young reporter and the girl sat tbo man paused and stared foolishly at the girl. "Say, Mabel." he begnn, with a threatening glance toward Sam. "If youse wonts mo to throw him out 1 will. What Bay?" Tho girl uttered a little cry nnd Unshod nn appealing glance toward Sflm. "Oh, tako him nwayl" she cried nervously. Just then tho waiter blustered up nnd with llttlo ceremony ejected the nowcomcr from tbo place Tho girl Was rjslng from her seat and fumbling In n small bag that hung from her waist. Sam pushed asldo hl& own unfinished meal. "If you'ro afraid of that fellow, Miss Mabel," ho was beginning wben tho girl put out a protesting hand. "Oh, you are mistaken." sbo said, with n broken little laugh. "My name Isn't Mabel, nnd I never saw him before be-fore In my llfo. lie wns merely offensive, of-fensive, Hint's nil." Suddenly ho nroso nnd reached for his hat. "This Is n pretty tough section." sec-tion." ho snld quietly. "I wonder if you'd let mo put you on n car for home?" Tho girl hesitated and looked at him. Their eyes met In n, long, earnest, absorbing ab-sorbing glance. At last tho girl uttered a llttlo sigh of relief. "If you will bo so very kind." sha said gently. Tho waiter grinned sardonically as they paid their checks and passed ont of tho restaurant together. "Which way?" Inquired Sam as they paused on tbo sidewalk. "Way uptown Ninety-second street," returned tbo girl. "If you will put mo on n car" "I'll seo to that," salt! sain, "mere s an clovated station two blocks down. I will bo glad to seo you nil the way homo if you will permit me." ho suggested. sug-gested. "You are very kind, but pcrhnps I nm taking you out of your way," said tho girl. "Not nt nil. This is my night off." They walked slowly down tho brilliantly bril-liantly lighted thoroughfare, the girl's faco qulto hidden by the enormous beaver bat. Sam Dunbar walked very straight, his broad shoulders thrown back ns If braced to meet Bomo expected ex-pected trouble, his handsome brows knitted In perplexity. Not a word was spoken until they wero In the train rumbling northward. "I would like to ask you what you're doing so far from borne," hesitated Sam nt last. "That's a pretty tough part of tho city, you know." "I do know It," sho said quickly. "That Is why I wont there." "Bccauso It Is tough?" ho repented Incredulously. Sho nodded her head, and tho broken feather wagged In unison. "I don't be-llovo be-llovo you would like to hear why I went there." no lookedi uncomfortable. "Well, I would Ilko to hear." he said bluntly. "You're too young to bo wandering nround tho city like this." "I'm not ns young ns I look," she protested "I hope yon will understand under-stand mo, I suppose you live down there yourself, but I bad a mission down there." She blurted It outns If relieved of a burden of secrecy. "A mission! Then you are a settlement settle-ment worker?" "No. You see, I nm n woman reporter re-porter for tho' Dally Sphere. I novo come In contact with somo of the un-fortunntc un-fortunntc girls of the city, and I thought that In my spare moments I might get down among them and perhaps per-haps bo tho means of leading a few of them back Into a better life." Sbo blushed rosily under tho disreputable bat. IIo sighed with relief at her confes slon. "But that was a mighty dangerous danger-ous thing for you to do," he advised her. "You might get Into serious trou-blo trou-blo yourself. Tonight was your Urst attempt?" "Yes. and 1 was sd frightened. I picked out that chopbousc, nnd I felt so perfectly awful with this wicked feather In my hot." Sbe reached up and plucked out the olTendlng fcuther. "1 suppose I've made a failure of the whole thing Just wheu I thought I was going to accomplish such a uoble work. There Is a man on the Universe who reaches young men In this way. and bis example lusplrcd me to do likewise Ills name Is Dunbar" "Perhaps we uiu work together," said Snm quietly, llslilng a card from his pocket and handing It to her Sbe uttered a little cry of delight "How very strange" she wus begin ulug, when n sudden thought brought tho roses lo her cheek onco more. "You thought you thought you were going to save meV" she asked quickly. It was Sam's turn to blush. "I might have known you were different," be said apologetically Sho waved the fenther thoughtfully "Not while I wore that. Mr. Duubar. I believe we are coming to my station " Sam uccompauled her to her borne In a most Irreproachable neighborhood. In the months tliut followed It was his good fortune 'to Instruct her In other matters outside of the sphere of philanthropy phi-lanthropy In the eud they formed a matrlrao nlal partnership and worked together for tho reclamation of unfortuuates. Once a week they entered tho restaurant res-taurant where they had first met and dined under tho contemptuous glance o the waiter. "1 don't know If 1 ever told you. Bam, but I bclloved you to bo a ropro bate when von unt down hv mo 'that first night, and I was so afraid of you." "You'vo got over It bravely enough.' Implied her husband, trying to look henpecked and dismally falling In bU ittcmpt. |