OCR Text |
Show Ticket to Sparta By EMILY V. SPE.1RS by McClure Newspaper Syndicate. WNU Service WHEN Peggy Burleson's mother found her shamelessly crying over a bunch of dead violets, she decided de-cided something must be done. "But," protested Peggy, when her mother had explained her plan, "I don't want to go to see Aunt Helen. I want to stay right here In Longhope, where Dick Is." In the end Mrs. Burleson won her point. And two weeks later Peggy was comfortably established In her aunt's luxurious New York apartment, apart-ment, leading a gay life. And of course Peggy had a good time. Then suddenly, early In the afternoon after-noon of her birthday, a week after her visit began, Peggy suddenly decided she couldn't spend another hour in New York. She must get home. The memory of a shiny white box, layers of gleaming, transparent green paper that she had pulled aside a year ago to disclose a bunch of violets from Dick, came to her so vividly, so poignantly, that she felt almost faint from their nearness. She was going home. She couldn't go back even for an explanation to her aunt's apartment. Her aunt wouldn't understand. She hailed a taxi and hurried to the station. It wasn't until she opened her purse to pay the taxi man that she saw she had only two or three dollars. She paid him. Then she stopped to consider what to do next. She'd telephone tele-phone her aunt leave word with a maid that she'd gone home for the night. She couldn't make explanations. explana-tions. It was too inconsiderate of her to do it, of course. She'd buy a ticket that would take her as far as possible on her way. Then, if the conductor remembered he might forget and let her ride a few stations extra, perhaps the whole way she'd get off the train, wherever he put her off, and perhaps she could walk the rest of the way. A crazy plan, of course, but to Peggy at the moment it seemed beautiful. Fortunately a maid's voice answered her telephone call. There was little surprise in the well-trained, "Yes, Miss," but that was all. Peggy had banked on that. Aunt Helpn had high-class high-class servants that never batted an eyelid, no matter what happened. Peggy's eyes blurred as she worked her way to the head of the line for her ticket. She pushed two dollars and a quarter through the grating. "How far will that go toward Long-hope?" Long-hope?" she asked the ticket salesman. "To Sparta." he answered. "All right, ticket please," said Peggy. And he gave it, to her, with fourteen cents change. She had to wait half an hour for her train. But that was all right. The maid had told her that her aunt was away at a card party and wouldn't be home till five-thirty. Snow was falling as the train emerged from the tunnel just beyond the station. Small, business-like flakes. But what was snow to Peggy? She saw violets floating through the air. Sparta was a long way from Long-hope. Long-hope. But if she couldn't walk the distance dis-tance in the flaky snow oh, well, something would happen. The warmth and regular motion of the train hilled Peggy to sleep. A firm but gentle tap on the shoulder shoul-der awakened her an hour or so later. She looked up to find the conductor leaning over her. "Kxcnse me. Miss." he said "Where was your ticket to?" Silently, Peggy produced it "We've passed Sparta, Miss. Tom-kins Tom-kins Is the next stop." "Dh yes." said Peggy, glad that she had been asleep when the station was called. "I'm sorry. I'll just get off at the next station " "Twenty-one cents," said the conductor. con-ductor. "Rut " demanded Peggy. "Onn't help It. I called the station. sta-tion. You'll have to pay." "Pardon me." said a voice behind her, to the conductor. "The young lady wants to go to Longhope. We are together. T have her fare from Sparta the rest of the way." The conciliator grunted a dissntis-fipd dissntis-fipd sound as he accepted a ticket from Dick, and looked at him a hit askance as he slid Into the seat beside be-side Peggy. Rut that didn't matter to Peggy and Dick. "Yon see." he explained, as his hand sonsrht and clasped hers. "It's your birthday. I remembered. And I wanted to be with you I wanted to, tell you. to ask yon to marry me. I got to your aunt's apartment Just after you'd telephoned, and that nice wooden Iniatre of a maid was all excited. She told me what you'd said over the tele-phone---she'd .lust been thinking of calling a taxi and uoing to the station to see what was the matter. Seems she knew well, she knew yon and I knew each other. Your old Annie and she are friends they've corresponded since yon came to New York. Any way I got to the station a few mln utes before thp train left and followed you. Sort of lost my nerve. I guess Seemed funny to fake It for granted you'd feel as I do. But you do, don't yon. IVcirv?" Dick's ramhlink talk had hron Inter -persod by little interjections and ex i-lamations from PoL'sy. quite satisfy nc and expressive to him. Darkness as cntherim; thickly outside the win 'ows, the wind was sihinir. nnd hie hite flakes were beating against the iarm. lighted windows. |