Judge — May 17, 1913 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

HIS MASTERPIECE To Puddersville and Return By 8. B. KISER ss] WOULD like,” said Delphus How- land, as he rested an elbow upon the brass ledge under the ticket window, ‘‘to buy a round-trip ticket to Pud- dersville.’’ His statement was ad- dressed to a young man with anemic eyebrows and a bored expression. Without looking at Mr. Howland or indicating by a nod or any other sign that he had heard Pudders- ville mentioned, the young man behind the wicket turned to a telephone and conversed in a weary way with séme one who seemed to be asking about the excursion rate to Deadwood, S. D. After he had hung up the receiver, he went behind a screen at the back of the ticket office and remained hidden from public view for about five minutes. When he returned, Delphus Howland said, a little more emphatically than before, “IT would like to buy a round-trip ticket to Puddersville.’” The ticket seller did not seem to under- stand that he had been spoken to. He turned from the ticket window, ap- proached a man who sat at a desk ina far corner of the office, and entered into an extended discussion with him. Mr. Howland thought at first that they might be talking about the rate to Puddersville, but he at length abandoned that theory, because neither of them glanced at him or seemed to be aware of the fact that he was waiting. It was three-seventeen o'clock. That was plainly indicated by a clock which hung upon the rear wall of the ticket office. The train for Puddersville was scheduled to leave at three-twenty-two, and it would be necessary for Mr. How- land to get his trunk checked after he had secured his ticket. He was begin- ning to be nervous, Travelers are pe- culiar in that respect. They almost al- ways become nervous when there appears to be danger that they may not succeed in catching the trains on which they wish to travel. For some reason they never have been able to cultivate or acquire the complacency which is possessed by ticket sellers. One never sees a ticket seller who seems to be at all afraid that one will be left behind after the train has gone. The ticket seller remains calm and cool, even if it is only half a minute to train time and the ticket has to be stamped upon every joint and punched in every section. If, at last, he finds that he will have to send out for change, he still refrains from becoming excited, So it was with the young man who pos- sessed the anemic eyebrows and the look of one who was inclined to put it off until next week, whatever ‘‘it’’ might be. He was as cool as a meeting between two men who are trying to win the same girl. After he had apparently decided that fur- ther argument with the man at the desk would be futile, he started back toward the ticket window. “I want a ticket to Puddersville and AMBITION “*T do want to learn to swim—but ob, mamma! not in the water !'’ comicbooks.com