anyone come in and I glanced up and
answered, "Yes." I saw before me a young woman of an air and appearance
that fairly took my breath away. I immediately arose to my feet and with
all possible deference invited her to take a seat. I supposed she was
the wife of some of the officials and wanted a pass. In response to my
inquiry as to what could I do for her she said, timidly:

"I am Miss Ross, lately night operator at Bentonville."

Her answer put me more off my ease than ever, but the discipline of the
road had to be maintained at any-cost; so as soon as I could, I put on
my severest look and sternly said, "Well!" She smiled slightly in a way
that made me doubt if she were much impressed by my display of rigor;
and answered, "I came to see if you wouldn't take me back. I am sure I
didn't mean to offend the other night. I have been an operator for
nearly four years and I have never had the least bit of trouble before.
You have no fault to find with my work I am sure; and I promise to be
very careful to never offend again. Won't you please take me back?"

Gee! but she did look pretty and her big black eyes were shining like
bright stars. If she had only known it I was ready by this time to have
given her the best job on the whole division, even my own, but I wasn't
going to give up without a show of resistance and I said:

"Humph! Well let's see!" Then I rang my bell and told the boy to get me
the train sheet of the sixteenth. I looked very stern and very wise as I
read the delay report to her.

"That, Miss Ross, is a very serious offense. A delay of fifty minutes to
any train is bad enough, but when it happens to a through freight it is
the worst possible. Then you say you were at the hotel for lunch. The
order book shows that the despatcher called you from two A. M. until
two-fifty A. M. Isn't that rather an unearthly hour to be going out to
lunch? My recollection of the Bentonville station is that it is a mile
from the excuse of a hotel in the place. Really, I am very sorry but I
don't see how anything can be done."

Discipline was being maintained, you see, in great shape, but all the
time I was delivering my little speech I was feeling like a big
red-headed hypocrite. Miss Ross looked up at me with those beautiful
eyes; then two big tears made their appearance on the scene, and she
sobbed out:

"Well, I know I told a fib when I made that excuse, but the despatcher
was so sharp and I was so scared when he said