Punctual Pennington.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7853, 15 July 1911, Page 18

Punctual Pennington.

PEKXIM3TON heard Miss Eastman comini; down the stairs. He snapped Ids watch ease shut with a vicious snap. He knew that Jl;ss Eastman could hear it. He wanted her to. At ready tao curtain at the Frivolity had been up a full fifteen minues.

Grace Eastman leaned over tlio bannisters.

’ "Penny/' she called, softly, "X forgot my glasses. Wait a few minutes, like a dear uoy. I'll run up and get them. You won't mind, will you?" "Not at ad," declared Pennington, in tones which meant quite the reverse. "I don’t suppose the first act is any good. W© can get some one to tell us all about it when wo get there." One© in her own room. Miss Eastman spent a delightful ten minutes regarding the tiny clock on the dressing-table. The time passed, sho again descended the stairs, the optra-glass bag conspicuously displayed. Pennington Manners was at the foot of the stairs, ostentatiously regarding his watch. .

Miss Eastman paused, gave a little shriek, and, having caused Pennington to turn round and look at her, put on her sweetest smile as sho explained that sho had forgotten a letter she wanted to postPennington made several remarks to himself as she flew up the stairs, and spent a heated half hour patrolling the hall, while Grace laboured over a sheet of notepaper at her tiny writing-desk. Thou she came down the steps again. Pennington was In front of the clock. "When you . are through \ moralising upon the flight of time," suggested Miss .Eastman, softly, "we will make a start." Pennington turned. "I wish," ho said, 'That I could convince you of the importance of Ijoing early." "I decline to be tho early bird," sh© said, laughingly; "I don't think I should like worms. I had some snails —just once —and they were horrid." "This," reminded Pennington, firmly, "is a chronological—not a dietary—discussion."

"My 1” said Miss Eastman, "is it as important as that?” “Look her'*, Grace,” appealed Pennington, irritably, "this is getting to be a serious matter. Why cannot you regard it so?”

"Why,” she declared, innocently. "T think a chronological discussion must be an awfully important matter/' "We might as well have it out,” he said, as ho gave another glance at (he clock. "The curtain must just be going down upon the second act.” "I think it is rising on the last,” she said, with an emphasis he did not appreciate. "Ever since we became engaged/' he continued, "I have been made to fuflfar through your procrastination. What?” "I merely said, r Ouch/ ” exclaimed the girl. "Procrastination—chronological—are you going to pelt me with the dictionary instead of taking mo to the theatre?”

Ho dismissed her flippant question with a majestic wave of the -land. "To-night you are very nearly an he nr and a half late—one hour and seventeen minutes, to be exact. Last Thursday I had to wait half an hour for you, and the other evening, when we went to the Ballingtons' ballj I waited almost an hour.” ''That was the night w© found out at the last moment that my new dross was ripped,” sho explained.

"It makes no difference,” he declared. "It is your duty .to your escort,‘under any curcumstances, to be ready and waiting when h© calls.” The girl silently held out her hand.

"Talc© it off,” she commanded, indicating the ring which flashed upon the engagement finger. "What do you mean?” he cried, astonished. "I mean that I'm tired of this sort of lecture,” she declared, firmly. "There -is another side to this. Wednesday evening wo had people to dinner. You made me leave dessert because your horrid old lecture was to begin at eight. "We left the pleasant company here to sit in a dismal old hall for half an hour, until the lecturer decided that he was ready to begin. This was only one of a lot of things like that. "That evening your sister called me on the ■'phone to ask mo about the costume ball at th© Gallikers. I was ready and waiting you when you called, but Lucy would not let mo leave the 'phone for twenty minutes. "When X did get away you snapped your watch-case shut loud enough for mo to hear. I happened to remember that you wore an open-face watch and that you must have opened the back for my express benefit. I made you wait ten minutes.

"You did the same thing when I came down again, and that time I made it half an hour. You scold me for it. You can take your ring and give it to some one who lives her life according to the clock, not according to circumstances.” The ring fell at his feet, and she had gained the upper floor before ho could collect his wits and stop her.

Ho waited while a servant whom he summoned inquired and came back with the announcement that she was not able to keep her appointment. She did not tell him that the girl had flung herself, sobbing, upon the bed. Pennington, went up the street feeling decidedly like a fool. His sister v upon his arrival home, heartily assure*! him that his suspicion was correct. He was an even greater fool than ne had supposed himself to be.

With siterly affection she expatiated upon his priggishuess, and then, like a good sister, showed him how he might retrieve his error.

Tho next morning Miss Eastman, received tho ring and a dainty chatelaine watch. The latter was without hands.

There was no letter. Pennington had written seven, each more stilted and unsatisfactory' than the last. There was simply a scrap of paper on which was scribbled:

“Wear both of these as trophies of my reformation. And, if you are iorg.ving, let us go to the Frivolity to-night instead. i hear that even the last act is very good.” Miss Eastman was ready at eight. A RAILWAY HOAX. In order to stir up tho Vienna-Warsaw Railway authorities to give tho public better suburban connections some promment local railway engineers published recently a fictitious report about an American firm having begun to bußd an overland railway. Tii© name oi the firm was given as Messrs Pampegus, Harriman and Co., ana wouatra were going to be done in the way of introducing American railway metnods. The local press swallowed the bait, published articles about the enterprise of American firms, and gave such glowing accounts of this spieuoid new American railway that the V ienna-Wasraw Railway woke up nd held a meeting to consider this now menace to their hitherto sleejiy monopoly. When ail concerned were thoroughly aroused the practical jokers sent messages to say that Tamxiagus, Harriman and Co. only existed in their fertile brains, and. that they hoped the public would nov ret decent train service from the ViPUau*-Warsaw Railway- None of the readers had noticed that the reports of the American enterprise were sent in to tho papers uu file first of April.