A quiet, bashful sort of a young fellow was making a call on a
Capitol Hill girl one evening not so very long ago, when her
father came into the parlor with his watch in his hand. It was
about 9:30 o’clock. At the moment the young man was standing on
a chair straightening a picture over the piano. The girl had
asked him to fix it. As he turned, the old gentleman, a gruff,
stout fellow, said:
“Young man, do you know what time it is?”
The bashful youth got off the chair nervously. “Yes, sir,” he
replied. “I was just going.”
He went into the hall without any delay and took his hat and
coat. The girl’s father followed him. As the caller reached for
the doorknob, the old gentleman again asked him if he knew what
time it was.
“Yes, sir,” was the youth’s reply. “Good-night!” And he left
without waiting to put his coat on.
After the door had closed the old gentleman turned to the girl.
“What’s the matter with that fellow?” he asked. “My watch ran
down this afternoon and I wanted him to tell me the time, so
that I could set it.”--Denver _Post_.
(545)