The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-10-19
THE TIMES, NEW BLooMFIELp PA OCTOBER 10, 1880

She has broken ,our engagement"
said he.
He wanted to break our engage
ment," said she.
And soon the village began to know
that Hetty Hope was not going to mar
ry Harry Hunt.
Hetty married nobody. She refused
all her offers, and lived on with her
grandfather. Aunt Maria died. Tillie
married. Hetty kept house for the old
man still. She was not young any long
er. Girls called her on old maid. She
had left off caring much about her dress
though she was now rich woman, for
the father she was almost stranger to,
had left her an heiress when he died in
q off land.
The farmhouse was prettier and more
tasteful, and she had one or two chosen
friends, but her life was woefully quiet,
and over her heart she always wore
locket with Harry Hunts hair In it, and
under the locket lay regret too deep for
utterance. One saw it sometimes in her
eyes, or guessed 1t from the tone of her
voice, that was all.
y y
1t was bright autumn day, twelve
years from that on which grandfather
Hope had carried the lost letter to the
post office.
The mail bag was being made up
again, and the carpenter was at work at
the counter.
Hullo |" cried he.
"Wellp ?" replied the postmaster.
"You seem to have been hiding things
here" said the carpenter. I've a
mind to keep all L find. See here !"
What's been dropped into the cracks
1 tell you what you needed new coun-
ter bad"
So we did-so we did," said the post
master, putting on his glasses. " Well,
want to know? Cake of bees wax,
paper of pins, hair pins, sheet of stick
ing plaster-hullo a letter Here put
this in the bag-it's stamped some one
has left 1t on the counter. Hullol let's
see what else you've found 7"
He tossed the letter to his little grand
son. This time it went into the post
bag-this time after lying in the dark
for twelve years, it was actually on its
way to China.
A man of forty, with his hair already
silvering, stood amongst his employees
in the great Canton warehouse. Silks
and strange rich, gold-threaded stuff,
fans, umbrellas, screens, cabinets were
being packed under his submission.
Misser Hunt" said small, shrill
Chinese voice at his elbow. "Ship has
come-bring letters.'
" Very well" said Harry Hunt "Put
them down, Chi Foo, and see to those
fans. My Yankee boy there don't un
derstand them"
Chi Foo went to work at the fans
Harry Hunt turned over the letters.
These were mostly business missives
instructions from his senior partners
replies to letters he had written con
cerning sales and purchases; highly
perfumed note bearing monogram and
a coat of arms from cousin who wrot,
occasionally to borrow money, news
paper, magazine, and, last but no
least, a dirty, time-yellowed envelope
with corner bitten off by hungry
mouse, with the superscription half OBJ
liberated. A thrill ran through Harry
frame as he looked at the handwriting
He tore it open within lay letter fresl
as though written an hour before, datet
September 4th, 1866, and ended thus
will come to China whenever you
send for me-"
Harry Hunt read it, understood wha
had happened, though not how it hat
happened; and leaving his silks, shawl
and Chineses bric-a- brac to take care o
themselves, he rushed to his Office, ant
there indited O strange incoherent lette
to one who for all he knew might b
dead, or married to another-but VIII
must know the truth If she lived.
, And so little later, Hetty sat in he
little light wagon at the station waiting
, for train, and from that train, when
| arrived, descended man older ant
/ darker than the Harry from whom sb
| parted twelve years before; and thi
: time they did not care for the combines
J stare of all the town, had all the towl
} been there to see, but kissed each othe
| with such kisses as those who meet il
, Heaven may great each other with-fo
|, they had been dead to each other TO
twelve long years and were alive again
gy Teach girl to be thorough il
: whatever she undertakes, and later OIL