The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-10-07

W ~ otlo 1yStVS} was sur.
prises to see ssas Nina Kelsey step timidly'
INTO his room g ~ / and lay down 4 roll of
you please, siir, she said, 1T Is.
81 little! story that i have written. and
would yon be kind enough to look IL.
oyer e and see # it Is good enough for the
The editor laughed good at,ulirredlyt
as he picked up the neatly. written
sheets and leaned back a In his
Chair; to read them. 81 Nina stood
Ineryously waiting, with doWncast ewes.
and toying with the fringe ii her
HF ..kbv! q !, Il, 81, I, !, J.
editor ! Sas his eye ran down the last!
sheet; and his pencil instinc tiYely flew
back. to the margin Of the first withsthe.
magic Inscription, n. Written expre
Tor the Nes1s this Isl fine, really fine!
i dosnot know as 4 eYer$reasdtl q s;we,eterrl
little story. I am proud to use Sc ia
the $Nesos. and Il hope YOU viii write ia us
some more like it, Everybody will BE,
wondering who M q Ii. It will be lust
the thing for Saturday. fourth page.
Allow me to Con ratul late syou, r Miss
,Kelseyl You will make al 8 author one.
ofsthese day. 4 q 81
IN Nina flew up stairs witt tears Of ioy,.
and gratitude lin her eyes. She had
not expec ted such cordial praise and
'encourag cement from Mr.. Beckwith.i
Was her little story, then, really 50
good \ lit hal any merit she; kneelw5Ii it
must be the merit Of earnestness and
reality, for she had put her whole soul
and life and longing into it, and there
were stains upon the paper where her
tears had fallen. : was d labor Of love
for her to put it into type, and when
on Saturday morning il appeared, in
the clear-faced bonrg eois, holding the
place Of honor in the literary columns
of the NssDs, she was 80 oyerjoyed that
she could scarcely keep from telling
her secret to every one shey met. 3. She
wondered If people would read it, and
II she would yer he ar from it againP
Somehow, she felt as though something
of good would result from, it--some.
thing more than the mere delight Of
having given it form, and having utter
ed through 1T the yearning Of her soul.
Thus other week passed. and Nina
,toiled at her case, as usual, from morn
ing till might, but with a new 10y and
cheer illness. It seemed as though she
had in some sense vindicated her work,
fennobledt it, and beautifed it, WIDEN
flying her deepest life and longing
with its outward surro findings. It
was, therefore, with start OF surprise
that she found, one morning, lying On
her case. letter aidd dressed ii q strange
handwriting to &. - 81 author Of "a
Day Of Life. e Care Of Editor of Daily
3Nesos; Summeryil Conn. It was
the story gain perhaps! ; ;=. "
She tore open the envelope with
trembling haste, and read as follows:
DEAR MADAM :-F Or I know that "a Day Of
Lifen was written by no masculine hand-per-
init me to cong atulate you upon your beauti.
iful portrayal Of what Is to me the ideal life OF
;maidenhood-noble, self rlfeing, pure, low
hope TO meet With such q life, through all my
years Of searching and waiting. But hitherto
1T has beenionly . dream. Until read your
story believed others was no such thing
~ ss ny ideal By noW that there and
don me for presumihg to- say that I can rad
the writer In the story. z ou are tie one
whose lovely LIE! Of SELF: sacrifice and devotion
duty, Will esurroun ded by temptat ions with
ont. and moyed BY ysarntngs within, Is there
ate your longings while u admire and reYer-
scnce your devote nessS to duty and to purity.
II; the friendship OF one who has spent some
OF the beat years Of his youth seeking for the
quallhes,in woman which your secret transcript
5of life reveals, can be Of any moment to you,
1T ts most reverently and humbly offered. t
$Wondsr1f you have ever read q story entitled
81 "a Hopeless Quest L, Some thing in your
writing leads me to think you have. II so, you
will know, ins part,t the reason why make bold
70 address you reply from your hand
would be more, far more, than I d dare ask, and
else, will yon not civil tell ame whether you
ever ,read the story toned It was first
published IN the New Y Or and was ex-
itensiyely copied. Your story 4 met With while
travelling I'M railway car. It was credited to
t nset somnssy1ls as esnn May e1
Very Tespec tfully yours, !;7
~ a RICHARD FAxoN,
New York, N. r. 80
But why make 4 short story longp
Nina romance had come! She slept
but little that ri ht and the next !. day
she sat doWn5and wrote d little note
this is all she said: ii
Richard Fazo,,.
DEAR S1R:eI have read GA Hopeless Quest.n
twas that which inspired me with Day of
Life. ',s 4 Yours truly,
s5 NINA KELSEY.
q that have: brought Rioh-
ard Faxon, Esq. Banker Of New York,
ltosSommeryille,' Conn. But il did.
And now, when they take twilight
walks ether; and talk and dream Of
the future. Nina some times. asks. laugh
ingl ichard, what If Mrs. Sturde-
want had set! that story ii bourgeoisp',
And he merrlly replies: Oh, / should
have found yOu omehoW. Z, 8tgi