Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1888-08-23

those ps and W any where / will find
out who Is the writeri" And she slipped
tho letter in question into the pocket Of
her artistic morning gown; and then,
a she caught the Bound OF her hus-
bands footsteps crossing the hall. she
turned nonchalantly towards the win
dow and bent over jardiascre Of white
and pink vrlmulas that were putting
forth their delicate blossoms TO enjoy
the morning sunshine.
Mr.. Ronayne sauntered into the
room and went at once TO look at his
letters, A,elight, shade, OF disappoint-
mont crossed his face as he shuf1ied
them about like pack OF cards, and
he uttered an impatient exclamation.
,"What is the mHtter, deara'' said his
wife. swectly. "Has any thing gone
wrongsn
"A letter which I expected hasn't
come, that's all, replied Mr.. Ronayne,
In n tone OF voxation.
Perhaps II will come by the NEXT
post Was 1t worry important letter
"a business letterP" inquired Mrs.
Ronayne, looking her husband full in
tho faoa.
"weu. yes-lt would be. rather an
important letter--ni least II might be. :"
81 wonder how much OF that is
truer' thought his wife. Aloud she
said: IL am 80 sorry, Dolph. But eat
your breakfast; here are some Of tho
ro0nons sdUtcs you like 80 much"
But that morning Mr.. Ronayne had
no appetite; he trined for few min
utes with his knife and fork, then
gulped down his coffee, opened and
read some OF his letters, none Of
which seemed 70 give him any satisfao-
tion. glanced hastily at the Times, and
finally went OF 70 the city without be-
slowing upon his wife singie caress,
or uttering one OF those endearing ep-
ithots the constant and public use Of
which had won for the Ronaynes the
reputation Of being "such q happy
pair" ~ -.r.N XXX
When her Adolphus had taken his
departure, Mrs. Ronayne ran up to her
boudOir. locked tho door and took tho
purloined letter out OF her pocket
"It's womans handwriting-I know
II is. she said 10 herself ne she held II
between her trembling fingers. Now,
l should like 10 know what business
my husband has to receive letters from
any woman but his wife" She turned
the offending missive over and looked
at the back. II was not scaled, only
secured In the ordinary manner.
Nothing could DO easier than TO open
II In such a way that none could sus-
Pect that II had beSn tampered with.
Running downstairs. she re-entered
the breakfast-room and held the letter
TO the steam Of the kettle, which still
stood on the brass trivot beside the
fire. In five minutes the envelope had
been forced TO yield It's secret, and
Mrs. Ronayne was FREQ TO indulge her
curiosity. With a quickly-besting
heart she unfolded the single sheet OF
note-paper the envelope contained, ran
her eyes over II, then read word by
word what follows:
tau noN you ItallLt " rosa run GROUND
mile quarter scarlet runner police and shares
In the ambush ine ttt+ csnditiou 20 viii come
enforced sound mine 10 break from ny heart 10
years sgo thoroughly prepared so doubtless
unavaling fall 20 makes mo indeed scattered
exception to muitiu les little solitude puns 70
have speHt sevea In all livery remember please
inpendng' rrr
That was all There was neither
date nor signature to the letter. Mrs.
Ronayne read It over at least a dozen
times. and her delicately penciled
brows drew together in puEzed frown.
Whist on earth did 1t all meanl Was
the letter foolish hoaxp Was II
written by some Inmate Of Bcdlam or
Colney HatchP Or. stay. Yes; this
surely explained the mystery. The
letter was in cipher, a cryptogran OF
the observation-disclosures order.
I'm find it outr' painted Mrs. Ro-
nayne, hercely-"rn find Il out-and
then tan Adolphus with : With I,
As she had not vet settled In her
own mind the precise nature Of the
crime Of which her Adolphus had been
guilty, Mrs. Ronayne could not COM
plete her sentence. All sorts OF con-
lectures were floating in her excited
brain. Perhaps II was on this account
that although she spent the whole
morning in puzzliRg over the pur-
loined letter, the only thing she got
out OF II was a racking headache,
which not even her favorite remedy, sal
volatile, could cure.
When Mr.. RORayne came back from
the city about five o'oleck, he found his
wife reclining gracefully on the sofa
in her boudoir, looking pale and heavy
eyed. - rrff
Whats the matter, Juliap" he
asked, kindly. "You seem seedy."
ave horrid headache" she an
swered, Grossly. "You done look par
ticularly bright either" she added,
at Mr.. RonAyne's puckered
and haggard eyes.
"Oh. I've been rather bothered To-
iay-about business. Nothing OF much
,..
"Oh--is that allP" answered Mrs. Ro-
layne, with one Of her quick suspicious
glances. She had passed the afternoon
hut up there in her room alone. and
lad worked herself into perfect fever
II doubt and surmise, and finally Of
ealousy, for jealousy was charming
Ars Ronayne's besetting weakness.
L is no doubt very nattering 10 mans
Tanity that his wife should think so
highly Of his personal attractions that
The Is in constant dread lest some other
somaR should fall victim TO them. |
But, on the other hand, II is dreadful |
Nuisance when one can't address half
l-dozen words TO a pretty girl, or re-
mark that Mrs. So-and-So is a very
agreeable woman, without enduring a |
subsequent peifle forte et dure Of re-
proaehes and sneers-And tears.
Mrs. Honayde pored perseyerfnRIF