The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-11-07
HER LIFE SECRET.
A Rubber Stamp Caused the First
Revolution, and q Coffin
Told the Rest.

brose tried the little rubbcrs II by Il
on the blotter Of his desk. Cashier"
Business Manager" Foreman, Mrs.
H." were the different types. At sight
Of the last one he gave an exclamation,
MRS. H.! What win she say when she
sees that, / wonders Mrs. H.! Well!
WE'LL | wonder why she never did get
married though! She's pretty enough. I
don't know as / would mind marrying
her myself" and the proprietor of the
Daily Echo chuckled to himself as he
thought of what the world would say if
he married his typewriter girl. All the
papers would have three-line heads be-
ginning, married His Typewriter and
their pictures would be published all over
the land probably. No, on second
thought he guessed he wouldn't. 81
would like to see her the first time a
letter is referred to her with the red
stamp on the top. l bet she'll blush like
a schoolgirl, and she's thirty if she's a
day"
With this not altogether kind remark
he took up his morning work and did not
think further of rubber stamps nor Of his
stenographer who sat in her little corner
of the big room on the next floor pound
ing out orders for metal, tape, etc, and
letters to brother editors on every con-
ceivable subject.
She was 80 "if she was a day. but her
face was one of those that never grow
old and neve grow ugly. Her eyes were
a steady gray, her hair dark and smooth.
her lips firm and full. a face that you
might pass every day for a year and not
notice. Elsie Harley had been in The
Echo Office two years, and the managing
editor often said: ut is strange that we
cannot get acquainted with that girl"
She came and did her work day after
day, she answered when spoken to, the
city editor had her name and address on
his city book, but that was all they knew
about her.
Carrying out his desire to see what
effect the stamp would have on her, Mr..
Ambrose happened to be in the editorial
department when the first letter with the
stamp in bold red letters was handed
to her. She took it, glanced at it, then
raised her eyes slowly to the ~proprietor's
face as he stoodby her desk. Her glance
was steady but her lips were closed
tighter than usual.
"Doyou know anything about that?' he
asked, meaning of course the matter in
the letter.
81 do,n was the answer, and she stuck
it on the hook in her old nlethodical
manner, but he noticed that her hands
trembled and that her face was paler
than usual.
The next morning Miss Harley was not
in her place in the corner. Never before
had she been late when the clock pointed
to eight. She must be sick, the manag-
ing editor said. Girls were always get
ting sick just when they were needed
most, and he sent the office boy down to
her address to get her c
mo such person has ever lived at that
number" was the word he brought
back, and the managing editor looked
across the desk at the city editor in a
questioning way. sit is very strange"
was all he said, but he took the word to
Mr.. Ambrose as soon as that worthy gem
tleman arrived.
F'Bless my soul" was that gentleman's
! ejaculation, "who ever heard of such a
thing? Didn't anybody ever know where
she lived?' Nobody from the Office had
ever been at her house.
"Maybe she has sent her excuse to
me" he said. ''Sure enough, here it is"
and he opened a square envelope adj
dressed in her bold, round hand.
Dear friend (she had never called
him that before), 81 thank you. I
thought you would never know. / do
not know how you found it out, but you
have acted generously toward me, and l
am more than grateful. Mrs. H."
"Mrs. H.! There's a mystery here. 1
shouldn't wonder if it would make a good
story, but we won't say anything against
her. Isuppose / shall have to get some
one to fill her place, for it is evident she
is not coming back. | would like to
know what she thinks / found out; ONE
thing connected with that stamp, | know.
l thought those stamps were going to
save time, but if they all have the anne
effect as this one did and | have to break
in somebody new for every one OF them,
I will be always behind"
The new stenograpler came, passed
through the ordeal of being 'sbroken in"
and in time Elsie Harley was forgotten.
Forgotten by all save Mr.. Ambrose. The
look in her clear eyes as she slowly
turned toward him the last time he saw
her haunted him, and he would say to
himself: II would miss q whole edition
of The Echo to find out that girls his
tory"
In the summer time Mr.. Ambrose
went to his country home q little way
out of the city, running in every day to
his business and back to the cool green
shades at night. One morning three
years after Elsie Harley's mysterious
leavetaking he was coming in on the
morning train, and as they stopped at a
station on the way a coffin was taken off
and put intoa waiting hearse. The con
ductor of the train knew Mr.. Ambrose
and remarked to him after the train
moved on, ''That was the fellow we read
about in the dispatches a day or two ago
who was pardoned from prison. He
died of consumption and they've brought
him home"
Mr.. Ambrose remembered the case.
"He was supposed TO have burglarized
= ~ 80 L.