The Van Buren press., 1896-01-18

offered him the parcel. He reluctantly
took it from her, exclaiming:
II am afraid | cannot promise that
they will be accepted. We are over
crowded with short storles."
81 do not want you to promise that
All | ask is that you will read them"
81 will read them, certainly"
"Thank you very much. That is very
kind of you. Good morning"
Frank touched the bell and politely
bowed his visitor out. She responded
with an old-fashioned courtesy, and
with another smiling "Thank you" de
scended the stairs.
Frank sat himself at his table and
banged the brown paper parcel down
viciously. He took up his pen, but not
to write. The thoughts would not be
led away from the recent interview. He
could not help laughing outright at the
quaint old lady and her sqneaky voice
Then he began to toy with the parcel
Finally he opened it; there lay the three
stories neatly typewriter. He looked
for the authors name and address. All
that ne could see Immediately under
the title of each story was: "Ry Jn
nita.n No name, no address.
well, this is the oldest experience
| have ever had,' he muttered TO him
self. Then he thought he might as well
read one of the stories. He did SO, and
words of surprise and delight kept ris-
ing to his lips. Then he read the sec
ond, which gave him still more pleas
ure. After reading the last one he ex-
claimed
by Georgel here's a find. 'Junita,
my friend, l lift my hat to you, met
aphorically speaking. You are a genius.
If you don't make your fortune, and at
the same time give the Chatterer big
leg-up, my name isn't Frank Hayler."
And after marking a big "a" on each
of the manuscripts he went out to lunch.
When he returned he set to work Wig
orously, and whether it was the lunch
or the satisfied feeling that he had
accepted something that morning
which would enhance the value of his
journal from literary point of view, he
knew not, but he certainly surprised
himself at the excellent matter that
seemed to flow from his pen.
He wrote far into the afternoon.
When he had finished he proudly ex-
claimed:
There, II those articles don't put
some life into the thing, and if 'Junita's
stories don't send up the circulation
I'm a Dutehman. Frank, old man." he
continued, as he slapped himself com
plaeently on the breast, "the Chatterer
is going to boom large, know it.
feel II. 'Junita' has come in the nick OF
time. She has brought me lnck!"
lie went home to his bachelor cham
bers in an excellent frame Of mind
After light dinner he dressed very
carefully, and took a cab to the Pan
theon theater, where he formed one OF
large audience assembled to witness
the debut in London of Miss Agnes
renderville, new actress from the
provinces, who had been spoken of very
highly wherever she had appeared
Frank was an enthusiastic frst-nighter
for he had made up his mind that the
Chatterer should be we'll to the fore in
all dramatic matters.
He was delighted with the new actress
She was a revelation, and he felt that he
could honestly praise her in the col
umns of his next issue. As he strolled
into his club, on his way home from the
theater, the first man he met was jim
mie Fleet, the eminent dramatic critic
who greeted him with:
''Well, Frank, old man, what do you
think of her?"
"ThinlS of her, my boy? She's splen.
did"
$50 l think. You mark my words
she's the coming actress"
Coming, Jimmie! | should say that
she has arrived, very much so; and
what is more, she has come to stay"