The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-04-17

newspaper and pile OF manuscript.
ssThis is your manuscript" he remark
ed, watching her keenly as she put
ont her hand for it, "and this" he
added gravely, taking up the paper,
ais the journal in which certain
story entitled The Liar appeared.
Now perhaps you will understand"
The girls hand trembled so that she
could hardly hold the printed sheet
After a momentary glance she laid 1t
down again, and then, turning her
blanched face to him, she said tremu-
lousy, 81 ask your pardon"
"Will you tell me, Miss Chester" ne
asked slowly, "why you sent this to
me? Was it for the sake Of getting
into print-a natural enough vanity.
I'll allow-or," he continued In softer
tone, twas the payment that you
would have received had the manu-
script been accepted an important con-
siderationY
"Oh. Mr., Baird" she exclaimed, try
ing to regain her composure, i know
1t was a dreadfully dishonorable thing
to do, but-but you don't know now
hard it has been for me In London A
woman has no chance at all, and Tor a
girl like me, without interest or
friends, it seems impossible to get
work. I've lost heart utterly now, ana
Pm so tired of it all"
"Have you met with any success at
all?'' he asked sympathetically.
eyes, little, but not very much and
nothing regular. l got some fairly reg
ular work on The Morning Comet, but
the paper failed last summer and lert
some money owing to me, too" sne
added sadly.
"That was hard lines. Did you write
much for it?'
Eyes, a good deal l did all those
articles on The Provincialism of Lon
dom and also the serial The Heart of
Woman with some short tales as
well"
"By Jove! Was it you who wrote
The Heart of Woman thenr he ex-
claimed, with interest. "How silly OF
mel l ought to have remembered the
name 1t was capital story You
should get it published in volume form.
I'm sure it would succeed"
give tried to, but it was no COCO.
The first firm offered it to kept it for
seven months and then wrote to say
thew would bring the story out If
would bear the expense. The next peo-
pie who considered it were not so BAD.
They asked me to pay only half the
Y a O0O6 firm
and would treat me well, and so tried
to get the money before the book would
be too much out of date"
"That is why you sent this manu-
script to me then?"
eyes; l saw that you were Offering
rs guineas for the best 10000 word sto-
nv. The money meant such lot to me,
and was so awfully hard up! be-
gan story and got half way through
with it, but it wasn't alive, and some
how couldn't get on with 1t. Then one
day / came across an old file OF the
Cape Town Mercury in the reading
room at the museum. | saw a story
called THE Liar in it and liked the
central idea very much. l worked IT
up and changed the construction lit
tie and added another chapter, and
then-well, then l sent it here. l never
imagined any one would recognize it.
The paper was over ten years old and
had lasted only dozen numbers.
"And now | think I've nothing more
to say" she went on, except that I'm
ever SO sorry about it all! l hope you
won't think too badly of me. 1t was
such a temptation! Will you tell me,
though"-her voice faltered-"how It
was you found out? didn't think any
one in London could have read the
Cape Town Mercury or even If they
had read The LIAR that they could
remember it now. 1t is a curious coin
cidence of course"
Eyes," answered the man slowly, ian
extraordinary coincidence. The fact
is, Tougher myself happen to be
the original author Of The Liar =
Sketch.