Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-11-22
800 -e0-e-ee-eee

Mr.. George Gregory sat in his private
office surveying with anything but @
pleasant countonancc some papers that
lay on the desk before him. Mr. Greg
DRY, the head of the we'll known city
firm of Gregory, Jackson 4 CO., was a
man of about - to 60 years of age,
rather massive of form and decidedly
heavy of face. He thoroughly under
stood the art of getting money by
trade, and his substantial house and
grounds at SurbitOn testified to the
truth Of this; but. to credit him with
any amount of Imagination, to judge
by his face, would have been foolish
thing to do.
How utterly astonishcd and amused
his friends would have been could they
have seen the correspondence which
lay before him at that moment! But
not even his wife and daughter knew
his secret; not even did his contiden-
tial clerk or the junior partner know
anything of the mysterious packets
which from time to time arrived at the
office addressed to Harold Vincent
Esq, 1l3A st. Marks Buildings. +. c."
but the postman who brought such
packages dropped them into the pri,
vate box of office 113A, and Mr.. Greg
DRY alone had the key.
Mr. Gregory picked up for the third
or fourth time Il typewriter letter and
read to himself as follows:
THE CHEAPsmE MAGAZINE. !
LONDON, July 81 1899.
Dear Sir-After reading your story, entitled
1.-THE Detectives Dilemma" ! have no alternative
but to return it. The matter and style are as
feeble the others you sent. You appear to be
very young and to possess utter lack of grasp
Of matters or ideas. do not wish to discourage
you, but your line is evidently not literature,
and | should advise you not to waste any more
time in scribbng such illusions you have been
sending here. Yours faithfully, THE EDITOR.
Harold Vincent, ESQ.
Mr.. Gregory brought his fist down
upon the table with a crash.
well" he calculated, "Tvc had a
good many reflections, but never one
that came up to this. It's worse than
printed form. | never heard such
inpudence in all my life! And to
NlllLlh tut CuNil an lllGl dS lIlN SllOuIu
deprive the public Of the chance Of
reading really good things and proba-
bly, get as much as my junior clerk
for doing it. But they're all set of
fools, he added sayagely as he unlock
ed 4 drawer in his writing table and
disclosed a bundle of rejected MSS.
that had evidently done long and serv-
lID11,1n l,,+,-
However, before he left his office
that afternoon he again unlocked that
fatal drawer, sorted out another MS,
put it in an envelope and deliberately
directed it TO the editor of The Cheap
side Magazine, GS2 West Fleet street,
f. c.
"Tll try him again" he muttered
savagely, "but l won't condescend TO
answer his letter. If he doesn't accept
this, he's the biggest fool in all Lon
don, for it's the very best thing I've
written"
As he went to the station he posted
IT, The next morning the editor found
it with n batch Of others. lie opened
it casually, glanced at its contents and
exclaimed: Another, Well thatll lie
by till l get back from my holidays"
1t was about a month later The
August sun was pouring down his
warmth upon the sand cliffs Of healthy
Cromer. The beach was crowded with
visitors. The golf links were positive.
~ dangerous with the continuous fusil-
Iade of white balls. Seated on the
grassy cliff top. just at tie edge Of the
links. looking down on the quaint old
town. was a bright. merry looking girl
Of about %. with a face decidedly
pretty. the more 50 because Of the
pleasing smile that played around her
dark eyes and mouth
Her companion was a tall, good look
Ing young man Of some 80 years Of