The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-01
BOX LOCKED AND KEY INSIDE.
STORY or 4 DOMESTIC TRAGEDY
IN THESE FIVE WORDS.
the Hitherto Unbrokeu Calm 81 wr. and
Mrs. sammy neem's Seung Married
Life shattered ny the rer,ersity Of
On Up-te-Date Thief.Prosf Letter Bex.


The married life Of Mr.. and Mr-. sammy
Boom. although drawn over a p-riod Of t~o
wears, had always b-en one Of happy sim
plicity, and their friends pointed to them
a. a couple whose loving confidence
In one another could only he shattered
by soma fearful and tragic occurrence
These prophetic souls are no longer de-
claiming on the subject Of the B9oms
marital f-licities, for out ~ n clear sky
has come the lightning. and with an utter
disregard for youth and love has flashed its
way between the Booms. leaving Sammy
Boom. despairng and p-nitsnt In the city.
and poor Mrs. Boom crestfsilen and tear
full In the country.
Something might have been expected
to happen when Mrs Boom took the unusual
course Of having town for a few weeks
during the hot weather. Even during tbs
engagement she had declined to 60 out
into the country and leave her sammy toiling
away In the heat Of the city. and her only
respite In all those years was Sammy's
annual two weeks with pay, when. prop
erly chaperoned. she would 20 to tho Jer-
sey coast and do the board walk with him
for fourteen successive days and evenings.
But this summer. with its unusual heat.
was too much for Sammy. II took him
three days TO screw up his courage. but
he finally got Il up 20 thu top notch. and
with the fortitude Of q martyr threw out
the suggestion that Mrs. Boom 20 to the
country for a few weeks. The result VAS
not Just what he had expected.
SAMMY Boom.- said little Mr. Boom.
you don't love mei"
SAMMY FASTENED TO assure her that he
did, that IL was this same love which nervcd
him TO the ordeal Of a month without her
and 30 after much persuasion and reiterated
assurances Of his undying love and faith
hilness, SAMMY induced his wife 10 20 TO
tho country. This was the beginning OF the
md. The first day after Mrs. Sammy's
I departure Sammy went down 10 the maj
Dor to get his letter. IL was one OF thoss
! ordinary mail boxes that one finds in the
Railways of fats, and reposing inside Was
a white envelope. which sammy recog-
| nized at once as q brand always used 10y
his wife. Sammy could see II through the
glass window OF the boz, and his hand
trembled As he looked through his pockets
Tor The kew. But he couldn't hnd the key.
IL mus. be- upstairs, said Sammy, - up the
four hights he climbed, and began the
search,
He went through all Of his own clothes.
then the few things that his wife had left
behind, but there was no sign OF the Key
He continued the search through his own
deck. and then through his wifes desk,
but still no sign Of the key. Then hs
sat down and began thinking Il over. IN"
result Of his meditations was q ,-col'c-
ton that the day before Mrs. Sammy went
away he had given her the key " get the
bakers bill out Of the box. He had no
recollection OF getting Il back. or a GER
tainty Mrs. Sammy had carried ne Key
! with vexation over the overwhelming
misfortune Of having Go walt twenty four
hours for the letter which was temptingly
displayed right beneath his nose, For
over the glass window OF The nan 90.
was a wiro screen 81 that Il could not oe
sammy chafed - under the delay that
instead of waiting for the slow mails 10
carry word Of the calamity To Mrs. sammy
he photographed her a. follows:
Have YOU the key1 Wire mo NJ once.'
Then SAMMY wrote q letter full of sweet
nothing, winding up with a request that
she send the KEY TO him. That night Sammy
went home and by the aid OF a match dis
| covered a telegram In the mail box rght
alongside the letter. This was too much,
and Sammy actually swore. Then he went
u~pstair~ and got q piece OF wire With
the aid Of IL he managed to get the telegram
| out. Opening II with trembling hands
he read the following query;
II Was with difficulty hat Sammy kept
himself even outwardly calm duringthe
ne II few moments, and when his rage had
subsidized somewhat. he rushed To- atelegraph
ofice and wired:
.The mail box kew. An your letters
are there Haven't been able To get them.
Then Sammy went To bed. In the morn
ing he glanced In the mail box ~ ne went
out. only TO discover that two more letters
had been added to the collection. lie got
! the wire again. but II wouldn't pun out
letters, II IL would kilograms. AZ the office
he found n letter from Mrs. Sammy chiding
him gently for his abrupt kilograms ana
l.tter, but saying that she forgaye INN
now and was sure he did her. as she had
sent on the KEY and by this time he must
be enjoying all Of her letters at once.
The horrible truth burst upon. Sammy
His wife had sent the key IN a letter sd-
dressed TO the house, and IL had been put
In the box with the other letters, where
IL was about ~ much use Ia him a tooth
pick. sammy was quite certain that II Vas
one 81 the two new letters he had seen IN
the box that morning, and with n deter
inined expression on his face he sat down
and wrote Mrs. sammy a letter. II was
all about the enormous Use OF q Key inside
Of a mail box 10 a man on the outside,
: o-p.cially when the box was locked. He
didnt doubt. he said, that letters could open
| themselves when they reached their des-
tinations, unlock their prisons and sail
out into the hands Of the persons they
were meant for, only he hadnt hApP,sned
was a lot more In the sam" Vein. and when
Mrs. Sammy 20, the letter. she hesitatcd
whether she should 60 and leap into the
lake, or live and forget. She was pre-
disposed toward tho lake. but she thought
that that would be cuwardly, and 80 she
decided to live.
In the meantime Sammy, having de-
hvercd himself Of part 81 his wrath, de
cided to go home and wreck the mall box
with an axe. But ~ he left the ofice at
q o'clock a friend met him and dragged
him away Ca dinner 40 midnight Sammy
got home, this axe idea still strong upon
him. But once upstairs h. began to hgur,
What harm IL would do his wife " he smashed
tho box. He was Afrsid sh" might bs
amused by u. and SAMMY reasoned that
that was not n, all what he desired. His
eve lighted on her toilet table. There
In dazzlins array were fer silver toilet
articles. A fendi-h ides ssiyed him. We
wuuh break into that mail buS and GIT
the l-tiers nut not With an axe Instead
n. wouLi u-e tina, beautiful shining button
hook. tina engraved shoehorn. and po--
sihly th1-e manicure SCISSOR, and that
fsc- brush might holp out He took ono
az two other tifins things. not bsoau~e
he thought ~ might have any u-e for
them hut hNcau-e he was In a vicious mood.
ard a srn.ral destruction 81 hi- Ntfe'-
t~-longing~ suited o. Down Ia the en-
trsnoe he got all tho tools out anu then
remembered thst hid forsutten To bftng
afv MATCHES Anuther tr 4 up thu.~ four