Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-14

There was to be a valentine party at
the home of one of their friends and
David had written Eunice an impas-
stoned letter, telling her of his love ana
asking her to be his wife. He had
begged her to let him take her to the
valentine party as his valentine for life,
as his betrothed wife. He had told her
that if her heart would not let her say
yes to his appeal, to spare him the pain
of reading her refusal, and that If no
reply came to his letter he would UNI
derstand that her heart was not his.
He had carried this letter to the post
office with his own hand, and it was
unreasonable to suppose that she had
not received it, but no reply had come
to him, and after waiting three days
for the letter that did not come he had
he had hastily left the town and had
never again revisited it. He had come
to Sharon, where he has prospered FAST
and he was a wealthy man, while E,u-
nice was a seamstress in Sharon, as
he knew from some of Hudah's gossip:
Presently David picked up the paper
and began to fold it and Huldah, not--
ing that his train of thought was
broken, said:
Somehow l keep thinking of Eunice
Ripley. Did ! tell you that Mrs. Lenox
told me the other day that Eunice was
real poor? Her folks did not have
anything to leave her when they died,
and she can't get great deal of sew
ing to do in a little place like Sharon.
l guess she has real hard time get
ting along. You know she is cousin
of Mrs: Lenox and they write to each
other once or twice a year. guess
that -
Huldah suddenly became silent. She
had been cutting up an old coat of
her brothers that she had found in
the attic. 1t was a very old coat, one
that he had not worn for years. Hull
dab had been cutting out the lining
when something white had suddenly
slipped to the floor. She had picked
it up and in a moment was saying:
"Why, David Dodge, of all things!
If here isn't an unopened letter in the
lining of your old coat! There must
have been rent in the pocket that il
slipped through
She held the letter closer to the lamI
and cried out loudly:
"Why, David! 1t is addressed to Eu.
nice Ripley and it is in your writing
| OF all things! What does"
David had reached across the table
| and had snatched the letter from hel
hands. The once white envelope wa!
yellow now. DSvid tore off an dld O.
| it, glanced at the letter and let it fal
| from his hands. Then he covered hi
face with his hands for few minutes
Huldah was discreet and kept silence
Presently David glanced at US watcl
and said slowly:
'If can get fast horse at the liv
CT, l,1o e~,, l,o
ron that stops at Huntleys crossing a
II O'clock"
He was gone before Huldah could re
cover herself sufficiently to ask an,
questions. Three Gays later there cam
this letter from David:
MY Dear Sister: Eunice and
walked over to old Squire Rayborn'
house and We're married this afternoon
and we will be in Rosemont in two o
three weeks. We are going to Ne,
York and to other eastern cities Eunic
| has never visited. That letter yo
| found in my old coat ought to hav
reached Eunice twenty years ago.
carried it to the postoffice with five {
six letters to mail that long ago, an
that letter must have slipped throug
the rent in my pocket, and did no
know that it was not with the other
when 1 slipped all of them into tn
office. You can guess what was in tn
letter when I tell you that Eunic
would have been my wife twenty year
ago if she had received it, Curiousl
enough it reached her the day befor
Valentines day as it was, and she be
came my valentine for life on this Sain
Valentines day. 1t was not kind of tn
old saint to allow me to be cheate
out of twenty years of happiness. bu
1 thank him for this late joy. Eunic
is lovelier than she was twenty year
ago. and you will love her better tina
ever before. God bless her!
"DAVID."