The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-10-28
cLANDEsTINE LETTERS.

!
any time without fear Of discovery. She
&C nned out of her imaginative mind many
reasons that seemed 10 condone, IL they
cid not justify, the little scheme Curtis
| Bleecker, her husband, was, she believed,
&C mne1cing to neglect her. They had
been married six years, had no children
and were still struggling 10 keep out OF
debt. She was suffering from ennui,
amusements were expensive, and Curtis
showed every night when ne came home
the evidences of busy, nerve-racAing
bcthersorne days. Sometimes he did not
come home till past midnight, and she
was beginning TO doubt his stereotyped
apologies. Maybe he was perfectly loyal,
and anyway. Mrs. Blocker was sure OF
her own fidelity under any conditions. and
She was fascinated with the idea OF get
ting up some SORT OF letter Irritation with
some unknown man whom she never ex-
pected or cared TO see.
She confded the plan TO Miss Annie
Cuthbert, her best friend, who had type
writer, and between them they fixed up
an advertisement which appeared in the
next Sunday newspaper, as follows:
WANTED-BY - YOUNG, HANDSOME,
intelligent woman, the acquaintance OF
a sympathetic. educated and moral man;
object, the exchange of instructive and
helpful letters Address Q 80. this Office
Miss Cuthbert went for the answers and
the clerk handed her many. That night
Curtis didn't come home even for dinner,
and his wife, for lie first time in her life.
was glad of il. She went with her friend
into the kitchen. locked the doors. and to-
gether they sat down TO gioat over those
answers TO % g." Most of them were
idiotic. of course; few were sane enough,
but mercenary or commonplace or i'll
sPelt. Some contained photographs of
love-lorn youths with curls and foolish
smiles. Some were the ridiculous plants
OF old men who had outlived or neglected
their opportunities TO be loved. II was
very funny, the whole business, and Mrs.
Blocker and Annie laughed over the
reading and the photographs till the bell
announced Mr.. Blocker. Then Annie
bundled the stuff INTO her satchel and
said; Come over in the morning, Chloe,
and we'll answer them.
But when it came TO formulating a let
ter 10 the most likely Of the correspond
elts, a they saw what study, what sub
terfuge and what time il required, they
determined TO burn up all the letters but
one and make the most of that. The
lucky object of their attention signed, or
rather printed. his name as Rodger For
tescue, and his address was General De-
livery" He had incloseu no photograph,
his typewriter letter showed every evil
dence of education, good breeding and
and forthwith ne became a parsonage.
something of hero in the minds CT both
these good women, who never expected to
sec him and would have laughed at his
f. ank confession. his gently limited hopes,
his dignified melsncholy-if they could.
But they couldn't. Ro6ger Fortescue's
letters more than satisfied their 6rst an
ticipations. His typewriter words in sue
cessive letters Of increasing length we're
almost vocal of a generous. wise and ten
der nature. Mrs. Blocker and her friend
began to endow him with every imagin-
able virtue. In the replies which the
young wife wrote she strove to rise to his
standard OF rhetorical excellence to his
splendid imagery. 10 his vague but win
some messages of love. She no longer
permitted her friend Annie Cuthbert, to
dictate even an occasional sentence. and
a last she even faileo to share with her
friend one of the letters which as usual
she had received at the general delivery
window.
Then Mrs. Blocker, almost unconscious
~, began to compare Curtis, her husband,
with the unknown Fortescue. Why had
the master of her destiny never written
such letters 10 her? Why was he not elo-
quent like Rodger-there, She had begun
to call him "Rodger." She became bit
scared then, for she was true and dut-
full wife. She and Blocker had exchang-
ed very few letters in their counting days.
Perhaps he would have written just as
well as Fortescue if he'd had the oppor-
tunity, she thought And then. in a sud
den realization of her folly and perhaps
Of some subtle and hateful sense of dis
loyalty. she went to Annies house and
wrote long letter to Fortescue in which
she begged his pardon for turing him
irto a correspondence that must appear
deceitful. fruitless and even humiliating
when she Beatrice Landon. admitted.
as she now must. that she was a married
woman. whose husband was the best
man on eartk'' She expected that this
long and sslf-deprecating letter would put
a final stop to his letters. but after week
during which she did not inquire for any
letters al the window. she asked Annie
u see il there was anything" There
were five,
L. too" wrote Rodger Fortescue. IAN
married. Ny wife is the embodiment OF
all virtue. beauty and intelligence. but
-' And then he launched into a subtle
and gracefully worded discourse to the
effect that Mrs. Fertescue was not Who'll
~ satisfied with him" That she didn't
understand him. that he could not blame
Ter, but that In seeking a correspondence
with Mrs. Landon.1 he had only tried
after that impersonal and. he thought. I'M
selfish. qualification which comes OF the
spiritual and mental commerce Of two
kindred souls. II was very fine. said
Annie and Chloe. and the latter almost /
shed tears as she declared. positively
that she would make no answer. And so
the affair stopped.
It was about two weeks later that Mrs
Blocker began TO perceive mighty
change in the behavior OF her husband
He had become 90 considerate so conf
Dental so tender. so assiduous 81 his at
tontions 70 her that she felt ike a girl
again IN the wooing days. But after tea
one night. ne said. with sudden embar-
ressmcnt;
Chloe. I know you'll laugh. but I did a
very queer thing this summer. I ar
swered an 'sd' Of some woman who want
ed to correspond with a moral and intel
liEent man OF sympathy.
What was her nsme7' Rasped Mrs
Blocker. getting white and ready 20 +
faint.
Don't get angry. Chloe he said quick-
y n,istsking her fright FOR rage L
never signed my name. bat honest now
must be-NOJ. r.
Yes. yes Curtis, You thought she
was almost chosed with terror.
7 thought il night be you. and was
almost sure when she-her nsue vas
.Featrice Landon'-and admitted that she
was a married woman. told her that l. .
too. vas married and-weH. Chloe.
thought that would put an end 10 s. bat
what 80 ycu think
What, Curtis?'
WHY she csme right hack. said she
dld1't believe NJ, Insisted that TO mar
red man ever praised his wife as : had
dcae augl-i7cicsed her picture
Her picture,
w. r-ol-r-. re r,,,r1aa ~. q -,H,.,