The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-12-02

HE LOOKED HER THROUGH AND THROUGH.
thought that they We're written to you;
never, really, unit sso6 looked so guilty,
SO grief stricken<8hd contrite. You are
telling me the truth now. Arthur? You
swear it,"
II have no reason to do otherwise"
said he. Il shall return the letters to
the writer"
But why are the addresses cut out
of the envelopes?" she asked
"a device of the late Mr. Sargent,
who was not noted for constancy," re-
piled Graden. There was rich wild
ow whom he hoped to win, and she
sometimes waited in his office, just as
you were waiting in mine, Muriel."
"And if she had found the letters
with no names on them" said Muriel,
''he would have told her that they were
not his, just as you have told me that
they are not yours. Arthur, | cannot
believe this story. | think you ought
to tell me who this girl is and then
can judge
He checked her by pleading, hope
less glance and weak wave of the
hand.
Il must" said he-"I must tell you
who she is. see no way to avoid it. |
am amazed that you do not know. You
can't be unfamiliar with your Cousins
writing"
Muriel turned white.
"Annie My cousinw she cried and
snatched up one of the letters. Yes;
it is hers. | never saw much of her
writing. We didn't write to each 9TH
er. And it is she-Arthur. l can't be-
| lieve this
II knew of it or at least guessed it, i"
| said Graden. with returning calmness.
II saw that she was drifting toward
before | went west"
l"Mr. Sargent?" she cried. do you
| still expect me to believe"-
| "Muriel, Muriel," he interrupted il
the voice of one deadly sick at heart
do you not see? Do you not remem
| Der one word? These letters that you
have read are all stolen. | told you
that | was amazed by my first glance
at them. Muriel, they are mine-my
|
word for word. She has taken what
wrote you when l was in Chicago, al
the stuff as you called it; all that
thought was the true word of love
though you said it was pretty sick
five minutes ago. l don't know wheth
er you gave her my letters to read o.
whether she pried into them. haven
had time to take these silly effusion
back to her. But in any case, liking m.
style of stuff she has faithfully cop
led it. changing only so much as wa
necessary to make it read as il writ
ten by a woman. Yes, Muriel. that
my love talk to you. The words yol
have just read aloud to me are thu
same that you have been accustomed
to read over and over again before go
ing to bed and repeat softly to yourself
while waiting for slumber to watt yo1
away and repeat again when you wok
in the morning. All, Muriel. you mus
have loved those lettersw'
Muriel was panic stricken. Her gold
en- palace was tumbling about her ears
She was frantic.
Arthur" she cried, they were beau
tiful! / did read them An, how
loved them! And l do remember! Blu
was so excited, so Jealous! remem
Der every word. How could hav
been so crazy as not to know this tina
/ have read thousand times?"
She snatched up one of the letter
from the desk and read at random, an
, it happened that she lit upon one of th
few passages that were truly origina
! with Cousin Annie!
, Graden got upon his feet and locke
, at her. He looked her through an
through. Then he turned and went OF
a of the Office.
, When he came back from abroa
about a year later. the Ballantyne
were no longer in our city. He wer
humbly to the house of the girl VIII
loved him and was worthy of him, an
| Constance told him truly that she wa