Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1903-02-14

The young author seated himself
with that nonchalance which may be
expected in one who is introduced by
the editor in chief to the mere editor
of a department.
what kind of stuff do you want?"
he inquired.
I'D take a good valentine story"
said 1.
At that my visitor assumed a smile
suggesting the early stages of seasick-
ness.
ooh, I say" said he, in tone of
languid protest, that sort of things
Gres about valentines? There's no
Romance in them any more. In soci-
ETY., if people notice the day at all,
they send flowers, not picture cards" "
"Our circulation exceeds 400,' said
l. I'VE have outgrOwn society. Give
us something about young men and
women"
The talented author blew a green
Egyptian cloud into the air and slowly
shook his head.
Were going to have a lot of val
entine stuff in the issue of Feb. 49,
said 1, 'and most of it is rafting good,
but, of course, if it doesn't appeal to
you"
Valentine stories! Good Lord!"
'Why, what's the matter?" l in
quired.
Nov look here" said he. 81 try to
keep pretty close to life; to write the
thing that is, and not the dream. Do
l make myself clear? Well, such be-
ing the case let me ask you one Ques-
ton. In the last ten years have you
known or heard of any human crea-
ture who has attached any serious i'm
pOrtance to a valentine or had any
really romantic adventure connected
with one?"
yes, sir, have,'' said 1.
He shook his head slowly and sad
ly. 1 could have cuffed him for that
! insolence, and yet his question, his
! method of getting at the matter, ap-
pealed to me.
Il will spin you a little yarn" said
1; "a true yarn, and not bad one"
Delighted" said he, lying back in
his chair and closing his eyes.
''This happened to a fellow named
Jones'" said I. "He was newspaper
correspondent in the Philippines. He
had been out there six months and
hadn't had letter from a girl
Particular girl?" queried Breck.
"Any girl" replied. There was a
particular girl; not SO very particular
either, and yet he'd have been mighty
! glad if she had remembered him on
the other side of the world. Most fell
lows, of course, would have found a
romance of some kind suited to their
individual tastes an! fancies out there,
but Jones didn't have the luck. He'd
been brought up in a little sociable
| city where everybody knew everybody
else, and though he no longer had any
close relatives there-very few, in
| deed, on earth-there were his old
friends, including some very nice girls,
whom he had travelled a hundred miles
out of his way to say good-by to just
before leaving his native land. They'd
all promised to write to him
Including the girl" said Breck.
"Yes," said 1, land the fact is that
a considerable package of mail for
| him, sent through the publishers
whom he represented, and tardily for
warded, had gone to the bottom of the
Pacific ocean, but he didn't know that.
Elm Manila he met young fellow
named George Templeton, from the
same town as himself.
'Templeton was a sergeant of vol
unteers, and a homesick soldier if ever
there was one. He excited Jones
sympathy, which became acute when
| Jones learned that there was a girl at
home who had stopped writing to
! Templeton for an unknown reason.
"In the latter part of January TEN.
the interior to a little, forsaken village
where there was peck of trouble.
| mail steamer came in the day before
| the detachment marched, but it
brought no letter to Templeton
ga few days later Jones learned en-.
tirely by accident that letter for
| Templeton had really come on the
steamer and had been delivered by
mistake to a surgeon of the same sur
name.
Zones had had it in his mind to try
| to get through to this place where the
good story in it. He told the surgeon
of his intention and was permitted to
take the letter. BY pulling all kinds
of wires he got leave to join a small
party that was going up with dis
| patches, and the result was that he