The Press., 1904-09-28
TIE is
aUnknos0n
IN q " BY
Troy
CopyrtDht, 1901, bv AJlison
K. NJ. Whitehead

pcned, who she was and all about it.
The letter had dropped out of the IL
ibrary book that he had hastily selected
on his way home. The sheets of paper
were, unfolded, and the letter com
menced in q way that made him think
he had as much right to read it as any
one else. 1t was a love letter; undoubt-
eddy the whole heart of the woman
was In 1t, but 1t commenced Dear I'm
known Man" Before he read it he
thought some silly schoolgirl had put
1t in the book with the intention OF
getting up Irritation. but he realized
that it was letter schoolgirl could
not have written.
This woman was tired and disap-
polluted. She had evidently expected
more than she had found and through
some within had written all her disap-
pointment and heartache to the only
person that could fully understand it
her ideal man.
There was a longing for an under
standing and for sympathy that the
known men had never been able to sat
isfy. Stanley could imagine that she
had relieved a spell of dependency by
putting her thoughts on paper on the
same principle that he talked to his
dog or smoked an extra cigar. The
thing he could not understand was that
a woman capable of such depths of in
tellect and feeling should have had SO
silly an impulse and put the letter in
q library book. .-s
There was no name or aduress-at
least she expected no reply.
He got up from his easy chair and
walked to the window. A cold, driz-
cling sleet beat against the pane, and
the electric lights from the street turn
ed the night into CHASTITY gray.
His dog had followed him and stood
with his fore paws on the window
ledge.
A sudden. furious blast striking the
pane made the dog rub his head against
his master and whine his desire for
companionship and affection.
"Are you lonely. too. old fellow? Two
old bachelors like us. living In a fiat.
ought not to expect to be gay. You
ought to be glad that you are not out in
y
stroked the dogs head and thought of
the loneliness expressed in the letter
he had just read.
by Jove. she knows the real article
1t must be the lonely in crowd feel
ing. She seemed to be a society WON
an-the monogram on her paper didn't
Indicate Il poor girl working for her liv-
ing"
He went back to his chair before the
fire and wondered if it would be pos
sible for him to locate her. He fancied
he would like to meet her and study
the woman. aided by his knowledge of
her inner thoughts as expressed in the
erratic letter.
Suddenly he threw away his cigar
with an expression of satisfaction.
Sherlock Holmes might have solved it
in less time, but he couldn't have
thought Of an easier method of finding
her," a*
The next morning at the library the
woman in charge gave Stanley the at
tentiOn that his looks always won from
women. .-
THE book was last returned by Joan
Ransdell. zoos Massachusetts avenue.
l am sure it will be very kind of you
to return anything that you found IN
it. Very few people would trouble
to that extent"
Stanley kept the letter in his pocket
and If his acquaintance could have
notes during the next few
days they would have thought that he
was suffering from ii mania that took
the form of an acute desire to learn If
his auditor knew q certain Miss Joan
He himself had only been in the city
Il few months after an absence of sew
eral years. He thought she must be a
and the address given car
ried ont his idea that she was not
among the working class.
1t was week before he met mu-
tual acquaintance. Then Jim Dent re-
peated his question: Know Miss Rams
dell? Certainly | do She takes dinner
with us tonight. DO you want to come.
old man?''
& When Stanley was getting into his
evening clothes, he carried on his
usual conversation with the dog: Don.
Did chappic. I'm going to see her to-
night. We are going to solve prob
em. Be good. old fellow, and don't
get lonely. and I'll tell you about her
when get home"
He brought rug from the bedroom
md put it In front of the CRATE. The
-nl Il Inv
Town on it to take the ham bone that
lis master always left as Il special
reat when he went out to dinner The
pretty waitress in the cafe had
labit of coaXing the elevator boy to
give the nice bones to the nice dog that
belonged to the nice man on the fourth
ioor --..
Don beat the floor with his tail in
satisfied approval while Stanley put
III his overcoat. patted him on the
read and went out.
When he came in that night the dog
heard his step and met him at the
ioor..
He put on his dressing gown and
slippers. sat down before the fire and
md the palms of his hands before he
poke.
She's all right. old boy If hadn't
cad that letter | should never have
believed that she was lonely. don't
zee how such beautiful woman could
'e lonely. do your"
The dog whined a reply that the
master evidently took to mean that he
eally did not see how it could be pos
ible.
shes tall and slender and gray
yed. Donald. and she is about twenty
light years old. She has slender, |
White hands with lots of rings. and she
lad on a fimsy black dress that |
rained after her on the floor. gen.
rally hate to keep jumping to avoid |
hose trains, Donald. but swear I
you'd make jumping jack of myself
orever to stay where could see those
yes. I'm going to call tomorrow. If