The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-04-13

Miss Merritield. She opened it with
eagerness and found a single magnif-
cent American Beauty wrapped care
fully in waXed paper and sparkling as
if with the dew of June Within five
minutes another messenger with an.
other long, slender package rang the
bell, and this also yielded up rose
When with the regularity Of clock.
work five uniformed imps had come
and gone in twenty-five minutes, all
with similar votive offerings, the girl
ehended-.Tohnston of the fertile
mind had hit upon the plan of sending
her tWenty-three roses, one for each
year of her life, but the gift was to
be delivered on the instalment plan.
The ingenious idea was pleasing
time. With the tenth rose the Merri-
field family was holding joyous council
over the ever increasing pile of boxes
in the library, and Carol was restless
When the fifteenth bona fide messen
ger had come and gone, not counting
four small curiosity seekers, who smil
ed eXpansively. murmured something
about de wrong number" and retreat
ed, Carol was thoroughly angry
When on the heels of the twenty-third
accredited flower bearer Johnston ap-
peared, particularly desirable brooch
in his pocket and a sense of duty well
done in his heart, she was composed
but the anger, though not visible, was
present and controlled.
With true masculine density John
ston noticed nothing out of the ordi-
nary with his sweetheart She thanked
him gayly and with the proper degree
of warmth for brooch and roses.
"Mr. Practical Joker must have a
lesson" Miss Mortified declared to
herself after his departure as she nib
bled with lips as red as the petals
themselves at the eighteenth rose. 81
didn't mind so much his other tricks
but this time he has gone too far"
He'd only laugh if he knew old Mrs
Froude sat in her window and counted
those messengers. With the extra ones
mixed in-little wretches.- there were
thirty of them.
"She knows today's my birthday and
saw through Hunters scheme as quick
" as did And she'll never believe
but what I'm thirty-One. SO, Mr.. Hun
ter Johnston, beware of an Old maids
vengeance" And she waved the rose
Electrically in air
a., Of hipfhIny
five days later, when his man brought
up the mail Johnston's eye was imme-
diately taken by one long white envel-
ope Ii was certainly peculiar in ap-
pearance. for his name and address
were formed of letters clipped from
newspapers and posted upon it. The
envelope contained the following mis-.
sive. similarly constructed:
Do you care to see your sweetheart
, eloping with another man? Be at the
Twenty-third street ferry Thursday aft
ernoon at 4.
Like many other practical jokers,
Johnston had his blind" side. He
never suspected that any one would
attempt to hoax him. He took the
misslve in deadly earnest and inter
rupted dressing half dozen times to
reread 1t.
His first sensation was one of anger
| that any one would dare libel his sweet
heart so. He resolved to telephone
Carol imnediately-or better, to call
upon her and enjoy good laugh with
her over the letter Yet even while he
smiled at its very absurdity. sicken-
Ing qualm % doubt, slow fitting a I'd
ugly as a vulture's shadow, passed over
! his mind. Surprising it were true?
That was the most unpleasant day
Johnston ever experienced. Breakfast
was a farce; luncheon, mo perform
! ance." Long after the time for the
latter meal he remembered that he had
promised to spend the day with a mar
rled sister over in Jersey,
He tramped the snowy streets aim
lessly, pausing occasionally to pore
over the mysterious message, while pc
licemen stared curiously and house
holders thought of Raffies. All his
Journeys brought him back somehow t