Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-10-17
l2Ilik
o ! ! etters 1t Auction

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Il Ind her name and address upon some!
thing, heE lowered over: watching the
ruthless handling Of the precious gar
i ments, and listening dumbly to h1a
! abominable comments. 3: Twas joking
over her coffin to the tortured Larry.
lBut he had sufficient presence of mind
i to: cram the box into his pocket while
Ross Investigated the bottom Of the
trunk. j Fortunately 4 NO full !; name
coupled with an addresscould be found,
SO at last Larry succeeded in Wheed-
ling the owner out, of his bargain" T..
Late that night the. two: stealthy; 40
burglars, carried the trunk out Of Mrs.
4 McGatfey's domain, up the street, and
into the Cowan home. ..t Ia
Don't breathe only every other
time" whispered Larry. II don't want
1.-The folks to ,know-that is, until to-
| morrow. Here! Let's put it under
this old covered table,:
| All night he tossed upon, his bed,
upbraiding himself for the days that
were gone and mourning bitterly for
the girl he loved. About midnight it
suddenly occurred to him that the at
tic: was: the only safe place for the
trunk. His sisters delighted in Clean
ing up his den" the moment he left
home.
1t was no easy task, but he sue
ceeded in getting it up the steep stairs
and stored away among the Gtlsty
boxes and barrels. On descending he
found the whole house in an uproar.
Burglars! Everyone even to the
sleepy Bridget had heard: them, and
there was wild running to and fro.
Yes, he,. too; had heard noise and
was looking In the stairway, he .ex,
planned. brushing a suspicious cob
web from his .mustache. :: It took fully
an hour or more to quiet his mother
and sisters and to this day they in
clude that night among the family
scares. ~ 80 81
The next day, with the announce
ment that he had business in the city,
Larry took a. hasty departure. Any
thing was better than this horrible
uncertainty. He must know whether
Nell Burr was living or dead.
Arriving at his destination, he
walked, quickly to a familiar house in
the suburbs, rang the bell, and in
quired in as matter-of-fact a way for
Miss Burr as If it had been two days
instead of two years since he had
stood there. But there was no trace
of surprise on the maids face. She
simply said: 49,
Come in. But she may not be able
to see YOU ~:
Presently she glided into the room,
a mere Wisp of q girl, with flushed
cheeks and look of intense surprise
on her face. Her hand trembled as
he clasped them and her voice was
unsteady as she greeted him and
added: IL, ~. r.
Pardon my limpness. I am just
convalescing from a severe illness =
an accident, rather, You ,heardfI was
caught in a hotel free Yes II owe
! my life to a fireman See. my scar?''
and she pushed back the soft hair
upon her forehead -. -.
He questioned her about the acct.
dent until she finally said: '1 lost
everything I had taken with me for
my trunk was left at the station, the
check lost*with my pocketbook. None
Of us thought Of it until I was out Of
danger, and now we can get no trace
Of it. You see, + have been i'll for
months from the shock. But there
was nothing of much value in the
trunk, only clothing and SOMEONE
keepsakes.' - ~, :
+ For one delicious moment he watch.
ed the flush deepen on her cheeks;
then, losing all Interest in the bat
tered trunk, he plunged into the theme
that had brought him there, the fool
ish misunderstanding Of two summers
ago. He plead manfully, taking all
the blame upon himself, never hint
ing Of the bit Of paper that lent such
courage to his wooing. :.;::'< : .:>5 r -:
+ It: was only when their baggage
caught up with them On the wedding
tour. that, she first = saw the :: little
brown trunk. TO get even, she cried,
teasingly: = 2 1, I; =: ?: =. =. n -
| poor Larry! How, cheap you must
havesfelt to have bid in your. own
love letters at auction!" j T Y; s: ~
! Copyright. 1906, by Daily story: Pub. COS