Middletown transcript., 1906-06-16


TANTHE D. b.,
The letter was posted, and the
answer came next morning. Miss
james disclaimed all response
bility in the matter of the mys-
terious theatre seats, and limited
that some unknown admirer had
forwarded the same.
But it can't be q man. reflected
Ianthe, more pnzzled than ever,
for the box Office clerk distinctly
said it was woman.
Rat.tat Tho postman
Good heavens! muttered IantL e
as she opened the envelope. The
plot thickens, as they say in the
melodramas. More tickets
Two tickets for the Star The.
atre were enclosed, and the writ
ing on the envelope was unde-
niably feminine.
I don'tlike this business at all,
remarked Sir John Dover Barton
who returned that day from Scot
land, and who was instantly in.
formed of the extraordinary cpl.
sode, I'm hanged if / do! l shall
call in a detective.
What nonsense, father, replied
Ianthe with a laugh. Surely you
cannot believe that there is any
evil motive behind this mystery.
/ am not so sure of that. Any
how, shall speak to my lawyer
and ask his opinion:
Mr.. Harvest, the lawyer, was
unable to make anything Of the
queer business.
1t is certainly very mysterious,
he remarked sagely-yery mys-
terious indeed. I should advise
your placing an advertisement
in the leading newspaper Per
sonaP columns, asking the un-
known sender of the tickets TO
please come forward.
But surely, if she desires to
remain anonymous, she will not
reveal her identity simply be-
cause we ask her to do so in a
newspaper. retorted Sir John
DoverB Barton, Really, Harvest.
you do not grow smarter as you
grow older.
am afraid that remark applies
to other people besides myself,
replied the solicitor, bestowing a
keen glance upon his client. And,
in any case, the suggestion that
| have, made IS the only one which
occurs to me at the moment, 1t
will be for you to decide whether
or not you will adopt it.
| suppose | must, snapped the
baronet, and next morning the
advertisement was inserted. It
ran in this wise:
"Mysterious Theatre Tickets.
the sender of these com
municate with Park Lane 2"
A week passed. Further tickets
arrived for Ianthe, which she
duly used, but no clue to the
donor of the tickets was forth.
coming, in spite of the fact that
the announcement appeared sew
eral days in succession.
The mystery was deepening.
Sir John, who cordially hated any
problem that he was unable to
solve, grew furious.
Now look here, .Iantha, be said
in a clustering tone, there is only
one course open to you, since the
sender of the tickets refuses to.
come forward.
The girl looked up quickly.
What course is that /? she in
quired.
You must put the tickets in the
fire.
We have not started fires yet,
replied Miss Ianthe in cool tone.
Rubbish! You know what /
mean. You must destroy the
tickets; or, at any rate, abandon
their use
Why should 1? asked Ianthe
with laugh. Not the slightest
harm has come to me thus far,
and | have already been four
times to the theatre in conse-
quence. Come, father, you are
decidedly unreasonable. You are
always grumbling about the price
Of theatre seats, and now that
there is absolutely nothing to
pay, you seem more annoyed
than ever.
For the very best of reasons,
cried the old fellow Grossly. [
have mysteries, and the person
ought to have comeforward when
we advertised.
Ianthe smiled.
I like theatres, she said; and
the seats which my unknown
friend lends mo arn aluauc tho