The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-02-11

| remembered distinctly now that shs
mad paused there at a certain crossing.
waiting for him to get by, a sort or
shadow girl who had seemed a part or
MS musings. Doubtless she had passed
close behind the buggy and the bobbing
poles with the dangling hooks had par
odied the tragedy of Absalom. But
! how should he find her and restore her
lost headgear?
The same problem was tormenting
| the brain Of the owner Of the bat, and
as result the pOstmistreSs received
/ two notices within the next hour with
the request that she put them up in the
postOffice
IF the person whose carelessness'-
the word "carelessness' was under
! scored-"led to the unlawful acquisi-
ton Of hat last evening will leave
same with the postmistress the owner
! will feel in some measure placated,"
read the first one And the second was
like this: IF the owner of hat that
mysterlously disappeared on Tuesday
evening will leave her name and ad.'
dress with the pOstmistress it will be
returned Immediately"
Before noon Of the following day the
young man. now thoroughly alert and
no longer the dreamy, needless fellow
of the night before, might have been
seen vending his way along one of the
| broad, shaded streets of the village,
gingerly carrying a parcel wrapped in
tissue paper His anxious scrutiny Of
the houses showed that he sought some
unfamiliar place, but at last, after a
final vacillating moment, he opened a
gate and went in.
In the comfortable, old fashioned par
/ Tor he waited for the owner Of the hat;
! waited-thOugh he did not know that
until later-for the appearance Of the
! lady Of his life. 1t was not that she
was wondrously fair or in any way
distinguished. as the herOines of the
| story books always are. He never just
! found out why it was. but from the mo-
ment that the slender, girlish figure ap-
! peared in the doorway and turned quiz
zical eyes upon him his heart beat to a
new, strong theme.
But didn't you hear me call?" she
asked when they had laughed, explain
ed and apologized, he for capturing the
/ hat and she for the underscored word
in her notice. Didn't you hear me
shout, oh, man, stOpT"
! He shook his head penitently. for
/ even so soon it seemed incredible that
with her voice calling be should not
have heard. Then the talk turned to
other things, and with q glad sort Of a
shock he discovered that in town they
| lived in the same square
And to think that have never seen
| your he exclaimed with slow wonder,
/ as if the thing were scarcely credible,
and thereupOn the girl laughed, for she
4 had seen him again and again, always
with a warm approval of his swinging
( gait and certain air that said that he
could look out for himself and some
| body else beside. Once, she remember.
| ed, she had wondered who the some
! body would be.
Probably It's because you never fish,
ed for me before" she ventured mis-
chievOusly, and then she caught her lip
| between her teeth and wished she
hadn't spoken, for his face became
! very earnest. and there was q conquer
/ ing ring in his voice as he answered
| slowly but determinedly:
Perhaps so. But from now on am
/ going to fish for years If need be-fsh
until you yield from sheer WEAKNESS
Of seeing me sitting motionless on the
| bank-until l can win you for my
/ own"
And lie kept his word so well that
now they not only live in the same
/ square, but in the same house.