The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-17
THE FORTUNE HUNTERS.

city, concluded to run down to the
seashore. He found there a bevy of
girls, the most of whom, having
worn themselves out during the gay
social season in town. were endeav-
oring to put the roses back into their
cheeks under the influence of ocean
breezes.
Raymond Riggs was key to the
wealth he possessed. All the girl had
to do to unlock the door to Il was
to snare him. He had fought OF a
regiment OF them during the pre-
vious season and had hoped for a
rest at the seashore. He was DOOM
ed to disappointment. They attack
ed him by platoons and companies.
To get rid of them he went off one
day several miles up the beach and
sat down on the sand. The waves
rolled lazily in, broke on a bar and
slid up on the sand with an effer-
vescing sound. The sky was blue
and cloudless The ships out at
sea sailed on as silently as II they
we're painted instead Of real. 1t was
all very restful and in marked con-
trast with being hunted down by a
flock of-women, he should have
said, but he preferred the word har-
pies.
A glass bottle was thrown up by
the waves, rolled about on the sand
and carried out When it came up
again Raymond noticed that II was
corked. He seized It, took out the
cork and with the blade of his knife
managed to extricate through the
narrow neck a card. On It was
written in pale ink, "Aline Eliot"
The address was given at a town a
hundred miles down the coast, then
followed, Dear finder, am lonely"
For heavens sake" exclaimed
Raymond, 'are all the women in the
world hunting lovers? escape
from flock of them back on the
shore only TO be met by an advance
from the ocean" =,
But as he gazed at this singular
contrivance for mating, as he regard
ID II, II seemed far different to him
from the advances he had received
rom the fortune hunters. He fan
led the writer to be some innocent
.irl who craved only to obey the in
tlncts mother nature had planted
n her pure bosom. Perhaps she had
"a alone by the ocean as he was
itting, yielding to a natural incli-
alton to mate, and had sent out her
Message with blind confidence that
would fall into the hands of the
nan who was destined to be all in
!! to her Was this the explanation,
II was she, too hunting for for
une? He would open a correspond
nee with her. In this way he could
ind out what he wished TO know.
lie inolosed the card with his own
ame and address and the words. ~
90. am lonely" In a few days he
'ccclyed a letter There was moth
ng IN 1t about love or marriage. 1t
vas an unsophisticated epistle from
young girl about nothing Ray
mond read between the lines. per
haps YOU are he for whom | intend
I'd my message" But It did not say,
You may be some rascal who will
AXE a mean advantage of what |
laye done" What refreshing inno-
'ence! Fancy one of the fortune
aunters reposing such confidence in
the average man.
He thought he would SEND pic
ture of some man about his own age
and ask hers in return. but the girls
guilelessness had affected him, and
ne shrank from such deception. Then
confident that he could not be mis-
aiken, he inclosed his photograph
As soon as he had done SO the
thought occurred to him that he was
a fool. The danger Of a society for
tune hunter was nothing beside one
he had never seen possessing letters
from him and his photograph.
However, in exchange came like
ness. II was the likeness OF one a
painter would seize upon as a model
or a Madonna. There was inno-
cence personified. A pair of soft
eyes looked out from an oval face.
The lips were sensitive, and Ray
mond considered them especially
kissable, He thought of the faces of
the fortune hunters, restored to their
natural appearance by cosmetics.
There was none of them who would
not consider herself fiagrantly inn
modest to thus advertise for a hus-
band. Yet here was the Madonna
like face looking at him with a mod
esty that none of these could have
assumed.
One day Raymond was missed at
the seashore. There was fiutter
among the fortune hunters, for,
though none of them had secured a
foothold, every one hoped for her
self, not for the others. Had he re-
turned to the city? No. Inquiries
elected the fact that his baggage,
like our flag was "still there" So
they waited and watched and hoped.
But Raymond did not return. In
time he directed that his baggage be
sent to the city, and neither the
waves nor the gulls nor the ships
nor the fortune hunters saw him