Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1908-08-22
A DOUBLE MYSTERY.
lOri.inal.l

snmmcr came around and it was time for vacation he a.Tays hied hlmseiI to the woods and waters with his rod, established himself at some poln- about which fish cOng"eSate and pro- ceeded to enjoy the days. He never took q communion with him for the reason that he had no chum who loved fishing as he did. and any one who was indifferent to the sport would spoil it for him.
 One summer MT. Ward located his headquarters at the village of D. surrounded by lakes. in which were many kinds of fish. and by streams well stocked with trout. On the norr- ing after his arrival, before other peo' pie had risen, he was stepping lightly along the street of the village, armed fish. moving in the direction of lake. when he passed white cottage with green blinds. On the porch hung small school blackboard, on which was chalked:
 Ice-Cream.
 Ward surmised that the first was a notice to the iceman and the second q notice to the milkman. Thinking 1t would be good joke to make sign of it, he took up q piece of chalk tEae lay handy on a window sill and wrote Sfop q. ter" so that it read
 Ice Cream-and Soda Water
 When he returned in the evening the blackboard had been wiped clean. but the next morning when he went ou. again he saw written on it:
 Fish.
 Ry this time he was q bit ashar med of himself for having interfe:ea with some housewife, as he supposed. in her notifications to traGesmen. aAt.. desiring to make reparation. he re- turned 10 his quarters, and. selecting q fine pickerel from the mess of the day before, left it at the back door. where 1t would doubtless be discovered by me COOK NUpU Slp tiiit COH opened up the kitchen for tha day.
 The next morning as Ward passed on his daily journey to the filing grounds he looked. as usual, fo? tha notice of what was Wantn,l in the W! :. of supplies. The notice read
 Trout.
 It so happened that he had brought home fine string of trout the day be- fore, and. being quite pleased at the whimsical idea of furnishing supplies to the housewife who supposed she was getting them from the tradesmen, he turned again to his quarters. got half a dozen fat trout and deposited them at the kitchen door. He chuckled to himself at the dialogue between the housewife and the fishmonger in their efforts to explain the mystery. There was a bit of mystery for him as well. On his return evenings, which was usually about , o'clock, when he passed the house he looked at it. hop ing to catch sight of the housewife. for at that hour, of course every one in the town was stirring. But never once did he see human being in or about the cottage.
 On the fourth morning that Ward went out on his journey the sign on the black board read:
 Berries
 It happened that the route to the fishing ground was lined with luscious blackberries. Ward, who by this time was nearly as much interested in the requirements of the white cottage as with his fishing, hurried on, gathered a couple of quarts of berries. went back to the house and deposited them in heap on the morning paper Then he sped away, fearing some one might get out of bed and discover him.
 The next morning came a surprise. When Ward looked at the blackboard he did 70 with wide open eyes. There was the word: ->, Flowers
 Now. there were no flowers to be purchased in the village, at any rate at that hou: in the morning. But Ward had seen lots of wild flowers in the woods. He repeated his effort of the day before, only this time he gath cred flowers instead of berries, and hurried back to the house with them. Instead of taking them to the kitchen he stepped nimbly on to the porcl and was about to lay them before the front door " zen it opened, and there stood as pret a girl as he had ever seen, blushing. laughing and, above all, her eyes dancing with mischief. He doffed his hat
 "1 have to 2k you,' said the girl. 'for the delicio fish and berries you have brought i'a and now for these beautiful flova",'
 "So it's yol ' ho have the joke on me instc" - 'la joke on you?'
 Il w"@ Ip dressing when you passed r., Gast morning. Hearing some one du the porch. l looked through the blinds and saw you gc away with your rod and basket. When I yyapt down I found fbo cbopun 1-ny