Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1909-06-24
HIS PROMISE
FULFILLED
RrIde saW PrOof Of AIa PorfIdY.

for a short time after his marriage on
a busir Hss trip to the Pacific coast, the
principal comfort that he was able tc
offer his very young wife was solemn
promise to write to her every day
without fail. He kept his promise lit
orally, and 1t very nearly wrecked Mrs
Macbride's confidence In him and In
human nature.
The first day out It was all right. He
started in the afternoon, and a. the
shades Of evening fell he wrote on q
pad on his knee In the speeding, jolt
ing car "a lovely letter." describing
the scenery and his loneliness, and
saying all the reassuring things he
could think Of. When the train
stopped to change engines he mailed
the letter.
AS he was about II hours out when
this happened Mrs. Macbride got the
letter the next day, and 80 was com.
paratively happy for ~ hours. Then
she began impatiently to expect the
next one. 1t didn't come. She began
to fret. The last mail came and there
was no letter. She bought all the even.
ing papers to see II there had been q
train wreck. There hadn't, but though
this relieved her mind to some degree
she cried herself to sleep because II
seemed 1t took one days absence to
make Algernon forget her.
Life had no interest for her all the
following morning, and she nursed
tragic ideas Of what she would do In
her bereavement. Her mind wobbled
between going home to her mother and
learning to be trained nurse, but her
head ached too badly to do anything
serious-and, anyway, she hadn't quite
given up hope. Indeed, when the let
ter carriers bell rang at the door OF
her Flatbush home, not long after ten
o'clock 1t was all she could do to keep
from running to the door herself.
1t was a minute before she had the
courage to open the letter and read Il.
AS she did so a wave Of great Joy
came over her. There was no mistak.
ing the sincerity Of its tone; he loved
her still. 1t was only on the third or
fourth reading that she grasped the
significance Of the opening words:
"one more day has passed since l said
good-by to my" It is unnecessary
to put the rhetoric Of young matri.
mony in print. What struck her was
the lone day" there were other eYi.
dences in the letter that II was the
second in the seriesi 80 Mrs, Mac,
bride at once felt q little pang at "the
deception" as she mentally called It.
NNmber three came all right the
next morning, but after the first flush
Of emotion aroused by Its ardent
phrases the chill took hold Of the heart
and brain again. There was the same
'subterfuge," the same mean, small
attempt to impose upon her because
she was woman-a trusting WIFE"
So she rambled on, making herself
sick with misery, and when the next |
day passed without q lsttaF-=the pev.
enth Of her grass widewho0d--her |
mood turned to rage, the woman
'corned pose. When letter No. ar
lived on the morning Of the eighth day |
she barely opened 1t to see II the as
Of writing daily was kept up,
She packed the four letters iAtO her
put on the nearest approach
o haif-mourning that she could COM
,ine from her trousseau and started |
If to lay the case before her mother,
"But, my dear" said that sensible
Ind experienced woman. have you
ooked at the dates? Do they run
Ilong day after day."
20, yes, mamma. I thought of that.
The dates run along all right, day after
lay. But Algy's smart enough for
hat, or at least he couldn't think I'd
'e such a fool-you know what | meAA
"Then did you look at the post:
marks. Angelo" asked the experienced
npther. GLet US compare them"
4hey did and the postmarks were q
complete vindication Of Macbride. The
our dates were consecutive; the let
ers were mailed day apart at Pitts.
'urg, Kansas City, Las VEGAS, N, M
nd Ash Fork, Arts, Little Mrs. Mac.
ride had her very first at Of Mysteries
n her mothers arms when the joyful
came over her that not only
lad her Algernon kept his promise,
nut in addition had resortsd Ia no
mean scheme to deceive her When
he came to herself the two wemen
Feat into q white heat Of Eage at the
egIect and Embarrassment Of the
They talked Of writing to
be postmaster and the postmaster
eneral and the president and the
ewspapers. Clearly It was an out
age. Here were letters mailed regu-
lrly every day and every one Of them
vas delayed two days in the delivery.