El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-11-03
The Herald's
Daily Short Story

! crowded with customers, Oldmohu
! necklace valued at $4,000, was stolen.
! The thief has not up to the present
been traced, but yesterday the affair
had a most extraordinary sequel.
Shortly before $50 a. m. a young
man called and left small package
| addressed to Mr.. Johnson. The gen.
tleman not having yet arrived at his
! place of business (the visitor was
doubtless perfectly aware that Mr..
Johnson was never to be seen at that
hour, the parcel remained unopened
until long after the young man had
disappeared.
I'm due course Mr.. Johnson reached
the shop, and. on opening the parcel.
was astonished beyond measure to find
inside the diamond necklace, complete
and intact
Leonard sat down on a stile and pom
dered. Judging from aappeara noes,
that mysterious stranger at Lucerne
had stolen the necklace and, overtaken
by an extraordinary mood of penltence,
had adopted an equally extraordinary
method of restoring the stolen prop
erty.
What should he do? The common
opinion would be that he should go
direct to London and put the police
knew. But was it incumbent upon
him to do anything of this kind? For
one thing, he hated the nOtoriety that
would inevitably be his lot. For an
other, his story was so unusual that
it might not be believed, and awkward
circumstances might ensue for both
himself and his people. And for an
other. Johnson was not penny worse
off for the robbery; indeed, he had
secured from the queer trend of the
case a most excellent and profitable
advertisement.
OF course, the appeal of the Daily
Taller" guardian of the interests of
justice, was hard to withstand; but
in the end Leonard brought himself to
resist even that.
He tore the paper to shreds, threw
the fragments over into an adjacent
field and resumed his walk home as
if nothing in the world had happened.
It was a year and half later, and
Leonard Parfitt found himself again
in Switzerland-at Pontresina-
Now. up to the present, as you have
probably guessed from no references
thereto, Leonard had been heart whole.
At Pontresina he found his fate in the
person of one Olive-OHve Trevor
Mann, as the visitors book had it.
They climbed mountains together, and
when they were tired of scaling the
heights, they sat and chartered be-
meath the pines. with the squirrels
scampering about them. And there,
with the music of the Bermina in their
ears. Leonard opened his heart
She stopped him halfway. He glanced
around, but they were still alone, and
he looked at her for an explanation.
you really know so little about me-"
she said
Il know, Olive, that you are the one
woman for me, the one"
But I have deceived you-deceived
everybody here. 1 have no right to
the name Mann. and Trevor was only
my mothers maiden name. I took that
pseudonym because 1 didn't want my
real identity known. You will recog
niZe my proper name at once when !
tell you it. It's Olive Merridew"
You're Olive Merridew, the singer"
Yes" She felt that she must talk
lightly or shrek. And you never
suspected that I had the least bit of
a voice, did you? 1 haven't sung
note here. not even to myself. You
don't know what a terrible time 1 have
been having lately in London. It was
bad enough when 1 was in comic opera,
but when they promoted me to grand
opera and Covent Garden, fame grew
quite a terrible thing. When I was
run down at the end of the season, and
was recommended to come here for my
nerves, 1 resolved to shed my identity
entirely for the time being. 1t was
easier than you might expect, for luck
lily / had managed to resist all the
of photographers il
London. But now 1 have had to con-
fess to you, haven't I?'
He was down in the depths and
showed 1T. He had wooedt one whom
he thought was an ordinary woman,
and behold she was a queen of song
1t would be kinder of her to give him
his dismissal at once.
''Oh. don't look at me like that,
please! Have 1 done so very wrong?
Do YOU mind my having made a
manner"
mo, it's not that You don't really
suspect me of such meanness, do you?
OF course. 1 realize now how impos-
sible-what a fool I've been"
And I'm realizing how a man L |
thought quite original can yet be
tarred with the brush of convention |
atty"
"Eh?"
"Oh, you dear. stupid old thing For |
give the adJectives, but if I abuse you |
4 little you'll find your way sooner to !
the truth. Don't you know that love
between man and woman. has nothing |
to do with fame? Fame doesn't enter |
into the calculation. 1 can't help low |
ng like plain ordinary, average wo- |
man. and because I love you, it's you |
who appear to me to be gifted, clever |
mountain heights above me.
I've never taken a step in my life |
without consulting father He has been |
both father and mother to me for |
good many years. He isn't an ogre
lon't imagine that-but I do like to |
'efer everything to him, and especially
an important matter like marriage
1verything's happening providentially. |
because he is coming out in a couple of |
lays to fetch me home"
Leonard waited these two days. They |
we're days of "a hours apiece. but he |
to live them through
Fathers come" she announced at
asst
Shifting uneasily from chair to chair.
leonard had been the only occupant |
If the smoking room for some 20 min
Ites before the door handle turned.
There entered the mysterious person /