Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-04
The Argus Daily Short Story
The Bottle Message Harold Otis.
Copyrighted. 1910. by Associated Litsrar ~ PresA

find Hector Garrett that be might
make the search himself. Meanwhile
| felt bound TO keep the secret
spent the thousand dollars found in
the bottle and thousand more with
out avail. Meanwhile | became so in
tereSted in the case that whenever at
a strange town or city | fell into the
habit of looking into the directory of
the place with Il view TO finding my
man. looked through hundreds Of
directories and found many CARROTS,
but never the one was looking for.
Finally my agent in Maryland wrote
me that plumber named Hardy. hav-
ing seen my advertisement. had come
to him with a story that IL few years
before he and his wife. being child
less. had adopted a boy baby from
foundlings' home. To the clothing of
this child had been pinned bit of
paper on which WAS written in q wo-
mans hand Hector Carr Garrett"
with the date of his birth. The child
was now in his fourth year.
1t is singular how happy one may
be made by a result that can be of
no personal benefit 10 him. was de
lighted with my find just as u scientist
is delighted with II discovery on which
he has long been working. ] at once
took train for the town in Maryland
where the plumber lived and was TAX
an 70 his house. There ] saw bright
little fellow VINO knew 20 other par
entS than the plumber and his wife.
They had kept the child's baby
clothes. with the paper pinned to them.
The clothes l did not consider likely
TO be of much value. but the paper. If
it was in the mothers handwriting,
which was probable. might be of great
Importance. ! showed Hardy the pa
per | had found IN the bottle. He sug-
gested that | 20 TO Guilford and make
the search. but | insisted on his going
with me. Offering 10 pay bis expenses
He accepted my proposition. and we
set off together leaving the child with
his foster mother.
We arrived at GuilfOrd I'm the after
noon and, taking u cab. told the driver
to take us 20 the Carr place. IL was
well known in the town. and we had
no difficulty in finding it. 1t was-or.
rather. had been-a fine house, sur
AONhoNp ~ iaAA 5iOubOH- nut IL buU
not been occupied for some years and
was in a dilapidated condition. The
house was shut up, and there was no
caretaker. We left the cab at the
gate and walked to the summer house
1t was, rather. an incloSed cottage
Having examined the floor and deter.
mined what tools were necessary,
Hardy went for them. and when be
returned we pried up several boards
In the corner designated. We found a
lacquered glove box. in which were
several papers. One was addressed TO
My Darling Son" and signed your
unhappy mother. Julia Carr Garrett
The substance of the paper was this:
Myron Blake Carr at the time of
the opening OF the narrative was q
widower with an only child. Julia
When she was seventeen years old
she attended n finishing school. near
which was u maD's college. One of
the students of the college, Hector
Garrett. met her The two were pleas
ed with each other. and there were
meetings. One afternoon they
met clandestfuely for ride. During
the drive Hector dared the girl 10 go
with him TO a minister and be married |
Yielding TO an impulse of a high |
strung nature. she assented. She was |
no sooner married than. realizing what |
she had done. she was filed with re.
greet. She dared not tell her father |
Had she done so this story would not |
have been written. When she met |
her husband again be suggested that |
they wait till after he had been grad. |
mated. when they would both acknowl. |
edge the marriage. Thus two months |
passed. commencement arrived, and |
they went home, both keeping their |
secret.
One day news came to Julia that |
her husband had been thrown from a
horse and killed. This deprived her
Of her husbands guidance, and she
was obliged TO make her Own deci.
sions. She acted as any young girl
might have done who was afraid of !