The Tupelo journal., 1911-11-17
Found the
Handkerchief
By A N o. LOIzEAUx
lCepyrieh,. 1917. BY Associated Literary Press

The August day was enough to make
Casper hot and cross. He was all that
sand more. He was lonely. and the
lman at the desk was %grouchy. Casper
wished he had remained on the farm
and married his first sweetheart iike
ffhe other boys he had been brought ur
+ with. College was all right, but jour
lnalism, as seen from the reporters
viewpoint. was beginning to BE- toe
imuch for him. So many things hurt
his heart and his OF right and
Justice.
Go out and dig UP some news. Cas-
4per," called Jones from the desk
..aThis weather is hot enough to make
suomebody commit murder, and We
want to be nosing around the spot
when 1t happens. You've the nose lot
news. But don't get soft and let some
girls pretty eyes beg you on from
playing her up in a story
Casper started out. 1t was Satur'
day afternoon, and most of the stores
were closed, and most of the ofices.
"Only newspapers keep up the grind
Saturday afternoons" he said to MIN
aself. IL feel Hike drowning myself IN
the lake. The News would have q
story then-only I'd have TO rescue a
girl from a watery grave and all the
rest. Wish | knew any nice girl well
penough to al to rescue her. wish
II could see a girl from home-wish
i knew where Ruth is" Going down
the street he met a little mouse OF =
girl that made him think OF her.
Entering the first drug store he call.
cd for root peel and asked the clerk
what was doing" His thoughts were
on the girl he had lost track OF.
Suddenly she had stopped her simple
5tttle letters while he was at college,
and on his graduation he came home
and fo&nd that she had eft town. The
old aunt she had lived with had died.
and the girl had taken the few hun-
dreds that had been left her and had
gone to the city. No one knew where
she was going nor what she was going
to do. She had been always a
strange, silent, wide-eyed little thing,
and she had come an orphan into the
town. She never seemed to fit there,
nor to make friends except With Jerry
Gaspar. He had written school v
notes to her, and taken her to ice
cream sociables, and walking Sunday
afternoons. Once. he took her to
~Uncle Toms Cabin" in the opera
house over Swilkins' grocery and
hardware emporium, but she cried
over little Eva so that he had TO
take her home before it was nm
ished.
The boy, for he was hardly "a, re-
smembered how her gray, soft eyes
would widen if anyone was unhappy.
And she was so little and good. He
wished he could find her, and won
= dered whether she were married. she
was not the girl to take care OF her
self. Then he turned down a street
where it was less noisy, a street where
there were many Offices OF physicians,
and obscure lawyers, the less prosper
Gus business men. Where should he
look for a story?
He bethought himself of DR.. Falk-
ner. Falkner was a quack. He mad
no conscience. He dealt withIth nu-
-dertow Of the city. Once he had
given Casper q story. Casper hated
Falkner, but he slowly walked towards
bis place.
The boy stumbled a little, and in
=saving himself from a fall. looked up
ward just in time to see a handker-
chief fall and 1utter from a third
story window to his feet. He picked
It up. 1t vas small and clean, but
twisted. 1t had an r in the corner. He
laughed a little. Then a love Of ro-
a a desire for a story, made him
suddenly turn into the stairway. He
would see who dropped that handker-
chief. OF course ii had fallen out by
mistake. But perhaps 1t would be his
luck to find a story behind it or CON
nected with 1t.
There was no elevator, and the hall
was unspeakably hot and dark. Who
ever owned the little twisted rag had
n bad place to stay in, too, second rate
people all through the building. The
second fight made him pant a little,
hut he found the upper hall leaner
and a little more respectable.
He entered several Offices before he
fonud the window he wanted over
looking the street-then he anne to
an open door, and went into an office,
but he saw no one. The inner door
was closed, but he heard a cry within,
and hoped the doctor was not hurting
q child more than he could help-it
was a little child, and he caught the
words clearly. but in a girl's'yoice.
60 away or | shall surely call some
one! You shall mott"
Without an i~nstant's pause. Casper
strobe to the door. jcrked it open and
entered. A gross-looking tall young
a carefully dressed. was holding
the arm of a slender girl. who was
pulling away from him. her back to-
wards Casper. Casper waited a mo
ment. The girls hair was soft and
dark and knotted plainly at the back
-of her small head. She wore a blue
bingham dress, and looked very neat