The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-10-26
Found the
Handkerchief
By JEANNE O. LOIZEAUX

The August day was enough to make
Casper hot and cross He was all that
and more. He was lonely, and the
man at the desk was grouchy Casper
wished he had remained on the farm.
and married his first sweetheart like
the other boys he had been brought up
with. College was all right. but jour
nalism, as seen from the reporter S
viewpoint, was beginning to be too
much for him. So many things hurt
his heart and his sense of right and
Justice.
go out and dig up some news. Cas-.
per-" called Jones from the desk.
"This weather is hot enough to make
somebody commit murder. and we
want to be nosing around the spot
when 1t happens. You've the nose for
news. But don't get soft and let some
girls pretty eyes beg you off from
playing her up in story"
Casper started out. 1t was Satur
day afternoon, and most of the stores
were closed. and most of the Offices.
only newspapers keep up the grind
Saturday afternoons" he said to him
self. 81 feel like drowning myself IN
the lake. The News would have
story then-only I'd have to rescue
girl from a watery grave and all the
rest. Wish l knew any nice girl well
enough to want to rescue her. Wish
l could see a girl from home-wish
l knew where Ruth is" Going down
the street he met little mouse OF
girl that made him think of her
Entering the first drug store he call
"a for root beer and asked the clerk
wat was doing" His thoughts were
ON the girl he had lost track or
Suddenly she had stopped her simple
little letters while he was at college.
ana on his graduation he came home
ard found that she had left town. The
cid aunt she had lived with had died
End the girl had taken the few hun
areds that had been left her and had
zone to the city. No one knew where
she was going nor what she was going
to do. She had been always
strange, silent, wide-eyed little thing.
md she had come an orphan into the
town. She never seemed to fit there
nor to make friends except with Jerry
Caspar. He had written school love
notes to her, and taken her to ice
cream sociables, and walking Sunday
afternoons Once he took her to
"I ncle Toms Cabin" in the opera
holse over Swilkins' grocery and
nardware emporium, but she cried
nEer little Eva so that he had to
tase her home before it was fin
Isned
The boy, for he was hardly "a, re-
membered how her gray, soft eyes
would widen If anyone was unhappy
And size was so little and good. He
wished ne could find her, and won
aerad whether she were married. She
aas not the girl to take care of her
self. Then he turned down street
7ere 1t was less noisy, street where
ere were many Offices of physicians.
aid obscure lawyers, the less prosper
Gus business men Where should he
look for a story?
He bethought himself of DR.. Falk-
ner. Falkner was quack. He mad
dertow of the city. Once he had
given Casper a story. Casper hated
Ealkner, but he slowly walked towards
his place.
The boy stumbled little, and in
saving himself from a fall, looked up
ward Just in time to see handker
chief fall and fiutter from third
story window to his feet He picked
it up. 1t was small and clean. but
twisted. 1t had an r in the corner. He
laughed a little. Then love of ro-
nance, 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 it would be his
luck to find a story behind it or con-
nected with it.
There was no elevator, and the hall
was unspeakably hot and dark. Who
ever owned the little twisted rag had
bad place to stay in, too, second rate
people all through the building The
second fight made him pant a little.
but he found the upper hall cleaner
and little more respectable
He entered several offices before he
fonud the window he wanted over
locking the street-then he came to
az open 3oor, and went into an office
bat he saw no one. The inner door
was closed, but he heard cry within.
and hoped the doctor was not hurting
a child more than he could help-it
vas little child, and he caught the
words clearly. but in a girls voice
go away or shall surely call some
one! You shall not!'
Without an instants pause. CASPER
strobe to the door, jerked it open and
entered A gross-looking tall young
man. carefully dressed, was holding
the arm of slender girl. who was
pulling away from him, her back to-
wards Casper Casper waited 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.
Can | help your His clear voice
made the girl turn her head, and the
man let her go. Casper, for one
Idazed minute. forgot the fellow. be-
Xc.uca Ruth'S gray ewes loolxad foo rf,,,