Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-03-25
The Argus Daily Short Story
She Loved an Inventor-By Esther Vandeveer.
Copyrighted, 1911. by Associated Literary

advertisement said that l lived IN
small village and the perfect English
in which my advertisement was. writ
ten marked me for an educated per
son. He sympathized with me deeply
for finding it necessary to use such
businesslike method, but commended
me for adopting it since there appear
ed to be no other at hand.
l replied to the letter-the only one
l did reply TON the spirit In which
IT was written, though l said very lit
tie. and that was simply suggesting
correspondence. l shrank from meet
ing any one under such circumstances
and never would meet any one with
out first being convinced that he was
a true man. And even then he must
convince me that he had written the
letters l had received.
He replied, admonishing me to pro
coed with the greatest caution and not
on any account to trust either him or
any one else without submission to
number of tests. He would be perfect
" content to wait for my character to
appear in nv letters. He would prefer
that 1 should appear thus rather than
feared that if he should find me very
attractive looking he might be unduly
prejudiced n my favor and If l lacked
beauty he might not be impressed with
my evidences Of character.
correspondent for long time with
the name he gave me was Horace Al
lerton-but somehow we got no fur
Their than a correspondence. Several
months passed, and yet he expressed
no desire to see me. His letters were
eminently satisfactory, and 1 confess
! felt q keen desire TO see what he
was like. So one day 1 wrote him that
/ would be pleased TO receive his pho
tograph.
He replied that he had been dread
ing TO be thus called on for some time
inasmuch as he had no pretense what
ever TO manly beauty. Indeed, he con-
sidered himself honely. But" he
said, 81 am making some negotiations
which If successful will puC me in
much better condition to marry than
now They will be settled within a
week one way or the other. If the IS
sue is to my advantage l will be happy
to call upon you. l hope by seeing you
/ may be able to do away with some
of the prejudice that would occur from
your seeing my picture unrelieved by
any personnel whatever"
It was about this time that Tom
Baxter began to be more devoted to
me than he had ever been. OF course
there was no obligation on my part to
my correspondent. That affair I some
times thought was as much In the air
as Toms patents. But Tom really
seemed to have picked up the idea that
he was about TO realize something re-
markable. Whether it was his conf
dence or my desire that he should sue
coed don't know, but / found myself
wishing he would. And If he were go
ing 10 make strike L wished that he
would make it before my lover on
paper" as I considered him, should
call upon me. Ny necessities grew
greater every day. felt 1t was due
10 my family that / should not only
relieve mother Of my support. but do
something for them all besides.
feared that II Ar. Alierton should turn
out 10 be a desirable party / might
find myself inclined to treat him cool
u, having Tom in my thoughts-in
other words. by not encouraging the
one available might lose him.
But as bad luck would have Il Mr..
AIlerton wrote he was ready to call
upon me, and at the same time Tom
became positively aggressive. he said
nothing more about the folly of per-
sons marrying without an assured in
come and began in a batting lind OF
way to really make love TO me. l put
him Of. saying: Don't be silly. Tom.
You'll never be able to marry-that is,
there's not more than one chance in
ten thousand Of your being 50. for
that's all the chance there is for az
inventor"
He looked very downcast at this