Evening star., 1912-01-07

one OF the best. Y on could fairly smell money
in it. She bit first on one of the occult ads.
| Her first letter came in on 4 Monday recol
lect. 1t was big mail. There were a lot of
Curiositys and couple of Suspiciouses, and
| this was one of half dozen in the True Be
| lievers' pile. Irene, my assistant, had put
| the red pencil on it, when she sorted out the
mail, to show it was something special. But
don't get her into this, Professor Kent. If
you do, it s all off, jewels and all Irene has
always been for the straight star business
and forecast game, and no extras or side
| lines. Besides we were married last week.
"What attracted Irene's red pencil, and
caught me right away, was the style of the
thing. The handwriting was classy. The
paper was elegant. There was something
rich about it all. This was no Biddy pinch
ing out the Missis's stationery to make a
play with. She quoted poetry, swell poetry.
First off she signed herself A Novitiate.' l
gave her the Personal, No. 3, and followed it
up with the Special Friendly, No. 5. Irene
never liked that No. 5. She says it's spoony.
lust the same, it fetches them. But not this
one. She began to get personal and warm
hearted, all right, and answered up with the
Kindred Soul racket. But come to Boston?
Not move! She said she couldn't. There
was reasons. 1t looked like the old game
filter headed wife and jealous husband.
the straight holdup. And blackmail was al
ways too strong for my taste. So, did the
natural thing, her special readings
and doubled up the price. She paid like
| lamb.
"Then, blame if it didn't slip out she
wasn't married at all! | lost that letter. 1t
was kind of endearing. Irene put up a howl.
1t was getting too personal for her taste.
told her l would cut it out. Then gave my
swell lady another address and wrote her for
a picture. Nothing doing. But she began
to hint around at a meeting. One day let
ter came with hundred-dollar bill in it.
For expenses, she wrote, and was to come
at once. Our souls had recognized each other,
she said. Here is the only part of the letter
l could dig up from the waste basket:
| "'You have pointed out to me that our
stars, swinging in mighty circles, are rushing
on to Joint climax. Together we may force
open the doors to the past, and sway the
world as we have done in bygone days And
so on and cetera.
W/ELL, of course she was nutty; that is.
:" about the star business. But that
don't prove anything. The dippiest star
chaser | ever worked was the head of a de-
partment in one of the big stores, and the
fercest little business woman in business
hours, you ever knew. It's the romantic in
the sex that sets them skidding when it
comes to stars, and such like. And Eliza
beth R. was not patch on some of them
that have been paying me good, sane money
for years That was the letter she first signed
with her name. Said there was no use pre-
tending to conceal her identity any longer
from me. Seemed to think knew all about
it. That Jared me some. And, with the
change of writing in the signature, it all
looked pretty queer. You remember the
last letter with the scrawling name at the
bottom? Well, they all came that way after
| this, body of the letter very neat and swell;
| signature scrawled in an entirely different
hand. | took it to Chorio the character
| reader, and he said SO too.
"But hundred-dollar bills loose in letters
mean big stake. | wrote her would come,
and | signed it Leicester She had dug that
up for my pet name. Irene got on and threw
fit She said her woman's intuition told
her there was danger in it. Truth is, she was
stuck on me herself, and was on her; but
we did not find it out until after the crash
So was all for prying Elizabeth loose from
her money, if | had to marry her to do it.
She wrote some slush about the one desper-
ate plunge together and then the glory that
was to be ours That looked like marriage