Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-09-06

tate when at the door | met n tele |
graph messenger. He handed ME the
envelope and the book for signature at
the same time. and ! signed the one
before looking at the other. The boy
darted away, and. tearing open the
envelope. l read the telegram.
! need you very much Do come to me.
GWEN.
Not knowing any one by that name
began to do what should have done
in the first place-investigate. The ad-
dress was "A. J. Courtney" My name
is Alonzo Jackson Courtney. So far
all right. live at 107 Renwick street.
and that was the address on the en-
velope. though there was no street
or number written on the message.
The place from which 1t had been sent
was Hyperion, a city about an hours
ride from the one in which l lived.
My first impulse was to send the
message to the telegraph office with
the information that the operator had
made a mistake in sending it to me.
Then ! fell to wondering who was
Gwen and why she needed some other
fellow with my name. Singular that
the initials should be exactly the same
in both: Was it. after all, mistake?
/ thought hard for a few minutes.
then remembered n girl by the name of
Gwen ! had met at a summer resort
and with whom had had mild flirta-
ton.
i've a good mind to follow the
thing up" said to myself. and l did.
took the first train for Hyperion.
where. at the office from which the
message had been sent, learned the
address of the sender. Going to the
house, a very respectable residence on
a good street. and being admitted.
sent up my card, telling the maid TO
take it to Miss Gwendolin. Word
came back that Miss Darlington was
not able TO see me at present. but
hoped l would call again. The maid.
however. handed me sealed envelope
containing An admission ticket to the
opera. and on a bit of paper was writ
ten:
Box 6. This evening. Don't fan.
This was a trife more than had
bargained for. l was quite up to fac
ing young lady in her own house
and asking her why she had summon
ed me, but to accept a ticket to the
opera under false pretenses was quite
another matter. However, ! was in
for It. and to repay the obligation 1
dropped in at florists and sent Miss
Darlington a box of flowers. This re
lieved my conscience. Then l returned
home and during the afternoon put on
evening dress, dined early and went
back TO Hyperion. arriving at the
opera house before the curtain rose
took a seat In the parquet where |
could look up at box & and waited.
During the overture young lady, at
tended only by a maid. entered the
box and. throwing off her wraps. took
q seat where she was partly concealed
by n curtain. | saw her long enough
to assure me that / had never seen
her before.
tried hard during the first act to
screw up my courage to visit her in
her box. but failed. However. when
the curtain fell for the first time |
gathered sufficient nerve to face her.
a ] would offer the best excuse could
LOT NY dCllOu. EWING utl W uIl'l
stand that l had simply called on her
g to notify her that her telegram had
reached the wrong person. knocked
Mt the box door and heard musical
voice bid ne enter. The lady kept her
seat as | did SO, drawing the curtain
a little farther forward
'Mr. Courtney. presume?" she said
You could have Knocked me down
with a feather. certainly had not
counted on her not knowing the man
to whom she had sent the telegram. |
= had got ready with my excuses hut
they were not available Instead of
putting the lady right at once ! stood
stock stili. not knowing what TO say
9 So when she presumed that ! was Mr.
T Courtney | bowed an assent. and. not
caring to have an audience witness
what might occur. | took n vacant
chair behind the same curtain that
screened Miss Darlington. Before
could gather my wits to speak she
plunged into the subject that was on
n her mind.
q Maud has told me ALL" she said
& land has asked me to help her. say
ing she had notified You that she had
placed the management of the whole
affair In my hands. therefore tele
- graphed you that needed to confer
with you or words to that effect
preferred not to do so at the house
fearing some one would overhear or
> suspect and your and Mauds happi
ness might be wrecked"
Pardon me-
II beg OF you to let me 90 on The
plan propose is rather complicated
and shall have to submit It to You IL
detail that you may understand Il
that there may he no link in the chair
left out when It is put in operation"
DO permit me to say something t.
you or ! shall he placed in the dishon
orable position Of listening to secret!
that ! have no right to hear
What In the world do you mean?'
"A mistake has been made. | re
:eived your telegram. hut was not sur,
II was or was not for ne The nnIy
course that seemed 10 he open TO m
was TO answer your summons in pei
2 son and