Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1912-11-21

sena0s sfIh0ossss vhlsA Censseo
hAa Rsosiozet-
II 10 cif.cri. for ne 70 convey tbs
nos. mezxer l6ez Of the emotional IN
esence -hseh these two brief com
ngnicztions e1ertec They seemed 10
breathe = grim spirit Of implacsoh
Senes.s far In excess Of anything TO
be found In the euphemism OF the
written words.
When I had finished the reading OF
them aloud. Cameron. leaning far back
In his chair. sat silently thoughtfui.
lis eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
BIZ, n1ed apparently upon the ligh"
behind me. And so. reluctant 20 inter
rup. lis revere. started 10 read
them thr1ugh again slowly. this time
20 nyS<s. fixing each sentence indef
! ibly In mind ss ! proceeded. But be-
fore had quite come to the end. my
npznion vas speaking.
-wellf be said And the light
cheerinsas Of bis tone was not only tn
marked contrast with his grave ab-
( sorytion q, a rnomen, before. but In
Earring discord with my own present
mood Well? What do you make OF
;hemr~
Ny annoyance found voice in my re-
sponse
Cameron" begged. for Gods
sake be serious This doesn't seem
10 ne exactly matter TO be merry
over. don't want 10 alarm you. but
somehow feel that these" and /
shook the cracking. wax-like sheets,
-th.' these cannot be utterly ignored
Dut they are anonymous" he re-
tortet. no, unjustly. Anonymous
letters should be burned and forgot.
ten"
There are Anonymous letters and
anonymous letters" / gave him back.
in turn. These are Of an unusually
convincing character. Besides. they
-" And then | paused. wished TO
tell him OF that elusive encompass
ment OF sinister portent which had SO
Impressed me; Of that malign forebod.
Ing beyond anything warranted by the
words; but ! stumbled in the effort at
expression. Besides" ! started again.
look and the feel Of them"
And now he was as serious a.
could wish.
"Ah," he cried, leaning forward
again and reaching for the letters.
You have experienced IL. too. And
you can't explain It. any more than I?
II Is something that grips you when
you read. like an icy hand. hard az
steel. in a glove Of velvet. It's al
ways between the lines. reaching out.
and nothing you can do will stay It.
thought at first ! Imagined IL, but
the of'ener ! have read. the more
have felt its clutch. The letters Of
themselves are nothing. What do you
suppose ! care for yelled threats OF
that sort? I'm big enough TO take
care Of myself. Clyde. I've met peril
in about every possible guise. In every
part OF the world. and I've never real
ly known fear. But this-this is diff.
ferent. And the worst Of it is, don't
know why. ! can't for the life OF me
make out what II Is I'm afraid Of"
He had gone very pale. and his
strong. capable hands, which toyed
with the two letters, quivered and
twitched in excess OF nervous tension
Then, with finger pointing to the
ink-stain at the bottom Of one OF the
sheets, he asked:
What does that look like to you?"
took the letter from him, and
scrutinizing the rude figure with con.
centrated attention for a moment, ven
tured the suggestion that It somewha,
resembled a boat.
"A one-masted vessel. square.
rigged." he added, in elucidation.
Exactly"
Now turn II upside down"
did SO.
Now what do you see?"
"The head Of a man wearing a hel
met" The resemblance was very
marked.
"A straw helmet. apparently" he
amplifed, such as Ia worn In the
Orient. And yet the profile is not tha,
OF an Oriental. Now. look at your yes
sci again" And once more reversed
the sheet Of paper
Can It be Chinese junk?" I asked
1T might be a sailing proa or ban
ca" he returned, such as they use IL
the South Pacific But whatever 1t is
can't understand what 1t has to dc
! with me or I with IT,"
was still studying the black daub
when he said:
But you haven't told me about the
! handwriting. What can you read oi
the character OF the writer?"
Nothing" ! answered, prom ptly