Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1912-02-10
FATE OF A VALENTINE

In the pleasures of the following
days, the whole affair passed from the
minds of the Others, but Mollie could
not forget so quickly, and she often
found herself bordering with flushed
cheeks and bated breath over the fate
Of th\t innocent looking bit of paper.
To add to her distress, she recalled
the fact that the paper was stamped
with her city address, so her identity
was fully established should any one
desire to take any notice of the oe-
currence.
Meantime, what had become of the
leap year valentine? On that eventful
morning, Sydney Reynolds, a sober, Sc
date gentleman of twice Mollie's years,
was pacing slowly through a street
near the hotel where Mollie was stay
ing, A confirmed old bachelor, his
acquaintance called him. lear after
year he had come to this delightful
Florida resort for the winter. AS he
walked quietly along on that thir-
| teenth morning of February something
struck him sharply in the face. dis
| arranging his glasses, and with one
| hand he caught the offending missile
while the other was busy with hat
and glasses. When he realized the
| nature Of the attack, his first impulse
was to crush the paper and cast ii
aside, but something stayed his hand
so he walked on reading the letter,
and was much amused over its con
tents.
Some time 1 may meet it's author"
| he unused, and be able to restore her
! property"
| Time however, does not stop for
| valentines, and spring took the north
| ern travellers to their respective homes.
, If found MOlIia Sinclair. asta b1iSo IN,
! Chicago, while her leap year prosopal
was safely lodged in the desk Of Mi.
1 Reynolds at Cleveland. In the Whirl
/ of society life the entire episode had
( become a faint memory to Mollie, and
/ the valentine itself was equally for
| gotten by its owner, when a favorite
/ nephew and namesake came to Cleve-
| land to visit his Uncle Sydney. Occas-
ion sent him to his uncle's desk, where
| in search of some needed documents,
| he espied Mollie's letter.
| Jokingly he called out to his uncle:
| Well, Uncle sgd, I'd never suspect
you of a hidden romance; but how
on earth do you know MOlhe Sin
/ clair?"
Then the whole story came out and
| the uncle finished with an inquiry as
/ to whether his nephew knew the lady
| in question.
ITO be sure I do laughed Sydney
! the younger. I've been great friends
with Mollie since babyhood. May
| have the letter? I'll return it to her
before the year is closed and claim
| my reward"
So after many days the valentine
returned to Mollie, whose relief was
great when she heard the history of
the recreant note.
I'm glad to get it, Sydney she
said. "Of course you will understand
it was written for fun, and did not
mean anything"
Make it mean something, Mollie
I am not Algernon, but perhaps III
| do for a substitute. and leap year is
almost gone. I'm sure it is your last
chance, and 1 have loved you for Sc
| long
Mollie was not hard to convince that
she cared more for Sydney tnan all
others, and no one ever knew that she
made the proposal Their friends al
| ways wondered why leap year was such
a joke in the family, and the stray
| valentine was kept hidden away as q
happy souvenir of Mollie's Florida win
ter.
AN IDLER.