Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1912-10-24
A
.Nen1lrllSCenCe
By DAVID Wal TER CHURCH


Gently and spent the evening in the
same house where / proposed to her,
she having inherited it. fell to mus
Ing, and Edith asked me what was
thinking about.
"A scene that occurred right here be.
fore this fireplace few months more
than q quarter of century ago"
THE lettersY
Eyes And that started me to mus
ing on the difference In our relat
between now and then, Do you re-
member all that racket about the re-
turn Of the letters after our disagree.
mentg"
Perfectly
And how long 1t took us to find a
way TO make the exchange? Well. |
don't remember ever to have confessed
TO you the cause Of my part of that
delay"
Nov is good time to do So"
when / look back and think of what
a man OF twenty-three can write to a
girl of nineteen It makes me shiver
even. now When we got into that
1 quarrel and / remembered that you
had a trunkful OF gush that / had writ
/ ten you
1T wasn't gush at ALL"
"Of course II wasn't gush then, and
between lovers, but If you could read
one Of those letters now in cold blood
st would make your hair curl 1t Ger
tainly would mine lust as soon as
the break came between us what had
written and the possibility of any one
other than you reading it filed me with
horror got wild about II right of.
imagining all sorts Of absurd happen
ings. became seized with a mad de
sire to get possession of those letters
And when | wrote for them and you
made some excuse delaying an eX.
change what do you suppose got into
my foolish noddleT
"What2"
why, it occurred to me that you
might sue me for breach OF promise or
do something horrible that would bring
out the letters TO the world"
Edith smiled What do you sup
/ post was my lHuoph LOl bGlog
Il can't imagine"
once before meeting you | wrote
a note to a man and afterward heard
of his showing it to one of his friends.
when thought of all | had written
you It flashed upon me that you might
do the same thing / was as anxious
to get my hands on my letters to you
as you were TO possess yours TO me-
And that's the reason" | replied,
you wrote me that gentleman would
consider himself bound to return a la
dy's letters ut once: the lady might
take her timef"
Edith smiled, but said nothing.
went on:
Then followed that stupid prop.
ostion OF mine that on a given day
each should express the others letters,
both agreeing and neither keeping the
agreement
Il didn't fail to keep mine for the
reason you suppose The package was
TOO heavy for me TO carry to the ex-
press office. and didn't like to have a
man call for them | knew the whole
household would laugh al me-"
Il didn't trust you to keep your agree
ment. | believed that If you got your
own letters might whistle for mine
ITO tell the truth | would have tax.
en- my time to return yours, though not
with any thought OF showing them,
| didn't like to give them up, / used
90 read myself to sleep with them"
Il didn't know they were fitted even
Cor that"
"And when the quarrel was on
cried over them"
do you remember how we agreed
TO make the exchange by leaving both
packages on a certain afternoon IN
clump Of bushes In the wood back OF
this house"
Yes. and l waited at rear window
for two hours to see you leave your
package, being ready to leave mine as
soon as you had done so"
"rhat was another failure.
what do you suppose was the req
son Of my proposition to bring my let.
tiers and make the exchange hereP
ITO make up, of course.
"Did that occur TO YOU thenT'
Il was sure Of IT, and / was delight
ed. had had enough Of the sport"
"But when | entered this room by
that door you were standing over there
and looked vindictiye enough to bite
my head or
You don't suppose was intending
70 make the 6rst adyauceT
but you needn't have looked so ter.
rlble"
"The only mention Of any reason for
your coming was 70 exchange the let
ters. when / saw you come in with
that great bale / wanted 70 laugh"
Il felt like a fool"
EDO you remember what broke the
spell that had been keeping US apart"
Yes; you were very becomingly
dressed and looked as pretty MS a
peach II didn't occur to me then that
II Won were still angry with me yea
would put on your most attractive
fnery for me, though know il nov.
/ said something about my regret and
you looked down al the door went
70 YOU, put my arm around you and
kissed YOU"