Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-03-17

ed at the tailor's name at the back |
of the neck. The name of the maker /
was Italian, and the place was Flor /
ence, Italy.
] had been in Italy and in Florence /
during the previous autumn and re-
membered having attended a ball Civ |
en- at the palazzio of an American &C
quaintance of mine who had married
an Italian prince. ! had gone from
the ball TO my hotel. changed my even
ing dress for travelling suit and, since
/ was going westward. laid my light
overcoat which / had worn to the ball
in my trunk and had taken out heRv-
fer one. Having arranged my dress
and my baggage. ! had called cab
and been driven to the station.
All this l recalled as | stood looking
at the name Of the tailor sewed to the
coat Having gone thus far, proceeded
with my mental investigation. A large
room at the palaZZio had been assign
ed the men guests at the ball for
hat and coat room, the hats and coats
being laid all over the furniture and
on the floor. l could not remember
where ! had placed my coat except that
it had been left somewhere in the
room. 1t was evident that on leaving
the ball had taken some other mans
coat, had worn it TO my hotel and
thrown it i'm my trunk and from that
time till now | had not seen 1t.
NV next move was TO examine the
letters with a view to their return.
They were all written in the Italian
language Not one was contained in
an envelope. Not one bore an address
or was signed except with a single let
ter l.. / regard the correspondence of
other persons sacred and hesitated
about going further But what could
! do? | must return the letters TO the
writer. and. since there was neither
+ signature nor address. / could not do so
without looking further for infOrma-
/ ton.
| ! opened one. The writer began the
epistle without the usual Dear -"
/ I read few sentences. but gathered
no information Nevertheless in those
few sentences ! recognized n woman
of the most refined grade Without
realizing that | was pryinC into the
secrets of others read on till came
10 the end But | had learned moth
ing to aid me in a return of the let
ters.
They were written by n girl to a man
who loved or protested to love her.
but whom she did not love. Her OBJ
ject throughout was TO turn him away
so gently that be would not be hurt
or would be able the better to give her
up. But had they been written to me
by woman loved for SUCH a purpose
they would have made me the more
wild to possess her One definite bit
of information / gained from them.
In the last letter written she told her
correspondent to bring her letters 10
the princess ball and watch for an
opportunity to hand them to her IN
observed.
My theory was that be had taken
them there and left them in the pocket
Of his coat in the mems dressing room
/ had left the ball before he had taken
them from the dressing room and had
taken bis coat by mistake. Why he
had left them in bis pocket so long
could not conjecture unless be was
pleading with the writer to be permit
ted to retain them.
Who knows of the romances. thu
dramas that are being enacted about
him? Months before, amid a brillian
assemblsge. doubtless this lover haC
been pleading a desperate cause witt
the girl be loved. have seen them
I may have taken the girls hand Will,
she danced in the same set with me
may have known and talked witt
her. But / had had bit Of a romano
Of my own that evening My frient
the hostess had some time before in
vIted me to dinner. and the lady tool
= into the dining room had Impressed N
D delightfully."- She spoke very little Eng
e lish and / very little Italian. but tn
difficulty OF communicating added yes
: to our chat. This young lady / me
1 often during my stay 10 Florence. am
= during the ball ! was devoted to her
] Indeed, had | remained longer in Ital!