Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1913-03-20
ALAS FOR ROMANCE
Off With the Mistress and On
With the Cook, Said the
Soldier Hero.
BY JOHN PHILIP ORTIZ.

singing, and the brook at the back
end Of the Traver's property was bab-
bling away like a child just beginning
10 talk.
1t was Just the day for a young girl
who hadn't anything particular to do,
and who wanted to wonder what fu-
ture years would bring her, to walk
down to the brook and dump herself
down in a heap in a shady spot.
Further up the brook, on other land,
there had been a children's picnic the
day before. and they had left the US
ual s~catterings behind them. A part
Of a newspaper was slowly making its
way owe the grass under the motive
power of the light breeze. It's course
was %erratic, and 1t had many a resting
spell, but it was finally blown almost
into the girls lap.
Miss Ione's careless glance rested
on the fragment for a moment, and
then she gave a start Of surprise and
reached for 1t. She had read In bold
faced letters:
Greatest ~knock-down sale OF cor
sets aver held in North America since
Columbus discovered it,"
There was nothing romantic about
that. But that fragment Of a yellow
journal wasn't blown at a maiden's
feet for bluff. Miss lone read furth-
er:
owing to the sudden deaths of the
six partners of this firm (all died hap
py), the elopement of the ~bookkeeper
and the mysterious disappearance of
the forelady and the shipping clerk.
who may have died for love, we find
1t necessary to dispose of our large
and mellow stock of corsets.
"Corsets from IS to 5000, according
to the settings. We propose to dump
them into one grand heap 10 large as
q barn and give you your pick Of the
lot for just 81. Sale begins Monday
morning. There will be a fierce rush.
Come early"
No romance yet, but Miss lone
needed a corset, and she would be at
that sale II alive. She would also cap
ture a 5000 one and defend 1t against
other women with her life. She
breathed hard as she thought Of the
struggle to get through the mob Of
factory girls and wives Of millionaires,
and while so doing she unconsciously
turned the paper over in her hands.
All, the romance at last:
Correspondent Wanted. A soldier
at a lonesome post in the far west
wishes to correspond with some
bright, educated young lady in the
east. A sympathetic one preferred.
I have neither mother nor sister, and
long for cheering words. Am In hos
pitaf just at present after a fight with
the Indians"
The sympathetic girl was told to
address Claude NJ. DuPrey at a GER
tain western fort, and there were
tears in Miss Ione's eyes as she fin.
lshed reading.
The advertiser was an officer. Of
course-perhaps a colonel. He had
gone bravely forth to do battle with
the savage redskins, and had been
wounded. He didn't say he had, but
why in the hospital, II not?
And there he was lying and suffer
ing untold agonies, and there was no
mother-no sister-to write him how
sorry she was and hope he would
soon be around again.
1t was positively shameful of the
government not to furnish its brave
heroes in blue with mothers and sis
fers, and she would ask her father,
who had a political pull, to see about
It.
Write to the lonesome, wounded,
suffering colonel? OF course she
would. Next month or week? No,
sir-right away within the hour. He
wasn't going to suffer any longer than
Is would take a sympathetic letter to
reach him, with I'm Haste" written
on the envelope in a bold hand. With
In two hours the letter was In the
mail box.
It was a letter to cheer a man that
had beer shot in the leg by a wicked
Filipino, and was being fed cornmeal
Cruel by a heartless hospital nurse.
No doubt 1t did cheer him, for he re-
turned his grateful thanks at once.
and the may be said to have
fairly begun.
For weeks and months It vas Dear
Colonel and Dear Friend" The let.
tiers were b%rotherly. They we're also
sisterly. They referred to lawn par
ties and golf in the east, and to the
snakes and 'skeeters In the wild island
which Uncle Sam chased the Spanish
from, and then paid them twenty
million dollars for going.
As the letters grew more sympa-
thetic, they grew more loving. That
was to be expected; They grew so
loving that the little heroine wrote
that IL she truly loved a man she
would marry him II he had a wooden
leg. Her colonel had never told her
that he had been wounded in the leg,
hut woman's intuition a always be
trusted. And the brave a did not
admit that he was "corking" It
around and giving his absent leg an
extension of furlough. After a year
he wrote that he was about to leave
il. - 80 nm aaat a-l l.. -.z-II