The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-05-26
MYSTERIOUS ROMANCE
BY A. w. BEER.

NAs vase III tuo 0OClety 1Of
Psychical Research and have washed
my hands Of It. But though to be sure
hlmy enough object, the handker.
chief. with the initials Il. B. M"
daintily embroidered in one corner.
was Of tangible nature, and in no
way to be fitted into any theory Of
spooks.
And yet the whole thing was absurd
on the face Of it. No doubt the simple
explanation was that the fever which
had possessed my body for many weary
weeks still dominated my brain.
Wearying at length of the problem, I
placed the delicate bit of cambria and
lace beneath my pillow and again re-
signed myself to sleep.
A year later was in California, o..
tensibly on a vacation, but also with a
view Of absorbing color for a novel
Of pioneer days which was planning
to write.
l was at dinner one evening in San
Francisco with my friend Maxf1eld, a
newspaper man, when l caught sight Of
familiar face at one Of the restaurant
tables.
That's sigular!" exclaimed pres.
emily.
What's singular" queried Maxfleld.
III you have reference to the fair
creature at whom you are gazing so
intently, may say that while she is
certainly single, l do not know that
she Is looked upon as singular"
The fact is" returned, that for
the moment l imagined that / had met
the young woman somewhere before,
but am probably mistaken"
you've seen her portrait in some Of
the literary papers, perhaps" suggest.
ed Maxfleld. THAT'S Enid B. Merry.
weather, who is coming to the front as /
q writer Of some rather fetching
verse;"
Enid B. Merryweather!" said I.
Then her initials are e. B. M"
Correct" replied Maxwell. "You
got 1t right the very first time. But
why get so excited over a bunch of
nitials?"
"Maxf1eld," retorted, you ought to
znow that the facetious is not your
inc, so why attempt it? What I'd
ike to know is whether or not you
lave the honor of Miss Merryweath.
RS acquaintance; If so, l want you
o present me-"
Nothing easier, old man." he re-
lied promptly.
There are some persons one meets
o whom an introduction seems almost
uperfluous. You somehow feel that
ou have know them always.
Thus 1t was with Enid and me. We
net, not as stranger, but as old
riends who for a time had been sepa.
ated in body, but never in spirit.
But one evening Enid said:
do you know that | worried about
GU a great deal when you were i'll
lst winter"
Foolish girl" replied. "You had
ever met me-"
And yet l seem always to have !
nown YOU" she murmured.
Enid" said presently, there is
queer want to tell you in
onnection with that illness Of mine.
seems utterly unreasonable, but 8
lere are some things beyond our un.
II had been dwelling for weeks In a G
range, fantastic world, when one .
IghtL awoke calm and rational, and l i
Nv bending over me one who seem.
the very embodiment Of my hearts a
ssire. I closed my eyes again for a t
'cond, doubling the reality of what l b
Nv, and when opened them again
10 lovely vision had faded. !,
II can't explain it, but it was you
no came to me that night; and. more o
still. here is the proof" a
ok from over my heart the handker.
lief which had found resting n
Chilly on the counterpart after the h
of my mysterious visi.
r. e
She took the handkerchief and ex. h
mined It. I
Eyes, 1t is mine' she said presently. k
nd then she added:
las a writer of romances you would fl
'rhaps prefer the story left as 1t is, 81
It l feel bound to tell you just how Of
Is handkerchief came into your h
lnds.
Il don't know" she continued, how m
why you came to occupy so much In
my thoughts. when knew you only
rough your books. but nevertheless h,
oh was the case. to
When last winter It was reported h,
at your life was despaired of, l could E
t rest. Some of my friends guessed W
Y secret and rallied me accordingly.
rave out that intended visiting Los SC
lgeles for few weeks. but instead
doing so went on by the southern til
ute to New York. VI
Il knew that the physician who con. he
cted the sanitarium in which you ca
re undergoing treatment, DR.. Star. IT
ook had been an old friend Of nv IL
hers, and upon arriving In New do
rk made myself known to him.
d him that you were very dear IA
end, but that for personal reasons br