The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-05-02
ALAS Al. /. FOR ROMANCE
CT With the Mistress and On
With the cook, Said the
Soldier Hero.
81 JOHN PHILIP ORTIZ.

81 JOHN PHILIP ORTIZ.
The roses we're blooming. the birds
singing, and the brook at the back
end Of the Traver's property was bab-
bling away like child JUST beginning
% talk.
1t was just the day for young girl
who hadn't anything particular to do.
and who wanted to wonder what fu'
ture years would bring her, to walk
Town to the brook and dump herself
down in a heap in shady spot.
Further up the brook. on other land.
there had been q children's picnic the
day before, and they had left the u.s.
ual scatterings behind them. A part
Of newspaper was slowly making its
way over the grass under the motive
power of the light breeze. Its course
was cratic, and it had many a resting
spell, but it was finally blown almost
into the girls lap.
Miss 1one's careless glance rested
on the fragment for moment. and
then she gave a start of surprise and
reached for It. She had read In bold.
faced letters:
"Greatest knock-down sale Of cor
sets ever held in North America since
Columbus discovered it,"
There was nothing romantic about
that. But that fragment OF yellow
Journal wasn't blown at a maiden 8
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
md the mysterious disappearance OF
the forelady and the shipping clerk.
who may have died for love. we find
it necessary to dispose of our large
and mellow stock Of corsets.
i "Corsets from SIS to 5000, according
! to the settings We propose to dump
them into one grand heap as large as
; a barn and give you your pick Of the
lot for just s.. Sale begins Monday
morning. There will be fierce rush
! Come early"
No romance yet. but Miss lone
needed corset. and she would be at
that sale If alive. She would also cap.
ture a 5000 one and defend it against
other women with her life. She
breathed hard as she thought Of the
struggle to get through the mob OF
factory girls and wires 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 lonesome post In the far west
wishes to correspond with some
bright, educated young lady in the
east. A sympathetic one preferred
have neither mother nor sister. and
long for cheering words. Am in hos
pital just at present after a fight with
the Indians"
The sympathetic girl was told tc
address Claude NJ. DuPrey at a Ger
tain western fort, and there were
! tears in Miss lone.sse9es as she fin.
! ished reading.
The advertiser was an officer. OF
course-perhapss 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, If not?
| And there he was lying and suffer
ing untold agonies, and there was nc
| mother-no sister--.to write him how
sorry she was and hope he would
soon be around again.
It was positively shameful of thu
! government not to furnish it's brave
heroes in blue with mothers and sis
tiers. and she would ask her father
who had a political pull. to see abou,
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 sympathetic letter tc
reach him, with I'm Haste" writer
on the envelope in a bold hand. With
in two hours the letter was in the
mail box.
1t was a letter to cheer a man tina,
had been shot In the leg by a wicked
Filipino, and was being fed cornmea]
Cruel by heartless hospital nurse
No doubt it did cheer him, for he re-
turned his grateful thanks at once
and the romance may be said to have
fairly begun.
For weeks and months 1t was Dear
! Colonel" and Dear Friend" The let.
ters were brotherly. They were 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 symoa.
:hetic, they grew more loving. That
was to be expected. They grew SO
loving that the little heroine wrote
that II she truly loved a man she
would marry him if he had a wooden
leg. Her colonel had never told her
hat he had been wounded in the Lex,
but woman's intuition can always be
trusted. And the brave man did not