The Press., 1913-04-09

flowers stamped on it. don't know the handwriting, and don't know any one at the place where it was post marked"
 'It seems to me" said Walter drear- fly, ''that the quickest way to find out about a letter is to open and read it. But that's something no woman would think of doing"
 of the postmafk was pfainer," con- tinued Ellen, without needing his sar- casm, 'I might make it out. It's San something or other, and Col. That must be Colorado
 Break 1t open!r cried Walter testify. You'll drive me crazy"
 She soothe1 him with kiss. then tore open the envelope. remarking at the same time that 1t was dirty enough to have gone around the world. It con- .tained q cheap looking valentine. and within the valentine was folded several thicknesses of newspaper. Ellen un- folded the newspaper and took out two $500 bills.
 For heavens saker' she exclaimed.
 Walter simply gaped at the bills.
 "What does it mean?" was Ellen's next comment.
 By this time her lovers curiosity was excited. With a trembling hand he took the valentine and the bills from her.
 "Why, these are old state bank bills." be said, wonderingly. Then. taking the envelope, he scrutinized it. This val entine was mailed in 1S50." he went on, land those letters are not Col: they are Cal. It's from San Francisco, Cal"
 Many a time Ellen Crane had heard her aunt tell about the valentine her lover was to send her, about which she was to make inquiry if 1t did not come and which it was supposed he had been cut off from sending by sickness and death. A flood of light burst in upon her. This was that valentine. It had been sent. but had been many years on the way. The happy girl did not wait to explain this to her lover. Holding the bills high up above her head, she danced around the room, crying:
 "Now we can restore the missing money"
 Later Browning went to the postoff1ce with the valentine and learned from the postmaster that d pOstoffice build ing had recently been pulled down on the line the valentine had travelled. and the letter had been found on the re- moval of n fixture behind which it had slipped. doubtless while being sorted. It was forwarded and fell into the hands not of the Ellen Crane to whom 1t had been written, but to her name sake and heir. who lived in the house 10 whi h it had been addressed.
 Ellen placed the bills fin Browning's han iS. Going to a money broker. he learned that though the banks that had issued the bills had gone out of ex- fS'ence. a fund had been put aside for payment of all demands against 1t. | Then Walter went to the bank that ! had issued inc bill he had lost and ex- chan"rd his money for one of its $1,O0O notes and with 1t made up the deficiency fer which he was respon- ! SibIe
 The act removed all suspicion, and | there was a happy wedding, made | happier by the great load taken off the shoulders of the contracting par ties.
 The 5000 was in time returned by the bank. One of the employees of the institution proved dishonest. and ong series of peculations was discov- cred. He confessed the stealing of the pill that Browning had lost On that occasion he was acting as paying teller n the next cage to Browning. When he latter's back was turned. seeing hat no one was looking in his direc- ion. he took out from a pocket in his ,oat slender piece of whalebone with hook on the end of 1t and, passing 1t through an opening in the grating that the cages. removed one of the bills lying on the counter
 This occurred shortly after Brown lng's marriage and caused so great reversal in the feeling toward Brown ing that the officers of the bank thought they should make some repa- ration to him for his misfortune. Be sides returning the $1,000 that he had made good, they created the office of assistant eas1Ier and gave him the po- Sition with large increase of salary.
 So his misfortune turned out to be a blessing in disguise. And it served him in more respects than one. It made him a far more careful man and extremely cautious in condemning oth- CTS under suspicion. He eventually became the president of a bank. and whenever a shortage occurred he in- protected the one suspected rom being unJustly condemned. For his alone he was much beloved by he employees.