The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-08-13

from the district school trustees ex-
actly a week previous. The name OF
her new post Of duty was Fairville.
Hawkins picked up a piece OF addi-
tional information that spurred him
on magically A young lady, stran-
ger, had visited the school teacher at
Ferndale the day she left for her new
school charge. In fact they had gone
away together.
Miss Markley," decided Hawkins
promptly I'm on the right trail"
But when he arrived at Fairville he
found himself mistaken. Miss Doug
las had arrived there week previous,
had delivered her credentials and was
teaching at little corner schoolhouse
four miles from town. She had come
to Fairville alone. Every morning the
hired man OF the house where she
boarded drove her to her post Of duty
and every afternoon back home.
We'll, my only play is to get ac-
quainted with the school teacher" de-
cided Hawkins, watch her and try to
find out where the heiress has gone"
Pursuant to this plan Hawkins
strolled down towards the little red
schoolhouse the following day. About
two miles progressed, he was merged
into an incident Of unusual excitement.
A buggy came tearing down the road
The driver, a man, was thrown out as
the animal attached to it swung
around a sharp curve in the highway
The other occupant, young lady,
shrank back in the seat terrified and
helpless.
Hawkins did his duty At some risk
he halted the runaway. OF course he
was thanked, and Of course this led to
Just what he hoped--a close acquain-
lance with the grateful attractive
School marm."
In the course Of few days the cub
reporter made a momentous discov-
cry. He was in love- Every evening
he was with his charming new ac-
quaintance and her eyes frightened at
his coming. Love seemed to daunt his
journalistic ardor. He cared little
now whether, he ever discovered the
missing heiress or not. His manliness,
however, made him vince when he
analysed his former motives in trac-
Ing down Miss Douglas. Hawkins
looked pretty serious one evening as
ne said to her:
Miss Douglas, have a confession
to make. | have learned to love you.
And | am a cad-that's right, and
deserve no consideration from you.
came here to wilfully sneak into your
confidence, to lure you to betray a
dear friend l deserve to be punished,
and | suppose when you hear what a
villain was you will tell me to go.
All right, I'll be man and confess the
truth" and he blurted out his story.
Miss Douglas regarded him with
startled wonder-filled eyes. They did
not lose their softness, however. The
poor ingenious fellow was SO earnest,
SO pathetic so contrite.
And you really care for me-a poor
homeless schoolteacher?" she muir
INJURED.
Il shall never love anybody else"
declared Hawkins. Say you forgive
me! Say that after am gone away
you won't quite think me the wretched
sneak l have been"
why go away?' asked Mary naive
ly. why, you never asked me
word about Miss Marley"
mo, was too ashamed to think OF
such thing"
i certainly forgive you" said Mary
with fond smile. Now for my con-
fession: l am not Mary Douglas, but
Evelyn Markley,"
Hawkins was thunderstruck He
listened like one in a dream as the
young lady told how her tired out
friend had been sent by her on pleas
ure journey, how she herself had
sought a quiet humble life, where she
could be with nature and real friends.
There was a quiet marriage Haw-
kins did not write up the finding Of
the missing hciress. He simply sent
to the Eagle the wedding cards and a
fellow-reporter made full column OF
the mystery that had turned out to be
q first-class romance.
(roDyrirbt 1914 b,. W - Nbopp,opN