The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-12-18
A Package Of
Letters
By RYLAND BELL

One cold, clustering day In NOvem
Der | took my winter overcoat out OF
the bag where it had been placed the
autumn before to put 1t In commission
for the winter. ! rammed my right
hand down into the p~ockets-why l
know not-and felt kid. Taking it out.
l found a pair of No. = lady's gloves.
There was a slight Odor of perfume
about them that the odor of moth balls
had not entirely destroyed. But per-
haps this was imagination.
Thinking that l might have some
one else's coat, l looked at the makers
name. 1t was that of my tailor. There
was no such mistake. Perhaps there
might be something else in the coat. l
put my hand into the other pocket and
pulled out a bunch OF letters. They
were not in envelopes. so I got no ad-
dress.
l put on my thinking cap to try to
call up some reason for these articles
' being in my Overcoat pocket. Where
had l been when spring was coming
on? l had zone on Il trip to the Pana-
ma canal. | had taken the overcoat
with me. using it for the first few days.
! During the hOmeWard voyage l had
noticed a young lady travelling with
her mother and a young man who was
attentive to her. The girl | admired;
J to the man l took a dislike. On tho
evening before our arrival at New
York l was seated near this couple.
The wind was chilly. and | wore ny
O%vercoat. Wishing to smoke. | wc:;t
below for Il cigar. leaving my coa on
q steamer chair. Meeting !; friend. i
consented to go with lli?l to the s.nOk-
ing room. remained there til all had
turned in. then. remembering my over
coat, wen on deck for it and founl it
in the chair where | had left ii.
My solution was this: The girl neal
whom l had been sitting, feeling chilly,
had put on my coat or thrown it over
her. The fellow was a lover and had
been dismissed. The girls letters had
been returned. and she had slipped
them temporarily in the coat pocket.
Having the gloves in her hand. she
slipped them in the other pocket.
There were doubtless defects in this
hypothesis, but it was the best l could
form. 1t was supported by the fact
that l had seen the lady go ashore
and the man was not with her.
l had envied him on the ship and
wished that l was in his place. for
there was something in the girls ap-
pearance that appealed to me. l felt
that it would be very easy for me to
fall in love with her. Now that
had property of hers in my possession.
If l could find her. it's return would
serve Cor an introduction. But I was
between two stools. l could only hope
to find a clew to her whereabouts
by reading the letters, which I had no
right to do. If l did not read them l
must remain ignorant as to who she
was. read a few of them; but, gain
ing nothing. I refrained from proceed
ing further.
A year passed. during which l
thought a great deal about the girl of
the gloves. as l called her, but did not
meet her. Then one winter while ut
st. Augustine, Fla. ~strolling past a
group on the beach, in one Of them l
recognized her. She did not notice
me, and l walked Oh, but remained
on the beach till her party left it and
l saw them 60 to a hotel. The same
evening I betook myself to the same
hostelry. l watched for an opportu-
nifty to catch her alone and was re-
warded n morning by seeing her sit
ting on the hotel porch. Approaching
her uncovered, I addressed her:
Il beg your pardon. but did you not
visit the Panama canal about a year
ago.?
81 did," she replied, looking at me
as she would at any intruder who was
trying to force an acquaintance.
"And did you not n evening tempo
rarily appropriate an o%vercoat lying on
a steamer chair beside you to protect
you from the night air?"
Il did"
Then | presume these gloves be-
long to you"
l handed her her gloves. She took
them and examined them. then said.
II XIV - vi ttSSC
gloves"
That is not remarkable. since it is
Il year and Il half since you put them
in my Overcoat pocket. Perhaps this
package holding up the letters
may stimulate your memory"
What is it," she asked coldly. |
withdrew into my shell.
II think l must have made a mis-
take in the person." l said, putting the
package into my pocket. and was about
to walk away when she called to me:
excuse me. but l mislaid a package
of letters about that time"
Love letters?"
Have you read them"'
'Only two or three in order to dis
cover a clew to the ownership that I
might return them"
Her manner changed. She remem-
bered appropriating my coat. but it
hod novor ooc,1rrod m hor that Sho