The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1916-06-29
|. !O,'WllBE:C:All'',]Mll,|l|EIE L,
FAMOUS
D. sAsnARA.HlarPs

V1SaAreuthxAx9f w1eA seldom tAk.,
NBsSlhlk or eyerysSond1ieab due
some M~lldgnfbeant eausa am !
literary woman whose workSssar I Uni.
versally read. Il am married to . lit.
erary min whose works are Z drug In.
the market. And yet when I met him
he stood high with l~itterateurs. whileI
had not yet written a line. What was
the, tpsignidcant cause of this bonlever.
semeht? :.
l will tell you.
One summer-l was then twenty.
two years old got out my trunk to
pack it before going to the country to
spend a month at the Sacacachet inn.
Glenwood. The trunk was so dilapi.
dated that 4 dared not trust it in the
hands. Of baggage smashers. I could
not well afford a new one. but went
out to see what l could do in the mat.
ter. hit upon a secondhand trunk
too good to be called such, and bought
1t for a reasonable price. On one end
we're the letters 8. L o. Those were
not my initials. aud I directed the sell.
er to erase. them aud put mine there
instead. When the trunk was deliv.
cred to me he had neglected to do ~.
I had not time to send It back. so'took
It away with me as it was.
In the reading room I took up q city
newspaper. and my eye fell on notices
Of the movements Of celebrities. One
was as follows: Miss Sarah Louise
Olmstead is spending the month Of
July at the ~Sacacachet inn, at Glen
wood" Miss Olmstead was q novelist
Of reputation. I congratulated myself
that I would have an opportunity to
meet her. y
I. was sitting'o the hotel piazza In
the evening twilight when a gentle
man stepped up to me and. said defer.
entially:., a., -
Miss Olmstead, we scribblers, l pre-
sumo, do not need an introduction. l
am Sidney Hail. May I claim your
acquaintance? I have enjoyed your
works immensely and have felt that If
my especial line and yours could be
Joined we could do something remark.
able. I am fortunate in meeting you
here, and with your permission 1 will
explain what I have in mind"
While he was saying this a light was
breaking in on my dull brain. I had
been taken for the famous Miss Ohm
stead. At the same time a desire to
see If something interesting might not
come of the mistake, as we'll as curios-
fty, led me to ask Mr.. Hall what had
led to the discovery IF my identity. He
told me that my initials on the end of
my trunk had been observed and a
newspaper had announced my coming.
It was evident that. the real celebrity
had not arrived ors if she had, was In
cognita. ~.
Horned no plan with regard to per.
sonating Miss Oimstehd: l simply drift
ed into doing 81. She did not appear
to expose me, and it would not have
troubled me If sac had. for | permit.
ted Mr. Hall especially to continue in
error simply for a lark. 1 listened, to
his plans for collaboration betweenaus
with interest and was reckless enough
to assent to them. :"
He LETT the inn early the next morn.
ing, but during the evening l spent
with him he elaborated his scheme,
and I promised to devote myself dur
ing the next few days to laying down
a skeleton of the work he proposed.
The truth Is I was quite delighted with
his proposition and eager to see II l
could make any success Of my part
of it. r..
In a couple Of days l sent MI. Hall
the result of my labors, and he wrote
me that he was delighted with it. His
reply. addressed to Miss Olmstead, was
put in my, box by the hotel clerk. i
wrote my collaboraror that l would
continue my work. suggested that he
proceed with his part and as soon as
I returned to the city be might can, on
me and we would confer further.
OF course there must soon come m
end to all this. and in truth my reck
iessness in playing the part of another
soon began to wear on me and caused
an earlier return to the city than I had
expected. AS soon as l arrived I mott
fed Mr.. Hall. He came to. see me, anG
confessed to him that I was not Miss
Olmstead, ! was not a scribbler ani
knew nothing about writing fiction
He looked at me-. dumfounded anC
tncredulous. for a few moments, ther
said:
"Whoever and whatever you are
you have laid down a scheme for