The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-05-11
JOHNNY'S
VALENTINE
By ETHEL HOLMES

tance uoWn tho street was occupied \.
q new family, including a golden ~.
ed, blue eyed girl. with pink chssa
and vermilion lips, Johnnys h.ss
was quite taken away by her cbns.al
beauty.
Johnny treasured In his heart q A..
cious something for the girl onnoa sf
that he would reveal to no one leas. ~
all to the object of his alteration "
fearful was he that she would su.,.'
1t that, when he saw her comins -
the street. he would either looI, dor.
at his toes or up at the sky. but now.
at her.
The approach OF st. Valentines a..
was great relief to Johnny. He cons
send his little love valentino ~
pressing his feelings for her witbou,
her knowing that he did SO. The onl.
obstacle in the way was that he dw
not know her name and did not dan
ask any one who might know for fas,
Of betraying his secret. He was .,
intimate terms with the grocers del,y
cry boy, whom he had noticed delive,
ed supplies to both his and her homs
and asked him for the name of ths
family in which his sweetheart he.
longed. Through Jim he learned tho
girls name was Julia Reynolds.
Johnny now had 1t oil his own wsv
The next thing for him to do was n
buy a valentine. He found 1t difficut
to find one to suit him. but at last suc.
ceeded, carried it to his room and
locking the door, proceeded to address
1t to Miss Julia Reynolds of 357 Har
rison street, spelling Harrison H-a.rJ.
sen.
A terrible thing happened while
Johnny was taking the valentine to the
letter box. Just as he was about 10
drop the missive in the box who should
come along but the very girl to whom
1t was Addressed John blushed scar.
let and instead of putting the valentine
In the box put 1t In his pocket and
walked away, looking up at the sky,
1t was not till the evening, when dark.
ness covered his romance, that johnny
mailed his valentine In box mile
from his home.
Whether among the dozen valentines
John received there was one from the
girl he loved best he did not know
Soon after st. Valentines day, meeting
Julia coming from school, he mustered
courage to glance at her and thought
he saw a suspicion of a smile on her
pretty lips. But he dared not keen
his eyes on her long enough to make
sure This was the last time he saw
her as child. for soon after the meet.
ing he saw a doctors vehicle before
the Reynolds door and later heard that
his little love was i'll.
Johns anxiety overcame his bash
fulness. He gathered his loose change,
amounting to so cents, and bought
posy. Then he persuaded small boy
ne picked up near the Reynolds house
to take it to the door, ring the bell
and hand it In, saying that it was for
Julia. John stood behind a tree box
till the feat was accomplished, then
walked away, proud of what he had
achieved
A dozen years passed. John Walsh's
remembrance of his little love was
very pleasant one, and often he laugh
ed at his terror lest either the girl or
any one else should discover his secret
devotion. Being now a man he took
no interest In st. Valentines day, but
whenever 1t came round, though he
had forgotten the missive he had sent
Julia Reynolds, pleasant sensation
seemed to haunt him. AS to Julia, he
uld not know whether she was still liz
ing. Her image remained with him.
out as II seen in a mirror that had be-
come clouded Though his childish love
was thing of the past. neither it nor
its object was forgotten.
When John was twenty-five years
old he met at an evening function a
young lady, with whom he was from
the hrst en- rapport. They fell to COM
pairing notes and learned that they had
once lived in the same city and in the
same neighborhood.
John had been introduced to the
young lady as Miss Reynolds, and it
occurred to him that this might be his
child love. He asked her If her name
was Julia. and when she said yes he
was sure that she was the girl to
whom he had sent the valentine and
the posy when she was Ill. He had
overcome his boyish bashfulness and
was happy to avow that he had wor-
shlped her from a distance and had
sent her valentine and flowers. Miss
Reynolds listened to this with evident
pleasure. but gave no sign of remem-
perlng any such boy as John Walsh
John, whose assurance was now equal
TO his former modesty, swore that be
mad never forgotten his boyish love
ana intimated that he would gladly
pursue 1t as a man. Whether the
voung lady attributed this to gallantry
or not she did not, say.
Certain 1t is that there followed a
courtship between the two. In its last
stages John prided himself on his con-
stancy and feigned to regret that his
former devotion had not been appre-
ciated. Miss Reynolds made no reply
TO these prctestations till he had pro
Taaf" y n