The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-07-10
BY MARIE GOLDEN.

NV Dear Mr.. Sidcot-Your letter was q
surprise to me. for had no idea that tne
feeling you entertained for me was OF the
nature which II expresses. VIII you Tor
give me IL 1 say that / am sorry1 am
not insensible to the honor you nave pal9
me: / prize your friendship highly and
trust that may retain II In spite OF Ine
fact that cannot become your wife. you
will thank me for II some day-When you
have found some girl more worthy OF you
for / am by no means the perfect crea-
ture you seem 10 imagine me. Be assured.
my dear Mr.. Sidcet. that have not mace
this decision without reflection and that
, having made II nothing can alter II. Your
'iue anu ''' ERNEsTINE DURY.
Having concluded this epistle, Miss
Dury read 1t over two or three times,
pensively chewing the end Of the fate
full pen.
She put on her hat and jacket,
walked briskly to the mail box at the
corner Of the street. dropped the let
ter therein and closed the slot with a
resounding slam.
"There!" she said.
Why she said It in that vindictive
way is just as much of mystery
as her bursting into tears when she
regained her room. Her sister heard
her sobbing five minutes later and
threatened to kick in a panel Of the
door and rouse the household II she
were not admitted.
"Well," asked the sister when Err
nestlne unlocked the door, whats all
this about?"
"Charlie wrote me proposal and
I've just written refusing him-and
mailed the letter." the girl gurgled be-
tween sobs.
"What are you boo-hooing about,
then, II you didn't want himT in
quired the sister. II thought you liked
him, though"
II do-oo-oo."
"Then why did you refuse him7"
II don't know. Oh, what shall I
do?"
The sister looked at her with con-
tempt stop the letter, silly
Ernestine Jumped from the bed, her
eyes shining. "Can IT she cried.
"why, of course, you can" replied
the sister. Here, you just battle your
eyes and I'll sneak down to the tele-
phone and call up the post Office"
She came back In a few minutes.
''It's all right" she said. "0nly you'll
have to go down to the post Office
yourself and sign an application. It's
in room twelve"
Miss Dury made her record time
dressing for a downtown trip. In room
II of the post office building she found
a nice, benevolent-looking old gentle
man, who asked her why she wanted
to stop the letter and then, plying
her confusion, gave her a blank to
sign and told her to make her mind
easy-that the letter would be
stopped.
Miss Dury departed greatly comfort
ed and on the way home began to out.
line another letter Of different tenor
The next morning she awaited the
arrival Of the postman with more than
ordinary eagerness and her heart sank
when she found that her letter was
not returned to her. Still, II might
come at noon. 1t did not, nor did II
come on the four o'clock delivery. She
was naturally worried, but after al
the great thing was that the letter
was stopped.
"Why, they won't return 1t to you
you big goose" said the sister. 'You
have to call for II. He told me that
SO early In the morning Miss Dury
made another trip to the post office
Her benevolent friend was not there
A young and businesslike official list
ened to what she had to say, Their
went away and returned with the In
formation that the letter had been for
warded on to its address.
II thought 1t was stopped" sh,
| cried.
ut was stopped" said the younl
man, crisply; stopped, held for TWEEN
ty-four hours. uncalled for, and for
warded. That's the rule. You shoul,
have called for It."
This time Miss Dury went hom
with duh despair at her heart. Sh,
remained in her room all day on tn,
plea of a headache.
At about eight O'Clock the mai,
raped at her door. 'Mr. Sidcot 4
downstairs, miss" she said.
Miss Dury got down somehow
Somehow 1t happened that withou
anything being said by either person
she found herself unresistingly in Mr.
Sidcot's embrace.
A long time after that she said
"But, Charlie, don't understand yet
You got that awful letter 1 wrote.
ayes" answered Sideot. 81 got 1
and for four hours I was the mos
miserable man on earth. II 1 hadn'
accidentally picked up the envelop
and examined it 1 should be STILL"
He took an envelope from his breas
pocket. The back Of it was decorate,
with large blue stamps One read:
STOPPED AT THE REQUEST OF
| SENDER.
The other:
| UNCALLED FOR. FORWARDED
NOVEMBER -. 1904.