The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-13
What Brought
Her Home
By ETHEL HOLMES

first few months after the wedding, he
had never been away from his wife for
more than a few days at time. But
after ten years living together there
came brief separation. They had not
been able to GO to the country during
the summers, for Johns income would
not admit of an outing But all of a
sudden his business sprang up, and
when August came around it was de-
cided that Mrs. Cook and the children
| had better spend few weeks in some
rural district where there was pure air.
John could not leave his business,
which was increasing every day. so he
packed them off without him.
| Mrs. Cook had exacted promise
! from her husband that he would write
every day. The first day after her de-
parture he kept his promise. He wrote
the following brief letter.
Dear Ellen-I hope you and the children
arrived safely. It's very hot here, but
| presume you are rejoicing in cool breezes.
dined in hurry last night at a restau-
| rant and went back to the office, where
| l remained till IL o'clock. l am obliged
| to work nights in order to keep up with
| the rush, so you see that haven't much
time to spend writing any letters that
| don't pertain to business. Ia ia. Kiss
| Tommy and Nellie for their
| AFFECTIONATE FATHER.
That" said Mrs. Cook, "looks as If
he were very busy and that the chill
dren are the only ones who can draw
from him any expression of affection"
| The next day Mrs. Cook looked for
] another letter from her husband, hop
ing that it would be signed your af-
fecti0nate husband" instead of "the
children's affectionate father" But to
her surprise no letter came, nor did she
receive one the day following or the
next or the next. 1t was not till a
week after the arrival of the first let
ter that another came. This one was
as overlooking with affection as the
first was devoid Of it. Its beginning
was as follows:
| Dearest Nell-It Is three days since l
have seen your dear face or kissed your
sweet lips 1t seems three years-no, not
| years, ages. II ever 1 get back to you l
| VOW l will never consent to be separated
from you again. Last night I wrote you
twelve pages which, presume, you have
by this time received and dgested. Yours
written yesterday Is here and have read
| 1t dozen times already. l woke up In
the middle Of the night and got up to read
It again.
Mrs. Cook had read thus far when
she stopped and shuddered. What did
this remarkable burst Of affection
mean? The newspapers had noted that
the thermometer in the city had hov-
cred around 90 degrees and the humid
ity varied between 80 and 100 degrees.
There had been many cases Of sun
stroke, and several persons had been
made insane by the heat. Gould 1t be
that her husband has been thus affect
ed?
The letter trembled in her hands as
she read on. Swimming over a lot
more Of this "incoherent nonsense" as
she called 1t, the letter closed:
With a million kisses. your own true
love, JACK.
What caused the greatest fear In
Mrs. Cooks breast was the fact that
there was not word about the chill
dren. In this epistle there was surely
no reason to be jealous Of them. But
If he had forgotten them his delirium
must surely be terrible. What should
she do-telegraph him to ask If he had
been sunstruck? That, of course,
would be absurd. She might inquire
Of others. but when she came to think
over her husbands intimate friends
she remembered every one of them
was out Of town. Besides supposing
there was nothing the matter with
John or suppose-she wilted at the
thought-that he had written another
woman while writing his wife and got
the letters in the wrong envelope? No.
Whatever she did she must keep the
matter from the world. There was but
: one thing for her to do-go home.
In an hour after this decision she
had left her children in care of the
landlady and taken a train. She ar
rived in the city before dark and drove
, directly to her house. She found the
front door Unmatched and entered The
table was set for dinner for one in the
dining room. She ran upstairs and
saw her husband I'm his bedroom tying
his cravat before a mirror. He turned
and looked at her In establishment.
Great heavens! What brought you
home? Anything the matter with the
. children
Mrs Cook. by this time convinced
. that the letter she had received had
, been written to another woman than
herself. drew it from her bag and
handed 1t to her husband. He looked
at 1t, and a singular. shamefaced ex-
preston appeared on his countenance.
"Who is the woman cried Mrs.
, John.
MY DEAR did this bring you homer
ut did,
, "Thank heaven!'
"What do you mean"
"Why, was so crowded with bust
ness that l have no time to write. !
found in your desk bundle Of my old
! letters to you, written when we were