Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-10
THE DAILY NOVELETTE,
VIA SPO
By Horfense CaldweH

ETHREE days after Marion Holt re
i turned home from the s%eashore, sh'
received a letter written in an unfamil'
Marion opened it eagerly and gave
the contents a hurried glance; lister
10 this. mother" she said as she UNI
folded the entire sheet.
My dear Miss Holt am ~anxiously
hoping you will not feel offended at my
writing you in this manner, but as !
expected you were to stay at Sea Crest
the remainder Of the summer, | was
counting on having an Introduction to
you sooner or later. When heard
that you la gone back to the city yes
not abiding by that old %proverb, don't
put off until tomorrow what you can
do today ! am at Sea Crest recuper-
ating, from a severe illness. and If you
able time I should be more than
delighted to hear from you. Sincerely.
TED NORTON
""Oh, mother, isn't that a nice letter.
Marion exclaimed as she laid it down
on the table.
shouldn't write to a stranger like that"
After more debating Marion finally
won her side Of the question n sat
IDENTIFY 1t had it's effect, as she received
another letter in due course of time.
After that they began to come regularly
once a week, and one Saturday she re-
ceived her letter from a training camp
some miles distant.
The weeks flew by, bringing Christ
mas and all its joys. Marion observed
it Py " sending thGsn w Ied h timi phbo toto RAJ n ana ana
turn. Their letters slowly became more
and more personal, telling each other
how their imaginations had pictured
them. As time went on the letters speed
aI fhiok and fa ct until at least "a yp1r
had rolled by. Ted was removed to an
other camp still further away and Mar
ion gave up all hopes Or ever seeing him
until peace had been declared.
one day a letter came telling Marion
he had been granted a furlough, OF
course, she lived on excitement until the
s 's%en, e "a So,S Mhen f R", f should had s deon he5
her to disappointment once more, as
on the morning of his appointed arrival
a telegram came TO the house. Fur
Marion tried her best to hide her dis
appointment, but her mothe- could read
Never mind. Marion" she said, com
fortingly; hell be home for good soon,
We hope"
That doesn't do any good now-this
very day" Marion said .despairingly.
In order to bear 1t better SHE sat
down and wrote Ted a long letter, tell
ing how disappointed she had beou
when that telegram had come. She
wrote on and on, writing things
she never would have dreamed of say
ing had he been sitting beside her. All
way at the end she related Some funny
letter, and then ended with the hope Of
seeing him soon.
Seven months more slipped by with
out so much AS a glimpse of Ted Nor
ton, and then one day the whole coun-
try was in an uproar of JOY. Agree
able terms had been found and HOSTILE
ties had ceased in the war-stricken
land.
The morning of the last day of the
last month OF the year dawned bright
and sunny. The telephone rang jerkily
and Marion ran to answer 1t before her
mother could reach it before her.
Hello. Miss Holt-Marion," a voice
said in a musical tone.
Hello. who is this speaking, please? %
Marion answered back.
This Is your very grateful friend,
one who Is too grateful to tell you over
the telephone. May l call this even
Certainly" she replied; I'm so glad
to hear from you"
After a few words he shut OFF and
Marion lost no tim in telling her
mother the joyful news. The anticipa-
ton had been very pleasant, but now
the time had come when she was really
to meet him. His voice sounded ike
a flute. mother" she added when she
had finished her story.
Promptly at s o'clock the bell rang
and a rather excited Marion went &c
answer the call. What she saw tina
night N the step did justice to hel
mental picture.
After that Ted was a frequent visito,
at the Holt house. much to the delight
Of all the family. One evening. thre,
weeks later Ted called at his usua
hour, but with a very different express
sion on his face. As he looked int,
Marion's eyes. he said: My dear
your letters We're like the angels them
selves sent down from above to chez
me when ] was away, l just know We
were made for each other-and In
going to prove it TO you" he added a!
he slipped a sparkling diamond on he
third finger. will you let me show
you. Marion dear?"
Marion smiled bewitchingly and CAV,
him her answer in that smile.
The next complete NOvelette-Aid il
Transcription.