Connecticut western news., 1922-08-31
CHAPTER II
Who Is Alan Conrad?

-s... Who Is Alan Conrad?
 The recipient of the letter which Benjamin Corvet had written and later so excitedly attempted to re- cover, was asking himself a question question which Constance Sherrill had asked. He was the second morning later, waiting for the first of the two daily eastbQund trains which stopped at the little Kansas town of Blue Rapids which he called home. AS long as he could look back>into his life, the question, who is this person they call Alan Conrad, and what am I to the man who writes from Chicago, had been the paramount enigma of exist ence for him. Since he was now twenty-three, as nearly as he had been able to approximate it, and as distinct recollection of isolated, extraordinary events went back to the time when he was five, it was quite eighteen years since he had first noticed the question put to the people who had him in charge: "So this is little Alan Con- rad. Who Is he?" =.
 * Following the arrival of certain letters, which were distinguished from most others arriving at the house by. having no ink writing on the envelope but just sort of purple or black printing like newspapers, Alan in- variably received a dollar to spend just as he liked. ITO be sure, unless ''papa" took him to town, there was nothing for him to spend it upon; so, likely enough, it went into the square iron bank, of which the. key was lost i; but quite often he did spend 1t ac- cording to plans agreed upon among all his friends and, in memory of these occasions and in anticipation of the next, "Alan's dollar" became com munity institution among the children.
 "Who gives 1t to you, Alan?" was a question more often asked, as time went on. The only answer Alan could give was, Tt comes from Chicago" The post-mark on the envelope, Alan noticed, was always Chicago; that was all he ever could find out about his dollar. He was about ten years old when, for a reason as inexplicable as the dollars coming, the letters with the typewriter addresses and the en- closed money ceased.
 Except for the loss of the dollar at the end of every second month-a loss much discussed by all the children and not accepted as permanent till more than two years. had passed Alan felt no immediate results from the cessation of the letters from Chicago. Papa and mama felt them when the farm had to be given up, and the family moved to the town, and papa went to work in the wooden mill beside the river.
 Papa and mama, at first surprised and dismayed by the stopping of the letters still clung to the hope of the familiar, ypewriter-addressed en- velope appearing again; but when after two years, no more money came resentment which had been steadily sent the money began to turn against Alan; and his parents" told him all they knew about him.
 In 1896 they had noticed an adver tisement for persons to care for 6 child; they had answered 1t to ttt office of the newspaper which printed it. In response to the letter a mar called upon them and, after seeing them and going around to see theil friends, had made arrangements witf them to take boy of three, who wal in good health and came of gooC people. He paid in advance board fol year and agreed to send a certain amount every two months after that time. The man brought the boy whom he called Alan Conrad, and lef him. For seven years the noney agreed upon came; now 1t had ceased and papa had no way of finding the man-the name given by him appeared to be fictitious, and he had left nC address except general delivery, Chi cago"-Papa knew nothing more thar that. He had advertised in the Chi cago papers after the money stopped coming, and he had communicated with every one named Conrad in ol near Chicago, but he had learned noth ing. Thus at the age of thirteen Alan definitely knew that what he already had guessed-the fact that he belonged somewhere else than in the little brown. house-was all that any one there could tell him; and the knowledge. gave persistence to many