The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-03-04
CHAPTER u
Who Is Alan Conrad?

Who Is Alan Conrad?
The recipient Of the letter which
Beniamiu cOrvet had written ana
later SO excitelly attempted t" re-
cover. was asking himself a question
which was almost the same as the
question which Constance Sheriff. had
asked. He was, the SECOND morning
Iater. waiting for the first of the two
daily eusfbo,lnd trains which stopped
mt 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 l ~
the man who writes from Chicago. hal
been the paramount enigma "f exist
clcp fer him. Since lie WAS now
iwenty-three. as nearly as he had been
abb" TO approximate it. and as distinct
recollection of isoIutp,l. extraordinary
events went back TO the time when he
was five. it was quite eighteen years
since he had first noticed the question
put ia the people who had him In
charge: $50 this is little Alan Con-
rad. Who is hep
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 lust II sort OF purple or black
printing like newspapers, Alan in
variably received a dollar to spend
just us he liked. To he 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
but quite often he did spend II nc
cOrding to plans agreed upUl, among
all his friends and, in memory of these
ucrasions aud in anticipation Of the
next. ".Alan's dollar" became com
mnnity institution among the children.
"Who gives 1t 1o you, Alnn:" was II
question more often asked, as time
went ON. The only answer Alan could
give was, at comes from CIhcagO.'
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 Il reason as inPXplicabIe
as the dollars coming the letters with
the typewriter addresses and the en-
closed money ceased.
Except for the loss OF the dollar ut
the cnu Of every second muntll--a loss
much discussed by all the children
ana 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 he given up, and
the family moved to the town. and
papa went to work in the wo,Ien mill
beside the river
Papa and mamn, at first surprised
and dismayed by the stopping Of the
letters. still rlung to the hope Of the
familiar. typewrter.addresSfd en-
velopc appearing again; hut when
after two years, no more money came
resentment which had hcen Steadil!
growing against the person who hat
sent the money began t" turn agains
Alan: and his parents" told him nj
they knew about him.
LII 1896 they had noticed an adver
'tiSeInrnt for persons to care for {
child; they had answered it to thu
office of the newspaper which printed
ii. In response to the letter Il mar
called upon them and. after seeln.
them and going around to see theil
friends. had made arrangements will
them to take Il hoy nf three, who wa:
in. good health aud came Of go"t
people. He paid in advance bOnrd FOL
a year and agreed to send n Certain
amount every two months after thai
time. The man brought the hoy
whom he called Alan Conrad,s aRd lef
hipl For seven years the none!
agreed upon came now II had ceased
and papa had no way of tndings The
nian--the name given by him appeare,
to be fictitious. and he had left n,
address except general delivery, Chi
,scagO"-Iapa~ knew nothing more. thai
that. lie had advertised in the chi
cago papers after the money St"ppc,
coming, and he had communicated
with every one named Conrad in 81
near Chicago, but he had learned moth
ing. Thus, at the age Of thirteen
Alan definitely knew that what II,
) already had guesscd-the fact that III
belonged somewhere else than in III
little brown hO,lSe-waS all that IN.
one there could tell him: and th'
knowledge, gave, persistence to man.
internal aurstioningS. Where did h
belongg WHO was he? Who WAS tn
~ -r- "a