Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-01-15
Shot an Arrow Into
the Air
By HAROLD ROWLAND
90. Doubleday. Page & Co.,

DICK w Gil, WHAT udu lie eApGclcu
For two weeks now he had been busily
denying to himself that he expected
anything from that wild impulse o.
his You don't get results in thil
strange business Of life by such sim
pie means as writing a proposal Of
marriage and dropping 1t into the pos
box at the corner. The offer of 8
chaps heart and hand and bank ac
count and everything needed little
more warmth than that to get across
Such a dumb proceeding didn't even
deserve an answer. But, by the Great
Jehoiachim, he'd got an answer-ol
something! Here it was, along with
his proposal chicken come home to
roOst. What on earth could 1t say
He read the letter with feelings that
would have done credit to a chameleon
On patchwork quilt.
Dear Mr.. Landor," he read. u
don't know how to justify myself. In
deed, I hardly know how to explain
myself. Wea, here goes: once lived
at 100 Park avenue"
Oh, indeedl Was that so? Eric Ian
dor was not used to being 'little more
than a name" to the people of his
world. He didn't quite like the Inn
plication. But he read on.
ut wasn't until I had fished the
torn envelope out of the Waste-basket
that / realized what / had DONE"
He picked the torn envelope up him
SOLE on6 rood tho o. droces sENficc Evn.
lyn Anstruther, 100 Park avenue, New
York" That seemed all right. Nice
name he thought. Half automatically
he turned over the letter which he had
been reading and looked at the sigma
ture. Peggy Anstruther." Nice name.
too. But obviously not the same. Not
even a dOting mother or tOngue-tied
brother of two or so could have turned
Evelyn" into Peggy" He began to
suspect that the addressee Of his i'm
petuous proposal of marriage and the
girl who was now returning 1t were
not one and the same. In pleased en-
jOyment of his detective skill he read
on:
Il blushed from head to foot with
the horror Of 1t. What could / do?
l couldn't send the letter back to its
rightful owner and let her know that
stranger had read the lovely things
you had written-tO her. But I must
do something. How lmpatiently you
must be waiting for your answer.
must let you know Immediately why
you had not had 1t. So here Is your
nice proposal, sadly married by my
alien hand and eye. Pray forgive me.
It is all that / can say, except-may
you be very happy. I know she will"
She signed herself faithfully his, this
lnterloping Peggy Anstruther Then
there was postscript.
He read the letter again, slowly.
Nice letter, he thought. Not even
Evelyn could have written nicer one,
he decided. Indeed, would Evelyn's
have been SO nice, he questioned. Any
way, Peggy's letter deserved nice
answer, he concluded. He couldn't let
the poor girl go on blushing from head
to foot for lack Of his forgiveness. He
wrote:
Lovely but Fraudulent Recipient Of
My Hearts Outpourings: am eager
to forgive you, but forgiveness on pa
per is so cold. May not do it in per-
son? Do you drink tear"
He signed himself faithfully hers,
Eric Landor. Then he contemplated
with calculating eyes his proposal to
Evelyn. He did not send 1t forth
again.
Two impatient days brought brief
reply:
"The Ritz, Tuesday, at five. / shall
wear Observation-Disclosures symbolic
the penitent's white gown. would
carry tall candle, but-you know the
Ritz"
While they waited for the tea he
forgave her. would Evelyn forgive
me, too?" she wondered. mo one
would forgive you quicker" he said,
and told her what intriguing letters
she wrote. "Nicer than Evelyn's?" she
asked. "She has never written me
one" he said, and told her what lovely
eyes she had. Nothing like Eve
lyn's?" she suggested when I look
into yours, there is no Evelyn" he
said, and asked her to mary him. II
would" she answered straight and
fair, ..if there were no Evelyn"
"There isn't" he said. II am poor
devil OF writer. I needed to know
how it felt to propose to a girl. If
should propose to one in person, she
might accept me. couldn't take the
risk, for there was no girl that loved.
So / wrote a proposal to mythical
Evelyn and sent 1t to an address where
I knew no Evelyn lived. thought
then cat I had learned how it felt to
propose to girl. Now know that /
hadn't. VIII you marry met"
"Why, yes" she said "Will you
light my cigarette7'
81 can't" he said In moment. my
hand won't stop It's trembling. You'll
have to ask the waiter"
When the waiter, whose hand was
as steady as a church, had finished his
task, Eric Lander asked her a Ques-
tiOn
"Why did you come to tea with met"
ITO teach you how it felt to propose
to a GIRL" she said.
"How did you know that / didn't
known he asked.
"From your letter to Evelyn" he
said. ''Your hand didn't tremble when
YOU wrote that"
'How did you know that / would