| Show Daily Short Fiction Story IN THE CARP CARD INDEX By DOROTHEA THOMPSON THOl Copyright by the McClure Newspaper Newspaper News r paper S Syndicate Mildred sighed and shifted wearily In her chair Then with n a resolute little squaring of her sho she dipped herpen herpen her herpen pen and went back to her Interminable addressing With the tho ease aee of long practice practice tice ehe ho turned a a. card in the file drawer and slipped the top envelope o off ot onto nto the pile Mrs I M. M Jones sh she sho read and copied mechanically and turned to tho the next Heavens rm Im tired the tho girl next to yawning frankl frankly Mildred smiled sympathetically without looking up The girl Kitty laid down her pen and opened and closed her cramped finders Ill Til never set get et used to sitting still so long 1 if I 1 add address addres rea over every da day for or the rest of ot m my life sho tho went vent on Idly watching Mildreds Mildred's flying fingers and swift system Youve addressed before ha haven't ent yo you Youre You're a wonder at It H. No o. o I haven't Mildred answered ann only theres there's nothing to it Six dollars is pretty good 1000 pl pay for tor b beginners sinners isn't Iq Kitty kept on on con con- y Yes Yea Mildred answered dull dully wonder wonder- trig InS how sho eho ho was going to live JIve on that thai thata pay a It set ort oft a train of or thou thought ht and memory Mildred a year ear ago had been a petted vetted girl trl and toda today she was wondering how sho could make mako her living Ht lit Inside the 6 G limit She Sho had always supposed herself to bo ho well to do Her guardian n had never refused her any anything thin But at his sudden death she had discovered that for years he had been bringing her up tip as as asa a J d dearly arly loved daughter not as a financially finan finan- daIly dependent ward l- l Fallings will his h's lIs mone money had bad all gone sane to his only son a roving chap who as yet had never turned up UT to claim It And Mildred except for tor fora tora a tiny bank account was vas penniless s. s With no training whatever In tho the wl wise e spend spend- Ire Ir of or money lOoney it was a marvel that Mil Mildred IiI dred had managed to live a scant six months on It Now it was DS all gone butone butone but butone one last bill and and anc Improvident nt Mildred was hard at work for tor a a. L living Toward Towa rd tho end nd of ot the tim day dav Mildred crow ew self pitying g as s sh she thought of r the the f future tur she had been so tiO sure sura of of of-a. a little homo home her own money and and John That last thought was almost more than she could bear It seemed so much more mora than a II car year before tha that t she had lost Johns John's letter The letter r t that t had said he would come coma for h her r if she sho would I write that ne e e hud had his hl land and could build tho the house that he ho had hatI dreamed of ot i seeing her In The Tho po postman had handed banded it to hoi her as she sho ho stood on tho the top step poIsed for a flight to the city and nud aft aUN r rono ono one happy glance Ial at the first page Jage and tho the ending your John 1 he 1 had stuffed It into her ba bag bac And ADd an hour later tel the tho bag bap was gone letter a and neI all She h had hd d advertised ad fler persistently but butu u uselessly l The letter was wast gone 8 and nd in tn it tho the precious unknown address that had bad meant m more than t on earth jo to o her bar and and sUll did Even after ft ra a year of silence l the te e thought of or John Burkhart set sether sether sether her heart racing With a a. little shake hake Mildred l brought herself back to the work of or the tho moment morna and Dd went ent on steadily turning card after card shifting envelope en after envelope envelope- but doing domE It all through h a a. met m of ot lonely tears seArs Finishing tie the draw drawer r. r Mildred stood up ip I with relief Sho She picked up the Iho narrow heavy heaY oak oik box and C carried Jt it back to the tho thofile file nIce The ased looking woman oman who apportioned tho the work smiled d at t her Mildred l hd had hada a wa way of or got got- into a a. persons person's affections n very or easily Take Tako Wyoming A to N N. N Miss Mies l Ic IlI- IlI Jen the tho woman said Mildred pulled out t the drawer and carried car car- tied ned it to her bet working table Still stand stand- in ng tf she Rhe stacked awl piled rl the tho finished envelopes en envelopes en en- to one side elde Then done o everything that could possibly excuse her ler standing she he slipped Into tuto h her r s scat at flipped over the tho first empty empt protecting card and went to work Mrs Elmer Alain I Kelso Wyo Wro Mr Jr neo George eorge Anderson Kel o Kyo her brain registered automatically and her pen How now Mr David Baker Mr lr Henry Baker Miss Selma Seima Burchall sho sho turned the card rard r and there starIng back ck at hor her from the card index was Mr u John Burkhartt Mildred her ran pen FO o tightly that her fingers ached The busy husy workroom whirls and hummed humme-d about her She do doped her C eye cP 30 and acI 1 opened thorn them aln It was as stIll there Mr Mr John Burkhart Kel Kelso Celso o. o Wyo 30 Slowly Mildred traced Iton it iton on the th envelope en There w were rc no dragging hours houra after that As Mildred turned the cards cuda stead ily lIy her mind was wall saying B John John John Ivo ro found John But mixed with the joy oy there thre was a fV fear r ar too The files file were a year ear old and no so 0 much can an happ hap hap- happen p pen n In a year Ar H H. lie ml might ht have havo mond lie ho might bo be dead Worst or t of or all he lic might hmo have married Sick at heart with tho the thought Mildred turned white On the tho way a to her boarding house houRI Millred's Mil Mil- dred's mind whirled swiftly Sho She t tried led r resolutely to brim her ber herI wits I ts to bear ea r on th the but they flew neon swiftly awa away ln In Tn iier room alone after atter dinner she he dropped into the tho one rocking chair and nd with as QS near en An n reproach to calmness a as a tho the subject would allow Her hot bot pride 1 revolted tit lit th tIp thought of or offering her hr love to John if It he no nl lan er wanted It But how hon could ouM the she know She She- pressed l her b Continued on nn tP T 0 9 DAILY DAY SHORT STORY Continued from page e 4 i cheeks kM Into her h cold hands and shivered n irs i-irs nervously T 01 1 Two wo hours hour later she pulled open her lit little lit lit- lt- lt the tle hash desk k and with wih a frightened glance at atthe atthe attie to cc the tie framed face fac ace that alwa always s looked hooked back at It hl hem hor she he wrote I lost your address addre a year car ago John I 1 found It again tou today She She i cad It a dozen times times' trying to soften often it It but no zo other words would come So finally she slipped It I Into im the thc envelope wrote again Mr r. r John Burkhart Burkhart and down down- Wyoming stamped It ran stairs Out Outside sho she ran down the tho avenue to the mall mail mal box She pulled ul d down tho the metal nap flap and sho shoved shod d h tim the letter In 11 afraid to think for or fear her courage would fall fail her I At the clang of the closing cosing box bux she tho ho shivered sImi shiv t ered cred then thou cnn head down she he alk walked d slowly I back to her boarding h house use up mip the tho stairs and id into her room She flung fung herself on th the tI-ie bed T Two o da days out t 9 two da days M I ba back It I could not take more than that If If who she heard nothing from toni her hr venture In four dasho days das she nhe ho would know kno kno that John no longer cared no longer wanted wante her hr fhe The Idea turned her sick sl with fear fer and she burled buried her he taco face aco In the pillow Tho The four our days dan alternately flew new and id drugged dragged On tho the evening e o or or the fourth Mildred sick nick with excitement ran mu every crr step of the way wa home bome but hesitated d a athe at the tho steps On the hall h hal table tabla la lay tho the snail mail mai and she tum turned tinned It with wih shaking hands lU Miss Edler Edher Mr tr Weeks but no 10 Miss N Mc- Mc Ic- Ic Milieu Too H to think think- clEar clearly Mildred walked up upstairs and id into b her r room She Sho bo t to call cal through ugh th thedoor the the- tho v door to kind Miss Edler Edior that she wante no dinner Her lel head a torment she flung herself across cro o the lie bed John didn't want her didn't need her herl She had hind missed ed and longed for him fOlso for fOl- forso or orso months that it seemed so man many It bio blo that tl he had not nol been longing for tor ana and nd missing her too Too roo tired to cr cry too stunned to think she si-ic IQ lay tred for an hour unmoving lm At the thA end of oC that time tin Miss s Edict Edler knocked gently antI and slipped In In Theres Theros un a caller caler for you OU honey hon she feel well said eald ale Dont Dout you OU wel Oh I cant can't go down Mildred moan moaned Miss Edler sat st down don be beside her an l stroked d her hot ht head Id Il i go d down dOnn dearie deans she consoled and suddenly Mil Mildred 1 Mu- Mu dred decided to At least she would b be i dro freo free from Crom the thought of John for for- forthe tho the thou u next i three hours hoaN After that that that- She smoothed her hair and slipped c downstairs At the last step she paused searching the thc dimly lighted parlor Then I with a little a-little ga gasp p she ho he shrunk against the th-ie I railing But tho man In the parlor hearing hearing hear hear- ing im th tic the gasp and the soft o movement strode into SaSI tl-i tl tho hll hull l r My I little girl sirl rl he ic was wat saying t al J oy O Ar r le and arid over lt M My idy MUlo little Ulo girl 1 c ulli it I I 1 had to come for tor you N Mildred nt at peace wih with with- ou all an the world smiled up at him her her- eyes bright I tears en rs |
