Show f he Telegrams Telegram's s Dai Daily y 1 a Daisy I f By JANE OSBORN COpyright 1916 by McClure Newspaper News s I paper SyndIc Syndicate tc t ais y Dodge was aa standing in a a. aFrame arame rame Frame of sunshine In the doorway y of he little s eight sided id d school at Dab Dab- vigorously vig ringing rinSing the large iland nd boll beU that called the children lit liti little lIt lIt- tle i and fl Ms hiE back to tnt the ses- ses i ion n. n Heres Here's another letter for tor you Miss Dodge Bodge piped pipe one of the older girls Gussie Gussio Love daughter of the It was general jeneral storekeeper who also acted father says as as s postmaster And my rOY h he be thinks something's up There were four tour yesterday and two this morn morn- ring tog ing And the piping voi voice e trailed of off f into a a. well conscious ls Cig c. c But Daisy the school teacher at the thedoor door turned crimson She took toole the 4 letter etter with repulsion tucked it within with- with in n the folds of her simple bodice and went to her desk in the center of the schoolroom around which were ranged the lie various grades es of the eight fold S school chOOl Gussie Love lingered after school Say Miss Dodge she faltered after the others had left the schoolhouse was as your letter nice You Tou aint go goIng going gong go- go ing ng to get married and leave us are your lAs BiAs L As soon eoon as Gussie had gone first making sure there were no prying eyes ces at the windows Daisy began to read her letter Dear Miss 1 it began in large distinct distinct distinct dis dis- boyish writing Im not much of a a. letter writer and I haven't ever started writing to a young oung lady before be- be fore fore but lut it is so lonesome out here herein lin in the lumber camp that I thought I would begin Just to keep from getting to jo o dreadfully blue P Perhaps ps you have J never er seen a a. lumber camp If It you bave have you know why I feel as s I do The men who are aro married are allright all allright allright right for they have their little shacks always nice and comfortable and so sociable sociable so- so but we fellows that arent aren't so lucky have to take things as we get them I am sending a snapshot that shows just what I look like hike When ou answer this letter as I hope will soon please send me mo a a. picture of I always did like brown eyed cred girls the best With best wishes THOMAS WILLIAM JONES P P. P S. S S. S.-I I forgot to say that I am amoss boss oss of a hundred men in the lumber York work and I own ten thousand acres f unworked lumber land that I am going to begin cutting when I have paved laved enough to begin perhaps begin perhaps next winter inter For just a a. moment Daisy's eyes lingered lin- lin with interest n the snapshot photograph that showed the writer of the letter in his characteristic cos- cos ume of the tho lumberman at his work She tucked the picture back hack in the Envelope when she realized that she was vas as allowing lowing herself hersel to admire the broad shoulders straight figure and well veil vell proportioned features of the stranger tranger t. t Then she took the key from the I pocket of her plain school dress opened ened a desk esk drawer and carefully I took look out ten l letters that she had received re re- within the last two weeks They I were ere rere written in every sort of hand I writing from the untrained scrawl I ill f a retired sailor who had written I a letter of ot proposal from a little sea sea- community ty in Canada to sea sea-j the pine copybook writing of a corre- corre I who styled himself an exiled marquis of ot France and also professed i to wish nothing more than to marry the little school teacher Why these letters Why these pro pro- And would more more come pro pro-I the n next day and the next What would I people think How c could uld she stop the etters that kept coming For half halt an hour Daisy sat and pondered Thon Then she drow drew the tle last lette that ette-that that of or Thomas William Jones froth from her pocket and reread it it ft Then she he studied the picture of the writer that the letter Jetter enclosed enclose After this sho wrote a letter that she hoped might clear up the mystery and restore her peace of ot mind It was to this Thomas William Jones ones and in it she told him frankly what had happened and she sho asked him as the gentleman which his letters showed him to be to help her to solve the tho problem The Tho letter she received in reply was brief and to the point I r am ashamed of myself for having written the sort of ot letter I did but I was very lonely and since I left home five years ago f I have been cut off from fri friends and of course I thought you wanted to find some one to write to he wrote Then he explained that he had read reada a description of Daisy in a a. sheet published pub pub- in a matrimonial bureau Daisy answered this letter promptly and then waited impatiently for the next letter from her unseen champion In the meantime the annoying letters letters r of proposal ceased to come t c On a warm spring evening about two weeks later Daisy was sitting on the the upper porch of her three-room three upstairs abode ode watching the stars stars out m in tho the como come balmy spring sky A when she saw through the M ness the tall figure of a a. stranger swinging up the road and then turning in at tho the schoolhouse patch Her heart was beating with excitement when she reached the downstairs door and stood tood face to face with a a. strange young oun man She Sho had half guessed guessed- surely she had hoped even that even that it was Thomas William Jones and Thomas William Jones ho lie turned out to be Ive been traveling a day and a night to get here he told her standing standing stand stand- ing in her open door hat in hand The reason I came partly came partly at least least least-is is to tell you that I have put a a. tho those e annoying letters I went to the place where they publish the sheet and I held them up for the letter Some one had sent it in with your mr nam name forgery and a a. penitentiary offense We Ve can have the offender punished severely That's one reason I came on to on-to to help you trace the matter matter matter mat mat- ter to its beginning Strange how speedily Dais Daisy and the stranger forgot all about the offender and began to talk of other matters matters- even about themselves They had both been very lonely They had both lived for years without any real friends friends- Thomas William Jones in his lumber camp and Daisy in her little school- school house It was quite dark when Thomas William William Wil Wil- liam Jones started to return to the lit little little lit lit- tle the local tavern where he ha had left his bag on his arrival in the village He had been in Daisy's company rather I less hess than an hour and already she regarded him as her firm friend I You will just have my word for it that I am what I say I am he de declared declared de- de dared but I want to tell teU you before I leave tonight that only one of the reasons I came here was to give you the letter from the agent The other reason was to find ou out t for myself if It you arent aren't the girl I have been dreaming dreaming dreaming dream dream- ing of all aU my ny life Ufe Are you going to send me ba back k to the woods without a a. chance to make good Daisy put out her hand to bid him good night You must go away now she said but I dont don't want you to go back to that lonely camp until camp until until For a moment he held her hand Securely se securely securely se- se in his his' giant paw and then he turned and went without t another w word rd Daisy went to her little bedroom and before the small oil il lamp opened the folded pages of the letter the stranger had brought from the matrimonial bu bu- bu- bu reau She read what purported to be bea a letter from herself signed by her own name It was in the crude copybook copybook copy copy- book writing of ot Gussie Love Its a state prison offense she said half aloud but Ill I'll forgive you Gussie I can afford to You did it to brin bring me happiness and you have succeeded |