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signed with the initials "I. R." They
showed the gradations of a growing
love all seemingly replies to other
letters, periodically received- by Ina.
From a first formal note they grew
with fervor to the final, tender, en
couragement of a sweetheart thus
wooed and won.
Worden cast the hated packet to
the floor and paced up and down in a
fever of humiliation and anger. He
was not engaged to Ina, he hadno
right to direct, her actions,, but she
had deceived, at least derided him.
She must have known that his con
fession of love was imminent at any
time, yet here she had engaged her
self to another. It was cruel, it was
unwomanly! he was trifling, treach
erous, like all the rest of womankind!
A bitter sentiment at heart and feel
ing as though all that had been most
cherished in his life was departed,
Harold Worden restored the package
to its former condition, addressed it
to Ina in a disguised hand, mailed it
and made his decision to leave a
place where existence in the light of
his recent discoveries would be tor
ture. For five years Worden traveled. It
was ar restless, unsatisfactory hegira,
but he had plenty of money and
could settle his disturbed mind down
to nothing stable. Finally, wearied of
it all, he followed an impulse to re
turn to Clayton and see some of his
old friends.
It was food to his famished soul to
inquire concerning her. She was still
unmarried, she had no profess'ed ad
mirers, he learned. Curiosity led to
interest One evening at a social
function he came face to face with
his old love. A great wave of senti
ent emotion swept over him as he
viewed Ina after the lapse of years.
The old sweetness of her smile was
r even heightened, the gentle, winning
ways had an added charm, that love--ly
face, aside from beauty, showed
patience and, peace.
"An old man's privilege," he said,
as her hand rested in his own, and ,
chivalrously he raised it to his lips,
his own trembling.
"You mean an old friend, the dear
old friend who gave me the brightest
year of my life," she said earnest
ly, unassumingly. "We have so
missed you."
And then he found himself seated
beside her, going over the dear old
days. Never an allusion was there
to awaken his old suspicions, but the
illusions returned he could not
evade them.
"I hear you have become an au
thoress," he remarked.
"Scarcely that," explained Ina
humbly. "I seem to be regarded a
proficient form letter writer and a
publisher has gotten out several vol
umes on etiquette and the like. They
.are simply hand books only, nothing
pretentkjus."
It all led to Worden accepting an
invitation to call upon Miss Restell
and inspect this literary miscellany.
Somehow his heart warmed as he
found himself seated in the neat lit
tle parlor of the Restell home awalt
ingj'Ina. Upon the table were sev
eral small volumes. Worden casual
ly inspected them. They were hand
books and he recognied them from
what she had told him as the result
of her literary work.
They treated of dining as a fine
art an detiquette, and there was one
on correspondence. There were sam
ple business, social and love letters,
and at this latter section of the book
Worden' stared.
For there were the same letters in
print that he had picked up in manu
script In a flash Harold Worden
realized his egregious life mistake.
The young man who had dropped the
letters he had found was some pub
lisher's messenger, and Ina's initials
had been appended to the missives
simply to identify them as her work.
How he had misjudged her! Then
with a thrill Worden sprang to his
feet A curdling scream had issued
frpm upstairs. He ran to the hall. A
lamp had exploded at the landing.
"""" ' AilimaiilAiiAiM
