Several days after meeting Shadow in his disguise of a mulatto, I was the recipient of a letter which puzzled me not a little.
The text was simple enough.
The letter read:
"Mr. Howard.—Herewith I return you the money you so kindly loaned me on an occasion that was filled with sadness for me. You will remember the occasion to which I refer—when Tom Smith was killed, and you so generously provided me with the means of interring him in mother earth.
"That I am deeply grateful you may rest assured, and perhaps at some future time I may be able to testify to the depth of my gratitude.
"Accept my thanks with the money I return, a kind of interest on the loan, which I am satisfied you will best like.
"Yours gratefully,
"Nellie Millbank."
A very nicely worded and straightforward letter. Don't you think so?
Of course you do.
Then, why was I puzzled?
Simply because when I received the letter, and before opening it, I said as I glanced at the penmanship of the address:
"Another letter from Shadow," and then, on opening it, found that it was not.
I had preserved Shadow's letters or notes, and these I now brought out and compared with this epistle from Nellie Millbank.