Her heart gave a jump at that, and it began to beat very fast when he turned and put them into her hand with another mysterious look.

She thanked him and hurried out on the porch and straight to her pet ledge.

Her dad's letter could wait.
On the ledge she sat down, and with fingers that shook she tore open, an envelope addressed to "Miss Mary V.Selmer, care of Curley." It had been sealed very tightly, as though it contained secrets.

Which it did.
Mary V read that letter through from beginning to end five times before she left the ledge.

It was not exactly a love letter, either, though Mary V squeezed it between her palms and then kissed it before she put it away out of sight.