midnight
A few letters from Neal Ward to Jeanette Barclay , and a document some twenty years old , which the reader may have forgotten , but which one person connected with this narrative has feared would come to light every day in that time -- and then this tedious business of introducing documentary evidence will be over . The letter from Neal Ward to Jeanette Barclay is one of hundreds that he wrote and never mailed . They were dated , sealed , addressed , and put away . This one was written at midnight as the bells and whistles and pistols and fireworks were welcoming the year 1904 . It begins : -- `` MY VERY DEAREST : Here I am sitting at the old desk again , in the old office of the _ Banner _ . I could only scribble you a little note on the train last night to tell you that my heart still was with you , and I did not have the time to explain why I was coming . It is a dead secret , little woman , and perhaps I should n't tell even you , but I feel that I must bring everything to you .