他花了不少时间和精力，终于找到了她的地址。她住在纽约市。他给她写了一封信，做了自我介绍并请求她保持通信。第二天他便坐船去国外参加二战了。在接下来的一年零一个月里他们两个通过写信逐渐了解了对方。每封信都是落在丰富内心里的一颗种子。一段浪漫史萌芽了。布兰查德请求要一张照片，但她拒绝了。她觉得如果他真的在乎她，就不会介意她长什么样。
当他终于从欧洲回来的那天来临时，他们安排了第一次约会——晚上7点，在纽约中央车站。“你能认出我来，”她写道，“我的上衣翻领上别着一朵玫瑰花。”所以7点钟他就在车站寻找这位他已经深爱但未曾谋过面的女孩。
下面就让布兰查德先生自己告诉我们所发生的事情好了：
一位年轻的女士朝我走来，身材修长苗条，金色卷发从精巧的耳朵后面垂下来；她的眼睛像花一样的蓝，双唇和下巴文雅而坚定。她穿着浅绿色的套装，仿佛春天又来临了。我向她走去，全然忘了注意她并没有带着玫瑰。在我朝她走去的时候，她的双唇线条弯曲了一下，露出浅浅的诱人的微笑。“别挡我路啊，海员？”她低声说。几乎无法自制的我又向她走近了一步，然后，我看到了霍利斯·梅斯。她几乎就站在这位女士的后面。一位40多岁的妇女，灰色的头发塞在一顶破旧的帽子下面。她太过于丰满了，从浑圆的脚踝可以看出双脚简直是硬塞进一双低跟鞋里。穿绿套装的女孩很快走开了。
我感到自己像被撕成了两半，有那么强烈的欲望想去追随那位女孩，然而，又深切地渴望这位妇女——一直都是她的灵魂真正在陪伴我、支持我。
她就站在那里，她的胖胖的脸是温柔的、明智的，她灰色的眼睛发出温暖的、和蔼的光芒。我不再犹豫了。我的手紧握住那本破旧的蓝色皮革小书，她能通过这个认出我来。这不是爱情，却是某种很珍贵的东西，一种甚至比爱情更美好的东西，一段我曾经拥有并会永远心怀感激的友情！我正了一下肩膀，敬礼，并把这本书递给这位妇女，尽管在我说话时，由于失望而有些哽咽。
“我是约翰·布兰查德中尉，你一定是梅斯女士吧，我很高兴见到你，我可以邀请你去吃晚餐吗？”
这位妇女的脸扩展为一抹宽容的笑：“我不知道这是怎么回事，孩子，”她说，“但刚刚过去的那位穿绿色裙装的年轻女士，求我在外套上带上这朵玫瑰花，她还说如果你请我去吃晚餐，我就可以接着告诉你她在街对面的那个大饭店等你。她说这是一种什么考验。”
梅斯小姐的智慧不难理解并很值得欣赏。一颗心的真正本质能从对没有吸引力的反应中看出来。“告诉我你爱什么人，”乌塞耶曾经写道，“我就能说出你是什么人。”
Power of Love （1）
A guard came to the prison shoe shop where Jimmy Valentine was working and took him to the prison office.There the warden handed Jimmy his pardon，which had been signed that morning by the governor.He took it quietly；he was too tired to show excitement.He had been in prison nearly ten months and he had been sentenced to four years.True，he had expected to stay only about three months，at the longest.He had a lot of friends and he had been sure they would help him.
“Now，Valentine，”said the warden，“You’ll go out in the morning.Make a man of yourself.You’re not a bad fellow really.Stop breaking open safes and be honest.”
“Me？”said Jimmy，in surprise.“Why，I’ve never broken open a safe in my life.”
“Oh，no，”laughed the warden.“Of course not.And what about that Springfield job？Do you mean to say you didn’t take part in it？”
“Me？”said Jimmy still more surprised.“Why，warden，I’ve never been to Springfield in my life！”
“Take him back，”the warden said to the guard smiling，“and give him some clothes.Unlock him at seven in the morning and let him come to me.Better think over my advice，Valentine.”
At a quarter past seven the next morning Jimmy stood in the warden’s office.He wore a badlyfitting readymade suit and the cheap shoes that the state gives to prisoners，when they are set free.The clerk handed him a railroad ticket and the fivedollar bill with which he was supposed to start a new，honest life.The warden gave him a cigar，and they shook hands.Valentine，9762，was registered on the books “Pardoned by Governor，”and Mr.James Valentine walked out into the sunshine.
Disregarding the song of the birds，the green trees，and the smell of the flowers，Jimmy went straight to a restaurant.There he ordered a roast chicken and a bottle of white wine and a better cigar than the one the warden had given him.Then he walked slowly to the railroad station.He put a quarter into the hat of a blind man sitting by the door，and took a train.Three hours later he arrived at his native town，went directly to the cafe of his old friend Mike Dolan and shook hands with Mike，who was alone behind the counter.“Sorry we couldn’t make it sooner，Jimmy，my boy，”said Mike.“It wasn’t so easy this time and we had a lot of trouble.Are you all right？”
“Fine，”said Jimmy.“Have you got my key？”
He took his key and went upstairs，unlocking the door of his room.Everything was just as he had left it.There on the floor was still the collarbutton that had been torn from the shirt of Ben Price—the well known detective—when Price had come to arrest him.Jimmy removed a panel in the wall and dragged out a dustcovered suitcase.He opened it and looked fondly at the finest set of burglar’s tools in the East.It was a complete set，made of special steel.The set consisted of various tools of the latest design.He had invented two or three of them himself，and was very proud of them.Over nine hundred dollars they had cost him！They had been made at X.，a place where they make such things for the profession.
In half an hour Jimmy went downstairs and walked through the cafe.He was now dressed in an elegant new suit，and carried his cleaned suitcase in his hand.“What are you going to do next？To break another safe？”asked Mike Dolan smiling cheerfully.
“I don’t understand.I’m representing the New York Amalgamated Biscuit Company.”
This statement delighted Mike to such an extent that he gave Jimmy a seltzerandmilk on the spot.Jimmy never touched “hard”drinks.
A week after the release of Valentine，9762，there was a new safeburglary in Richmond，Indiana.Only eight hundred dollars were stolen.Two weeks after that another safe was opened and fifteen hundred dollars disappeared；securities and silver were untouched.That began to interest the detectives.A few days later the Jefferson City Bank was robbed and banknotes amounting to five thousand dollars were taken.The losses were now so high that it was time for so well known a detective as Ben Price to begin investigation.When all the cases were compared，a striking similarity in the methods of burglaries was noticed.Ben Price investigated the scenes of the robberies and was heard to say—
“That’s all Jimmy Valentine’s work.He’s resumed business.He’s got the only tools that can open any safe without leaving the slightest trace.Yes，it is Mr.Valentine.”
Ben Price knew Jimmy’s habits.He had learned them while investigating the Springfield case.
One afternoon Jimmy Valentine and his suitcase climbed out of a train in Elmore，a little town in Arkansas.Jimmy，looking like a student who had just come home from college，walked out of the station and went toward the hotel.
A young lady crossed the street，passed him at the corner and entered a door over which was the sigh “The Elmore Bank”.Jimmy Valentine looked into her eyes，forgot what he was，and became another man.She lowered her eyes and blushed slightly.Young men of Jimmy’s style and looks were scarce in Elmore.