The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-03-19
Continued

ssWhen I went on with Max to look
you up, captain, had not the remotest
idea of leaving my little sisters SO long
alone, but when got as far as len
nessee I wrote to my uncle Isham Street
you've heard me speak of our expec-
tatiens-and IN reply got an invitation
which almost amounted to command
to come on to Virginia.
ssUncle Isham's invitations have al
ways carried great weight with me, and
so went. found the old gentleman IN
a very bad state Of health. He wanted
me to stay on, and, as my sisters have
told you, he died while was there.
"When his will came to be read, it
was found to contain strange clause.
If no light is thrown upon the mystery
of his daughters disappearance by next
January, at which time she would have
been 81, the girls and I come into all he
left.''
ellis daughter! thought you told
me the uncle you had expectations from
was childiess.
81 always thought SO myself until
/ read the will and examined the con-
tents of the box it was in. There was a
bulky package in the box done up ID
oilskin, and pinned to it was a letter OF
exclamation. It is queer story.
''It seems that nearly 81 years ago my
uncle was on his way to Mexico with
his wife and baby. The train was wreck
ed. his wife was killed, and he narrow
" escaped with his life. He says he lay
all bandaged and broken up, with a
fierce fever consuming him, for over a
week in a hospAak When he came to
himself, the list of killed was shown
him. 1t included his wife and child.
The other passengers had been scattered
to the four winds Of heaven, all name
less to him, as railroad fellow travellers
are. The letter states that the bundle in
the box was among his effects when he
recovered, and he had been working the
slender clew they gave him all these
years. It seems the hospital attendants
had saved them as souvenirs for him.
They were his wife's jewelry and pair
of gold armlets taken from the dead
baby's sleeves, also some gold buttons
from it's dress. My uncle states that
those articles threw doubt upon the
death of his own child, but he had never
been able to discover the identity of the
child who wore those buttons. -
"Well, if he was not able to do SO all
these years and was spurred on by grief
at an earlier day, you are not likely to
do SO in these latter days; SO you are
reasonably sure of your inheritance, T"
said Beiknap.
Reasonably, yes, said Street, feel
ing in his pocket for a parcel. But my
uncle, who, crippled for life in that &C
cident, had to make his research by let
ter exclusively, was sorely handicapped.
I am going to take up the search"
Reginald interrupted him with an i'm
patient laugh. A vision of Lemuel
Street comfortably established and in
position to ward poverty off his dear lit
tie Marianne was not displeasing.
sob, see here, Street hope l would
be as far from appropriating money that
did not belong to me as any one, but
look at this matter from common
sense view. How are you going to begin
your search9'' =,
'sBy finding out if possibly can il
any one Of the name of Bascom happen
ed to be travelling toward Mexico at that
time
'tBascomp'
The name electrified Reginald. II
must always possess the power to move
him strongly. He stared at Lemuel.
eyes, Bascom. On the inside OF the
little gold armlets name is engraved
ELLEN Bascom;' on the buttons, 'E. b.,
evidently the property of the same per
son"
He handed the parcel to Reginald
who turned the tiny gold armlets ovel
and over, frowning at them in per
plexity that grew more dense with eacE
second.
"Bascom,' he said finally, turning g
gaze of intense sadness on Lemuel, "iE
an old Applegate name, one that mer
must always love to honor. You have
heard of-of-Miss Bascom's strange
story?'
Eyes; Amy wrote me-" Lemuel put
out his hand and laid it tenderly on hi
friends shoulder. "My heart ached fol
her-and for-you.'
''Thank you-thank you, dear boy. ,
He handed the parcel back and lifted
his shoulders as if to throw off heavy
weight. "Mrs. Whitney's name was Ell
len Bascom-but-it must be nero co
incidence of names. There is no ont
left for you even to talk over your mys
tifcation with. Bascop gone, Draw
friend, and the only other wearer of th'
name on the oceani"