The San Francisco call., 1904-03-20

mining round among the camps and
afterward was in Sacramento for a
spell, and 1 was round in them places
off and or myself. 1 saw him, but ]
lodged him cause 1 knew he didn't
want to run up against me, KNOWN as
how 1 was onter what he'd done. He
was safe for me. But 1 seen the girl
often; seen her grow up. And
Knew her in a minute the day 1 saw
you walkin' with her on Sutter street,
and l thinks to myself, You're with
the biggest heiress in San Francisco. if
IL you and she only knew it And
that's what she is, il there was some
thin else but my word to prove it."
Essex sat pushed back from the ta-
BILE, his hands in his pockets. his pipe
nipped between his teeth, his face
partly obscured by the floating clouds
of smoke that hung about his head.
"A first-rate story" he said slowly;
"have some more whisky
And he pushed the bottle toward
Harney, who seized 1t and fumblingly
poured the fiery liquor into the glass.
And it's true he said hoarsely-
every blamed word"
He drank what he had poured out.
set down the glass and stared at Essex
with his face puckered into its ex-
preston of evil cunning.
And she don't know anything
about 1t, does she 2" he asked.
"If you mean Miss Moreau she GER
tainly appears to think she is the
child of the man who brought her
up"
That's what heard. But Shackle-
ton, when Moreau died, was goin' to
do the square thing by her. At least
1 heard talk of his sendin' her to Eu-
rope to be a singer Amt it SOP
II heard something about it myself
But I'm no authority"
There was a pause. Harvey settled
back in his chair. The room was ex-
ceedingly hot, and impregnated with
the odor of whisky and the smoke
from Essex's pipe.
He couldn't acknowledge her. 1t
would er given the other children too
big a black eye. But 1t seemed like
he wanted to square things up when
he was taken off sudden like that"
He paused. The other, smoking,
with frowning brows and wide eyes.
made no response. his own thoughts
holding him in tense immobility.
And the other wife wouldn't er
stood 1t anyway. She's a pretty COM
petent woman, 1 guess. Oh, he could
not have acknowledged her, nohow.
But she's his legitimate daughter, all
right. She's the lawful heir to-most
er them-millions. She's
His voice broke and trailed off into
silence, which was suddenly Interrupt
ted by cultural snort and then
heavy. regular breathing. Essex rose,
and, going to the window, opened it.
A keen-edged breeze of air entered,
seeming all the fresher from the dense
atmosphere of the room. It's hurried
entrance sent the smoke wreaths
skurrying about in fantastic whorls
and curls. The dying fire threw out
frightened flame.
Essex moved toward it, saying as he
approached:
Yes; it's good story You ought
to be a novelist, Harvey"
There was no answer, and, looking
into the chair he saw that Harney
had fallen into a sodden sleep, curled
against the chair-back. his chin sunk
on his breast, the hollows in his face
looking black in the hard light of the
gas. The younger man gazed at him
for a moment with an expression OF
slight, cold disgust, then turned back
to the table and sat down.
He wrote no more, but sat motion
less, his eyes fixed on vacancy, the
thick, curling smoke oozing from the
bowl of his pipe and issuing from be-
tween his lips. His thoughts reviewed
every part of the story he had heard.
He felt certain of its truth. The
drunken job-printer had never imag
ined It.
1t explained many things that be-
fore had puzzled him. Why the Nor
eaus, even in the days of their aff1u-
ence, had lived in such uneventful
quietude, bringing up their beautiful
and talented daughter in jealous and
unusual seclusion. 1t explained
Shackleton's interest in the girl. He
even saw now, recalling the two faces.
likeness that the father himself had
seen in Mariposa's firmly modelled jaw
and chin, which did not belong to the
soft, feminine prettiness of Lucy.
It must be true.
And, being true, what possibilities
might it not develop? Mrs. Shackle-
ton knew it, too-that this penniless
girl was the bonanza kings eldest and
only legitimate child, with power, If
not entirely to dispossess her own chill
dren, at least to claim the lions share
of the vast fortune. If Mariposa had
proof of her mothers marriage to
Shackleton and of her own identity as
the child of that marriage, she could
rise and claim her heritage-her part
of the twenty millions!
The thought, and what 1t opened be-
fore him, dizzied him. He drank
some of the diluted whisky in the
glass beside him and sat on motion
less. It was evident Mariposa did not
know. She had been brought up in
ignorance of the whole extraordinary
story. The man and woman she had
been taught to regard as her parents
had committed an offense against the
law, which they had hidden from her,
secure In the thought that the other
participants In the strange proceed
ing would never dare to confess.
The minutes and hours licked by