Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-20
THE CLAIMANT
BY WEATHERBY cfIESNEY

tAuthor d .'John Topp. Pirate" ete)

| confusion of identity. which at first had
been source of irritation. became instead
source OF amusement. Boy-like. they took
| a keen delight in the mistakes to which It
| gave origin, and to increase the confusion
! and foster the mistakes became a matter
| to which they devoted a considerable
4 amount of thought and energy.
During one Christmas holiday Wortley
had his arm tattooed in London. and at the
| beginning of the following term they de-
cided that Eustace must have the device
| pocket money that term. and when Easter
| came they had enough to enable them both
to go to the same man in London, on the
| way home. and have the thing done before
they parted for the holidays.
| I'VE copied each other in everything
| Wortley went on. 'If one Of us had tie
| OF particular shade the other .Vore one
fellow. the other would pick q quarrel in
| the same quarter the next day: II my report
| at the end Of the term was bad, his would
| be bad. too; IL mine was good SO was his.
And this sort of thing went on until we left
| school. which we did on the same day. You
have wondered, dare say, at the ease with
which have carried out my deception here.
| It was not only the coincidences--such as
| that of the tattoo mark which 1 was able
| to show to Wiseman-that helped me. l
had several years Of practice for 1t. and
at the age when practice most easily be-
| comes habit"
When school days were over the paths
Of the two men diverged: and except for
"
nothing Of each other. Wortley was in
India, shooting big game, at the time when
the difficulty with the admiralty caused
Eustace Holland to fly from the country.
He heard nothing Of it until his return
home six months later
did you know that he had taken your
nameT asked Mary suddenly.
''No. not until I met him in Oporto one
day last month"
why did he take itT'
"The confusion had been useful in our
boyish scrapes. He thought that II would
be useful in this one, too"
But" objected Mary gravely. this was
dishonor: He had no right to expose You
to the ri, risk Of s sharing that"
II once told you what my feelings were
against my absent brother. and you have
| seen for yourself what my mothers judg-
ment Of her absent son was. You knew
| him WELL Which Of US was rightr'
| Again Wortley hesitated to answer. 1t Is
| hard thing to tell girl that her dead
| brother was scoundrel, and yet he could
| give no other answer. AS boy. Eustace
Holland had been shifty, though not actual
| ly vicious; as a man. Wortley knew that his
| record had been. from the time he left
| could he tell Mary that7
She read In his silence the answer which
| he would not give in words, and she gave
| a little sigh as she asked:
country?'
Yes" said Wortley simply.
How do you known"
''on the last occasion when I spoke to
| him, he admitted that he was. think he
| knew that he was on his deathbed when he
| told me that 1t was the truth"
| He did not tell her In what fashion the
| confession had been made. He left her
mercifully to imagine that Ii was con-
| fession born OF real repentance tardy
| perhaps. but still repentance The real
| fact was different. Eustace Holland had
admitted his crime. but not as thing Of
yx-hf oH h0 yyoo oH ha q hiny 2 t,or
| which he regretted because of the long
| punishment Of exile which 1t had entailed.
| He had shown some traces OF better feeling
| in his desire that his mother and sister
should be protected from the woman he had
| married. and also in his wish to save the
woman herself from an unnecessary ex-
| posture, If she would consent to be saved;
| but Of his own wrong-doing he seemed to
| be but inadequately conscious. and II he
| expressed regret at all, 1t was no more than
| the false regret of few conventional
phrases. The picture in Wortley's mind OF
| the scene by the bedside of this friend OF
| his boyhood was not one on which he liked
| to dwell For there had been in 1t no miti-
cation Of the shame OF the offense.
| why did you come here?' asked Mary
| suddenly. -
Wortley looked straight into her eyes.
The explanation which he shrank from CIV
| ing must come now! When he had answer
| ed that question, and the others which
| would arise from it. what would the girl
| do? Probably she would tell him that she
would never willingly see him, or speak to
| him, again.
! IT came" he said quietly. because your
| brother begged me. in the name Of our
| schooboy friendship. to do so. He ap-
| pealed to me to protect his mother and SIS
| ter from wrong that was intended against
| Them
What was the wrong?"
HE did not tell me. I have found out
| only today. But he told me who the person
| was who meditated the wrong"
| WAS IL Harvey" asked Mary quickly