The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-10-12
XVI.

mufte the very chimreys of the town,
and from the low roof the rain dashed
down In a cease,ess torrent for hour On
hour. Monboddo had prepared everything
and soon after breakfast he and Harvey
set out together for the village cemetery,
which was seven miles from their start
Ing point.
Jethros himself had insisted upon be-
ing one of the party, and nothing would
satisfy him but that he should see the
ceremony through; bat his friends had at
least succeeded in ~persuading him not
to be seen on an occasion so important to
his own safety in a society which might
instantly have identified him and brought
all his plans to naught. He followed the
mourning coach, therefore, in a four
wheeler.
The driver of the vehicle was more
than once startled By what be took to
be a great burst of laughter from his
fare. but the rain and the wind made
the man uncertain.
A surprise was waiting for Jethroe,
but he met it with an imperturbable
face. As his fly dew up at the lodge
OF the cemetery a door opened, and with
In the doorway stood gazing carelessly
out at the weather the one man on whom
the keen adventurcr had been most upon
his guard from the very beginning Of his
enterprise. The man was thick set and
burly, and round his neck he wore a linen
bandage. whic- had partly slipped away,
revealing the fact that h5 had suffered
some injury there, which might, by the
look of it. have been a scald. He looked
up at the low sky and the plung;ng rain
from side to side, and then, seeing Jeth-
roe in the act of advancing toward him,
he recoiled q step to make room. and
IN that very instant raised his eyes tc the
newcomers face. His mouth gaped and
his eyes stared, and Jethroe looked a.
him with an aspect Of sudden inquiry.
as If to ask why a stranger should stare
80 hard. The man turned away and
looked out of the window across the
soaking place of burial, and bit his nails
In p~erplexity. he could not refrain from
a furtive glance now and again, but Jeth-
roe had set up his eye glass by this tine.
and was regarding him with a look OF
puzzled displeasurs which he could not
face.
bout what time" asked Jethroe,
with a Wild West" accent which was
initiated to the life, "is this melancholy
business expected TO be over, Mr.. Men
boddo?"
by midday, SIR" said Monboddo--
"by midday"
WELL" said Jethroe. 1T want to see
him planted safe and good. It's Ave and
twenty years since ! parted with him,
snd i don't pretend to be as much cut
up as i might have been If I had known
him closer; but he was my mothers sis
ters con, and blood's thicker than water.
and it's n respectful thing to see the last
of him, since j happen to be in this coun-
ny"
THAT is undoubtedly SO, Mr.--er-M..
-er-"
Monboddo. muddled. bad le: slip his
employers single alias.
Jones, sir" said Jc.hroe-"Jethroe
Jones. / was christened after his father,
out of family compliment. Is this gentle
man," he asked. STOPPING forward in a
haIf-whisperins inquiry. and signaling the
man with a sidewsy cast Of the thumb
is this gentleman a relative OF the de
ceased?"
"No." said the buriy man in a sulky
tore, I'm no relation. I'm an old &C
quaintance. though-p'r'aps about the
oldest acquaintance Martin Je.hr<e had"
"Is that so, sirT asked Jethroe.
"Yorr hand, sir, IL you do not mind.
When all is said and done, I am The
representative OF the family, sir"
The burly nlaa accepted Jethroe's prof
fe-ed hand. but he feigned no hsartincss
over ii.
singular likenesses runs in families
he said in what appeared to be his Gus
tomary Manner rnanner that 10 tc
say.,of iangdog i'll temper and stubborn.
rcss.
ssThat is so, sir" said Jethroe-"tha,
is so, but IL is not So Invariably. My
fortunate cousins nephew, for example,
indicating Harvey ms he spoke. "does 10,
feature his uncle"
'You feature his uncle" said the man
with a queer fash in his eyes.
Say" said Jethroe. rs that SO. now
1t used to be remarked when we were
boys. but growing up makes h difference
Habit makes a difference. 1t makes {
difference whether a nan works Of
whether he lounges, sir; whether he trav
els or Stays az home: whether be drink,
freely, sir, o. drinks grardelly. Now
my poor cousin Haryey ana rie. 40 faI
as / could learn about him, was jus
about IS like in our ways as need be-
both wanderers, both hard workers ans
hard livers- les; 1 gue<s we'd start Xix
and stop alike. There was one thin,
bout poor Ha-ve-yoG call him Martin
/ notice, sir. but We always called hin
Harvey in his yoa.L-:hsTe was on
thing bout him / could never equal. II,
a the kn:ck os making money, gentle
men. I've cot. perhaps, as much as
want-as much "a is good for ice. mayb
but it's wiiied Eopey many; ard i
I'd ever been right on TIE harj gan. lik
poor old uarve. III hsve stayec: there.
Ths dcmeanor of the burly man wa
strange. he was hsngdog. ne was fur
tive. he looked like one who had beel
ovescrowed, and yet thrc;gh all mis- dis
comfort there Was q x;a OF peepiny oc
c~asional indication Ct scincn-.,x lik
triumph. A keen watcher aad q orac
ticed ph~ysiognomist would have seer, tina
he was alternately bewildered ami Al
sured, and that his bewiidermert and hi
certainty each knocked the other Oh th
head with a curiously rapid alienation
The keeper OK the place came to ca
them. and the Quartstte-Iethroe. Mon
boddo, Harvey. and the stranger-ra
through the rain to where the first par
Of the service war to be he'd Tie yornc
er Jethroe hrrg his head. His Who'll
heart revoked az this sahteriuge. aad h