Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-08-14
DAILY STORY
THE KEY TO A FORTUNE.
IOris,inal.1

various purposes, but none OF them
turned out to be of value. or, if they
did, some one who furnished the means
to put them on the market reaped the
benefit NettletOn's wife ami girl
she had adopted stood by him through
all his disappointments. His son Peter.
rs soon as he became old enough to
shift for himself. became machinist
and drifted away from home.
Peter knew enough of such matters
to feel sure tflat if his father had in
vented means of overcoming the de-
feet he had made a model of the con-
trivance. He and Maggie hunted all
over the house for such model. Ey
cry closet was ransacked, spaces I'M
der the caves of the roof, cellar and
workshop. to no rdrpose. The model
was not to be found.
The pet scheme of John Nettleton'S
life was a machine for saving labor,
the object of which he alone under
stood While thus engaged he dreamed
at night of great fortunes secured, or
that some one was destroying his model
just as he had perfected ii. Often his
wife would awaken him when he was
struggling in nightmare. But before
he accomplished his object she died,
leaving no one but Maggie Thorpe, her
adopted daughter, TO care for him.
She remained with him and was per-
petual bow of promise.
1t was several years after his wife's
death before Nettleton struck the fun
damental idea of his machine. But on
applying it he found that device was
necessary to overcome 4 defect which,
though trifiing i'll itself, rendered the
machine useless. He worked three
years over this and overcame it. Then
he made model of his machine, and n
separate model of his contrivance TO
overcome the defect. He had been so
swindled by persons appropriating his
inventions that he chose to keep a key
to this one, which would alone unlock
the secret. The model of the machine
he kept in his wOrkroom.t The model
of the coltrivance he kept no one knew
where.
But with all his precaution John
Nettleton never reaped the benefit of
his invention. Death took him away so
suddenly that he had no time to reveal
to any one where he kept the model
he called his key model Peter was
called home to bury his father and
found nothing to represent an inheri-
lance except n will bequeathing the
little house and the invention to Mag
gle Thorpe Peter saw the model of
the machine, and. being a machinist.
was delighted with it; but, setting it
in motion, he soon saw the defect. 1t
seemed a simple matter to remedy
that, and he set to work to do so. Mag
gle told him that his father had done
so, but she knew not by what con-
trivance
Peter obtained employment near by
fathers workshop to find a remedy
for the defect. AS his father had been
encouraged by Maggie, so was the son.
She would go into the workshop,
which was in the rear of the house,
when he was there, and when she
found him respondent would remind
him that his father had overcome it,
and what had been done once could be
done again. Often late at night the
shop door would open to reveal Mag
gie's sympathetic face while she held
in her hand a plate on which she had
placed simple supper.
But Peter had not the genius of his
father and at last made up his mind
that if he did not give up hunting for
the secret he would go mad. Then,
and not till then, Maggie advised him
to give It up and reminded him that
there were fortunes to be made in
other ways.
Peter decided to go back to the work
he had done before his fathers death,
but when he came TO part with Maggie
he found that he had won a greater
treasure than fortune-the heart of a
pure young girl whose disposition
would render her the most valuable of
wives. With this discovery he made
another-that he could not go and
leave Maggie He must take her with
him.
Peter bought plain gold ring which
he took to Maggie. Not finding her in
the house he went to the shop. She
was there soldering a kettle that had
become leaky. Peter produced the ring
and as he was about to slip it on her
finger dropped it. 1t rolled into one of
the great seams between the boards in
the floor.
There was nothing to do but take up
a board. Peter took up two and found
Che ring on n box placed between the
joists He took out both the ring and
the box, and seeing that the latter was
locked Maggie went for John Nettle
tons keys, which she had kept since
his death. She unlocked the box and
a model.
Something told them both ut once
that here was the missing key to a
fortune. Taking out the model Peter
turned with it to the model of the ma
chine, but Maggie espied paper in the |
bottom of the box.
Cod. if necessary, will direct my little |