The Washington times., 1910-01-18
HIS BROTHERS KEEPER

by suddenly sitting up and mUttering.
- MS hand 1umbleG aWkW8Tdly at the
side Of his coat
MY watch. Eel out OF pocket. Heard
Il There on tn dock Go back for it
l matted the chauffeur. Eut / was not
minded. having gotten Mark safely
a~ay rom the scene, 20 take him back
20 H. W . were already two blocks from
the waterfront.
Wait L ordered the chauffeur 'Tu
ne back IN I'VE minutes. II the other
push MIN back and shut the door on
And I started on a run for the basin:
leaving Mark once more somnclent on
The cushions and the chauffeur duly
wondering at the vaEaries Of the only
sober member OF the party
Now, mad my brothers watch been an
unmarked one. of his own purchasing IL
might have lain uudisturbed IN the
dock for the first wharf rat 20 PICK I'D,
Tor auEht cared No mere intrinsic
value OF the tiuepiece would nave 1ured
me 10 the recklessneSs OF a second visit
10 the spor where mad found INV
unconscious brother
But. as IL CHANGED. the watch had
been my fathers II had been my
mothers first gift 20 him. At his death
she had given il 10 Mark. She would
he certain 10 notice its absence And
more practical less sentimental rea-
son for my return-the watch's inner
case bore Marks name engraved IN
full
II. as dreaded, that dock had been
the scene OF some folly or misadveD-
ture on my brothers part. and were his
watch found there. the police could not
possibly fail 10 connect MIN with what
ever disaster or escapade there might
have befaiieu- The watch must he
found That was imperative
EVen we've mistaken In attri5utfnc
Marks torn. hlOOd-s tanned plight 10
some encounter which would put him
on the wrong side of the law, the alb
Sence Of the watch would make nv
mother utterly miserable
AnC-unlaSs ny some miracle OF luck
] could ward or exposure in the matter
Of the stolen boncS-s1e vas certain Of
a cup full Of disgrace and heart
breaking without this added sorrow.
reached the dock, unlocked the
lantern and began what J felt 70 be IN
absolutely hopeless search
Back and forth along the strnEpiece
where Mark had fallen I walked. throw
ing the feeble lantern -ays Hither and
thither along the dirty flooring Of the
dock.
Il was as 1 was returning hopeless
from my last futile tour OF the dock
that the light struck 4 faint reflection
from what seemed tiny SPOT Of yellow
metal between two iOisjs al the outer
edge Of the StrinEDieCe-
Idly / stepped nearer and leaned down
70 examine There / sax a tiny little
bar Of gold wedEed into the narrow
space between the ioiSts- Il was the
bar Of a watch chain
7 carefully picked it out from the
crack and the rest Of the chain and the
watch itself followed
Watch and chain zE5 evidently tum-
bied from Marks pocket as ne fell.
the StTlngpleCe, and would have dropped
into the water below had not the chain
bar become wedged IN between the
iOists-
pocketed the oddly recovered watch
and started once more for the street
II in the greater points OF the game
Fortune had proven herself my foe.
yet in the minor matters at least she
was strangely befriendinE US
Mark was safe in the taxicab, where.
IN another minute or two, would 5oin
him Then, when We should reach
home 1 knew could readily get him
TO his room without disturbing our
mother
could find there the exact nature
and extent Of mis- injuries. and II thew
proved slight enough for my own skill
as an amateur surgeon I could put the
lad on his feet again without any one
becoming one whit the wiser
After that I could learn from him the
history Of the evening
And together we might be able to
block out some plan for the circumven-
ing OF Karl Vaughn and the recovery
or the bonds No game was ever ire
trievably lost until the last card was
played And I would play 10 the bitter
end
7 replaced the lantern and STROBE into
the one remaining strip Of darkness that
lay between me and the street
It was barely ten steps in all. along
the dock from where the lanterns
light failed to where the rays from
the street began to illuminP the foot
way And through that dark space I
was hurrying at 4 dcg-trot when:
Hands up,''
matted, iDvOluntarily- Then. gather
ing myself together. prepared to rush
the fOOtDad who Iurked there in the
darkness and dared summon me to sur
render
Whatever nv dread Of the law. had
no fear Of a mere thief. no matter how
great an advantage the darkness and a
proba bic knife or pistol might give him.
So Tightening my muscles for the or
deal sprang into the darkness at the
Invisible foe
Through the gloom. cutting il like
q knife. flashed the white glare Of an
electric fash lamp striking me flu and
IN the face.
But. shutting nay eyes. I lunged for
ward in the direction whence came the
fare.
Ny swinging arms encountered an
alert body. And I grappled blindly with
II. there in the pitch dark
The Continuation OF This story VIII
BE Found in Tom0rroyss~