The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-31
By Henry Ketchell Webster, Author with
Samuel Merwin) of Calumet K'

to be more potent TO call UP than the
them are associated. The sight OF her
father himself could hardly have HAD so
instantaneous and overwhelming an eff
fect upon her as the sight Of this old
chest, which was one OF the earliest of
her associations with him.
1t had always stood until he had taken
IL with him on that last voyage OF his,
upon certain farther corner OF his desk
in the old library. IT was one OF those
objects of class that children always
love-smooth. polished. beautiful; beau
tiful and, at the same time. defying cu-
rlosity.
1t was quite masterpiece of cabinet
work NO hinges We're visible, and the
cover fitted so closely upon the box itself
that the line which separated them was
OF keyhole or lock To those uninitiated
into its secret, it dcfled every attempt to
open it.
Somewhere in her mind now. In o. COM
paratively quiet eddy, sheltered from the.
torrent OF memory that a&as sweeping
through 1t. was alf-amused recollection
chief. ground OF superiority over Tom
| Fanshaw Her father had taught her the
| secret of the box. If Tom would turn his
back and shut his eyes, she could open
| 1t for him in a moment. But the boy,
with all his ingenuity. never was able
to solve the secret for himself. He had
| spent whole days over it-long precious
| holidays-but always in vain.
lie remembered. too. the day when her
| father had shown her the mystery. had
| done ii by way OF consolation for some ter
rible childish disappointment she had sus-
tanned. He had opened IL for her. and
then had sat watching her efforts TO re-
takes. pointing with long, bronze letter.
J opener but never touching the box itself
nor her own clumsy fingers
| He never had eXacted a promise from
| her that she should guard this mystery;
had never even instructed her that she
was not. to tell. But she remembered.
| r,,l .t he II H.
cold lips. remembered just the half grave.
haf-amused tone in which he had said.
| There is a secret Jeanne, that we have
from all the world-you and l."
Presently she seated herself on the
bunk, took the little chest on her knees
cold and her excitement she found this
rather difficult thing 10 do. though her
mind never, never hesitated oyer the
OF procedure, She knew In just what
order you pressed in those innocent look
Ing little ornamental taclSs In the brass
turn the box up on Its end to let the just
released steel ball roll down its channel
TO the pocket, where 1t must lie before
! the last pressure upon the last spring
would prove effective. She no more fall
tered over IL than she would have fall
tered over her alphabet.
And at last when her numbed fingers
had completed their task. the counter
weighted lid rose slowly by ITSELF just as
1t had used TO, and revealed to her swim
ming eyes the contents of the interior
i Up TO that moment she had not real
lied what the finding of the dispatch box
meant. 1t had not occurred to her that
a narrative which would reach. perhaps.
20 the morning Of the last day of ALL was
lying here, right under her eyes.
ohe But 4, now T,, when the ,,, cover opened and
In red morocco. she realized that here,
under her hand. was the very object, in
search OF which the Aurora had set out
upon her perious voyage.
With the first realization OF what the
contents OF that book must be. a tragedy
and the, central figure of 1t her own
father. the man she had loved best in all
the world she found 1t almost impossible
to open the book. She took 1t out of the
dispatch, box and for little while sat.
dry-eyed. hugging the precious, poignant
thing up tight against her breast.
But at last she put the dispatch box
to one side. brought the candle nearer. so
that its light would serve to read by. and
began turning the pages of the book.
The first sight OF her fathers clear
erect, precise handwriting warmed her
WIN sudden courage. He had not set
out upon his voyage OF discovery without
weighing and expecting the possibilities
OF failure and death. Wei. he had died,
new coast line TO the map of the world.
And she knew-knew as clearly as If his
own spirit had stood there beside her tell
ing to her in his old, dearly remembered
voice, that next 10 coming home alive.
: bringing the fruits of his discovery with
nim his last wish in the world must have
: been that that should happen which had
: happened now-that she, his daughter
should hold that very book in her hands
and read the story. and know that he had
} not died In vain.
But even this new inspiration OF cour-
| age did not make her strong enough to
turn back and read the last entry in that
but .he will failed her So she began at
the beginning. Once she had plunged into
. the fascinating narrative, the whole OF the
outside world faded away for her. She
! was oblivjous TO the fact that the dark
ness outside was no longer the mere dark
ness OF the fog. obvious TO the rising wind
lcaky walls OF the hut and made the
candle flicker; oblivious, even. TO the very
; sound which she had meant TO wait for
the sound OF Toms voice calling out TO
her from the yacht, and the sound Of
other. more alarming. nearer voices.
, They all fell on deaf ears as she turned
of her fathers life, 1t was written, in
the maip, in the scientific, oDservant. un-
impassioned temper which she knew SO
we'll He chronicled those days of peril,
when their ship, crushed In the Ice. and
only kept from sinking by that very Ice
which had just destroyed her. was drift
ing along In the pack, 10 what seemed
certain destruction, as quietly and as eX-
phcitly he did the uneventful voyage
through Behring strait. The mans cour-
age was SO deeply elemental in him that
he could not be seif-conscious about IL.
He told of the land. the strange, un-
charted shore. whose discovery offered
them a respite. at least. from that de-
struction; told how he got his remaining
stores ashore and built the hut, where,
In all human probability, he and his COM
panions were to spend the rest OF their
lives.
i Finally she reached the record OF the
day when he had consigned to the
the bottle containing the chart of the
coast and the account Of his plight, to-
gether with the course which the relief
ship must take, should such a relief ship
be sent out, TO have any hope at all OF
reaching them.
i II suppose" his narrative for this day
concluded, there is hardly one chance in
ten thousand that my message will ever
be picked up and certainly not one In a
million that IL will be found in time to
bring an effective relief. However 1t
helps TO keep the others cheerful. and
that is the main thing"
At the close OF the days entry was
a single line which contracted her heart
with sharp spasm of pain. This Is
Jeanne's birthday" IL said.
Shn hoY. and