Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1911-10-05
"Of me? Why?"

unfortunately, I have never. even vet,
heard your name"
You have not?"
mo; left you at Fort Larned be.
! lieving you Christie Maclaire-sup-
posing II your stage name. of course
and was confirmed In this belief by
! finding In the holster OF the saddle
/ you had been riding an envelope bear.
| irE that address"
81 remember; it contained the note
the man brought to me from Hawley:
he had written it that way" She
crossed the room, sinking down into a
chair facing him. And you have
I actually confused me with Christie
Maclaire all this while? Have never
known who was?"
He shook his head.
II told you to call me Hope; that is
my name am Hope Waite"
"Waite!" he leaned forward. star.
tied by the "not-not-"
/ Yes" she burst In, holding out her
hands. casping the locket, "and this
was my fathers; where did you get
IT."
! He took the trinkct from her. turn
irg II over in his fingers. Little by lit
lie the threads Of mystery were be-
Ing unraveled, yet, even now. he could
not zee very far He looked up from
the locket into her questioning face.
, Did | not tell you? No; then II
was an oversight. This was about the
NJ of I
Cimmaron Crossing, but--but, Hope.
1t was not your father
Il know" her voice choking slight
ly. Mrs. Murphy found that out
that Is why l am here. heard my
father came to Sheridan, and wantei
you to heip me find him"
He was thinking and did not answer
at once, and she went on in some
alarm.
DO you know anything about him,
Captain Keith? Where is he? why
is he here? Don't be afraid to tell
me-"
lie pressed the locket back into her
hand. retaining the latter. unresistcd,
within his own.
but he was certainly here a few days
ago, for Fairbain met him. They were
together in the army | am going to
tell you oil | know-it seems to be
tangled web, but the ends must be
somewhere, although. l confess, am
all at sea-"
He told 1t slowly and simply, bring
n is Al ~ Nd
how he had stumbled upon facts APP
parently confirming them. He related
her fathers robbery, his loss of valu-
able papers, and the conversation be-
tween Hawley and Scott which led to
the suspicion that these same pa
pers had fallen into the hands
OF the former. and were the
basis of his plot Hope listened
Oreathless with interest, her widely
opened eyes filled with wonder. As
he concluded speaking she burst
forth:
But I don't understand in the least
Captain Keith Why did this man
Hawley send me to the Salt Fork?"
He thought he was dealing With
son for getting her away; getting her
where he could exercise influence over
her"
"Yes-yes; but who is she?"
That is what makes the matter SO
hard to unravel. She doesn't even
know herself. Hawley is going TO
take advantage of her ignorance IN
10 rN-i- hnr hn
she Is the person he wishes her to
represent-but who Is the person? If
we knew that we might block the
game"
Both sat silent, striving to figure
out some reasonable explanation.
DO You know of any special papers
your father carried" he asked.
mo; none outside his business
agreements"
Has any one ever disappeared con-
nected with your family? Did you
have an older sister,"
Fred and | were the only children.
Why should you ask that question:
Because something of that nature
would seem to be the only rational eI-
told Hawley something-some family
secret-which he felt could be utilized
to his own advantage Then he saw
your picture and was Immediately re-
minded of the remarkable resem-
blance between you and Christie
Maclaire. Evidently this discovery
fitted into his plan, and made 1t pos
sible for him TO proceed. He has been
with the woman, TO sound her, and
find out what he can do with her He
has written letters. sufficiently eX-
plicit to make It clear his scheme IA
based upon a will drawn, as he claims,
by Christie's grandfather. No doubt
by this time he has fully convinced
the girl that she IS The rightful heiress
TO property-as he stated 10 Scott
valued at over a million dollars. That's
a stake worth fighting for, and these
two will make hard combination,
He's got the papers, or claims 10 have,
and they must be the ones stolen from
your father. I have been trusting you
might know something In your family
history which would make 1t all
plain"
But do not" decisively. You
must believe me; not so much as a
hint of any secret has ever reached
me. There are only the four OF us,
Father Mother Fred, and l. | am