The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1912-12-02
after all. Who knowsT' she questioned
drea miiy What was the queer verse
he added to his letter?

ruin ana lIS failure udu udSteneu ueF
fathers death Mrs. Thornton was
repeating the lines of the doggerel
verse over and over again until ali at
once there came queer, frightened
look in her eyes. and she turned a col
orless face toward her daughter. al
MAJ she cried suddenly.
What is it, mother? You are ill?'
The girl sprang to her feet and has
tened around the table to her mothers
si.ie
mo, it is nothing; only, Alma. l be-
Heye have discovered the secret hid
den in the vase" Mrs. Thornton's s
veice was agitated. and her hands
trembIed in her daughters warm clasp.
..Oh. mother. dear, don't bother your
head about that foolish prophecy! You
will be really i'll if you permit yourself
to brood over it." urged Alma. Come
out and look at my monthly rose bush.
1t Is covered with buds
mo, listen. Alma. | am in earnest"
protested Mrs. Thornton. Don't you
remember your father always called
you his busy bee'?"
aYes," said Alma patiently.
''And you remember the walnut tree
at the back door has always been call
ed the giant because Of it's size?"
.'Yes."
ss'Well. then, see if the verse your
great-grandfather wrote does not seem
aprophecy:
when the bee wings away from the hive
Then shall the south wind blow free.
So fortune shall come to Thorntons alive,
But doomed is the giant-doomed the
rooftree."
s'You, Alma, are the bee. and you
have left home to seek for work, and
the other lines predict that in a strong
south wind the walnut tree will fail,
and it will fall upon the house. Then
fortune will come to the Thorntons!"
Pink spots burned in Mrs. Thorn
TONS cheeks as she looked at her pret-
ty daughter.
gAlma bent and kissed her with sud-
queer and creepy to have the mystical
verse translated in that manner. 1t
could not be that her mothers mind
was affected by long brooding over the
Thornton secret. for Mrs. Thornton
banished these fears by arising and
proceeding with her household tasks
in her customarily efficient manner. and
Alma tried to Danish her own uneasi-
ness by helping her mother, and the
subject was dropped.
1t was a hot day, with an irritating
wind blowing from the south. AS the
afternoon advanced the sun disappear
ed and the wind howled mournfully in
t.a walnut tree. Alma found herself
. tns1fklng that the wind was sounding
requiem among the green branches.
It grew cooler. and after sunset they
wandered down into the garden. their
thin gowns blowing In the gale that
swept upon them. The pale clouds re-
fected the afterglow and seemed men,
acing in their rapid approach. The
dust whirled down the road in a white
sheet, and as it few the gale broke
over the Thornton place. The two
women did not 60 into the house. AS
If by unspoken but mutual consent.
they chung to the garden fence and
watched the attack of the south wind.
It came and threw itself upon the
walnut tree with violence. The giant
writhed and bent In the struggle. Then
all at once. with an ominous crackle,
1t fell. crashing, laundering down upon
the kitchen end of the house. crushing
the roof to earth like an eggshell. The
fall of the giant walnut tree shook the
earth 1t brought wondering faces to
neighboring windows. and its last echo
found Mrs. Thornton and Alma cling
ing to each other and crying.
"If all this has come true as he
prophesied. then it will be true about
the fortune" sobbed the elder woman.
and Alma. awed into silence. had moth
ing to say.
Neighbors were gathering about the
fallen tree and ruined house. 1t was
Abel Bloxsom who. delving among th
roots upturned by the topping giant
found the big brass box which col
tained the Thornton fortune so Ion.
hidden from the heirs.
"Your great-grandfather must have
planted that tree when he buried the
box" commented Abel after he had
congratulated mother and daughter.
'I'll dicker with you for the tree. Mrs.
Thornton. OF course the trunk is hol-
low or it wouldn't have fallen, but the
big limbs are all right and
"No, thank you. Mr.. Blossom" said
Alma quickly. We're going to build
a new house. and the walnut tree is
To- be made into furniture, isn't it,
motherT'
Anything you say, my dear" cried
her happy mother. Il am so glad yon
haven't got to 60 to that horrid school
again"
"If the busy bee hadn't gone and
winged her fight away. yon know.
where would the Thornton prophecy
come in or the solution of the secret
1t all goes to show Great grandfather
Thornton was more wonderful man
than you have depicted him." laughed
Alma.
"Come, dear: let us go in and count
the money" urged her mother. And
you will agree that this Is what most
anybody would have done at that mo-
ment.
They found that there was quite
enough to keep them comfortably for
the rest Of their days: but Alma. hav-
ing departed from the hive. found 1t
difficult to go back TO 1t. At any rate
she couldn't be a drone; she had ac,
luired the work habit.