The Tupelo journal., 1912-06-07
HENHHNEHCHgTWfBS1ER
,6PYRtoHT 1910 on THE CENTURY CO
~~

It tight.
TITS q code" he said, "a boyish code
of my own. remember that for q
long time after I invented It be-
lieved it to be utterly insoluble; yet 1t
was childishly simple. 1t consists
simply of splitting the alphabet in
two and using the last half for the
f1rst, and vice versa. 1t must have &C.
Cured to hundreds Of boys, at one
time and another, and yet" his voice
faltered. yet, it's a little odd that
you should have stumbled upon IN
other example Of It,"
THE next word was o-r-g-e-n-lr-Q."
THAT means betrayed" he said,
almost instantly. "Was-was there any
more"
"One little word, three letters,
wv But l know already what they
mean, Philip" There was a moment
airy silence, then she repeated the
whole phase-"'A coward betrayed
him" She was trembling all over
now, herself. Il knew" she said, Il
knew 1t was something like that"
Then she dropped down beside him
and clasped him tight in her arms.
philip, that was written around your
picture. an old picture Of you It must
have been, which fell out Of your
pocket when l waS undressing you
that night after your fEht with Ros-
coe. recognized the Iookst It was N
closed in as mir. Hunters. had often
seen 1t on his watch fob, and it's en-
graved with his initials."
ut fell out of my pocket" said
Philip, incredulously. %
Yes" she said, that pushed me.
too, for awhile; and finally ! figured
1t out. You must have found it"
That night in Roscoe's cave. when
I was waiting for him. I had forgot
ten 1t until this moment"
II knew It must be like that" she
said, something like that. And wasn't
It she began
Hunters code as well as mine?
Yes. We made 1t up together when
we were boys" he said, and We used
It occasionally even after we left the
Point. We wrote in II, both of us, as
easily as in English; and read It the
same way"
Her young arms still held him fast
Philip, he must have been sorry
a long time-almost since it happened.
it's an old. old picture Of you,
dear, and the ink Of the letters Is
faded. He's carried 1t with him ever
since, as a reminder of the wrong he
did you, and of his cowardice in let
ting you suffer under it"
Il suppose 1t was that from the
first
Il don't believe he ever meant"
She let the sentence break OF there
and there was a long. loeg silence.
II suppose that's true" he said at
last. Il suppose l might have saved
him then. just as l might have saved
him later, from Roscoeb dart can
think Of a hundred ways that II might
AVE happened-the accusation against
me, / mean-without his having In
part In it." Then he said rather alb
ruptly: "Fanshaw told you the story,
didn't he!"
She assented. Most Of 1t, that Is.
Perhaps not quite all he knew"
II don't know it all myself" he told
her, that is, l have filled 1t in with
~guesses. l knew about the girl. Hunt
er was half mad about her, and she,
/ suppose, was in love with him. Any
way, he came to me one night-the
last time l ever talked with him-rag-
ing with excitement. The girls father
had found out about him and meant,
she said, to kill him, and perhaps, her,
too. Anyhow, she had forbidden Hunt
er seeing her again. We took a drink
or two, together, before / started, and
/ suppose he must have drunk
himself half mad after that; for he
started right on my trail and did what
you know. l have always supposed,