The daily Alaskan., 1913-11-19
A Secret By DONALD CHANBERLIN

ing about this meeting until you have heard what I-have to say" Handing me a card with his name, Francis Doyle, and his address on it, he turned away and was soon lost in the crowd.
 was naturally much disconnected. I walked about almlessly for an hour, then went to the address given me.
 To-day you come into an inheritance of $30O00O," be said to me,
 "What%
 He repeated.
 "You don't mean itr'
 But l have something else to tell you that you may not wish to hear" paled and waited
 You are not the son of either of your parents nor the brother of your supposed brothers and sisters"
 This was indeed a blow. l dearly loved au of those he had mentioned l had no heart to ask him to proceed, but he did.
 "Nyhen your supposed father and mother were first married no children were born to them. This was great disappointment to your father especial y. Friction came between them, and they separated. In time your suppos- cd mother, believing that the birth of a child would bring back her husband, took you from your mother when you were born and wrote him that child had been born to her and him. He re- turned to her. and a reconciliation was established
 "Thosc whom you have considered your brothers and sisters came on, the real children of Mir. and Mrs. Stirling. Only Mrs. Stirling knows that you are not her son. Your own mother was of good family who made a runaway match with your father He was un- able to take care of her and died, the cause of his death being his poverty. You were born shortly after his death. and at that time it occurred to Mrs. Stirling to offer an adopted son to her husband instead Cf a real one.
 "Vour own mother placed with law firm a record of your birth and the persons who. had adopted you. That was twenty-one years ago. was then clerk in the employ of the firm and am now the firm myself. Cousins of yours who would have inherited cer- tain property have died, and you are the heir. It has become my duty to notify you of your inheritance. This has involved giving you the other in- formation concerning your birth. If you accept the fortune the secret must come out, for your supposed father must necessarily know whence came your fortune What change this may make in the present relations between husband and wife it is impossible to tell"
 He bad given me the situation in nutshell I was like q weather vane in a changing wlud-two air currents dis putting for the mastery. On the one side there was the possession of $3OO,- GOO. on the other the revelation of secret that would give my dear mother 0afu-I couId not at once consider her as not my mothcr-make trouble be- tween her and father and make known 10 my brothers and sisters that was f a different family. Put aIl this was not in complete pos session of ny mind. The shock l had received on learning that l did not really belong to those loved was up- rermost. dreaded the first meeting with them all after the information ] had received. should certainly give away the fact that there was some thing oa my mind, and doubtless moth CT would suspect what 1t was. What Ia life she must have led, drcading ai- ways that her secret would come out!
 "Wcu." said the attorney, "I pre- sume you will take time to recover from the information have given you and devise some means of softening the blow to Mir. Stirling?" 'I will think over what is best to be done in the premises" ] replied, "and let you know"
 l left him a different man rom what had been when l entered his office. Going to a telephone. I called up my hcmc and informed the household thai [ was going somewhere with a friend and could not tell just when l would be at home How l wished I could go 10 father or mother for advice! This being obliged to settle so important a matter without any one to consult with was, to say the least. trying.
 The next day went home. For the others it was the same home it always had been. but an invisible gulf had come between them and me. Father welcomed me; mother kissed me with her w0nted affection.
 The same afternoon l gave in my decision to the attorney. My fortune went into a hospital, the name of the donor being kept secret. signed lot of papers and departed somewhat relieved. The evening I spent at home trying to analyze the madness l felt. It was not for the loss of a fortune, hut for the knowledge that had come to me
 The secret has been kept. Mother does not know that am aware of 1t,