The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-09-29

room and looked about her again.
There was nothing that demanded
careful scrutiny. She wasn't quite
sure whether she was within the pro-
rrieties or not but she seized the old
est and most worn OF the volumes on
the Shelf 1t WAS Il tcXt book on min
ing and metallurgy, she OBJ evad, and
opening it to the fly leaf, across the
pc@e she saw written in u firm, Wig
orous masculine hand mans, will
Lam BERKELEY Newbold,' and be-
meath these words, "Thayer Hall, Har-
vard,' and a date some seven years
back.
The owner of that book, whether the
present possessor or not, had been
college man. Say that he had gradu-
ated at twepty-one or twenty-five, he
would be twenty-eight or twenty-nine
years old now, but if SO, why that
white hair? Perhaps, though, the
book did not belong to the man Of the
cabin.
She turned to other books on the
shelf. Many of them were technical
books, which she had sufficient gen.
eral culture to realize could be only
available to a man highly educated,
and a special student of mines and
mining-a mining engineer, she de-
cided, with glance at those instru.
ments and appliances of scientific
character plainly, but of whose actual
use she was ignorant.
A rapid inspection of the other
books confirmed her in the conclusion
that the man Of the mountains was
indeed the owner of the collection.
There were few we'll worn volumes
Of poetry and essays, Shakespeare,
Bible, Bacon, Marcus Aurelius, Epicte-
tus, Keats, small dictionary, a com.
pendious encyclopedia, just the books,
she thought, smiling at her conceit,
that man of education and culture
would want to have upon desert Is.
land where his supply of literature
would be limited.
The old ones were autographed as
the first book she had looked in; 9th.
ers, newer additions to the little H.
brary, if she could Judge their condi.
ton, were unsigned.
Into the corner cupboard and the
drawers, of course, she did not look
There was nothing else in the room
to attract her attention, save some
piles Of manuscript neatly arranged
on one Of the shelves, each one cover
ed with square of board and kept
in place by pieces of glistening quartz.
There were four of these piles and an
other half the size of the first four
on the table. These of course, she did
not examine, further than to note that
the writing was III the same bold,
free hand as the signature in the
books. If she had been an expert she
might have deduced much from the
writing; as it was, she fancied it was
strong, direct, manly.
Having completed her inspection OF
this room, she opened the door and
went into the other. It was smaller
and less inviting, 1t had only one
window, and a door opened outside.
There was cook stove here, and
shelves with cooking utensils and
graniteware, and more rude box re-
ceptacles on the walls which were fill
ed with a bountiful and we'll selected
store of canned goods and provisions
Of various kinds. This was evident
ly the kitchen, supply room, china
closet. She saw no sign of bed in
it, and wondered where and how the
man had scent the night.
BY rights, her mind should have
been filed with her unc,e and his
party, and in their alarm she should
have shared, but she was so extremely
comfortable, except for her foot, which
did not greatly trouble her so long as
she kept it quiet. tat she felt GER
tain degree of conte~'ment, not to say
happiness. The adventure was so ro-
mantle and thrillipg-Save for those
awful moments in the Iocl-especially
to the soul of a conventional woman
who had been brought up in the most