The Detroit times., 1913-10-30

I consolatio nprize, hurting to him~out
| OF the void like the magic gift oil the
traditional fairy godmother.
Its an offset To the hall-bedroom
idea, at any rate" he said to himself
humorOusly. 1T holds out an es-
cape from the noble army OF rent
payers. When my twenty-eight hun
dred is gone could live down there
landed proprietor, and by the same
mark an honorary colonel, and raise
the cabbages was talking about
eh. Chum?-whife you stalk rabbits.
How does that strike you?"
He laughed whimsically. He. John
Valiant, Of New York, frst-nighter at
It's theaters. hail-fellow-well-met in
its club corridors and welcome diner
1t any one OF a hundred brilliant
slass-and misunderstanding supper-tab-
les, entombed on the wreck of Vir-
gin.a plantation, a would-be country
gentleman, on an automobile and next
to nothing a year!
He bethought himself of the fallen
letter and possessed himself Of 1t
quickly. 1t lay with the superscrip-
| ton side down. On 1t was written, in
the same hand which had addressed
| the other envelope ~.
For my son, John Valiant,
| When he reaches the age Of twen-
ty-fve"
That, then. had been written by his
father-and he had died nearly TWEEN
ty years ago! He broke the seal with
strange feeling as II, walking in
some familiar thoroughfare. he had
stumbled on a lichened and sunken
tombstone.
| when you read this. my son, you
will have come to mans estate. 1t 10
curious to think that this black, black
ink may be faded to gray and this
white, white paper yellowed. just
from lying waiting so long. But
strangest of all is to think that you
yourself whose brown head hardly
tops this desk, will be as tall q hope)
as T. How | wonder what you will
look like then, And shall the
real, real I. I mean-be peering over
your strong broad shoulder as you
read? Who knows? Wise men have
dreamed such thing possible-and I
am not bit wise.
John. you will not have forgotten
/ tudt vOu are a NdlldIl Out you al "
also a Virginian. VIII you have dis
covered this for yourself? Here Is
the deed to the land where I and my
father, and his father, and many,
many more Valiants before them were
( born. Sometime, perhaps. you will
know why you are John Valiant OF
New York instead Of John Valiant Of
Damory Court. / can not tell you
myself, because II is too true story,
and have forgotten how to tell any
blu. fairy tales, where everything hap
pens right, where the Prince marries
the beautiful Princess and they live
happily together ever after.
You may never care to live at
Damory Court. Maybe the life you
will know so well by the time you
read this will have welded you ia
itself. II so, we'll and good. Then
leave the old place to your son. But
there is such thing as racial habit
and the call or blood And know
there Is such thing, too, as fate.
Every man carries his fate on a rib
bon and about his neck; so the Mos
lem put 1t. II was my fate to go
away, and ! know now-since dis
lance is not made by miles alone
that myself shall never see Damory
Court again: But life is a strange
wheel that goes round and round and
comes back 10 the same point again
and again. And ii may be your fate
to 90 back. Then perhaps you will
cry (but. oh. not on the old white
bear's-skin rug--never again with me
holding your small, small handD-
Westinghouse. Wishing House.
Where are you?'
And this old parchment deed will
answer
Here ! am Master: here I ami
All, we are only children. after all
playing ont our plays. have had
many toys. but o John. John. The
ones ] treasure most are all In the
Never-Never Land"
/ (ContInued.)