White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1914-08-23
The Million Dollar Mystery

and then for the first time noticed
lchild's cloak. She put the baby into
d chair and broke open the envelope
Name this child Florence Gray.
will send annually a liberal sum fol
her support and reclaim her in bel
eighteenth birthday. The other hal
of the inclosed bracelet will identif,
me. Treat he girl we'll. for | shall
watch over her in secret"
Into the fixed routine of hel
humdrum life had come a mystery,
tantalizing, fascinating mystery. She
had read of foundlings left on door
steps-from paper covered novels
confiscated from her pupils-but thai
one should be placed upon her owl
respectable doorstep! Suddenly she
smiled down at the child and the
child smiled back. And there was
nothing more 10 be done except to
bow before the DEGREES of fate. Like
all prim old maids, her heart was
full of unrequited romance. and here
vas something she might spend its
foods upon without let or hindranee.
Already she vas hoping that the
man or woman who had left 1t might
never come back.
The child grew. Regularly each
year. upon a certain date, Miss Far
low received a registered letter with
money. These letters came from all
parts of the world; always the same
sum, always the same line II am
watching"
Thus seventeen years passed; and
to Susan Farlow each year seemed
shorter than the one before. For
she loved the child with all her heart.
She had not trained young girls all
these years without becoming adept
in the art of reading the true signs
of breeding. There was no ordinary
blood in Florence; the fact was en-
phasized by her exquisite face, her
small hands and feet. her spirit and
gentleness. And now, at any day,
some n with a broken bracelet
might come for her. As the days
went on the heart of Susan Farlow
grew heavy.
Never mind, aunty," said Flor
ence; II shall always come back to
see YOU"
She meant it, poor child; but how
was she to know the terrors which
lay yonder, beyond the horizon?
The house of Stanley Hargreave, in
R~iyerdale. was the house of no ordi-
nary rich man. Outside II was simple
enough, but within you learned what
kind of a man Hargreave was. There
were rare Ispahans and Saruks on
the floors and tapestries on the walls,
with here and there a fine painting.
The library represented a fortune.
Money had been laid out lavishly but
never wastefully. II was the home
of a scholar, a dreamer, a wide
traveller.
In the library stood the master of
the house, idly lingering some papers
which lay on the study table. He
shrugged at some unpleasant
thought, settled his overcoat about
his shoulders. took up his hat, and
walked frcm the room, %frowning
slightly. The butler, who also acted
in the capacity of valet, always with
in call when his master was about,
stepped swiftly to the hall door and
opened it.
Il may be out late. JONES'" said
Hargreave.
Yes, sir"
Hargreave stared into his face
keenly. as If trying to pierce the
grave face to learn what was going
en- behind 1t.
How long have you been with
mel"
Fourteen years. sir"
Some day I shall need you"
My life has always been at your
disposal, sir, since that night you
rescued it,"
Well. I haven't the least doubt
that when ! ask you will give"
without question sir. 1t was
always to be understood"
Hargreave's glance sought the mir
ror. then the smileless face of his
man. He laughed, but the sound
conveyed no sense of mirth; then he
turned and went down the steps
slowly, like a man burdened with
some thought which was not alto
gether to his liking. He had sen an
order for his car, but had immediate
ly countermanded 1t. He would walk
till he grew tired, hail a taxicab, and
take a u up and down Broadway
The wonderful illumination might
prove %diverting. For eighteen years
nearly; and now it was as natural
for him to throw a glance over his
shoulder whenever he left the house
as it was for him to breathe. The
average man would have grown care
less during all these years; but Har.
greaye was not an average man; he
was rather, an extraordinary in.
dividual. 1t was his life in exchange
for eternal vigilance, and he knew
and accepted the fact.
Half an hour later he got into q
taxicab and directed the man tc
drive downtown as far as Twenty
third street and back to Columbu,
circle. The bewildering display O
lights, however in nowise served Il
lift the sense of oppression that ha(
weighed upon him all day. South o
Forty-second street he dismissed
the taxicab and stared undecidedll
at the brilliant sign of a famous res
Ifaurant He was naithar hungry No