The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-12-10


Key" will be shown.
Many man wr ties down on paper
the things he cannot articulate.
James Gallon, dreaming of two wo-
men, tactiurn and silent as he was,
wrote down the thoughts which he
could not express in speech. His diary,
! we'll thumbed, held the history of many
lonely night; but of all these nights
there was one that stood out in his
mind
1t was the darkness enclosing a wO-
man on bed. He still heard her whis
pered cry, "You speak of God, Tom
but have no religion but mother
hood" Before his closed eyes came
the vision of lamp lit-then almost
an apparition-th face of his daugh-
ter. One life had fled, possibly ap-
palled by the horrors of world that
recks not of our poor humanity. Yet
there was in the dead woman's arms a
child grotesquely asleep, as if unawak-
ened to the sorrows this mother had
known.
Ruth" he cried. There was no
answer from the still woman in the
darkness-but thus he had christened
his only child.
And Gallon knew he was getting old.
The problem before him was no longer
dim and vague-as it had been in the
days of his prime-but absolutely dis
tinct and clear: What was to become
of Ruth when he died. He sternly put
out of his mind the thought of his for
mer partner the man-was he dead?
II he had not died that night in the
gulch-if he were still alive knowing
the secret of the Master Key, who
would save Ruth from his vengeance?
Then there arose before Gallons S
mind the straight, strong, almost aus
tere figure of his mining engineer,
John Dore. Youthful, of course, but
he had proved himself wholly compe-
tent in almost every task that had been
given him.
And as though Fate desired to give
further proof of Dore's manliness, she
arranges for him, shortly after this, a
fearful undertaking. Ruth, while ex-
ploring the tunnels, is thrown into an
ore car by terrific explosion. This ex-
| plosion sends the car on it downward
flight out through the tunnel and over
the trestle. The is in danger of tragic
death if the car goes over the dump at
the end. Dore, experimenting the op-
erations of travelling bucket, sees her
predicament. He orders the bucket
swung loose by its cable and, hanging
down by his legs. he swings over the
girl and pulls her up to him, the car
rushing on and smashing over the ore
dump.
But what of Gallon?
Those whom we most want to forget
reappear at strange times. James
Gallon saw the ghost of the partner he
had murdered on the crest of the hill
above the mine they had discovered
years ago together.
Yes, WIlkerson, the partner, was
alive. He had continually searched for
Gallon. In some vague way Gallon
had realized this, and his fears had
been summarized by the words written
down in the diary:
'WilkersOn still alive bv night.
When will he Come out into the day?
he snail never have the key that will
unlock the secret to my little girls
happiness. | will trust John Dore -
put IL was no apparition that Gallon
uau seen, first on the crest of the hill
ana then at the window; it was really
WllKerson who, after one satisfied
glance, rode swiftly away toward Vale
vista. 1t was midnight when he raped
at the door of the railroad station and
called the sleepy agent waiting for the
express. This is the telegram he sent
vale Vista, Cal. Jean Darnell,
Astor House, New York City, N. Y.
Have found Gakon at last. Address
Master Key Mine tomorrow. Wilker-
son."
Who was Jean Darnell? Well, she
had a mission of vengeance, too. Incl
dentally, she welcomed money. Wilker.
son had to have it if he ever expected
to possess her. When Ruth came to
make her fight, with the help of her
sweetheart, John Dore, she had two
crafty persons to deal with.
| Commercial PRINTING Of th;o oGoo