The daily Alaskan., 1915-02-26
THE TWO CLAIMANTS By LOUISE B. CUMMINGS

l came fast friends.
 These young men. having compared notes. learned rhat they ronc from eminent British families. Prower was q younger son ur a nobcmIu. and Gun ningham claimed to ne a graduate of Oxford. Besides the fact ul thcir be- ing fellow countrymeu there was strong resemblance between them. ] They were nearly the same height and build and both light compleNiOned. There was one difference between them. though it was scarcely noticea- ble. Prowcr's right eye was of slightly different shade of blue from his left eye
 But there was d great difference in the character of the two mcn. How ard Prowcr r-as d kind hearted, noble man; Cunningham was a devil. They nrospcrtcd together for time, agree ing th1t 1T cue struck p1.ing dirt he would share it with the o,Anr Finally 1 Cunningham dug hult ir he ground fer which hy WHg offered a hundred tho@>sud G1I.avS lIr had u1 intention of sharing l, with prowcg aEI was de liLcrgtir~ how hr coud ,val him out of Eis '.;t'aH vixen H .r;,nr crWe ad. drcSS.L tu Hownl rru",r yarI Of BrOEca"d
 Prowpr ul~ "way 1a d prospecting tour w'rr; ,,, i;.ng r:.r Eath men had bsru a-al trHH E".'HI fo' ten ycarS. If r.: '..r w.rp r-l of tho way l Cum.a@Gam .,-a. return, pass him. self rI i,. ...,. 8 CT. @.I .huS aD- propriatr ;',. ;i., .:d ,>. lies. While he was dr';'w.Mi.s on ,.,S r'au word va; received t.s r@u"cr I-,l been at tackcd ly r'af.n ja'..o,* and mur- dcrcd
 Cunuiu-hsm ,.rat {, i'l u'arc where tue fight h#l o~.dr.e. aI- '..ri 10 find his friends hrHy II, vas lnll that q number of prr,vuS u.I hnyn killed in the fight aIai they bad "a been bur. Ied side hy site i.v U.% shown the graves. but S"w no rr.s.I why he should cXhumr lis fr.ou3.& h"ly Re turning tu his ralin. h. ,irn"j th" let ter that had brrlE1s"2tyel auI harmed chat ITuwcrS ratlg" a.l ,vo older brothers had been taken ' ""d all had died within a period of u few weeks.
 A month from that 'inr Cunning ham appeared in Eug'ali aud claimed to be Howard Prowvr, HOW Earl Of Brokche)d. There was no cne of the family to receive him except u sister of the late uarl, who did not doubt that he was her nephew.
 No one disputed the identity of the claimant except Lady. Gladys Penn broke. the daughter uf nui@hhoring nObleman who would have been How ard PrOwcr'S wife cXgc cpt for his pover- ty. She had not married and when the heir returned expected a happy meeting. To play the part of her lover was more than Cunningham could aC- complish. and she at once pronounced him an impOStOr.
 | But notwithStAndnr this assertion, which was not very largely accepted, Cunningham established himself as the Earl of BrokcfeId. He had played the part of peer some Iuur months, when who should appgar but the real earl Prower had been left fnr dead by those who had attacked h:u and those who had joiucl in lis defense. Before they had returned 10 bury the dead he had crawled away When he had re covered he looked for his c'Um. but did not find him Later he had heard of his fathers and brothers death and at once started for England.
 When one day Howard PrUwvr walk cd into his home and met h.s old friend face to face the latter turned pale. There was one of two courses which he might choOse-&tep down and out or claim that the newcomer was an impostUr. He chose the hitter course. He ignored h., visitor, saying that he had cunlc to prrsonatc the real Howard I'rowyr, but tlat ha would be unable to Subetantiatr a.S calm. Prowcr, aghast at S@rh trratmeut withdrew aud entered suit against the man wEo had usulV.u a.s ul.c and his property. His aGu; unfortunately ad herrd tu the opinion that Cunningham was her nephew This left Lady Gladys Pembroke ;au only witness in Prowpr's favor, and her evidence was not counted 50 valuable as that Uf q member of the claimants fa..iIy. Ney- erthelcsS. Lady Gladys warmly es- pOuSed Howard $ cause. arl He rcla- tions of lovers thlt had existed before he left for America were resumed
 One witness was found in an old woman who had uurstd Howard when he was a baby. But shc had never seen him since that time. and her evi. deuCe was not considered of much val ue, especially since in her uid age she had lost her eycSight. However, at the trial she was called to the witness stand and testified as follows:
 q have not seen Howard prOwer since he was d baby, when 1 used to give him his bath and wheel him in his perambulator. but if l could see plainly now as then 1 would know him for I noticed on him q defect have never seen in any one else. His eyes were of different shade of bIuc."
 The two claimants were at once ex