The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-08-03
The EUening Story
Buried TREASURED
(By Molly McMaster. }

L
David Gordon was digging hole in
the earth in which to sink the fourth
| upright of his rustic arbOr- When his
spade hit and exposed to view bat
tered old tin box David was projected
back in his memory TO the days or
playing pirate and of buried treasure.
! No healthy boy of his day had denied
| himself the joy of assuming the role
of pirate and hiding his stolen booty
| in the earth.
When he had removed the rusty lid
| of the box, David made a discovery
which amused him not little. Until
| now, he had not known that girls also,
| had played at the enhancing game.
| The bold buccaneer who had hid this
particular box had been female Cap
tain Kidd. A sadly mutilated doll, a
string of blue grass beads and tiny
leather purse were the contents OF the
concealed receptacle.
Inside the purse were several pieces
of paper on which were scratched
hieroglyphics which, doubt, were
codes of some ancient and extinct
secret of childhood. He examined the
papers carefully ana in time managed
to decipher a name and a date. The
former was Barbara Folsom" and
the latter was 1900, August"
She must be a woman of at least
twenty-five now unused David, COM
putting quickly. 'tShe is probably the
mother of a Barbara junior by this
time.''
He put aside the box and proceeded
with his digging. The name Barbara
fingered in his mind, however, and, in
some vague way, it seemed to suggest
something familiar to him. 1t even
seemed as if he had seen the name
Barbara Folsom in print, but he could
not recall when or where.
1t looks as if romance were not en-
tirely extinct" he laughed. I'D like
to find that girl and send her the box
for birthday gift" This seemed so
utterly absurd that he laughed still
more decidedly. For aught he knew,
might now be doing missionary SER
vice in South Africa or the far East.
But David continued to wonder
where it was he had seen that name.
Social uplift, was it, OF what? Not
SO long ago, he told himself, and in
some rather prominent connection.
He hoped she was not too awfully
advanced. Theoretically, he was keen
on the sort of woman who does little
else save love her husband. He won
dered if Barbara could be a peace
conference delegate or, perhaps, a
militant suffragette, Surely not
heaven forbid! Not a girl who had
once been a pirate and buried a cast
off doll and string of blue beads!
And it seems to me that it is only
recently and in some magazine or
other that 1 have seen that name"
he reflected
When he had finished setting the
uprights he went in to make himself
ready for dinner, still bearing with
him the not-to-be-forgotten name of
Barbara Folsom 1t seemed to have
coE1- to stay and he could not Danish
it. Barbara Folsom-who was she?
He found his answer sooner than he
expected. 1t was the very name itself
under the title of the very first piece
of magazine fiction which met his
eye.
After all, she's only a well known
woman" he sighed respectfully, for
David did not take kindly to literary
women.
Still for some reason he could hard
ly Tathom, he was prompted to write
to the magazine Office and ask Bar
privilege of calling on her. He would
find out, once for all, whether or not
she were fact or fiction. There GER
tainly could be no harm in humOring
his curiosity to that extent.
Barbara Folsom not only replied by
mail, but intimated graciouSly that
she should be glad to see him at her
cidentally. she confessed that she was
Mrs. John Fraser in private life.
Without precisely knowing why, David
was rather disappointed over the inn
mediate outcome, but he resolved to
carry out his original intention
Still, he felt no slight degree of un-
certainty as to the wisdom of his
procedure as he stood before the en-
trance of a modest apartment house
in the Washington square neighbor-
hood. He carried a bag in which was
the pirates treasure and he wondered
what memories it would inspire in the
mind OF the one to whom it had be-
quite resigned himself to the existence