Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1915-06-24

h~I N'tSi
turn and silent a. he was, wrote down
the thoughts which he could not ex-
press in speech. His diary, we'll thumb
ed, held the history of many Il lonely
night, but of all these nights there was
Il that stood out in his mind.
1t was the darkness inclosing a wom-
an on a 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 4 lamp Lit, then almost an ap
parition-the face of his daughter. One
life had fled, possibly appalled, by the
horrors Of 4 world that recks not of our
poor humanity. Yet there was in the
dead woman's arms Il child, gro
tesquely asleep, as if unawakened to
the sorrows this mother had known.
"Ruth!" he cried. There was no an.
swer from the still woman in the dark
ness, but thus he had christened his
only child.
1t seemed to him as if that echo still
reverberated from the moon washed
hills which marked the site of THE
Master Key"
II am getting old" he thought as he
turned the pages of the diary as if un-
consciously counting the years since a
woman had leaned over his shoulder.
"Ruth! he murmured again.
The problem before him was no
longer dim and vague, as it had been
in the days of his prime, but absolutely
distinct and clear-what was to become
Of Ruth when he died? With his train
ed business Intelligence he set himself
to solve this question.
He reviewed in his mind all the men
and women he had known. It was Il
strange procession. They marched be-
fore his sharpened vision, Old partners,
fresh young girls, mature women, men
with check books in their hands, men
dying of thirst on the deSert-and Will
kerson. He sternly put out of his mind
the thought Of his former partner-thc
man-was he dead? If he had not died
that night in the gulch, if he We're still
alive, knowing the secret of 1.-The Mas
ter Key" who would save Ruth from
his vengeance?
Then there rose before his mind the
straight, strong, almost austere figure
Of his mining engineer, John Dorr-
youthful, Of course, but he had proved
himself wholly competent in almost
every task that had been given him.
The old man thought more deeply.
He recalled his w former years. He
himself had broken down the iron bar
'riers Of a cold world for the sake Of a
woman whose image Ruth was. He
had seer in John DORIS eyes the grow
ing flame Of love. Long experience
had taught the old man that there is
no passion SO dependable in this world
as love.
John Dorr loved Ruth. 1t needed no
monetary bond to assure his fidelity to
her interests, and with the sudden,
swift, alert step of a man who had
made his final decision he went out on
the porch and called, John, john"
Within the interior of the little house
down the hill the engineer of Thomas
Gallons mine had abandoned his blue
prints to study the letters on a little
pennant which represented his first
victory, a touchdown on the football
field within the last ten seconds Of
play. He knew better than any one
that his mission to Vale Vista was
futile. Using every resourc at his
command, he could find no paying ore,
and yet-there was the pennant, the
emblem of victory hard fought and
hard won. Should he give up now?
He heard a clear, stern call from up
the hill-"John, joint"
It'll win out yet for Isuth's sake,"
he said as he answered that imperious
cry.
Other ears heard that call, and as
John hastened down the hill he saw
Ruth's figure by the side Of the bunga-
low, and as if by the opening of a
shutter he once more saw the lights Of
Broadway and a table spread with
linen. two people sitting there-his
,Ievil geniuses.
In this complex and highly organized
civilization Of ours no man can be as
sured that at any moment some other
man possibly thousands of miles dis
tant Is not planning an act whose pCr-
tent would never occur to him
At a table in a New York restaurant
a man and oma were sitting with
the words Gallon" "Dorr" and Evil
kerson' on their lips.
"Harry Wilkerson has found Tom
Gallon" she said quietly. 81 wonder
what will happen?"
Her companion laughed. "Gallon? I
had a college mate named 'Dorr,' who
is working for a man named Gallon
somewhere out in the Mines"
The woman's dark eyes lit up. and
she seemed more strikingiy handsome
as she allowed her sudden passion to
food her somber face with color.
There Is money In that mine. George
CNne" she said. But this man Dorr
what sort OF chap is he? You min