The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1916-01-14

New, Betty, chirk tif htd be GOOD
girl and yoa shall zee our garnet
Now, at, nineteen, she WIS 4 visitor
at the old house agdiD She had q
lively remembrance of that Quaint
room, and was determped to over
haul it II given half chance. She
dwelt upon the idea so constantly
that she came to believe that some
where III that collection OF musty
feIies Ct the past there lay concealed
a document wtii5h Would bring
treasure to it's finder She eteH pic.
tured herself standing before her
startled old cousins, document in
hand, this announcement on her lips
My deEr cousins, have found
great treasure
One day, while waiting her 6bp6f-
tunity to explore the garret, young
mGn known to the sisters called on
an errand for lis mother and was in
troduced to Miss Betty as Mr. Ford
Kirkwood The following day while
she was out for walk, he turned
up as II by accident, This happened
again ON the third day, and on the
fourth he forgot to offer an excuse
for its rather marked recurrence
Within week It had happened SO
frequently that neither saw anything
unconventional in the matter.
This rapidly developing acquaint,
ance did not escape the vigilant eyes
of the cousins. One day the elder
sister observed frankly:
II suppose ought to warn you
against love at first sight"
nBpt rs you never loved at first
sight or second sight or any other
sight, how can you, Cousin PhoebeTP
At this the gentle old woman
smiled feebly
Ford K'rkwocd is a fine young
nan, but he has no money! she went
on dutifully.
@Nor have I. shall not fall in love,
dear cousin. shall not elope ! shall
never marry--at least not until"
HGhtil when, Betty7"
atntil ] find tfeasHtsi" declared
the girl as If she meant 1t. In hef
soul she believed there was treas
IRE. IN that garret. She felt like de-
manding the privilege Of exploration,
but still she bided her time
Her opportunity came suddenly.
There came day when the sisters,
were called away on a matter of busi-
Ress which demanded their personal
attention,
II am so afraid you will be lonely"
5ald the elder sister sympathetieallY,
I'VE shall be away ct least three
hours"
"Oh, no; I can take a long Walk
and then read awhile after coming
back" said Betty, trying hard to keep
her voice steady.
Scarcely was tho vehicle bearing
the sisters out OF sight when Betty
new 10 the garnet. Once within the
forbidden treasure iibiise size stood
for long FIVE minutes feasting her
eyes Then she selected the Oldest
Ana most battered trunk of the en-
tire lot for inspection.
Letters and documents? Why; the
trunk was full to repletion with them.
There were deeds, mortgages, re-
eeipts, bills of sale, private letters,
grants and what not, and the girl had
only a glimmering Of what had once
been their legal value Three hours
had gone by and the return Of the
sisters might be expected at any fno'
nent when she selected parchment
almost at random, replaced the 9TH
brs in the trunk and left the fascinat-
Ing spot.
Nobody but an Old pirate could
have written hand like that, and 9f
course If he was pirate he must
have written about a treasure.
shall ask Mr. Kirkwood to help to
unravel It,"
When he saw it Ford Kirkwood
agreed with Betty that It was the
work of an cid pirate, but he ad
mitted frankly that ne was not an
adept at deciphering hieroglyphics.
1T VIII hage to be done" said
Betty, determinedly, "beiore-beforS
-
why not postpone It until"
"Until?p
Until after We are married" he
finished hercically.
But have promised Cousin
Phoebe | shall never marry untilA
have found a treasure" she said With
a great attempt to be serious.
well, haven't you found me?" he
suggested brazenly. "And have
found you-the most precious treas
ure Of all, he added gallantly.
Ccapyrleht. 1915 by the Mcclure Newsps-
per Syndicate)