The evening world., 1916-03-28

my name mad wrought upon tnObe
two strange men. This was the rea-
son why, as We sat together upon
Dead Mans Rock. the eyes of John
Railton had refused to meet mine: this
was the reason why his murderer had
gripped me so viciously upon Ready
Money Beach. These few words Of my
uncle's began slowly to piece together
the scattered puzzle of the last two
days, SO that half-guessed the an
swer as asked:
Murdered! HowT"
"He was stabbed to death"
l knew II. for remembered the
empty sheath that hung at Rhodojani's
waist, and heard again Railton's words,
Captain. IL was your knife!" As GER
tainly as II / had fitted the weapon
to its case, I knew that man had
prompted fathers murder. Even as
knew IL my terror OF him faded away,
and a blind and helpless hate sprang
up in its stead: helpless now, but
some day to be masterful and worthy
OF heed. That the man who called
himself Georgia Rhodojani was guilty
Of one death, / know from the witness
OF my own eyes. that he had two
more lives upon his black account
for the hand that struck my father
had also slain nv mother-I knew as
surely.
And the ds~i has sot his due. my isdsl''
No, not yet; there was still one
priceless soul for him to walt for.
He was stabbed" repeated Uncle
Loveday, stabbed to the heart, and
from behind. / found this blade as
examined your poor fathers body. 1t
was broken or close to the hilt, and
left in tho wound, which can hardly
have bled at all. Death must have
haas .f..t taNA
ness, Jasper; and a strange blade by
the look of it."
1 took the blade from his hand. Il
was about four inches in length,
sharp, and curiously worked; one side
was quite plain. but the other was
covered with Intricate tracery, and
down the centre, bordered with DELI
cate fruit and flowers. / spelt out the
legend "Ricordati."
What does that word meanY" I
asked, as l handed back the steel. My
voice was no calm and steady that
Uncle Joveday glanced at me for q
moment in amazement before he an
swered-
IT'S not Latin. Jasper. but it's like
Latin; and l should think must mean
Remember or something of the sort"
Remember 1 repeated. IL will,
uncle. As surely as father was MUIR
dered l Will remember-when the
time comes"
They were strange words from
boy. My uncle looked at me again, but
doubtless thinking my brain turned
with grief, said nothing.
Have you told anybody?" / asked
ut length.
II have seen nobody. There will
be an Inquest, OF course. but in 'th,s
case an inquest can do nothing. MUIR
derer and murdered have both sumo
TO their account. By the way, / sup
pose nothing has been seen of the man
who gave evidence. Ii was an unlikely
tale, and this makes II the more sus-
picious. Bless my soul" said nv I'M
Gle. suddenly, ito think It never struck
me before! Your father was 10 sail
IN the Belle Fortune. and this man
gave the name of the ship as the
James and Elizabeth"
1T was tho Belle Fortune, and the
man told a falsehood."
1 recounted the whole story OF my
meeting with John Railton, and the
struggle upon Dead Mans Rock
Every word l told. down TO tho dead
man legacy-the packet and the letter
which hid in the cowhouse. ended
by going TO the cowhouse and getting
the packet John Railton had given
me and which l had hidden there. /
gave 1t to Uncle Loveday.
He took his big red handkerchief
from his pocket. spread II on the
table. and began slowly to undo the
strap. Then after arranging apart
the buckle, the letter and the tin box.
he inquired:
was it like this when the man
gave it to you?"
mo, the letter was separate. I
slipped 1t under the strap to keep
it safe"
1T seems to me-" said my uncle,
adjusting his spectacles and unfold
ing the paper. "illegible, or almost so.
1t has evidently been thoroughly
soaked with salt water. Come here
and see II your young eyes can help
me to decipher it,"
We bent together over the blurred
handwriting. The letter was evidently
in a feminine hand; but the charac-
ters were rudely and Enthusiastically
formed. while every here and there
a heavy down stroke or flourish
married the beauty OF tho page. When
ever such thick lines occurred the ink
had run and formed an illegible
smear. Such as II was, with great
difficulty, and after frequent trials,
We spelt out tho letter as follows:
The Welc... Home, Babrican.
Plymo.
MY Deerest Jack--This to hope
Il will find You quite well. as 1t
leaves Me at present. Also to say
that / hope the voyage. new
Leaf with Simon and Company,
who Is a Good Friend, though, as
you well know, i did not think
...,came counting me. But it is for
the best. and. Liquor. which l
pray to Heaven may bring hap
pier Days. Trade is very poor.
and i do not know. little Jenny,
who is getting on Famously with
her Schooling. She Heaps tho
Books already, which Is great
saving. looks In often and sits in
the parlor. lie says as you have
Done Well TO be-. Wave, but
misdoubts Simon, which | tell him
must be wrong, for II was him
that advised-the fuss and
warned against liquor. which he
never took Himself. Jenny Is so
Fond of her Books, and says she
will teach you to write when you
come home, which will be a great
Comfort. you being away so long
and never n word. And l am do
ing wonders under her teaching.
which / dare say she will let you
know of II all in the letter she Is
writing to go along with this.
Simon to write for you, who Is
scholar, which is natural in