Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1917-12-28
MORNING, MOI

Yoiceless appeal. 1t spoke In his bel
seeching eyes. Dudley North compreI
hended.
The name which his uncle wished to
impart was all important, but Hard
inge was past speaking. He clutched
out with his trembling fingers and SELF
ed pencil that lay upon the medicine
tray.
Eyes, understand" said Dudley
quickly. He drew card from his
pocket. He knelt by the bedside. He
lsteadied the pencil in the nerveless
fingers Of the dying man.
Write" he directed.
The unsteady hand traced letter,
another q word. Then he sank back
with gasp. There was d shock,
shudder, and he was dead. The doc
tor came hurrying into the room, but
paused as he glanced at his patient.
"Too late" he said In low tone to
MIR. Velle, who had followed him.
Half an hour later In the library,
Dudley glanced at the card. He bore
a scrawled word, one only, a name.
annette" The unspoken word tran.
scrlbed told him nothing. A woman's
name, who was she2 what was the In
terest Of Mr.. Hardinge In herr
an the absence of n will" the law
yer said to him. as he prepared to
leave the house, "you become the sole
heir"
Dudley said nothing of the card. He
al 4 Il
"Mr. Veile." he said. "among nv nm
cle's friends or acouaintances have
you ever heard him sneak of. or do
you know n person named Annettep"
The lawyer repeated the word and
began to move his head In neRation.
Then he started and stared strangely
at Dudley.
"Why do you ask that question:"
he inquired polntedly.
Because l believe that to be the
first name of the person to whom nv
uncle intended to bequeath his for
tune"
annette" smoke Mr.. yeile in re-.
trospectiye tone. "I can saw this much.
when your uncle was n young man I
recall that he was engaged to beauti-
full girl named Annette. l did not
know her, but heard the story. All
the preparations for their marriage
were made. Upon the wedding eve
your uncle disappeared. recall that
the bride elect was crushed by his
unmanly action. Why Mr.. Hardinge
1td pt mt hn orvsta 4 10
not know, but soon afterwards he mar
ried another woman. He probably
broke the heart Of a true, loving fan
Gee impelled by some later fancy.
That Is all can tell you. OF course,
no VIII having been made, this An
nette, II she still lives, could not In
any way invnlidate your sole heirship."
That was the lawyer of It, The man
Of II was honest, whole souled, Dudley
North. He searched vainly for week
to find some trace Of annette" One
day man appeared, inquired for Mr..
Hardinge and seemed shocked when
he learned Of his demise. Dudley ques.
toned him closely.
1t was to learn that he was a detec-
tive, employed by his uncle to locate
Mrs. Annette Barton. His quest de-
veloped the fact that the lady had been
dead for five years. Her daughter. al
80 Annette, the detective traced down,
working In a department store.
Twice he had taken Mr.. Hardinge
to the nelghborhood of the humble
boarding house where Miss Barton
lived to view her at distance. There
was q trihlng balance due the detec.
tive for his work. which was the cause
OF his present call.
Dudley paid the detective, and more,
who guided him TO the home of Miss
Barton. as he had his uncle. For two
days Dudley prosecuted inquiry and
investigation as to the worthy girl who
earned her own living and was uni
versaly respected Twice he saw her
and realized that he could never forget
her
Then Dudley Informed the lawyer
that Il wns his resOlute purpose to
transfer the estate to Its rightful
owner
Mfr. yeIle demonstrated but Dudley
was determined. He was surprised
q,