The daily Alaskan., 1917-07-30
] lit the light-acetylene gas.

I lit the light-acetylene gas.
 The wreckage of that kitchen wG8 beyond the descriptive pSRTers oS Q mere dramatic critic. Bopp lay sprawl cd on the kitchen floor near tho table where he had struck when l threw him. The table itself had overturned on to the weeks supply of water in glass bottles and had apparently bro ken most of them. Lucille was stand Ing, pale and disheveled, but Stth beautiful, in the doorway of the pantry where she had been hiding.
 After an interval Bopp laooriouSy picked himself up and wRded toward the stairway through the torrent cS distilled water which was streaming across the floor.
 There's your dog biscuit" he EnesE. ed. pointing to Tootles, who had dis covered the box and was gulpins down the contents as fast as abe co0lh. Fasting for a week! Ha-hR!
 Then he disappeared upstairB.
 I turned to Lucille. She had dropped into a chair and had buried her face in her hands. She was crying.
 "What's the matter, Lucilef' I asked tenderly.
 q don't know" she sobbedi "jusE nerves, guess"
 You ought not to be about at this dime of night" said sternly.
 "I know" she replied. 'T just earnS down toto feed Tootles."
 I would have believed her if I had not seen the biscuit in her mouth But what man would not forgive q small flo on the part of the woman he loves?
 Listen to me, Lucille, dear," I seld authoritatively, taking her hand. We are not going 10 fast any mora H your father were here he would eAl a halt Here your mother is sick, you are hysterical, and hardly any of us tS on speaking terms with the others. Besides, we have got to stop. Our water supply is gone"
 Lucille looked up. Then it won't really be our fault, will it?" she asked hopefully. If we haven't pure water we can't go on fasting. Npcon s. Clair says sO."
 And that's the best thing he ever said, too." agreed heartily.
 So 1t was decided that the next day we'd have a new stock of groceries come on the supply boat and telephone Il the cook to come back. think the prospect cheered US wonderfully. ! know felt better immediately, and ! persuaded Lucille to go back to bod 1 and get some rest before daylight | She went in to see how her mother was before retiring. There was a cry from Mrs. Greens room, and l rush ed in.
 Mas. GREEN HAD DIsAPPEABEDi
 You have guessed correctly that Ghis is where the element of mystery en- ters the story. You doubtless wonder. as we did, if Kent, the wire taper, had made away with Mrs. Green or f Bopp, baked of his dog biscuit, had become a villain of the deepest dye. l We did not come to any such conclu- sIons at first. of course. That was after we had looked all over the horSe, up in the attic and down in the cellar. Then I went to Rents room. Be was snoring peacefully. I mistrusted tQAt he might be shamming and poured 6 nitcher of water on him to see how hs wou1d react to the shock. l should say that his reactions were perfectly normal, albeit somewhat picturesque ly abusive.
 Next we haled Bopp from bis room. He was inclined to be suspicious ot first until we told him about Grs- Greens disappearance; then hs waS all sympathy and joined our lightly clad searching party in tho hallway.
 Naturally, Lucille feared the wosss, while the rest of US with masculine optimism discounted any danger which might befall the old lady.
 But she wasn't herself," walled LU- cile. She's been acting funny aA ths evening""
 "Never mind about her." comforts6 Kent "A man with a jag can fan etA the roof and never hurt himssR q bit, A hit of a bun makes anybody lucky,
 Suppose she is out ih all this ratnI
 "A little water, mora or less, won't make any difference to her after the last two days" I observed gloomily.
 Let's not stand here any lo1Ses said Bopp in busInesslike fashion. "l' won't do much good to try to gusel where she is. Let's begin @ systematic hIlnEn