Tombstone epitaph., 1918-03-31

"lm in the kind hands of my coun- trywoman." laughed Gordon. I'll Ger. tainly be on hand"
 But what in the world are you do- ing heref You're the last man I'd have expected to see"
 "Tm in the service of the govern ment. and I've been sent in on busi- ness"
 "well. I'm going to say something original. dear people," Mrs. Paget re- piled. Its a small world, isn't itf"
 While he was dressing for dinner later in the day. Elliot recalled early memories of the Pagets. He had known Diane ever since they had been youngsters together at school He remembered her as a restless. wiry little thing. keen as a knife-blade. AL ways popular socially. she had sur prised everybody by refusing the catch of the town to marry a young mining engineer without a penny. Gordon was in college at the time. but during the next long vacation he had fraternixed . good deal with the Peter Pagets. The young married people had been very much In love with each other. but not too preoccupied to take the college boy into their happiness as a comrade. Then the Arctic goldflelds had claimed Paget and his bride That had been more than ten years ago. and until today Gordon had not seen them since.
 While Elliot was brushing his dinner coat before the open window of the room assigned to him at the hotel. somebody came out to the porch below. The voice of . woman fioated faintly to him.
 Seen Diane's Irish beauty yet. Ned?"
 "Yes." a man answered. The woman laughed softly. Mrs. Mallory came up on the same boat with her." The infection suggested that the words were meant not to tell a fact, but some less obvious infer ence.
 ~She's wonderfully pretty. and of course Diane win make the most of her. But Mrs. Mallory is . woman among ten thousand" -rd choose the girl if 1t were me" said the man.
 But it isn't you. ,wen see what we'll see"
 They were moving up the street and Gordon heard no more. What he had heard was not clear to him. Why should any importance attach to the fact that Mrs. Mallory and Sheba ONeill had come up the river on the same boat7 Yet he was vaguely dis turbed by the insinuation that In some way Diane was entering her cousin as rival of the older woman. He re. sented the idea that the fine, young personality of the Irish girl was being cheapened by management osa the part of Diane Paget.
 Elliot was not the only dinner guest nt the Paeet home that evening. He found Colby Macdonald sitting in the living room with Sheba. She came quickly forward to meet the newly ar. rived guest.
 "Nr. Macdonald has been telling me about my father. He knew him on | IAAN1NAAAA41h wuCIS NuCy OOlA worked claims." explained the girl
 The big mining man made no com ment and added nothing to what she said. There were times when his face was about sS expressive as stone wall.
 The dinner went o6 very well. Diane and Peter had . great many question: to ask Gordon about old friends. By the time these had been answered Mac donald was chatting easily with 6heba She listened with glowing eyes to the strange tales this man of magnificent horizons had to tell. Never before had she come into contact with anyone liks him.
 Paget was superintendent of tho Lucky Strike. . mine owned princi pally by Macdonald. The two talked business for . few minutes over theil cigars. but Diane interrupted gayiy tt bring them back into the circle Adroitly she started Macdonald on the account of . rescue of two men los, in blizzard the year before. He had the gift of dramatizing his story. oi selecting only effective details. Ther< was no suggestion of boosting. If h< happened 10 be the hero of any of hii stories the fact was of no importancs to him. It was merely . detail of th< picture he was sketching.
 Gordon interrupted with a question a story he was telling of fight he had seen between two bull moose.
 Did you say that was while yos were on the way over to inspect ths Kamatlah coal fields for the frs, timer
 The eyes of the young man wers quick with interest. "Ye4"
 -Four years aeo last speingr
 Macdonald looked at him with { wary steadines2 0sme doubt he'd found lodgment b his mind. Beforv he could voics t. i1. Indeed, he he'd any sucA intention. H1liot broke c iswiftiy-
 Don't answer dat @Ueseiea. iasked It without propes thoughk sn ia speclal aeeut q the general 1anl s0cs ssst - c lnvssdGsfs ths l1ae dooald eoal ela1Ds cd kiDdred c tRestR"
 0swly tAs sicse C tAs tlg 0eses Dan's steeiy eyss rsaaEs6 te . 01l( Iehat Wus eeaaal and dlsaEu1nG. II thil I nae ~ - A~ - mn ua~z