Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-02-01

seeching eyes. Dudley North compre-
hended.
The name which his uncle wished to
impart was all important, but Hard
iinge was past speaking. He clutched
out with his trembling fingers and seiz-
ed a pencil hat lay upon the medicine
tray.
Eyes, understand" said Dudley
quickly. He drew a card from his
pocket. He knelt by the bedside. He
,steadied the pencil in the nerveless
fingers of the dying man.
write" he directed.
The unsteady hand traced q letter,
another a word. Then he sank back
with a gasp. There was a shock, a
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 a low tone to
Mr.. Veile, 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
scribed told him nothing. A woman's
name, who was she? what was the in
terest of Mr.. Hardinge in her?
'In the absence of a 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
did, however, ask one question.
"Mr. Veile," he said, "among my I'M
cle's friends or acquaintance have
you, eve heard him speak of, or do
you know a person named AnnetteT"
The lawyer repeated the word and
began to move his head in negation.
Then he started and stared strangely
at Dudley.
"Why do you ask that question"
he inquired pointedly.
Because I believe that to be the
first name of the person to whom my
uncle intended to bequeath his for
tune"
Annette" spoke Mr.. Veile in a re-
Prospective tone. 81 car say this much,
when your uncle was a young man /
recall that he was engaged to a beauti-
u 6hA hdihCu <1ihCttO. oiA nv
know her, but l heard the story. All
the preparations for their marriage
were made. Upon the wedding eve
your uncle disappeared. I recall that
the bride elect was crushed by his
unmanly action. Why Mr.. Hardinge
did not carry out the marriage l do
not know, but soon afterwards he mar
riod onnthnr Woman Hn nrnhah1
broke the heart of a true, loving fan
Gee impelled by some later fancy.
That is all l can tell you. OF course,
no will having been made, this An
nette, if she still lives, could not in
any way invalidate your sole heirship."
That was the lawyer of it. The man
of it was honest, whole Souled, Dudley
North. He searched vainly for a week
to find some trace of Annette" One
day a 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 vas a detec.
tive, employed by his uncle to locate
a Mrs. Annette Barton. His quest de-
veloped the fact that the lady had been
dead for five years. Her daughter, al
so Annette, the detective traced down,
working in a department store.
Twice he had taken Mr.. Hardinge
to the neighborhood of the humble
boarding house where Miss Barton
lived, to view her at a distance. There
was a trifing balance due the detec-
tive for his work, which was the aus
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
versally respected. Twice he saw her
and realized that he could never forget
her.
Then Dudley informed the lawyer
that it was his resolute purpose to
transfer the estate to its rightful
owner.
Mr.. Veile demonstrated, but Dudley
was determined. He was surprised
and dazed, when, after a call upon
Miss Barton, Mr.. Veile said to him:
"The young lady absolutely refuses
to accept the fortune"
"On account of the action Of my IN
Gle in the far paste"
"She only thinks that once her moth
er and your uncle were casual friends"
"Then-"
"Sha has 81 high n convention of
your unusual sacrifice that she refuses
TO beggar you"
"She shall have what is rightfully
hers" declared Dudley.
To his inner spirit he confessed that
he was glad of an opportunity to again
see the lovely Annette, who filed all
his waking thoughts. There was more
than one visit to the working girls
humble home. Then n day Dudley