Jackson County journal., 1919-11-28

| himself.
He locked the door, closed the port
hole securely, switched on the light
and, seating himself on the edge Of the
bunk, stared at the floor.
'By Jove!" he repeated -~ftly. 1her,
lugubriously: "And it's only three
days to Singapore, and-she didn't
say where in Sumatra-but that
couldn't be more than another three
days at the outside"
lie sat up suddenly and pulled out
of his pocket the envelope that Can
tain Laynton had given him. He had
not examined it yet. He tore the en-
Velope open. shook the contents on
onto the bunk, and whistled low, under
his breath.
Among other things, but catching his
eye instantly, was a little packet of
crisp, new. American hundre:! dollar
Sold certificates. He counted them
Wonderlngly-one thousand one hun
dred dollars. He laid them dow and
picked up wallet. It contained some
silver and Il few dollars in small bi;is.
Wallen passed his hand a little
dazedly across his eyes; and then con
tinued his examination. There WaS q
photograph, little faded, little old
fashioned, the photograph of 8 very
beautiful woman. He turned II over
On the back was written: "Elizabeth
Powers Wallen."
His mother He had never known
his mother. He held the photograph
tor long time in his hand, gazing at
the face that now somehow seemed TO
smile back at him-then put it rever-
emily aside.
There remained perhaps a dozen
documents; mortgages in his fathers
favor, stock certificates and securities
OF various sorts, the total running into
many thousands of dollars-sixtv
thousand, he put it at a guess, figuring
the certificates at par value. Lastly,
there was small sealed envelope.
He opened it with a curious sense of
excitement. Here, perhaps, was the
secret that had bound I'D his fathers
life so mysteriously, and -no-he
Whlstled again in that low, surprised
way. 1t was his fathers will, a terse.
short document, bequeathi1,g every
thing ITO my son, Stacey Wallen,
whom [ charge with the care of nv
faithful servant Gunga as long as the
latter shall live
Wallen got up and began tt pace the
little cabin. Gunga! The will was
dated at San Francisco two years ago.
Where was Gunga now?
Dead, perhaps, since the two were
inseparable and Gunga had not come
aboard with his master at Honolulu
SO Captain Laynton had stated. Can
tain Laynton! Wallen stared at the
articles that Uttered the bunk-the
conviction slowly dawDing upon him
that he had wofully misjudged the
Monleighs commander and mentally
owed the other an apology for jumping
so hastily to conclusions.
There was not even a shadow of
proof that his fathers death, after all,
had not been accidental. Hrs sl1s.
plclons had arisen naturally enough in
view OF the past, and his own recent
escape; but certainly it appearel to be
decidedly "far-fetched' now, and GER
talnly it was no deep-laid plot on the
part of Captain Laynton, such as, in
hazy, fantastical way, he had imagined
it might have been.
What possible motive could Laynton
have in carrying out the original pur-
pose for which he had been chartered.
except that he felt in honor bound tc
do so? None!
And if the man had been dishones,
ne could have put that eleven hundred
dollars lying there on the bunk into his
own pocket and no one would have
been the wiser! Even the matter of
the wireless, which in his suspicious
state of mind had assumed perhaps ex.
aggerated proportions, had been shot
to pieces, so to speak, as far as it be.
ing there for any ulterior purpose was
concerned-and by irrefutabse evidence
Helen MacKay's!
And with vision of brown ewes and
gloriously truant hair before him and
vision should materialize Into reality
again he turned into his bunk.
And the tomorrow and the two
days that followed, not only dispeIed
all final doubt from his mind but fornd
him responding frankly to the general
good-fellowship which he found exist
ing in the cabin.
They passed quickly those three
days-too quickly. And the3 were the
happiest days Wal}en had ever known
because Helen MacKay had made
them happy days, and because a neu
glad thing had come into his life.
Had she, too, come to care? He did
not know. Sometimes, in little init.
mate ways, in smile Or glance or q
word or quick, trustful touch of the
hand, he read the answer to his un
spoken question as his soul wanted tt
read tho arcwor