The Ocala evening star., 1921-08-20

ACSNCN viii 1AC RCNtANO0A B0N(AaA~A--@N
dominated by the bland and willy
/ Tubbs.
But now, faced with the failure OF
his coup d'etat, Mr. Tubbs' situation
was. to say the least, awkward. He
had risked all and lost it. But he
] maintained an air of jaunty self-con-
! fdence, slightly tinged with irony. 1t
was all very well, he seemed to I'm
/ ply. for US to try to get along without
III. FL. We would discover the impos-
sibility of it soon enough.
/ Aunt Jane. dropping. had been led
away to the cabin by Miss Higglesby-
/ Browne. You now heard the voice
OF Violet in exhortation mingled with
Aunt James sObs. l seemed to see
/ that an ear of Mr.. Tubbs was cooked
/ attentively in that direction. He had
| indeed erred in the very wantOnneSs
of triumph, for a single glance would
/ have kept Aunt Jane loyal and prodi-
! gal of excuses for him in the face of
any treachery. Not even Violet could
have cIapped the lid on the up-welling
font of sentiment in Aunt James heart.
/ Only the cold contemning eye of 81. II.
himself had CONCEALED that tepid flow.
The morning wore on with ever-in-
creasing heat, and as nothing hap
opened / began to find my watchful
waiting dull. Crusoe. worn out per-
haps by some private nocturnal pig
hunt. slept heavily where the drip of
the spring over the brim of old
Heintz's kettle cooled the air. be-
gan to consider whether it would not
be well to take a walk with Cuthbert
Vane and discover. the tombstone all
over again. l knew nothing of course,
of Mr.. Tubb'S drastic measures with
the celebrated landmark. As to Cuth-
bert's interrupted courtship, l depend
ed on the vast excitement of discOv-
ering the cave to distract his mind
from it. For that was the idea, Of
course-Cuthbert Vane and I would
explore the cave, and then whenever
/ liked could prick the bubble of Mr..
/ Tubbs' ambitions, without relating the
whole strange story of the diary and
the Island Queen.
But meanwhile the cave drew me
like magnet. jealously desired to
be the first to see 1t, to snatch from
Mr.. Tubbs the honor of discovery. And
L wanted to know about poor Peter
and the doubloons that he had gone
back to fetch.
But already Captain Magnus had
forsaken the post of duty and depart
ed on an unknown errand. Could ask
Cuthbert Vane TO do it, toof And
then | smiled smile that was half
proud. / might ask him-but he would
refuse me. In Cuthbert's simple code,
certain things were "done," certain
others not. Among the nOts was to
fail in standing by friend. And just
I nov Cuthbert was standing by Dugald
Shaw Therefore mods and becks and
wreathed smiles were vain. In Cuth-
bert's quiet, easy-mannered, thick
headed way he could turn his back
calmly on the face of love and follow
the harsh call of duty even to death.
1t would not occur to him not to.
And he never would suspect himself
of being a hero-that would be quite
the incest part OF it.
And yet knew poor Cuthbert was
an exploded superstition, az anachro-
things, and that the ideal which was
replacing him was boiler-plated mon
ster with clockwork heart and brain,
} named Efficiency. And that Cuthbert
must go, along with his Jacobean ma
nor, and his family ghost, and the
oaks in the park, and everything else
that couldn't prove its right to live
except by being fine and lovely and
full of garnered sweetness Of the
past
AT this point In my meditatiOnS the
door of the cabin opened and Miss
: Browne came out, looking sternly res
: olute. Aunt Jane followed, very pink
about the eyes and nose. With q
commanding gesture Miss Browne sig
nailed the rest to approach. Mr. Tubbs
bounced up with alacrity. Mr.. Shaw
) and Cuthbert obeyed less promptly
: but they obeyed. Meanwhile Violet
waited, looking implacable as fate.
And where is Captain MagnusT'
she demanded, glancing about her.
But no one knew what had become
of Captain Magnus.
As for myself, / continued to sit In
the shade and tat But i could hear
! with ease all that was said.
'Mr. Tubbs," began Miss Browne
your recent claims have been matter
of prolonged consideration between
Miss Harding and myself We feel
we cannot but feel-that there was 8
harshness in your announcement OF
them, an apparent concentration OF
YOUR own interests, i'll betting a mem
Der of this expedition. Also, that in
actual substance, they were excessive
Not half, Mr.. Tubbs; oh, no, not half
But one-quarter, Miss Harding and
myself, as the joint heads of the Hard
ing-Browne expedition, are inclined
to think no more than the reward
which is your due. We suggest, there
fore, a simple way out of the din
Guilty. Mr.. Dugald Shaw was engaged
on liberal terms to find the treasure
He has not found the treasure. he
: has not found the slightest clue 20 IL
: present whereabouts. Mr.. Tubbs, OF
Z the contrary. has found a clue. II il
: a clue of the first importance. IL L
: equivalent almost to the actual dfScoy