The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-06-15
The Young
Lawyers Reward


@ isz1. Western Newspaper Unisa-I
A drama OF tears, almost a tragedy
the gloomy. heartbroken refrain Of
an old, cid man With 1T the mourn
full cadence Of q giriIsh voice. pure
and liquid as silver beads dropped into
n crystal dish
II was a strange and striking pic
ture I'm the library Of Georrey Dur
bin. An invalid, almost helpless, his
withered hands were outstreched pite-
ously, the tears rolling down his an
guished face.
"Ysu are our last hope" he said
brokenly to the young man standing
with head bent reverently. Il must
see my boy before / die. Spare no
money-only bring me word that he
In alive"
The law arm with which / aE con-
nected has explained every detail o.
the case to me explicitly" said Adrian
Wilbur Il shall find Oscar Durbin, IL
he II on earth"
IF you fnd him" the Quiyering
voice Of the girl with jeweled eyes
and a face almost angelic thrilled the
young attorney-"h you find him,
there In no boon we could not grant
you"
She had seized both bis hands in
her own.
When his law Arm had advised him
that they wished him to fathom the
motives underlying the mysterious
disappearance Of young Durbin, he had
experienced the zest and novelty of
an amateur detective.
Briefly. q student at a leading col
lege, one day Oscar Durbin had faded
from view as suddenly and completely
as though the earth had opened and
swallowed him up. A note came 10
his sister. II read simply: ITO avoid
deep trouble and distress, / must dis
appear" That was all.
One month before the disappear
anee Of young Durbin, his closest
chum, Willis Hope, had left the col
lsge, never to return. He turned up
ut the home Of his wealthy widowed
mother suffering an entire loss of
| memory, wounded In the head by
some terrible fall. he had fingered
along, In his lucid moments calling for
his friend, Durbin. Tracing some pos
sible mysterious connection between
the two cases, the first move Wilbur
made was to visit the Hope Home.
He had arrived too late. Willis
Hope had died the day previous.
Somehow Wilbur connected the two
II friends In the case in hand.
H BE had a photograph TO go by.
II At the end Of three long months
II Wilbur found himself one evening in
little western town He strolled
down q business street and mechani-
cally turned into a moving picture
show.
Wilbur only casually noted the pic
lures flashing across the screen. A
border incident was being shown. Sud-
denly, a. In Its delineation a young
man attired as q miner came upon
the scene, Wilbur arose to his feet
with an echoing exclamation.
AT last-found. 1t is Oscar Dur
bin"
The first thing he did was to locate
the man who owned the picture show.
Then, step by step he advanced in his
Investigation, to learn that the group
who had acted the frontier series OF
pictures made their headquarters at
Denver.
Then three days more of travel, a
search In Denver-only to ascertain
that the group had gone to the rail-
road depot less than an hour previ-
Gus, to proceed en- route on the Over
land Limited for Alaska, where they
were to remain making pictures clear
through the winter season.
Wilbur ran all the way to the rail-
road depot
II zone minute too late" cried the
Il breathless runner A dash down the
platform, and, almost exhausted, VIII
bur caught at the railing Of the last
car Of the train.
1t was ten minutes later when he
reached a section of a tourist car oc-
cupaed by q moving picture party.
1t was only when Wilbur CHANGED
to remark that young Hope was dead,
that Oscar Durbin was willing TO dis
his story.
II was a strange one. Hope, hi.
closest chum, had married a woman
secretly. He had done so wildly and
recklessly under the name of Oscar
Durbin week had convinced him
that he had welded a person far be,
low his station. he had deserted her
! shortly after meeting with the acct
dent that caused his death. few
days later his wife had died from ar
overdose OF q drug to the use Of which
she was addicted. Her brother had
learned of the marriage. Believing that
the husband had basely deserted his
sister, he swore to kill him. He start
ed out to find oscar Durbin" Tc
save his friend, whose true identity
must Inevitably be disclosed, youni
Durbin disappeared.
Now that Hope was dead. an ex
PLANTATION would satisfy the vengefu
brother
There was q happy reunion at tbs
Durbin home. As upon the first eve
ming she had met him, the beautiful
Mabel again placed her hands within
those Of Adrian Wilbur TO thank him
His glance reminded her Of her prom
ise, and she blushed sweetly as she
too, remembered. and In the loveligh
Of her beautiful eyes there was u,
shadow Of another parting.
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