Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1922-07-15

| Wneu Alan nuu tOiu uef titnt, hthis
whiteness and the following suffusior
Of his face did not surprise her.
II told that fellow long ago not t.
start stirring these matters up about
Ben Corvet, and particularly ! tolt
him that be was not to bring any Of Il
to you. It's not--a thing that mar
like Ben covered up for twenty years
till 1t drove him crazy Is sure not to
be thing for girl to know. Let II
alone, | tell YOU
She stood flushed and perplexed
gazing at him. She never had seen him
under stronger emotion.
"You misunderstood me once, Con,
niei' he appealed. you'll understand
me now"
She had been thinking about that
| injustice she had done him In her
tho1ght--about his chiyalry to his
partner and former benefactor, when
Uncle Benny was still keeping his
place among men. Was Henry now
moved, In way which she could not
understand, by some other obligation
to the man who long ago had aided
him7 Had Henry hazarded more than
he had told her of the nature of the
| thing hidden which, If she could guess
1t, would justify what he saidf
She had made Alan promise to write
her, IL he was not to return, regarding
what he learned and a letter came to
her on the fourth day from him In
Manitowoc. The post office employees
had no recollection, he said, of the
person who had mailed the package;
1t simply had been dropped by some
one into the receptacle for mailing
packages of that sort. Alan, however,
was continuing his inquiries.
She wrote to him In reply; In lack
of anything more important to tell
him, she related some OF her activities
and inquired about his. After she had
written him thus twice, he replied, de.
scribing his life on the boats pleasant
ly and humorously: then, though she
Immediately replied, she did not hear
from him again.
A new idea had seized Constance.
Captain Caleb Stafford was named
among the lost, of course; with him
had persisted his son, boy of three.
That was all that was said, and all
that was to be learned of him, the
boy.
Alan had been three then. This was
wild, crazy speculation. The ship was
lost with all hands; only the Drum,
believed in by the superstitious and
the most ignorant, denied that. The
Drum said that one soul had been
saved. How could child of three
have been saved when strong men, to
the last one, had persisted? And, If he
had been saved. he was Stafford's son.
Why should Uncle Benny have sent
him away and cared for him and then
sent for him and, himself disappear
ing, leave all he had to-Stafford's
SOM
Or was he Stafford's son? Her
thought went back to the things which
had been sent--the things from
mans pockets with q wedding ring
among them. She had believed that
the ring cleared the mothers name:
might it in reality only more involve
1t? Why had it come back like this to
the man by whom, perhaps, 1t had been
given? Henry's words came again and
again to Constance: Its a queer con-
Germ you've got for Ben. Leave II
alone, | tell your He knew then
about Uncle Benny which
might have brought on some terrible
thing which Henry did not know but
might guess? Constance went weak
Uncle Benny's wife had left |
him. she remembered. Was II better,
after all, to "leave 1t aloner'
A telegraph envelope addressed to
her father was on the.table In the hail. I
A servant told her the message had
come an hour before, and that he had
elephoned to Mr.. Sherrill's office, but
Mr Sheriff. was not in. There was no
'eason for her thinking that the mes.
'age might be from Alan except his
presence In her thoughts, but she went
It once 10 the telephone and called
Ter father. He was In now, and he
directed her to open the message and
cad II to him.
Have some one" she read aloud.
he choked In her excitement at what
anne next--"Have some one who
new Mr.. Corvet well enough to recog.
lize him. even II greatly changed.
meet Carferry Number rs Manitowoc
Wednesday this week. Alan Conrad"
Her heart was beating fast "Are
ou there?" she said into the phene.
YES
Whom shall you send?"
There was nm instant's sIIence, 81
hall 20 myself her father said.
SIZE hung UP the receiver Had Alan
ound Uncle Benny? He had found.
Pparently. some one whose resem.
lance TO the picture she had showed
I'M was marked enough to make him
elieve that person might be BENJAMIN
'orvef or he had heard of some one
no from the account he had received
e thought might be. She read again
he words of the telegram "even
greatly changed" and she felt star
ing and terrifying warning In that
hrase
tTo BE CONTINUED,