The Dolores star., 1922-08-04

! II Nbulu IhNt ALA4ANAls AAANAN '''T
nothing upon 1t TO tell how long ago
1t had been written; but it had been
written certainly before June L..
After June 12." II said.
That day was August the eighteenth.
1t was seven months since Uncle
Benny had gone away. After his
strange Interview with her that day
and his going home. had Uncle Benny
gone out directly TO his death7 There
was nothing to show that he had not;
the watch and coins must have lain
/ for many weeks. for months, In water
and In sand to become erodcd In this
way. But. aside from this, there was
nothing that could be inferred regard
ing the time or place of Uncle Benny's
death. That the package had been
mailed from ManitowOc meant nothing
definite Some One-COnstanCe could
| not know whom-had had the muller
and the sCrawled leaf OF directions;
later. after lying in water and in sand.
the things which were to be sent
had come to that some ones hand.
Most probably this some one had been
one who was going about on ships
when his ship had touched at Mani
towoc. he had executed his charge
Constance left the articles upon the
| bed and threw the window more wide
/ ~ open. She trembled and felt stirred
and faint, as she leaned against the
window, breathing deeply the warm
| air full of life and with the scent
Of the evergreen trees about the
house.
The cottage" of some twenty rooms
stood among the pines and hsml0-ss
interspersed with hardwood on '-hs
Point" where were the great fine sun
mer homes of the Weather re
sorters."
This was Uncle Benny's c7uu----
Here. twenty-five years before. he had
first met Henry. whose blrth7-ar--a
farm. deserted now-was only e few
miles back among the hills Here.
before that. Uncle Benny had been a
young man. active. vigorous ambitions
He had loved this country for Itself
and for its traditions. It's Indian
| legends and fantastic stories. Half
her own love for it-and, since her
| childhood. It had been to her region
Of delight-was due 10 him and to the
things he had told her about it, Dis
tinCt and definite memories of that
companionship came to her This lit
tie bay, which had become now for
the most part only a summer play
ground for such as she, had been once
place where he and other men had
struggled TO grow rich swiftly: he
had outlined for her the ruined lumber
docks and pointed out TO her the loca-
tlons Of the dismantled sawrnI!s Il
was he who had told her the names
of the freighters passing far out, and
the names OF the lighthouses. and
something about each. He had told
her. too, about the Indians. She re-
membered one starry night when he
had pointed ont 10 her In the sky the
Indian way Of Ghosts" the Milky
way, along which. by ancient Indian
belief, the souls of Indians Travelled
up to heaven: and how. later. lying
on the recessed sss- beside the FIRE
place where she could touch The dp-s
upon the hearth. he had pointed ont
70 her th-1--r -re zt-Iuw the Indian
way % Ca-E~ s--r-- me eu1ste1la-
tlons. hT zhE-h -te 60Es rp1 could
make -hs- tc--rpT ! WIS he who
had tod - a-0z- IFE--rH,r- s-E the
animals: z-[ - -saJ b=@- The first
70 tel as- r --= -----l
Tae 6Ezz-yo@. scr--sss. the threat
II z0-Ie-l--E E--E= z5-ah must have
made Ezz-- g -=-es - UucIe Benny.
S-= ha1 =@2E -eE-4~1 n nov 70 Alan.
Wts- --r-= ss1 cols n alan since
sse Id Zsr 5sz-d = hIra7
Trr5 Es- -ezc5ed her father
--r0-Z- s-l-F,-E circles IN May and
again = July wnieh told Of inquiries
raEzrGz-g TcS-E Benny which made
her ~ hs- tsthz- believe that Alan
-as sesrcti-g for his father upon the
likes Nov these articles which had
arrived made plain 70 her that he
E0EIS never find Uncle Benny: he
would learn, through others or through
themselves. that Uncle Benny was
dead. WOuid he believe then that
there vas no longer any chance of
learning what his father had done?
Would he remain away because of
that. not letting her see or hear from
him Hgainf
She went back and picked up the
wedding ring. The thought which had
come 70 her that this was Alan's moth
er's wedding ring, had fastened Itself
uu"n her with a sense of certainty. IT
iefer'ed thar unknown mother; It
freed her. nt least, from the stigma
which ronStance's own mother had
been so r"nhv to cast. Constance could
not ve' le-in to place Uncle Benny
IN r"'"f'"n to that ring; but she was
beginning to he able to think of Alan
"rd his ru"ther. She held the little
hnnd Of gold very tenderly in her
hnnd. sh" WIS glad that, as the ac-
"rsnfi"n n"ninst his mother had come
'hr"u"', her people, she could tell him
soon Of this. She could not send the
rim: I" him. not knowing where he