Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1922-06-29


when Alan had told her that, Henry's
whiteness and the following suffusion
Of his face did not surprise her.
Il told that fellow long ago not TO
start stirring these matters up about
Ben Corvet, and particularly I told
him that he was not to bring any Of 1t
to you. It's not-a thing that man
like Ben covered up for twenty years
till 1t drove him crazy is sure not to
be thing for girl to know. Let It
alone, tell you"
/. She stood flushed and perplexed,
gazing at him. She never had seen him
under stronger emotion.
"You misunderstood me once. Con-
nie!' he appealed. "You'll understand
me now!"
She had been thinking about that
injustice she had done him in her
thought-about his chivalry 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
him? 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 said?
She had made Alan promise to write
her, Ii he was not to return, regarding
what he learned; and 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
son?
Or was he Stafford's son? Her
thought went back to the things which
had been sent-the things from
mans pockets with a wedding ring
among them. She had believed that
the ring cleared the mothers name:
might it in reality only more involve
It? Why had it come back like this to
the man by whom, perhaps, it had been
given? Henry's words came again and
again to Constance: "It's queer con.
Germ you've got for Ben. Leave Il
alone, l tell you'll" He knew then
something about Uncle Benny which
might have brought on some terrible
thing which Henry did not know but
might guess? Constance went weak
within. Uncle Benny's wife had left
him, she remembered. Was it better,
after all, to "leave it alone7"
A telegraph envelope addressed to
her father>was on the table in the hall
A servant told her the message had
come an hour before, and that he had
telephoned to Mr.. Sherrill's office. but
Mr.. Sheriff. was not in. There was no
reason for her thinking that the mes
sage might be from Alan except his
presence in her thoughts but she went
at once to the telephone and called
her father. He was In now, and he
directed her to open the message and
read it to him.
"Have some one," she read aloud
she choked in her excitement at what
came next-"Have some one who
knew Mr.. Corvet well enough to recoe.
nize him, even IL greatly changed.
meet Carferry Number rs Manitowoc
Wednesday this week. Alan Conrad"
Her heart was beating fast. "Ara
you there?" she said into the phone.
"Yes."'
"Whom shall you send?',
There was an instant's silence. II
shall go myself" her father said.
She hung up the receiver. Had Alan
found Uncle Benny?t He had found,
apparently, some one whose resem.
blance to the picture she had showed
him was marked enough to make him
believe that person might be BENJAMIN
Corvet; or he had heard Of some one
who, from the account he had received.
ne thought might be. She read again
the words of the telegram {. ..even