Evening star., 1923-05-06

! back the gushing tears: her terror ana
Erlef were certainly intense as his
| put she dared not show it.
! She decided that when the agent 20
! turned she would tell him the truth
! begging for mercy for her grandfa ther
piedsInG all she could earn in the years
| I" come-except barely enough to hold
! Soui ana body together to pay back the
| deDt She meant TO pray day and
! night; she had a conviction that heaven.
IN ITS mercy. would direct her. some
| ddE, where 10 find the treasures
| Once again Bett made a. mos
careful search of the room, but without
| success Therefore. she became the
more convinced that. in his half-stupe
| II, ana digging a hole had carefully
| buried his treasure there She would b.
| opliSed 10 wait for daylight to examine
anu anu search where the ground seemed
| 70 nave been disturbed. She tried Ia
! deaf to reason
! Go and search now" he cried 'rYou,
! eyes are young and sharp; YOU have NJ
| me.
! followed her -
'po you think you might have gone
! as far back as the welI:'' she asked
| How many more times have I got e..
! tell You that ! didn't come out into tho
grounds at all" ! Just sat on the door
| step and smoked
=
pi"ceI she queried, with growing
anxiety. Dear. dear grandfather. rrv
10 Tx YOUR mind on II and think hard
as YOU nave never thought before
-" you want me TO say 7 went down.
| kind"' VI '"e
You might have been weary, bend
| lhs over the bench. and thought H. :
SEctch your limbs a little, might
! Have | got to tell YOU for the
! >housandth time that l only went as far
as ~, ne doorstep; that settles that par,
- can understand that the r,,h,.
might have rolled somewhere. but thaf
! heavy little bag of gold. How could
! that get away
You think you're so smart; whv in
out; he cried, his agitation Increasing
each moment. I'VE must find them ~.
/ shall go mad. tell you"
Again, for the third time, Jil-Be,t
1ulhed 1n,1'. 10 me doorstep as the place most
likely for the solving of the mystery.
her old grandfather following nor
| about, weeping bitterly. Suddenly H.,
turned to her gripping her arm his
face ashen white.
! know who robbed us. Jil-Bett"
he cried It's that Jack. the scamp
you nnrSed from death back 10 life
and health! Like serpent he has
stune the hand that tended him
GaspinEly he told her what he bay
stop, grandfather. 7 shall never
believe such thing Of him, He is
all that is noble and good"
Daniel Bannock drew back, looking
nard AT her. There was an expires
sion on his face not pleasant TO see
l can do nothing about II until to
morrow" he said harshly when tn
day breaks ] will cause his arrest
,he3 Will throw him into cell, forcs
MN 10 return to me the ruby and tho
gold. He does not know that he i
suspected, or he would get away from
here quickly" He added: we viii .
talk the matter over tomorrow L.,
the meantime you must take a littI.
rest"
She saw that. even in the face or
the intense excitement he was labor
ing under tagged out nature was
I9rcins hia his eyeiids down. Bending
his head upon them. he cried like a
chlld, then grew motionless.
4-Bett was wrong when she. '
thought sleep had come to him. TIL,
AR OF the room stified her; she felr
she must go out to the doorstep to
SIT and think. or perhaps II would
be best to go TO the old we'll back or
the house. No one would see hpr
there or KNOW of the bitter grief shn
was trying 50 hard to conceal ani
conquer.
Jil-Bett felt sure her grandfather
was the pitiable culprit. If all III.
NoTIu accused Jack she would be
lleve him guiltless.
She knew past all doubting he-I
grandfather would cause his arress
at daybreak, and he would languisn
IN prison while his life lasted, be-
cause he could neither restore tn.
Her distress over this was far greate.
than the loss of the fortune tha,
was so nearly in their grasp.
Jll-Bett was so sure her grand
father slept that she made no effort
10 still the sound of her violent ween-
ing. She longed, with all her heart.
to fly to the arms of Mrs. Nudge and
on her faithful breast sob out all
the piuful story. She had been .
piedsed to silence; she dared not VIC
late 1t.
knowing her grandfather's disposi
tino as she did, she realized It would
be useless to plead. even pray. to
MIN to spare Jack. who she felt from
the depths of her heart was limo
cent.
out in the darkness she kneIt AMI
prayed as she had never prayed be
fore. Her only hope was that, as
tired nature had asserted itself, az
she supposed, her granfather would
Sieep until nigh noon. as he had often
done before.
In the meantime there would not be
an inch OF the grounds but what She
would search, with the prayer on her
lips that she might unearth the
treasures and thus save Jack.
II her grandfather would only sleep
until after the hour the boat would
sail which was to bear him away shn
would breathe freer
She knew by the darkness which
deepened over earth and sky that it
was the darkness which preceded
dawn; in just one hour more dayt
would break. and them
She stole quietly up to the window
and peered breathlessly in at her
grandfather. Yes. surely he was
asleep: he sat in the same position.
with his elbows on the bench, his head.
with disheveled white hair. buried in
his hands.
(To be continued tomorrow