Evening star., 1923-05-17

know how treacherous my memory is.
l am here to urge you to go to rest
the contents of the box can wait for
our inspection until tomorrow"
Jil-Bett shook her head. LAS well
now as any other time. Jack"
"As you WILL" he returned. taking
a seat by her side.
'It is going to be a difficult task
to open it, she observed.
For your little hands. yes: for me,
no." he responded. taking it from
her.
Again he remarked how heavy it
was for so small box.
1t was fastened by a lead staple.
to work 1t out. even with the aid of
a quot he picked up on deck.
AS the lid was flung back. Jil-Bett
saw by the white, bright light of the
! moon it contained exactly what she
had suspected. The gold that had
meant so much to her poor old grand
father
| on Jacks shoulder.
Gold" he exclaimed, land much of
/ it, Why. Jil-Bett. this certainly rep
| resents the saving of a lifetime"
Her heart was too full to tell him
all just at that moment.
"Oh, Jack.' she cried, laying her
; head on his shoulder, don't you see
that 1T proves that the Arab, Ben
Ali, was the thief?"
Jack patted her trembling hands
held out to him SO gladly.
II am glad that it removes any
taint of suspicion from me--that is.
if that gentle breast of yours ever
harbored any"
My faith in you never wavered for
single instant. Jack. l felt that
something would surely happen to
vindicate you" She went on: THAT
payment on a very delicate piece of
work that was entrusted to my grand =
father to do. He sat up all night to
complete 1t: and as the night was op-
pressiVely warm, he opened the win
dow for a breath of air. That was
his undoing, for-when he must have
had his back turned for a moment
it was stolen. together with the gold.
Both had been lying on his work
bench.
you know what the loss did to my
grandfather-it drove him mad. 1t
meant the snatching away of a for
tune when it was within his grasp. 1t
meant awaking from a dream Of lux
, ury for his old age to the awful real =
/ ization he must still toll. struggle
death released him. You cannot
blame him that he went mad with the
torture of it.
You. Jack. passed the door and
open window just as he looked out
Do not be hard on the dear old man
m ~ n q nf1 tcin n
to find it in your heart to forgive him
If he is looking down from those
stars at this moment above us he
sees and rejoiceS with me in the es-
tablishment of your innocence, Jack
He looked at her gravely, making
no comment, and she went on eager
ly: You shall tell me what disposi-
tion l shall make of this gold; as
grandfather did not complete the
work he contracted to do, 1 cannot
feel that he was entitled to it, nor
am / as his next of kin.
I'VE just passed the agent who was
to come for the finished work on the
steamer that recently passed us. !
wish we had remained in katar until
We could have seen him."
Then we would have missed this
boat, Jil-Bett"
That would not have mattered, we
could have taken some other one, as
long as 1T makes no difference to us
IN Wnlch direction 1T goes. But about
the gold; do you not agree with me
that, 1t is not rightfully mine and
thine?"
You are right, Jil-Bett: it belongs
to the owner who has sent this agent
out on this mission. We will use
every endeavor to locate and restore
the gold to him."
How noble you are. Jack" she sob
bed, catching his hand and clinging
TO 1t. .! was desperately afraid that
That l might, after all. prove that
had dishonest heart, by advising Q
you to keep flowing to the fact we
are so poor, scarcely knowing where
our next meal is to come from after
II wonder if there are any pearl
fisheries around New York;" quericd
IJH-Bett, eagerly.
Jack shook his head. replying he
! did not know, but il there were he
would work and she should stay al
home and cook.
How good and thoughtful of me
you are going to be, Jack" she whis-
pered.
: The thought that he intended tc
care for her, that she was to be with
him always, was joy, indeed, to the
\ girls lonely, starved heart No mat
ter now great were the privations
! they would face. she meant to en-
dure them bravely, uncomplainingly
| for they would be offset by the hap.
piness of being by his side
From this hour on she told herself
that she would face the future with
! a light heart.
(TO be continued tOmorrow.)