Evening star., 1926-10-10


Walters unfortunate tool.
My dear. she said very gently.
don't worry. 1t is not your fault
that Walter Reynolds tried. 10 de.
ceiNe us all. You are in no way to
blame. and if you will come home
with Sweetheart we~Will both try to
make some happy arrangement for
YOU. Nobody is angry with you. my
little girl. .tnd life will still hold
happiness for one so Young and
pretty.
The girl met Cynthia : gaze. and
had the grace to blush
don't bother. You're d good woman.
though. and I'm glad you got your
own Kid. You needn't worry about
me | got folks in Tia Juana: l
guess I'll be going along And with
brave little nod she sailed gayly
from the room. her head high,
Wen see that the child is pro
Vided for." Carr assured Cynthia.
Have YOU anything else to say, Wal
ter? If not we can bear the thought
of being relieved of your company"
Walters wife. who had remained
silent throughout. was heard for the
first time.
Were going now she said with
d determination no one could mistake.
"and Walter won't bother YOU again
unless he does it over my dead body.
Come on" She took rough hold Of
him. Go while the going's good
The door CLOSED upon them, and
those remaining in the office of Burns
& Hyatt breathed deep sighs Of relief.
Now, then" Mr.. Carr went on,
Il want to hear from Gaines
And from Paul" Mrs. Reynolds
broke in raising her face from where
it nestled against her daughter s
cheek. Paul gets the reward, doesn t
heo" She held out hand to her
stepson You'll forgive me for de-
ceiving you, won't you. dear boy? |
couldn't make myself known on the
train I needed your clear head too
much, | expected. Of course. to take
Sweetheart home with me immediate
ly, and Mrs. Rogers car was waiting
to meet my friend. who acted as
Adjt. Joseph. and myself. The car
was there and we fled in 1t to Santa
Barbara. changing our clothes in the
station waiting room. You can guess
how [ suffered when the child was
whisked away by Mario-the whole
terrible episode Of his stroke. or what
ever 1t was. completely demoralized
me. Had 1t not been for Mr.. Gaines
comforting presence l should have
gone mad but he was SO calm and
helpful, so sure that he could safe
guard the child, Then, too, I re
membered the : thousand dollars in
gold which Ucfita had taken down
to his confederate. Sake"
$50 that money was from YOU"
Paul interrupted, excitedly: Gaines
thought so, and it certainly did the
trick, The old woman stepped right
into the moose; that Is how we caught
her. But what we did not foresee
was Walters string Of paid bandits
who trapped Gaines and the Milanas
so that they dared not escape for fear
Of turning them in pursuit Of Caro-
lita--' he paused, then said softly,
Il mean Sweetheart. think, Cynthia
he turned directly to Mrs. Reynolds,
that this reward should be given to
Gaines, Uchita and Sake. They really
saved your little girl in the end,
though I'm convinced that Milana
acted in good faith. intending to re-
turn her Immediately 20 you"
Aren't you claiming any reward,
Paul?" John Carr asked. 1T seems
to me you've earned your full share
Pauls eyes rested upon the dark
head pressed against her mother
pledSt' anu iio ioPis was
relevant.
IF only" he said and then more
impressively. 'if only he hadn't cut
her hairr' And then turning Grim
son, he attempted to answer his
uncle, and, finding no words avail
able upon the subject in question
took refuge in another question still
unanswered in his mind.
about the rings" he said, "some-
thing was read or spoken about Ferdi-
nand and Isabella. Blake and | eX-
amined them with care. We saw no
such identification. although he was
sure that these were the famous
treasures Of that royal pair.
There is trick to the. rings,
CYNTHIA fastened to his rescue, both
stones unscrew in their surface set
ting. Sweetheart, dear, let me show
Paul"
Sweetheart slipped the rings into
her mothers hand, but her eyes did
not meet Paul's. She couldn't look
at him yet-she couldn't.
See" Mrs. Reynolds carefully un-
screwed the rings while the group
in the Office gathered closely about
her.
The engraving beneath the. stones
was fine, but deeply cut and legible
beneath the maenifying glass which
Gaines brought to their aid: Trans.
lated into English, it read:
Ferdinand to Isabella, a. D. 1859
Isabella to Ferdinand" AID. 1869.
And now" Hyatt said. when the
rings had been admired and exclaimed
over. its my turn! There are lot
of small points to clear up before this
-i,~et hnyv did the
ring get beneath the seat OF section
lower 8.
1T dropped there from my finger.
Mrs. Reynolds explained.
Then you took it from Mario
Nrilana. while he lay in the stupor?
How did YOU know he had it?"
Il did not know; l could only
guess. had seen Mario on the
train. and felt certain that he did not
recognize me. I had also, to my con
sternation. seen Walter and his wife.
and had had to use all my ingenuity
to keep out of their way, feeling sure
that Walter was far more. likely to
recognize me than Paul
"Who was your companion Paul
asked
me good woman. It was through
her efforts that we secured the Sal
walton Army uniforms. She is at my
house in Santa Barbara now, waiting
for news"
DO go back to the ring You saw
Mario come into the car. just as you
told the conductor
yes. and recognized that there
was something the matter with him.
I remembered that Mario had told
me Of his seizures-narcolepsy is the
name Of the disease. I believe.
spent hours trying to decide what to
do, for had tried in vain TO make
Sweetheart confide to me the matter
of the ring. and she would not speak.
Che stonned TO kiss her long lost