The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1927-09-30

big place. SO Morgan did what
was, perhaps, the most sensible thing
he could have done; he hid himself in
the seeurest place he could find and
began making a collection of maps
Ashton shook his head In perplexity.
"Well," lie said. ''if applied psy-
chology will enable you to make dis
coveries like that, / apologize to it
most humbly."
THAT wasn't psychology at ALL
said the doctor; ''it was plain logic.
I found torn up scraps of maps in his
waste-paper basket, making it perfect
ly evident that he had destroyed them
after they had served, or had failed to
serve some purpose of his. That put
him at once out of the class of the
mere geographer. knew he must
have some standard he tested these
maps by; knew that he must keep it
In some easily accessible place. Find
ing 1t. after l had discovered prin-
ciple like that to guide me, was COM
paratively easy business"
eco on" said Ashton; 81 won't in
terrupt any more. The strangeness of
this tale makes me feel as If | were
losing my wits; but it's altogether too
well corroborated not to listen to-"
"Now," said the doctor, "fOr a mo-
ment we go back to Haines. am in
clined to think that he got possession
of the other half Of Franklin's secret,
namely, the latitude and longitude of
the island where the treasure was
buried"
"If he knew that" ventured, why
wasn't it enough for him! Why didn't
he go and find the treasure for him
self?"
"He couldn't dig up the whole
island" the doctor replied. Il think
it not unlikely that he went there. only
to learn the futility of proceeding any
farther without the map. There is
another possible alternative; that he
never happened upon the secret Of
latitude or longitude at all, though lie
had 1t lying right under his hand. At
any rate, he knew that Morgan had
the map. He knew. or felt sure. that
with the map he could recover the
treasure, and he believed the treasure
well worth the trouble of recovering.
l can't tell you whether he searched
the world for his man. with the def
mite purpOse-the sole purpose Of find
ing him, or whether 1t was chance that
at last. after lapse of many years,
put him upon the trail. But this much
I do know, that he found him at last,
and that Henry Morgan was MUIR
dered as the result of an attempt
Haines made to recover the map"
"But the woman!" cried Ashton
you've told me nothing about herr"
NO." said the doctor. ain order to
simplify the story. so far l have left
her out, but she plays a very vital part
In 1t. To tell you what that part Is,
/ shall have to go back to the begin
ming Of my story again. hope am
not boring you" His smile, as he
made that polite observation, had u
touch of satirical grlmness about IL.
Ashton laughed a nervous laugh, and
wiped his forehead with his handker-
| chief.
"Bored!" he calculated. go ahead
with the yarn"
"You remember the Maori girl about
whom Franklin and Morgan had their
quarrel? They were both In love with
her. But Morgan murdered Franklin
and then disappeared. so that from
having two lovers, the girl was left
without any. Franklin was, no doubt,
the one she cared about. In spite of
the fact that he was fat and bald
headed, by no means a romantic type
of lover. But he had a charm about
him, there's no getting away from that.
and he carried II to the day OF his
death.
anyhow. some months after Frank
Inns death she bore him a daughter.
She must have been bitterly dlsap-
pointed that II was not son; but,
making the best of bad matter. she
swore the child. upon her deathbed. 10
avenge the murder of her father.
"Well. the girl grew up, and in some
way or other-I don't know whether Il
was by chance or design-she fell into
the hands OF Josiah Haines. and was
used by him as the mere instrument In
carrying out his purpose. don't
know certainly whether II was by her
aid that he got on Morgan's trail but
this do know, that he dispatched her
to the Oak Ridge house that night for
the purpose OF stealing Henry Nor.
CAMS precious map from him
81 do not know positively whether
he ordered her to murder him By way
of exacting recompense for all tile
trouble his flight had caused, but that
is what she did. She made tournl-
| quet out of violin string, with two
loops in it and pipe stem. with
which she strangled the old man, ex-
actly according to the etiquette OF the
| part of the world from which she
comes. And then she came away, but
without the map. Two days after the
murder she eScaned from the hosnffnl