Evening star., 1941-09-28

QgAt WIN MOntJOle.
Describe my father to me-" she
said then.
He looked across the fire at her in
astonishment. Don't you know
what he looks like?"
She shook her head. 'I have
never seen him that I can remem-
ber l have been told that he came
to see me when I was a child. but
I have no memory of those visits.
All I know of his appearance is
what FurnesS has told me
There was no better man in all
England to sing the praises of
Arthur Vance than Adam War
burton, and the girl, with shining
eyes. drank in his words as he spoke
of the parent she had never seen.
oh" she said when he paused.
"I hope Furness gets me some nice
clothes. I know he will be un-
able to see me. yet I do want to
look my best when he takes me in
his arms Do you think he will like
me. Adam?
There can be no doubt of that,
Molly" he assured her. Why he
wondered, had Vance so long neg
lected this charming daughter?
Molly. huddled in the great cloak,
was gazing into the fire. Adam" 5"
she asked presently. Would you care
to hear the truth about my father?"
Il am not asking you to divulge
any secrets, Molly, but if you honor
me with your confidence 1 shall not
betray it."
Did he tell you how he became
blind?'
He shook his head, whereupon the
girl began:
The Vances are an old family
that lived in the west of England,
near Bristol. When my father, Sir
Arthur, was about Is years old he
was invited to court by Henry VIII,
and there he met Eleanore Caldwell,
one of Queen James ladies in wait
ing. He married her and took her
to the continent. They were in Italy
when ! was born. and when I was
about 2 months old they decided to
return to England.
A Tragic End.
In the middle of the English
Channel our ship was attacked and
overwhelmed by pirates Her voice
faltered. but she forced herself to
speak. The leader of the pirates
was a young giant whom his fol-
lowers called Black George They
took everything of value, then set
our ship on fire and ordered all the
women into their own ship. Those
who did not obey they picked up
and carried off, weeping and
screaming. Black George announced
that the prettiest woman of the lot
was his-and that was my mother,
Eleanore. That was too much for
my father. Unsfmed, he fought
Black George on the deck of the
burning ship. With knife and club
the pirate captain cut my father
down and hammered him into in
sensibility. When my father re-
gained consciousness he was blind
blinded Tor life by those terrible
blows. He was on raft with two
sailors who, with myself, were the
sole survivors of the massacre. My
mother had been forced to go-with
Black George"
Her eyes were wet with tears.
"You begin to understand" she
choked. You can see that my
father is a greatly misjudged man?
From that day he lived for one pur-
pose: To find and kill Black
George. For it was too late to save
my mother My father learned that
she had killed herself before the
pirates reached their headquarters.
His Ife's goal then was his
vengeance, and he spent years pre-
pairing himself for it. He placed me
in the care of distant relative and
went to Italy to have the greatest
sWOrdsman in the world teach
blind man the art of fencing Such
a task might have been impossible
even for those masters, had it not
been for the fierce flame that was