The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1942-03-05

lengths IN everything he ever die"
Dick retorted. The Pacific is a big
place and there are more than twen-
ty-five thousand islands in it; but
only a few of them have any white
inhabitants, and I suppose Garrett
Waterson knew half the people in
the Pacific. He couldn't imagine
leaving the Pacific any more than
he could imagine living inland, SO
of course it was pretty hard for
him to evade the people that he
knew. When man is trying to drop
out Of sight, and fails at it for a
while, it's apt to become an OBJ
session with him. He gets to think
ing that everybody he sees is talk
ing about him, secretly. So he draws
apart more and more, until at
last"
''It's completely unreasonable"
Ernest Wayne said again.
Human nature always seems un-
reasonable to people who don't know
anything about it. Unreasonable is
what it IS; you just have to get used
to it."
Granting that an ordinary man
might drop out of sight that way"
Willard said, ''it still would have
been impossible for Garrett Water
son. He was too big, too inpor-
tant-"
Dick was getting disgusted again.
mo, he wasn't-he only imagined
he was. Once he was broke, he
wasn't of any importance or inter-
est to anybody-except to you, and
to you only because you thought
he was a skeleton in the closet.
Doubtless this will surprise you, but
the fact is that Alakoa is a small,
obscure, and unimportant speck on
the map, suitable for supporting a
few hundred people, and of no other
significance whatever. The fact that
Garrett Waterson once had hold of
it for a while would not distinguish
him in the eyes of anybody, except
yourselves"
Both brothers looked scandalized.
eff all this can be proved" Err
nest began, II mean, if his actual
identity can be proved"
"Of course it can be provedl It's
a plain, demonstrable fact-can't
you understand that?"
eff Dick is to be believed" Will
lard said, 'our worries are over,
Ernest. They can go ahead and in
vestigate their heads off and it won't
get 'em thing. And Karen Water
sons case against us falls fat as
as"
"As a bird in the hand" Dick
suggested.
"Their whole case is based on
proving Garrett Waterson's incom-
petence," Willard amplified, land il
we can produce the old man him
self their claim is utterly explod-
ed!"
Don't be so sure" Dick said.
That stopped them again. "You
mean," Ernest said, "that the old
man is not in his right mind?"
"Of course he's in his right mind.
He's eccentric, just as he always
was; but he's sound, all right"
"Well, that's all we need to
prove"
"How are you going to prove it if
he decides he doesn't want you to-"
"You mean," Willard demanded
after a moment, "you think he'd
throw in with this little crook, and
actually help her steal Alakoa?"
''How should I know? This little
crook is his granddaughter"
''It's unbelievable" Ernest Wayne
wished to think, ''that he should de-
liberately let them prove him to be
of unsound mindl"
'For three and a half million dol
lars, can find you plenty Of people
only too glad to furnish proof that
they are dangerously nuts. Think
that over"
Suddenly a new angle occurred to
Willard Wayne. II suppose" he
said, "since you are working for
Waterson, as you say, this boat OF
yours isn't yours at all, but his-is
that right?"
| Certainly"
"Then," said Willard, whatever
business he's in now, he must be
enjoying a considerable success.
That alone ought to furnish proof
that he's competent.
Unfortunately, there's catch ir
that, too," said Dick, land it's big
| one.
"Just what business is he in?"
Ernest demanded. ''Where does his
money come from? Or is that some.