"'"' T J I IN THE DARK l! ! . ww ; . 1 ; 1 : anonymous. : I It was a blazing day glorious cum-1 raer, but it seemed to bo robbing Ethel 1 of ovcrytlilng of hopo. of energy and of tho life of her child Just as last summer had robbed her of Jnrk Nothing had been heard of him. No iwb had come to her, nnd bad luck ! had dogged her oil tho tlmo. She had 1 had to move lodgings ngaln and again, ovory tlmo a llttlo poorer, every tlmo taking rooms a llttlo cheaper; and tho only work sho seemed to havo oven a chance ot getting was In tho oiuco of a private detective agency. Sho had applied thero on an Impulso nnd had been told that work was somo-times somo-times given to outsiders, und that If sho cored to call every morning at nine o'clock there might somo day bo a chnnco for hor So sho had called day nfter day, week after week, and no chnnco had over come; and day nftcr day hor money dwindled nnd sho went from bad to worBo until now Dlcklo was 111 and sho had reached her last penny. Sho would mako ono moro effort sho would try onco again beforo sho gavo up. Sho hurried through tho streets to tho ofllco that had becomo so familiar to her now. Sho pushed open tho swing doors. "Is thero anything for mo this morning?" morn-ing?" sho asked. On tho nnswor depended tho tlfo of tini- Ilttln M.lll A clerk, busy over somo letters, looked up and began to shako his head. At that moment somcono came out from an Inner office Ho was talking to another man. "A woman?" ho snld. "It's a woman wo want for this Job. Who's that yonder?" yon-der?" "She's a Mrs. Mnyco," tho other answered, an-swered, "but she's never had any work from us yet" "Sond her In to mo. I'll sco what sho Is mado of." Ho Btopped back, and Ethel turned with a beating heart.' Work at last! Tho man who had spoken, whom sho know as tho manager, looked at her sharply. "Yoti'ro Mrs. Mnyco?" ho said. "Woll, sit down. Wo'vo a llttlo thing hero that you may nblo to undcrtakO for us. Anyhow, you can try. Hero aro tho facts: A client of ours, Geoffrey Geof-frey Horner, a merchant In tho city, j has lost a diamond ring valued at $125. Ho loft It lying on his dcsk.j and whllo It was thero It was stolen. Tho only person who had access to his room wns n young man, son of a friend of his, whoso namo'ho will not glvo and whom ho refuses to bellovo guilty. The young man leaves tho houso nljlitly at about six o'clock. Wo want you to get his nnrao and address and any Information you can nbout him. Hero Is his description, lurmuiii'u uy uur uuiucuvu. iuu win havo to follow him, of course You can get your day's expenses from tho cashier; hero's n memo for $5, for which you will account to us later and, of course, any rellablo Information Informa-tion you bring wo'll pay for." Sho wept out treading on nlr. Flvo dollars In her pockot meant food and modlclno for hor llttlo Dlcklo. At flvo o'clock sho put on a black 1 skirt nnd blouse, which had been too shabby to pawn, nnd over an old black hat sho put n thick veil. Ten minutes later sho was on hor way to Ccoffroy Horner's house. 1 Just ns sho rounded tho corner tho door of tho houso opened and somoono camo down tho stops. Sho followed him breathlessly, waiting! an Instant as ho stood at tho bottom bot-tom of the stops to tako out his latchkey latch-key and then followed boldly. In a moment sho was standing level with him upon tho top step, and eagerly eag-erly sho looked ot his faco. It was thin and white; It looked drawn nnd sad It good heavens! Ho turned, and tho key dropped from hla fingers nnd rang sharply, springing from stop to stop to tho pavement beneath be-neath them. Ho uttered ono word hrokcnlv: "Ethel!" Sho put out her hand wildly and then reeled Into his nrms. I It was Jack Jack returned from tho sea allvo nnd a thlofl I In tils room thoy faced each other. "Jack, they say you aro a thief. I've I boen set, to watch you. I followed you I tonight and that Is why I am here to watch you." Ho looked startled for an Instant. Then ho gavo a laugh. "Darling, tho thlof confossod and returned re-turned It tonight just before I camo away. It was ono of his sorvnnts." Ho took her in his arms, and looked down Into hor face. "I've had a ghastly tlmo," ho sold, "and you, too. Darling, you look thin and 111. I tried to find you when I got back but It was rnonthB after tho wreck. We had drifted for weoks we were half mad und half dead when wo wero picked up, and then I was helpless. "It was weeks after that beforo I came to my senses and remembered. "I wont straight to my father's old frlond, Oeoffroy Horner, and ho has been helping mo. First I tried to Und you and failed. Then my mother's old housekeeper Bho was n fraud. Sho got all the goods by false pretences and had humbugged my poor old mothor, nnd tho lawyer thinks we shan't got much ot it; but I shan't caro tor that, now tbut I havo got you. Ethel! Ethel! Is It really you?- It Is llko a droaml" Casscll's Saturday Journal.