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Show 11 john BURTlly."M"s:a 1 W Aalk.r at Tha kMnipctS MIIHo.lm, ' "C4ool Maarea UMIrlrt " Etc. gj K r..eTni ht lr r I All rl,tu rjrTKi et I T S Kt rtoai a UriiAu Ante mim A J liaaiai HiunLi M CMAPTCR XV Continued. In an uli.n. parlially formed by a ' bay window xIimhI an eawl uphold Ink a larg- (rami- Tht light struck the canvas In auch a way that lllake did not revognlte the oahjecl until squarely In frrnt of It It waa a portrait of Jeaale Carden not the Jessie Cerdcn drawn by the Han PranHscn artlat from the faded tintype but the Jrasle Carden of later ymre, whose face and figure bad taken tak-en on the iterfect grace of woman hood Ainaaed and loot In thought, lllake did not hear Arthur Morris as he ap-proachoil ap-proachoil and stood lieck of him He rluahml when Morris toticneil him on the slmolder "lly Jove' that portrait mint have great attraction for )im'" laughed Mntrla "Yoti've been atarlng at It Ave minutes' A bo at the opera you cannot tell her name!" "Done"' said lllake "That's a portrait por-trait of Miss Carden Mlsa Jessie Csrden, of IkiHiin." An cjpresikin of dumb surprise swept across Ihe face of Arthur Morris Mor-ris With halfoiene fnouth nml star lug eyes be gared nt James lllake. "Well. Ill lie . Well, of all things'" lie sank Into a chnlr nml laughed feebly "I say, old follow, you took me off my feetl How tho devil did you guess that namot" "Nothing wonderful about III" said lllnke, who by Dill tlmo had perfected per-fected his course "I met Miss Csrden Csr-den years ago, and I at once rrcng-nlted rrcng-nlted tho portrait." "You mot her? Where!" "In tho country, near lllngham, Masaachuactta." "Howt When! Ily Jove, old fellow, fel-low, tills beats me! What were )on doing In lllngham!" "I lived on a farm near there," re-pllod re-pllod lllake Morris leaned forward. For an Instant fear had possession ot him. Who was this man who lived JZi "ST"! ilflSrll ' IVi nhw I II if! (i on a farm near lllngham, uud who was unie acquainted with Jesale Cur-ilouT Cur-ilouT Waa ho John llurtT Kroni the tune t wua thirteen until un-til I ran away Irum home, Ulake con-tliiuml, con-tliiuml, with nonchalance and confident confi-dent mendacity I lived on a farm about three in I lea from the old lllsh-op lllsh-op mansion Miss Carden used to visit there In Ihe summer seasoua and I aaw lor frequently The last time I saw her she eautered past our hooso with a friend of mine. Ihat reminds re-minds me dear old John I must look him up when I go to Hock) Woods." lllnke threw back Ills bead and reflectively re-flectively exhaled u wreath of cigar moke. "Does this eiphilu the ni)steryT 1 don't see nnylhliiK wonderful about It except Ihat oii have her portralt.and that Is probably easily explained I'm not prying Into your affairs, old man?" "Not at all not nt sill Ilatnmohun; brandy and two bottles of soda," ordered or-dered Morris, mopping his forehead. "Ily Jove, this Is remarkable' You speak of n friend ot xoura John, you call lilm what was his last name?' Hurt." "Where Is ta now?" Morris leaned eagerly forward, his face gray and his lower lip twitching 'Sure, I don't know! He was with his grandfather on the old Hurt farm In Itocky Woods when I left Massachusetts. Massa-chusetts. Why? Do )ou know John llurtT" 'Confound It, nmn, he shot met" exclaimed Morris, springing to his feet and pacing up and down the room ' Mil shot me, I tell ou, nml all hut put mo out for good' And he did It on account of the girl whose portrait por-trait you re admiring The blasted tad was craiy lualous over Miss Carden, Car-den, who had tieen so foolish ns to tol erate his company, lie picked a quarrel quar-rel with me In a tavern and shot me through the left lung Laid me up for three months. That old desperado of n grandfather of hla nearly kilted two oltlcers and aided him to oscape. He has not been heard ot line." lllake piled Morris with questions. The latter took large draughts ot brandy and recited the successive chapters which led to the tragedy. Itxcept that he made himself Ihe hero he-ro ot the tale, his account agreed with that told by John Hurt, lllake partook par-took sparingly of the brandy but Morris Mor-ris fed hit aroused hnto and reoolleo-Hon reoolleo-Hon with the fiery fluid According to Morris he waa madly j love with Jealse Cardan from the moment ho saw her Hefore he recovered re-covered from tils wound she was sent abroad ty (Ion, Carder- U) complete lur i .In. till. i. in I'srin ami Ilerlln Two yiara lad r (,m Csrden failed In IniiOtiiKK hla prlvai- fortune being wiped nut In thi irs-li Jessie eame back from Kuni- and remained a year with the Hlahope Arthur had Induced hla father to place tlen Carden Car-den In a salaried poatkin with the Morris Imnk In New York, ami he persuaded (ten Csrdi-n to accept a loan stiltlclent to defray Jessie's Jes-sie's expenses In a second trip abroad f4he was In Paris, but had completed her studies, and would re' urn In a few weeks lie was engaged en-gaged to the dear girl hut Ihe data of the wedding had not been set. "I've told yon moren any men living liv-ing " half sobbed Morris as he leaned on J nines Illske's shoulder. Tears stood In his Innamed eye and trickled down his red. blolehed Cheeks. "You II keep my secret won't yv, old chapT' he pleaded n.audltnly. "You re Ibe bee' frlen I ve got In the world' People don t like me. they don't know mi- You know me, lllake, eld fel', ilont von Im len'mental that'a what makes me rry Ily Jove, yim II Im my bes man at weddln' bes' man at my weddln - won't you?" He lurched Into a chair The trained train-ed nml aleil Itammohun appeared, deflly undressed til id. and solemnly conveyed him tu an Inner room. "Poor John'' sighed lllake, a tow minutes later, as Ihe Indian servant showed him his room and softly closed tho door "Poor John' five's a tough proixisltlon, snd I'm afraid John's on a dead t"Xrd! He has waited too long." CHAPTER XVI. Dad Ncwa. When Iltnku arrived In lllngham ho felt like a stranger In a foreign land Ills parents wcro dead and his relatives scattered The village look ed smaller than when he waa a boy He felt himself In n living graveyard. Hi curing an open carriage nnd a driver from n livery stable, he rods through the quiet streets nnd out Into the countr) Drive to Thomas lllsli-op lllsli-op s bouse " he ordered. The drawn and dust covered shut tors of the old mansion told their own story from a iwsslug farmer lllake learned that the lllahops had moved lo New York months before Half an hois' later he Knocked on Peter Hurt's doot . At a Im j, lllako stood In awo and four of the strange old man, but the )oars had obliterated this feellug Ills knock sounded hollow on the great oaken door, nnd ho wondered If the aged recluse )et lived Mrs. Jaipur, the liousekeeer, aliened the door, and lllake al once recognised her. "How do )ou do, Mrs Jasper? My name Is lllake James llluku. I lived near here when I was n boy. Dont jou " "Utile Jimmy lllake' Well, ot all things! I never would have known . Como right In Mr lllake." "Is Mr. Hurt hereT" "V -s. but I don't know If ho'll aee e," she said, hesitatingly, w'plng her liamls on her apron 'He don I see nobody, )e know " "Tell hi in who 1 urn, and say I'm from California," said lllake, who could think ot no other Introduction The) stood In the old fashioned atr lor where Peter Hurt had bound the oltlcers the night John Hurt left Itocky Woods. As Mrs. Jasper best taleil, the door leading j the sitting room opened and Peter Hurt eatered lllake could not see that lie had changed n whit. Age had not rav Ished the strong face nor robbed the massive figure of Its strength. He ad winced to the center of tht room, his e)es Axed searohlngly on the (ace ot hi' visitor. "What have ou to say to me, lllnke? He seated, sir." lllake took a seat In an antique rocker and shitted his legs uneasily. 'Where Is John?" "John John 1 don't" "Do not lie to me, lllake. Tell me what you know of my grandson" "He Is In California, sir!" exclaim od James lllake. When these words were uttered he felt a sensation ot relief which was positively exhllorat Ing. "He Is alive and well! John Is rloh, Mr. Hurt! Ho Is a millionaire many times over!" A grave smile lighted the features of Peter Hurt. He closed his eyes and lay back In tho chair. "no on. tell mo about It," he laid, as Ulake paused for aa boar or mere the bead of the firm of James lllnke & Company recited re-cited ihe history of Jebn Hurt's ca reer in California, and the result ot 'he i iint upwulatlve campaign In Niw V'irk Once In a while the old mir i-K'il a question, but he made no i.'nnnTii until the narrative was end. I V tr li-ari dominates your udg mem inn Hal la a trait and not a faun hi nsld as be arose and of fen I hl hand to James lllake. "God glr n ii emotions and faculties; from them wi must develop character. Do not i hsrge yourself with a broken promlne to John He has kept his part I send blm my blessing. Say to htm thst I sm strong nnd well and hapio Ray to him that hla future, field of work Is In New York city." Peier Hurt stood In the doorway nd watched until the carriage disappeared disap-peared lie) ond the old graveyard. Im glad that's ended'" said lllake to hl'naelf I wonder what I told tho old man Krrrylhlng I guess. I'm Hearing a crisis, am I? Well, I'm used lo crises and guess I can stand one more Who's coming? Ills face bsdis fsmilmr It's Sam Itoundsl Slop driver' Hollo, Ham! How aro yo-i' Heated In a stylish road cart, behind A rang) high stepping trolter wasone nf thi companions ot lllnke's Imy-tend Imy-tend Ham checked his horse and, with s putsled grin, looked Into the spiskers race llsoe ite ye dew?" he drawled, slsi killing tho lines. "Yer face looks fei miliar like on yer voice don't Twiiirt strange like, either I believe I know ye' It's Jim lllake! Ilnott air ) JlmT Well. well, well! Who'd a tliunk It who d n lliunk It?" Him reached across and shook hands with a vigor which nearly pulled lllnke out of his carriage. "Air ye the James lllako I'vo been resdln' erboutT Tho ono Hint's been glrln' Iliem New York sharps a whirl In stocks?" nuked Ham. Disks smiled nnd nodded his head. "Is that so? Well, well, well! Say, I'm plumb glad to hear It!" and Sam's nulling faco showed It. "Ain't never hum of John Hurt, have, vo? NoT Welt, he'll turn up oa top some day, an' don't ye fergU, Ham Hounds altera al-tera said so. Where be yo coin' to, Jim?" I'm going back te New York to-n!ht to-n!ht " replied lllake. "From thcro I return to San Francisco, but expect lo make New York my home " Is that eoT I'm llvln' In New York now " said Ham, handing lllako tail cord ' Moved thcro several years ago Mother an' I aro hero on n vlilt fer a few days. I'vo been do-In do-In fairly mlddlln' well In New York, Jim When you wrlto mo, bo shore an put 'Hon before my name," and San laiiRhed until tho rocks ro-cchoed hit merriment. .How Is that?" asked lllake, gsxlng blankly si tbt card. Hind what It says. Instiled Sam. I'm alderman of my deestrlct, an' lmvo Just been re-elected tew a second sec-ond ti rm Fact'" I longratulato you, Bam," said lllake heartily "Sorr) e haven't tlmo low wait over an' go back with us," Sam said "Hut If ye are goln' tew fionte In Now York, I'll seo lots of )o" "1 certainly will look )ou up when I'm In New Y'ork," said lllake. "My regards to your mother, nnd say I'm sorry I didn't liavo limn to call on her. Are )ou married, Sum?" "Nop, but I has hopes," laughed Sara, gathering up the lines, "flood-bye, "flood-bye, Jim, goodb), nn' more luck ter yel" "Same to you Sam: gnodli)c" Ten days later James lllake arrived ar-rived In San Francisco He drnvo to John's apartment, and wns greeted by him In the old study room. lllake sat whero ho looked nt the portrait ot Jessln Carden. Ills heart sank within with-in htm. , (To bo continued.) |