IV

When the Governor and Archie went down to breakfast at nine o'clock they

learned that Congdon had risen early and, declaring that his arm was

fully recovered, was fishing from the wharf.

The Governor drew from his pocket a telegram which Leary had carried up

to him while he was dressing.

"A cipher from Perky at Harbor Springs. He's got the provisions aboard

but reports that he suspects the tug is being watched. It's possible of

course that he and old Eliphalet were spotted at Cleveland when they

boarded the boat and that the Government is keeping an eye on the

_Arthur B. Grover_."

Archie fidgeted uneasily.

"We've got enough trouble on hand right here without bucking the Federal

authorities. Of course you'll warn him at once not to put in here!"

"My reply was sent instantly. I wired him to hold on to Eliphalet but to

drop all the men he didn't need to handle the tug at the first

convenient point and send them singly into the woods beyond Calderville

to await instructions. This is a dead port; nothing but driftwood has

landed here since the mill shut down three years ago."

"I tell you I don't like this at all! You can't run a pirate ship

through the Great Lakes without attracting attention. A policeman can

stand on the shore anywhere and throw a brick on board anything afloat."

"Really, you exaggerate, Archie," replied the Governor gently. "These

wide and beautiful waters invite the adventurous mariner and if piracy

appealed to me at all I'd rather enjoy levying tribute upon the

unprotected cities of the saltless seas."

Sally brought in a fresh pot of coffee and they waited for her to leave

the room.

"Only one thing interests me," declared Archie, "and that's the

immediate cleaning up of Carey. The Congdons have begun to bore me, if

you'll pardon my saying it! The old man and his plugged gold pieces and

the will he's reported to carry in his umbrella and the family row are

none of my business. If you want to give me a thrill of delight you'll

chuck everything connected with the name Congdon and concentrate on

Carey."

"Not so easy, with our friend Putney living here under the same roof.

Again I warn you that we must practise patience. Here comes Putney now."

They had reached the veranda, where Congdon joined them, proudly

displaying his string of perch. When Leary had borne his catch to the

kitchen Congdon became serious.

"Something's happened that bothers me a little. A man motored up here

awhile ago, looked the place over and asked me a lot of questions about

the hotel and its guests. You understand, Comly--"

He hesitated, glancing questioningly from Archie to the Governor.

"You may trust Saulsbury. We have knowledge of some other things that

make it necessary for us all to stand together."

"This fellow seemed to have no business here," Congdon continued. "He

said he was staying at Calderville, farther down the road, and pretended

to be looking for a quiet hotel to bring his family to. He thought

Huddleston might do. He looked me over in a way I didn't like. You

remember, Comly, I took you into my confidence about a little difficulty

I had before I came here--"

"That little affair on the Maine coast? It was a shooting, Saulsbury,"

Archie explained soberly.

"Extraordinary!" exclaimed the Governor. "Mr. Congdon, you may command

my services in any manner whatsoever. Now and then it has been my

fortune to be able to pull a friend out of trouble. Pray consider me

wholly at your service."

He listened gravely while Congdon described the shooting at Bailey

Harbor. He was convinced that he had shot a burglar who died of the

wound, and that the injury from which he had just recovered had been

inflicted by his victim.

"You have troubled about this matter quite unnecessarily," the Governor

declared with a wave of the hand. "I can see that yours is a sensitive

nature, with imagination highly developed. You were in your own house,

and had every right to be there; and certainly no jury would ever

convict you of murder where you were only defending yourself against a

scoundrel who did his best to kill you."

Congdon brightened perceptibly at this broad-minded view of the matter

and flashed a look of relief at Archie, who was quietly smoking.

"It's most fortunate that we three have met here, gentlemen and

murderers all!" the Governor went on airily. "Comly tells me that he too

has been dodging the police. To make you both feel perfectly at ease

I'll be equally frank and say that for nearly seven years I've been

mixed up with the leading crooks of this country; not for profit; no,

decidedly not; but merely for the fun of the thing."

Archie pretended to share Congdon's surprise at this confession,

delivered without the quiver of an eyelash.

"I should never have guessed it," said Congdon. "I had sized you up as a

college professor, or perhaps a lecturer on applied ethics," he added

with a laugh; "we hardly look the black wretches we are!"

"Let us hope not! But now to business. We seem to be fellows with a

pretty taste for adventure, and I'm going to appeal to your chivalry

right now to help me in a very delicate and dangerous matter that calls

for prompt attention. Comly and I had a little brush with the enemy last

night and in our further tasks we shall be glad of your help."

He bade Archie tell the story, interrupting occasionally to supply some

detail. When Isabel's name was mentioned as the head of Heart o' Dreams

Camp Congdon sprang to his feet excitedly.

"Isabel Perry! Why," he flung round upon Archie, "that's the girl I told

you about in Chicago, who gave me the bad advice that got me into all my

trouble with my wife. So it's Isabel who's the custodian of my daughter!

This is a queer business, gentlemen."

"Highly interesting, I must confess!" the Governor ejaculated. "But you

must bear no grudge against Miss Perry; she's wonderful. She all but

lost her life last night. Comly and I have solemnly pledged ourselves to

clear up this whole situation, and we invite your fullest cooperation."

"Certainly; I enlist right now. With my own child over there at the

mercy of that scoundrel I couldn't refuse. I assure you that I cherish

no resentment against Miss Perry. I was a fool, I suppose, ever to have

let her influence me. I was pretty miserable at the time and she is a

very attractive girl, and we men, well--"

"Man," said the Governor, "is only a xylophone upon which any woman may

exercise her musical talents. At times her little hammers evoke the

pleasantest harmonies, but when it pleases my lady she can produce the

most painful discords. To get back to business, the tug that's bringing

the supplies for the camp is also towing a launch for our use. We'll

meet Mr. Carey on land or water, or in the air if he chooses. Now,

Congdon, if you've no objection to taking orders from me, I'll ask you

to lie off Heart o' Dreams in the row boat, while the supplies are

unloaded. Our landlord, a trustworthy person in every particular, will

go with you. Comly and I will meet the tug and pick up the launch."

"But how about this fellow from Calderville who's nosing round?" Congdon

asked anxiously. "I'll say right here that I have no intention of being

hauled back to Maine to be tried for murder."

"Take my word for it, that Comly and I will die rather than give you up.

We'll stand or fall together. That chap may not be looking for you at

all. He may be on the lookout for me or some pal of mine on the tug;

they're all outlaws, desperadoes!"

"You're fooling, aren't you?" demanded Congdon incredulously.

"Not in the least! Fugitives from justice, every mother's son of 'em!

Only a few will be aboard when the _Arthur B. Grover_ puts into Heart o'

Dreams, but there are enough crooks in the woods about here to plunder

all Michigan. If that chap from Calderville's looking for trouble he's

going to have his hands full."

Congdon went into Archie's room just before noon and laid an automatic

pistol on the dresser.

"See that? That's the gun I shot the thief with at Bailey Harbor. Guess

I'll take it with me this afternoon for I know the infernal thing

works!"

"It's always best to tote a gun you've tested," Archie answered,

examining with unfeigned interest the weapon Congdon had discharged into

the mirror in the Bailey Harbor house. The gun with which he had shot

Congdon was in a drawer of his bureau, and the instant Congdon left he

examined it for any marks by which its owner might identify it. He was

relieved when the Governor came in and assured him that there was

nothing to distinguish the pistol from a thousand of its kind.

While they waited for the tug's appearance they hung off Heart o' Dreams

shore, and the Governor and Archie paddled close enough to talk with

Ruth at the wharf.

"Everything's all right," she reported cheerily. "The doctor is keeping

Isabel in bed today but merely to rest. The bruised hand is doing

nicely and will probably heal without a scar. The camp's running

smoothly and the girls don't know that they ate our last bread and

butter for luncheon."

"You're safe in putting cookies on the evening bill of fare," said the

Governor. "Has Carey made any sign today?"

"No, except that I went through the woods this morning toward

Calderville and found the road piled with logs there at the bridge over

the little brook. I peeped through the barricade and saw some men with

guns--"

"Don't you dare go near that place again!" exclaimed the Governor.

"There's a good mile between that point and the camp boundaries and you

have no business going off your reservation."

"How terribly you scold! I was just reconnoitering a little."

"That little might mean the end of the world! But it's worth while to

know that you pout when you're scolded."

The hazards of the night had left no mark upon her, and in the khaki

Heart o' Dreams uniform she would have passed for a carefree boy.

"You look shockingly young," the Governor remarked with mock resentment,

as he fended the canoe away from the wharf. "It doesn't seem possible

that a venerable relic like me would ever have any chance with a

beautiful young goddess like you."

"Maybe you haven't!"

"Don't taunt me, woman, or I'll let you starve to death! Archie," he

went on, his delight in her bright in his eyes, "this might be just the

right moment to propose marriage. Your presence is a little

embarrassing, but all the conditions here are unusual. Ruth, I'm so

proud of myself for loving you that I feel like proclaiming it to all

the world."

She picked up a chip and threw it at him with a boy's free swing. He

caught it and placed it tenderly in his pocket.

"The first gift you ever made me!" he cried rapturously. "I shall ask

you to autograph it later. I shall treasure it always!"

"Who are those gentlemen out yonder?" she asked, spying Congdon and

Leary in the row boat.

"The gentleman idling at the oars is Mr. Leary, the honest innkeeper

from Huddleston; the other is Mr. Putney Congdon!"

"Not really! Please don't tell me we're to have another kidnaping!"

"Certainly not! Leary was a valuable member of our rescue party last

night and he's wholly friendly to our cause. Mr. Congdon came up with

Mr. Comly merely to be near his daughter."

"How did he know she was here? Please don't jest; this is very serious!"

"He knew because he got a mysterious message from me hinting that his

wife had sent the child here. He's a charming fellow--not at all the

brute we've been thinking him; and while we've told him only what it's

best for him to know about ourselves he cheerfully enlisted in our

campaign to protect the camp. He's even now--"

An exclamation from Ruth caused Archie and the Governor to turn toward

the lake. The _Arthur B. Grover_ was steaming slowly into the bay. A

moment later Leary whistled to call attention to the Carey launch, which

was running rapidly toward the camp.

"Keep out of sight," said the Governor, "and send your young charges to

play in the woods. We don't want witnesses if anything disagreeable

happens while we're unloading."

"Please," she cried, turning to go, "take care of yourselves! We'd

better give up the fight right now than have you hurt!"

"It was pretty nice of her to say that, Archie," said the Governor

soberly, watching her as she disappeared down a long lane of tents.

"We'll see some fun now if Carey cuts any capers."

"He'll hardly ram the tug, though he may be fool enough to try it."

The _Arthur B. Grover_ had rounded the point and was feeling its way

toward Heart o' Dreams.

Archie recognized Perky, industriously taking soundings and lazily

giving orders to the man at the wheel.

"How much does she show?" called the Governor.

"A coupla clothes lines deep," replied Perky without taking the pipe

from his mouth.

His air of unconcern, his complete absorption in the business of getting

the tug in position to unload, the nonchalant manner in which he

directed the pilot, greatly enhanced Archie's admiration for Perky.

Two men were rigging up a crane to land the bags, boxes and crates that

were piled on deck in prodigal profusion.

"There's our new launch trailing behind like clouds of glory," said the

Governor. "A very snappy little affair it is."

"And a very snappy little man is hanging over the rail of the tug

gripping an umbrella. How do you suppose Perky's explaining all this to

Eliphalet?"

"Trust Perky to be plausible. Wait till father Congdon sees Putney and

you'll hear an imitation of the ichthyosaurus singing its song of hate."

Carey's launch had effected a half circle round Heart o' Dreams landing

and was now drawing nearer. There were two men aboard and Leary, having

put himself between the launch and the tug, signaled the Governor by

lifting one arm high over his head, and then extending it horizontally.

A careless observer would have thought he was only stretching himself.

"That means," the Governor explained, "that there's a suspicious person

on Carey's launch; and," he continued, after watching Leary's further

telegraphing, "that Congdon has identified him as the gentleman who

interviewed him at Huddleston this morning. Everything's going

smoothly."

By the time the _Arthur B. Grover_ had warped in, Carey had brought his

launch to within a dozen yards of the tug, and his companion was

standing up anxiously scrutinizing the men on board.

"Prisoners!" he bawled; "every one of you a prisoner! I know you, Perky;

and you needn't try any tricks on me or it'll be the worse for you. And

don't you fellows on that wharf try any funny business with me!"

Perky, busily getting the crane in working order, paid no heed whatever

to these threats uttered in the authoritative tone of one who is

confident of the support of the army and navy of the United States.

Carey loudly seconded the detective's demand for the immediate and

unconditional surrender of the tug.

"Trapped! Lost!" cried Eliphalet, tragically.

"You're mighty right you're lost!" yelled the officer. "You're a nice

old scoundrel, to be circulating plugged gold pieces, and a rich man at

that! You're pinched; do you understand? You're under arrest!"

The effect of this shot was to cause Eliphalet to attempt to climb from

the tug to the wharf but the Governor seized a paddle and gently urged

him back.

"I beg of you, Mr. Congdon, don't be disturbed. That person in the

launch can't harm you in the least. He may be annoying, yes; and his

voice is extremely disagreeable, but really his utterances are unworthy

of the attention of honest men."

"Who the deuce are you?" demanded Eliphalet, leveling his umbrella at

the Governor. "It occurs to me we have met before."

"Thanks for the compliment!" the Governor answered, dodging a heavy

crate, the first of the freight to be swung ashore.

Perky was thoroughly prepared for the expeditious delivery of his cargo,

even to wheelbarrows in which three men now began trundling supplies up

the wharf and along the beach to the camp store house. The work was

proceeding rapidly, without noise or confusion, and Archie and the

Governor were busily assisting when the shore was startled by a yell.

Leary and Congdon in the row boat had been stealing up behind Carey's

launch. Leary sprang aboard while the two occupants were watching the

landing of the stores.

Carey, diving under Leary's arms, seized a club and knocked him

overboard. The detective jumped into the water and swam to the wharf,

where he was immediately overpowered and hauled aboard the tug. By this

time Carey was steering for the middle of the bay, where he watched the

tug for a while and then retired toward his camp.

Leary had crawled upon the pier and was disconsolately shaking the water

out of his shoes.

"It was a good try, old man," said the Governor cheerily. "That fellow's

not going to be easy to bag, but we've got a detective on our hands," he

chuckled, "and I don't know just how we're going to let loose of him."

Putney Congdon had rowed close to the wharf to pick up Leary. As the

Governor had predicted, Eliphalet Congdon emitted a loud and not wholly

melodious howl as he recognized his son.

"Hey there! You've been following me! I told you to stay at the farm and

here you come sneaking after me away up here where I've come for rest."

"You were never more mistaken in your life!" replied Putney. "I came up

here to see Edith and found that that fellow you saw in the launch was

trying to starve out this camp."

"Edith here? Who says Edith's here? You're out of your senses! You know

perfectly well the child's in Ohio!"

"Break in on that dialogue," said the Governor to Archie. "Those men

will never get anywhere yelling at each other. I'll attend to Eliphalet

after we land the freight."

"If that wife of yours has stolen Edith I'll have the law on her!"

screamed Eliphalet. "She's not fit to have the care of children!"

Archie walked to the edge of the wharf and commanded Eliphalet to hold

his peace.

"Putney, row out a few hundred yards and watch Carey. You needn't worry

about your father. We'll find some way of getting him out of his

scrapes."

The detective, who had been lashed to the pilot house, reused himself to

shout:

"You'll make a nice mess of it trying to get him away from the

Government. The whole lot of you are crooks, and you're holding me at

your peril."

The discharge of freight had not ceased during this colloquy. The crane

swung over the wharf at regular intervals, and the men with the

wheelbarrows trotted back and forth with the spirit and agility of men

intent upon finishing an honest day's work. As Putney Congdon, mystified

but obedient, rowed away, his father began begging Perky to leave the

place and steer for Canada.

"You promised to protect me but you've made a fool of me," the old man

wailed. "You betrayed me to the police; you--"

The Governor flung a sack of potatoes into a wheelbarrow, and surveyed

the infuriated Eliphalet for a moment.

"Pray calm yourself, Mr. Congdon, and please be careful how you charge

people with serious crimes. It seems to be an obsession with you that

everybody on earth is a crook. The proposition interests me

psychologically. When I get through with this freight I'll look at your

data. Meanwhile I solemnly warn you to make no charge against me or any

friends of mine that you can't prove."

It was five o'clock when the last of the cargo was landed in the store

house. The engineer (a gentleman whose grimy face and mournful eyes

belied his record as a hold-up man) sounded the whistle.

Ruth ran down to the shore and Archie and the Governor went to meet her.

"O you angels!" she cried. "I've just taken a peep into the store house

and you've given us enough food to last all next summer. It's perfectly

splendid. I wasn't watching--really, I wasn't--for I had to keep the

girls busy; but you did have trouble of some sort?"

"Nothing of the slightest consequence," the Governor answered. "We tried

to catch Carey but he was too quick for us. But we did pick up a friend

of his--the gentleman you see giving an exhibition of haughty disdain

out there on the tug. Keep everybody well under cover tonight and don't

be alarmed by anything you hear. We'll soon be through with this

business."

"Who's that funny little man on the tug? He seems anxious to attract

attention!"

Eliphalet Congdon was engaged in an argument with the detective, who,

being helpless, was obliged to endure a tirade the old gentleman was

delivering to the accompaniment of an occasional prod of the inevitable

umbrella.

"That," said the Governor, "is Edith Congdon's paternal grandfather; an

estimable person fallen upon evil times."

"You don't mean Mr. Eliphalet Congdon!"

"Most emphatically I do."

"And have he and his son settled their differences?"

"Not so you would notice it! But they'll be loving each other when I get

through with them."

"Do you know," said the girl, looking wonderingly into the Governor's

eyes, "I don't suppose I could ever learn to know when you're fooling

and when you're not."

"After we're married I shall never attempt to fool you. By the way," he

added hastily as she frowned and shrugged her shoulders, "when does the

camp close?"

"August twenty, if Mr. Carey doesn't close it sooner."

"The date shall stand without reference to Carey's wishes, intentions or

acts. Please write your father to be here on that last day and bring his

episcopal robes with him. And by the way, you spoke of your

embarrassments about mail. We'll send to the Calderville post-office for

all the Heart o' Dreams mail; a boat will deliver it tonight and pick up

the camp mail bag. Have you anything to add, Archie?"

"You might say to Isabel," said Archie slowly, "that August twenty

strikes me as the happiest possible date for our wedding."

"You two talk of weddings as though we were not in the midst of battle,

murder and sudden death!"

She folded her arms and regarded them with an odd little smile, half

wistful, half questioning, playing about her lips. The tug was drawing

away from the wharf. Perky sat on the rail placidly sucking an orange, a

noble picture of an unrepentant sinner. From the woods floated the far,

faint cries and light-hearted laughter of the camp youngsters at play.

In spite of his attempt to imitate the Governor's jauntiness Archie felt

again, as so often since he left Bailey Harbor, the unreality of the

events through which he had been projected with his singular companion,

who had drawn him so far out of his orbit that it was hard to believe

that he would ever slip into it again. Their affairs had never presented

so many problems as now, when the Governor was predicting and planning

the end with so much assurance. In the few seconds that Ruth deliberated

he plunged to the depths in his despair that Isabel would ever seriously

consider him as a lover.

"I was just thinking," said the girl, stepping back a little into a path

that led from the beach to the woods, "how we seem to be living in the

good old times, when knights hastened by land or water to the rescue of

ladies in distress. This is all very pretty and be sure we all

appreciate what you have done for us. But I don't quite see through to

the end!" The smile was gone and there was no doubt of the sincerity of

the anxiety that darkened her eyes as she ended with a little,

quavering, despairing note: "Something serious and dreadful threatens

us, one and all of us maybe! It's only--what do you call such a thing--a

presentiment!"

"Please don't think of it!" pleaded Archie; "things are bound to come

out all right. You mustn't lose faith in us."

"Yes; it will be only a little longer," muttered the Governor

listlessly.

He had responded instantly to Ruth's confession of her premonition of

impending evil, and Archie, troubled by his friend's change of mood,

hastened to end the interview.

"We're not going to lose!" he declared. "It's when the world is

brightest that the shadow of a cloud sometimes makes us fear to trust

our happiness. Good-by and good luck!"

She was not reassured, however, and as she shook hands with them there

were tears in her eyes.

V

The Governor quickly recovered his spirits and with characteristic

enthusiasm began putting the new launch through its paces. Like

everything that pleased him, the launch was wonderful. He called upon

Archie to bear witness to its unsurpassed merits, and they ran out to

the row boat to invite the admiration of Putney and Leary. Putney, they

found, was skilled in the handling of such craft, and the Governor

cheerfully turned the launch over to him.

"You take it and run up to Calderville, where you'd better get supper.

Pick up the Heart o' Dreams mail and bring it back to Huddleston, and

meet us on the wharf at nightfall. We've got a heavy night's work ahead

of us. Carey's probably jarred a good deal to find that we've got a tug

and a launch to play with."

"That's all right, and I'll obey orders, of course," said Congdon,

wiping the oil from his hands; "but don't forget that my father's out

there on that tug. I don't know what trouble he's in, but I can't forget

that he's my father--"

Archie, touched by his display of feeling, turned with a pleading glance

to the Governor, but the Governor needed no prompting to be kind.

"My dear boy," he said, "you may rely upon me to extricate your father

from his embarrassments. Archie and I are going aboard the tug to study

his case carefully. If we don't do anything else this summer we're

going to take the kink out of your family affairs."

"There's no reason why you should--" Putney began.

"Reason!" exclaimed the Governor, snapping his fingers contemptuously,

"reasons for things are a horrible bore. In this pretty good old world

we must apologize for our sins and weaknesses but not for our kind

intentions."

As they boarded the _Arthur B. Grover_ Eliphalet made no attempt to

speak to Putney though he leaned over the side and shook his umbrella at

the launch as it drew away. The Governor told Perky to produce food and

invited Eliphalet and the detective to supper. The officer, churlish

from his bath in the bay and his enforced appearance in jumper and

overalls during the drying of his garments, replied to a polite inquiry

that his name was Briggs but that his credentials had been lost in his

tumble into the water.

"We shall waive all formalities," said the Governor, "as my guest your

official connections, real or fictitious, concern me not at all."

Corned beef, crackers, fruit and coffee composed the supper, and

Eliphalet Congdon, Briggs, Archie and the Governor sat cross-legged on

the deck and partook of it picnic fashion.

"A truce to our difficulties, gentlemen!" the Governor cried, lifting

his tin cup of coffee. "I'm sure there are misunderstandings involving

all of us that time will clear up. It's mighty lucky for you, Briggs,

that we succeeded in detaching you from that chap who brought you here.

If you had remained in his company you would certainly have come to

grief. With murderous intent he ran down two women right here in the

bay last night. We saved their lives by sheer good luck. You were not

with him, I suppose, and I'll charitably assume you don't know his

purpose in attacking them."

"He says the girls' camp is on his land and he's only trying to drive

'em off," replied Briggs. "Whatever his game is it's none of my

business."

"It's any man's business to protect women and innocent children from the

malice of a madman. To let you into a dark secret, he's got the idea

that there's buried treasure somewhere on the land occupied by Heart o'

Dreams Camp."

"Treasure!" exclaimed Eliphalet. "Do you mean to say there's money

buried there?"

"That's the idea," said the Governor with a grim smile at the sudden

glint of greed in the old man's eyes. He told the story, told it with

flourishes and decorations that pleased Archie immensely.

"It sounds pretty fishy," Briggs remarked, "but there may be something

in it."

"You never can tell," muttered Eliphalet. "It would have been natural

for one of those old southerners who hadn't any confidence in Jeff Davis

to plant his money in some lonely place like this."

"In one way or another we are all seekers of buried treasure," remarked

the Governor sententiously.

His story had cleared the air, giving, as Archie reflected, a fresh

illustration of the power of romance to soften the harshness of even so

realistic a situation as confronted the tug's passengers. Eliphalet's

imagination had been stirred, and he asked many questions about the

treasure. Briggs lost his hostile air and showed himself the possessor

of an unsuspected amiability.

"You seem to be a good fellow," remarked the Governor; "and your

interest in the _Arthur B. Grover_ is legitimate enough, I daresay. If

you will promise to behave and not try to leave the tug or molest any

one on board you're free to do as you like. But I want you to play

fair."

"I seem to be at your mercy. You've got to consider that my reputation

is at stake. It's my duty to land Mr. Congdon and that chap you call

Perky in the nearest jail and report their arrest to Washington."

"Washington," replied the Governor, drawing his hand across his face,

"is a beautiful city; but it's a long way from here. Be assured that I'm

no anarchist and the delicate matter of your professional standing is

something that shall engage my most earnest thought. Please make

yourself comfortable."

He bade Archie follow him to the bow where Eliphalet was moodily gazing

into the water.

"Mr. Congdon," the Governor began in his blandest tones, "as a mere

looker-on at the passing show I'm persuaded that you're not getting much

out of life. A mistake, sir; a mistake it grieves me to see you making."

"What I do or do not do," cried the old man, lifting his umbrella

belligerently, "is none of your infernal business."

"An error, sir; an error of considerable magnitude, if you will pardon

me! I wish my friend here to bear witness that I am qualified to offer

you excellent advice based on exact information as to your intimate

domestic affairs. You're a meddlesome person, Mr. Congdon, with a slight

element of cruelty in your makeup, of which let us hope you are not

wholly conscious. Morally you are skidding, but this I charitably

attribute to your lack of a wholesome and healthy interest in life.

Incidentally you've done all you could to destroy the happiness of your

son, who is a fine fellow and a gentleman."

"And his wife, your daughter-in-law, is one of the noblest women in the

world!" interjected Archie, seeing that the Governor's arraignment was

not without its effect on the odd, crumpled little figure. However, the

mention of Mrs. Congdon instantly aroused Eliphalet's ire.

"That woman ordered me out of her house--a house I bought and paid for!

She did her best to make my son hate me! She compelled him to quit the

businesses I started for the sole purpose of providing him employment!"

"Your trouble is that you never knew when Putney grew up," declared the

Governor. "You tried to boss him even after his marriage, and if Mrs.

Congdon turned you out of her house she did only what any

self-respecting woman would do. As the result of your miserly ways, your

meddlesomeness and your selfishness, you've just about ruined your life.

The penitentiary yawns for you." Eliphalet shuddered, and a look of fear

not pleasant to see crossed his face. "But," the Governor went on, "in

spite of your cowardly conduct I'm rather disposed to pull you out of

the hole."

"You will help; you really will help me?"

"Not if you cringe and whine like that. If you will stand square on your

feet and listen to me I'll make you a proposition. Don't flinch; I

don't want any of your money! I've heard that you make a habit of

carrying your will around in that umbrella, for the ludicrous reason

that you think you are not one of us absent-minded mortals who forget

our umbrellas. And you like to have the will handy so you can rewrite it

when the mood strikes you. Give me that thing!"

Eliphalet hesitated, but the Governor said, "If you please, Mr.

Congdon," with all possible shadings of courteous insistence, and gently

pried it from the old man's fingers.

It was a heavy, bulgy, disreputable-looking umbrella with a battered

curved handle. The canopy was held together by a piece of twine. Rather

than be seen with so monstrous a thing any self-respecting person would

cheerfully take a drenching. The Governor opened it, shook out a number

of manilla envelopes, all carefully sealed, and flung the umbrella from

him as though it were an odious and hateful thing. As it struck the

water it spread open and the wind seized it and bore it gaily away. The

Governor watched it for a moment with an ironic grin, then began opening

the envelopes and scanning the contents.

"I began life as a lawyer," he said coolly, "so you needn't fear that

I'll not respect the sanctity of these experiments in the testamentary

art."

Archie, taking and refolding the wills as the Governor finished reading

them, marveled at this unexpected revelation of his friend's profession

let fall in the most casual fashion, as was the Governor's way.

"It's evident from the dates of these wills that you've been steadily

cutting down the amount of your bequest to your son," the Governor was

saying, "so that if you died tonight he'd receive only a hundred

thousand dollars, the remaining million or two going to humane

societies, and one fat plum, I notice, to the Home for Outcast Cats. The

eccentricities of testators have never impressed me by their humor,

particularly when hatred and revenge are behind them. You would

malevolently cut off your own blood merely because your daughter-in-law

doesn't like your manners, which are bad, or because your son wouldn't

fall in with your fantastic schemes of making money dishonestly. I

suppose you've had a good time flourishing these wills before your son

and his wife when you were peeved, to let them know how you planned to

punish them. Watch me, Archie, so you can bear witness to the

destruction of these things; they're all going to feed the fishes except

this earliest one, which divides the property in generous lumps between

Putney Congdon and his children, with a handsome personal recognition of

Mrs. Congdon. That shall be preserved."

Eliphalet sullenly watched the Governor as he tore the papers into bits

and flung them to the breeze, all save the one, which he again scanned

with sophisticated care and stowed away carefully in his pocket.

"Now, sir; let us get down to business! If you will promise me never to

make another will without consulting me, but will let this one I've kept

stand, and if you agree not to interfere any further with your son's

family or his wife or his children or his ox or his ass or anything that

is his, for the rest of your natural life, I'll guarantee that in due

season you'll leave this tug a free man."

"You can do that; you are sure you can save me?" Eliphalet's voice shook

and his hands, thrust out appealingly, trembled pitifully as he turned

from the Governor to Archie.

"My friend can do what he says," said Archie. "You may trust him."

"I promise," said the old man steadily. "But I must see Putney and

explain about the coins. It was more in a spirit of playfulness, a

curiosity to know how such things are done that I got mixed up in that

business."

"I daresay it was and I'm sure you'll not repeat the offense," said the

Governor, lighting a cigarette. "As to Putney, I'll arrange the meeting

as soon as possible."

Eliphalet Congdon was the last man Archie would have expected to yield

to the Governor's wizardry, or hypnotism, or whatever it was that caused

people to submit to him; but the old man's face expressed infinite

relief now that the Governor had so insolently assumed the rôle of

dictator in his affairs. The pathos of the weazened little figure now

stripped of its arrogance, and the assertion of a long-latent kindliness

in his countenance, encouraged the hope that happier times were in store

for all the Congdons.