"Forgive and Forget."
In the morning Joe put his plan into execution by applying for and
receiving a month's leave of absence, and taking the first train, he
arrived early on the second day at Denver. Here he hastened to the court
house and had the city clerk search in musty records and when he came
close to the date that Joe had calculated tallied with Kansas Shorty's
story, they found James McDonald's name, and the sentence the judge had
imposed which read: "Imprisonment in the Colorado State Reformatory at
Buena Vista until of age."
This second step towards unravelling his missing brother's fate pleased
Joe so well that before another hour had rolled around he was aboard a
train bound for Buena Vista to continue the search there. At day break
he arrived at this pretty mountain city and hired a livery rig and drove
to the reformatory, situated upon the outskirts of Buena Vista. Here he
called at the warden's office, and after stating his errand, again old
records were searched, which showed that James McDonald had been
received at the institution, but on account of exemplary behavior had
soon after his arrival been paroled into the care of a rancher named
Holmes. Then the warden recalled the case and explained to him that Jim
not only had become Mr. Holmes' son-in-law by marrying his daughter, but
that he was the proud father of a son and a daughter and was considered
a respected member of the community. He also advised Joe to drive to Mr.
Holmes' ranch, as it was only about ten miles down the valley.
It was almost dinner time when Joe arrived at Mr. Holmes' handsome home,
and when he saw a man standing at the gate as he approached, he
immediately knew that it was his long lost brother, as he still
resembled Joe, as much as in the past.
"Jim," cried Joe, as he swung himself from the buggy, and "Brother
Joe," came back the prompt reply, and then with tears of joy streaming
from their eyes they embraced each other, and after their affectionate
greeting they repaired to a nearby bench, and while holding his
at-last-found brother's hands Joe remarked, not aware that his brother
did not know that their mother and their eldest brother Donald had
disappeared in Canada, a land almost as large as the United States:
"Brother Jim, there is just one thing in this world that would add to
our happiness and that is, I wish our mother were here to join us at
this happy reunion," but hardly had he finished when Jim replied: "Joe,
now that we have at last found each other, let us do what for so many
years I have promised my wife and babies, should the good Lord answer my
prayers and permit me to meet you again, and travel to Rugby and
surprise our mother and plead for her forgiveness before she has passed
from among the mortals, as she has no doubt suffered untold anguish in
all the weary years since we ran away, as I have not dared during all
this time to visit her nor write to her until I was assured that you
were still among the living."
[Illustration: "Jim", cried Joe, as he swung himself from the buggy, and
"Brother Joe" came back the prompt reply, and then with tears of joy
streaming down their faces the reunited brothers embraced each other.]
Joe merely nodded his head as if assenting, as he did not wish to spoil
his brother's gladness at this moment by telling of the fateful letter
across the face of which was written: "Moved to Canada. Present address
unknown," nor of the many official letters he had in his trunk from the
Governor of every Canadian Province and many other officials, all of
whom had searched in vain for their missing mother, and, too, he
recalled those long hours of fearful remorse behind the locked door of
his room, and decided to withhold this knowledge from his brother as
well he realized that it would cause heart wounds which would require
years to heal.
Joe now gave his brother a brief review of his own career since they
were separated, and finished by telling him that his present occupation
was that of a railroad employee.
At this moment an elderly gentleman approached and Joe introduced him
to his brother as Mr. Holmes, his father-in-law, who, while Jim left to
arrange for Joe's dinner, told Joe that after he had engaged Jim, the
latter had proven himself so reliable that when a few years later his
only daughter, Dorothy, who had been sent east to finish her education,
returned and had fallen head over heels in love with Jim, he not only
gave his paternal blessing, but on their marriage day gave her for a
wedding present a deed to the ranch.
Just then the dinner bell rang, and when they came to the house Mrs.
James McDonald with her son, a lad of eight, and her daughter, a pretty
girl of five, were waiting for them, and after Jim had introduced Joe he
called his attention to the fact that his baby girl was named after her
Aunt Helen who disappeared so mysteriously, and that the children had
the McDonald family mark, the streak of white hair upon their heads.
After dinner Jim called Joe into his private office and pleaded with him
to forsake the railroad and make his future home upon the ranch. But it
was quite a while before Joe would even listen to his proposition, but
when Jim assured his brother that he could not think of having to part
with him again he finally consented to the change.
During the remainder of the afternoon Joe was busy writing his
resignation and arranging to have his property transferred from Chicago,
while Mr. Holmes and Jim were away from the house overseeing the work of
the ranch. After Joe had finished his correspondence he took a seat in a
rocking chair upon the porch from where he had a grand view of the
fertile valley of the Arkansas and the snow capped mountain ranges
beyond.
A little later his sister-in-law joined him, and although she sat in
another rocker close to Joe's, he found it impossible to engage her in a
conversation, try as he might, as she persisted in staring him in the
face. Chagrined at what he thought to be an affront, he suddenly blurted
out: "Mrs. McDonald, is there something about my face that interests
you?" Instead of an answer the lady who had turned a ghastly pallor
handed him a small, paper wrapped parcel. Joe opened the same, and then
after he hastily scanned its contents he speechlessly stared at his
hostess. "Great God in Heaven," exclaimed Joe, breaking the suspense and
unable to better express his amazement at the singular turn affairs had
taken, while with a trembling hand he drew forth from the paper a small
leather purse. "Can it be possible that you, Mrs. McDonald, are 'Babe',
the girl I met fifteen years ago in Chicago, and whose timely assistance
gave me a start upon the narrow path?" "I am the same girl, Joe," she
quietly replied, "and it was for the express purpose of getting a chance
to tell you that I am 'Babe' that I stared so rudely into your face,
because I knew that now or never had come the climax in the lives of
those who had in former days known each other as 'Babe' and 'Dakota
Joe'." Then she took the small leather purse out of Joe's trembling hand
and again wrapped it in the paper, and after striking a match that she
had brought for this purpose, she held the lighted splinter against the
paper, and when the hungry flames leaped up she threw the burning parcel
upon the lawn below, and while they both watched the fire consume the
fateful purse, Mrs. McDonald took Joe's hand into her own and while they
pressed a mute, but none the less oath-bound promise to each other, she
solemnly said: "For the sake of Jim's happy home and our innocent
children, for the sake of the name all of us bear, and the many years I
have lived an honorable life to atone for what occurred before the day
when I last saw you in Chicago, I plead with you, whom, to my horror, I
later discovered to be my own husband's missing brother, to let the past
be forgiven, to be buried in silence and be forever hereafter
forgotten."
[Illustration: decorative element]