tter
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 al