turned and reported that
they were not in their room. Her hasty investigation proved that they
had not only not occupied their beds, and their savings bank had been
emptied of its contents, but the broken-hearted mother was nearly
frantic when she found that her thoughtless sons had disappeared without
leaving even a short note apprising her of their intentions, or at least
bidding her a brief farewell.

This was the last and most cruel blow an unkind fate had inflicted upon
poor, suffering Mrs. McDonald, and it was days before they were sure
that she would not succumb. In the meantime the foreman and every other
friend of the sorrow-stricken widow put every bit of legal and police
nachinery they could command into motion, trying to find at least a
trace of the twins, and although for weeks they searched far and wide,
not a single clue as to their whereabouts was found, nor was a single
line or letter received from them by their mother, who prayed for weeks
for this favor of Heaven, while at the same time her very appearance,
her returned pallor and her lusterless eyes told far better than any
words how this last calamity was slowly but none the less certainly
eating out her heart.

It was almost a month after their disappearance that the bereaved,
helpless and hopeless mother received her first clue as to her sons
whereabouts. A freight train had been held up on the siding on account
of a bad washout, and the crew, finding itself short of provisions had
come up to the section house and had requested Mrs. McDonald to prepare
for them a meal. While they were dining, one of the brakemen caused Mrs.
McDonald to fall into a dead faint when he in a rough but jocular way
remarked to her: "I bet you, Mrs. McDonald, that your Joe and Jim are
having the time of their lives down in Minneapolis, as I haven't seen
them around the reservation since the night I found them hoboing my
train into Grand Forks, although our train has passed through here many
times since that day. They told me then that they were bound for the
"Twin Cities" to pick up a fortune. Have you heard from them lately,
Mrs. McDonald? Are they prospering?"

The police authorities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis were notified, and
although correspondence was exchanged, nothing was accomplished. For two
more months Mrs. McDonald waited in vain, hoping against hope that at
least they would send a letter to appease her piteous fears as to their
fates, while in the mea