he quietly stood up and gathered her belongings
together.

"You get right to it, boy. What you do is right for me. I'll say no more.
As my Rube says, ther' ain't nothin' like livin' honest. An' so I says.
But if that letter's goin' to lose you Rosebud, I'd take it friendly of
Providence if it would kind o' interfere some. I'll go an' sit with Rube,
an' you can write your letter."

At last Seth turned to his letter in earnest. He first pulled out a piece
of newspaper from his pocket and unfolded it. Then he laid it on the
table, and carefully read the long paragraph marked by four blue crosses.
He wanted to make no mistake. As he had said himself, letter-writing
wasn't easy to him. He read thoughtfully and slowly.

"THE ESTATE OF THE LOST COLONEL RAYNOR

"Once more we are reminded of the mysterious disappearance of that
distinguished cavalry officer, Colonel Landor Raynor. This reminder
comes in the form of the legal proceedings relating to his estate.

"For the benefit of our readers, and also in the gallant officer's
own interests, we give here a recapitulation of the events
surrounding his sudden disappearance.

"On May 18th, 18--, Colonel Raynor returned from service in Egypt, on
six months' leave, and rented a shooting-box in the Highlands. Hardly
had he settled down when he suddenly declared his intention of
crossing the Atlantic for a big game shoot in the Rockies. This
purpose he carried out within four days of his announcement,
accompanied by Mrs. Raynor and their little daughter Marjorie, aged
eleven, a golden-haired little beauty with the most perfect violet
eyes, which is a very rare and distinguishing feature amongst women.
It has been clearly proved that the party arrived safely in New York,
and proceeded on their way to the Rockies. Since that time nothing
has been heard of any of the three.

"There is no definite pronouncement as to the administration of
Colonel Raynor's estate. He owns large property, valued roughly at
nearly a quarter of a million sterling. It has come to light that he
leaves a will behind him, but whether this will be executed or not
remains to be seen. There are no near relations, except the colonel's
brother, Stephen, who was disinherited by their father in favor of
the colonel, and who, it is believed, left this country at the time,
and went to the United States. His whereabouts are also unknown, in
spite of advertisement