to
regard her husband as the only son of parents, both of whom were dead,
that the mere possibility of his having a brother awakened her
curiosity.

Still under the spell of the old woman's unexpected revelation, Kenneth
had relapsed into a thoughtful silence. The surprising news had
affected him strangely. So--he had had a brother--a twin brother, and
all these years he had been in ignorance of the fact. Yet who could be
nearer or dearer than a twin brother? Together they had lain under the
same mother's heart. Together they had first seen the light and
laughed in the sun. Ah, if he had only lived to be his comrade, his
partner! With a brother at his side, to second him in his hazardous
enterprises, he felt he would indeed be invincible. He could have
conquered the world!

The old nurse held out a withered hand, and her eyes were moist with
tears as she said:

"Good-bye, Mr. Kenneth. A safe journey to you. Keep out of danger.
I'll be praying for the Lord to watch over you."

Helen turned away so they might not see her emotion. Kenneth laughed
lightly as he kissed the old woman's cheek, and then, slipping a bank
note into her hand, he said carelessly:

"All right, Mary, I'll be careful. I'll come back safe and
sound,--never fear, and I'll bring you something nice,--perhaps a big
diamond. Out in South Africa they pick 'em up like stones."

The old woman's eyes opened incredulously.

"Really, Mr. Kenneth?"

"Yes, really. Diamonds as big as apples. They're found every day.
When I come back I'll have all sorts of adventures to tell you about.
Who knows? I might even run across this twin-brother of mine.
Stranger things have happened."

"Diamonds as big as apples," she echoed. "Do you mean that, Mr.
Kenneth?"

He laughed.

"Indeed I do! Some of the gems are as big as cocoanuts. Didn't you
hear of that wonderful diamond we found the other day? It's worth a
million dollars."

The old woman opened her eyes and gaped with astonishment.

"A million dollars, Mr. Kenneth!"

"Yes, a million dollars. What's more, I'll soon be able to show it to
you, Mary. My trip out to South Africa is ostensibly for the purpose
of negotiating for more land. The real purpose of my journey is to
bring home this astonishing stone."

"But how will you carry it, Mr. Kenneth? A stone worth a million
dollars must be big as a house."

Kenneth laughed.

"No--no, Mary. It can easily go in my waistcoat pocket.