ely at his leisure.

Cumshaw walked to the car with him. He yielded to the stronger will
without any show of resistance. All his own will-power seemed to have
departed, and he obeyed Bryce with a child-like faith. Once in the car
he slumped into the corner and closed his eyes. Bryce seized the
opportunity thus given him to steal another look at the wood he had
picked up. He scraped away what loam he could with his finger nail, and
soon was able to make out two complete words.

"This'll have to wait," he said with a sigh, as he thrust it back into
his pocket. "This bit of wood's got your name on it, Mr. Abel Cumshaw,
and I'll bet all I ever owned that it's the key you've been hunting
for."

He cranked up the car, and soon was speeding back to the high road. In
his corner Mr. Cumshaw slept.

Ten minutes after they reached the main road another car swung out along
the Ararat road. There were three men in it, the chauffeur and two
passengers. One of the latter held his hand to a wounded shoulder, and
swore at the chauffeur every time the car jolted and sent a quiver of
pain through the wound.

In course of time Bryce's car came to a little hamlet on the Geelong to
Colac road--a hamlet that must be nameless in this story. There he found
the Albert Cumshaw of this tale, delivered his father into his care and
told him all that had happened, suppressing only the episode of the
finding of the wood. He found Albert Cumshaw easier to deal with than he
had expected--as a matter of fact the younger man already knew much of
his father's story--and the result of the conversation was that the
search was held over, pending the elder Cumshaw's recovery.

Bryce remained the night with the Cumshaws, saw that a doctor was
secured who would give skilled attention to the elder man, and then
early in the morning set out for home. The day was very warm, and the
cool breeze that presently sprang up from the ocean moved Bryce to motor
down to the coast. At the worst it was only a few miles out of his road.
At first he had no intention of making a stop at the heads, but the sea
as he came within sight of it looked so cool and inviting that he was
tempted to have a dip. He parked his car in the reserve, purchased a
bathing suit at the local store and ambled down to the beach. It was
only when he commenced to undress that he recollected that the wood was
still in his pocket, so with rare caution he thrust it under the sand,
quite satisfied th