ad with the authorities. Yes, I
was a real prodigal, always trying to help the other fellow out of
trouble and getting the worst end of it every time. The only difference
between me and the Bible chap was that Father did not heap treasure on
me when I left, and didn't kill the fatted calf when I returned."

During this recital the Elder had fidgeted to the end of his chair. "I
cannot see, son, why you persist in telling of your wickedness to
everybody. It's a thing rather to be ashamed of."

"I acknowledge that, Dad, but the closet idea suggested it to my mind.
Then, perhaps, it's not a bad idea for Mr. McGowan to know the worst
side of me first. I spent about a week in that hole they called a
prison," he said turning to the minister, "and seven days there couldn't
be very easily effaced from my memory unless I went bugs and had an
awful lapse. But the result was not so bad, for that place proved to be
my swine-pen where I came to myself. It was just about as much like a
pig-sty as any place I ever didn't sleep in.... Do you happen to know
anything about Sydney, Mr. McGowan?"

"Not much. I know it's quite a trading center, but most of my
information is second-hand."

"It is the best trading center on the Australian coast. An odd case came
to the office from there last week. You know, perhaps, that I'm a member
of the Starr and Jordan law firm in New York. Well, our branch office in
Sydney referred this case to our office in London, and they, in turn,
sent it over here. The reason it was transferred here is that the
documents say the client now lives in America. I happened to be put on
the case because I knew a little about Sydney. The same case has been up
several times, it seems, for some woman over there keeps pounding away
at it. The queer part of it is that the trail has been followed up to a
certain point and then lost at that point every time. It is the same old
story of what is happening every day. Relatives of a wealthy trader left
Sydney several years ago, the trader died, and the heirs to his fortune
can't be found. The strange part of it is that these people can be
traced as far as America without the slightest trouble, and then,
without any apparent reason, they suddenly drop out of existence as
completely as though they had been kidnapped and carried to a desolate
island. So little data has been collected from the other side that the
firm has decided to send me over to Sydney. It promises to be quite an