't anything extra, but it look like Ralph."

Bert was eagerly scanning the picture which Ralph Harding's sister had
given him.

The face was long, the nose aquiline, the cheeks hollow, and the
expression was that of a man who was dissatisfied with life. There were
side whiskers of scanty growth, and there was a scrubby mustache of
yellowish hue. It was a front view, and both ears were visible. They
were of extraordinary size and stood out prominently from the head.

"I think I shall know Ralph Harding if I see him," thought Bert.

"I am very much obliged to you for the picture," said Bert. "With it to
help me I hope I may find your brother."

"If you do," returned Mrs. Clifton, "will you write to me and let me
know, Mr.----?"

"Barton. You will see my name on the playbill--Bert Barton. Yes, I will
write to you in that case."

"There is one question I would like to ask you, Mr. Barton. You say you
have never met my brother?"

"No."

"Then how did you learn that he had a sister in Peoria, and how did you
know that that sister was myself."

"I was staying at his old boarding-house in Harrisburg. He left behind a
box of papers, and among those papers was a letter from you, urging him
to come to Peoria."

"I remember that letter."

"It was that letter--excuse my reading it--that led me to come to Peoria
in search of Mr. Harding."

"I am glad you came, for I have some hope through you of inducing Ralph
to return. You see, Mr. Barton, there are only two of us. I had not seen
him for five years, and now that he has left us, five years more may
roll by before we meet again. I think Ralph would be better with us. He
is not a cheerful man. Sometimes I think he is burdened with a secret
which is preying upon him. I am sure he would be better off with us
than among strangers."

"I agree with you, Mrs. Clifton. You may rest assured that, should I be
fortunate enough to find your brother, I will do all I can to induce him
to return to you when our business is concluded. This may require him to
go East, but afterward he will be free to go where he pleases. The
secret you refer to may relate to the business upon which I wished to
see him."

As Bert rose to go Mrs. Clifton took his hand, and said, earnestly: "I
wish you success, I am sure. I feel better for your visit."

The information which Bert had received made him desirous of going back
to Chicago as soon as possible and making every effort to find Ralph
Hardin