he Man Killer trail, as being the shortest.
And--here I am!" grimly.

"Incidentally, I gave our family lawyer a shock, little niece," he went
on, as Una, plucking up courage, adjusted her sweater under his head;
she began to like this uncle with the pebble-like cast in his stone-gray
eye, she began to think that girls--Camp Fire Girls, especially, with
their love of the fanciful--might have more patience with him than
others had had.

"Yes! you bet I gave old Cartwright the staggers!" He laughed down the
twinge of agony in his voice. "Called him up on the long distance
telephone, told him I was Treffrey Graham back; that I had been in the
East nearly six months, with my son; that I came pretty near disclosing
myself on the--on the day when the third installment of my brother's
will was read--actually walked up to the door of my sister's house, then
shied off, because ... Oh, gosh! this knee."

The voice broke; it had really become a feverish babble of excitement
now--pain's wild excitement.

"Well! What was I saying--yes! I didn't ring the bell because I hadn't
made up my mind whether I wanted to claim any share of my brother's
fortune, or not; you see he hadn't been very fair to me in youth--taking
away my sweetheart. None of my family had--for--that--matter! I didn't
know whether I wanted to meet them again. Although I liked the look of
my little niece; I had seen her, at a distance, with her mother. And
then, we didn't need the money, my boy and I! Had enough of our own;
Treffrey Graham may be a terror, but he isn't a failure--financially!"

No--not by a long shot! said the flame of the pigeon-blood ruby upon the
pale little finger, now curling significantly in air,--the gem whose
fire in this wild spot seemed as erratic as his own, seeing that none
but a zany would have worn it here.

"So--so I told old Cartwright this morning that I stepped out of that
strung-out will," a smile curled the pallid lips now; "that I authorized
him to make preparations, at once, for the turning over of the remainder
of my brother's wealth, in his name and mine, to the University of our
native city, to be used for the furtherance of Professor Lorry's
won-der-ful invention for r-reaching in-de-finite heights."

"My father!... Oh! my fa-ther!" It was a wild little cry to which the
Man Killer rang now, as the head of Pemrose Lorry went down upon her
knees.

"Yes, I'm glad his way is clear--though, I suppose, only a man 'whose
hea