would spell Daniel with two 'l's and no 'i.' What's troublin' Laban?
Somethin' about the house, I presume likely."

He leisurely tore open the envelope. The letter was a lengthy one,
scrawled upon a half dozen sheets of cheap note paper. The handwriting
was almost as unique as the spelling, which is saying considerable.

"From Laban, is it?" asked Mr. Bangs casually.

"Yup, it's from Labe."

"There was another from him, then. At any rate there was one addressed
in the same hen-tracks to Azuba. I met her as I was coming out of the
post-office and gave it to her; she was on her way to the grocery store,
she said."

Daniel nodded, but made no comment. He was doing his best to decipher
Mr. Ginn's hieroglyphics. Occasionally he chuckled.

Laban began by saying that he expected his term as caretaker of the
Scarford property to be of short duration. He had dropped in at the real
estate office and had there been told that arrangements for the leasing
of the mansion, furniture, and all, were practically completed. The new
tenant would move in within a fortnight, he was almost sure. Mr.
Ginn, personally, would be glad of it, for it was "lonesomer than a
meeting-house on a week day."

"I spend the heft of my daytimes out in the Back yard," he wrote. "I've
lokated a bordin house handy by, but the Grub thare is tuffer than the
mug on a Whailer two year out. I don't offen meet anybody I know, but
tother day I met barney Black. He asked about you and your fokes and I
told him. He was prety down on his Luck I thort and acted Blue. His
wife is hed neck and heles in Chapter goins on. I see her name in the
Newspaper about evry day.

"He said give you his Regards and tell you you was a dam lukky Man."

Captain Dan's chuckle developed into a hearty laugh. He sympathized with
and understood the feelings of B. Phelps.

"He has sold his summer Plase at Trumet," the letter went on. "Mrs.
Black don't want to come thare no more. He wuddent say why but I
shuddent wonder if it was becos she ain't hankering to mete your Wife
after the way she treted her. He has sold the Plase to some fokes name
of Fenholtz. I know thats the rite name becos I made him spel it for me.
Do you know them?"

Daniel uttered an exclamation of delight and struck his thigh a
resounding slap.

"What's up?" asked Nathaniel. "Got some good news?"

"You bet! Mighty good! Some people I knew and liked in Scarford have
bought the Black cottage here in Trumet. I rath