friends, but about the middle of the day the party separated
and my father found himself alone. Then he saw something that to him
looked like a wildcat on a big rock. He fired quickly, and when he
drew closer he saw to his horror that he had shot and killed a man--an
old hunter named Blazen.

"The shock of the discovery made my father faint, and when the others
came up they found him working over the dead body of Blazen in a vain
endeavor to bring the hunter back to life. A doctor was called, but
nothing could be done for Blazen, for the shot had killed him instantly,
taking him squarely in the heart. Of course it was an accident, but
my father couldn't get over it. He raved and wept by turns, and at
last the doctors had to place him in confinement for fear that he
would try to do himself some injury. My mother was prostrated by the
news, and you can imagine how I felt myself."

"It was certainly terrible," said Dick, and the others nodded in silence.

"Blazen was an old bachelor, with no relatives, so there were few to
mourn over his death. We saw to it that he was given a decent burial
and advertised for his heirs, but nobody appeared. In the meantime
my father grew melancholy and the doctors thought he might become
insane. They advised a trip to new scenes, and my mother and I took
him to Europe and then to Kingston, Jamaica, where an old friend of
the family had a plantation. One day my father disappeared."

"Disappeared?" echoed Sam and Tom.

"Yes, disappeared utterly and forever. We hunted high and low for
him and offered a big reward for any information. It was useless. We
have never seen him or heard a word of him since."

"And what do you think became of him?" questioned Songbird Powell.

"I cannot imagine, excepting that he may have thrown himself into
the bay and drowned himself. He had a habit of going down to the
water and gazing out to sea by the hour."

"Too bad!" murmured Dick. "Mr. Bird, I sympathize deeply with you."

"And so do I," came from the other boys.

"The disappearance of my father made my mother ill and it was all I
could do to get her back home. There we procured the best of medical
skill, but it did little good. She had always had heart trouble and
this grew rapidly worse until she died, leaving me utterly alone in
the world."

Harold Bird stopped speaking and wiped the tears from his eyes. All
of his listeners were deeply affected. It was several seconds before
anybody spoke.