ingly worked into a good luck
design. As I picked up the bag I saw that it was sealed with wax and to
it was attached a card on which was penned:

To my son:--

Here is all the wealth I possess. It isn't much. The bag with
its contents was sent to me by my brother, Fay, who is out in
the Rockies. He gave it to me to pay my expenses out there to
join him. I am leaving it for you. It may help you over some
rocky places if it ever gets into your hands, and I trust the
good Lord that it does.

Lovingly,
YOUR FATHER.

The bag gave forth the unmistakable clink of gold coins as I dropped it
on the table.

That message from my father, whom I had never seen, made my heart heavy
and again that lump gathered in my throat, for I could feel the
heartaches that the writing of that note must have caused him. I had not
the courage to break the seal of the bag and examine its contents. I
pushed it aside and took from the box another time-yellowed envelope
addressed to

MY SON DONALD

Inside I found the following:

Dear Boy:--

I cannot determine whether I am giving you a mean deal or
whether this is all for your good. Your mother, Barbara Parker
Mullen, is dead, God bless her! She has been dead now six
months. It seems to me like eternity. I have tried to take care
of you as she would have cared for you but I am afraid I have
lost heart, and my courage, and I am afraid my faith has slipped
from me. I fear that I am a broken-spirited failure. The passing
of your mother has taken everything from me. I am no longer fit
or able to care for you and I must pass you on to someone else
and trust your welfare to God. For neither your mother nor I
have any relatives left who are able to take care of you.

What will become of you I cannot guess. I can only hope for the
best. But by the time you are old enough to read and understand
this message you will, I hope, have forgiven me or praised me
for my effort to find you a home.

What will become of me I do not know. I have one brother left in
the world, Fay Mullen, and he is out in Piute Pass in the
Rockies grubbing for gold. I am going out to join him for I know
the only way I can forget my grief and get hold of myself once
more is to bury myself in the wilderness.

Fay has sent me a bag of double eagles to pay my expenses west.
That is all the money