A Curious Story, From the "Land of
Make-Believe" 'About Ponce de
Leon, His Fountain of Youth and
What Its Waters Did for a Man
fTI HlfE!? Tinndre ream aco. if vou told a irrown man about.
A Partial Solution of the Mystery
of the Disappearance of An Old
Man Who Distitid Children and
Who Became a Child Again
"a football, and that led to the purchase of complete" outfits" for
every boy in the crowd, as well as an immense amount of eat
ables. ' . ,
X , dragons, witehes, basilisks or a fountain of perpetual
youth, he would not have disbelieved a word of your tale, ,
but nowadays any boy can ait tip -and contradict you if
you tell anything that seems improbablo, and hewill often bo
teal impudent into the bargain. ,
But there are lots of nice boys and girls who, whether tho
story is probable or not, are pleased to hear it, and who know
that in the "Land e-f Make-believe" the most astonishing things
are always happening, and to them I tell all my storica, you may ,
be sure. ,
. ( Old Mr, Linton, who had, when young, read perhaps every
fairy tale that was known in his day who also knew, more his
tory, probably, than any teacher in town, for ho was always
reading history, never believed a single thing that was at all
out of the ordinary, after he grew up.' Thus, when he came
across a strange tale about prisoners in Siberia, or some remark-
able anecdote about Benjamin Franklin or George Washington,
for instance, he would 6neer, turn. up his nose and say:
"Hum! How do they know that any such improbable thing
tver happened at all? Bosh, and also Pudge 1" . . '
. ( lie actually did not believe things that ho read in the daily
papers,, so extremely extravagant had grown this habit of 'dis
crediting and disbelieving everything. In fact, he had become ;
so incredulous that unless lie saw a thing happen, saw it with
his own eyes, he "simply doubted the report. '
So, when one night he fell asleep in his easy chair, in the
lonely big house in which he dwelt, everything that happened to
him he concluded was merely dreams. He had bedn reading "The
History of the Spanish Mam" all the-evening, and naturally im
agined that the book had affected his sleeping thoughts and in
duced a most remarkable dream, that was all; but as you will 'Bee,
he was not long holding this opinion. "
It seemed to Mr. Linton that he was still awake when there
appeared beside him a man clad in shining armor, all damas
cened with gold, in a pattern somewhat like a carpet, flowers,
sprays and leaves amid twining scrolls of gold that glittered in ;
the lamplight with dazzling brilliancy. ,, The visor or peak of his
great helmet was pushed up, and Mr. Linton saw a face that
was bold and stern and a pair of dark eyes that seemed to pierce
right into him. His first thought was that the apparition must
be some friend of. his who had stopped in on the way to a ;
masquerade ball, but. the face was utterly unknown to hi:n.
Nevertheless, he was not at all alarmed nor even surprised at
this sudden intrusion, nor did he seem to wonder how the man :
, in armor had entered his room., It seemed, somehow, to be quite
.. : natural. 1 , - -w. :v- ' 'u,'
While he stared at his strange visitor he heard the hell in
the City Hall tower strike twelve, and then he suddenly glanced
at a picture which hung on his wall just behind the armored -
' knight. It represented the landing of Ponce de Leon upon. the
coast of Florida, and showed the Spanish adventurer standing
I upon. the strand with his sword raised toward a great banner.
He instantly turned his eyes upon his visitor and immediately
recognized him as. Ponce de Leon himself, for every feature
ryes, beard, armor and ;nll was exactly similar to that of the'
leader in the old print on the wall. . . . -. -x T
Just why the Spaniard should call upon him he. was at first
at a loss to guess, but he seemed to think with great rapidity at
that moment, and almost instantly came to the conclusion that '
it was because he had taken Spanish lessons when a boy, But
the Spaniard spoke in .English a moment after and asked :
.ituui-ngu juiitiru, wuno nro your uuuureu I
"I have no children,-thank Heaven 1" Mr. Linton answered,
"and my name is not Roderigo Lintro, but Roderick Linton." 1
"Though you know it not, you are my sword-bearer, Bode-,
rigo," said the visitor, grimly frowning. "You have been per
mitted again and -again to inhabit the bodies of men, while I lay
'neath the sand under the palms, but natheless you are still '
.. mine." . : , : ";.' ' '' ' "-" " r."'"-
"I think you have made some mistake," replied Mr, Linton,
calmly, for ho had, already concluded, you see, that he was
dreaming. "I never met you before, although I know from that,
picture yonder who you are. What do you wish! Can I serve
. you in 8ny way!" ' ' '. . ' ; ' ' : v ' '
"How many children love you I" asked the frowning vision.
"Oh, bosh!" replied Mr. Linton. "What have I to do with
children! Thank goodness, I am neither a school superintendent
nor in the toy business. I am in the fire insurance business."
"How many children do you 16 ve, then I", asked the knight,
, Itill persistent.-. . - ' : .. 'CV : .'. ''' . v
"I hate all thfr brood 1", snarled the old man. "If I, had my
was they'd all be smothered as soon as they were born! Nasty,
noisy, fidgety, inquisitive, sticky, hungry brata, I Lave no use
t 1,. 1
'Would you not be a boy again if you could!" !sked Ponce
ide Loon. ". ' ' .
"Well, hum; I can't answer that off-hand," replied Mr. Lin
ton. "Depends on what sort of boy, and perhaps whose boy. If I
eould be the son of a millionaire, wellperhaps I might coa
.eent."' '
"Come with me," said the knight, turning to the door.'whicU '
to his surprise Mr. Linton saw was wide open,
XX tlX'X X j.'K XX. sXXl X;
Tie rose and followed his visitor slowly, not quite certain'
. . whether ho Was really walking or floating along, but before ho
could determine he found himself in an entirely different atmos
phere and amid other and utterly strange surroundings. Great '
palms waved over his head, ferns ftnd cacti 'grew in the glaring
"uivp muui j:ia m nit jh- Vf n u iv uuua vm. fti jiuuo uu a oioiiwu
along the edge of the wide, dark stream flowing slowly by. ,
.lie knew at once that he was in tlio tropics, although his
knowledge of 6trange lands was confined merely ta-iooks anl :
pictures, as he had never traveled. . ?
He had little time to speculate, and Ponce de Leon strode
away beneath the overhanging palms and he had to follow, for
something seemed to draw him along. ; In a few minutes they
stopped again, Ibis tune beside a still pool whose velvety .sur
. face reflected the green foliage and the deep blue sky above, and
seemed like a great polished gem of emerald and sapphire. It
rested in a basin of the purest, whitest rock, and when he looked
. into its depths bo could see every tiny grain of the ttone at the -,
very bottom, so clear and limpid was the sparkling water. All
about the rass grew green and tall, and not a footprint nor a
' bended blade was visible, showing that the lovely pool was never
- visited by man or beast, apparently. ; ; . . ;
. "Know -you this?" afeked the. Spanish knight, as he pointed
to the water, ' , " .
" "Xever saw it before, I am sure,", replied the man, ' "It is
very pretty." .
Then Mr Linton remembered sudd6nly what Ponce ' de
Leon's quest had been, and recalled how that ill-fated and credu
lous man hod lost his life seeking in the Florida swamp for the
fabled Fountain'of Youth. He asked, in an awed tone of voice: .
... "Is thiscan this really be the Fountain of Youth!"
" 'Tis that charmed pool," replied the knight. "In ita waters
lie Youth;Youtb r'Ptual and fresh. . He who bathes in it A
enicrprg with new life and powers and keeps them forever" '
, "Then her goes," cried Mr. Linton, immediately. "I won't
, hm this chance."', .j'".?x;.r '.T::r :.,':.i;-;c:
- J le sprang into the fountain, clothes and all, before Ponce
do Ixn could stop him, dived clear to its, pearly bottom in an'. "
instant, and there his hand comjng in contact with aomethin? (
he atixod St at once. When he came to the surface he found the
bpanj&h knight gazing, anxiously atium, aad ho also fiaw that ' '
" ' -.,. i .. - mm, .. i11'-- . : ' '
-Hnu 6 AC
HE RECOGNIZED THE VISITOR AS -PONCE DE LEON
he held in his own hand a curious bottle or vase. He clambered . be able to see enough remains of my former looks to recognize
oui smuing ana said :
"Well, I have tested your old fountain, Mr. Ponce do eon,
and now we will see what it can do." i
As he spoke he saw the Spanish knight's face alter, and
. when his whole figure Seemed to pale and become misty. He stared
hard at the vanishing form, and it slowly faded away into the ,
- forest, leaving him standing, there with the antique bottle in
, his hand. Then the forest also vanished the sunshine changed
, to the glare "of his lamp and he found himself in his old easy
chair at home. V.... y;""-;.- - V -v- 'va s,
Suddenly he started in amazement, for there upon his taVe
etood the curious bpttle, filled to the top with-a sparkling fluid
that gleamed like the purest crystal in the. lamplight. He reached
out his hand in doubt and took it up.
"This is marvelous!" he exclaimed. "How did this get here!
; Somebody has been here while I slept" , . v
But he soon found that hid door was locked securely. There
was the strange bottler however,and the" thought came to him
of testing its powers, and, without thinking of the possible dan
ger of such a test, he undressed and then rubbed himself from'
head to foot with the sparkling fluid. :'',': vv
lie ran to the mirror and looked in. He had changed to a
man of twenty-five. His once white hair was a rich brown,' and
as he smiled a row of long-lost teeth showed gleaming in the
; glass. "." . ; : ' ,.. . . y
(
"Bless my soul!" he cried, jumping' back ten feet , "It was
" the water of Youth, after all, and I did not dream. I am young ,
again." He pinched his full, round muscles and noted how
strong he was, then, looked in the glass and grinned. "Ha, hal"
he Bhouted. "It 4 .only a little past midnight; why go to bed
so early I ; I will venture abroad in search of adventurea instead
' of wasting my fond youth in sleep!" ' .J. " 7
"I'll go down to the- club," he. said with a grin, "and see
what the old fogies, who are perhaps still sitting up, will say
when they see me."
At the door of the club he was met by the old colored man
who foMwenty yeara had stood guard there,, but when he cheer- '
fully said "Good evening, Isaac," the man stared at him and
then said: . : ' ' . ,.
"Excuse me, sah, but who do you wish to see!" ; 4
"Ha, ha !" laughed Mr. Linton. "Don't you know me, Isaao !
I am Mr. Linton." 1 . 1
: '. "Don't know only one Mr. Linton, an' he's more'n twice as
old as you be," replied Isaac, somewhat sourly, for he was not
used to jokes from the club members. "I reckon you has made a
mistake and got into the wrong club, sah." t . ;
"Why, is it possible that I am so altered !" asked Mr. Linton,
"Can't you see anything that reminds you of me I"
Isaac stared hard, and then said: "I reckon you'se Mistah
Linton's- son, 'cause I done remember that he u'seter look some
thing like you twenty years ago, but I know thnt you ain't him."
. "Let me in and we will see what my old friends will say," '
eaid Mr. Linton.
"No, sah ; I can't let no one in 'cept the club members," said
. old Isaac, firmly, "and I know you ain't Mistah Linton, nor hi "
. son. 'cause he ain't cot no son. Ro vmi cmi't nnme In",
Mr. Linton insisted upon entering, and was so loud in his hood, many of the old streets and courts were unaltered, and
demands that several members, who were all old friends, too. lnany avJrpod hiding-place, many a dark alley and brick yard
me. "
' The judge stared and said :
: "You are a very impudent boy to call me by toy first name.'
I never saw you before. Who are you and where are your par- .
ents!" ,
"I am your old friend Boderick Linton, and I have had my ,
youth restored by, the-application of a' marvelous fluid. I will
tell you all about it in your private office, Howard."
"Take him to the lunatic asylum !" said the judge, quietly,
"He ought to be examined, for I am sure he is insane."
Mr. Linton happened just then to glance into a large mir
ror, and was shocked io see reflected there the figure of a boy
of perhaps seventeen. He was speechless, and before -he. could
gather; his wits together he was conducted to a carriage and
started for the asylum. , , . ".
; On the way thither he looked about him and recognized the ' ,
road and the wayside fields as the playground of his boyhood,
althoughrmucb changed, but still he remembered many a lane -and
many a secret nook among the rocks and woods thereabouts,
and without .hesitation he sprang from the carriage and flew
across the field like a fox chased by the hounds. ; . s .
The officer, a, fat man and cluinsy, pursued, but the nimble
boy soon left him so far behind that he returned to the carriage
and drove back to town, leaving Linton concealed ninong some
shrubbery gleefully chuckling.
''This is finer yet," he said to himself. "I am a boy again.
Eow I will start all over and see what. I can accomplish, but I
must hot make the mistake of trying to be old Linton. That is
folly, and I ought to have thought of it at once." ,
He walked back to the city, and for a while amused him
self watching some other boys playing ball, for it was Saturday'
morning, and then, the temptation proving too strong, he stepped
up to the group and smiling suavely, said: ' i ,
"I should like extremely well to join you in your diversion,
my lads, if you will permit me." - .
r "Hully Gee!" shouted one of the boys. . "What kind d a
langwitch is dis? 'My lads !' ' What's de matter wit youse! Who's
fader is you, anyway!" " .
"Can you curve a'ball, dat'a what we want to know? If you
can you're it, see !". . , v ' ,
Linton scarcely knew what a curve was, but he stammered:
"I can at least make the endeavor, my. lads."
. . , They all looked at him in a sort of trance of astonishment, !
for the patronizing tone of his voice did not fit his youthful ap
pearance. One boy placed the ball in his hand and motioned
him to throw it to a lad at a distance. : - - t
"Now, let's see what kind of a twist you have got." said the
boy, who was smoking a cigarette very rapidly. 'Let her go !''
Linton threw the balwith all his might, but, as in his day
curves had not been invented, he knew not how to impart the
proper motion to the sphere, and his attempt to twist it sent it
with great force plumb against the neck of a big boy far to the
left, who instantly -jushed at him with rage in his eyes.' . V
While Linton was not a good pitcher he could run like a "
deer, and this he proved ct once, for seeing that he had really
hurt the boy he took to his heels with the whole gang after him.
Down one street and up another he" led them, and a keen memory
of all the, ancient games came to him as he fled.
Although the city had changed marvelously since his bov-
euddenJy flashed into his mind, so over brick walls and through
half -open gates ho darted with the pack in full cry Lohind, and
at last found himself opposite his own oflice in the Linton Build-
ing. Into the great marble doorway he dashed, nearly overturn
ing the janitor, and quickly unlocking hia door he Uipped into
his private office. The hall was almost instantly' filled with ex
cited boys, who, were promptly driven out by the janitor, Magin
nis, who then entered Mr. Linton's office and asked him what
he was doing there. " - . ',:'
Linton this time had his wits about him and replied:
came to the door, but they also firmly refused to admit the
hearty, hale man who claimed to be old Mr. Linton, and when he
insisted that ho was that person one of them telephoned for the
police. ' ; . - v. ' : ' ''Vic ' s ' '--,-;
- While they were " arguing two officers came and took Mr.
Linton away, to tho station house, in spite of his indignant pro
tests. They put him in a cell at once, as the sergeant, who knew
, old Mr. Linton, refused to listen to his story for an instant.
He eat down in the narrow, cold cell and reflected for a
'minvte, and then concluded to take things, calmly ; for, after all,
he now saw that it was impossible to make people credit his
wondrous tale. Then he went to sleep.
, In the morning his cell door was opened by a policeman,
who started back in surprise, saying: - .. .
"What is this! I arrested a man and put him in here about '. fiafc and those bova were chasinr me
two o'clock this morning and here's a big boy I Who are vn . Sal0' a, boy8 e,ro csin-.
and how did you get here!" .
'Youi iave a poor memory," replied Mr. Linton. "You thrust
mo m hero last night yourself." ,
"Don't try to fool me," answered the officer. "I put a man
about twenty-five years old in here, boy. Where is he, and how
U1U JIB gvt OUI I
' ;K:'' - f .1J. '':"' ;; :'(,'' .
"I Tvas sent here by Mr. Linton to got something out of his
uuj , uy are you . , tta i.mn.(l OTW, ihn .afa on a ra(tnnM BVOi v;m ;,W
as ho twirled the, knob around with all the- dexterity of forty
years of practice, and when the door opened he said!. ' '
, "Well, I guess you're all right, mo lad, and I'll kapc thera"
little divils away f rom yo when ye go out." t '
(ir..,i . -r t;a n - t:.j A. i:r- 1 .1
.lm the man you locked up," replied Mr. Linton. "I am Mfldnnis retired. Linton sat there thmkW for a lono- .im
sorry to say it, but I think you must have been drinking nffinAr
un P0hcmr 1 boxed his ears, shouting: 9 ideas were sadly iumbled. Although he remembered lnany of
Von t get fresh with me, young feller! Come out of that, the details of his great business, all inclination to. attend to it ;
T i Tr t. ftreani ana wo juage, will say."' He had goiiO and all he-wished for was fun,
4iBui,eu MTi xamon imo me court room next to the police station, He soon took a largo amou
, "What is the charge against this lad!" - ,'
"I dunno, yer Honor. I found him in the cell where I left
ipo raanTnai ciaimpa to be old Air. Linton, and. who was very
likely crazy. I can't find the man, however."
amount of money from the safe and
started out to enjoy boyhood's keenest delights. , First ho- pur
chased enough crullers, cream-cakes and cinnamon bans to sup
ply a whole school, and then ho visited, every dime museum in ;
town. , A huge tin horn attracted his attention in a window and
he bought it; as well as a bat and ball; then meeting another
I J - I 1 it , f J. A- 1 . . . 1
' ' mt. i,intonnew the judgcf very well; in fact, had helped to ciowd pf boys they repaired to a neighboring lot to play, but,
""'t"" 4p: a au u" 1 u,wr ruJfl .Ve omcer Baying: aftnost lmmoUiately ascertaining that Linton had a sum o
"Howard, this taut has Lcca drinking. 1 am bux& you must
money beyond ftll possible imaginiog, ho was persuaded to b
confronted another mirroi" and diaflovm-pd . that ho. had shrunk
' -into a much smaller boy than before, and with some alarm he
-. observed that he was far smaller than the others. : This alarmed
- him, .because he knew with the small , boy's instinct that he
. would-soon be expelled from their society, as boys of a size flock
. together. Almost at once this became apparent, for one of the
boys said: 1
' rSy. Ytat'a dis little kid doin' with all that money, any
how! 'TahA right 1" . . . .
"That's so," added another. "He's gotter divvy up." (:V--M
- ' So in spite of Linton's protests, when they had returned to
: the vacant lot wherein they played, they took away his bundle
-ol money,, and while their eyes bulged at sight of all that-undreamed-of
wealth they divided it between them, leaving .but a
few dollars for Xiaton, now the smallest among them alh He
burst into angry weeping, and at the sight' of his tears they drove
him away bellowing, just as he had feared. ; 'i;: ' . ' ' '
, . ut fle 8n forgot .his troubles, for there were so many1
things to see "which seemed inew to him that he had no time for
reflection. . The principal thing that now surprised him was tho
immensity of evervthins. nnr? ihn area Aiata-nnoa Ut,,,,n 1..
( . . With mingled awe and amazement he recognized his own
v friends, old gray-haired men and women, .as they f etbly walked
along the streets, and more than once almost ran up to one to
ask for his help to cross the wide roadway, filled with horses,
' automobiles and carts. He would wander into candy tihops, and,
holding a few pennies in his chubby fingers, stand many long '
minutes in grave doubt and anxious debate as to just what candy
he would buy, then with glee rush out and hang cn behind a
fart fnr VAnnVa unfil iiniiiu V, nA nno-J 1 M j
him. At last, dirty and tired, but happy, ho reached the homo
wherein he lived, and sat himself down on the doorstep. Tho
key was in his trousers-pocket and he opened the door.
, Out rushed Nora Casey, his servant of twenty years' faith
ful ftflrvirt. flTlH aha Amtra thn Antr inn olr tl.n I!U :..t'
the house, where he soon ceased his blubbering anil isked her
if th plumber had fixed the leak in the sink; for, strange as it
may seem, every little while he remembered evervthinn- that. Iia
had done or saw the day before. ...
She looked at him in a puzzled manner and then asked :
1 "Faith, an? what do you know about thot sink!"
Becalled to himself, little Linton replied:- ' v
- "I heard myselfI mean I told the plumber no I heard
Mr. Linton tell him to mend it yesterday." t
, "It's bewitched the choild is, I'm surel'f cried Ncre. "Whose
little boy are yezl" -
"I am Mr. Linton's little boy," replied Roderick "I am g'o
, ing to live here with you after this." '
' "Mercy on us J" cried Nora. "What's the child saying!
Sure Mr. Linton has neither .wife nor childeri;" She watched
himiaSt weant ab?ut tte fooma of his houso in a way that was
chud-me and yet like a man, and soon she began to bo worried
t about this uncanny -urchin. Finally she decided to wash his face
and hands and wait for her master's return, but after she had
done these things Boderick produced some, money and asked her
to- go and buy him a hobby-horse, a toy locomotive, un alligator
that would run all over the floor by itself, and a man-of-war with
a real steam boiler.
"Sure it's a queer, kid ye are!" she said, as she put on her
hood, "But if them things will plaso ye, an' ye have the monev,
I'll git them." . '
Off she went and ho was left alone. lie promptly climbed '
upon a chair and looked into his shaving-glass only to find, as
ho had feared, that ho had become still smaller and was now a
child in red kilts. Long flaxen curls surrounded a chubby face
that he' no longer recognized at all, big blue eyes full of awe
: looked back at him from the deeps of the mirror as from a past
, so remote that no memory of it existed. .
.Now and then in the gathering dusk he stopped togaze with
growing awe at the height, immense and surpassing, of the
chamber walls, the immensity of the picture of Ponee do Leon's
landing, the great easy chair and the tremendous giant's slipper
'. : that he formerly wore. In the shadowo he thought he saw
u . .k.i . . I x i: i x , a... .
i.uiiv uiuveu lurwvejy iowara mm, ior. it was now quite
' dark, and he managed with great difficulty to light the lamp on
the table so that the terrifying shadow-forms woTe dispelled."
' : Then Nora returned with the toys, a whole armful, but she
declared that he ought to go to bed instead of playing with them.
She had made inquiries all about the neighborhood, but nobody
: had lost a boy, and she had resolved to hand him over to the
police in 'the morning.
"Faith," said she as she looked at him, "it seems belike yer
different since I left yez!'She began to undress him. "And'
r what's made yer hair so curly all of a Buddint! I'm thinking
there's some witchcraft about it all P' y , .
' - ,- f , : ,.XX-'.
She dropped him in, the bed and ran out of the room crying:
"' It s some kind of a dwarf or changeling we havo here ! 'Tis
no natural baby! He's grown younger since ho camel I'll not
etay here a minute, but I'll run for Father Brady !" . .
Roderick heard the door slam, and he wondered what Father
; Brady, whom he knew very well, would say about this marvel.
Suddenly, as he pondered upon where it all would end, ho
thought Of Tom Thumb and the awful experiences of that mid
get; how the cow ate him and bow he fell into a pie; and s one
after Another of. Tom's adventures came to his mind he trembled ;
for his Own future if he was tfc become smaller constantly; -He
sucked his thumb even' as' ho reflected, and- that showed
him that ho was already a baby, as well as the sight of his pink
toes and fat-creased ankles. He felt terribly hungry and won-'
dered why Nora had not brought him Wtln fi)1A
milk instead of those big, nasty, hard toys that lay all about hin
on the bed. .
' ' She had forgotten to cover him up, and with great difficulty
he crawled beneath tlm hiA rWlma wVinra oft-r a iimn v. knmmv
. . - . .vv. o win.; .1: iLffJVHiUU
impatient at being left alone and tried to shout for her or somc
.body, anybody, in fact, to come to him; but now'ho ;vas startled
to find that instead of a shout ho uttered a feeblo wail. '
He twisted and turned weakly in the bed, yelling constantly
as he squirmed, but his wail grew feebler and weaker every min-'
ute, until at last, entirely exhausted by his efforts, he fell asleep.
Nora did not find Father Brady at home,: for he, was at n
christening, and after she had waited for an hour she went to
, seek him, and so it was nearly ten o'clock when she returned
with him to the house, and then when eho- came to the bedside
she was astonished to find no child upon it. lie had vanished,
and Father Brady glanced very qucerly at her and said that
something wos wrong with her. , ' ; 5 .V .
Nora looked everywhere, but never again did she see that ;
infant, nor was old Mr. Linton ever seen again.; Ho disappeared
. frdmoff the earth completely tandwbodyihascyj3r been -told :
how it happened until this story was written. le had simply
, become smaller and smaller until finally nothing at" all was left
of him. :'V'.'..;- -;',:,-.-.' ." ';; .
Nora waited in tho lonely house" until ,sho become an old.
old womani and then she died without ,ever learning what had
- caused her crusty old master's departure, and many a man who
long ago pondered upon his strange disappearance will recall on
reading this tale how great a mystery it all was.' v j.
But after all, the fnystery, it seems to me," is really as great
ect unon hia table! That's the crcat nuzzla ' 7
, -.' jj .'.: , ."! ... ' ir i'.,:,. . . T ITU lr.nAttrt I t t '. '