The Argosy — page 121: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

106 Mrs. Raven's Temptation. and the minister’s spectacles were not at hand. He drew the dim light towards him and held the paper behind it. Its texture was thin and coarse. Philip, at the other side of the table, looked up, and saw through it the scrawling caligraphy. There were seven words. Ofcourse, he saw them backwards and so could not read them, except the last two: he was sure he was not mistaken in them. The minister gave a kind of groan, and returned the paper to Frank. ‘You don’t know the writing?” he said. ‘It looks some- how familiar to me.” “Tt is like my father’s,” whispered Frank. ‘Like his; yet different—a kind of copy.” “ Well, well,” said Mr. Connell. ‘‘Ofcourse, you set no value on this?” “Certainly not,” answered Frank, with that tone of contempt which is far less easily assumed than one of indignation. ‘“’That’s right,” observed the minister. ‘ But we must not forget _ that she—the subject of this message—may be as innocent and un- conscious as any of us. No breath of this thing should be allowed to reach her.” Frank suddenly stood so stock-still that his uncle turned and gazed at him. A sudden memory called out by Mr. Connell’s words, had darted through the clouds of bewilderment within him, and had lit up a long chain of circumstances with new significance. (To be continued. ) ‘ Gomicbooks (ECO)