It seems
that I am the bearer of bad news. Your brother--"
"Is 'Bije DEAD?"
"He died ten days ago very suddenly. In a way it was a great shock to us
all, yet we have known that his heart was weak. He realized it, too."
"So 'Bije is dead, hey?" Captain Elisha's face was very grave, and he
spoke slowly. "Dead! Well, well, well!"
He paused and looked into the fire. Graves saw again that vague
resemblance he had caught on the train, but had forgotten. He knew now
why he noticed it. Unlike as the two brothers were, unlike in almost
every way, the trace of family likeness was there. This sunburned,
retired captain WAS the New York financier's elder brother. And this
certainty made Mr. Graves's errand more difficult, and the cause of it
more inexplicable.
Captain Elisha cleared his throat.
"Well, well!" he sighed. "So 'Bije has gone. I s'pose you think it's
odd, maybe," he went on, "that I ain't more struck down by the news. In
a way, I am, and, in a way, I'm mighty sorry, too. But, to speak truth,
he and I have been so apart, and have had nothin' to do with each other
for so long that--that, well, I've come to feel as if I didn't have a
brother. And I know he felt that way. Yes, and WANTED to feel so--I know
that."
"I wouldn't say that, if I were you," observed the lawyer, gently.
Pages:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37