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 well," he continued. "Who'd ever have believed it."

Elvin recovered his breath. "My God," he exclaimed. "She was right.—Aunt Sally was right!"

"That's nothing," comforted Marley. "Let's look at some of the others. See here. Here's another—and here's another femme de couleur marriage. They must have been pretty white and pretty women for that."

"Turn over to your own family. Let's see that," suggested Elvin.

"Not by a durned sight!" exclaimed Marley positively. "Not by a durned sight! What I don't know I don't want to know. Let the dead stay dead. You wanted to know about yours and you found out. I don't want to know about mine. I know enough," he announced emphatically.

"Why almost every family, somewhere along the line, seems to have spoiled the strain," observed Elvin. "What a land. I wonder if these people knew their origin?" he asked indicating the pages containing the family names.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Marley. "Did you know yours?"

A cold moisture dampened Elvin's forehead as he stood in the cold clammy vault. "These books and records ought to be destroyed. Suppose bye and bye somebody else sees them?"

"Yes, just suppose," suggested Marley facetiously.

"They must be destroyed," murmured Elvin musingly. "They must be destroyed. Come on John," he urged. "I've seen enough."