The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, March 04, 1915, Image 3
[ 4 * r I
J Parrot I
^ I & Co. j
I By s
I Harold MacGratli I
I ?l?WI?IW II JWIBHI 11 I 1 H
| I Author of
I *'ThoCarpct From Bagdad,'*
I *'The Place of Honeymoons,"
I Etc.
C?i?ta urn ii mi miii m?' aw n m??a
(Copyright by Bobbs*Mofrl|l Company.' |
RVMADQI Q
^ i nvr MI
I CHAPTER i?Warrington. an American
* adventurer, and James, his servant, with
a caged parrot, the trio known up and
down the Irruwaddy us Parrot & Co..
travel along the road to the landing.
A E?unrt *or Rangoon to cash a draft for
A 800.000 rupees.
l CHAPTER II?Elsa Chetwood.^ rich
American girl tourist, sees Warrington
f come aboard the boat at the landing and,
Amazed at his likeness to her flnnce,
Arthur Ellison, asks the purser to Introduce
her. Conservative English passengers
are shocked at her breach of the conY|nSnulltl^
f, CHAPTER III ? The purser tells Elsa
i l**a* Warrington, the outcast adventurer,
"AS beaten a syndicate and sold Ids oil
claims for ?20.000. Warrington puts
7 5Na**' Parrot, through his tricks for
w aru* warns* her against acquaintance
with unknown adventurers?himself, In
fACt.
}
CHAPTER IV-Warrington and Elsa
(} pass two golden days together on the
L river. Martha, Elsa's companion, warns i
her that there Is gossip.
1 CHAPTER V?In Rangoon Warrington
banks his draft, pays old debts, and while
settling with James In his old lodgings
overhears und Interferes In a row over
cards in the next room.
| ' CHAPTER VI?Warrington finds that
the row In the next room is caused by an
, enemy, Newell Craig, and threatens to
I fihoot him UrilC'SM ho 1 pnvoti tnwn T<M?ni
'f KoeH for a walk with Martha, is annoyed
riL by Craig an<l stabs him with a hatpin,
r Warrington bids Elsa goo<l-by. Sin* does
p not tell hltn that she is to sail on the
same ship for Singapore.
Il CliAPTER VII?Martha writes to Ar- I
thur Ellison of the rapidly growlr.g ;
friendship between Elsa and the onieast :
American adventurer. "Warrington discovers
Elsa on the Singapore steamer and
realizes his hopeless love and ids duty to
protect her against himself. Elsa tells
i him of Iter engagement.
i _vm'
< , A Woman's Reason.
Elsa stared at the vacant doorway.
, She recognized only a sense of bewilderment.
This was not one of those 1
ii, childish flashes of rudeness that had
i ( amused, annoyed and mystified her.
She had hurt him. And how? They
I had been together three days on the
1 boat, and once he had taken tea with
f; * ** * in Rangoon. Site could find noth e
that she had been kind to him j
i most needed kindness, and |
*^ad not been stupidly curious,
radically so. He interested
Hhat. interest berause ho
/unlike anything she had
/ the covers of a book. He
- ? anu strong, and yet so ooy
i nad given her visions of the
P ( .r which had carried his mant'l
1 -hrough all these years of strife
L I bitterness and temptation. And 1
K 1 ecause of this she had shown him
ft that she had taken it for granted that
whatover he had done in the past had
' not put' him beyond the pale of her
friendship. There had been no deij
grading e itangleraents, and women
forgive o condone all other transiH
gressions
i And w'lat had1 she just said or done
*1 to put that look of dumb agony in his 1
face? She swung impatiently from
f the rail and began to promenade the
i deck, still cluttered with luggage over
which the I^ascar stewards were moillng.
Many a glance followed the supple
pleasing figure of the girl as she
passed round and round the deck.
f Other promenaders stepped aside or i
permitted her to pass between. The j
resolute uplift of the chin, and the ;
staring dark eyes which saw but inner
visions, impressed them with the fact
J* ...^..1^1 ~ * 11
liiul iv nuuiu uu Wiaor IU SIH|) tlKIUli
f voluntarily. There were some, how-,
i ever, who considered that they had as
i much right to the deck as she. Before
' them she would stop shortly, and as a
il current breaks and passes each side of
. an immovable object, they, too, gave
t,
A way.
The colonel fussed and fumed, and
j his three spinster charges drew their
jjale lips into thinner paler lips.
"These Americans are impossible!"
| "And it is scandalous the way the
i young women travel alone. One can
never tell what they are."
"HUmph! Drag and assorlivcness. j
And there's that ruffian who camo
1 down the river. What's ho doing on
j the sumo boat? What?"
4 Elsa became aware of their presence
at the fifth turn. She nodded absently.
\ Being immersed in the sen of
turo regarding Warrington's behavior,
aft, the colonel's glare did not. rouse in her
H the sense of impending disaster.
B The first gong for dinner boomed, j
m The echoing wail spoko in the voice |
B of the East, of its dalliance, its con-1
V tent to drift in a sargasso sea of cn-1
B tangling habits and desires, of its fa-j
K talism and inertia. It did not hearten
one or excite hunger. lOlsa would j
rather have lain down in her Canton
H. lounging-chair. The dining-saloon lield
two long tables, only one of which was
in commission, the starboard. The
H saloon was unattractive. A punka |
Hi stretched from one end of the table to
H the other, and swung indolently to and ;
H fro, whining mysteriously, sometimes
H subsiding altogether and then flapping
H hysterically and setting the women's
H hair awry.
Elsa and Martha were seated some
win re between the head and tho foot
of the table. The personally-conducted
surrounded them, and subbed in- !
cessantly during the meal of what they
had seen, of what they were going to
see, and of what they had missed by
not going with the other agency's
party. Elsa's sympathy went out to :
the tired and fdded conductor.
There was but one vacant chair;
nnd as she saw Warrington nowhere,
Hloa assumed that this must be his I
reservation. She was rather glad that j
he would he beyond conversational j
radius. She liked to talk to the ;
strange and lonely man, but she preferred
to be alono with him when she
did so.
She began as of old to study carelessly
the faces of the diners and to
speculate as to their characters and
occupations. Her negligent observation
roved from the pompous captain
down to the dark picturesque face of
the man Craig. Upon him her glance,
a mixture of contempt and curiosity,
rested. If ho behaved himself and
Iliude no at tomtit to Bnnalf to hot- liho
was willing to declare a truce. In Rangoon
the man had been drunk, but on
the Irrawaddy boat he had been sober
enough. Craig kept his eyes directed
upon his food and did not offer her
even a furtive glance.
He was not in a happy state of
mind. He had taken passage the last
moment to avoid meeting again the
ojie man he^ feared. For ten years IM*
man had been recKoned among tne
lost. Many believed him dead, and
Craig had wished it rather than beKnvnH
k 1-\ ri Vi V, 1for,,. * ~
i&vj v kjvi x\uvi vncii| tvi meet 11 int toeu tv
face in that sordid boarding house had
shaken the cool nerve of the gambler.
He was worried und bewildered. He
had practically sent this man to ruin.
What would be the reprisal? lie
reached for a mangosteen and ate the
I white pulpy contents, but without the
customary relish. The phrase kept
running through his head; What
would be the reprisal? For men of his
ilk never struck without expecting to
be struck back. Something must be
done. Should he seek him and boldly
ask what he Intended to do? Certainly
he could not do much on board here,
except to denounce him to the oflicers
as a professional gambler. And Paul
would scarcely do that since he, Craig,
had a better shot in bis gun. He could
tell Who Paul was und what he had
done. Bod'ly harm was what is really
feared.
He had seen Elsa, but lie. had worked
out that problem easily. She was sure
to say nothing so long as he let her
be; and with the episode of the hatpin
still fresh in his memory, he assuredly
would keep his distance. He
had made a mistake, and was not likely
to repeat it.
U,,4 I >?? ? 1 f lt~ 1 t_l_ J A
i?ul iaui: ii? iiuiKued ma uesseri
and went off to the stuffy Utile smokeroom,
and struggled with a Burma
cheroot. Paul was a smoker, and
sooner or later he would drop in. He
waited in vain for his man that night.
And so did Elsa. She felt indignant
at one moment and hurt at another.
The man's attitude was inexplicable;
there was neither rhyme nor reason in
it. The very fact that she could not
understand made her wonder march
beside her even in her dreams that
night. She began to feel genuinely
sorry that he had appeared above her
horizon. Just before she retired she
leaned over the rail, watching the reflection
of the stars twist and shiver
on the smooth water. Suddenly she
listened. She might have imagined it,
for at night the ears deceive. "Jah,
jah!" Somewhere from below came
the mil Hied plaint of Rajah.
Next day, at luncheon, the chair was
still vacant. Elsa became alarmed.
Perhaps he was 111. She made in
quirics, regardless of the possible misinterpretation
her concern might be
given by others. Mr. Warrington had
had his meals served in his cabin, but
the steward declared that the gentleman
was not ill, only tired and irritable,
and that he amused himself with a
trained parrakeet.
All day long the sea lay waveless
and unrippled, a sea of brass and lapislazuli;
brass where the sun struck and
lapis-lazuli in the shadow of the lazy
swells. Schools of flying-fish broke
fan-wise in flashes of silver, and porpoise
sported alongside And warmer
and warmer grew the air.
Starboard was rigged up for cricket,
and the ship's officers and some of the
passengers played the game until the
first gong. IClsa grumbled to Martha.
There was little enough space to walk
in as it was without the men taking
over the whole side of the ship and
cheating her out of a glorious sunset.
Martha grew troubled and j>eri>lexcd.
If there was one phase of character
i. ....... 1.^... t.. fpl C! ....... {....t4.il.il I
it ii li ikij w Ii i i; liA. i 111 t^ihei it nan
ity; and here she was, finding fault I
like any ordinary tourist.
"Where is Mr. Warrington?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him
siiKO yesterday." Elsa drooped her
book petulantly. "I am weary of these "
liainby-pamby stories."
Martha's o,y. a had a hopeless look
in thorn as she asked: ' Elsa, what is
the matter?"
"I don't know, Martha. I believe 1
should like to lose my temper utterly.
I'lffcrritablo because I do not know my
own in'nd. 1 hate the stuffy stateroom,
the food, the captain. Nothing seems
to disturb his conceit. Tonight we
sleep on deck, the starboard side. At j
ilvo o'clock we have to get up and go ;
inside again so they can holy-stone
the deck. And I am always soundest
asleep at that time. Doubtless, I shall
bo irritable all day tomorrow."
"Sleep up hero on deck? But the j
men?" horrified.
"They sleep on the port side." Elsa
laughed maliciously. "Don't worry.
Nobody minds."
"I hate the East," declared Martha
vindictively. "Everything is so slack.
It just brings out the shiftlessness in
everybody."
"Perhaps that Is what ails me; I am
growing shiftless. When 1 came on
board 1 dec idled to murry Arthur, and
have done with the pother. Now I am
at the same place as when I left home.
I don't want to marry anybody. Have
you noticed that fellow Craig?"
"What will you do if he speaks?"
"1 have half a dozen good hatpins
left," dryly.
"1 hate to hear you talk like that."
"It's the East. . . . There goes
that hateful gong again. Soup, chicken,
curry, rice and piccalilli. 1 am go
ing to live on plantains and mangesteens.
I'm glad we had sense enough
to order that distilled water. Come;
we'll go down as we are to dinner, and
watch the ridiculous captain and his
fau-beuror. The punka will at least
give us a breath of fresh air. There
doesn't seem to be any 011 deck. Oue
regrets Darjeeling."
Martha followed her young mistress
into the dining-saloon; she was anxious
and upset. Where would this
mood end? With u glance of relief she
found Warrington's chair still vacant.
The saloon had an air of freshness
tonight. All the men were in drill or
pongee, and so receptive is the imagination
that the picture robbed the
room of half its beat. To and fro
the punka flapped; the pulleys creaked
and the ropes scraped above the
sound of knives and forks and spoons.
Elsa a.te little besides fruit, ^brunnlr*
uAn <> u ?
~t.v/..v uvuiutij U nuiv IU manud arid
none to those around her. Thus, she
missed the frown of the colonel and
the lifted brows of the spinsters, and
the curious glances of the tourists.
The passenger list had not yet come
from the ship's press, so Elsa's name
was practically unknown. But in some
v.naocountable 1x1 goner it had become,
icv.own thut she had been making inquiries
in regard to the gentleman !n
cabin 78, who had thus far remained
away from the table. Ship life is a
dull life, and gossip is about the only
thing that makes it possible to live
through the day. It was quite easy j
to couple this unknown aloof young j
woman and the invisible man, and j
then to wait for results. It would
have amused Elsa ^iad she known the
interest she had already created if
not Inspired. Her beauty and her apparent
indifference to her surroundings
were ] artieularly adapted to the
romantic mood of her fellow-travelers.
Her own mind was so broad and
generous, so high and detached, that
so sordid a thing as "an affair" never
entered her thoughts. I
As she refused course after course,
a single phrase drummed incessantly
through her tired brain. She was not
going to marry Arthur; never, never
in this world. She did not love him.
and this was to he final. She would
cable him from Singapore.
That night Craig found it insupportable
in the cabin below; so he ordered
his steward to bring up his bedding.
Ho had lain down for half an hour,
grown restless, and had bogun to
walk the deck in his bath slippers. He
had noted the still white figure forward,
where the cross-rail marks the
Turned His Dull Eyes Upon His Ancient
Enemy.
Wfiist. As ho approached, Craig discovered
his man. lie hesitated only
a moment; then lie touched Warrington's
arm.
Warrington turned his dull eyes
upon his ancient enemy. "So it's
you? I understood you wore en
board. Well?" uncompromisingly.
"I've been looking for you. Bygones
are bygones, and what's done can't
ho undone by punching a fellow's
head. I'm not looking for trouble,""
went on Crabr. cnintntr nsr.iir:* nr<? "f
am practically down and out myself.
'What stand arc you going to lake on
board k ? That's all I waul to
know." ' ; ' r
"it would givo mo great pleasure,
Craig, tc ;ako you by the sen;it of >
neck an I crop you overboard. Hut
you say, what's been done can't be
remedied by bashing in a man's head.
Weil, hero you are, since you ask. If
you speak to me, if i catch >ou playing
cards or auctioneering a pool, if
you make yourself obnoxious to any of
the passengers, I promise to give you
the finest thrashing you ever had, the
moment we reach Penang. If you
don't, go ashore there, I'll do it In Singapore.
Have I made myself clear?"
"That's square enough, Paul," said
the gambler resignedly. There wasn't
much money on board these two-byfour
boats, anyhow, so he wasn't losing
much.
Warrington leaned forward. "Paul?
You said Paul?"
"Why, yes," wonderingly.
"Better po"
| "AH right." Craig returned to his
mattress. "Now, what made him curl
up like that because I called him
: Haul? Hah!" Ho dug a hole in his
I pillow and tried to sh cp.
| "Paul!" murmured Warrington.
? Ho stared down o* the dashes of :
! phosphorescence, blinuiy. The man
I had called him Paul. Al\cr ten years
to leuru the danmablo treachery of it!
Suddenly he clenched his hand and
struck the tail. Ho weald go back.
All his loyalty, all his chivalry, had
gone for naught. This low rascal had
called him Paul.
CHAPTER IX.
Two Short WcpUr.
When Elsa stepped out of the coinpanionway
the next morning she
winced and shut her eyes. The whole
arc of heaven seemed hung with tireopals;
east, west, north and south,
whichever way she looked, there was
dazzling iridescence. What a wonderful
world! What a versatile mistress
was nature! Never two days
alike, never two human beings; animate
and inanimate, all things were
singular. She paused at the rail and
watched the thread of frothing water
that clutched futilely at the red waterline.
Never two living things aliko in
all the millions and millions swarming
!he globe. What a marvel! Even
-.hough this man Warrington and Arthur
looked alike, they were not so.
In heart aijd mind they were as different
as two days.
She began her usual walk, and in
passing the smokerooin door on the
port side she met Warrington coiling
out. How deep-set his eyes were!
He was r-.bout to go on, but she looked
..A I _\. A 1- 1 - ?- 1 - _ J? 1
Biruigut imu 11 ib eyes, ana lie slopped
3be laughed ana held out her hand.
"I really believe you were going to
snub mc."
"Then you haven't given me up?"
"Never mind what I have or have
not done. Walk with me. 1 am going
to talk plainly to you. If what I say
| is distasteful, don't hesitate to inter'
rupt me. You interost inc. purity be|
cause you act like a boy, partly bei
cause you are a man."
| "1 haven't any manners."
j "1 hoy need' shaking up and readi
Justing. I have just been musing over
a remarkable tiling, that no two objects
are alike. Even the most ac,
curate machinery cannot produce two
nails without, variation. So it is with
humans. You look so like the man 1
I know back home that it is impossible
I not to ponder over you." She smiled
into his face. "Why should nature
produce two persons who are mistaken
for each other, and yet give
thorn two souls, two intellects, totally
different? Is nature experimenting,
I ir ic cllll l! 1 \' I ? nlnifii. r. ? ' ..!?>. 1
>U i>uu D1.1 i J 1**1. J II ig (V II It'tv Ull IIVI ~
' man it y?"
I "Let us call it a Lick; by all means,
let us call it that."
"Your tone . . ."
"Yes, yes,' impatiently; "you are
going to say that it sounds bitter, llut
why should another man have a face
like mine, when wo have nothing In
I common? What right has he to look
- like me?"
"It is a puzzle," Elsa admitted.
| "This man who looks like me?T
have no doubt it affects you oddly?
j probably lives in ease; in fact, a gentleman
of your own < lass, whose likes
I and dislikes are out from the same
pattern as your own. Well, that is as
it should bo. A woman such as you
j are ought to marry an equal, a man
, whose mind and manners are fitted
to the high place he holds in your affection
and in your world. How many
, worlds there are; man-made and
lion vrm.mn uml >" -1
..v... vii muvib, (inn uuca uvauiy hh
the other, as cold and implacable! To
you, who have been kind to me, 1 have
acted like a fool. The truth is, I've
been skulking. My vanity was hurt.
] 1 had the idea that it was myself and
; not my resemblance that appealed to
! your interest. What makes you trust
me?" bluntly; and he stopped as he
asked the question.
"Why, I don't know," blankly. Instantly
she recovered herself. "IUit I
do trust, you." She walked on, and
perforce he fell into her stride.
"It is because you trust the other
man."
"Thanks. That is it precisely; and
for nearly two weeks I've boon trying
to solve that very thing."
After a pause he asked; "I lave you
ever read Heade'a 'Singleheart and
, Doublel'acc?'"
t
"Yes. IUit what bearing has it. upon
our discussion?"
"'.'one that you would understand "
evasively. Ilia tongue had nearly
tripved Mm.
1.re yon Bitve?"
"Of this, that I shall never under
F.tmd wove.on."
I "D? not try to," she advised. i"All
i these men who knew most about wornI
k:i\ V. To t he mil :,ppiv ;,t."
j They i:;o a round in sile nce. Many
tin eye I ..v;] at I'm n; and envy ; nd
, ration : i:tl cu? :o ity brought Iboir
I shafts to bear upon h v. It was eom
'hing to < nrt^ 111 o r? variant oxj.
::ions of into: ,t. t-'ho wai obiivhuis.
"We stop rt Parang?" she asko 1.
"I ive < ; ' : hour j, . long t nou;,!, \.c
seo the I.
"We v. nt directly from Singapore
to Colombo, wo missrd in > town
coming out 1 . houkl li;-: to seo that
coconnut plantation of yourj."
"It. is too far inland. Pesidos, 1 am
persona non grata there." As, in
deed, he was. His heart burned with
shame and rage at tlie r collection of
the last day there. Three or four
times, during the decade, the misfortune
of being found out had failon to
his lot, and always when he was employed
at something worth while.
Elsa discreetly veered into another
channel. "You will go back to Italy,
I suppose."
"Yc?, I shall go to Ttalv once more.
13ut tirst 1 ain going home." lie was
not aware of the Krimnness that entered
his voice as he mado this statement.
"I am glad." she said. "After all.
that is the one place."
"If you are happy enough to find a
welcome."
"And you will see your mother
again?"
lie winced. "Yes. Do you know, it
does not seem possible that I met you
but two short weeks ago? 1 have
never given much thought to this so
n ?i * * ?
vuueu reincarnation; uui somewhere)
in the past ages I knew you; only you !
weren't going home to marry the other
fellow."
She stopped at the rail. "Who
knows?" she replied ruminatingly.
"Perhaps I ;.m not going to marry
him."
"Don't you love him? ... I beg
your pardon. Miss Chetwood!"
"You're excused."
"I still need some training. 1 have I
been alone so much that I haven't got i
over the trick of speaking my thoughts '
aloud."
"No harm has been done. The fault
lay with me."
"I used to learn whole pages from
stories and recite them to the trees or
to the parrot. It kept me from going
mad, I believe. In camp I handled
coolies; none of whom could speak a
word of English. I__didn't have Jpjtnes
with mo at that time; !So rd declaim,
merely to hear the sound of my voice
Afterward 1 lonmerl thnf tho
looked upon me as a holy man. They
believed I was nightly offering pray
era to one of my gods. Perhaps I was;
the god of reason. All that seems like
a bad dream now."
"Are you going to take Rajah wttfc
you?"
"Wherever I go. L?ooks silly,
doesn't it, for a man of my size to tote
around a parrot cage? Hut 1 don't
care what people think. Idfc is too
short. It's what you think of yourself
that really counts."
"That is one of the rules 1 have
laid down for myself. If only we all
might go through life with that idea!
There wouldn't be any gossip or scandal,
then."
"Some day I am going to tell you
why 1 have lived over here all these
years."
"1 shouldn't, not if it hurts you."
"On the contrary, there's a kind of
happiness in unburdening one's conscience.
I called that day in Rangoon
for the express purpose of telling you
everything, but 1 couldn't in the pros- (
ence of a third person."
"Hut always remember that I j
haven't asked you."
"Are you afraid to hear it?"
"No. What 1 am trying to convince j
you with in that 1 trust you, and that I j
give you my friendship without reser- I
rations."
lie laid his hand on hers, strongly.
"God bless you for that!"
She liked him because there was
lacking in his words and tones that
element of llattery so distasteful to
her.
"Would you like to sit next to me at j
the table?"
"May 1?" eagerly.
"I'll have Martha change her chair
for yours. Do you speak Italian?"
"Enough for ordinary conversation.
It is a long time since I have spoken i
that tongue."
"Then, let us talk it as much as
possible at the table, if only to annoy
those around us."
Craig had been eyeing the two, evilly.
Set the wind in that direction?
An idea found soil in his mind, and
grew. lie would put a kink, as he
vulgarly expressed it, into that affair,
lie himself wasn't good enough for \
her. The little cat should see. Warrington's
ultimatum of the night before
burned and rnnklod ?uui n iv?or?
Craig's caliber ne\er accepted the in- ,
evitable without meditating revenge,
revenge of a roundabout character,
such as would insure bis physical safety.
There was nothing loyal or gen- i
erous or worthy in the man. There
is something admirable in a great ras- |
cal; but a sordid one is a pitiful thing. !
Craig entered the smokeroom and ordered
a peg. At luncheon he saw
them sitting together, and he smothered
a grin. Couldn't play cards, or
engineer a pool, eh? All right. There
were other amusements.
That afternoon Martha chanced to
sit down in a vacant chair, just out oi
the range of the cricketers. She lolled
back and icily watched the batsmen.
And then she heard voices.
"She is Elsa Ohetwood. I remember
seeing her pictures. She is a society
girl, very wealthy, but something ot a
snob."
Martha's ears tingled. A snob, in-'
deed, because she minded principally |
her own affairs!
"They think because they belong to
tlio exclusive sets they can brci k a:
many laws of convention as t!s ,
please. Well, they can't. There's : i I
ways some scandal in the papers a! u ,
them. There was some rumor of hoboing
engaged to the duke ot What a
I*;., ......... i... >? <s 1
imci'iuuik;, u i i u ikil l) >
she wouldn't settle a fortune on him. I
Only sensible thing sho evi r did, pimb- i
ably."
"And did you notice who sat nt:;l
to her at luncheon?"
"A gentleman with a past, Mr. Craig
tells me."
"I daro say Miss Chetwood has a j
past, too, if one but knew. To travel
alone like this!"
Hus.v bodies! Martha rose indignantly
and returned to the other side ot
the dock. She had lived too long with
Elsa not to have learned self-repression,
and that the victory is always
with those who stoop not to answer.
Nevertheless, she was alarmed. Elsa
must bo warned.
All E'sa said was: "My dear Martha,
in a few days they and their^Mttle tat
1
tie will pass out or my existence, admitting
that they have ever entered
It 1 repeat, my life is all my own,
and that 1 am concerned onl/ with
those whom 1 wish to retain as my
friends. Gossip is the shibboleth of
the mediocre and, ihunk heaven, I am
not mediocre."
While dressing for dinner Klaa discovered
a note on the floor of her
cabin. The writing was unfamiliar.
She opened it ard sought first the
signature. Slowly her cheeks reddened.
and her lips twisted in disdain.
She did not r?ad the note, but the
natural keenness of her eye caught
the name of Warrington. She tore
the letter into scrai>3 which she tossed
out of the port-hole What a vile tiling
the man was! lie had liad the e?.
frontcry to sign Ins name, lie must
be punished.
It was as late as ten o'clock when
aim ofwl \\To ? *{? * ^ ?. ^4 * 1 " a V- ?.
duu uiiu ii ai i iiif,iv.>n v. < itl up lU ? IIU
bow and gazed down tho cut-water.
Never had see scon anything so
weirdly beautiful us the ribbons of
phosphorescence which fell away on
each side, luminously olue and flaked
with dancing starlike particles,
through which, ever and anon, flyingfish,
dripping with tho fire, spun outward
like tongues of flame.
"Often, when I was stoking, during
an hour or so of relief, 1 used to steal
rp here and look down at the mystery,
for it will ever be a mystery to mo.
And I found comfort."
"Are you religious, too?"
"In one thing, that God demands
thut every man shall have faith in
himself.'
How deep his voice was as compared
to Arthur. Arthur. Elsa
frowned at the rippling magic. Why
was she invariably comparing the two
men? What significance did it have
upon the future, since, at the present
moment, it was not understandable?
"There is a man on board by the
name of Craig," she said. "I advise
you to beware of him."
''Wll A lil?? T?U
< -j iui.1 v/vi u? i <i it i in m jr. 1,1 u ; i no
anger in his voice was very agreeable
to her ears. "Who dared to?"
"No one. He introduced himself on
the way up to Mandnlay. In Rangoon
I closed the Acquaintance, such as it
was, with the aid of a hat pin."
"A hat pin! What did he say to
you?" roughly.
"Nothing that 1 care to repeat.
. Stop! I a.a perfteily able to tako
care of myself. I do not need any
valiant champion."
"He has spoken to you about me?"
"A letter. I saw only his name and
yours. 1 tore it up and threw it overboard.
Lot us go hack. Somehow,
everything seems spoiled. 1 am sorry
1 spoke."
"I shall see that ho does not bother
you again," ominously.
They returned to the promenade
dock in silence.
When Warrington found Craig the
man was helplessly intoxicated. Ho
lay sprawled upon his mattress, and
the kick administered did not stir him.
Warrington looked down at the sodden
wretch moodily.
Craig's intoxication was fortunate
for him, otherwise he would have been
roughly handled; for there was black
murder in the heart of the broken
man standing above him. Warrington
relaxed his clenched hands. This evilbreathir.tr
thine at his; f?r?t was th??
primal cause of it nil, he and a man's
damnable weakness. Of what use his
new-found fortune? Better for him
had he stayed in the jungle, better
have died there, hugging his poor delusion.
Oh, abysmal fool that he had
been!
*
She Stopped at the Rail.
^nniintied next v,
FATHER GOOSE FOR FARMERS.
I\v Dc .1 Allen
Ja Sprat v isod liars : > f'at
Not one of thrm was lean,
He sent them into market an 1
lie make live thousand dear:.
* * *
Jack and Jill went up the h i,
1 c' i were buddy elate 1.
The auto tiioy ran is a costly one
And it never hesitated.
* * *
Little IJo IVcp had so many slvop
She didn't know \/;au-o'in Joh! tie ni
So one lino day she sent them aw. y
And at the yards sold them.
* * *
Little Po Poejp a fortune did - ad
And invoked it all in chickens,
livery felldw she knows conies round
to propose
They b/other her like the dickens.