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diff --git a/40937-8.txt b/40937-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 11cb1c8..0000000 --- a/40937-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9621 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of A New Sensation, by Albert Ross - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: A New Sensation - -Author: Albert Ross - -Release Date: October 5, 2012 [EBook #40937] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A NEW SENSATION *** - - - - -Produced by D Alexander, Cathy Maxam, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - - ALBERT ROSS' - ROMANCES - - A NEW EDITION AT A POPULAR PRICE - -ALBERT ROSS is a brilliant and wonderfully successful writer whose books -have sold far into the millions. Primarily his novels deal with the -sex-problem, but he depicts vice with an artistic touch and never makes -it unduly attractive. Gifted with a fine dramatic instinct, his -characters become living, moving human beings full of the fire and -passion of loving just as they are in real life. His stories contain all -the elements that will continue to keep him at the head of American -novelists in the number of his admirers. - -MR. ROSS is to be congratulated on the strength as well as the purity of -his work. It shows that he is not obliged to confine his pen to any -single theme, and that he has a good a right to be called the "American -Eugene Sue" or the "American Zola." - -_12mo, cloth. Price per volume, 50 cents._ - - Black Adonis, A - Garston Bigamy, The - Her Husband's Friend - His Foster Sister - His Private Character - In Stella's Shadow - Love at Seventy - Love Gone Astray - Moulding a Maiden - Naked Truth, The - New Sensation, A - Original Sinner, An - Out of Wedlock - Speaking of Ellen - Stranger than Fiction - Sugar Princess, A - That Gay Deceiver - Their Marriage Bond - Thou Shalt Not - Thy Neighbor's Wife - Why I'm Single - Young Fawcett's Mabel - Young Miss Giddy - -G.W. DILLINGHAM CO. - -Publishers New York - - - - - A NEW SENSATION, - - BY ALBERT ROSS. - - - AUTHOR OF - - "THOU SHALT NOT," "HIS PRIVATE CHARACTER," - "SPEAKING OF ELLEN," "IN STELLA'S SHADOW," - "THEIR MARRIAGE BOND," ETC. - - - NEW YORK: - COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY - - _G.W. Dillingham Co., Publishers._ - - - [_All rights reserved._] - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER PAGE - - I. Lady Typewriter Wanted 9 - - II. Outlining the Scheme 21 - - III. An Evening at Koster and Bial's 32 - - IV. "You are a hopeless scamp" 46 - - V. Meeting Miss Marjorie 57 - - VI. "Do you really want me?" 71 - - VII. Getting Ready for my Journey 83 - - VIII. "A woman I like very well" 93 - - IX. A Private Dining Room 104 - - X. "Once there was a child" 116 - - XI. A Theft on Board Ship 129 - - XII. A Little Game of Cards 144 - - XIII. Bathing in the Surf 155 - - XIV. "Oh! this naughty boy!" 166 - - XV. Wesson Becomes a Nuisance 176 - - XVI. "It is from a girl" 184 - - XVII. A Struggle on the Balcony 196 - -XVIII. Our Night at Martinique 208 - - XIX. "It is a strange idea" 219 - - XX. New Work for my Typewriter 230 - - XXI. "You were in my room?" 241 - - XXII. Too Much Excitement 252 - -XXIII. A Wedding Ring 265 - - XXIV. The Brutal Truth 275 - - XXV. "With his wife, of course" 286 - - XXVI. Behind the Bars 297 - -XXVII. "I pressed them to my lips" 305 - - - - -TO MY READERS. - - -It is a common question of my correspondents, "Are your novels ever -founded on fact?" Sometimes; not often. This one is. - -A year ago I had an attack of neurasthenia, as did "Donald Camran." I -did not die, nor go to an insane asylum, both of which items of "news" -appeared in the daily papers from one end of the country to the other; -but I wasn't exactly well for awhile. In January of this year I made my -second trip to the Caribbean Islands and wrote this novel among the -scenes I have described. - -Before going I advertised in the New York Herald "Personal" column for a -typewriter to accompany me as private secretary. I received more than a -hundred letters from women who desired the situation and interviewed -quite a number of them. I decided, however, to go alone. (If the reader -doesn't believe me I refer him to the passenger lists of the "Madiana" -and "Pretoria.") The basis of this story, however, grew out of the -advertisement and answers. - -"Marjorie" and "Statia" have a genuine existence, and so have many of -the other characters in this tale. I have used real people as an artist -does his models, taking a little from one, a little from another, and a -great deal from the vivid imagination with which nature has endowed me. -I hope the result will be satisfactory to my friends, who have waited -double the usual time for this novel. - -My health seems wholly recovered and unless something unforeseen occurs -my stories will continue to appear each July and January, as they have -for the past ten years. This is the nineteenth volume of the "Albatross -Series." I again send a too indulgent public my warmest thanks for their -appreciation. - -Very Truly, - -ALBERT ROSS. - -Cambridge, Mass., May, 1898. - - - - -A NEW SENSATION. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LADY TYPEWRITER WANTED. - - -"A New Sensation--that is what you need," said Dr. Chambers, wisely. - -"Yes, that is what you want, above all things," assented Harvey Hume. - -"A New Sensation--it would be the making of you!" cried Tom Barton, with -enthusiasm. - -I agreed with them all. My brain was exhausted with my long illness and -responded feebly to the new strength that was returning to my body. It -was much easier, however, for people to discover the remedy I needed -than to find the right way to apply it. They would never have united in -prescribing the same kind of "sensation." What one would suggest would -be opposed by the others; and had they come to a united decision in the -matter their ideas might not have suited me at all. I was in a condition -when it is not easy to make up the mind to anything. - -After long reflection, I decided to go and propose marriage to Statia. I -had never offered my hand to any woman and it seemed as if that ought to -give me at least a diversion, which was something. Not that I intended -to make the offer lightly. I had as lief get married as anything else. I -was sick to death of idleness--nothing could well be worse than doing -nothing, day after day. - -But when I had carried out my plan, I left Statia in greater despondency -than ever. For she refused me pointblank--something that had not entered -into my calculations. She did it, too, in anything but an agreeable -manner, as it then seemed to me. - -If the reader of these lines has ever gone through a period of insomnia -in its most acute form, he will understand the condition in which it -leaves a fellow. When Tom's sister laughed me out of court, as one might -say, even though she did it with the highest expressions of good will, I -was ready for anything desperate. - -"You are a silly fellow," she said, as if I were a five years' old child -and she my governess. "What kind of a husband do you think you would -make? Look back over the last five years of your life and see how much -of it does you credit. You think I don't know what you have been up to, -and perhaps it is best for me that I don't know all of it; but I am -sure, at least, that you have undertaken nothing serious, and that every -hour has been practically wasted. A girl has got to have something -different in a partner on whom she is to rely for life. And that tale of -your physician's advice is worse than all. I am not going to let myself -for a hospital. Your health is broken on account of your persistent -violation of all hygienic rules. You have no right to quarter yourself -on a strong, well girl like me until you can bring something better than -you now have to offer." - -I was too provoked at her manner, even more than at her words, to reply -with much patience. I said, ill-manneredly, I must now admit, that if I -did not have my old physique, it was only a question of time when it -would return, and that I certainly had something else that many a young -man would gladly take in exchange for beef and brawn. - -"Oh, _that_ for your fortune!" she said, snapping her fingers -disdainfully. "I am not talking of marrying your grandfather, who -gathered the dollars you think of such moment. Wealth is a good thing -only when harnessed to the right horses. The man that marries me must -have a better recommendation. I would give more for a character of -sterling merit, a disposition to conquer the difficulties of life, than -for all your cash. If the will of Aleck Camran had not tied up his -savings, you would have made ducks and drakes of the whole of it before -this time." - -I was angry at myself for arguing with her. She had a great deal of -assurance to address me in that manner, I thought. - -"Will or no will, I have a certainty of five thousand dollars a year -till I am thirty," I retorted. "How many of the brave young chaps you -talk about can gain as much as that? And when I am thirty I get -possession of the entire estate, a quarter of a million now, and more -when that time comes. But I am not going to debate the matter with you. -You are a coquette, Statia Barton, and have had your amusement with me. -Some day, when you hear I have gone to the devil, a little remorse may -touch your heart. I don't care a rap now whether I live or die." - -She paled at the concluding sentence. - -"Don't add crime to your follies," she said, in a low tone. "Existence -does not end with this brief life on earth. When you have time to -reflect, you will be ashamed of your present state of mind. If there is -anything I can do for you, short of sacrificing my whole future--" - -"I know," I responded, sarcastically. "You are willing to be 'a sister' -to me!" - -"I am, indeed!" she answered, fervently. "It's what you need much more -than a wife. You accuse me of coquetry, because I have tried to treat -you as--well--as the closest friend of my brother Tom. I fear your -experience with women has not fitted you to be a good judge of their -actions." - -"They are pretty much alike," I snarled. "Selfish to the core, when you -get at their true natures. All this talk amounts to nothing. So, I'll -say good-by, for as soon as I can get my things packed I'm going to get -out of the country." - -She seemed genuinely distressed, and like the soft fellow I always was -where her sex is concerned I found myself relenting. - -"Dr. Chambers advises travel," I explained, in a gentler tone. "His -exact prescription was, 'Marry the nicest girl you know, then take a -journey to some place where you can forget the troubles through which -you have passed.' If I can't carry out the first part, I can the last." - -Statia's face lit up. - -"And am I--really--the 'nicest girl you know,' that you came so straight -to me with your proposal?" she asked. - -"I thought so an hour ago," I responded, growing gloomy again. "I've -intended for two years to ask you sometime, though I didn't think it -would be so soon. I supposed you knew what was on my mind, and it never -occurred to me that, instead of accepting my offer, you would play the -schoolma'am with me. But let it go now. I believe I shall live through -it, after all. That cursed insomnia leaves a man ready for the blues on -the slightest provocation. The sooner I get out of this part of the -world the better." - -She asked if I had decided where to go, and I told her I had not. I -thought the best thing was to get on the sea as soon as I could and keep -out of sight of land for awhile. - -"I don't think you ought to go alone," she said, thoughtfully. - -"Perhaps you would undertake to chaperone me," I suggested, -mischievously. - -"No. It would be too great a responsibility. But, seriously, you should -have some one. You are not in a condition to make a long journey alone." - -I felt that as well as she. But of all my friends I could think of no -one to fill the bill, and I told her so. - -"Tom would go, if he could," she said. "He would lose a year in his -classes, though, which is a serious matter. Can you not hire some -capable young man, who would act as an assistant and companion -combined?" - -If I was sure of anything it was that I wanted nothing of that kind. A -servant was all right, and there were lots of fellows who would make -good travelling companions, but a man who could combine the two -qualities would be unbearable. - -"There's another alternative you haven't thought of," I remarked, -catching at an idea. "What would you say to a typewriter?" - -"There are many young men in that business who would be glad to go with -you," was her reply. - -"Hang young men! If I take a typewriter it will be a young woman," I -retorted. "Oh, don't glare at me in that frigid way. There are -respectable young women enough without letting your thoughts run wild. -Uncle Dugald has been trying to get me to resume work on the family -genealogy, which I was plodding through when I was knocked out by that -confounded illness. I have all of the notes on hand. Supposing I -advertise for a young woman of good moral character to assist a literary -man, one that is willing to travel. Don't you think I might secure the -right sort of person in that way?" - -"Good moral character!" she echoed, her lip curling. "And what do you -think her character would resemble when she returned with you from your -journey?" - -I replied that it would be something like that of a vestal virgin, as -near as I could prognosticate. And I demanded where she got the notion -that I was a menace to the purity of any young creature who might decide -to trust herself in my company. - -"The idea is too silly to talk of seriously," she answered. - -"Oh, I don't know," said I. "The more I think about it, the better I -like the thing. Some of these typewriter girls are not bad looking. Many -are well educated. A good salary ought to overcome their objections to -travel, especially at this season of the year, when New York is under -the dominion of the Ice King. I shall put an advertisement in the -'Personal' column of the Herald, next Sunday." - -Statia tried to pretend that she thought me simply fooling, but it was -evident that she was not as sure on that point as she would like to be. -If there was nothing else to be gained by the conversation, I was at -least getting even with her to some degree for the disappointment she -had caused me a few minutes earlier. - -"You will do nothing of the sort," she said. "Come, Don, don't be an -idiot. I can hardly find patience to discuss the senseless thing. If you -weren't such a reckless boy, I should know you were only joking. You -shall not leave the room until you promise to drop this nonsense." - -I liked her, in spite of her cruel conduct; yes, I liked her very much; -and it did me an immense amount of good to sense the taint of jealousy -in her words and manner. - -"Statia Barton," I replied, taking a step that brought me to her side, -"it all lies with you. Again I ask you to be my wife and go with me on -the journey my doctor declares I must take at once. If you refuse to -guard and protect me you have no right to say that some one else shall -be prevented from doing so." - -She trembled, and I thought she was about to relent. My heart gave a -quick bound, only to be stilled by her answer. - -"Your conduct in this matter confirms all my previous suspicions," she -replied, and her voice was unsteady. "I am merely, in your mind, a toy -to be used as occasion requires. If I refuse to lend myself to that -object you have only to find another. Now, Donald Camran, I am a little -too proud to take that sort of place. Marriage, in my mind, is rather -more sacred than it seems to be in yours. You evidently have no idea how -near you are to insulting me, which makes it easier to forgive the -slight. I thank you for the honor"--she pronounced the word in an -ironical manner--"that you have offered and decline it absolutely. -Further, I withdraw all my advice, since it evidently is useless to -offer any. Advertise for your lady typewriter, make your arrangements -with her, and go your way. And now excuse me, as I have to dress for a -walk." - -I didn't really want to hurt her feelings, and it was too evident that I -had done so. I asked meekly if she would let me wait in the parlor till -she was ready and escort her to her destination. - -"No," she answered, with more determination that I had ever heard in her -tone. "I prefer to say good-by to you here." - -I liked her immensely, in spite of all, and was sorry that anything -should make a break between us, but I had no idea of crawling on my -knees for any woman alive. I took up my overcoat, that lay on a -chair--I was as much at home in Tom Barton's house as in my own -lodgings--and put it on. Then I took my gloves, my hat and cane, said -"Good-by," with great formality, and left the house. - -I preferred to walk, for although the air was frosty, there was heat -enough in my veins. Block after block was traversed in an aimless way, -for I had no destination in particular. All at once, I noticed a group -of people staring into a window, and realized that I had reached the -up-town building of the New York Herald. - -For several seconds I tried to remember what there was about that -building to interest me. It was one of the results of my illness that -memory had become treacherous. It frequently happened that I met -intimate friends and could not tell their names if I were to be hanged. -I slackened my pace, and cudgeled my brain, as the saying is, for some -moments. - -It was the Herald Building--I knew that well enough. What did I want -there? Suddenly, glancing into the business office, it all came back to -me and I entered. - -The idea I had suggested to Statia as a joke began to strike me as a -rather good thing. - -I would insert an advertisement for a female typewriter, if only to -spite Statia Barton! Dr. Chambers had almost forbidden me to travel -alone. I had a right to select my companion, and it was the business of -no one--least of all of a woman who had thrown me over--whether the -person I chose wore pantaloons or petticoats. - -Going to one of the desks I took up a pen, dipped it in ink, and tried -to indite a suitable announcement. My hand shook, for I had not -recovered a quarter of my normal strength. When I had written the first -line it would have puzzled the best copy-holder in the office above to -decipher it. I tore it up, took a second piece of paper and began again. -When I had written the advertisement at last it did not suit me, and -once more I essayed the task with new construction. Other men and -several women were using the desks about me, and I glanced at them to -see if any nervousness was visible on their countenances. There appeared -to be none, however, which fact made my own sensations harder than ever -to bear. - -Several times I fancied that the clerks behind the wire guards were -watching me, that they had managed in some mysterious manner to see over -my shoulder, and were laughing at my efforts. Still I hated to give up -beaten. It is a part of my nature to carry out any task which I have -attempted, no matter how insignificant. I took the pen once more and -finally completed with difficulty the following: - - TYPEWRITER WANTED--To travel in the Tropics for the winter. Duties - light, salary satisfactory. Machine Furnished. Address--Herald - up-town. - -Just as I was about to take this to one of the clerks, an extremely -pretty young woman came to the desk I was using and attracted my -attention. She had a pair of solitaire diamonds in her beautiful ears -and half a dozen costly rings on her pretty fingers. She wore a tastily -trimmed hat, with veil, a well fitting seal coat and a plaided silk -skirt of subdued colors. I judged her to be the wife or daughter of some -wealthy man, who had come to advertise for a maid or cook. With a few -quick strokes of the pen, in a hand that I saw was clear and bold, she -completed her writing and stepped quickly to the nearest counter. I -followed her; and as there was already one customer engaging the -attention of the clerk, I plainly saw the notice she had written, as she -held it daintily against her muff. Its purport was as follows: - - A YOUNG LADY, stranger in the city, beautiful of face and form, 22 - years of age, suddenly thrown on her own resources, wishes the - acquaintance of elderly gent. - -The clerk looked up and nodded to the fair creature, when her turn came. -He had evidently seen her there before. - -"You have forgotten again," he said, smiling. "Object matrimony." - -"So, I have," she answered, in mellifluous tones. "It seems so silly, -you know." - -"A rule of the office," he responded, adding the words for her. "Dollar -and a half." - -She took a twenty dollar bill from a purse and received the change as if -it was hardly worth picking up. It was evident that much sympathy need -not be wasted on this young "stranger," and that the "resources" on -which she was "thrown" were likely to be amply sufficient. - -"One twenty," said the clerk, to me. "Business Personals, of course. I -will write the word 'Lady' before 'Typewriter,' if that is what you -mean. It may save annoyance. Sunday? Very well." - -He gave me my change and I withdrew to make room for others, who were -already crowding for recognition. - -It was only Thursday, but it was something to have done the thing. After -months of insomnia it is hard to make up one's mind. Delighted that I -had taken the first step, I bought a paper from one of the boys at the -door and went home to study the steamship routes. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -OUTLINING THE SCHEME. - - -The most intimate masculine friend I had in the world was Statia's -brother, Tom Barton. We seemed to have become attached for the reason -that a story reminded some one of an event--because we were so -different. Tom was not the kind of chap, however, to trust with such a -plan as I had just been maturing. Not only was he virtuous--which may be -forgiven in a young man of good qualities--but he would never have liked -me had he suspected a thousandth part of the peccadilloes of which I had -been guilty. Tom was my friend, but never my confidant. For a fellow to -share the present secret, there was no one like Harvey Hume. - -I was reasonably sure that Harvey would tell me I was contemplating a -ridiculous move; indeed I more than half suspected that to be the case. -But he would content himself with pointing out the silliness of the -plan, leaving it to my own judgment what to do afterward. Tom, on the -contrary, would have told Statia all about it, not imagining, of course, -that I had done so; then he would have gone to my Uncle Dugald and set -him on my track. If these means failed to bring me to my senses, I am -not sure but he would have applied for an inquirendo to determine my -sanity; all with the best intentions in the world and a sincere desire -to promote my moral welfare. - -Tom is a fellow who would jump off a steamer in mid-ocean to save me, -should I fall overboard while in his company, and never think, until he -found himself on the way to the bottom, that I could swim, while he -could not even float a little bit. He is as decent a chap as it has ever -been my privilege to know, and as much to be avoided on certain -occasions as a fer-de-lance. At any rate, my recent tilt with his sister -did not make me particularly anxious to see any person who bore her -family name. So I went to Harvey Hume. - -Harvey is, or professes to be, a lawyer. One of our mutual friends once -got credit for a _mot_ that really didn't amount to much, when a third -party inquired if Harvey had yet been 'admitted to the bar,' by replying -that he had been admitted to every bar in Greater New York, although he -had always failed to pass. Whatever might be said of him, he was a -thoroughbred. The Spanish Inquisition could not have drawn a secret out -of him. The worst he would do if he disapproved of my scheme was to tell -me so, and I had a wild anxiety to talk it over with some one. - -"Halloa, old fellow!" he cried, as I entered his door. "Devilish glad to -see you. Take one of these cigars, draw up here, put your feet beside -mine on the desk, and tell me how you are." - -Accepting the invitation in both its phases I responded that I was -improving every day, and that I believed myself nearly, if not quite, -out of the woods. - -"Of course, you are," he replied, jovially. "And now you are out, will -you get back again, or take a friend's advice and stay out?" - -"I don't even know how I got in," I remarked, dolefully. "When I see a -chap like you in the enjoyment of all the health and spirits in the -world it seems unfair that I should be knocked down in the way I was. -Why, all the drinking I've done since I was born wouldn't satisfy you -for half a year." - -Harvey blew a cloud of smoke to the ceiling and winked knowingly. - -"Rats!" he responded. "I only drink just enough to lubricate my mucous -membrane. If you had drunk oftener and done some other things less, you -would be in as fit shape as I am. It was plain to me for a long time -that you would bring up where you did. No fellow can live on the edge of -his nerves month after month without paying the piper, sooner or later." - -"Well," I said, "I'm through with it now, at all events. Lovely woman -has got to get along without me, in the old way, for a long time to -come. Dr. Chambers has given me a scare, and I'm going to profit by it." - -"Good!" exclaimed Harvey, with warmth. - -"Yes," I continued, smiling inwardly at the scheme I was about to -divulge, "the sort of female creature with which I have spent my time -and cash is to be banished from my waking and my sleeping dreams. I am -going to take ship for some foreign port, and remain away till I am sure -of my resolutions." - -Hume leaned over and took my hand in his own. My esteem for him rose -with the action, which spoke more than words, but I went on with my -story. - -"The doctor will not hear of my going alone, however," I pursued, -"and--" - -"And he's quite right," he interpolated. - -"So I have advertised for a companion to make the trip. You don't seem -to have conceived any plan for me, so I've invented one of my own." - -My friend interrupted again to compliment me on the common sense of the -move. - -"You see, the genealogy of the Camran family that my Uncle has set his -heart on gives me an excuse to secure the services of a companion in the -guise of a typewriter. It takes off the feeling that I require a nurse, -while practically providing the very same thing, in the event that one -is needed." - -Hume nodded frequently, in approval. I was evidently rising rapidly in -his estimation as a young man whose common sense had returned after a -long vacation. - -"I hope you'll find the right sort of fellow," he said. "You ought to, -if you've worded the advertisement right. The last time I put in such a -notice, the time I got the man I now have--there was half a peck of -answers." - -Taking up a pen, and putting my feet nearer the floor, I wrote a copy of -the announcement I had left at the Herald office, and passed it to my -friend. - -"How do you think that will do?" I inquired, gravely. - -He read it, sniffed once or twice and then threw it on the floor. - -"You are a good deal of a fool, but not such a d----d one as that!" he -said. - -"It's exactly what I have done," was my reply. "When the answers come in -I shall expect you to help me pick out the prizes." - -He laughed, refusing at first to be drawn into what he thoroughly -believed a trap to catch him. Then he studied my face and grew doubtful. - -"Anybody but you, Don, might get some fun out of this. If you really -have put such an ad. in the paper, the best thing you can do is to turn -the entire lot of replies over to me, for investigation after you have -left the country. But," he grew very sober, "to prance around among that -sort of stuff yourself--at this time--would almost certainly put you -back where you were last winter, with less chance than ever of -recovery." - -It was a much rougher way of putting it than I had expected, and, to -tell the truth, there was something creepy in the suggestion. - -"Your generosity is fully appreciated," I replied, with some dignity, -"but I cannot think of exposing you to such terrible dangers. On -reflection I do not think it best to trouble you in this matter. It -would be a source of never-ending regret were I to return from abroad, -and learn that you had taken my old place in the Sanitarium." - -Hume threw the butt of his finished cigar into a cuspidor and lit -another one nonchalantly. - -"Don't you really see the difference?" he asked, when he found the weed -drawing satisfactorily. "To me the adventures that might grow out of -meeting a dozen or a hundred pretty women would result in nothing worse -than passing some agreeable evenings. I never lost my head over one of -the sex, and I never shall. If Mr. Donald Camran could say as much, I -would tell him to carry out his intention. But, I leave it to you, my -dear boy, to prophesy the result, if you go into this thing." - -I told him, with some mental misgivings, to be sure, that I had learned -my lesson during the year that was past. No woman could make me lose my -head again. At the same time I had not gotten over my admiration for the -sex, and I saw no reason to do so. - -"I'm beginning to believe you're not fooling," said Hume, after studying -my countenance again. "Now, tell me precisely what your game is. Let us -have the scheme, just as it lies in your mind and, if there's a -redeeming feature about it, trust me as a true friend to say so." - -We had at last reached the point I had hoped for, and I complied without -hesitation. - -"I am acting primarily on the advice--almost on the orders--of Dr. -Chambers. He wants me to take a sea voyage. He advises me strongly not -to go alone. Then Uncle Dugald hints every time I see him that I ought -to recommence the genealogy as soon as I feel able. A good stenographer -would make that task an easy one. The reason I purpose taking a lady -instead of a man--but you will certainly laugh if I tell you." - -My friend responded gravely that he would promise to do nothing of the -sort. - -"Well," I continued, "it is this: and you may laugh at me if you like. I -have led a life as regards women that I now think worse than idiotic. I -have followed one after another of them, from pillar to post, falling -madly in love, troubling my mind, worrying over the inevitable -separations, getting the blues, losing heart, all that sort of thing; -then, beginning over again with a new charmer, and pursuing the -inevitable round. I have never been intimately acquainted with a pure, -honest girl of the better classes, except one, who, this morning, -refused my offer of marriage. I have no feminine relations except a -couple of old aunts. I need sadly to be educated by a woman who will not -hold out temptation. I believe a few months in the society of such a -woman, away from old associations, will make another man of me." - -When I think of it now I wonder that Harvey, with his keen sense of the -ludicrous, did not burst into a laugh, in spite of his promise. But he -took my serious story with equal seriousness and bowed gravely. - -"What is to keep you from falling in love with your secretary, when you -and she are practically alone, miles and miles from all the people you -both know?" - -"I intend to secure a promise from her, before we start, that she will -repel, absolutely, the slightest familiarity on my part. I shall fix a -salary that will be an object. If she allows me to forget the position -toward her that I have chosen, she is to be sent home on the next -steamer, with a month's advance wages." - -Harvey bowed again, with the same gravity as before. He pulled at his -cigar, but it had gone out and he did not relight it. - -"I have never talked so freely with you before," I went on to say, "and -there is no other person on earth with whom I would do so. A year ago, -as you are aware, I was stricken suddenly with that damnable thing -called neurasthenia. For two months I had insomnia in the worst form -that a man can have it and live. Sleepy from noon to noon, I only -secured thirty minutes of unconsciousness in each twenty-four hours. -Figure the situation to yourself. At nine o'clock every night I fell -asleep; at half past nine I awoke, and there was not a wink again until -nine the next night. I gave up all expectation of recovery, and the most -disheartening things I heard were the predictions of Dr. Chambers, that -I would ultimately get well. - -"Finally they sent me to the Sanitarium, where with treanol and bromides -I was lulled to unconsciousness for several hours at a time. I would not -consent to take opium in any form, even if the refusal killed me. A -month passed. The artificial sleep induced brought me little strength, -but it helped in a way. Then I went to the Hot Springs of North -Carolina, with a valet. My sleeping capacity had returned, and I ceased -to use the incentives previously found necessary; but my appetite, poor -enough before, deserted me there. For breakfast I actually had to force -down the single cup of coffee that formed the repast. At lunch I did not -go to the table. For dinner my menu never varied--a few spoonfuls of -soup and a small dish of iced cream. - -"The days dragged horribly. Somehow in the absence of real courage I -developed a dogged determination that I would live. When I reached New -York on my return North, I had too little strength to write a letter or -to sit upright for more than a few moments. But the worst was over, and -I knew it. It had become only a question of time. Step by step I have -advanced until you see me as I am to-day." - -My friend listened intently. - -"And you don't want to fall into the old slough again," he remarked. - -"No, and I never will," I said, with earnestness. "Now, listen: I -realize that I was a year ago a slave to certain vices. Yes, let us give -them the unconventional name. If I go off alone to some distant part of -the world, what is to prevent my beginning again on the old road and -ending where I did before? I could take a male companion, but do you -imagine he would have any influence with me if I started to go wrong? At -best he would be but a servant. If he tried to stand in the way of -anything I wanted, the result is certain; he would get his walking -papers _de suite_. I have no mother, no sister. The only woman I ever -thought of marrying has coldly declined my offer. Let me go in the -company of a woman that is what she should be, and I will return a -different man altogether." - -Still Hume did not laugh. I was more grateful for this consideration -than I can describe, for I was really very much in earnest. I was like -the drowning man, clutching at what seemed to me a life-preserver. - -"How old are you?" asked Hume. "Twenty-five?" - -"Twenty-four." - -"What age would you prefer your secretary to be?" - -"About the same. I could not endure an old maid, and I do not wish to -undertake the care of a child." - -"Won't it be hard to find a woman of twenty-four years with the skill -and judgment that your situation seems to require?" - -"We shall see. Some of these girls who are obliged to earn their living -develop wonderful self-possession." - -He nodded, as if he could not dispute this. - -"Well, Don," he said, after a thoughtful pause, "I am going to be candid -with you. The scheme you have outlined would be considered, as you must -know, by nine-tenths of our friends, as absolutely senseless. To me it -really has some points in its favor, if it can be carried out. You have -left the advertisement for insertion? Very well. If you like to trust me -so far, bring a batch of your answers here next Tuesday and we will go -over them together. There will be a certain per centum that we shall -both agree are not worth attention. We will classify the others, and -pick out a dozen or so to look up. My time, my services, are at your -disposal. The Law is not pressing me particularly just now, and I shall -be glad if I can be of use to anybody." - -I accepted the proposition with delight. - -"And now," added Hume, "come over and get a drink." - -But this I was obliged to decline. I had made a solemn promise to Dr. -Chambers, nearly a year before, that there were two things from which I -would refrain for twelve whole months; and one of them was drinking -anything of an alcoholic nature between meals, or stronger than claret -even then. This I explained to Harvey, with the additional information -that I had not broken my pledge and that the time specified would expire -within three weeks. - -"Meet me on the day it is up and let me see you quaff your first -Manhattan," he said, laughingly. - -"If I have good luck I shall be far away, on the Briny," I answered. "I -shall begin very gingerly, wherever I am. I would rather shoot myself -to-night than get into the condition I was when Chambers squeezed that -promise out of me. He said the other day that when I entered his office -I had eyes like those of a dead fish and so little pulse he could hardly -distinguish it." - -"He is quite correct," said Hume. "I saw you about the same time, and I -thought, as I live, that you were a goner. You're all right now, though, -and--upon my soul!--I hope you'll keep so. The charms of Bacchus are not -your worst danger, Venus, my boy, is the lady you want to keep shy of." - -"Don't I know that?" I answered. "Confound her and all her nymphs!" - -"Well, good day," he said, taking my hand in his and putting the other -on my shoulder affectionately. "Tuesday I shall look for you, remember, -with a dray load of letters from the fair maidens of this metropolis!" - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -AN EVENING AT KOSTER & BIAL'S. - - -Before I actually engaged passage to any foreign port I thought it wise -to pay a parting visit to good Dr. Chambers. It was six months since I -had last called on him, for finding that I was gaining in every way I -did not care to fill myself up with medicines. His advice about -abstinence from things hurtful had been religiously followed, and I -presented the outward appearance of a man in fairly good health when he -came into his office and took my hand. Between us there has grown up a -feeling warmer than generally, I am afraid, exists between physician and -patient. I am intensely grateful for the skill that changed me from a -desponding invalid to one so nearly the opposite in spirits, and the odd -five dollar bills I have paid seem no equivalent for the great boon he -conferred upon me. - -In plain terms, he saved my life and more. He redeemed me from a sort of -hell which I think the old romancers would have substituted for their -fire and brimstone had they ever had personal experience of it, as a -means of deterring the sinful from their ways. Money cannot pay for such -service, and I shall feel an affection for Dr. Chambers as long as -memory remains to me. - -If you have the pleasure of his acquaintance, you know that the Doctor -is probably the handsomest man in New York. He has a good physique that -has not degenerated into mere muscle and brawn; a fine color which does -not lead you to suspect that too much old port and brandy is responsible -for it. His hair is nearly white, though he has hardly seen fifty years, -and has no other sign of age. His mustache and imperial would do credit -to a trooper and yet has not that bovine appearance shown in portraits -of the late Victor Immanuel. His manner is delightful, his voice -musical, though by no means effeminate. - -I ascribe my cure partly to a perfect confidence in his powers with -which he inspired me on our very first meeting. He is not one to make -rash predictions, to tell you that he will bring you around all right in -a week; but rest on his superior powers with the confidence of a child -and the result will justify your faith. - -No physician can cure a man against his will or without his assistance. -Go to Dr. Chambers with your heart open, tell him no more lies than you -would tell your confidential attorney, obey every injunction he gives -you, summon whatever of courage is left in your failing heart, take his -medicines according to direction. If you do that and die, be sure your -time has come and that no mortal could bring about a different result. -If you recover, as you probably will, be honest and ascribe the result -as much to the Doctor's intuitive knowledge of persons as to his eminent -acquaintance with the best medical discoveries. - -One of the nervine preparations that he gave me is manufactured in -Paris, and I have heard jealous physicians say that no one here knows -the precise formula by which it is compounded; which is, it appears, a -technical violation of the rules of the Medical Society, and -consequently "unprofessional." If Dr. Chambers cures his patients by the -help of this remedy, and other physicians let theirs perish, his course -is certainly preferable from a layman's point of view. He has proved the -efficacy of the article. Whether it be composed of one thing or another, -or whatever be the proportions of the mixture, is of little interest to -the one it benefits and less still to the victims of more scrupulous -practitioners, after they have passed from earth for want of it. There -is a great deal of nonsense in the medical profession and the -establishment of set rules to meet all cases is bound to result in -disaster. - -I asked Dr. Chambers to re-examine me in a general way, and to say, when -he had finished, whether he saw any reason why I should not go at once -on an ocean voyage. He devoted the better part of an hour to this task -and ended with the declaration that the sooner I went the better my plan -was. - -"I have urged you before to take a long journey to some interesting -place," he reminded me. "At this time of year a warm country is better -than a frigid or even a temperate one. You will thus secure a natural -action of the skin on account of the perspiration, much better than any -Turkish bath, which is at best only a makeshift. You will be able to -partake of tropical fruits in their best state, fresh from the trees and -vines. Your mind will be stimulated in a healthful manner. The voyage -will do you great good. All I insist on now is that you do not go -alone. While you have made immense progress you must run no risks. A -bright, cheerful companion to fill in a dull hour is very necessary. -And, although I believe the year for which I interdicted some of your -habits has about expired, it does not follow that you are to plunge into -excesses. Use the common sense you have been acquiring. Take all your -pleasures sparingly. Still consider yourself a convalescent. I don't -want you coming here again in the shape you were last winter." - -I assured him that there was no danger; that I had learned my lesson -well; and that I would make a sensible use of my liberty. Then, when he -had added that I need carry very little medicine--and that only for -emergencies--and made me promise to write him once in a month or so, in -a friendly way, I grasped his hand warmly and took my leave. - -If he had been a woman I would certainly have kissed him. He will never -know, unless he happens to read these lines, how near my eyes came to -filling with grateful tears. - -The next thing was a visit to my Uncle, Dugald Camran, that staid old -bachelor, who still possesses the virtues of our Scotch ancestry, that I -have put so often to shame. He has charge of my father's estate, which -he manages with the same acumen that he handles his own, and which is as -safe in his hands as in that of the Bank of England. Between my Uncle -and me there has been much good will, but very little confidence. Our -relations have been little more than business ones. He has no curiosity -apparently as to my personal conduct, and I would be the last to wish -him to know what it has been in some respects. - -He attributed my late illness, as did most of my other acquaintances, to -over-study, and I had no intention of undeceiving him. There was no -attempt on his part to influence me in any way, when I gave up my course -at Yale without graduating. He only said that I was the best judge. - -He could see well enough that I was not cut from the same piece as the -rest of the Camrans, staid, methodical getters together of money as they -are. Probably, bad as things went, he would have made them no better had -he interfered. His is not a nature that could understand mine. When I -became twenty-one years of age he handed over without demur the ten -thousand dollars that my father's testament said was to be given me on -that date, and although he knew well that I had not a penny of it left -at the end of a twelve-month he never uttered a word against my folly. -He was, as far as appeared, an automatic machine to obey the provisions -of the will. - -For nine years to come there was the five thousand a year for me, either -in lump annual sums or monthly, as I might prefer. With the knowledge -that I could not retain my hold on anything in the shape of money I -decided to take it in the safer way. My illness had enabled me, in spite -of the special expense to which it subjected my purse, to get a couple -of thousand ahead, which I was foolish enough to think did me credit. As -a matter of fact, I was never extravagant in the necessaries of life, -and might have gained a reputation as a very careful fellow had I not -fallen into habits that sent my change flying like geese feathers in a -storm. - -Uncle Dugald listened without approval or disapproval to my statement -that I was going on a sea voyage, which I took pains to say was advised -by Dr. Chambers. In spite of our relation he evidently regarded me much -as the cashier of my bank did when I presented a check--if there was a -balance to my credit, all right; if there was none I should meet with a -polite refusal. - -It was not necessary for this canny Scot to turn to his books to see how -my balance stood. His head was full of figures and if a fire had -destroyed every account he had, I believe he could have restored his -ledgers accurately from memory alone. - -"I shall want a letter of credit," I said, "and I shall be obliged if -you will attend to the matter for me. I suppose it is necessary to -deposit the amount with the firm on which the letter is drawn." - -"That is the customary way," he answered, "but I can arrange it a little -better to your advantage, by guaranteeing payment through my banker. -That will save interest on the money. What size shall the letter be?" - -My Uncle had no idea of being responsible for a penny beyond the amount -in his hands, out of my annual allowance. Ah, well, that would be more -than enough, probably. At the worst, my income was accumulating, and at -the end of a few months I could send to him for another letter, if I -remained away so long. So I told him to get a credit for $2000 and send -it to my lodgings at his convenience. Then having asked after the health -of my two maiden aunts, with whom he lived--as if I cared whether they -were sick or well; they never had bothered about me when I was at the -worst of my long illness!--I took my departure. - -That evening I studied the advertisements of the steamship lines, both -in the Herald and in the Commercial Advertiser. There were excursions -going to the Mediterranean, which presented most attractive -prospectuses, but they did not convince me that they were what I wanted. -I never liked travelling by route, preferring to leave everything open -for any change of mind. There were the usual lines to England, France -and Germany, but I had seen those countries several years earlier, just -before entering college, and according to my recollection they were -anything but restful. The particular temptations I was to avoid were -rather too plenty on the other side of the Atlantic to trust myself -there. I was more inclined toward some of the South American countries, -till I happened to read in a despatch that yellow fever had broken out -there, and I knew that those quarantines were something to be avoided at -all hazards. - -Thinking of quarantines suddenly brought back the memory of a trip I had -taken three years earlier to the Windward and Leeward Islands, where I -had been detained in the most comfortable quarantine station in the -world--the one at St. Thomas. - -I smiled to recall the discouraged feeling with which I and my -travelling acquaintances heard, at the little town of Ponce, in Porto -Rico, that we would have to be detained under guard fifteen days when we -reached St. Thomas; how we had the blues for twenty hours; how the -indigo darkened, when we were taken from our steamer and landed from a -row boat, bag and baggage, at the foot of a long path that led up to the -Station. - -And then the revulsion of feeling when we found the cosiest of homes -awaiting us! The hearty welcome of Eggert, the quarantine master and -lighthouse keeper; the motherly smile of his wife; the cheery welcome of -his daughter, Thyra; the bright little faces of Thorwald, his son, and -of the baby, Ingeborg; even the rough growl of "Laps," the Danish hound, -had no surliness about it. - -Then the comfortable beds in the little rooms, curtained from all -obnoxious insects; the five o'clock sea baths in the morning, inside the -high station fence that we must not pass; the meals an epicure need not -have scoffed at; our first acquaintance with a dozen varieties of the -luscious fish that abound in that part of the Caribbean. - -I remembered them all, as if it were yesterday, and at this juncture -that meant but one thing: I must see St. Thomas again, if only to -determine whether that fortnight was a dream or a reality. - -The craze which this decision inspired brought to my mind the fact that -I was still liable to excitements from which I must free myself. The -great desideratum for which I must strive above all things was repose. -It was mere suicide to go wild over everything that happened to please -me for the moment. The chance was more than even that if my feelings ran -away with me over the delights of the Antilles I would awake the next -morning with an aversion to that part of the world. It was one of the -penalties of my illness that the pendulum of a wish could not swing -violently in one direction without swinging just as far in the other. I -was afraid this would be the result in the present instance; and I sent -for a ticket to Koster & Bial's, while I went to take my dinner at the -Club, in order to get a diversion that would be effective. - -Among the entertainments presented at the great Vaudeville house that -evening was the startling sensation known as "Charmion," and I was not -sorry to see it, even though I had to hold my breath during part of the -exhibition. At the risk of relating what a large number of readers must -already know, I will describe briefly the act given by the young woman -appearing under that title. - -When the curtain rose nothing was visible except a trapeze about twenty -feet above the stage, and a rope hanging loosely beside it. Presently -there entered a woman in full street costume, who inserted one hand -nonchalantly in a ring at the end of the rope and was drawn lightly to -the trapeze. Here she sat comfortably for an instant; and then, as if by -accident, fell backward and hung head down by one leg, bent at the knee. - -Her gown and skirts naturally dropped in a mass over her head, leaving -the hosiery and minor lingerie in full exposure, with a liberal supply -of what was undoubtedly silken tights, but was meant to simulate the -flesh of her lower limbs, in full view. For a second she remained in -this posture, and then regained her seat on the trapeze, smoothing her -skirts into place, with a pretended air of chagrin at what was intended -to be considered her accidental fall. - -Next, with a bit of pantomime which indicated that concealment of her -charms was useless after what had happened, "Charmion" stood up on the -trapeze and began deliberately to disrobe, in full view of the audience, -composed nearly equally of well garbed men and women, and completely -filling the house. - -She took off first her immense "picture hat," black with great ostrich -plumes, and let it fall into a net spread beneath her. Then she slowly -unbuttoned her basque and removed it, exposing some very shapely arms -and shoulders. Next came the corset, followed by a delicious rubbing -with the hands where the article had closed too tightly around the form. -The skirts tumbled to the feet, then the remaining garments, and the -woman stood in her long black stockings, blue garters encircling the -lower portion of the thighs. - -At this stage I noted a special expectancy in the occupants of the front -seats--men leaning forward, with outstretched hands--the cause of which -was soon apparent. The fair occupant of the trapeze seated herself, -untied her garters and, with a moment of hesitation, cast them, one -after the other, into the crowd, where they were seized by the most -agile or most lucky of the spectators, and retained as souvenirs. Then -came, last of all, the hose themselves, and the actual work of the -performer as a trapeze artist began in earnest. - -I will do Charmion the credit of admitting that her act was truly -wonderful. Suspended first by the insteps and then by nothing, -apparently, but her heels, she passed easily from one round of a -horizontal ladder to another, backward and forward, hanging head down -in mid-air. - -But it was easy to see that the marvellous exhibition of skill was not -what had drawn the immense audience. It was the risqué undressing which -had done that. So far as I can learn, she had gone several paces beyond -anything in this line hitherto permitted in any reputable American -theatre. - -For myself I am glad I saw it, though I would not care to see it again. -I was like the young lady who consented after some demur to take a ride -on a very steep toboggan slide. "I wouldn't have missed it for a -thousand dollars!" she exclaimed to her escort. "Let us try again," he -suggested. "Not for a million!" she responded, with equal fervor. - -If such things are to be allowed in metropolitan theatres, I want to -"size up," by that means, the taste of what are called the respectable -men and women of my time. But I certainly felt a dizziness in the brain -when that corset came off in the presence of a thousand individuals who -seemed to represent a fairly average respectability of our women. - -I saw young girls of seventeen or eighteen there, middle-aged matrons -and several elderly ladies, and I did not detect in a single face the -agitation I knew showed in my own. Perhaps I may ascribe my extra -nervousness to the neurasthenia from which I had so recently recovered. - -While at this point I hope I may be pardoned a word in reference to the -growing taste among our theatrical audiences for what was once called -indecent exposure. Our elders relate that New York nearly had a fit -when, in the late sixties, the first "Black Crook" company opened its -doors at Niblo's. To see women in flesh-colored tights reaching to the -hips was so awful that only eye-witnesses would believe it possible, and -to make sure it actually occurred, everybody had to go. Then came the -"British Blondes," who wore longer tights, and filled them in a more -satisfactory manner than those who had preceded. Soldene followed, with -a new and startling sensation, in Sara, the skirt dancer, who pulled her -underclothing up to her forehead, to the delight and scandal of the -bald-headed row--just as a hundred others do now without attracting -special attention. - -The demand kept ahead of the supply of indelicacy. Dancers vied with -each other in so garbing their lower limbs as to give the impression -that they were partially nude, and Mrs. Grundy merely bought spectacles -of increased power and engaged a front seat. - -Then came the "Living Picture" craze. As Clement Scott said in his -London paper, "We are told that these women are covered with a tightly -fitting, skin-like gauze, but this is a matter of information and belief -and not of ocular demonstration." The nymph at the fountain stood night -after night, like her marble prototype, with the water running down her -breasts and dropping from the points thereof. She refused to follow -Beaumont and Fletcher's advice, to-- - - "Hide, oh, hide those hills of snow - That thy frozen bosom bears, - On whose tops the pinks that grow - Are of those that April wears." - -Venus rose from the sea, with all the appearance of absolute nudity. The -glorious curves of the tempter of Tannhauser were revealed in their -fullness to cultured audiences. The North Star came down that men might -admire her shapeliness, while the three Graces proved Byron's words:-- - - "There is more beauty in the ripe and real - Than all the nonsense of their stone ideal." - -And then a daring manager went all this one better. He posed his women -as bronze figures, with nothing between them and the gaze of the -audience but bronze powder. The sensation lasted but a short time, -spectators not caring for mulatoes when there were white forms to be -seen at the same price. Next came the "Wedding Night," which I saw in -Paris, and which still seems to me comparatively sweet and innocent--and -it was suppressed, perhaps for that very reason. And now we have -"Charmion"--meat for strong minds, but not, I fear, for the average -young man. - -What will come next? I would not dare predict, but really within ten -years we may expect anything. "The leaves are falling--even the fig -leaves," says George Meredith. They have fallen long ago from most of -the male statues in European galleries, and there at least I am in -accord with the sculptors. Perfect nudity never stirred the beast in any -sane man. Why should we not have afternoon or evening receptions by -professional models in their native undress? It would be better for -morality than the ingenious titillation of the senses induced by your -Edwinas and your Charmions! - -Confound Charmion, any way! She spoiled a night for me that I needed for -refreshing sleep. In my brief snatches of slumber I was with those silly -fellows in the front rows, clutching wildly in the air for the garters -she flung from her perch above our heads. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -YOU ARE A HOPELESS SCAMP. - - -Without even waiting for letters at the Herald office, in answer to my -advertisement, I went on Saturday morning to Cook & Son's, on Broadway, -and engaged two staterooms on the steamship "Madiana," of the Quebec SS. -Company's line, to sail January 12. I found that I could secure both -rooms, and, if it proved that I needed but one, the amount of passage -money paid in advance--one hundred dollars--could be applied to mine -alone. This pleased the remnant of Scotch blood left in my veins, for my -relations have always said I "favored" my mother's side of the family, -and she was a native of France. Though careless enough with money, I did -not wish to pay for a stateroom that nobody would occupy, and there was -a possibility that I would go alone, after all. The clerk, an affable -fellow, promised to hold the extra room until the 5th of January, and to -write me when it became necessary to put up the balance of the price or -surrender the rights I had in it. I thought, on the whole, it was a -sensible business transaction. - -"What name shall I register for the lady's room?" he asked, taking up a -pen. - -"I am uncertain," I said, hesitating. "There are several of the family, -and I don't know which it will be finally." - -"I will call it 'Miss Camran,' then," he said. - -There seemed no objection to this, and he wrote the name in his book. - -Arming myself with a handful of literature about the Islands, that he -gave me, and which contained little information I was not already -possessed of, I went back to my rooms and took a look at my wardrobe. I -decided that I should want one or two new suits, of the very coolest -texture, besides thin underclothing, some outing shirts, a couple of -pairs of light shoes, etc. On Monday I began a search for these things, -and found them with more difficulty than I anticipated. In midwinter few -New York tradesmen are able to furnish thin clothing with celerity, and -my time was growing short. I visited half a dozen shops before I could -get fitted with shoes of the right weight, for instance. There were long -hunts for underflannels and hose. The tailors offered me anything but -thin weights, until I persisted and would not be put off, and then I had -to select the goods by sample. With some extra light pajamas, a gauzy -bathrobe, a lot of new collars and cuffs, and an extra dozen of colored -bosom shirts, I thought myself at last nearly ready. I urged upon each -dealer the necessity of sending his articles at the earliest possible -moment, thinking it wisest to deceive him a little about the day I was -to sail. The event proved this the only way I succeeded in getting them -all delivered in season. - -It was with more excitement than was good for me that I took a hansom -on Tuesday morning, at an early hour, and drove to the up-town office of -the Herald. I expected a number of answers to my advertisement and -wanted to take them home as expeditiously as possible. Nor was I -disappointed. The clerk handed me out not less than a hundred and fifty -envelopes, when I presented the card that had been given me, and he was -kind enough to tie them in bundles at my request. Twenty minutes later I -was in my sitting room, the door locked for fear of intrusion, and -tearing open one after another with the hunger of curiosity. - -The first five or six were not at all satisfactory. They contained -little beside requests for "further particulars," and had a -business-like air that did not suit my mood. Then came one that was -interesting enough to be put in the reserve pile from which the final -decision was to be made. Perhaps I may as well give it now in its -entirety: - - Dear Mr. 107--[that was the number the Herald had assigned - me]--Although your announcement does not state your sex, I feel - justified in assuming that you are a Man. "Lady" Typewriter! Well, - as far as I know I answer that description, and now for the - situation. "To travel in the Tropics?" I certainly have no objection - to doing that, provided--! You say the "duties are light." Certainly - that sounds encouraging. What do they consist of--actual typewriting - or keeping dull care from drawing wrinkles on your manly brow? - Typewriters are called upon to do such strange things in these days. - The individual whose bread I now earn seems to consider that he has - a right (in consideration of twelve dollars per week) to kiss me - whenever he takes a fancy, which is the reason why I am seeking - another employer, who, if he has the same tastes, may have a more - attractive mouth for the purpose. How long is your journey to last - and what pay do you intend to offer? - - I am twenty-six years of age, not specially ill looking, and have a - good temper unless angered. I won't say much about my ability on the - machine, for I presume that is a secondary consideration. Send your - reply--if you think me worth it--to No. -- East Sixteenth Street, - but don't call in person unless you wish to have an interview with a - gouty uncle or a frightfully jealous cousin. - - Ever Yours, - - ALICE BRAZIER. - - N.B. If you take me off with you, I shall let neither of them know - where I have gone. - -This was bright and breezy, at least. The next one that I laid aside was -as follows: - - Dear Sir:--I am a Southern girl, if one who has reached the age of - 22 may so call herself. I have a good education and am refined in - manner. I have no doubt I can fill all the requirements of the - position you offer, and would be pleased to have you call, Wednesday - afternoon, between two and four, at my lodgings, or on any other - afternoon you may name. Please grant me at least an interview. - - Very Truly, - - MARJORIE MAY. - - No. -- W. 45th Street. - -I read all the others, to the last one; but these two had attracted my -attention so thoroughly that the rest palled on my taste. Some were too -plainly sent by the ordinary class of immoral women, who had taken this -manner of making an acquaintance. One stated that she had the finest -form in New York, which she would be happy to exhibit for my approval, -in all its chaste splendor. Another had "lost her job" in a big -department store, and would "appreciate the true friendship of a man who -could spare $6 or $8 a week." Another frankly owned herself to be a -"grass widow," who on the whole preferred one "friend" to twenty and -offered me the first chance to fill that permanent position. Three or -four were apparently school-girls who were tired of the wholesome -restraints of home and wanted to run away with any man who would pay -their bills. - -One declared herself to be 42 years of age, an expert typewriter, and -warned me against taking a "giddy young thing" on my journey when one of -her assured character could be obtained. She added that her reason for -desiring a change was that her employer was a scandalous person, whose -goings-on with a younger typewriter with whom she had to associate were -"awful." And she enclosed as a clincher an autograph letter from her -pastor, recommending her to "any Christian gentleman" needing a reliable -assistant. - -Several were either married to men whose whereabouts were at present -unknown or had been divorced. One admitted in a burst of frankness that -she had "trusted a professed friend too far" and did not care what -became of herself. - -All of which was rather amusing in its way, but brought me no nearer to -the goal of my desire--a bright, cheerful companion for the voyage I was -about to undertake. - -I examined the entire lot before I recollected the agreement I had made -with Harvey Hume. Then I gathered up all the letters (except my two -favorites)--for I did not mean to show these to any one--and started for -his office in the middle of the afternoon. Harvey was in, of course; not -that he had any clients or expected any, but because those were his -office hours and he had nowhere else to go in particular. He was -evidently glad to see me, especially when he espied my package, for he -scented something to dispel his ennui. - -We withdrew into his private office and he closed the door. - -"Any prizes?" he asked, jocosely. - -"You can decide for yourself," I answered. "They are entirely at your -disposal." - -"Humph!" he grunted, as he laid down the first one. "I wouldn't pay that -girl's fare to Coney Island, judging by her capacity as a letter -writer." Then he struck the communication from the forty-two-years-old -damsel and gravely proceeded to show why she was the one I had best -select. After awhile he asked leave to retain two or three, that he -thought might be of use to him, and that I quite agreed were of none -whatever to me. When he had read over about half of the entire number, -he pushed the rest aside. - -"Rot and rubbish!" he exclaimed. - -"That's what I call them," I answered. - -"You've given up your plan?" he said, inquiringly. - -"By no means. But there's nothing very appetizing in that trash." - -"How will you find anything better?" - -"Oh, I've a scheme. When it develops I may let you in, but not just at -this stage." I wanted to tantalize him a bit. "You asked to see this -stuff and I've obliged you." - -Just at this moment Tom Barton came in, and Harvey threw a newspaper -over the heap of letters, lest it should attract his attention and -arouse his suspicions. It was quite needless, for Tom never suspected -anything in his life. We talked over a few trifles for fifteen minutes -and then, as Tom said he must be going, I walked out into the hall with -him. - -"I'm going home early," he remarked. "Statia hasn't felt very well for -the past day or two, and I am a little worried about her." - -I was sincerely sorry to hear it. My chagrin over the things she said to -me had modified a good deal and I entertained at that moment only the -kindest feelings toward her. - -"I wish you would come up to dinner to-night," said Tom, wistfully. "I -think that would brighten her up if anything can. She's not ill, but -merely out of sorts. Come, that's a good fellow." - -I had as lief go there as anywhere and I consented without more demur. -There was something in the dog-like attachment of Tom for me that was -touching, and in a few days more I would be gone from him for months. As -for his sister, I was sure she couldn't bother me more than I could her. -I had the two letters in my pocket. If she tried any of her games, I -would read them to her. - -Statia was unquestionably pale that evening when, after some delay, she -came into the parlor to greet me. But she assumed a cheerful air and, -when Tom went up stairs and left us alone, inquired if I had carried out -my plan of advertising for a companion on my voyage. - -"Not only have I advertised," I said, pointedly, "but I have received -over a hundred answers. From that number I have picked out several, -among which I have no doubt I shall find what I want. In fact, I have -secured two staterooms on the Madiana, that sails for the Windward -Islands on the 12th, so certain am I that I shall need them both." - -There was not much color in her face before, but what little there was -left it; which I attributed to her disappointment at the ill success of -her predictions. - -"Are you really going to carry out this senseless project?" she asked. -"I can hardly believe you such a reckless fellow." - -"Why is it reckless?" I inquired, boldly. "I need a typewriter. Some -young woman needs a situation. Dr. Chambers says it will not do for me -to travel alone, and he believes a journey to the tropics the best thing -for my health. I'd like to know what ideas you have in that head of -yours. I don't mind the reflections you cast upon me, but I object to -your attacking the character of a young lady who is to become my -employee." - -She avoided the point and asked if I was willing to let her see the -answers I had received. She added that sometimes a woman's intuitions -were better than a man's judgment and that she might save me from -getting entrapped. - -I laughed at her ingenious stratagem, and drew the two letters that I -had laid aside from my coat pocket. - -"It is almost like ill faith," said I, "but as you will not even see the -handwriting, and can never know the identity of the writers, I am going -to read two of these letters to you. They are the best of the lot, so -far as I can judge, and I have no doubt one of them will be the lucky -applicant." - -She composed herself as well as she could, though the nervous fit was -still on her, while I read slowly, pausing between the sentences, each -of the letters given in full in the earlier part of this chapter. - -"Which of them do you imagine it will be?" she inquired, when I had -finished. - -"I must at least see them before I can answer that. The first one (the -one signed 'Alice') is the brightest, and indicates a jolly nature that -I would like to cultivate; but there is something in the other that I -fancy, also. A sort of melody in a minor key. I shall not be content -until I see the original." - -Statia twisted the tassels on the arms of the chair she sat in. - -"You are a hopeless scamp!" she said, reddening. "Why do you pretend to -me that you have the least intention of doing any sensible work with the -assistance of these women, or that you believe either what an honest -girl should be?" - -"Come, that's going too far!" I replied. - -"No, it's not," she persisted, earnestly. "It is right that I should say -these things to you. You are the most intimate friend of--my brother. -You have no mother, no sister, no one to advise you. This plan, which -you are entering upon with such a gay heart, may result in dragging you -down to the depths, and perhaps your companion, if she be not already in -that category. Don, if you ever cared for Tom--for any of us--stop this -thing now!" - -I was so astounded at the plainness of her insinuation that I could not -reply for some moments. She sat opposite to me, her head thrown forward, -her lips parted, her eyes slowly filling with tears. - -"You had your chance," I responded, not very politely, it must be -admitted. "If you had answered in the affirmative the question I asked -you last week this could never have happened. Since you throw me back on -myself, you have no right to prevent me going my own way." - -She dropped her face in her open hands, to recover her equanimity. When -she looked up again she appeared much calmer. - -"Don," she said, tenderly, "you must not be so impetuous. Give up this -plan and perhaps--some day--I--" - -"It is too late," I replied, understanding her very well. "I will never -ask any woman a second time the question I asked you. Be decent, Statia. -You make too much of a little thing. If there had been anything very -wicked in my mind, do you think I would have come here to tell you about -it? Let us drop the subject, and be good friends for the short time that -remains before I go. Why, there's less than a fortnight left." - -She nodded, attempted to smile, and finding that she made a poor show at -it, left the room to prepare herself for dinner. When the meal was -served, however, we missed her old joviality. She did not speak unless -spoken to, and Tom, after trying in vain to engage her in conversation, -declared that she must go to see Dr. Chambers the very next morning. - -"You'll get into the state that Don did last winter," he said, half -jestingly, "if you keep on. He began with just a plain, ordinary attack -of the blues, and see where it landed him. Yes, you certainly must go to -see Chambers. I never knew you like this before, and there's nothing on -earth to cause it." - -When I mentioned, soon after we rose from the table, that I had an -engagement at my rooms--a fiction, by-the-by--Tom said if I was going to -walk he would go part way with me. I was glad to breathe the pure cold -air of December and listen to the chatter of the honest fellow, while at -the same time escaping from that house, that had nearly sent me again -into the doldrums. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -MEETING MISS MARJORIE. - - -The next morning was an awfully long one. I had decided to call on Miss -May in the afternoon, "between the hours of two and four," as she had -stipulated. Although I had never seen her and had no description of what -she was like, I already hoped she would be the One to make my coming -journey agreeable. I had the old impetuosity, you will see, that absence -of calm deliberation that had sent me to a Sanitarium and nearly to my -grave. - -If I intended to take a train scheduled to start for any given point at -ten I was always in the station without fail at half past nine, stamping -my feet at the closed gate, with alternate glances at my watch. If I had -an engagement of special interest for a Friday, the Tuesdays, Wednesdays -and Thursdays dragged horribly. - -It had been explained to me fully by Dr. Chambers that I must reform -this by my own exertions and that drugs could but assist me in a slight -degree. Still breaking away from the habits of years is not an easy -thing, and in spite of all I could do I had the old nervousness that -day. - -At about eleven o'clock, having exhausted the charms of breakfast, the -morning papers and several cigars, I thought of a plan to get rid of an -hour or more, and taking my coat, hat and cane, I walked down to Cook's -office to see if anything new had transpired with regard to the trip of -the "Madiana." There was a rumor in the Journal that yellow fever had -broken out in Jamaica, one of the points where I wanted to touch, and -although the source of the news did not particularly recommend it, I -thought it well to inquire what the agent had heard in relation to the -matter. - -As I entered the office my attention was attracted by a quiet appearing -man of about thirty, dressed in black and wearing a white tie, who was -evidently contemplating the same journey as myself. Now a man wearing a -white tie may be either a clergyman, a gambler or a confidence man, and -I had no faith in my ability to decide which of those eminent -professions this particular person was most likely to adorn. He glanced -up from a prospectus which he was examining, as I entered, and made way -for me at the counter. - -For reasons which I could not explain I liked the man at first sight. If -he was a rogue, I reasoned, it was no more true of him, probably, than -of most men, and there was no reason to suppose that he had any design -in going to the West Indies other than to recuperate his health, which -appeared rather delicate. If, on the contrary, he was any sort of -clergyman I would be delighted with his companionship. - -When the agent introduced us to each other, as he did a few minutes -later, I discovered that the white tie had no especial significance, -being merely a fad or fancy; for Mr. Wesson informed me that he was a -hardware merchant from Boston, with a slight tendency to bronchitis, -and was going south to escape February and March, which are usually -injurious to persons affected by that complaint in the Eastern States. - -I learned from the agent that the "Madiana" was filling up rapidly, and -that there were now no entire staterooms unoccupied, except two or three -containing four berths. Mr. Wesson had no choice but to share the room -of some one who was already on the list, and at the time I came in he -was making natural inquiries as to the other passengers, in the hope of -selecting a congenial roommate. The agent told him what he could about -those whom he had personally seen, but the information was necessarily -meagre. - -"It may not seem specially important," remarked Mr. Wesson, in an -affable manner, to me, "who occupies the other berth, for a few weeks on -a steamer, but I happened on one occasion to get a very disagreeable -companion, and ever since I have tried to use caution. I should have -entered my name earlier, and thus have secured an entire room, as you -have done, but I waited a long time before deciding whether to come this -way or another. Now, I am just a little too late to get a room by -myself, unless I wish to pay three fares for one person, which candidly -I do not feel like doing." - -I suggested that unless the boat was very much crowded, which I did not -anticipate, an arrangement for a change of cabin could doubtless be made -in case the first one proved unbearable. With the remark that this was -true, Mr. Wesson decided to take the remaining berth in a room not far -from mine, in the after part of the ship, which had the advantage of -being removed from all the smells of the cook's galley, as well as the -dumping of ashes, which often annoys people quartered amidships at a -very early hour in the morning. - -I asked the agent for a list of the passengers, so far as he was able to -give them, desiring to see if there were any names of people who knew -me, and devoutly hoping there were none. Mr. Wesson and I went over them -together, and made a simultaneous announcement that the entire lot were -strangers to us. - -They had come from the West, the North, the South, hardly any from New -York, and only one from Boston, a strange thing when every traveller -knows that Bostonians rival Chicagoans in being found in all sorts of -places. - -"I often think," said Mr. Wesson, with a smile, "of the odd fate that -brings fifty or hundred people together on a steamer, where neither sees -a single familiar face except those he has brought with him; and before -the voyage is ended the miniature world is like the larger one outside, -with its strong likes and dislikes, its petty jealousies, its small -talk, its gauging of character and capacity. Give me a month at sea with -a man, and I think I can figure him up pretty well." - -I agreed with him to a great extent, but remarked that there was always -the disadvantage that the "man" might "figure us up" at the same time. I -said further that I had found some most delightful companions on board -ship who had proved insufferable bores when encountered later on terra -firma. - -"Your extra berth is reserved still," said a clerk, coming forward and -addressing me, "the one in the opposite stateroom. I don't wish to -hasten you, but the list is filling up very fast." - -"You won't have to wait but a day or two more, I think," was my reply. -"Hold it till Saturday, unless you hear from me. Perhaps I may be able -to tell you positively to-morrow." - -"If the lady is willing to have another share the room with her," he -said, "I have an application that I can fill at once. A very pleasant -young woman, too, if I may be allowed to judge. She is to be accompanied -by her uncle, and as he is not entirely well he is anxious to have her -as near him as possible." - -I answered that I must ask a little delay before deciding that question. -I told him I had three cousins, and as I could not yet say which would -go I could not tell whether she would consent to share her cabin with -another person. If I could arrange it, I would gladly do so. - -"You are to have a travelling companion, then," remarked Mr. Wesson. -"Excuse me for saying I envy you. Mrs. Wesson expected to go with me, -but the doctor has forbidden it. She is quite frail, and he fears the -seasickness she is almost sure to have. I made a canvass of my female -relations that are eligible, and one after another found reasons for -declining. I am not used to travelling alone, and I don't fancy it in -the least. One of the pleasantest things in visiting foreign parts is to -have some one along to share the pleasures." - -As we parted he asked me if I would exchange cards, and I readily did -so. I already felt better acquainted with him that I am with some men -whom I have known for months. - -"If you find you are to bunk with a specially ugly customer," I said, in -parting, "take my other berth. You can keep it for an 'anchor to -windward,' as our distinguished statesman from Maine might have said. I -don't think you and I will quarrel." - -He thanked me profusely, and it was plain that the suggestion was the -very one he would have made himself, had he felt warranted in doing so. -He mentioned that he would be at the Imperial for several days and asked -me, if I found it convenient, to dine with him there some evening before -he returned to Boston; which I told him I would try to do. - -It was now lunch-time and I thought with exultation of the closeness of -the hour when I might call at the lodging of Miss Marjorie May on -Forty-fifth Street, and see the lady whom I had already surrounded with -the most charming attributes of which a young and impulsive mind could -conceive. That I might be disappointed I had also thought, in a vague -way, but I had little apprehension on that score. - -I went over to the club, and partook of a light repast. Then I looked at -my watch and found that, if I walked slowly, I need not reach the number -at which I was to call before two o'clock. - -But I did not walk slowly. It still lacked ten minutes of the hour when -I found myself in front of the residence. I took a turn down Seventh -Avenue, and through Forty-fourth Street, to dispose of the remaining -minutes. Then, with my heart beating in a way that Dr. Chambers would -not have approved--and for which I could give no sensible reason--I -climbed the tall steps and rang the bell. - -A colored servant answered, after what seemed ages, and when I asked if -Miss May was in, invited me to walk into the parlor. She then requested -my card, and I had nearly given it to her, when I recollected that it -was not my intention to reveal my true name, at this stage. - -I said I had forgotten my card case and that she need only say it was -the gentleman from the Herald. - -During the next ten minutes I did my best to compose my nerves, for I -dreaded exhibiting their shaky condition to one in whose presence I -would need all my firmness. The room was darkened, and I could see the -objects in it but dimly, while the windows, being tightly curtained, -afforded me no relief in that direction. - -"Why does she not come?" I said to myself, over and over. "If she wanted -the situation for which she wrote, a little more celerity of movement -would be becoming." - -I rose and walked up and down the room. The minutes lengthened horribly. -I grew almost angry at the delay and had half a mind to drop the whole -business, when I heard a low voice at the door, and saw the outlines of -a graceful young form. - -"I am Miss May," said a bright voice, that I liked instantly. "If you -don't mind coming up stairs I think we can see each other better." - -Mind coming up stairs! I would have climbed to the top of the World -Building, never minding the elevator. - -"Certainly," I responded, and I followed her up two long flights, and -into a front chamber, where in the bright light I saw her distinctly for -the first time. - -The reader will expect--certainly the feminine reader--a description of -the sight that met my eyes, and how can I give it? A relation of that -sort always seems to me but a modified version of the record of a -prisoner at a police station, where he is put under a measuring machine, -stood on scales and pumped as to his ancestry and previous record as a -criminal. - -The impression made on me at that moment by Miss May was wholly general. -She was not handsome, in the ordinary acceptation of that term, but very -engaging. Her smile put me much at my ease. - -I could have told you no more, had you met me that evening. All that I -knew or cared to know, before I had taken the chair to which she -motioned me, was that out of the million women in Greater New York, I -would choose her, and only her, were they presented for my approval one -by one. - -She was evidently waiting for me to begin the conversation, after the -manner of a discreet young woman in the presence for the first time of a -possible employer. I made the excuse that the stairs were long, to -explain my shortness of breath. For I found it very difficult to talk. - -She was kind enough to admit that the stairs were hard. She also made -some allusion to the weather, and to the unseasonableness of the -temperature, for although it was at the very end of the year there had -been hardly any snow and very little cold. This helped me along and -finally I managed to reach the business on hand. - -"I have received a great many answers to my advertisement," I said, "and -a certain number seem to have been sent in a spirit of mischief rather -than seriousness. I hope that was not the case with yours." - -She shook her head and smiled faintly. - -"How shall we begin, then?" I asked. "Shall I submit a few questions to -you, or would you rather put some queries of your own?" - -"As you please," she said, and I noted that there was a confidence in -her manner that seemed at variance with her appearance. "Perhaps I may -inquire, to commence with, what are the duties of the position." - -I hesitated a moment, feeling my breath coming shorter, and this time I -had not the stairs to fall back upon as an excuse. - -"I have recently recovered from a severe illness," I finally managed to -say, "although you might not guess it from my appearance. I may as well -admit that while I have use for the services of a typewriter in some -work I wish to do, I need quite as much an intelligent person to travel -with me--as--a--" - -"Companion?" she interpolated, quickly. - -"Well, yes, perhaps that is as good a word as any. My physician says I -ought not to go alone. I have the literary work to do. Under all the -circumstances a combination of assistant in that respect and friendly -companionship seems advisable." - -She bowed affably, doing her best to put me at my ease. - -"You are a younger man than I expected," she said. - -"I hope that is not a serious objection," I remarked, "for I see no way -to overcome it at present. I want this considered as a business -matter--in a way. I should pay a regular salary, and give you the best -of travelling accommodations. I am only twenty-four, and you wrote me -that you are twenty-two, but I cannot understand how the addition of -fifty years to either of those ages would make my proposition more -agreeable." - -She bowed again, still pleasantly, and inquired what sort of work I was -engaged on. I told her, after which she asked what machine I preferred -to use. This I left to her, although I mentioned that I owned a Hammond, -which had the advantage of being more easily carried than some. She said -she had never used that machine, but could easily learn. - -"Only give me three or four days alone with it," she smiled. "And now, -as these things must all be settled, what salary do you wish to pay?" - -I wonder what salary I would not have paid, at that moment, rather than -hear her decline the position on the ground that it was insufficient, -but I realized that I must not seem over-anxious. - -"I would prefer you to name the price," I replied, "I do not think we -shall quarrel on that score." - -"When do you wish me to leave the city?" was her question. - -"I have already engaged berths in the 'Madiana,' of the Quebec SS. Line, -which will leave her dock on the North River, Jan. 12th next." - -"Berths? You have engaged two?" - -"It was necessary to secure them. I have determined that I will not go -alone. The list is filling up and I had to put down the names." - -"What names?" she asked. "You can hardly have given them mine." - -I was getting more and more at my ease. I said I had registered for -"self and friend," with the understanding that the "friend" would be a -lady. - -"Ah!" she said. "Now, how do you intend that I shall travel--if it is -decided that I am to go?" - -She did not redden as she asked the question, and I do not know why I -did. - -"As my cousin," I answered. "It is my belief, Miss May," I added, "that -you will find this journey very charming, if you go about it right. To -be registered simply as my secretary, which will come as near as -anything to the fact, or not to be given any title at all, might arouse -silly gossip among the other passengers. A relationship of the kind I -suggest will still idle tongues and make your position more agreeable." - -She thought a little while and then said, suddenly: - -"You--you are not married, I suppose?" - -"Not in the least," I replied, smiling. - -"There is hardly time for much preparation," was her next observation. -"What kind of clothing should I need?" - -"After the first few days, about the same as you would want here in -August. I am not well versed in ladies' attire, but I should say that a -travelling dress of some very thin material would be the first -requisite; then a 'best' dress or two of very light weight; a liberal -supply of articles" (I stammered slightly) "that need laundering, as -there may be a fortnight at a time when washing cannot be obtained; thin -shoes, slippers, walking boots suitable for summer, two or three -hats--and--" I paused to think if I had omitted anything--"an umbrella -and parasol." - -She laughed as I finished. A sweet, engaging laugh that made me resolve -that I would kidnap her and convey her on board by force in case she -refused to go. - -"No gloves?" she inquired, archly. "No cape, no--" - -"Oh, there are doubtless a lot of kickshaws that will occur to you," I -admitted, "that I need not mention. I am pretty sure that I do not even -know the names of all of them. On January 12th and 13th the weather will -be winter, on the 14th, 15th and 16th spring, and the rest of the time -till May midsummer. I don't know as I can give you any better guide." - -She said she would make an overhauling of her last year's clothing and -see where she stood; which led me to ask, with, I fear too much anxiety -in my tone, if she had, then, decided to go. - -"Have you decided?" she replied, parrying the question. "You cannot have -seen all the women who sent replies. Perhaps you will yet find one more -suitable for your purpose. It is only fair to both of us to leave the -matter open for a day or two." - -"No," I answered, shaking my head decidedly. "As you said a few moments -ago, the time is very brief for any one to get ready. Let us settle the -matter now. And if you wish any part of your salary advanced--on -account of the immediate expense you will have to assume--we shall have -no difficulty in arranging that matter." - -She grew thoughtful, and finally begged me to give her till the -following morning, at least. She promised to send a messenger to my -address before noon. I did not like the idea, but I could say nothing in -opposition without appearing unreasonable, and ended by consenting to -it. - -"I passed some months in the part of the world to which I am now going, -three years since," I said, to strengthen her resolutions in favor of -the journey, "and I can assure you that the voyage, from beginning to -end, is simply delightful. The Caribbean is truly a summer sea; the -Antilles are beautiful to look at, charming in flora and delicious in -atmosphere. Then think of the escape you will have from the freezing and -thawing of a New York spring. I promise to treat you with all -consideration, and as for the labor you are to do, it will be very light -indeed. If there is anything I have omitted, consider it included. I am -sure," I added, as I rose to go, "that you will never be sorry for the -chance that brings us into each other's company." - -"Oh," she answered, with superb frankness, "I have no fear that I shall -not like you, or that you will treat me in any manner unbecoming a -gentleman. I only wish to think the matter over. In the meantime let me -thank you for the partiality with which you view my application." - -She insisted on going to the street door with me, where I bade her -good-by without more ado, fearful that if I talked much longer I should -say something foolish. - -"To-morrow morning, then, I am to get your letter," I said, handing her -a card on which I had previously written an address that would do for -the present--"David Camwell, Lambs Club." "And to-morrow afternoon, at -two again, I shall return to complete our arrangements." - -As she bowed an affirmative, I lifted my hat and left her there; -wondering why I had not chosen the Klondike for my vacation, so near the -boiling point was every drop of blood in my veins. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -"DO YOU REALLY WANT ME?" - - -I did not sleep well, that night, and as I tossed from one side of my -bed to the other, I began to fear that the insomnia from which I had -escaped, and whose return I so much dreaded, would fasten itself on me -once more. During the long, still hours I had many moments when I was -inclined to give up my plan of travelling in the company of a charming -young woman, and even to drop the entire trip itself. I imagined my -condition in a far land, with no physician at hand who understood my -case or had the history of my illness. Only one who has known the -horrors of sleepless months can conceive the terror which a possible -renewal of its symptoms inspired. The mere thought of meeting my fair -correspondent had deranged my arterial circulation. The sight of her, -our conversation, though carried on in the quietest manner, had thrown -my heart out of equipoise, speaking physically. What would happen when -she and I were alone together for weeks and weeks? - -She was very pretty--there was no doubt of that. She was also -marvellously self-contained, and in a conflict of desires would -certainly prove the stronger. Was it not the part of common prudence to -"foresee the evil and hide?" - -I had almost decided to adopt this course, when the sleep which had -evaded me descended and for four hours I was blissfully unconscious. - -It was nearly eight o'clock when I awoke, and with returning reason all -the fears of the night vanished. I could only count the minutes now -before the expected message would arrive--that message, I assured -myself, which would confirm the hopes I so fondly cherished. Not a -single doubt remained of the perfect wisdom of the double journey I had -planned. I thought again of Dr. Chambers' advice not to travel alone; of -Uncle Dugald's wish that the "genealogy" should be pushed to completion -as rapidly as possible; of the advantage of having with me a constant -companion, to while away the inevitable hours of loneliness. I raised -Miss May to the highest pedestal as a young lady of excellent attributes -and delightful personality. - -Whatever happened, I would not go alone. If Miss May failed me, I would -fall back on Miss Brazier. If she also proved obdurate or -unsatisfactory, I would go through my other answers and try again. - -But I came back always to the original point. It was Miss May I wanted, -Miss May I meant to have. - -Why should I not induce her to go? She needed a situation, or she would -not have written for it. She had seen me and expressed herself candidly -in my favor. There could hardly be anything now in the way, except the -financial aspect of the case, and I was prepared to meet her on any -ground she chose to name. - -I lingered as long over my breakfast as possible, to kill the time, and -read the morning papers, advertisements and all. Especially closely did -I scan the "professional situations wanted," thinking perhaps there -might be among them one from which I could fashion another "string to my -bow." Most of the advertisers that morning were, however, either German -governesses, or elderly ladies who wished positions in private families. - -There were several professional models, who would "pose" for the figure -at from one to two dollars an hour. In my desperation I almost resolved -to turn painter and carry one of these off with me, if worse came to -worst. Anything was better than making the journey alone, in my present -state of mind. - -A knock at the door startled me, and to my faint "Come in," a boy -responded, wearing the uniform of a messenger. I looked at him like one -in a dream, as he walked across the carpet and handed me an envelope. -Was there anything to pay? I inquired, and when he responded in the -negative, I put a silver dollar into his hand for himself. Did I wish -him to wait for an answer? No, I did not. I wished him to get out of the -room as soon as possible, and to close the door behind him; which he -proceeded at once to do. - -For what seemed hours, and yet did not probably exceed ten minutes, I -held that envelope in my hand, before I found courage to open it. Laugh -at me, ye who will, your siege with nervous prostration has evidently -not yet arrived. No prisoner awaiting the decision of a governor as to -whether his sentence of death is to be commuted could lay greater stress -on the contents of a message. I wanted Miss May to take that journey -with me, as I had never wanted anything else. Her decision undoubtedly -lay within that bit of paper. - -I stared at the name I had given her, written in a bold, and still -feminine hand, strong, clear, handsome. I turned the envelope over and -noted the sealing wax with the impress of some sort of stamp which I -could not entirely make out. And at last, with shaking fingers, I took -up my paper cutter and made the requisite incision which released the -note within. - - My Dear Mr. Camwell--[this was the way it read]--Since you were here - yesterday I have given a great deal of thought to the matter of - which we spoke. It is a little more serious than I imagined when I - answered your advertisement, and I am somewhat in doubt even now - what I ought to say. ["When a woman hesitates, she is lost!" came to - my mind.] Will you pardon me for being perfectly frank, [Pardon her? - I would pardon her anything but a refusal] in relation to a few - personal matters? I wish to tell you my exact situation, and then I - will leave it to you to decide. [Joy! It was coming.] - - I am at present employed by a man--excuse me if I do not say - gentleman--who pays me what I consider the liberal salary of twenty - dollars a week, my services occupying only a portion of the morning - hours. For reasons which I need not give in full I find the place - very distasteful. In fact, had I been able to afford it, I would - have resigned the position long ago. I am, however, entirely - dependent upon my exertions for a livelihood, and not only that, - there is another who looks to me for a certain amount of help, which - I cannot, nor do I wish to withhold. When I read your notice in the - Herald it seemed to contain two opportunities that I would be glad - to secure. One was to change my situation, the other to absent - myself from the city for a time, where I would escape annoyances - which have become almost unbearable. - - Now, on the other hand, as I told you when here, you are a much - younger man that I expected to see. It is a little difficult to - believe--you will excuse my frankness--that you wish my - companionship from a purely business standpoint; indeed, you - admitted that one of your reasons was a disinclination to travel - alone. You cannot deny that a trip such as you contemplate, taken in - my company, would subject me to unpleasant suspicions from any - person we might happen to meet, who has known me before or should - discover that the relationship claimed between us is a false one. A - girl who has her way to make in this world cannot always listen to - Mrs. Grundy, but there are certain precautions which she can hardly - be excused from taking. How can I best protect my good name, if I - accept your generous offer? That is one of the prime questions you - must help me to settle. - - Again, while, in a friendly journey like the one suggested, the - matter of compensation seems almost impertinent, in the present case - it cannot be treated as such. Were my circumstances what I could - wish them, I would gladly make the journey without thinking of - payment; candidly, I do not feel that the services I might render - you would justify me ordinarily in accepting money for them. - Necessity, it has well been said, knows no law. I have never learned - how to live and assist those depending on me without cash, that - brutal desirability. You have expressed a willingness to pay a - salary in addition to travelling expenses, and I, if I go, shall be - compelled to accept it, reluctant though I am to do so. - - On looking over my wardrobe I find that there are more things - required than I supposed when you were here. When you call this - afternoon I will make that matter plainer by exhibiting exactly - what I have suitable to the climate to which you are going. I do not - wish to influence you in the least, and I beg that if my needs are - greater than you desire to supply, you will say so without fear. All - of the money I could spare was expended very recently for winter - garments, of which I have a supply suitable to a girl in my station. - I had no warning that I should be asked to exchange them at this - season for others suitable to a tropical clime. If I do so, I know - no source from which the cost can come except your purse. There! - Could anything be more candid than this straightforward statement? - - If I see you at my room this afternoon, I shall understand that you - appreciate the candor with which I write, and are willing to accede - to my requests. If there is a doubt in your mind as to the - advisability of doing so, it will be best for us both that you do - not come. I shall comprehend and leave the field open to some - happier girl, who may be able to accept your generous offer without - these disagreeable preliminaries. - - Yours, M.M. - - No. -- West Forty-fifth Street. - -I was all impatience till I read the very latest line, fearing there -would be some qualification that I could not meet. When I found that it -had resolved itself into a question so easily solved I sprang up and -shouted in glee. - -She would go! She was going! My dream was to become a reality! - -Seizing a sheet of paper I began to write a note in response to the one -I had received. She might get it only a short time before the hour of -two, but it would prepare her for my coming, and clinch the bargain a -little sooner. For five minutes I wrote rapidly, and when I stopped to -peruse the lines I tore up the sheet. - -Had she been my sweetheart for ages I could hardly have used more -extravagant language than I had been guilty of on that first page. Would -I never learn the first principles of common sense? I had begun with the -words, "My Darling Marjorie," and gone on to state that "your sweet -letter fills me with supreme happiness;" "I shall not breathe until once -more I am in your loved presence. - -"Already I contemplate those heavenly hours when you and I will sail out -upon the seas of Elysium," was another sample sentence, a type of the -others. I paused in the rapid walk that I took up and down my room to -look in my mirror, and was almost frightened at what I saw there. My -cheeks were suffused with unusual color, my eyes dilated, my hair -dishevelled, where I had run my nervous hands through it. My collar was -rumpled, my tie disarranged, and in a room where the mercury was not -above seventy the beads of perspiration stood on my forehead. - -Dame! I went to the bath-room that formed a part of my little suite, let -the icy water run till it filled the bowl and bathed my hands and face -in it. Slowly I dried them with the towel, and then applied bay rum in -liberal quantity. - -I realized disagreeably for the hundredth time how that awful -neurasthenia had left its traces upon me, and that if I was ever to -wholly recover I must regain control of my emotions. With this in view -I again seated myself at my desk and indited the following: - - Dear Miss May:--It is with much satisfaction that I have perused - your letter. The amount necessary to purchase the articles you need - shall be left entirely to you. I will furnish whatever sum you - decide upon. I will be at your lodging promptly at two. If there is - anything else that occurs to you, please consider yourself at full - liberty to mention it then. In the meantime I am going to Cook's - office to pay the balance on the two rooms, as the time for doing so - will soon expire. - - Your Friend, - - D.C. - -It was pretty sensible, I thought, as I read it over; a sort of medium -between the cold tone of an ordinary employer and the unrestrained ardor -of a happy boy. I was glad, however, to get out of doors and breathe the -frosty air, for my temperature was still excessive. At Cook's I learned -that several new names had been booked, and that there would soon be no -more room, as things were going. - -"I have given Mr. Wesson the upper berth in your room, subject to your -approval," added the clerk. "He has a positive dread of bunking with an -absolute stranger and he says you made him a conditional promise." - -"That's all right," I said, pleased at the news. "I am sure we shall get -along together finely. You may register the berth in the opposite room, -that you have reserved for me, in the name of 'Miss M. May.' I have -finally prevailed upon my cousin to go." - -While he was entering the name, I wrote a check for the balance, upon -receiving which the clerk handed me the tickets, from New York to St. -Thomas. - -"Hadn't you better book for the entire cruise?" he asked. "I don't -believe you will care to remain at St Thomas longer than the day the -Madiana is to be there." - -"Oh, yes, I shall," I answered. "I stayed on the island three weeks the -last time, and found it delightful. Probably I shall join some of your -later cruises, but I must go unhampered." - -"Supposing when you are ready to take one of the other boats you find -every cabin full?" he asked, in a good-natured way. - -"That's a risk I must run. The Royal Mail comes every fortnight, and -there are three or four steamers a week, of one kind or another, at St. -Lucia. There are ways enough to keep moving and I am unlimited as to -time." - -"Well, if I don't see you again," he said, with that affability that -only one of Cook & Son's clerks can assume, "I wish you a very pleasant -voyage." - -"I am sure to have that," I replied. - -I wondered if he would doubt it if he knew all! - -Before leaving I purchased several books about the Caribbean, for the -purpose of giving them to Miss May. There was "English in the West -Indies," as entertaining as a romance, though in some respects hardly -more reliable; Stark's "History and Guide to Barbados and Caribbee -Islands," better than nothing, in the absence of a really desirable work -on the subject; and half a dozen paper covered documents, issued by the -Quebec SS. Company, a perusal of which revealed so many discrepancies as -to make one doubt whether the line actually ran any boats to that part -of the world. With these under one arm I went over to the "Lambs" and -partook of a brace of chops and some musty ale. Then, after smoking a -cigar, I found the clock indicating that I might with safety begin my -second pilgrimage to the Mecca of my ambition. - -Crossing Broadway, great was my astonishment, and very small my -satisfaction, to come suddenly upon Miss Statia Barton. She was looking -undeniably pretty in her fur turban and cloth jacket, but she had no -charms for me at that moment and I was sorry to lose the few seconds -necessary to be courteous to her. - -"Have you deserted us entirely?" she asked, with a constrained smile. -"Tom said this morning he hadn't seen you for nearly a week." - -"My time is much occupied," I answered. "You know it is but a few days -now before I sail." - -Had I been less full of another subject I should certainly have noticed -that the coldness of my manner hurt her, and I hope I am not brute -enough to do that intentionally. But, I did not think of such a thing -then, nor till a long, long time after. - -"Have you arranged the--the other matter?" she asked, with short breath. - -"Excuse me. We can gain nothing by talking on that subject," said I. - -"Then your charmer has decided not to go with you?" she said, -interrogatively, but with a hard little laugh. "I thought it would come -to that." - -I was foolish enough to take out Miss May's letter and hold it up. - -"On the contrary, since you insist on knowing," I answered, "here is -the final decision, and it is in favor of the plaintiff." - -Her eyes opened as the conviction that I was telling the truth forced -itself upon her. She was evidently not pleased. - -"Mr. Camran," she said, in tones as clear and cutting as ice, "I asked -you a moment ago why you had not been to my home. I now say you need -never call there again, as far as I am concerned, and I shall endeavor -to have my brother write you to the same effect." - -"Don't put Tom to so much trouble," I replied, stung by her manner. "I -have business too important and too pleasant to allow much time for mere -duty calls." - -Lifting my hat, an action that she did not see, as her eyes were bent on -the sidewalk, I resumed my stroll. I should have been more annoyed at -the occurrence if another subject had not so fully filled my head. The -clocks struck two before I reached the number I sought, and I walked -more rapidly. - -"Miss May said you were to come to her room at once," said the colored -servant, when she recognized my features. Needing no second invitation I -mounted the stairs. - -Her door stood slightly open and as I entered, without knocking, she -rose from a low rocker and came toward me. - -I could not have resisted had I been liable to execution for the -offense; I met her in the middle of the apartment and held out both my -hands. - -In the most unaffected and delightful manner she extended her own and I -clasped them. - -"It is settled, then?" I cried. "You are going!" - -"Take a seat," she said, releasing herself composedly. "There are still -a few things that I must talk over with you." - -The blood rushed back upon my heart, leaving my face pale. I was very -glad to get the support of the arm-chair to which she motioned me. - -"I have recently been ill, as I told you," I said in pleading tones, -"and doubts, whatever their nature, are trying to me. Tell me only -this--you are going?" - -She breathed deeply for several seconds and then, with her head slightly -on one side, looked at me. - -"Do you really want me to?" she asked, gently. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -GETTING READY FOR MY JOURNEY. - - -She could not know the pain she gave me by her evasions, that was the -excuse I found for her. The dread that after all she intended to -disappoint me pressed like a heavy weight upon my brain. She must have -seen something in my face that alarmed her, for she asked if I would -like a glass of water--or wine. When I replied in the negative she came -at once to the preliminaries that were in her mind. - -"I am going, of course," she said. "That is, if you think it worth while -to grant all the demands I find necessary. I shall be glad when this -disagreeable part of our bargain is ended, and I believe you will be -equally, if not more so." - -"What is it now?" I inquired, rather querulously. "What do you want? -Come to the point, I beg, without further delay." - -She turned to a mirror, and with a brush that lay on the bureau pushed -back the hair that was half tumbling over her face--hair that was light -and yet not blonde; hair that matched well with her blue-gray eyes and -her regular features. - -"It is not so easy as you may think to detail these things," she said, -when her face was again turned toward me. "I have to depend on myself -for my living, but I hate to assume the guise of a beggar. Still, as I -told you in the first place, my purse is practically empty. There are -many articles needed if I am to go with you, that I would not otherwise -want at this season of the year. They will cost money. I--" - -"All that was settled in my letter to-day," I interrupted. "Have you not -received it?" - -"Yes, I received the letter, and I want to thank you for its kindness of -tone. As I understand it, you offer to advance me what I need to prepare -for the journey. This, I presume, is to be deducted from my salary, -which under ordinary circumstances, would be quite acceptable. But, as I -told you, I have another to support, and I have to rely upon my weekly -stipend for that purpose." - -For a moment I doubted the girl. Was she after all an adventuress who -meant to get what she could in advance, and disappear when the time of -departure came? No man likes to be made the victim of a schemer. I do -not care any more for a few dollars than the average of my fellows, but -the thought of having them cheated out of me is not pleasant to -contemplate. I imagined my chagrin if I should go sailing off to the -Caribbean with the reflection that I had been the victim of a -smooth-tongued woman--I, who had been through the same mill, and ought -to have learned something. - -"I see my suggestion does not please you," came in low tones from my -companion. "I was a little afraid it would not. I am such a stranger -that I cannot wonder if you distrust me. Well, I have no desire to -influence you. I have told you my situation." - -Rousing myself from my reverie I looked earnestly into the fair young -face. - -"Marjorie," I began; "may I call you 'Marjorie?'" - -"As you please." - -"I am sure, as I gaze into your eyes, that I trust you implicitly. The -recollection of a woman whom I once trusted to my sorrow came between us -for an instant, that is all. I am going to believe in you without the -slightest mental reservation, but I want to say just one thing. If I -discover that I am again deceived it will not be the paltry cash I shall -mind. I shall only regret the new wrench to my confidence in the honesty -of your sex. What you will need in the present emergency will have but -little effect on my income. I would willingly make you a present of it, -if no plan such as I have in mind were a part of the contract. -Marjorie," I continued, leaning toward her and taking up one of her -hands respectfully, "I trust you perfectly. Tell me how much money you -wish and I will bring it within an hour. As the expense is caused -entirely on my account, I have no idea of deducting a cent of it from -your salary, which, if agreeable will be the same you already receive, -twenty dollars a week. While I shall not promise too much, let me add -that this will not be the extent of your compensation, by any means, if -we get along together as well as I hope. Now, my dear girl, say there -are no more lions in my path and that your last stipulation is agreed -to." - -She did not answer at once and her delay filled me with the most -disagreeable forebodings. - -"I want to go," she said, at last; and it was something that she did not -compel me to release her hand. "I want to go, very much indeed. Only, -you must not expect--" she paused again--"anything more than--" - -"Do not distress yourself," I replied, divining what was in her mind. "I -am going to the West Indies. Until the importation of coal begins at -Newcastle, no one will dream of taking a woman on such a journey for an -improper purpose." - -She brightened visibly, and although she released my hand at the same -moment she did it in a way that implied naught of distrust. - -"It is a peculiar arrangement, though, take it altogether, is it not?" -she asked, softly. "You are a man with, I judge, some knowledge of the -world. What would your masculine friends say if you told them your plan? -Would they believe in the innocence of your motive, as you ask me to -do?" - -I told her that my masculine friends were like others of their sex, I -presumed, and might put the worst construction on anything, if they -chose. There was not one of them to whom I had imparted my secret, and -there would be none. I had looked over the "Madiana's" passenger list -and seen no familiar name. There was not a chance in ten thousand that -any person on the boat would know me, and if they did, there was a -practical impossibility that they would know my family. I promised the -most perfect discretion while on board, desiring as much as she to avoid -exciting suspicion. Would she, I asked her, be any better off if I had -proved what she imagined when she answered my advertisement--an elderly -gentleman with rheumatism and green glasses? The proverb that there is -no fool like an old fool might answer that question. As she had -remarked in her letter, Mrs. Grundy could not arrange the lives of all -her friends, and the best thing was to satisfy one's own self. - -This seemed to please her, for she dropped the subject and asked -particulars about the amount of baggage that each passenger was allowed -to carry; which put me in better spirits, for it indicated that her face -was at last turned toward the morning. I told her that a steamer trunk -for the stateroom, a handbag, and a larger trunk to put in the hold was -what I intended to take for myself, and I thought she would need the -same. I asked if she had the articles, saying that, if she had not, I -would be glad to order them sent to her. - -"I have only a small trunk--it has managed hitherto to hold what things -I have," was her reply. - -"Then, with your permission, I will procure the entire outfit," I said. -"Now, about the clothing and that sort of stuff. How much cash shall you -require?" - -She drew a long breath, and conceiving that she was afraid to name a sum -I came again to the rescue. - -"I will bring you two hundred and fifty dollars this afternoon," I said. -"That ought to take you through." - -Indeed, I thought the amount very liberal, and supposed she would say -that it was even more than she expected. She did nothing of the kind, -however, but only nodded acquiescence. - -"There is something I was to ask you," I said, remembering what Mr. -Cook's clerk had requested. "The berths are getting scarce on the -'Madiana'--and the agent wishes to know if you are willing to have -another person share your room." - -The young woman drew herself up and surveyed me with a cold expression. -It was several seconds before I divined its cause, and then I had sense -enough to pretend not to notice. - -"A passenger who is going to occupy a room in that part of the boat -wants, if possible, to have his niece near him," I continued. "She will -take the upper berth, if you are willing, in your cabin, but it rests -with you. I have arranged for the entire room." - -Her icy features relaxed and she was herself again. - -"I am quite willing," she answered. "In fact, had I known you intended -to reserve an entire room for me I should have protested. Of course, it -adds to the expense and I would rather have some one there than not. Are -you going to occupy your room alone?" - -I told her about Wesson, and she endorsed my action unreservedly. - -"Where a trip cost so much, there is no need of adding to the expense," -she said, thoughtfully. "I want to say another thing: As I am putting -you to so much cost, you need not feel obliged on my account to stop at -the highest priced hotels, when we are on shore. Anything comfortable -and respectable will satisfy me." - -I laughed as I responded that the best hotels in the Caribbean were -neither very dear nor very luxurious. I would take her where I should -have gone had I been alone and I hoped she would find herself -"comfortable," as she expressed it, at all of them. I glanced at my -watch at this juncture and suggested that perhaps I had best be going. -If she was to do any shopping that day she would have to receive the -"needful" very soon. - -"Oh, to-morrow will do for the shopping," she replied. "If it is -convenient you may send the money to-night, but I could not make much -progress after this hour of the day. I shall probably have to get my -suits ready made and submit to alterations. There is very little time -left us now." - -There was a partnership in this expression that pleased me greatly. I -said as I rose that I hoped no new doubts would creep into her head, for -I felt as if the journey we were to make together had actually begun. - -"I cannot conceive of a reason to change my mind, unless it comes from -some action of yours," said Miss May. "And I feel quite certain there -will not be any." - -"You may be positive of it," I replied. "I will go now to order the -trunks, which may not, however, arrive before morning. As to the money, -I will send it by a messenger as soon as possible. Au revoir." - -"Au revoir," she said. "Let me add one thing more before you go. I am -very grateful for the kindness you are showing me, more so than I fear I -make plain, and as far as lies in my power I will endeavor to prove it." - -"Don't mention it," I said, affected by her words. "All the obligation -has been and will continue to remain on my side. Expect me Saturday -afternoon." - -I had again escaped without yielding to a temptation to do something -foolish, for which I thanked my stars. It was with positive elation -that I walked toward Sixth Avenue. - -The dream was coming true. She was going with me. Nothing would come -between us now! - -I went without delay to my bank and drew four hundred dollars in fifty -dollars bills, three hundred of which I enclosed in an envelope and sent -at once to Miss May, by a district messenger. I thought it would drive -another nail in the transaction to increase the amount I had promised, -and fifty dollars was to me, in this connection, like a brass farthing -to a millionaire. - -Taking a passing car I rode to Macy's, where I purchased a large and a -small trunk of compressed bamboo, covered with cloth of imitation -leather, the lightest and strongest trunk that human ingenuity has yet -invented. The larger one had several trays and a hat box, and was -pronounced by the salesman the very latest thing. The bag gave me more -trouble, but I settled at last on a tasty affair, with special -arrangements for toilet articles, which was to be its main object of -use, and heard to my delight that all of the things would be delivered -without fail that very evening. - -On returning to my room I picked up the letters received from the Herald -office and read them over again, laughing occasionally at something -particularly amusing. What a lot of silly women there must be in New -York, when a modest "Personal" like mine had set so many of them -spoiling good stationery with such nonsense. The only two worth giving -any thought to were those from Marjorie and Miss Brazier. A whimsical -notion struck me to write to "Alice" and tell her how near she had been -to winning the "prize" in my case. In the course of fifteen minutes I -had produced the following letter: - - My Dear Miss Brazier:--As there were but two answers to my Herald - advertisement (out of nearly as many hundred) worth noticing, and as - yours was one of them, I may be pardoned for telling you that your - Hated Rival has been secured by me for my Tropical Trip. Had you - given me the least chance to discover your excellencies, it might - quite as likely have been your fate to accompany me, so you will see - how very narrow was your escape. Having recently recovered from a - long illness (whence the necessity of a Southern voyage) I had no - desire to meet your angry relatives, and I have yet to learn how to - gauge a young lady's personality by mail. So you put yourself out of - the running to begin with. - - I am sure, however, it will please you to know that Another has - satisfied herself with my proposals and is now engaged in - preparations to accompany me to a warmer clime. She is not only "all - my fancy painted her," but more. As near as I can tell in the - absence of actual measurements, she is about S feet 4 inches in - height, well made, full chested, with a face to dream about, bluish - gray eyes and hair of a rather light shade. But this description - fails utterly to convey an adequate idea of her exquisite charm. - - I am to pay her--imagine making a pecuniary arrangement with an - houri!--twenty dollars a week and expenses, only; except that the - wardrobe which she finds it necessary to purchase for a climate - averaging 78 deg. at this season, is also to be charged to me. - - Was ever so much given for so little? I shall certainly insist on - her accepting a nice little purse of "conscience money" on her - return, if we decide, on mature reflection, to terminate our - contract at that time. - - Now, be magnanimous and write me a note of congratulation; I am sure - you have a kind heart and will be glad all my correspondents did not - threaten me with gouty and quick tempered uncles in case I wished to - call on a purely business errand. - - Very Truly, - - David Camwell, Lambs Club. - - New York, Dec. 30, 1897. - -I summoned a district messenger, by a call in my room, and dispatched -this to East Sixteenth Street, though why I did not put it in the mail I -do not know. There was certainly no haste required. The steward of the -club would send an answer, if one was received, without delay, for I had -given him my pseudonym, and he was too wise to ask questions. - -That night I dreamed I was at St. Thomas; that Marjorie had somehow -changed into the Quarantine Keeper's daughter; and that Laps, the Danish -dog, was proceeding to tear her in pieces, when I interfered and treated -him as Samson did the Lion in the Hebrew tale. The girl had fainted in -my arms and, I was calling wildly upon Heaven to restore her senses, -when a servant, up late, woke me by knocking on my door and inquiring if -I wished for anything. - -I searched for a bootjack to throw at the fellow's head, and not finding -it in the dark, I threw a few uncomplimentary expletives instead. But -sleep had vanished for that night, and after taking a cold bath I threw -myself on a sofa, where with a pipe in my mouth I spent the long hours -till morning drawing pictures of the happiness so soon to be mine. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -"A WOMAN I LIKE VERY WELL." - - -The first thought that struck me when I was ready for breakfast was that -my new secretary ought to terminate her arrangement with that -disagreeably affectionate employer and keep open house during each -entire day and evening for my benefit. The mornings that were to elapse -before the sailing of the "Madiana" would be terribly dull. I had tried -to make it clear to Miss May that her salary had already begun to be -reckoned and I did not see why she should carry on two business -engagements at the same time. - -When I rose from the table on which my coffee and eggs had been spread, -it was to receive a letter which had passed through the Lambs Club and -was undoubtedly a reply to the one I had sent Miss Brazier on the -previous day. It would at least entertain me for a few moments to know -what that apparently lively young lady had to say: - - Dear Sir:--[it began--coldly enough, I thought] Your communication - has been duly received and its contents noted. Although it is - unlikely, and certainly, on my part, not desired, that we shall ever - meet, I must inform you that my answer to your advertisement was - written purely in fun and without the least idea of accepting your - remarkable proposition. I will add that I am surprised that you - have succeeded in inducing any woman of the least respectability to - undertake such a journey, and I fear that your impression of her - high character will receive some severe wrenches before your return. - - It must require unusual "nerve" to start off for several months with - an unmarried man (or a married one, for that matter) putting ones - self at his mercy, for that is what it amounts to. When the - individual is wholly unknown to the woman who is to accompany - him--when he may, for all she knows, be a "Jack, the Ripper"--the - foolhardiness of the idea grows on one. I am sure I do not envy your - companion, though it is by no means certain but you, and not she, - will be the most swindled in the affair. - - I conjure you, however, though a total stranger, that if your friend - proves to be merely a misguided girl of good intentions, you will - not soil your soul with the greatest guilt of which a man can be - capable. Remember, if your thoughts are dishonorable, that you have - or have had a Mother, perhaps a Sister, whose memory should make you - pause before you inflict irreparable ruin on one of the same sex. - - Yours Sincerely, - - A.B. - - New York, Dec. 31, 1897. - -A strange letter, I thought, take it altogether. I read it over slowly -for the second time. The first few lines indicated disappointment, and a -perusal of the remaining portion did not remove this impression, -entirely. The final sentences sobered me. The reflections they induced -were certainly not exhilarating. Although I have no sister and cannot -remember my mother, I have a great veneration for my lost parents, and -there is no string so susceptible of influence on my actions as the one -this writer touched. - -I made a new resolution that I would carry myself like a gentleman in -the truest sense of the word with Miss May. I had been honest in the -expressions I used when talking the matter over with Harvey Hume. The -earnest admonitions of Dr. Chambers had not been without effect. I meant -to prove by this journey that I was capable of being in the close -companionship of a young lady without becoming either a brute or a Don -Juan. - -Looking at it even from the standpoint of an enlightened selfishness I -was sure to get more satisfaction in a voyage with a woman whom I could -respect than with one who assumed the role of a cyprienne. - -Loose creatures are to be found in plenty in the Caribbee Islands, as -well as in New York. A sweet, true, honest, intelligent bit of -femininity was quite another thing, and infinitely to be preferred, from -any sensible view. - -Marjorie! So far as my uncertain mind could do so I pledged to her a -purity of intercourse such as a man might give to his affianced -sweetheart. - -I had folded the letter up and put it in my pocket when a visitor was -announced, no less a person than Tom Barton. He came toward me with a -distressed look on his honest countenance and it was plain that he was -far from being at ease. - -"Don," he said, paying no attention to my motion toward a chair, "what -is the trouble between you and Statia? I can't believe you have done -anything intentionally to set her so against you, and yet--" - -"Sit down and don't get excited," I responded quickly, deciding to -dispose of the matter in the calmest way. "Have you had your coffee? If -not, let me ring for another pot. You don't seem well this morning, old -boy." - -"I'm not well," he said, in a dispirited tone, taking the chair at last. -"But you can make me so with one word. Last night Statia came to me with -her eyes full of tears. 'Tom,' she said, 'if you love me I want you to -promise never to see Donald Camran again.' 'Never to see Don!' I -exclaimed, unable to believe my ears. 'Yes,' said she, 'I've told him I -don't wish him to call here and I want you to write him to the same -effect.' You may imagine what a staggerer that was. There's not another -fellow in the world of whom I wouldn't rather she'd have said that. I -tried to get her to give some reason--any reason, or the hint of -one--but it was no use. She only cried the harder, and when at last I -went to bed, I tell you I didn't get much sleep. Tell me, Don, what it -means." - -"It seems you didn't make your sister the promise," I replied. "And you -were quite right. The whim of a girl should not come between stanch -friends like us." - -That did not satisfy him, however. He murmured that we had been good -friends--that he couldn't bear to think we should ever be otherwise--but -he wanted to understand what his sister meant. As she wouldn't tell him, -he had come to ask that favor of me. - -"Supposing I don't care to say anything about it," I replied, quietly. -"If Statia is set on keeping the wonderful secret, how can you expect -me to divulge it?" - -He struggled a moment with this idea, for Tom was always slow in -grasping abstruse problems. - -"You'll have to help me clear up the mystery," he said, at last. "I've -only got one sister, Don, and she and I are all there are to the family -now. If it comes to losing my sister or my best friend, I must stand by -Statia." - -I felt a chill going over my flesh as he spoke. I liked Tom, and I liked -Statia--yes, in spite of the silly meeting of the day before. It was -better to back down a little than to lose such friends. - -"What a serious matter you make of it!" I exclaimed. "You ask me what is -the trouble between Statia and me. Well, the fact is, I hardly know. She -met me in Broadway yesterday and wanted to make me promise something -that I could not see--to be candid--was any affair of hers. When I -declined, as courteously as I knew how, she flew at me with the -statement that I need never call at her house again. I had no choice in -the matter, Tom, not the least. I wouldn't do anything to justify her in -talking to me in that way, if I could help it, but one must retain a few -of his personal rights, you know." - -"And what was it about?" asked Tom, very earnestly. - -"It was about a woman. A woman I like very well, and who happens to be -going on the same steamer I am to the Tropics. There! The terrible -secret is out." - -Tom studied the answer a long time, but evidently could make nothing of -it. - -"Statia has always liked you immensely, Don," he said. "I've been almost -jealous of you sometimes. She wouldn't go against you all of a sudden -without what seemed to her a strong reason." - -"And I like Statia," was my reply. "Yes, in spite of the ugly attitude -she has chosen to take toward me. Why, Tom--I don't know but, under the -circumstances, I ought to tell you--I asked her only a week ago to marry -me." - -"Ah!" he exclaimed, in a mixture of happiness and pain, that was very -touching. - -"Yes, and she refused positively. I was disappointed, you may believe, -for I had thought she entertained a decided feeling in my favor, and -would have asked long before except for that illness of mine. Her -attitude might have thrown me back into the doctor's hands, for my head -is not yet any too strong, but I managed to crush down my thoughts and -bear up under it. I hope it's not wrong to tell you this, old chap, but -I don't think I ought to let you go off with wrong impressions of me." - -He shook his head in mute dismay. - -"The other woman--the one you and she were speaking about," he said. -"Who is she? It seems as if the key to the whole trouble was there." - -"Now, Tom," I replied, "you have no right to ask me a question like that -and I shall have to decline to bring the name of a third person into -this discussion. I have the greatest regard for you and the highest -respect for Statia. If you decide to throw me over, the responsibility -must rest where it belongs." - -"Would you--would you come round to the house and talk it over with -both of us together?" he asked, after a long pause. "It troubles me more -than I can tell you. Would you come over, say Tuesday evening?" - -"Yes," I said, smilingly, "if Statia writes me a letter asking me to do -so." - -"She must write it," he said, brightening. "I can't have our friendship -broken up like this. Shall you be at home all day?" - -I answered that I would be there just before dinner, at least, to -receive any communication that might be sent, and Tom, taking my hand in -his hearty grasp for the first time since he had been in the room, said -'Good-by' and left me, evidently much relieved. - -I was by no means as certain as he that Statia would make any such -back-down. I have noticed that women are more apt than men to stick to a -position they have once taken, even after they find that the mistake is -on their side. - -But, I really hoped some avenue would be opened for a reconciliation -without my having to go on bended knees to either of them, which I saw -no reason for doing. - -I had told Tom all it would be safe to tell. He was so immaculate in all -his thoughts of women that there was no saying how my plan, if fully -presented, would strike his mind. I certainly did not mean to risk it. - -It was a day that had begun disagreeably and I was looking forward to at -least a pleasant afternoon, when a note from Miss May came, to dash that -prospect to the ground. Here it is: - - My Dear Mr. C.:--I fear you have undertaken a larger contract than - you anticipated when you began. To be plain, the amount you left in - my hands will hardly suffice to provide all the necessaries for a - lady travelling as your relation and equal. If you are satisfied I - will consent, though I am sure I would not have done so at first, to - go as your ward, merely,--as a young woman whom you have promised - some friend to see on her journey to a point where she is to be a - governess or whatever you like to say. - - In that case you will not be disgraced if I do not dress very well. - I cannot endure the thought of being suspected; and a lady such as - you wish me to appear would have three or four gowns suitable for - appearing at table, with at least a little jewelry--of which, alas! - I have practically nothing. - - I write you this with a heavy heart, for I fear you will begin to - consider me a nuisance, but I hope you will understand. I went out - this morning and priced several gowns, but finding that the money - you left me would be exhausted before the really necessary things - were obtained, I returned to my room without breaking one of the - banknotes. - - Please reply by messenger, stating what you think it best to do. If - I am going to cost you more than you wish to expend, tell me so - frankly and I will release you from every obligation. I resigned my - other position last night, but am certain my old employer will - gladly take me back if I have to ask it. Ugh! that is the most - disagreeable thought in connection with this entire matter! - - Understand, I am ready to go with you--I want to go--and I leave the - position I am supposed to occupy to your own judgment. If I am to - pass as a governess, in whom you have no special interest, you may - return me half of the money enclosed and I shall find it amply - sufficient. If I am to be your "cousin," I fear it will have to be - doubled. - - Please do not decide in a way you will regret. I am obliged to leave - the city on an early train, to remain over New Years with friends, - but shall expect you Tuesday at any hour after ten. That is, if you - wish to see me again. - - Yours Faithfully, - - M.M. - - P.S. The trunks and bag are splendid. Of course, I shall hold them - subject to your orders if you decide to drop our arrangement. - -I looked at the six fifty dollar bills lying on the table, where they -had fallen from the envelope. The messenger boy looked at them also, as -if he half wished he had run away with the package instead of delivering -it. His presence disturbed me and I told him to walk around the block, -returning in a quarter of an hour. This he hesitated to do and I shoved -a two dollar bill into his fist, as a guarantee of my good faith. - -What a criss-cross of ideas piled upon my brain when I was alone! At one -instant I said to myself that Miss May was a schemer, who had determined -to "play me for a sucker,"--to use a common, though not over delicate -expression. She had been indiscreet in returning my cash; I would put it -in my pocket and forget her. On the other hand, the thought of going -south alone was enough to madden me. I did not care two straws that the -cost of the trip would be doubled, if it possessed the charming features -I had allowed myself to paint. - -The woman's going into the country for two whole days when the question -was unsettled was also most exasperating. If I could proceed -immediately to her room and talk with her face to face it would be -easier to decide. - -The fifteen minutes passed, the boy returned, and I was still in a -quandary. Finally, when the young imp presented himself in a -business-like attitude, I seized a pen and wrote as follows: - - _Destroy the note I sent a moment ago and substitute this one._ - - Dear Miss May:--["Dear" does not mean anything at the beginning of a - letter]--I am very sorry to learn that you feel it necessary to be - absent over Monday, as I have many things to say to you. Perhaps, as - you can do nothing in the meantime, it is best to let the matter - rest till Tuesday morning, when I will call, promptly at ten, and we - will decide everything. - - Yours, - - D.C. - -The boy took this note, when it was sealed and addressed, and -disappeared like magic. He had hardly gone when I wished I had sent a -letter of different purport. There was an awful possibility that Miss -May would take the chance I had undoubtedly offered, to give up the -whole idea of going. She had certainly not seemed as enthusiastic as I -could wish. I ran to a window, threw it open, and would have whistled to -the boy, but he was nowhere to be seen. - -It was like a matter of life and death to me then. Ringing in a call I -took my pen again and indited the following: - - Dear Marjorie:--for so you said I might call you:--I return the - money that you sent back to me. Keep it till I meet you Tuesday - morning at ten, when I will come prepared with a sum which will - certainly meet every demand you can put upon it. You are wiser than - I about feminine apparel and could not please me better than by the - forethought you display. It is with great regret that I learn you - are to be absent over Sunday and Monday, when I had hoped to pass - some pleasant hours with you, but I cheerfully yield to your - arrangement. Within a few days there will be no other friends to - distract your attention from one who will prove himself the truest - of them all. - - Sincerely Yours, - - D.C. - - No. -- Thirty-fourth Street. - -I procured a large envelope and took it into the bedroom, where I could -re-insert the bank bills without danger of arousing the cupidity of -young Mercury. With a lead pencil I added to the note a request that the -recipient would send just a line by bearer to show that my message had -arrived safely, and saw the boy depart, feeling that I had at last done -the sensible thing. - -Whether this proved to be the case I will leave the reader to judge when -he has finished this volume. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -A PRIVATE DINING ROOM. - - -Saturday evening was dull enough, being only brightened by a pencilled -note from Miss May, reading simply, "Money received. Will see you -Tuesday." I went over to the Lyceum Theatre to a play called "The Tree -of Knowledge," which I now believe one of the brightest things produced -on the American stage in years, though I was too full of other thoughts -to appreciate it at the time. - -It was an attempt to shift the burden of blame that has rested in all -fiction on the shoulders of the man, to that of the woman, and was so -far rather welcome to me. We are a bad lot, as a rule, I am afraid, but -some allowance should be made for a case like the one in the play, where -a well intentioned young fellow is used as a football by a girl who does -not care if his life is ruined, so long as she accomplishes her designs. - -I remember being somewhat surprised at the apparent approval of the fine -audience, but that may have been due in a measure to the delightful -acting of the various parts. I had not been to the Lyceum for a long -time and did not remember to have seen the "wronged young man" before, -but he made a most favorable impression on me as more natural and less -stagey than the average. The "villain,"--the masculine one--was an -excellent actor, also. As for the "wicked" woman, I thought, if -Marjorie failed me, I would give her an invitation to spend the rest of -the winter in the Caribbean. - -Sunday was weariness itself. I poured over the newspapers, took a walk, -managed to get a short nap, for I was tired, ate my lunch, and then, to -fill up the time, wrote a letter to Miss Brazier, in defense of myself -from the severe attack that unknown young woman had made. It was a silly -proceeding, but I liked to write about Marjorie, even to one wholly -unknown, and this is what I said, as near as I can remember it: - - Dear Alice (Ben Bolt):--I feel justified in calling you "Alice," now - it is settled that you are not to be my companion for long and (to - you, doubtless) weary weeks, a liberty I should never have dreamed - of taking had you decided to go. I do not know in what way I have - offended you, which I judge by your letter to be the case, but as - the children say, "If I've done anything I'm sorry for, I'm glad of - it." (Of course I don't mean exactly that.) The reason I write this - is to ask you to dine with me (in a highly respectable public dining - room--no cabinet particulaire, mind!) some evening before the 12th, - when I am to sail. - - If you will do this, I will fill your shell-like ears with such an - account of your Rival that you will acquit her of intending any of - the horrors you intimate. She is neither, I believe, a sinful - creature nor a dunce--just a sweet, strong-minded, trusting seeker - after change and rest. - - And I don't like your insinuations, either, about my own moral - character. If you knew me, I should not blame you so much, but as - you don't--it's simply reprehensible. I have no intention of - "soiling my soul," or that of any other person, but if that awful - event happens (I wonder how I would look with a soiled soul!) you - will be to blame. If you really thought I was in danger, why did you - not do the patriotic thing and offer to go in her place? That would - have disposed of the s--s--possibility. - - Now, if you have not already thrown this down in a rage--I judge you - to be a woman of the most fiendish temper!--let me be sensible for - just one moment. I am recovering slowly from a long illness and am - as harmless as a dove. I have, honestly, some work for a typewriter - to do, and my physician has advised me to take one. The young lady - who has agreed to go is not the sort you seem to imagine. She has - consented only after the most distressing stipulations in regard to - my conduct--all of which were entirely unnecessary, by the way. I am - to file a bond to return her to New York by May 1st in absolutely - perfect condition. - - Come and dine with me, Alice dear, and have your doubts removed. I - won't bite you, nor offer the slightest familiarity, upon my word! - Name your hotel and, provided it is of undoubted respectability, I - will meet you there at any hour you choose, after 6 P.M., or I will - send a carriage for you. I only wish I could bring 'Marjorie'--isn't - it a perfectly sweet name! One sight of her soulful eyes would say - more than all my protestations. Unhappily she is out of town, and I - am afraid she wouldn't like to be exhibited, if she were here. - - You'd best come. - - Yours Fraternally, - - D. CAMWELL. - - The Lambs, Dec. 31, 1897. - -It didn't seem too funny, when I read it over, as I thought it would, -but I sent it to East Sixteenth Street by a messenger that I summoned, -telling him to bring an answer, if there was any, and to return for his -pay, if there was none. He came back in half an hour, saying that a boy -at the house took the letter up stairs, presumably to Miss B., and -returned in a few minutes stating that she would reply by mail. As this -exhausted all the fun I could expect out of that matter for the day, I -went over to the Club and lounged away the afternoon. - -It was nine o'clock and I had only been at home for a few minutes when a -note came from Statia Barton. It was written in a very cool strain, but -its contents were unexpectedly agreeable, for all that. Statia said she -was afraid she had been a little too severe, and that, as it distressed -Tom very much to have a general falling out, she had made it up with -him. She had nothing to take back in what she had said relating to a -certain matter, (what woman ever took back anything?) but was willing to -admit that it was, really, my personal affair and that she had no right -to control my conduct. She believed it best, on the whole, that we -should see each other as little as possible before I went away, but she -did not wish, on reflection, to make trouble between her brother and his -friend. If Tom wanted me to come to spend an evening with him, she hoped -I would do it, and she promised to keep out of my way. - -It was a queer mixture, take it altogether, but I was very glad to -receive it. The calming effect on my general condition was such that -when I went to bed, I slept for nearly seven hours without interruption, -something I had not done for the previous fortnight. - -Monday, on account of New Years, was as dull as Sunday. When I awoke -with the exultant knowledge that it was at last Tuesday morning, I -sprang from bed joyfully. Filling my tub with water as it ran from the -street pipe, I plunged into its icy depths. Rising again I repeated the -operation half a dozen times, until the effect on my entire body was of -a healthy glow, and then proceeded to dress with care. I was long in -selecting a necktie, for one thing, and tried three pairs of cuff-links -before I was content. My coffee was barely tasted, and the newspapers -were scanned as if in a dream. - -All the time, mind you, I was trying my best to obey the injunction of -Dr. Chambers to avoid the least excitement. I persuaded myself that I -was simply happy and that no injurious effect could be apprehended from -a merely contented frame of mind. I did not stop to think that I was -pursuing a short road to the nervous prostration from which I had -emerged, and which had its origin in the same lack of control I was -exhibiting. - -Tom Barton called about eight o'clock and, as he entered the room, came -straight to me with his right hand extended. I took it heartily in mine, -glad that the chasm between us was bridged at last. - -"Dear old fellow," he said, with strong feeling, "forgive me for -anything disagreeable I said, the other day. I feel now that I misjudged -you. Let us end that matter and when you come to my house this evening, -tell me exactly what route you are going to take, so I can arrange where -to write you." - -I promised to come if I could, and if that was impossible, to send a -message to account for my absence. I told him I had bought a set of -small maps which would show my route perfectly and that I hoped for -frequent communications with him. Neither of us said anything about -Statia, for I think he felt as I did that we should get along better -without bringing in her name. He was obliged to leave after a brief -call. As soon as he was out of sight I donned my out-door garments and -proceeded by round-about stages toward Miss May's residence. - -The hands of my watch pointed to ten exactly, when I rang her bell. It -is considered a virtue, I believe, to be prompt at an appointment. The -woman who attended the door dampened my ardor somewhat, however, by -informing me that Miss May had not yet returned. She suggested that I go -at once to the lady's room and make myself comfortable till she came, -which must be very soon. - -I walked slowly up the stairs, which seemed longer than ever, oppressed -with a new series of doubts. Perhaps she would not come at all. Perhaps -she had taken my three hundred dollars and fled to parts unknown. -Perhaps--oh! the ugly things that came into my head between the lower -hall and the door of that empty room. - -I turned the knob and entered. Somehow the sight of the things that -belonged to her began to mollify me. There was the chair in which she -had been seated when I saw her last--happy chair! There was the dressing -table, the brush and comb she used, the glass into which she had looked -with her beautiful blue-gray eyes. Yes, and masquerading as a cabinet, -yet deceiving no one for a second, was the folding bed that had often -received her lovely form, with her head pillowed in happy slumber. - -It was something to be in the room she occupied, to see the furniture -she used. - -I seated myself in her chair--the one I had seen her in--but almost -instantly rose and walked about. My nerves were too much on edge to -permit me to remain long without motion of some kind. At the end of half -an hour I began to grow incensed again. She had made the appointment for -ten o'clock. She knew from previous experience that I would keep it to -the moment. Trains from the suburbs ran frequently enough. Did she -consider me merely a puppet, to be played with? - -Between half-past ten and eleven I was a hundred times on the point of -descending the stairs and leaving the house, ending the whole affair. - -But I didn't. - -She came about ten minutes past eleven, with many expressions of regret -at having kept me waiting. The timepiece at the house of her friend had -broken its mainspring, or something of the sort, and with the -carelessness of a woman she had forgotten to wind her watch the evening -before. The family were all deceived by the fact that the sky was -cloudy. When she reached her station the train had just gone and she was -obliged to wait three-quarters of an hour for another. As soon as she -alighted in New York, she took a cab and bade the driver hasten. Had I -been waiting very long? - -I did not know, at that instant, whether I had been a minute or a week, -and I did not care. It was enough that I was again in her presence--that -she had actually arrived. I begged her to say nothing more about it. - -"I have kept the cab," she said, looking me full in the face, "thinking -you might be kind enough to go with me to the shops and help me pick out -my things. If it isn't asking too much--" - -I assured her it would give me the greatest pleasure to accept the -invitation and that I had no engagement so important as helping her to -get ready for our journey. With a smile, she took off her hat and -arranged her hair at the mirror, with a few passes of the brush and -comb. Then she put it on again and said she was quite ready. - -"Drive to Altman's," she said to the cabman, as she stepped inside the -vehicle. - -We were together, side by side. Had we been on the way to the steamer -nothing could have exceeded my delight. These preliminaries all tended -in that direction, however, and I was fain to curb my haste and content -myself with the present. - -"I think you ought to see what it costs to dress a young woman who is -going to masquerade as the cousin of a gentleman of means," said Miss -May, as we turned the corner. "I want you to decide on each article, -since the expense is to come out of your pocket. I must say another -thing also, at this time. I shall not consider as my own anything I need -to buy. I am merely in the position of an actress whose wardrobe is to -be provided by her manager. Whenever our engagement terminates I will -return every article to you in as good shape as possible." - -I was staggered by the suggestion, as well as impressed by the sentiment -that led her to make it. - -"What could I do with a lot of gowns--and--lingerie?" I inquired, -helplessly. "They would be a veritable drug on my hands." - -"They could be altered," she said, thoughtfully. "I shall be very -careful of them." - -"Altered!" I cried. "For whom?" - -"For the next typewriter you may happen to engage." - -I laughed to conceal the disagreeable feeling which the thought gave me. - -"As a joke that is stupendous," I said, "but, if you don't mind, I would -rather you would be funny on some other subject." - -She relapsed into silence, something after the manner of a child who has -been chidden, which did not add to my ease. I had no idea of scolding -her. Luckily we were soon at Altman's. - -I had come provided with plenty of money that time. The cash she had -brought was exhausted when we left this place and we did not seem to -have got much for it, either. A milliner was next visited, where the -price of the few articles purchased was forgotten in my admiration of -the charming appearance Marjorie made in her new headgear. Then we drove -to another establishment, where she was obliged to hide herself from -view for three-quarters of an hour, with a bill of eighty-five dollars -as the result. She explained that she had got nothing she could possibly -avoid, when it was considered that we might be several weeks at a time -without a laundress, and I said the only fear I had was that she would -buy too little. - -A boot shop came next in order, where I had a jealous pang as one of the -salesmen fitted her with various articles in his stock, all suitable -for a warm climate, at a total cost of forty dollars. And then we drove -about, from glove shop to perfumer's, from umbrella maker to fan dealer, -from this to that, and the hands on my watch showed that it was nearly -five o'clock. - -"I think that is about all for to-day," said Miss May, drawing a long -breath. "You must be glad it's over." - -"Not at all," I replied. "Isn't it about time, though, that we had -something in the way of refreshment?" (She had declined several offers -to lunch during the preceding five hours.) "Mayn't I tell the driver now -to take us to a restaurant?" - -She consented, after a little thought, and also said she would leave the -place to me. When I suggested the Hotel Martin, she thought a little -longer, and then surprised me with a request that I would get a private -room. - -"Impossible," I said, when I could catch my breath. "They will assign no -party of two to a room alone." - -She blushed, which was not surprising. I had put her in the position of -wishing to break a puritanic rule of which she had never heard. - -I mentioned several other places, and we finally agreed on one some -distance up-town, at which I told her the regulation against a single -couple dining alone did not apply. She was rather tired and leaned back -in the carriage in a manner that showed it. I studied her face as much -as I could without appearing to stare, but it was wholly -expressionless. - -"You are very good to me," she said, after a long pause. - -"And you are very kind to me," I answered. - -"What a lot of money we have spent to-day," she added. "Aren't you sorry -yet?" - -"No," I answered, smiling. "Not yet." - -"I shall need almost nothing more," she said, "to appear in a garb that -will not disgrace you. Nothing, but a little jewelry, I think." - -I said we would go to-morrow and attend to that, or she could go alone -if she preferred, and send the bills to me. - -"It must be lovely to have all the money one wants," she remarked, -dreamily. "To order whatever you please without stopping to see if you -can afford it." - -"Yes," I assented. - -"You can do that?" said Miss May, putting one of her gloved hands on my -arm. - -"Within a reasonable limit. My wants are seldom extravagant." - -"Why," she asked, slowly, "is the world arranged so unevenly? Why are -some provided with all they want, and more, while others have to study -each item of actual necessity?" - -"That is a deep question, that I would not like to settle in my present -state of hunger," I replied, at which she smiled and sat up in the -carriage. "We are luckily near the end of our route. I think I had best -dismiss the cab and get another one when we leave." - -She agreed and then asked if I had any objection to her donning a veil. -It was all right, of course--dining in a private room with her -employer--but it might not seem so to a casual passer, who would -possibly recognize her face at some future period. A woman had to be so -particular. - -I cut her explanations short by saying that I did not object to the -idea, but quite approved of it; at which she put on the veil, which to -my consternation was blue and quite opaque. I did not wish to let any -difference of opinion come between us, but I reflected that if one of my -friends saw me, with a woman veiled like that, his conclusions would be -anything but pleasing. There is such a thing as going too far. - -We were shown to a nice little room, where the waiter came near getting -himself into trouble by informing me with needless severity that it was -not permitted to lock the door. - -Miss May did not seem to hear what he said. She was removing her blue -veil at a little glass that hung on the wall. - -When she took the chair opposite to me and accepted the menu at my -hands, she looked so charming that I had to put a veritable Westinghouse -brake on my arms. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -ONCE THERE WAS A CHILD. - - -The meal that we ordered was well cooked and well served, and being -provided with that best of all sauces, hunger, I did it full justice. -Our conversation seemed, however, rather dull, and there was not that -flow of spirits that I expected when we entered the place. Miss May -seemed absorbed in thought, though she declared, when I rallied her on -the point, that she was not down hearted, but very happy to be there. -Occasionally when footsteps were heard in the corridor she started -nervously, which led me to suppose that she feared intrusion. I -thereupon remarked that while it was against the rules to bolt the door -of the room, I believed a good-sized tip would secure the privilege; to -which she replied, with a vehemence I could not understand, that she -would not hear of such a thing. - -One might imagine she suspected me of an intention to murder her, so -earnest was her protest. - -"Oh, I would much rather leave it unlocked," I said. "I was only trying -to please you." - -She made no answer, and I found my spirits, always mercurial, beginning -to sink a little. Noticing my dejection, she came to my rescue and soon -had me all right again. We talked of the journey, she asking many -particulars of my former visit to the Caribbean Islands. She had never -been at sea for more than a few hours and wondered if she was liable to -that malady so much to be dreaded, seasickness. I assured her it was not -nearly as bad as it was painted and told of my own slight experiences in -that line, years before. - -My companion ate and drank sparingly. She declined my proposal to order -champagne, and mixed her claret and apollinaris like a veritable tyro in -restaurant dining. This rather pleased me, on the lookout as I was for -indications that she might be other than she seemed. She had every mark -of the true lady, and I was well prepared to believe it, when I learned, -some days later, of the station in which she had been born and in which -her childhood was passed. - -"I have been thinking," she remarked, after one of her long pauses; -"would it not be best for me, to take your family name? I wish, above -all things, to avoid suspicion." - -"I fear we are a little too late for that," I replied. "I was obliged to -give your name to the agent and he has already placed it on the -passenger list." - -"Will that list get into the newspapers?" she asked, nervously. - -"I presume so." - -"Then you must manage to have my name changed, at all hazards. My old -employer would use every means to annoy me if he discovered where I am -going." - -"It is only recorded as 'Miss M. May,'" I said. "Surely there is more -than one person of that name in the world." - -She shook her head and bit her lips in distress. - -"It must be changed," she repeated. "It will not do to give him the -slightest clue. He imagines himself 'in love'--Heaven help me!--and I -dare not risk it. Any name you like, but my own." - -"What can he do?" I inquired. "You don't think I would let him annoy -you, when you were under my protection." - -"He can do many things. No, there is no way but to alter the name. Tell -the agent the lady you expected is not going--that she has been taken -ill--and that another is to fill her place. Do not argue, do not -hesitate, or I shall be compelled, even now, to give up the journey. And -that," she added, seeing my sober face, "you know well I would not like -to do." - -This was enough to settle the matter and I said I would give the agent -in the morning any name she desired. - -"I would like it the same as your own," she said, thoughtfully. "It -might save infinite trouble. Just record me as Miss M. Camwell. Is there -any reason against that?" - -Yes, there was one and it occurred to me. The name, which I had decided -to use, was so near my own that Uncle Dugald would be likely to see it, -not to say anything about Hume, Tom Barton and Statia. They might lay -the twisting of Donald Camran into "David Camwell" to the carelessness -of copyist and printer, but their suspicions would certainly be aroused -if they saw next to my name that of a "Miss" Camwell. - -"I will change your name in some way," I answered, after a long pause, -"but I see dangers in the plan you propose, nearly as great as in the -present one." - -I then gave her an inkling of my fears, saying I did not wish any sharp -friend to guess what I was doing, which was possible with two such -uncommon names in just a position on an alphabetical list. - -She did not seem satisfied, but raised no objection when I asked her if -I might call her Miss M. Carney, which I thereupon decided to do. - -It was rather dull, take it altogether, the dinner, but when we were -again in a cab and rolling toward Forty-fifth Street, Miss May -brightened, like the close of a cloudy day, just before the sun sinks -into the obscurity of the western sky. She put one of her hands on mine, -quite as if the act was a wholly thoughtless one, but it sufficed to -cheer me up. She even volunteered a prophesy that we would be good -friends and contented fellow voyagers. - -Before we reached her door she asked me at what hour I would call on the -morrow, quite as if anxious to see me. After a little debate I decided -upon three in the afternoon. That would give her the entire morning with -her dressmaker, for necessary alterations in the garments she had -purchased. - -She did not seem to notice particularly when I raised the gloved hand I -held and pressed it to my lips at parting. It was an act that any lady -might pardon, and she probably thought nothing of it. - -"To-morrow, then, at three," she said, smiling at me from the curbstone. - -"Yes. Don't keep me waiting," I answered, remembering the morning. - -"I will try not to; these dressmakers are so unreliable, though. -You--you wouldn't rather I would come to your rooms? Perhaps there is -another of those rules we have been running across, against it. If there -is none, and you prefer--" - -I said I approved of the idea highly and that I was at liberty to invite -to my apartment any person I pleased. - -"You spoke of a machine that I have never used," said Miss May, -tentatively. "If you have one there, as a sort of excuse--" - -"I have one," said I. "Although it won't be needed for that purpose. You -remember the number, -- West Thirty-fourth." - -She nodded and spoke to my driver, repeating it to him. Then with -another of her bright smiles she waved me good-by and ascended the -steps, while I was driven away. - -"Henry," I was saying ten minutes after, to the hall boy, "I expect a -young lady to-morrow, between three and four, who will ask for Mr. -Camwell." - -"There isn't any Mr. Camwell in the house, sir," said the boy. - -"There will be at that hour. He will be in my rooms. You may not see him -enter and you may not see him leave, but he will be here. All you have -to do is to say 'Yes, ma'am,' to the lady and bring her to my door." - -"I understand," said Henry, with a wholly superfluous grin, that showed -how little common sense the average hall-boy possesses. - -"No, you don't understand anything," I responded, snappishly. "Do as I -order and you'll lose nothing. Make the least mistake and I will see -that you get your notice." - -He responded meekly that he would be careful and then handed me a -letter, which I saw was from Miss Brazier. He also said that Mr. Barton -had called and expressed surprise when he heard that I had left no word -for him. - -Poor Tom! It came to my recollection all at once that I had promised to -spend the evening at his house, or send him a note if unable to do so. -Well, I would write him an apology before I went to sleep. - -This is what Miss Brazier said: - - Dear Mr. Camwell:--I wish I could understand you, but the riddle - grows harder and harder. Sometimes you seem a combination of Don - Quixote, Mephistopheles and Hector Greyburn. At one moment I believe - you the greatest wretch alive; at the next I ascribe your sentiments - to the buoyancy of youth and convince myself that you are at heart - an honorable man. - - As to dining with you, I must deny myself that pleasure. I do not - believe you would "bite" me, nor am I afraid your levity would turn - my head. I can merely say that dining with a stranger is not in - accord with my habits and that I see no sufficient reason to make - your case an exception. I would be glad to see your "Marjorie," - though, were that feasible, but this also I must forego. - - Now, as a last word--for my correspondence may weary you--remember - that true happiness in this life does not consist in the mere - gratification of every passing whim, and that the path you have - before you may contain thorns as well as roses. If you return to - America with your conscience void of offence toward God and your - companion you will have accomplished something of which you may - well be proud. - - Won't you write me just a line when you are again at home, to say - that my petition has been answered. - - Your True Friend, - - A.B. - - Jan. 2, 1898. - -Sobered more than I could account for by reading this letter, I sat for -a long time in silence. Then, after writing a brief note to Tom, -excusing my neglect, I sought my pillow, or in plain English, went to -bed. - -My first act in the morning after coffee was to go to Cook's and alter -the name of May to that of Carney, as well as change my own to "David -Camwell," for which I gave a satisfactory reason to the clerk. He told -me that he could omit both names from the list sent to the newspapers, -if I desired, and I decided that this was, on the whole, the better way. - -On leaving I had an idea that pleased me, no less than to visit -Tiffany's and purchase a little jewelry for Marjorie. It would be -pleasant to see her eyes light up as I put it into her hand. - -Taking a Broadway car, I soon reached the shop I sought, and emerged a -few minutes later with a pair of diamond eardrops, a ring of turquoise -and small diamonds, and another of chased gold without a stone. Each was -enclosed in a tasty case. I was much pleased that the selection had been -made so easily. - -Miss May arrived at my room nearly on time, with a fine color in her -cheeks, due to the fact that she had walked some distance. She was -undeniably good-looking and my heart warmed as I thought of the long -companionship we were to have together. She was a little tired, she -said, from standing for the dressmaker's measurer, and dropped into my -largest chair with a very fetching air of fatigue. As soon as I could -without seeming in haste I produced the case containing the turquoise -ring and presented it for her inspection. - -"I took the liberty," I remarked, "of buying this, to fill the vacant -place on one of your fingers. If it does not fit, you can take it back -for alteration; or if it does not please you Tiffany will exchange it." - -She took it out languidly and found that it fitted very well. She was -not as delighted as I had supposed she would be, but her tired feeling -probably accounted for that. - -"It is very pretty," she said, "and you are very kind." - -Then I opened the case containing the plain ring and she found a -suitable position for that also. When I showed her the eardrops she grew -more interested and on trying them on declared them "perfectly sweet." - -"I used to have some very like them," she said, with a sigh, "but that -was long ago. How very good you are. Are you not tired of the expense I -cause you?" - -I assured her that I was not, in the least. - -"I do not own a piece of jewelry in the world," she added, "except a -wedding ring, that belonged to my mother." - -"And these," I corrected her by saying. - -"No. These are not mine. They are merely part of the make-up for the -rôle I am to play. You shall have them all back again when the curtain -is rung down." - -She took out her purse, and drew forth the ring of which she had spoken. -Placing it on her wedding finger she held it out to me. - -"Don't I look quite like a married woman?" she asked, smilingly. - -"Quite," I assented, "and a very sweet bride you make, too." - -"Have you the typewriting machine here?" she asked, ignoring my -compliment. "I wish to see what it is like." - -I put the machine on a table, arranging it for her inspection. It was an -original Hammond, which I prefer to the universal keyboard. She drew up -a chair and listened intently while I explained its workings, showing -how the capitals and figures are produced with the same set of keys as -the lower case letters. I showed the working of the ribbon, the -arrangement of the alarm bell and all the other points needed by one who -had never operated that style. When I had finished and inserted a sheet -of paper she began carefully to write a sentence, encouraged -occasionally by my guidance when the unfamiliar location of the keys -caused her to pause. - -"I shall be able to use it as rapidly as the Remington, in a week," she -said, when she finished the sheet. "It is not nearly as hard as I -imagined." - -She left the table and resumed her seat in the chair, where we fell into -a conversation that lasted several hours. She counted with me the days -that remained and was glad they were so few. She said she could think of -nothing more that she needed before starting: yes, the jewelry was -quite sufficient. She put back each piece in the case it had come in, -asking me to keep them till we were ready to go. - -"You are sure you will not be sorry for what you are doing?" she asked, -after a time. - -"How can I, if you enjoy the journey?" was my reply. - -She shrugged her shoulders prettily and said it was time to leave. She -declined with many thanks an invitation to dine with me again, making a -light excuse, and with a friendly grasp of the hand took her departure. -It had been agreed that she would call for a short time each afternoon -that remained. - -When I had become chilled at the vacancy her absence made in the room I -went over to the table and looked at what she had written on the -machine. It was a pleasure even to see the lines her fair hands had -made, and I withdrew the sheet she had covered as if it were something -sacred. Glancing over it I noted to my surprise, that the lines had not -been written with accidental meaning--that it contained a message for my -eyes and heart. There were naturally slight errors caused by the -writer's unfamiliarity with the instrument, but no ambiguity of any -kind. And this is what the message said to me: - - * * * * * - -Once there was a child, who had been reared in comfort, almost in -luxury, in the fairest part of the fair State of Maryland. At the age of -sixteen a cruel fate deprived her of both parents. The guardian to whom -her small means were intrusted proved false and in another year she was -left to face poverty alone. - -Almost stunned by her misfortunes, this child found it necessary to -provide herself with some means of subsistence, for even sorrow must -have bread. She learned the art of stenography and typewriting; and -after attaining sufficient speed in these branches went to a large city -and sought a situation. Luckily she found one, though for a long time -the pay was very small and she could no more than support life in the -poorest manner. - -Later a place was offered her with a largely increased stipend, and the -cloud seemed about to lift a little. But her new employer soon unmasked -his soul and disclosed himself a wretch. The girl could hardly breathe -in his presence, but she resolved to endure his attentions as long as -they were bearable, hoping for relief from some unknown source. - -When the purpose of her employer became all too plain, and she was on -the point of despair; when advertisement after advertisement had been -answered and nothing secured; when she had advertised, herself, and -found by the replies received that the majority of the situations -promised nothing better than the one she was unable to endure--there -came a ray of light. - -A gentleman, or what seemed to be one, sought an interview in reference -to a most novel proposition. He wanted her to accompany him, alone, on a -long journey; announced his willingness to provide her with an outfit -suitable for a member of his family, which she was to profess to be; and -assured her that behind this offer there was lurking no sinister design -such as she at first suspected. - -Her situation had grown desperate. Slowly she came to the decision to -trust this man. She grew to believe that there might be one who could -give these things with an honest mind and a pure purpose. - -She accepted the situation, if such it might be called; purchased the -necessary clothing; donned the jewelry he provided; gave her trust into -his hands, and sailed with him on the ship he selected. - -He was only twenty-four years of age, she but twenty-two. She had not -concealed from him that she was poor and nearly friendless. He was rich -and what is called a man of the world. - -What will happen to the girl on that journey? - - * * * * * - -There can be but two possibilities. Either the man will prove the kind -friend he has represented and they will return able to look the world in -the face without a blush--that is one of them. Or somewhere beneath the -blue waters of the Caribbean Sea the fishes will gnaw the flesh of a -woman who is drowned--that is the other. Let neither delude themselves, -when the hour of temptation comes. There is no possibility outside these -two. - - * * * * * - -I rose and paced the floor in remorse for my ill-spent life, in sympathy -for the unhappy creature whose fears clouded the pleasure I meant to -share with her. - -If there had been, away down in the lowest depths of my wild nature, the -slightest thought of wrong to Marjorie May, it was crushed out of sight -by that pathetic appeal. - -Crushed out of sight, yes! But there are seeds that put forth life with -the dust of years piled above them. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -A THEFT ON BOARD SHIP. - - -The time before the date set for the sailing of the Madiana passed -slowly enough, but contained little that is worth recording at length. -Miss May took another dinner with me, though not in the same restaurant -as before, she expressing a preference for another in a different part -of the city. She came to my room daily about half the time and I went to -hers the rest, for our afternoon talks. Her gowns were fitted, her -baggage made ready; and she sent the trunks out to have the initials -"M.C." marked upon them, to consort with her new title. - -As the date of sailing approached she grew visibly nervous, saying -repeatedly that she would be glad when the ocean waves lay between us -and Manhattan Island, in which sentiment I concurred heartily. On the -day before our departure she expressed a wish to go to the wharf alone, -rather than have me come for her, giving as a reason that she did not -like the people at her lodgings to connect us in that move. This seemed -sensible and I agreed without demur. I had long since ceased to have any -suspicion of her and felt as certain that we would meet at the steamer -as that the boat would sail. - -The evening before the day I was to go, I passed with Tom Barton at his -house. It was the second time I had been there within a week. In some -way Tom fixed it so that Statia consented to dine with us. She did the -best she could, I suppose, to act as usual, but made a poor show of it -to eyes as watchful as mine. - -I got a minute alone with her by accident and tried my best to cheer her -up. - -"I wish you would write me a line or two while I am gone," I said. "If -you send to St. Thomas by the 18th, I ought to get it before I leave -there. The mails are fearfully slow in that part of the world, but they -do arrive eventually. I will let you know how I am getting on, if you -wish it, besides what I send to Tom. I'm not going to let you quarrel -with me any longer." - -She said without much enthusiasm that she would be glad to have me -write, and that perhaps she would do so herself. I did not care to press -the matter, thinking it best to leave it that way. - -On the morning of the 12th I went early to the steamer, inspected the -cabins I had engaged and made arrangements with the head porter to -reserve a good place for my steamer chairs on the after-deck. I was -rather pleased with the accommodations, for I had not expected too much. -Driving back up-town I secured my letter of credit and did a last bit of -shopping. An hour before the time the vessel was to slip her moorings I -was again on board, not wishing Miss May to arrive and find me absent. - -As the passengers arrived, one after another, I looked into their faces -to see if there was a familiar one, but there was none, until Mr. Wesson -came. I exchanged a few words with him about the arrangement of things -in the room we were to occupy jointly. When he left, my attention was -attracted to a woman, just coming up the plank, whom I certainly had -seen before. An elderly man walked just behind her, and as she turned to -speak to him I judged they were together. It was some time before I -remembered where I had seen that face, and when it flashed upon me I -could not restrain a low whistle. - -She was the woman who had advertised in the Herald "Personal" column -that she desired the acquaintance of an "elderly gent," describing -herself as "beautiful of face and form," with her "object matrimony." - -Well, she seemed to have found what she sought and I hoped the "gent" -was also not disappointed. I did not believe that the ceremony of -marriage had been performed between them, but perhaps a temporary -arrangement was equally pleasing to both. One of the stewards took their -hand baggage and descended with it, showing them to their rooms. - -Miss May, arrived finally. I did not recognize her at first, heavily -veiled as she was, though happily without the blue article she had worn -to the restaurant. I rose and escorted her to her cabin, where she -seated herself on the sofa and tried to recover her breath, which I -could not see she had any reason to lose. As soon as she could speak she -asked which was my room; when I told her, she begged me to wait there a -few minutes. - -Rather distressed by her manner I could, nevertheless, do nothing but -comply. After what seemed an endless time I heard her voice, speaking my -name in low tones, and went to see what she wanted. - -"Don't come in!" she said, opening the door slightly. She spoke hardly -above a whisper and yet in a way that conveyed an imperative -prohibition. "Has the boat started yet?" - -"No," I answered. "I think it will go in a few moments." - -"Will you inquire if my baggage has been brought on and have the smaller -trunk sent down here as soon as possible?" - -"You ought to come on deck and see the start," I said. "That is one of -the interesting things of a voyage like this." - -"Oh, no!" she said. "I am feeling faint--I don't know what is the -matter--doubtless I shall be better in a few minutes. I am going to lie -down and see if that makes me more comfortable. Go on deck and amuse -yourself. I shall try to get a nap." - -Seeing that I hesitated she looked pleadingly into my eyes. - -"Please go!" she said. - -I went, swallowing my disappointment. The boat had commenced to move and -I witnessed the usual waving handkerchiefs, tearful eyes, loud good-bys, -and that sort of thing. The elderly gentleman with his well-formed, -matrimonially-inclined lady was apparently enjoying the scene, for both -of them looked happy. Mr. Wesson smiled as I approached and uttered some -commonplace remark, as he made room for me by his side. Each moment the -distance between the Madiana and her late moorings widened; presently we -were well out in the river and proceeding down the Bay. - -Wesson suggested a walk on the deck and as we were both well wrapped up -I saw no objection. I remarked what a wonderful thing it was, how soon -our heavy clothing would be discarded. Ice and snow to-day and summer -garments day after to-morrow. - -"That is due to the Gulf Stream, of course," he replied. - -"Yes. In two days any passenger not actually an invalid can bathe with -pleasure in water pumped from the ocean." - -Wesson expressed his surprise at this statement. We fell to talking of -the islands we were to visit, he appearing deeply interested in all I -had to say. The time was thus occupied until the first dinner bell rang, -when I excused myself to go and look after my "cousin." - -Miss May answered the knock by saying that she had already asked the -stewardess to bring her a cup of tea and would want nothing more. She -would try to get upon the deck to-morrow, if the water was sufficiently -smooth, but at present she was quite unable to move. I was to be at ease -about her and not allow her condition to interfere with my enjoyment. As -there seemed no help for it, I went back to the deck and soon descended -with the others to the dining table. - -I thought it an odd fate that the "elderly gent" with his -matrimonially-inclined companion should be seated at the same table with -myself and Mr. Wesson, but odd things happen continually on shipboard -and this voyage was to prove the rule. There were just eight of us -assigned to that table, a married couple and one man travelling singly, -besides those mentioned. Before we separated I took a printed list of -the passengers, such as had been generally distributed, bearing on the -reverse side a map of the Windward Islands, and requested those present -to mark their names, that I might know them better. Wesson and I marked -ours first. The "elderly gent" put his cross against two names reading -Matthew Howes and Miss Nellie Howes, the married couple endorsed the -names of Mr. and Mrs. H.G. Stone and the single passenger claimed the -title of Robert Edgerly. The seats had been assigned by the steward with -written cards on each plate, and Mr. Edgerly, who sat at my left, took -up that of Miss Carney. - -"We have still another messmate, who has not made her appearance," he -said, to the table in general. "Miss M. Carney." - -"The lady is not feeling well and will not appear to-night," I said. - -"I believe she occupies the stateroom with me," said Miss Howes, to my -surprise. "She is evidently not used to the sea, for she was taken ill -before the steamer left the dock." - -"Miss Carney is my cousin," I explained, forced into it by the inquiring -eyes of Mr. Howes, who evidently connected us in some way. "She was not -very well before we started, is in fact taking the journey mainly for -her health. I hope she will feel able to be out to-morrow." - -With the freedom that sometimes prevails in parties thrown together at a -steamer table the conversation then became general, and before we rose I -knew that Mr. Edgerly claimed Albany as his home and Mr. and Mrs. Stone, -Montpelier, Vt.; while Mr. and Miss Howes said they resided in -Binghamton. It helps very much in remembering people to get a city or -town tacked on to their names, and I wrote the locations on my passenger -list. - -It was a dull evening, in spite of the fact that I passed it in the -smoking room, where considerable cheap wit was bandied about and my -fellow-passengers got acquainted with each other and with me. The -push-button was kept busy until the steward in charge of that department -gave signs of exhaustion. I drank very little, though I paid for several -rounds, after the fashion of most Americans, who think such proceedings -necessary to preserve their self-respect. - -At last, when there was nothing else to do, I went to my cabin and to -bed. - -Before breakfast I saw the stewardess and asked her to learn how Miss -Carney was and whether she would be at the table. She soon returned with -the information that the lady thought it best not to leave her room, and -that she wished me to procure her a list of the passengers. This I did, -marking the addresses of those who sat at our table, and scrawling a bit -of advice on the margin, recommending her to make her appearance on deck -during the forenoon as the sea was remarkably smooth. - -After leaving the table I took a novel called "His Foster Sister," which -somebody told me had a reference to the Islands, and seeking my steamer -chair became absorbed in its contents. - -In a short time Mr. Edgerly came along and dropped into my second chair -in a friendly way. He also had a book and it was some time before we -engaged in conversation beyond the customary greetings. - -My first impression of Edgerly was decidedly favorable. He was -apparently a jolly sort of chap, ready for a joke or story and not -inclined to be a bore. We got along together famously until about eleven -o'clock, when Miss May came slowly up the companion way, with the -stewardess to assist her. Edgerly saw her before I did and sprang to -offer her his arm. As she looked into his face and detected that it was -that of a stranger, she drew back, but he reassured her in low tones. - -"You must permit me to help you to your chair," he said, "which I have -just vacated. It's evident you cannot reach it without aid." - -By this time I had arrived at her side and Miss May took my arm, leaning -very heavily upon it. I was surprised to find her so weak and as soon as -she was seated I asked if there was anything I could order to give her -strength. - -"No," she replied, faintly. "I shall be better soon. Please wrap the rug -around me." - -The stewardess had the rug on her arm and at my request placed it over -the lady's skirts, tucking in the ends about her feet. She wore her -cloak and a steamer cap, and seemed provided against the coolness of the -air, which was still marked. - -When the stewardess had gone, and Edgerly also, for he disappeared at -once, I waited for Miss May to speak again, but she lay with closed eyes -so long that I grew uneasy. - -"There is a doctor among the passengers," I said. "I think when you go -below, you had best let him see you. I am alarmed at your condition." - -She raised herself and surveyed the decks in every direction. Then she -took a less recumbent position. - -"Who is the man that came to me at the top of the stairs?" she asked, in -a whisper. - -"His name is Edgerly and he is from Albany. I never saw him till -yesterday." - -"He has called at the office of my last employer, and I am afraid he -recognized me. Did he say anything to intimate it?" - -"No," I answered. "There is not one chance in a thousand that he -remembers you. I never in my life have looked closely enough at a -stenographer to know her if we met outside." - -"I hope he doesn't," she said, uneasily. "I felt so sure there would be -no one here who had ever seen me!" - -"His chair is next yours at the table," I remarked. "If he intimates -that your face is known to him you have only to convince him that he is -mistaken." - -"I want that seat changed," she said, earnestly. "Can't you sit between -us? I--I can't explain why, but I don't like him. What business had he -to offer me his arm?" - -I laughed at the serious way she regarded the matter, saying he had only -done as any gentleman might, but added that I would certainly put her -between myself and Mr. Wesson, if she preferred. - -"And who is Mr. Wesson?" she asked. - -"My room-mate, that I told you about. He is a splendid fellow." - -"Can you see him anywhere at this moment?" she asked, looking around. - -"Yes--he is there, talking with the second officer--the man with the -white cap. If he comes this way I will present you." - -She said there was no need of haste, that she did not wish to meet the -passengers any more than was absolutely necessary; when we went to the -table would be quite time enough. - -"Mr. Camwell," she added, after a pause, "you can't imagine how I feel. -If I had dreamed I should experience such sensations I never would have -come." - -"What sensations?" I asked, rather shortly, for I thought she might -consider my feelings a little. - -"The sensation of being a deceiver of those about me; the shame of -passing for what I am not; the dread of somehow being exposed for what I -am." - -I grew angrier as she proceeded. - -"If you were not ill," I said, "I should be out of patience with you. -What awful crime have you committed? You are travelling in a perfectly -respectable way, with a respectable party of people; occupying a room -with a lady; acting in a rational manner except for these vagaries, -which I must ask you to suppress. To be sure the name assigned you on -the passenger list is not your own, but plenty of people travel -incognito, even princes and dukes, for that matter. You make a mountain -out of a molehill. Your whole journey will be ruined--and mine, if you -care anything about that--if you go on as you have begun." - -She begged my pardon humbly, saying she would do her best to amend her -conduct in the future. And, as usual, the moment she took this attitude, -I repented of my hard words and assured her I had no intention of being -too critical. - -"The lady who occupies the room with me is very agreeable," was her next -observation. "She offered to do anything she could to relieve my head -last night, and this morning she bathed it with cologne for half an -hour." - -"She sits opposite us at the table," I said. "With her uncle." - -"I am glad of that. I feel quite acquainted with her now." - -Then she assayed a question of the sort that eminate from women. - -"Don't you think her very handsome?" - -"She's not bad looking," I admitted. - -"I call her magnificent. Such a face and form do not often go together." - -I wanted to reply, "So she said in her advertisement," but I merely -nodded. - -"There is another woman on this boat that I would not exchange for a -thousand of her," I said, presently, in a low voice. - -"Point her out to me," said Miss May. "I would like to know what your -ideal is." - -"Look in your mirror," I responded. - -"Why do you think it necessary," she asked, frowning, "to pay me that -kind of compliment?" - -"I think it necessary to refrain from doing so, but sometimes I grow -forgetful." - -She saw that I was very sober again. - -"If you meant what you say, it would not be so wicked," she replied, -gently. - -"You know very well that I mean it." - -"Mr. Camwell," she said, leaning very close to me, "we are obliged to -lie to outsiders, in the contract we have assumed. Let us always tell -the truth to each other." - -"If I told you the truth," I responded, gloomily, "you would not sit -where you are. You would find strength to walk down those stairs and -back to your room alone." - -She grew slightly paler, though her cheeks were waxen enough before. - -"Then do not tell it to me just now," she replied, with an attempt at a -laugh. "I would rather remain on deck where the air is purer." - -When the lunch bell rang I advised Miss May to take her repast where she -was, promising to send a steward to her with a bill of fare. It pleased -me to learn when I came back that she had made quite a meal and was -feeling considerably better. - - * * * * * - -The succeeding two days contained nothing of high importance, but there -were several little things that deserve to be chronicled. - -The first time Marjorie came to the table and was introduced by me to -the others as "Miss Carney," I fancied that a smile rested lightly on -the features of Miss Howes, for which I could not account. Marjorie was -seated between Mr. Wesson and me, and I saw with pleasure that they -seemed likely to be good friends. It was desirable in the interest of -our general plan that she and I should not act as if there was no one -else in the world. Stone and his wife were quiet people, who rarely -spoke unless first addressed. Edgerly was good-natured but not -obtrusive. The most of the talk, therefore, at table, came from Mr. and -Miss Howes, Wesson and myself. We got to be at last a rather jolly -party. - -Carrying out my plan, now that Miss May had apparently recovered from -her indisposition, I left her alone a good deal, or rather with one or -more of the others as her companion on deck. They aroused in her an -interest in the trip, for which I was glad. Edgerly probably talked with -her the least of all, and she told me he never mentioned having seen her -before. Miss Howes was her most constant companion, quite naturally, -when it is considered that they roomed in one cabin. - -But on the third day out, just before dinner time, Miss May came to me -with a distressed face that showed unusual perturbation. She was -actually trembling and her eyes looked as if she had been weeping. - -"A terrible thing has happened!" she said, when I followed her to a -place where no one could overhear us. "I would not tell you if I could -help it, but you will have to know." Then, in response to my inquiring -look, she added, "Some one has entered my stateroom and robbed me!" - -As far as she could learn, nothing had been taken but her turquoise -ring, but the feeling that her effects were unsafe agitated her greatly. -In response to questions she said she had left the ring on a little rack -above the washbowl, when she washed her hands for lunch, as she had done -twice before. She was absolutely certain where she put it, but had made -a thorough search of her handbag, the only other place it could have -been. - -I told her not to get excited, but to ask the stewardess, whom I would -send to her when she went down again, if she had seen it. I remarked, -also, that I believed a theft on that line under such conditions was of -extremely rare occurrence, and that she had best quiet her nerves until -an investigation could be made. - -"But it was your ring--it really belonged to you--" she stammered, "and -I feel ever so much worse than if it were my own." - -"That is mere casuistry," I replied, "but, if it pleases you to call all -your things mine, of course, you will continue doing so. Whosever it is, -we must do our best to recover it." - -At dinner Miss May whispered to me that the stewardess had made a -diligent search, but without effect. The meal passed rather dully. Miss -May was pale and distraught. I sympathized with her, though the value of -the lost article was not great. I wished I had some of the intuition of -a Monsieur Lecoq that I might place the offence on the right person and -relieve the strain I could not help feeling. - -It must be one of the stewards, who were continually in and out of the -adjacent rooms, or a fellow passenger. In either case something of the -ease and comfort of the voyage was lost. A mosquito who enters your room -at night is not as large as a lion nor on the whole quite as dangerous; -but he can, if he chooses, banish sleep from your eyes. - -That confounded ring made a lot of trouble. I began to suspect -everybody on board. The stewardess promised to say nothing of the -occurrence, and I at first followed the same course. The only one I did -tell, and that the next day, was Mr. Wesson, and the contribution he -made to the case was merely a depressed shake of the head and a -long-drawn sigh. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A LITTLE GAME OF CARDS. - - -The reader will doubtless have come to the conclusion that I was by this -time tired of my bargain and wished Miss Marjorie May had never come -across my path. On the contrary I was well satisfied with the way things -were going, in the main. The ocean has a charm for me that nothing else -can equal. The bracing effect of the sea air was being felt in every -fibre of my frame. Miss May's coolness was not of a kind to annoy me -seriously, and much better than the opposite extreme would have been. -There was nothing like a breach between us. She was merely allowing me -to get the full benefit of my voyage. - -I had never, at any time, feared that I would experience trouble in -passing my time while on shipboard. My dread was of the days to be spent -ashore, and for these she would be with me to divert my mind. The matter -of the stolen ring was a mere incident of travel, and might have -happened anywhere. The intrinsic value of the article was small. It -would not be hard to replace it. - -Miss May asked me the day after the ring was missed if I knew anything -about her roommate. She said it in a way that showed suspicion and set -me to thinking. "Miss Howes" had plenty of jewelry of her own, and was -hardly likely to purloin the turquoise; but I knew her to be rather -"off color," and more open to suspicion than a woman of different -character. I asked Capt. Fraser, the commander of the boat, what the -record of the stewardess was, without leading him to guess my object, -and when he told me I dismissed all thoughts against her. - -It might have been Miss Howes, it might have been one of the stewards. I -urged Miss May to think of it as little as possible. - -But this was not to be. Miss Howes told her during the day that she also -had lost some jewelry, taken from a bag that, more careful than Miss -May, she had locked. The article consisted of a bracelet of the value of -$300, and was a serious affair. Miss May was obliged to relate her own -misfortune, and Mr. Howes, when the matter was brought to his attention, -went straight to the captain with the news. A vigorous questioning -followed of all the steward's staff, but without result. There was -nothing to clear up the mystery. - -Miss Howes being certain that her bag was locked made the theft seem -that of an expert, who was provided with keys. Her "uncle" thought it -best after that to put the bag into his own steamer trunk, which had a -peculiar lock that he did not believe could be opened except by force. -Before night I discovered that a diamond stud, the only valuable jewel I -ever wore, had been taken from my own room, but when I could not tell. I -had not worn it on the trip, nor indeed for some time previous, and had -carried it along merely because it happened to be in a small box with -some cuff-studs and collar buttons. I locked my trunk after that, but -said nothing about the loss. - -The next morning when Marjorie reported, with tears, that her earrings -had also disappeared, I comforted her as well as I could, but I felt -that both of us had been culpably careless in leaving our valuables -about so loosely. - -Wesson learned of the loss of these jewels and said in a quiet way that -he was going to try to unearth the rascal. He spent hours at a time in -our room, listening for approaching steps in that part of the steamer, -besides interviewing the ladies at length. I thought he acted as if -suspicion might fall on himself, occupying quarters so near the scene of -the theft, but this was of course ridiculous. - -Miss May had now made the acquaintance of several passengers, and had -little need of my companionship. I got into the habit of spending -considerable time in the smoking room, where cigars and cards were the -attraction, besides an occasional story from a passenger. Of course, I -played in a few games, sometimes for fun and oftener for a small stake. -My luck is usually good, and I began to be pointed out as a man ahead of -the game. One evening, on a very low limit indeed, I retired $75 ahead, -though at the last I really tried my best to lose. - -Edgerly, who was on the opposite side, and had given up considerable of -this coin, was one of the best-natured fellows I had ever seen. He was -equally jolly whether luck was on his side or against him. I chummed -with him more than with any of the other passengers, now that Wesson had -gone into the business of amateur detective. Sometimes when I was with -Miss May, Edgerly would come and sit by us, addressing an occasional -remark to her. She had not learned to like him, however, and he did not -find it very agreeable. - -"Miss Carney has never forgiven me for offering to assist her that day -she came on deck," he said to me, once. "I meant well enough, I'm sure. -I knew that she was in your party, for I saw you when you came on board, -and I thought it as easy to help her as to call your attention to her -presence." - -I made light of the matter, saying that my cousin was of a very retiring -disposition and made few acquaintances when travelling. In talking with -her afterwards I asked her to treat my friend as politely as she could, -as I felt that she injured his feelings. - -"If he was a true gentleman he never would complain of such a little -thing," she answered, coldly. "But, of course, I am in your service--" - -"Then do as I ask," I replied, shortly. "The next time he comes to speak -to either of us, don't act toward him like a she-bear." - -She promised meekly to obey; and an hour later, when I went to look for -my steamer chair I found Edgerly in it, apparently on very good terms -with his neighbor. They were laughing over something at the moment, -which seemed to please both mightily. Rejoiced at the change I did not -make my proximity known, but went back to the smoking room. - -That evening the fact that we were to see our first land the next day -was the general topic of conversation. Several of us who had made the -voyage before were airing our wisdom, when Edgerly entered the smoking -room and, slapping me a shade too familiarly on the back, asked if I was -ready to give him his revenge for the times I had worsted him at poker. -He was too evidently under the influence of liquor and I did not like to -play with him while in that condition. When I made an excuse, however, -the Albanian looked so downhearted that I altered my decision and said I -would play him for anything from a glass of soda up. - -There was no need of putting our stakes on the table, as we were both -supposed to be gentlemen. All I wanted was to leave the steamer at St. -Thomas with none of his cash in my pocket. In this I succeeded, as will -appear, even better than I could have hoped. - -In a quick succession of plays Edgerly convinced me that he had a hand -which he could rely on. Before I hardly realized it, I had over $200 in -the game. I heard a low whisper at my elbow. It was from Wesson and -conveyed a warning to drop out at the earliest opportunity. Edgerly -noticed what was up as quickly as I, and neither of us relished the -interference. At that instant my opponent raised me $200 and having -three aces I called. - -Edgerly's face lit up with joy as he exhibited a straight flush of -diamonds, king at the head. - -Success had transformed my quiet friend. He put his hand on the cash -which I counted out to him, uttering an exultant yell, as he gathered it -up, $425. His exultation, or at least his manner of showing it, was -quite out of place, I thought, in a game between friends; but I merely -rose, and remarking that I would now take my evening stroll and smoke -on deck, went out. The moon was at its full. In my admiration for its -beautiful effect on the sea I forgot for the moment the folly of which I -had just been guilty. But Wesson soon joined me, as was his nightly -custom, and began to talk of what had just occurred. - -"Some other topic of conversation would please me better," I responded. -"It is not a delightful reflection that one has been drawn into a course -against which his better judgment distinctly warned him." - -"But the man is a fraud," he persisted. "He did not win your money -honestly, and if I were you I would make him give it back." - -"Pshaw!" said I. "He's the better player, that's all. I lost my head and -got over-excited. Now, we must drop the subject, as I wish to think of -it no more." - -Seeing that I was determined, Wesson obliged me and nothing more was -said about the unpleasant matter. The next morning Edgerly was not at -the breakfast table. Some time later, as I was walking the deck, he came -toward me, with a good-natured greeting, though his face bore evidence -of the foolish amount of liquor he had swallowed the night before. - -"I'm afraid," he said, "that I won more of your money yesterday than I -intended. I was astounded this morning when I counted what I had in my -pocket. You must let me return at least a part of it. In a gentleman's -game--" - -I interrupted with the statement that I had no fault to find and that I -should not listen to any proposition of that nature. My pride was hurt -by a suggestion that I would crawl out of the result of my own acts. - -"Oh, well, if you insist," he said, in a disappointed tone. "I am -disgusted with myself for getting in that condition, which is something -I seldom do. There is one thing you must do, however. Let me give you -back the cash in exchange for a check or note. I would not for anything -leave you short of ready money on a trip like this, and I know -travellers seldom think it necessary to carry a great deal about them." - -I had not thought of that, but it did occur to me as he spoke that with -two persons in my party, and a journey without fixed limits, I might, as -he said, run short before I reached home again. There was nothing -lowering to my pride in exchanging my check for the money he had won. I -thanked Mr. Edgerly and said, on reflection, that if it really made no -difference to him, I would write him a check for whatever sum he pleased -to exchange. And I proceeded to do so for $350, as he named that figure. - -Wesson came up just as we parted, but I did not think it necessary to -inform him of what had taken place. To tell the truth I did not exactly -like the air of protector that he was putting on over me of late. It -seemed impertinent when he warned me to leave the card table, just -before my heavy loss, for I would rather a hundred times have dropped -the amount than exhibit myself as a craven before my fellow passengers. - -Nor did I fancy his characterization of Edgerly as a sharper. I saw -nothing to justify the assertion. He had taken his losses like a man -when the luck ran my way, and no one, so far as I was aware, had -indicated that I stacked the cards. - -I resolved to show Wesson, if he interfered any more in my affairs that -I resented his conduct. He was a well meaning fellow and I had no wish -to quarrel with him; but there are limits to forbearance. - -"Have you told any one on the steamer that you are going to leave at St. -Thomas?" Miss May asked me, soon after breakfast, when the outlines of -the island were in view. - -"The purser has our tickets. Why?" - -"If we could get away without any of the passengers knowing, I would be -very glad. I hate good-bys. Everybody will go ashore. Let us be the last -to leave, and put our baggage in a separate boat." - -I thought her reason a strange one, but she was to be my sole companion -for a long time now, and I wished to please her in every way. I -responded that I would do as she said, and even ask the purser not to -mention my intention to any one. - -The warm clasp she gave my hand would have repaid me for a much greater -effort to suit her. Her eyes shone with a new happiness and her cheeks, -which had been pale ever since the boat left New York, took on a faint -tinge of color. - -Lunch was served just before landing and at the table Edgerly asked me -what there was to see on the island. I mentioned the points of -particular interest, which to tell the truth are few, though the town of -Charlotte Amélie is in itself well worth a visit. - -"I shall spend the day with old friends," I added. "I feel quite like a -resident here." - -Only those who have sailed into this harbor will appreciate its special -beauties. I had been a warm friend of the project of annexing the Danish -Islands, consisting, besides St. Thomas, of St. Croix and St. John, to -the possessions of the United States, ever since I was here before. -While neither a jingo nor a land grabber, the value of St. Thomas from a -naval standpoint is so apparent to one who will stop and think that I -have hardly patience to argue the matter with opponents of the scheme. - -If the United States is to maintain a navy, an occasional coaling -station somewhere away from the coast is of prime importance; and these -islands are offered us for an insignificant sum by Denmark, who with her -crippled commerce has no longer any use for them. - -St. Thomas has a harbor that can accommodate a great number of vessels, -a floating dock, immense coal wharves, skilled artisans for the repair -of ships, and a conformation from which could be made a small Gibraltar -with reasonable expense. - -The Trans-Atlantic cable lands here, giving communication with all parts -of the world. In case of a war with any European country the possession -of St. Thomas would be of incalculable value to us. However much one may -love peace, it is poor policy in these days to be unprepared for a -conflict. China is the latest instance of a great country that finds -itself open to the assaults of any fifth-rate power. - -When it was first proposed to sell St. Thomas to the American nation (in -1867, I believe) a vote of the inhabitants showed but 14 opposed to the -plan. No European government has expressed the slightest objection to -the purchase. I only hope that before this story is published a bill to -that effect will have been signed by President M'Kinley. - -"Aren't you going ashore?" asked Mr. Wesson, as he passed down the -stairs to a rowboat, in which the Howes, "uncle" and "niece," and -Edgerly were already seated. - -Just then I heard my name called by a voice from an approaching -skiff--my right name, this time. - -"Camran!" came the voice. It was awkward, but I must try to explain it -as an error, in case anybody noticed. - -It was Edward Moron, agent of the line, whose acquaintance I had made in -my former visit. I would have known his white helmet and Dundreary -whiskers anywhere, but at the moment he was most inconvenient. - -I waved my walking stick in reply, and as soon as he could get on board -he grasped my hand. Excusing myself from Miss May for a moment, I -followed him some steps away. - -"Confound you!" I said, "my name is not Camran, but Camwell." - -"It used to be 'Camran,' I'll take my oath to that," he replied. "But, -whatever name it is, how are you? Going to stop here, I hope." - -"Till evening," I answered, for I feared if I told him the truth he -might tell it to other passengers, who would be sure to run across him. -"Now, answer me a question. Is Eggert's place in quarantine?" - -It was not, for which I was profoundly grateful. If I was to stay in St. -Thomas at all I wanted to stay at the Quarantine Station, where I had -been before--the only quarantine in the world where a man is happier -inside than out. - -I went to tell Miss May that we could go to Eggert's, and then to ask my -stateroom steward to have my baggage brought on deck. - -"I don't want you to tell anybody that I leave the boat here," I said, -flourishing a five dollar bill in his face. "Now, mind!" - -He promised. The baggage came duly up and two boats were engaged to take -us directly to Eggert's. - -With the lightest heart I had known for a year, I helped my fair -companion down and heard the oars of our negro boatmen splash in the -waters of the harbor. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -BATHING IN THE SURF. - - -There was something really delightful in the way Eggert received me. (I -am not going to put "Mister" before his name--even his wife does not do -that, in ordinary conversation.) He heard "Laps," the dog, barking -violently and came to the veranda to ascertain the reason. - -"Do you know me?" I asked. - -"Know you!" he said, grasping both my hands heartily, and looking from -me to Miss May. "Of course, I know you. Where did you come from? I am so -happy to see you again!" - -I introduced my "cousin," and he gave her as cordial greeting as he had -given me. - -"Why, even Laps knows you," he said, as the dog barked and capered -around us. "Mother will be very glad to see you. You came on the -Madiana? How good you were to think of us and come out here!" - -Mrs. Eggert soon appeared and answered my numerous questions. The eldest -daughter was married and lived in the town. The children had gone there -to spend the day, but would soon return. - -Of course we were going to remain to dinner. - -When I said we might stay a week or more, it was plain that we were very -welcome. Rooms were assigned us, on one of the verandas, I having my -old one, by special request, and Miss May the one next to mine. - -Eggert walked up and down with me, smiling broadly and talking of the -old days when our party was quarantined there. There never was another -party like it, he insisted. He produced a large photograph that he had -taken of the entire group, with donkeys and negroes in the foreground. - -"This was your room," he said, indicating it. "Mr. A---- had the next -one, Mr. H---- the next, Mr. Mapp the other, and so on. We never had a -party like that before or since. You were all so good natured and had -such a good time!" - -I responded that he did very well for us, which aided in our enjoyment, -and that I had not thought of staying at a hotel unless his place was -quarantined; which pleased him mightily. - -When Miss May retired to her room to arrange her dress, Eggert asked me -slyly if she was to be the future Mrs. Camran. This reminded me that I -had reached a fork of the road, where I must either take this whole -family into my secret or explain my change of name to my companion. The -latter was decided upon as the most feasible. When she emerged and drew -a chair to the edge of the veranda to admire the prospect of land and -sea I told her that henceforth she must call me by a new name. - -She looked inquiringly into my face. - -"Do you remember suggesting on the steamer," I asked, "that as we had to -lie to others we ought to tell the truth among ourselves? Well, my name -is Camran, not Camwell. The family here will call me by that name, and -as there is no need of deceiving you, I will admit that it is the -correct one." - -"But why," she asked, "did you use the other? Was it because you were -afraid to trust me?" - -"Remember how little I knew you," I said. - -"Quite as well as I knew you," she replied, reproachfully. - -"And have you told me the entire truth in all things?" - -She reddened deeply. - -"Your name, then, is David Camran--am I right now?" she asked. - -"Donald Camran," I corrected. "That is my real name and henceforth you -may call me so; unless we come across any of the Madiana's passengers, -in which case consistency will compel you to use the old one." - -Miss May seemed agitated by my last remark. - -"How can we meet them?" she asked. "Is not our separation from them -final?" - -"It is supposed to be; but how can we tell that some may not follow our -example and stop off at one of the islands? In that case it is quite -possible we may encounter them as we proceed on our journey." - -She did not seem to like the idea, but remained silent for some minutes. - -"Does any person, on the Madiana, know that the name in the passenger -list is not your true one?" she said, finally. - -"Yes. Mr. Wesson knows; and Mr. Edgerly." - -She put her hand over her mouth with a quick motion, as if to suppress a -scream. - -"How could you tell those casual acquaintances what you concealed from -me?" she said, hoarsely. - -"What difference can it make? I was introduced to Wesson in the office -of the steamship agent, some time before we sailed, as I remember -telling you. We exchanged cards. When he afterwards saw the way my name -was spelled on the list he asked me how it happened and I ascribed it to -a printer's error. I added, that as all the passengers would probably -call me Camwell, it was easier for him to do so than to explain the -mistake to fifty people." - -"Yes," said Miss May, slowly. "And--Edgerly?" - -I thought she was awfully pressing, but I wanted to keep on good terms -with her and I proceeded to account for his knowledge also. - -"Well, Miss Inquisitive, Edgerly's case was like this: He won a small -sum of money from me at poker and was kind enough to offer to refund it, -and take my check for the amount. Thinking I might want the ready money -to buy you a paper of pins or something of that sort I accepted his -proposal with thanks. Of course, he asked what right I had to sign the -name of Donald Camran to the check, and of course, I told him of the -agent's 'error' on the passenger list. There! Is there anything else you -would like to know?" - -Saying this I took the hand nearest me in mine, to show that my -bantering was entirely good natured, and was surprised to find it quite -cold. - -"Marjorie!" I exclaimed. "You are ill!" - -She smiled faintly and admitted that she had a slight chill. I persuaded -her to take a hot drink and went at once to prepare it. When I returned -she had gone to her room and was bathing her face with cologne water. -Her hair, which she had combed with care half an hour earlier, was much -disarranged and her eyes were swollen. - -"Come in and sit down," she said. Then, as I hesitated, she added, "Oh, -you can leave the door open." - -The door was a frame affair covered with mosquito bar, there being -nothing more seclusive in the house. Cold weather never reaches St. -Thomas at any time of year. I explained to her that to leave the door -open was to invite the intrusion of insects. - -"I am going to lie down," she replied. "My head aches." She drank part -of the liquid I had brought. "We can't be prudish," she said, then. "The -door is practically open at all times, for it is free to admit light and -sound. Are you afraid to be alone with me? Perhaps you had best send for -one of the servants to guard you." - -"Or Laps?" I suggested, laughing. - -I entered and took a chair, while she arranged herself upon the bed, -with pillows to prop her up into a half-sitting posture. - -"Don," she began. "You will let me call you Don?" - -"You can call me what you please," I said. "Don or anything else that -begins with D. 'Dear' or 'Darling,' if that suits you better." - -I could not make her smile. - -"Are you very, very sorry you took me with you?" she asked, earnestly. - -"Not very, very." - -"But--you wish you hadn't?" - -I shook my head decidedly. - -"Of what use am I to you?" she asked. - -"Women were never made to be of use," I answered. "They are like -bouquets, meant to fill the atmosphere with beauty and fragrance." - -"And--do I do that--for you?" - -I kissed the fingers she placed in mine. The smile came to her face at -last. - -"I shall be ready to begin the typewriting to-morrow," she said. "I -understand the machine now, I think, well enough." (She had practiced on -it in her cabin on the Madiana, several days, for some hours.) "I shall -be glad when I am doing a little to earn the salary you pay me." - -I made a grimace. The confounded record of my family's descent was far -from interesting me at that moment. - -"You earn more than your salary every hour," I said. "I am immensely in -your debt already. By the way, I must pay you what I owe, before the sum -gets any larger. It is quite three weeks and you have had nothing." - -I counted out sixty dollars in gold coin and she took it without a word. -She was always doing something strange and I had ceased to wonder. I had -imagined that she would say it was too much--or that I had reckoned the -date of service too far back, or something of that kind. - -"Would you bathe my head a little?" she asked, indicating the cologne. - -I bathed her forehead, and found it as much too hot as her hands were -too cold. It had a soothing effect on me, as well as on her, this -action. It made me feel as I had not felt before, that our fortunes -were really for the time running in the same mold. - -"Perhaps you could sleep a little before dinner," I suggested, after a -time. "Let me leave you to try." - -She thanked me and before my hand left her, she put it gratefully to her -lips. She did not kiss it, but rather breathed upon it a sigh of -appreciation. - -Thorwald and Ingeborg had just arrived from town and it was evident that -the former's claim that he remembered me was founded on fact. The little -girl was too young at my former visit to recollect anything about it, -but she seemed to know me in a way and nodded when her mother asked if -she did not remember my face in the photograph that hung in the dining -room. Thorwald was now nine and about the finest specimen of a little -man I have ever seen. His father could not conceal his pride in the boy, -and I did not blame him. - -"Ah, I am very happy with that little fellow!" he said, repeatedly. - -I looked over the harbor just before dinner was served and saw the -Madiana getting under way, bound for St. Croix (or Santa Cruz, as we are -more apt to call it.) Eggert rigged his powerful telescope for me in the -doorway, where I could see without being seen. - -I easily picked out the passengers who were on deck. Mr. and Miss Howes -and Mr. Edgerly were in one group. They were talking earnestly, and I -guessed that Miss May and myself were quite likely the subject of their -conversation. - -I imagined them wondering whether our stay on shore was the result of -design or accident. I hoped Howes was getting his money's worth and -that his "niece" was satisfied with the fish she had caught with her -Herald hook. As far as I could judge neither of them had thus far -repented of their bargain. - -I could hardly believe the lady had taken Miss May's ring, that she had -entered my room and walked off with my shirt-stud. There was a big -difference, it seemed to me, between a love affair based on natural law -and a deliberate theft. The mysterious disappearance of the jewelry -would probably never be accounted for and I certainly cared very little -about it. - -My companion came to the table, but ate sparingly. The meal suited me to -perfection, especially the fresh fish, drawn that day from the -Caribbean, which swarms in the most appetizing varieties. The butter -came in tins from Denmark, and was not bad. There was a ragout, some -cakes, plenty of oranges and "figs," as the small yellow bananas are -called in the Islands, good black coffee and cheese, and a fine _petit -verre_ of brandy to top off with. - -Eggert and his wife dined with us at my earnest request. - -The quarantine master filled up the time with little reminiscences of my -former stay, which he remembered much better than I. He pointed to the -exact spot where each of the "famous party" sat at the table and laughed -himself nearly into a fit as he spoke of the jokes Mapp played on the -good-natured Haytian Jew we had named from his home town--"Puerta -Plata." One of the guests of that day was the grandson of an American -president and another the son of an American senator, but that did not -harm either. A more diversified party, it is safe to say, were never -placed together in a quarantine, or made the time pass in livelier -fashion. - -When dinner ended the Madiana was out of sight. Miss May's headache had -vanished and she passed the evening with me on the veranda, inspecting -the stars through the telescope. They seemed brighter and larger than in -America and what knowledge I had of their names and locations (gained -principally three years before from the grandson of the President, who -was an amateur astronomer of no mean acquirements) I imparted freely. - -"You seem ever so much better in health than when we left New York," -said my companion. - -"I am," was my reply. "The sea always does wonders for me. I have lost -entirely the nervous feeling I had before we started." - -"I wish I could say as much," she said. "I dread, for instance, going to -bed alone in this strange place. Those shadows dancing on the grass -almost terrify me." - -"I will get Eggert to put a lock on your door," I said. "He must have -one somewhere and he is an excellent carpenter." - -She shuddered till her teeth chattered. - -"Not for the world!" she said. "I could not sleep with the door locked. -I should feel as if I were choking. There is always a chance that one -may be taken ill and have to call for help. With a locked door, what -could I do? No, no! I will conquer my fears, which I admit are foolish -ones." - -"The station is surrounded by a high fence," I said, "and the gate -cannot be unbarred from the outside. You are perfectly safe. My room is -close by. If the slightest thing alarms you, you have only to speak." - -She breathed with difficulty. It was plain that her terrors were -genuine. - -"You will come--if I call you?" she asked. - -"Assuredly." - -"Do you sleep as lightly as that?" - -"I sleep like a child, as a general thing; but my name spoken by your -voice will wake me instantly." - -We went to her door, where she parted from me with little ceremony and -in twenty minutes I was unconscious. The night passed without the -summons from her that I half expected. In the morning she admitted that -after some delay she had gone to sleep and enjoyed a good rest. - -Among the articles we brought was a bathing suit for each of us, for I -remembered the pleasant beach at the foot of the rocks. At five o'clock, -to escape the burning rays of the sun which rises soon after, Miss May -came from her room, looking as pretty as can be imagined. Her sleeveless -arms were even rounder than I had anticipated, and her low-cut vest told -a pleasant tale. The long black hose were filled symmetrically and the -short skirt revealed just enough to make the picture enchanting. - -"You look wonderfully well in that costume," she said, evidently to -anticipate what I was going to say. So I contented myself with replying, -"And you." - -The water was quite warm enough and we enjoyed the surf hugely. What I -did enjoy however, was the sight of a man on the veranda of Eggert's, -apparently awaiting our return. - -No less a person, in short, than Mr. Wesson, our late fellow passenger, -whom we supposed forty miles away at St. Croix! - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -"OH! THIS NAUGHTY BOY!" - - -As has been intimated once or twice before, I had modified to some -degree the liking I at first entertained for Mr. Wesson. He interfered -in my affairs rather more than was to my taste. I had never placed -myself under his guardianship. He had no right to advise or to warn me -on any subject whatever. As I beheld him on the veranda at Eggert's I -saw in his presence a new impertinence which I was far from relishing. -If there had been any way to avoid him I would have done so gladly. - -Of course Miss May had no means of knowing what was in my mind. She -therefore waved her hand to Wesson as soon as she recognized his face -and on coming nearer gave him a cordial welcome. - -"Well, this is a surprise!" he exclaimed, glancing from one of us to the -other. "You did not tell me you intended to stop at St. Thomas and I -supposed you still on the Madiana." - -"How comes it you are here, yourself?" I asked, pointedly. "I do not -recollect that you expressed any intention of leaving the boat." - -"Did I not?" he asked, as if surprised. "I could have sworn I did until -you spoke. I certainly made you talk about this island, for hours at a -time, and I thought you understood it. I feel almost as well acquainted -with Mr. Eggert and his family, through your descriptions, as if I had -actually been here before. Being an early riser I inquired the way this -morning, at the Hotel du Commerce, and walked out to see the place you -had made so attractive. One of the darkies let me in at the gate, and -here I am." - -It was plain enough now. He had supposed I understood his intention, -though he had never, I was sure, put the statement into words. He had as -much right there as I, if it came to that. There was really no reason -why I should treat him uncivilly. - -Miss May went on to her room and I waited a moment before going to mine. - -"Now you are here," I said, "you will of course take breakfast with -me--or at least coffee, if you are in too much haste to wait longer." - -"I'm not in the least haste," he responded, "and I accept your -invitation with great pleasure." - -"I've found an old friend here, Mr. Eggert," I said, as that individual -appeared in a doorway. "We came on the Madiana together." - -Asking Eggert to entertain him for a little while I went to dress. Miss -May heard me come in and spoke through the thin partition between our -rooms. - -"You didn't act overjoyed to see Mr. Wesson," she said. - -"No. He's a sort of 'third person makes a crowd,' you know." - -"You're a selfish fellow. But wasn't that bath delightful!" - -"Perfection. Did I overstate it, when I described it to you yesterday?" - -"Not in the least--ough!" - -"What is the matter?" - -"I've stuck a pin in my finger." - -"I'm _so_ sorry!" - -Then followed sounds which indicated that the finger was being placed in -her mouth to assuage the pain. - -"What a pity you are not a girl!" she said, a little later. "You could -help dress me and save a lot of trouble." - -"I could help dress you without that awful alternative," I replied. "I -am like the pilot in the story, I know every rock in the harbor." - -"Oh, I've no doubt. Look out, like that same pilot, you're not wrecked -on one of them some day." - -"Can you manage a string tie?" I asked, as a more important subject was -forced on my attention. - -I always made a mess of that operation and this morning my luck was -worse than usual. - -"Easily," she said. "Do you want me to fix yours?" - -"I wish you would." - -"I will, with pleasure," she said. "Come in here when you are ready; or, -shall I come there?" - -"For goodness' sake don't come just yet!" I exclaimed, thinking I heard -her step. "I am not at all prepared. In fact that tie is about the only -article of dress I have on." - -"Don't be afraid," came the mocking tones. "I am in much the same -situation. Fifteen minutes from now we will both be ready, and then I -shall be at your service." - -After several minutes of silence I inquired whether any more pins had -proved unruly. - -"No, I'm getting on pretty well. Say, can you get at your soap?" - -"Why, do you want some?" - -"Yes." - -"How can I get it to you?" - -"Put on your morning gown and come to my door." - -I did so, with the cake of soap in my hand and met my companion, -somewhat similarly arrayed, holding out a bare arm. She did look to my -eyes at that moment wonderfully pretty. - -"Come, Marjorie," I said, dropping into the affectionate form, "you -might let me in for a minute or two. You don't know how becoming that -attire is." - -"I know all about it. I've been looking in the glass. Hurry up and -finish dressing. I will meet you on the veranda." - -Wesson came along at that moment with Eggert and smiled. I resented that -smile. It meant a hundred things that he had no right to surmise; -besides, they weren't true. - -"It is perfectly lovely here," he commented, to Eggert as much as to me. -"My friend Camwell has not misrepresented it in the least." - -"Camran," corrected Eggert, for which I could have punched his head. -Were they going to argue that point over between them? - -"Camran, I should have said," corrected Wesson. "Could I make -arrangements to come out here and board while I remain on the island?" - -"Damn!" I exclaimed, under my breath, but Marjorie heard me through the -partition. - -"What is the matter?" she asked, sympathetically. "Has something pricked -you, too?" - -"Yes," I said, for the couple on the veranda had moved out of hearing. -"Something I don't like. What do you think that confounded Wesson is -saying to Eggert?" - -"I don't know." - -"He wants to come out here and board." - -"Well, that idea does credit to his judgment." - -"But it will put me to lots of bother." - -"I don't see how." - -"Why, if he moves out here, you and I will have to move up to the town." - -She digested this statement for a while, during which she put the -finishing touches to her toilet. Then she asked if I was in suitable -condition for her to come to my door. - -"Come and see," I retorted. "I've got on much more than either of us had -when we strolled down to the beach an hour ago. I think I heard somebody -say yesterday that there was no need of being too prudish." - -"But at that time I wasn't feeling well." - -"And at this time I'm feeling devilish bad, myself." - -She came slowly, with little stops, at which she renewed her inquiries -and asked for fuller information. When she finally arrived I proved to -be completely dressed with the exception of the tie and a morning coat, -and we had a laugh together. - -"You didn't really mean that you would leave here just on account of Mr. -Wesson's coming?" she said, interrogatively, as she arranged the tie. - -"Yes," I replied, holding up my head to give her fingers full play. Her -breath was in my nostrils, sweet breath that made me think of meadows -and new-mown hay. - -"What harm can he do us?" - -"He'll be continually in the way." - -"He seems very polite always." - -"That's just the trouble," I snarled. "If he would only get ugly I could -have it out with him in a minute. If he would keep at one end of the -veranda while we were at the other, all would be well. He won't do that. -He'll be good natured, sociable, all that sort of hateful thing. The -quarantine grounds measure only five acres and there's not room enough -here for any other man, while it is your residence." - -She was so near that I could have snatched a kiss before she could stop -me. I would almost as soon have bitten her. - -"Eggert?" she said, tentatively. "He's got to go, too, then?" - -"No, I make an exception of Eggert. But Wesson--I simply can't have him -here. Either he must go, or I shall." - -We had passed the coffee hour, forgetting it in the pleasure of the bath -and the labor of dressing. The regular breakfast was now announced. I -determined to be as agreeable to Wesson as I could, but I did not think -Eggert need to have placed him on the other side of Marjorie, next to -her. Still, how was he to know? - -"I have been talking with our host about coming out here for awhile," -said Wesson, as we were breakfasting. "It is ever so much pleasanter -than in the town." - -He must have seen, in spite of my efforts, that I did not enthuse over -the idea, for all I could say was "Ah," and wait for him to proceed. - -"I hardly think I will do it, though," Wesson went on to say, eyeing me -narrowly. "I have a very comfortable room at the hotel. If you don't -mind my coming out for a stroll occasionally"--he looked alternately at -Miss May and at me--"I think it would help me get over my lonesomeness." - -Marjorie did not wait to consult me, but said she was sure he would -always be welcome. She added that some literary work she and I had to do -would keep us very busy for the present. To my joy, Wesson settled his -plans on the spot, as he had outlined them. We were to be left alone, -after all. - -Soon after rising from the table Wesson started back to town. I hoped as -I saw his form disappear that he did not think I had been discourteous -in not endorsing his scheme to make my life a burden. - -"Now," said Marjorie, brightly, as he vanished through the gate, "let us -get to work. You can't imagine how happy I shall be to find myself of -use after this long vacation." - -I got out the memoranda required, from the bottom of a trunk, and -arranged the writing machine on a little "dressmaker's table" which I -had brought, folded up in a tray. It was exactly the right height, and -took up hardly more room than a chess board--I mean the table, of -course. For an hour I tried to put the genealogy in shape, and then -threw it up with an exclamation of disgust. - -"Confound the thing! I'm going to drop it for to-day," I said. "It's -dryer than dust." - -Marjorie obediently put away the machine at my suggestion, saying that -perhaps we would begin again after lunch. I told her that the next three -hours after lunch were sacred to Morpheus, and that we were now in a -region where it was impossible to resist the drowsy god with impunity. - -We drew our rocking chairs together and talked, and I was very happy. -Sometimes I took one of her hands in mine. It was very sweet to have her -there. - -"It is going to be dull for you," I suggested, after a time. "Whenever -you can bear it no longer say so, and we will move on." - -"I am in your employ," she answered, "and shall stay or go, as you bid -me." - -"Marjorie," I exclaimed, suddenly, "have you ever been in love?" - -"I would rather talk on some other subject," she replied, soberly. - -"Then I know you have. Tell me, is he living? is he still single? do you -expect to marry him?" - -She closed her mouth tightly and I knew no way to open it. - -"I am such a foolish fellow!" I added. "Does it surprise you to learn -that? I don't want you to love any one, or even to think of any one -while you are with me. I want you to like me very much indeed." - -She turned her face toward me and surveyed me leisurely with those -blue-gray eyes. - -"I do like you," she said, kindly, "but--" - -"You think I demand too much for my twenty dollars a week," I said, with -an attempt to be merry. "I know I do. I realize that my contract with -you was for typewriting services. There is no doubt you can hold me to -that bond if you so elect. All I want to say is, I am like most -contractors--and mean to better my bargain, if I can." - -"What do you want?" she asked, in clear, distinct tones. "We have agreed -not to lie to each other. What do you want?" - -I rose and looked out upon the sea. A tiny sail was visible in the -distance. - -"I want a closer friendship with you," I replied, after studying the -form of words. - -"I think we are pretty close friends already," she said. "I would not -have believed, had I been told by some fortune-teller in New York, that -in ten days we would be on such perfectly intimate terms." - -I resumed my seat and stretched my arms above my head. - -"Why, this--this is nothing!" I said. - -"I was afraid you would take that view of it," she answered, soberly, -"and I hope you will permit me to resume the position called for in what -you term our 'contract.'" - -I was alarmed by her words and the way she spoke them. She might take a -notion to carry that idea into effect, and what a dull existence I would -have then. - -"You certainly agreed to act as a 'companion' to me," I reminded her. - -"And though I have been much more than that, you are still discontented! -I have acted as if I had known you for years; in fact, that is exactly -the way I feel. You may think me forward--I fear you do--but I have only -tried to be natural. You talk to me as to a friend; I reply in the same -strain. You take my hand in yours; I do not withdraw it. You call me to -arrange a tie; I come as freely as if you were my brother. My head -aches; I ask you into my chamber, lie down and submit to your -manipulations with the cologne. If all this means nothing to you, as you -say, it means very much to me. It means that I like you, trust you, -believe you what you claimed to be--when you first told me of this -plan--a gentleman." - -She had put me in the dock and was reading a sort of left-handed -indictment, to which I had no intention of pleading guilty. - -"Listen, Marjorie," I replied. "You must not misunderstand. If any cloud -comes between us it will not originate with me, knowingly. If you knew -the life I have led hitherto--which you never will--you would realize -what an ungovernable chap I am, and how much forbearance you are going -to need. I am perfectly contented. If I can make you happy on this -journey my greatest object will be accomplished. Tell me how I can best -secure that result?" - -"By not talking about it," she said, with a smile. "And by remembering -at all times that the greatest chivalry is due a woman who has placed -herself absolutely in your power--to make or mar her life." - -"If you would only give me one kiss when you say that so prettily," I -began-- - -"Breaking the rules already?" said Miss May, with an admonishing finger. -"Oh, this naughty boy! what shall be done with him?" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -WESSON BECOMES A NUISANCE. - - -It did not seem as if we were likely to have any serious trouble. After -a couple of days we actually got down to work on the family tree and -began to make some progress. Miss May showed an astonishing aptitude on -the unfamiliar instrument, as well as a grasp of the subject we were -trying to put into shape. Her white fingers flew over the keys, her -quick mind suggested improvements in my phraseology, and she never -exhibited the slightest sign of fatigue. Once at it we made a regular -thing of working from seven in the morning till eleven, except for a -fifteen minute rest, and made the progress that such devotion warranted, -to the immense satisfaction of us both. - -Those days were much alike. We always rose in time to take our ocean -plunge at five and the bath never grew less exhilarating. We took coffee -at half past five, breakfast at half past six, lunch at twelve, slept -from one till four; strolled about the grounds or up to the town--or -took a boat ride till seven; dined; talked nonsense on the veranda or -played a game of whist with Eggert and his wife till ten, and then went -to bed. - -On Sunday we went to church, for Miss May wanted to go and I could not -let her go alone. She had a nice little prayer book which she carried -in a most becoming way and she was certainly the prettiest woman in the -house. Wesson was there and looked devotional, though his eyes wandered -in our direction more than I liked. I began to have an incipient -jealousy of the man. - -It got to be almost a regular thing that he came out to breakfast. -Sometimes he stayed and talked with Eggert for an hour after Miss May -and I had fastened ourselves down to work. Eggert liked him, which was -natural, for he was always bringing something for the children. He had a -cigar case, too, that was at anybody's call, filled with Havanas that -were mighty good and had paid no duty, St. Thomas being a free port. -Then, of course, he paid for his breakfasts, no doubt liberally. One -evening when I walked up to town alone, I found him on my return -chatting with Miss May in altogether too confidential a manner. - -I wondered how long he intended to stay at St. Thomas. He acted quite as -if he had been naturalized there. Well, we should certainly see the last -of him on February 6th, when the "Pretoria" would arrive and bear us -away. - -Wesson stayed to dinner, though I don't know that any one invited -him--probably he found the item in his bill. But he went early to town, -which was better than nothing. - -That evening something strange happened. I was looking over a small -stock of books that Eggert kept in a case. There was not much choice, -for the subjects were mostly dry ones, though I don't know as he will -thank me for saying so. I happened to light on the only modern work in -the lot, after a long hunt, and brought it to the lamp. - -It was entitled "Our Rival, the Rascal," if I do not mistake, and was -made up of letter-press and illustrations relating to prominent -criminals of the day, the work of some heads of a police department, I -believe. On the principle of any port in a storm it was worth spending a -half hour over. I asked Eggert where he got it and he said it had been -given him by a quarantined American not many months before. He looked -over my shoulder for awhile as I turned the leaves, and commented openly -on the villainy in the great world outside his quarantine fence and -little lighthouse, with an air of simplicity that was charming. There -were the lineaments of bank robbers, murderers, sneak thieves, -shoplifters, etc., by the score, evidently photographed in some cases -against their will, with a sketch of the career that entitled each to -this dizzy seat of fame. Once in awhile I recognized a name, that had -appeared in the newspapers, but the majority were rascals with whom I -was wholly unfamiliar. - -Marjorie was working with a needle at the other end of the room, talking -in a low tone with Mrs. Eggert. It occurred to me presently that the -book might interest her, and I asked her to come to me. Mrs. Eggert went -to see about some household duty and Miss May and I were left quite -alone. - -"Are you interested in criminology?" I asked my companion, as she took -the chair by my side. "If you are, here is entertainment for you." - -She stared at me vacantly, and when I turned one of the pages to her -she caught at her throat as if choking. - -"Oh, this is awful!" she gurgled. "How could you show a thing like that -to me?" - -"My darling," I protested, soothingly, "I did not know you would feel -that way. This is a book that Eggert has just lent me and I thought it -might interest you." - -"It is horrible!" she said, going to the open door as if for air. "The -one glance I took was quite enough. What good can it do to print the -faces of those unhappy people? It seems like catching a rat in a trap -and bringing it out for dogs to tear." - -She shut her eyes and stood there, still panting. What a nervous -organism she had, to be sure! - -"I will put it back on the shelf," I said, "and you shall never think of -it again. I seem fated to wound your tender feelings. Dear little girl, -you know I do not mean to." - -But it was she who would not drop the subject. - -"It is shameful to print such a book," she repeated. "It is like a -proposal made just before we left America, to publish the names on the -pension roll." - -I had an opinion on the latter suggestion, decidedly in its favor. So I -explained that it was feared there were names on the list that ought not -to be there and believed that a publication of the roll would result in -weeding these out. - -"And at the same time expose the honest poverty of half a million brave -men!" she said. "All my people were on the Southern side, but I admire -courage and devotion, wherever it is found. To expose the recipient of -these pensions merely in the hope of detecting a few dishonest ones is -shameful! So with that awful book. Some of the men pictured there may be -trying to redeem themselves. What chance will they have with their faces -exhibited everywhere? Oh, Don, Don! You seem a tender hearted man. How -can you endorse such a wicked, cruel thing?" - -I said I did not wish to argue the matter, but I understood from the -preface that only persons belonging to the criminal class by profession -were pictured in the book. The miserable man who had made his one error -was not in the list at all. - -"But who can tell," she said, growing earnest, "that even some you -mention have not repented of their acts and are trying to redeem -themselves? Did you never read these words of Shakespeare? - - "Why, all the souls that were were forfeit once, - And He that might the vantage best have took - Found out the remedy!" - -We went to the other side of the veranda, where the moon was shining -beautifully, and took chairs side by side. I gradually succeeded in -turning my companion's thoughts from the disagreeable trend into which I -had brought them, and for several hours we discussed other matters. We -spoke in low tones, for after a short time we were the only persons -awake on the premises. - -We both grew to feel the spell of the Queen of Night, nowhere more -lovely than over the Caribbean. Our hands wandered together and I felt -strange thrills that made me wish I were even closer to the lovely being -at my side. In spite of the promises I had made--to her and to -myself--I could not help talking nonsense. - -"What harm would it do," I said, at 11 o'clock, "when I leave you at -your door at night, if you gave me just a little--a very little--kiss? -It would sweeten my slumbers, I am sure, and it wouldn't hurt you." - -"It would sweeten your slumbers--perhaps," she replied, soberly. "And it -would drive mine away entirely. Do you think that a fair transaction?" - -I chose to answer that I thought she was acting cruelly and added that -if she was going to treat me in that way I would go to bed at once. She -was evidently agitated by my manner, for when we reached her door she -stopped. - -"I am going to tell you something," she said, impressively. "Yes, at the -risk of lowering myself in your estimation, unless you bid me pause." - -"How can I, when I do not know what you are going to say?" I demanded. - -"Then you wish to hear it?" - -I nodded, curious to learn what was in her mind. - -Looking with eyes that scintillated into mine she said, impressively, -"Don, you cannot possibly want that kiss more than I want to give it!" - -"Well," I answered, delighted at her communication. "What prevents you? -I promise, on my honor, not to scream--nor even to tell." - -"If I leave you to decide," said Miss May, with lips that whitened at -the words, "what will you advise me?" - -A chilly breeze swept along the veranda. The figure of Statia Barton -came across my vision, with her finger uplifted in warning. Out on the -ocean I saw a wave that was transparent and beneath it a beautiful -figure, cold and dead. - -I raised one of her hands to my lips and breathed a sigh upon it. I was -quieted so easily! - -"Good night," I said, with emotion. - -"Good night," she replied. "You do not--no, you do not hate me?" - -I had turned away, but I faced her again. - -"I am--afraid--I love you," I said. "It was not in the compact, I did -not mean to do it, but I'm afraid--I love you." - -She entered her door and I passed to my room. Pulling off my clothes at -haphazard I threw them on a chair and donned my pajamas. The bed was -hard. I turned every way to no purpose. Sleep would not come. At last I -sat up, then opened my door noiselessly and stepped barefooted upon the -veranda. - -Marjorie's light was still burning. The objects in her room showed with -perfect distinctness through her screen door. - -I paused as if petrified at the sight before me. In her white nightrobes -she was kneeling by the bedside, her face buried in her hands. - -It was beauty prostrate before its God, doubtless uttering a petition -that he would protect her from evil. - -I paced up and down the veranda noiselessly for half an hour. When I -paused again before Miss May's door, the light was extinguished and I -could see nothing. - -"Marjorie," I whispered. - -"Yes, Don." - -"Forgive me. I will not offend you again." - -"Yes, Don. Would--would you like to come in and bathe my head? It aches -a little." - -"I cannot, Marjorie. Shall I call Mrs. Eggert?" - -"Her hands are not like yours." - -It was a severe struggle, but I told her I must not come in-that if she -would think a minute she would see I must not. She said "Very well," and -we exchanged good-nights. I went to my couch very proud of the victory I -had won over myself--prouder than it seems to me now I should have been. - -We must both have slept some, for I was aroused by hearing Laps barking, -and Marjorie had not made her appearance when the hands of my watch -pointed to half past five. She told me through the partition that she -did not feel like bathing that morning, and I decided to omit the bath -myself. - -The barking of Laps was caused by the arrival of Mr. Wesson, whom I -blamed without much reason for the headache I had awakened with. The -fellow irritated me exceedingly and I made up my mind to get away from -the Island without waiting for the Pretoria, if there was any feasible -way to do it. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -IT IS FROM A GIRL. - - -The arrival of letters, both for myself and Miss May, the next day, made -me forget everything else till mine were read and answered. I had not -looked for them so soon and do not know yet what course they took to -reach us. It is supposed to be a rule of the postal department to -forward all mail by the most expeditious route, but previous experience -in the Caribbean had taught me that the rule is reversed there in most -cases. - -Eggert brought the things to us, having had sense enough to inquire at -the office when he knew a steamer was in. Miss May had taken the -precaution to have hers addressed "Care Miss M. Carney," after I told -her she would be weighted with this title, and her friends supposed, no -doubt, that the unfamiliar name represented the proprietress of a hotel -or boarding house. She gave a joyful cry as I held two letters out to -her, made the usual feminine inquiry if that was all, and retired to a -corner by herself to read them, like a dog with a bone. - -The first letter I opened was from Tom Barton, the second from his -sister. Tom's was merely a recital of the latest happenings that he -thought might interest me, and expressions of hope that I would derive -great benefit from my cruise. Statia's was a homily on the beauty of -holiness and a sermon on the alleged fact that wicked deeds are often -punished nearer home than in that subterranean place of extreme heat of -which most moderns have begun to doubt. She was evidently in about the -same frame of mind as when I last saw her, but I was too glad to know -that she cared enough about me to write at all to be severely critical. -I liked Statia. She filled a place in my heart that had been vacant -before--a sort of sisterly place, as near as I can tell--and I resolved -while reading to curb my tendency to joke when I answered her and take a -weight off her mind if I could. - -The next letter was a formal one from Uncle Dugald, reading like an -official document. And the only remaining one was--of all things--from -Miss Alice Brazier, who had adopted my suggestion and renewed her -injunctions at the expense of a five cent stamp. I expected something -from Harvey Hume, and when I looked over the odd packages of printed -matter I detected his handwriting on several of them. Like Mary of old, -he had chosen the better part, and had contributed as much to my -happiness as either of the others. Six daily papers and three magazines, -besides a new novel, bore his fist on their wrappers, and he had broken -the laws of the postoffice by scribbling on stray corners certain "God -bless you's!" for which I hope he will be forgiven. - -"Do you want to read a letter I have received, warning me against you?" -I asked, laughingly, going to where Miss May sat. "Or perhaps, to state -it more accurately, warning you against me; at least, warning us against -each other." - -She looked rather startled at my first observation and held out her hand -for the missive as I finished. - -I sat down beside her, prefacing an actual exhibition of the note from -Miss Brazier by a reminder that I had informed her early in our -acquaintance of the lady's answer to my Herald advertisement. She read -the note through, as I held it in my hands, and when she had finished -wore a very sober face. - -"This seems to amuse you," she said, regarding me with a strange look. -"I do not see why it should. The person who wrote that is actuated by -the sincerest regard for your welfare. It would have been much better -for you had you taken her on this journey instead of me." - -"But," I answered, lightly, "it would not have been half so well for -you, which is why I did not do it. I want you to understand that I am -not here for my own health, but yours. As for Alice Brazier, she wrote -me, when she found I would not take her, anyway--that she was surprised -at the 'nerve' of the successful applicant." - -"I am surprised at it myself," said Miss May, refusing to laugh. "I grow -more and more surprised at it every day." - -"I suppose you wish me to believe you are sorry," I said, bridling just -the least bit. - -"No, my dear Don," she replied, gently, "I am very glad I came. It is -not that which troubles me. It is the thought that some day it will -end." - -"That thought would spoil the pleasure of life itself," I said, much -mollified nevertheless. "I would advise you not to become a monomaniac. -Take some of these papers and get into touch again with the planet on -which we used to live." - -She looked them all over, scanning the dates. - -"Why, who sent you these ancient things?" she said. "The very latest is -dated January 18th." - -"Well, did you expect yesterday morning's?" I asked. "Have you forgotten -that we are some little distance from Manhattan Island?" - -She smiled at last, as the recollection of our situation with regard to -news came over her, and thanking me, began to look over the papers, -beginning with the day after we left. I took the next one and for some -time this occupied us. When either encountered anything of general -interest there was an interruption, followed by prolonged silence. - -"Are you going to answer that letter of Miss Brazier's?" Miss May asked, -all of a sudden. - -"Why? Would you?" - -"Yes; in a very formal way." - -Was she attacked with incipient jealousy of this unknown one, even while -she approved of her counsel? - -"All right," I said. "I will let you dictate the words." - -"What other letters did you get?" she inquired. - -I showed them to her. She wanted to know what each contained; and when I -spoke of Statia, though I did not mention her name, the same smouldering -fire flashed up slightly as in Miss Brazier's case. - -"Who is that lady?" she asked. - -"The sister of my dearest masculine friend." - -"Why does she write to you?" - -"For the same reason as the other girl, to give me good advice." - -She had to ask the next question. - -"Is there no love affair between you?" - -"Not the slightest. I did not think she would even condescend to write a -line." - -Miss May drew a long breath, and then, as if ashamed of the interest she -had shown, buried her face in the newspaper. - -"If you have finished with your cross-questionings," I remarked, "I will -take a hand. Who are your letters from?" - -She clung to the envelopes as if she feared I would try to wrest them -from her. - -"A friend," she answered, frigidly. - -"Two friends, at least. One is directed in the handwriting of a man. -Now, Marjorie, I am not going to permit that sort of thing. I draw the -line at male correspondents while you are travelling with me." - -Hesitating an instant she laid the envelope of which I spoke in my lap. - -"Read it," she said, looking me full in the eyes. - -"Not unless you wish me to," I answered. - -"I do wish it." - -"Really?" - -"Yes." - -"I must refuse to oblige you, for the first time, and I hope the last. I -would not read that letter, under any circumstances," I replied. - -"Then I will read it to you," said Miss May, and she read as follows: - - Dear Marjorie:--I hope you are well and happy in that far-off land, - with the gentleman who has engaged you as secretary, and that you - have had no cause to regret accepting his offer. I have no great - fears for you, believing that a wise girl will so conduct herself as - to disarm the most persistent man, if temptation comes. If Mr. - Camwell is all you believed him when last I saw you, your journey - must be a continuous delight. If he proves the contrary I shall be - sorry, for he can make your path a miserable one, but my confidence - in you will be unshaken. - - The other girls all send love and best wishes. I shall look - anxiously for the first letter from you. - - Mr. Barnard, the cashier, has promised to address my envelope and - put on the right stamp. - - Your Friend, - - HELEN. - -I glanced at the writing, which was certainly that of a woman, and again -at the envelope, quite as surely in the penmanship of a man. - -"It is from a girl who used to write in the same office as I," said Miss -May. "Now you must hear the other one." - -But this I absolutely refused to do. She was putting me in a position I -did not covet. I said I had some letters to write and would go to my -room for awhile. Miss May did not press her point further, but said she -would take the time to answer her own letters, if I did not need her. - -For the next hour I pushed my pen over the stationery, replying to the -missives I had received, and also sending brief notes to several of my -other friends. When this was finished I went to Miss May's door to speak -to her, and found her absent. Looking over the veranda railing I saw her -at some distance, frolicking with Laps, the dog, apparently having -recovered her spirits, which were rather low when I left her. - -Glancing back into her room I noticed that a letter she had just written -lay open upon the table. To save my soul I could not resist going in, -taking it up and reading it. My curiosity about her was intense. There -might be something in this letter, either to confirm my belief in her or -to dash it to the ground. At any rate, though the act was repulsive to -my nature, I could not help taking advantage of the opportunity. - - Dear Helen [was the way the letter read]:--Many thanks for your - sweet note. I am glad to say I can set your mind at rest at once - regarding my fate. Mr. C. is one of the kindest men I ever knew. I - have lost the apprehension which I had in regard to him during the - first few days of our voyage and am as happy as I hoped to be when I - told you of the engagement. I only wish you could have seen him - before we sailed. You would not wonder I was so pleased to go, - though, of course, I had to hide my feelings when talking with him - about it. - - I will try to describe him to you. He is rather above the medium - height, four or five inches taller than I, I should think. His hair - is brown. He wears a mustache, but no beard--a nearly blonde - mustache that adds a charm to a sensitive and finely cut mouth. His - eyes are hazel. He is slightly pale, owing to the illness of which I - told you, but he has gained immensely since we started. When he - smiles I never saw a more engaging countenance; when he is troubled - the clouds are like those of a summer sky, and the first puff of - wind blows them away. - - I do not mean to tell you he is perfect in everything. He has not - led the best life always, I am afraid, and with a different woman - for his constant companion there might be a another story to tell. - But when he shows signs of getting unruly, I never fail to quiet him - with the right word. He is a gentleman, after all, and I am sure he - will never be else than that to me. - - Helen, dear, I must tell you a great secret. I have all I can do to - prevent myself falling head over ears in love with the man. If I - were an unscrupulous young woman I believe I could make him care a - great deal for me. As I look at it, such a course would be wholly - disreputable. He is impulsive and might say things he would regret - later in his life. So I keep my heart as quiet as I can, in his - presence. He will not guess what I have confided to you and what I - never shall tell to another. - - If I were of his social grade--if I could have retained the position - in which I was born, he would be my ideal as a husband. Such - thoughts, alas! are not for - - Your Poor Friend, - - MARJORIE. - - St. Thomas, W.I., Jan. 29, 1898. - -My hand trembled so before I had half read this letter that I could not -make out the lines. I had to put it down to finish it. Twice I crept to -the door to see if Miss May was still on the lawn, playing with Laps. -She was there, absorbed in her amusement and I finally finished it -unchallenged. Then I left the room and went to my own, where I fell from -sheer weakness upon my bed. - -Marjorie loved me! - -The reflection was overpowering. She was battling not only against me -but against her own affections. I was absolutely dumfounded. What a -train of thought swept through my heated brain! - -At one instant I resolved to offer her my hand in marriage that very day -and have the ceremony performed in the evening, by one of the clergymen -of Charlotte Amelie, with Eggert and his wife as witnesses. At the next -I planned a slow campaign to win her, which, with the evidence in my -possession, could have but one result. The slower way would bring the -most pleasure, if I could persuade myself to patience. Again, the vision -of my Uncle Dugald rose before me, mutely protesting against an alliance -with one of whom I knew practically nothing. Then Tom Barton and Statia -joined the procession, shaking their heads dolefully. - -Miss May's voice at my door aroused me to a sense of my condition and I -bade her come in, if she was not afraid. She came quietly, removing as -she did so her straw hat. A steamer had just entered the harbor, she -said, that I might like to see. I always wanted to inspect each craft, -and she supposed I would not like to miss this one. - -I sat up and listened to her in a half daze. How little she knew that -the burning secret under her calm exterior was already in my possession. - -"Marjorie! Marjorie!" - -I could only repeat the name in the joy of my discovery; repeat it to -myself, lock it in the recesses of my inmost bosom. - -I bathed my face, after which she took my brush and arranged my hair for -me. How delicious her hands on my head! Some day they would be mine, -and forever! - -I suffered her to lead me out of doors and set me a chair before the -telescope, which she arranged to command a view of the incoming steamer. -Eggert came while we were there, with a little trouble on his mind. The -book that had annoyed Marjorie so--that copy of "Our Rival, the Rascal," -had disappeared from his bookcase, and he wanted to know if either of us -had seen it. Miss May shook her head with disgust, while I responded -that I had left it on the table the night he showed it to me, and had -never picked it up again. - -Eggert turned to the steamer I was watching through the glass and said -he had known for an hour what it was--his seaman's eye had told him that -when only the tops of her smokestacks were visible. - -It was going down the islands, he said, and would make its next stop at -St. Croix. - -An idea sprang into my head. Here was an opportunity to escape the daily -visits of Mr. Wesson! - -I asked how soon she would leave. Eggert said probably in an hour. - -"We must pack our things at once, then," I exclaimed. "I have reasons -for wanting to get to St. Croix to-day, and this is a chance not to be -missed." - -Eggert pleaded with me to wait for the Pretoria, as I had first -intended, but I would not listen. I wanted action; the excitement of -departure was just the thing in my state of mind. Miss May dutifully -went to her chamber and put her things in their receptacles, coming -afterward to mine and helping me appreciably. The covers were down, the -keys turned in the locks, the typewriting machine in its bag, and -everything ready in thirty minutes. - -As I left my room my attention was attracted to Miss May, who was -talking earnestly with some one from the adjoining veranda. I soon saw -that little Thorwald was below, with a handsome mongoose in a trap, -which he was exhibiting to her with much pride. - -"What are you going to do with that poor creature?" she asked the lad. - -"Going to kill him," he answered, in his sharp, clear way. - -"Why do you want to kill that helpless thing?" - -"Why I want to kill the mongoose?" he repeated. "You better ask why the -mongoose want to kill my chickens. No, that little mongoose will never -trouble my chickens any more." - -"Will you sell him to me?" she asked, earnestly. - -"You want to buy a mongoose?" asked the boy, incredulously. "No, you can -never tame him. He will only bite you. See:" (he put down the trap and -pushed a stick into the wire cage, which the animal bit ferociously.) "I -don't think you want to buy that mongoose." - -"But I do want to buy him," she insisted. "I will give you a dollar for -him." - -(It is a strange fact that the terms of trade are generally spoken of in -United States money in these islands, even where the only coins are -European.) - -"You will give me a dollar for the mongoose?" said Thorwald's bright -voice. - -"Yes, I will gladly give you a dollar for him." - -"You may have him," said the child, hanging up the cage and receiving -the money, evidently hardly able to credit his eyes. "But the mongoose -is not worth one cent." - -Taking the trap to the ground on the other side of the house, Miss May -lost no time in releasing the little prisoner from his bondage, -whereupon he vanished with all speed in the shrubbery. She gave Thorwald -his dollar, and as she came to where I stood, there were tears in her -bright eyes. - -I kissed the children hastily, handing them at the same time some small -pieces of silver, settled my bill, directed the negroes who were -summoned about the baggage, said good-by to everybody, from the Master -to the scullery maid, and started down the long path to the boat. In ten -minutes more we were being rowed toward the steamer, and a quarter of an -hour later were safe on board. - -As soon as our chairs were arranged on deck and we had dropped into them -I felt the old weakness coming on. I could not endure such a strain -without showing evidence that I had not yet wholly recovered my form. I -asked a steward who happened to pass, to get me a brandy-and-soda. - -"Close your eyes and try to sleep," said my companion, soothingly, as to -a sick child. "You have been overdoing for the last hour." - -I took her hand and tried to obey her. That dear little hand on which I -would one day put the symbol of a love to last through eternity! - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -A STRUGGLE ON THE BALCONY. - - -It was something to be free at last from Wesson. While I had nothing -definite that I could bring against the man, he was in my way. I wanted -to be alone with Marjorie. Not literally alone, for wherever we went -there were people near by, of course; but alone as far as any one who -had ever known us was concerned. As we approached St. Croix, my -mercurial spirits began to rise again. When we were once more on shore, -and domiciled in the second class hostelry to which we were shown, I -could have danced with glee. I could hardly refrain from giving vent to -my feelings in a yell that would no doubt have astonished the quiet town -as if a cannon had been discharged. - -All through this part of the world the native population speak in tones -so low that a foreigner has to listen intently to know what is being -said. It is charming after you get used to it; one wonders how -Northerners got into a habit of screaming when discussing the common -events of the day. A negro or colored person (colored is only used here -for people of mixed race) will address another a hundred feet away in as -low a tone as the ordinary American would use at as many inches. I got -partially into the same habit before I left the Islands. I only wish I -had retained it and could persuade my friends to do likewise. - -"What is there to do here?" asked Marjorie, as we sat in the evening on -the balcony that projected from the house. - -"Nothing whatever," I replied. "Unless it be to make love, and that, you -will remember, is forbidden by our agreement." - -She bit her lips, acted as if she were going to say something, and -suppressed it, whatever it was. - -"If you wish the stipulation removed," I continued, gaily, "there is no -better opportunity than this. I believe I could make love, after my long -abstinence, in a way that would do me credit." - -She turned and surveyed my face for some seconds. - -"In the same way you have often made love before, I presume," she said, -finally; "and with the same degree of sincerity." - -"No," I said, growing sober. "I have never loved a woman till recently. -The others were idle fancies. They lasted, on the average, a week, while -this--" - -"Might last a month?" she interrupted. - -"Or an eternity." - -"I think we had best talk of something else," she said, uneasily. "In -the morning we must begin our work, bright and early. I suppose there -will be no beach bathing here, and we can commence before coffee if you -wish. I want to be of all possible use while we are together." - -"You will never leave me, Marjorie," I answered, "if I am allowed to set -the time of your departure. Don't think, I beg, that I would say these -things if I did not mean them. I want you for my true and loving -wife--understand, that is what I mean--wife; and something tells me -that, when you think it over, you will grant my wish." - -She flushed until her neck was as rosy as her cheek. Several very long -breaths came and went to stir her matchless bosom. She seemed as if -strangling for an instant and recovered her equanimity with difficulty. - -"Mr. Camwell--" she began. - -"'Don,'" I corrected. - -"No, not at this moment," she answered. "Do you recollect to whom you -are speaking? I am a nearly friendless girl--who has trusted herself to -your manhood and honor. I am far from my home, if indeed I can truly -claim to have one; you know nothing about me. It is madness if you mean -what you say. It is villainy of the deepest dye if you do not mean it." - -"We shall have to call it madness, then," I replied, smiling at the -thought that I knew her heart in spite of all her efforts to conceal its -true pulsations. "I might fall at your feet, declaim my story after the -manner of a stage hero, all that sort of thing. I believe it best to -tell you what I have to say in the plain, sincere tone that a matter of -great moment should be spoken. I love you, Marjorie! I have loved you -since the minute my eyes rested on your face. I shall love no other -woman while life remains to me. I offer you my hand in sincere and -honest affection, and may God--" - -She half rose from her chair and lifted a hand deprecatingly. - -"Don't say that!" she interpolated, with distress in her tone. "I will -believe you without the oath. But, I cannot listen. It is impossible. -You must not--you must not--" - -"My darling," I said, leaning toward her, and speaking lower than any -native of St. Croix, "I know I have surprised you, by coming to the -point in such an unconventional and sudden fashion. We will say no more -about it--to-night." - -"Neither to-night, nor ever," she replied, earnestly. "Oh, why have you -done this? We were such good friends; and now, it never can be the same -again!" - -There were tears in her eyes, and at sight of them my resolution to -remain cool took wings. Rising, I clasped the shrinking form in my arms, -and poured into her ears the love that was consuming me. I said the only -answer I would ever listen to from her was "Yes." I would wait, if need -be, but I must have it. Never, never, should she separate from me. The -love I had to offer was that of a lifetime. - -"I am not a poor man, either," I added, trying to weight my proposition -with all the things that would count. "I can give you a home of comfort, -even luxury. The days for you to toil in disagreeable offices are ended. -The time when you will count your money to see if you can afford the -necessaries of life is past. We will go on long journeys, to interesting -lands. Your existence shall be, as far as I can make it so, a dream of -happiness. Marjorie, believe me! I want to hear your sweet lips say the -word that will make this world a heaven--now!" - -Instead of being influenced by my passionate flow of language, she -seemed only to shrink further and further away. I saw at last that, in -some manner I could not understand, I was actually frightening her. -Alarmed at her appearance I quickly released my hold and stood there, a -very confused figure, panting with the excess of my emotions. - -Marjorie seemed fainting and in my alarm I begged her to let me go and -summon assistance. - -"No," she whispered. "But you will stop--you will say no more? You may, -if you will be so kind, get me--a--glass--of water. I shall be -better--presently." - -It took a long time to get the simple thing she wanted. There are no -bells in the house, to begin with. The principal ambition of West India -servants is to keep out of sight and hearing, lest they might be asked -to do something. When one was at last found he could produce nothing -colder than water that had stood in a jug since dinner. This would not -do and, by the time he had found the ice, at least ten minutes must have -passed. - -Bringing the glass of water with all speed to the balcony, great was my -disgust to find that a man had reached there before me and was even then -engaged in conversation with my late companion. He had come upon the -balcony from the public sitting room and was trying to persuade the lady -to let him fetch something from his own chamber that he promised would -speedily restore her. When he turned to meet me I was filled with -positive rage. For the man was none other than my old fellow passenger, -Edgerly! - -"Where the devil did you come from?" I demanded, hotly. - -"I hope I have done no harm," he answered, in an apologetic voice that -made me feel as if I ought to punch my own head instead of his, which -was my original intention. "I happened to step out on this balcony and -seeing that the lady was ill offered to assist her. That is all." - -He was always offering to assist her, it seemed to me, as I recalled the -time when he flew to the companionway of the steamer with the same end -in view. - -"I think I will go in now, if you don't mind," said Marjorie, wearily, -after she had sipped the water I brought. "I was overcome by--by the -heat--I think, but I am much better." - -Thinking that Edgerly might wish to "assist her" again I made haste to -offer her my arm; but she declined it with a faint smile, saying she had -no need of help. Her window was open and she left the balcony as she had -entered it, closing the glass doors after her. - -"You were not very polite to me, a moment ago," said Edgerly, in clear, -cutting tones. "I thought it the part of a gentleman not to notice it -while the lady was present, but now I am obliged to express my opinion -of you; which is," he paused a moment, looking me squarely in the eye, -"that you are a cur!" - -I grappled with him almost before the words were out of his mouth. We -went down together in a heap, his hand at my throat, mine at his. I -would have thrown him over the railing, or he would have thrown me, in -an instant more. - -A voice interrupted us--the voice of Miss May, through her window. - -"Mr. Camwell, will you kindly call a chambermaid," she said. - -It was like the sudden appearance of a flag of truce in the midst of a -battle. Edgerly muttered something about seeing me at another time, and -released his hold. I did the same, remarking that I was at his service -whenever he pleased. We both rose. Edgerly entered the sitting room, -lifting his hat ironically as he vanished. I entered my own chamber, -reaching the hall in that way. Finding the woman, I sent her to Miss -May, telling her to knock at my door when she had executed the lady's -requests. Then I threw myself into a chair, and realized for the first -time how inadequate my weakened physical strength was to cope with a -well man like Edgerly. - -Had not that voice separated us, I would now have been lying, either -dead or mangled, on the stone pavement, twelve feet below! - -When I thought the matter over, I could see I had been in the wrong. The -fellow had done nothing that deserved my abuse, in the first place, and -the epithet he had hurled at me was in a measure justified by my -conduct. It was now too late, however, to consider the origin of the -quarrel. Blows had been exchanged, threats had been passed, we had -agreed to settle the matter later. It was not in my disposition to crave -the pardon of a man under those circumstances. If he carried out his -evident purpose of trying to trash me, I would have to meet him. The -fact that I was still in effect an invalid--that I was not in condition -for such a game--was no excuse, nor did I intend to avail myself of it. -I felt pretty certain that, within a given number of hours, I would be -very lucky if I knew myself in the glass. - -The chambermaid came to say that "Miss Carney" would like to see me -after a short time had passed. I therefore made myself as presentable as -possible, bathing my heated face, brushing my hair and arranging a -necktie that had got sadly out of place. When twenty minutes had -elapsed, I went to Marjorie's door and knocked softly. She came and -opened it just enough to see who was there, but instead of asking me to -enter said she had found, on reflection, that she did not need anything -and believed the best course for her was to retire. She evidently either -knew or suspected what had occurred and wanted to see if I bore evidence -of having been injured. - -"Very well; good-night," I said, in answer to her suggestion. - -"Good-night," she answered. And, "God bless you!" she added, fervently. - -"My love!" I murmured, hoping she would relent and give me a longer -interview, but she shook her head with a sad smile and closed the door. -I heard the key turn in the lock and, realizing that it was useless to -remain longer, re-entered my own chamber and prepared for sleep. - -In the midst of a sound slumber, for the events of the evening did not -much disturb my rest, I suddenly came to consciousness. A figure, -distinct enough, stood between me and the window. The bright night of -the tropics made the principal objects in the room look almost as clear -as day. Half doubting whether I were really awake I sprang up, when a -low voice made me pause. - -"Hush! Not a sound," said the voice. "It is only I." - -The window was wide open, showing where she had entered, for it was -Marjorie that spoke. - -"I was nervous, and could not sleep, and on going upon the balcony I -found your window unfastened." - -The wonder that she had entered overpowered every other sentiment. How -could it be true that this girl, who had nearly fainted with fear when I -merely put an arm around her, had come in the night within my bedroom, -clad, as I plainly saw, in the garments of slumber. - -I stretched my arms toward her, but she moved away. What an -incomprehensible creature she was! - -"Do not stir," she continued, earnestly, and with a trembling tongue. "I -tried to make you hear me, without entering, but you slept too soundly. -It is not well--it is not safe--to sleep with your window unfastened. I -thought you ought to know. That is all. Good-night." - -She was moving toward the exit and I called after her softly. - -"Marjorie!" I said. "Come here a little while before you leave." - -She turned her white face--whiter in the pale moonlight than I had ever -seen it--toward me, still moving slowly away. - -"And you," she whispered, "are the man who told me, only a few hours -ago, that you wanted me for your wife!" - -"I do, my darling!" I replied, with all the fervor I could put into the -words. "I mean no more than I say when I ask to touch your cheek with my -lips, your hand even, the hem of your gown." - -She was gone; and as I sat there I reflected for the second time that -evening what an ass I had been. Marjorie had taken what I thought a -harmless request and turned it into an insult. I cursed anew the -damnable training I had had in the field of love-making. It had me as -unfit to win the heart of a pure and virtuous maiden as a brigand. - -The worst was, she had gone to her chamber with the thought still on her -mind that I was a liar of the meanest stripe. After professing a pure -love I had, at the first opportunity, she imagined, showed the emptiness -of my pretence, the falseness of my heart. - -Sleep fled this time from my eyes, and no wonder. I propped my head high -with pillows and resigned myself to wakefulness and moody thoughts till -daybreak. - -As soon as it was light I took stationery from my trunk and wrote an -impassioned letter to my beloved, that she might see, before we met -again, how terribly she had misjudged me. I told her the story as it -really was--my sudden awakening, the longing that possessed me for some -recognition from the being to whom all my life's love had been pledged. -I detailed the sickness of heart with which I realized how woefully my -object was misapprehended. I touched on the absence of sleep that -followed my error, and in closing begged her to write me just a word to -say that I was forgiven, before I underwent the agony of meeting her -unjustly accusing eyes. This I signed, "Your husband that is to be--that -must be--with all respect and love." - -It was almost as great a shock as if she had refused to read my note -when the maid whom I summoned to deliver it, brought me a tiny sheet of -paper bearing these words: - - "Of course you are forgiven, my dear boy. I understood it all a - minute after I left you. Sorry you took it to heart. If you wish to - please me do not allude to it when we meet." - -From some remarks that I heard below stairs I gathered that Edgerly had -left the house, taking his baggage with him, before the early breakfast -was served. A little later I learned that he had gone to a town on the -opposite side of the island where the capital is located. I therefore -came to the conclusion that he had decided not to push his intention of -mauling me at present. Probably, I reflected, he did not realize how -easy a victim I was likely to be in the present condition of my health. - -We passed the rest of the time while at St. Croix in morning work, -midday siestas, evening drives and after dinner talks. Marjorie -succeeded in keeping the conversation away from the delicate ground of -the former occasion, but she did not succeed in eliminating the subject -from my mind. Knowing from the letter I had read at Eggert's, that she -cared much for me, I was not to be dissuaded from my intention of taking -her home, either as my actual or my promised bride. The security I felt -gave me willingness to wait. What I needed now was to strengthen the -affection she had admitted until it was too strong for her to resist -longer. - -No shadow came between us during the week that remained before the -coming of the Pretoria, on which we were to embark for another voyage. -We heard the boat had arrived on the morning of the 8th of February, -and would leave late in the evening. I engaged a carriage to drive us to -a distant point, so that we might go on board too late to meet any of -the Americans with whom the steamer was sure to be filled. That day was -one of unalloyed happiness. - -Alas! that so soon my troubles were to break out afresh! - -I had arranged with the local agent to secure me the requisite berths -and he brought the tickets to the hotel at night when we returned. There -was only one unpleasant feature about them--he had not been able to -secure a place for the lady very near me--but we had no right to expect -anything else, and Marjorie seemed disposed to make the best of it. - -At eleven o'clock we were rowed out with our baggage and shown to our -rooms. - -Reaching mine, I turned up the electric light and started as I saw the -face of Mr. Wesson in that lower berth. - -"The devil!" I could not help exclaiming, aloud. - -It seemed to partially waken him, for he turned over and muttered -something indistinguishable, immediately relapsing again into sound -sleep. - -I said to myself that this was decidedly too much. I would be d--d if I -would sleep there. When I had donned my pajamas, therefore, I went up to -the deck above and passed the night on the cushions of the music room, -of which I was the only tenant. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -OUR NIGHT AT MARTINIQUE. - - -Of course I had to meet Wesson in the morning; and as I could assign no -reason for the distrust which I felt, I had to choose between giving him -the cut direct and putting on an air of coolness without a real affront. -I encountered him on deck, before I had been down to dress, as I went -out to take a view of the island of St. Kitts. He murmured something -about being glad to see me again, but did not attempt a prolonged -conversation. He evidently had not yet ascertained that I was his -roommate. - -Slightly uneasy to have Miss May so far from me I went as soon as I was -dressed to her door and knocked. She was awake and in response to an -inquiry said she would be up to breakfast. Luckily she had been given a -room alone, due perhaps to a small inducement I had sent in a note left -with the agent the day before. As I stood outside I chafed at the -restrictions she continually put upon me; and yet I knew very well I had -no right to complain. What earthly business had I in the room of a -young, unmarried woman, before she was out of bed? The fact that I had -been in more than one under similar circumstances did not count in a -case like this. - -The scornful words of my darling came back to me--the expression she had -used at St. Croix. I must put better control on my wild thoughts or I -would yet do something she might regard as unpardonable. - -The table to which we were assigned in the salon had no especial -interest. The other people had become acquainted from their nine days' -voyage together and clearly looked upon us as interlopers. For this I -was not sorry. Beyond necessary requests to "pass" the butter or the -ice, I had nothing to say to them nor they to me; while Miss May's mouth -was sealed entirely to conversation. - -The succeeding days would have been insufferably dull but for the -presence of my idol, as I had been to all the islands on my voyage of -three years previous. To show them to her with the confidence of an old -traveller was in itself a charm not to be despised. We went ashore -together at St. Kitts, and drove extensively; took our turtle dinner at -Antigua, where I was much grieved to hear that Mr. Fox, the American -consul, with whom I had formerly been acquainted, had died shortly after -my previous visit. He was one of the pleasantest men I ever met and an -honor to the civil service. A new consul, bound to Guadaloupe, was on -board, with his wife--a Chicago man with a French name and the unusual -ability to speak the language of the place to which he was accredited. -He struck me as much better educated than the average consul and withal -a good fellow. In his party, much of the time, were two charming young -ladies from Alleghany City, whose father, a German, was taking a well -earned vacation from his duties as cashier of a bank there. Had there -been any place in my mind that was not filled with Marjorie, I should -certainly have tried to become better acquainted with these girls. - -I also made a smoking room acquaintance with three delightful fellows, a -Mr. T----, from Indianapolis, a Mr. S----, from Greensburg, and a Mr. -H----, from Brockton, Mass. The first was an attorney; the second -engaged in the theatrical business, and the third a license -commissioner. I should be sorry to think I had seen either for the last -time. - -At Dominica I went ashore very early and engaged two horses for a ride -into the mountains, making arrangements with an individual who seemed -(actually) to rejoice in the cognomen of "Mr. Cockroach." He announced -himself to me as the owner of that title with evident pride and when we -came off after breakfast had ready two of as mean animals, judging by -appearance, as could be imagined. They endured the long climb, however, -remarkably well, and were as easy to sit as a rocking chair. Marjorie -unbent herself more than usual when we were in the heart of the hills, -with no one near, for the black boy who was supposed to follow us on -foot had a way of cutting across the fields and keeping out of sight -nearly all the time. - -The island of Dominica is very beautiful and I remembered enjoying this -ride greatly on my previous visit. The vegetation is thoroughly -tropical. The excessive moisture caused by rains which occur daily -through most of the year gives to everything a luxuriance not exceeded -north of the equator, I believe. The mountain path by which we went is -too narrow in most places to ride abreast, but wherever we could get -side by side I managed to do so. At such times the sense of -companionship was thrillingly delicious, and while I dared not risk -offending by becoming too familiar, I managed to play the discreet lover -and was very happy. - -I thought I was certainly improving. There had been a time, not so very -long before, when I would Have planted myself in the lady's way, and -exacted tribute before letting her by, trusting to her forgiveness after -the deed was done. I would have given much to have dared the same thing -now, but the thought did not seriously enter my head. I was certainly -growing better under my excellent teacher. - -There was one point at which I had a jealous pang, so ridiculous that I -think it only right to detail the occurrence. We went out of our way to -view a sulphur pit, where the Evil One or some of his satellites have -apparently secured an opening to the air from the very Bottomless Pit -itself. The atmosphere is charged with fumes, while the deposit bubbles -and froths in a way to strike terror into the heart of an infidel. To -get a near view, one must be carried across a small stream by a couple -of negroes, or--take off his shoes and stockings and wade. Miss May -looked somewhat aghast at both propositions, and I allowed the boys to -carry me over first, to show her how safe the process was. But, though -it might be safe, it was clearly not graceful, for they handled a human -being quite as if he were a sack, thinking their duty done if they got -him across without dropping him in the brook. - -She said, at first, that she believed she would rather wade and sat down -to take off her boots. Then, when it came to the hosiery and her fingers -had begun to wander toward the fastenings, she had another period of -doubt, calling to me to know if there was really anything worth seeing. -Finally putting on her boots again, she directed the negroes how to make -a sort of "cat's-cradle" chair and arrived safely in that manner. - -It was then that I had my pang. For she put both her fair arms around -the neck of the bearers to steady herself in transit. - -"I shall insist on being one of your porteurs, on your return," I said, -as she was placed on her feet. "If you are going to put your arms around -the neck of any man in this island it must be myself." - -She tried to laugh off the idea, a little nervously, saying she had more -confidence in those experienced fellows on the slippery stones than she -had in me. I persisted a little longer, till it became evident my -expressions were not agreeable. In returning she managed to steady -herself by merely touching the shoulders of her bearers, and brought -back the smile to my face by calling my attention to the fact, with a -comic elevation of her eyebrows. I helped her mount her horse and all -the way from there she was kindness itself. On the whole the day was the -most delightful I had passed since leaving America. - -She was to be my wife! This thought was uppermost in my mind. She must -be my wife! I would think of nothing but that blissful culmination. - -It was not the time now to press for an affirmative answer. I must make -myself more and more agreeable, more indispensable to her. When the hour -came that she was about to leave me--when the alternative presented -itself to her mind of going back to her unpleasant struggle for bread -or becoming the consort of a man she had admitted was not distasteful to -her--I had no fear of the result. - -The next stop after Dominica is Martinique and here I intended to make a -stay of a month at least. My tickets were only purchased as far as this -point. Our baggage was taken ashore and, as far as appeared, we had -bidden a permanent farewell to the good ship Pretoria. - -Again, however, my plans were to be altered. - -The Hotel des Bains at St. Pierre, is not by any means a first-class -house, but there is something quaint about it that to me has a certain -charm. The meals are served in the French style and not at all bad. The -beds are immense affairs, and I never yet saw a bed that was too big. In -the centre of what might be called the patio, so Spanish is the -architecture of the building, is a fish-pond, giving an air of coolness -to the entire place. - -The patois of the servants is pleasing to my ear. I entered the house in -high spirits, remembering a delightful visit there in the former time. -The mulatto proprietor recognized me, as did his slightly lighter -colored wife, presiding over her duties as only a woman of French -extraction can. - -"A large room with two beds, I presume?" asked the proprietor, in -French, bowing affably to Miss May. - -"He asks if we wish a large room with two beds," I said translating his -words into English, smilingly, but she evidently did not consider the -joke worth laughing at. So I said that we wished two rooms, as near -together as possible. - -Madame looked up. She was searching, evidently, for the wedding ring -that was absent from Marjorie's finger, to explain my decision. A -servant was called to attend to us and presently we were established in -very comfortable quarters. - -As I wanted Miss May to see the island as soon as possible, a carriage -was summoned immediately, in which we took the road to Fort de France, -where we viewed the statue of the Empress Josephine, erected to -commemorate the fact that she was born in that vicinity. We had a nice -lunch at a hotel there and took rooms to secure the siesta to which we -had both grown accustomed. Then we drove back to St. Pierre, and arrived -at the Hotel des Bains in season for dinner. - -The Carnival, which lasts here for four or five weeks, had already -begun. The streets were crowded with masquers and sounds of strange -music filled the air. There was something very odd in this imitation by -the negro race of the frivolities of the Latin countries of Europe as a -precedent of the forty days of Lent. Miss May viewed it with me from the -balcony of a restaurant until nearly ten o'clock. A number of the -steamer people were also there and I fancied we were the object of more -than ordinary attention from their eyes. - -After reaching the hotel again I asked Miss May if she would mind being -left alone for an hour or so, while I went to see a peculiar dance. I -assured her that the house was absolutely safe. She made no objection -and I went with a party of Pretoria people--no women--to witness the -spectacle of which I had heard so much. It was not half as entertaining -as I had expected, but there were several girls of the Métisse variety -that well repaid me for going. The Métisse is a mixture of races, the -original Carib prevailing, one of the most fetching types extant. They -were dressed becomingly, in thin gowns, of which silk was at least one -of the textures used. On their heads were party-colored handkerchiefs, -draped as only a Martinique beauty can drape them. - -At the risk of being thought extravagant in my statement I must say they -appeared to me strikingly handsome, both in their faces and their lithe -figures. I was told that each of those I saw was the mistress of some -well-to-do merchant of the place and strictly true to her lover. The -dance was not of a kind one would wish to take his sisters to see, but -it was evident the negroes put a less libidinous interpretation upon it -than the Caucasian visitors. It was one, however, where "a little goes a -long way," and before twelve I was in my room at the hotel. - -I had just lit the lamp when I was surprised to hear a knock at the door -and opened it to find Miss May standing there, with an anxious -expression on her face. - -"Don't undress," she said, in a slightly shaking voice. "I have been -full of all sorts of fears since you went away. I want you to sit up -awhile and talk to me." - -I accepted the amendment, as they say in deliberative bodies, with the -greatest pleasure, for I would rather sit up with her than to sleep on -the softest down ever made into a couch. She went to the window, which -was innocent of glass, and threw open the wooden shutters. - -"What did you hear to disturb you, a mouse?" I asked, jocularly. - -"I don't know. The place is full of creepy sounds. The noise in the -street continues and every step in the corridors makes the boards creak. -Did you enjoy your dance?" - -"Not specially," I said. And then I told her of the Métisse women I had -seen, praising their appearance. - -She did not seem to notice what I was saying. She acted as if in -constant fear of something unpleasant. - -"You do not care to talk as much as you thought you did," I remarked. - -"No. I was tired and sleepy, but I did not like to be alone. Why can't -I--there wouldn't be any harm, would there?--lie on this smaller bed -just as I am, and you can get your sleep over yonder?" - -Conflicting sentiments filled my brain as I listened. What a strange -woman she was! Alarmed at the least approach on my part, when we were on -a steamer deck, a veranda or in a carriage; and now proposing to drop to -slumber in my very bedroom, as if it were nothing at all! - -A dim suspicion that she meant more than she said forced itself upon me -at first. Was I deceiving myself by paying too much attention to her -protestations? Had she run away merely for the sake of being pursued? - -The best method to prove the truth or falsity of this was to take her -strictly at her word, which I decided to do. I told her that the room -and everything in it was at her disposal, as she very well knew. She -might lie on one bed, or the other, or the floor, or sit in a chair. It -was unfortunate that in this house, as I had already learned, there were -no rooms with communicating doors, or I would get our quarters changed. -She thanked me, as if I was doing her a particular favor, and, curling -herself up as she had suggested, was soon, to all appearances, sound -asleep. - -Then the thoughts she had communicated to me, about the strange noises -in the house, entered my own head. I tossed on my pillow, from side to -side, sat up and lay down again a hundred times. There were mice enough -in the building to satisfy a cat for a year, if noises went for -anything. Late lodgers perambulated the halls, met each other and -whispered in tones much more disturbing than loud voices would have -been. Somebody, doubtless a servant, entered the next room, the one -Marjorie had occupied, and moved about there, as if in stocking-feet. -She had left her lamp lighted and this individual blew it out, as I -could tell from certain signs. When this was done he went away, but -returned again presently, repeating the operation several times. - -All the nerves in my body quivered with the strain. - -I looked at my watch every half hour, by the light of the moon that -shone clearly through the open window. I thought I must awaken my -companion; the loneliness was becoming unbearable. Nothing but shame -prevented me--shame and a disinclination to disturb her calm and regular -breathing. - -At last I grew a little calmer. And the next I knew Marjorie was -standing by my side, with one of her hands on my forehead and saying in -whispers that if I was going to take breakfast I would have to think of -getting up. - -It was after ten o'clock and I had slept the sleep of a tired man for -seven hours! - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -IT IS A STRANGE IDEA. - - -The immediate result of the strange proceedings of the night was that -Miss May asked me, before we had finished breakfast, whether I cared -much about remaining in St. Pierre. She approached the subject with some -timidity, saying she did not like to have me make any change in my -programme on her account, but added that she would be very glad if I -could, without too much sacrifice, go back to the Pretoria and make the -break in my journey at some other point. - -"Why, my dear girl," I answered, immediately, "if you don't wish to stay -here I shall never dream of asking you to do so. Pack up whatever things -you have taken from your trunks and we will return to the steamer." - -She was gratified and showed it so in every line of her expressive face -that I was more than repaid for my decision. - -"You are quite willing?" she said, interrogatively. - -"Entirely. Where would you suggest that we stop, Barbados? That is the -next port where there is a fairly good hotel." - -After a little discussion we settled upon Barbados and began the labor -of packing. I sent a boy off to the steamer with a request to the purser -to give me a berth in some other stateroom than the one I previously -had, and to reserve Miss May's room for her. I did not mean to get in -with Wesson again if I could help it. That afternoon we spent at the -market, which is the most interesting I have ever seen, until the time -came to go on board. - -"As we may have to tell a falsehood to some inquisitive person," I said, -when we were in the rowboat, "let us tell the same one. Fear of yellow -fever quarantine is what led us to change our mind about remaining in -Martinique; you understand?" - -"Yes," said Marjorie, dreamily. "We were to lie to outsiders, if -necessary, and always tell the truth to each other." - -"Are you doing that as faithfully as you promised?" I asked. - -"What do you mean?" she asked, with a violent start. - -"Nothing that should induce you to tip the boat over, as you just came -near doing," I replied. "I merely asked a question." - -"You must believe I am deceiving you in some way, or you would not use -that expression," she said, eyeing me narrowly. - -"I have a great deal more confidence in you than you have in me," was my -answer. - -"You can say this--knowing where I passed last night!" she said, -reproachfully. - -"Oh, I don't mean that sort of confidence," I remarked. "I mean the -confidence that would make you promise to spend every night as long as -you live under the same guardianship." - -A little sigh came from the lips of my companion, which had whitened -suddenly; the kind of sigh that might mean almost anything. The boatmen -were too busy to listen to us, even had they understood a word of -English, which they did not. - -"Marjorie," I whispered, for I could not resist the desire to hear her -say it, "don't you care for me, just a little bit?" - -"Please!" was the only word she vouchsafed, and I heeded the request. - -We came to the steamer's side, meeting many astonished gazes. I gave the -requisite directions to the porters who came down the ladder for the -baggage. The purser had assigned me another room, as requested, which -was something. Wesson lifted his hat and said "Good-afternoon," when we -met, but that was all. If he guessed that I had managed to avoid rooming -with him by a set plan he made no remark. - -The purser of the Pretoria is young, handsome and obliging. His father, -a custom-house officer from Canada, was making a tour on the boat and -struck me as a fine type. I learned that another of his sons was a -member of the Dominion Parliament. - -Capt. McKenzie came up to say he was glad I was going to be on his ship -a little longer, which was agreeable, to say the least. I had noticed -the Captain before, though I did not get well acquainted with him. He -was the sort of man one likes to meet, straightforward, intelligent, -understanding his business thoroughly. He knows how to treat the ladies -among his passengers equally well, too, instead of devoting all his time -to a favored group, like so many sea captains. This in itself is enough -to make him a marked man in my memory. - -The only place we had to call before reaching the island of Barbados was -at St. Lucia, where there was little to interest us on shore, but where -I was glad to see a troop-ship just arrived from Africa, with a cargo of -wives (more or less) of black troops that were serving near Sierra -Leone, each one accompanied by a parrot and monkey, beside several small -children. The British government had taken them from the West Indies to -Africa with their lords (I mean the women) and was now returning them a -little in advance of their dusky partners. I asked half a dozen at -random if they had ever been legally married and the reply in every case -was "No, suh," delivered with a certain pride. The West Indian negro has -not yet added matrimony to his list of virtues. - -Early on the morning of the day our vessel anchored off Greytown, which -is the capital of Barbados, I found on deck Mr. "Eddie" Armstrong, -manager of the Marine Hotel, ready to answer questions in relation to -that hostelry. "Eddie" told me that he had just the sort of rooms I -required for myself and "Miss Carney," and put me under obligations by -refraining from cheap insinuations, which nine men out of ten in his -position would have made. Later he saw us through the custom-house with -expedition and sent us in a carriage to the Marine, which is two miles -from the centre, in a breezy and roomy location, just enough removed -from the noise of the sea waves. - -Miss Byno, at the hotel counter, greeted me with a precise copy of the -smile she had worn three years before, while Mr. Pomeroy, the -proprietor, said he was glad to see me, exactly as if he meant it. Our -apartment consisted of a sitting room and two connecting chambers on the -second floor, which were clean, airy and cosy. It was the nearest to -"house-keeping," as I remarked to Miss May, of any place we had found. - -"We must resume our genealogy to-morrow," she said, as she opened the -table and set up the typewriting machine. "We have neglected it -dreadfully." - -"No," I answered, for I had been developing a new plan. "I am going to -lay that ponderous history on the shelf for the present and ask you to -aid me in another and more interesting task. The family tree is in such -shape that it can afford to rest awhile and I am sick to death of it." - -Then, as the anxious look came into her face--the look that came so -easily when I said anything that lacked explicitness--I continued: - -"Don't laugh at me, but I am going to begin, to-morrow, a--novel!" - -"A--novel!" she repeated, wonderingly. "Do you write novels?" - -"I am going to write one, with your help," I said, decidedly. "It won't -be exactly a novel, either, because it will be based on fact, pretty -nearly all fact--in fact. What would you say to a novel based on the -very trip we are making?" - -She was lost in thought for some minutes. - -"Are you serious?" she asked, finally. - -"Entirely." - -"But, do you think it would be interesting--to--any one else?" - -"I am sure of it. Of course I shall suppress our real names, but the -rest I mean to put in print precisely as it has occurred. If I am not -mistaken it will make the hit of the summer season." - -She was silent again. - -"Doesn't an author have to know--before he begins his story--how it will -end?" she asked, after awhile. - -"I suppose he does. I certainly know how this one will." - -"How?" - -"The hero will marry the heroine, make her the happiest woman on earth, -and they will live contentedly ever after." - -"Hardly exciting enough, I fear, to suit the popular taste," she -commented. "A story, like a play, should have a 'villain.'" - -I laughed and said I would use Wesson for that character. I could, if -necessary, invent some disreputable things and attach them to his -pseudonym. - -"And how shall you describe me?" she asked, demurely. - -"You will have to wait and see. I shall make one important stipulation. -Your part of this writing will be merely mechanical unless I call for -aid. It is to be my story, not yours." - -"It is a strange idea," she said, watching my face. "Really, I think you -had best keep on with your family tree. I am getting quite interested in -the Alexanders and Colins who preceded the Dugalds and the Donalds." - -"No, I am determined," was my reply. "We will leave those aged gentlemen -in their graves and begin the true history of the Marjories and the -Dons. There will be time enough for both before you and I end our -partnership." - -She responded dutifully at last that she was at my disposal, as far as -the use of her time was concerned. It was agreed that on the very next -morning the novel would be begun. - -"And you must not interrupt me, either with approval or disapproval?" I -said. "For whatever is written I alone will be responsible." - -"That will be hard, when, as I suppose, you will discuss me more or -less," she said, with a bewitching pout. "How do I know you will not -make me out the most disreputable female that ever lived? But I promise. -In fact, I don't see as there is anything else I can do. I am working -for wages and I might as well offer to alter a business letter as a -story in which I am merely an amanuensis." - -"I shall carry our original contract into the novel," I said. "There -will be no falsehood. If I have suspected any person, or repented of my -suspicions--if I have resolved not to fall in love, and afterwards done -so--it will be all there. I shall record what has transpired with the -accuracy of a Kodak, even if, like the sensitive plate, it has to be -taken into a dark room for development." - -"Such a story ought to interest two persons at least," she said. "I hope -you intend to send me a copy or let me know where I can buy one." - -"Every bookseller in the country will have it," I replied, "and the sale -will be phenomenal. You didn't think I brought you out here just to -throw away money, did you? I expect to make a fortune out of the -portrait I am going to draw." - -She laughed lightly and we closed the subject for the time, quite agreed -upon it. Before we went out she surprised me by asking if it would be -convenient to let her have a little money, for I supposed she had the -sixty dollars previously paid her, still in her purse. She had never -expended a penny that I knew of, except the dollar she gave Thorwald. -However, I said she could have any sum she liked; and she asked with -some hesitation, if I could spare as much as a hundred dollars. She -wanted to send it home and would consider it a great accommodation if I -could pay her as far in advance as that would be. She said she would try -not to ask me again for anything until we returned to New York. - -We took a carriage and went to the Barbados Branch of the Colonial Bank, -where I could draw money on my letter of credit--if I was willing to -wait long enough. I have visited various branches of that Bank in the -Tropics and I will challenge any institution on earth to vie with it in -slowness of waiting upon customers. I stood at least five minutes at the -counter before any of the numerous clerks who sat on high stools -condescended to notice me. Then one did see that I was there, and -whispered to his nearest neighbor in a way that showed he thought it a -rather good joke. Two or three men who seemed of an upper grade of -clerks passed near enough for me to speak to them, but none deigned the -least reply. After this had gone on until it grew rather monotonous I -addressed the entire institution, from president to office boy, with a -request to tell me if I was in a deaf and dumb asylum. - -The youngest clerk thereupon made his way slowly--nobody in the -Colonial Bank could move otherwise--to where I stood and mildly inquired -if I wished for anything. I told him that, strange as it might appear, I -did. I said I wanted $350, and I wanted it d--(that is to say, very) -quick. I said I was only going to stay in the island three or four weeks -more and I wanted the money to pay my hotel bill when I left. He did not -seem to grasp the idea exactly, but he did go to the farthest man in the -room and direct his attention to me by pointing, after which he resumed -his seat at his desk. - -The Farthest Man, in a way that showed he had a deep grudge against me -for disturbing him, came more slowly than the first one across the room -and asked me if I wanted anything. I threw my letter of credit on the -counter and said what I had already said to the other, adding for -emphasis the name of the deity to my previous observation. The clerk -took the letter and went away with it. For some time he was engaged in -exhibiting the thing to various clerks, all of whom regarded it with -wonder, as if it was a piece of papyrus from some Egyptian tomb. At last -he found a chap who took the letter of credit from him and divided the -next five minutes between reading it with care and looking at me over -his spectacles; having done which the latter clerk came to the counter -where I stood and asked what denominations of money I would like. - -I told him, with some warmth (the thermometer stood at 85 in the room) -that I would like part of it in Hardshell Baptist and the rest in -African Methodist Episcopal, or any other old thing, but that I did want -it in a hurry. He might give me a draft that could be used in New York -for $100 of it, and the rest in sovereigns, in case he should decide, on -reflection, to give me anything at all. These remarks he met with a -vacant stare, but took from his desk, when he had again reached it, two -pieces of paper, which he filled with duplicate statements, after the -manner of his kind. Reading these over several times, to make sure he -had committed no error, he took them to another man (apparently a sort -of manager or director) who pretended, as long as he could, not to see -his subordinate or to guess that he wished to attract his attention. -Afraid, I suppose, to speak, the clerk finally coughed mildly behind his -hand, at which the manager glared at him fiercely, and reaching out for -the papers, studied them for a long time. When satisfied (though you -wouldn't have thought it to look at him) he wrote something on each and -the clerk returned to me. - -If I should detail the manner in which that fellow tried to evade giving -me my money, now that he had a chance to do so, I fear I would not be -believed. It ended, however, in my being sent to a cashier and getting -what I wanted. Tired and hungry I returned to my carriage and was driven -back to the Marine Hotel with Marjorie. - -"Here is your cash, or rather what can be used to get it," I said, -drawing a long breath and handing her the draft. "When you have written -your name on the back it will be good anywhere." - -"I don't know how to show my gratitude," she answered, her face -flushing. - -"Excuse me. You know very well, but you refuse," I replied. "Now, here -is something for you to think of. All the wicked things you do, the -cruelties you practice, are to be spread before the novel reading public -of America! That ought to soften your hard heart. You know 'All the -world loves a lover,' but there is no proverb to fit a thoroughly -heartless girl." - -"I would like you much better if you would not say such things," she -pouted. - -"You speak as if you did like me a little, even now," I responded. - -"Like you!" she exclaimed. "That's just it. I like you ever and ever so -much. How can I help it, when you are so kind to me? I like you and I -want to continue to like you, Mr. Camran. I wish I could think you would -never learn to dislike me." - -As I began an impassioned declaration that the day would never dawn, she -started violently and bit her lips till the teeth marks showed plainly. -In another instant I saw what had caused her mental disturbance; two men -were looking at us from a street car that was trying with some success -to reach the hill by the hotel before we did. Those men were Robert -Edgerly and Horace Wesson. - -"Don't let him get you into trouble," she whispered, between her closed -lips. "I heard him threaten you at St. Croix. Oh, how did he get here!" - -She referred, of course, to Edgerly. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -NEW WORK FOR MY TYPEWRITER. - - -It was plain that these two men had become closer friends than they -appeared to be when on the Madiana. Wesson's pretence of regard for me -did not sort with this affiliation with a fellow against whom he had -been at such pains to warn me. They both seemed disconcerted at our -meeting and I learned later that they had decided to stop at different -houses. Edgerly registered at the Sea View, a small hotel situated about -a quarter mile from the Marine, while Wesson came boldly to the latter -hostelry and took a room there. - -However, as I did not own the house, I was not at liberty to prevent him -living where he liked. I made up my mind to avoid him and let it go at -that. It began to be apparent that his movements were influenced in a -large degree by my own. I wondered if he meant to dog me from island to -island during the rest of my journey. - -On the day following my arrival I began to dictate to Miss May the novel -of which I had spoken, or rather a correct transcript of the proceedings -that had brought me where I was. You already know the story, and if you -care to read it again you have only to turn to the first chapter of this -volume and begin at the point where she did. It took me the whole of -that forenoon to finish the opening instalment, as I wanted to put it -into a shape that would not necessitate its being re-written. Miss May -proved a splendid amanuensis and, as requested, made no comments till -the lunch hour arrived, though I could not help seeing that she was -filled with interest as well as vivid curiosity. - -When I began to allude to Statia and to detail her conversations with -me, my typewriter's face was at times suffused with pink. I fancied, -when I came to the place where I asked Statia to be my wife, that -Marjorie was about to refuse to continue, but she merely drew a very -long breath and let her nimble fingers touch the requisite keys. When -Tom's sister declined my offer I heard a light sigh that I took to mean -relief. The tale of my visit to the Herald office and of writing the -advertisement clearly interested her. She wrote rapidly when I told -about the handsome woman who wished the acquaintance of an elderly -gentleman, on whom to lavish her beautiful face and form, with her -"object matrimony." - -When I said we would let that chapter suffice for the day she sat back -from the table and uttered an uneasy little laugh. - -"It's not so bad," she was kind enough to say. "I may have to change my -mind about your project. But are you going on as you have begun, -exposing every thought--making the world your confidant. I am afraid few -people could afford to do that." - -"Precisely," I said. "Men have written fiction so vividly that people -have believed it truth. I am going to write truth in such a manner that -people will take it for excellent fiction. Yes, I shall follow Othello's -advice, 'nothing extenuate nor set down aught in malice.' It is a -camera you are operating, my dear, not a typewriting machine." - -That afternoon we took a long drive, to Farley Hill, which point is said -to be nine hundred feet above the sea. I was tranquil enough now. We -were alone except for the driver, whose back was toward us. The long -stretches of sugar cane made a pleasing prospect. Every individual we -met, mostly people of various degrees of negro lineage, addressed us -pleasantly. The trade-winds from the east, that blow over Barbados six -months in the year, brought ozone to our lungs and coolness to our -faces. The road for the entire distance was smooth and hard. It was one -of the most delightful drives I had ever taken and there was nothing to -mar the occasion. - -We passed the evening after dinner in our joint sitting room, with the -windows wide open and retired early. - -"You are the most honest man I ever met," said Miss May, the next -morning, when she was in the midst of her work. She had just written -this paragraph: - - I have led a life as regards women that I now think worse than - idiotic. I have followed one after another of them, from pillar to - post, falling madly in love, getting the blues, losing heart, all - that sort of thing. I have never been intimately acquainted with a - pure, honest girl of the better classes, except one. - -"Was there ever another man who would put such things about himself in -cold type?" - -"But, listen," I said, defensively. "See what follows: - - I need sadly to be educated by a woman who will not hold out - temptation. I have an idea that a few months passed abroad, in the - society of such a woman, will make another man of me. - -"Marjorie, my life, I was right. It has made another man of me. I shall -never be what I was before--never as long as I breathe." - -She shook her head, half doubtfully, but declined to discuss the subject -further. When she came to Hume's question, "What is to keep you from -falling in love with your secretary?" she seemed troubled until she had -received the answer I gave him, declaring that my "secretary" would be -sent home with a month's advance wages if she allowed me to forget that -I was merely her employer. Then she broke the rule we had adopted, and I -could not blame her. - -"You are evidently of a forgetful nature," she said. "The promise you -made your friend does not agree with some of the foolish things you have -tried to say to me." - -"But, my angel, I had not met you when I made that assertion. I was -speaking of an imaginary woman. Men are not expected to do impossible -things. Besides, you do not realize how very ill I had been. I think we -shall get on better if you will reserve your comments till the end of -each chapter, when I shall be delighted to hear as many as you like." - -She returned good naturedly to the machine, and recorded the balance of -the chapter that is numbered two in this volume. When I said we had -done enough for one day, she answered that she thought a little work in -the afternoon would hurt neither of us; and that, for her part, she -would be glad to begin again after lunch. It was plain that she was -becoming interested and wanted to get on as fast as possible. Pleased at -this, I consented to her plan. It was only half past eleven when she -stopped and a rest of two or three hours would put us both right again. - -"I don't think I realized you had been so terribly ill," she said, -taking a rocker and placing herself at ease. - -"I don't like to talk much about it, or even to think of it," was my -reply, "but you may be sure it was hard enough. I would rather endure -any pain than the awful depression that accompanies neurasthenia. When I -recovered it seemed as if I had died and been resurrected. My old life -was gone and I did not wish to recall it. The new one was full of new -possibilities and dreams. How happy I shall be when they are all -fulfilled!" - -"And were you so very--very wicked?" she asked, constrainedly. "I cannot -believe it when I look at you. Vice ought to leave some distinguishing -mark, but your face is as innocent as a babe's." - -"You are very kind to say so. But I want to talk about that still less -than about my illness. Both of them have come to an end." - -"Let us trust so," she said, gently. - -How gently and sweetly she did say it! - -The third chapter, which we did that day before taking our drive, called -for no interruption on her part with one exception, and that was -because she did not quite catch one word. It was in relation to the -letter of credit that I had brought. - -"Did you say two thousand?" she asked, "or three?" - -"Two thousand," I answered, and she went on rapidly, talking down the -words as they fell from my lips. The account of Charmion's performance -at Koster and Bial's disturbed her visibly, but she went bravely to the -end. - -"Do you really mean that this exposure took place in a New York theatre, -at a regular performance?" she asked, when I said that was the end. - -"Exactly as described." - -"It is shameful!" she exclaimed, angrily. "If women had charge of the -theatres such things would not be permitted." - -"You forget," I replied, "that half the audience were women--ladies, if -you please." - -She bit her lip. - -"You ought not to put it in the story, at any rate," she said. "It will -only encourage people with debased minds to go to view it." - -"By the time my book is published there will probably be an entire -change of programme," said I. (I wonder if there will.) - -Another drive, another chatty evening, another morning, and we went on -again. Miss May smiled occasionally as I told of my preparations for -making this voyage and of engaging a berth for her before I had even -received her reply to my advertisement in the Herald. Then she listened -with interest to the letter (the first one) I received from Miss -Brazier, breaking our rule enough to remark, "That's a bright girl." I -took her own reply from my pocket to give it verbatim, upon which she -said-- - -"Have you kept that all this time? Tear it up now and throw it in the -wastebasket." - -"Tear it up?" I echoed. "Money wouldn't buy that little note!" - -When the end of the fourth chapter was reached, and we took our noonday -rest, she spoke at some length about Statia. She wanted me to tell her -more than appeared in the story. That was the kind of woman one could -admire, she declared. - -"And yet, how can I judge a girl who has always been under the watchful -eye of a kind father or brother?" she added, thoughtfully. "Who can say -what evil might have crept into her life, had she been compelled to face -the cruel world and fight for her bread?" - -"But you have done that," I protested, "and are to-day as sweet and pure -as if all the fathers and brothers on earth formed your guard." - -She turned on me suddenly. - -"How do you know?" she demanded. "You know nothing whatever about me. -Oh, Mr. Camran, there are things in my life that would make a novel even -more interesting than this one of yours. But I could not sit down and -expose my errors as you do. I could not! no, I could not!" - -I said that all the errors of her young life must be wholly in -imagination. She was like some child at a first confession, trying to -magnify a baby fault into goods big enough for its new market. She made -no reply, but went silently into her chamber where she remained till -lunch time. When she came out the matter had slipped my mind and did not -recur to me till long afterward. - -The fifth chapter occupied us during most of the afternoon. Miss May -showed great interest when Mr. Wesson appeared on the scene and much -more when she herself was first presented. My intense anxiety to meet -her seemed to strike her as odd, for she uttered little "oh's" and -"ah's" when I described our first meeting. When she came to the -expression "she was not handsome," she said "I should think not!" in a -tone of disdain. - -At the end of the chapter she had to talk about it as usual. - -"Well, it is something to see one's photograph, as it appears to -another," she said, smiling. "I don't understand, though, how I managed -to produce such a favorable impression. I really had little idea I -should be the successful applicant when you left my room that day. I -wasn't even certain that I ought to accept, if you offered it to me. I -had never heard of an arrangement exactly like it. We were strangers to -each other. I had a place that I detested, but how could I be sure you -would prove a more considerate employer than the one I was to leave? Had -it not been for my desperate plight I must have told you frankly that I -could not go." - -"You are not sorry--yet?" I whispered. - -"Oh, no! And you can prevent my ever being sorry, if you will." - -It was useless to begin the old argument. I went down to see if the -carriage was ready. Wesson sat in the hallway, where the draft of air -was strongest, and did not see me until I was close to him. When he -realized my proximity he closed the book in his hands with a bang and -looked much confused. But he had not performed the action quickly enough -for his purpose. - -I had seen what he was reading: - -It was a copy of "Our Rival the Rascal," undoubtedly the one Eggert had -missed just before we left St. Thomas. - -I said nothing, but I thought a great deal. A man who would steal one -thing would steal another. If Wesson had carried off that book from the -dining room of my host Eggert-- - -A mile from the hotel I decided to convey to my companion's mind the -suspicions that filled my own. - -"You remember that book I had one evening at Eggert's--the book you did -not wish to look at," I began. - -"That horrible thing!" she exclaimed, with a shiver, nodding an -affirmative. - -"Just before we left Eggert's, you know, he missed the volume. Nobody -had been in the house except you and me, and Wesson. Eggert knew me too -well to suspect that I would be guilty of such a theft, and yet he was -puzzled. Why, Marjorie, what is the matter with you?" - -My last expression was called forth by a strange look on the face of my -companion. She fell against me as if too weak to sit up, and yet her -eyes were open and not devoid of intelligence. - -"My darling!" I cried. "You are ill. Let us return at once." - -"No," she said, in a whisper. "It is only temporary. But please say -nothing more about the book. If anybody took it--ugh!--it must have been -by accident." - -"But, my dear," I explained, when she seemed more comfortable, "you must -let me tell you of a discovery I have made. I saw that book--" - -Rousing herself with difficulty Miss May looked me in the eyes like a -sleep-walker. - -"Don!" she said, vehemently. "Don! Sometimes you tell me you love me! -How can you then persist in this torture! I cannot bear to think of that -book, to hear it spoken of! You may call me foolish, and probably I am. -There are women who are afraid of snakes, lizards, rats; not one of -those creatures could disturb my nerves. But when I think of men that -live by crime, that rob and steal--and murder--it is as if the hands of -one of them was on my own throat!" - -Soothingly I promised to be careful in the future--sadly I spoke my -regrets at the pain I had caused her. I knew too well the vagaries of -ill-balanced nerves not to understand that they require no reason to set -themselves on edge. - -I bade the driver cut our ride short and we drove back to the hotel in -nearly perfect silence. - -But I could not help my thoughts. If Wesson had stolen that book, what -was there to show that he had not stolen my diamond, and those of -Marjorie and of Miss Howes? What could I think but, with his almost -exclusive opportunities on the steamer, he was the guilty man? I -recalled his offer to watch from our cabin, his assumption of the rôle -of a sleuth-hound--undoubtedly to deceive me. What was he doing at -Barbados unless to watch for another chance to ply his profession? - -The more attention I gave to the matter the clearer everything grew. - -Undoubtedly Wesson was, on general principles, much more than a match -for me in shrewdness, but when I started to do a thing I usually -accomplished it. - -I resolved that if he was the thief, I would trace his work home to him -and make him restore the fruits of his larceny. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -"YOU WERE IN MY ROOM." - - -Letters that came the next morning were hardly read, so interested was I -in my plan to entrap my sly fellow passenger. They were from Tom and -Statia Barton and from a club friend who had obtained my address from -Tom. Statia's had a tone of melancholy that she seemed trying to -conceal. Tom's was full of cheer, with wholesome advice about keeping -well now I had got into that condition. They had received my first -letters, mailed at St. Thomas, and congratulated me on escaping what -both persisted in calling the dangers of the sea. - -How to expose the knavery of Wesson--that was all I could think of -consecutively. I told Miss May that I would not dictate to her that -morning and she took the opportunity to drive down town, to do, as she -said, a little shopping. Wesson also took a carriage about the same time -and I heard him tell the clerk, Miss Byno, he would probably be gone -till noon at least. - -When they were both out of sight I began to haunt the vicinity of the -Boston man's room, which was on the same floor as mine, though much -further down the corridor. When no one was near I tried the door, in a -foolish hope that he might have left it unlocked, which, of course, he -had not done. - -If I could get ten minutes alone there I believed I should discover -something. At the same time I realized that I was running considerable -risk. Should I be discovered in the chamber of another man, rummaging -among his things, the fact that I suspected him of having robbed me -would be a poor excuse in the eyes of a magistrate. - -Still, anxious to convince myself, I was ready to dare even the danger -of arrest and punishment. It was a very dangerous proceeding, as I now -view it, and only to be justified by success. At the time, nothing could -have dissuaded me from my purpose. - -As I strolled back to my own room a chambermaid met me, with a bunch of -keys in her hand, and she went directly to Mr. Wesson's apartment. For -the next twenty minutes, she remained there, engaged in the customary -work of her profession, and then came out and began to turn the key in -the lock behind her. This was my time, if ever. Hastening to her side I -told her in low tones that I wished to play a little joke on my friend -who occupied the room and wanted her to leave the door unlocked for an -hour or so, or until I called her. To emphasize my desire I exhibited a -sovereign and put it into the hand which she held doubtfully toward me. - -"I only want to go in a little while," I repeated, trying to force a -laugh. "It will be all right. Don't say a word to any one." - -The woman looked at the coin, representing a month's wages to her, as if -to make sure it was genuine. It probably never entered her head that my -intention was other than the one I stated. It was not likely that a -gentleman of my cloth would have a felonious design or carry it out in -this manner. I had only to add that if it was discovered that the door -was unlocked I would take all the blame, and the woman slunk away -without a word. - -The first thing I noticed after entering and locking the door behind me -was the copy of "Our Rival, the Rascal," that had been stolen from the -Quarantine Station. It lay on a table and I took it up with interest. On -the fly leaf was written Eggert's name and address, proving conclusively -that it was the one I supposed. The baggage in the room consisted of a -steamer trunk and a "dress-suit case," both of which were locked. A -moment later I had tried both locks with keys from my pocket and -found--to my joy--that the one on the trunk yielded to the pressure. - -I felt awfully uncomfortable, to tell the truth, as I lifted the lid of -that trunk. I glanced at the door, wondering if some prying eye might be -at the key-hole. Getting a towel from the rack I covered the aperture. -The blinds at the window were shut, so there was no other place from -which I could be observed, if I except the high heaven above, and the -rectitude of my purpose justified me there, in my belief. - -Carefully I lifted the articles in the receptacle, one by one. They were -the ordinary things to be expected in the possession of a gentleman -travelling. I had nearly relinquished my search when a little packet -wrapped in brown paper, attracted my notice. Taking it up I pinched it -carefully for an instant, and then, becoming excited, untied the string. - -How my heart did beat! For there lay before my eyes the bracelet stolen -from Miss Howes, the earrings that Miss May had worn and the stud -purloined from my bag! Everything, in short, that we had lost, except -the little turquoise ring. - -I put that package in my pocket, shut and locked the trunk, and was -preparing to quit the room when I heard a turn at the handle of the -door. Who could be there, at that time of day? Was it possible Wesson -had given up his drive? or had the chambermaid returned with some -article needed? The fumbling continued for another minute and then a -distinct, though rather low knock followed. I call it low, for -subsequent judgment so deems it, but at the time it was as loud to my -ears as a pistol shot. Still I kept quiet, for there was nothing to be -gained by jumping from the frying pan into the fire. If it was Wesson I -fancied I had a card to play that would prevent his putting me to much -trouble. If it was any one else they would certainly leave when they -received no answer to their summons. - -The person outside renewed the knock two or three times and then moved -slowly away. As soon as the noise of his steps ceased I opened the door -cautiously and stepped out. It took several seconds before I could -remove the key from the inside and put it in the aperture toward the -hall. Before I could turn it, I was more than disgusted to see a face -peering around the nearest corner and taking in the whole proceeding. It -was the face of Robert Edgerly! - -"Well, well!" he said, coming toward me and leering in an exasperating -way. "I took the liberty of calling you a cur the last time we met, but -I didn't think--" - -He stopped and laughed provokingly. - -"It makes very little difference what you think," I retorted, white with -anger. "I can explain this to the only person interested, whenever he -chooses to inquire. As he seems to be a friend of yours, you may tell -him so, if you see him first, with my compliments." - -He strode toward me threateningly, his right hand wandering toward his -hip pocket. - -"Have a care!" he said. "You pretend to be a gentleman, and I find you a -sneak-thief. Give me another word and I will denounce you to the -proprietor of the hotel!" - -Perhaps he had a right to assume that air. I was not in a very -creditable position; but I did not think of this till afterward. He had -called me names, had threatened me with violence in the most -contemptuous manner. I sprang at his throat with my right hand extended -to grasp it and had I succeeded I fear his lease of life would have been -short. He was, however, too agile for me. Springing backward he drew a -revolver, and the sight of that steelly barrel with five cartridges -behind it stopped my headlong course like magic. - -"Not quite so fast as you were, eh!" he said, between his teeth. "You -know a little joker when you see one. Now, turn your face the other way, -put your hands to your side like a whipped boy, and march to the end of -the corridor. I will follow you; and when I feel sure you are not up to -some scurvy trick--of which I quite believe you capable--I will let you -crawl to your room and continue the wonderful genealogy of the idiots -from whom you sprung." - -I had thought rapidly since he first produced the weapon. I had no -anxiety to be murdered. He had the "drop" on me beyond question. My own -revolver was in the bottom of one of my trunks, not even loaded. -Discretion was the better part of valor then, if ever since the world -was made. Had he not uttered his closing sentence I would have submitted -to the humiliation he outlined. But I have a reverence for my ancestors -of the Camran race that amounts almost to worship. So far as I can learn -I am the only scion of the house who has lowered that distinguished -name. To have them dubbed "idiots" was more than I could bear, and I -would have died in their defense as cheerfully as any of the Alexanders -whose bones whitened the battle-fields of ancient days. - -With a curse I again threw myself upon Edgerly and so quickly that he -had no time to discharge his weapon. We had a fierce struggle on the -floor of the hall, which I soon saw was going against me. Physically I -was still, with my long illness behind me, no match for my adversary. He -was much the cooler of the two and I knew that he was merely waiting -till he could get one hand free from my clasp to turn that revolver -against my body. - -In fact, he had nearly succeeded in doing this. I saw a smile of -satisfaction creeping over his features and realized that nothing but a -miracle could save me. We had not made enough noise to attract attention -and no one happened to come along the corridor. The miracle arrived, -however, or I should in all probability not be writing these lines. I -heard a springing step behind me, saw a form bending over both of us -and a strong hand wrenching the pistol from Edgerly's grasp. Then a -voice that I recognized as that of Wesson said: - -"Come, gentlemen, this is carrying your disagreements a little too far." - -We rose to our feet, both pretty well winded. Then, to complicate the -situation still more, Miss May appeared in the hallway. She stopped -humming a light air, as she saw us, and turned deathly pale, as was her -habit when alarmed. - -"Hush! Say nothing," whispered Wesson, to both of us at once. "Not a -word, remember!" - -I thought it very wise of him and was more than willing to follow his -advice. But Edgerly was not so easily quieted. - -"I caught this fellow creeping out of your chamber," he said, without -mincing matters. "Yes," he added, as if he thought he might be -contradicted, "there is the key he used in the lock now." - -Wesson looked strangely at me. - -"I have no doubt Mr. Camwell can explain his conduct," he said, and -again I noticed the thoughtfulness he used, in referring to me by the -name I had registered at Cook's office. "If he will consent to accompany -me to my room for a few minutes I shall be glad to hear anything he has -to say." - -Edgerly sneered again. - -"Camwell!" he echoed. "Why, that isn't even his right name. It will do -to travel under, but when he signs checks he writes at the end the -words, 'Donald Camran.'" - -"How do you know that?" asked Wesson, in a startled way. "You are -making some grave charges." - -"He tells the truth," I interposed, anxious to end the scene. "The name -he gave is my right one. Why I used the other is a private matter. I -shall be glad to accede to your suggestion, Mr. Wesson, and hold an -interview with you in private." - -"If you and Miss Carney will excuse us, then--" said Wesson, -tentatively. - -"Miss Carney!" echoed Edgerly, with a laugh that made me half inclined -to try conclusions with him again, now that we were less unevenly -matched. "Miss Carney! Ha, ha!" - -Wesson was evidently watching us, prepared to interfere again, should it -be necessary. He managed to end the affair by a display of finesse, -asking Edgerly to meet him at two o'clock at the Sea View House, and -saying pleasantly to Miss May that he would keep me but a few minutes. I -saw the other two going in opposite directions before I followed the -Bostonian into his room, which seemed the only thing I could do after -what he had heard about me. - -"Well?" said Wesson, good naturedly, when he had closed the door and, at -my suggestion, locked it. "You were in my room? Yes. Do you care to tell -me why? I leave it entirely to you, Mr. Camran. If you choose to tell, -well and good. If not I shall be perfectly satisfied." - -His courtesy was complete and, knowing what I did, seemed to me well -advised. - -"Mr. Wesson," I said, "you have just saved me from a disagreeable and -possible dangerous situation. That man had a loaded revolver--I had -nothing. He is in the best of health; I, as you know, have recently -recovered from a long illness. Had you appeared two minutes later it is -no exaggeration to say you would probably have found a dead man on that -floor." - -"In that case I am glad I came when I did," he replied, affably. "What -was the row about?" - -I told him briefly of the previous encounter on the balcony at St. Croix -and the incentives to the present affair. - -"Strange!" he answered. "There doesn't seem much to found a murderous -attack on in those two things, does there? Had you never met him before -this trip?" - -"Never." - -"How did he know your right name?" - -I explained the exchange of my check for the cash he won of me in the -smoking room of the Madiana. - -A peculiar look came into Wesson's face. - -"That was about five weeks ago," he said, musingly. - -"About that." - -He covered his eyes with one hand a few moments as if in deep thought. -When he looked up he had regained the pleasant expression with which the -interview began. - -"Now, about your being in my room, Mr. Camran. Do you wish to say -anything in regard to that?" - -I took from my pocket the package I had found in his trunk and silently -held it up for his inspection. - -"You intend to retain those things, I presume," he said, with excessive -politeness. - -"With your permission," I answered, not to be outdone in courtesy by a -thief. - -"Certainly," he said. "And the bracelet, will you do me the favor to -find some way in which it may be returned to the owner?" - -What a cool rascal he was! I could not help admiring his _sang froid_, -the like of which I had never seen or heard of. - -"The shirt stud, I think is yours," he went on, affably, "and the -earrings belong to your cousin? Yes, that was my impression. Let me, if -I may be so bold, advise you to keep them under better surveillance in -the future. Now, that I may not be blamed by Miss Carney for keeping you -too long, let me say that if you have finished we will call this -interview at an end, except for one question. Do you intend to do -anything disagreeable about the matter?" - -Still as cool as an iceberg, as unruffled as a bank of pansies. - -"I shall do nothing," I answered. "The service you rendered a few -moments ago puts me under a great obligation. Rest assured, sir, you -have nothing to fear from me." - -He walked hospitably to the door and opened it. - -"You had best avoid another rupture with Mr. Edgerly," he said, in a -friendly tone. "He is quick tempered and, as you have well observed, you -are not strong enough to contend with him. As to pistols, he is a dead -shot. He can knock a penny off a wall at two hundred paces." - -I thanked him for his advice and went to find Miss May, whom I was not -surprised to discover in an excited state, and bathed in tears. - -"Oh," she cried, when she saw me, "let us return to New York as soon as -we can! You have had nothing but trouble ever since I have been with -you. Take me to America and end this unfortunate agreement of ours. I -knew you and that man would have trouble again. If the other one had not -appeared you would now be dead, and he--" - -Her sobbing broke out again, terrifically. All at once it occurred to me -that the news of the recovered jewels would partially comfort her. - -"Marjorie," I said, "Marjorie, my love! There is a silver lining to the -cloud to-day, a golden lining, a diamond lining. Yes," as she looked -intently at me through her tears, "I know where my stud is, and your -earrings, and Miss Howes'--" - -Instead of giving the joyful cry I expected my companion uttered a long -wail and lay limp in the arms I stretched out to catch her. - -I cursed my indiscretion and, laying her gently on a sofa, rang for -aid. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT. - - -It seemed as if I never would learn that my companion could not bear -sudden surprises, or mysterious hints. Her delicate nature took alarm at -the least departure from the conventional. Before the arrival of the -servant I was tempted to imprint on her pale cheeks the kisses she had -always denied me, but a spark of manliness still left in my composition -prevented. - -Her swoon was but momentary. Before the slow bell boy could arrive she -had roused herself and begged me to admit no one, saying she would be -all right again in a few moments. Realizing that I had probably rung -already, she asked me to make some excuse to the servant when he arrived -and not to open the door wide enough for him to see her. When the boy -had come and gone I began my apologies in the most profuse way. - -"Do not excuse yourself, I beg," she answered. "I was very foolish. You -speak of being a convalescent, but you will begin to think I am the -invalid. I will try my best not to disturb you again." - -She was very sober and though she was able to sit upright I saw that her -strength was returning but slowly. She would not go down to lunch when -the bell rang, and I sent her up a little toast and tea, which she -barely touched. As the evening approached I asked if she felt able to -drive, but she said if I did not mind she would rather I would go alone, -and I complied with her suggestion. On my return two hours later, she -was up and about, with a little of the old color in her face. I -connected her improved state, in a certain way, with information that I -received later from Mr. Armstrong, that Edgerly had left the island on a -steamer bound directly for New York. Her anxiety lest he and I should -come again into collision was thus abated. In fact, I had never seen her -so bright at dinner as she was that day, her appetite good and her -manner actually vivacious. - -The next day being Sunday we went to a church not far from the hotel, -where I was struck as before by the devotional bearing of my companion. -Not being an Episcopalian, I have always considered it quite a feat to -know just when to kneel and to rise, to find the place in the prayer -book, to stand and sit at the right places. I watched Miss May -carefully, doing exactly as she did, though, I am afraid, the effort -detracted from the religious effect on my mind. When the affair was over -we walked back to the Marine and went over to the little Park, called -for some unknown reason "Hastings Rocks," the entrance of which is -guarded by a black Cerberus who demands a penny from each visitor. Here -we sat and looked out on the sea, and my mind reverted to Edgerly, now a -hundred miles or so to the north of us. - -If Wesson had only accompanied him, I thought, there would be nothing to -disturb the even tenor of my life. Why did he continue to remain at the -hotel? - -He could not hope to rob us again; and he must know that the promise I -had given him would not tie my tongue if any other guest of the house -should report that his valuables were missing. Perhaps he was waiting -now for some steamer bound to South America or Colon. I sincerely hoped -that, if this was so, the boat would arrive at an early date. - -Monday I rose very early, and in pursuance to an arrangement made the -previous night, took a carriage before breakfast with Miss May. We drove -in our bathing suits and bath robes to a beach about a mile up the road, -where we had a delicious bath in the surf. The sight of her again in -that attire aroused all the masculine forces in me and made me resolve -anew that I would win her for my life mate if there was any possibility -of so doing. A more exquisite shape it has never been my fortune to -meet, and I must confess I am not exactly an amateur at that business. -She seemed wholly oblivious of the effect her charms created, but -declared with bright eyes that there was no pleasure in the world half -as great as bathing in salt water of that temperature. - -After breakfast the typewriting machine was put in use again and that -day, urged on by Miss May's statement that she was just in the trim for -work, we accomplished what are catalogued as the fifth, sixth and -seventh chapters of the book you are reading. - -Marjorie was plainly interested to a high degree now in every word that -I gave her to write. The tale of the excited night I passed after first -meeting her, my half-formed resolves to give up the plan of taking a -companion on my voyage, the celerity with which I changed my mind the -following morning, upon awakening, the reception of the next letter she -sent me, with my comments thereon, kept her as entertained as if the -story had indeed been fiction. She laughed a little when I admitted -starting the letter in reply beginning "My Darling, I cannot breathe -until once more I am in your loved presence," and paused to remark that -she had never known a man so excitable and uncontrollable. My meeting -with Statia on Broadway seemed to affect her strongly. All her -sympathies were evidently with that young lady, for she shook her head -and uttered several sighs as I told how we parted after her withdrawal -of the invitation to call at her house. - -Then came the chapter in which my amanuensis had said at last, "I am -going, of course," with the stipulations she had made, her cheeks -blushing, as to the conduct she would demand from me. Marjorie smiled -again at the letter I wrote to Alice Brazier, in which I tried to -describe my "secretary," and the dream I had that night, but she grew as -sober as possible when I read the second letter from Miss Brazier, -adjuring me to treat my fellow voyager with courtesy and honor. The -solemn resolutions I made to comply with this request pleased her, as -did the story of Tom Barton's visit to my rooms and his plan for a -_modus vivendi_ between Statia and me. Then she had to copy, at my -dictation, her own long letter explaining why, if she was to travel as -my relation, more money than I had given her would be required. - -At the end she commented aloud on what she called the mercenary tone of -that note. - -"You had a good many doubts of me, first and last," she added. - -"First only," I reply, "not last. I'd like to know what could make me -doubt you now." - -The chapter ended (the ninth chapter) with the sentence before the one -that now closes it and Miss May rose from her long task with a sigh of -relief. - -Tuesday, both of us being still in excellent trim, the dictation was -resumed. That day she finished the tenth, eleventh and twelfth chapters, -smiling at the right places and looking pensive when there was occasion. -Once she interpolated, "I like that Tom Barton--he is made of true -metal," which naturally pleased me. The nervous wait I had at her rooms -made her shake her head in a way that meant much, and the excessive joy -with which I greeted her when she did come sobered her considerably. - -"Have you not drawn the long bow a little here?" she asked, pausing. -"You need not think it necessary to stretch your sensations just because -the object of them happens to be their recorder." - -"If anything I have understated them," I replied, "Language is wholly -inadequate to describe the constant anxiety I felt till you were -actually on board the Madiana. But proceed. If I get on that strain I -shall never be able to finish." - -My account of our shopping, with our subsequent visit to the restaurant, -made her remark that I was a close observer. She said there was not a -thought in her head that I had not photographed. - -"Who but a born novelist," she said, "would have deemed it worth while -to tell that I objected to having the door of our little dining-room -locked?" - -"It is merely to show the reader another proof of your excessively -proper conduct," I replied, "and give him an opportunity to appreciate -your true character." - -"You have mistaken your vocation, after all," she said. "You would make -a splendid detective. Not even the smallest thing escapes you. You make -me think of a hunter on a trail. A broken twig, a nearly indiscernible -print on the moss, a leaf brushed aside, show you where the creature has -passed." - -"The only wild creatures I have ever hunted were 'dears,'" I answered, -laughing. "Don't you think such earnestness in the chase deserves its -full reward?" - -"The reward is all very well for the hunter," she said, solemnly, "but -for the deer there is only the bullet and the knife." - -She had cornered me there. Instead of trying to straighten out the -muddle I went on with my work. Miss May was plainly affected when I told -of the remorse I had felt for my ill-spent life, after reading the note -she had left on the typewriting machine at her first visit to my rooms. -The concluding paragraph of the tenth chapter, as it now appears, had -not been written then. - -Wednesday we did but one chapter--the eleventh. I noticed that my -companion appeared fatigued when it was finished and I refused to let -her continue. She was intensely surprised when I identified Miss Howes. -I detected a repellant shrug of the shoulders as she realized the kind -of woman who had occupied the stateroom with her during her voyage from -New York to St. Thomas. She showed great interest when I described my -fellow passengers at table, and grew white when I came to the point of -the larceny of her earrings. Fearing that I would excite some -unpleasant memory I made no comment whatever on the occurrence beyond -what was in the MS. she was writing. - -She wanted very much to continue her work, but I would not listen. She -was too evidently ill. There is a limit to what even the best natured -amanuensis can perform with impunity. - -When we went on, the next day, I tried to give out my dictation in a -slower manner, to conserve Marjorie's force, but it was a difficult -thing to do. Her speed was naturally great and I had got into the habit -of speaking in much my ordinary manner. She told me twenty times that I -might dictate more rapidly, and her fingers flew over the keys at a -speed that astonished me. All she would consent to do was to let me -order a glass of wine, from which she sipped occasionally. She declared -that my "novel" was so diverting that she was anxious to get as far -along as possible. - -The description of my games of cards with Edgerly caused her to have -frequent recourse to the wine, but the meeting with Eggert and his -family came to relieve the strain. She grew uneasy again when I told of -sitting by her bed and bathing her forehead; and reddened like a peony -when I remarked how lovely she appeared in her bathing costume that -morning we took our first bath on the beach of the Quarantine Station. - -"Must you put in such things as that?" she asked, pleadingly. "I think -it spoils what was getting to be a very entertaining story." - -"I can leave out nothing," I answered. "Really, Marjorie, you cannot -conceive how rapturously beautiful--" - -She shivered as if a cold wind had blown on her. - -"Are you dictating?" she asked. "I think we had best keep to the text." - -"Then do not attempt to go outside your path and province," I said. -"Once more, this is my story, not yours, remember. Here is something -that will interest you." - -I gave her the concluding paragraph of that chapter--the one recording -the sudden and unexpected appearance of Mr. Wesson. - -She went on very quietly after that, though the frequent allusions to my -growing affection disturbed her visibly. - -Every evening after our work we went for a drive. On most of these -occasions we met somewhere on the road a blue-eyed man and a brown-eyed -woman, riding in a cart, drawn by two horses, hitched tandem. I often -wonder what has become of them; whether they have decided to go through -the world tandem--one in front of the other--or side by side, as I used -to see them there. Sometimes they rode bicycles, which they handled -equally well. When the darkness settled their lamps were lit, according -to the local laws, and the lanterns looked like fireflies as they spun -along the hard roads. Perhaps that is what Froude saw which made him say -in his book that there are fireflies in Barbados--who can tell? The -woman was rather handsome, with a well rounded form, and a mouth made -for kisses, though she assured me once that none had ever rested there. -If true, it is a sad case of luscious fruit going to waste on a tree -well worth climbing. - -With the exception of the following Sunday we worked every day. Miss May -was getting more and more used to hearing her every act recorded and -made few interruptions. I warned her when I came to the episode of the -book on criminology and she steadied her nerves and went through it like -a heroine. She did demur a little--hesitating and flashing an appealing -look at me--when I came to her admission that she wanted to kiss me -quite as much as I wished her to do so, and she breathed heavily when I -told what had caused me to decide that, even if permitted, I must refuse -the boon. When I reached the place where I had to admit reading the -letter she wrote to her friend Helen she stopped short and we looked for -some seconds at each other. - -"That is the only really dishonorable thing I have known of you," she -said, reproachfully. - -"I do not defend it," was my reply; "but I would not give up the -happiness it caused me for all the world." - -"You surely cannot remember that letter, word for word!" - -"I believe I can give it literally." - -"If you have any doubt, I will get the original for you," she said. -"When I came to read it over I thought it wiser not to send it. I wrote -another in its stead and kept the one you saw--as a warning for the -future." - -She arose, went to her bedroom, procured the letter, and brought it to -me. - -"But it came from your heart, my love," I said, bending toward her. -"That is what gives it value. And all this time you have been pretending -that my slightest sentiment of affection must be repelled. Have you -forgotten our compact, dear one? We were only to lie to outsiders, never -to each other. Marjorie, once more, listen to me. I love you! I want you -for my wife. Here, with this confession before us, need we go on longer -without a definite understanding? Why not say that little word that will -make me the happiest man who breathes?" - -I had not uttered all this without many attempts on her part to stop the -flow of words. When I finished she turned her chair directly toward me -and spoke with firmness, though her face was as white as I had ever seen -it. - -"Mr. Camran, you are taking an unfair advantage. Having violated the -privacy of my room and read the letter I wrote to an intimate friend, -you now seek to make that act the basis for renewing a suit I have told -you more than once cannot succeed. Ah, no! There are reasons stronger -than I care to make known why I cannot be your wife. I beg you do not -give me the pain of compelling me to say this again. I will repeat, if -you desire, the words I wrote to my friend: 'It is all I can do to -prevent myself falling head over ears in love with this man.' - -"Yes," she continued, "that was true--that is true. It is all I can do; -but I can do it, I have done it, I shall continue to do it! Mr. Camran, -I esteem you beyond the power of language to express. Your kindness, -your consideration, your generosity have affected me wonderfully. Some -day you will know to what extent. But there can be no relation between -us nearer than the one we now occupy. Never, never, never!" - -She had covered every point, but like suitors the world over I would not -believe her. - -"Answer me a few questions," I said. "Yes, in justice to my proposal, -which I cannot but feel does honor to both of us. Do you mean to say -that your final declination of my offer is based on the fact that I read -your private correspondence?" - -"No, it would have been the same without that," she answered. "Let me -add that I forgive you freely for what you did in that respect." - -"Is it because--I want to understand perfectly--you think it -dishonorable to wed a man richer than you, whose acquaintance you made -in an unusual way?" - -She shook her head in negation. - -"Is there, then, anything that you have heard, or suspect, against my -reputation?" - -Again she shook her head decidedly. - -I took up her letter and read: - - If I were of his social grade--if I could have retained the position - in which I was born, he would be my ideal. Such thoughts, alas! are - not for your poor friend, Marjorie. - -"Those words mean something," I said, earnestly. - -Tears came into her eyes. - -"Mr. Camran, do you think it is fair to press me like this?" she asked, -with a sob. - -"There is an adage," I replied, "that all is fair in love. To give you -up means to shatter my existence. I have been a reckless boy. With you -as my wife I would make a worthy man--worthy of you, of myself, of the -noble line from which I sprung. I fear, and I say it deliberately, that -if I lose you I shall sink again into the depths from which I have -escaped." - -"All that," she said, gently, "you said when your friend Statia gave you -the same answer I am compelled to give now." - -"It is jealousy!" I exclaimed, excitedly. "You are angry because I asked -her, before I had even seen you! Very well. But, understand what you are -doing! I cannot go through the agony I suffered a year ago." - -She sprang up, as if to ward off an impending danger, and came so near -that her face was within six inches of mine. - -I looked her squarely in the eyes. - -"You cannot fascinate me in that way!" I cried, bitterly. "You have -ruined a man who has taken you from poverty and given you for two -months, at least, the life of a lady. Don't put your hands on me!" as -she attempted to touch my shoulder. "I have finished with you. Take the -advance payment you have had and go to your home, if you have one. But, -remember, by your own agreement, the clothes in which you stand belong -to me. Take them off before you leave this room, give them up, or I will -strip them from you by force!" - -I do not know that I am quoting my exact words, but I am sure this was -the sentiment that, in my rage, I expressed. At the moment I hated the -woman more than I had loved her a few minutes before. - -"You shall have them, every one," answered Miss May, without the least -trace of excitement. "I will go immediately to the village and buy just -enough articles of dress to make me fit to take passage to America. All -I had from you shall be packed in the trunks you bought and left -behind." - -"And the jewelry," I added, still blind with my disappointment, for she -had received and was wearing it again. "Take those rings from your -hands, those diamonds from your ears. They are mine, remember. That was -our agreement. I broke into Wesson's trunk and reclaimed them. They are -mine!" - -At the mention of Wesson she paled even more than before, but complied -with my request, laying the articles on the table before me, one by one. - -"Good-by," she said, softly, going toward the door that led to her -chamber. - -Like an avalanche the horror of what I was doing swept over me. I rose, -clutched wildly at the air, and fell, not unconscious, but with a -deathly nausea. The next moment a woman's form was kneeling by my side -and my head was raised to the support of a woman's arm. - -"Forgive me--oh! forgive me!" was murmured convulsively in my ear. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -A WEDDING RING. - - -For the next week I was a very sick man. I remember almost nothing of -what happened, except that I was in bed and that Miss May was nursing me -with all the care a mother gives an infant. Yes, I remember another -thing--that Mr. Wesson came several times to my bedside and conversed in -low tones with my companion and with a physician whom somebody had -summoned. I was too weak to think much about it, or I should certainly -have objected to his presence, but I knew in a dim way that he was -there. - -Afterwards I began slowly to regain my memory and my strength. My first -attempts to engage in conversation were discouraged. Mr. Pomeroy, the -proprietor of the house, came in and said sympathetically that if I -wanted to get on my feet soon I must be very quiet. "Eddie" Armstrong, -the manager, whom I had grown to like immensely, said the same thing. I -obeyed their injunctions for several days more; but one morning I awoke -so strong in heart that I announced my purpose of rising, though all the -doctors in Christendom--or even in Barbados--forbade it. - -Miss May hesitatingly brought my bath wrap and assisted me to sit up in -bed. One movement upon my feet, however, had more effect than all her -persuasions. I must wait a little longer. She propped me up and gave me -a strengthening drink that was waiting upon a table. Then she sat by my -side and, at my request, read extracts from some newspapers that she had -obtained in the reading room below. - -The news was all about a possible war with Spain, on account of the -blowing up of the warship "Maine," in Havana Harbor. I grew indignant at -the hot-heads in my country who were willing to plunge two nations in -the horrors of war without waiting to see if a catastrophe could be -honorably averted. When the reading was finished I lay passive for a -long time and then my thoughts reverted to the scene that preceded my -illness. - -"I am very, very sorry!" I murmured, drawing Marjorie toward me by the -hand which she allowed to rest in mine. - -"Sorry? For what?" - -"My cruelty to you." - -She bade me think no more of what had passed, declaring that the blame, -if any, was her own, and that, at least, I must not talk about it for -the present. Her manner soothed me more than words and I lay very still, -fondling the hand I held and occasionally murmuring grateful -expressions. They came to me gradually--all the hateful things I had -said and done; and I contrasted them, to my discredit, with the -thoughtful care she was giving me. - -The love that had vanished during my anger returned ten-fold. - -The doctor came and looked wise. I would be able to sit up in a day or -two, he said. Good nursing was what I most required now; as if I didn't -know that as well as he! And I had the best nurse in the world--the one -I wanted above all others. Could I only be assured I never would lose -her! - -On the third day I refused to heed longer the advice not to talk. I had -too much to say that I wanted Marjorie to hear. - -"If you really wish me to be quiet," I said, "you can stop me very -easily. Tell me you will be my wife when we return to New York. Only say -'yes' and I will not speak another word." - -She leaned over the bed, pushing my hair back gently with her soft white -hand. - -"Only that one word, Marjorie; only that one! And then we will both be -still." - -"When--we return--to New York," she answered, slowly, with a pause -between the syllables, "I have--something--of great importance to--tell -you. If--after that--you persist in your question--I--I--" - -"That is enough," was my joyful reply. "You will leave it to me? Dear -girl, I ask no more. God bless and keep you!" - -I fell asleep early that evening and did not waken once till the sun had -risen. Then the medicine she had given me showed its efficacious power. -I was quite able to rise and even to take my breakfast at the table in -the sitting-room with her. Once started on the road to recovery each -hour showed a rapid gain. In another day I was taken for a short drive. -The next I remained dressed from morning till night, though I reclined -part of the time on a sofa. - -And I could think of nothing but returning to the United States. The -sooner the better now, when the wish of my life was to be granted there. - -Marjorie showed herself a woman of wonderful capacity in more ways than -one. She arranged with the Colonial Bank officials to have a draft all -ready for me to sign when I drove up one day for money, thus saving what -must have proved a weary wait. She bought new steamer chairs, the others -having been left carelessly on the Pretoria. She paid the hotel bill and -made all arrangements for our departure, having taken pains to learn -which steamer would take us away the soonest. We were to go on a Royal -Mail boat, "the Don," (happy omen!) to Jamaica, being sure of plenty of -American steamers from that point. - -On the day we were to depart I was nearly as strong as ever. Bidding -farewell with some regrets to all the guests I knew, to the proprietor, -the manager, Miss Byno and the brown-eyed bicyclist, I entered the -carriage with really a light heart. - -I was going again on a voyage with Marjorie; going, though the route -might be slightly circuitous, to a land where she and I were to be -indissolubly united. Is it any wonder I was happy? - -The crowd of boatmen that assailed us at the water's edge nearly carried -me off my feet. Money is too scarce in Barbados to make the possible -gain of a dollar a light matter. One of the men caught me, however, by -the name of his craft, which he repeated loudly. "Here yo' is, Massa; de -Marjorie, dat's yo' boat, Massa!" I engaged him on the spot and a black -patrolman scattered the horde of disappointed applicants. Our baggage -and ourselves filled the little boat, but we knew we were safe. Off we -started for the big black steamer, near which I could discern the -American man-of-war "Cincinnati," bringing a leap of patriotic blood to -my heart. - -Home? We were almost at home now, with the stars and stripes floating so -near us! - -The "Don" and the "Marjorie." What could be more propitious? - -"I hope you won't scold me, Don," said Marjorie, in a low voice, "but I -have taken a liberty that perhaps I should have spoken about -beforehand." - -"Take any liberty you like, sweetheart," I answered. "I am yours now, to -do what you please with." - -She drew off one of her gloves and advancing a hand asked me to inspect -it. After doing so for a minute I told her I saw nothing except the -dearest hand in the world; upon which I took it up and kissed it. - -"Don't you notice that I am wearing another ring?" she said, flushing. - -She certainly was: A gold ring at that and a plain one. It was on her -wedding finger, too. - -My first thought was that she had summoned a minister and married me -during my illness. This was too good to be true and I at once dismissed -it. - -"You are not yet quite well," she explained, demurely, "and I shall have -to be in your cabin frequently. I thought it best to avoid attracting -notice, and as I had that ring of my mother's--I just--put it on." - -How sweet it was of her; how confiding! - -"But our names on the passenger list?" I said. - -"That is all arranged. We are Mr. and Mrs. Camwell." - -It was bliss enough for one day. Nothing but the purest thoughts -regarding her could enter my head now. She was to be my wife! - -The next morning she arranged a pleasant way to pass the time. Our cabin -was very large and roomy, and she said she could go on with my "novel" -quite as well there as on shore. She made me recline on my berth, which -had no other above it, and dictation was therefore done entirely at my -ease. It was undoubtedly better for me to keep my mind actively -employed, and the task to which I set myself was a most agreeable one. -My darling recorded the lines I gave her, with rapidity, and made very -few audible comments that day, although it was evident from the -tell-tale expression of her mobile countenance that she was keenly alive -to each situation I detailed. The lines that seemed to affect her most -were those wherein I confessed the depth, the sincerity and the purity -of the love that had sprung up in my heart. - -She could not complain that I was misrepresenting her own part in these -affairs, for I thought no alteration could improve a straightforward -statement of the real facts as they appeared to me. She winced a -little--I thought more about that afterwards--when I referred to seeing -Wesson in my stateroom on the Pretoria and again when I spoke of meeting -him in close converse with Edgerly in Barbados. - -The nearest she came to a full stop was when I related the reasons I had -for believing Wesson stole the book from Eggert and was more than likely -the thief who had taken the jewels, but after a second her fingers flew -over the keys as usual. - -The waters through which we were passing were smooth as any millpond. I -have never seen so calm a sea, and my tranquil mind sorted with it -perfectly. There was nothing that could add to my happiness. I believed -each revolution of the steamer's screw brought me nearer the goal of my -ambition, the possession of my lovely companion as my true and lawful -bride. In the meantime I was producing what I had no doubt would give me -a successful embarkation on the sea of literary fame, a voyage I had -long aspired to take. - -During the three days the "Don" occupied in going from Greytown to -Kingston we accomplished much. Marjorie gasped several times when I came -to the chapter that detailed my entrance into Wesson's room and my -success in finding the packet containing the missing diamonds. As I told -of my interview with the rascal she grew as pale as chalk, but she did -not entirely stop her writing. At last we came to the time when the -"novel" itself was begun and she brightened enough to say that we were -walking now in our own tracks. But, at the bald revelation of the things -I had said to her when I lost my temper, and demanded back the very -clothes she wore, she protested. - -"You are unjust to yourself to put that literally in your story," she -said, pleadingly. "Your readers will never feel the extent of your -provocation. It makes you appear a very detestable character." - -"It must go in--exactly as it happened," I answered. "I had no valid -excuse for the contemptible things I did. The public will consider it -all a piece of fiction. I think it necessary to show the extent to which -I lost my reason when I believed I had lost you. It is much safer in a -novel to abuse the 'hero' than the 'heroine.'" - -Seeing that nothing would move me she went on as I dictated and when the -boat was due to arrive at Jamaica the next day we had reached the very -words you are now reading. I had apparently recovered my strength -entirely. That night I slept as soundly as if I had never known illness -or mental trouble. In the morning we went early upon deck to see the -entrance to the Harbor and had a pleasant talk with Captain Tindall, one -of those affable and handsome men that England produces in such numbers -and assigns to this duty all over the world. - -Inquiry had convinced me that there was but one suitable place to stay -at in Kingston--the Myrtle Bank Hotel--and the result proved the wisdom -of my choice. While open to some slight criticism--as what hotel is -not?--it was on the whole a delightful home to us during our brief stay. -There being no more work to do at present I occupied the hours in talks, -walks and drives with Marjorie, happy as the butterflies among the roses -in the pretty park which separates the hotel from the shore. - -We went one day to visit a camp of soldiers in the suburbs, on another -to the Constant Spring Hotel, situated six miles from town in a mountain -nook, to Castleton Gardens and Hope Gardens, beautiful for situation and -high culture, with lovely roads leading to each. Again, we took the -train to Spanish Town and drove to Bog Walk, as pretty a bit of scenery -as one could desire. And later we passed several days at Mandeville, -some fifty miles or so away, a village perched among the hills 2100 feet -above the sea, where the scent of coffee flowers and orange blossoms -fairly filled the delicious air and the thermometer recorded a degree of -heat more grateful than that to be found in the lowlands. I noted the -mercury at 70 when I went to bed, at 60 when I rose, and at 75 when the -sun was in the zenith. I really do not know another spot more charming -in any land, in March or April. - -Besides this we visited Montpelier, Montego Bay and Port Antonio, seeing -at the latter place a steamer of the Boston Fruit Company setting sail -for the Hub with an immense cargo of bananas and oranges. The country -thereabout is one field of those fruits, combined with the stately -cocoanut palms, while a short distance away tobacco is grown that rivals -the famed product of unhappy Cuba. On the 28th we bade farewell to the -island, with genuine regret on my part at least, and took the little -"Beta" of the Halifax line for Bermuda. - -Before we left Kingston a batch of letters was received, some for each -of us, and I did not attempt to annoy Marjorie this time by prying into -her correspondence. My confidence in her was now at its highest point. -She did not write any answers, nor did I, as we were so soon to reach -home. After three days in Bermuda we started for America. I saw that, -for some reason, she wanted to return, and with the hope that filled my -breast I had no wish to prolong our absence. - -It was agreed that we would have to separate when we touched land, she -to go to her old lodgings and I to mine, but I stipulated that we were -to meet again within a very few days and that she was to write me when -to expect her. As I saw her enter her carriage, with her baggage -strapped behind, I held myself well in hand, though the wish to embrace -her at parting nearly overpowered me. - -"You will write as soon as possible?" I said, interrogatively. - -"Yes," she answered. "I will write; and then, if you still insist, I -will come to you." - -If I still insisted! I did not believe as I saw her wheels disappear in -the street that anything could change the resolutions I held so dear! - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -THE BRUTAL TRUTH. - - -Three days passed--three awfully slow days, though I visited Harvey Hume -and Tom Barton, spent every evening at the theatre, and loafed away many -hours at the club, where the boys made me tell them of the islands I had -visited and asked my opinion over and over, (as if it amounted to -anything) in relation to the probability of a war between the United -States and Spain. I refused to enlighten Harvey at the time in reference -to his question whether I had not been quite as happy "without my -secretary" as if I had taken one. I said I would have something to tell -him one of these days and that he must be content until that time came. -Tom was the same dear fellow as of yore, but Statia, who came in to -welcome me, was as sphynx-like as on the eve of my departure. - -I also had to run in a moment on my Uncle Dugald, who gave me his hand -in his old, impassive manner, and expressed the opinion that I looked -better, on the whole, than when I went away. A brief call on Dr. -Chambers completed my list. I thought that excellent gentleman looked a -trifle disappointed when I called his attention to my improved physique -and said I was as well as I had ever been in my life. I have no wish to -do him an injustice, for it was certainly a feather in his cap when he -raised me out of the Slough of Despond and made me fit to travel at -all; but it is only natural if professional men are not filled with -special delight at announcements that their services are no longer -required. - -On the third evening there came a packet from Miss May--at last! an -awfully big packet, which set me to wondering what it could possibly -contain. I thought as I received it from the messenger that it would -have answered for a presidential message to Congress on the Cuban -situation, with all the correspondence that had passed between the -United States and Spain since the blowing up of the warship. It may be -believed I lost no time in tearing open the paper that encircled the -missives. Inside I found a small envelope marked "Open first," and a -larger one inscribed, "Read this only after you have read the other -carefully." All this was so deliberate and so much like a deep plan that -I was far from my ease when I complied with the request and cut the -smaller envelope. And the reader may well believe that my sensations -were not of a very enviable nature when I read these lines: - - My Dear Mr. Camran: I know no easy way to break the truth I am - obliged to send. If you have any doubt of being able to bear a shock - without medical attendance do not read what I have placed in the - other envelope until you have summoned your physician. I fear it - will not be pleasant reading, but you must have the truth. At least, - I must keep my promise now of lying only to others and not to you. - - With this warning, I subscribe myself, for the last time, - - Yours, - - M.M. - April 8th, 1898. - -I was surprised at the calmness with which I saw all my hopes blown to -the winds in a single paragraph. Curiosity was the most pronounced -feeling in my mind at the moment. I took a long breath, steadied my -nerves for an instant, and then opened the larger envelope. There were -typewriter sheets, twelve in number, done, apparently, on a Remington -machine. And this is what I read: - - * * * * * - -Prepare yourself to hear the worst about me, my dear friend, for your -imagination could hardly make me out a greater scamp than I am. Know -then, to begin with, your companion in the Caribbean was a well-known -criminal, whose entire trip with you was planned for the purpose of -fraud. If she failed to accomplish that end you must ascribe it to a -weak yielding to sentimental considerations, of which she should--from a -professional standpoint--be heartily ashamed. - -If you have survived this statement, read on, and I will be more -explicit. I am what is known to the police as a "confidence woman." My -usual game is to beguile persons of the opposite sex into "falling in -love" with me and then fleece them out of as large a sum as I can do -with safety to myself. I may add, without egotism, that I have been -fairly successful in this, my chosen field. If you care to get another -copy of that book I stopped you from reading at St. Thomas, "Our Rival, -the Rascal," you will find on one of its pages a fairly accurate -portrait of your humble servant, though the name affixed is not by any -means the one I thought it wise to give you. - -One of my favorite methods of making the acquaintance of probable -victims is through the advertising columns of newspapers. I have found -no better medium for the purpose than the "Personals" in the New York -Herald; it is generally to be supposed that a masculine individual who -will use that column or reply to anything contained therein is good game -for my purpose. - -Naturally my attention was attracted to your announcement that you -wanted a typewritist to accompany you to the West Indies for the winter. -I wrote as modest and taking an answer as I knew how and the fact that -it proved most attractive to you out of a hundred you received justified -my judgment. The next thing was to hold you fast, when you came to see -me, and here again I flatter myself that I evinced the right sort of -talent. I sized you up at the start for what you were--a good-natured, -easily-led gentleman of means, who would answer very well for my -purpose. - -Now, see how I proceeded: To have accepted your offer at once would have -been to awaken your suspicions. I knew better than that, and I played -what is technically known as a waiting game. As I look back on our -primary interviews and correspondence I do not see a wrong step on my -part. I wrote you that I could be seen "only between the hours of two -and four," to give you the impression that I was no ordinary girl who -would go anywhere, or with any one, and whom you could lead with a -thread. - -You were to come at my hours; I knew you would like that. You came, but -it was I who saw and conquered. You told me at once that you had -engaged berths for two on the Madiana. This showed that you were not -likely to back out, but I did not take your word alone. I had a friend -verifying your statement at Cook's office within an hour after you left -my room. - -Had I told you that I would go, that afternoon, you would have had a -chance to think it over and perhaps to change your mind. It is the -fleeing bird that attracts the attention of the hunter. You gave me the -name of "David Camwell, Lambs Club," which before I slept that night I -had turned into Donald Camran, from a list of members which I was easily -able to procure. I learned that Donald Camran was rich; that he was -considered erratic; that he answered your description in personal -appearance; and that he had been, as you said, recently ill. - -The next time you adopt a false name do not use your own initials. -Nine-tenths of the people who do this slip up on that banana peel. - -When you left my room, that first afternoon, I was as certain you would -return as that the sun would rise on the following day. The chapters of -the "novel" you afterwards dictated to me prove how entirely accurate I -was in my estimates. I take much pride, also, in the second letter I -sent you, for I covered my "fly" with attractive colors to dazzle your -eye and meet every point likely to arise in your mind. My card was to -convince you that I was the very proper young lady I professed to be. To -do this without acting the silly prude was a task fit only for such -thoroughly trained hands as mine. Next I spoke of the matter of -compensation, to convince you that I was really a working girl and not a -mere adventurer. You had plenty of means and the price of my weekly -stipend was not likely to alarm you. - -As it would really be necessary for me to have considerable money to -make a suitable appearance I gently hinted something in relation to that -matter, leaving it, however, to your own judgment what should be done. I -believe I may claim that in the composition of that letter I showed -decided talent. At any rate it accomplished its purpose. - -When your answer came I knew that I was going. I would not have paid -five dollars to be assured of that. But when you returned to me I still -had to pretend a little doubt--not too much, that would have spoiled -everything. I left it to you to say whether, after all, you really -wanted me to take the journey, doing it in a way that alarmed your fears -lest you were going to lose me. I had to keep "the scent warm," as the -saying is. The rushing way in which you bought my trunks and sent me the -first installment of cash would have removed my doubts, had any -remained. - -I then thought I might as well get clothed while I was about it and sent -the third letter, which we may call "Exhibit C." In that I appealed to -the chivalrous part of your nature, arousing your sympathies, and yet -without putting myself for one instant in the rôle of a mendicant. - -"If I am to go I am unwilling to disgrace you"--that was all there was -to it. - -Again I was justified by the result. You came as soon as I would let -you--I had "gone out of town over New Years," you remember, and you -showered another lot of bankbills on my head. - -Now here is just where a less experienced person would have made her -mistake. Seeing how easily you could be induced to disgorge, she would -have hinted at expenditures that would have caused a revolt even in your -generous brain. I came late on purpose that Tuesday morning (I had only -been a couple of blocks away) in order to work up the fever that I knew -was latent in you. I suggested that you go to the shops, knowing that -you would grasp at the chance to occupy so close a position to me as the -cab would afford. At Altman's I pretended to be shocked at some of the -prices, so that you would pronounce them the extremity of cheapness. -(How could you do anything else?) And I hinted bashfully at the question -of jewelry, knowing that you would send me all I could reasonably -expect, as you did the next day. - -Then I went to dine with you in a private room, primarily because I was -nearly starved to death, secondarily because I knew it would fasten you -to me the closer. I put on that awful blue veil to give you the -impression that I had never done such a thing before, when as a matter -of fact the waiter who served us knows my face as well as he does his -mother's, if he has one. He knew enough to conceal that fact, however, -as I am certain, from previous experience, every waiter in that house -would have done. - -Now we come to one of the fine points. You did not forget to mention in -your description of that evening how I refused to have the door of our -_cabinet particulaire_ locked, which you were kind enough to ascribe to -maidenly modesty on my part. The fact is, ever since I was imprisoned -three years ago for two months, awaiting trial for one of my schemes -that went awry, the thought of a turned key on any room I occupy drives -me into fits. In that at least I was honest. The scare you gave me in -proposing to lock that door took away my appetite to such an extent that -I ate, as you have recorded, very sparingly of the excellent dinner. - -You may remember that I showed similar trepidation at St. Thomas, when -you suggested that Mr. Eggert might lock the door of my bedroom. It was -enough like a jail with the high fence around the grounds, and I never -felt quite easy till we had left the place. I really did not take one -good breath there, so vivid is my recollection of the horrible days when -high walls and locked doors meant imprisonment. - -I don't suppose I shall explain everything you will wish to know, but I -shall do my best. The next thing that occurs to me is that I refused to -allow you to register my name on the Madiana's passenger list as "Miss -May." As this was merely a _nom de guerre_ you will wonder why I -objected to its going into print. The fact is that my husband--yes, I am -married, and by a minister of the church, too--did not like to have me -take that journey without going with me on the boat, while I was sure it -was much better for him to remain away. He has no jealousy, as you will -immediately imagine--he knows me too well to be guilty of such a -senseless thing. I love him with all my soul; and I can take care of -myself, if it comes to that, against the persuasions or the force of any -living man. - -He merely wanted to be with me, just as you would want to be with your -wife, if you had one and loved her. I knew he was not always a safe -companion in a game of this kind, that he had a quick temper and was -lacking in judgment in any case where I was concerned; and I told him -plainly that this was my affair, that I should manage it alone, if at -all, and I should not tell him where you and I were going. - -As he knew your name, having made the inquiries at your club, he would -have a double chance to discover us if he saw mine anywhere in print, -and "Miss May" was a title he knew I had once before assumed. So I got -you to change it to "Carney" in hopes to throw him off the track. He -proved too shrewd for me, however, as you will agree when I mention that -he travelled on the steamer with us under the name of "Edgerly." - -I may as well tell you at this point that the "cruel employer" to whom I -alluded so often was a creature of my imagination, and that all the -typewriting I have ever done has been for my own profit and amusement in -schemes like the present one. - -If you had recorded me as "Miss Camwell" I meant to work another racket -on you. I expected to institute a suit for breach of promise on my -return, not one to be taken to court, but only to use as a lever to pry -a few thousands out of your pocket; I would have done this if you had -not, contrary to all precedent, made me an honorable offer of your hand, -which spoiled my plan in an unforeseen manner. It was with this in view -that I went to your rooms several times before we sailed. It is always -handy to have evidence ready in a case of this kind and hallboys are -excellent witnesses if wanted. - -Don't you think I am a lovely girl, now? And aren't you sorry I am not -free to wed. What a charming wife I would make for a man like you! - -Well, to resume, I played what I thought a good card by saying that I -should only accept the things you paid for as "the costuming of my part" -and return them to you when the show was over. It didn't cost anything -to say that and I knew you never would accept them. The little screed -that I left on the typewriter at your room was not a bad stroke, either. -I flatter myself it was a fair piece of English composition, and -although it contained not a word of truth, it answered just as well. It -made you think of me with more respect than if you had supposed me a -mere waif of the streets. - -You wondered--didn't you?--why I went to my cabin on the steamer and -remained there for part of two days after it started. Perhaps you can -guess the reason now. I had seen my husband on deck and not being -anxious to meet him any sooner than could be helped I kept out of his -way. Before I did come up I received a note from him, by one of the -stewards, detailing the course he intended to adopt, which was simply to -act as if he had never seen or heard of me in his life. I could not help -a slight uneasiness, though, at his presence, for he is not always as -shrewd as a husband of mine should be. I was rather displeased that he -had come in spite of my advice; and I felt afraid that he would hamper -my movements even if he did not destroy my plans. - -What made me suspect that man Wesson I do not know, unless it was -instinct. The moment I set my eyes upon him I put him down for an enemy. -I wrote a few lines to my husband, telling him to watch, but he answered -that my suspicions were groundless, another proof how much clearer are -my intuitions than his. Wesson was always prying around. I had some -conversations on deck with him when you left me alone, but could come to -no positive conclusion except that I wished he was somewhere on shore. - -I didn't really guess what he was up to until we had landed at St. -Thomas. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -"WITH HIS WIFE, OF COURSE." - - -I leave the reader to imagine my feelings, [it is Camran writing now] as -I read these lines, if he can. To describe them is more than I am able -to do. Suffice it to say that I read on and on, like one fascinated, and -there was no sign of the collapse I might have expected from the -dreadful revelations. The catastrophe was too immense to be met in any -ordinary way. - - * * * * * - -You will now need no confession of mine [continued this strange MS.] to -inform you who purloined Miss Howes' bracelet and your shirtstud. Who -stole my own jewelry might be a harder riddle, so I will make haste to -say that I did that also. It was the easiest way to prevent suspicion -falling on my head, though it can hardly be said to have been entirely -successful, as Mr. Howes never had the least doubt of my guilt. I knew -that from the first, by the freezing manner he immediately adopted -toward me and the chilling way in which his "niece," or friend, as she -afterwards proved, used me until I left the boat. I ought to say here -that common thefts are not in my line, and that I regret having been -drawn into the commission of these acts. My husband urged the deed upon -me, and rather than let him run the risk of doing it himself--which he -threatened--I yielded to his importunities. He had embarked with very -little ready money, on account of recent ill luck at the faro table, and -dreaded being stranded in some foreign port without enough to complete -his voyage. I was, as you know, powerless to aid him much in any other -way. - -You will naturally inquire why, if this is true, my husband returned to -you the money he won at cards, taking your check instead. He did so -because I insisted upon it. I told him, at the rate he was going, we -should be high and dry on the reefs before we got back to America. There -was little sense in killing a goose (I meant you, my dear Donald) that -was likely to lay golden eggs for a long time if properly tended. - -Wesson worried you at Eggert's, didn't he? Well, he worried me a great -deal more. I had an instinctive fear of him and was at my wits' end to -give a reason. I knew also that my husband was waiting for me at St. -Croix and wished to consult him in regard to several matters. I wished -to get away from Eggert, the two or three fainting fits I had there were -simulated for the purpose of inducing you to cut your stay as short as -possible. - -I wanted you to make the proposal to leave and at last succeeded. I let -you kiss the ends of my fingers; and sometimes I pretended to -reciprocate your affection, though I could hardly keep from laughing in -my sleeve. Do you remember the time you bathed my forehead with cologne? -I could hardly control my risibles at the pathetic figure you made. Oh! -It was really too amusing. I took the sea bath every morning, not -because I cared for it, but in order to awake your fancies and bind you -tighter to my triumphal car. The lovely, silly things you said to me! - -Now, about that book: I saw it long before you did and tried to think of -some plan to keep it out of your way. You might notice the similarity in -features Between Miss ---- and myself, if you were allowed to pore over -its pages. I had another fear, too, even stronger, for I believe I could -have convinced you that the resemblance was merely accidental: I dreaded -Wesson's sharp eyes if once they got hold of that volume. So it was -I--not he, of course--that put the book out of the way, and it was only -by my carelessness that he afterwards got his hands on it. - -I had ceased to have the slightest fear of you; of course, I never had -any for myself--I mean, there was nothing about you to endanger the -wifely duty I owed to my dear, unhappy husband. You could be handled as -easily as a kitten, by touching your sentimental side. Do you recall -looking in at my screen door and seeing me in the attitude of prayer? -Why, I had posed in that position, night after night, waiting for you to -come! When I asked you to enter, a little later, I knew as well as that -I breathed what your answer would be. There never was another man so -easy to control. - -Then there was the letter I received from my dear friend Helen. All -arranged for, copied from one I had left with her--before I sailed--just -on purpose for you. I forced that card on you as nicely as any conjurer -could have done it, didn't I? And my answer--which you entered my room -and read--(excuse me while I go behind the door and smile) that was -cooked up for your eyes in the same way. I didn't know that you would go -into the room, although I hoped so, but if you hadn't you would have -been given the letter to mail, with the unsealed envelope turned so as -to attract your attention, and you never would have been able to resist -a peep, never. How did you like my description of your beauty? The -blonde mustache, the "hazel eyes," the "engaging countenance?" If I had -been as silly as that letter indicated, it would not have taken a very -gay Lothario to accomplish his designs on me. - -Your reiterated offers of marriage convinced me that I could pull that -string whenever I was ready. That I have not pulled it is due to the -"weak yielding" of which I spoke at the beginning of this letter. -Professionally, I repeat, it was an error. I could have got a nice -little pot out of you if I had kept along that line. - -But I am not the only member of my "firm" who has weak moments. My -husband could not keep himself quiet in that hotel at St. Croix, when -everything depended on his remaining out of sight. He had to stand in -the sitting room and listen to your protestations of affection, until I -was frightened out of my wits, for I know what an excitable fellow he -is. - -It is one thing to have your wife let another man make love to her--for -a legitimate purpose--and quite another to overhear the burning -declarations. I had to play the fainting gag again, in order to send you -after water, and--do the best I could--my husband would not run when he -heard your returning step. I was in mortal fear that he would kill you -and only by the best diplomacy of which I was mistress did I send him -away. - -Even then he had not finished. I went into your room at midnight, do you -recollect? to keep him from entering there. Not altogether to save you -from injury--though I would have done that, too--but for fear of the -legal entanglements into which his rashness might bring him. - -And in the morning you sent me that sweet letter of apology! Whenever I -get the blues I shall only have to take that out and read it. It was so -funny! - -I am afraid you are getting tired of this story, but you might as well -have it all. It will cure your complaint called "love," that you have -had so severely, if anything will, and that ought to be one comfort. - -My husband was on the steamer with us when we left St. Croix, -and--where, do you suppose? In the stateroom with his wife, where a true -man should be, of course. I smuggled him in there and kept him hid till -we reached Barbados, if you please. But the night you and I stayed at -Martinique, I had a terrible fear that he would come ashore and do -something silly. He kept insisting that he had an account which he must -settle, sooner or later, with you. So, if you remember, I went into your -bedroom and stayed all night, for I knew he would trust me, and that he -would not try to touch you in my presence. In the morning you took me -back to the steamer, as I had intended you should; and that night and -the next I slept again in the arms I love. It was he who was prowling -around the Hotel des Bains, who played the part of mice and ghosts. -Disguised so that no one on the Pretoria recognized him he made his way -to land and back again. It wasn't a bad trick, considering. - -At Barbados I made him go to the Sea View Hotel instead of the Marine, -though with the greatest difficulty. He is so hard to manage when he -sets his mind on anything. It was distinctly foolish for him to be seen -walking the street with Wesson, for you need never have known he had -gone further down the islands than St. Croix. Then why should he come to -the Marine in broad daylight, and get into that row, that nearly spilled -all the milk? I love the man, I tell you, but I must criticise such -conduct. - -Where did Wesson get the jewelry? will be the next question in your -mind. All I know is that our mutual friend "Edgerly" pawned the lot at -Martinique for four hundred francs and afterwards sold the ticket for -125 more, like a dunce! to the proprietor of the Hotel des Bains. That -is an indication of where Wesson got hold of the swag. But why did he -let you take it from him without making the least resistance? This is -another riddle which you must discover for yourself. I can't fathom it. - -If you are trying to find anything in my favor because I forgave your -insulting language at the time you bade me give up the clothing you had -bought, strike it out of your mind. I was merely doing the prudent thing -in keeping you quiet until you paid my expenses back to the United -States. As to the clothing I knew very well you would never ask for it, -in your senses, nor get it, if you did. I finished the work you asked -me to do, with the typewriter, to understand exactly how each item in -this account seemed to you at the time. - -Now, once more, my dear Donald, where does this leave you and me? I -might remain in New York without the slightest fear you would molest me, -either in person or through the law. No man would like to have this -story printed, with his real name, in the daily newspapers; now, would -he? Neither is it likely that your fondness for your Marjorie (ha, ha!) -will long outlive the confessions she has so freely made. But I am not -going to remain in this city. The haunts that have known me will know me -no more. I am going far away, with my husband--my darling husband--and I -can promise that your eyes have gazed upon both of us for the very last -time. - -Why, now, did I give up attacking your bank account when such a good -opportunity still remained? I will tell you, candidly. There are -sportsmen, many of them, I trust, who would not shoot a fawn that stood -still at their approach. I never supposed there was a man with whom a -woman could travel as I travelled with you, who would not give cause to -bleed him with a good conscience by the outrageousness of his conduct. I -thought, of course, you would be like the rest. In that case the -fountains of mercy would have dried up in my bosom and I would have -taken the last dollar I could wrench from you without the slightest -compunction. It was a game I believed infallible. I had found it, more -than once, to work like a charm. - -There are usually only three moves: 1st, to convince the male animal -that I am pure and wish to remain so; 2d, to put myself where he -believes he can insult me with impunity; 3d, the insult. - -I only wanted one move toward the third play on your part to pick you -financially to pieces. You did not make it, and I could go no farther. - -If this leniency of mine is a deadly sin I can only pray that the -temptation to commit another like it will not come to me soon. - -And now, my very dear friend, I must say good-by. Take it altogether, my -two months with you have not been unhappy ones. On your part, if you -have learned your lesson well, the investment you have made ought to -yield a fair dividend. Forget me, if you can, forgive me at any rate. I -have already given up my lodgings, so you need not seek me there. My -address is for the present a secret. - -Yours Sincerely, - -"MARJORIE." - -Donald Camran, Esq., The Lambs. - - * * * * * - -I had finished the entire story and yet I sat upright, with my senses -all about me. I was going to bear it very well, after all. - -A knock was heard upon the door of my apartment. The hallboy entered -when I bade him do so and handed me a card, with the statement that the -gentleman wished to see me on very important business. The name on the -card was unknown to me, but I bade the boy send the owner up. It might -prove a diversion and anything was welcome that would take my mind from -Marjorie. - -I rose and was about to greet the new comer in the usual terms when a -sight of his face stopped me. - -"Mr. Wesson, what does this mean?" I asked, angrily. - -"It means," said the person, with all his old coolness, "that Mr. Wesson -has disappeared from the scene, and that I am plain Martin Daly, of the -Blinkerdon Police, at your service." - -Staggered to the last degree I scanned his card again. It read, "M. -Daly, Boston." - -"What do you want of me?" I asked, still standing and allowing him to do -the same. - -"In the first place," he answered, "perhaps you will permit me to take a -chair. In the second, you may be kind enough to read a letter which I -have brought." - -He took the chair, without waiting for my permission and I received the -letter, which I saw at once was addressed in the handwriting of my Uncle -Dugald. - - My Dear Nephew [it read]:--This will introduce Detective Daly of the - Blinkerdons, who, at my request, has been for eight or nine weeks - attending to matters of importance to you. He will show you his bill - for services and expenses, which I would suggest deserves your early - consideration. If you decline, for any reason, to pay the bill, - kindly let me know at once, that I may give him my own check for the - amount. - - Yours, etc., - - DUGALD CAMRAN. - - New York, April 9th, 1898. - -I opened the bill, which had fallen upon the table, and read the -following: - - Donald Camran, Esq., to Martin Daly, Dr. - To services ninety days at $7 per day $630.00 - To expenses of travel, etc., 521.50 - To cash paid pawnbroker at Martinique and - holder of ticket 125.00 - -------- - $1276.50 - -"What the devil does this mean, sir?" I demanded, very red in the face. - -"It means," said Mr. Daly, affably, "that your uncle engaged me to make -the West Indian voyage in your company and protect you from any -designing persons. The price per day was the one he himself fixed, and -is somewhat less than I am in the habit of receiving. A desire to visit -that part of the world induced me to accept the lower rate. The -expenses, I hardly think you will deny, have been kept very reasonable." - -I reddened more than ever. - -"In plain English, sir, you have been dogging my footsteps, and desire -me to foot the bill." - -"You or your uncle--it is all the same to me," he responded, quite -unruffled. "I think you have had some narrower escapes, sir, than you -yet realize." - -With Miss May's confession lying before me on the table I could not well -doubt that. Still the shame of my position was no less galling. - -"We can postpone the consideration of that little matter for the -present, if you desire," continued Daly, for such I must now call him. -"What is of more pressing importance, is the examination of Jack Hazen, -or Robert Edgerly, as you knew him, which is set down for day after -to-morrow." - -"What!" I cried, startled out of myself. - -"Oh, I forgot. You know the check for $350 that you gave him when he -buncoed you on the Madiana? Well, he raised that to $3500, and was -arrested while trying to collect that sum at your bank. After you told -me you had given him the check I had just time to stop the swindle by -cable." - -Edgerly arrested? Poor Marjorie! That was all I could think of. - -"He is an old offender," continued Daly, "and will get a sweetener this -time. At what hour can I expect you to-morrow at the district attorney's -office? Twelve o'clock will suit me. Twelve? All right. I see you are -busy. Good day, Mr. Camran." - -He was gone and I sat there alone with my reflections. It may readily be -guessed they were not agreeable. - -The only thing I was sure of was that I should pay Daly's bill at once, -if I had the requisite balance to my credit in the bank; and that I -wished he had been in a warmer place than Barbados before he ever -interfered in my affairs. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -BEHIND THE BARS. - - -Why should I blame poor Daly for doing what his profession and the law -he followed dictated plainly? Why should I blame my Uncle Dugald for -putting me under guardianship, after I was supposed to have reached the -years of discretion? - -These are indeed pregnant questions. If the reader has had neurasthenia -and only partially recovered, he will know that the victim of that -malady needs no legitimate reason for any fancies that possess him. It -is plain to me--now--that in sending Daly on my track, my Uncle was -acting the part of a considerate and thoughtful relation. - -It is equally clear to me--now--that the conduct of Daly, from first to -last, deserves the highest praise. Instead of demurring for an instant -at his bill I would have done well to add $500 to it as a present. - -At the moment he was to me like a blistering plaster, making me think of -nothing but the irritation and pain. It is little consolation to be -told, under any circumstances, that one has played the part of a fool. - -I went to dinner at the club moodily, and on returning to my apartments -set myself to consuming as many cigars as possible in a given time. They -were cigars I had bought from a Kingston manufacturer and were decidedly -better than many sold under the name of "Havanas," since the troubles -began in Cuba. I must have smoked at least twenty of them before I -paused, put on my hat and light overcoat, and went out of doors, to see -if the open air would have any effect in clearing the mist that hung -over my brain. - -I walked aimlessly for some time, in various directions, and found -myself standing opposite my own windows an hour after I began. I -wondered if I would be able to sleep if I went into the house. -Unconsciousness was the thing most to be desired, it seemed to me. As I -had about come to the conclusion to try it, a low voice called my name -and its tones filled me with a thrill that was indescribable. - -"Mr. Camran!" - -"Yes," I replied, laconically. - -"I know," said the voice, and I saw the outlines of the figure I -remembered so well, "I know--that I have no right--to appeal to your -pity--or to ask your aid. I have, unfortunately--no other -resource--and--I beg you--as you hope for mercy at the bar of -Heaven--give me--a few minutes--where I can speak to you--in private." - -That form was bent, the tears in that voice were real; she was not -acting now. - -"Will you come up to my rooms?" I asked. - -"I should be so thankful!" - -"Come, then." - -We went in together, astonishing the hallboy somewhat, for to do myself -justice, he had never seen me enter at that time of the evening so -accompanied. When we were in my sitting room, and the door shut--I did -not turn the key, remembering her aversion to locked doors--she began -to speak, slowly and tremblingly: - -"I am overcome with shame--I am plunged in a despair that only you can -lighten. I know well--that I deserve nothing--at your hands. I--I have -robbed you, insulted you--done everything to earn your hatred and -contempt; and yet--" - -"And yet," I interrupted, for her attitude touched me deeply, "and -yet--you have not succeeded in earning either." - -She sprang up with the evident intention of threwing herself at my feet, -but I caught her by the hands--those hands whose touch had given me such -delight only a week ago! How cold they were! - -"Let us come to the point," I said, when she was again seated. "Your -husband is in jail; you found it out after you sent me that confession; -and you want me to free him." - -She rocked herself backward and forward. - -"You have known what it is to love," she moaned. "You have not known -what it is to be wedded. That man is my very life! If they condemn him -to a long term in prison they will, at the same time, condemn me to -death. I realize how little right I have to appeal to you--but there is -no other way. If you testify against us, we are ruined irreparably. Oh, -Mr. Camran--Don!--if there is one bright memory in your heart in all the -days you and I passed together, let that one plead now for a most -unhappy woman!" - -I did not want her to suffer. I had no desire to punish her. Had she -been unmarried I would have offered her my hand again--yes, after all I -knew! - -"It was not by my wish that your husband was arrested," I said, gently. -"In fact, I only learned of it an hour ago." - -"But you can save him--you, and you alone!" she cried. "What does it -mean to you, the money you have lost by us? The check you gave him was -never paid, not even the sum for which you wrote it. I know--I know he -struck you, he tried to kill you--I know it all! but you escaped -unharmed. As for me, I swear to send to-morrow every article you -bought--yes, I will get even the money you have paid for my passage and -hotel bills. Every penny shall be put into your hands before noon--if -you will have mercy on us." - -"Marjorie," I answered, "I do not know what I can do, but let me assure -you I will do all I can. If any act of mine will set your husband at -liberty you may rely on me to perform it." - -She seemed hardly able to believe that she heard aright. She laughed -through her tears, discordantly. - -"You will do this!" she exclaimed. "You are in earnest? And what are -your stipulations? Oh! Remember how little I have left of womanly honor, -and ask nothing I cannot grant." - -A whiteness had come to her lips at the sudden thought that alarmed her. - -"I only ask," I answered, shakingly, "that you carry out the purpose of -which you spoke in your last letter; that of going far away from this -part of the world--where I shall never set eyes on you again. You are to -me like a dream that is past: a beautiful dream I must blot from my -brain. Within a week I shall have forgotten the thorns and recall only -the perfume of roses. A year later I hope to forget the roses -themselves. Marjorie, you are the wife of another man. You are, by your -own admission, a woman with whom it would be suicide to link my life. -But I love you yet. No, do not start. This is my last word on that -subject. After all, you have done something for me. From this day the -love of woman will never be esteemed a light thing in my mind. A young -roué has had a shock that he will not forget. His idle search for -pleasure is ended. I shall be another and a better man--even because I -have known you." - -"And you will save Jack?" she said, entreatingly. - -"I will do all I can--'perjure myself like a gentleman'--if necessary. I -think you may be sure of having him set free within a very few days." - -"What can I do to thank you?" she asked, the tears streaming again from -her eyes. - -"Nothing," I said, after a moment of hesitation. - -For a second I had thought of asking one pure kiss, on the lips. I knew, -before the next second had passed that she would refuse it, though her -husband's freedom depended on the issue. - -"Nothing," I repeated. - -As she rose and held out her hands to me in the attitude of parting, I -affected not to see the movement. "Good-by," I said, huskily. "No; say -no more. Good-by." - -At the door to which I allowed her to go alone, she had an instant of -doubt. - -"You would not be so cruel as to deceive me?" she said, trembling. - -I waved my hand in a negative, but I could not trust myself to speak. I -was afraid, terribly afraid, that if she did not go at once I should -clasp her, willing or unwilling, in my arms, and crush her mouth with my -own. And that I would not have done for the world. - - * * * * * - -As early the following morning as I could expect to find Harvey Hume in -his office I was there. Having nothing whatever to do, as usual, he drew -me into a private room, closed the door and asked to what he was -indebted for a call at that hour. - -"I want to consult you on a legal matter," I said, gravely. "Now, do not -get excited, for you will need all your wits. Listen!" - -I told him that a man was lying in jail under the charge of having -raised the figures on a check of mine; that it was my desire that the -man should go free; and that I wanted him to tell me how to accomplish -that result. - -"He is unjustly accused?" he said, interrogatively. - -"Whether he is or not doesn't matter. I want him set at liberty." - -Hume thought deeply for some moments. - -"Did you give him the original check?" he asked. - -"Yes." - -"Then, of course, you remember the figures it bore at that time." - -"I wouldn't like to swear to them," I said, evasively. - -"They can't convict him unless you do, if he is well defended." - -"But," I said, "I don't want him tried at all. I want him released now. -Isn't there some way to accomplish that?" - -Harvey thought a little longer and finally said he would arrange it. He -was to go at once to the jail and unveil his scheme to "Edgerly," and -afterwards turn up about noon at the district attorney's office. - -As the clocks were striking twelve I met Daly on the steps of the -courthouse. He complimented me on my promptness, with a keen look that -showed he scented his prey. As we were entering the room of the -dispenser of justice, Hume came along and addressed me. - -"I say, Camran," he remarked, careful that Daly should hear every word, -"I am engaged to appear for a poor chap who is up for raising a check of -yours. I was just going in to see the district attorney. I must say, the -man seems as innocent of wrong as any fellow I ever met." - -"Will you kindly introduce me to this gentleman?" asked Daly of me. - -When this was done, he informed Hume that Hazen was a well known sharper -and that in the present case there was no doubt whatever of his guilt. - -"Mr. Camran gave him a check for $350 to settle the balance of a game of -cards that I will swear was a swindle, for I watched it; and when the -check was brought into the bank it had been raised to $3500. Luckily I -got word that the check had been given in time to put the bank people on -their guard by cable and he was arrested on the spot." - -"Is this true?" asked the lawyer, of me. - -"I don't know," I responded, carelessly. "I gave him a -check--certainly--but for what amount I am absolutely unable to swear. I -was confused at the time--a little put out, naturally--" - -Daly was surveying me with a look of rage. - -"So you're going to throw it up, are you?" he asked, gutturally. "And -one of the prettiest cases I ever worked on, too." - -"I will mail you the amount of your bill this afternoon," I said, -impudently. - -"The amount of my--" he repeated, dolefully. "Yes; but the gain to my -reputation that would have resulted--who will compensate me for that? -Gad, I'll never take hold of another case that has a woman in it! They -can knock over the best of us. You can let your check-raiser go, for all -of me," he said to the district attorney, as that gentleman came to the -threshold. "The evidence seems to have petered out." - -Mr. Hume and I talked the matter over with the official, explained the -part he took in the affair, and it was arranged that the case would not -be brought before the Grand Jury at all. - -"I want to say I think you've played it a little low down on a man that -interfered to save your life," said Daly to me, as he left the building. -"But I'll watch for that fellow and you can bet I'll get him on -something yet before he dies." - -I had no wish to argue with him. He was undoubtedly right, from his -standpoint. - -It was enough for me to know I had succeeded in accomplishing what would -put the roses into Marjorie's cheeks once more. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -"I PRESSED THEM TO MY LIPS." - - -I was very lonesome for a few weeks after my return. This it was that -took me so often to the house occupied by the Bartons. Tom was immensely -glad to see me, at all times, and Statia, though still very sober in my -society, began to treat me with her old kindness. - -One day, when Hazen was out of jail, and undoubtedly far away from the -city, I asked Statia if she would like to hear a diary of my journey to -the West Indies. She hesitated a little, saying finally that her answer -would depend a great deal on what the diary contained. I told her how I -had put the entire affair, from the beginning, into shape for -publication and what I wanted was her opinion of my scheme. While there -were many things that might not reflect great credit on me, there was -nothing, I believed, that it would be improper for her to hear. She -thought a little longer and then asked if she might not read it for -herself instead of having it read to her. I accepted the amendment, -being in fact glad she suggested it, and brought Miss May's MS. to her -the very next morning. - -When a couple of days had passed Tom dropped in to say that his sister -would like to see me, if I found it convenient to run over. In another -hour I was in her presence. She met me with a frown on her pretty face -and stood for a minute regarding me silently. - -"Don, have you told the whole truth in that manuscript?" she asked, -then. - -"The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me!" I -responded with upraised hand. - -"It is an awful avowal, take it altogether," she said, soberly. "I -almost wish you had not brought it to me. I never shall feel quite the -same after this. How could a woman of that description so affect a man -like you?" - -"I am not going to discuss that," I answered. "Is it worth publishing, -that's the point? I have altered every name, you see, so no one not in -the secret will recognize a single person involved. It's a rather -unusual collection of occurrences, don't you think?" - -She assented with a nod to the last proposition, and said as for the -literary "market" she supposed in its present state it was not over -squeamish. - -"The success of the season is 'Quo Vadis,'" she added, "and I wasn't -able to read half of it. There is at least a lesson to be learned from -this experience of yours, if men will only heed the warnings." - -"Thank you," I said, with polite irony, though I didn't agree with her -about Sienkiewicz' great work. "Can you think of anything I might add, -to round out the tale, as it were?" - -A flush came into her face and a slight smile to the corners of her -mouth. - -"Yes. You might say that 'Statia' admitted to you afterwards that the -letters signed 'Alice Brazier' were her own, copied by a friend in the -handwriting of the latter and sent from her residence." - -My surprise, which was complete, turned the smile into a little laugh at -my expense. - -"And you might say also," she continued, "that during your absence with -'Marjorie,' your friend 'Tom's' sister was taking lessons in typewriting -and became quite proficient in that art. And that she told you, whenever -you wanted to take another journey, and needed assistance in literary -work, she would apply for the position rather than have you made the -victim of any designing creature of her sex." - -"Statia!" I cried, "you have entirely forgiven me?" - -"Entirely," she said. "I couldn't wish you any greater punishment than -you have endured." - -A month passed and one day a box addressed to me was brought to my door -by an expressman, with the charges prepaid from some point beyond the -Rockies. Wonderingly I saw it opened and then, at the first glance into -the interior, I told the boy who plied the hammer that I would unpack it -myself. - -It contained the entire outfit that "Marjorie" had bought with my -money--the jewelry included. - -There were the hats which had adorned her fair head; the gowns that had -been draped around her graceful body; the shoes, the hosiery, the -lingerie--everything! - -I took them out slowly, one by one. I pressed them to my lips, letting -teardrops fall on each separate article. I could only think of what I -had lost--of what, in truth, I had never gained. I put the articles -away, finally, locking them securely from all prying eyes. - -This little note was found in the box, pinned to a scarf: - - My Dear Friend:--Although you told me you did not want to take your - things back, I shall feel better to send them to you. It leaves me - in your debt only for the other expenses of my voyage, and perhaps - the typewriting I did will in some measure compensate for that. Long - ago you must have recovered from the tender sentiment with which you - used to insist I inspired you, and I hope have also learned to think - of me with less aversion than you felt at the last. If I might be - permitted to give advice it would be offer your hand and heart to - 'Statia Barton.' You need a wife; I am sure, she would make an - excellent one. - - Farewell; this time, forever! - - M.M. - -Recovered from my love for you? Not yet, Marjorie, not yet. That will -come in time, I trust, but it is still too soon. - -Offer my hand to Statia? I would not insult that noble girl again with -such a worthless gift. As for my heart, it has not come back to me, and -I do not know as it ever will. - - * * * * * - -"Well," said Mr. Cook, the senior partner of the Dillingham Company, as -I signed the contract which gave him the right to publish this -"novel,"--"you've had what the doctor prescribed, at least." - -"A New Sensation," he explained, as I looked at him inquiringly. - - -THE END. - - -SPECIAL NOTE: If this should meet the eyes of Mr. Mathew Howes of -Binghamton, or Miss Howes, they are hereby informed that a diamond -bracelet is awaiting its owner at The Lambs Club. - -D.C. - - - - -THE POPULAR NOVELS OF MAY AGNES FLEMING - - - THE ACTRESS' DAUGHTER. - A CHANGED HEART. - EDITH PERCIVAL. - A FATEFUL ABDUCTION. - MAUDE PERCY'S SECRET. - THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN. - NORINE'S REVENGE. - PRIDE AND PASSION. - QUEEN OF THE ISLE. - SHARING HER CRIME. - THE SISTERS OF TORWOOD. - WEDDED FOR PIQUE. - A WIFE'S TRAGEDY. - A WRONGED WIFE. - - -Mrs. Fleming's stories have always been extremely popular. Their -delineations of character, lifelike conversations, the flashes of wit, -their constantly varying scenes and deeply interesting plots combine to -place their author in an enviable position, which is still maintained -despite the tremendous onrush of modern novelists. No more brilliant or -stirring novels than hers have ever been published, and, strange as it -may seem, the seeker after romance today reads these books as eagerly as -did our mothers when they first appeared. - - -_All published uniform, cloth bound. Price, 50 cents each, and sent FREE -by mail, on receipt of price by_ - -G.W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK - - - - -THE FASCINATING NOVELS OF Celia E. Gardner - - - BROKEN DREAMS (In verse). - COMPENSATION (In verse). - HER LAST LOVER. - RICH MEDWAY'S TWO LOVES. - STOLEN WATERS (In verse). - TESTED. - TERRACE ROSES. - TWISTED SKEIN (In verse). - A WOMAN'S WILES. - WON UNDER PROTEST. - - -These stories are as far removed from the sensational as possible, yet -in matter as well as style, they possess a fascination all their own. -The author makes a specialty of the study of a woman's heart. Their tone -and atmosphere are high; the characterizations good; the dialogue bright -and natural. Her books have had an enormous sale. - - -_12 mo. Cloth bound. Price, 50 cents each, and sent FREE by mail, on -receipt of price by_ - -G.W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK - - - - -THE CHARMING NOVELS OF JULIE P. SMITH - - - BLOSSOM BUD. - COURTING AND FARMING. - KISS AND BE FRIENDS. - THE MARRIED BELLE. - THE WIDOWER. - CHRIS AND OTHO. - HIS YOUNG WIFE. - LUCY. - TEN OLD MAIDS. - WIDOW GOLDSMITH'S DAUGHTER. - - -Julie P. Smith's books are of unusual merit, uncommonly well written, -cleverly developed and characterized by great wit and vivacity. They -have been extremely popular, and they still retain to a great degree -their former power to charm. Her pictures of farm life and of rural -conditions are wholesome and finely done. The human interest is never -lacking from her stories. - - -_All published uniform, cloth bound. Price, 50 cents each, and sent FREE -by mail, on receipt of price by_ - -G.W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: - - -Obvious typographical and printer errors have been corrected without -comment. - -In addition to obvious errors, the following changes have been made: - - Page 53: removed the word "be" from the phrase "... who is to be - become my employee...." leaving, "... who is to become my - employee...." - - Page 153: changed "profoundedly" to "profoundly" in the phrase, "I - was profoundly grateful...." - - Page 234: changed "an" to "as" in the phrase, "... your face is as - innocent as a babe's." - -Other than the above, no effort has been made to standardize internal -inconsistencies in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, etc. -The author's usage is preserved as found in the original publication. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A New Sensation, by Albert Ross - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A NEW SENSATION *** - -***** This file should be named 40937-8.txt or 40937-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/3/40937/ - -Produced by D Alexander, Cathy Maxam, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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