| Show I BY ARCHIBALD CLAVERI CLAVERING G GUNTER Mf a rn s A m Author of Jr Po Patter of T Texas eta te teA A SEQUEL TO MR BARNES OF NEW YORK Copyright 1907 b by Dodd Mead ead S Co CHAPTER VI LADY NEW SUITOR Clel Ciel you speak my language ejaculates ejaculates Leboeuf In mixed English and French knocking over some pans and kettles and sinking on his knees before the beings who defend him Tell you Anglais who cannot understand my zat I am amno amno no traitor zat I am cook and noth nothIng nothing Ing else he cries to Marina Have I poisoned an anyone one Diable no my salads were marvelous my entrees gave ave no indigestion Zen why do men threaten me with death See It if you cannot get out of the beggar some logical explanation of hIs peculiar ullar conduct mutters Edwin gloomily You have frightened the poor man manso 1 so 0 he cannot make you understand i remarks Enid severely Then ask him to tell yoU says flares Barnes wh why when we called for ice at St Tropez he surreptitiously sent a telegram to Marseilles and then delayed de delayed us three hours at that vort Dort till that fishing vessel probably directed by wire got under way to dog our foot footsteps steps And why tonight against the regu regulations lations of my vessel adds Anstruther he kept this galley fire so that the light shining through his open porthole Indicates to the felucca what craft It Is to pursue Marina puts these thee questions to the cook cooly and translates the following answer The ice was necessary After I am on shore to get it I sent a tele telegram telegram gram as I promised to Monsieur Deu pez who had come In Marseilles and said aid You go on the Seagull The Cafe will want you as soon as their grand chef Meudon eudon goes to Paris To engage you they must know where you are To miss your services would be bea bea a blow for their great restaurant So they can communicate with you tele telegraph telegraph graph me Immediately on landing from each port the yacht stops that they theyan can an get you the instant Meudon leaves Ho gave me money for this Therefore the moment I am on shore I 1 tele telegraphed telegraphed graphed simply St Sh I am here Leboeuf Soon I received a return re return turn message Hold the yacht three hours I have vegetables to bu buy also flowers That takes time after the market is closed I dont hurl hurry What matters It if a pleasure yacht acht leave a little later From Marseilles I receive no further answer The chef of the has not yet ret gone so I come on board This night the morning watch want coffee Monsieur Graham say give It to them so I leave my fire It was very hot I open the porthole of my galley all Void what I have done is simply busl busi business ness nes I am a great cook The Cafe wishes to engage me that is all Aba cries Enid generously you rou rouse se see the chef simply expected to get a goof goOl position in the kitchen of a lead leadIng leading Ing Marseilles restaurant Listening to this Edwin and Barnes go o Into consultation Probably the memol memory of his magnificent cuisine makes them lenient to the artist I believe the little b beggar is Innocent says the sailor Simply Simp a matter of vanity remarks Burton He thought they wanted him VI very much for the Cafe If we dont put the little chap chaD on onshore onshore shore we must trust him remarks the American Then he says briefly to Marina Please show Leboeuf what danger he has placed upon us by his telegram And this being explained to him b by bythe the beautiful women both fair Calr ones almost speaking together Leboeuf be beginning Inning ginning to comprehend the plot against even en their lives the little Frenchman breaks out excitedly and gallantly Inn ina In n a mixture of polyglot Mille lUlle murder you angels of merc mercy I 1 Felix Leboeuf viii defend you ou both ith my life He seizes and kisses their hands assassins shall answer to me for making me instrument No more telegrams while I am a Seagull Zat I swear to you and the little fellows eyes tes glow with gratitude as the they rest upon the tho gentle creatures who as they have Dave stood between him and marlin and pistol have seemed divine in mercy But despite the innocence and fealt fealty of Monsieur lon Leboeuf Edwin and Barnes leave his galley dismayed This a additional evidence of the crafty as assiduity with which they are being fol folI followed I lowed makes both men very serious though It affects Marinas delicate nerves even more intensely and Enid shudders In the soft night air at the thought that the hand of the assassin seems still upon her We must settle exactly how to pro proceed eed whispered Barnes to Edwin the two ladies ades having retreated retreated to the What do you OU propose Wh Why as not only a sailor but a aman aman man of common sense I propose to get getaway getaway away from these sn sneaky devils dells as tar far taras faras as possible crack on everything round Sardinia drive to the Strait of Gi Gibraltar Gibraltar and up the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay to England Barnes glance rests upon Marina who has wandered to the stern an in increased creased terror on her face Medically I do not think in her prey ent neurotic state state your our wife could en endure endure dure the voyage he answers He glances over the away aay in the gloom of the coming morning is the felucca Theres practical proof that the vendetta Is ever following us he says simply That cruel craft is sent to dog us to any port where we may land In England cu will be too prom to escape notice Besides do you lr er I want to live our lives lIes alwa always s look Ing over our shoulder for some enemy behind us No there Is one original plan Filled with the deadly determination of the Saxon race when their women ar are assailed he continues shortly I Get the ladies concealed and guard guarded ed as carefully as possible with Lady at Villefranche then you and andI I turn about and meet these devils devil and If necessary destroy detroy them at all events destroy the man who has the money that permits these assassins to follow W us to the ends of the earth By Heaven you XOU are right answers Edwin Now the best way to do it Over this they hold consultation and the result Is that next morning when they are off Porto still find finding finding ing the felucca In sight they take the following action That day g Well beyond the he famed o of Monte MonteCristo Cristo the night coining on dark an I heavy Anstruther nuts out evel every light lightn cn n the vessel and turns about and the next morning piloted by Graham who knows this sea they are alone at an anchor hor chor In a little cove sheltered b by the sterile rocks of Gorgona Here th the English officer changes the appearance e of the Seagull almost en entirely entirely Paint pots are got ot out and she ahe Boon Eoon has a black hull Miss lIss Anstruther who Is now noy interested in the matter painting a new name name the Wildfowl on ona ona a piece ot of canvas that Is tacked over the stern Then both topmasts of the vessel are sent down on deck and a mainsail that Gr Graham ham reports In the vessels sail locker Is bent on the main boom the gaff being removed In addition the rigging is overhauled and made more slack and slouchy like that of some careless mer merchant merchant chant trading schooner So the next da day beating out upon the sea between Elba and Corsica is a very ery different vessel to the brilliant pleasure craft that left Marseilles Upon Its deck deek are people also changed The intimacy of a yachting excursion to young men and young oung women who love each other generally makes the deck ot of the craft under soft suns fanned by refreshing breezes nigh onto a heaven but haunted by the sup supposed posed deft letters of Cipriano Danella the Seagull Is an Inferno the deck of this vessel has become Edwin mutters gloomily to Barnes nigh unto hell Cant you see he whispers despairingly that evel every day more anxious and more nervous My God it Is for me meThis meThis This remark Is made to the American as the two men sit smoking between the main and the foremast late the next evening Did you notice adds Anstruther with a sigh she had n no appetite You mean your sister says the AmerIcan Certainly not Marina My wife eat a mouthfuL Neither did Miss lIss Anstruther Nonsense Enid was enthusiastic over our cooks culinary triumphs Yes with her lips but not with her teeth mutters Burton grimly Wo Womanlike Womanlike manlike she cried out about fillet mignon and souffle and affect affected ed to But stored away no cargo sug suggests suggests Anstruther So much the better for you OU old man when a girl gets off her food hard hit in some other part pan of oC her anatomy than her stomach My y sisters a good sailor so it sea sickness affects her herS S Spa a sickness jeers Barnes savage savagely ly Cant you see that every hour Enid grows more cold and more haughty to me punishing me because I wed h her r that da day in Marseilles when even Emory the Yankee detective shuddered and said It would be a crime for me to marry with this devilish e ilish threat I carry in m my pocket against any woman who Is un unfortunate unfortunate fortunate enough to become m my wife wiCe It concerns my sister supposing you ou show it to me suggests Edwin Supposing you show It to me comes to them in a sad yet et clear voice from the neighboring cutter My y Go God you rou overheard d Barnes faces his beautiful fiancee as she steps from Crom the large boat that after the merchant fashion has n now w been stowed on the deck Certainly Hoping I had done your love an Injustice I have been trying to overhear some such revelation as this for the last few days The girls eyes are beaming now tender with love and hope No no It is too horrible shudders the American whose hand had been almost at his pocket when her words had hod smitten him It If my brother could re read d it surely it will wili not blast my eyes ees remarks the tho young Jad lady trying to b be calm though she Is trembling Th n she breaks forth almost passionately You owe this to m my love loe for you ou Since YOU st seemed emed reluctant to wear me as your bride to accept my wifely de devotion devotion my pride has suffered so much that you Burton cannot deny me the sight of that letter so that I may again trust the ardency of your our desire to tomake make me yours Better not nol dissents Barn Barnes s who has grown cooler as his sweetheart has become excited I demand It she extends her dell deli delicate catl cate hand determinedly d Best give gie It to her remarks her sailor brother grimly You advise it Ii then Yes she will never neer rest without It nw now If I know Enid of old Edwin caressingly places his arm about his sisters svelte waist then suddenly exclaims My oy Heaven she is trem trembling bUng bling Barnes Barncs She Is almost h hysterical cal You must let her see it Barnes silently places the accursed threat against the woman whom he dares to marry and her offspring in inthe inthe the slight hl hand of his betrothed She carries it to the binnacle light and reads it carefully twice over Then she returns to them her eyes brilliant with det determined devotion yet et swim swimming swimming ming with t love oe You let such sueh a chimera as this little piece of paper th the ravings of some maniac on revenge stand between you ou and my love loe I 1 Xo No no this have had ad proof a t menace all our lives I desire to put Its author where he can do no harm to you OU before I Iwed Iwed wed you Then what Barnes has feared comes to pass Before After you wed me cries his fiancee In exalted mood Let us together face and annihilate this fiend Dont you ou think I can aid and support you ou against this atrocious conspiracy that threatens your our Ue life better as your our wife than If separated from you oU b by the miserable doubts and uncertainties that have come between us in the last ast few days But remember this Is an undying feud Think what my would be If I let your our love for me bring miserable death to you ou m ma my a adored ored whispers Barnes his passion kindled into more brilliant flame by byth bythe th the devotion of his delicate but reso resolute resolute lute fiancee My death c happen sweet sweetheart sweetheart heart unless you died also Burton she sa says simply But Edwin who halt had taken the paper from the ex girls hand han and strode strod to the binnacle light to read It now returns with hasty step and shudders Think what hat this devil threatens Ito 10 i any woman who weds this man Think you al also o answers his sis sister I ter how your wedding Marina brought ht you Into this ld blood feud Would you now give ghe up your our bride Give up lip Marina Ia ina he mutters st Not ot with a drop of blood In my body Then Edwin I demand of this g gen gentleman n tIeman wh sa says s he loves me that he I weds me the moment we go on shore at Nice eY even n if it brings me into the unhappy feud proclaimed against him No no dont refuse me Burton she whispers determinedly the last chance chanc You wed me then or never wed me If you oU cannot trust me with your Jour woes Ill not take part of your JOYs More ore enamoured than ever eyer with the charming girl who ho will risk death to tobe tobe be his bride Barnes silently extends his arms and she falling into them the deck becomes a heaven t to these lovers Edwin turns toward the binnacle cle I muttering to himself Bully for Enids pluck then sighs But walt wait till she fears for or her husband as Mar Marina ina does for or me A moment later he Is only the skipper of the vessel as ashe ashe he inspects with careful eye the yachts course and sees that there is a sharp lookout kept forward The next day the sun again rises bright over the Mediterranean The rhe felucca Is never sighted Monsieur Leboeuf serves s rY s meals a fairy princess in the salon and Barnes have haye such the cook Is delighted Iq In their happiness even Marina seems to have regained her confidence If not she simulates It very well Perhaps she is stimulated to this because acting under Barnes advice Edwin has again questioned her as to 0 the letter that had caused her to faint in the Marseilles railroad depot The cons consequence quence Is that a few days later the Seagull under the name of the Wildfowl drops her an anchor hor in the little bay at Villefranche coming in innot innot not like a sprightly yacht but like a slow lumbering carelessly sailed and Inadequately handled merchant craft It is now earl early evening Mr Barnes immediate object is to discover the thevilla villa that Lad Lady Chartr s has rented and occupied Before he left Mar seines he had asked that lady to dec decorate decorate orate her cottage with a French flag This would create less comment than an English one om and the American wanted some signal by which it could be easily and directly distinguished Barnes places his marine glass on onI the little town of Villefranche nestled under the forests of Mont ont Boron and I snuggled in between the head of the bay and the naval station On the latter floats the banner of France but buton buton on none of its outlying outing villas can he see the signal he had suggested To avoid the curiosity of passing boats Edwin has anchored near the Beaulieu side of the ba bay Upon this Barnes now directs his glass Look Looking Looking ing it over the American thinks It will willbe willbe be much more probably the location of Lady as it has a number of pretty little villas nestled among olive almond and orange trees a good many of them having water frontage and several being possessed of boat landings as he su suggested But on none of them floats the flag of France He is almost putting his glass aside preparatory to a journey journe on shore to determine the location of Lady Char tris when he suddenly exclaims Hang that Maud Maud cried Edwin who has bas hen been bus busy In making the vessel shipshape Is she above aboc the horizon very much laughs Barnes |
