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Show -T-f i . A TRAGIC The Anniversary storvte j IT rv as toward e veni npr on one of those marvelous days in Winter :or which the Mediterranean is famous. The sky was blue with this seml-transparnnt blue color which gives you the Impression that there ie no limit to its depth, a color which the brush of no living painter ha yet beon able to paint. The sun approaching it3 setting reined to caress the steamer with its :a;it ruys before siliipinj? into tha lioi'om of the sea. Nearly all the paspeners wore on deck, laughing, chatting, pacing: or resting comfortably com-fortably in the lonp deck chairs, while others leaning across the railing rail-ing admirer! the gorprenm; colors, the last gifts of th iKins eu. A few moments pnp"'d nnd suddenly sud-denly the t'veam; -"oolnt-ss a rri ved ;in,i on" ;tficr rinr.ther the passn-r,'pi passn-r,'pi s be;; a n to PPar. until I found nivv'iL quite ahme. For several sev-eral minutes I rit.ood lost in admiration admira-tion of the beauty of aea and sky, wh.n suddenly 1 heard light fool-steps fool-steps coming toward mo. Looking up, 1 saw sMhouetted apai n.ut t bii sky the hea utif u 1 pro-file pro-file of one of the women parsons' '-re. Si va :v!T. !'"'!ow of u Uus-sian Uus-sian olYievr who r.ad one down r u ut' ;u v.- i i h t.J:e cru iper Varia g, attacked by tiie J ft panose the year be tore. it was one of the most heroic d'eds performed by the officers and crew of a vessel in any navy. I f.y ?hr affectfd indifference, for more than once 1 had sen. on such i an nc-a:-iori, a s Trance flume of emotion in the vtv depth of her wis ii '. i i 1 looking tor nor ex-pec; ex-pec; ; nnyrrr. wa Iked I t-tra if, !it up to the ra i 11 n c. r'-y.t ed her elbows on top of it and stared as if if n trance toward (lie spot on , the horizon where the hum had dls-r. dls-r. pp'-ared. Just then the silhouette of a steamer coming toward usi outlined out-lined itself against the sky, which was still of a glowing red color, wonderful e y e s , which was i m m e -: diately hidden by a rapid lowering I of her eyelids with their 1 o n w K lashes. The young woman hart not sf n me, and it was evident that strand str-and for a moment It looked as if the sun had set the vessel afire. Mme. Suvarof's hands clenched find unclenched ne'rvously. Then she turned away abruptly and wen' below with the same mechanical step that I had noticed as nhe ca me and an inscruiable expression expres-sion in her face. Her eyes were wide oren but looked as if she did not e anything. It was as if her sp'rit were far awny from her body, whu-rh Hpontaneouftly went th'rough the routine movements. A little later T went below, but T did not nee her at dinner and supposed sup-posed that she had felt too tired and had rtir"d to ner stateroom. J ate my dinner ve-y quickly, spent a short time on deck and went he-low he-low to turn in. for the sea had begun be-gun to become rough and I folt rnther 111 at ease. It was not seasickness, I am too old a sailor for that but T had a premonli inn of evil to come. As I pasr.ed Mme. Puvaroff's stateroom I r-aw a. light 1 here. I had slept for several hours when I una awakened by a great commotion, commo-tion, and In a moment I put on som clot he.s and run into the corridor, which was filled with smoke. There was a crowd of passengers (lier, all In night attire, aroused from thnfr sleep by a cry that the ship wa s on fl re. Two officers were endeavoring to calm the m n nd a sfiu rod the m that Die fi re ha fl been put out a I most iiil.iie'tlaiely ami that all danger was past. Wlun I Wf-rit to i-'eo the caiit.ji!) and pskd hirn how the tire had si 3 i-red. he a ny vr red, "Go and u sl Mine. Suvaroff." "What do you mean?" "The f.re slarU-d in her slnteroom and she was found in a corner with tier clothes all ahlaz, ravinjr mad." Suddenly 1 u nd erst nod. It yaq on the same day a year before that, her husband had gone down with hi. ship a m out; si the crack It ng of fluTiH aiid the roar of heavy guns. |