OCR Text |
Show T 1NMiIHPBSW1 i . m,usr.nAri$D by r j taJ .1 SYNOPSIS. jl T h'co, Klf Is, - Elizabeth, QntirlollD un.l II liillso Htnrtctl for Canada to Bpenu tlio it sununrr tliero. On board steumer tlioy II wore trlKUtuiiud by nn uppnruntly dement- 41 stranger, who llndltiK H bag belonging II I? ,P of them, took enjoyment In scru- II tinlzlng a photo of the trio. Kline shared 11 "or stateroom with a Mrs, Graham, alno II bound for Canada. The young women on Jl a BlKhtHcelng tour met Mrs. Graham, II anxiously awaiting her husband, who had l J mania for sailing. They were Intro- II duced to Lord Wilfrid and Lady Kulth. it A cottngo hy the ocean was rented by II the trio for the summer. Elizabeth jl learned that a friend of her father's was Jl to call. Two men called, one of them being the queer-acting stranger on the II steamer. The girls were "not at home," jl hut discovered by the eards left that one jl of the men was Elizabeth's father's ' trlend. The men proved to be John C. niako and Gordon Bennett. The party was told of the search for smugglers In I the vicinity of tlio cottage. Ellse visited I Mrs. Grahnm to nnd that her life was not the happiest. She learned that the Grahams and Lady Edith were acquaint- od. A wisp of yellow hair from Mr. Gra- ham's pocket fell Into the hands of Ellse. Mrs. Graham's hair was black. I CHAPTER V. I After all, It was Gabriello who first I opened the door In our wall of reservo I and allowed Gordon Bennett to pene- I trate beyond It, and In the light of """", after evonta I was very glad, Indeed, I ' I was not responsible. It happened I " ' this wny I Sho n"ad washed her hair and gone I .. out m 1,10 sun to dFy U. taking a book I ;'t '., v and a box of chocolates to help puss I away the time, and, after wandering I - - -about a little, had established herself I . ,,, at tho top of the flight of stops leading I ' ' 1 ' down to the boathouse, as tho most se- I eluded as well as tho sunniest place I sho could find. I Just what really happened 1 don't I know; I believe sho got to dreaming I out thero In the sunshine, but this Is I what sho said: I "I was sitting quietly reading when I I heard a little thump, ,and there wa I that miserable1 cpmty, balancing on the I bottom stop. Of course I wont nftor I It, and of course before I got there It I toppled over nnd went through a I crack of the slip Into the waUij," , I "That slip Is hoodooetfj'n'terrfipted I " .Elizabeth. "Why don't you illo as I I; 'do, and keep awayjronv-it?'. I' j "It wns low tide," continued Gabrl- " I ; elle, "and I. could look through the I . , j t' crackand tsop It lying on tho sand be- I neath the water, so I took a stick and I tried to poke It out. I got along very L .',. .v.wcll . bjvprogr.esslng -.from; cj-ack to I, cj-a'clC' btii'flt -tto" critical moment I j ffiot4 felted , nnd, pjkett tab hajg, and i '-.It slibt out Just' beyond my reach. That I made mo wild,' for I knew I couldn't I face Elizabeth-without It,' so I sjniply , ; . i . ';,!(' .i.Ujwa'aud'gra'ppled with my stick." I " ' '' " "Well?" I Inquired, ns she paused I a with a romlnlscent chuckle. I "Well, as I was lying there with I my face tho color, of a boiled- lpbster, ltj,. ' C" flshlifg Jyjfy I was worth, I IliOs i hijahl 'a'Ablco say: 'Allow mo,' and I 4-r.- "j ' tubro W'JUvih ajsallbpat, tho plcfuro I iO ' -:of coolness -and cVmfort. Ho rolled up I n jl i fi . . , 1Jlfl KQ Ul0JiBl, jnd wpnt- to work, lltH MiWil'UatHtf then calmly landed I and Introduced himself, saying some- I thing about haying boon unfortunate oJ vJini-' in ni8vj9uv. - I "Tlion was your opportunity to bo IrwW c li 'dKn,n(i4 TWltfUolchlng,'' ' I Inter-KU Inter-KU Vf T. i rujitc'd. " "You should have frozon him ,with q glance." ; ' ''I tfled to," sho returned, "but all J at onco I remembered my hair, nnd ij' who could' bo dlgnlfladi then ? '' ' l C'i ! you "couglit! lilnr h6me with t .' " i' aa a roward of merit." laughed ' . , Elizabeth. "I shall never forget how 1 1 ' ." loWed "a you -camo up tho vor- .1' anda steps." "Yes," said Gabriello; "and you two tky. sat and slnvod 41s hqugh wo had os- . ..r capcri- froln the zoo. Take your comb, --EUzal)oth ; 1 never borrowed one bo-foi;o,vand bo-foi;o,vand I novor will agalji." : "I' suppose," remarked-Elizabdtli, re-v re-v '" flgqtlvjly oxamlning her recovered f" "'. , property, "wo may bo 'sald" to have dropped Into his llfo; first your 'bag, ',' V ' 1 , then Elfso's ldecomb, and now this of ' mine. It's .fato wo'v.o got to 'dcriow him, but tt (Wasn't so bad, aftor all, . . . was It?" ' ', . - ,w . ,., , .. Indeed, "w'e 'had all enjoyed tho aft ernoon. Even Gabriello returned to tho veranda, with her hair ns high up on her hend as sho could get it and with hor most Impressive manner, but wo nono of us referred to our trip up on the steamer, and our visitor departed de-parted without onco mentioning our property in his possession, although my sldecombs woro obviously not mates, which mado mo very uncom-fortablo, uncom-fortablo, Elizabeth asked him to come again, nnd when roproached for hor cordiality cordiali-ty Bald sho did It only to pleaso us, and quito expected to bo bored to doath horself; from which wo know eho was very favorably impressed. 1 A sudden storm came up that after- noon, and when Mr. Bennett rose to go tho sky wns very black and lowering, and the ocean roared ominously, so he left his boat tied to our slip nnd went up Into the village to do some errands er-rands nnd wait until It should bo over. Instead of a short squall, how-over, how-over, It settled down Into u heavy rain, with howling ensterly wind nnd tossing, turbulent sea, so he was obliged to spend the night In tho vll-lngo, vll-lngo, ns, of course, he could not cross to his island in his smnll boat. It was our first real Btorm In tho cottage, and as we heard tho boom of tho waves and listened to tho wind sweep nbout our little homo until It sometimes trembled upon Its foundations, founda-tions, I must admit wo were slightly nervous and could not settle to any occupation. So wo gathered around our stone fireplace, lighted tho driftwood drift-wood Mary Anno had placed ready, and wntched the wonderful green, lavender, lav-ender, scarlet and blue of the crackling flames In silence. Elizabeth snt on tho rug nnd leaned hor head against Gabrlolle's knee, and their faces gradually assumed the dreamy, far-away expression which means thoy have withdrawn Into their own inner world, whore outsldors may not follow them, nnd whero memory and anticipation aro softened by mutual mu-tual Interest and mutual affection. But I did not enre, for I also had n llttlp Inner world with memories, unci liked to nntlclpato tho future, now vory hazy and Indistinct, to bo sure, but. Jflllod with delightful possibilities ant?' alluring In Its vory vagueness. . So I leaned back in my low wicker chair nnd built cnstles In tho air, whllo tho rain beat unnoticed ngalnst tho 'windows and the surf thundered angrily angri-ly upon tho shoro. "What's that?" cried Elfzaboth, sharply, sharp-ly, and with one accord wo sprang to our feot. For above tho noise of tho. storm wo had heard a crash, ns of metal striking metal, and the fall of a heavy body, apparently right beneath us. "It's tho storm," said Gabriello. "Only tho storm." Hut she was whlto and trembling as sho spoko, and enst nn npprohenslve glanco at tho floor, as though sho expected ex-pected It to open and engulf us. "Tho collar," whispered Kllzaboth "some one Is down there." Now, tho collar was a part of our abodo wo had not yet explored, so It had all tho mystery of tho unknown, and as we crept stealthily into the kitchen wo experienced a sensation of standing over n bomb which might at at any time explode nnd annihilate us. Gabriello valiantly advanced to the door leading down into it, and opened It the fraction of nn inch. "Who Is there?" she said, beginning brnvely enough and ending with a quavering whisper. Of course there wns no reply, nnd we would have been frightened to death If there had been, yet we folt Indignant at the stillness, as well as at tho Impenetrable darkness our eyes could not plerco. "Shall we go down?" Her voice was rathor tremulous, and she looked relieved re-lieved when we shooR our heads decidedly. de-cidedly. "If we only had a dog," I hazarded, "we could put It down ahead of us to find out If any one wns there; but we haven't." "No," agreed Elizabeth, thoughtfully; thoughtful-ly; "but we have Mary Anne." As though In response to her nnme, the outer kitchen door opened, and Mary Anno herself, wet, draggled and brenthless, stood before us. Her usually ruddy face was pale, and her eyes rolled wildly as she looked from one to the other, while her shawl slipped unnoticed to the floor, and we saw that her gown was badly torn and her nnn scratched and bleeding. "You've been out?" It was Elizabeth who spoke, and her voice brought Mary Anne's wandering oyo to a focus and held it n moment. "Yes, miss." She picked up her shnwl and folded it carefully, smoothing the creuscs with trembling hands. "It's a wild night, Miss Ellznboth," sho said, with a shudder. "Tho Btorm got Into mo blood, miss, nnd sleop I .couldn't fur thinking of them I knows whb nro maybe out on the sen, so I got mo shawl and started fur mo ' brother's 'ouso to see If 'o 'ad got '01110 snfo nnd sound; but I couldn't git down I he bluff. Miss Ellse, tho wind being that vi'lent It clean druv mo back. And 1 stumbled, Miss Gabri-olio, Gabri-olio, and 'urt mesolf ag'inst tho side of tho 'ouse, miss, as you kin seo fur 'yorsolf. 'Ow, but If A a night 1 God savo tliein out on tho wldo water." Mary Anno paused for breath and looked curiously nt us. "But what are ye all in tho kitchen fur?" she Inquired In n more natural way. "Is It afraid yo are, too, and como out 'ere to look fur mo to keep yo comp'ny?" "Wo told her about our fright, and sho promptly reassured us, saying she had Jopked everything securely early In the ovonlng, but would go down and Investigate. "I'll go with you nnd hold tho light." I voluntoored; but Mary Anno declined my society more firmly than politely. "And what good would you bo, Mss Ellse jumpin' nt yer shaddor nnd drlppln' candlo greaso ovor mo clean floor? No, thank yo kindly, I'll go alone; full well I know thero's nothin' bigger than a rat down thore." It was very pleasant to hoar har moving nbout, and when sho called up ! to us with n laugh thnt tho hanging I shelf had fallon, coming down upon tho coal shovel nnd scuttle, wo laughed alBO, and felt a weight llftod from our hearts. "Them ropes was rotten,'" announced Mnry Anne, laboriously nscendlng tho stnlrs, "nnd It's a mercy I didn't set the cream there to rnlso as UBunl,: which, praise bo given, I didn't Don't1 you worry no more, but go to bed, and! I'll make some chocolate to warm you! like, for It's very comfortln' to the innords on a night like this." It wns acceptable advice, and wc gladly followed it, but as wo loft tho kitchen I chanced to glanco bnck and saw Mnry Anne at tho cellar door, her head bent and her whole bearing tense and alert much the nttitudo of a dog who waits an expected command In Its mnster's voice. Yet when she appeared upstairs a little later, carrying n tray with three cups of steaming chocolate, and filled with motherly solicitude as to our comfort, com-fort, she was merely a respectable, middle-aged servant, whose opinions one would receive with duo respect. She had renrrnnged her dress, and her mnnnor wns quite natural and composed com-posed as sho drew asldo tho curtnln and looked Into tho night, with a comment com-ment on its wtldnesB. We Joined her nt tho window, and as we stood looking out a beam of light pierced tho enveloping darknesB, casting a broad path, across the black water, and wo could see n little boat making Its way around tho point of the Islnnd now riding the wnves gnl-lantly, gnl-lantly, now tipped so far to ono sldo It secmod certain to capsize. "Our friend the searchlight," remarked re-marked Gabrielle, In tho tone of ono who welcomes' an old ncqualntance, but a smothered sound as tho little boat careened dangerouslyicnuscd mo to glance curiously nt Mary Annne. She wns leaning against tho window frame, nnd wnB evidently in pain, for her face was livid and her breath camo In short gasps. "It's nothing, Miss Eliso," sho muttered, mut-tered, ns Bhe caught my eyo. "Tho dyspopsy ketches mo nround tho 'oart now and then. And to think of somo mother'B son In that little cockle-shell to-night! Come, now, get into bed and drink your chocolate whllo It's 'ot." "I think," remarked Elizabeth, as she sipped appreciatively, "that Mr.' Bennett's boat will bo beaten to pieces against our slip to-night. I wish wo could get Into tho bonthouso for such emergencies. You must make your brother get us a koy, Mary Anno." "Ych, miss," said Mary Anne quietly. I tried to say something, but found myself suddenly too sleepy to articulate, articu-late, and saw Mary Anno retreat with the empty cups as though through a veil. I slept hoavlly that night, and dreamed that Gordon Bennett mado a boathouso of our cellar In splto of our remonstrances to tho contrary. I also had a curiously vivid impression of Mary Anno and a candlo passing unci repassing my door, but when I tried to call out and nsk hor what sho wanted I could make no sound, nnd could only struggle with tho opprossod, smothering sensntlon which Ellzaboth said always accompanied nlghtmnro. I was willing to take her word for It. never having experienced it myself, but I did not like it, and mentally ro- solved to drink no more chocolate at night, If It produced such unwelcomo after-effects. ; - t,"'V' (TO BE CONTINUED.) alTS?' |