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Show I 1 1 " T 1 Committed to the Deep m ii Hf The steward knocked, and put bis BJ head in at the door. H "Cabin passenger, sir, No. 10." he H reported, with a business-like brov- Ity. "Very bad." H Dr. Yalden glanced tip from his B desk Irritably. "What's the matter with himr Hfl "Dun'no, sir. Uncommon bad." H "Usual thing, I suppose?" Bfl "No, sir. Not sea sick. Queer when Bfl fee rame aboard yesterday, I thought. Bfl Been ln bed all day. Wouldn't let me HB get him anything. Till Just now he H asked mo to fetch you." H The steward withdrew, and the H doctor only delayed to finish the first BJH paragraph of a letter ho had been H writing when he was Interrupted. H It was not preclsoly an urgent let JH ter, for he had no Intention of doing H anything with It until the ship arrived pflJJ at Liverpool; but It was to contain fl much that ho know ho could not pos- H sibly put Into speech, and it was to BJH tell the recipient that he would ar- BJH rive less than half a day behind It. Hfl The lamp that shone from tho wall BJBJ of No. 1C showed him a haggard man JH stretched on the bunk 'apparently H asleep. While tho doctor was taking H a preliminary survey of him ho H coughed and awoke. H "Steward!" H "I'm the doctor. You sent for me. BJB What's wrong?" L-f "Ob, thanks. ... I don't know, jflBflT doctor. My bead's all afire,' and my Vfe bands, too. Feci that." Jj The doctor took his hond and laid BB a finger on hs pulse. Tho hand was fl hot and dry, the pulso was galloping Bfl furiously, and a brlof examination was fl sufficient to dlagnoso his ailment. Hj "A touch of pneumonia," said Yal- BB den. "You must take mora care of BB yourself than you've been doing lato- Bfl ly. You wero not fit to travel; you BB must have felt 111 before you sta.tcd." Bfl "I wanted to get homo," the other B answered, wearily. "I've been away H a long time." B "We must see what we can arrange about nursing," tho doctor concludod. fl "I'll give you some medicine; you'vo BB got a good constitution, and with Bfl care, you'll pull round all right." "Think so?" "Oh, yes. ... Ho mustn't bo left, Barrow." Tho doctor turned to Bfl the steward. "Somebody will havo to tit up with htm tonight. I'll sec him again before 1 turn In, and I'll get Bfl the captain to lot you havo assist-Bfl assist-Bfl ance." After fulfilling whlct lattor duty ho Bfl retired to his cabin a'vd resumed tho J laborious composition of his letter. Three yoars ago ho met in London Bl the girl ho told himself ho hau beep J looking for all his life. Sho was near-BJ near-BJ ly twonty years his Junior, but what I did that matter? Her poopla had been rich and proud, and now, , through recent financial disasters kflni, thoy were poor and prouder, but what -Wj, did all that matter either? Sho heard him with pity In her Bfl 'III Si essECT&K) I w IP H "What's the matter with him 7" ayes, but not fove; and alio told him, Bl With only pity In her tones, that tho In an sho loved was dead and her Bl heart wab burled with him. Later ho learned the story that lay J bohlnd her words, and Baw morohope In It for himself than she had glvon 'ihlm, for surely his living lovo of her Bould, ln due time, win her away from tho roemory of a ilcad rival. Ho would not take hor answer then, but bogged hor to think of all It must BJ tncau to him, and l"t him ask her .'or it, onco for all, when ho came homo from his next voyage. He was speeding homeward now, and the letter was to prepare her for his coming. He wroto it with so many pauses for reflection that by 10 o'clock It was still unfinished, when, mindful of his patient, he relockod it ln his desk. No. 16 was awake, but drowsy with heor weakness. "If I don't pull through this, doctor doc-tor " "Don't you worry about that; you will." "But If I don't I'm not afraid of dying. I've been near It too often Flunrj the glass far out Into the dark, for that; and yet, now It seems hard cr than It ever did before." "You'd better not talk. 1 don't wunt you to exclto yourself." "Not me! What I mean Is, it would bo hard luck to die on tho way home l'vo been away nearly nine years. 1 went away as poor as a rat, and I'm going back rich. That's something, isn't It?" "It's a great deal." "And I'm not dead yet, though I'm supposed to bo!" the other chuckled, grimly. "One everlasting, terrible winter we wero snowed up miles away from overywhero, and wo wero put down as dono for. Only two of us managed to worry through, and wo wandered heaven knows where, and wo lived well, wo didn't live. But wo worried through and I'm going homo." His eyes closed and he ram bled on dreamily: "Nino years; but she'll bo waiting. I told her that It wouldn't be more than two and sho said 'It's till you come, Ned, and If you never come, I shall wait till I meet you, at tho end.' " Ho lay quiet a minute, and then, oponlng his eyes and finding tho doctor doc-tor regarding him intently, he continued: con-tinued: "Wo'vo novor written to each other. We promised her pooplo wo wouldn't. She was to be frco to chango If sho would; they said It was best. I had no money and no prospects, but If I went back a rich man and sho had not changed. ... I knew she never would. Whether I lived or died, sho said sho would never change nnd sho won't." "Did you say your uamo was Edwin Ed-win Ashton?" Tho doctor was startled by the alien sound of his own voice. Tho sick man nodded, and, pointing across tho cabin "Her portrait's In ray bag, doctor," ho said. "Do you mind getting It for me? My will's ln thero, too. I made it as soon as I struck my first luck, In enso. ... Oh, what I wanted to ask you, doctor, wa3 If I don't pull totind, will you havo my bag and everything sent to hor? You'll find hor address " "Yes, yos. But not now," Yalden Intet rupted harshly, "You'vo talked too much already. . . . Come along, Barrow," ho hailed tho advent of the stoward with lnoffahle relief. "Call mo If ho Is worso ln tho night." Ho was dazed and stupefied by tho knowledge that had come upon him so unexpectedly, and yearned to got away and bo alone whero ho might thluk of It. Ono thought only burned to a clear and fiorcoly steady blaze a sinister, hellish thought that he dared not face and could not extinguish. Mo ' t all count of time, ns a nnn does when he sleeps, but whon llio stoward summoned him hurriedly nn hour after midnight ho had evidently not been In bed; a light was burning In hit "ahln, ho was still dressed, and Ms fare was wan nnd bis oyes heavy, us If ho wero ln pain. "JWr. Ashton's worso, sir. Edwards Is with him, and willed mo to fetch you. Ho cun't sleep. Keeps sitting up, Kdwnrds cays, staring as If he could Rce people, an' talking vory slng'lar. Delirious, I oxpoct, sir." "Wo must try a Bleeping draught," said Yalden dully. "I'll bo there directly." di-rectly." Barrow being gone, ho busied himself him-self In tho medlclno cupboard, and hastened nfter him, carrying something some-thing ln a glass. Drawing near to No. 1G, ho could hear tlio sick man babbling monotonously, monoton-ously, nnd tho vory sound of his voice stung him and quickened a fiercer flame within him; till suddenly ho caught a word of what tho man wan saying merely a name, but tho utter-nnco utter-nnco of It checked him Instantly, as If a hand had plucked at his sleeve. Ho stcod trembling, and In that sama Instant saw. shaping white In tho darkness before him, a swcot, sad face, grown palo with weary years of longing the pure, wistful oyes looked Into his, and their cnlmncss calmed him, and their sadness mado him ashamed. With a something breaking llko a sob In his throat, ho swiftly retraced his steps, panslrt; ln the unllghted saloon to open i o of tho portholes and fling the glass ho carried far out Into the dark. Thereafter he sat till well Into tho day watching and tending tho man sho loved and had loved so long. Going on deck ln tho morning, he leaned over tho side to tear up the letter he had written and scatter Its fragments Into tho sea. It was tho burial of a great hope that had died In the night As he walked away, tho captain, coming from breakfast, mot him, and lingered to make Inquiries. "Morning, doctor; how's tho patient? pa-tient? You're not going to mako a funeral of It, I hope?" "Not quite," Yaldon laughed carelessly. care-lessly. "He has taken a turn for tho better." Black and White. |