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Show fYfscff m sir Jri ralraMgSf J IHTERNAJIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION. BY PtRMI33IOH OF I RAND.MCNft' IY 6 CO.. CHAPl'ini XI. fi. "t L ICK SHT HIS Srn rv. teeth nin' turned ley I wl"101" n vvord to fs 1 ) 1 the colonel for the t I J I explanation. SEh S J The colonel was SZitnBS not for n moment nt OjJ n lon; he had Ions fg: 5 bien juepartiiR for iT-CTNc the present dllllcult poitunlty of dealing with Dick and Camilla separately, he unR no longer doubtful of the rtault Ills last mixlety nnlhed with the haughty figure now diHappeurlng beneath be-neath the conipnnion-hatch. He linked his arm In DIck'H with a friendly smile, nnd began to walk him slowly up nnd down the deck In silence. "My friend," he said presently, "my sister-in-law nnd jou misunderstand each other; ou are both joune, and youth Is so Intolerant of difference! I am older, and I understand you both. 1 am less prejudiced, and can sjmpathlze with each In turn. I nm happy to be here, for I have no doubt," he continued, con-tinued, "thnt I shall be able to effect u speedy reconciliation." "Hut what Is the matter?" cried Dick "I don't understand'" "Precisely," replied the colonel: "nor does Madame de Montnut. You do not see vvh jour ver nnturil refusal to Join our little plot should cause any one surprise or piln. She, on the other hind, has never thought of the dllll-culty dllll-culty of It from our point of view She supposed ou to have accepted, nnd was therefore shniply disappointed nt finding that we must do without jou, nfter nil." "Yes, yes!" cried Dick: "I know all about the mistake Of course ou all thought I had accepted when I came to Uussell street that unlucky morning; but how could ou, how could she, think me for a moment capable of doing do-ing such a thing? That's what hurts me." "My dear nstcouit," answered the colonel, col-onel, with a doptecatory smile, "jou musn't be too bird on us 1 confess I ought to have known better; but I was hard put to It. As for Madame de Montnut, she never underhtood the question. I fear the line I took mn have been the cause, for she trusts me perhaps more Implicit! than she ought to do," nnd the colonel shook his gra head with a very becoming modesty. "And then jou must remember," he continued, "thnt she knew jou were friendly with Lord Glamorgan nnd other oth-er members of the opposition who profess pro-fess to desire nothing so much as the Kmperor's liberation. I suppose their , speeches are but counsels of perfection. and not Intended to he taken literally, but that Is one of the things wo In Trance can nover understand about j'ou i:ngllsh. We are the slaves of logic, and cannot comprehend how a man can preach gravely what he would think It wrong for himself oi nny one else to put Into practice." Dick was vanquished ; nnd Indeed be wished no better fate He vvns lost In a foretaste of the delightful days to come, nnd was only brought to himself by the sudden recollection that they would be fewer than be would be allowing al-lowing himself to reckon, lie turned round upon the colonel. "Why must you leave us so soon?" he asked abruptlj-. The colonel was staggered for a moment. mo-ment. "So soon?" he said; "so soon ns what?" "The captain slid jou were only going go-ing as far as Ascension." "Ah, yes! ' said the colonel, recovering recover-ing himself; "Ascension. Yes, that's all." "You can't be meaning to stay on such a desert islnml," said Dick, a-trem-ble with hope. "I suppose we can wait while jou do your business there, and take you on to the Cape afterward?" "Thank jou," replied the colonel, giving giv-ing him a meaning look; "but wo can not afford to go quite so far ns the Cape, though I confess to jou In con-fldmce con-fldmce that we do not Intend to stay longer than wo can help at Ascanslon." Dick rellccted, und In a moment oi two lie had compie'hi'tided the meaning of this remark About half-way In a direct lino between Ascension and the Capo lies the Island of St. Helena; that of course wastho De Montnuts real destination. He understood now why they had sailed In the Hamilton under false names, He saw, too, that ho must abandon all hope of prolonging tho time of their comp inlonshlp with him, for the Speedwell could not land the con-splrntors con-splrntors at St Helena without becoming becom-ing In somo degie i their necoinpllce. M. do Montaut was watching him nil this time, and read his face like an open book. "Now then," he said, at Inst, "I am going down to speak to my sister-in-law. I think jou hail better wait for me up here, If jou don't mind." Dick vvllllnglj assented, nnd the colonel col-onel left him to pace the deck nlono while he went off to attempt tho second nnd inoi o dllllcult pait of his meditation. medita-tion. "Ah!" ho murmured to himself, ns ho made his way below, "It Is easy onough to pursuadc a man of anj thing, moio especially If It's not the truth; but Camilla Is unfortunately not a man NoveB mind," ho added, as he Knocl d nt her door, "sho must puiHimdo hei-selr, hei-selr, that's all" Anil ho entered tho cabin with aH meek and helpless an expression as liu couid munngu to put on. BY HENRY MZVltBOLT: Camilla was In a 8tnte of feverish ngl-ta.V ngl-ta.V Shc ntt''eled him at once. VV ell, she cried, "and w hat does this mean, Mr!" The colonel hung his bead g "Did I not tell jou," she continued, that If Captain Kstcourt went with jou I should stay behind?" "I thought perhaps you might think better of It." "Do I general! threaten what I do not mean to can out" she retorted To this he made no answer, nnd his silence suggested, us It was Intended to do, that It wns now lather late In the day for the fultlllment of this par-tleulai par-tleulai thteat "Do ou not see," she went on, "Into what a position our foolish obstlnacj has entrapped me? ' "I am e-rj soiry," murmured the colonel "It Is Infamous of jou," she cried "Here we are, with our enterprise nl-ready nl-ready launched; for me to turn back now would be to foifelt my shnre lu the glory of success; to send him nway would be to ruin It nil ' "I'm afraid It would," said the colonel, In a tone of discouragement, and he looked nbout him frowning, ns If perplexed per-plexed at the dlineulty of the dilemma. Camilla's Indignation wns by this time beginning to exhnust Itself. To hammer so abject nn opponent vvns mere! bentlng the air, and of that the strongest fighter soon wearies. "What am I to do?" she cried In despair. de-spair. "Couldn't ou go on as ou are doing?" do-ing?" he suggested "What! live for a fortnight cooped up here with a man whom I've Insulted to his face.'" "It's not jour fault," he replied; "he brought It on himself." "No, nol he did not!" she nnswoied, hotly "It wns jour doing from the beginning " "I nsl,( d him to come. I admit." said the coloml, but he shouldn't have accepted ac-cepted " "How em jou," she exclaimed, "how dare ou, comp.ue his sh.no In It with jour own' You were the tempter, ou were the suggester of evil His conduct con-duct In j hiding mnj seem strange ti us, but we c.in not tell what good reasons rea-sons ho mnj h.ie had for taking n less severe view of his duty In this Instance He belongs to a paity which has long favoie-d the Hmpeiors lelease; he w is no longer .ictuall employe! In the English Eng-lish government, which has tuated him with Ingratitude, he was chlvalrou-l devoted to us, his filends, and theie may have been other reasons I could wish that he had acted differently, but I will not hear ou blame him " The colonel hugged himself In secret It was an exquisite pleasuie to heai his own sophistries aira against him and to see tin in work out his own purpose nfter all. Some gleam of satl'-factlon satl'-factlon must have twinkled from a crevice In his nssumed stolidity, foi Camilla stopjied, as If p irtly conscious of something Inconsistent In her argument. argu-ment. "Don't misunderstaiin me," she cried, "I do not take back an thing of what I snld." He Interrupted her. "Of course not," he said; "I was waiting to remind jou thnt as we are to touch at Ascension, jou have still n free choice; we could easily land jou theie for a fortnight, nnd take jou off again on our return from St. Helena. You would lose none of the credit of the undertaking, and you would share the Emperor's triumphal leturn to Durope." "I will consider that," she replied, "before we reach Ascension; but It wns not what I was thinking of. What I meant to tell jou was that In nny case I refuse to have Captain Hstcourt forced upon me ns a colleague. I decline de-cline to lecognlze him In that position, and jou may tell him that If he and I are to meet, It must be on otbci giound, nnd expressly on condition that tho object of this voage Is never mentioned." The colonel sighed; not, ns she supposed, sup-posed, with resignation, but vvitli relief and perfect satisfaction. "I will go to him at once," he said, and left the cabin, still dejected nnd submissive In appearance. As be climbed the compinlon-ladder, however, his demeanor underwent a complete change, nnd It was with a beaming fnce that ho emerged up the dick, where Hsteourt wns anxlousl awaiting his return. "It Is all right." 'he said, cordially "I knew It would be She has quite got the bettei of her disappointment, and Is soiry for having hurt jour feelings feel-ings Just now. Her Indignation. It np-pears, np-pears, vvns not directed nt jou but me, whom she blames severelj- for having been the original cause for all this trouble. trou-ble. I confess It, but I nssure j-ou I was far from Intending to estrange j'ou from us." "Don't sny another vvoid! ' cried Dick, seizing his hand nnd shaking It In a fervor of gratitude. "I'm jour debtor for the rest of mj life. Hut now let me go to her at once." "Stay a moment," snld the colonel, holding him by the sleeve; "let me give you one last hint before you go. No wlso man expects an apology from n woman under nny circumstances" "Apology!" Dick broke in Impatiently. "Of course not'" "Very well, then," continued his companion, com-panion, "thnt being so. It will pi event nny possible nwkwardness If jou Ignore the lnl rogrettalilo incident nltogother And I mav add thnt I know you would bo consilium- her own wishes If jou refrained from mentioning tho object of our vojnge at all The subject Is not one with plensant associations as between herself and you " Dick thought the eolonel n model of Judgment and kindness Ho thanked him ngaln hnstllj, arid went below with a beating henit Camilla was lu the saloon by himself, she Hushed when ho enteied, but gru-ted hint nntuially, and without anj leference to what had passed While hei hand lay In his she looked at him a little sndlj, he fancied na though a Hugo of her first disap pointment still remained; but that ur-1 ur-1 wns natural enough, nnd needed only time to efface It from her memorj. Moinwhlle ho hnd n fortnight, n whole age of happiness before him The colonel, col-onel, who hid emulated with nicety the time he ought to allow them now ciimo disci ectlj In nnd suggested brenk- fdSt. "Certainly," said Dick; "It Is long pnst the time; but where 8 Captain Wotselv ' ' "Oh," tepllcd the colonel; "lnven't thij told jou' "lies got a fever, and san't leave his berth today." 'That's rather shnrp work," said Dick; "'ir seemed all light when I left tho ship jesterdnj " "Yv ' nld the colonel, "there Is a suAtlcn kind of reverlsh nttnek which In not uncommon, I nm told. In these latitudes It took him quite suddenly, Just ns we enme on board, he was very queer, and kept me up late Into the night talking In the most random mnn-ner. mnn-ner. I thought jou must have heard us," he added, vvitli a quick, searching glance nt Dick. "I did hear jou!" replied the latter. "And thnt reminds me that I also heard, or fancied I heard, u boat put oft in the middle of the night, and come aboard some time later." "Just so," said the colonel; "thnt wns what he and I were arguing nbout. I wanted some things 1 hnd forgotten fetched from the Hamilton, nnd Cap-tnln Cap-tnln Worsley refused me a boat, but I got my own way at last with some difficult." dif-ficult." And hnvlng fired off this ex-plnnntlon ex-plnnntlon which he hnd icady loaded and primed for some time past, he turned the conversation ndroltly back to tho Hamilton, and the Incidents of their vonge from Kuglnnd. When the meal vvns over, Dick remembered the captain ngaln. "Icin'tsnyl regret old Worslej's temporary abscnie," he remarked, "for I prefer very much our present party of three; but I think I must go and see him, foi the snke of civility." "I don't think I would. If I were jou," snld the colonel llghtlj , "he's still rather rath-er over-excltahle this morning, nnd he hns nppnrentlj, foi some absurd reason, rea-son, taken a dislike to ou" Dick laughed. "I'm not nfiiild of his tongue," he said; "I'm shot-proof ngnlnst marine gunnery " And he went toward the door The colonel turned away and bit his mustnehe. He dared not Insist further, for fear of arousing suspicion; for, upon the face of It, what could It matter to him whether Dick w ent or not? Hut In reality n good deal was at stake, and Dick's sudden resolve had taken him for once unprepared unpre-pared So he snt still, nnd listened with despeiate nnxletj to henr what would follow The Speedwells construction between decks w is not quite that of an oidln.irv bilg She was large, but. as was only reasonable In a ship carrjlng government stores, she had no pi o vision for a number of passengeis, but was Instead fitted with unusunllj ample quarters for the eaptiln and three or four others Thus while the saloon was small there were on each side of It three good cabins, or rather stnto-rooms, stnto-rooms, instind of the oidlimy berths. On the starboard side Madame de Montaut, Mon-taut, the colonel, nnd Dick weie quartered; quar-tered; on the opposite side were the captain's two rooms nnd the mate's cabin A nairow passage vvns left on each side between these state-rooms and the snloon Tho colonol, with his head against the wooden wall of the latter, could hear perfectlj all that pased on the other side; nnd, In fact, when Dick stood nt the captain's door he was within a jard of him. Tlrst he heard him knock once, nnd again louder There was no nnswer. The colonel col-onel was rigid, but his ees betrayed Intense nnxlety. Camilla had fortunately fortu-nately gone to her own cabin, and there vvns no one to observe his un- concenlable ngltntlon. Dick knocked a third time The colonel ground his teeth nnd drew In his breath. A rattling rat-tling noise followed. Instnntly the tension ten-sion of his limbs relaxed, and a look of relief spread over his face. Dick had tried the door and found It locked. The colonel got up and wiped his brow. His secret was safe now, and he must get ready for another little scene In the comedy, which could not be long de-la de-la ed. Dick meanwhile was knocking ngaln, and calling Cnptaln Worsley by name. Still there was no reply, nnd he began to fenr that the unfortunate man had fainted, with no one at hand to look nfter him. He turned to the mate's room. It was empty. He knocked more loudly yet on the captain's door, rinal-ly rinal-ly he was nbout to rush away to find the mnte on deck, when he caught tho sound of some one moving about InBlde the room. "Open, open!" he cried. "Why don't ou open?" The door swung Inward as he spoke. A strange man stepped quickly out. Then, ns Dick drew back, he stooped and coolly locked the door behind him. As he raised his head again, Dick stared at him In amazement. It wns not Cnptnln Worsley, but Hcrnan Johnstone, John-stone, the pilot of the Hdgar at Copenhagen. Copen-hagen. 'TO HH CONTISUItll I |