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Show CD HAROLD NADjRiVmf f j Aufhor of Hie Carpe t FrorriDaclaaSXif The Place f Honeymoons, etc. 1- shaken the cool nerve of the gambler. He was worried and bewildered. He had practically sent this man to ruin. What would be the reprisal? He reached for a mangosteen and ate Jbe white pulpy contents, but without the customary relish. The phrase kept running through his head: What would be the reprisal? For men of his ilk never struck without expecting to be struck back. Something must be done. Should he 8eek him and boldly ask what he intended to do? Certainly he could not do much on board here, except to denounce him to the officers as a professional gambler. And Paul would scarcely do that since he. Craig, had a better shot in his gun. He could tell who Paul was and what he had done. Bodily harm was what he really feared. He had seen Elsa, but he had worked out that problem easily. She was sure to say nothing so long as he let her be; and with the episode of the hatpin hat-pin still fresh in his memory, he assuredly as-suredly would keep his distance. He had made a mistake, and was not likely like-ly to repeat it. But Paul! He finished his dessert and went off to the stuffy little smolie-room, smolie-room, and struggled with a Burma cheroot. Paul was a smoker, and sooner or later he would drop in. He waited in vain for his man that night. And so did Elsa. She felt indignant at one moment and hurt at another. The man's attitude was inexplicable; there was neither ihyme nor reason in it. The very fact that she could not understand made her wonder march beside her even in her dreams that night. She began to feel genuinely sorry that he had appeared above her horizon. Just before she retired she leaned over the rail, watching the reflection re-flection of the stars twist and shiver on the smooth water. Suddenly she listened. She might have imagined it, for at night the ears deceive. "Jan, jah!" Somewhere from below came the muffled plaint of Rajah. Next day, at luncheon, the chair was still vacant. Elsa became alarmed. Perhaps he was ill. She made inquiries, in-quiries, regardless of the possible misinterpretation mis-interpretation her concern might be given by others. Mr. Warrington had had his meals served in his cabin, but the steward declared that the gentleman gentle-man was not ill, only tired and irrita- ' s ' : ; Elsa Stared at the Vacant. Doorway. ble, andthat he amused himself with a trained parrakeet. All day long the sea lay waveless and unrippled, a sea of brass and lapis-lazuli; lapis-lazuli; brass where the sun struck and lapis-lazuli in the shadow of the lazy swells. Schools of flying-fish broke fan-wise in flashes of silver, and porpoise por-poise sported alongside. And warmer and warmer grew the air.. Starboard was rigged up for cricket, and the ship's officers and some of the passengers played the game until the first gong. Elsa grumbled to Martha. Th'ere was little enough space to walk in as it was. without the men taking over the whole side of the ship and cheating her out of a glorious sunset. Martha grew troubled and perplexed. If there was one phase of character unknown to her in Elsa it was irritability; irritabil-ity; and here she was, finding fault like any ordinary tourist. "Where is Mr. Warrington?" "1 don't know. I haven't seen him since yesterday." Elsa dropped her book petulantly. "I am weary of thes i namby-pamby stories." Martha's eyes bad a hopeless look in them as she asked: "Elsa, what it the matter?" "1 don't know. Martha. I believe I should like to lose my temper utterly I'm irritable because I do not know ray own mind. 1 hate the stuffy stateroom, the food, the captain. Nothing seems to disturb his conceit. Tonight we sleep on deck, the starboard side. At five o'clock we have to get up and go inside again so they can holy-stone the deck And I am always soundest asleep at that time. Doubtless, 1 shall be irritable all day tomorrow." "Sleep up here on deck? But the men?" horrified. "They sleep on the port side." Elsa laughed maliciously. "Don't worry Nobody minds." "I hate the East," declared Martha vindictively. "Everything is so slack. It just brings out the shiftlessness in everybody." "Perhaps that is what ails me; I am growing shiftless. When I came on board I decided to marry Arthur, and have done with the pother. . Now 1 am at the same place as when .1 left home. I don't want to marry anybody. Have you noticed that fellow Craig?" "What will you do if he speaks?" "I have half a dozen good hatpins left," dryly. "I hate to hear you talk like that." "It's the East. . . There goes that hateful gong again. Soup, chicken, chick-en, curry, rjee and piccalilli. I am going go-ing to live on plantains and mango-steens. mango-steens. I'm glad we had sense enough to order that distilled water. Come; we'll go down as we are to dinner, and watch the ridiculous captain and hlB fan-bearer. The punka will at least give us a breath of fresh air. There doesn't seem to be any on deck. One regrets Darjeeling." Martha followed her young mistress into the dining-saloon; she was anxious anx-ious and upset. Where would this mood end? With a glance of relief she found Warrington's chair still vacant The saloon had an air of freshness tonight. All the men were in drill or pongee, and so receptive is the imagination imagi-nation that the picture robbed the room of half its heat. To and fro the punka flapped; the pulleys creaked and the ropes scraped above the sound of knives and forks and spoons Elsa ate little besides fruit. She spoke scarcely a word to Martha, and none to those around her. Thus, she missed the frown of the colonel and the lifted brows of the spinsters, and the curious glances of the tourists. The passenger list had not yet come from the ship's press, so Elsa's name was practically'unknown. But in some unaccountable manner it had become known that she had been making In ' quiries -in regard to the gentleman in cabin 78, who had thus far remained away from the table. Ship life is a dull life, and gossip Is about the only thing that makes it possible to live through the day. . It was quite easy to couple this unknown aloof young woman and the - invisible man, and then to wait for results. It would have amused Elsa had she known the interest she had already created if not Inspired. Her beauty and her apparent ap-parent indifference to her surroundings surround-ings were particularly adapted to the romantic mood of her fellow-travelers. ' Her own mind was so broad and generous, so high and detached, that so sordid a thing as "an affair" never entered her thoughts. ' As she refused course after course, a single phrase drummed incessantly through her tired brain. She was not going to marry Arthur; never, never in this world. She did not love him. and this was to be final. She would cable him from Singapore. That night Craig found it insupportable insupport-able in the cabin below; so he ordered his Bteward to bring up his bedding He had lain down for half an hour, grown restless, and had begun to walk the deck in his bath slippers. He had noted the still white figure forward, for-ward, where the cross-rail marks the waist. As he approached, Craig discovered dis-covered his man. He hesitated only a moment; then he touched Warrington's Warring-ton's arm. (TO BE CONTINUED.) SYNOPSIS. 6 "vVarrlnKton, an American adventurcr ancl James, his servant, wllh a caed parrot, par-rot, the trio known up and down the Ir-rawaddy Ir-rawaddy as Parrot & Co.. are bound for Hansoon to cash a draft for 3'j0.00 rupees. Kisa Chetwood. rich American Kiri tourist, tour-ist, sees Warrington and asks the purser to introduce her. He tells iier that. Warrington War-rington has beaten a syndicate and sold his oil claims for 2J.CO(i. Warrinelon P'Hs Rajah, the parrot, through his trick for Klsa and they pass two golden day together on the river. Martha, Elsa' companion, I warns her that there Is gossip. gos-sip. In Rangoon Warrington banks his draft, pavs old debts, and overhears and Interferes" in a row over cards, finds that the row is caused by an enemy. Newell Craig, and threatens to shoot him unles? he leaves town. Klsa is annoyed by Craig and stabs him with a hatpin. Warrington bids Elsa good-by CHAPTER VII Continued. That there was real danger in her Interest In Warrington did not occur to her. The fact that she was now willing will-ing to marry Arthur, without analyz-- analyz-- lng the causes that had brought her to this decision, should have warned her that she was dimly afraid of the stranger. Her glance fell upon the mandarin's ring. She twirled it round undecidedly. Should she wear it or put it away? The question remained suspended. She saw Craig coming aboard; and she hid her face behind her magazine. Upon second thought she let the magazine fall. She was quite confident that that chapter was closed. Craig might be a scoundrel, but he was no fool. A sharp blast from the tender's whistle drew her attention to the gangplank. The last man to come aboard was Warrington. He immediately immedi-ately sought James; and they stood together chatting until the tender drew up alongside the steamer of the British-India line. The two men shook hands finally, Warrington added a friendly tap on the Eurasian's shoulder. shoul-der. No one would have suspected that the white man and his dark companion com-panion had been "shipmates," in good times and in bad, for nearly a decade. Elsa, watching them from her secure nook, admired the lack of effusiveness. The dignity of the parting told her of the depth of feeling. An hour later they were heading for the delta. Elsa amused herself by casting bits of bread to the gulls. Always they caught It on the wing, no matter in what direction she threw it. Sometimes Some-times one would wing up to her very hand for charity, its coral feet stretched out to meet the quick back-play back-play of the wings, its cry .shallow and plaintive and world-lonely. Suddenly she became aware of a presence at her side. A voice said: "It was not quite fair of you." "What wasn't?" without turning her head. She brushed her hands free or the crumbs. "You should have let me know that you were going to sail on this boat." "You would have run away, then." "Why?" startled at her insight. "Because you are a little afraid of me." She faced him, without a smile either on her lips or in her eyes. Aren't you?" ' "Yes. I am afraid of all things I do not quite understand." "There Is not the least need in the world, Mr. Warrington. I am quite harmless. My claws have been clipped. I am engaged to be married, and am going home to decide the day." "He's a lucky man." He was astonished aston-ished at his calm, for the blow went deep. "Lucky? Thnt is In the future. What a lonely thing a gull is!" "What a lonely thing a lonely man Is!" he added. lJoor fool! To have dreamed so' fair a dream for a single moment! He tried to believe that he was glad that she had told him about the other man. The least this Information Infor-mation could do would be to give him better control of himself. He had not been out In the open long enough entirely en-tirely to master his feelings "Men ought not to be lonely," she said. "There's the excitement ot work, of mingling with crowds, of going go-ing when and where one pleases. Woman's lot is wondering and waiting wait-ing at home. When 1 marry 1 suppose sup-pose that 1 shall learn the truth of that." Perhaps it was because he had been away from them so long and had lost track of the moods of the feminine mind; but surely It could not be pos sible that there was real happiness in this young woman's heart. Its evidence evi-dence was lacking in her voice, in her face, in her gestures. He thought It over with a sigh. He felt sorry for the girl, sorry for the man; for it was not possible that a girl like this one would go through life without experiencing ' that flash of Insanity that is called the grand passion. He loved her. He could lean against the rail, his shoulder lightly touching hers, and calmly say to himself that he loved her. He could calmly per niit her to pass out of his life as a cloud passes down the sea-rim. He hadn't enough, but this evil must befall be-fall him. Love! -He spread out his hands unconsciously. "What does that mean?" she asked, smiling uow. "An Invocation?" "It's a sign to ward off evil," he returned. re-turned. "Are you expecting evil?" "1 am always prepariug myself to meet It. There Is one thing that will always puzzle me. Why should you have asked the purser to pick out such a tramp as I was? For I was a tramp.' "I thought I explained that." "Not clearly." "Well. then. I shall make myself clear. The sight of you upon thai bank, the lights In your face, struck Die as the . strangest mystery thai could possibly confront ma. I thought you were a ghost" "A ghost?" "Yes. So I asked the purser to Introduce In-troduce you to prove to my satisfaction satisfac-tion that you weren't a ghost. Line ; for line, height for height, color for color, you are the exact counterpart ; of the man I am going home to marry." She -saw the shiver that ran over j him; she saw his ejes widen; she saw his bands knot in pressure over the rail. i "The man you are going to marry!" ; he whispered. Abruptly, without explanation, he walked away, his shoulders settled, his i head bent. It was her turn to be ; amazed. What could this attitude mean? "Mr. Warrington!" she called. But he disappeared down the companion com-panion way. 1 CHAPTER VIII. A Woman's Reason. Elsa stared at the vacant doorway. She recognized .only a sense of bewil-1 bewil-1 derment. This was not one of those childish flashes of rudeness that had amused, annoyed and mystified her. She had hurt him. And how? They had been together three days on the boat, and once he had taken tea with her in Rangoon. She could find nothing noth-ing save that she had been kind to him when he most needed kindness, and that she had not been stupidly curious, only sympathetically so. He interested her and held that interest because he was a type unlike anything she had met outside the covers of a book. He was so big and strong, and yet so boyish. boy-ish. He had given her visions of the character which had carried his manhood man-hood through all these years of strife and bitterness and temptation. And because. of this she had shown him that she had taken it for granted that, whatever he had "done in the past had not put him beyond the pale of. her friendship. There had been no degrading de-grading entanglements, and . women forgive or condone all other transgressions. trans-gressions. And what had she just said or done to put that look of dumb agony in his face? She swung impatiently from the rail and began to promenade the deck, still cluttered with luggage over which the Lascar stewards were moiling. moil-ing. Many a glance followed the supple sup-ple pleasing figure of the girl as she-passed she-passed round and round the deck. Other promenaders stepped aside or permitted her to pass between. The resolute uplift of the chin, and the staring dark eyes which saw but inner visions, impressed them with -the fact' that it would be wiser to step aside voluntarily. There were some, however, how-ever, who considered that they had as much right to the deck as she. Before them she would stop shortly, and as a current breaks and passes each side of an immovable object, they, too, gave way. The colonel fussed' and fumed, and his three spinste'r charges drew their pale lips into thinner paler lips. '. "These Americans are impossible!" "And it is scandalous the way the young women travel alone. One can never terl what they are." - "Humph! Brag and assertiveness. And there's that ruffian who came down the river. What's he doing on ' the. same boat? What?" Elsa became aware of their presence at the fifth turn. She nodded absently. Being immersed in the sea of conjecture conjec-ture regarding Warrington's behavior, the colonel's glare did not rouse in her the sense of impending disaster. The first gong for dinner boomed. The echoing wail spoke in the voice of the East, of its dalliance, its con-i con-i tent to drift in a sargasso sea of en-i en-i tangling habits and desires, of its ta-: ta-: talism and inertia. It did not hearten . one or excite hunger. Elsa would rather have lain down in her Canton lounglng-chair. The dining-saloon held two long tables, only one of which was in commission, the starboard. The saloon was unattractive. A punka i stretched from one end of the table to the other, and swung indolently to and fro, whining mysteriously, sometimes subsiding altogether and then flapping hysterically and setting the women s hair awry. '. Elsa and Martha were seated somewhere some-where between the head and the foot of the table. The personally-conduct- : cd surrounded them, and gabbed in- i cessantly during the meal of what they had seen, of what they were going to i see. and of what they had missed by not going with the oftier agency's party. Elsa's sympathy went out to the tired and faded conductor. i There was but one vacant chair; and as she saw Warrington nowhere. Elsa assumed that this must be his ; reservation. She was rather glad that . he would be beyond conversational radius. She liked to talk to the strange and lonely man, but she preferred pre-ferred to be alone with him when she did so She began as of old to study carelessly care-lessly the faces of the diners and to , speculate as to their characters and occupations. Her negligent observa- ; lion roved from the pompous captain down to tht dark picturesque lace of , the man Craig. I'pon him her glance, a mixture of contempt and curiosity, rested. If he behaved himself and made no attempt to speak to her. she wa"s willing to declare a truce. In ".-.n- i goon the man had been drunk, but on the Irrawaddy boat he had been sober i enough. Craig kept his eyes directed i upon his food and did not offer her ' even a furtive glance. He was not in a happy state of mind. He had taken passage the last ' moment to avoid meeting again the : one man he feared. For ten years this man had been reckoned among the ; lost. Many believed him dead, and : Craig had wished It rather than believed. be-lieved. And then, to meet him face to face In that sordid boarding house had |