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Show awake. We'd better look and see il anything has been taken. The Englishman did not appear greatly perturbed, yet he went carefully through his pockets and his valise. Hardy followed his example, saying after he had finished: "It was a dream right enough. Had it been anything else, I should have waked. ing learned that he was under sus piclon and would soon be arrested. It as he, I am sure, who entrapped you into taking a photograph of the forts. You are under suspicion and would have been in terrible danger, had you gone with him. You will sail, now, ou another ship and will be safe. "He will be in danger! said Hardy, "What sort of danger? mystified. "Did say that he would be in dan- CHAPTER iV. asked Aisome, sweetly. "No, I said that you would have been in danger. We have taken the plans of the forts away from him, but he still has them in his head and and perhaps you have, but I do not think so a man who could speak so beautifully of a woman." "But why are you doing all this for me? asked Hardy. Why? Because I am a woman, I suppose. Because you have said there is moonlight in my cheeks, that my lips are ripe cherries, that 1 am made of gold dust, that I am a queen of fairy-land- . I am known as the Fox. but I have a woman's silly heart and cannot resist flattery." There was In her beauty as something elfin-likshe stood there with her face raised to his in the moonlight. "Old Sano says my head is turned, she sighed, but It is easy to wheedle him." "Sano? He is not your father, then? "No, he is my superior in the secret service. And now good-by- ; you may kiss me once, if you really meant what you said. It will be the only kiss of my life, as it is not the custom of my country. ' She raised her lips to him and he stooped and kissed her. The lips were dewy and very sweet, and he was conscious of some subtle perfume, as if she herself were some exquisite 1 He Sat Down by Her. Well, to me, shes about the daintiest and most exquisite creation my Frederick Hardy, a fashionable Boston eyes ever rested on, persisted the society man, lost his wealth, was Jilted If there's any yellow in by a girl and sent by a friend to take American. charge of an American Trading Company her cheeks, its a slight tinge of moon store in Russia. On his journey through Japan he met Stapleton Neville, sup- light, or, perhaps, one might fancy posedly an Englishman. They agreed to go together to Russia. Because of sus- a little gold dust mingled with the SYNOPSIS. picious circumstances they were several times molested by the Japanese. Hardy mortal clay of which she is made. She was arrested and found upon his person is as dainty as a March lilac blossom, were papers showing maps of Jap forts. her lips are as red as cherries, and Hardy was proven guiltless. the blood that shines through her CHAPTER III. cheeks, like like firelight through a as is window warmly red as if she were Anglo-SaxoI can understand now how foreigners, like your own Edwin Arnold, for instance, have married Japanese women. Is it true that they do not kiss? Such lips as those were intended by an and merciful Providence for kissing. Youll jolly well change all those ideas after you'd been here a while, You grow sick of replied Neville. yellow people after living with them. As far as I'm concerned, Id as soon kiss a rat as a Japanese girl." Well, said Hardy, to whom the conversation was becoming distasteful, Its not the thing to discuss a lady, even If we are in a foreign country and observing and discussing I must insist, however, everything. that I should weary of people like our little Triend opposite very slowly. An idea occurred to Hardy Neville was so disagreeable, he would talk to Miss Sano. He proposed the matter to Masatsura, who informed him that the young lady would be incredibly honored. Masatsura addressed a few words to her and she smiled on Hardy by way of assent and comprehension. He sat down by her, and Masatsura, standing before them, acted as interpreter. She was not the least embarrassed or silly. Her manner combined the most deferential Interest and a quaint suggestion of roguishness. When night came on, Aisome so she was called left the compartment for the women's quarters and Hardy and Neville lay down on the benches, which ran around the sides of the car like the seats in a Turkish house, instead of across it. They all slept soundly, but the American was troubled with an unpleasant dream during the night. It amounted almost to a nightI mare, he explained to Neville. thought that Aisome came in with two Japanese and they searched us as if we had been thieves. Aisome was still beautiful, but she did not look childish any more. I was positively afraid of her in my dream. The girl held the lantern and spoke once or twice, sharp and quick, as if giving commands. Her eyes were hard and eager, like those of a ferret. I could feel the mans hand running rapidly over my person, going into my pock-etc- , crumpling up my shirt. They opened the valises, and even felt in our shoes. Then they all stole out again, closing the sliding door noiselessly. "The Japs are all thieves, replied Neville. Perhaps you were half- delicately-staine- The Queen of Fairy-Land- . They were off for Aomori, at the north end of Nippon, in the early morning, leaving Yokohama on a toy train that started at 6:45. All day they traveled through a country tilled like a garden, a country of vivid green, with many brawling streams of water clear as crystal, and hillsides thickly wooded. The sky was dark blue, reminding one of the excess of color used sometimes by impressionist artists, and seemed ever low and near. Objects evidently close by appeared far off, an effect sometimes attained in skillful landscape gardening, or perThe frequent haps in fairy-lanfarmhouses were built of bamboo set on end, and were thatched with straw. As Hardy and his companion gazed from the window, they were entertained by the running comment of their guide or dragoman, Masatsura Tsuchiya, whom they had picked up at Yokohama. This young Japanese bad spent several years in New York, knew English, and was bright and officious to the verge of pertness. When a Japanese merchant and a pretty young woman boarded the train about the middle of the day, it was Masatsura who acted as introducer and apologist. This is a Japanese silk merchant, he explained, "and he is going with his daughter to Hakodate. If the honorable gentlemen do not object, he will bring his daughter in with us. I have explained that such is the custom in England and America. "Bring her in, of course," said Hardy, rising and making one of his most graceful bows. We shall be delighted to have the ladys society. This was translated to Mr. Sano, the merchant, who executed a series of supple obeisances, and to the daughter, who arose and courtesied demurely in Japanese style. Shes quite an acquisition, eh, Neville? observed Hardy. By the way turning to Masatsura "does either of them speak English? Not a word, replied the guide. Shes positively beautiful, dont Hardy inyou think so, Neville? of the Englishman. quired No, replied the latter, "I cant say that I do. There's something sickening in their beastly yellow skin to me; and those slits of eyes, pitched at that angle, strike me as. deformed, or, as physicians would say, monstrous. All foreigners living in Japan regard the natives as an offensive, inferior lot. No, I cant get up my enthusiasm over your Jap girl's beauty." d all-wis- e ger? One Fond Kiss. They all took dinner together, Aisome, Mr. Sano, Neville and Hardy, at the Aomori restaurant. Neville objected strenuously to this arrangement. They arent quite human, you he said. know, Englishmen think they lose caste when they dine, with coolies, and so they don't do it, don't you know. "Well, we shant lose any caste by dining with this little woman, replied Hardy, warmly, any more than if we were to dine with the queen of fairy-land- . Personally, I shall feel honored to sit at the same table with so much grace and beauty. We shan't need a bouquet with her there. Really, I consider her about as rare and exquisite a feminine creation as I have ever seen, and I shall think you mean to be disagreeable, if you do not show more respect for my feel' ings in the matter. Oh, all right!" growled Neville; but he could not help adding: Most fellows feel as you do when they first come to this bally country. They all started up the steps together, but Neville was detained. He had refused hotly to take off his shoes. But, sir, it is the custom of the country," explained Masatsura, deferentially. Better take em off, old man, protested Hardy, who was trying to be civil, but had begun to weary of his companion. They may think it positively Indecent to go into a dining room with shoes on. After some opposition, on the ground that it made him feel like a fool to go about in his stocking feet, Neville removed his shoes and started up the stairs with them in his hand. Better bring your shoes, too, he explained to Hardy. Theyll probably steal them if you leavd them down there. They all squatted about a low table, whose legs were not over a foot high, and waited for dinner. Their room, which had been enlarged to suit the size of the party by simply sliding together a partition, looked out on a court. Diners in other rooms on the opposite side of the court could be seen, also squatting about tables. In less than five minutes Hardy had become most uncomfortable, but Aisome and her father sat there on their toes as easily as if they were reclining on couches. They ordered of the pretty girl who came to serve them, and waited perhaps 15 minutes, when NeWhere are my ville exclaimed: shoes? in such a tone that Aisome looked up Inquiringly, and her father evidently asked Masatsura what the trouble was. The waiter took them out to have them blacked," explained the guide. She will either bring them back or else leave them down there with the others. It was necessary to hurry through dinner somewhat, for the Teijo Maru sailed at three. Neville spoke about his shoes two or three times, insistently, and they were brought back to him in a few moments. When the two foreigners left for the boat. Hardy made a pretty parting speech to Aisome. which Masatsura translated. At the wharf he was arrested again. was thoroughly disgusted and threatened to make trouble, but, to tell the truth, his rage was somewhat mollified by the fact that he might see Aisome again, and that he would not be compelled to pass a week or so longer in the Englishman's company. Nevertheless, he said to him on partIf this tiling keeps on, I shall ing: begin to share your opinion of the Japanese. Hardy was clapped into a room overlooking the sea, from the window of which he could see the Teijo Maru steaming out into the purple distance. An elaborate and dainty dinner was brought to him in the evening, and about ten that night he was escorted to the wharf again. A tiny figure, muffled in a cloak, was waiting there, and the others stepped aside as this person approached. I hope you are not vexed with me, said a familiar voice in the accents of an educated woman. "Aisome! cried Hardy. Yes, Aisome. But but you speak English. Yes, I am a graduate of Vassar college and now in the service of my country. Listen I have only a moment and I feel that I would like to make you an explanation. Your companion was a Russian spy. The plans of the forts, on oiled paper, were found between the soles of his right shoe. It was he, no doubt, who put the copy of them in your pocket, hav He d e flower. "Good-by- , she whispered, and think sometimes of the little Lilac Blossom ! She turned and was gone, and he stepped into the boat waiting to take him out to the ship. CHAPTER V. At the Mercy of the Waves. The crew of the Shikoku Maru consisted of five persons ; the captain, the engineer and three sailors. They were the first filthy, unkempt Japanese that Hardy had seen. One of them, a shock-headeboy, who seemed to have brought to sea with him all the smells of Chinatown, came and stood by the American's side and gazed into his face with insatiable, devouring curiosity. Hardy was watching the twinkling lights of the town and thinking of Aisome, with whom he had been thrown so brief a time, yet who had played such a large part in his life and left such an indelible impression on his memory. The lights grew fewer, fading in the distance one by one. It might be as well, mused Hardy, to make myself as agreeable as possible to these Japs. I am alone with them in the middle of the sea, and I heard rumors in Yokohama that, despite their exquisite politeness, they hate all Caucasians. Perhaps Aisome but no, she certainly was sincere. I wonder where Neville is now? The American felt in his hip pocket and was comforted by the cold touch of his revolver handle. The reflection that he was one of the most famous amateur shots in America gave him a distinct feeling of security. The lights were all gone now. That one yonder, at which he had been gazing so long and which did not fade, was a star, he was quite sure. He turned and walked forward to where the captain was talking with one of the sailors, and indicated, by laying his cheek on his open palm, that he was sleepy and would like to go to bed. The captain, with sudden comprehension and many exaggerated gestures of politeness, led him to a hatch and opened the door. Hardy saw a ladder and as much of the dark, roomy hold as a lantern hanging from i beam could illunilnate. The cap-iwent down the ladder and Hardy followed. , The captain took down the lantern and opened the door. The cabin into which be led the way was nearly semicircular in shape, aa it was bounded by a partition across the hull and the walls of the ship's stern. A cushioned divan extended in a semi-circlaround the rear end, there was a carpet on the floor and furniture in the form of a table over which was swung a dining rack, and a couple of chairs. The captain made an inclusive, hospitable gesture, accompanied by a low salaam. Hardy's mind was relieved. The divan looked comfortable, so he lay down on it and composed himself for sleep. He woke up about an hour later on the floor. The wind was rising and the increased plunging of the boat had rolled him from his d n e couch. He spread his blankets on the floor, lay down and soon dozed off. He was awakened a second time by a cold stream of water, spouting full upon him with terrible force. He jumped to his feet, only to be thrown sprawling. The little vessel, which was light, was rolling from rail to rail, and the water had coughed in through the And Opened the Door. . A sudden fear that opened the ship would founder and that he would be drowned, cooped up there in the cabin, seized him and he leaped, . It was clambering, for the not far above him, but ere he could reach it, it was below him and he was thrown toward it, receiving a second waterspout full in the face, drenching him to the skin. But he was as active as a monkey and succeeded in thrusting an arm through the opening. He hung on with a will, and as his side of the vessel hove into the air again, slammed the window to and gave a few frantic whirls to the screw, sufficient to make it catch and form a solid object to which he could hold. He secured the window and rolled to the floor, where he rested on bands and knees, with his limbs spread out as widely as possible to keep himself from rolling about, while he took stock of the situation. Enough water had come in to drench him thoroughly and to wet his blankets and baggage, but not sufficient to flood the floor of the hold. He crawled to the door and tried to open it, but to his surprise found it locked. He pounded on it and shouted, but to no avail. This discovery aroused in him again the sense of danger, and the face of Aisome, as he had seen It In his dream in the train, took shape before the eyes of his memory. Seizing the knob of the his entire weight door, he threw against it several times, with the intention of breaking it in, but, to his surprise, it offered unexpected resistance. As he stood thus, still holding to the knob and wondering why he had been made a prisoner, there was a horrible grinding, grating sound; the ship shuddered as though wounded to the death, and the stern rose high in the air and remained thus. Hardy knew this from the fact that be was now almost lying on the door, against which, a moment ago, he had been leaning. The grinding continued, accompanied by bumps and slidlngs, giving him very much the same sensation that he. had once experienced in a building that was being shaken The waves, over by an earthquake. which she had but now been leaping against her with terrific and angry violence. "My God! gasped Hardy, we have run upon a rock and I shall be drowned here like a rat in a hole, if they do not let me out! Open this door! Hello! Open, I say!" port-hole- port-hole- CHAPTER VI. A Terrible Hour. The ship had evidently ridden partly over "the rock or reef upon which with long, free strides, pounded it was perched and was resting at an angle with nose downward. This was fortunate, because it precluded any Immediate danger of drowning. Hardy's iiosition was uncomfortable In that there was not a level surface in the entire room for him to rest on. Man, inferior in this respect to a cat or a fly or a worm, becomes next to helpless tilted. There upheaval plunged when his it standing-groun- d was at last a more violent than any before. The shit and settled, leaving the cab l.n floor nearly level. Hardy sprang to his feet. "She has either broken her back," he cried, or she has gone over the reef and settled in the shallows!" She listed to port and rocked gently from side to side, rendering it impossible for him to stand without bolding to something. And now the water, which had been pouring into the for ward part of the hold, came seething from beneath and around the doot and through the cracks of the parti tion. Every time the ship listed te starboard, it reached a tiny knot-holand spouted for several feet in a hissing stream. She has settled on the bottom muttered Hardy; she will hold now, she will hold! The water cant po sibly rise high enough to drown me. I will climb on the table, on the divan. It rose to his ankles, to his knees and he got upon the table, and Bat there holding to the edges. The wind began tg subside somewhat, and he could hear the ghostly, unearthly noises made by the wreck itself; moanings and groanings, creakinga, knockings, mutterings, whisperings, the gurgle and seething of the water as it rushed in and out with the rhythmical listing of the ship. He climbed to the port-holopened it and looked out. The early sun was gleaming redly on a sullen heaving sea. The waves were whitening over a long reef. Perhaps, If he could procure something in the shape of a stick or pole that he could poke out of the window, with his shirt tied to It he looked about, and, to his surprise, discovered that the door was partly open. He Jumped down and waded to it, thinking for the moment that the had come to release him. He pushed the door 9pen and gazed into the dim hold, where mattresses and planks from the bertha were floating about in rather dangerous confusion. He gained the ladder, mounted and Rtood upon the deck; there was no sign of a living soul. Evidently the Japanese had gone off and left him to his fate. The door, he had no doubt, had been. Jammed open by the straining and plunging of the ship. There was land in the distance, a faint coastline, which he knew could not be that of Russia, for the Shikoku Maru had been out only a few hours when she struck. Hardy remained on the wreck till nearly noon. He had about made up his mind, should the crew return, to let them get aboard, pick them off with his revolver and take to the sea with their boat, when he discovered a steamer approaching. He signaled her and she sent a small boat that took him and his baggage off. She was a Russian steamer, bound for Vladivostok. e Jap-anes- e (TO BE CONTINUED.) |