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Show PARBOTfr CD. HAROLD MACGMfflf m J Author of TheCarpetrromDadadSlK The Place of Honeymoons, etc. A COPYVGtfr BY TiI ' BGB3J-nmVLL CO7PAMY fjj SYNOPSIS. 5 M .amnion, an American a.lvpnt..rr, r.? ' h .'T- LS !"-rv:""' -a W'i I.ar- r-J i k"'n up and down the 1 r- ,f"dlW a l'arr.,t & Co.. are bound for l...;iSo.n to cast, a draft for .!, rupees . sa ( l.etwoo.l, rich! Arneri.-an girl torn-' torn-' . Hr"nKt"" Hr,d ask the purser r?p'j r'",l:"" !"'r "e tells ""r ' 'ar-?" 'ar-?" '"'' n a syndicate and sold nm ei;lln,s f,. cjjf,.,,,,. Warrington r'.'r ' !h I'atrot. throiiL-h his llirks for Klsa and they pass tw0 Kolden davs .,..-lli-r on the river. Martha. Elsa's jj-npHriion, warns her that there. Is k..r- ,, Han-o-,n Warrinuton banks his ,.,,,' rnj? '' M. aii'l ov.-rli-urs and i-.teriere.- in a row oer cards CHAPTER VI. In the Next Room. "Craig?" Warrington whispered the o. u, a ii ne teared toe world might hear the dead!;.- menace in his voice. Kor murder leaned up in hi.s heart as flame. leaps up in pine kindling. The weak young man got to his knees, then to Iiis feet. He steadied himself by clutching the back of a chair. With one hand he felt of his throat tenderly. "He tried to kill me, the blackguard.-' he croaked. "Craig, it is you! For ten years I've never thought of you without murder mur-der in my heart. Newell Craig, and here, right where I can put my hands upon you! Oh, this old world is small." Warrington laughed. It was a high, thin sound. The young man looked from his en-firy en-firy to his deliverer, and back again. M'hat new row was this? Never be-I fore had lie seen the blackguard with ! mat look in his dark, handsome, preda- I ory face. It typified fear. And who v.-as this big, blond chap whose fingers were working so convulsively? "Craig." said the young man, "you get out of here, and if you ever come bothering me, I'll shoot yon. Hear me?" This direful threat did not seem to R'-ir the sense of hearing in either of the two men. Suddenly the blond man caught the door tnd swung it wide. "Ciaiz, a week ago I'd have throttled you without the least compunction. Today I can't touch you. But get out of here as fast as you can. You might liave gone feet foremost. Go! Out of Kangoon. too. I may change my mind." The man called Craig walked out. squaring his shoulders with a touch of bravado that did not impress even the plucked pigeon. Warrington stood listening until he heard the hall door close sharply. "Thanks," said the bewildered youth. Warrington whirled upon him savagely. sav-agely. "Thanks? Don't thank me. you weak-kneed fool!" "Oh, I say. now!" the other protested. pro-tested. "Be silent! If you owe that scoundrel scoun-drel anything, refuse to pay it. He ' never won a penny in his life without cheating. Keep out of his way; keep out of the way of all men who prefer to deal only two hands." And with thi3 advice Warrington stepped out into the hallway and shut the door fiddly. "Pay the purser and get a box of cigars," ci-gars," Warrington directed James. "Never mind about the wine. I shan't want it now." James went out upon the errands immediately. im-mediately. Warrington dropped down in the f reaky rocking-chair, the only one in the boarding house. He' stared at the worn and faded carpi'. How dingy I everything looked! What a sordid i rut he had been content to lie in! i Chance: to throw this man across his l.ath when he had almost forgotten ! him, forgotten that he had sworn to j break the man's neck over his knees! In the very next room! And he had ! i.ermitted hirn to go unharmed simply j because his mind was full of a girl he ' uould never see opsin after tomorrow. I Vhat was the rascal doing over here? , What had caused him to forsake the j rsay pluckings of Kroadwav in ex- i iiange for a dog's life on packet boats. ..- a squalid boarding house like this ;ne. and in djKma! billiard halls? Wire la?'"--'-r, racing tout, stool pigeon, a i heater at cards, blackmailer and traf-f; traf-f; k r in baser tilings; in the next room, and lie had let him go unharmed. 'J en years ago and thirteen thousand n::!es away. In the next room. He l;t::g!ied iit;plea:-anty. ChivaJric fool. Mi.'y Ijo:i Quixote, sentimental dream---T, lo have v.vh a h;:sh of his lile iu this rr.anner! ,'ie leaned toward the window sill -,.nd .;.( .tied the cage. Jiajali walked tut. jnu'teni'g. ,. J W,.'.;i it nm-hn, hisa pre f erred to v. a!k. She v. as young and Mrr.::g and a'live. an-J she cut along ' v.i!!i a i.v. iiii-ing Mride thit made obvious ob-vious a s rei.r, confidence in in r ability f, take 'are of herself. ijH ,j, u. KW.'.iiiK called. ;)fulm ;;:; was limply :,.'i:'ai independence, which s!;e as !,"-."e.J V. ,e:,tw-r wuxU,,, oVmk,,, -j..,) k. f he l.-jv d to piov.l through he r.' : !,! s 1 1 ' ' .. :. a lie;. and s 1 1 a ng r ', it v;.k a joy lo ra-;ible about.! !.:.. : wr !:!;;:; impor; Mi.il ioH of' t:':.:.- i.i ::':--u:.. .l. K,,.ul , ' ' ! '' 'VS VH V. i.:'; 'I " , ' ' ' ' . .;. too , v. I; iei on 1 v r:,(-ti 1 ' ' a ell,.- Kl-a i. oijlll . never confess that there had been awkward moments when, being an excellent ex-cellent runner, she had blithely taken to her heels. In her cool, white drill, her wide, white pith helmet, she presented a charming picture. The exercise had given her cheeks a bit of color, and her eyes sparkled and flashed like raindrops. This morning she had taken .Martha along merely to still her j protests. "It's all right so long as we keep to the main streets," said the harried. Martha, "but I do not like the idea of roaming about in the native quarters. quar-ters. This is not like Europe. The hotel manager said we ought to have a man." "He is looking out for his commission. commis-sion. Heavens! what is. the matter with everybody? One would think, the way people put themselves out to warn you, that murder and robbery were daily occurrences in Asia. I've been here four months, and the only disagreeable dis-agreeable moment I have known was caused by a white man." "Because we have been lucky so far, it's no sign that we shall continue so." I And Martha shut her lips grimly. Her ! worry was not confined to this particular particu-lar phase of Elsa's imperious nroods; it was general. There was that blond man with the parrot. She would never feel at ease until they were out of Yokohama, homeward bound. "I feel like a child this morning," said Elsa. ' "I want to run and play and shout." j "Ail the more reason why you should I have a guardian. . . . Look, Elsa!" I Martha caught the girl bv the arm. i "There's that man we left at Manda-lay Manda-lay coming toward us. Shall we go into this shop?" "No, thank you! There is no reason why I should hide in a butcher shop simply to avoid meeting the man. I We'll walk straight past him. If he j speaks we'll ignore him." "I wish we were in a civilized coun- try." This man is supposed to be civi- lized. Don't let .him catch your eye. Goon; don't lag." Craig stepped in front of them, smiling smil-ing as he raised his helmet. "This is I an unexpected pleasure." Elsa, looking coidly beyond him, attempted at-tempted to pass. "Surely you remember me?" "I remember an insolent cad," replied re-plied Elsa, her eyes beginning to burn dangerously. "Will you stand aside?" He threw a swift glance about He saw vith satisfaction that none but natives was in evidence. Elsa's glance roved, too, with a little chill of despair. In stories Warrington would have appeared about this time and soundly trounced this impudent scoundrel. She realized that she must j settle this affair alone. She was not a soldier's daughter for nothing, j "Stand aside!" j "Hoity-toity!" he laughed. He had ; been drinking liberally and was a I shade reckless. "Why not be a good I fellow ? Over here nobody minds. I know a neat little restaurant. Bring j the old lady along," with a genial nod toward the quaking Martha. I Resolutely Elsa's hand went up lo j her helmet, and with a flourish drew t out one of the long steel pins, i "Oh, Elsa!" warned Martha, i "Be still! This fellow needs a lesson. les-son. Once more, Mr. Craig, will you stand aside?" Had he been sober he would have seen the real danger in the young woman's eyes. "Cruel!" he said. "At least, one kiss," putting out his arms. Elsa, merciless in her fury, plunged the pin into his wrist. It slung like a hornet, and, with a gasp of pain, Craig leaped back out of range, sobered. "Why, you she-cat!" "I warned you," she replied, hpr voice ste;.y and low. "The second stab wiH be serious. Stand aside." I He stepped into the gutter, biting his lips and straining his uninjured I hand over the hurting throb in his j wrist. He had had wide experience ! with women. His advantage had al I ways been in the fact that the general ', run of them will submit to insult i lather than cieale a scene. This dark-( dark-( eyed Judith was distinctly an excep. lion lo the i tile. Gad! She might lKiW' nii'setl his wrist and jabbed him in the throat. He sw ire, and walked i off flown the street, i Elsa set a pace winch Matlha. with ; her wabbling knee::. I.jund dillit ult to I maintain. "You might have killed him!" shi cried breathlessly. "You can't kill that kind of a snake with a hatpin; you have to stamp on its heat But I rather believe it wil! be some lime before Mr. Craig will atain make the mistake of instill it,;; a woman because ,-hi: appears lo be del. i,.ei. l;s." Eisa's ciiin was in the air The choking nem.al ion In ,er throat began lo subside. "You know and the purser knows v.hai happened j ''ii the b'ial to Mandalay. ,. WilH plausible and aflable mid good Iocm in;;, and the miilake was mine. I "eidoiu laltc them I kept ojiiel . I air- e I he b i; ( v, ;, ,, ,) ' f :"- M 1 n III;.; thai ! know It. If I had complained he would have denied his actions, Inferred that I was evil-minded. Heavens, I know the breed! Now not a single word of this to anyone. Mr. Craig, 1 fancy, will be the last person to speak of it." "You had better put the pin back into your hat," suggested Martha. "Pah! I had forgotten it" Elsa flung the weapon far into the street. Once they turned into Merchant street, both felt the tension relax. Martha Mar-tha would have liked to sit down, even on the curb. "I despise men," she volunteered. "1 am beginning to believe that few of them are worth a thought. Those wno aren t fools are knaves." "Are you sure of your judgment in regard to this man Warrington? How can you tell that he is any different from that man Craig?" "He is different, that is all. This afternoon he will come to tea. I shall want you to be with us. Remember, not a word of this disgraceful affair." "Ah, Elsa, I am afraid; I am more afraid of Warrington than of a man of Craig's type." "We are always quarreling, Martha; and it doesn't do either of us any good. When you oppose me I find that that is the very thing I want, to do. You haven't any diplomacy." Warrington's appearance that afternoon after-noon astonished Elsa. She had natu rally expected some change, but scarcely such elegance. He was, without with-out question, one of the handsomest men she had ever met. He was handsomer hand-somer than Arthur because he was more manly in type. What a mystery-he mystery-he was! She greeted him cordially, without restraint; but for all that, a little shiver stirred the tendrils of hair at the nape of her neck. "The most famous man in Rangoon today," she said, smiling. "So you have read that tommy-rot in the newspaper?" They sat on her private balcony, under un-der an awning. Rain was threatening Martha laid aside her knitting and did her utmost to give her smile of welcome wel-come an air of graciousness. "I shouldn't call it tommy-rot," Eisa declared. "It was not chance. It was pluck and foresight. Men who pos- 1 f ffnvA i firmly H''""r " : "' 'i. i "V'tAM"' few m iJot "Now, Not a Single Word of This to Anyone." sess those two attributes get about everything worth having." "There are exceptions," studying the ferrule of his cane. "Is there really anything you want now and can't have?" Martha looked at her charge In dread and wonder. "There is the moon," he answered. "I have always wanted that. But there it hangs, just as far out of reach as ever." Elsa's curiosity today was keenly alive. She wanted to ask a thousand questions, but the ease with which the man wore his new cloth's, used his voice and eyes and hands, convinced her more than ever that the subtlest questions she might devise would not stir him into any confession. That he had once been a gentleman of her own class, and more, something of an exquisite, ex-quisite, there remained no doubt In her mind. What had he done? What in the world had he done? On his .art he regretted the presence pres-ence of Martha; for, to strongly had this girl worked upon his Imagination that he had called with the deliberate intention of telling her everything. Hut he could not open the gates of his heart before a third person, one he Intuitively In-tuitively knew was antagonistic. Conversation went afield; pictures and music and the polished capilals or the world; the latest books and plays. The Information in regard lo these Elsa supplied him. They discussed also the problems of the day as frankly frank-ly as If Ihey had been in an occidental draw ing room. Manila's tea was hitter. hit-ter. She liked Arthur, who was a. wayH charming, who never surprisi d or astonished anybody, or shocked them with unexpected phases of chat-actor; chat-actor; and each time ihe looked at Warrington. Arthur seemed lo recede. And when the lime came for (he guest lo take his Ii avc. M.trlha logrolled lo lintl that the major pari of her anlng-oiiism anlng-oiiism was gone. "I wish to thank you, Mh.n ('hot-wootl, ('hot-wootl, for your kindness o a very lonely lone-ly man. It Isn't probable Hint shall see you again. I sail next ' btirsday for Singapore." Me reached into a pocket. "I wonder IT you would consider con-sider It ail lllln I I ill' lice i (ill. . e. Mill this old tlilll.el?" lie held Olll 1 1." mandarin's rl 'i,v "Wlini a In a.j.'y ! " t he cv.'iani'ed "Of course I'll accept It. It Is very kind of you. I am inordinately fond of such things. Thank you. How easily it slips over my finger!" "Chinamen have very slender fingers," fin-gers," he explained. "Good-by. Those characters say 'Good luck and prosperity.' pros-perity.' " No expressed desire of wishing to meet again; just an ordinary everyday farewell; and she liked him all the better for his apparent lack of sentiment. senti-ment. "Good-by," she said. She winced, for his hand was rough-palmed and strong. A little later she saw him pass down the street. He never turned and looked back. "And why," asked Martha, "did you not tell the man that we sail on the same ship?" "Y'ou're a simpleton, Martha." Elsa turned the ring round and round on her finger. "If I had told him, be would have canceled his sailing and taken another boat."' CHAPTER VII. Confidences. That night Martha wrote a letter. During the writing of it she jumped at every sound; a footstep in the hall, the shutting of a door, a voice calling in the street. And yet, Martha was guilty of performing only what she considered to be her bounden duty. My Dear Mr. Arthur: ... I do not know- what to make of it. His liken'-ss to you is the most unheard of thing. He ta a little bigsrer and broader and he wears his beard longer. That's all the difference. differ-ence. When he came on the boat that night. It was like a hand clutching at my throat. And you know how romantic Elsa Is, for all she believes she Is prosaic. I am certain that she sees you in this straneer who calls himself Warrington. If only you had had the foresight to follow fol-low us, a sailing or two later! And now they'll be together for four or five days, down to Singapore. I don't like It. There's something uncanny In the thing. What if she did forbid you to follow? There are some promises women like men t break. You should have followed. Neither of us has the slightest id'-a what the man has done to exile himself In this horrible land for ten years. He still behaves -himself like a gentleman, and he must have been one In the past But he has never spoken of his home, of his past, of his people. We don't even know that Warrington Is his name. And . you know- that's a sign that something Is wrong. I wonder if you have any r-la- tives by the name of Warrington? I he-. he-. gin to S"e that man's faee In my dreams. I am worn. d. I-'nr Elsa is a puzzle. She has always h'-en one to me. I leave been with her sin'-e her bahyhood. and i i yet I know as little of what goes on In J her mind as a stranger would. Tier fa-j fa-j t!:er. you know, was a soldier, of fierce - lov.-s and hates: h'T mother was a hnnd-i hnnd-i sorne statue. KIsa has her father's scorn j f'T convention and his independence-, j clothed in her mother's Impenetrable i mask. Don't mistake me. Elsa is the most adorable creature to me. a -id I wor-! wor-! ship her: hut I worry about her. I believe be-lieve that it would be wise on your part j to meet us In San Francisco. Cljye rnv I .ve and respect to your dear beautifel mother. And marry Elsa as fast as ever you can. The day of sailing was brilliant and warm. Elsa sat In a chair on the deck of the tender, watching the passengers as they came aboard. A large tourist party bustled about, rummaged among the heaps of luggage, and shouted questions at their unhanpy conductor. ; She saw Hooghly standing in the j bow. A steamer trunk, a kit-bag, a bed-l bed-l ding-bag, and the inevitable parrot ! cage, reposed at his feet. He wa. I watching without interest or excite-I excite-I ment the stream passing up and down the gangplank. 1 his master came, very well; if he did not. he would get off with the luggage. How she would have liked to question him regarding his master! Elsa began to offer excuses ex-cuses for her interest in Warrington. He was the counterpart of Arthur Ellisons Elli-sons He had made his fortune against odds, lie was a mystery. Why shouldn't he interest her? Her mind was not ice, nor was her heart a stone. She pitiee. him, always wondering what was back of it all. She would be in Singapore; after that their paths would widen and become lost in the future, and she would forget all about him. save in a shadowy way. She would marry Arthur whether she loved him -- "as certain mat he loved her. He was, besides, her own sort; anil there wasn't any mystery about him at all. He was as clear to her its glass. For nearly ten years she had known him, since his and his mother's arrival In the small pretty Kentucky town. What was the use of hunting a fancy? Yes. she would marry Ar thur. She was almost Inclined to cable him to meet her in San Francisco. (TO 111-: ct INTI Nt'ED.) |