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Show I " " ( y BEATRICE GRIMSHAW ' ' I I Eliustrations by Irwin Myers Copyright by Hughes Mnssle & Co. WNTJ BVrDee Men have gone down to the Soutb Seas, stayed a few months or a year or two and have come back and written novels of varying degrees of accuracy; mostly romantic, glamorous glam-orous and colorful tales which have captured public Interest. Not one of them has the authenticity of the novels of Beatrice Grimshaw. All of the other South Seas writers combined have not equaled her output out-put of atorles, neither have they attained at-tained to anything like her huge audience In Europe, America and other parts of the world. Durln? nearly a quarter of a century cen-tury she has lived In that romantic district and bae written Its novels for about the same length of time She has sailed the sapphire and turquoise-tinted waters and visited the spice-scented, tropic-laden, coral-built atolls and Islands from Papua to the limits of Polynesia and groups farther eastward. She knows not only the .various types of natives, but also the polyglot specimens of humanity that have been attracted from other parts of the world; and she has first-hand knowledge of the physical attributes attri-butes and the flora and fauna of that fascinating section- of the globe. Beatrice Grimshaw Is an authority author-ity on the South Seas. She draws with a sure hand whether she be depicting world vagabonds and bearb-combera, natives, traders, sailors, gold hunters, explorers, government officials or adventurers of type. Above all she draws the country, with Its waters. Its mountains, moun-tains, its verdure and its detached mystical characteristics. And with it all she has the gift of romanticism; roman-ticism; the ability to construct plots and weave the fascinating elements of the region Into novels. One has never read a real South Seas Btory until he has read the fiction of Beatrice Grimshaw. . CHAPTER I THE cigar was unwontedly good; It had made me peaceful and dreamy that, or the reaction after the fuss of getting aboard and away. At all events. I leaned back in the cushioned smoke-room chair, and gave myself up to enjoyment; let the sounds and sights and the smells of the great liner How pleasantly pleas-antly over me. They were all there, the things that 1 had known and forgotten. And the beat, beat of the great steamer heart, that was to carry on, day and night, until 'Hongkong; and the barely beard, long wash of the Coral sea, as we ran north from Cairns in Queensland Queens-land up toward Torres straits, through all the sapphire and topaz glory of a tropic winter day. . . . I had the sum of one hundred and seventy-two solid pounds, mine since yesterday, in the care of the ship's majestic purser. There's nothing makes a man feel so innocently inno-cently drunk, as a hatful of cash, when he has been a long time short. This cash of mine was the result of a lucky win in a sweep on the English Derby; nothing more respectable re-spectable than that but the strictest strict-est purist could hardly have found fault with my way of spending It. I was down in Cairns upon business (very small business and cheap) when the windfall came; and wisely, wise-ly, I decided to go home at once, inslead of waiting for the monthly : Ii. P. bout. One treat I must have, 1 decided; and the call of the Catn-cara Catn-cara suggested its kind. I would spend eight of my precious pounds on a two-day run to Thursday Island, Is-land, and get back thence to New Guinea by cutter. For two days, I would dream that I was back In the spacious days of Home and riches; the years when my father owned a fine country house, and a smallish town house, and I had been going to be an English squire, some time or other, and life and society and the "right people," and what one was going to do with oneself after Harrow and the 'Varsity had all been changeless, solid as fixed stars. Nothing solider than that house, the long avenue with the firs and the crackling gravel, the coltages and farms that were ours, the garden gar-den and Its strange old-fashioned roses rice roses, Scotch yellow, moss roses, cabbage. Nothing more sure than the passing for ever and ever the same, of those slow summers sum-mers and winters In the north of England clinrnte; pnle suns and pretty, passionless flowers, rain and short dayB and snow. Everything Every-thing set, unalterable. . . . In one half hour. It was swept away. My father fell dead of unsuspected un-suspected heart trouble. The solid house, the firs and the avenue, the cottages and farms. Harrow, Cambridge, Cam-bridge, the "right people," the set, unalterable way of living, all went down the winds of the world together, to-gether, swept by the same great hurricane. He had speculated. . . . Anyone can fill In the rest. That was In '14. Yob know what followed. I was eighteen years of age, hearty and husky of build. There was only one thing to do ; 1 did it. In 'IS. demobilized, aged twenty-three, I faced the world with some scars and medals to my credit; also two crosses. Nothing much more. I had been in Egypt 1 Mesopotamia. Mesopo-tamia. The sun lands had got me. I took up land In Australia; failed; went north and north; landed at last at Papua. 1 had a trading store at the wild west end of the country. 1 whs some years older, a little wiser, a little tougher than even the war had left me. The wild lands had marked me for their own. And. on that Jeweled day of equatorial winter, I was on board the Eastern liner Catacara, having my treat; with no thought of any thing but a couple of days' enjoyment, enjoy-ment, under circumstances that had been mine, and were not; with no dream of anything fateful, anything significant. In the brief Journey. I was merely going back to Darn by "T 1." So 1 thought. What I did not know ( you remember; yon did not know ) was that I was, on that day, running right- Into the double fate that was to change my life. It began In the oddest manner conceivable. 1 had finished my cigar, looked at myself In the long mirror as I strolled out on deck, and decided that 1 was at least not unpresentable. 1 was In a peaceful mood; I found a chair, and dropped Into It, wishing I knew how to purr like a cat ; for I felt that way. I was simply lifted out of the chair, before I had time to settle down, by shrieks proceeding from forward, where there was a wide unoccupied space of deck. Girls' shrieks at least three were In It; and they were screaming at the top of their voices. Of course I made for the space of foredeck, extremely extreme-ly ready to come to the aid of beauty In distress. 1 don't know what 1 expected ; certainly It was not what 1 saw. Three ship's officers, attired In all their tropic glory of white drill and gold, were cantering down the deck like horses. On the shoul- One of Them a Tall. Whlte-Llmbed Lass With Red Bobbed Hair-Was Hair-Was Apparently Winning. ders of each sat, astride, an extremely ex-tremely pretty girl, dressed in a bathing suit of the kind known as "one-piece." The girls had Jockey caps on their heads, and they were flogging their mounts along with silk handkerchiefs, and screaming encouragement at the top of their rather high voices. I saw all this in a moment and guessed, without much difficulty, that the riders were three musical comedy actresses, going to Join a revue company touring I lie East, of whom 1 had heard when taking my passage. One of them a tall, whlte-llrabed lass with red bobbed hair was apparently winning; her mount, the chief officer, was yards ahead of the rest. 1 saw that. 1 saw, too, the face of a girl on the opposite side of the deck; staring hard al the racers; she had a profile pro-file like an Italian coin, dark hair close shingled, and exceedingly blue eyes. That fad held me for an Instant; It was as If Ihe owner had suddenly called. Then 1 saw what made me leap across the deck, tear off my Jacket and fling myself over the rail of the Catacara. down thirty feet Into the sea. In the excitement of winning, the red haired girl had let go her hold of the chief ottlcer'8 forehead, waved her nrms, and lost balance completely. They were near the rail ; she began to topple, and 1 saw she was bound to go. I didn't wait for her to fall; I sprang first. I think we went through the air almost al-most together ; she struck the water about as soon as I, and we both went down. In a smother of foam and boiling blue. We came up well In the rear; when I had grabbed the girl, and got Ihe wnter and my own hair out of my eyes. 1 could see the steam er's Immensely tall stern already hundreds of yards away, and leaving leav-ing us as If nobody hnd seen us go overboard. Of course they had ; they were getting a boat out, and taking the way off the ship, as quickly as might be but If ever you hnvebepn left in the midst of the Inhospitable ocean by a liner running at full speed, you will realize that I had plenty of time to grnsp the sltun tlon ; plenty of time, too. to won der If we weren't hoth likely to bo drowned before help could reach us. Iieeause the red-haired girl, In spile of her stage bathing costume, couldn't swim al all. She was plucky; no one could have been pluckier. She gasped a good bit. but did not cling; she did as I told her. put her hands on my shoulders, and let hor legs swing out to support her. "1 I can float bit," she said chokingly. "I I'm not a scrap afraid. Never say die; th-thal's my motto." If she was not afraid, I was; abominably so. Because I had seen something she, with her face toward to-ward my hack, had not seen ; something some-thing 1 did not want her to see. A black, sharp finger, the finger, of death, and ugly death, that beckoned beck-oned to us both. I didn't need to look at the Cata-cura Cata-cura now motionless, a long wny off to know that the boat she had lowered stood no chance In that llfe-and-death race. I knew what a shark could do In the way of speed, when once It scented food. This shark was only cruising so I thought but if It made up Its mind attack us, twenty seconds would see the finish. The shark wag getting curious; zigzagging about ; coming nearer wltn every tack. "Look here," I said suddenly, "are you game to do Just what I tell you and ask no questions?" "Aren't I? Try me." "Then put your mouth down to the water, and blow as bard as you can." She stared ; was about to speak but something In my face (1 think) checked her. Awkwardly she bent her Hps to the swaying green that barely held us up; struggllngly but determinedly blew. I blew also. Bubbles went streaming from our lips under water; -a string of silver bells, a web of pearls. Years ago. In mid-Pacific, I had heard about this way of keeping off sharks; had even seen the girls who swam in the Prussian-blue pools of Nlue, blowing bubbles every now and then, Jusl as a measure of precaution. precau-tion. ... But was there really anything In it? Had any human creature, attacked, at-tacked, or In danger of attack ever kept away these tigers of the deep by merely porting bubbles at them? I didn't know. I only knew that there was nothing else to do. It was Impossible to go on blowing blow-ing forever. We halted, for a rest. By this time the girl had certainly gnessed what was happening; but she said never a word. Her laughter, laugh-ter, ber silly bravado, had vanished ; she held to my shoulder with a clutch of Iron, and her breath came short as sobs, but she still kept her head, still refrained from grabbing or hampering me. I looked at the fin again. "G d," I said, and didn't know I spoke, "It's coming" for it had turned end on, and I saw It as a black spike sticking out of the water, Incredibly In-credibly huge. I put my mouth down again, and blew -blew till my lungs were one hot pain all down my back. The black fin poised. I felt the girl's finger nails like claws in my neck; heard her spluttering uselessly Into the water, game to the last ; swung her round, I don't know how, so as to get my body between her and the sea tiger that was hungering for our blood ; saw It go off with a rush like a torpedo, and thought the end was come. What I had forgotten about was the boat. I don't think for a moment that our blowings and bubblings had any effect upon the shark, other than to excite Its curiosity. It was the near approach of the ship's whale-boat, whale-boat, furiously rowed, that gave it pause. Pause, I say, because, when the boat had dashed between us and the shark, and four strong arms were busy hauling us up over the gunwale a thing that can't be done In seconds, try how you may the shark suddenly seemed to realize real-ize that its dinner was leaving it, and made such a determined charge that the sailors had to fight it off with all Ihe available oars. They got us Into the boat, and the chief had a to of whisky ready. I never saw a man look more as If he wanted one himself, but that was small wonder; if he had not been playing the giddy goat, nothing noth-ing would have happened. I think I told him as much ; also, that I was not In the least cold, and would have a dry shift In fen minutes; min-utes; didn't need a drink. The lady, I said, had better have one. She and he shared It. Her face looneti very white, under her wet red hair, and I dare say he may have thought she would take cold; anyhow, he put Ills' uniform coat round her, and was making all fast with his arm when she wriggled apart from him, and flung herself down on the seat beside me. "I'm Ruing to sit next the bravest brav-est man I ever met," she said, her breast heaving up and down very fast under the white and gold coat. I saw she was almost In hysterics, so I simply answered. "Rats. We fell over together." And nobody said anything more, till the whale-boat whale-boat nosed against the ship's side. When they got us on board, It was the very devil for five minutes. People came and shook my hand, and told me I was a brave man; some of them thumped my bnck ; several wanted me to come and have a drink. "We all know Gin-Sling is game." said somebody, "but you're gamer." "We couldn't have done without Jinny," ait in some one else. "No, by Jove!" "Jinny for ever I" "hin-Sling's preserver" "Hooray 1" They would have It ; J was fciir-ly fciir-ly mobbed. I could hardly get to my cabin for a change of clothes without being carried on the shoulders shoul-ders of the crowd. But that I was determined against ; I slipped down a steward's companion, and got away. I dropped on the lonnge; It was some time before 1 even thought of dragging off my sodden shoes, and shedding my wet clothing. I had not touched the chief officer's flask, or accepted the champagne that others had been anxious to uncork for me, but I was drunk, mind and body, on one look that I hnd caught as I came slowly drenched with weariness and wet up the ship's ladder. A look from blue eyes below be-low black shingled hair. A look that cast a girl's fair soul at my feet, CHAPTER II I AWOKE next morning with a name npon my lips; a name 1 had heard the night before, "Pla Laurler." It seemed to me as It does still the sweetest, dantlest. girl's name Id the world. I knew all about It, too, how Miss Pla Laurler, of the blue eyes and the black shingle, had had an Italian grnndmother; how the grandmother grandmoth-er had bequeathed her a profile and a pretty fortune and a prettier name; bow. In consequence. Miss Pla was of more Importance In her family one of the New South Wales squatter families than elder el-der brothers and sisters; how much her parents thought of her, and how very, very carefully they bad brought her up. She was one felt It In one's bones a very reincarnation of that gracious, titled dame from historic Verona who had set her mark upon the Laurlers fifty years ago. Pla, like her would be a house mistress ; she would be a mother; she would be. above and beyond all, the supreme, su-preme, rare lover, pure as spring-water, spring-water, and passionate as a red Verona rose from the balcony of Verona's deathless girl. ... It didn't come as a shock quite the contrary, because I am Twentieth Twen-tieth century, almost all to remember re-member that this modern Juliet could round up cattle with the best of her brothers, and owned a diamond bracelet won on the public pub-lic race course of Itandwkk. It made me all the more In love with her. Because, of course, that minute min-ute when I met her eyes as I came up the gangway, and knew that my foolish feat had won me PiaJs heart. I suppose one is a little mad, when one is asleep, to Judge by the general craziness of dreams. I suppose, sup-pose, therefore, that one is half a little mad, when half awake. It was the arrival of early morning coffee that spoiled half-waking dreams, for me. Once I had drunk It, the clear cold light of reason seemed to mingle, in that cabin, with the red of growing day ; to tell me that I had better get up and bathe and dress, and remember, of all things, that I was leaving the ship tomorrow. "When you are about It," added thitt chill monitor, "you might as well recollect that you haven't two hundred pounds in the world, no people, now, who matter; no position, posi-tion, and no' prospects. Put that In your pipe and smoke It." I had managed an Introduction (no easy ship-made friendships for the daughter of the Lauriers! ) and enjoyed just about five glorious minutes of Pin's company, before the doctor, curse him, came along apologizing and grinning and reminding re-minding Pia that It was concert night, and that she was down for Number Two. So we had to break off and hurry into the staring, glittering glit-tering music saloon, in company with everybody else. There had been no more talk wi- h Pla Laurier that night; for the concert con-cert lasted the usual long time, und when it was over, Pia's relations, somehow, seemed to be everywhere, monopolizing her maybe by accident, acci-dent, maybe not. And I should have gone very hungry to bed, had It not been for the crust I took with me. That crust was Pia's song. She sang part of Liza Lehmann's exquisite bird-song cycle; sending me to my cabin with the sound In my ears of ray lady's lovely little soprano telling the tale of the wood-dove and his mate who had nothing at all on which to start a home, but Joyously, they put a few sticks together, and sang "It'll do it'll do!" 1 suppose I was vain. 1 suppose nil men of a certain youth and vitality are. At any rate. 1 thought that Pla meant the song for me. So, next morning. I was agog to get hold of Mrs. Klpple. good-natured good-natured newsmonger, and learn from her anything that might help me In making way with Pia. For I recognized, now, that the stars In their courses were fighting against me. I had only one day. a night, and half a day left ; If 1 was, In that brief time, to forge a chain that should In some mensure link our lives, I needed every possible advantage 1 could make or steal. By Wednesday noon, the play would be over; Ihe male Clndrella would have lost his pumpkin coacli and gone home to sit in the ashes again; and there would be no fairy godmother to find him a second chance. Mrs. Klpple could talk. She did not confine herself to Laurler biography; biog-raphy; she stooped to a lower range, and gave me also biography (gingered up til one might almost rail It biology) of the actress troupe that had fairly dynamited the peace of the ship. (TO BE CONTINUED) |