The Portland daily press., 1883-08-06
[Harper's Bazar.l
A Coincidence.
BY HARRIET PRESCOTT spoFFoRD.
lConcluded.1

Burne, bending toward her, .'if have hurt
your feelings. am sort of pirate anyway,
and am always doing something OF the
kind +"
To hear Miss Burne say she was sort of
pirate, and that before the minister! After
all, then could she care what he thought
about her?
But worse than that was to come 81 am
very sure about it, said Mrs. Ashley, on
another day, to another group. II ought
not to say word about it. for a passengers
passenger, and it's my husbands business.
B t how can you help 1t? When a man
drinks. it's bad enough; but woman! And
her breath was unmistakable. And how
Mr.. Brossier can Dear me, you are not
going under again, Mr.. Yerge.?'' as the ship
gave one of those long lurches that seem to
separate brain and body.
This slow roll of the sea is worse than
being on the back of the sea-serpent," said
Miss Burne, coming up. ''Try this, Mr.
flask of cologne from her reticule, wet with
it a couple of Jumps of sugar in her fingers,
and resisting the pitch Of the vessel, she put
one into his mouth and the other into her
own. And we all saw her do it! "a good
stimuant on OCCASION" she said, in that
unapproachable tone, and was lost in her
book again presently.
Sand it ISM only that said Mrs. Ashley,
in a lower tone, and with a significant nod.
But If you want to know, look for her this
evening till you see spark at the end of a
cigarette in her mouth
Lighting it for Mr. Brossier,n said some
body.
mo Mr.. Brossier about it, She may do
it for the asthma for all | know, but she
does it. Her bf cath is unmistakabIe."
s'Girls with such a lot of brothers as she
appears to have are apt to catch their tricks, .
said Captain Ashley, as his walking of the
deck brought him into the cluster.
That's so like my husbandr' said Mrs.
Ashley always defending the passeng rs.
To be sure, it's business. But if it's pref
ty girl, there's little heart in it. Though
for my part But as l said, her breath was
unmistakabe, and she smokes, Captain
Ashley. There, child, do get along. You
are always under ones nose
was sure Miss Burne knew what they
were talking of, for / saw a smile fit round
her mouth, parting the lips and showing the
broken corner of that pearly tooth, and |
was quite as sure that there could be moth
ing in her book to make her smile for it was
one of Mr.. Brossier's sermons. But if she
could be aware that people said she did such
dreadful things, and smile about it, how
could she care whether the minister thought
oldest to the youngest, Miss Burne occupied
great deal more of our thoughts than she
would have liked TO do had she fully under
stood it.
We had worried along our slow way, stop
ping here, there, and everywhere, for rea-
sons convenient to the good old captain, and
and at length came to anchor in Portland
Harbor, where some slight repair was given
to the packet, and the customary visits on
shore were made, and | suffered my custom
airy panic for the night, the dark waves, the
dark water. the dark hulk of the ship with
glihmeTing harbor lights that just made
darkness visible. HaIf asleep, and vet quiy-
ering with excitement, and little inclined
to cry, had been set down upon the deck
by the sailor who had me in charge, and who
by reason of dried fig now and then. a
soft-shelled almond, and series of wonder
sorcerer's knots that he could tie in ropes.
had become less an object of horror with
me than once he had been, and they were
just drawing up the gangway steps, while
Miss Burne and the minister looked over the
side, when voice was heard under the
quarter calling for rope, and after some
swinging of lanterns it wasseen that a boat
crew were hanging on their oars and wait
jne 10 board US.
~3y George! what's up now?" Captain
Ashley called out. .sWonder if they think
the old packets contrabandedp Let down
the ladder again, Joe. It's the Custom
house officers"
There was. as ne spoke, hurried move
i ment on Miss BnrnasS part She had seized
Mr.. Brossier's hand and wrung it in a start
ling fashion, and then Immediately glided
swiftly away into the darkness. Just as the
men from the Custom-house boat stepped
upon the deck there was bound, splash.
and although boats were lowered and ali
the harbor alarmed, Miss Burne was seen nc
more
There had been altogether too much CON
fusion for me 20 be sent to bed, and | was
as full of wide-eyed wonder as anybody else
when, an hour afterward, the men returned
to the packet.
'Was it Miss. Burue? Have you found
her?' was the general cry.
'tMiss Burne be blessed w was the answer
You've brought along one of the cunning
est smugglers ON the coast, and we've lost
one of the prettiest hauls of the season.
Now let's see those portmanteaus Nothing
less than lace and diamonds. if they've not
been stripped, I'll be boundv And when
the portmanteaus were brought on deck, in
half minute they were torn open and
found 70 be empty.
''Just as | told you," said the officer.
turning one of the great bags wrong side
out. And there, to be sure, was tiny shred
of thread lace caught upon the steels.
'sHumphl the very best. You can wear a
good many yards of this cobweb stuff wound
about you. Bad to wet it. They'd rather
not. Sorry it had to be done Wei, captain.
Suppose there's no doubt, after our old
acquaintance, that you're as much surprised
as we are. But this was particular case.
and we were on the lookout Rum party:
but we were up to his tricks Tried it on
the minister, Ell? Mild Irritation, read good
books, wanted more light, under conviction.
and all that? Hal hal hal Drowned?
Pshawi Swims like a fish, and paddles all
along the shore. Live to give US plenty
more trouble yetp' And after cali upon
the captains locker the visitors retired over
the quarter as they came, by v hich time |
had long been sound asleep. But l heard
the affair talked over so thoroughly, of
course, that / dare say | remember quite
wildly, as many other gossip does, much
more than / saw.
What all meant, however, exceeded nv
power of conjecture that next day; and /
must have driven the ships crew and pas
sengers and my own family wild with my in
terrogations. Where was Miss Burne?
and why had she jumped overheard? How
terrible that was! 1t made shivers run up
my back. Was she crazy? Was she walk
ing in her sleep? Naughty was she naugh-
ty? And was that what made Mr.. Brossier
so sick that be couldn't leave his berth?
Poor Miss Burnei Was she drowned? IF
she had jumped overheard, Why wasn't she
drowned? / should be if [ jumped over
board. And what had Miss Burne been do
ing, anyway? And what was there wrong
about that? Why couldn't | understand?
Had she paid for the lace? Then what bus
mess had those men to NEEDLE? And why
should they wish to take it from her? And
what was smuggling, and what made it wick
ed? And why shouldn't people buy things
where they could get them cheapest? And
wasn't Miss Burne Miss Burne? And if she
wasn't Miss Burne, wko was she? What a
pestilent little inquisitor 1t must have been
None of these questions, | admit, have
ever been answered quite to my content
ment, even to the present day, notWithstand-
ing the assertions of older people, and the
loud suspicious and laughter of the captain
and his mates. And although in the pas
sage OF dozen years or more had ceased
to remember accurately many of the circum-
stances that led TO the asking, still some sea-
breeze, some Whit of tarred ropes, some
sound of bells over water, as 1 had heard
them that evening, some pale-faced minister,
some dark proved young woman, some con-
tralto tone with thrill in it, would bring
traces of the old affair before me, and now
and then caught myself thinking it over
ana doing my hest to extract its little flavor
OF romance. Ii Miss Burne was not drown
ed, why did l never came across her. going
about the world as / did9 Hayino ,aootodF