Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-09

then you couI d get we'll again in double
quick time-and live happy ever after"
She was still watching him from under
her long, indolent lashes; and of a sudden
she changed her tone.
care you vexed? You find me not sympa-
thetic? Perhaps am not. Perhaps 1 am
little incredulous. You have told me
very little; but I surmlse; and when a
young lady remains away from her lover,
and does not wish 1t to be known where she
is. then 1 confess 1 grow suspicious. In
stead of Seek the woman it is Find the
man'-oh, 1 mean in most cases-I mean in
most cases-not in all-you must not mis-
understand me!'
I'm this case you are mistaken, then, !"
said Vincent, briefly.
"Ah. Possibly. There was not anyone,
then," she continued, fixing her darkly-
lustrous eyes on him again, "whom you
hated with deadly hatred-who seemed to
you too friendly and intimate-who was too
often by her side? And perhaps there
hadn't been a little quarrel between you and
her-in consequence?"
Then it flashed through his memory that
'Sherry's' departure for Monte Carlo had
been strangely sudden; but the next mo-
ment he could have laughed. Yes, he had
been madly and absurdly jealous; and there
might have been a quarrel between Maisrie
and himself had it not been for her frank
and Straightforward appeal; but, beyond
that, Mrs de Lara's guesses at the situation
were far wide of the mark. Dor Sherry
might be losing or winning napoleons at
Monte Carlo; he wished him no harm-he
rather wished he would win; but the idea
that there could be any connection between
that young mans leaving England and the
subsequent disappearance of MaisrIe and
her grandfather was too preposterous to be
entertained Tor moment.
On the whole the gay young grass widow
found that she could not get very far into
Vincent's confidence in this matter; and
when she INDUCED in little pleasantly, he
grew reserved and showed disposition to
withdraw; whereupon she thought it better
to give up the subject altogether. But she
did not give him up; on the contrary, she
took possession of him more completely
than ever; and made no secret OF the favor
she bestowed ON him. For example, there
was an amateur photographer on board, and
, one morning Everybody knew everybod
| else by this time) he came up to Mrs. de
| Lara, who was seated in her deck-chair,
with little band of devoted slaves and ad-
mirers surrounding her.
"Mrs. de Lara" said he, "I've taken
| nearly everybody on board except you.
! Aren't you going to give me a chance?"
1
| Then she looked round and added, in the
most natural way in the world, "but where
| is Mr.. Harris?''
! "He's in the salon writing letters. I saw
| him there minute ago." said one of the
| bystanders.
"won't somebody go and fetch him?" she
continued. "We ought to be all in, if Mr..
Searle can manage it"
| Accordingly Vincent was summoned from
below and forthwith made his appearance.
"You come and sit by me, Mr.. Harris, '
| said the young matron. "It would look alb.
surd to have one sitting and all the other.
standing"
''Oh, no; this will do, said Vincent, seat.
| ing himself on a signal cannon that wa.
close to the rail, while he steadied himself
by putting hand on the shrouds.
"Not at all, i" she protested, with certain
| imperious wilfulness. you're too far over
you'll be out of the picture altogether
There is Isabeps chair over there; fetch
that"
And, of course, be had to do as he was
bid; though it was rather conspicuous DO
sition to assume. Then, when that negative
was taken. she would have the grouping
altered: Vincent had to stand BY her side
with his arm on her chair; again he had tt
seat himself on tn. deck at her feet; what
ever suggestions were made by the artist
she managed somehow that she and Vincent
should be together. And when, next day
the bronze-brown proofs were handed about
they were very much admired-except per
haps, by the lady passengers, who could moi
understand why Mrs. de Lara should posi-
as the only woman on board the steamer.
But it was not Mrs. de Lara who was In
his thoughts when. early one morning. b,
found himself on the upper deck, Just undel
the bridge, with his eyes fixed on a far
strip of land that lay along the western hor
izon. Not thin, sharp line of blue. but {
low-lying bulky mass of pale neutral tint
and there were faint yellow mists hangip,
about it, and also covering the smooth
! long-undulating surface Of the sea. How