The Irish standard., 1890-04-19

not see to read as Sh6 had lnbenQSA-ss8ssSss sS9
She tries to sleep, but ;never fel tsmore
wide awake, and now six bells are
struck, and she reflects with JOY that -
an hour at latest her husband will 20
back. All is wrapped in stiffness. No -,
sound falls on her ear but the wash q
the wave'' on the yachts side at her
head, and the drip, drip Of the rain on
deck. But stay! that surely IS 2 lou leI' Z
sound than the water that ripples SO.
close to her. tits too muhed to be oars;
all the same there is distinct splash,
and sort OF jar on the ships SIDE:
Madge sits up to listen, and b or sense OF
hearing seems to become preternatural-
" sharpened; she hears a footstep, so1e
as velvet, on the deck, right overhead.
That is not the way Bette would come
on board, let alone the party who, head
ed by the captain, had gone ashore.
Now she hears more footsteps and
then obi what is that going on? There
comes low, deep growl from Cheviot,
growl that ends in an odd kind Of gnrgle,
and noise OF something heavy falling.
Light steps seem to cross the deck
and come down The companion, and
through the keyhole of her door shines
the faintest glimmer of light; in one
moment she is out of her berth and al
her door--alas! it has got no key, and
those in the yacht, whoever they are,
have got her at their mercy.
For few minutes the poor child fees
utterly confused, and then all of sud-
den her senses return to her; she rolls
herself in long, dark boat-cloak that
Is hanging on hook, puts out her light
and cautiously-for her life depends on
"opens the door and looks out.
There is little bit of passage be-
tween her and the main cabin, from
which comes a dim light; faint clash
of metal can be heard, but neither voice
nor sound.
The companion-1adder is between the
/; two cabins and the passage is nearly
pitch dark, while there is always the
friendly shelter of one or two unused
cabin doors.
Shall she wait in her cabin, perhaps
to be caught like a rat in a trap; or
shall she crawl along the passage, make
dash for the companion, and get on
| deck somehow to give the alarm to the
sailors? She elects to attempt the lat
| ter. 5s
Three steps and she is crouching at
/, the foot of the stair, and can see into
the saloon On the floor, with his back
to the door, one man kneels, and she
sees him filling an empty bag with all
the yachts silver. The door of Bertie's
dressing-room is open, and another
beetle proved and brawny italian
| rufian has his hands on heap of sova-
reigns, the. broken cash-box being On
the floor at his feet. A third man is in
the main cabin. He is standing beside
an open drawer, his head partly turned
away from the door, but Madge feels he
is the greatest danger, and that at any
moment he may look round.
AS she stands there her eye falls on
the strong key that is in the look OF
the main cabin door. She can almost
touch it. If she did but reach it could
she lock them in before they could stop
her? Above all, would the key turnf
She knows nothing about its locking
powers, and it might easily be rusty
But Madge Hepburn is no coward, and
the fighting blood of wild border
strain runs hotly in her veins. As she
made up her mind she acted
Concealment was now of no use; she
sprang at tho door, and as she did SO
the third man turned and saw her. Two
steps and he was across the room, but
one second had sufficed for Madge. The
door banged to; the key was stiff,
indeed, but terror gave her fingers .
strength she did not know they pos
sessed, and before the burglar actually
touched the door handle the bolt shot
home. A volley OF Italian oaths and q
blow which all but Knocked a panel out
Of the door followed, but Madge seemed
as if she had wings to her feet. She
flew on deck, and now? What is that
which falls on her ears but the blessed
sound of oars? But alas! What is that
black form that at the same momenS
she sees stretched on the deck, and
what is the dark stream that stains its
are dim; her senses fail her, and when
Berthe Hepburn jumps on board the
first thing he sees is his pretty Madge
in dead faint at his feet lying across
the lifeless body of poor Cheyiot.
The noise the three ruf1ians make In
the cabin soon gives him the clew to
what has happened, and before poor
Madge has recovered her senses a free
fight has taken place, and If the Italian
gentlemen were good deal knocked
about by the English sailors, they de-
served double as much as they got, and
the Vice-Consul made it his business to
see they got it in the long run.
In some mysterious manner these SEA
robbers had discovered that the owner
and good many Of the crew OF the
Cormorant had gone ashore, and they
thought they would have it all their
own way on board. The last thing that
they looked for was that mere girl
should sup and bar the door, in their
faces. The Queen. 553
A Surprise for the Dude.
A First street merchant tells Of q very
funny incident which happened in front
Of his store recently, says the Portland
N,nr Ton "A vn,, M Il nd - IVA 4 inc