The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-01-08
\ TURN OF THE KEY.
On the Yacht lorIWora0t.

y" se
"W,lI, Good by, Malgc. and take care
of yourself; the gig il alongside. =" ! sup
pose | must bc off but ! wish Ia goodness
You had let me chuck the whole thing
over when ! spoke about II this morning;
I hate leaving YOU all 10y yourself on
Christmas eve. Well. at any rate ] siaut
he late"
So spoke Berthe Hepburn. the owner OF
the yacht Corniorant, a. smart "A schooner
as ever flew the white ensign, tn his VIE.
who was standing rather disconsolately at
the door Of the main cabin. while her nus
band struggled into "a huge oilskin coat.
preparatory tn going ashore.
IN wasa wild might. dark a. pitch. the
rain was falling in torrents. ana as an ICY
wind, blowing straight from the Appse
mines, did not make matters more. rom
Portable. TIN. tormorant had been
wcatlcr-hoIn in the harbor of Port Err
cole. an u~uimportant town, about eighty
miles north of (ivita Nccchia, for nearly
"A week; tl,Cr. was absolutely nothing To
he seen there; but the harbor was "a good
one. and the weather o,itsiuc was tie
cideslly dirty"
They had been cruising for about three
months in the Mediterranean. and meant
to- prolong the cruise till spring. BERTHE
Hepburn was IL man. who. happy and con-
tented everywhere. was never so happy AS
ON board lis own yacht. ana he was more
fortunate than Ipany yacht-owncrs i'm one
respect. inasmuch as ms wife. pretty.
charming Ma,igc Hepburn. was as de-
voted to- "a s..afaring life as he was him
self.
She had not even %grrmhl.d over their
forced detention at Port creole. as so
many women would have done. and il was
she who had insisted on BERTHE keeping
his engagement tn dine with the vice.
consul ON Christmas eve. That unfortu-
nate gentleman. whose life. passed among
"A people with whom he had nothing i'm
commons, was one round OF dull routine.
was delighted to welcome the owner of
any stray yacht driven 10y stress of weather
into the snug haven Of Port Ercole. and:
on the arrival of the CorInorant, had
come ON board in state. tn bid them to- "a
dinner at the shabby house designated by
Consulate. Madge had sent am excuse, a
perfectly truc one. that "a bad. cold pre-
vented hcrcominga ashore in such weather.;
but she would not hear of her husband
also throwing over his engagement.
II shall be all right. BERTHE" she said.
II have no end of letters to write, wishing
, wonsi +. late. .H.apf The H"~ was s'a arr u anr y az.
sencc of jnviality about the meal. and she
go, ,hrongi !; as quickly as possible; much
his own plans for his evenings amuse-
Ipent on hand.
IF you pleas. Ma'am." said he. as he
cleared the things away. II should like to
GO asi'ot,' this evening. il yoi hav" no OBJ
jcction.'
oh. n", certainly you are wclcom" to
CO."
"If y"u please, Ma'am." said her maid
five minutes aftcrward. 'tlc captain says
ther. are great ,loiugs i'm the cathedral to-
night. and he will takc me ashore To- have
a look AT them. il you don't want me-"
mo. you can go 10y all means. Dunno.
said her mistress: but I'm afraid you'll
get very wet landing"
Their departure in Il e dinglicy five min
ntes after seemed to leave the yacht won
la heard but the drip of the rain on deck
and the moaning Of the wind in the rig
T fa"sl.. ib% no .' a""nd, ~ of Voices aa s aame y fr .m@
thence. and the good ship Cornnorant
might have been "a dcrelict az far as any
life on board WAS concerned.
Madgc Huphurn. who was both impress
~ionable and imaginative, was impressed
by the stiffness in spite of herself. I'VE
must keep each other company. Chcviot."
said she to the big b~lack-aud-tau s~hecp-log
who lay asleep OH the cabin hoor. but he
refused absolutely to enter INTO c9nv'rsa.
lie did not wish To be disturbed. and. as
his mistress would not desist. he go, mp
times. and slowly aud heavily %lurclIr" out
of thc cabin. and up the companion,
while q thunnp overhead "a minute later
told MR.. Hepburn he preferred the cold
and wet ON deck To her society. The still
ness seemed more rcu"rkablc, now
ohGyio' had LIEF. her, ;, and she ,h had mot mot
grown: had the steward been ON board
she would have had the stove ~rclignted.
but she did not care To disturb the sailors;
she could settle to nothing; the New
Years letters were not to the thought of:
she rausacked the b~onk-shelves. but she
seemed Ia have read everything. and was
not in the mood to re-read even Rider
Haggard or Rhoda BrouRhton..
THANK goodness said she. "therr
goes four bells; there is no good Sitting = u
this cold, gloomy cabin amy longer. l
shall he Oft tn bed"
The cabin was. indeed. "a pretty nest FOR
such u pretty bird; on the fiuted hang.
ing twined roses and forgct-nie-i1ots
while laughing cupids peeped from among
the flowers all was dainty and delicate,
but somehow Tonight IL did not seem
rightly as usual, and, once safe i'm her
pretty berth. Madge could not see to- read
sas she had intended.
She tries to- sleep, but never felt more
wide awake, and now six bells are struck
and she reflects with joy that i'm an hour
wrapInsi in stiffness. No sound falls on