The Portland daily press., 1895-10-29

re har amt and, rather red at eyes, came
s So The captain, Mr.. Van Straaten
H. ~ "h;ef steward and Henry Greig reap
.saored AT the door of the cabin. The old
Tanr,an bore a leather case very carefully
Al ..Tba diamonds have been found" an
,,rced the captain of the Bengal seri-
o,,sIv "We shall not have to trouble you,
ladies and gentlemen.
T,bev were only ordinary. folk rather
bored bv the tediousness of the journey
from Calcutta, and they could not help
showing a certain relish over the diver
"Most painful affair, really"
cease found under the pillow in the
berth"
envy DEAR" said Mrs. Renton bitterly
uit doesn't do to trust any one nowadays.
Won never know who's who.''
"But you'd think really on P. and o.
Steamship
"I'm sorry for that poor Miss Norman.
She was engaged to him, you know"
ooh, that's broken off quite definitely.
T heard her telling the old German So The
old fellow asked her what was the matter,
and she told him. He was a partner of
her fathers, you know, and he seemed
much concerned about it. You see, DEAR
I wasn't exactly listening, butt
"But you heard, dear-that's the main
point. Come into my cabin and see my
new serge dress
They went aft, leaving Greig at the door
of his cabin. He was holding the sides to
prevent himself from falling. Other pas
sengers went past his cabin, keeping care
fully to the other side Of the corridor. Not
one Of them spoke to him, but they all
spoke to each other.
"What does this mean?" cried Henry
Greig. "Do they all suspect me?''
"Harryl'
A soft white hand on his arm with a
kindly pressure. He turned and seized it
gladly.
"Elsiel Aren't you, too, going to follow
them?"
"Tell me first what it all means"
1t did not take long to put the girl into
possession Of the facts. Her face famed
red with indignation.
"And they dare to think that You would
do thing like that?"
"Well, = said Greig uneasily, "they found
the things there, you see. It's circum-
stantial evidence of rather an awkward
kind. But needn't tell you. Miss Nor
man.
"My name is still Elsie.'
"My dear grill needn't tell You that
I shouldn't dream of taking poor old Van
Straaten's diamonds or anybody else's."
81 am quite sure of that, Harry. must
see him about it's She repinned her straw
hat with decided air. "We two must
stand together now whatever happens"
''Elsie, hadn't you better let me fight 1t
out alone? The truth is nearly sure to
come out sooner or later, and"-
Gin the meantime, dear, you will have
to forget our stupid quarrel Of this morn
ing. was quite wrong"
$50 was l." said Greig promptly.
A man has no business to kiss girl as
she is ascending the gangway Of P. and
o. steamship. 1t has been done, no doubt,
on more than one occasion, but it Is nearly
always an act to be condemned by right
thinking people who have not had the
chance of committing the crime. Never
theless if it is at any time to be pardoned
it was in the instance in question.
tBut," said the astonished Mrs. Renton
to her companion, ~ thought you said,
my dear, that their engagement was all
off,
''She certainly said SO. Why she should
be so affectionate with him now after this
scandalous affair goodness only knows"
"Ah my dear, girls are queer creatures. !"
There were few hours of mixed feelings
for Mr.. Greig of the Eastern bank. 1t was
terrible to feel this suspicion hanging over
him, to watch the looks cast at him by the
passengers, to observe Mr.. Van Straaten' S
almost comic appearance of injury. On
the other hand it was delightful to feel
that close to him in this time of stress as
he sat on deck or strolled up and down
was a cheerful young person in her. very
best spirits. The bay meanwhile sympa-
theticalIy behaved in q manner quite ex-
emplary.
s3I am asdonished, my tear" said Mr..
Van Straaten severely, ''that you should
be friently with Mr.. Greig after what has
habbened alretty. I strongly advise you
to give him up You dold me you had de-
cided'-
GIVE changed my mind" she said def
nitely. "Women folk are not good at a lot
of things, but we do know how to change
our minds"
Mr.. Van Straaten lifted his hat and
turned away The old gentleman when he
was few PAGES off seemed agitated, SO
much SO that he had to pat his eyes gen
tly with his scarlet handkerchief. He
called to one of the sailors
''Dell my man Hans to come up in
stantly."
Much connection soon after the appear
ance of the stolid faced Hans. A rush to-
ward that part of the ship by all the pas
sengers on deck. Swift talking in Ger
man. Considerable temper on the part OF
Mr.. Van Straaten. Penitent words from
Hans.
'Mr Greig" cried the old German,
"come here directly. And Miss Norman.
Listen to this horreeble man of mine. l
hat lost also my hatbox. asked him
where it is, and he replies that he think
he blaze it by mistake in Mr.. Greig's CAB
in. Is it not SO, HansP'
Sorrowful acknowledgment from the
profusely penitent Hans. Mr.. Van Strait
en- raised his voice:
"Then say to him, is it possible that
YOU careless shcoundrel you placed also by
mistake the diamond box in Mr.. Greig S