The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1898-11-11
face to face with veda, the intended

10 my lEu uiTleS TcSdluiL5 M -
abouts ] received no information, ex-
ccnting q bit of her past history which
told me that she had belonged to
wealthy and influential family, and
that she had received finished educa-
ton. But reverses had come; her ia
Their had fallen a victim to q dreadful
vendetta, apd@she I'D finally been left
penniless orphan.
1 was deeply interested in her, but
no one could give me the slightest cle~
as to whittier she hadhed.
Still I had fingered about the places
1 used to sec her. Was 1 in love with
the little Corsican beauty?
Her face would come before my men
tai vision asleep or waking, bringing
a sweet sensation 1 had never before
experienced; and yet tried to dismiss
her from my mind.
/ sat smoking for some hours upon
the deck of the Penguin, watching the
yellow lights dancing in the romantic
little city, and drinking in the fresh,
sweet air of the night that stole up
from the Mediterranean.
It was about II o'clock when i
stretched myself upon the cot which
Muggins had placed upon the deck. l
fell asleep soon after, and dreamed or
Muggins' ghost.
It seemed that some strange pres
ence came to me-a woman, beautiful
beyond any dream; and just as l
reached out to touch her she vanished.
leaving only faint odor OF some
strange, sweet perfume. awoke sud-
denly with that inexplicable sensation
that sometimes tells us of the unseen
presence of another.
1 sat up and looked about me in
vague Ecwilderment. The moon had
risen out Of the sea and was flooding
the deck with it's mellow radiance.
AS my mind grew more composed !
detected subtle perfume on the night
air, the same that had come to me in
my dream.
Was it only the effect of my magma
ton? No: there could be no mistake
as to it's reality. Something white lay
at my feet; picked it up; it was del
icate piece of lace embroidered linen.
and exhaled the breath of perfume that
had Lciore greeted my senses.
While stood bewildered at the amaz-
ing circumstance, perceived a white
form emerge from the hatchway and
move forward, with a slow, gliding
movement.
I stood immovable, watching the fig
ure as it came toward me. AS it drew
near, I perceived that it was a girl, and
as the ,roonbeams fell on the pale face
] recognized it as belonging to Veda
Dorlos, the little fruit seller.
Her eyes.were wide open, and staring
vacantly ahead in way peculiar TO
the somnambulist. She was a sleep
walker! The thought came to me like
u flash. Yet, what could account for her
presence aboard the Penguin?
Without attempting to answer the
ruzZling question, I started toward the
figure, but as I did so, the sound of
something like the dropping Of an oar
iii a boat came from over the port. Then
a moment later the dark figure of a
woman-the same had seen making the
assault on the little fruit-seller-slippe
noiselessly over the rail. She paused for
{. moment to glance about the ship,
then, with a cry of rage that might
have proceeded from some wild ami
NAL in deadly combat she leaped upon
the unconscious girl, the blade of a
long knife glinting in the rays of the
moon. Reused to action by the sight of
the murderous intruder, I leaped
quickly forward, and, before the knife
descended to do its deadly work, l
caught the hand that held it.
But if reckoned on an easy victory
in suhluiny my adversary, I soon dis
covered my mistake, for the woman,
though aged to all appearances, seemed
to possess the strength of the strongest
man, and, finding herself foiled in her
murderous attempt, she turned upon
me with the fierceness of a panther.
Coming unexpectedly as the attack did,
it caught me off my guard, and before
I realized my peril, the hand that held
the knife was wrenchetf from my grasp;
then there was swift blow, a keen
pain in my shoulder as the blade en-
tered; then a mist gathered before my
eyes, and sank unconscious upon the
deck.
When my senses returned it was
broad daylight, and was lying on
cot in Muggins' cabin, the beautiful but
troubled face of Veda bending over me.
It was about week before I was
able to get ashore, and, though had
trained nurse from Bastia, Veda re-
fused to leave me entirely in the hands
OF another.
Well, in that week l had learned to
love the little Corsican beauty with
such an intense devotion that I could
not bear the thought of separation.
Her life had been. one of trials and
misfortunes. The old bag who had twice
sought the life of Veda was prevented
from taking my life by the timely ar
rival of Muygins, who had come over
to the vessel in his boat just before day
break to see how 1 was faring. Find
ing herself thwarted, she leaped into
the bay, and was drowned before she
could be rescued by Muggins.
She WAS the last Of the Bara1odo fam
lily, between whom and the Dorlos a
dreadful vendetta had existed, and it
was to escape the vengeance of the old
woman that Veda had slowed herself
aboard the Penguin, hoping to be car
ried to some foreign land, and thus es-
cape the violence and death that con-
stantly threatened her.
Veda and were married. and
month later sailed for America in the
Penguin with my old friend Can't.
Darke, who had returned and had the