Evening star., 1901-04-27

till L hdd TO hurry DdCh TO lHe CO6iSl oilu
catch ship for Bombay 1t was pecu-
liarty of his that the laying out of pro-
gram meant. as q rule, sense or oDllSa-
tion to carry it through
Tom Darton went down to Liverpool to
see him off The Arab was not to sail till
g. So they lunched at the hotel, and were
as silent as old chums often are-they had
been at Woolwich tOgether-when a part
ing is at hand. Darton tried to tax OF
the people and doings they both remem-
hered; but it was no good. Then he no.
ticed a woman, quietly dressed IN some
sort of dark wooden stuff, and little nat
close fitting and soft, lunchlng alone at
the next table. She was thin and care
worn looking, even a little Insignificant at
the first glance, and not young-three OF
four and thirty, perhaps. There was some
thing pathetic about her. Ihere was d
haIf-hunted look in her eyes that arrested
attention.
Il think 1 have seen her before" Dar-
ton said her face seems to be famlilar
Wonder who she is?'
Sensible anyhow Travers answered;
Mutton chop and a glass of claret. l
can't stand a woman who has a poached
egg and cup of tea in the mlddle OF tlIe
day You may take it as a pretty saie
r,1Ie that she doesn't know much ana IS
tiresome" Then the talk drlfted into other
channels and the solitary woman was tor-
gotten. a.,,
Late in the afternoon when TraVers stooo
watching the shore retreating into the al
ready dim distance he saw the slim hgure
again She was leaning over the slde OF
the ship watching the distance, too with
an eager. thankful manner-for there was
no one near her and she imagined herselr
unobseryed. Travers looked at her for
| moment and wheeled round to retreat sud
denly the sprained foot gave way and he
went down. An expression of pain and
vexation escaped him; 1t was notifying to
measure his length at strange womans S
feet She turned quickly and put out
hand to help him, but 1t was unnecessary.
:, 'eLa nj 70
hurt" and her tone was half frightened,
half compassionate.
ITS nothing" he answered, thank you
very much. ! sprained my foot pretty bad
ly six weeks ago and ought to be more
careful"
"Of course you ought, a sprain is such a
slow thing TO recover from" Her voice
was deep and sweet; it seemed to burrow
it's way right into his heart; but his foot
was hurting and she saw it.
''Sit down and rest" she said, you are
| in pain. This floor is so slippery-stay. let
| me get you deck chair"
This will do quite we'll" He sat down
! gracefully on the seat along the bulwarks,
| while she remained standing beside him.
| They made me try the new dodge" he
| explained. walking. 1t is rather weak
| still: gives way at unexpected moments"
You ought to rest 1t we'll" she said, still
| compassionate. but You will be able to do
| that easily on board ship"
Il am only going far as Genoa. l
wanted 10 make my way from there over
| the St Gothard and do some walking"
1T won't be Safe she said, and looked
| up with an air of conviction that was i'm
| pressiVc- He saw that her eyes were gray,
| deep and clear. and that the haIf-hunte ed
| look of the morning had gone from them.
| You must not walk for a long time" she
| added, at least. not much" There was an
! irresistible magnetism about her: he felt
| 1t in every word she said.
| 1T Is great bore" he said and there
| was a pause Then suddenly he asked
| 'Dlun [ | luupHiDo
| Western today"
| Yes, | was there
| Are yon going far by this ship?"
| Ihere are some questions people are AL
| ways privileged to ask their fellow mas.
| sengers. pas
| ITO Naples"
The orange trees will be in bloom; but
| 1t doesn't do to stay there long-so IN.
| healthy" 81 oi'-
| Il am going to stay above it at posiIin.
| po.' she spoke. reluctantly
| i know Posilippo There's a little res
| taurant up there, where one goes to
| breakfast. you know" ~
Il don't know anything about it vet. she
| answered. distanuy. Il have never been
| there. She turned as if to go below tben
hesitated. You must be careful Of vn,,r vnu,
| foot. she said. Gould | fetch vo,, .
stuck, or give you an arm back 10 the
stairs. If you are going DOWN." He man
uesire IN 1t to strike up acquaintance
rather the reverse. She was evidently
merely doing her Christian duty toward p
| stranger. "
"oh, 1 shall manage all right" he said
gratefully. and she slowly went her way
| She doesn't look more than eight and
twenty twenty when she speaks" he thought.
Wonder who she is-probably a stroilins
| splnster. for he had noticed that she
wore no wedding ring on the third finger Of
! her left hand. Perhaps dissatisfied and
restless. as women of her age often are
| how i' so'i'e'
| An hour or two later when he sat down
| for the first time to dinner on board the
Arab, he found that his place was next
We are to be neighbors for whole
week" he said, unless you object?'
i am not likely to object WHY should
She was very unsophisticated. he tbousht
| People sometimes become yery intimats
| on BOARD ship in week, then say good-by
| ana usually never set eyes on each othe,
| again. l often watch them ON the 10
| out" "o'
DO you travel SO much. them"
| nave Deen to and fro a good deal
am soldier. Going back to India in Octo.
| ing she might give him some informal
| about herself. but she said nothing. He
/ noticed that she had a beautifully shaned
heao ana sort brown hair that grew close
| round her ears. and was coiled up yery sim.
| ply at the back. She looked up once. as 1,
| trying to take In the evidently novel scene
| about her. and he saw that the gray eyes
| had long. dark lashes. 1t was very odd
| about this woman. he thought; at firsi
| sight she seemed insignificant, then pradu.
| ally you felt that there was something al.
most beautiful about her: but her attrac.
tions came out slowly. and one by one, as
| stars in the twilight. DO you know sny
Of the people here?' he asked. simply te
| make talk. ~
Not a SOUL" she answered "I dom
want to know them," she added, half tt
| herself. -
Well. they are rather an ungodly-lookins
SET Most OF them win probably be in