Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-02-04
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he must have heard and understood her
pleadings.
And so it happened that till long
after midnight the child lay wide eyed
and awake, listening to that steady.
measured tread upon the upper deck.
Strange and sad and eventful had been
that young life thus far. What strange,
new thing had fate in store for her now?
The Idaho dropped anchor at San
Lucas and put off passenger and took
on the mails-two bags, with TANKS as
fiat as the sandy strand on which the
long, white line of breakers beat in
ceaseless, soothing melody. The broad,
blue ocean glistened under the sunshine
of another day, and late in the after
noon one or two pallid and attentuated
shapes were aided to the deck, where
Pancha had been reclining ever since
noon, and the captain had come and
rallied her upon her big, pathetic eyes
and hollow cheeks and coaxed her to
promise to play her guitar that even
ing, and the purser had been polite, and
the stewardess had brought up an appe-
tizing lunch, and Colonel Turnbull had
put in an appearance toward shutdown
"A grewsome face was his-and all this
time Mr.. LOring was either briskly
pacing the deck or reading in a shelter
ed nook back of the purser' S cabin, but
never once did he address her or intrude
upon her meditations. Pancha's spirits
and courage-Or was it innate cOquet-
ry?-began to ferment. That evening
no fewer than five passengers appeared
at table, though all five did not remain
through the several courses.
That evening Pancha was again tuck
ed in her chair, and Cousin Inez was
aided from her room and placed beside
her, and very attentive was Mr.. Tray
nor. the purser, though fair 1nez was
but languid and unresponsive still and
kept her veil about her face, and Colo
mel TurnbuIl came and poured cham
payne for both with lavish hand and
vowed it w specific against further
assaults of the salty seas, and still Mr..
Loring never spoke a word. With the
sparkling sunshine of yet another day
the little maid was early on the shining
deck, fresh from its matutinal ablu-
tons, and there was Loring taking his
early exercise, striding up and down,
up and down, and drinking in the glori-
Gus, inYigorating sea air, but even now
he came no nearer, and she who feared
at first to venture to her accustomed
seat lest he might take advantage Of
her solitude and come and ask things
or say things she could not bear to hear
finally sidled along one side while he
was patrolling the other, made her tim
id way to the stern and stood there
clinging to the flagstaff and became alb /
sorbed in the rush of foaming, boiling |
waters unrolling a gradually narrowing
streak of dazzling white through the |
blue green waste of pillows, all spar
Killing in the slanting sunshine.
Wheeling in tapping circles over
head, skimming the crested waves, set
thing down and lazily floating on the
heaving flood, so many dots of snow |
upon the sapphire, the flock of gulls /
sailed onward with the ship, white !
scavengers of the sea, and sometimes
dropped so close to the rail on wide ex-
tended wing that Pancha could plainly /
see the eager little red beads of eyes, !
could almost bury her soft cheek in the |
thick plumage of their feecy breasts |
Away out toward the invisible coast /
three master was bowling along under I
full speed of canvas, and midway be- |
tween some huge black fish were plung |
ing through the swelling brine. Early |
as it was the deckhands had cast astern !
the stout trolling line, and far in their
wake the spinning, silvery bait came
leap;ng and flashing from the north
ward slope of each succeeding wave, |
and Pancha, who had seen the previous |
day dolphin hauled in to die in swift
~ changing, brilliant hues upon the
deck, tested the taut lanyard with her
slender fingers, wondering whether she
alone could triumph over the frantic
struggles of the splendid fish, or what
she would do if she found she could not.
1t was an hour to breakfast time.
Only LOring and herself had yet ap-
peared on deck, and she stole a peep at
him. There he was tramping up and
down, as though he had to finish a
thousand laps within a given time and
stood at least hundred laps behind.
-Four days earlier the child looked with
terror to the posi- bility of his even
drawing near her. Now she was begin
ming to wonder if he never would again.
Five days before she could have sobbed
her heart out, praying not to be subject
ed to the possibility of his asking her
question. Now she was wondering if he
did not even care to ask, if indeed she
WOuIu ever nave cOanC6 TO tell.
She did not know, poor little maid,
that late the previous evening, after
consultation between TurnbuIl and Lor-
ing, the latter had asked Mr.. Traynor
to place a packet of his within the safe.
and that then and there Traynor had
permitted him a peep at the valuable
parcel to be delivered to EscaIantes'
representative in San Francisco. Loring
had been allowed to ''heft'' it in his
hand, to curiously study the seals and