The Washington times., 1901-09-15

same time compelled his admiration
The strange pair reached Fades cottage
and met his landlady at the door
Mrs Day said he, seeing miscon-
struction written large on the good wo-
mans face. this lady has been out IN the
storm all night and is Ill. l have recoiii-
mended your house to her, anu assuFeu
| her of comfort and attention
| This diplomatic effort did not fail of ef-
feet. and in n few minutes Mrs. Day had
| led the girl to a room. lighted flre, ana
mt her to bed with her own hands
In the meantime Fades strolled over the
| cliffs to the bay in which the kordofan
had been wrecked. He had tried to thrust
the disaster from his mind, and destiny
!, not TO be SO treated, had cast up an inter-
esting reminder at his feet. 1T Is piain'
said Fades to himself. that the kordofan
is true female and cannot endure ne
glect Very well. my dear, have II your
own way | will oblige your ladyship-
He clambered down to where a group OF
fishermen and coast guards clustered on
the shore.
Got any survivors," he enquired brisk
ly in the tone of one asking ANY sport?'
mo. sir. not one." said big coast
guard gravely. "The boats have picked
up forty-two bodies. but not one living
soul. No man could have swum in last
| nights sea- and the ships boats went
down with her There won't be nobody
saved now
"Oh, won't there?'' said Fades. He had
opened his mouth to confound the coast
guard when a swift thought struck him
tspeechless Until that moment he had not
known what prize lay sleeping under his
roof. If his ungrateful young discovery Of
that morning really proved to be the sole
survivor of the wreck she had a literally
golden story to tell. And to Fades fairly
belonged the gold.
Shivering with anxiety. the journalist
hastened back to his cottage. IF l had
suspected what scoop she was" he NUT
tered inhumanly, I'd have interviewed
her right there on the groyne."
Short as had been the time since he had
set out, he greatly feared lest Mrs. Day
had already gratified her feminine instinct
by giving away his precious and exclusive
news.
The lanadlady came quickly to his bell.
How is the young lady?" asked he. His
voice shook. and Mrs. Day at once put
her own Interpretation upon his anxiety.
''She is sleeping nicely, sir. Such a bon
ny lamb she looks. too. But really. sir,
you ought to have told me she was COM
ing
| HOW was L 10 KNOW lie Hdu nut
yet taken in the Importance of her words.
Il don't know who should IL you didn't"
Then he understood. This incom-
parable Mrs. Day had no suspicion what
ever that the girl had come from the
wreck. She had formed her own short
sighted theory, and Fades was far too
pleased at her lack of perception to trou-
bic about her Indifferent faith In his NOR
/ ais. There was plenty of time coming in
which to display the beautiful whiteness
of his character.
Don't be absurd" he said complacent-
ly. Il met the young woman by accident
and recommended your rooms out of
passing kindness"
Yes, SIR she said, and went away un-
convinced.
All that day Fades did sentry duty in
the little garden of his cottage, jealousy
watching over his unconscious treasure.
He entertained himself by reading all the
newspapers which had printed his tele-
| grams of the night before, and by con-
verting the hundreds of halfpence into
; pounds sterling In the evening the girl
was still asleep, and Fades ventured to
make a reconnaissance into the village.
Here he learned that no rival survivor
: had been recovered. and If he pretended
to no sorrow let him not be written down
heartless brute. There limits even
, | to the pretence of virtue.
S The next morning Fades addressed him
self to his landlady.
rs the young woman still in bed?' he
asked.
mo, sir. She got up. though she is but
poorly. She Is lying on sofa in her
roon.''
please give her my compliments. and
1 | hY,Sf nj
: urgent Importance"
she says you may come up said Mrs.
Day. returning. But she seems queer
l. All she said was, who is Mr.. Eades? Is
he passenger? Send him along"
Ii Now. Mrs. Day., cried Fades looking
round for his notebook and pencil. please
Il come upstairs. l want you to chaperon
II me, for l am a modest man. 1t will be
: worth your while"
l. Then the need for secrecy having be
e come less pressing, he explained the sit
uation to the woman and promised hel
u an all-compelling sovereign If she would
keep silence until the morrow.
l. ''I can't do it, sir. unless 1 stop in al
T. day and see nobody. Flesh and blood
: amt equal to IT..
+" Then stop in all day." returned the In
domitable journalist
IL in the discreet wake OF the landlady. Sh'
!" was lying propped up on sofa, and he
ewes were closed. Fades handed Mrs Day
n to a chair. sat down himself. and opened
- his notebook.
l. Madam" he cried, may 1 ask you
u name?"
VI Laura Courtenay." murmured the girl
without opening her eyes, Laura Cour
tenay, spinster, aged twenty three, chile
stewardess in the steamship Kordofan
e. 5000 tons, registered 100 Al at Lloyd's.'
~ The poor deari' gasped the sympa
thetic Iandlady. the poor dear. And
~ thought all sorts of horrid things abou
her"
T. Miss Courtenay," said Fades. 81 viii
ask you some questions, and you will d
:" me great service by answering them"
She lay silent.
'u How was the Kordofan lost?"
% She turned he eyes. heavy with sleer
and looked at him without sign of Tecog
! nition Then she closed them again an
80 began to speak. He interrupted once G
twice at first to ask question, but 500
~ the pace grew too hot. and all his ski
ie was called for to set down her exac
-, words on paper. He remembered after
- wards, though he had no leisure Tor re
a. Election at the time, that she seemed |
~ :. be a mere human phonograph, giving ou
" without sign of interest a story VII
which she was charged.
When at last she stopped Fades aros'
~ closed his book, and went away.
Ill
II, For the full story Of how the Kordofa