The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-05-18
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BY Will m. HArbep.
lcopyrisht. 1900. byA N. Kellogg Newspaper Col
CHAPTER VIII.

moment I land; but my letters, re-
member, must go to the box"
II shall simply haunt the place." he
declared.
They alighted from the cab and
walked along the pier through the
hurrying throng of cabmen, draymen.
passengers and people who had come
to see their friends of. Reaching
the gang plank, lowered for the ac-
commodation of the saloon passen-
gers, they saw Mrs. Nolan on the up
per deck leaning against tho railing
and trying to attract their attention.
Mrs. Goddard laughed merrily and
waved the bit of cambria she held in
her hand.
Lets go right up" she said to her
husband. II want you to see our big
rooms. You will agree with me that IL
u better to go in boat that is not
quite SO fast than to miss such quarters
- I have engaged"
beauty and stylish appearance had At
tracted from the bystandsrs had not
escaped his eye. His heart was beat
ing madly as he followed her up the
gangplank to the first deck. In mo-
ment they were shaking hands with
Mrs. Nolan. Goddard's handmade was
. mere cold formality. He now hearth
ly disNked his wife's homsly confsdsr-
ate. He despised her for being weak
enough to obey Jeanne's criminal or
ders; she had not, he argued, his own
excuse of being blindly in love. A. they
stood there he felt as If they were
three murderers passing before the
world as reputable, well-to-do citizens.
"Well, let me see your staterooms,"
he said, rssignedly.
'They are on this deck, the last
towards the STERN" said Mrs. Goddard,
leading the way. "In fact, there are
no other apartments up here except the
captains, and his quarters are further
forward. We shall be absolutely pri-
vate."
They had now reached . door to
which Mrs. Nolan had the key, and
they unlocked 1t and went In. It was
indeed a spacious apartment. In add
ton to the wide double bed, the room
contained soft lounge, q tea table and
china service, and little sidsboard
braced against the wall. Adjoining II
were a bath and single-berth room.
Here" said Mrs. Goddard, opening
the door of closet about yard in
depth, sis the gem of modern improve
ments. l can hang up my things and
they will keep dry and smooth. Be-
sides, the purser said there were but
two keys to it, and he has promised to
let me have both of them, for security's
sake"
"Here they are" said Mrs. Nolan, tim
Idly, and she cringed under Goddard's
sudden gaze. Gle gave them to me Just
now.''
Mrs. Goddard laughed mysteriously.
II told him | had some valuable
things which | did not care to keep in
the safe in the Office, and he assured me
they would be absolutely safe in my
closet"
The brows Of the major ran together
in perplexity.
what is at the bottom of this?" he
said. "What sort of valuables do YOU
refer to?'
The woman addressed shrugged her
shapely shoulders. =
"lour photograph. dear Rowland"
she said. 81 must not let it be stolen.
! can't deposit such thing in the
ships safe, you know, and yet want
1t with me, of course. But-now re-
member, if there ever is anything
which you cannot comprehend fully,
think of this closet and it's two key.
and the puzzle will be solved"
You are SO strange" he said, try.
Ing to fall into her mood. Just then
one of the deck hands came in with
Mrs. Nolan's steamer trunk and small
er luggage. y large willow basket to
which was attached card bearing
the advertisement of well-known
delicatesscn establishment riveted the
rowing glance of the major. Noting
his curious stare at it, Mrs. Nolan
moved nearly to the door and stood
looking out at the Gathering machines
which were hosting vast loads OF
trunks and boxes from the pier below.
ut is only basket of fruit or
dered Lucy to get for me-" said Mrs.
Goddard, her face suddenly changing.
II always find that it is difficult ia
get just the right kind of fruit one
wants on board, no matter how good
the supply is"
: "But," said the major, bending down
and removing the cover, they must
have made some mistake. This has.
ket does not contain fruit. There Ger.
tainly are cans of meats, sardines,
pate de foies gras and rolls Of boned
turkey. They have sent you the
wrong basket"
Mrs. Goddard laughed uneasily.
'Well, I may as we'll acknowledsv
that it is something to eat. I did
not want you to know that I could
have such ravenous appetite aftez
parting with you; but tho truth il
the sea air keeps me hungry I'll thu
time. I want to eat at night whes
It doesn't look respectable to make
demands on the ships larder. Now,
come out on deck. 1t is stuffy in hera
The air will not be stirring till W.
get out Of the harbor.'
Not fully satisfied with her Hurried
explanation, he followed her out on
the deck, and he dismissed the sub.
ject as unworthy of comment at such
an important moment. They strolled
along the deck, now holding so or 50
-