Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-02-27

since she had begun to take passen-
gers aboard in the morning, and now
that the time of departure had ar
rived and we were leaving the landing
stage turned away to seek my cabin.
For many months large and in
creasing quantities of diamonds had
been struggled into the States, and
the authorities were in despair at
their inability to check the practice.
Thus it came about that / wa de-
puted to sail across the Atlantic in
n of the Liverpool boats that |
might endeavor to locate those con-
cerned during the voyage. Hardly
had | arrived in England than q ca
blegram reached me from my chief
directing me to take passage with the
Philistine, which he had reason to
believe was to be the scene of the
next attempt.
A hubbub of noise came from the
corridor. The occupants of the adj
joining stateroom were for the most
part excitedly talking and unpack-
ing luggage for immediate use. Sud-
denly the man who was moving about
just beyond my partition opened his
door and called for the steward,
Involuntary, l gave a slight start.
Something in that voice was familiar.
] listened carefully when next he
spoke, but, try as l would, / failed to
bring to mind the owners name. Per-
haps a glimpse of the man would
stimulate my memory. / rose from
my seat and stepped briskly outside,
almost colliding with him in my
haste.
His back was toward me, and 1 was
able to note his short, thick-set figure
supported on the right side by a
crutch, before he wheeled around SO
sharply as to lose his grasp of it. I
caught his arm, or he would have
fallen.
Excuse me- l said, alphabetically.
81 fear | startled you" And stoop-
ing | reached his crutch and replaced
it.
A slight smile chased away the an
CRY look which had first appeared
upon his dark features. "You We're
not at all in fault" he replied. IL
ought not to have attempted such a
thing as turning so quickly. l had
forgotten my affliction for the mo-
ment, and imagined | was as strong
as ever"
With that he hobbled back into his
cabin, closing the door with a snap
loud enough to suggest he was not
in the mood his words sought to con-
vey.
/ found that I had been placed at
the captains table at dinner. and,
upon taking my seat, discovered my
vis-a-vis to be the very man upon
whom my thoughts were centered. He
smiled and commenced chatting anna
bly,.
Il hope we shall have a pleasant
voyage" he said. "The weather seems
propitious."
| made some conventional reply.
"Have you friends on board with
you?" l inquired.
Not a single one. ] know it is
risky to cross the Atlantic in my con-
dition, but circumstances have forced
me to do it,"
just why suspicion of this man
should enter my head 1 cannot say,
but from that moment a growing
feeling that he was not altogether
honest in his p~rotestations took pos
session of me. | watched him keenly.
Every now and then he would glance
around the room as though in search
of someone, and an anxious look sur
mounted his face towards the end of
the meal. Evidently the person he
was searching for had not come to the
saloon. 1t being the first day out
many seats were vacant. But this
fact, perhaps, did not occur to him.
We went out together and up on to
the deck. That strange spirit of un-
rest still held him. With a muttered
apology he hurried off to find the
steward. In some eagerness / fol-
loWCu a. lltLlt way Dclilllu.
"Yes, sir" i heard the steward
say Mrs. Vanderton and her
companion are in No. 81"
''Then she is on board?" said Flctch-
er. With a curt nod he crossed to
where l was standing. I'm going
below, Mr.. Anderson. I always re-
tire early-doctor's orders, you know.
Good night"
"Now, what am / to Think" I COM
mmed with myself as he went down
below. "The man is not altogether
square First no friends; then he
asks after and is anxious about two
ladies. l think it will pay me to keep
an eye on him. Fletcher! / can't re-
member anyone of that name"
Later in the evening / had occasion
to visit my state room. L went so
quietly that my neighbor was ma
ware of how near | was to him. Con-
trary to his statement, he had not as
yet retired. 1 heard him walk across
the floor, and-yes, there could be no
gainsaying the fact--he was not using
the crutch.
We were within Sc hours sail OF
New York, and I was still in doubt as
to what course ! should take. Fletch-
er had given no further sign that he
was the man / wanted. Also, the two
ladies in whom he had interested me
had made their first appearance at the
dinner table that evening, and he had
not attempted to speak with them. In
fact, to me he seemed rather to avoid
them.
But that night was to reveal much.
7 had gone away from the crowd OF
passengers and found q seat in n OF