Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-05-26

fingers to his lips and waited a kiss
out over the water.
Now she'll crush mew he cried to
himself regretting the rash act and
praying that she had not observed It.
Her handkerchief ceased futtering In
an instant. and. with sinking heart, he
realized that she had observed. There
was a moment Of indecision on the
part Of the fair one going out to sea,
and then the little finger tips Of both
hands went to her lips and his kiss
came back to him.
While he was still waving his hand
kerchief, debating savagely and Joy.
ously the wisdom Of the act. she be-
came part Of the distant color scheme.
The blue figure faded and blended into
the general tone and could no longer
be distinguished. She was gone. but
she had tossed him kiss from lips
that he should always see.
Uppermost in his bewildered mind
was the question. Why Is she not in
the passenger list? Acting on a sud-
den impulse. he again sought out the
clerk In charge and made most thor.
Ough inspection. There was no Gug-
genslocker among the names. AS last
resort he asked:
"They could not have sailed under
an assumed name. could they?"
81 can't say as to that Where are
they going!"
"Graustark."
But the young man shook bis head
slowly. Lorry's shaking In unconscious
accord.
"Are you sure that you saw the
young lady on board"
"Well, ratherp exclaimed Lorry en-
phatically.
81 was going to say there are a lot
of Italian and German singers on the
ship. and you might have been mistak-
en-. But since you are 30 positive 1t
seems very strange that your friends
are not on the list"
So Lorry went away discouraged and
with vague fear that she might have
been prima donna whose real name
was Guggenslocker, but whose stage
name was something more euphonious.
He instantly put away the thought
and the fear. She was certainly not an
opera singer-impossible He drove
back to bis hotel and made prepara-
tions for his return to Washington.
Glaucing casually over the register. he
came to the name that had been haunt.
ing him-Guggenslocker! There were
the names. "Caspar Guggenslocker and
four. Graustark." Without hesitation
he began to question the clerk.
"They sailed on the Kaiser wilhelm
today" said that worthy. '"rhats all
I know about them. They came yes
terday and left today"
Mr.. Grenfall Lorry returned to Wash
ington as in dream-a fairy dream.
The air of mystery that had grown
from the first was now an impenetra.
BILE wall, the top Of which bis curios-
ity could not scale. Even his fancy,
his Imagination, served him not There
was but one point on which he was
satisfied-he was in love. His own con-
dition was no mystery.
Through the long hot summer he
worked and worried and wondered.
He must know all about her! But
howi
The early months Of autumn found
him pale and tired and indifferent alike
to work and play. He found no pleas
ure in the sOciety that had known him
as a lion. The doctor told him he was
approaching nervous prostration. His
mothers anxious eyes could no longer
be denied, 80 he realized grtmly that
there was but one course left open to
him. He suggested 1t to the doctor, to
his mother and to his uncle, and they
agreed with him. 1t involved Europe.
Having fully decided again to cross
the sea, his spirits revived. He became
more cheerful. took an interest In things
that were going on, and by the time the
Kaiser Wilhelm sailed In September
was the picture Of health and life.
He was off for Edelweiss to the
strange Miss Guggenslocker who had
thrown him q kiss from the deck that
sailing day.