Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-08-04

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licious-she said: 'Ill tell you what it is
I should not be at all surprised to hear
that she was engaged, and has been en-
gagged for any length of time"
He was struck silent by this fierce
suggestion; it bewildered him for a Sec
ond or two. Then he exclaimed:
"Oh, that is absurd-perfectly absurd!
l know she is not"
1T would be a joke" continued his
sister, with a sardonic smile, IF that
were the explanation of the wonderful
friendliness that puzzles you so much. If
she is engaged, of course she has no fur
Their care or embarrassment. Everything
is settled. She is as frank with Dick as
with Tom and Harry. Oh, Archie, that
would be a joke"
They were away from the land-per-
haps even forgetful that such n thing ex-
listed. 1t seemed quite natural to get
up morning after morning to find around
them the same bright, brilliant monotony
of white-crested blue seas and sunlit
decks and fair skies; and each day pass
ed with the usual amusements; and then
came the still moonlight night, with all
Its mysterious charm and loneliness. 1t
was a delightful life-especially for the
Grahams and Winterbournes, who were
going nowhere in particular, but had
come chiefly for the voyage itself. And
1t was a life the very small Incidents of
which excited interest, simply because
people had plenty of time to consider
them-and each other.
There was no doubt that Yolande had
become a pretty general favOrite; for she
found herself very much at home; and
she put aside a good deal of that reserve
which she assumed in travelling on land.
These people could in no sense be con-
sidered strangers; they were all too kind
to her. The ships officers brought her
the charts out of the chart room, to show
her how far the vessel had got on her
course. The captain allowed her to go
on the bridge, and gave her his own glass
when a distant sail was to be seen. And
the young soldiers, when they were not in
the smoking room, and when they were
not picking up rope quoits for Mrs. Ora
ham, had an eye on the many starved
birds f1uttering about, and when they
could they caught one and brought it
to Miss Winterbourne, who was glad to
take the wild-eyed, fluttering wanderer
down into the saloon and put its beak
for a second or two into a glass of fresh
water. Once or twice Yolande caught
one of these swallows.
Day after day passed without change.
The young Master of Lynn very dill
gently, and with a Jacob-like modesty
and patience, strove to win Yolande's
regard; but although she was always
most friendly toward him and pleased
to chat with him, or walk the hurricane
deck with him, she seemed to treat him
precisely as she treated any of the 9TH
ers. II there was one whom she espe-
cially favored, 1t was Col. Graham,
whose curt, sardonic speeches amused
her.
At last they arrived at Port Said, that
curious, rectangular-streeted, shanty-built
place, that looks like Cheyenne painted
pink and white; and of course there was
much wonder and interest in beholding
land again, and green water, and the
swarming boats with their Greeks and
Maltese and Negroes and Arabs, all in
their various costumes. But it was with
a far greater interest that they regarded
the picture round them when the vessel
had started again, and was slowly and
silently stealing away into the wide and
lonely desert land, by means of this wat
er highway. The Suez canal had been
rather a commonplace phrase to Yolande;
mixed up with monetary affairs mostly
and suggestive of machinery. But all
this was strange and new; II the vessel
was going so slowly that the engines
were scarcely heard; she seemed to glide
into this dream-world of silver sky and
far-reaching wastes of. yellow sand. 1t
was so silent, and so wide, and so lone
ly. For the most part the horizon line
was a mirage: and they watched the con-
tinual undulations of the silver-white
waves; and even the strange reflections
of what appeared to be islands; but here
there was not even n palm to break the
monotony of the desert-only the little
tamarisk bushes dotting the sand. From
a marsh a red legged famingo rose, slow
ly winging it way to the south. Then
a string of camels came along with for
understanding heads and broad, slow
pacing feet; the Bedouins either perched
on the backs of the animals or striding
through the sand by their side, their
faces looking black in contrast to their
white wide-flowing garments. And so
they glided through the silent, gray,
silver world.
The night saw another scene. They
were anchored in another part of the
canal, where the banks were high and
steep; and the moonlight was surpass-
ingly vivid. On one Of these banks-it
seemed a great mountain as it rose to the
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