The Opelousas courier., 1905-07-15

Az" AoLLludi, DIiBSS iHlell1SelCt
which, If true, will be of deep import
to the members of the Geographical
society. The news concerns Arthur
Marquand, who went out to Africa
with the Jarvis Hook expedition ten
years ago, was lost In the jungle and
has never been heard from since. The
Clos captain declares that Maruuand
has been held in captivity by a tribe
of Somalis and succeeded not long
since in escaping. Capt. Davidson's in
formation comes through 5eVeral
hands, but as near as can be made out
M%arquand, If 1t was he, made his way
to the coast and constructed a rude
craft, on which he fearlessly embarked
amid the breakers and was picked up
by some vessel, name and destination
unknown. Of course a report of this
sort is very vague, and the only raa-
son for supposing the man to be Mar
quand is that this person was a white
man and camca III. point somewhere
near the scene Of ~bIarquand's disap>
pearance. The arrival of ships from
Southeast Africa at both English and
American ports will be attended with
Unusual interest during the next few
! weeks.
Arthur Maryland Was a native Of
Massachusetts and was the youngest
member of the Jarvis Hook expedition,
being only t~wenty-three when he sailed
with it. 1t will be remembered that
the expedition returned four years
later with some important data for the
Geographical society and with the loss
OF five mon out of the original sixteen,
four of them by fever and one-this
Marquand-by disappearance.
The foregoing item, printed among
the foreign dispatches in a Boston pa
per, was read with varying degrees of
interest by those under whose notice
1t came. But as it was not tucked
away at the bottom Of the column,
seemingly in the capacity Of a ~"fllle@,"
1t did not make a very deep impression
on the general public.
But there was one home where it was
read with eyes that seemed to devour
the words as a famished man devours
bread. This home was a stately man
sion in a Massachusetts, town; the
reader was a woman past her youth,
but still beautiful. Around her were
all the accessories of comfort and lux
ury that wealth could supply; but her
gown was somber and on her face,
family ~perceptible even through its
lines of beauty, were traces of suffer
Ing.
She was sitting at a dainty breakfast
table. She had picked UP the paper
laDguidly as IL impelled to glance over
1t by custom rather than desire. 1t
was by the purest chance that she had
happened to notice the item already
quoted.
When she had read it through with
bosom heaving and fingers that had
suddenly become so nervous that the
sheet slipped from them and fell with
a rafting of paper to the floor, her
lips parted and she gave n cry:
Arthur"
Her companion at the table was a
several years younger than her
self. While waiting for the hostess to
give the signal to rise she had been
idly toying with her coffee spoon and
watching two coquetting robins
and ran around to kneel beside
her friend and peer with terror-strick-
eyes into the face that had grown
suddenly pale.
"Rose! Rose!" she called. what
Is it? What has happened?"
The other opened her eyes, stretched
put her arms, and as the younger Wom-
IN allowed herself to be folded into
their embrace for an instant, the first
"Oh, Arthur is alive. l know It is
ne. l always knew that he was not
lead, that he would come back"
Rose Marquand leaned over and
picked UP the newspaper. Her hands
we're trembling. She could not find the
place. Then she gave it up and folding
1wendoIin in her arms ono more pro-
.eeded to laugh and cry in The fashion
most women have when their emotions
ire deeply reused.
For Rose was Arthur M%arquand's
wife, true to him during all these years
# separation and silence, a silence that
,erchance some women would have
onstrued as synonymous with death.
But Gwendolin's eyes were not blind
ID by lovelight. Rose was her oldest
riend; they had been schoolgirls to-
and she had recently come to
make a long visit to the lonely woman =
Who had refused to be wholly COM
orted for her loss. Now, when Gwen
!olin had read the item and knew the
cry slender basis on which the hope
( Arthur's return rested, she felt that
a some way she must contrive to pre-
emit the wife from building too lofty a
uperstructure on this frail foundation.
But she might as well have attempt .
d to extinguish the source Of the sun
hine that was pouring in at the win
ow. Rose was already excitedly turn
1g the paper this way and than in
earch of the marine news. +.
Look, look here, Gwen!' she cried
fter a moment, pointing triumphantly
!, a single line in diminutiye type. .
It was under the heading Port of :
lew York. and read simply: :
Bark Juno (Ba.), Stevens, Zanzi-
ar, April IL, with ivory to C. F. :
rote; vessel to master" ,
Don't you see, Gwen!" cried the
Apply woman. "He may have come ;