Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-09-30

AS he spoke 4 white drill skirt nut
tered past the open stateroom door.
and caught a glimpse of an upturned
mustache beyond.
But is he the chap we have to deal
with? Won't the pearl be in the
purser's keeping?"
Raffies stood at the door. frowning
out upon the Solent. but for an instant
he turned to me with a sniff
My good fellow, do you suppose the
whole ships company knows there's n
gem like that aboard? You said that
/ il was worth 100000: in Berlin they
| say it's priceless doubt il the skipper
himself knows that Won Heumann has
| it on him.
And he has?"
Must have"
Then we have only him to deal
with?"
He answered me without a word.
Something white was fiuttering past
once more. and Rallies. stepping forth.
made the promenaders three.
do not ask to set foot aboard finer
steamship than the Uhlan of the Nord
! deutscher LLOYD, to meet kindiier1
I
| or better fellows than bis officers. This
much at least let me have the grace TO
admit hated the voyage. 1t was no
| fault of anybody connected with the
| ship; il was no fault of the weather,
which was monotonousiy ideal. Not
even in my own heart did the reason
| reside. Conscience and | We're di-
| vorced at last and the decree made
absolute. With my scruples had fed
| all fear, and / was ready to revel be-
| tween bright skies and sparkling sea
with the light hearted detachment of
Rallies himself. 1t was Rallies himself
who prevented me, but not RatfieS
alone. 1t was Raffies and that colo
| NAL mink on her way home from
school.
What he could see in her-but that
begs the question. or course he saw
no more than l did, but To annoy me.
| or perhaps to punish me for my lorS.
| detection. he must turn his back on
me and devote himself to this chit from
| Southampton to the Mediterranean.
They were always together. 1t was
too absurd. After breakfast they
would begin and go on until IL or II
at night. There was no intervening
hour at which you might not hear her
nasal laugh or his quiet voice talking
soft nonsense into her ear. OF course
| il was nonsense, Is It conceivable
that a man like Rallies. with his knowl-
edge of the world and his experience
of women-a side of his character upon
which have purposely never touched.
for it deserves another yolume-is it
credible, | ask, that such a man could
find anything but nonsense to talk by
the day together to ii giddy young
schoolgirl: ! would not be unfair for
the world. / think l have admitted
| that the young person had points. Her
eyes, l suppose. were really fine, and
certainly the shape of the little brown
face was charming. so far as mere
contour can charm. l admit also more
audacity than / cared about, with en-
| viable health, mettle and vitality. l
may not have occasion to report any
of this young lady's speeches 0hey
| would scarcely bear it,, and am there
! fore the more anxious to describe her
without injustice. l confess to some
| little prejudice against her. l resent
cd her success with Raffies, Of whom,
| in consequence, L saw less and less
each day. 1t is mean thing to have
| to confess, but there must have been
something not unlike jealousy ranking
| within me.
Jealousy there was IN another quar-
ter-crude, rampant, undignified jeal-
ousy. Captain Won Heumann would
curl his mustaches into twin spires.
shoot his white cuffs over his rings and
70.
less eyeglasses. We ought to have con-
soled each other, but we never ex-
changed a syllable. The captain had a
murderous scar across one of his
! cheeks, a present from Heidelberg. and
L used to think how he must long to
have Raffies there to serve the same.
1t was not as though Van Heumann
never had his innings. Rafies let him
go In several times day for the ma
licious pleasure of bowling him out as
he was getting set" Those were his
words when l taxed him disingenu-
ously with obnoxious conduct toward a
German on a German boat.
You'll make yourself disliked on
board"
by Won Heumann merely"
But Is that wise when he's the man |
we've got TO get next to-
The wisest thing 1 ever did. To |
have chummed up with him would |
have been fatal-the common dodge" |
1 was consoled, encouraged, almost |
content. / had feared Rallies was |
neglecting things, and I told him 80
In a burst Here we were near Gil |
braltar, and not a word since the So |
lent. He shook his head with a smile. /
Plenty of time, Bunny; plenty OF /
time. We can do nothing before we
get to Genoa, and that won't be till |
Sunday night. The voyage Is still
young and SO are we. Let's make the
most Of things while we can"
after dinnar mn tbo