, 1905-02-15

was, he said. very trying. Mr.. Croys-
dale silently wondered if he should
find the glare as trying as he did Ma
ior Norman. And perhaps Miss Town
ley guessed what was in his mind. for
she looked first at him. then at Major
Norman. and gave a quiet little laugh.
Both men looked at her; neither of
them was smiling. Godfrey Croysdale
wondered If that laugh meant that she
had already decided the question which
was in her mind. And that is precisely
what Major Norman wondered also.
Then the steam launch screeched like
a sea eagle. and the last passenger for
the shore, Godfrey Croysdale by name,
hurried down the steps and into the
boat.
When about twenty yards from the
side of the Amazon. steaming ashore,
he looked up to the spar deck. He saw
that Ellice Townley was there, lean
ing over the bulwarks, watching the
progress of the launch, and by her side
was Major Norman. Major Norman
also seemed to be interested in the de-
parture of the boat. Godfrey felt that
he never wished to see Major Norman
again.
Godfrey Croysdale had been Il true
lover for close upon ten days. He was
the first bowler of the cricket team
which Lord Glastonbury was taking
out to the West Indies. He had come
aboard the Amazon with his heart
full of cricket, and now he was leav-
ing the ship to play the first match at
Barbados with his heart full of love.
A happy accident, as he thought, had
placed him on the first day of the
voyage by the side of Miss Townley,
who was setting out with her father
a two months winter lodging tour
of the West Indies. The ship had
scarcely got out of soundings before
he became aware of the fact that he
loved her as he had never before loved
a girl, and he had done a pretty fair
amount of loving in his time. Only on
the evening previous to the arrival of
the steamer at ~Barbados-the moon
was very nearly at the full, and Their
was IA great amount of phosphores-
cence in the calm water-had he sur
prised her, as he thought, by a dec
laration of his love.
She had listened and had actually
seemed quite interested i'll it all, but
then she had firmly assured him that,
while she had always liked him in the
800, - fnfa,,lGhitn eha nnI111 mot anl-
scientiously say that she could at a
moments notice think of him as a low
er; she would not go so far as to say
that it was impossible that she could
ever do so. but still-well, the fact re-
the same, that, although she
fast bowler for some years, she had
him personally for less than a
fortnight. Yes, she certainly admitted
that she liked him very much indeed,
and perhaps
There was no doubt In Geoffrey's
mind that Major Norman was over
head and ears in love with Ellice. Just
like his impudence, Godfrey thought.
The idea of an old fool like Norman
he must have been thirty-siX if he was
a day-fancying hat Il girl like Ellice
Townley would think for Il moment of
such Il crock as he was preposterous.
Godfrey made up his mind that he
would keep an eye on Norman as long
as he could.
1t was impossible for him to think
with any degree of pleasure upon Ma
jor Norman's sitting by the side of Ell
lice Townley during the remainder of
the cruise among the islands. This
privilege was, of course denied TO
Godfrey himself owing to the fact of
having to leave the Amazon in or
der to play at Barbados. The Amazon
was going on her tour through the
northern islands as far as st. Thomas,
collecting the mails. and would be
back at Barbados in Il fortnight, and
Godfrey would by that time have
returned from playing in the matches
at Grenada and Trinidad he would
have an opportunity of learning from
her own lips if his hopes had any
of being realized.
Critics said that he had never bowled
more viciouSly than he did the next
day when he took seven wickets of the
local team for forty-eight runs. If
the captain of his team could but have
known it he would have encouraged
all his bowlers to have love affairs of
considerable dubiousness.
Godfrey did not do quite so we'll at
the match at Grenada, for by that time
he had begun to think less harmfully
OF Major Norman. At Trinidad. how
ever, he fancied he noticed in the crack