St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-02-25
would conade in you," he added gal

| ldutly.
THAT key?" q
Belongs to my own private desk
where l keep my love letters" sait
the captain, lying promptly. LET ms
introduce my young brother to you
countess he continued, as an ex
tremely good looking boy approached
theEa, whose white patch on his collal
betokened his rank of midshipman. !,
II shall be delighted! Your brother
; is an officer on board also? How mic.
for you both! A lieutenant, I sup
poseo'" she said, smiling sweetly al
young St. Aubyn, who was immensely
f1attered.
At that moment, however, the count
came up and intimated to his sistel
that it was time for them to return tC
the shore. He was handsome man
clean shaven, and not unlike st. Auby1
in height and build; indeed, oddly
enough, even his features were SINH
lar.
II must thank you heartily for a
pleasant morning" he said to the cap
tain in excellent English. will you
give me the pleasure of your company
at dinner tomorrow night? We are
staying at the Great Britain"
The officer was about to demur when
he caught sight of the girls blue eyes
fixed anxiously upon him.
Thank you; l shall be delighted!'
he answered quietly-"that is, if you
will not mind my coming in uniform,
as l am going to ball." he added hest
tatingly.
mot in the least!" replied the count
heartily. 1--WE shall be all the more
complimented-shal we not, Vera?"
Vera assured the captain that it was
so; and after impressing upon st. Au-
byn the dinner hour at the hotel
brother and sister babe him good-by
| and left the cabin with their friend,
| the officer who had invited them on
| board.
Il don't like that Russian Johnnie,
Phil" remarked Cecil st. Aubyn, as he
watched the guests departure in a
boat.
| why not? He seems pleasant
enough fellow" observed his brother
carelessly.
| 20, he asked jolly sight too many
| questions for my taste! But he got
precious little change out of me, you
bet! It's my private opinion the mans
a spy" said the boy, turning and con-
fronting the captain.
what rot you TALK" returned st.
Aubyn irritably. Because a man is
intelligent and desires to improve his
mind does it necessarily follow that
he must be spy? Really, Cecil,
think l am quite capable of managing
my own affairs. You had better clear
out il you cannot talk sense" said the
captain stiff1y, his brow darkening
ominously.
The following day, having some oc-
casion to hold official intercourse with
the officer who had invited the visit
ors off to church, st. Aubyn remarked
casually:
See you at the Zullenoffs tonight,
suppose, SMITH"
The officer in question looked slight
ly uncomfortable.
"No, SIR he replied quietly.
"Why, how's that? It's rather i'll
bred of the man to leave you out of the
invitation"
''Well, to tell you the truth. sir, /
really know little about the cullen
OFFS" the lieutenant began, hesitating-
ly. Perhaps it was indiscreet of me
to invite them here. met the man
and his sister at Spezzia Which, was
there last year with the feet, and I
encountered them again day or two
ago in the Strada Reale, when the
count asked me point blank tc invite
them off to the Ship.
"Well, they seem pleasant people,"
said the captain, indulgently. "Espe-
cially the GIRL he added, as if by an
afterthought.
Eyes, especially the girl" reiterated
the lieutenant, respectfully.
That evening the captain of the Ire
mendous, with his boat cloal: thrown
over his ball uniform, left the ship in
his galley and was landed at the GUS
tom house steps. Stepping into one of
the small carriages, which were uhi-
quitous, and whose noisy drivers piled
necessarily for hire, he was driven
rapidly in the direction of the hotel.
Two hours later the officer of the
watch was surprised at his return to
the ship in Maltese waterman's boat.
He went to meet the captain at the
gangway, touching his cap as he did
so, and the latter, upon stepping on to
the quarter deck, returned the salute,
and, muttering that he had forgotten
something, dived down to his cabin.
It was dark night, but the officer saw
the captains face quite plainly by the
flash of lantern. His peaked cap,
with the gold oak leaves, was drawn
well over his forehead, and his face
was pale and strange. Happening to
encounter Cecil st. Aubyn few mo-
ments later the lieutenant informed
him of his brothers return.
That's rummy, sir" said the boy,
opening his eyes wide. "He was going |
on to the gunners' ball after he had
dined with some friends. wonder
what's up?"
"He said he had forgotten some
thing; but he certainly did not look |
well. Perhaps you had better go be-
low and see if he requires anything"
The boy waited no second bidding, |
but ran quickly down the after ladder. |
Unceremoniously he burst into the |
fore cabin, which, however, was empty. |
But there was a light in the after one,