Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-13
CHAPTER VII.
Success and Failure.

| CHAPTER VII.
Success and Failure.
/ When I left the ONCE al noon next day
took cross-town car. which eventually
| landed me at the foot of West 10th street
| where the red and black steamers of the
| Quebec line load and unload their West
| Indian cargoes. There were other lines ply
| ing to Martinique. but none with arrivals
| which Appropriated the date given me by
Cecily. as l had found by reference to
file OF the Maritime Gazette. OF the Que
bee fleet. the Parma had arrived on Feb
ruary Il. and had sailed again on the 9Th
| of March. A reference to the paper of the
| day before showed me that she had just
| arrived in port again. There. sure enough.
she was. drawn up beside the dock. while
two noisy donkey. engines putting
away at the task of lifting great barrels of
sugar from her hold. l hunted up the
| purser without delay.
| May l see your passenger list for your
lest trip north?' ! asked: 1.-THE trip before
this one"
4 Certainly, he responded and pro-
duced 1t.
1t was not a long one, and In a moment l
rad found what | was looking for. Victor
Irema:ne and wife were fifth on the list
But no III Thompson appeared there.
| However. l had a last resource-I had
scarcely expected to find him entered
among the passengers
| capt. Hake has gone over to his home
on Long Island for a day or two" answer
ed the purser. The first officer. Mr.. Grice.
| is forward. experimenting the unloading
| Ihank you, l said. and hurried up to
| the deck. l found Mr. Grice without diff
Guilty. tall. blond young man. with eyes
OF cerulean blue. Can you spare me a
moment 1 asked, after l had introduced
| myself.
why guess so. What is ito"
| did you ever see this man before? and
| produced the photograph Godfrey had
! given me.
We'll. 1 should say SOL he cried at the
first glance. And 1 hope I'll never see
him ag'in. Thompson his name is. and we
shipped him at Barbados in place of one
Of our men who deserted there. He didn't
have decent rag to his back, so we fitted
him up with some old things out of the
| slOp-chest."
| 1 nodded: that explained the different in
itials marked on his clothing.
He only shipped as far as st. Pierre.
continued the mate; but after we'd got
| there, he changed his mind and come on to
New York. What's he been doin? Gettin'
into more trouble? He's not been out of
jail mOre'n three or four weeks
| "Out of jail?''
"Yes-he was a regular fiend for booze.
though we didn't find it out until after We
left ST. Pierre. Where he got it l don't
know-he didn't have any money t buy it.
that's sure. I've kind o thought one of the
passengers must "a give it to him. though l
can't imagine why. But anyway. he was
half drunk three fourths of the time and
dead drunk the other fourth. We'd find
him layin' in his berth and we'd yank him
out and drop him into a tub of water He'd
sober up quicker n any man l ever see.
but he was never satisfied unless he had
pint or two inside him. When we tied up
at the wharf here he got awful bad-want-
ed t go ashore right away-fought the cap
tain when he wouldn't let hira. The cap.
tain handed him over to policeman. and
he got twenty days on the island.
I
so long after Tremaine In putting in an
appearance at the Marathon.
Lets see the picture" he added, and
looked at it more closely. That's the very
son-of-a- gun. What's the matter with him.
anyway? Asleep? Drunk. more likely
| No 1 said, hes dead
| Dead? Drank hisself to death. hey?'
mo; somebody murdered him"
"Oh, shucks, What'd anybody want to
murder him for? Most likely he was tryin
to kill somebody else and got dose of his
| THAT may be- assented; and, indeed.
the suggestion not without its merits.
| We've been trying to find out something
| about him. Can you tell us anything?
| mot a thing moren I've told you. He
was on the bum down there in Barbados
for sure
DO you think the captain would know
anything more!
and good radiance. I'll bet he didn't get
any rnore'n was comm to him."
back to his work. while sought the shore.
On the way back to the office, L turned
the mates story over in my MIND. IL h1d'
at least. served to establish one thing-a
connection, however slender, between
Thompson and Tremaine. 1t was evident
that Thompson had intended joining IRE
maine at st. Pierre, but when he found
him embarking on the Parma, stayed with
the vessel so that they might reach New
York together. That 1t was Tremaine who
had supplied the other with spirits on the
voyage north l did not doubt: Thompson
then, had some claim upon Tremaine-a
claim perhaps OF friendship, of associa-
, ton in crime claim. doubtless. to which
those missing clippings gave the clew If
I could only find them! But Tremaine had
searched for them with q thoroughness
which had excited even Godfrey's admira-
ton No doubt Miss Croydon had them
at this moment in the pocket of her gown;
or perhaps she had destroyed them without
realizing their Importance. But she must
have realized 1t, she would never have
dared take them from that repulsve body:
she must have known exactly what they
| contained. IL they were the papers she had
gone to suite fourteen to get
I felt that l was getting tangled in
snarl of my own making, and L gave 1t
up
Godfrey came into the office that evening.
Just as l was closing my desk.
| II want you to go to dinner with me,
ton tonight and 1t may be three or four
days before l get back l want to talk
things over"
| We took cab uptown and stopped at
Riley s-the studio, alas! had closed its
doors-and we were presently ensconced in
snug corner where we could talk with
out danger of being overheard.
| I've found out few things about Ire
MAINE" began Godfrey. the waiter hur-
ried away with our order.
And about Thompson said
| "You have?' and he looked at me in sur
prise How in the world did you do ft?
| His establishment distinctly compli-
| mentary and / related with considerable
qualification my conversation with the mate
| Of the Parma.
| well" observed Godfrey when / had
| finished, THAT was bright idea of yours
that establishes the link between the two
men. Our ST. Pierre correspondent wires
| us that Tremaine arrived there some three
| years ago. presumably from South America
| He bought a little plantation just outside
| the town and settled there. He seemed to
| havA nleutv Of money when he arrived Int