Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-02
BY JOHN H. WHTTSON,
Autho. Of THE Rainbow Chas


| ing for me, had fallen asleep, with his head
| on the little table.
Though l was on deck again at an early
| hour found Capt Quinby there before me.
| The sun had risen and the mist seemed
breaking away.
1T will burn off in a little WHILE he an
nounced.
| AS if to prove his words, the sun broke
| through the mist shortly, globe of burning
| copper set in frame of pearly gray.
At our late breakfast Mrs. Randolph an
nounced a change in our plans.
We're going to Camden" she said, in
f! stead of to Yarmouth
Maine is United States territory, I be-
lieve.' l answered, recalling her words Of
| the night before to the captain.
Very true. But Camden is a long dis
| lance from York Harbor Mr. Lane will
| return to New York and drop his foolish
attack. am sure of that, since have had
time to think 1t over. For that reason Mr..
Jepson will not come to Camden. We can
be quite safe and quiet there for as long
as We wish to stay I've thought 1t all
over. and I'm sure it is best for us to go
there. 1t won't seem SO much as If we had
run away, for one thing
She gave me a look of inquiry as she con-
Guided. She wore the blue linen again.
which 1 had thought so becoming. Her
color was better than the evening before,
or perhaps that was the effect of the blue
linen and daylight. man judges such
things poorly. She was always beautiful,
whatever she wore.
he Will never drop II, i declared,
| thinking of Lane, for he knows that un-
less he brushes me 1 shall crush him"
But you are to drop your attack on him
also. and call off your New York detective"
she surprised me by saying.
You would pay him something to drop
it?' l asked, ready to oppose this new
plan.
Il didn't say that, Julian"
She frowned. Strange that a few lines
drawn in a smooth brow and the gathering
| of threatening threads of disapproval at
| the corners of pair Of blue eyes should
have such power to crush mans rebel
! liouS spirit.
Il see objections to your plan" l urged
weakly
''Of course we can't tell just what we
shall do until after We reach Camden and
get In communication with New York." she
compromised, for my benefit was sure.
But this fleeing like a wolf in the night
isn't to my fancy"
Fleeing like dogfsh, you mean," said
Miss HanSborOugh.
! So we turned to Camden, the spot where
Julian Randolph. stumbling down to his
boat in the darkness, had tumbled into the
water and was drowned. 1 didn't like the
| thought of it. OF all places Camden was
the last ! should have chosen to visit at
| this time But Mrs. Randolph had her
hand on the wheel of affairs and was
showing a spirit of imperious determine
| ton l had not known she possessed. But
withal my passionate love was IN no wise
abated; l think loved her better because
of that quality of strength
We crowded to the rail steamed
into the little harbor of Camden by the
Sea. The fog was gone, the sun shone
bright on the water, whitecaps tossed about
us. The little town crescentng the harbor;
Negro Island and its lighthouse at the en-
trance with the mountains Meguntcook
and Battle. dominating all, made a pretty
picture.
1 saw Miss Hansborough point out to
Benson the Poplars. 1t shone white on
Ia nj To fhn 10Th of
the town, overlooking the harbor, and the
bay and it's distant blue islands. 1 asked
Mrs. Randolph for the glasses she had
been using and scrutinized the big house
with it's double line of tall poplars shading
the wide avenue that led up to II.
In that house, 1 had been told, Julian
Randolph had lived with the woman who
now stood beside me. From it he had gone
that dark night to his death in the sea-
Far off on the right, but not visible, was
the Lincolnvile beach, where his body had
been found. l confess it gave me a queer
feeling, and one not pleasant. 1t empha-
sized my hypocrisy-gave to my duplicity
deeper shade. Nor could l get ease of
conscience by rejecting that Mrs. Ran
dolph knew. For she had persistently re-
fused to. accept my declaration that 1 was
not her husband
AS l looked at that house the startling
thought of what it would mean if the real
Julian Randolph should reappear there sud
denly came to terrify me. Strangely
enough l had not much considered that
possibility. He might still be alive some
where; he might have had some cause for
leaving mySteriously, of which l had never
heard and of which Mrs. Randolph herself
had not known. She had never really be-
lieved him dead, and 1t was because of
that lack of belief that she had accepted
me as the man himself, returned to her.
And he might return suddenly to confront
and confound me. Stranger things than
| that have happened-are happening every
day. My hands trembled as 1 put down
the glasses
While we steamed slowly in round
Negro Island, Mrs. Randolph began to point
out sights and views that, If 1 were Julian
Randolph, ought to have been as familiar
to me as to her. She persistently avoided
| mention of that death tumble into the sea
off those wharves. 1t was a singular situa-
ton.
There were a few small yachts near u.s.
as our anchor plunged into the water and
we swung round In the stream of the tide.
Their occupants ev.nced curiosity, and
few people began to gather on shore to look
at us, for the 1dler was not only a beauti
full yacht, but was really large and palatial
compared with the others.
l watched the shore anXiouSly, half eX-
pectiHg to see Lane and Jepson there. When
l did not l breathed more freely and went
ashore with Mrs. Randolph. We were &C
compa MED by Miss Hansborough and Jack
Benson, and by Jerome and Lizette.
Benson babe goodbye now and caught
the first train out of Rockland for Boston.
The Poplars not being ready for occu-
pancy we were driven to the Bay View
Hotel, where as soon as possible we got in
telegraphic communication with New York
and repeated some of the messages sent
from York Harbor. l now succeeded in
waking up my exasperating and dilatory
detective.
Been absent and sick. Will push mat
ters. ASBURY RAND
1 sent him a tropical reply asking him
why his office force had not gone right on
with the work. No answer came to this.
Mrs. Randolph was averse to my sending
these kilograms.
t-<Later consulted a Camden lawyer laid
before him as much of the case as I
thought he ought to know for his guidance
and engaged him in the event of need to de-
fend me in the local courts. 1 found that
he already knew all about me, or much
as the newspapers had told. They had
guessed at a great many things, hence his
Information was more satisfactory to him
self than reliable.
When the auto-car was landed and
brought round to the hotel we went out to
the cottage on the slopes of Mount Battle
1t was a palatial summer house, with
others of its kind nearby.
The next day we were occupying it.
few servants had been brought on the
Ider. some had been procured in the town,
and still others were hurrying from
New York and Newport The yacht swung
at anchor in the harbOr and the autOmo-