The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-12-23

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them in the boudoir. Miss Somers
was glad of the diversion for Ger
trude's sake, for the old mans in
fuence evidently soothed her, and
her good breeding made her control
herself sufficiently to show no sign
of restlessness or dissatisfaction N
his presence. 1t was a great effort to
begin with, to sit still and listen while
he talked; but his conversation was
brilliant and varied, and insens.Dly
he fixed her attention for a time and
drew her out. Only for a time, how
ever; for by and by she lapsed into
silence, leaving Miss Somers to talk,
and by degrees becoming quite abb
sorbed by her own painful reflections.
The conversation between the two
rippled on evenly without a pause.
The murmur of placid voices dis
her as little as absolute 81
lence, and was quite as monotonous.
The sound they made was like a
transparent veil, beneath which many
other sounds were distinctly perceptf-
ble-the steps of the watch on deck,
an order occasionally given in a
hoarse voice, a snatch of song from
one OF the crew, the rush Of steam
and mufled roar of the fire and ma
chinery, the swish of the water
against the. sides of the yacht as it
sped on at nearly fourteen knots an
hour, and above all the thud, thud
OF the screw. beating regularly as
time itself, and with just the same
effect of inevitableness. Gertrude
was dimly unconscious of 1t all, and
of a certain sense Of safety which was
almost a feeling of peace. Unfor-
tunately it was only a soothing to
false repose, for the shock of a sud-
den awakening was upon her before
she had at all realized the ems of
relief One moment it seemed as If
all must come right, and soon; but
the next q shout of laughter-of
coarse, unhallowed laughter, sound
ing at her elbow, as it seemed, and
breaking in upon the quiet, without
the slightest warning, net even that
of an approaching footstep-caused
her to spring from the seat and stanc,
with every nerve %quivering, not dar-
ing to turn round for fear of what
might be behind.
~What was it," she asked, family.
Lord Waterbury went to- her. ut
was nothing" he said, confusedly.
She turned slowly round. There was
certainly no one there. ~The par
titions are thin on board ship" he
explained, ~and the wood conducts
the sound and-eh-exaggerates it.
It was some one laughing in the sa-
loon, voices coming from there sound
so-always."
She was not attending to him, but
listening intently for some repetition
of the sound. Presently it came, the
same loud laugh, followed by loud
words which they could not distin-
guish, but they felt by the manner of
them they were coarse.
Gertrude pressed her hands to her
breast convulsively.
$50 that is my husband! -. she said,
in a strange, toneless voice. "Oh,
Annie! tell them not to deceive me
any more. 1t is no use. I know now
that my happy days are over" She
threw herself into a chair, leaned her
head back against the cushion, and
sat with pale, set face, motionless.
Miss Somers seized her work, COM
pressed her lips, and toiled as If it
were a matter of life and death.
Lord Wartlebury withdrew imme-
diately. He had probably gone to
stop the disturbance, for a few min
utes later the talk and laughter
ceased. Then the thud, thud of the
machinery became obtrusive, and the
lap of the water and creak of spar
emphasized the silence. The moon
rose and shone down through the
open skylight; a little breeze found
it's way in also fresh from the shore,
and sweet with the scent of flowers.
The night was charming, but there
was one sad heart that could not feel
it so-could feel nothing, in fact, but
the dread certainty that all charm
for it had departed from all things
forever.