The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-11-04
x.

"He seemed a bit fresh," the clerk
answered bluntly.
Gertrude WINGED. 1t was the sec
ond time to-day that she had heard
this insulting in%sinuation made
aeains. the husband whom she not
only loved, but r~everenced, and it
goaded her so that she would have
liked to have hurried from the place,
as if by flight she could escape from
the horrid thought; but she brayely
checked the impulse and waited,
without any external sign Of suffer-
ing, until she had decided on what
she had better do next.
There seemed to be three courses
open to her. She could await her
husbands return at Southampton; or
she could follow him to Jersey; or
she could go straight to st. Malo,
and meet him when he arrived there.
Each of these plans seemed good at
the first glance, but when she came
to consider she found an objection to
each.
If she waited at Southampton it
was just possible that her husband
might become the victim of some new
delusion, and never return, in which
case she would probably lose all trace
of him.
And if she followed him to Jersey,
judging by her experience so far, she
feared her chances of overtaking him
was very small. And then, again,
If she went to meet him at st. Malo,
she would run the same risk as if she
waited at Southampton; he might
change his mind, and not go there
at all.
She was very much puzzled at first
by these three alternatives; but II
appeared to her at last that by a little
MANAGEMENT she might make one of
them, at all events, the least OF three
evils. She thought that if she went
to st. Malo herself, and Miss Somers
, came to wait at Southampton, 1t
would scarcely be possible for Leslie
to escape them both; for If he did not
remain in the Channel Islands, where
he would be safe enough, he must
either go on to St. Malo or return to
Southampton. Accordingly she de-
cided upon this last course; and md
ing that the mail steamer did not
leave for St. Malo until 10 o'clock
that night, she proceeded without
furry to make the necessary arrange
ments. She drove first to a shop to
buy some toilet requisites, for she had
nothing with her. Then she went to
the steamer, which was alongside the
docks, and chose her berth. There
was nothing going on in the saloon at
the time, so she sat down there and
wrote Miss Somers a rapid but clear
account Of all she had done so far,
and all she proposed. This Miss Som
ers would receive by the first post
next morning; but in case Moon had
proved faithless, Gertrude thought it
right to send her sister-in-law a tele-
gram at once, to make sure that she
would not be left a whole night in
suspense. Gertrude took these mis-
sives to the postofice herself, and dis
patched them, and then she returned
to the steamer. There she found the
stewards laying the tables for the +
o'clock dinner, and for the first time
since breakfast she remembered that
she ought to eat. She had little
enough appetite in all conscience, but
she tried to refresh herself by going
into the ladies' cabin to take off her
dress, and getting the stewardess to
brush it and all her things thorough
", to get rid of the feeling of dust,
which is one of most fatiguing addi-
lions to the discomfort of travelling;
and after taking down and rearrang-
ing her hair, and having a good
splash in cold water, she felt SO
strong and composed that she was
surprised at herself.
But she could not eat, and steamer
viand3 are not tempting to coy ap-
petites, so decided to go to her berth
and sleep.
She must have had some hours re-
freshing sleep before she awoke sud
denly with a start, as unhappy people
do. The awakening, however, was
not accompanied by an immediate
recognition of her strange surround
ings. Her first conscious thought was
wonder that her husband was not
near her; her first voluntary effort
was TO turn-not to him, alas! but tc
the full recollection of her position
which was brought home to her b!
what she saw.
She was in an upper berth of the
ladies' cabin. Several of the Other
berths were occupied, and two French
Sisters of Charity sat together on
sofa, their hands clasped before them
their eyes fixed on the floor, theil
sweet and patient faces composed, a:
ff their minds were absorbed in medi
tation or prayer. The cabin wa:
lighted by a lamp, which hung from
the centre of the ceiling. 1t swayeo
with the motion of the vessel ant
fickered, casting uncertain shadows
now on one side, now on the other
but giving light enough for the stew
ardess to attend to the passengers.
The steamer had left the smooth
Southampton water, and was nearing
the Needles by this time. The regu'
lar thump of the screw vibrated from
stem to stern, cordage creaked. door:
ratified, hoarse voices shouted, chain:
.clanked, and every now and ther
there was a rush of footsteps over