Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-05-07


bent sufficiently to hide the telltale
color which leaped to her face. But
Courtenay wished TO hear more of this.
u hope you do not credit everything
my chief officer says about ME" he
said. gIancing over her shoulder at the
drawing, nor about himself he add
ed, as she was too busy to look up. ITO
my knowledge be has refused the com
mand Of two ships since we both join
ed the Kansas
Home orders. cried Boyle, who
was certainly beyond himself. Proba-
bly, he missed his regular vocal exer-
else owing to lack of crew. My
missus says to me: You just stick to
Captain Courtenay, young feller-me
lad He's one Of the get-rich-quick
sort. Praps you'll learn from him how
to dodge board of trade inquiries.
You stand on what told you, Miss
| Maxwell. You remember commodore Z
| Huh!
Courtenay glanced at the chronome-
ter.
Il must be off, lie announced. -.Tolle
mache may need some help with his
bombs, and those Chileans require
looking after"
Christobal, too quilted the chart
room TO visit his patients. He had said
very little while he sat there, and Elsie
| did not know whether to laugh or cry
at the tragic comedy OF her environ
ment. She was only certain of one
thing-she would like to box Boyle's
ears. She was completely at loss to
account for his persistent efforts to
drag in references to their prior con-
versation. She dared not catechise
him. That would be piling up more
difficulties for the future. But what
possessed him to blurt out such EN-
barrassing details in the presence of
| the two men whom she most wished to
remain in ignorance Of them?
She peeped at Boyle sideways. His
| eyes were closed, the cigar was be-
| tween his teeth, and he had a broad
/ grin on his face. She could not guess
that the once taciturn chief officer of
the Kansas was saying to himself:
/ My godfather, how Pills glared.
There viii be trouble on this ship
| about a woman before long or I'm a
Dutchman. An didn't the skipper rise
at the fly too! Huhr'
A little later as Elsie passed along
the promenade deck she saw Courte-
nay, Tollemache and Walker deep in
consultation. They We're arranging a
/ percussion fuse of Illuminating mer-
curry. While she was watching them
/ Walker dropped broken furnace bar
on top of a small package placed on
an iron block. Instantly there was a
| shart report, and Joey, who was an
interested observer, jumped several
feet. The men laughed, and she heard
Courtenay say:
THAT is the right proportion of full
inmate Now, Tollemache, I'll help
| you to fix them we do not know the
moment those reptiles may choose to
attack.
| So the captain did not leave the Ala
culof menace altogether out Of count.
Something rose IN her throat, some
wave of emotion which threatened her
splendid serenity. She ran rather than
walked to her cabin, flung herself on
the bed and sobbed piteously. 1t had
to come, this tempest Of tears. When
desperate odds demanded unfinching
courage she faced them dry eyed, with
steadfast heart But today ia the
bright sunshine and apparent security
of the ship sinister death shadows tor
tured her into rebellion. She did not
stop to ask herself why she wept. Be-
ing a woman, she yielded to the gust,
and when it had ended, with the sud-
ed through the vanishing tears Her
| first concern was that none should be
| aware of her weakness.
! How stupid of me.' she murmured
"W-hat would the men think If they
knew / broke down in this fashion,
| She looked In a mirror. In the clear
light without any one could see she
| much work to be done that she did not
| wish to remain in her stateroom until
/ all tokens of the storm had passed.
She searched for a powder puff and
| was at loss to discover its where
| abouts until she recollected that the
doctor had borrowed it for the use of
| man slightly sca1ded when his own
supply of antiseptic powder was ex-
| hausted So she went into Isobefs
| room, entering it fer the first time
since the Kansas struck on the shoal.
The two cabins communicated, as Mr..
i Barring had gone to the expense of hay
| ing a door broken through the parti-
ton for the girls use during the voy-
/ age.
/ If elsie had not already given way
to tears she must have faltered now at
the sight of her friends belongings
strewed in confusion over the floor,
chairs, dressing table and bed. Isobel
possessed a gold mounted dressing case
the size of an ordinary portnanteau.
1t held an assortment of pretty and