Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-12-14

one WltU tile girl. Dut BIC uiu hoehAht
of the sort. For time the 6acre re
mained as II had been ever since stop
ping; then, evidently admonished b!
his fare, the driver Strengthened up
knocked out his pipe. disentanglet
reins and whip and wheeled thu
equipage back on the way 1t had come
disappearing In dark side street lead
ing eastward from the embankment.
Kirkwood was. then. to believe thai
Mrs. Hallam. having taken all tha,
trouble and having waited for the two
adventurers to appear, had been con
tent with sight of them. He could
hardly believe that Of the woman. II
wasn't like her.
He started across the driveway after
the facre, but 1t was lost In tangle
Of side streets before he could make
up his mind whether It was wort!
while chasing or not, and, ponderins
the woman's singular action. he re
traced his steps to the promenade rail
Presently he told himself he under
stood Dorothy was no longer Of hei
fathers party. He had suspicion
that Mulready's attitude had made II
seem advisable to Calendar either tc
leave the girl behind In England or tc
segregate her from his associates In
Antwerp. II not lodged in another
quarter of the city or left behind she
was probably travelling on ahead to
destination Which he could by nc
means guess. And Mrs. Hallam was
looking for the girl II there were
really jewels In that gladstone bag
Calendar would naturally have had
no hesitation about intrusting them to
his daughters care, and Mrs. Hallam
avowedly sought nothing else. How
the woman had found cut that such
was the case KirkwOod did not stop
to reckon unless he explained II on
the proposition that she was a pcrsoi
of remarkable address. II made nc
matter one way or the other. He had
lost Mrs. Hallam. but Calendar and
Mulready he could put his finger on
They had undoubtedly gone or to !hc
Alethea to confer again with Strytci
that was, unless they proposed sail
Ing on the brlgantine, possibly 1T turn
Of tide that night.
Panic gripped his soul and shook 1t,
,h,t rnf t-h
ceivcd this frightful proposition
In his confusion of mind he evolved
spontaneously IN entirely new hyrotb
esis-Dorothy had already been spir
tied aboard the vessel: Calendar and
his confederates. delaying to join he;
from enigmatic motives. We're now
aboard. and presently the wcrd would
be. Up anchor and away!
Were they again to elude him? Not
he swore. II he lad to swim for l.
And he had no wish to swim Tx
clothes he stood In. with what WAS
left Of his self respect. were all that
he could call his own on That side 81
the North sea. Not bOatman on III:
Scheldt would So much as consider
accerting three English rcnnies IN OK
change for boat hire. In brief. II BE-.
gan to look rs n he were either to
swim or to steal boat
Upon such slender threads OF circum.
stance depends our boasted moral
health In one tieeting minute Kirk
woods conception OF the law Of mine
and thine. Its FOUNDATIONS ALREADY In
sidously undermined by n series Of
cumulative misfortunes. topp!ed crash
Ing To It's fall and was not
He was wholly unconscious Of the
change. Beneath him. In space be
tween the Quays bridred by the gang
way. a number OF rowboats. n putative
score. lay moored for the night and
gently rubbing against each other with
the soundless lift and fall Of the river
For all that Klrkwood could determine
to the contrary. the lot lay Mt the
mercy of the public. Nowhere about
WAS he able to discern Il watchman.
Without a culver Of hesitation-mo-
ments were Invaluable. If what he
feared were true-he strode to the
gangway. passed down and with ab-
solute nonchalance dropped into the
nearest boat stepping from one to an
other until hc had gained the outer
most. To his Joy he found n pair OF
oars slowed bcncath the thwarts