The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-11-25

gave her. She was at crisis of her
life, and the exquisite evening scene
was the battlefield of a coming strug-
gle, with herself, or with another, she
hardly knew. In half an hour, or in
an hour, at most, she was to sit 1t ta-
BILE with man she fully believed to
be the husband for whom she had
been wearing mourning, out of mere
decency, but with the profound inward
satisfaction of being free.
She had already come to the conclu.
sion that if Kralinsky was really Lev.
|en, the latter had seized the opportu-
nifty offered him by his own supposed
death to disappear from St. Peters
burg, and had taken another name.
Leven had been a ruined man when
he had tried to divorce her; when he
died. or disappeared, he left nothing
but debts, which were extinguished
with him, for no one attempted to
make his widow responsible for them,
since there was no estate and she had
no fortune beyond the allowance her
father made her. Lord Creedmore was
what he gave her was not much, al
though it would more than suffice for
her simple wants, now that she in
tended to live with him again.
But if Leven had not been killed and
had turned into Kralinsky, he now
it was not easy to guess how he had
obtained possession of a quantity of
valuable Asiatic rubies within the few
weeks that had elapsed between his
supposed destruction by the bomb and
the date of Van Torps transaction
with him in New York. That was
mystery. So was his possible acquaint-
ance, or connection, with the eastern
girl who was looking for him, If there
was a shadow of truth in Logotheti's
story. Lady Maud did not believe
there was, and she felt morally sure
that the tale had evolved itself out of
the Greeks fertile brain, as a fantas-
tic explanation of his atrocious con-
duct.
While she was thinking over these
matters and rehearsing in her
thoughts the scene that was before
her, she saw a gondola making
straight for the yacht across the fast
tAding green Of the lagoon that lay
between the vessel and the Piazzetta.
1t. came nearer. and she drew. back
from the rail against her cabin door,
under the shadow of the promenade
deck, which extended over the gang
way and was supported by stanchions,
as on an ocean liner. The Lancashire
Lass, with her single yellow funnel.
her one short signal mast, her turret-
shaped wheel-house and her generally
business-like appearance, looked more
like a cross between a fast modern
cruiser and an ocean greyhound"
than like a private yacht. She even
had a couple of quick-firing guns
mounted just above her rail.
Lady Maud looked at the gondola.
and as it came still nearer, she saw
that it brought only one passenger,
and that he had fair beard. She
quietly opened her cabin door, and
went in to dress for dinner.
Meanwhile Mr.. Van Torp had COM
pleted his toilet, and sent for the cap
tain.
Il suppose you're ready at any mo-
ment, captain?" inquired the million
aire.
"Yes, sir. The pilot is on board,
and the. gentleman you expected is
just coming alongside" ..
Then you can start now," said the
owner. after a moments thought.
Where are we bound, sir?"
"Oh, we'll, I don't know. l wanted
to say a few words about that, cap
tain. Do you happen to know anything
about a yacht called the Erinna, be-
longing to a Mr.. Logotheti, Greek
gentleman who lives in Paris?"
Yes, sir" answered Capt. Brown.
for it was a part of his business to
read the yachting news. "She was at
Cowes when we sailed. She was re-
ported the other day from Gibraltar as
having entered the Mediterranean aft
er taking fresh provisions, owner and
party on board. There is no further
word of her"
WELL" said Mr.. Van Torp, 81 have
an idea she's gone to Naples, but
want you to find her right away wher-
lever she is, owner and party ON board.
That's all, captain. If you happen to
see her anywhere, you just come and
tell me If I'm alone, and If I'm not, why
send one of your young men to say
you want to know something-any-
thing you happen to think of, and I'll
come to your room and tell you what
to do. See? That's all, and now let's
start, please"
"All right, SIR
When the party assembled in the
deck saloon for dinner, Lady Maud
was missing. Stemp, who did not
intend that his master should dine
without his personal attention, no mat
ter how much the chief steward might
object to his presence, approached Mr..
Van Torp and whispered something.
Lady Maud begged that the party
would sit down without her, and she
would join them in moment.
So they took their places. and the
vacant one was on the owners right.