The San Francisco call., 1909-02-21
PIearesque Passage.
CHAPTER XII

--9 H-1sIa 4t--l ass 4llpLlOn OF
hstless resignation. Of pacific acqui-
esoenoe IN the dictates OF his destiny.
was purely deceptive-thin ice OF
despair over profound depths OF exas-
pezated rebellion
Blank darkness enveloped him when
'Arst he opened eyes to wonder. Then
gradually as he stared. piecing together
unaEsorted memories and striving TO
quicken 6rowsy wits. he became aware
q q gliuner that waxed and waned, a
bar OF pale blush light striking across
the gloon above his couch. and by dint
of Puzzling OWNED that this had access
By port Turning his head upon a
stin and unyielding pillow. he could
discern streak OF saffron light lining
the sill CT doorway. near by his side
The one phenomenon taken with the
ether confirmed a heretofore somewhat
hazy Impression that his dreams were
-dignihed BY a foundation OF fact. that.
n brief, he was occupying a cabin bunk
aboard the good ship Alethea-
Overhead. on the deck. a heavy
humping CT hurrying feet awoke him
% keener perceptiveness.
Judging from the incessant rolling
a7d pitching OF the brigsntine. the
crashing thunder OF seas upon her
SIDES. the eIdriteh shrieking OF the gale
as wen as from the chorused groans
and plants OF each individual bolt and
Timber IN the frau fabric that housed
his fortunes. the wind had strengthened
materially during his hours OF forget
p fulness-hOwever many the latter
might have been.
Ee believed, however. that he had
slept long, deeply and exhaustively He
oelt now a little emaciated mentally
and somewhat absent bodied-so he put
Il 20 himself A numb languor, not
unpleasant held him passively supine.
the while he gave. himself over TO
speculative thought.
a wild night certainly; probably. By
that tine. the little vessel was IN the
middle q the North sea bound
for A1t%TerPl
:~oh-h," said KirkwOOd vindictively,
Up
So he was bound Tor Antwerp The
first color q resentment ebbing from
his thoughts left him rather interested
than excited BY the prospect He found
that he was neither pleased nor dis
pleased He presumed that IL would be
more difficult 10 raise money on personal
belongings IN Antwerp than anywhere
else; = had been observed that the first
flower OF civilization is the rum bios
son. the next the conventonalized aeur
de Us OF The money lender. There would
he pawnshops then II Antwerp. and
Kirkwood was confident that the sale or
> pledge OF his signet ring. scarf pin,
match box and cigar case would pro-
vide him with money enough for q re-
turn 10 London. by third class at the
worst There well, all events
were On the knees OF the gods: he'd
s1uirm out of his troubles somehow.
As for the other matter. the Calendar
AFFAIR. he presumed he was well rid Of
it-with q sigh Of regret II had been
"a most entieing mystery, you know;
and the woman in the case was extraor-
dLnary. 10 say the least
The memory OF Dorothy Calendar
made hin sigh again. this time more
Violently sigh that was own brother
10 Cor a. any rate descended IN q direct
line FROM the furnace sigh Of the lover
described by the melancholy Jaques.
And ne sat Up, bumped his head. groped
round until his hand fell upon a door
knob. opened the door and looked out
into the Slowsy emptiness Of the ships
cabia proper, whose gloomy confines
were made visible only by the rays Of
e dingy and smoky lamp swinging vio-
Iently IN gimbals from a deck beam.
KirkwOod's clothing. now rough
dried and warped Wretchedlv out Of
shape had been thrown carelessly on
q transom near the door. He got up
collected them and, returning TO his
berth, dressed al leisure, thinking
heavily. untled-in q humor as evil
as tho after taste OF bad brandy IN his
mouth
When dressed he went out into the
cabin closing the door upon his berth.
and for lack OF anything better to do
seated himself on the thwartship's
-fransorn. against the forward bulkhead
behind the table. Above his head a
chronometer ticked steadily and loudly,
and. being consulted, told him that the
time OF the day was 20 minutes TO g.
which meant that he had slept away
some Is or 20 hours. That was q solid
spell OF rest. when he came 10 think OF
il. even allowing that he had been IN
usually and pardonably fatigued when
conducted 70 his berth. he felt stronger
now. and bright enough-and enor-
mously hungry into the bargain
Abstractedly. needless Of the fact that
his tobacco would be water soaked and
ruined. he fumbied IN his pockets for
pipe and pouch, thinking TO soothe the
rangs OF hunger against breakfast
time-whfch was about two hours and
e quarter ahead But his pockets were
enpty-every one OF them. He assirn-
Hated this discovery IN patience and
cast an eye about the room, 70 locate
fr possible. the missing property But
raaght OF his was visible. So he rose
and began q more pailstaking search.
= The cabin was at once tiny.
low cefled. and depressingly gloomy.
It's furniture consisted entirely
fn a chair or two, supplementing the
transons and lockers as resting places.
and .. center table covered with cloth
~ turkey red. whose original aggres-
siveness had been darkly moderated by