The San Francisco call., 1909-03-14
CHAPTER XVI
Travelr with a Chaperon


The train gave a preliminary
lurch ere settling down to its league
long inland dash.
Kirkwood. in a fever of hope and an
ague OF fear, saw a man sprint furi-
ously across the platform and throw
himself on the forward steps Of their
coach. on the very instant of the start
Presently he entered by me forward
door and walked slowly through. mar
rowly inspecting the various passen-
gers. As he approached the seats
occupied by Kirkwood and Dorothy
Calendar. his eyes encountere6 the
young mans, and he leered evilly.
Kirkwood met the look with one that
was like a kick, and the fellow passed
with some haste into the car behind
''Who was that2" demanded the girl,
without moving her head
"How did you know2" he asked. as
tonished. You didn't look"
I saw your knuckles whiten beneath
the skin. Who was it,"
Hobbs" he acknowledged bitterlyi
'the mate OF the Alethea-"
II know. And you think"
"Yes. He must have been ashore
when I was on board the brigantine;
he certainly wasn't in the cabin Evil
gently they hunted him up, or ran
across him. and pressed him into serv-
ice. You see. they're watching
everv outlet. But we'll win
through. never fear"
The train escaping the outskirts of
the city. remarked the event with
an exultaut shrek, then settled
,5ov~n steadily TO night deyouring
flight. In the corridor car the
feTv. passengers disposed themselves 10
browse away the coming hour-the
short hours ride that in these piping
days Of frantic travelling, separates
Antwerp from the capital city Of Bel
gium.
A guard, slamming gustily in through
the front door, reeled unsteadily down
the aisle. Kirkwood, rousing from
rrofound reverie, detained him with
gesture and began TO interrogate him
in French When he departed pres
entity il transpired that the girl was
unacouainted with that tongue
i didn't understand yous you know,
she told him with a slow, shy smile
7 was merely questioning him about
the trains from Brussels tonight We
daren't stop, you see; we must 80 on
keep Hobbs on the jump and lose him.
Il possible. There's where our advan-
tage lies-in having only Hobbs TO
deal with. He's not particularly intel
Iectual, and we've two heads to his
one besides. If we can prevent him
from guessing our destination and wir-
ing back to Antwerp. we may win
a way. You understand"
Perfectly" she said, Frightening
And what DO you purpose doing now
i can't tell yet The guards gone
70 get me some information about the
night trains on other lines. In the
meantime, don't fret about Hobbs; I'll
answer for Hobbs"
II shan't be worried" she said sim
ply. with you here
Whatever answer he would have
made he was obliged to postpone be-
cause Of the return OF the guard with
e handful OF time tables; and when
rewarded with a modest gratuity, the
man had gone his way. and Kirkwood
turned again to the girl, she had with
drawn her attention for the time.
Unconscious Of his bold regard, she
was dreaming, her thoughts at loose
ends. her eyes studying the incalculable
depths OF blue black night that swirled
and ed6ied beyond the window glass.
The most shadowy Of smiles touched
her lips, the. faintest shade Of deep
ened color rested on her cheeks.
She was thinking of-him2 As long
as he dared, the young man.
his heart in his own eyes,
watched her greedily, taking
rniser's Joy of her youthful beauty
striving with ali his soul TO analyze the
enigma Of that most inscrutable smile.
1t bamed him He could not say OF
what she thought; and told himself Dit
terly that Il was not for him, pauper'
70 nresurne a place in her meditations-
He must not forget his circumstances,
nor let her tolerance render him obliv-
ious 70 his place, which must be
servants. not q lovers.
The better TO convince himself Of
this. he plunged desperately into for
lorn attempt 10 make head or tail OF
-1--ne 1f~o .ad
as these OF necessity are by the alterna-
ton from normal time notation to the
abnormal system sanctioned by the gov
ernment, and vice versa, with every
train that crosses a boundary line OF
the state.
So preoccupied did. he become in this
pursuit that he was subconsciously i'm
pressed that the girl had spoken twice,
ere he could detach his interest from
the exasperatingly inconclusive and in
coherent cohorts OF ranked figures.
Cant you find out anything?" Dor
othy was asking.
Precious ittle," he grumbled. I'D
give nay head for q Bradshaw Only
Il wouldn't be q fair exchange.
There seems to be an express for
Bruges leaving the Care du Nord. Brus-
sells, at 55 minutes after % o'clock; and
II I'm not mistaken, that's the latest
train out OF Brussels and the earliest
We can CdLCAs II we can eaten
It. I've never been In Brussels. and
heaven only knows how long IL would
take US TO cab 1t from the Care du Midi
70 the Nord."
In this statement, however, Mr.. Kirk
wood was fortunately mistaken; not
only heaven. IL appeared. had cogniz-
ance OF the distance between the two
stations. While Kirkwood was still
debating the question, with pessimistic
tendencies, the friendly guard had oc-
casion to pass through the coach; and,
being tapped. yielded the desired infor-
nation with entire tractability.
It would be a cab ride OF perhaps 10
minutes. Monsieur. however, would
serve himself well If ne offered the
driver an advance tip as an incentive
70 speedy driving. Why? Why be-
cause (hers the guard consulted his
watch; and Kirkwood very l1eenly re-
gretted the loss Of his own)-because
this train, announced to arrive in
Brussels some 20 minutes prior to the
departure Of that other. was already
late. But yes-a matter OF some 10
minutes Could that not be made up?
Ah monsieur but who shOuid saw