The San Francisco call., 1909-02-07

eau or information. ne set OH al qUASh
step down Greys Inn road.
The day had closed down in brilliance
upon the city-and the voice of the
milkman was to be heard in the land
when he trudged, still briskly II
trffle weariiy into Holborn, and nelo
on eastward across the viaduct ana
down Newgate street; the wnlle aoo-
ling his weary wits with heart slcKeh-
ing computations of minutes, all going
hopelessly TO prove that he would be
late, far too late even presupposlng
the unlikely. The unlikely, be it known,
was that the Alethea would not at
tempt to sail before the turn of the
tide
For this was his mission, to find
the Alethea before she sailed In
credible as it may appear, at . O'CLOCK.
or maybe earlier. on the morning or
the 22d of April, 1906, A d., Philip
Kirkwood normally a commonplace
but ukabIe young American in full
possession of his senses, might have
been seen (and by some was SEEM
plodding nanfuIly through Cheapside,
London. England, engaged upon
Quest as mad, forlorn, and
gallant as any whose chronicle
ever inspired the pen of a Mallory or a
Froissart In brief, he proposed TO leno
his arm and courage to be the shleio
and buckler of one who might or might
not be a damsel in distress; according
as TO whether Mrs. HaIlam had spoken
soothly Of Dorothy Calendar, or kirk-
woods own admirable faith In the girl
We're justified of itself.
Proceeding upon the working hypoth-
esis that Mrs. Hallam was po1shed
liar in most respects, but had told the
truth, so far as concerned her state
nent to the effect that the gladstone
bag contained valuable real property
Cwhose ownership remained moot
question. though Kirkwood was defl-
nitely committed to the belief that IL
was none of Mrs. Hall1m-s or her son 81;
he reasoned that the two adventures.
with Dorothy and their booty Wouio
attempt TO leave London by water
route in the ship. Alethea, whose name
had fallen from their lips at Bermond-
sey Old Stairs.
Kirkwood's initial task, then, would
be 10 find the needle in the haystack-
the metaphor is poor; more properly 10
sort ont from the hundreds of vessels
of all descriptions at anchor In mlo-
stream. noored TO the wharves of long
shore warehouses or in the gigantic
docks that line the Thames, that one
called Alethea; of which he was so
deeply nired in ignorance that he could
not say whether she were tramp steam
er, coastwise passenger boat, one OF tne
liners that ply between Tilbury and All
the world, channel ferry boat, private
yacht (steam or said, schooner iour
master, square rigger, bark or brig
antine.
task to stagger the optimism OF
anv but one equipped with the sublime
impudence Of youth. Even Kirkwood
was disturbed by some little awe when
he contemplated the vast proportions
of his undertaking. None the less dog-
gedly he plunged ahead and tried 10
keep his mind from vain surmises as TO
what would be his portion when even
tually he should find himself passen-
ger. unlimited and unwelcome, upon
the Alethea.
London had turned over once or twice
and was pulling the bedclothes over It's
head and grumbling about getting up
but the city was still sound asleep
when at length he paused for min
ute's rest in front of the Mansion house
and realized with a pang of despair that
he was completely tuckered out. There
was a dull, vague throbbing in his head; ;
weights pressed upon his eyeballs un-
til they ached; his mouth was not ana
tasted of yesterdays tobacco; his feet
were numb and heavy; his joints were
stiff; he yawned frequently.
With q sigh he surreQdered to the
hesh's frailty An early cabby, cruis-
ing I'D from Cannon street station on
the off chance of finding some one astir
in the city, aside from the doves and
sparrows, suffered the surprise OF
his life when Kirkwood hailed him.
His face was blank with amazement
when he reined in. and his eyes bulged
when the prospective fare, on i'm
pulse, explained his urgent needs. Hap
piIy he turned out a fair representative
of his class, an intelligent and unfud-
died cabby.
Jump in, sir" he told Kirkwood
cheerfully, as soon as he had assimi-
lated the latter's demands. Il knows
precisely wotcher wants. Leave it all
TO me-"
The admonition was all but super
huous: Kirkwood was unable, for the
time being TO do aught else than re-
sign his fate into another's guidance.
Once in the cab he slipped insensibly
into a nap, and slept soundly on, as
reckless of the cabs swift pace and
continuous jouncing as of the sunlight
glaring full in his tired young face.
He may have slept 20 minutes;
he awoke faint with drowsiness. ting
ling from head to toe from fatigue, and
in distress of a queer qualm in the pit
of his stomach, to find the hanson at
rest and the driver on the step, shak-
ing his fare with kindly determination.
''Oh. a right" he assented surlily, and
by sheer force OF viii made h1mself
climb out TO the sidewalk. where, hav-
ing rubbed his eyes, stretched enor-
mously and yawned discourteously In
the face of the East End. he was once
more himself and hundred times re-
freshed into the bargain. Contentedly
he counted three shillings into the cab
by's palm-the fare named being one
and six.
The shilling over and above the
tips for finding me the waterman and
boat" he stipulated
sRight-o. You'll mind the 'orse a
minute, sir?''
Kirkwood nodded. The man touched
his hat and disappeared inexplicably.
Kirkwood. needlessly attaching himself
TO the reins near the animals head.
pried his senses Of observation open and
became alive to the fact that he stood
in a quarter OF London as strange to
him as had been Bermondsey Wall
To this day he can not put a name
to 1T; he surmises that it was Wap-
ping.
Ramshackle tenements with sharp
gable roofs lined either side of the
way Frowsy women draped them