Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-06
eoh.hy said Kirkwood vindicitively

'
hell"
So he was bound for Antwerp! The
first color of resentment ebbing from
his thoughts left him rather interest
ed than excited by the prospect. He
found that he was neither pleased nor
displeased He presumed that 1t
would be no more difficult to raise
money on personal belongings in Ant
werp than anywhere else; it has been
observed that the first flower of civil
lization is the rum-blossom, the next,
the ccnventionaliZed feuer-de-lls OF
the money-lender There would be
pawnshops, then, in Antwerp; and
Kirkwood was confident that the sale,
or pledge of his signet ring, scarf
pin, matchbox and cigarcase, would
provide him with money enough Tor
return to London, by third-class, at
the worst. There we'll, all events
were on the knees of the gods; he'd
squirm out OF his troubles somehow.
AS for the other matter, the Calendar
affair, he presumed he was we'll ria OF
it-Witn a sign OF regret. It had peeh
q most enticing mystery, you know,
and the woman in the case was eX-
traordinary, to say the least
The memory of Dorothy Calendar
made him sigh again, this time more
violently: a sigh that was own broth
er to Cor at any rate descended III
direct line FROM the furnace sigh OF
the lover described by the melancholy
Jaques. And he sat up, bumped ms
head, CROPPED round until his hand fell
upon a doorknob, opened the door,
and looked out into the blowsy empti-
ness Of the ships cabin proper,
whose gloomy confines were made
visible only by the rays OF dlngE
and smoky lamp swinging violently
in gimbals from deck beam.
Kirkwood's clothing, now rough
dried and warped wretchedly out OF
shape, had been thrown carclessly on
transom near the door. He got up.
collected them, and returned to his
berth, dressed at leisure thinking
heavily, disgruntled-in a humor as
evil as the 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 or the thwartshlps
transom, against the forward bulk
head. behind the table. Above his
head a chronometer licked steadily
and loudly, and, being consulted, tolo
him that the time of day was twenty
minutes to four; which meant that he
had slept away some eighteen OF
twenty hours That was a solid spell
of rest when he came to think o.
it, even fatigued when conducted tc
his berth He felt stronger now anc
bright enough-and enormously hun
gry into the bargain
Abstractedly, needless Of the fac
that his tobacco would be water-soall
ed and ruined, he fumbled III his
pockets for pipe and pouch, thinking
to soothe the pangs OF munger agalns
breakfast-time which was. probabl!
two hours and a quarter ahead. Bu
his pockets were empty-every one
of them He assimilated this dis
covery in patience and cast an ey'
about the room, to locate If possible
the missing property. But naught 0
his was visible. So he rose and Degal
more painstalSing search.
The cabin was at once tiny, low
ceiled, and depressingly gloomy IL
furniture consisted entirely in chal
or two, supplementing the transom
and lockers as resting places, and
comfortable covered with a cloth c
, turkey-red, whose original aggressive
ness had been darkly moderated b
libations of liquids, principally blac
coffee and burnt offerings of greas
and tobaccc-ash. Aside from the con
panion-way to the deck, four dool
opened into the room two probaDl
giving upon the captains and Il
mates quarters, the others on pseud
state-rooms-one of which he Ia
Just vacated-closets large enough
, contain small bunk and nauSht b
, side. The bulllheads and partition
were badly broken out with rash
, pictures from illustrated papers, mos
ly offensive. Kirkwood was intereste
!, to read half column clipping from
New York yellow journal, descriptl'
of the antics of drunken BIRTHS
sailor who had somehow found n
way to the bar-room of the Fifth Az
5 nue. Hotel; the paragraph exploltl1
: the fact that it had required TO
policemen in addition to the corps
| porters to subdue him, was strong
S underscored in red ink; and the new
: story wound up with the informat1'
e that in police court the man had give
= his name as William Stranger al
J. cheerfully had paid a fine OF ten Of
|. lars, alleging his entertainment
n have been cheap at the price
q While Kirkwood was employed
} persuing this Illuminating anecdo
= eight bells sounded, and, from t
?. commotion overhead, the wat
q changed. A little later the companic
It way door slammed open and shut, a
S Captain Stryker-or Stranger; whit
! ever you please-fell down, rath
l. than descended, the steps.
4 Without attention to the Amerlc
a he rolled into the mates room a
|! reused that parsonage. Kirkwo
!e heard that the name of the second
er command was 'Obbs, as well as tt
II he occupied the star-board sta
e room aft After a brief exchange
t, comment and instruction, Mr.. or
n appeared in the shape of a Walk
pillar of oil-skins capped by sc