The San Francisco call., 1909-02-28

the woman singular actlOn, he re-
traced his steps to the promenade rail.
Presently he told himself he under
stood. Dorothy was no longer of her
fathers party; he had a suspicion that
Mulready's attitude had made it seem
advisable to Calendar either to leave
the girl behind, in England, or to seq
regate her from his associates in Ant
werp. If not lodged in another quar-
ter of the city, or left behind, she was
probably travelling on ahead to des-
tination which he could by no means
guess. And Mrs. Hallam was looking
for the girl; if there were really jewels
in that gladstone bag, Calendar would
naturally have had no hesitation about
intrusting them to his daughters care;
and Mrs. Hallam avowedly sought moth
ing else How the woman had found
out that such was the case, Kirkwood
did not stop to reckon; unless he ex-
planned it on the proposition that she
was a person of remarkable address.
1t made no matter, one way or the 9TH
er; he had lost Mrs. Hallam; but Call
endar and Mulready he could put his
finger on; they had undoubtedly gone
off to the Alethea to confer again with
Stryker-that was. unless they pro-
posed sailing on the brigantine, posi-
bly, at turn of tide that night
Panic gripped his soul and shook 1t,
as terrier shakes a rat, when he con-
In his confusion of mind he evolved
spontaneously an entirely new hypo-
thesis: Dorothy had already been spir-
tied aboard the vessel; Calendar and
his confederate, delaying TO join her
from enigmatic motives, were now
aboard; and presently the word would
be. up-anchor and away.
Were they again to elude him? Not,
he swore, if he had to swim for it.
ha had xxiS 10 Uir11 10
clothes he stood in. with what was left
of his self-respect were all that he
could call his own on that side of the
North sea. Not a boatman on the
Scheldt would so much as consider ac-
cepting three English pennies in ex-
change for boat hire. In brief, it be-
gan to look as if he were either to
swim or to steal boat.
Upon such slender threads of circum
stance depends our boasted moral
health. In one feeting minute Kirk
woods conception of the law of meum
ct tuum, its foundations already insid
iously undermined by a series of cumu-
lative misfortunes, toppled crashing to
its fall; and was not.
He was wholly unconscious of the
change. Beneath him, in space be-
tween the quays bridged by the gang
way, a number of rowboats, putative
score, lay moored for the night and
gently rubbing against each other with
the soundless lift and fall of the river.
For all that Kirkwood could determine
to the contrary, the lot lay at the
mercy of the public; nowhere about
was he able to discern a figure in any
thing resembling watchman.
Without a quiver of hesitation-mo-
ments were invaluable, if what he
feared were true-he strode to the
gangway, passed down, and with abb
solute nonchalance dropped into the
nearest boat, stepping from one to an
other until he had gained the outer
most. To his joy he found a pair of
oars slowed beneath the thwarts.
If he had paused to mora1ize-which
he cidn't-upon the discovery, he would
have laid it all at the door of his lucky
star; and would have been wrong. We
who have never stopped to petty lar
ceny know that the oars had been
placed there at the direction of his evil
genius beat upon facilitating his de-
scent into the avernus of crime. Let
us, then, pity the poor young man
without condoning his offense.
Unhitching the painter he set one
oar against the gunwale of the next
boat, and with a powerful thrust sent
his own Get us so call it for conven-
ience) stern first out upon the river;
then sat him composedly down, fitted
the oars to their locks, and. began to
pull straight across stream, trusting to
the current to carry him down to the
Alethea. He had already marked down
that vessels riding light; and that not
without a glow of gratitude to see it
still aIoft and in proper juxtaposition
ito the river bank; proof that it had not
moved.
He pulled a good oar, reckoned his
distance prettily, and shipping the
blades at just the right moment,
brought the little boat in under the
brigantine's counter with scarce jar.
An element of surprise he held essen
tial to the success. of his plan. what
ever that might turn out to be.
Standing up he caught the brigan-
tines after rail with both hands. one of
which held the painter of the purloined
boat, and lifted his head above the deck
line. A short survey of the deserted
afterdeck gave him further assurance
The anchor watch was not in sight; he
may have been keeping well forward by
Stryker's Instructions, or he may have
crept off for 40 winks. Whatever the
reason for his absence from the post OF
duty. Kirkwood was relieved not TO
haye him to deal with. and drawing
himself gently In over the rail made
the painter fast and steDped uOiseIessly