The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1909-01-27
al STEAMER SMOKING
ROOM STORY.
-Ioririnal.l.

IOIlHluAl.l
In the smoking room OF an ocean
liner they were telling stories Of dis.
appearances at sea. This IS one Of
them by am elderly American gentle
man:
II was crossing from Southampton
TO New York. We had among the pas.
sengers a Jolly devil may care young
Englishman named Trevor, who was
the life of the ship. He was especially
a fayorite with the ladies, though he
seemed to prefer the society of men,
spending a lot of time In the smoking
room.
.FThere was middle aged passenger
aboard. with a wife twenty years his
Junior. We hadn't been out three days
before the young wife was daft about
Trevor and the husband green With
jealousy. Then there was an old maid
who would sit moping on deck till
Trevor appeared, when she would Ian.
guish till he Joined her and look mex
pressibly happy IL he did so for even
a few minutes. And 30 could go on
mentioning various women, all OF
whom were more or less affected.
Trevor singled me out for his principal
companion, and we used to sit In his
Btateroom by the hour chatting anu
smoking. On one occasion i rallied
him ON the preference shown him by
the young married woman.
zone morning after the breakfast
hour we missed Trevor in the smok-
ing room. at noon a steward came TO,
me as Treyor's most intimate Assoc
ciate and told me that my friends
room was locked and no amount of
knocking could elicit reply. The
ships carpenter was called. I went
with him, and he forced the door.
The room was empty.
"There could have been no means OF
egress for the occupant except the port
holes. 1t seemed to me that he would
have had difficulty in getting through
one of them, but there Is no knowing
what one may accomplish In crawling
through small space. especially II given
abnormal strength by insanity, though
some thought Trevor had crawled out
in his sleep.
1--WE were a dull company for the
rest of the voyage. The young wife
didn't attempt to conceal her emotion,
and her husband looked as IL he would
have liked to help Trevor make way
with himself Some of the men even
limited that the husband had something
to dc. with Trevor's disappearance, but
this suppositlop did not gain favor
with the rest. Indeed, 1t was absurd
on It's face.
1--WE reached New York without the
temperance of the favorite or a solu'
ton of the problem. The purser broke
open Trevor's trunk In the hope of
learning more of his identity than his
mere name, but the information was
not Forthcoming. So the case was set
down as one of those mysterious disap-
pearances that are never to be ex-
planned.
Now comes one of the strangest
happenings of all my life. Talk of CO.
incidences, I never have heard or read
OF anything to beat what I'm going to
| tell you. Three years later went from
my home In Connecticut to the Pacific
coast partly on business and partly to
attend the wedding of niece of mine.
/ reached her home several days before
the wedding and when introduced to
the groom expectant stood paralyzed
with establishment
'He was Trevor.
HE turned red and white and was
evidently at first bent on denying his
Identity. Then he laughed and said:
eyes; we've met before. There's an
explanation-not much to my credit /
confess, but 1t might have been more
to my discredit IL hadn't done what
1 did, though to tell the truth chose
a method that was rather acceptable to
n young scapegrace than an older man.
Do you remember the young married
woman who"-
"'Set her husband Wild by going
wild herself about you? Yes; go on
"She was wild true enopgh-so
wild couldn't control her. She was
bent ON running three persons, her
husband, herself and me. made a
confidant of the captain and proposed
to make stowaway of myself for the
rest of the voyage to get out of her
way. He offered to stow me in his
cabin instead, and accepted the offer.
Mighty good man, the captain, and
first class at keeping secret I ar
ranged the disappearance and, to pre-
vent the news reaching home before ]
could cable, removed anything that
would point to my address. But,
heavens, how did come to get en-
gagged to your niece?'
"'Why didn't you conflde in meT
asked.
"'Captain said confide in no one or
he would have nothing to do with the
matter
ITO all this the bride expectant
listened with eyes and ears wide open.
well, 1 declared she said at the finish.
If 1 had heard that story without the
name of the principal, would have
known 1t was you. Uncle, do you
think I'm safe in marrying such a
manT Then to her fanee, Why
haven't you confessed this to me with
other thingsF
allow would 1t look for me to tell
you that 1 had to disappear to get
away from womanT
"Right you are.' said 1. mo truly
modest man could have done it.
II found that my niece's father (my
sister's husband) had been furnished
all the evidence required to prove that
Trevor was younger son of a British
nnbleman. He had been ranchman
since coming to America and would
not go back to England on any ac-
coiIntD