Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-01-04
CHAPTER XI.
Frances Goes to Sea.

CHAPTER N.
Frances Goes to Sea.
Three months had passed following
the casting Of the Sommers gun, three
months that had brought many changes
to those whose lives had been for q
short time tangled in the intricate maze
of pride, love and ambition.
The gun had been taken to the. prov
ing grounds and there had stood The
test. The naval board was enthusi-
astic over it. All that remained was
for the weapon to prove its efficiency
on shipboard at target practice and It
would be adopted by the government.
Orders on the Rhinestrom gun were
still held up pending the result Of tar
get practice.
Lieutenant Sommers had been or
dered back to sea duty. Apparently ne
had achieved his ambition. The fu-
ture looked bright for him in his chos-
en- profession. Fellow officers envied
him. He was considered wonderful
young man, and a bright future in the
service Of his country seemed In store.
All this on the side Of ambition, but
on the other side life was not so bright
He knew that no matter how high he
might rise in his profession happiness
could not ~ his. He had lost ire
trievably the girl he loved, and satis-
fed ambition meant little to him COM
pared to that
On the morning after the sensational
events in the furnace room Sommers
had called at the Durant house. Fran
ces had refused to see him. He wrote
her a letter, and it was returned to
him unopened. Finally he managed to
meet her on the street, but she passed
him by without speaking.
Next morning the young officer re-
ported back in Washington for duty.
And how about the girl? She had
hurried away from the works that
night burning with shame and raging
with anger. She determined never to
see Sommers again. She hated him!
She knew she did! And to make 1t
sure Sne tOlu HeiSeh so oNei eN ~
again.
The next day she was still enraged
when he called. 1t cost no effort to
have him turned from the door. When
his note arrived she started impul-
sively to open it, then checked herself.
She would be firm; she would punish
him.
And SO with some slight effort she
handed the letter to the servant WITH
instructions to return 1t to Lieutenant
Sommers at his hotel.
Passing her old lover on the street
had been an effort, but that, too, she
managed to do. 1t took the last OF
her anger, however. The reaction had
come. She began to regret, then to
forgive and finally to long once more
for the one man who, she felt sure,
could make her happy.
A little discreet questioning had
brought out the cause OF his anger.
She found out the real reputation OF
Pinckney among the work people. The
discovery shocked her.
She understood then why Sommers
had been so enraged. She saw 1t was
not against her or brought about by
any doubt of her, but merely herce,
uncomfortable rage against Pinckney
that he had dared-a man Of his kind
to put her in a position that his
character at once made questionable.
When she had finally come to real
understanding the girl longed to write,
but Sommers by that time was away
on sea duty, and she could not reach
him. Against her own judgment she
had longed for and expected some word
from him. But the naval officers pride
was too great to pursue a further in
frusion after so signal a rebuff.
Then the girl began to grow pale and
to worry. Her parents noticed the
change without realizing the cause.
No one had any suspicion of the rea!
relation between Frances and the
young naval officer. That good
night" on the vine covered porch was
a secret-a tender memory locked in
her heart and in his, to be brought out
by each, regarded fondly and mourned
over when alone.
Sommers had his work, but Frances
had nothing to distract her mind. No
wonder she grew paler and seemed to
lose interest in everything! Mr.. and
Mrs. Durant became alarmed. They
consulted doctors, but there was moth
ing wrong physically with their daugh-
ter. Finally one big expert proposed
sea voyage, and for the first time
Frances showed some sign Of interest.
Mr.. Durant paid a double size bill
cheerfully, thinking that doctor Won
derful man.
The Durant yacht, the Irvessa, was
got ready as quickly as possible. Mr..
Durant could not go himself, and he
decided 1t would be good plan to send
his wife and daughter away for
cruise in charge Of Pinckney.
Now for a month they cruised, but
Frances showed little sign of interest.
Pinckney was the only one VINO
seemed to get real enjoyemnt out OF
the trip. He now felt that victory must
in the end be his.
He was not deceived by the result
of the first test Of the Sommers gun.
1t had stood the first test safely, but
in his heart the conspirator knew that
soon the badly tempered gun must
fall, perhaps with shocking results.
That mattered little to him. The
worse the accident the greater the dis
grace of Sommers and the surer the
result in his favor The government
must then accept the Rhinestrom gun
and probably would give a bigger or
der than ever.
He had no fear of an investigation.
That had been well attended to. Smith.
under another name, was working far
away. There was no one else who
knew anything except Marsh, and he
could be depended on to keep quiet.