The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-06-30
CHAPTER XIII.
The Long Search.

Mr.. Valentine Arthur Langford was
Wearily pacing the quarter deck of his
magnificent yacht, the Southern Cross.
Mr.. Lansford was an intensely dis
appointed and embittered man. He
had made two ventures which, by a
stretch of language in one case at least,
could be called matrimonial, and both
of them had resulted in disaster. Death
oppOrtunely had relieved him of one
wife; the other who had stood in the
place Of the former without the legal
ceremony or the spiritual benediction
had vanished under circumstances so
mysterious that he had no idea wheth-
or she was alive or dead. On a certain
night some three years ago he had a
, dim remembrance that he had be-
lhaved like a brute to a woman. His
remembrance was only dim as to de-
tails. 1t was entirely clear as to the
fact
: What had happened as a result of
rhis conduct he could not clearly state.
The next morning the crew had found
him lying insensible on the cabin floor
with fractured skull. The woman
was gone, also the power boat which
had trailed astern of the yacht in the
cal condition that when he was not
unconscious, he was delirious. He had
been able to give no coherent account
Of affairs and equally unable to give
any directions as to the future move
ments of the yacht, which had been
bound nowhere in particular upon a
pleasure cruise.
The old sailing-master and captain,
much distressed by the situation and
ehe emergency in which he found him
self suddenly plunged, decided that
ais best course, in fact, his only
course, was to get back to civilization
and a doctor as soon as possible. He
had instantly put the yacht about and
headed for the nearest land where he
might hope to get suitable care for his
terribly Ill young employer. He
pushed the yacht to the utmost speed
and in three weeks dropped anchor in
Honolulu, just in time to save the
young mans life. Indeed, for a long
time 1t was touch and go as to wheth
er his life could be saved at all, and
it was not until nearly a year had
elapsed before the Southern Cross
sailed for San Francisco with weak
and shaky, but convalescent owner, on
her quarter deck.
The departure of Katharine Brenton
with Valentine Langford had made a
great sensation, but it was nothing to
the sensation which ragged when it be
came known that Valentine Langford
had returned without her. She was
1 woman of too much Importance, she
mad played too large part in the af
fairs of the world. civilization had
manifested too much interest in her
to allow her to drop out of its sigh
without at least making an effort tC
find her. The position of Mr.. Valen
tine Langford became Interestingly
difficult in the face of storm of in
quiry. Mr.. Langford's previous mar
riage was, fortunately for him, un
known, but the world had had com
plete and adequate idea of the terms
Of the union which had been entered
upon so blithely between Langford ant
Miss Brenton that the first question
that met him when he came back alone
was as to which one had repented
Had the woman come to her senses
had the man grown tired Of her, hat
they parted, and where was the won
ant These were queries which were
put to him with the direct simplicity o
the American public through its impe
rious representatives, the reporters
And to these questions Mr.. Langfort
could return no adequate answer what
ever except the truth, which he could
not bring himself to tell. He de
clared that she had left the yacht II
the South seas, that he did not know
her present whereabouts. and refused