The Tupelo journal., 1910-04-29

start, please"
"All right, sir"
When the party assembled in the
deck saloon for dinner, Lady Maud
was missing. Stemp, who did not
intend that his master should dine
without his personal attention, no mat
ter how much the chief steward might
object to his presence, approached Mr..
Van Torp and whispered something.
Lady Maud begged that the party
would sit down without her, and she
would join them in a moment.
So they took their places, and the
vacant one was On the owners right,
between him and the prima donna.
you see," said Mr.. Van Torp, ex-
planning to Mrs. Rushmore. which was
wholly unnecessary, w are Ameri-
cans, and this ship is America, so the
English guest goes first"
But Mrs. Rushmore knew these
things, for she was used to handling
lions in numbers; and the little lions
and the middle-sized one are very
particular about their places at table,
but the great big ones do not care
"one dingle SAM" as Mr.. Van Torp
would have elegantly expressed their
Indifference. For he was a great big
lion himself.
Did you ever meet Lady Maud?"
he inquired, speaking to Kralinsky.
which Lady Maud?" asked the for
eiener in his rather oily voice. There
are several"
Countess Leven, who was Lady
Maud Foxwell," explained Mrs. Rush
more.
Kralinsky turned quietly to her, his
single ~eyeglass fixed and glittering.
mo" he answered. 81 knew poor
Leven well, but l was intro
duced to his wife. l have heard that
she is very beautiful"
you say you knew the late Count
Leven?" observed Mrs. Rushmore,
with an encouraging and interrogatory
smile.
Intimately" answered Kralinsky
with perfect elf-possession. I'VE were
in the same regiment in the Caucasus.
| dare say you remember that he be-
gan life as a cavalry officer and then
entered the diplomacy. Gifted man.
very," the Russian added in a thought
full tone, "but no balance. 1t seems
to me that l have heard he did not
treat his wife very WE'LL
Mr.. Van Torp had met several very
11oJ aI,a 40 Nd ~, -, III, ;p+oractino ond
profitable career, but he thought that
if the man before him was Leven him
self, as he seemed to be, he beat them
all for calm ~effrontery.
Were you ever told that you looked
like him?" asked Mr.. Van Torp care
lessly.
Even at this question Kralinsky
showed no embarrassment.
ITO tell the truth" he replied, Il re-
member that one or two in the regi-
ment saw a slight resemblance, and
we were of nearly the same height, l
should say. But when | last saw
Leven he did not wear a beard"
At this point Lady Maud came In
quietly and made directly for the va
IAN place. The two men rose as SOC
as she appeared, and she found her.
self face to face with Kralinsky, with
the table between them. Their eyes
met, but Lady Maud could not detect
the slightest look of recognition in his.
Van Torp introduced him, and also
watched his face narrowly, but there
was not the least change of express
sion, MOI any quick glance of surprise.
Yet Kralinsky possibly did not know
that Lady Maud was on the yacht,
for he had not been told previously
that she was to be of the party, and in
the short conversation which had pre-
ceded her appearance, no n had
actually mentioned the fact. She her
self had come to dinner late with the
express purpose of presenting herself
before him suddenly, but she had to
admit that the intended surprise did
not take place.
She was not astonished, however,
for she had more than once seen her
husband placed in very difficult stu
ations, from which he had generally
extricated himself by his amazing
power of ~concealing the truth. Being
seated nearly opposite to him. it was
not easy to study his features without
seeming either to stare at him rudely
or to be bestoWing more attention on
him than on any of the others. Her
eyes were very good, and her memor
for details was fair, and if she did
not look often at his face, she watched
his hands and listened to the intona-
lions of his voice, and her conviction
that he was Leven grew during din
ner. Yet there was still a shadow Of
doubt, though she could not have told
exactly where it lay.
She .longed to lead him into a trap
by asking some question to which if
he were Leven, he would know the an
swer, though not ii he We're any one
else, a question to which he would not
hesitate to reply Cnsuspectingly II the
answer were known to him. But Lady
Maud was not ingenious in such con
yersational tricks, and could not think
Of anything that would do.
The outward difference of appear
ance between him and the man she
had married was SO small that she
could ~assuredly not have sworn in ev-
idence that Kralinsky was not her
husband. There was the beard. and
she had not seen Leven with a beard
since the first months of her mar
rage four years ago, when he had cut
it of for some reason Known only to