Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-06-02

l
thinking Of Iris. far stranger than he
could guess but his thoughts were
subconsciouS. and he was in nowise
neglcctirg the safety of the shin.
lIo2icr heard Coke reading the riot
act to the shclhncks who were sun.
roScd To keep II sharp lookout ahead
But he captain did not monopolizc the
conversation. Ills deep notes rumbled
only ut intervals. The mcu had some.
thing Ia say He returned to the
bridge
zone O! them sCallywncs seq e as
seen ghost" he announced With the
calm air Of man WHO states that the
moon will rise during the nest hour
"Oh. Is he the NAN who reported II
ghost outside the la2arctte last night
II S'prsc so. bid % tell you about
It? That's where she walks"
She"
THAT'S his yarn female ghost. n
black I'm. black clo'eS anyhov'. I'll
take the forenoon watch, an you
mlGht overhaul the ship for stow
Always after breakfast"
"YcS, sir" said ilo2!nr. And that is
how it fell to hi, lot to discover Iris
Yorke. iookinc very white and miscra-
bic. when the hatch of the laZarcttc
WIS broken open at half past < on
Thursday morning.
a tramp steamer Is not n complex
organism. She is made UP OF holds.
md tX.ifl 3,
scauty accommodation for officers and
crew grouped round the funup! or
stuck in the bows when the boats
We're stripped Of their tarpaulins and
n few lockers and storerOomS exam
ncd the only available hiding places
were She shaft tunnel. the holds and
the lAzarette. Il small space between
decks, situated directly above the pro-
pciler. where Il reserve supply of pro-
visions is generally carried.
But the door of tue iazarettc was
locked and.the Key missing There
xas nothilx for it but to force the
lock
1t was dark in there. and IIozier
was undeniabty startled by the spec
tacle OF Il slim figure, wrapped in n
long ulster, standing among the cases
and packages.
"Now. ont YOU come" lie cried. with
ginffness that was intended only to
cover his own amlzement but Iris
despite the horrors of srasickncss and
confinement in the dark was not mind
cd to suffer what she considered to J."
impcrtincnce on the part ot second
officer
Il am Miss Yorkc." she said coming
forward into the hlif !ight OF the low
err deck. ANY explanation Of my
presence here will he given to the cay
tain and to no other person"
That innocent word person is capa-
bic of many meanings. ilozicr felt
That It's application to himself was dis
tnc1ly unfavorahe. And Iris was
quito digultrd and self possessed. She
had given Il few G"ft touches to her
hair
"Of course id not know to whom
WAS speaking,' he nalagcd 70 say.
/ for he now rcc"c ni2rd the ghost and
/ was more surprised than he had ever
( been in his Hfe hefore
THAT is ma,tcricas." said Iris friSd
/ IT, Where is Captain Coke:'
On the bridge" said Philip.
Il will go 10 hin, Please don't come
with me. ! tried to tell you that
wonld unlock the door, but You rrfu 'P,i
to listen. u ii you let me pass"
He 0beycd in silence.
Iris hurried 70 the deck. The liGht
seemed to dazzle her. and ner steps
were so uncertain that Ho2ier sprang
/ forward and caught her arul
"Wout you sit down "A moment. Miss
! Vortex" be said. 1T you searched the
whole ship yoi could not have chosen
worse place to travel in than the
/ lazarctte."
81 was driven ont twice at night by
the rats" she Gasped.
TOO bad" he whispered "Iiut Il
was Your own fault. Why did yea GO
il; At any rate. wait here a few min
utes before you luepy the captain"
Il am not afraid of meeting him
Why should be: He knows me"
II meant Only that you are hardly
able 10 walk. but | seem to say the
wrong thing every time. Where is moth
ing really tC worry about. We are not
far from Queenstown. We can pm.
you ashore there IS losing halt q
day"
The girl hnd been III. rackci in body
and distraught in mind. but she som,
! Oh !. / j.,
You arr stiii saying the wrong
thing. Nj Uo2ja:" she mnrmu:el,
Tho Andromeda will not put int
Queenstown from this hour brcom,
/ a passenger, not stoWaway. My IN
Gle knows now that am here. Thanl
you. You need not hold me any long
er. | have quite recovered. Captain
Coke is on the bridge, you said? | cal
| ind my way. This ship Is no strange
to me-
And away she went. justifylug he
statements by tripping rapidly for
ward The mere sight Of her create,
! boundlcss excitement among sucl
members Of the crew as were on decl;
When she reached the bridge, wher,
Captain Coke was propped against th'
/ chart house, she had lost "A good dea
Of the pallor and woebcgonc semblanc,
mat had domoralizcd liOZirr.
coke heard the rapid. Hight footstcp,
and turned his head Certainly h,
could not have been more stupeficc
night.