Imperial Valley press., 1910-12-31

ht'h hVNiSNh biAD t1A OuD iOiWdlUs 1 by her side-and he had run forward with astonishing quickness-she con fronted him with an air of smiling innocence.
 Whats all this?" the lieutenant be- gan authoritatively.
 Your man was very rude to me- said Susan quickly. CT had unknotted my neckerchief and the wind bleY it along the deck"
 From the poop to the fo'c's1?" queried Mornington.
 "It caught temporarily on the boom boats," returned the woman quickly, land just as started to pick it up it blew free and Mir. Conant handed it to me and then the man began
 What did you say to this lady?" thundered Mornington, his suspicious entirely diverted by Susan's clever ness.
 "I-yer honor-I'-- began the man, stammering.
 Answer me-" persisted the lieu tenant, now thoroughly aroused, but ! unfortunately aroused in the wrong direction.
 "I didn't say nothin' to her, sir. said no talkin' was allowed between the prisoners and the quarterback ceptin' with you, sir"
 MT. Conant didn't say one word to me-" began Susan, with well-smu- lated indignation.
 "I give you that parole you've been askin for that never said word to her." put in the mate, blithely fol- lowing the womans lead and doubly delighted to deceive the officer he hated, q jus naturally picked up the kerchief, having seen you do the same sort of thing many times, and lookin' to you for information and example as to what gentleman should do, as you once told me-"
 Very well," said Mornington; ] "there has been no harm done, l sup pose, only it looked little out of , order No, I don't blame you," he said to the sailor; you did perfectly right Now, Mistress Hubbell, if you" He indicated the stern of the. ship with gesture, and Susan, kerchief in hand, quickly preceded him along the gangway.
 Her step faltered and grew slower. She plainly waited for him, and though he was disturbed and annoyed and somewhat indignant over what exactly he could not formulate, he did not join her until she so pointedly halted that he perforce was compelled i to do so. There was no one by the starboard gangway where they stopped, no one who could overhear, when she looked up at him and said, with real anxiety in her heart:
 You're not angry with me? for got was prisoner"
 No, child, not angry he said reas- suringly. 'I confess I was startled, but you said he held rfo communica- tion with you and I understand it was all an accident"
 | Now, that was just what Susan had not said, and perhaps strict honesty would have compelled her to have eX- plained that he had misconstrued her remark. And yet it was not her busi- ness to furnish him with construc- tions she said to herself. If she told the truth and he drew the wrong in- | ference from it or put the wrong meaning upon it-wby, that was his 1 lookout. So she reasoned, and while she had a feeting inclination to tell him, the moment passed and she was committed-an committed with an uneasy conscience indeed You see, I never can be sure of a prisoner. The only one I'm certain of is the Frenchman in double irons. The mate has indeed given me fair warning that he will try to get back | the ship, for, as you know, he has refused to give his parole half doz- en times, and when I first saw you I thought you might be there by some contrivance."
 Susans lips trembled from a com bination of motives hard to analyze and harder to define. She had been there because she wanted to be- She had contrived very cleverly to get there. She had in her possession, against her heart, a note which she