The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-03-09
The DIAMOND SHIP
MAX PEMBERTON
Author Of Doctor Xavier" 1.-THE Hundred Days." ETC.
Copyright D. Appleton Co.

that I shall be content to lie here now.
FELL him am coming up at once. 1t Is
nonsense to make such fuss"
Joan shook her head as though, thus
early, she had come to despair of ;ne
"Only a man would talk like that"
she exclaimed, and then-"Only
man would be so ungrateful."
Il demur to the charge. You set a
great crowd OF DULLES on me to hold
me down by violence, and then talk Of
ingratitude! Do you not see, my dear
girl that / must know what is going
on? How can I lie here when there is
so much uncertainty-when so many
things may happen? Please do as /
tell you, and let Captain Larry know
at once
She came and stood by my bedside,
and touching my fingers for an instant
with her own--a gesture which thrilled
me as though some strange current
of new life burned in my veins-she
said very quietly:
There is nothing happening, DR..
Fan. If you went up TO the bridge.
you would see nothing but the fog.
That Is what Mr. McShanus is looking
at now-at that and the punch bowl.
We cannot see the others--we shall
never see them again, / hope"
1t was calmly said. and yet what a
agony among the ruffians, intolerable
hours of suffering and distress I
thought her then one of the bravest Of
women-I think so to this hour.
JOAN" said, chow did you come
here? Where did Okyada find you?
have thought much about 1t, and
believe that know. But you must tell
me yourself. You hid in one of the
boats, did you not-one Of the three
wished me to go on board their ship.
I thought it must be so. There was no
other way"
She had seated herself by this time
in girlish attitude at the foot Of my
bunk, her feet swinging together as
though to express a sense of her indif
ference: her hands clasped her eyes
| avoiding mine as though she feared
would read the whole truth therein.
You were a wizard always, DR.. Fan.
My father that is General Fordibras,
| said so-Mr. McShanus thinks 1t, and
| so does Captain Larry. Yes, it was in
the last of the boats that hid myself.
1 saw them lower it, and then, when
| they all got into the first two climb
ed down from the gangway. and hid
| myself under the tarpaulin. Have you
ever been really afraid, DR.. Ean-afraid
for an instant of something which
seems to be worse than your thoughts
can imagine? Well, l have been afraid
like that ever since Mr.. Imroth took me
on the ship-afraid in a way 1 cannot
tell you-yes, so afraid that / would
lie for hours. and shut all sights and
| sounds from my ears, and pray that the
day would find me dead. 1 tell you now
that you may not speak to me Of it
again. could not bear It. God knows
/ could not"
For an instant. and an instant onlye
her courage failed her, and burying her
| face in her hands she wept like child.
| Herein l think she gave expression to
| sion to that pent-up anguish she had so
long supported silently and alone. /
did not seek to comfort her. did not
answer a word to her piteous entreaty.
| The circumstances of her rescue must,
| in the end be their own answer to her
| fears, l thought.
I'VE will not speak Of it, JOAN" I
| said gently. 1T was clever thought
| to hide yourself in the boat, and !
wonder it occurred to you. OF course
I should have been disappointed IL l
| had been wrong. Directly they told
me that you were not on the ship,
guessed that you had jumped down
into one Of the neglected boats, and
| that Okyada would find you there.
That is fellow who reads my mind
more clearly than I can read it myself
| He Is the true wizard. We must keep
Okyada always with us when we go
back to the old home in England Joan.
would not lose him for all the riches
on your Diamond Ship and more. Yes,
indeed, we must never part with Oky-
ada.
This was said with some meaning,
and Joan Fordibras would have been
unworthy Of the cleverness with which
credited her, had the intent of 1t
failed. She understood me instantly
I knew that it would be so.
II must go to Paris" she rejoined
with a dignity inseparable from such
an answer. General Fordibras will
be waiting for me there. I must 20
to him, DR.. Fan. It was never his in
tention to send me on the ship-no, ]
will do him the justice to say that
They tricked me into going-Mr. I'm
roth and those with him. My father
would have taken me back to America
He promised me that the day I went
to Valley House. I believe that he was
| in earnest-he has never told me a lie
| "A point In his favor and one Of the
best. Then it was Imroth who took
you away that night my friends saved
me. I should have thought Of that. ]
should have guessed as much.
Insensibly, you will see, I had been
leading her to tell me the whole story
of her life since we had been separat-
| ed at Valley House. Her determine
| ton to go to Paris found worthy OF
her attitude since the beginning; heI
LOYALTY to this arch-villain, Fordi-
bras, remained amazing In its consist
ency. After all, I remembered, this
man had shown her some kindness
and, in a sense, had acted a fathers
part toward her. did not believe
that he had intended deliberately tc
1 brand her with the crimes his agents
had committed. That had been I'm
roth's work--the work of a man who
was the very keystone Of this stipend.
Gus conspiracy. I could not blame
Joan because she had the wit to see it
"You will remember that 1t was after
dinner, Dr. Fan, and had gone to my
room," she said, replying to my ques-
ton. II had been there perhaps hall
an hour when the old servant, who USED
to wait on me, came up and said thai
my father was waiting for me in the
gardens. l ran down at once, and fol.
lowed her to the mountain gate which
the General alone made use Of Their,
met the negro, who said that I mus
accompany him to the observator,
which is on the cliffs, as you know.
did not suspect anything; why SHOULD
l.? My father was often at the obser.
vatory with Mr.. Imroth, and I i'm.
agined that they had some good new!
for me. That was child's thought
but 1 am not ashamed of 1t. No soonel
had we passed the tunnel than two o
the sailors ran up from the cliff road
and told us that the General had gon,
on board the yacht, and that I mus
.alIou him TT WAS a tricE ne co,,rca