Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-15
CHAPTER XIII.
Of an Old Letter and a New Friend
Copyright. 1910, 10y Henry Holt & Coz

The next three days passed quietly. and,
indeed. after the stirring events which
/ had followed so closely. one upon the
heels of the other. since my arrival on
the island l was thankful for the respite.
| l slept and ate and slept again. storing
up energy as the soldier does in prepara-
ton for the coming battle. I thought a
great deal too, for l was both soldier
and general-it was for me to plan as
we'll as To fight, to be on the watch for
the enemy'S moves and to meet him with
| counter StratagemS. But where the sur
face life runs smoothly, without percep-
tible halts or jars. it is hard to pierce it's
depths, and, except for Mr. Hayward s
| frank attempts to win my Friendship and
! Dicks open hostility. | might have be-
| lieved that the past had been forgotten,
that the future held no cause for alarm.
/ The puZzing conversation which l had
overheard remained unexplained. nor was
any overt action taken to include me in
the proposed plot. ] was approached by
no one. required to give no promises. Of
| fered no bribes. I lived. as I had lived
before. well fed guest, whose comings
and soings seemed TO he a matter of the
utmost indiffe. ence Whether the part
was to play still undecided, or
whether the time for execution was not
yet ripe il was evident that they had no
! ltdF OF my escape.
For the rest | was left much to myself.
meeting the others only at meals. or in
| the daily routine of the island. Pierre.
with his mission still unaccOmplished.
seemed to Shun me: Sylvia | saw not at
all. The Frenchman explained her alb
sence by the fact that Mrs. Hayward was
| i'll and needed the girls whole attention.
| But l lad my own ideas on the subject,
and read the reason for her non-appear-
ance as a wish to avoid me. 1t was the
one tangible clue which indicated that Mr..
flaEWardS plan was still afOot.
| had thought OF the girl a great deal
since | had overheard the old mans in
tentions regarding her. and his mercenary
| plan of bargaining away her freedom had
! let loose a flood OF sympathy for her in
| my mind. In some way she seemed to
have grown closer to me-closer. not from
any personal intimacy, but through Curl
Gus mental projection of her upon my in
ner vision | saw her now as a defense
| less victim, waiting to be sacrificed for
] the sake of her fathers greed. The pic
ture of her helplessness lent her a new
and distinctly feminine charm in my eyes,
aWoke my dormant spirit of chivalry. l
must protect her-save her from her
| fathers wles at any cost. 1t must not
| be imagined that the idea Of Sylvia as my
wife displeasing to me: indeed with
this Infamous scheme Of the old man s
| hanging over us, l dared not allow my
self to consider it at all. My only thought
and act as her Self-appointed defender.
But the time not far OFF when 1 was
to realize how nearly such quixotism was
allied to love.
noon when. as | strolled up the path to
the seward cliffs after dinner, I caught
glimpse of Anderson. the surly fisher
man. slipping hurriedly out OF sight
around the further corner of the cluster
of rocks which marked the entrance to
the cave. He had left the table early
under pretense of feeling unwell: but
neither his present occupation nor his
agility in hiding himself was in keeping
with the role of sick man. Vaguely sus-
picious. | fastened my steps to catch up
with him. AS l rounded the powders he
rose quickly from before the opening OF
the tunnel. A bulky valise, strapped as
for journey, was thrust half into the
narrow hole.
Feeling better?' l inquired.
Not much
Then what are YOU doing out here?'
'Takin the air-perhaps" He eyed me
belligerently.
Perhaps" I rejoined but it looks
more though you We're going to camp
out
"Why?'
] indicated the valise
''Oh, that lie gave the bag vicious
kick. They're Only some old clothes
want to get rid Of
''Of course. And you're taking them to
some poor fellow on the mainland. Very
good Of you. I'm sure" l glanced al him
swiftly. When do YOU leave-tonight
An angry frown creased. his forehead
More Of your business.
No ! agreed: its Mr.. Hayward's"
He raised a threatening finger. If
you re goin' to peach on me-
Il can't see anything else to do
broke in, suavely. Can you? When one
of his trusted lieutenants decides to de-
sert him
Trusted nnthn's," he exploded I'm
through with him and his devils brood
forever"
His eyes hlazed with sudden fury and
the lifted hand. closing tightly into a fist
came down upon the bowlder with a
heavy thud. l smiled quietly.
so there's been trouble between you?"
.'Trouble?" he echoed. Its worse than
trouble-it's hate-black hate
He caught himself up quickly as though
he had remembered to whom he was talk
ing. \ sly. furtive look crept over his
face.
What happened?''
None of your business he retorted
again.
| pondered for moment. If the man
had really fallen out with the Hay
wards he might prove to he valuable
ally: II he had not his enmity waste be
feared. In either event it behooved me
TO act circumspectly before showing my
hand. | was conscious that he watched
iilt t!pStlS Willie dPHDtfdteu. ana,
moved by d Sense OF caution. ! waited un-
I'll he broke the silence first
You don believe me-. he said. You
don't think its possible for a man To live
here long as | have and lave a spark
Of honesty left in him. Well I don't
wonder at YOU. / only wonder at myself
that I've been able to keep that spark
alive. Perhaps l couldn't have done il If
II hadn been for He paused. his
lower lip beginning to tremble: he da shed
his hand hurriedly across his eyes Eve
got wife on Shore who thinks I'm dead
he Went on slowly. and I've let her
think so. 1t would kill her if she knew
what Id become. | was honest enough
until | landed on this blasted island and
got into the old mans clutches He
dragged me down as he had dragged
others before meas he's dragging you
now
| started. What do you mean"
Anderson laughed brutally. You don't
think he'd keep YOU alive unless he had
some use for YOU? He's hardly that kind.
When lie gets his plan workin' he'll have
YOU Just where he wants YOU
What plan"" Ny voice was trembling
with excitement.
Anderson grinned. That interests you.
don't ii e.
ignored his bartering Tell me what
YOU know"
Il don't know anythin much They've
not honored me with their confidence But
can make a pretty good guess al it.
They're going to play your position for
all it's wortl-malse a sort o social high
Wayman out o YOU
''Yes-yes" His slow drawl irritated
o. OF n G n fIot HIIf