The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-23
(Continued.)

aid, the once careless, LSnl-hooi'S 'S" Ronald, sought Cara The stolen treasure might be said to be part of his quest; but in truth he rarely ever thought of it. It was Cara, the girl who had whispered the eonfes- sion of her love on his breast, whose kisses he still felt, in the silent watch es of the night, on his lips-it was the woman whom he loved with all ms heart and soul that he wanted, with longing growing more fierce with ev- cry day that mocked his search.
 He had refused to accompany Vane to England, and eagerly accepted the loan of the yacht. and had laid the fiattering unction to his soul that, be- fore many days. perhaps hours' should elapse, he would find her, claim her for his wife, and carry her beyond the influence of the man wno called himself her father. but who treated her as a slave and a prlsoner' but the days had slipped into weeks' the weeks into months, and he was still seeking her.
 There had been no clue upon which he could seize; she had disappeared, been carried off, as mysteriously as II she had been spirited into the air. He had searched the islands, Sicily the mainland; but no trace of her could be found; and there was nothing to help him, not even conjecture, Tor Lemuel Raven might have taken her inland to some out-of-the-way part of Europe, or he might have carried her and the stolen treasure across the seas.
 The iron had entered Ronald's heart: and he was changed in appear ance as we'll as mentally and spiritu- ally; he had become thin and care worn. the devil-may-care expression which had laughed in his eyes hao given place to a stern and somnre one; he spake but seldom. and spent most of his time pacing the deck, shut up in his cabin when on board the yacht, or roaming about on shore, always inquiring. always seek ing, with a dogged persistence, sul- len i1npatience, a passionate intensity, which made him an absolute slave 10 the one idea.
 He was putting in now at Monaco, not because he had any desire to land on the fairy shores, but because the yacht wanted provisioning; and, when the captain asked if he were going ashore, he shrugged his shoul- ders and shook his head indifferent ly. It was not likely that he should find Cara there; tomorrow he would sail--where?
 The yacht came to anchor, and he was listlessly watching the men low ering a boat when Smithers ap- proached him. If Ronald had had a bad time. so also had Smithers; for the faithful soul was compelled to look on at the unhappiness which had transformed his master without being able to help him. Smithers was in the dark as regards the actual cause of Ronald's trouble; but he had overheard certain snatches of con- versation between Vane and Ronald which had enabled him to glean that the latter was seeking something even more precious to him than the stolen treasure; and though Smithers, with his Cockney shrewdness. was too wise to irritate Ronald with overt sym pathy, he watched over his master with silent and unobtrusive anxiety, quite prepared, when the moment ar rived. to stand by him and render de- voted assistance in any enterprise.
 Sn1ithers had laid aside his tim whistle. his funny stories had appar- ently died up, and he himself. to his amazement. was growing grave thoughtful, and preoccupied.
 Not going ashore. sir?" he said with respectful solicitude. Stun ming kind O place, sir-like a scene at theayter; I've been expectin' tc see fairies let down by wires out oi the sky, like you see in the panto- mime. But p'raps it ain't so beauti. full when you get amongst it.
 Ronald raised his moody eyes from the deck and looked at Smithers ab. sently.
 ''No; I'll stay aboard" he said You can take leave, Smithers; ge and see for yourself whether it i: real or not.'
 Thank you, sir,' said Smithers saluting, "but I've got another en- gagement. Thinkin' you were goin ashore I made up my mind to enjoy myself 'avin' a reg'lar turn out of tht saloon; it wants it bad enough, ana me and Tom, in company with flannel and a piece. O soap, mean 'avin' a reg'lar beano.a kind O. spring clean. You see. sir, we thought a you'd be certain to spend a day o two here, an it would be a good op portunity for us. It's a pity to los such a chance, as the old maid sait ~nsn the oiino senueman proposss to her.
 Ronald regarded his irrepressibi follower with the shadow of a smile
 ''I see you mean me to go ashore Smithers," he said; 'and I notIc