The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-09-07
THAT AFFAIR AT
ELIZABETH 4. BY seE:a E ss;s:.sen
York-I Holt Cos
New Yorx-Henry Holt & Co.-1SU.

forbore: instead, took the telegram
again and studied 1t.
IF you really wish to find her."
said. perhaps this will give US clue"
Il do wish to find her"
This form will tell us which station
this message was sent from, / think
Walt here minute" and / crossed the
hall to the brokerage offices Of Sims &
Wesson. May l speak to your opera
tori" l asked of the junior partner.
Certainly" he said, and waved me
to the.little room where the instruments
were clicking merrily away.
Can you tell me what these charac-
tiers mean?" asked, placing the mes
sage before the operator and pointing
to the row Of figures and letters at the
top Of it-"61CWDDSASPD."
The 61," he said. means. that this
was the 6lst message received at Eliza
beth this morning; CIV means that the
street office--corner Christopher and
West. ID and SA' are the initials of
the operators who sent and received
the message; 'SPD' means that there
are eight words in the message and that
1t was prepaid. It's the regular form
used on all Western Union messages"
THANK YOU" ! said, and hurried back
across the hall elated, for l had learned
more than ! had dared to hope.
'Well?" asked Curtiss. looking UP
with anxious face.
/ The message was filed at the Chris
topher street Office" i said, Christie
pher and West street"
West street," eachoed Mr.. Royce
What on earth was she doing there ?"
She could have been doing only one
thing" pointed out exuTtantly. when
woman goes down to the docks, it
must be"
To fol
Just SO! And when she goes to that
particular portion of the docks, ii must
be to take transatlantic liner"
Curtiss stared at me for moment as
though not understanding; then he rose
| heavily to his feet.
J. We'll, can follow her even there"
he said. and started for the door.
But Mr.. Royce had him by the arm.
my dear Curtiss!" he protested.
Think what wild goose chase you're
starting on!"
/ Better than sitting idle here" re-
torted Curtiss doggedly; and l could
not but agree with him.
/ Perhaps can narrow the search
down little" / said. Suppose we
drive around to the West street Office"
"Just what l was about to do" said
| Curtiss. and. led the way to the eleva-
| tor.
During that drive across town, we
| found little to say. Curtiss was deep
| In his own thoughts, and / saw from
the way Mr.. Royce looked at him, how
anxious he was concerning him. But
at last we reached our destination.
Can you give me any description of
| the person who sent this MESSAGE"
! asked. and spread out the telegram be-
fore the man at the desk. Perhaps
you'll let US see the original"
| :, He glanced at the message and then
at us.
mo question of a mistake, I hope"
he said. THE message reads straight
| enough"
NO" answered; rather a question
| Of preventing a mistake. I hope you
| won't refuse US"
He glanced us over again and seemed
to understand.
IT'S little irregular" he said, but
| guess ! can do it."
He opened drawer, and ran through
| sheaf OF papers.
/ Here 1t is" he said. and laid sheet
| before us. "You see the message vas
correctly sent"
Yes agreed; but it was not at the
| message / was looking; 1t was at the
sheet upon which u was written-a
sheet which had embossed at the top
the words rs. s. Umbria."
who sent the message?" ! asked.
1T was brought In by messenger
from the Cunard liner pier.
What time did the Umbria sail?'
"She was to have called at II o'clock,
but was delayed by little accident Of
some sort. Perhaps she's still at her
pier"
I thanked fortune that had told our
cabman to wait; think Curtiss would
have been craZed by any delay. AS it
was, we rushed from the office and
| crowded in.
"The Cunard pier!" cried Mr.. Royce,
| "and in hurry" and he waved bill
under the claimants nose.
| Not until We were under way did
| Curtiss speak,
did you see?" he asked, in voice
which shook convulsively. 1.-THE mes
sage was In Marcia's writing"
| Eyes," I said. II recognized It,"
I'VE must catch the boat. Why don't
that fellow whip up?"
/ Hes going as fast as he can" said
Mr.. Royce. "Sit still, Curtiss,' and he
| threw an arm about him.
What a ride that was over the cob
BILE stones Half a dozen times I
thought collision inevitable, but we
had fallen into skillful hands, and were
| crowd Of vehicles where 1t seemed a
hand barrow could not hope to CO.
Here we are!" cried cabby, and we
tumbled out. He had done his best to
earn his tip, and got it.
| The pier was crowded, but we forced
our way along 1t with scant regard for
the feelings of other people. Had the
ship satled-were we in time.
She's gone" said Mr.. Royce, as we
/ gained the front of the crowd. "See
u ere"
There she was, headed squarely down
the stream, just gathering speed. There
was flutter Of handkerchiefs from her
deck we could see the people crowding
against the rail in their eagerness to
wave a last goodby-.
| Curtiss, who had been staring at her
stnridly. suddenly flushed and pulled
himself erect.
There she isl" he cried. "See--stand-
| ing alone by that forward boat"
| stared with all my eyes. There was
i indeed a figure there-a woman clad
in black-but the face was the merest
! blur.
you think so?" asked incredu-
| lousy
Il know SOL" and he swung sharp
round. his face alight with eagerness.
"Come-there must be some way to
catch her--a tug"
| He accosted the first blue coated Of
fetal he could find, but that worthy
shook his head. No tug could catch
the Umbria now; besides, there was
none at hand to make the trial. BY
the time one could be secured, the ship
| would be far down the bay, settling