The Washington times., 1911-08-31

One of these staterooms, the best, was
evidently occupied, for every curtain
Of its windows was carefully drawn
Nella did not hope that the baroness
was on board; 1t was quite possible foi
the baroness to have caught the
O'Clock steamer; and 1t was also quite
possible for the baroness not to have
gone to Ostend at all, but to some othei
place in an entirely different direction.
nevertheless, Nella had a faint hope
that the lady who called herself Zerlin-
SKI might be in that curtained state
room and throughout the smooth moon-
III voyage she never once relaxed her
observation of its door and windows.
The Marie Henriette arrived in Os-
tend harbor punctually at a. III.
There was the usual Heterogeneous,
gesticulating crowd on the quay Nella
kept her post near the door of the state
room, 9nd at length was rewarded by
seeing II open. -Four middle-aged Eng
lishnlen issued from 1t.
From glimpse of the interior Nella
saw thai they had spent the voyage In
card playing.
1t would not be too much to say that
tended TO be annoyed with circumstances,
but really she was annoyed with Neiia
hacksole.
At in the morning, without luggage,
without any companionship, ana %lth-
out plan of campaign, she found ner-
of evil repute, possessing some OF the
worst managed hotels in Europe.
She strolled on the quay, for few
minutes, and then she saw the smoke Of
another steamer in the offing. She in
Quired from an official what that
steamer might be. and was told that 1t
was the o'clock from Dover, which had
broken down, put into Calais for some
slight necessary repairs, and was arliV-
ing at its destination nearly four hours
late.
Nella's mercurial spirits rose again. A
minute ago she had been regarding her
self as no better than nlnny engaged
In a wild goose chase. Now she felt
that after all she had been very saga
cious and cunning.
She was morally sure that she would
find the Zerlinsh woman on this second
steamer, and che took all the credit TO
herself In advance. Such Is human ma
ture.
The steamer seemed interminably slow
in coming into the harbor. Nella
walked on the Digue for few minutes
to watch it the better
The town was silent and almost qe-
serted, 1t had q false and sinister as
pect. Ss
She remembered tales which she had
heard Of this glittering resort-Whlcn IN
the season holds more scoundrels than
any place in Europe, save only Nlonle
Carlo.
She remembered that the gilded ad-
yenturers of every nation under the
sun foregathered there either for bust-
ness or pleasure and that some OF tHe
most wonderful crimes of the latter
half of the century had been schemeo
and matured in that haunt OF cosmo-
politan iniquity.
When the second steamer arrived
NeIla stood at the end Of the gangway'
close to the ticket collector
The first person to step on snore was
mot the Baroness Zerlinski. but Miss
Spencer herself!
Nella turned aside instantly, hiding
her face, and Miss Spencer, carrying
small bag, hurried with assured foot
steps to the custom house. 1t seemed
as If she knew the port OF Ostend
fairly well.
The moon shone like day, and Nella
had full opportunity to observe her
quarry.
She could now see quite plainly the
Baroness Zerlinski had been only Miss
Spencer in disguise. There was the
same gait, the same movement OF the
head and of the hips, the white hair
was easily to be accounted for by
wig, and the wrinkles by paint brush
and some grease paints.
Miss Spencer, whose hair was now its
accustomed yellow, got through the
custom house without difficulty, and
Nella saw her call a closed carriage and
say something to the driver.
The vehicle drove off, and Nella
jumped into the next vehicle that came
up.
cinctly to the driver. in French.
'Bien, madame
The driver whipped his horse and the
animal shot forward with terrific
clatter over the cobbles.