The Huttig news., 1911-06-17
CHAPTER VIIi.
First Steps.

native third-class passengers in the bows below, and the long lines of Saugor island. just then s'inring past on the starboard beam.
 Up to the day that the Poonah ad sailed from Tilbury dock, London. from the time he had left Qua;n among the sand dunes of Long Island. he had not been conscious of any sort i of espionage upon his movements But from the hour that the Poonah with it's miscellaneous ships com pany. white yellow. brown, and black. had warped out into the Thames, he had felt he was being watched-hpd realized it instinctively. hay ng no h. ing definite whereon to base his feel ing. He was neither Hmorous nor given to couiurirg up shapes of tor. TOT from the depths of nervous i'm. aginaion: the sensation of being mn der the surveillance Of unseen. pryine eyes is unnlistaka ble Yet he had tried 10 reason himself out of the belief after taking all sensible precautions. such as never ,ettirg the photograph of Sophia Farrell out of his possession and keeping the Token next his skin. in a chamois bag that nestled beneath 7is arm. swinging from a leather cord 7ound his neck. It was quite con eeivable that that jewel. intrinsically invaluable was badly wanted by It's | former possessors. whether for the simple worth Of it or because It play ed an important part in the intrigue. or whatever it was, that had resulted in Rutton's suicide. For his own part, Amber cared nothing for It.
 Such. in short, had been his frame of mind up to eight o'clock of the previous evening. At that hour he had made discovery which had diverted the entire trend of his thoughts. Doggott, ever a poor sailor. had been feeling i'll and Amber had excused him. early in the afternoon. About six o'clock he had gone to his stateroom and dressed for dinner, unattends d. Absorbed in anticipations of the nor row. when first he should set foot in Calcutta and take the first step in pursuit of Sophia Farrell, he had absent-mindedly neglected to empty the pockets of his discarded clothing At seven he had gone to dinner, leav Ing his stateroom door open, as was his habit-a not unusual one witt irst-cabin passengers on long voyages and his fannels swinging iron hooks in the wall About eight. dis covering his oversight through the absence of his cigarette case. he had hurried back to the stateroom to dis cover that he had been curiously | robbed
 His watch. his keys. his small change and his sovereign purse. h's silver cigarette case-all the articles, in fact, that he was accustomed tG stuff into his pockets-with one eA ception. were where he had left them. But the leather envelope containing the portrait of Sophia Farrell was missing from the breast pocket Of his ceat
 From the hour in which he had ob- tained it he had never but this once let it out of his personal possession. 1 The envelope he had caused to be con-
 
 his enforced inaction In London. He had never once looked at it save in strict privacy, secure even from the eyes of Doggott: and the latter did not know what the leather case con tained.
 Thus his preconceived and self-ccn- structed theory as to the extent of The Enemy's knowledge. was in an in stant overthrown. They had seized the very first relaxation of his wig lance to rob him of that which he valued most And in his heart he feared and believed that the incident indicated their" intimacy not alone with his secret but with that which he shared with Colonel Farrell.
 Since then his every move toward regaining the photograph had been | fruitless.
 Tn the end and in despair. Amber posted notice on the ships bulle tin board, offering 50 guineas reward for the return of the photograph tc him either before landing or at the Great Eastern hotel, Calcutta. and n0f iitS NACitbg CSbobiAohCd hio 'pE,s' tion as a mild lunatic, sat down tc twirl his thumbs and await the out come, confidently anticipating there would be none They" had outwit ted him and not 500 guineas woult tempt them" he believed. It re mained only to contrive triumph 1T despite of this setback.
 The Poonah slipped in to her docl under cover of darkness. Amber, dis embarking with Doggott, climbed into an open ghari on the landing stage and was driven swiftly to his hotel
 As he alighted and, leaving Doggot to settle with the ghariwallah. crossed the sidewalk to the hotel entrance. [ beggar slipped through the throng o wayfarers, whining at his elbow.
 Give. o give, Protector of tn Poor!"
 Preoccupied, Amber hardly heard and passed on; but the native stucl leach-like to his side.
 Give, hazoor-and the mercy o God shall be upon the heaven-born fo