The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-08-29

from his memory. a suspicion flashed
through his mind which he put nsida
with disdain, as absurd and farfstchr
ed. On the other hand. Ha
knit his brows in puzzlcmsnt.
The very ixity of his regard drew
the eyes Of its object upwards. They
| encountered O'Rourke's. fingered brief
ly in an unveiled. lnquiring stare In
which there was not to be detected
the least hint of recognition, and
passed onward casually, indifferently.
ignoring the impertinence.
The tenders passengers began to
stumble up the gang.plank to a lower
deck OF the liner; and O'Rourke. with
sober face, went below, taking some
care TO avoid contact with the incom.
ing crowd
He found Danny was in his state
room, engaged with some details OF
repair TO the adventurer's wardrobe.
o'Rourke remained for q brief space
standing in the middle OF the cabin,
vIsibly distracted. Then abruptly
some whimsical consideration seemed
to resolve his dubiety-as lightning
will clear sultry. brooding air; a smile
deepened the corners of his mouth.
the flicker in his eye merged magically
I into twinkle, the shrug OF his broad
shoulders conveyed an impression OF
casting care to the winds.
Danny. lad" he remarked reflect.
lively. throwing himself ungracefully
upon the cushioned transom opposite
to his berth. Danny, ye wouldn't lie
to me. would ye now"
AVN" reproved Danny. "Shure,
yer honor knows ut isn't in me at all"
And to himself; "Phat the divvle
now7"
Then tell me. Danny. truthfully:
did ye ever see n ghost?"
Administering cause to take the
query as n Joke.
"A ghost that had grown a beard
since 1t had become n ghost, Danny"
"Aw-aw.w!"-still willing to be
amused. II himself chose to be face.
tlous.
Because" continued ORourke with
slight frown. 81 have, and that not
five minutes since"
"Aw?"
Vance left man for dead, Dan.
ny, with clean sword.thrust througl
the body Of hm-a misbegotten black.
guard he was; but killed him in fair
fight, sword to sword, and no f..
hrfa
beautiful morning. 10 and behold ",
who should come tripping up the gan :.
plank but his ghost, as lively AZ ye
please, and with a neat new beard"
"Aw-w?"--incredulously
o'Rourke frowned impatlently. "Ies
Trehes." he explained
"Aw--"
Stop It. ye parrot! Stop II. sry.
Have ye no word in tho dark lexicon
Of your ignorance other than Ava?
Get up. ye omadhaun, and take me re-.
spects to the purser and ask him
please will he show ye the passcn.
ger-llst"
The valet left with cIrcumspect Ella.
Gritty.
Alone, O'Rourke rose and turned
thoughtfully to revolver that made
a conspicuous black spot on the white
Counterpart of the berth. with NJ ".
Gus, strong fingers unlimbering the
weapon and taking account OF the
brass dials OF the cartridges that
nestled snug In It's six-chambe ID
cylinder. Tho machine was In per. ct
condition, O'Rourke snapped ne
breech shut and thrust It in his 20 X.
ct Then he sat down to think, srb.
consciously aware from noises win.
out that the tender had swung of nd
the anchor was being tripped.
Could the resemblance be accldcu-
tai? 1t seemed hardly possible. Tho
Des Trebes he had known had been a
type distinct, so clear and aloof fro n
the general Frenchman that not even
the addition OF beard to his physlos-
nomy could have proven n thorough
disguise And II seemed reasonable
enough to assume that, Mrs. Prynne
having failed III her undertaking, Des
Trebes would resume his Office as ac-
tive head OF their conspiracy. II IL
were indeed he whom O'Rourke had
Just seen. there was every chance i'm.
agnable that the final chapter in the
history OF the lrishman's connection
with the Pool of Flame would prove
an evontful one
Maybe not" admitted O'Rourke.
maybe / deceive meself. But I'm
persuaded I'll do we'll to keep both mo
eyes open until the day I'm rid OF tho
damned thing"
At this tuncture Danny's knock took
him to the door. "Mongsere Raoul dc
Hyeres." announced the valet breath.
lessly: tits thot the purser says his
name is. yer honour"
Yes" assented O'Rourke dubious
ly. But perhaps the purser's miRta.
ken-mlsinformed"
CTO BE CoNTINUEDJ