Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-28
CYNTHIA0F- THE MINUTE
LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
Ansassr e The Bowl" mo Mans Land-
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| skirt.
Mr.. Claret, somewhat slowly but me-
thodically. managed to quarrel with every
| individual member Of the ships executive
! staff, seeming to derive from this de-
pressing occupation a sort Of morose sat
isfaction.
systematically dividing up her day to
permit Of the prosecution Of her several
interests, Nine. Savaran diligently
browsed through six volumes OF modern
them one and all "disgusting' and threw
| them overheard lest they fall into Gym
| thia's hands; bickered with and badgered
Rhode until that unhappy person glowed
| incandescent with the fury he lacked vo-
| cabulary to express; hectored and bully
ragged Sidonie until the wonder was. not
| that the maid remained in madame's
| service, but that she did not do her a
mortal injury In her sleep; made great
! deal too much Of CYNTHIA added to her
memoirs to the tune of sly chuckles OF
| secret enjoyment: caused Crittenden to
! be presented to her and amiably put MIN
| through a severe examination as to MS
| history. lineage, health, material welfare
and religious convictions: and Ingenious
| ly invented number of annoying Occu-
| pations to fill in moments when spare
time hung heavy upon her hands.
| Cynthia, with the freedom OF the ship
| at her disposal. Informed herself gener-
ally as to its construction and mechanics.
| in the process thereof becoming interest
ed in the wireless station presided over
| by the close-mouthed young Mr.. Thur
| low, who was believed by Crittenden to
possess rather more OF the clue to the
| mystery of their expedition than any
body else save Rhode and Perez. He
was. however, exasperatfngly praise
worthy for his rettcence on that subject.
if almost too willing to talk on all others
| ina ginable
| In this connection it was remarked
that the operator NEGLECTED. his station
| altogether the first day out; spent some
little time tuning up on the second. and
| on the third stuck close to the little house
on the main deck, forward, where the
paraphernalia was installed. making the
hours noisy with the swapping and thun-
dering of the spark. From this Crttten-
/ den inferred the near approach OF g. Gil
max.
The weather held fine. hot and sensibly
more hot as the Cynthia shouldered on
into the south. moderate southwest
erly breeze freshened slightly the third
day out. but not enough to raise an I'M
comfortable sea, and during the third
night died down completely, leaving the
waters oily calm on the morning of the
fourth day.
Shortly after noon of Saturday, Au-
gust 13, Crittenden pointed out to
Cynthia a lOw-lying island far to port
seeming a mere strip of sand shining IN
the sun glare like reef OF gold in sea
of ultramarlne velvet. He designated 1t
Watlings Island. otherwise San Salvador
reputed first landing place Of Columbus
Late in the evening. similarly feature
less and even more indistlnct, fortune
Island was passed, likewise to port, the
Cynthia standing through Crooked Pas
sage, Long Island on the starboard In
visible in the subtropical cleaning.
Because Of the heat, which. with the
lack OF any wind to move the stagnant
air within the superstructure. made the
thought of trying to sleep in a cabin all
but insupportabie, Cynthia remained on
deck that night something later than
usual, Nine. Savaran reluctantly leaving
her about half after TO-
The night was still and bright, the sea
like a polished plate Of ebony mirroring
the unutterable magnificence of the over
arching, Star-bossed vault. Aside from
the intermittent noise Of footsteps on the
bridge the half hourly tolling Of the
ships bell, and the unending resonant
rumble of the engines, the steamer was
very quiet. Only at long intervals would
its peace be shattered by the singing.
whiplash crack and subsequent sputter
Of the wireless apparatus.
Following a particularly prolonged and
vehement outbreak of that racket, Crit
tenden appeared from the rear Of the
prOmerld deck, in conversation with
some one Cynthia failed to identify be-
cause Of the darkness. Apparently they
were coming from the smoking room,
where the Adventures were in the habit
Of gathering together nightly for drinks.
discussion and cards. At the entrance
to the main companionway they separat-
ed. Crittenden stopping by the rail while
the other turned In with a growled ed
night" which Cynthia recognized as
Rhodes voice.
A moment later the young man dis
covered thu lighter blot made by the
! x1-bif Of
chair against the darker shadow of the
superstructure. He came forward, peer
: ing incredulously.
voice.
1T was so hot couldn't bear the idea
Of going i'm said the girl. Won't you
sit down.?
Crittenden dropped into the chair Nine.
Savaran had left vacant by Cynthia'S
side and for a little time sat without
speaking.
She thought nothing of this: four days
on shipboard are not too few for an ac-
craftsmanship to progress far enough to
permit OF the long silences of mutual I'M
derstanding. But insensibly she became
aware that the man was III a frame of
mind radically different from that which
she had come to know the best. Some
thing had happened to agitate him, to
worry him beyond the normal. She did
not know how she knew this. but know
1t she did with unqualified certainty.
chair and turned toward him: but syn
chronous burst of sending from the wire
less station made speech in anything
like a guarded tone for the time being an
impossibility.
For several minutes the suffering. sour
wheeze, punctuated by heavy detona-
tons. continued with barely perceptible
Interruptions. Cynthia could see Crit
tenden holding his head to side. at
tentvely, though listening; and when
the noise at length was silenced he sat
up with a short laugh.
We'll. thank heaven, that's over for
tonight" said he
How do you know"
4 Il heard him pound out Good night :"
explained Crittenden. Il picked UP a
fair working knowledge of telegraphese
when I was reporter and learned to
read Morse by ear Up to that signal to
shut off Thurlow was sending code. and,
of course. I couldn't make that out.
II didn't know you had ever been q
newspaper man. :"
"Oh, yes" replied Crittenden. indif-
ferently
He raked a match beneath the arm of
his chair and applied the flame to the
tip of a cigarette. In the small glare OF
rudy light Cynthia saw his face quite
clearly for an instant, and from its eX
preston saw she had not been led astray
by instinct.
Il There's something wrong she said.
cautiously. What is it,
How did YOU known" ne parted, sur
prised.
..Vo,,. ,napnar. yo,l' aycifad and FRAT