The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-05-31
CHAPTER XIX.

The wanderer had come upon Mrs
prypne but once since he had board
ed the Panjnab. That morning, him
self early astir because of his vague
misgiyings, he had discovered her on
the hurricane deck Of the liner; an in
conspicuous, slight figure In the shad'
ow Of q life-boat, leaning upon the
rail and gazing with Che fancied)
troubled eyes, out and across the
waste below Ismalia.
Though she must have been con-
scious Of nearing footsteps, she had
not stirred, and he had passed on,
gaining bat a fugitive glimpse of a
profile sweetly serious; nor had she
appeared either at breakfast or lunch
con. A circumstance which led him
to Surmise that she did not court OBJ
servation: an idiosyncrasy which
seemed passing strange in a woman
50 fair.
He told himself that she an
air Of ~watchfulness, of vague expec-
fancy, as though she, like himself,
feared some untoward mishap; that
she had the manner Of n definitely
apprehensive, constantly on guard
against some unforeseen peril.
Now, he asked himself, what could
1t be? What threatened her? And
why?
He dimly promised himself the
pleasure of her acquaintance, relying
In the rapid intimacy that springs up
between strangers on a long voyage,
with a still more indefinite intention
Oh putting himself at her service In
any cause that she might be pleased
70 name, Professionally: she must not
Interfere with his plans for reaching
hangoon lin ninety days"
That night he was hoping to find
the lady at dinner; but though the
snlp's company was small, he failed
70 see her in the saloon, at either the
captains, the chief officers or the
Doctors table; nor, 80 far as he could
determine, was she taking the air on
aeck' Was 1t possible, then, that he
mad been right, that she had a reason
equally as compelling as his own for
secluding herself? Or, was 1t simply
!and Infinitely more probably that
MRS Prynne was indisposed, an ener-
Vated victim of excessive heat?
The latter conjecture proved ap-
parently the right one, Mrs, Prynne
falling to appear during the two fol.
lowing days, while the Pdnjnab was
rocking down the Red Sea channel;
ana oRourke grew interested enough
!ne had little else to occupy his mind,
,or a duiler voyage he had eve
AnoWn) to give Danny permission to
pursue his inquiries: with an injunc.
uon' however. prohibiting too lavish
al expenditure Of the boys wealth of
aaection. Whereupon Danny return.
~ with the information that the mis-
Hess OF Cecile, the maid, was suffer-
Hs from heat exhaustion.
Inls was entirely reasonable.
NourKe accepted the demolition of
~ airy castles of Romance, laughed
At himself, in part was successful in
putting the woman out of mind:
uouDtiess, in time, he would have done
" altogether, had not the lady chosen
aAe the air the night that the
enJnab negotiated the Straits of
Dap-e'Mandeb. For on that same
nisnt oRourke, himself wakeful, was
minded to sit up and watch the lights
rerlm Island heave into view.
ohourke, in a deck-chair on the
uoard side, well cloaked in the
a. OF the deck above, watch
ort .ne other passengers, one by one.
s s,et their chatter, yawn, stretch and
below to stuffy staterooms.
Ire suffered a dreamy eye to rove
nuere 1t would, greedy of the nights
superb illusion.
1our bells-two o'cIock-chimed
en- us consciousness like a physical
800 he verified the hour by his
tb". and, reluctantly enough, agreed
boa Il was time he got himself to
SAINT Ie haif rose from his chair, then
H. oack with an inaudible catch OF
n u,eath. Without warning the ap-
u a whitehead woman had