The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1912-07-25

| shadow OF the deck above, watch.
ed the other passengers. one by one,
quiet their chatter, yawn. stretch and
slip below to stuffy staterooms.
He suffered a dreamy eye to rove
where It would. greedy Of the nights
superb Illusion.
Four bells-two o'clock-chimed
upon his consciousness like a physical
shock. He verified the hour by his
watch and. reluctantly enough, agreed
that 1t was time he got himself to
bed. He half rose from his chair. then
sank back with an inaudible catch OF
his breath. Without warning the ap
partition OF a white-clad woman had
invaded the promenade deck. For an
instant he hardly credited his eyes,
then. with a nod OF recognition, he
Identified Mrs. Prynne.
Unquestionably unconscious Of his
presence In the shadow. she fell TO
pacing to and fro. Now and again.
she stopped. and with chin Graded in
her small hands, elbows on the rail,
watched the approaching cliffs Of
Arabia; then. with perhaps a sigh, re-
turned to her untimeIy constitutional.
Partly because he had no wish to
startle her. partly because he was
glad to watch unobserved The had a
rare y for beauty, the o'Rourke).
the wanderer sat on without moving.
stirred only by active curiosity. The
s~trangeness of her appearance upon
deck at such an hour fascinated his
imagination no less than her person
held his eye. He gave himself over
to vain and profitless speculation. /.
|. . Why, he wondered. should she
keep to her cabin the greater part of
the evening. only to take the air when
none might be supposed to observe
her?
Why. II not to escape such observa-
ton? Then. be told himself, he must
be right in his superstition that she
had something to fear, someone to
avoid. What or whom? What was II
all. what the mystery that, as he
watched her, seemed to grow, to cling
about her like some formless, Inn
palpable garment?
Events conspired TO weave the man
into the warp and wool of her affairs:
ore quickly than he could grasp the
reason for his sudden act on. he found
himself a-foot and dashing aft at top
speed. But an instant gone Mrs
Prynne had passed him. u~nmolested
and wrapped In her splendid isola.
ton; and then from the after part OF
the deck he had heard q slight and
guarded cry Of distress. and a small
scuffiing sound.
In two breaths he vas by her side
and found her struggling desperately
In the arms of a lascar-a deck-hard
on the steamer.
At first the strangeness of the bust
ness sc amazed O'Rourke that he
paused and held his hand, briefly
rooted In action. For although 1t was
apparent that she had been caught OF
her guard. wholly ~unprepared against
assault, and while she struggled nerce
~ ~ break Iascar's hold. the WON
an still uttered no cry. A single
scream would have brought her aid
yet she held her tongue.
The two, the woman's slight, white
figure and the lascar's gaunt and sin
envy one, strained and fought, swayins
silently In the shadows. tensely. with
the effect of a fragment of some dis
ordered nightmare. But then, as the
lascar seemed about to oyerpower hii
victim. ORourke. electrified. sprant
upon the mans back. With one strong
arm deity he embraced the fellow. ar
elbow beneath his chin forcing hil
head up and back. With the othel
hand O'Rourke none too gently tore
away an arm encircling the woman
Then wrenching the two apart. h,
sent a knee crashing into the small O
the lascar's back. all but breaking hin
In two. and so flung him sprawlini
into the scuppers.
Without a word the man slid upor
his shoulders a full half-dozen feet
while O'Rourke had a momentary
glimpse of his face In the moonlight
-dark-skinned and sinister of expires
sion with It's white. glaring eyeballs
Then. In one bound. he was on hi:
feet again and springlng lithely back t.
the attack: and as he came on a jag
ged CLEAN Of moonlight ran IKE light
ming down the sinuous and formidable
length OF a kris. most deadly o.
knives.
O'Rourke fell back a pace or two
His own hands were empty: he hat
nothing but naked fists and high cour
age to pit against the lasoar and hi.
kris. Keenly alert. he threw himself
into a pose OF defence.
But 0'Rourke had forgotten tn,
woman: IL was enough that he hae
made possible her escape. and he hat
no thought other than she had fed. Il
was. therefore. with as much surpris,
as relief that he caught the glimmel
Of her white figure rs she thrust her
self before him and saw the lascal
bring up In the middle Of q leap, hi
nose not an insh from the muszls q