The Southern herald., 1912-08-02

from his memory. A suspicion uasAeu
through his mind which be put aside
with disdain, as absurd and farfeteh-
ed. On the other hand. he
knit his brows in puzzlement
The very hxity Of his regard drew
the eyes Of Its object upwards. They
encountered 0'Rourke's. fingered brief
" in an unveiled. inquiring stare in
which there was not to be detected
the least hint Of recognition, and
passed onward casually. indi1erently,
ignoring the impertinenee,
The tenders passengers began 70
stumble up the gsng-plank to lower
deck Of the liner; and o'Rourke, with
a 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 brief space
standing in the middle OF the cabin,
vislbly distracted. Then abruptly
some whimsical consideration seemed
to resolve his dubiety-ss lightning
will clear sultry, broodlng air; smile
deepened the corners Of his mouth.
the flicker IN his eye merged magically
into a twinkle, the shrug of his broad
shoulders conveyed an impression of
casting care to the winds.
Danny, lad" he remarked reflect
lively, throwing himself ungraeefully
upon the cushioned transom opposite
to his berth. Danny Fs wouldn't lie
to me, would - row?''
"Aw-w!" reprovs' Danny. "sh'Te,
yer honor knows ut fsn+ N me at al
And to himself; "Phat the dsyVle
nowT'
Then tell me, Danny truthfully;
did ye ever see a ghost?"
"Aw-wl"-seeing cause to take the
query as a joke.
"A ghost that had grown a beard
since it had become a ghost, DannyT
"Aw-aw-w!"-still willing to be
amused, If himself" chose to be fnoe-
tiOus.
Because" continued O'Rourke with
a slight frown, 81 have. and that not
five minutes since"
"Aw?"
"Wance l left a man for dead Dam
n.y. with clean sword-thrust through
the body of him-a misbegotten black
guard he was; but killed him in fail
fight sword to sword, and no fR
vor. And this bright RnG
beautiful morning, 10 and behold ye!
who should come tripping up the gang
plank but his ghost, as lively as ye
please, and with neat new beard!"
"Aw-w?"-incredulously.
O'Rourke frowned impatiently. "Des
Trebes," he explained.
"Aw-"
stop 1t, ye parrot! Stop it, | ray!
Have ye no word In the dark lexicon
of your ignorance other than 'AwAw'?
Get up, ye omadhaun, and take rs re-
spects to the purser and ask tsN
please viii he show ye the syEs$:1-
ger4ist."
The valet left with circumspes% ~IA-
Gritty.
Alone, O'RourFe rSix~ and ...i,b.E
thcughtfully to a rsvolV<E that maae
conspicuous black spot On the white
counterpart Of the berth, M'*h nerv.
Gus, strong fingers unlimbeEsNR the
weapon and taking account of tho
brass dials Of the cartridges that
nestled snug In its six-chambered
cylinder. The machine was In perfect
condition; ORourke snapped the
breech shut and thrust 1t in his pock
et Then he sat down to think, sub
consciously aware from noises With
out that the tender had swung off ana
the anchor was being tripped.
Could the resemblance be accitN.,
tai? 1t seemed hardly possible. The
Des Trebes he had known had been p
type distinct, so clear and aloof from
the general Frenchman that nee even
the addition Of beard to his php'tog,
nomy could have proven a thoroVgh
disguise. And 1t seemed reasonable
enough to assume that, Mrs. Prynlo
having failed in her undertaking, DAa
Trebes would resume his office as &c
tive head of their conspiracy If il
were indeed he whom O'Rourke hrd
just seen, there was every chance in
aginable that the final chapter In tAf
history Of the 1rishman's connection
with the Pool OF Flape would prove
an eEentful one.
Maybe no." admitted ORourue
''mayeta 4cCHtt~a meself. Put tn
persuaded III do wa, to keep Botn ms
eyes open until the day I'm rid of tn.
damned thing!"
At this juncture Danny's kneSk tool
him to the door. "Mongsere Raoul d.
Hyeres," announced the valet breath
lessly; "'tis thot the purser says BIZ
J name is, yer hcnour"
"Yes," assented O'Rourke dubious
ly. But perhaps the purser's mists
en-misinformed."
(TO BE CoNTINUED)
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