Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-05-12

lOSl lhS Oh Va soy ShAHoS
He pulled at his beard embarrassed
ly.
ct rather believe I understand you.
The veneer cracks easily in hot cli-
mates, mans veneer"
"Ard falls off altogether"
"Ale you warning me against your
self?"
"Why not? Twenty thousand
pounds do not change e man; they
merely change the public's opirion of
him. For all you know, may be the
greatest rascal unhanged."
He recognized that 1t was not a
query; and a pleasurable thrill ran
over him. Had there been the least
touch Of condescension in her man
ner, he would have gone deep into his
shell.
mo; there are worse men in this
world than I. But we are getting
away from the point, Of women travel
ing alone in the east. Oh. know you
can protect yourself to a certain ex-
tent. But everywhere, oil boats, In
the hotels, on the streets, are men
who have discarded all the laws of
convention, of the social contact. And
they have the keen eye Of the kite and
the vulture."
To Elsa this interest in her welfare
was very diverting. "In other words,
they can quickly discover the young
woman who goes about unprotected?
Don't YOU think that the trend Of the
conversation has taken rather re-
markable turn, not as impersonal as
it should be?"
II beg your pardon!"
"I am neither an infant nor a fool,
Mr. Warrington"
shall go?"
mo. I want you to tell me some
stories" She laughed. Don't worry
about me, Mr.. Warrington. have
gone my way alone since l was six
teen. / have travelled all over this
wicked world with nobody but the
woman who was once my nurse. 1
seldom put myself in the way of an
affront. I am curious without being
of an investigating turn Of mind. Now,
tell me something Of your adventures.
Ten years in this land must mean
something. 1 am always hunting for
Harunal- -Raschild. or Sinband, or
some one who has done something
out of the ordinary"
"Do you write books?"
"lIo; I read them by preference
"Ah. a good book!" He inclined
against the rail and stared down at
the muddy water. Adventures" He
frowned a little. I'm afraid mine
wouldn't read like adventures. There's
no glory in being a stevedore on the
docks at Hongkong, a stoker on
tramp steamer between Singapore and
the Andaman Islands. What haven't
1 been in these ten years?" with
shrug. Can you fancy me a deck
steward on P. & o. boat, tucking old
ladies in their chairs, staggering about
with a tray Of broth-bowls, helping
the unsteady to their staterooms. and
touching my cap at the end Of the
voyage for few shillings In tips?
You are bitter"
bitter? 1 ought not to be with
Twenty thousand pounds in my pock-
let"
Tell me more"
He looked into her beautiful face,
animated by genuine interest, and
wondered if all men were willing so
readily to obey her.
"It always interests me to hear from
the mans own lips how he overcame
obstacles"
Sometimes I didn't overcome them
ran away. After all, the strike In oil
was fluke."
"I don't think so. But go on" she
prompted.
well, I've been manager OF a CO.
coanut plantation in Penang; I've
helped lay tracks In Upper India; had
a hand in some bridges; sold patent
medicines: worked in ruby mine;
been q haberdasher in the Whitea-
way, Laidlaw shop in Bombay; cut
wood in the teak forests: helped ex-
terminate the plague at Chitor and
Udaipur: and never saved penny.
never had an adventure in all my
life"
"Why, your wanderings were ad-
ventures" she insisted. Think OF
the things you could tell!'
And never WILL" a smile broke
over his face.
How like Arthur's that smile was!
Thought the girl. Romantic persons
never have any adventures. 1t Is to
the prosaic these things fall. Because
of their nearness you lose their val
lues."
) There is some difference between
. romance and adventure. Romance
: is what you look forward to; adven-
ture is something you look back upon
,IIf many disagreeable occupations
) hunger an occasional fistcuff may be
, classed as adventure, then I have had
t my run of it. But always supposed
adventure was the finding Of treasures
on land and on sea; Of filibuster'
, ing; of fighting with sabers and pis'
tolls, and all that rigmarole. 1 cam
quite lift my imagination up to the
height of calling my six months
shovel on The Gale an
T adventure. 1t was brutal hard work
and many times I wanted to jump
over. The Lascars often got out OF
: trouble that way"
Z "It all depends upon how we look
at things" She touched the parrot
| age with her foot, and Rajah Kissed
r "What would you say If l told you
that I was unconventional enough tc
, ask the purser to introduce you?"
: The amazement in his face was
answer enough.
Don't you suppose" she went on
t "the picture you presented, standing
} on that ledge. the red light Of the
, torch Or your face, the bird cage ir
. your hand--don't you suppose you
2 roused nv sense of the romantic tC