The evening world., 1914-03-27


satisfaction in the sense of being.
As he stood looking away to south
ward over the blue sea ho heard the
voice uf tho spirit that had mostly
wrought the change In him. II was
tho voice of Martinique calling to
him-the voice Of Marie.
In "A moment and for "a moment for
tune, tho island, every thing. was for
gotten.
The little word came on the breeze
to him Was she, too. standing ON
some beach or hcadland gazing over
the sea toward him? Was the little
word "a butterfly OF thought blown To
him on the breeze that was blowing
from therey
distinctly as he had heard II that evc-
ming when standing on tho road to
Morne Rouge and looking down at st.
Pierre. he had waited for her and she
had come To him.
lie turned away from tho sea, then
he turned to 1t again and swept the
horizon as though looking for n sail.
There was nothing to be seen.
lilo walked back along the sea edge
In the direction OF tho palms. the
seven palms had been cast down by
the rush Of the hurricane. Just ms tho
stakes of "a stock fence might bo cast
down by the rush OF wild cattle; now.
aud for tho first time. tho thought
occurred to Gaspard that with tho
palms gone tho islet would 10 less
likely to attract the attention OF y
passing ship. Ito looked at them as
they lay. and then he approached tho
bundle OF trcasur" and tho Elittering
snake of gold. which were lying by
tho bolo OF the westernmost OF the
fallen trees. lio touched the bundle
with his foot. The action seemed half
involuntary: h. did not seem to be
thinking OF the bundle or Its contents.
Nor was he.
ile was thinking OF Marie.
A wild longing. such as tho prtsoned
bird may feel for the blue sky, filled
him. subordnating everything else To
the thought OF the being he loved.
Ever since La Belle Arlesicnne had
drupIcd Martinique behind her this
longing had been living and growing
In his heart; tho treasure fover had
obscurcd II, tho storm had veiiod u.
the finding Of the treasure had
pushed 1t aside. hut II was there.
growing, and patiently waiting. IL
was the master passion OF his life. the
thing beside which all other things
were nothing. though for IA moment
they might veil II. as "A cloud wells \
star. or IA mist "A mountain.
and walked toward tho bushes. then
no began to cross tho islet. taking
tho path that SaEesse's sailors had
made for tho boat. Though he WAS
profoundly engaged In thought. he
noticed quite little things. M. for In
stance. that the salt crystals ware
nearly gone from the leaves Ut tho
bay cedar bushes.
Half way across. where view of
al a al.
tained. he raised his head and
scanned tho sea line. Nothing -
nothing All. stop. what was that
A tiny fake Of feldspar seemed
clinging to the sky horizon In y. N
w. In the wonderful half-wheel OF
crystal blue this microscopic nav
might have been passed over by a
casual observer. Gaspard folded his
arms and stood gazing at this speck,
eyes fixed. Had you been close Ia
him you would have noticed that he
scarcely breathcd,
The thing did not seem to alter In
shap" or increase In size. yet he Knew
that /, represented the topsails Of a
ship hull down on the horizon. II
was i,is, so that he had FIRST glimpsed
La Belle Arlcsicnnc from the open
boat.
Then II Increased In size. After
keeping him In suspense for what
seemed an age, suddenly his brain
was able to say ~ the vision upon
his return, 1T ~ bigger"
Then, as hc watched u increase
all doubt passed: II WAS "a vessel of
some sort steering southwark. The
wind was blowing now steady from
ESt.: she would pass the .s!an'!
to westward, perhaps quite close, FOR
II was all deep water there.
His mind. up To the moment of
sighting the SAL. had been filled with
the thought of Marie the craving FOR
her had brought him here To look out
Tor a sail Now, after the first Joyous
leap ~ the heart. Marie was for the
moment forgotten. II was as though
the sail space on the sky had been :,
doorway through which the world had
rushed IN upon hun
tie turned and ran back TO the
southern beach. picked up the treas
M, bundle and forced II into hi'
pocket. picked up the jewelIed snake
ana placed 1t round his neck under
hls shirt
The collar ~ the nlnnel shir
scarcely concealed It: II would never
do to board "A Vessel with such
gem 40 lightly concealed. 40. hur'
Iiedly, with absurd haste. An though
the ship were already abreast OF th'
island and there was not "A moIn"n
To lose, he stripped off his coat an,
shirt For "a moment he thought %
placing n round his waist, but N wal
not long enough 10 serv" as belt
then N. did what the Jeweller wh'
had designed the thing intended ~
w.arcr 10 do mad. an armlet Of II.
II clung to perfection, and he re
sumed his shirt and coat. The bank
note that he had taken from th'
pockotboOk OF Sag.sse. the Whit
pearl and ia" gold coin were all II
the lrft hand coat pocket: he rel
them over with his left hand, whil'
his right examined again the bulg'
made by the jewels contained IN th'
right hand pocket
II was not So very noticeable anC
no one would have dreamed that 4
, was caused by treasure He look &C
around him ON tn" sand 10 make SUR
that ho had forgotten nothing. an,
then came back to the vantage pom
i'm the centre ~ tho 'Slct,
Yes. ther" she was. palpahle 10 the
, sight and dehui'e, no longer smuig'