Evening star., 1914-08-09

right here
please the girl begged laughing. I'll be delighted
with whatever arrangements you're kind enough to
make
"very good, then. And for dinner if you please, put
on your prettest frock Peter Traits aboard and he's
dear-wel worth dressing up for
The bang of the door Mrs. Beggarstaf went out
might have been signal: Immediately the girl became
conscious that the ship in moton,-vbrant and
sonorous with tie drone of its turbines.
The voyage of the Alsatia was begun, and-nothing
had happened. She had eluded pursuit, was free!
CHAPTER III
DINNER ran off uneventfuly, if enlivened by the
quenchless animation of the Dowager Dragon;
who-ref1sing to be bored, though she had drawn
luckily in the lottery of seats and found herself sur
rounded by strangers and mediocrites asserted the
privilege of years strike upacquaintances right and
left and spoke her mind with freedom and compacence
But Miss Carteret, manifesng little appetite, sat out
the meal with downcast eyes, mute when courtesy
dictated speech.
Later she found herself seated by her Dragons side
on the lee of the promenade deck, in darkness
for the beams from lighted ports For little the girl
relshed all this with gladness-as yet undisturbed
by the almost imperceptible motion of the gigantic
fabric to which her life and fortunes were committed
But presently her spirits sagged again and she grew
drowsy and fingered from her bed only to please the
warm-hearted old woman who had adopted her pro tenn
bore-@on suspicion Mrs. Beggarstaff put it, not
without little harmless malice.
Now and again friends paused to pay their addresses
to the Dowager Dragon something like dozen with
whom she seemed easy terms, -arnlabe, light
hearted people, personabe and atractive yet of them
all the facile tablets of Miss Carterets memory
retained impressions of but three personalities
One was the famous Peter Trait, claiming her in
terest more because of Mrs. Beggarstafs outspoken
delight him than through any qualities he paraded
during the few minutes he spent with the two,-a
youngsh well poised body with drawl and sort of
insouciant hunor that seemed to afford the Dragon
intense diversion. But much of this mans discourse
couched in modified phase of American slang
else harked back local American topics; both largely
unntelgible a of humor nourished strictly
British slang and localsms.
Then there was Mrs. Merrilees, Mrs
Beggarstaff year of mourning for a worthless
husband an adorably pretty creature and SO bewitch
ngy gracious that Miss Carteret, at sight first caught
her breath with envy, then fell hopelessy in love with
her.
A third she remembered for no reason she could
assign. His was Quon, tall, taciturn man with
quiet voice, attitude toward the Dowager
Dragons gush of spirited nconsequence, and sug-
gestion of reserve that might very well have masked
nothing than complete vacuty for all the girl
could tell in the few minutes of that first meeting
But for some reason she remembered him more def
ntely than she remembered Mrs. Merrilees. Per-
haps it the oddity of his name, Quoin: surely
common enough
As for the others, they might as well have been
shadows cinematograph screen; though subse-
quent necessity she recalled them readily enough
RY ten o'clock, leaving Mrs. Beggarstaff firmly fixed
in the fourth seat at card table, engrossed by her
confessed nfauation auction bridge Miss Carteret
abed and asleep.
bed of almost sybaritic luxury it seemed, it
rocked her gently to fogetfuness; but bed of misery
when she awoke in the chill of dawn with the Alsata,
for all her immense bulk dancing drunkeny to the
pped by mad northeaster: the less bed of her
making, and one upon which she must lie until
should adjust itself to such abnormal conditions