Evening star., 1914-08-23


the candidate for President on the Pro-
hibition ticket, and Lloyd George, and-ah
the Antiwoman Suffrage movement.
There's only one thing I'm ready to promise
to take seriously. Now pretend you don't
get mel"
aYou are quite, quite hopeless!"
@Wrong again: | was never more hope
full. First thing you know you'll be lying
awake nights wondering if l can possibly
be as silly as l sound, and thinking what
pity it's if true; and when you come to
that stage, it'll be all over but the rice and
old shoes and Niagara Falls!"
Certainly you must be an incurable op-
timist!"
aYou think so? l say, that's an awfully
good sign! You're thinking about me al
ready!"
But of the four it was Quoin who most
impressed Laura's impressionable imagina-
ton. His seemed an individuality rarely
simple and straightforward, to which latency
and indirection must be altogether foreign.
He was, lydia understood, criminal in
vestigator of unusual attainments; yet he
utterly lacked every idiosyncrasy of the
agreat" detective of fiction. He was
long, lank man, with thin face of strong
features. His wide, thin lips drooped quiz
zically at their corners. And his eyes were
dark and, normally, deep with humorous
expression. To Lydia's notion he was the
Yankee type incarnate, but without that
uncouthness she had been bred to expect.
CHAPTER XII
RECAUSE the Alsatia, cropping her blind
way at hal-speed through wrapp1ngs OF
fog ever more opaque, persisted IN making
night hideous with her unearthly whoop OF
Warning, the concert all but fell fiat. Only
Crave1's inexhaustible enthusiasm saved
the function.
When it was over Lydia, announcing her
intention of going to bed, delayed only to
say goodnight to Peter Trait on the upper
companionway landing, near the doorway!
to the port side of the boat deck. One-half
of this double door was open. Beyond it
was nothingness,-a fat wall of gray but
feebly tinted with artificial light.
Then, descending to the promenade deck,
she turned aft to her stateroom, and was
about to enter when she heard her name
called in Craven's voice, and-since she
had left him only a few minutes before
the center of an animated group in the
music room-with pardonable surprise she
discovered the man coming swiftly toward
her from the after part of the ship.
3Just to say goodnight" he explained
hastily, folding his daughter in the tender
est OF embraces; ana tnen IN raplu Wills
per, 3Meet me on deek-this deck-to port
fifth stanchion aft from the door-in an hour:
If anyone seems to be watehing you, go baekL"
And again aloud, Goodnight, dear child,
goodnight" he murmured fondly, releasing
her, and hurried forward.
ALMOST without her knowledge the
"A knob turned in Lydia's grasp; and
when she found herself alone in that dark
stateroom her hands trembled so with ex-
citement that for moment she fumbled in
vain for the switch.
She had begged to be permitted to help
him, and Craven promised to command ,ler
services, if ever need should arise; but his
tone in promising had been mellow with an
indulgence deprecating the implication that
Downing Streets secret ambassador could
ever need the aid of woman's hands and
wits in his occult and momentous affairs.
Yet already that time had come! She
was half wild with delight.
After some minutes the quiet of the ship
was made musical with the mellow and de-
liberate sounding of eight bells, midnight.
She had still half an hour to wait,-an
almost insufferably protracted vigil to her
who sat with every faculty tense in appre-
hension of the premature return Of her
Dowager Dragon.
But tonight nothing happened to change
this custom: and the stroke of one bell of