The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-03

t'Yes, dash her starry top lights, Pe- terson. and even if need be shiver her timbers! Go on.''
 "Why. she's been trying to pull off q wedding on this boat ever since we left Mackinaw."
 sWhy not? You mean that Mr. Da- vidson and the revered aunt were get ting on weV?"
 "Oh. no, bless your heart, no! It was the young lady, Miss Emory. And she'-
 I raised my hand. Never mind, Pe- terson. We can't discuss that at all. But now Pm minded to give my friend Mr. Davidson a little game of follow my leader. And just to show how we'll do that we'll begin with pre- liminary go at hide and seek Take the chance, Peterson. and run into the bayou. I'll put off the small boat for soundings. If we can get gas and can get in and can get out unnoticed may be we can run by New Orleans in the night and none the wiser.
 "And where then. Mir Harry :"
 '.Peterson. the high seas have no bridges, and if they had I should not cross them yet.< Perhaps if I did I then should burn them behind me-
 stShe's a mortal fine young woman. MT. Harry. a mortal fine one. < I'll be sworn he makes a hard run for her. But sofcan we-eh, MT. Harry? He'll like enough pocket us in here, though
 l made no answer to this The old man left me to take the wheel, and I noted his head wag from side to side.
 As good fortune would have it, we swung in, opposite the screened mouth Of Henry's bayou at a time when the stream was free of all craft that might have observed us, although far across the forest we could see q black column of smoke. marking a river steamer coming up.
 Quick with that longboat, Laf1tte.'' I ordered and he drew our old craft alongside as we slowed down. Get over wonder and sound for bar. Take the boat hook. If you get four feet we'll try it.''
 My hardy young ruf1an was noth- ing if not prompt. nor was he less eff cient than the average deck hand. It was he who did the sounding while Willie, our factotum. pulled slowly in toward the mouth of the old river bed. I watched them through the glasses, noting that rarely could Lafitte find any bottom at all with the long shaft of the boat hook. She's all right, Pe- terson,'' said I. Follow on in slowly. I don't want that steamer yonder to catch uS.'
 .sWhy don't you?'' A voice should know, to which -all my body would thrill, did I hear it in any corner of world, spoke a my elbow. start ed for a half instant before I made reply, looking into her dark eyes, sen sible again of the perfume most de 11Y.i15 od11ff flao of a woman's hair.
 Because. Helena said I, "I wish our boat to lie unnoticed for a time, till the hue and cry has 1ulled a bit.''
 And >then?'' She bent on me her gaze, so difficult to resist, and smiled at me with the corners of her lips. so subtIy irresi istible
 "And then," said I savage1y, .ttthis boat runs by all the towns till we reach the gulf and the open sea-
 "And jthen?'
 :'And then, Helena, we sail the ocean blue, you and I.''
 For how long?"
 Forever, Helena. Or, at least. un- tiP'-
 Until when?''
 Until you say you will marry me, Helena
 She made no answer now at all be yond scornful shrug of her shoulders. Suppose I cannot?" she said at last.
 '1f you cannot, all the same you must and shaIIr' said I. '.You shall be prisoner until you do.''
 tIs there no law for such as you?"%
 ''No. None on the high sea. None in my heart. Only one law I know any more, Helena-I who have upheld tue law, obeyed it, reverenced it.''
 "And that?"
 'sThe law of the centuries, of the forest, of the sea; the law of love, Helena
 sAh, you go about it handsomely! If you wished me to despise you, to hate you, this would be very it. what you say.''
 You may hate me, despise me. Hell ena. Let it be so But you shall not I ignore me as you have these three years.''
 ''It was your fault, your wish-as well as my wish. We agreed to that. Why bring it up again? When the news came that you had quit your pro- fession and just at the time you had lost all your fathers fortune and your own, had turned your back and run dWdy Wn0n you SHOulQ nave SCdyOd and fought-well, do you think girl cares for that sort of man? No. A man must do something in this world | He mustn't quit. He's got to ight.''
 Mot even if he has nothing to work for?''
 'sNo: not even then. There are plenty of girls in the world''-
 "One."
 -t'and a man mustn't throw away his life for any one woman. That isn't right. He has his work to do, his place to make and hold. That's what a woman wants in man. But you didn't Now you come and say we must forget all the years of off and on, all the time we-we-wasted, don't | you know. And because l am for 1