The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-03-04

The first gong for dinner doomed
The echoing wall spoke in the voice
of the East, of it's dalliance, its con.
tent to drift in sargasso sea of en-.
tangling habits and desires, of its ia,
talism and inertia. 1t did not hearten
one or excite hunger Elsa would
rather have lain down in her Canton
lounging-chair. The dining-saloon held
two long tables, only one of which was
in commission, the starboard. The
saloon was unattractive. A punka
stretched from one end Of the table to
the other, and swung indolently to and
fro, whining mysteriously, sometimes
subsiding altogether and then Tapping
Historically and setting the womens
hair awry.
Elsa and Martha were seated some.
where between the head and the foot
of the table The personally-conduct
ed surrounded them, and gabbed in.
cessantly during the meal of what they
had seen, of what they were going to
see, and of what they had missed by
not going with the other agency's 8
party. Elsa's sympathy went out to
the tired and faded conductor
There was but one vacant chair;
and as she saw Warrington nowhere,
Elsa assumed that this must be his
reservation. She was rather glad that
he would be beyond conversational
radius. She liked to talk to the
strange and lonely man, but she pre-
ferred to be alone with him when she
did SO.
She began as Of old to study care.
lessly the faces of the diners and to
speculate as to their characters and
occupations. Her negligent observa-
tion roved from the pompous captain
down to the dark picturesque face Of
the man Craig. Upon him her glance,
a mixture of contempt and curiosity,
rested. If he behaved himself and
made no attempt to speak to her, she
was willing to declare truce. In RAN
goon the man had been drunk, but on
the Irrawaddy boat he had been sober
enough. Craig kept his eyes directed
upon his food and did not offer her
even furtive glance.
He was not in a happy state of
mind He had taken passage the last
moment to avoid meeting again the
one man he feared For ten years this
man had been reckoned among the
lost. Many believed him dead, and
Craig had wished 1t rather than be-
lieved And then, to meet him face to
face in that sordid boarding house had
shaken the cool nerve of the gambler.
He was worried and bewildered. He
had practically sent this man to ruin
What would be the reprisal? He
reached for mangosteen and ate the
white pdlpy contents, but without the
Gust 2sry relish. The phrase Kept
running through his head What
would be the reprisal? For men OF his
ilk never struck without expecting to
be struck back Something must be
done. Should he seek him and boldly
ask whet he Intended to do? Certainly
he could not do much on board here,
except 10 denounce him to the officers
as professional gambler. And Paul
would scarcely do that since he, Craig,
had better shot in his gun. He could
tell who Paul was and what he had
done. Bodily harm was what he really
feared
He had seen Elsa, but he had worked
out that problem easily. She was sure
to say nothing so long as he let her
be; and with the episode of the hat
pin still fresh in his memory, he as
suredly would keep his distance. He
had made mistake, and was not like
ly to repeat it.
But Paul! He finished his dessert
and went off to the stuffy little smoke.
room, and struggled with a Burma
cheroot. Paul was a smoker, and
sooner or later he would drop In. He
waited in vain for his man that night.
And so did Elsa. She felt indignant
at one moment and hurt at another.
The mans attitude was inexplicable;
there was neither rhyme nor reason in
1t. The very fact that she could not
understand made her wonder march
beside her even In her dreams that
night. She began to feel genuinely
sorry that he had appeared above her
horizon. Just before she retired she
leaned over the rail, watching the re-
Election of the stars twist and shiver
on the smooth water. Suddenly she
listened. She might have imagined it,
for at night the ears deceive. "Jah,
jah!" Somewhere from below came
the muffled plant of Rajah.
Next day, at luncheon, the chair was
still vacant Elsa became alarmed.
Perhaps he was ill. She made in
quiries, regardless of the possible mis-
Interpretation her concern might he
given by others. Mr.. Warrington had
had his meals served in his cabin, but
the steward declared that the gentle
man was not i'll, only tired and irrita-
BILE, and that he amused himself with
trained parrakeet.
All day long the sea lay waveless
and unrippled, sea of brass and lapis.
lazuli: brass where the sun struck and
lapis-lazuli In the shadow of the lazy
swells. Schools of fiying-fish broke
fan-wise in flashes of silver, and por-
poise sported alongside. And warmer
and warmer grew the air.
Starboard was rugged up for cricket,
and the ships officers and some of the
passengers played the game until the
first gong. Elsa grumbled to Martha.