The St. Mary banner., 1915-08-07
CHAPTER n.
A Man With a Past.

The oriental night air was StlrleSS
/ 1t was without refreshmeut; it became
| a labor and not an eXhlaratlon to
breathe it. A pail of suffOcatlng dust
| rolled above and about the Irrawaddy
| fotilia boat which. buffeted- by the
strong, irregular current. strained at
its cables. now at the bow. now at the
stern, not dissimlar to the last rock
! ing of a deserted swing This sensa.
ton was quite perceptibie TO the glri
who leaned over the bow rail, her
handkerchief pressed to her nose. and
gazed interestedly at the steep bank,
UP and down which the sweating COO
lies swarmed like Gargantuan rats. A
dozen torches were stuck into the
ground above the crumbling ledge:
she saw the flames as one sees a
| burning match cupped in a smoker 8
| hands, shedding light upon nothing
save that which stands Immediately
behind it.
She choked little Her eyes smart
ed Her lips were slightly cracked.
and cold-cream seemed only to provide
a surer resting place for the impaIpa-
BILE dust. 1t had penetrated through
wool and linen and silk, intimately. IN
til three LatIs day had become a
welcome routine. providing it was pos.
sibie to obtain water. Water Her
tongue ran across her lips Oh. for a
drink from the old cold pure spring at
home. Tea, coffee. and bottled soda;
nothing that ever touched the thirsty
spots i'll he throat.
She looked up at the stars and they
looked down upon her, bat what she
asked they could not. would hot. an
swer Night alter night she had
asked. and night after night they had
only twinkled as of old She had trav-
eled now for four months. and still the
doubt beset Ter 1t was to be a leap
in the dark. with no one to tell her
what wa. On the other side, Rut Why
this insistent doubt? Why could she
not axe the leap gladly. as woman
should who had given the affirmative
to a man? With him she was certain
that she loved him. away from him she
did not know what sentiment really
abided in her heart She was wise
enough to realize that something was
wrong; and there were but three
months between her and the inevita BILE
decision. Never before had she known
other than momentary indecision: and
it irked her to find that her clarity OF
vision was fallible and human like the
rest of her. The truth was. she didn't
know her mind She shrugged. and
the movement stirred the dust that
had gathered upon her shoulders
"A rare old lot of dust; eh. Miss
Chetwood? | wish we could travel by
night. but you can't trust this bloom
ing old Irrawaddy after sundown.
Charts are so much waste-paper.
Il never cease wondering how those
poor coolies can carry those heavy
rice bags she replied to the purse.
"Oh, they are used to itG carelessly.
The great gray stack Or paddy bags
seemed. in the eyes of the girl. fairly
to melt away.
by Jove!" exclaimed the purser.
There's Parrot & Col" He laughed
and pointed toward one Of the torche.
Parrot 4 Co.? do not under
stand"
That big blond chap behind the
fourth torch. Yes, there. Sometime
I'll tell you about him, Picturesque
duffer."
She could have shrieked aloud. but
all she did was to draw In her breath
with a gasp that went so deep II gave
her heart twinge Her fingers tight
ened upcn the teak rail Suddenly she
knew. and was ashamed OF her weak
ness. 1t was simply remarkable
likeness. nothing more than that: 1t
could not possibly be anythin.' more
Still. a ghost could not have startled
her as this living man had done
who Is he?"
"A chap named Warrington hut
over here that signifies nothing:
might just as we'll be Jones or Smith
or Brown. We call him Parrot { Co
He's always carrying that Rajputana
parrot. You've seen the kind around
the palaces and forts: saber-like
wings, long tail-feathers. green and
blue and scarlet. and the ugliest little
rascals going This one is trained to
do tricks
But the man." impatiently.
tTO BE CONTINUEDJ