The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1915-08-28

The echoing wall spoke in the voice
OF the East. of its dalliance. its con
tent to drift In sargasso sea Of en-
tangllng 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
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 women
hair awry.
Elsa and Martha we're 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
party. Eisa'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
be 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.
ton roved from the pompous captain
down to the dark picturesque face Of
the man Craig. Upon him her glance.
mixture of contempt and curiosity,
made no attempt to speak to her, she
was willing to declare truce. In Ran
COON 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 IuTtlFe eIduC6.
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
lost. Many believed him dead. and
Craig had wished it 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 q mangosteen and ate the
white pulpy contents, but without the
customary 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 what he intended to do? Certainly
he could not do much on board here
except to denounce him to the officers
as a 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 a mistake. and was not like
ly to repeat it.
But Paul! He finished his dessert
and went of to the stuffy little smoke
room, and struggled with Burma
| cheroot. Paul was q 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 thyme nor reason In
it. The very fact that she could moi
understand made her wonder march
beside her even In her dreams that
night. She began to feel genuinely
sorry that he had appeared above hel
horizon. Just before che retired she
leaned over the rail. watching the re
Election of the stars twist and shivel
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 muffied plant Of Rajah.
Next day, at luncheon. the chair wal
still vacant. Elsa became alarmed
Perhaps he was Ill. She made In
ouiries, regardless Of the possible mis-
Interpretation her concern might b
given by others. Mr.. Warrington had
had his meals served In his cabin. but