Evening star., 1916-09-10
MAGAZINE SECTION for September 10, 1916

Governor. "We have the shutters open
now; and-the doors?"
Stayed closed" Wilton returned has
tily. "Closed more tightly than before, if
that were possible. Don't imagine that
gave in easily. Every day the struggle
was fought over again. But had seen
her, and her face was burned on the back
of my brain, and each afternoon found
me again beneath that line of shuttered
windows. That was all that / could do
for her, don't you see? just to let her see
me, like that, under her windows-to let
all the beach see me, if they wished. She
understood; it was a triumph for her
the Commissioner under her windows.
And sometimes the shutters opened. Not
as reward-understand that: as a tor
ment, rather. That silent, gorgeous
woman, soaring me with all her unuttered
;hatred for her jailer. = set4a
= ~ a.y; - ~
@SIX months of that-then. Mrs. Hugo"
Wilton laughed harshly. "She sus-
pected something that first evening, when
failed to respond to her fascinations. I
did my best, but she knew; -and there
came a barb in her smile as she probed,
and probed, until she found the wound
that barb would enter. ~
4'Your fair prisoner she called Qua
nina, in that husky drawl Of hers. A mig
ger woman, wasn't she? Oh-an Arab;
and was there much difference? can
see the flash from under her lowered lids
as she stuck the knife in and turned it in
my flesh. She was bored with Africa, and
promised some amusement.
II had told her that entrance to that
house was forbidden; but the words
slipped past her ears as if she were too un-
interested in the whole affair to hear
them. She stayed on and on, for days;
mainly,aI believe, because for thssArst
time since coming tosthe Coast she had
found something closed to her. I think
she had somei idea of finding q picturesque
cause to take home with her; something
about which she could perhaps get ques-
tions asked in Parliament her own
name mentioned in connection with it.
"She stayed; and each day the rumors
spread on the beach, and the old house
opened its. ears; nor did I dare appear
beneath its windows, with that Watching
woman on the ramparts here. l stayed
close to the castle and to Mrs. Hugo's
side. AS an assiduous host, l never al
lowed her to pass the gate without my
escort; and found places of interest. for
her to see, all carefully in the other di-
rection from the House of the Old Mensah.
"Then, the fourth day of her visit, came
message from the chief at Bootri that
drunken strangers were rioting in his
village. had to go, though it meant at
least four hours away, and I could not
take Mrs. Hugo on such an errand. But
when l reached the village, and found
gang of Mrs. Hugos own Kru-boys, all
gloriously drunk on trade-gin, I realized
what she had done. I drove the ham,
mock-men mercilessly on the way back;
but, even so, it was dark when l returned.
What had feared hardly know; but I
gasped with relief when saw her, already
dressed for dinner, standing in the lamp
light.
"She was in gracious mood-an inso-
lent grace with secret triumph in it. I
mustn't bother to dress, she said; she
knew l was tired; just come to dinner as
was. Her words came rapidly, and her
eyes were dark and dilated. l wondered
if she ever used drugs; 80 many of her
tvpa do-orchid crea t,,ras without roofo