Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-08-16
CHAPTER xn-1onntinued,

TOR which reason I regarded these with
j. dlstrust, which I took palms to con-
ceal from Sevrance. I told him that 1
was afraid I might hurt somebody besides
myself But he was not disposed for
badinage and senced me with the dry
observation that that was the purpose Tor
which revolvers were manufactured.
The bowling of tho gale kept me awake
and listening for some hours of the night'
but toward midnight II seemed to moderate
and I dropped off to sleep, waking to fnd
that the wind had gone down to mere
whisper of breeze, and that the tempera-
ture had risen perceptbly.
To seaward, however. there was fog,
and, before breakfast had been served in
our rooms, this thckcned and spread IN
land-a dense white and dripping blanket
of moisture. as impenetrable as had been
It's dlrtier London brother, which 1 had
reason to remember
~ can stand this no longer" Sevrance
announced late in the afternoon; I'm 60
ing out"
''where7" asked, sitting up
You can guess" he said curtly. I'll
go mad IL havo to endure this uncertainty
a moment longer"
'You think, then"
'"The surf is going down: they may send
a boat ashore at any time now, lt they
can make their bearings. The HUosouS
must be somewhere In the ofhng and it's
certain that they will land as soon as the
fog lifts. SO I'm off. Are you coming?'
'1n two shakes"
was glad enough for the excuse. Will
ing even to contemplate fruitless drive
through those Internal downs for the sake
of being conscious that [ was doing somo-
thing, going somewhere
Sevrance, however dashed my hopes
ITS walk" he told me decisively; that
or nothing"
''why?"
Because Of our ancient friend, Holz-
born's spy. There's no need that he should
suspect our destination, and he won't un-
less we order the fly. We can slip away
quietly and leave no one the wiser. Grady
you get ready"
demurred, but gave in when he duashed
my objection that we would lose ourselves
on the downs without tho carriage.
mo danger" he said, III we are careful
to stick to the road. The way Is plain, and
you can't stray off without knowing 1t at
once"
As it turned out, we were fated for once
to make n move without being observed
by the aged and inqustive person; he
was invisible when we descended the stairs.
nor did he put in an appearance before
we were out of the front door and lost to
the house In the folds of that friendly mist,
Once there, indeed, prey to misgivingS
though l was. / had no choice but to go
ahead and trust to Sevrance's bump OF
locality. We might have been going most
anywhere, so far as I could determine; tho
road of which he had been so confident
was doubtless under our feet the whole OF
the way, but I would not have cared to
risk bet on that probability: am free TO
admit my inability to judge Of the lay Of
the land by the feel of It beneath my boot
heels
For that matter I had enough to occupy
me with the task of keeping in touch with
NV companions | walked In the middle of
the trio, Sevrance and Grady looming on
either hand like gigantic ghosts Even
when one spoke his words sounded as
though muffied. pressed back into his throat
by the weight OF the fog; its clammy hand
seemed to have smoothed and soothed the
troubled sea- whose voice came to us now
and again in prolonged and sonorous
phrases. at times almost murmurous.
Otherwise there was n great and desc
late silence that weighed heavily upon my
spirits; It was as II the wide world lay
lifeless, swathed In white grave clothes,
already entombed in the womb of silence,
For possibly an hour and half we
progressed thus with few words, each,
fancy. being somewhat awed and impressed
with the profundity of that isolation which
the fog passvey forced upon us. with
sense of remote detachment from all living
things and material matters. And then,
abruptly, hoarse and cultural below
seemed to sound at our very feet and to
shake the walls of the fog itself.
started catching Sevrance's arm where
upon he laughed shortly, and said: Listen"
obeyed, and my ears were rewarded with