Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-20
TILE AN1CKEP By EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
! AZ NlNAA<lNLlC Author of the TARTAN nd STORIES

For a moment she remained in tense
| silence her ear pressed TO the tiny aper-
ture. Then, distinctly, she heard the voice
Of Skipper Slmms.
I'm tellin' you. man." he was saying,
that there want nothin' else to be done,
an I'm gettn' d sick Of hearln' you
| fndln fault all the time with the way I
been a runnin' o. this little Job"
"Im not finding fault, Simms," returned
| another voice which the girl recognized Inn
mediately as Divines, although DO
| think that It was a mistake to disable the
| Lotus as you did How on earth are we TO
| ever return to civilization IL that boat Is
| lost7 Had she been simply damaged
| little i'm n way that they could themselves
have fixed up. the delay would have been
| sufficient to permit us to escape, and then,
when Miss Harding was returned in safety
to her father after our marriage, they
would have been go glad TO be reunited that
he could easily have been persuaded TO
drop tho matter.
"Then another thing; you intended to
demand n ransom for both Miss Harding
and myself TO carry out the fiction of my
having been stolen, also. How can you do
that IL Mr.. Harding be dead? And do you
suppose for a moment that Miss Harding
will leave a single stone unturned to bring
the guilty to justice IL any harm has be-
fallen her father or his guests7"
The girl turned away from the part
tlon. her face white and drawn. She rose
to her feet facing Theriere.
"T have heard quite enough thank you,
Mr.. Therlere," she said.
"You are convinced, then, that am
your friend?" he asked.
IT am convinced that Mr.. Divine is not"
she rephed noncommittally She took n
step toward the door
Thcriere stood looking at her. She was
unuuestionaby very good to look at He
could not remember ever having seen q
more beautiful girl a great desire to seize
her in his arms swept over the man.
Theriere had never often made any effort
TO harness his desires. What he wanted II
had been his custom to take--by force, II
necessary.
He took a step toward Barbara Harding
There was a sudden light in his eyes that
the girl had not before seen there, and she
reached quickly toward the knob of the
door.
Therlere was upon her. and then sud-
denly he mastered himself, for he recalled
his coolly thought-out plan based on a clause
in tho will of tho girls departed grandpar-
ent which stipulated that the man who
shared his bequest with her must be the
choice of both herself and her father.
He could afford to bde his time and play
the chivalrous protector first before he es-
sayed the role of lover
Barbara had turned a halr-frlghtened
look toward him as he advanced-in doubt
as to his intentions,
Pardon me- Miss Harding" he said
''the door is bolted-let me unlatch Il for
YOU" and very Ealantly he did so. swing
ing the portal wide that she might pass out
II feared Interruption" he said In explain.
alton Of tho bolt
In silence they returned to the upper deck
The intoXication Of sudden passion now
under control, Theriere was again master
of himself and ready to play tho cold, call
culatlng, waiting game that he had deter
mined upon.
Part of his plan was to see just enough
OF Miss Harding to insure a place in her
mind at all times; but not enough to sug-
gest that he was forcing himself upon her.
Rightly, he assumed that she would ap-
preclate thoughtful Difference to her COM
fort and safety under the narrowing condi- |
tions of her present existence. more than
forced companionship that might entail too
open devotion on his part
And so he raised his cap and left her, |
only urging her to call upon him at any |
time that he might he Of service TO her. !
Left alone, the girl became lost In un-