Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-14

and when he finally came out again, l
crossed the deck so as to intercept him.
Anything going wrong. Mr. Seeley?"
l asked. You have stopped the engines" !"
He stared at me through the dark, blinded
still perhaps by the SIRE of the chart
room, and unable to recognize my strange
voice. Yet he was n yatchtsman. trained
| above all to courtesy.
Nothing serious sir" he announced civ
lily enough. THE engines are new. and
not well adjusted yet: a bit of shaft went
wrong, and has to be repaired"
'The captain is on deck?'
Not now. sir. It was at his orders W.
heaved to. but he has just gone below. We
are out of the trade lines here and safe
enough with a good lookout"
'Are we liable to be lying here for some
time. them"
Five or six hours, the engineer said"
| He turned away. but at that instant my
I eyes caught the flashing Of a beacon away
off to the southeast
what light is that out yonder, Mr.
Seeley? We must be we'll beyond Eaton?"
He glanced in the direction indicated.
"Those white flashes? That is Oldfield
Point. sir. Are you acquainted with these
waters?"
THE WOMAN APPEARS
mot intimately, although retain some
memory of thescharts. l saw merchants
service on the old Atlas Line"
"A fine line that" he acknowledged
heartily. 81 made my first voyage. as
cabn.boy on the Mohawk. You are Mr..
Hollis, l presume, sir. 1 overheard Mr..
Darlington tell Captain Turner you were
to be one Of the party aboard. Well good
night sir; / must make certain the, watch
is awake"
He touched his cap courteously and dis
appeared beneath the shadow of the bridge,
| leaving me again alone, undecided whether
to return below or endeavor to walk off
my sleeplessness. i scarcely know what
idle curiosity led me to stroll along the mar
row deck space around the cabin to the
lounging place at the stern. The rubber deck
mating muffed my steps, while the light
of the stars along the water surface re-
fected sufficient light to give me fair view
beneath the awning, which had not been
rolled up when the guests retired. 1
stopped suddenly In surprise, staring
across at the opposite rail. questioning the
evidence of my own eyes. There. clearly
outlined in the star-glmmer. was plainly
revealed the figure of a woman. Some in.
stnct Of fear, or, perchance, slight sound
of approach. must have apprised her of
my near presence, for she turned instantly
toward me- bending slightly forward, her
face visible In the shadow; and then, be-
fore I could either move or speak, she
fled along the port rail, vanishing imme-
dlately Denlnu tne prottCtlOn OF the caDln.
/ felt sure that her parted lips had uttered
a quick exclamation. and her startled effort
at escape was sufficient to urge me to pur-
sue. Who could she be? Why was she
here on board the Esmeralda? above all,
why should she be 30 eager to escape OBJ
servation?
/ ran forward across the deck, and
quickly explored the passage between the
cabin and rail. 1t was clearly visible In
the bright starlight, but the swiftly fleeing
figure had totally vanished. I reached the
steps of the companion. and gazed down
through the glass doors. The light below
revealed nothing. the cabin remained quiet.
and deserted. Not shadow rewarded my
search, either on the open deck. or below.
Yet surely this was no dream. no hallucina-
ton. no mere vision of the night.
The woman had actually been there; I
had s6en her plainly enough; had even
heard the echo Of her voice. There was shep
4 woman on boaR6--a woman who sought
! * 49, hnn fohnorun f1onf 4 Who rol0<urn0 on