Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-09-06
The
|DESTROYE R
By BURTON E. STEVENSON
CHAPTER ELEvEN-coptinued.,

BE told himself this deliberate
~, after a glance at his neighbors ;
and then, in the next moment, he
called himself a cad, for every hui
man being is interesting, once you
get below the skin. But degrees
OF interest vary, and Dan felt that
he had never met any II who
promised so much at this outspok-
en- girl, with the shining eyes and
sensitive mouth. Which boat was
she sailing by, he wondered? 1t
was an even chance that, like him
self, she would be on the Ottilie.
Yes-but second class? That would
be asking too much of Fortune !
Let it be added here that Dan was
returning in the second cabin not
because - as he was to hear sc
many times on that voyagel-
there was no room in the first, but
because by doing so, he had saved
the money for an extra week of
travel.
He found more arrivals in the
office when he left the table, and
a formidable array of baggage,
which wasprcsentlyloaded on vans
and trundled away toward the
waiting tender. He paid his bill,
collected the two suit cases which
constituted his total impedimenta,
saw them safely off for the pier,
tipped the porter, and left the no
tel. The whistle of the tender was
blowing shrilly, and, when he
reached the pier, he saw far out
at sea the smudge of smoke
against the sky, which told that
one OF the steamers was approach
ing. He boarded the tender, as
snred a medical Inspector that he
was an American citizen and so
did not need to have his eyes ex-
amined, dug his suit cases out of
the pile OF luggage, and found him
self a seat near the bow of the
boat. Presently the special boat
train rolled in along the pier and
disgorged the final quota of pas
sengcrs.
Ten minutes later, with a shrill
toot, the tender backed away and
headed out across the harbor.
With a queer feeling. half of sor-
row, half of JOY, Dan looked back
at the receding shore, telling him
self that the next soil his feet
touched would be that of America.
A mile out, the great liner lay
waiting, impressivcly huge as seen
from the deck Of the little tender.
and presently they were alongside
and filing through an open port.
A steward grabbed his suit cases,
the instant he was on board, asked
the number Of his room, led him
to it along interminable passages,
and left him to make himself at
home.
There were two berths in it, and,
as he had paid for only one of
them, he knew that, at this crowd
ed season, he could scarcely hope
to have the whole room to himself.
But there was as yet no sign Of any
other occupant, so Dan, thrusting
his bags under the lower berth,
went on deck again. The last of
the baggage and mail was being
lifted aboard by a block and
tackle, worked by a donkey n
CINE, and ven as Dan looked. the
tender footed it's whistle, cast
loose, and backed away, and sud-
denly beneath his feet Dan felt the
culver which told that the screws
had started. Slowly the great ship
swung around and headed away
into the west toward the setting
sun-and toward "the land Of
freedom" How that phrase was
running in his head!
He made a little tour of that
portion of the boat set aside for
passengers Of the second class, and
realized that the frugal Germans
were much less generous in their
provision for those humble ones
than was the English line on which
he had come to Europe. There the
second class was we'll amidships.
with a deck room almost equal to
that given the aristocrats at the
bow. Here the second class. was
q the very stern, and the deck.
room was limited indeed. OF
course, Dan told himself, the OF
tile was q crack boat, designed to
sateP to the most exclusive trade:
but he looked forward at the long
stretches set apart for the first
cabin with q little envy.
The boat was crowded, but he
NV nothing Of the black haired
girl, and finally, after finding that