Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-10-24

A, engines was no special concern of mine,
and l lay down again. But sleep would
not return. l tossed and turned, and
finally arising in sheer desperation,
hastily donned my clothes. The after
cabin was deserted, dimly lighted by
one shaded electric globe. beneath
which the brass stair rails shone DULY.
l emerged on the deck, gratefully
breathing in the fresh night air. AS
stood there a man descended the lad
der from the bridge, entered the chart
house and switched on light. In the
momentary CLEAN l recognized the face
of the second officer, and when he final
ly came out again, crossed the deck
so as to intercept him.
Anything going wrong, Mr.. Seeley?"
1 asked. "You have stopped the en-
gines."
He stared at me through the dark,
blinded still perhaps by the glare Of
the chartroom, and unable to recog-
nize my strange voice. Yet he was a
yachtsman, trained above all to cour-
tesy.
Nothing serious, SIR" he announced,
civilly enough. 1.-THE engines are new,
and not we'll adjusted yet; a bit Of
shaft went wrong, and has to be re-
paired"
He turned away, but at that instant
my eyes caught the flashing Of bea-
con away off to the southeast.
what light is that out yonder, Mr..
seeley' We must be we'll beyond Ea-
tonY'
He glanced in the direction indi-
Gated.
"Those white flashes? That Is Old
field point, sir. Are you acquainted
with these waters?"
mot intimately, although retain
some memory Of the charts. saw
merchants service on the old Atlas
line"
"A fine line that" he acknowledged
heartily. ~ made my first voyage, as
cabin boy, On the Mohawk. You are
Mr.. Hollis, I presume, sir. I 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
disappeared beneath the shadow of the
bridge, leaving me again alone, unde-
cided whether to return below, or en-
deavOr to walk off my sleeplessness.
l scarcely know what idle curiosity led
nae to stroll along the narrow deck
space, around the cabin to the loung-
ing place at the stern. l stopped sud-
denly in surprise, staring across at the
opposite rail, questioning the evidence
of my own eyes. There, clearly out
lined in the star glimmer, was plainly
revealed the figure of woman. Some
instinct of fear, or, perchance, a 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 shad-
ow; and then, before I could either
move or speak, she fled along the port
rail, vanishing Immediately behind the
protection Of the cabin. l felt sure
that her parted lips had uttered a
quick exclamation, and her startled ef-
fort at escape was sufficient to urge
me to pursue. Who could she be?
Why was she here on board the Esme-
ralda? Above ALL why should she be
so eager to escape observation?
l ran forward across the deck, and
quickly explored the passage between
the cabin and rail. 1t was clearly WIS.,
ible in the bright starlight, but the
swiftly fleeing figure had totally van
ished. reached the steps Of the COM
panion, 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 be-
low. Yet surely this was no dream,
no hallucination, no mere vision Of the
night. The woman had actually been
there; had seen her plainly enough /;
had even heard the echo Of her voice.
There was then woman on board
a woman who sought to hide from OBJ
servation; who ventured on deck only
when she thought 1t entirely deserted
and who fled in fright from discovery.
even felt a vague impression Of her
personality-shew was young, slender of
form, dressed in some shimmering
gray stuff, light, fluffy scarf conceal
ing her hair.
There was nothing more to do then
although 1 prowled about for some
time peering into dark corners, and
turning the matter over and over in
my mind. 1t must have been nearly
daybreak before I fell asleep again In
my own, stateroom, nor did I awaken
until the steward announced the last
breakfast call, by a vigorous rapping
on my door.
Darlington was seated alone at the