Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-09-06
XII.
d RUSSIAN RULE.

WITCH Ian QUIZ Ills Scdt III tlC
dining saloon, that evening, he
glanced up and down thelongtable
in the hope that Miss Ward and
her father might be among his
neighbors. But they were not, and
it was not until he was half
through the meal that he deserted
them at one of the tables on the
other side of the room. At his
own table there were the usual as
sorted types of the middle class
tourists, his wife and family, most
of them frankly glad that they
were homeward bound, with the
greatest part of their pilgrimage
accomplished.
The sea was smooth and the
great boat forged ahead with
scarcely any motion, so that every
seat was occupied and every one
in good spirits. There was a hum
OF talk and rattle Of dishes; the
white coated stewards scuttled
back and forth, and the scene was
as pleasant as the wholesale hu-
man consumption Of food can ever
be.
Dan went on with his dinner
with one eye on the far table
where Miss Ward and her father
were seated; but his attention was
distracted for a time by a discus
sion with an Anglomaniac across
the table started as to the relative
merits Of England and America,
and to which he could not resist
contributing a few remarks. When
he glanced across the saloon again,
he saw that Miss Ward and her
father were no longer there. How
ever, he finished his dinner with
the comfortable consciousness that
the second class quarters were lin
tied, and that she could not es-
cape from them except by jumping
overheard and when the meal was
ended, he made his way leisurely
through the lounge and along the
decks In search Of her. There
were girls, girls everywhere, but
not the one he sought; and finally,
with a little smile, he mounted the
ladder which led to the after boat
deck.
Already other couples, scouting
about the ship, had discovered the
advantages of it's dim seclusion,
and most of the benches in the lee
OF the boats and about the little
wireless house We're occupied; but,
on that II bench, in the shadow
OF the after life boat, Dan deserted
a solitary figure. He advanced
without hesitation.
Il was hoping I should find
you" he said.
She moved a little aside, as an
invitation for him to share the
bench.
II like it up here" she said,
with no light but the stars and
that strange luminous glow along
those wires up yonder."
Looking up, Dan saw that the
gridiron of wires stretched be-
tween the masts was, indeed, faint
~ luminous against the sky.
That's the wireless he said.
'Listen-you can hear it," and
from the open window of the wire
less house came the vicious snap
and crackle Of electricity. "The
operator. is sending a message"
She looked up again at the glow
ing wires.
Il think it the most wonderful
thing in the world!!" she said. ~
can't understand it can't be-.
lleve it-and yet, there it 81"
"Yes-and I suppose it has be-
come an every day affair to the
operator in there; it isn't won.
derful to him any more. We forget
how wonderful a lot of things are,
when we get used to them"
How wonderful everything
is, she corrected; sthe sunrise,
the ocean $50
They sat for some time in ST.
lence, gazing out across the dark
and restless water, touched here
and there with white, as a wave
combed and broke. Then Dams
gaze wondered to her face. Seen
thus, in the dim light, framed by
her dark hair, it. too, seemed won,
derful to him there was about it a
mystic allusiveness, a subtle charm
far more compelling than mere
beauty ever is; her eyes had
depths to them
She felt his gaze upon her and
turned her face to him and smiled
You may smoke, if you wish,
she said. II can feel that at the
back of your mind"