Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-27
CON T R AB AND
\ Romance of the North Atlantic
By RANDALL PARRISH
of the North Atlantic

y Jed hut gazing INTO her face seemingly
without rccpguit ION. Vet | do not recall
"bN. Yes NOu do surely YOU must she
interrupted why. you have changed more
than J. Do YOU not remember the moon
hEht nights ~ Palm Reach? The fishing
parties along the coast
Vera ." he cried, note of delight in his
Noic". "rf course / remember; but you
haN" become woman. the very last person
In tn" world ! expected to soc And 50 YOU
ar" the lady We were fortunate enough to
rescue Nh Hollis never even mentioned
your name"
There was uu reason why / should"
said. having uu Thought Of your previous
acquaintance. rhv Young lady and | have
Just been discussing the situation
Wait. iust q moment, Mr. Hollis" she
interrupted, her eyes stHl on Bascom's
face. This discovery changes everything.
Mr. Basrom is an old friend
so I Judge, but / du not intend to let
that influence your decision
but it Will. and does" a certain inn
pctuous appeal i'm her voice. II did not
understand before. a. | do now. You are
the owner Mr. Hascom' This is your boat
and cargo
Yes, Vera, things have not gone very
we'll with me Of late, and my entire fortune
is here" he answered. rather bitterly.
II am sorry had not heard. You have
been terribly III. from your looks, and are
lame. lit was that affair in New York,
| from which you never recovered"
Il was in the hospital for months, and
scarcely hopod to live. That was when my
| business went To smash,
/ Father never told me; and your
! mother"
is living in Philadelphia. but in rather
stratcned circumstances. and i'll; my
! younger brother has been compelled to leave
| school and seek empIoymeut" lie smiled
weakly 81 had hoped this voyage would
! set NJ all on our feet again
She released her hand from his grasp,
| and sank down once more into the chair.
her glance leaving his face and seeking
| mine
MIR. Hollis" she said almost denantly.
| 1T is my wish that the Indian chief con-
| tiuue its voyage"
| But | cannot rouSout----"
! you left this decision to me. You said
| plainly that only my presence on board de-
| TERED YOU from accepting command Well.
! ! make that decision, My comfort, even
| the momentary fear which my family may
| feel over my strange disappearance. could
| never Justify my refusal. | know this gen
| tlcman, and have met his mother; We're
good friends lie shall not he ruined
| through any whim Of a girl Whatever may
occur to us during the next few weeks,
shall not fail TO do my part"
You mean this?"
II not only mean it; / urge you to go
ahead, not considering me in the least"
81 cannot quite understand 50 sudden
change"
| Perhaps YOU do not understand women"
| she said and smiled 1T is our privilege
| to change our minds without app cent rea-
| son But i'm this case my reason is
| worth" one" She paused, her manner
changing. surely you recall who Mr.. Bas-
com s?"
"Not in the remotcst degree"
But we spoke of him in the hoat--rhilip
| Bascom."
My eyes wdencd and caught m, oreath.
Good God yes now | recall the fair
He is the man Fergus Mccain shot IN the
| hotel restaurant That is the ac"id"n' he
speaks Of Why this is strange enough 10
be fiction
Bascom stood. leaning on his canca look
| ing at us as though failing to comprehend
! what il was we were talking about. Pos
! sibly he did not catch our words clearly,
| for his white face appeared puzzled.
"You speak of me-" he asked, 'of my
difficulty with McCann""
She looked up at him earnestly
Yes; it is very strange, You should
know the truth There We're three of us
who escaped together when the yacht sank ;
| Mr. Hollis, myself and--Fergus McCann."
Rascom Strengthened, his lips pressed
tight,
"He is here now; a guest on board my
ship"
YES; do not know where--sleepng
in one Of the staterooms, probably Mr..
Hollis was compelled to strike him while
we were in the boat, and his face was
badly bruised ! have not seen him since
! came over the side
Bascom's expression was one of struggle,
as he stared into our faces. 1t was dlfh-
cult for him to find words; TO even control
his mind
'Ths-this is misfortune" he said
finally II do not know how II will end. ]
have sought to avoid the man. Miss Vera,
do YOU know the truth of that affair? not
the newspaper story but the facts?"
She shook her head
II only heard that the trouble occurred
over Myra Bradley. McCann found you
together. and shot you in. a 'ht of jealous
rage"
$50 far the story was true; but | was
not at the restaurant with Miss Bradley.
| | had never, but once before, even spoken
to her. She called me to her table that
| evening where she was dining alone. to
question me regarding some mutual friends
| In Philadelphia. our brief conversation
was most commonplace. McCann shot me
| without warning | did not even know he
was near. until the woman screamed"
"Bnt," | said, as he paused. was there
no trial? That was not the newspaper
story"
II know IT," bitterly, "and | have only
my word 10 give you. | could not defend
myself and no one else made any effort
| To do so. McCann had money, and In
auence i was lying unconscious in a hos.
ptal, The girl WAS shipped of TO Eurppei
u walter swore that drew rsvoiver
Which ~ &t>o1Gaydf picked w Qp The nppf;
it IS. " * W. KY n w L X tr