The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1918-04-27

engines was no special concern of mine
and lay down again. But sleep would
not return. I tossed and turned, ant
finally arising in sheer desperation
hastily donned my clothes. The afte1
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. q 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 dech
SO as to intercept him.
Anything going wrong, Mr.. SeeleyT'
asked. "You have stopped the en-.
gines."
He stared ut me through the dark
blinded still perhaps by the glare Of
the chartroom, and unable to recog.
nixe my strange voice. Yet he was q
yachtsman, trained above all to cOur.
tesy.
Nothing serious. sir" he announced
civilly enough. 1.-THE engines are new,
and not well 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 q bea-
con away of to the southeast.
"What light Is that out yonder, Mr..
Seeley7 We must be well beyond Ea.
tonr'
He glanced in the direction indi-
Gated.
"Those white flashes? That is Old
field point. sir. Are you acquainted
with these waters?"
"Not intimately, although I retain
some memory Of the charts. saw
merchants service on the old Atlas
line."
"A fine line that" he acknowledged
heartily. n made my first voyage, as
cabin boy, on the Mohawk. You are
Mr.. Hollis, I presume, sir. l overheard
Mr.. Darlington tell Captain Turner you
were to be one Of the party aboard.
Well. good night, sir; I must make
certain the watch Is awake"
He touched his cap c0urteously, and
disappeared beneath the shadow Of the
bridge, leaving me again alone. unde-
cided whether to return below, or en-
deavor to walk OF my sleeplessness.
/ scarcely know what idle curiosity led
me to stroll along the narrow deck
space, around the cabin to the loung-
ing place at the stern. I 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 giimmer, was plainly
revealed the figure Of woman. Some
instinct 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 shad-
ow; and then. before / could either
move or speak. she fed along the port
rail, vanishing Immediately behind the
protection Of the cabin. felt sure
that her parted lips had uttered
quick exclamation, and her startled eff
fort at escape was Sufficient to urge
me to pursue. Who could she BET
Why was she here on board the Esme-
ralda? Above all. why should she be
20 eager to escape observation3
ran forward across the deck, and
quickly explored the passage between
the cabin and rail. It was clearly Wis
lble In the bright starlight, but the
swiftly fleeing figure had totally van
shed. reached the steps Of the COM
panion, and gased down through the
ylass doors. The light below revealed
nothing. the cabin remained quiet and
deserted. Not Z shadow rewarded my
Iearch, either On the open deck, or be-
ow. Yet surely this was no dream,
10 hallucinati0n, NO mere vision Of the |
light The woman had actually been |
here: I had seen her plainly enough |
lad even heard the echO Of her voice.
There was then 4 woman on board
j woman who sought to hide from OBJ
ervati0n: who ventured on deck only
vhen she thought It entirely deserted,
nd who ned In fright from discovery.
even felt vague impression Of her
ersonality-She WAS youns. slender q
orm. dressed In some shimmeEing