Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-01
West Wind Drift
By GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
Copyright, 1890, BY George Barr MoCutoheon

| Sick, dazed, hakgafd, they stared nope
lessly, drenrily out over the water; ios
| all that their faces revealed the enc
was near at hand and they. cared put
| little. They had been through one hell !;
death could bring nothing worse
Hero and there stout-hearted optt
| mist appeared among them, but bis very
| cheerfulness seemed to offend. Iney dln
| tions that something was sure TO turn
| up" They know that water was comins
nto tho hold they knew that there wers
hut four lifeboats and 700 mon anu
women they knew that the Doralne va
snew that the captain had given up all
| hopo of rescue. Nothing could "turn, up
now but death. ~
Nine. Obosky had taken a great fancy
| to Algernon Adonis Perciyal and LOT
most peculiar reason. He had, ~
pears, abused her roundly on tne dncE E
against orders compelling him 10 rlsk ,,ss
what he considered very prec GUS hie
In a successful effort to drag ner oack 70
safety. As a matter Of fact, he did not
accomplished by two sailors who man
aged to reach both Of them before an
other devastating wave came up 10 tear
his grip loose from the broken raj 70
which he siuns with Rom oe dina into nt the
sea with the other.
He was very angry. In the first place.
his hands hurt him dreadfully, and In
the second place she had forced him
to disobey orders by going out 70 save
her. He did not mutter his Complaints
lie told her in plan and violent English
what he thought Of her, and II she went
| out there again he'd be damned happy
| to let her drown. r.
Now, It had been some time since any
man had had the hardihood or temerity
| ohngEv
cursed her since she left Petrosrad-and
that was two years ago. She had been
cursed often enough by her own sex
professionally, Of course-but the men
sia were either too chivalrous or too
cowardly to abuse her, and she missed
, She had gone through, very hard
school IN order to become one e. OF .,.rs the
had cursed her. teachers had beaten
her-and they always were men.
When she was eighteen she married q
lion tanner. Who would have thought
that a man who trained lions could be
beasts he had beaten for y.ars? She was
barely nineteen when he died.. quite
suddenly. There was a dark rumor that
she had poisoned him. True or false
came one of the most popular dancers
in the empire.
She was dancing in Germany. when
! the war broke out, but succeeded IN get
two, thereby escaping what she was
j niaased to describe as "someth ng Eat
/ $780, fF-n could endure, no matter how
long sne9s.ad lived In Russia" Paris
and London had treated her kindly
courteously. but that was to be expect.
ed, she replied. because all of the real
men were of at the front fighting. In.
stead Of being scowled at and ordered
| about by managers and orchestra lead.
ers, or browbeaten by hotel clerks and
the most servile politeness-due, she
was prone to argue, to the inquest oned
decadence Of the French and English
races. 49,.
1t was the same In Rio Janeiro. Bue.
nos Aires. and Santiago--and It woult
be even worse in New York, Chicago
and San Francisco. The Americans, shs
had heard, were the worst Of them all
They Ss Ss know o the s, &ss ins Insn .'sS
understood, was an exception. From
all accounts, he knew how to treat nj:
woman.
She was homesick. Her heart leapet
with Joy when she discovered in Perciva
what she believed to be domineerlns
masterful man. He had been neithei
servile, nor polite. nor afraid; He hat
treated her-at least for an illuminating
transcendent ten minutes-as II she
was an American, at that. True. he hae
apologlzed a little later on, and hat
blushed quite becomingly In doing 80
but nothing--nothing n the world
was not the sort OF man who could: b
depended upon to put a woman In he
place and keep her there He Nigh
apologize until he was Mack In tn
, face and still be unable to ttke back tn,
that he. in his apology, professed I
have mistaken her IN the darkness 70
one of the Portuguese immigrant womef
who didn't understand a word Of Eng
, lish, she forgaye him quite hum6ly
Obosky, whose identity ought not 4
have been a matter Of doubt, even OF
the darkest Of nights.
She was a 1.-THE. perfectly formed
Young woman. beautiful In an unusua
way. Her body was as stnuous as tina
! of woodland nymph. Indeed, In ont
of her most spectacular dances she ap
: peared as a nymph, barefooted, bare
legged and-as Mrs. spofford caust'cal
the marvelously clear. colorless complex.
ion found only among the purely Slavic
women Her lips were red and sensuous
her eyes darkly mysterious and brood
ing. her hair as black as the ravens
wing.
When she smiled her face became
strikingly alive, radiant, Transforming
her into jolly. good.natured. whole.
some p'rl in whom not the faintest trace
every thought, every impulse was fem,
nine; her imagination was feminine
she cast the spell of her femininity over
all with whom she came in contact
Primit'vely sensuous. she, was ,alsc
orimitiveiy wary-and so she was inef'
fably feminine.
Prior to the time Of her dramatic en-.
counter with the American. she had IA.
vored HIM with no more than glance
. or two of curiosity. He was a stowa.
way; for brief while he was suspected
Of being, involved In the plot to blow
Up the ship. That was enough for her
Twice she had zen Miss Clinton talk
Ing with him. and just before tn,
storm set In, she had paused to watcf
the young American girl renew n,
i, he burns. Half an hour after he haf
apologized for speaking so roughly I,
her she decided that II was her duty L
hunt him up and minister to him. TIL,
shin was rolling terribly. the din OF tn
= Obosky was not q faint-hearted person
. She went forth boldly. confidently. Ter
= "'fied, cllnging observers marveled' q
her surefootedness, at the graceful wa.
In which her sinuous body bent itself 4
i the perilous heavings Of the vessel. Sh
found him in the reading room. seate
I In a corIer. Miss Clinton was read
: justing the bsndage on one OF hi
hands. Half a dozen people we're In tn
3 'oom. manfully defying the turmoil tina
ad e11os ssnt anS nssry ssssy WI %S sss to Ss
ton the dancer Joined the couple in tn
,. corner. Her smile was engaging;
l faint line between her eyebrows siSni
= fed the concern she felt for him.
J. Her smile was politely accusative-an
J, brief