Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-24

The train presently pulled out of the station;
Claires vis-a-vis picked up a technical magazine
of engineering, upon which he concentrated his
attention. This gave her an opportunity to
study him surreptitously Under other crcum
stances Claire would have found him distinctly
attractive. He was the type Of man which
pleased her most; clean cut clear Of skin and
eye, and with set of features which bespoke
race. The left hand resting upon his knee was
strong and well shaped. the fingers straight and
rather widely spaced-the hand of craftsman
and on the little finger was heavy gold seal
ring engraved with arms He was extremely
we'll dressed in a grayish chevot, very light but
Of the finest wool, of an English cut which rath-
belittled the breadth of his shoulders, with a
shirt of pongee silk no longer to be found "
America, heavy and resistant to maltreatr mt
Of the laundry, and his tie was of a snug woven
silk also of foreign fabric.
1t was evident to Claire that his clothes were
not American, although their wearer was dis
tinctly So as evidenced by his speech. which
might have been that of a New Yorker, possibly
a Bostonan.
Here" thought Claire, bitterly, "is a man
already we'll provided for. who is making off
with a good part of what should be my inheri-
tance." She glanced at the end of his suitcase
under the seat and the label of Washing
ton hotel, also the remains of one of the French
line. This suggested that he might be in some
branch of government service a naval officer
perhaps, about to be ordered to European
waters.
Then as the train rumbled on she made an
other discovery. 1t was sufocatingly hot, with
a low barometer and lurid, heavy sky which
predicted sort of meteorological disturb
ance-earthquake weather, Californian
might have said. Some of the men in the car
had taken off their coats and were sitting in
shirtwaists.
A dining car steward announced the first
call for dinner. The young man opposite Claire
IotL Il te o,,Ir -I,o,, f~r I,
first time he appeared to take active interest
in her presence His features relaxed in
friendly expression and he spoke to her in the
pleasant inoffensive way of one accustomed not
only to travel and its exigencies but courteously
offering to render service to his fellow travellers.
perhaps you'd rather have the lower BERTH"
said he ITS rather awkward for lady to
scramble up and down the ladder, and I am
quite accustomed to it,
Thank you,' said Claire IF you're you
don't mind"
mot in the least. The upper is really better
on a sultry night like this. free air, and
I'm used to that. too" He glanced through
the window Looks as if we were going to
catch a cyclone cloudburst something
Hope it doesn't blow the train off the track
he glanced at his valise and smiled-"just when
I've got all my eggs in one basket. I believe
saw you at the funeral of Mr.. Lothrop."
YES" answered Claire surprised that he
should have recognized her heavily veiled. Mr..
Lothrop my godfather"
His eyes flashed at her look Of sudden in
terest. He seated himself. "Then you must be
Miss MacNorton. Mr. Lothrop often talked to
me about you. I am Stephen Goddard"
Claires gray eyes hardened. Her godfather
had also spoken frequently to her of Stephen
Goddard. whom she knew to have been a sort
of protege for whose scientific education he had
paid
Il owe him everything" said Stephen. II
have delayed the sailing of government vessel
to so to his funeral"
"Your duty appears to have been well re-
warded," said Claire,