The Washington herald., 1921-05-15

sUoU know the type, Mrs. Ford" con-
! tinued the captain, extremely dark,
fne featured, oily blacx hair, black turoan
and sunshade, peddling silks and shawls In
the summer hotels, always quiet, always in
telligent, always mysterious"
Janet nodded eager assent. She had long
felt q certain awe and horror Of these DARK
visitors from the Far East. She was In
tensely interested. The bright day and
splendid blue of the ocean, the tanned and
sturdy captain in his blue uniform. the clean
white of the bridge, and below them the deep
hum Of the ship, made a strange setting for
the story, strong in its vivid contrast.
''Well, finally told him what / wanted,
as though be did not know already. 1t
seemed that would dream (he explained
this) some vital circumstance in my own
life-risht, or not right, depending on my
mental condition, whether my mind was
submissive to his entirely or only partially.
He Lit some peculiar incense on q table
directly In front Of me. I remember him
sitting opposite me, holding my attention
with those black eyes Of his, and the sicken-
ing fumes from the incense curling up
between US. Then grew faint and drowsy
and lost myself in q sort Of mist.
That was all. never knew slept until
he woke me up. But In that interval, Mr..
Ford, lived through the loss of the Tuscan.
down to the slightest detail as it occurred
two weeks later"
The captain gazed of into the pale north
thoughtfully.
That happened nine years ago, and until
this passage 1 have never seen him again.
You can understand, therefore, how it stirred
me to find him on board here"
What a strange, strange experience 20
Janet backed to the rail, crowding close to
her husband. Why, Harrison, think what
1t means, dear"
The captain was speaking again and she
turned to him with troubled eyes. while
Harrison held her gently.
So 1 must ask you, Mr. Ford, not to
repeat the story. A thing like that does not
look well in the reports"
Harrison Ford was not deeply impressed
with the captains story He was a tall.
lean man Of thirty eight. intelligent and
self composed far beyond the ordinary and
of pleasant and forceful personality, From
his college days his easy, logical strength
lad impressed, swayed, overruled, until now
he stood alone, the head Of a tremendous
corporation. a figure known and RESPECTED
In the highest business circle. of New York
and Boston.
He WAS, in his quiet, steady way, a phi
- losopher. He looked invariably on III.
bright side Of things or he simply did NOT Iook
he aimed always at the normal. Hi. t,.i,.d
mind thrust aside as unworthy NJ .on.id-
Grafton the extreme, the mysteriop. ~.
unnatural, both in business aud in hi, NJ
Vate hte. lie always thought of Janet mora
as child than In any other Hght-one to
be amused, humored and brought up care
fully and unobtrusively to his own stsnd.rs
Of mentality. On the other hand his entir.
life was focused on her. 1t was for her thar
be was what be was. 1t was through her
that be was enabled to maintain his bi,b
standard Of life.
Actually, to a limited degree, Janet WA.
a child for her years. She had a vivid ima.-
ination to which she often gave free rein
She was dreamer always, impractical. i'm.
pressionable. She was far from being .ro-
tistical. never realizing her own powers A,
attraction, even in her ability to interest
herself. Harrison was her ideal. . man
alone, of all men. She never hoped to attain
to his scope Of mind; she was absolut.Ix
happy in her ability to love, admire and
idolize him.
Her finely strung nature was keenly SEN
sitive to the beauty and vividness Of life.
She loved nature, and especially she loved
the sea. Under its influence she was trans
ported into ecstasies of feeling, grave or
gay, as the mood of the ocean. The sharp
contrasts Of life. its mysteries and TRACE
dies, thrilled and interested her intensely.
She was young-much younger than Harri
son-and she did not wish to grow old. to
lose her sharp imagination or her acute
sense of appreciation. Her love for Harrison
was her harbor of refuge from which she
could look out into those wonders of life
unafraid, could loose her imagination fear
lessly in its mysteries. Captain Anderson
story made deep impression on her. While
Harrison put it from his thoughts as ine1
plainable arG unnatural, Janet lost herself
completely in ITS strangeness
During the next few days her mind dwell
necessarily on the subject. She chartered o
It to Harrison, who listened tolerantly
amused at her enthusiasm and interest. d
thought it would not endure for long Tn
Liverpool sped steadily eastward througl
glorious weather, and Janet, always on decl
In the September sunlight, dreamed unde
the spell Of the sea. Contrary to Harrison
opinion, her moods accentuated, rather thai
diminished, in her mind the reality and mys
terry Of the story She watched the Hind,
from the promenade deck. She saw the som
Der eyes, the sphinx like face, the clean Gu
profile like q silhouette, on the deck below
And she resolved deep In her heart that
should tell her fortune, make her dream
page from her own future life, before tn
voyage was ended.
Harrison opposed the plan strongly, No