The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-06-22

Studying Him.
stinctiVely avoiding his embrace: = ana
he stopped at once, but he had come
quite close to her now.
AS she stared at him. the clerks
voice came to her suddenly over the
partition which separated the office
from the larger room where the clerk
Was receiving some message over the
telephone. Henry straightened. lis
tened; as the voice stopped, his great,
finely-shaped head sank between his
shoulders; he fumbled I'm his pocket
for cigar, and his big hands shook
as he lighted it, without word of ey-
cuse to her. "A strange feeling came to
her that he felt what he dreaded an.
preaching and was no longer conscious
of her presence.
She heard footsteps in the larger
room coming toward the office door
Henry was in suspense. A rap came
at the door. He whitened, and wet his
lips.
Gene in," he summoned,
One of the office girls entered. bring
ing white page of paper with three
or four lines of purple typewriting up
on 1t which Constance recognized must
be transcript of a message Just re-
ceived.
She started forward at sight of It,
forgetting everything else; hut he took
the paper as though he did not know
she was there. He merely held IL un-
til the girl had gone out: even then
he stood folding and unfolding It, and
his eyes did not drop to the sheet
The Sir! had said nothing at all but
av,ng seen her, Constance was
hrul the girl had not been a bearer
bad news, that was sure; she
1aSht some sort of good news! Con
pee. certain Of it, moved nearer to
Pry to read what he held. He looked
IN and read.
What Is 1t, Henry?"
ts muscular reaction as he read.
drawn the sheet away from her;
recovered himself almost instantly
gave the paper tn har.
5 30 a. m., ManitOwOc, Wis.," she
q. THE schooner Anna 8. SOlwerk
been sighted making for this port.
Is not close enough for communi-
own, can be plainly made out. 1t
believed that she must have picked
survivors Of No. %. she carries
wireless, so Is unable to report.
ks are going to her"
Two lifeboatsv ~ Constance cried.
hat could mean that they all are
we'd or nearly all; doesn't it, Hen
doesn't it?"
He had read some other Significance
In It, she thought, or, from his greater
understanding Of conditions in the
storm, he had been able to hold no
hope from what had been reported.
That was the only way she could ex-
plain to herself as he replied to her {;
that the word meant to him that men
were saved and that therefore 1t was
dismaying to him, could not come to
her at once. When 1t came now, IL
went over her first only in the flash
Of incredulous question.
The telephone buzZer under his desk
up his receiver.
"ManitowOc?" he said. "I want to
know what you've heard from the Sol
Werk. You hear me? :.
The men the Solwerk picked up. You
have the names yetf"
"The Benlon?"
-. ="
"Oh, I understand! All from the
Benton. / seei No; never
mind their names. How about Number
20? Nothing more heard frOmsthem"
Constance had caught his shoulder
while he was speaking and now clung
to 1t. Release-release Of strain was
going through him she could feel 1t,
and she heard 1t In his tones and saw
1t In his eyes.
"The steamer Number 25 rammed
proved to have been the Benton" he
told her. "The men are all from her.
They had abandoned her I'm the small
boats, and the Solwerk picked them
up before the ferry found her"
He was not asking her to congratu.
late him upon the relief he felt; he
had not so far forgotten himself as
that. But 1t was plain to her that he
was congratulating himself; It had
been fear that he was feeling before
fear, she was beginning to understand,
that those on the ferry had been saved.