Evening star., 1928-03-07

But, fatter"--Marion had risen from
| her chair and had come to his side
If it's thick enough and miserable
enough weather to keep Captain Stone
up there, 1t can hardly offer much In
the way Of attraction for you. I'm sure
rubber or two will be much more
pleasant"
We'll. maybe, a little later on" re-
piled MFR. Garth without enthusiasm.
Marion knew her father very well
She laid her hand quietly on his arm.
What is 1t. father?" she asked quick
| ly. You're not Ill, are you? Is any
thing the matter?"
Mr.. Garth pinched his daughters
cheek playfully.
mo. my dear" he said: I'm not Ill.
and there is nothing the matter. I'm
Just a bit out Of sorts. fancy-grumpy,
you know Not particularly good COM
pany. You don't mind, Rand-missing
rubber. nean?"
mot in the least" said Rand politely.
Marion. her brows knitted In an
anxious little frown. watched her father
make his way to the bridge ladder; then
she returned to her chair.
Rand tucked the rug around her
again. fingered little longer than was
necessary perhaps over the performance
Of that simple act Of courtesy, and re-
Sun1ed his own chair.
81 noticed at dinner that father didn't
seem just himself" Marion said. a
slightly perturbed note in her voice.
I hope 1t is nothing more than the
weather. It's been perfectly poisonous
from the moment We left Sydney. Do
you think 1t is ever going to clear?"
"Cf course, 1t Is" Rand answered,
with a CHEEKY laugh. THE glass has
been rising steadily since noon. the sea
has gone down. and there's only this
bit of fog left. I shouldn't be surprised
II We were complaining about blazing
hot sun tomorrow. Anyway"-he leaned
slightly toward the chair beside him.
and his voice was suddenly deeper
I'm glad we're not playing bridge to-
night"
Marion did not answer. She knew
quite well what he meant. She did not
pretend otherwise to herself. She was
not blase; she had never loved any one
in her life. except her father and
Daddy Tom; 1t was not ego. or woman's
vanity-but she knew. that this man
beside here here. either tonight or be-
fore she returned to Sydney. would ask
her to marry him. She had known It
almost from the day they had sailed
They had been a great deal together
conStantly-too much perhaps. But
but that was to very large extent the
natural result of shipboard life. She
mad been. or had tried to be, Just her
normal sell. neither encouraging nor
avoiding him. But she had not been
piino. His attentions had become more
ana more pronounced in little things
a hundred little things.
And for herself?
Her heart was beating little more
quickly now. A sort Of panic Surged
upon her, prompting her to make some
excuse and go below, 60 to her father
on the bridge-anything. It was not
going to be easy to answer this man II
she could Just put 1t OF! But why?
Would 1t be easier tomorrow or the next
day-or the next? Would she know
then. better than she did now. Just what
her feelings toward him were?
The Isis dipped to q sea. A great
comber reared its head and thundered
down over the forecastle- head. There
deck, the hiss Of 1t through the scupper
ports, then the steady throb Of the en-
g.nes again-and the strange, silent fog!
Fog! Her mind was like that-in fog.
She liked him very much indeed at
times. so much that at moments she
had asked herself II 1t was not more
than liking-if 1t was not love? And
then, at other times. she did not like
him at all. She did not know why.
There was no reason-nothing tangible.
No act, no word. no niannerism OF his
TO account for this. It seemed absurd
Even empty-brained on her part
It was quite dark here under the
shelter Of the bridge. She could just
barely make out his features-but she
found herself studying those features
now. It had become a strange little
habit OF hers Of late-whcn she could
do so without embarrassment TO either
OF them. Not casual study OF them
as in the earlier stages Of their acquain-
tainship. but study. quite a 5razen
sort Of study. study by contrast, as
1t were. Once she had seen q face in q
crowd-a mans face. She had never seen
1t before, and she had never seen 1t since.
But she had never forgotten II, never
could forget It. She could not describe
even TO herself here feelings when, In
the lobby Of that London .theater. out
Of the surging. pushing. chattering.
laughing press OF people making for the
exit. she had seen that face. II had not
startled her, It had not even surprised
her: 1t was as though she had expected
TO look up and see that face. And then
IL had brought a most strange seIlSa-
ton. II had seemed 10 awaken mem
ories that were ages old: even the scene