Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-05-18
The Beauty Of the Blue Train

ton the telegraph"
Markham stole a glance at Lucy. She
seemed to be. absorbed in Teddy's elo-
quence, was smiling and listening as If
She were pleased and mystified. The
heightened color which remained in her
cheeks enhanced her extraordinary
beauty; and Markham half closed his
eyes as he was swept by wave upon
wave Of love for her simplicity and
goodness, her exquisite poise, and the
tenderness of her bloom.
Il started at once" said Miss Sophia.
i travelled night and day through the
kindly arrangements Of my friend. Mr..
Adam Knowles"
"Knowlesi Knowlesl OF course, he
must be a relative Of Teddy's, And it
has never ccurred to me. Old Adam! 1
beg your pardon
From whom I received a very favor
able account of yourself. And when 1
reached here, MI. Knowles-Mr. Teddy
Knowles-kindly met me, brought me
here, and himself took a note to my
neice, asking her""
"Imploring herl" cried Teddy, at the
top of his voice.
Asking her to come here by herself
for dinner"
Excellent" exclaimed Markham.
Ten minutes passed. A quarter of an
hour.
Markham's eyes went again to Lucy.
Their desire to watch her loveliness-
just to watch her and be delighted by
her was Unsuitable. He could see the
lovely curve of her chin, the delicacy
OF her neck, the perfection of her little
hands.
Her little handsl Markham faltered.
For the fingers of Lucy's left hand
rested lightly upon the cabin table; n
they were all entirely bare of rings. Not
a stone or a band of metal broke the
virginia. simplicity of that hand. 1t lay
there, almost as If 1t were shyly peeping
about the table, almost as If it were
trembling a little.
And just as Markham observed this
extraordinary fact. and had this strange
fancy regarding Lucy's left hand, the
Scorpion" lurched suddenly. There was
a cry from Aunt Sophia, who clutched
the fixed chair upon which she was
seated. The first lurch was followed by
another. Teddy continued talking; but
the others took no notice of him. Now
Markham knew what had been the shud-
dering beneath his feet; the faint
grumbling sound he lac heard. 1t was
the Scorpions screw. o he knew why
they had been encouraged to shout. 1t
was to cover the soft thudding Of the
crew and any dangerous sound from
without which might advertise the
yachts movement.
What's thati' cried Aunt Sophia, as
there was a third gentle lurch. 20, what
is it. Something's humping into us. Mr..
Teddy!'
ITS all right" Teddy said, reassur-
ingly, in his natural tone. Don't be
alarmed. The fact is, my friends. we're at
sea. It's a fine moonlight night. I'm
. taking you for a little SAIL
NU@rtt- xlx-Aff 49, -
phia, aghast.
In fact. I'm kidnapping you ALL" ex-
planned Teddy, with an air of forced
lightness. He looked appealingly at
Markham for support
"K~idnappingl" cried Aunt Sophia,
bringing her hands together. Eel"
XII.
She quickly recovered herself. Mark
ham saw that she did not believe a word
that Teddy said. Indeed 1T was SO obvious
that Teddy's innocent face could not
conceal the designs of a pirate, that no.
body could have been frightened for a
moment. Certainly not Aunt Sophia, who
was made of sterner stuff. She stared at
him, however.
Wouldn't it be as we'll If you ex-
planned this-this freak to us" she sug-
gested coldly.
Il hope in time to be forgiven said
ASoAJf WAOoC AdNG. Was INV JuIltQ lTOIi
Its customary rosy ~impudence to some
thing very like gravity. But the ex-
PLANTATION of my conduct is simply this.
Your niece, Miss Tetherden, became en-
gagged to a man who, to my knowledge
to my knowledge-is a crook and q
scoundrel. This was due to your trust
ingness in a woman named Garcia-''
Il know no such"
"She calls herself Nine. Dennar. She
hoe lA,roIF l rt-
Is the sister Of a man who calls himself
Notify. whose operations as a gambler
and sharper have caused the police sew
eral times to take an interest In him. %
Mr.. Knowles" began Lucy, her eyes
sparkling. her cheeks a deep crimson.
Teddy turned quickly to her. His left
hand was outstretched to hers.
My dear. it's unpalatable, I know.
It's incredible. But it's true. That's the
worst of 1t. Markham here has been try
ing to protect you, but he's been handi-
capped by the fact that he's a gentle
man. He couldn't take action without
proof n without alarming you; and
he felt he couldn't warn you without
driving o into this mans arms. He
knows nothing Of my plan. He's as sur
prised as you are. Perhaps more. Well,
| sent Markham to Monte Carlo, out Of
the way: having got Hopkinson, who is
- 1FD%Ns w WiiN AN U1AbO bAAC lQbA W
your aunt. bidding her to come out and
look after you"
But kidnapping, MIR. Knowlesl' began
Aunt Sophia. Her hard eyes blinked.
1T was the only thing that gives us
time. AS q matter Of fact the kidnapping
Is now unnecessary"
ITS quite Unnecessary exclaimed
Lucy.
"Quite!" emphasized her aunt. "a nice
sail, If you wish"
But I'd planned it," pleaded Teddy.
I'd promised 1t to myself. And it's hap
pened. We're bound for Corsica. It's a
pleasure trip, really. You'll return.
Iherell be no harm done
AT this moment the steward came into
the cabin and ben over Teddy's chair,
whispering something into his ear.
What's thatl" exclaimed Teddy, in
c~redulously. Followed, d'you say? Excuse
me, ladies'
He rose and hurled up on deck, leav-
ing them all staring at each other in
blank amazement.
XIII.
Markham presently followed him upon
deck n beheld one Of the most re-
markable sights he had ever seen. The
night was brilliantly fine-a dark sky
from which the stars seemed to have
been driven by the radiant e~ffulgence of
the almost full moon. The sea was black.
1t was very smooth and without foam;
u there were lovely silver courses upon
1t as the moonlight caught its ripples,
The Scorpion" was swinging easily
through the water, leaving a white trail
OF foam, but not moving very fast. Be-