The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-05
CHAPTER xxII

Y The Empress steamed her way nlowly around Sandy Hook. In an- other half hour she would be at Quarantine; two hours later she would tie up at her dock in New Fork. The aEster Cruise was over.
 Joyce stood at the rail and Hooked out across the cold, gray water. Directly ahead, the Ambrose Lightship rode at her anchor, and khe liner slowed down to pick up the pilot.
 It would have been right about here where her pocketbook went overheard. Just about here, at this very spot, two short weeks ago, she had bumped into Dickl
 And now 1t was over The Great Adventure was over. She had found love; she had lived for few hours in Paradise, but the memory would only darken the future.
 Not another word had been said about the loss of Mrs. O'Hara's jewels since they left Miami, but the matter was by no means closed. The woman's eyes still blazed with hot defiance; every time she passed Joyce on deck she glared, as much as to say: Wait, young woman. I'm not through with you. Just wait until we get to New York"
 And here they were coming up the bay.
 They drew abreast of Quarantine, and once again the Empress hove to, that the customs and immigra- tion officials might come aboard. Joyce glanced down at the men lined up on the tiny boat alongside them. She saw the doctor, with his ubiquitous black bag; she recog- nized the uniform of the customs
 She caught her breath, her eyes wide and unbelieving. Was she dreaming, or was that Dick Ham, ilton down there with them? She blinked, necessarily now, because her eyes were clouded with quick teams, and she looked again. There was no doubt of it. His eyes roved the decks of the Empress, as if he were seeking someone out. But be- fore he saw her, she was away from the rail, hurrying down to the se- clusion of her cabin before some one else might recognize him and turn to study her reaction.
 Ten minutes later he found her there.
 She heard him bounding down the stairway, three steps at a time, swinging around the post on a spin ming heel. She did not question the footsteps; she knew with wild exultation that it was he. She was standing in the middle of her room, waiting for him, as he burst in the door.
 "Joyce! Joyce, darlingl"
 1he was in his arms, her nose buried in the damp, rough tweed of his shoulder, feeling his own heart pounding as madly as her own. She was crying little, and laughing too, and she'd forgotten completely that he didn't believe in her, that he had run away -.
 'T love you SO much, dear!" he told her, very tenderly. T don't think I knew quite how much until I got on that plane at Miami and left you behind"
 She looked up, her eyes question ing through the tears.
 'But why did you go? Why?" Her voice choked just little.
 Because love you, and because nobody in this world is ever going 70 say an unkind word about you, IS long as I live"
 Still she did not understand.
 "Come, sit down and I'll explain. But first of all-do you love me, Joyce?"
 With all my heart ."
 He kissed her, tenderly at first, then with quick, fierce eagerness, and in that moment she knew that All the world was right, and she would never doubt again.
 Seated, side by side on the berth, he told her what had happened.
 "The other evening, after you left us so abruptly" he began, lighted @ cigaret slowly, T came down to find you few minutes later. The cabin was empty"
 T met my steward in the corri- dor. He took me up to the captain Immediately"
 50 I found out later. But while I was looking for you, I heard this O'Hara woman tell her friends how that clip was found in your room"
 Joyce nodded. That's why the captain sent for me"
 T went right up to see him. I wondered If he'd been dumb enough to tell her where it was found But when asked him point-blank about 1t, he was amazed. He asked me who the devil told me. He had cau- toned the steward purposely not to say word about 1t. And cer- tainly he'd not told Mrs. OHara."
 Joyce's eyes widened. Then how did she know?
 He took long puff on the cig- aret. Because she put 1t there her self
 "What?"
 Islands to reason, doesn't 1t? The only persons who knew where 1t was found was your steward, the captain, and the one who put 1t therel"
 She held her breath in amaze ment.
 "The captain realized this imme- diately. Though, naturally, we wondered why she would have done such thing. She was down on you, no doubt of that Thought you were after her fat little husband, SO Cap tain Boyer said. didn't know about that incident at the dance, until he old me-"
 "Dick! But why would she put the clip in my room2 I might have kept 1t. And what about the other jewels?"
 "We wondered that, too. A wom- an wouldn't have thrown away a fortune in jewels just to spite