Bhe
s
t
By
LOUIS TRACY
Author of the "Pillar of Light."
"The Wings of the Morn
ing" and "The Captain of the
Kansas."
Copyright. 1909 by Edward J Clod
CHAPTER II.
WHEREIN TUE ANDROMEDA BEGINS HER
voyage. . , ,
THE second officer of the An-
drdmedu was pacing . the.
UK
m bridge with tlie slow alertness sieauny wuiuwaru wiiu mat nneen
of responsibility. lie would j P01ut i"llnattju to the west thai
walk from port to starboard, glume i would "lke her far into the Aihimi.
forward and aft. peer ot the wide ! 8lH,n nfter da.vbreaU. I'liuip remem
crescent of the starlit sea, stroll buck i bred Mr Verit" ' "le e and teit sorry
to port and again scau ship and ! th,,t ueu sne l,:,id former tIrIis to
horizon. Sometimes be halted lu front tue Andromeda fate bad decreed tun
of the binuacle laniD to make certain
that the man at the wheel was keep
lng the course, south 15 west, set by
Captain Coke shortly before midnight.
His ears listened mechanically to the
steady pulse beat of the profiler; but
bis mind dwelt on something far re-
moved from bis duties, though, to be
sure, every poet who ever scribbled
four Hues of verse bus found rhyme
and reason In comparing women -with
stars and ships and the sea.
If Philip Hozier was no noet. he
was a sailor, and sailors are notorious
ly susceptible to the charms of the
softer sex. Put the only woman he
loved was his mother; the only bride
be could look for during many a year
was a mermaid, though these sprites
of the deep waters seem to be' fre
quenting undiscovered haunts since
mariners ceased to woo the wind. For
all that. If perforce be was heart
whole, there was no Just cause or im
pediment why he should not admire
a pretty girl when be saw one. and an
exceedingly pretty girl had honored
him with her company during a brief
minute of the previous day.
He was superintending the safe dis
posal of the last batch of cotton goods
in the forward hold when a young
lady, accompanied by a dock laborer
carrying a leather portmanteau,. spoke
to him from the quay. ' '
"Is Captain Coke on board T' said
be.
"No, madam." said he, lifting bis cap
with one hand.
"1 am Mr. Verity's niece, and I wish
to send this parcel to Montevideo.
May I put It in
some place where
It will be safe? You
are Mr. Hozier, I
suppose?" said iris,
gazing with frank
brown eyes into
bis frank blue
ones. "Well. I will
Just pop the bag
Into Captain Coke's
ata teroom and
leave this note with
It. 1 have explain
ed everything ful
ly. I wrote a line
lu case he might
be absent."
, All of which was
bo strictly accurate
that it served its
purpose admirably,
Ihoirgh the said purpose. It Is regretta- '
me io state, was the misleading and j the lazarette, a small space between
utter bamboozling of Philip Hozier. i decks, situated directly above the pro
Miss Iris Yorke knew quite well that ' peller, where u reserve supply ot pro
Captain Coke was then closeted with j vlsious is generally carried.
David Verity in Exchange buildings, j But the door ot the lazarette was
8he knew because she had watched ! locked and the key missing. There
him passXhrough the big swing doors j was nothing for it but to force the
of her uncle's office. She also, knew, luck.
having made It her business to And Jt was dark ln there, and Hozier
out that in fifteen minutes or less the was undeniably startled by the spec
crew would muster In the fo'c'sle for ' tat 'e a slim tlgure, wrapped lu a
their midday meal. Not having heard ! lou ulster, standing amoug the cases
a word of Hozier's free speech to the j an(1 packages.
gentlemen of various nationalises at j "Now, out you come.1" he cried, with
the bottom of the hold, she wondered i a sruffness that was Intended ouly to
Ivhy he was blushing. cover his own amazement but Iris.
Wheu Hozier was free to glance a despite the horrors of seasickness and
second time ut the cross rail Iris had i cutlnement iu the dark was not mind
Tanished. He was annoyed. Evidently t0 suffer what she considered to be
Bbe did not wish to encounter. any Impertinence on the part of a second
more of the ship's officers that mora- , oflicer.
lng. . ."1 am Miss Yorke." she said, coming
The hatches were on and everything -forward the hair light of the low
was orderly before Coke's squat figure er deck. .."Any explanation of my
cllmbed tbe gangway. Hozier reported -presence here will be given to the cap
the young lady's visit, and the skipper'! tain 011(1 to uo other person."
was obviously surprised. As be hoist- j 'J bilt loeent word "person" is capa
ed himself up the sleep ladder to the i Dle ninny meanings. Hozier felt
Hurricane deck the younger man heard
brai -condemning some one under his -
breath as "a leery old beggar." The
phrase was hardly applicable to Iris,
ibut Coke came out of bis cabin with
an open letter In his hand and bade a
steward stow the portmanteau iu snme
other more hallowed and less Jficou-'
,-veuieut place. '
X And there the Incident ended. The
Andromeda hauled down the blue pe
ter for her long run of over O.uuo miles
-to Montevideo, aud Hozier had rou-
? uin: ur 111 lieiliy 10 occupy niH mtlld
.during the Hrst twenty-four hours at
jeea without perplexing It with memo
ries of a pretty face. Boon after lloly-
tioflft wna nflunl It la tnia m anllnv
' reported to the second officer that be
.bad seen a ghost between decks iu (be
; region of the lazarette. It wus then
near midnight;' A -tjoiet 'aour. on board
ship, and Hozier told the" niun sharply
r -
to "go to tils"buirs- aiiU euoeavor to
sleep off the effects of the bud beer
Imbibed eiiriior hi i lie d:iy.
ow- on 1,1 18 'wu oigm or me
I T0.vu!;e' wulli; U'P was puxlduig
ne oduw be serving bis time on an
other vessel. It gave him a thrill
when he heard that this charming girl
knew his name, and It. seemed to him
for an Instant that she was look Nig
Into his very soul, analyzing btm.
senrchluS fr some slgu thai he was
i 01 as ott,ers- wnlcb meant that there
were 8on,e wiom she bad bitter cause
I t0 distrust.
At an-v rate- sllP ha1 ,eft a memento
I of ,ler 100 brief nppearance on board
ln ,he 8ailPe of ,ne bag. He would
contrive to lake on his own shoulders
its mission lu Montevideo. Then on
returning to Liverpool he would have
an excuse for calling on her. He did
not know her name yet Possibly
Captain Coke would mention tbut In
teresting fact when his temper lost
Its raw edge.
It was strange that he should be
thinking of Iris, far stranger than he
could guess, but his thoughts were
subconscious, and he was iu uowise
neglecting the safety of the ship.
Hozier heard Coke reading the riot
net to the shellbacks who were sup
posed lo keep a sharp lookout ahead.
But the captaiu did not monopolize the
conversation. His deep notes rumbled
ouly at Intervals. The men had some
thing to say. He returned to the
bridge.
"'One of them scallywags sez 'e 'as
seen a ghost," he announced with the
calm air of a man who states that the
moon will rise during the next hour.
"Oh. Is he the man who reported a
ghost outside the lazarette last night?"
"1 s'pose s'o. Did 'e tell you about
It? That's where she walks."
"Sher
"That's his yarn a femnle ghost, a
black 'un, black clo'es anyhow.. I'll
take, the forenoon watch, an' you
might overhaul the ship for stow
aways after breakfast."
" 'ryes, sir." said Hozier. And that is
how it fell to his lot to discover Iris
Yorke, looking very white and misera
ble, when the hatch of the lazarette
vas broken open at half past 8 on
Thursday morning!
A tramp steamer Is not a complex
organism. She is made up of holds.
Dunuers, boilers and engines, with
scanty accommodation for. officers and
j crew grouped round the funnel or
stuck lu the bows. When the boats
were strinned of their tnrnmilina nml
"1 am mb. verity's J a few lockers and storerooms exatu
niece." iiu the ouly available hldhii? ninoa
were the shaft tunnel, the holds and
IUl,t "3 application to himself was dls
tim - tly unfavorable. And Iris was
quite digniuVd and self possessed. Hue
had given a few deft touches to her
hair.
"Of course I did not know to whom
I was speaking." be munaged to say.
for be now -recognized the "ghost" and
whs more surprised than be bad ever
been In his life before.
"That Is matterless." said Iris frigid
ly. "JkVbere Is Captain Coke?"
"On the bridge." said Philip.
"I will go to him. Please don't come
with me. I tried to tell you that 1
would unlock the door, but you refused
to listen. Will you let me pass?"
He obeyed in silence.
Iris hurried to the deck. The light
seemed to dnzzle ber. aud her steps
were ho uncertain that Hozier sprang
forward mid caught her urui.
"Won't you sit down a moment. Mlsa
Yorke;" he said, "it jSju searched the
whole ship you couldnotJuavecboeiS
a worse place to travel flu than the
lazarette."
"I was driven nut twice stiiilgbt by
the nits." sue gasped.
"Too bad:" he whispered. "Hut It
was your own fault. Why did you do
It? At any rate, wait bere a few min
utes before you meet the captain."
"I am uot afraid ot nieetlug him.
Why should 1 be? He knows we."
"I menut only that you are hardly
able to walk, but I seem to say the
wroug thiug every time. There is notb-
I lng really to worry about. We are not
far from Queeustown. We can put
you ashore there by losing half a
day."
The girl had been 111. racked in body
and distraught In mind, but she sum
moned a half laugh at his words.
"You are still saying the wrong
thiug. Mr. Hozier." abe murmured.
The Andromeda will not put Into
Queenstowu. From this hour I become
a imssenger. uot a stowaway. My un
cle knows now that I am bere. Thank
you. You need not hold me any long
er. I have quite recovered. Captain
Coke Is on the bridge, you said? 1 can
And my way. This ship Is no stranger
to me."
And away she went. Justifying her
statements by tripping rapidly for
ward. The mere sight of her created
boundless excitement among such
members of the crew as were ou deck.
When she reached the bridge, where
Captain Coke was propped against the
chart house, she had lost a good deal
of the pallor and woebegone semblance
that had demoralized Hozier.
Cok beard the rapid, light footsteps
and turned bis head. Certainly be
could not have beeu more stupetied
had he seen the ghost reported over
night. "They told me I should And you
here, captain." said she. "I must apol
ogize for thrusting my compnuy on
you for a long voyage, 'but circum
stances were too much for me
and"
Face to face with the commander, of
the ship and startled anew by bis ex
pression of blank incredulity, the glib
Sow of words conned so often during
the steadfast but dreadful hours speut
In the lazarette fulled her. .
"You know me." she faltered. '! am
Iris Yorke."
Not a syllable came from the irate
and astonished man gazing at her
with such bovine stolidity. His shoul
ders had not abated a fraction of their
stubborn thrust against the frame of
the chart bouse. His bauds were im
movable in the pockets of his reefer
coat. Had be wished to terrify her by
a hostile reception be could uot have
succeeded more completely, though, to
be Just, be meant nothing of the sort,
his wits being Jumbled into chaos by
the apparition of the last person then
alive whom he expected or desired to
Bee on board the Andromeda.
But Iris could not Interpret bis mood.
and she strove vaiuly to conquer the
"YOU KNOW UK," HIIK PAI.TEHBD. "1 All
11118 YOIIKU."
fear welling up In ber breast because
of the grim unger that seemed to blaze
at her from every line of Coke's brick
red countenance. In the struggle to
pour forth lue excuses and protesta
tions that sounded so plausible In ber
own ears, while secured from observa
tion behind the locked door of ber re
treat, she blundered unhappily on to
the very topic that she bad resolved to
keep secret
"Why are you so unwilling to ac
knowledge me?" she cried, with a
nervous indignation that lent a tremor !
to her voice. "You have met me often
enough. You saw me on Sunday at
my uncle's house."
"Did ir said CqJ-e. speaking at last'
but really as much at a loss for some
thing .to say as the girl herself. He
had recognized ber Instantly. Just as
he would recognize the moon If the
luminary fell from the sky and with
as little comprehension of tbe cause of
Its falling.' - -
Of course she took tbe question as a
forerunner of blank denial. This wus
not to be borne. She Bred into a di
rect attack.
"If your memory Is hazy concerning
tbe events of Sunday afternoon It may
be helpful If I recall tbe conversation
between my uncle nnd you in tbe sum
mer bouse," she snapped.' . . .
Some of tbe glow fled from Coke's
face.
"Wot that you're Bayln't" demand
ed Coke, coming nearer and looking
ber straight In tbe eyes.
"I heard every word of that Interest
ing talk." she continued valiantly. "I
know what you arranged to do, bo I
have promised to marry Mr. Bulmer
when the Andromeda comes back!"
A light broke on Coke's intelligence
timt. irradiated b!a niomiaent eyes.
4
mmmi trim
tils heavy lips relaxed" Into a cuuniug
grin.
"Ob. Is that Itr he sald "Artful
old dog. Verity! But wby In why
didn't e tell me you was comlu'
aboard this trip? We 'avent't. the right
flxln's for a lady, so you must put up
with the best we can do for you. Miss
Yorke. Steady, now. You ain't a-goln'
to faint are you? - HI! Below there!"
he yelled. "Tumble up. some of you!"
"Hozier was the first to gain the
bridge. He bad followed the progress
of events with sufficient accuracy to
realize that Miss Iris Yorke had met
with a distinct rebuff by the skipper,
and. Judging from bis own experience
of her physical weakness when she
emerged Into daylight he was not sur-
! prised to hear that she had" fainted. -
" 'Ere. take 'old." gurgled Coke, who
had nearly swallowed the cigar In his
surprise at . Iris -unforeseen collapse
"This kind of thing Is more ln your
line than mine, young feller. Just lay
'er out In the saloon an' ax Watts to
'elp. nis missus goes orf regular
w'en they bring 'lm 'ouie paralytic."
Philip took the girl Into bis amm.
To carry her safely down the steep
stairway he was compelled to place
her head ou his left shoulder aud
clasp her tightly round the waist with
his left arm. Some loosened 8 1 muds
of ber hair touched bis face. He
could feel the lu boring of her breast
the wild beating of ber heart, utid he
was exceeding wroth with that un
known mau or woman who had driven
this insensible girl to such straits that
she was ready to dare the discomforts
and deprivations of a voyage us a
stowaway rather than be persecuted
further.
Iris was laid on u couch in the mess
room, and the steward summoned Mr
Watts. The chiefs officer came, look
ing sheepish. It was manifestly a
great relief when he- found tbut the
"ghost was uncouscious.
"Oh. that's nothing!" be cried In re
spouse to bis Junior's eager demand
for Information as to the treatment
best , titted for such emergencies.
"They all drop in a heap tike that
w'eu they're worried. Fust you takes
orf their gloves uu' boots, then you
undoes their stays au' rlpB open their
dresses at the necks. One of you
rubs their 'anils an' unother their feet,
an' you dabs cold water on their fore
beads an' burn brown paper under
their noses, in between whiles you
give 'em a drink, stiff as you cau make
It It's dead easy.' Them stays are a
bit troublesome If they run to size, but
she's thin enough as It is. Anyhow, I
can show you a llne.trlck for that
Just turn her over till 1 cast a lasblu'
loose with my kulfe." '
Watts was elbowed aside so uncere
moniously that bis temper gave wuy.
Hozier lifted Iris' bead gently and
unfastened . the ueck . books of ber
blouse. He began to chafe bor cold
bands tenderly and pressed buck tbe
hair from, her damp forehead. The
"chief," not flattered by his own re
flections, thought fit to sueer at these
half measures.
"She's on'y a woman like the rest of
'em," he growled, "even If she is the
owner's niece, an' a good lookln' gal
at that 1 s'pose now you think"
"I think she will wunt some fresh
air soon, bo you bad better clear out,"
sold Philip.
His words were quiet, but he flashed-a
warning glance at the other man
that sufficed. Watts retired, mutter
ing surcastus under bis breath.
Iris revived, to find Philip support
ing her with a degree of skill that was
remarkable In one who bad enjoyed so
little experience iu these matters. She
beard bis voice, coming, as It seemed,
rapidly nearer, urging her to sip some
thing very fiery nnd spirituous. In
stantly she protested.
"What are jou giving nje?" she sob
bed. "What has happened?" ;
Iris pushed away the glass and sat
up.
"You carried roe?",she said. ,
"Well, I couldn't do anything else."
"I suppose you don't' realize what It
means to a woman to feel that she has
been out of ber senses under such con
ditions?" , - :
"No, but in your case it only meant
that you sighed deeply a few times
and tried to bite my fingers when I
wished to open your mouth."
"What for? Why did you want to
open my mouth?"
"To give you a drink. You needed
a stimulant"
"Oh!"
By this time a few dexterous twists
and turns bad restrained those -wandering
tresses within bounds. She held
a hairpin between her lips, and a wo
man can always say exactly what she
means wben a hairpin prevents discur
siveness. "I am all right now," she announced.
"Will you pleuse leave me aud tell
tbe steward to bring ine a cup of tea?
if there Is a catiin at liberty be might
put that portmanteau ln It whlcb I
brought on board at Liverpool." ,
Hozier fulfilled ber requests and re
joined Coke ou tbe bridge.
"Miss Yorke Is quite well again, sir,"
he reported. "She, ' ' -
wants a cabin
to change ber
clothes, I Imag
ine. That bag you
saw"
"Pretty foxy,
wasn't It?",-broke '
In Coke, with a
glee that was puz
zling to bis bearer
"The whole af
fair seems to have
been carefully
planned," agreed
Philip. "But. as I
was saying, she
asked for the use
of a cabin, so I
told tbe steward
to give ber mine
until we put Into
QueenBtoiyn." ,.'
"PRETTY FOXY,
WASN'T IT r'r- .
Coke, w ho bad lighted another black
and stumpy cigar, removed it in order
to speak with due emphasis.
"Put into n IT be said.
"But surely you will not take this
young lady to tbe river Plater cried
the astonished second officer.
"She knew where she was bound
w'en 8 he kern aboard the Andromeda.
said the. skipper, frowning now Ilka a
man who argues with himself. "There's
her portmaiiter to prove It. with a
label, an' all In her own 'and wrltln'
It's some game played on me by 'er
un 'er uncle. Any'ow. the fust time
Bhe sees laud again It'll be tbe lovely
'arbor of Pernambuco. an' that's
straight! 'Ere she la an' 'ere she'll
stop, an' the best thing you can do is
spread tbe notion amoug the crew that
she's rnnnin' away to avoid marryln'
a man she doesn't like. That sounds
reasonable, an' It 'appens to be true
Verity an' me talked it over last Bun
day p m."
"To avoid a marriage!" repeated
Hozier.
"Yes. that's It" sold Coke. "But look
'ere. mo boy. this gal sails under my
flag. I'm wot d'ye call It? In loco
motive parentibus. or something of the
sort, w-Ulle she's on tbe ship's books
You keep your mouth shut an' wink
the other eye an" leave It to me to
give you the chanst of jour life. En,
wot?"
Philip Hozier did not strive to ex
tract the precise meaning of tbe skip
per's words. The process would have
been difficult since Coke himself could
not have supplied any reasonable anal
ysis. Somehow, to the commander's
thinking, the presence of the girl seem
ed to make easier the castlug away
of tbe ship. Exactly bow or what
bearing her strangely begun voyage
might have on subsequent events be
was not yet ln a position to say.
"Queenstownr he chuckled. "Not
this Journey uot If my name's Jlmmie
Coke, the man 'oo is stunnln' on all '
that is left of 'is 'ard earned savin's.
No, sir; I've got me orders, an' I've got
me letter, an' tbe pore old Andromeda
gets ripped to pieces in tbe Ilecife
or I'll know the reason why. Wot a
card to piny at the Inquiry! Owner's
niece on board bound to South Amer
ica for the good of "er health. 'Oo
even 'eard of a 'man sendin' 'Is pretty
niece on a ship e meant to throw
away? It's provldentlul, that's wot
It Is. reel providential! 1 do believe
ole Verity 'ad a 'and In It"
to be coimirtntD. j
MAKE FINAL PROOF3.
Henry ZumwaU and Joseph E.
Lord modie final proofs an their
homssLeads. before County Clerk W.
C. Boatman, Thursday.
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Offlea. ln Lltch building, Room
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