The evening world. [volume], March 28, 1914, Final Night, Image 9

About The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931

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I li c Evening World U a 1 1 y Magazine. Saturday, Mi reft 29, I
"""-"-"-------" - -o '
A COMPLETE NOVEL EACH WEEK IN THE EVENING WORLD
THE, SHIP OF
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOl
(CniyriefV. 1011, fcp tMuelil A nj
fmomi or pftaoMNNo ciuptbm.
'aa, lddltlM ami hta chum, Xf0M, VtikM Oil
ft iWtwi rtMwMpt wffe WMlM ci , laVami
la tht (LwttWHt Main. Tierr Ibfl IM wt
wir' . . nil ImiiV il " wM full uf
Mitt'ii'' 1 iriMN, Thvr n)ai fitxl 00fflta
i ) ' t'if liae, i. iif jf- mk Jiiat U'
Mlh a " rf tt tariand'a lafi-in. (let-
an. I ffttj tgoVftl, In Hi flfflit
Wa-var 1 , Unh kill Iti, fhn. l aier Hit
atirrtvnr i i1cW1 up l : aan mWpt win
catrtaau, IMfr a 1 I r ugh 1 a -am
drl. - . ;pM in it. lr ;ar.
btMrfta of fta'g Wll'i' MM nvtrtung i la-pa. 1
I m i. , u ft 'II lu trlilrt, Hh mjmi
lit aura ruunkla IT in Ml inan'o in WtJm.
nmj a alw i.u ,ri m a,iiatti I ma
tn a pita-fr. Hi- buTllr -t: : Into ti
i ' t r Jr witfli lUm It Nap Uaiwt l
imM tMMI) lawnlne at Me-' w iaii;ttr
fftW Kfqiiln, a Htm n. T-hgwia' . frtnt lit
ftUt Id Ma 0j nih'i a tHitji it 1
Mart. Tlay KisMI Mwaao an 1
east-al l rrt-.ri, to tht CDfftJ lalan I Pair -a.-.-flnfta
iiHi tnMiti. n.. ,t.-,-a flaaaaall aua i
4 iiin lam. A lnon M wa Mh
taari. Tht mw am ftMaaJ ttn lajaat'i
lar (lupaH fni'l f tunt in irriinH ntnm.
A at, ftpfwftn ! tw aatyttn. OaaptaJ luiud- a
fir, lajahttrai It atti M mm Hi .-i i,-r
Jt find- a i . it -u-i pml nott.
CHAPTER XIX.
fnntWllMri.l
Deliverance.
OW Hip lionftrr wa tuirnliiK
hravoly, nii1 OMPaN at"
i.irkinu- tho bay eadaia with
hla knlfp. cunt fOUBfff
wood uKin thp fliinips. H tMBPM
thm down. I)U It nn snrnk". IiUiik
, tn uxl uplrnln f MlMant Ktnokp.
thlrkenlfiR. rteeppnlnn tn :il laul rl-
ln( In a atottdy column. He ran to
the fallen palm trow ami hackpd
way their frond, half dried and hair
withered tiy the aon. They InofMMtl
the flame nnd more grwn Id law! WOO fl
lncreaapd the amoke.
It waa now magnificent. pillar of
darkneaa rlalng In the air. lending t..
the wind and breaking into fronds Of
amoke.
. lie left l. and. ehading hla eyea.
tared out arroaa the aea. The vcwiel
waa almont abreaat of tho Island,
about three mllea away to northward,
acarcely two milea to weatward; ahe
waa a email veaael. ahip rigged; that
la to aay. with equare aalla on all her
three mast; Mir would not be more
than ten hundred and fifty or three
hundred tone.
The wind had veered almost Into
the east, ao alie had It on her beam.
Ifthc seemed Indifferent to all things
and aa divorced (rem reality aa a
painted ahip In some brilliant picture
of the sea. Never did It seem poaalble
that ahe would respond to call or
lunal'.
MM waa nbreast of the Island nuw
and now Oaopard could twarooly
believe hla eyea ahe waa altering her
courae: the wind was aplllmg from
her aalla ahe wa heaving to,
He saw a boat detach Itself from
her. a tiny speck at flrat. now larger,
now plainly VMIbUl it was making,
not for the weatern aide, but for the
aouthern beach, where the landing
waa good. Kvldantly the vessel knew
the loland and had landed a boat here
before-
He made for the bea h and atood
there waiting. The rocka to weatward
cut Off hla view of the oncoming boat
and he had time ror a nsnni
thought.
He felt like an actor who hail to
appear on the stage with I half
laorned Pf- Thinking enllicly of
how to hide his freaeure, he baft fnt -Rotten
to Invent a atory to account
for hla presence on the Island.
It was too late now. for here came
the boafa noae round the western
rocka, a large, whlte-patnted boat,
flashing eight oara In the aim.
Now ane waa coming dead on for
tho beach and Ooapnrd was wading
d; knee-deep to meet her. Within
n etrokea of the beach the men
caused rowing, and ahe came bravely
on. the bow oar standing up and
heutlng aomethtng In Kngllsh which
Oaapard did not understand; he
w-ved and shouted a reply In French
and the next moment he waa clutch -lag
the thwart, being hauled aboard
ABA shoved aft.
The mate of the veasel. who waa
ateering, a hatchet-faced American,
hauled Oaspard down bealde him nnd,
without waiting for word or question.
which would have been uaeleas. ron-
alderlng that he could acaroely apeak
vllable of French, shouted orders
to the crew and thr boat poled off
from the shore and began Its return
Journey to the ship
"French?" said H. mate, when
thr were under way.
'Oaapard nodded, "Oui, OUl." hen
pointing behind him. "wreck;" it was
jSM. "f the few Kngllsh words that
' he knew . The hands In the boat, all
Americans Isan-faced, bronte, chew
ing as th-v rowed, looked with m
Mrest at thp nmrootied on"e and made
remarki eboul him one to II ther,
but Hi mete, ettor the Brsi interro
(ition eoemod t" have m itereel
m snytblng bul aottlna bee '" ,h"
ship us quickly possible There
bm a iir-' bell I" it"' "l"ri ""'
bout with ute eorde "Aant Mertln"
n it.
Oajpard pointed
then u the ship Hi
Igg,
i In
name
;ipiin
"Ann MartlBf
Tho mate ii i Id
sea. '
HSktfU I"''
and spa!
IMI" I In
"Quelle poll.' Se
i Qaspftrdi
pointing southward.
"St rierro."
st. Pierre! " cried Uaapard.
"Oh,
nion I)tu!
St.
Ptttfi It,
Ptorro
MarllnlqueT"
The mate nod1pl
For a momptit Oiuip.ird roulil not
IipIIpvp that mich luck wa hla. Out
of thirty or forty poaalhlp porta ahe
vn l.dund for St. I'lt-rrp, for Mnrtp.
Thpii hp lauKhPd und rlapppd hta
knpp with hi handa; the narampn
httCttad half roncklnaly, puking fun at
him in American Minor, hut the mate
did not laugh; he waa a man who.
to uiio hla own expreaalon. had no uap
for liitiRhter: heaidea. hla eyea and hla
mind were otherwise engaged.
(iuapard, In hla excitement over
lighting the alnal fire and the ap
proach of the tiont, had forgotten one
thing. Me wal wearing the diamond
ring he hail taken from Hageaae, a
ttrrifeta MaaaWi ahaaal anbaHavablab
did not one know the aacity of the
human mind for error.
The male, he waa flrat ofneer of
the Anne Martin and hla name waa
Skinner - though he could acarcely
ke-p hla eyea from the flaahlng Jewel,
a.tld nothing, and now the lm.it waa
under the port quarter of the Anne
.'iartln, uara were In and Oaapurd
clhBMag tho ladder which had bppn
flung down, nhlle a hard-faced man
In a Panama ('apt. Stock, no MM,
the maater of the voaael waa lean
ing over the aide ahoutlng dlltCtlOM
to the mate.
In a moment the crew wera on
hoard, the boat awung up at tha
davlta, tha bracaa manned and the
Ann Martin on lirr rnurne nirnln
Then, and not till then, did
Stock turn to the newcomer
Capt,
"He's French." said Skinner,
"wrecked over there, but he's got a
diamond on his finger WOTtb ten t ,ou
sand dollars that wants explaining "
The 1'nptnln glanced at Oaspard.
fixed his eyes on thp ring and then
said. "Call TdPgo; he ran chattpr to
him It's all the Uago Is good for."
It was at thla moment that Oas
pard. seeing ('apt. Stock'e gan fixed
on his band, reoognlaed that he was
wearing the ring.
In a moment DMflO, a fat Portuguese,
with black curls and earrinas. eu mp
running aft
mahJp of
Then, through the med
thls interpreter, ("apt.
Stock began to question tho marooned
one.
"How long have you been wrecked?"
"Some days."
"Storm or what?"
"Storm."
"Where did
ar wearing'"
you get that ring you
"Found It."
"Where?"
"On the Island."
"Picked It up?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"On the beach."
Here Haspard broke a
rri.-s the
questions with a statement.
"Tell SI I'apltaine the ring is
mine. I found It, and I shall sell it at
St. Pierre and pay him handsomely
for my passage. I havo friends at St.
Pierre who can speak for me. I want
10 go on this ship as a passenger; not
to work tm passage "
"Who ran you name nt St Pierre as
a friend'.'"
"Monsieur Boauln Paul aoguia."
The name appeared to haVS an ef
fad on ("apt. Stock.
"What was the name ..f your "hip"''
"ln Helle Arlpsienne."
No sooner had the words left (
pard's mouth than an extraordinar
i hange took place in the fac.e of the
capiuin: long enough by nature, It
lengthened still morn. He came for
ward and gruspecTOaapnrd's arm.
"La Helle Arleslenns!"
"Out."
"Belonging to Pierre Sagesse?"
"Plerrn Sagesae oul."
"Was ho nn board HI, you d
Pago, ask him was Pierre Hagnsss
aboard."
DtSfO put the question
"Ves."
"Was he lost?'
" Yes."
"He's dead-eure?"
"Yes O ma fol, ns. 1 left him with
the crabs eating him."
Stock had been one of Pierre 8a
Roasc'a many victims. Stock was not
owner of the Anne Martin, only mas-
ter,
but ho had once owned a ship In
ho Wes( rn,ia trade, had become In-
volved In Sagesse'a net and rujned.
The hatred of hell would acarcely ex
press In words the hatred of Simon
Stock for Mom Sagesse No wonder,
then, that he did what he did on the
news of Pierre Sagesse'a death and
the statement ubout the crabs, and
what lie did waa this: Flung up hla
ebiB till his scrawny and vulturous
Back was sunlit from hyold bone to
Steraum, clicked his fingers like cas
tanets, laughed horribly, railed tho
bands aft, ordered skinner to serve
them oul u loi or rum all round end,
then( l iking Claeperd by the arm, led
him down 'he rompanlon-way to u
dismal place thai weal by the namo
at the saloon.
He opened the door of n dog hole
that had served oaoe for third offi
cer's cebtn and Plcfo, who had foi
luwud, tranilallna, lie said:
nu an berth here aad for not b
his. i in news that I'lerre Hugrsse is in
hell i aii th paymeni I Am Make
yourself at home, "nn.. call for what
(oil want, dunks or smokts. and din
hit's tt eight bells."
Then he turned on Ins tasrl uud
weal on desk, fuftbwad by Dteau,
CORAL
Immmmmxssv. gdl
sa
A ' . ' -Lrm
3 BL
oooooooooooooooooooooooqooooooooooooooooooooooooooc
leaving (iaspard to r
quarters. A palate
pleased him better
t n.i n this dingy plea
Mi' Into his new1
would not have
at the moment
He had dread-
eil being berthed in the fo'rs'le, to
have carried a fortune of many
thousands of pounds In gems into
such a place, tOhllVO In that mixed
corotnuntt) for several weeks and to
Keep the. fortune hidden would have
been a dUBqUll task Indeed.
Here It was perfectly simple; there
was an upper and a lower bunk, each
with a mattress; there was no stew
ard, so Diego hail told hni, so there
would be no one fussing about mak
ing hods. He took the bundle from
hla pocket and placed It In a coiner
of the upper bunk under the mat
tress: as he did so he felt the abso
lute pbystoaJ pleasure that comes
when the body Is relieved of a heuvy
load, lie could move now freely, and,
having closed the door Of the cabin,
lie came on deck.
CHAPTER XX.
Mount Pelee.
fortune that had
him pursued also
Martin, the wind
,i. the sky clear;
flying, fresh weather and a
sparkling sea brought her Into the
Caribbean! they sighted ships, but
always at a distance. sas that
necked the far oir horlaon and van
ished, long wreaths of steamer smoke,
phantoms speaking as vaguely Of the
world of men us the strips of funis
floating peel on the swell
Not onlt had the) good weather but
good temper reigned on board
Stork, a "hard rase" in the lan
guage of sailors, had taken ,n, with
the news ol Sagesse's death, a ilirgo
or good humor that promised to last
him tin Ho n fetched Martinique
Oaspard had his meals in the
cabin, with the few words of Hnalleh
that he knew und a few more tha,t
he puked up duii, be could meke
his wants understood without i ho
asslalanre of Diego; as for converse
tlonfbs did Just as well with his half
dozen words as with a thousand, for
Conversation there was none amidst
i he after guard of the Anne Martin
As dav fallowed day and Martin
ique crept closer to them, so did the
idea Of Marie grow in Oaspards
mind, ousting the idea or fortune
and all other Ideas ami prO'OCCUDS
Hon. Just as, on the approach to
Skeleton Island, tho vision of trea
sure drove her Image from hH mind,
now on his approach to Martinique,
ao did her Image cast OUl tho vision
of treasure If he thought of his
wealth at nil. It was only In connec
tion with her.
Ono night, under a sky blazing
with stars, he was standing OQ deck
watching the phosporesrent gleams
in the water Cant Stork who hlol
just emerged
panlon-wav.
from the cubin coni
camo toward him,
leanod over tho bulwark.
took his
cigar from his mouth and cxpertor
ated Into the sen
"To-morrow." sail the
pointing righi ahead
'ieOpSrd started
"Martinique?"
"Voi.'
Then the Captain wnn
apt am.
foi wa I 'I
Inavlng Oaspard alone
Ho knew they were , lose ti
Island, bul he hud not reckoned
the
that
the) were bo near as thai
To-morrow, lie would see Marls In.
morrow. To-morroa. he would lai
walking the ploaeaiil suiilll slieeis ut
St. I'lerre, he remembered the sh"ps
of tin. Hue Victor riUfOi avhal
would he not bu her! He would
:akn her ami sa. "All Si HUNTS li
yOUrw lake what iou please "
Ttwe ha uaa i his ihuubu abtuad,
Tin: good
followed
the Ann
bald Mi
nil through SI Pierre, wandering
hither and thither, and touching this
person, and that, with a loving hand.
Man mi Faly, Pierre. Alphonae, the
girls who were Marie's friends I'ln
otte, Honorific, Lye, they would all
Oiarti In his jubilee, and there waa
something, grim in ihe idea that the
pleasantest thing be was bringing
with him, the thing that would n uke
him most welcomed In the colored
city, was the news or Pierre Sng
SSSS'S dent h,
He went belOOf and turned in. and
fell asleep with his mind lull of tbeaS
pleasant imaginings.
This wus tho season of Ihe most
heavy rams and he had been asleep
scarcely an bOttMyhon the Anne .Mar
tin sailed Into a rain squall, and tho
thunder of rain on the deck reached
him in dreamland,
The scenery of Ins dreams at once
took the form of the little Place !
la Fontaine, where ho had first met
Marie. He was walking then, with
her and the hum was shining brightly,
t lie sky was blue, Then, ull at once,
he lost her. she hud vanished amldat
the crowd Of dream people who wi re
Strolling through the Place.
Then. JaSl as on the day he llrst met
her "claehVrippla dealt" came the
carillon of the cathedral belle, but
tiny did not bring blta to Mane,
clouds derkened the sky and the
tbundei of rain niied the air, and
through it ill 'he lu lls ringing on joy
ous, triumphant, golden, like the
Voice of the love that lives beyond
disaster and death then In, awoke
It was pitch dark and the thundei
of the rain on di rk was ceasing
He la awake for an hour and then
bo slept again! only to repeat tin-
dream
a utile after dawn be awoke with
the lulls sounding so loudly u his ems
that he could have sworn they Were
anchored In the l,u and that the ,a-
tbodral was greeting them with a peal,
but be knew b the movement of tho
Ship that this was not so.
Ilu put Ills hand into the upper
bunk, and taking the treasure bundle
from I, rural li the mat ties, put It in
hla pocket. Then in came on deck.
The sun had already showed himself
Just above the horizon, tun the sky
was clouded to southward and ruin
quelle dimmed the horlaon.
S S. K. and perhaps not more than
ten miles uwuy lay MerftnlqUO with
Pelee wrapped In ragged ami dirty
colored clouds, He looked like a
king whose robes hud gone to tatters
till the sum rising more fully, touched
him with gold, ami whit,-, and pearl
against the deepening blue of the sky
Oaspard gaged a I) lie nt this ma
jestic sight. They had not opened
the Hay of St. Pierre yet. but the
Anne Martin was already altering her
, puree and in half un hour or less
they would have the bay and , it y full
In view.
Dominica to eastward lay Un
clouded, haze blue upon the morning
sea. beautiful as u dream
Oaspard, turning from the weather
bulwerki on which ha bad been lean
ing, began to rut s uiie tobacco III til'
palm of his hand to fill bis pip.
While h" was engaged in this bus.
qs. In
SkllMKi
heard a hurried footstop end
a me, running ft
The in.ili' darted down the i"in-
panlonway to the rebln ami elmoei
immediately reappeared with tei
escope; after him can Hpl Stork, a
oair of marine glass' a in his hand
The two men went forward to i ne
bow. Oaspard followed them. Ha
judged from the! i manner Ihni some
thing of Interegi had hove In sight
end be was nm wrong; leaning
against the weather bulwarks n llttls
forward of ihe foremast, Hklnner
clapped the glass i his eye and
pointed H '"' Mertinlqui Ktoeli raised
his binoculars. At thai moment there
was nothing to he seen, for the clouda
on I'elee bad fanned out and the bav
of si. Pierre was veiled hj sheets i I
sun daagled lain, then, against Hie
vanlahlng clouds, slowly appeered the
slum of a broken arrbc 'he fool uf a
ralnhon it pasaed with the clouds
and the -un struck Martinique.
Ti.e sum was iue M"W and u
strut's th western oogei over the
suoiilderi or i ':,,. and the luoun
lelnai noi cluud lingered upon the
Island, except u cloud, a rone of
moke rising from Pelee. y io Bag.
i, ai d. as lie strained Ills ayaa. , II
seeiusu Utav a Ukk giey wlotM ciuug
A New Treasure Island " Story
Of Southern Seas and Pirate Gold
xwoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooeoooo QOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOftQl
to Pelee from apex to base, clung
to St. I'lerre, veiling the colored
houses utterly from eight, and to the
whole arc of the bay, hiding the
trees, the triumphant palms, the a ii
gelloes, the tamarinds
"My Ood!" said Skinner. The hand
that held the glass wa shaking, his
face had become bloodless under Us
bronze i 'apt Stork, the lupoiul.trs
still rilled to hie eyes, w is talking
rapidly to himself in an undertone.
Oaspard. who could not see OS the
OeWi win, could not . understand as
they understood, could, yet. compre
hend dimly the terror before him,
eunllt, and facing the gem-like BOi
St Pierre had vanished' utterly,
I',!.,, wag no longer the verdant
mountain towering trlumphanth
alsive tho flower-like city; a cone of
dismal ashes smoking to tie sky,
abOVe I land of dismal ashes, that
was all there was left of that lovely
world. And It was all so still, so
peaceful with Ihe peace that hangs
over ruins of great antiquity:
Yet, but u lew weeks aipO ', en was
youthful with foliage, the oanotMrs
-were paddling In the sapphire bay,
the city was waving its flags to the
sun, mirroring lis colored houses In
the water The children were singing
their songs ami telling their Tlm-TIm
In thewtreets. The market -place was
gay with life, the gardens gay Willi
color, the streets with laughter and
over ull hung the poetry of eternal
summer And now all that was With
Thebes, with Nineveh a world Of
ashes, desolation, silence.
Slock, tho Yankee skipper, u man
whom lew things could move, low
ered the glasses, press, ,! hla left hand
tight over his eyes as If they had
been hurt by some painful light und
then, hjtanlng over the bulwarks, ls'
camo y MMtttly si, k.
Oaapard, who had getaed the glasses
from his band, look'sl As he looked
he swayed from side to side as though
the vision before him hud grasped
Mini by the shoulders and he waa
wresHIng wllh It.
Skinner caught htm .us the glasses
fell from Ills hand. He had fainted
aad Diego, with Ihe assistance of an
other sailor carried him below and put
him In his bunk
I 'apt. Stork and the mate followed;
they IiXikciI his collar and left hlin
lying while they aat down at the sa
loon table and Diego fetched them
rum.
ii wee itiiiish Navy rum, thirty
above proof) and It gave them the
stiffening they required,
"It's that cursed mountain." Bald
Stock at last. "She's blown her side
out must have occurred just after
we left Huston or we'd have hud news
of It by cable from some of the other
islands, sure."
They rose lo go on deck, but be
fore doing so they looked In lo see
how Oaspard waa doing.
Hp had recovered consciousness,
but he lay like a man dazed after some
terrible accident. Ills eyes were fixed
as If on Borne form weep only by him
self and on his cheek there were
tears. a
They spoke to him and he heard,
but he made no reply, only a move
ment of the hand as though lo say
"Let me be"
CHAPTER XXI
Anhen.
S3
Ill F.N they came m
.e.
k, the
ourse
vessel, sllll on I
had drawn neai
ret to the
monof w nr
were at an
land. several
and relief ehlpe w
i hor In t he bay
The crew or the vnns Mi
held spellbound b) the dlaoet
no were
'. Just as
their officers
to the srene
had been Not did
break Ihe spell, for
use
Ihe
op
tion Ilea I I I
tiny approached the more
palling
I I he pi, I lire of ,rst rUl
appear
Had yoi; nol known ol ihe catos
Irophe, bul 'on not known Hint this
place a few weeks ago was the most
beautiful comer Of the world, you
would have said. "I hl.i is surely the
great cinder dumping ground of Hie
universe. Here ffom the beginning of
lime men have , ast tholl ashes and
cities their detritus, if i were in poke
a Stick emldsl all thai I Would sure
ly und amphorae from Mparts and
broken gourds from Nineveh along
with the empty tomato tins and the
broken crockery ware ..t the modern
world. What a horror How dare
Time expose this rubbish heap to In
sult the gaze of the Creator, thla mon
strosity Of desolation tO lllsllll the eye
of man!"
Ami even then you would not have
felt the heart ol this grsui dosnla
Hon, you w.uild nol hay.- heard the
Voices ol the gardens, the umpMlni
of the flour d'amour, the wtephig of
the gouyav" water, the volcie of tto,
vajtMhod streets You would not
have known that beneath thai mis
erable rubbish of nature, that dust,
gray as the brn k dual of the old gru.
temple of Ruin, lay children graaplna
their tofs, girls once more beautiful
than the Mowers In the guldens, men,
young and brave bui a few week
ago anil filled with Ilu, joy of Ufa,
Pierre-A Iple .use. the kindly Usher
man and Man'tn h'alv, the gfMKl
hearted friend of sailors.
Kvon atlll, amldat the rUln one
might see some t race of the configura
tion of the city, Juai as iti ., face
ruined bj soma terrible rili-easa one
may recognize the ghosts ul features
A gun followd OS a Signal from
one oi ihe war veeeols mads lbs
Anne Martin heave i" The luv was
mil d wrecks ami dangerous tn n i
guttoti Inepore la the cable ship
Orappler, sunk wnn aii honde. fur
ther out all Hie )il,..llg Dial In, I
en in Hi" In, . ..ti i lia.i i ., i "I ul tit' .i n -
ft,-;
lot fathoms .1, . p gyiili, ic i i,i the
burning scoriaii ,11 save the lion
flam. Hiu' gall Hit ship saved In tho
,'lietgy
and b'
lm of he
un
mnnqei
Wat lied by R iVut from 'I"
ship, l'apt. Stock but the Anna
Mn about sgnd made fol I "
France down Ihe roast I here b
df orders from lh ownere.
W lieu I In i'Ssi I w is on In
aurse. he weal ,l..wn lo. s, I
l)4Mld Wet do .g II, .:
Mi
new
how
lilt g
lift ,,s he had hei It left H III
Htai tut.
straight before him, not vui ml bul
as if a some defllllts vision
When In- usd looked H iough the
marine vleoseg, when he had swept
the seem of di-st ruction from smoll
ins Poles lo tin, sea, the whole nag
cU) ae uutde yluu lu Uup, cveu lu
By
I N
its cauee. Tim place he loved, an
that hf. loved, everything that meant'
life to him had vanished.
Ills was the grea'cat tragedy In
w hich a man beg ever been condemned
to act. He h.ul Bailed, Ipuvlng the
lovely city and the woman he loved
gtaaMNI at him until dimmed by the
veil of distance, he had letiirned,
re Med ahe veil, and found thM
The immensity of II almost innde
It a thing Impcisonal without In the
least tleetroying the anguish of It. Aa
he lay there in lUs bunk he jviw Marie
and he giw himself, he saw the city,
He saw the Hue Victor Hugo and tile
blue sky. Ihe Place ,lu Fort, and the
waving tamarinds: Iip heard the
voices of the people and the carillon
of the cathedral belUt. and nil that
seemed the saencry of a beautiful
play, acted under a summer sky In a
land of Impossible hnpiilnesii gone
now as though it hud never been.
Marie had never been, surely she
had never bCOfl, never had he met her
In Ihe Place de la Fontaine. Thorn,
Colored striM-ts. those gav s.,,,e, that
town of pictures, those flowers and
trees, all that was sn Illusion, an It
Of emid 10 his mind, whilst his heart,
broken, yet still healing, told him in
distinctly that all this had been. II,
ing. warm and real Iteal as Marie,
now
daad and Inet to Mm forever.
CHAPTER XXII.
1 he fWatVp In the fhtnt
r, PIKRRH had passed away,
and. Willi St Pierre. Marie,
and with Marie his will to
live.
The extraordinary and most trag
ically i He part of ius drama was
Ihe manner in which St. Picric, the
a, st city, clang to the vision of the
woman he loved. .
She wore It as a garment: he anw
her surrounded by its beauty i dawn
lit her In the at real of the Proclpioe,
morn in Ihe mush - haunted Flare de
la Fontaine; evening In the t w 111 t
Jardln aeo Pleutea,
The Sllper-lllortal tragedy ,.f Ilu
City had raised her image to supernal .
heights. The passion, the agony thai
lives alone in Ihe highest poetry had
mixed Itself In Ibis common man's
tragedy. The city obliterate, I from
the world was part of Ills grief.
,s be lay like a man faartnatod by
a serpent, motion looe, eoaroelii seem-
ing to breathe, wllh By OS fixed and
pupils dilated, the four of the anchor
chain through lb" hawse pipe shook
the vessel. He sat up, leaning on hla
elbow, exuctly tut a man sits up who
has been awakened suddenly from
sleep
A ills, of relic ted sunlight, liquid
Sndj tremtUoUS as the water from
which It wua reflectedi was case by
the porthole upon the wall of the
cabin: it trembled und moved to tho
motion of the vessel as she rocked
at her lies. I lugs.
lie gazed at II, following I' Willi his
eves as It MaftM and quivered
t bell.
.-lipping from the bunk, he
stood erect
..ii the floor or llle cabin
He was fully dressed, and. In the
art of slipping from the bunk, his
tun strength aeemdd io have returned
to him, He opened the door or the
cabin and a moment later he wjt on
dech.
aii the crew were gathered forward i
a boat wus rowing away from the ship.
L'apt. Slock ami the mate wen, In it,
and they were aji mi for tht- nearest
warship Tin- Anne Martin was close
In shore and the vast, formless,
blanketed city cast its chill gray re
flection on tin- watei of Hie harbor.
Mounds of ashes tci raced b the heavy
rains, wildernesses of aehaa mounting
lo wildernesses of aabes. ghosts of
buildings vaguely outlined beneath
i iieu cerement ot ashes cinders, dust
and ashes, and from all that Immettai
sity ,.r doaoiutlon nol a sound, sees
now aii, I Hu ll a call from one of the
Working parlies, half Invisible amidst
the ruins
He coal lu eves over H all and
then up to I'elee, still fuming 111 the
windless blue. lake a madman, eg"
I,., listed, the great mountain seemed
Inexpressibly sinister above the nuns
..I the ,lt, ii hud proteeled for long
Mars, fed with the gouyave watei.
sheltered from the winds Oaspard
stretched out hla arms nis lingers
were , ro. ked: ,1 was us though the
man Were saying to the mountain,
"Ah, what would I BOl do with you
il I onlv had vou in m grip
Then he clambered over tbe star
board rail
Tin men forward did nol heur th"
splash, mn did they not ire tin, blank
head of th" swimmer passing toward
the shore
lb had not evi n kli ked off the deck
shoes li" was wearing II" swam with
ease ami hall UnoongolOUSl) 111 his
condition in things were poaalble to
hlm: he would have guided his way
through i turbulent sea just as surely
as across tins summer-smooth harbor.
And le w lie was clinging the aligb-
"i ., greal block or stooe shaken oul
from tho onro quay wall and slob
bered round by the tide lb- dragged
hlmeelf on to It and from II to Hot
next.
The Pine Berlins bed been here;
here in the sunlight the ta :ua I I lids
had shaken their leaves tn the wind
end cast dancing shadow, on the sun
smitten pavement, the songs ,f the
,. in ..tiers hnd mixed with tbe sounds
id i rude here where tamarind trees
would bloom llo lll"l where tile
bin -,t,g scoriae had fused broken
somes and broken building! where
the sunlight was te 1
tround hlm iu nothinj bul mounds
where once the sugar barrels had been
piled, where buildings had been.
Mounds like the solid dunes on a lies
olate ,oast A little Wind bad arisen
and, lust as gmldsl ihe dunes tin wind
lu li, us the whMpel of Mild, h' te It
i i ought the falnl iik whisper of
dust
lie had no objei live -no object,
here, but to feel ll " rUln; to I 'll, h II.
walk emldst it, i" ime pan of it, To
torture his SOUl Ml this was hi
bed the dust he lr,,. on b," winding
sheet, the desolation I. el silence.
He passed amidst tto- t in da. in
ih, great mountain "' ash. before
hlm Hie rallia had washed o il whai
seemed the bed of, a ii.'inina.ii torrent
I: 1. 1(. I on." I.eptl ., st : I lie osgail
. limb ii Tin horrible ravine was
tainted b u falnl slokl) mell af eat'
rupilon, the cruel of thi Me bra,ke
beneath his fed so I he plunged
. in , timi a knseii, iweal raa
from his i.iow. ami in,, sun an uok
avytiy oa tup Ul at wm urtAi;,
H. dc Vcrc
i n u r vr man o tj j r.
Never, even In the old days of the
stokehold, had he gOjOfMUCOd Burly
heat, yet still he i limbed.
He had touched, now. u transverse
ravine, a huge donga with StOOp oauks
from Which here and there bioku out
the walls of ruined houses. It w .yr
the Hue Victor Hugo
The silenc" here w,ie terrible, tbe
Bllumn ,,r Nineveh, tln sIIpiii S of lb"
Nothing, which is at tho heart of
things. Flnotte and l.ya: the rot ros
so I ,- sellers, the merchants and traf
fickers, the colored crowds, the little
children nothing ss,kn of them here.
And. still, far above nun went the
mountain of ashes, the broken stieets,
walls that had once Isten bOtBSOa,
i haired stumps that h i I once been
palm treps And still he climbed.
Hi- h id cast off hla ml. never think
ing of the treasure In Its pocket, he
had forgotten all that, even Mario
had becuma v ague as a ghost III his
mind; on thing only stood clearly
before him, half mesmerized as he
was by exhaustion, bent ond the rum
around him the beach of Orunde
Anse. The Boot-black beach and the
man niillna waves where a man
might
in the
Millie
iins,
till, I ..I. In i .11 IIS DIU nm snow
least thai It was the vision of
Hi. it whs calling him to the
w lu-rp he had first truly m"t
lu r far
to fare
Al nOOB, broken, u.izro. grime,,
with duet, having a dozen times es
caped by a miracle fiom death, he
leached the summit of the rultiB of
SI. Pierre, and the path of ashes
that had once been the road to Minn'
RoUge. Oa.lng from here, and not
glancing at the ruined city, nothing
bad altered. The sea lay the same
us ol old. and Dominica showed
ghoetly and haze-blue on the fat sea
line, culls were flying over the bay.
Stomal summer eat by the ruined
city, voiceless, and lost In eternal
Bleep. Though Ihe silence of the Hue
Victor Hugo had been broken by no
sound, up here, could be hoard a faint
breathing from the aea. The requloci
of the ocean whose tide waa now
flooding Into the Iwiy.
"All, the palms. Ihe colored houses,
the old sea st i ms I used to wash the
voles of Ihe ru not let's, the tall ships
i brought thee, where are they?
Vaguely, like ,i voice heard In a
.1, ....... ....... It.. u ton.,. r...l 1 ..... .,, of
Oaepard did not hear It. He paused
only to real ami breathe, he had
slipped and fallen many t lines In his
ascent; sat less, his arms were clay
colored with sweat -caked volcanic
dust; his fare was frightful; ginned
und Bsained it looked as though aput
upon by liuln. In a few short hours
hla eyes hud become sunken, hla
checks had fallen In, his lips, baked
and parch,,! and caked with dust,
were Inhuman, thn hps of a tragic
mask of antiquity A frightful thirst
llilehlm. obliterating all other feel
ings Itunenth hlm lav the 'city, form
less and bulked out with cinders and
dust, exactly as the ship of coral had
once lain beneath him bulked nut
with coral In the still lagoon
Ah. that night when he had turned
with Yves from tho vision of the
sunken ship, feeling that what he
hud seen was evil; could ho but have
seen this grcatr i . vision' This great
er story of man's futility and the
rat,- of ihe Imagine re of vuin things:
lie turned, seeing nothing of It ull
but Hie greut white sheet of light
Hint leapt from the horMon half way
lo tin, zenith and the dassln of thu
sea . .
He came aloug till path of cinders
thai had agape Is-en a road set with
gn.nadllbis ami palms: merry with
mule bells ond snugs of Hp. cane
i utters by day. drifted over by llre
ftles al night. The VoleaeMU dust, the
sun, Ihe terrible ' limb amid the ruins
had culled up the thirst which Is
known only In the desert lie walked
scarcely knowing where h" went,
cutting his eygg from side lo side of
Ihe way in fuitrrh of water II,. had
forgotten tin- black beach ul ttrunde
Anse ami tils flesiro for tin oblivion
of the sea He hnd only ori iRIRIO
dlaie desire to drink.
Thirst In lis m utest form like lids
is quite divorced from the , nisittl.iti
which civilization knows as thirst.
It Ls a passion far stronger than
hatred or dUgiroj it affect.s the soul
n. less than the body, It drives nil
other feelings before ll and reigns
supreme The physlrnl pangs nre
nothing comparad to idm mental "is
sue wtilrh drives ii'i other desires
away
As lie turned Hie shoulder , I pelre.
lbs ashes ceased on the road giving
place to vuloehlc duet, for only si
Pierre nnd Ihe western portion of tho
Island had been exposael pi the full
blast of the eruption The toad be
came a road again, uud. had he pos
sessed eves lo see, hope mtclll havt,
come to him
For hen, where Mune used to
puns,- ,.f a morning lo dunk Hi the
view before bar, still lay the view as
of old. The volcanic duel that had
lain gray on tree and shrub had been
washed away by ruins and the green
waving , a lies, tin palms and wild
pines, the tamarinds and celhas, Hie
monies, mountains and valleys lay
Stretched before him: who saw noth
ing of It at all, walking like .l Mm
nambullal In the dream of tinrV
He had passed storUe Rouge where
there was llo sign of life), and tho
.Montr d'Avril was showing green,
but unseen, befon hlic when the
voice of Waier, liquid, and laughing,
biokc th, silence. It was a wayside
fountain. Crystal water spouting
from a moss-gr,,wn lion-lead
Ii was like drinking life; Hie nsOUl
tains in the distance bccauie moun
talna again i ihe wind. he winds ami
the sunlight. Hie sunlight! Hie world
of shadows and
through which he had
faded uway. I.Ike n
tn-Ms, the water hnd
semi -delirium
been walking,
good snchan-
wash,, I awav
the stains of hlH Join in V and the
thirst from his soul In that mo
ment. Just like one convalescing from
Next Week's Complete Novel
THE AFTER-HOUSE
By Mary Roberts Rinehart
WILL g(QIN IN
NEXT
Monday's Evening
Stacpoolc
u u v n , ,-
a severe lllneaa. he felt newborn. He
wua aented upon a bank, and abovg
hlm In Hip I rude wind waved UM
huge fronds of ferne. and before Mas
lay a field of , anes overripe, that
had been spared thr i anectittOfW
knives.
Half drowsy, still exhausted, Bui
wrapped In th' new feeling of well
being, like a man who Is recovering
from an anaesthetic, he not-d his
BUrrotindlnga; and, aa hla eyee trav
elled from point lo point, they sod
denly came to rent on spot juet
tsafore him.
On thr dust of the road, sheltered by
thn hank and the rerns from the wtad,
lay the Imprint of a nakisj foot. A
woman's little font had pressed flk
dust of Ihe i. .n. I but a short tlras Vo
fors; the print was warm to thr sight
snd living, one could almost see the
ile.-ting figure swiftly moving as tbe
breeze, and graceful as the bending
palm. The print of the heel waa far
less marked than that of the fore
part.
The volcanic dust, though gone .rem
Ihe foliage, slid lay upon tn' road, and
on this dust of ruin lay the woman's
foot mark, vivid, triumphant oxer
death Oaapurd gazed at II. He glanced
ut the fountain beside hlm singing aad
laughing henruth Ihe shadow of th'
fprns. then he reincmlw-rpd. It was
here thst he had paused that da; with
Marie, it was here Hint she hod give
him the ratine, it whs here it waa
here.
He rose tn his fcei, gazed ufculn at
the mark In the a oud ami followed IM
printing Further on he lost It, for the
win, I had blown the dust serosa It;
further on he found it. very falot.
bill still discernible.
Then, where a llllle nhlc path broke
off from Ihe road, he found It , I'orly
again
She hud taken the path.
Along thn National It. .ad you And
many paths like these. Snort cuts t,
villages, paths used by the cane cut
ters und market folk, often merai
traces half smothered l the tropical
grasses
He followed the path which led to
ward a wood of colons and angpllnes.
palms with enormous trunks, thick SB
the trunks of full grown oak trees:
tree ferns and Wild pines
As he ' ante a voice hailed hlm from
Hie liquid shadow of th trees. It was
ihe voice of tho slffleur de mnntagns;
clear, silvery, belt-like, the volcg of
thn bird came through the silence ot
the sulirv noon. There woe no other
sound but the stirring of the palm
fronds In the wind.
Here, amidst ths treee, by his Old
forgotten pathway lay a shrine ta
the Virgin; one of the thousand
shrines that are found un the roads
and pathways of Martinique. Ae he
pushed the lianas and the alr-shoote
of the wild pine aside, a voice other
than the voice of tho slffleur de mor
tagne met hla ear. The bird bad
ceased, and through the murmur ot
the wind In the trees came thlB votes.
ihe volca of a woman, sweeter
the voire of the bird.
Moving ailontlv as a shadow.
Ing the leafy veils aside, acaroely
breathing, he reached a point from
which lis could see vaguely In th
twilight of the trees the shrine and
thn women kneeling before It.
Her voice was clear now, anrijhe
sort, childish Creole words of the
votary came to hlm for whom eb-wua-giving
thanks.
No auppllcatory prayer waa UtM.
but un aOBured thunksgivlng fur the
eafcty of one who had la-en spareo'
the darkness snd the terror of otiaoa,
the horror of death, the fate of her
ruined world, for one who was safe
anil who Would return. "At morn
nlng, i n ant) evening, I have praieed
time on my knees"
It wus Ihe noonday prayer and It
pass, . I ,lev oul ly from a prayer of
praise io oOe of supplication -supplication
for the souls of the dead
and for Ihe living, for Vilsale Heguln.
who hud been spared even ns she had
been spared: for herself, a raature
not deserving the protection that had
suv c,l her. that bud led her uway to
Ihe safety of Orande Anse when I'elee
had spoken and' Ihe world hud fsiiibi
In ruins
Then slu time to hei net. Hi,, while
magic of Love und i'aiih Midi like a
light upon her face. As her eyes fsll
upon Ihe .man standing beneath the
trees, for one divine second she
paused with breath caught bark,
spirit-like, and ringed with the twi
light as with a i harm.
S S ;
Where Ihe Irude wind was bloaioa
uud the green waives breaking oil the
beach of Orande Anse, wolcogig anal
a new lite were walling for thrill.
Tbe mgn he had saved from Ihe fer
de let,.,, hud the will and the power
to open Ihe doors ,,f ., gulden future,
ror thrin. yrt 1 1 , could nol break
from yootordoy so s,,on.
Heedlees of time or plare they sat
by the roadside fountain till th
shadows were lengthrnlng on tha
toad and the valleys Mumming with
night Darkness round ihem on tb"
ruined road abovs tlsH ruln-d city.
They imd come almost unronsclou
Iv lo look at it aguln, to i". ..iti,- tgn
an of the past through which thev
hud so miraculously wandered, and.
us thev stood rlaaplng sacb other,
gazing HiiotTth Hie vagueness at the
lights of Uie warships in the buy. tho
sea f a sudden became ton, had with
silver and the lining mono broke
above the shoulder of Pelee
Tin- light hooded serosa thr harbor
and struck the shrouded city Ilka a
II, le The ruins of Ihe Place fWrtllle
came Into view its broken ami veiled
cathedral, thu I bread uf darknuui out
lining the Hue Victor Hugo
In the moonlight the dcsulatlon he
came robbed of Ita terror and all was
touched with I ha pottery of deep an
tiquity, from the flooding sea lo ths
f.u ius of Iht lovers s, t far above the
ruins.
Trial KND
1 tea tale (by ihe au
thor of 'SEVEN
DAYS'") with a myas
tery that Ih cleverest
reader cannot gefaf
until th Jinal eAop
t$r. ' Th Aftst
oue
any
World
ttory
" if not Wo
other myitery H
or sua ttory yeej U
read.
vr1
-.