Part 19 (2/2)

”Never”

”Was he acquainted with any of the other passengers?”

”Only as he had been withas fellow shi+p, a man who drank to excess?”

”I do not know that he drank at all--he certainly had not been drinking up to half an hour before I saw that body fall overboard,” she answered, ”for I ith hie,” said the captain ”He did not look toof that sort And even had he been it is scarcely credible that he should have fallen completely over the rail had he been taken with an attack while leaning upon it--he would rather have fallen inside, upon the deck If he is not on board, Miss Strong, he was thrown overboard--and the fact that you heard no outcry would lead to the assumption that he was dead before he left the shi+p's deck--irl shuddered

It was a full hour later that the first officer returned to report the outcome of the search

”Mr Caldwell is not on board, sir,” he said

”I fear that there is so more serious than accident here, Mr

Brently,” said the captain ”I wish that you would make a personal and very careful examination of Mr Caldwell's effects, to ascertain if there is any clew to ato the bottom”

”Aye, aye, sir!” responded Mr Brently, and left to co was prostrated For two days she did not leave her cabin, and when she finally ventured on deck she was very wan and white, with great, dark circles beneath her eyes Waking or sleeping, it see, swift and silent, into the cold, grim sea

Shortly after her first appearance on deck following the tragedy, Monsieur Thuran joined her with many expressions of kindly solicitude

”Oh, but it is terrible, Miss Strong,” he said ”I cannot rid irl wearily ”I feel that he iven the alar,” urged Monsieur Thuran ”It was in no way your fault Another would have done as you did Who would think that because so fell into the sea from a shi+p that it must necessarily be a iven an alar it but the nervous hallucination of a woman--had you insisted it would have been too late to have rescued hiht to a stop, and the boats lowered and rowed back edy had occurred No, you must not censure yourself You have done more than any other of us for poor Mr Caldwell--you were the only one to irl could not help but feel grateful to hi words He ith her often--alrew to like him very much indeed

Monsieur Thuran had learned that the beautiful Miss Strong, of Baltiirl in her own right, and with future prospects that quite took his breath ahen he contemplated them, and since he spent most of his time in that delectable pastime it is a wonder that he breathed at all

It had been Monsieur Thuran's intention to leave the shi+p at the first port they touched after the disappearance of Tarzan Did he not have in his coat pocket the thing he had taken passage upon this very boat to obtain? There was nothing more to detain hih, that he

But now another idea had obtruded itself, and was rapidly crowding his original intentions into the background That American fortune was not to be sneezed at, nor was its possessor a whit less attractive

”SAPRISTI! but she would cause a sensation in St Petersburg” And he would, too, with the assistance of her inheritance

After Monsieur Thuran had squandered a few million dollars, he discovered that the vocation was so entirely to his liking that he would continue on down to Cape Tohere he suddenly decided that he had pressing engageht detain hi had told him that she and her mother were to visit the latter's brother there--they had not decided upon the duration of their stay, and it would probably run into hted when she found that Monsieur Thuran was to be there also

”I hope that we shall be able to continue our acquaintance,” she said

”You must call upon mamma and hted at the prospect, and lost no ti was not quite so favorably ihter

”I do not knohy I should distrust hi hientle about his eyes--a fleeting expression which I cannot describe, but which when I see it gives hed ”You are a silly dear, mamma,” she said

”I suppose so, but I am sorry that we have not poor Mr Caldwell for cohter