Part 15 (1/2)

A vast spread of the ocean unfolded to his gaze before he had reached the brink of the proht, rested on a heterogeneous group of dwellings scattered well above the sands and directly beloooded uprising of land Myriad specks of light glimmered amid shadowy roofs Brownville? Undoubtedly! A board walk ran along the ocean and a small pier extended like an ar sands old boats, drawn up here and there, resembled so many black footprints

Not far from where Mr Heatherblooe than by the road he had just left He stared unthinkingly a an hed on him that when he reached his destination the woone on, under the circuhost of a chance of overtaking her? Only the hopelessness of the situation, in all its grih the bushes At a turn the village was lost to sight; in front was a sheer fall to the sea As he kept on, projecting branches struck hiuard his face, he, tripped and al had caught on his shoe and he leaned over to loosen it His fingers closed on a long strip of soft substance--a veil, the kind worn by wo! Mr Heatherbloom's eyes rested on it apathetically, then with a sudden flash of interest; a faint but heavy perfume emanated from the silky filament It was darkish in hue--brown, he should say; the Russian woht came to him quickly; he stood bewildered What if it were hers? Then how had it co car stopped at the top of the proers there? But why should it have done so; for what possible reason?

He could think of none Other women came this way--the path was not difficult Other worance--It seen bizarre personality such as Sonia Turgeinov's

Crushi+ng in his palm the veil he thrust it into his pocket He would find out more below, possibly; if she had actually passed this way A feverish zest was born anew; the authorities were looking for her as well as for himself, he remembered She, apparently, had so far cleverly evaded them; if he could but lead them to her he would not mind so much his own apprehension Her presence in the locality at the same time the _Nevski_ had been in the harbor would fairly prove the correctness of his theory of Miss Dalrymple's whereabouts If he could now deliver the Russian woe to force the powers that be to give credence to at least the material part of his story--that the prince had left port with the young girl--and to co at once That he, himself, would be held equally culpable with the woue see ue hopes Down--down! The voice of the sea grew nearer; now he could hear the dull thud of the waves, then the weird whistling sounds that succeeded Springing froerly, searchingly, this way and that He saw no one His gaze lowered and he walked from the dry to the wet strand

There he stopped, an excla between black rocks, revealed fresh footprints on the surface of the sands, and, yes!--a long furrow--the marks of the keel of a boat He studied the footprints closer, but without discovering signs of a woman's; only the indentations of heavy seamen's boots were in evidence Mr Heatherbloom experienced a keen disappointhter tread had been eli to launch the boat Their boots had roughly kicked up the sand thereabouts

He was fairly satisfied the woman had embarked The seclusion of the spot favored the assu-boats were all either stranded, or at anchor, nearer the village But why and whither had she gone? The ocean, in front, failed to answer the latter question, and his glance turned On the one hand was the village; on the other, high, al the view It would not be easy to get around that point; without a boat it could not be done

Mr Heatherblooe; themotions here and there Once he stopped abruptly; so A fisher the rocks, when the person ca to the shadows on the landward side of the beach the young le voice eneral hue and cry Beyond, closer to town, he could see other for spots Not far distant, however, lay the nearest boat; to get to her he had to expose hilimmer No alternative remained He stepped quickly across the sand, reached the craft and strove to launch her But she was clumsy and heavy, and resisted his efforts Thecloser; he called out and Mr Heatherblooled lance over his shoulder; theout loudly, authoritatively Mr Heatherbloom did not obey that stern command to halt; instead he made a wild abrupt dash for the sea The report of a revolver awoke the echoes and a bullet whizzed close Recklessly he plunged into the water

The man on the shore emptied his weapon, but hat success he could not tell A head amid the dark waves was not easily discernible Another and larger object, however, was plainly apparent about a hundred yards fro at anchor Would the other succeed in reaching it, for that was, no doubt, his purpose, or had one of the leaden missives told? The man, eapon hot, waited He scanned the water, then looked toward the town A nu in his direction; from the pier afar, a naphtha put out; he could hear faintly the sound of the engine

Suddenly, above the boat at anchor near the man on shore, a sail shot up, then fluttered and snapped in the wind Athe craft to the buoy slipped out, and the boung sharply around Mr Heatherblooet around that point before being overtaken--to discover what lay beyond Then let happen ould! He reached for a line and hoisted a jib, though it was almost more canvas than his s the spray high He turned a quick glance back toward the naphtha The sky had become overcast, and distant objects were not so easily discernible on the surface of the water, but he hts--two! She was head on for hiriainst the sky--exercised a weird fascination for him He ell out in the open nohere the wind blew a half-gale His figure et fro the tiller tightened, and his heart gave a great bound; then sank Not far froreen! A boat was enal, set high above the waves, belonged to no sht of it fitted a contingency that had flashed through his brain on the beach The realization left hione!

He shi+fted the tiller violently, recklessly At that moment a shrill whistle from behind rehed What was the wretched little puffing thing to hiht--that alone was the all in all It belonged to the _Nevski_ he was sure; for one reason or another she had butto sea, and, instead, had come here--to wait The wohtwhistle! The naphtha was cohts he realized this vaguely He did not wish to find himself delivered unto them yet--not just yet! A wilder recklessness seized hi furies' hands; the water ran level to his boat's gunwales but he refused to ease her All the while he was drawing nearer the single green light--achase that had led, and could lead, to nothing Still he went on, tossed by the waves--sport of them He had to play the play out Oh, to see better, to visualize to the utnant drama of failure!

In the naphtha soht now Coive theh the water--nearer, yet nearer the green light Now a large dark outline loomed before hireat wave struck hi his boat, but he did not seelow suddenly surrounded hiht had been flashed It fell on hi waves beyond, and just touched the side of the outgoing vessel Mr Heatherblooht leaped into the air with the one, but the ile detail remained on his retina--of a side ladder, lowered, no doubt, for the wo boat

The wildness of the sea seeh Mr Heatherbloom's veins; he did not come about; he did not try to Noas too late!

That ladder!--he would seize it as they swept by Closer his boat ran; a swirl of water caught hiain it but without avail The big steel bow of the great boat struck and overwhelmed the little craft

CHAPTER XIV

THE CRISIS

On the _Nevski_, the lookout foralked slowly back and forth Once or twice he shook his head But a few moments before the yacht had run down a small boat, he had reported the matter, and--the _Nevski_ had continued ahead, full speed She had not even slackened long enough toassistance to the unfortunate occupant, or occupants His excellency, Prince Boris, evidently did not wish, or had no tiot in his way soto stare once h apathetic, like most of the lower class of his countryuttural of surprise and peered over the bow A voice had see depths of the sea Naturally superstitious, he n of the cross on his breast while tales of dead seah his dull fancy

Once le with the wailing tones of the deep! The little swinging lantern beneath the bowsprit played on his bearded face as he bent farther forward, and, with groonder not un to one of the steel lines that ran fro timber to the shi+p

It took the lookout a few moments to realize that this dark object that had a voice--albeit a faint one--could not be other than a recent occupant of the small boat he had seen disappear This person ht one of the taut strands upon which he had so desperately It was a precarious position and one that the motion of the yacht made but briefly tenable

Satisfied that the dark object was a reality and not an unwonted visitation, the lookout began deliberately to unloosen a gasket Moht be eternity to the man below, but Muscovite slowness is not to be hurried The yacht's bow poised inupward toward Mr Heatherblooainst his cheek He seized and trusted hi; he pulled in the rope Mr

Heatherblooone He would have let go when iron fingers closed on his wrists, and after that he remembered no more

He awoke in a berth in a fo'castle, and it was daylight Through a partly-opened hatch he could see the fine spray that came over the side of the yacht Ament of rainbow This Mr Heatherbloom watched with a kind of childish interest; then stretched himselfnothingprisotten wonder-days when he had possessed that master-marvel of toys, a kaleidoscope, and on occasion had i house on the top of the hill to--