Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 149, 24 June 1906 — Page 8

The Richmond Palladium, Sunday, June 24, 1906!

3C mim Iw Merchants and HiDme IFi rrra .r f . 1 . .1 1 r 111 f 1 Ti f 1 a1 VI 1 - JNo sater guide to tne people 01 a given community couia oe iramea it applies to an lines 01 Dusiness, xnougn pernaps more particularly in the buying of a piano. You cannot make a mistake when you select a t f'V o o oo

V ri 99 dustnes

An instrument that is the very acme of piano building and one that is the product of a home industry

neproaui

The statements made by some dealers as to the merits of a piano, and the promises held out as to terms, . ' P M M mm W m m M f m" v- .1 ' '

are orien anuring, dui many Times Tan to pan out

are the two absolutely sure things in this HfW

are not all sure things by a

groat deal . .

When you purchase a STARR PIANO, a home product, you knov absolutely that the representation made will be fulfilled to the letter; the personalfuarantee of a HOME CONCERN is behind the transaction.

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TOR YOljR CONVENIENCE, The parlors, rest rooms and music study and practice rooms, at the rear of our sales department, are open daily for the convenience of everybody. Periodicals for your perusal ; writing desks for your use ; pianos for practice, in fact, everything is arranged for your comfort and convenience j j j j ''''' j

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Wo better time than the present. Come in ard see the display of instruments and learn' the terms. You may buy oiipayments if yoCKdesire.

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. a Romance oi Love ana iiaveniure inai ym tzl0 X Is Ordinarily Told and Will Hold the Read- & um

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er's Attention From the Opening Chapter Iff! MoiSlil

M ine reopie in tne aiory are neai ana moi

"S ST ill Pnnnctc and rha Pint Mr. TWv Has

gj Woven About Them is Most Ingenious j

By LOUIS TRACY Copyright. 1903. by Edward J. Clode

EADY TOZER adjusted her erold ' rimmed eyeglasses with an air of dignified aggressiveness. She bad lived too many years in the far' east. Io Hongkong she was known: as the "Mandarin." Her powers of merciless inquisition suggested torments lone drawn out The commander of the Sirdar, homeward bound from Shanghai, knew that be was about to be stretched on the rack when be took his seat at the saloon table. "Is it true, captain, that we are runsing Into a typhcon?" demanded ber ladyship. . TTom wnom aid you learn that. Lady Toaer?" Captain Rdss was wary, though somewhat surprised. "From Miss Deane. I understood ber a moment ago to say that you had told her." ' ir "Didn't you?. Some one told me this morning. I couldn't have guessed it, could I?" Miss Iris Deane's large blue eyes surveyed him with innocent indifference to strict accuracy. Incidentally she bad obtained the information from ber maid, a nose tilted coquette, who extracted ship's secrets from a youthful quartermaster. "Well er I bad forgotten," explained the tactful sailor. "Is it true?" Lady Tozer was unusually abrupt today. But she was annoyed by the assumption that the captain took a mere girl into bis confidence and passed over the wife of the ex-chief justice of Hongkong. "Yes, it is," said Captain Ross, equally curt, and silently thanking the fates that ber ladyship was going borne for the last time. "Do tell us," chimed in Iris. "Did you fiud out when you squinted at the sun?" The captain smiled. "You are nearer tbe'Uiark than possibly you imagine, JIlss Deane," he said. "When we took ur observations yesterday there was a very weird looking halo around the sun. This morning you may have noticed several light squalls and a smooth sea, marked occasionally by strong ripples. The barometer is falling rapidly, and I expect' that as the day wears we will encounter a heavy swell. If the sky looks wild tonight, aud especially if we observe a heavy bank of cloud approaching from the northwest, you will see the crockery dancing About Jhetab.le atjlijnner, I am afraid

you are not a good sailor, Lady Tozer. Are you, Miss Deane?" '"Capital! I should just love to see a real storm. Now promise me solemnly that you will take me up into the chart house when this typhoon is simply tearing things to pieces." "Oh, dear! I hope it will not be very bad. Is tbere no way in which you can avoid it, captain? Will It last long?" The politic skipper for once preferred to answer Lady Tozer. "There is no cause for uneasiness," he said. "Of course typhoons in the China sea are nasty things while they last, but a ship like the Sirdar is not troubled by them. She will drive through the worst gale she is likely to meet hero in less than twelve hours. Besides, I alter the course somewhat as soon as I discover our position with regard to its center." Then the commander hurriedly excused himself, and the passengers saw no more of him that day. Her ladyship dismissed the topic as of no present interest and focused Miss Deane through ber eyeglasses. "Sir Arthur proposes to come home In June, I understand?" she inquired. Iris was a remarkably healthy young woman. A large banana momentarily engaged ber attention. She nodded affably. "You will stay with relatives until be arrives?" pursued Lady Tozer. "Relatives! We have none none whom we specially cultivate that is. I will stop in town a day or two to interview my dressmaker and then go straight to Helmdale, our place in Yorkshire." "Surely you have a chaperon?" "A chaperon! My dear Lady Tozer, did my father impress you as one who would permit a fussy and stout old person to make my life miserable?" The acidity of the retort lay in the word "stout." But Iris was not accustomed to cross examination. During a three months' residence on the island she had learned bow to avoid Lady Tozer. Here it was Impossible, and the older woman fastened upon her asp-like. Miss Iris Deane was a toothsome morsel for gossip. Not yet twenty-one, the only daughter of a wealthy baronet who owned a fleet of stately ships the Sirdar among them a girl who had been mistress of; her father's house since her return from Dresden three years ago young, beautiful, rich here was a combination for which men thanked a judicious heaven, while wamon nlffftfl fnYlftTlllT.

'"Business detained Sir'Arthur. A war 1 cloud overshadowed the two great divisions of the yellow race. He must wait to see how matters developed, but he would not expose Iris to the insidious treachery of a Chinese spring. She was confided to the personal charge of Captain Ross. At each point ot can yie company's agents would be solicitous for ber walfare. The cable's telegraphic eye would watch her progress as that of some princely maiden sailing in royal caravel. This fair, slender, well formed girl delightfully English in face and figure with her fresh, clear complexion, limpid blue eyes and shining hair was a personage of some importance. Lady Tozer knew these things and sighed complacently. "Ah, , well," she resumed. 'Tarents had different views when I was a girl. But I assume Sir Arthur thinks you should become used to being your own mistress in view of your approaching marriage." "My approaching marriage!" cried Iris, now genuinely amazed. "Yes. Is it not true that you are going to marry Lord Ventnor?" A passing steward heard the point blank question.' It had a curious effect upon him. He gazed with fiercely eager eyes at Miss Deane and so far forgot himself as to permit a dish of water ice to rest against Sir John Tozer's bald head. Iris could not help noting his strange behavior. A flash of humor chased away her first angry resentment at Lady Tozer's interrogatory. "That may be my happy fate," she answered gayly, "but Lord Ventnor has not asked me." "Every one says in Hongkong" began ber ladyship. ''Confound you, you stupid rascal! What are you doing?" shouted Sir John. His feeble nerves at last conveyed the Information that something more pronounced than a sudden draft affected his scalp; the ice was melting. The incident amused those passengers who sat near enough to observe It. But the chief steward, hovering watchful near the captain's table, darted forward. Pale with anger, be hissed: "Report yourself for duty in the second saloon tonight." And he hustled bis subordinate away from the judge's chair. Miss Deane, mirthfully radiant, rose. "Please don't punish the man, Mr. Jones," she said sweetly, "It was a her cddenL JUewjis. laken sur

prise. Tri TiTs !plat:e" I' would Lave emptied the whole dish." The chief steward smirked. He did not know exactly what had happened. Nevertheless, great though Sir John Tozer might be, the owner's daughter was greater. "Certainly, miss, certainly," he agreed, adding confidentially: "It is rather hard on a steward to be sent aft, miss. It makes such a difference in the er the little gratuities given by the passengers." The girl was tactful. She smiled comprehension at the official and bent over Sir John, now carefully polishing the back of his skull with a table napkin. "I am sure you will forgive him," she whispered. "I can't say why, but the poor fellow was looking so intently at me that he did not see what he was doing." The ex-chief justice was Instantly mollified. He did not mind the appli-

Iri could not 5 help noting his strange behavior. cation of Ice in that way rather liked t in fact. Probably Ice was suscepti-

bTeTo fbefire In "MISs Deane's'e'J'es: Suddenly the passengers still seated experienced a prolonged sinking sensation, as If the vessel bad been converted into a gigantic lift. They were pressed hard into their chairs, which creaked and tried to swing around on their pivots. As the ship yielded stiffly to the sea a whiff of spray dashed through an open port. "There!" snapped her ladyship. "I knew we should run into a storm. Yet Captain Ross led us to believe John, take me to my cabin at once." From the promenade deck the listless groups watched the rapid advance of the gale. There was mournful speculation upon the Sirdar's chances of reaching Singapore before the next evening. Iris stood somewhat apart from the other passengers. The wind had freshened, and her hat was tied closely over her ears. She leaned against the taffrail, enjoying the cool breeze after hours of sultry heat. The sky was cloudless yet, but there ws a queer tinge of burnished copper in the all pervading sunshine. Tlie sea was coldly blue. The life had gone out of it. It was no longer inviting and translucent. Long sullen undulations swept noiselessly past the ship. Once after a steady climb up a rolling bill of water the Sirdar quickly pecked at the succeeding valley, and the propeller gave a couple of angry flaps on the surface, while a tremor ran through the stout iron rails on which the girl's arms rested. , ; f The crew were bus too. Squads of Lascars raced about, industriously obedient, to the short shrill whistling of jemadars and' quartermasters. Boat lashings ,were tested and tightened, canvas awnings stretched across the deck forward, ventilator cowls twisted to new angles and hatches clamped downover the wooden gratings that covered the holds. Officers, spotless in white linen, flitted quietly to and fro. When the watch was changed Iris noted that the "chief" appeared In an old blue suit and carried oilskins over his arm as he climbed to the bridge. Nature looked disturbed and fitful, and the ship responded to her mood. There was a "sense of preparation in the air, of coming ordeal, of restless foreboding. Chains clanked with a noise the girl never noticed before; the tramp of hurrying men on the hurricane deck overhead sounded heary and hgllflg,.. There -was -a squeaking of

chairs that'vvas 'aTomlna'b"e when petfpie gathered up books and wraps and staggered ungracefully toward the companionway. Altogether Miss Deane was not wholly pleased with the preliminaries of a typhoon, whatever the realities might be. . ' . Why did that silly old woman allude to her contemplated marriage to Lord Ventnor, retailing the gossip of Hongkong with such malicious emphasis? For an instant Iris tried to shake the railing in comic anger. She hated Lord Ventnor. She did not want to marry him or anybody else just yet. Of course ber father had hinted approval of his lordship's obvious intentions. Countess of Ventnor! Yes. it was a nice title. Still she wanted another couple of years of careless freedom. In any event why should Lady Tozer pry and probe? And finally, why did the steward oh, poor old Sir John! What would have happened if the ice bad slid down his neck? Thoroughly comforted by this gleeful hypothesis. Miss Deane seized a favorable opportunity to dart across the starboard side and see if Captain Ross' "heavy bank of cloud in the northwest" had put in an appearance. Ha! There it was, black, ominous, gigantic, rolling up over the horizon like some monstrous football. Around it the sky deepened into purple, fringed with a wide belt of brick red. She bad never seen such a beginning of a gale. From what she had read in books she imagined that only in great deserts were clouds of dust generated. There could not be dust in the dense pall now rushing with giant strides across the trembling sea. Then what was it? Why was it so dark and menacing? And where was desert of stone and sand to compare with this awful expanse of water? What a small dot was this great ship on the visible surface! But the ocean Itself extended away beyond there, reaching out to the Infinite. - The dot became a mere speck, undlstingnlshable ' beneath a celestial microscope such as the gods might condescend to use. Iris Bhivered and aroused herself with a startled laugh. - The lively fanfare of the dinner trumpet failed to fill the saloon. By this time the Sirdar was fighting resolutely against a stiff gale. But the stress of actual combat was better than the eerie sensaticnof impending danger during the earlier hours. The strong hearty t puhStlons: of the - gn-

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glheS, "The reguTOr"" Wrestling "ot screw, the steadfast onward plunging of the good ship through racing seas and flying scud, were cheery, confident and Inspiring. Miss Deane justified ber boast that she was an excellent sailor. She smiled delightedly at the ship's surgeon when he caught-her eye through the many gaps in. the tables. She was alone, so he joined ber. "You are a credit to the company quite a sea king's daughter." be said. "Doctor, do you talk to all your lady, passengers in that way?" "Alas, no! Too often I can only be truthful when I am dumb." Iris laughed. "If I remain long on this ship I will certainly have my head

turned," she cried. "I receive nothing B but compliments from the captaia : down to to" "The doctor!" ' , "No. You come a good second on th " list." , In very truth she was thinking of the ice carrying steward and his queer start of surprise at the announcement - t of ber rumored engagement. The man interested her. ne looked like a broken down gentleman. Her quick eyes traveled around the saloon to discover his whereabouts. She could not see him. The chief steward stood near, balanc- ' ing himself in apparent defiance of the laws of gravitation, for the ship was now pitching and rolling with a mad zeal. For an instant she meant to in- ' quire ,wbat had become of the trans-,-greasor. 6ut she dismissed the -thought-!, at Its inception. The matter was too) trivial. ' With a wild swoop all the plates, glasses and cutlery Jon the saloon' ta- J bles crashed to starboard. Were it not for the restraint of the fiddles' every-. thing must have been swept to the; floor. There were one or two minor ac-' cidents. A steward, taken unawares, was thrown headlong on top of his laden tray. Others were compelled to

clutch the .backs of .chairs and cling to pillars. One man involuntarily seized the hair of a lady who devoted an hour before each meal to ber coiffure. The Sirdar with a frenzied bound tried, to turn a somersault. "A change, of course," observed the

doctor. "They generally try to avoid; j it when people are In the saloon, but a' typhoon admits of no labored politeness. As its center is now right ahead,! we are going on the starboard tack tor il getbebrdT S (To 6e Continued Next Sunday.)' T. g