LUCILLE LOVE, The Girl of Mystery
Soul 'Thrilling Story ofJZove. devotion, ganger and Jntrigue
*By the "MA.STE'R 'PEN* 9
Copyright, 1914 All moving picture right* reserved by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, who are
now exhibiting this production in leadir.g theaters. Infringements will be vigorously prosecuted.
! SYNOPSIS OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTERS.
p While students together at West Point, and
'rj ove ' ,!|e sums girl, Sutnpter Love proves
lyugo Louoeque a thief, end Loubeque in dishon
orably discharged. Love wins the girl. The enmity
thus begnn fir.ds outlet in later years at Manila,
tvhen a butler thief in the employ of Loubeque,
now an international spy, steals valuable papers
f rom the Government safe of General Love. Lou
beq.-e sails with them on the steamship Empress
and General Love accuses Lieut. Gibson, his aide
and the sweetheart of his daughter Lucille, of
the crime. Loubeque sends a wireless message
cleverly insinuating thai General Love had sold
the papers to a foreign power. To save the honor
of the man she loved and to erase the stigma
from her fathers name, Lucille prevails upon
narlmy, a Government aviator, to take her out to
Wnc ship, in his aeroplane•
"The Voice of the Telephone
w
■RIMIA, Hupo Louheque watched the
aeroplane approaching- the Empress.
■Ruthless. above all authority, next
' with the power Ite
had given his life to build up that
lie might, be revenged upon the man
who had brought about his ruin
early in life, the international spy
watched this attempt at interfer
ence with his plans— for such he in
stinctively knew it to be keenly.
There was no sudden flame of malice in his heart,
cnlj a cold, deadly purpose. Anything auil ever\-
thing that stood 111 his way must be swept aside
Or crushed—that was all.
Aloof from the excited passengers and of
?rV Vb °A a , d bet '" l ' ro, 'S ht to the'deck bv the
thunder of the aeroplane's motor, he watched
Cheers rose at the masterly manipulation of the
plane. Then the aviator's purpose of landing on the
liner s deck became clear. It seemed impossible,
jjret so big a feat was it that already bets were
being made on the success of the attempt. The
air-man was circling now, looking down through
nis powerful glasses to gauge the distance. ]lugo
JJOU beque stood motionless, impassive, imper
turbed Ihe explosions of the motor died out so
abruptly as to make the succeeding silence fairly
thunderous in its contrast. Then the plane swoop
ed down toward the deck, nose-on, righted itself
and glided to a perfect landing.
Lucille separated herself quickly from the pas
sengers. She was beginning to think again, to
realize what a task lay before her. The orders
and papers of her father were upon the boat but
\vho carried them she did not know. Of all these
hundreds anyone might be the thief. It had
seemed so simple before that the contrast be
tween the resolve and its execution appalled her.
liarlej interrupted her mood of black depression
taking her hand and wishing her luck.
K\erything is arranged with the Captain,"
he reported. "And, Miss Love," he added earnestly,
1 dont know what there is to be done but you
cannot help succeeding when you start with such
spirit.
lhe encouragement filmed her eyes, blinding
out the sight of the aviator as he started his en
gine once more and, with one short glide, rose to
ward the element he loved. Only the drumming of
the motor came back to her and its monotone
eeemed to shape itself into words, words of cheer
and hope. \es, she must win. She could not lose.
Her slender figure straightened as she turned
from the rail, her head uplifted itself courage
ously. almost defiantly.
The sound of her own name, repeated twice
in a hoarse whisper of incredulity brought her
Out of her abstraction. She looked wonderinsflv
lit the man who had called her by name, amazed
the emotions twitching his powerful face,
(frightened at the expression in his luminous eves',
eyes that stared at her as though she were a
ghost.
Hugo Loubeque mastered himself with an ef
fort. lie had never seen the General's daughter
before, this girl with the face and form of her
mother, and this apparent resurrection of what
had been a living memory so long had stunned
him out of his usual composure. It irritated him
that his senses should be tricked, that he should
lose control of himself under any circumstance
•nd lie drew aside quickly.
"I beg your pardon," he murmured as she
passed him. "I thought I recognized—" He stop
ped abruptly, amazed at the expression of de
light, and craft, and joy and guile which mingled
on her face as she stopped and stared into his
face. And in the clash of eyes the man knew
that this slip of a girl recognized him for her
enemy, the man she would be obliged to battle
with, knew it just as he knew the purpose urg
ing her on was no whit less strong than his own.
Lucille stared after his retreating figure, her
lips parted, her eyes twin stars' for the hope
that had been kiudled there.
"The voice on the telephone," she whispered
over and over to herself.
And her eyes turned toward the land, the
land where her sweetheart was: her eyes turned
*horewards even as her heart flashed messages
of hope to him.
CHAPTER VI.
In the Wireles* Room.
"J*EIE international spy paced up and down the
floor of his suite, for the first time in vears
a prey to emotions that threatened to overwhelm
him. Early lie had learned Life's lesson that self
mastery is identical with the mastery of others.
It had become :i religion, a fetish to the man and
now that he realized his blunder it stirred a rage
within him lie had thought it impossible to feel.
The message in "her eyes had been clear. This
girl knew that the papers his underling hud
stolen from the (ienerals safe were in his pos
session. She was his enemy, determined to go
appalling lengths to thwart him, just as he must
forget the instinctive love he had felt for her,
this girl who came from the sky and stirred up
visions of days when he had known such a thing
as happiness.
Already he had crushed down this feeling.
But still questions ticked at his brain. How had
fche known? How was il possible she could find
■out'.' And what manner of «i>-l was this who took
such risks; what motive could induce one so wo-
manly to go to such lengths? He settled himself
in a chair, closing his eyes while lie rearranged
ap Ho ' ->rr n* Oneral's household.
11 n * h?s tense con
al*
while
* .Aays to
* 'nere waste of
tim t • ,t ed mbv the strange
light he had read in her eyes—the General's aide,
with whom she was in love, had been charged
with the theft. It had all cleared up easily when
he mastered his emotions.
Hit sombre eyes glowed at the completeness
cf the 1 hgvoe he had wrought. Not alone had Gen
eral Love been struck, but his entire household.
His aide in prison, accused of stealing and selling
correspondence of the government he was pledged
to servg; the General's daughter valiantly follow-
' ' Mii L_l
BOTH 13SCOG/y/Z£rr> THE EAV4ITY THAT
MIAST EXIST BETWEEN THEM
inp some mysterious clue that would lead to the
clearing' up of the charge against her sweetheart,
placing herself in the power of the malign in
lluence working' so resistlessly against her. The
General himself—
The spy studied the pattern 011 the floor, his
brows knitting as he tried to formulate some
tiling that would strike .directly at The old man.
It was an hour before he rose and moved toward
the door, an expression in his eyes which told
the problem had worked itself out.
In the wireless room he wrote out his mes
sage, waiting idly while lie watelied the operator
ndjiui his helmet and .-end the message hurtling
back to Manila, Hugo Loubeque smiled grimly
as he imagined the consternation these .streaks of
electricity snatched from the sky would create
upon arrival, lie wondered at the indifference of
the wire!;' -s man to the import of the message.
;;Xot the aide. General Love sold me papers."
The operator turned indifferently.
"Signature?" he queried.
The international spy shook his head, smiling
at the expression of interest kindled in the young
man's eyes. He must, for once, do work of the
most difficult sort and do it himself instead of
trusting it to a subordinate. To do this he must
ingratiate himself with this man, become so well
acquainted he might have leisure to carrv out his
plot.
Versed in humanity as he was, it was simple
enough for the spy to throw off his accustomed
taciturnity ar.d interest the lonely operator, who
evidently thought him a special agent of the gov
ernment. That accusatory message must not be
answered. Undoubtedly upon its receipt at Ma
nila, an investigation would be started which
would open with finding the source of the or
iginal charge. To obviate this', the wireless must
be put out of order, must be wrecked so thor
oughly it would be impossible to repair it un
til the Empress was out of the zone of communi
cation.
It was a matter of hours before he got his
opportunity, the operator leaving his board and
going to the saloon. Hugo Loubeque wasted not
a second. The sound of the man's 1 boots ha<l not
ceased to sound before the box lay open before
the spy. His hands moved like lightning, carry
ing out the plan he had conceived as safest and
most effective from the instructions of the oper
ator. In and out his fingers moved, loosening a
screw here, a wire there. Within five minutes he
carefully closed the wooden guard and leaned
idly against the window, waiting the operator's
return.
CHAPTER VII.
A Second Accusation.
QEXERAL LOVE sat at his desk, trying vainly
to figure out what motive there could have
been for his trusted aide's taking the desperate
chance of which he had accused him. Cold rea
son made him believe the mail was either a luna
tic or fool, or honest. The first he brushed im
patiently aside. He had been provided with many
aides in his long service of thirty-nine years and
no one of them had equalled Lieutenant Gibson
in point of efficiency. Fool he might be, for the
old soldier knew how a man's brains were stolen
from him by love. But the influence of Lucille,
born and bred to the sacred traditions of the ser
vice, was the sort to make a man go in any di
rection save that of trading with his country's
honor. Honest—
So matter in which direction he turned, the
General was unable to see how the young officer
could be honest. Where had he received the
money so unexpectedly that led him to believe
he might be married before his promotion was
confirmed? Why had he done such a foolish thing
with the safe combination as to leave it in his
room? Why had he been BO embarrassed? A hun
dred and one questions all remained unanswered
and all pointed toward the man's guilt. Only two
men could have gone in the safe—the General
hims'elf and his aide. And yet—always there was
that "yet" to contend with. He knew the boy,
knew him so well he had been willing to entrust
his daughter's life to him, and he could not be
lieve that (iibson was guilty of the charge.
It mattered more to liim than the possible
contents of the papers themselves. He knew his
work, knew the correspondence might be of the
utmost importance, still one does not think of
such things when personal calamity strikes di
rectly home, strikes at one's own family.
He was roused from the reverie into which
he had fallen by the entrance of the aviator. The
man was obviously nervous, a bit bewildered by
the rapid succession of startling incidents which
had followed the ball.
Briefly he told of his trip to the Empress
with Lucille, the earnestness of her pleadings, the
final words that had won his consent.
"For the honor of the man I love."
Over and over again he repeated the words,
trying 1 to make something' of them. Of course she
meant Gibson, but what could she And out on the
Empress relating" to the robbery of the safe in
this office? Still', she was not a foolish, hys
terical girl, wandering off on such errands at
-r -t There must be something she knew or
out which hi he':?ved would clear her
sweetheart of the innuendo against him. But how
could he find out what it was?
It was shortly after the thought came to him
that the prisoner himself might be able to shed
light on this mystery and he ordered his aide
brought before him. Cold logician that he was 1 ,
master of thousands of men that he had proven
himself to be, ther® was something more than
mere innocence about the young officer that the
General could not deny, even to himself. More—
there was a certain suspicion, an air of contempt
in the very figure of the man that told the sup-
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
erior he himself was under another's suspicion.
I'or a long time he studied the face he knew so
well, trying vainly to see some sign of guile upon
the handsome, stern young countenance. It was
more than puzzling, more than baffling—that ac
cusatory pair ol' frank grey eyes.
"Lieutenant." he began slowly, "I have tried to
think of some solution to this affair that will not
you. ou must realize how greatly I de
sire this. But I have thought for hours and there
seems no other explanation of the disappearance
of the papers I turned over to you. Can you sug
gest some other person that might possibly have
an interest in their disappearance?"
"I can, sir," steadily answered the aide, his
eyes holding those of the older man. "I am not,
however, insubordinate nor insolent to my sup
erior officer."
The smouldering flame in General Love's eyes
leaped high as he grasped the semi-accusation. By
an effort he mastered himself, forcing his voice to
steadiness.
"Harley, the aviator, lias just reported that
Lucille came to him this evening and persuaded
him to take her to the Empress. She evidently
felt she possessed information that would clear
you of this charge and that the Empress was
carrying the guilty party. Can you tell me any
thing of s'uch knowledge?"
Gibson stared incredulously at his superior.
His lips opened to repeat the name of the ship
as though what he heard was unbelievable to
him. lie felt the General's eyes tipon him, pierc
ing him, searching into the very depths of his
soul. Could it be possible that this old man was
willing to make his daughter a scapegoat for his
crime? .No, it was all too unbelievable. And yet
the General must have sold the papers. He could
see no other explanation. But w hat was this* tale
of landing aboard the. Empress in an aeroplane?
He suddenly felt a rush of blood to his head, a
mad furj', a determination to get the truth of
this whole thing even though obliged to wring
it from the old man's throat. Unconsciously he
took a step closer the desk when the orderly
again entered, silently passing a Marconigram
across the desk.
Gibson stared wonderingly at his chief, won
dering at the purpling of his already florid face,
the rage that shot streaks of blood across his
eyes as he read and re-read the message. Sud
denly with a choking laugh the old man tossed
the wireless to his aide, the last blow of Hugo
l.oubeque: "Not the aide. General Love sold me
papers."
The lieutenant felt a warm throb of pity
for the old man. He seemed suddenly to have
aged, to be on the verge of collapse under this
mysterious charge. The General straightened
slowly, rising from his chair.
"Somewhere, somehow there is an explana
tion," he muttered. "And Lucille is all that
stands between us and disgrace. You will come
with me, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir. You have some idea "
"To the provisional governor," curtly an
swered the old soldier, "until this charge can be
sifted. Meanwhile, we will wait until there is
word from Lucille in answer to the message I
sent."
"A message? You did not mention that."
"Certainly I sent a message immediately
Harley told his story. We can drop in there on
the way to the Governor's mansion."
Gibson nodded shortly. lie was in a haze
still, feeling that his suspicions of the old officer
had been unfounded, knowing that some evil
brain was conniving at their destruction.
Pity for tile General took the place of tho
bitterness which had been his during his con
finement. He felt himself wondering whether
the old man could clear himself of the charge
agninst him, feit himself unconsciously support
ing the man as they walked toward the wireless
notice the General's orderly
hvrrying to«ar. Miem rntil the man halted in
salute there on the parade grounds, the moon
casting an eerie shadow Across his olive khaki.
"Sir," he reported, "the operator has tried
to reach the Empress byt there is no response.
Her wireless must be disabled."
General Love stared at his aide. Fear
gleamed in the eyes of both men, a mutual fear
for a mutual object. Who was this unseen enemy
who struck such fierce blows from out of the
dark? And Lucille, sweetheart and daughter,
Lucille, the pampered, dainty, fragile Lucille was
undoubtedly near this one who even commanded
the lightnings to do his will.
CHAPTER VIII.
An Armed Neutrality. •
QL'RIOUSLY Hugo Loubeque watched the op
erator as ho settled back iti his chair, al
most immediately receiving the flash that a mes
sage was on the way to him from some unseen,
unknown source. The brief fraction of a second
etched every incident that followed clearly upon
his brain.
Came a loijg sliver of light that seemed to
.utdge the switchboard violently from its fast
enings, a shaft that reached out and pierced him
through and through, blinding him with its
bursting liglit-vapor. Then Loubeque felt him
self falling, falling into a pit that seemed to
hate no bottom, lie was vaguely conscious of
cries, pitying hands, being lifted and carried
somewhere, of low murmuring voices purposely
hushed, then a heavy, black silence.
It was hours before he could piece together
what had happened, how ho chanced to be in
bed, what, the cause of the terrible throbbing
pains upon his arms and torso was. Then the
wonder of Lucille's being 1 with him, ministering
to him, drove every pain away and he watched
her from under cover of his heavy lashes as she
moved about the stateroom, quiet, cool, sym
pathetic. It had seemed impossible that Lucille
should ever be near him, that she should come
back to him after all the years, that the days
at West Point with the culminating horror of
that dismissal should be forgotten
lle straightened in bed so abruptly as to
bring a moan of anguish from his. lips. In the
lassitude induced by his burns and the shock of
the wireless room explosion he had concentrated
the forty years that were, past into the living
presence of the daughter of the woman he had
loved at that time. And this was no more girl,
but a woman, with all the capacity for love and
hate that ever woman had. And she was his
enemy.
The impulse to speak with her, to order liev
away, was strong upon him, but he conquered it,
the habit of carefully planning before doing
anything coming to the fore again despite his
pain. He must not show resentment of her kind
ly interest, must not betray the fact that he
had papers for which she was looking. He must
be very certain of his ground with this girl for
a definite purpose was behind her strange board
ing of the liner; the coincidence of her tending
him was too strange to be unpremeditated.
"You ar§ very kind," he smiled as, seeing he
had returned to consciousness, she softly crossed
the floor, balancing herself against the motion
of the liner as though she were a part of the
boat. "There was an explosion iu the wireless
room, was there not?"
"\ou must not talk till the surgeon comes,"
she smiled. "I must obey orders, you know, be
cause. I am only a volunteer."
"A volunteer! You volunteered to help a
stranger 1"
"But you are not. a stranger." She smiled
curiously, wrinkling her nose in a delightful
way he remembered her mother to have had.
"You knew my name and that made me feel
really acquainted when you were hurt." There
was something penetrating in the eyes fastened
upon his own, something guileful about the sug
gestive expression of her tones that put him in
stantly on guard. He closed Ills eyes again and
simulated slumber, now and then stealing a
glance at her as she sat opposite him, her pretty
brows bent in thought.
Day followed day with ever his faculties
fastened on the necessity for caution. A curious
sort of friendship sprang up between them, a
friendship partaking more of an armed neutral
ity without the formality of a flasr of truce than
anything else he could imagine. Without men
tioning their mutual attitude both recognized
the enmity that must exist between them, both
knew the other was conscious of the. other's
thoughts.
Times there were when Lucille would find
herself wandering in memory fields, back to the
days at Manila. And times there were when she
would have to conquer the impulse to take this
powerful, sardonic, silent man she nursed and
shake the secret of the papers from him. Then
again she would be all compassion, her very
heart crying out in its innocence against the
bitterness that poisoned her patient's heart and
soul. Something within her told her of the times
when his eves would soften and the natural af
fection within him would attempt to steal
through the shell with which his hate had en
crusted him. And then she would tight down
with an effort the impulse to throw herself upon
Ibe better nature slie knew he was making such
an effort 1o hide, to plead with him for the
happiness he had stolen from her, for the honor
of the man she loved.
Nature weakens the body that it may nour
ish the soul. But with the alleviation of Hugo
Loubeque's sufferings the old animosity and pur
pose flourished with redoubled vigor. This girl
had undoubtedly sought the opportunity of nurs
ingl him that she might defeat his purpose. She
was the daughter of the man he had spent his
life in working out a complete degradation for.
He must fight down the weakness which assailed
him when her resemblance to the Lucille of
forty years ago surged strong within him; he
must tight against her as he would fight against
anyone else, as he had fought against, the very
world.
And Lucille felt the change, felt it and re
doubled her effort, to get the secret of the'stolen
papers. The spirit of the game was in her and
she yielded a grudging admiration for the cun
ning of the man who, even in his most acute
suffering, managed to conceal everything from
her. Even in delirium his powerful brain resisted
hefc suggestions, her hints.
Detective stories she had read and she tried
now to bring the methods of those sleuths of
fiction to her aid. Strangely enough, though she
recalled their exploits well, these heroes seemed
febrile puppets when compared to the man she
nursed. One story alone had impressed itself
upon her and she knew there was no chance to
use the ingenious mrihnd of that one who ha 3
discovered the hiding' place of certain important
documents' by tossing a bomb in the living room
of a blackmailer.
Tlie international spy was able to walk
about his room now, his eyes showing the satis
faction he felt at thwarting her. They played
chess together, dined together, with alwajs the
armed deference between them, a state of mind
so obvious as to have been ludicrous had they
not both been so conscious of it. Many
she thought the strain was more than she could
bear, when she doubted the wisdom of this trip.
And always would come morbid pictures of her
sweetheart to sustain her in her determination
to clear hint of the charge under which he rested.
It was on the eighth day out that the spy
suddenly sprang to his feet, darting swiftly to
the door of the stateroom. She stared at him in
astonishment, amazed at the change which had
come over him. His life must have made him
more than unusually sensitive to impressions for
n full quarter hour elapsed after he had resumed
his seat before a barely perceptible thudding
sound: cainei from beneath the deck.
Perliups it, may have been the premonition
of the silent, man, perhaps foreboding of disaster
on her own part. that, took her to the deck. The
Captain had quit the bridge and stood at the
door of the engine room, his face betraying the
anxiety lie tried to conceal from his passengers.
Louder, louder grew the thudding sound, follow
ing now by a retching like the ripping of a rot
ten cloth.
"A boiler in the engine room," Loubeque
said quietly when she returned to his suite.
She stared at the spy incredulously. He was
seated in the great, chair as though such a thing
was of the slightest possible consequence to him.
His impassive countenance was more sombre
than ever and she realized, with sinking heart,
that her impulse, to appeal to him in thi» hour
of deadliest peril would be of no avail.
Came another thought with that, of help
lessness, a thought, of which she felt ashamed
for the second, if worst came to the worst this
man would attempt to save, to take with him
his most priceless possession. If only she could
find out. where the stolen papers were concealed
she would get them. It was not wrong to take
advantage of the weakness of a physical invalid
who possessed such giant mental strength.
Mingling with the horrid retching sound
came a long hiss. The spy sprang to his feet
again and opened the door. Passengers were
rushing wildly about the decks, their faces be
traying the abject terror they felt. At the rail
stood the Captain and Second Mate supervising
the lowering of the life boats. A white faced
steward banged against the door, thrusting his
head inside.
"Fire," he whispered, then, as though
ashamed for the fear which had robbed him of
his voice. "It's fire—to the boats—"
Lucille turned away, a sickening 1 feeling
clutching' at her heart. Fire! Fire out here on
the broad ocean and never a sight of land since
Manila! What eould she do? She suddenly was
conscious) of Hugo Loubcque's swift motions.
The spy darted across the room und drew from
the top drawer of his desk a package of papers
which he hurriedly replaced as she turned.
There was something' on his countenance which
told her the truth, told her that he had re»
vealcd the secret of the stolen papers. He slapped
the drawer shut, reassuming- his aspect of indif
ference as he brushed her away from the door.
Quick as the spring - of a cat she had secured
the papers while he stepped to the deck, appar
ently to study the situation. When ho returned
she was moving l carelessly about the room, wear
so innocent an expression that he studied her
suspiciously a second. Their eyes met and he
sprang- to the desk, slapping open the drawer so
violently its contents fell upon the floor. As he
whirled upon her she saw in his face that the
truce was at an end, that he knew of his loss
and would stop at nothing to regain his secret.
Swiftly she sprang: through the open door,
losing- herself in the mass of passengers huddled
against the rail. Looking back, she caught a
glimpse of the white faced coolies and Chinese,
staring in sullen despair at the passengers whose
turn it was to enter the life boats while they
must wait, under threat of the revolvers in the
hands of the ofHeers. Behind them little cork
screw spirals of steam reached out caressing
fingers, twining about them and then innocently
losing themselves about the funnels. And ai
ways, always sounded that horrible hissing
sound from below, the sound of unbridled fire.
Lucille felt an overmastering impulse with
in her to remain with this terror, anything save
the great, threatening ocean that looked so
monstrous now, waiting the tiny crafts thai
creaked down from the davits. Then powerful
arms were about her. She felt herself being
lifted and hurtled forward, huddling down in
the crowded boat that was being lowered to the
waves.
She would have thought the ocean calm
ordinarily, but as the boat splashed upon its
bosom, the sailors striking easily into rythmical
swing, she realized the power of this mighty
body of water that invited the frail boat to be
come a part of itself instead of striving to com
bat it with such a meagre thickness of rounded
wood.
A hand reached out and rested upon her
shoulder. For a second she was unconscious of
it, then something steadying, indomitable about
the clutch of finger tips made her turn. Hugo
Loubeque smiled into her eyes, smiled with the
pitying expression of an invincible one who
grieves for the weakling that dashes against him.
Her eyes upraised toward the boat, a mass
of whitish smoke now through which leaped
playful reddish fiames. Now and then a figure
would dart toward the rail and lunge overboard,
the bodies striking the water in great circles
that lost themselves in one another. And for a
second the thought came to her that even that
inferno of a ship was preferable to this man be
side her.
"Well played. Miss Love," the spy murmured
silkily. "But I fear you must return the "
A piercing shriek made him turn swiftly, a
tshriek that lost itself in the heavy crunching of
wooden oars against wood. Came a horrid bump
ing that, seemed more like the crunching- of a
wild beast upon bones than anything she had
ever heard. ITeat, intense, steaming, beat upon
her cheeks. She looked up and only the dark
hulk of the Empress loomed above her, only a
lurid flame illumined the heavens.
She was conscious of her heavy clothing,
sodden now with water; was conscious of the
la*-k of support. Something long and wooden
tilted against her and instinctively her fingers
clutched the oar which had floated out to her
from their boat which had been tossed and
crushed against the burning liner's side. Again
she looked up.
The Empress was a mass of white flames
now, flames that seemed to carry it down, down,
down like some boat of fabled ages. The soft
breeze caressed her cheeks, Its very tenderness
a mockery. Replacing the massed flame of man
created fire glowed a million constellations, the
luminous magnificence of the Southern Cross.
And within her soul flickered the. spark of com*
bat which Youth will not allow to die even
though the. battle be unequal as the war of th»
firefly against the dark.
(Continued Next Week.))