bable."

In the silence that followed I started twice to tell him that Sylvia's
father had used a new bill of that denomination, yet the words would not
come. It seemed a sneaky thing to do, after she had turned to me for
help. Yet, if she were in danger, what quicker way to safety than arrest
the old vulture who had her in his power? So I said:

"Mr. Hardwick, last night in that restaurant I saw a man----" but this
time something stopped my words. It was a voice, a girl's voice,
beautiful with an impassioned ring of protest, that cried from some
place near us on the water:

"It isn't fair!"

It isn't fair! Oh, the just and pleading accusation of that cry! I
sprang up, loudly calling her name:

"Sylvia!"

There was not a breath of sound. Those with whom I had been conversing
were as mute as graven images, but in the black pall just beyond our
taffrail drifted the magnetic presence toward which every nerve and
fiber of my body pointed;--pointed, aye, tugged and wrestled with my
poor flesh to be free! Yet, silence; all silence. No sound, no vision,
no anything to guide me, other than my flashing brain and thumping heart
which spoke of her.

I saw one of our sailors staring at the water with strange owlish eyes,
and yelled at him:

"Into the gig, man!"

But this was frustrated before he moved, for some black shadow, showing
vaguely, glided out from beneath our rail and disappeared. I could not
be sure that I saw it, but the sailor did because he crossed himself.

"It ain't no use--now, sir," he managed to say.

My own eyes were trying to follow the eerie, silent thing which had
passed so spookily into the night, leaving the merest suggestion of
phosphorescence after it. Then an arm slipped affectionately about my
shoulders, and I felt that Tommy was also standing by, looking along the
trail of deadened sound. His face showed excitement, but he whispered
steadily enough:

"Come and sit down."

Indeed, now that the thing had disappeared, I felt like an ass; and,
resuming my seat, attempted to make the best of it.

"Really," I laughed, "you fellows mustn't judge a man too critically.
There was something in the voice of that young lady which took me off my
guard, and recalled--well, it recalled what you've all probably had
recalled by one means or another, at some time or other, during
your--er--lives." And I gave a weakish smile, waving my hand toward any
old thing in sight by way of saying: "You know, old