The Adventures of Kathlyn | Page 6

thrill into his heart. She was
as fair and beautiful as an houri of Sa'adi. She sat at a desk, holding a
long white envelope in her hand. By and by she put it away, and he was
particular to note the drawer in which she placed it. That the
dark-haired girl at the tea tabouret was equally charming did not stir the
watcher. Dark-haired women were plentiful in his native land. Yonder
was the girl of the photograph, the likeness of which had fired his heart
for many a day. With the patience of the Oriental he stood in the
shadow and waited. Sooner or later they would leave the room, and
sooner or later, with the deftness of his breed, he would enter. The
leopard he had heard about was nowhere to be seen.
"Winnie," said Kathlyn, "I dread it."

Winnie set down the teacup; her eyes were brimming.
"What can it all mean? Not a line from father since Colombo, five
months gone."
"Do you think----"
"No, no!" replied Kathlyn hastily. "Father sometimes forgets. He may
be hunting miles from telegraph wires and railroads; it is only that he
should forget us so long. Who knows? He may have dropped down into
Borneo. He wanted some pythons, so I heard him say."
The elder sister did not care to instil into the heart of her charge the fear
which was in her own.
"Who knows but there may be good news in the envelope? Dad's
always doing something like that. New Year's!"
The collie, released from the kitchen, came bounding in. In his
exuberance he knocked over a cloisonne vase. Both girls were glad to
welcome this diversion. They rose simultaneously and gave chase. The
dog headed for the outdoor studio, where they caught him and made
believe they were punishing him.
Quietly the watcher entered through the window, alert and tense. He
flew to the desk, found the envelope, steamed it open at the kettle,
extracted the sealed envelope and Colonel Hare's note. He smiled as he
read the letter and changed his plans completely. He would not play
messenger; he would use a lure instead. With his ear strained for
sounds, he wrote and substituted a note. This houri of Sa'adi would not
pause to note the difference in writing; the vitalness of the subject
would enchain her thoughts. It was all accomplished in the space of a
few minutes. Smiling, he passed out into the fast settling twilight.
They were shipping a lion to San Francisco, and the roaring and
confusion were all very satisfactory to the trespasser.
Midnight. From afar came the mellow notes of the bells in the ancient

Spanish mission. The old year was dead, the new year was born,
carrying with it the unchanging sound of happiness and misery, of
promises made and promises broken, of good and evil.
"The packet!" cried Winnie.
Kathlyn recognized in that call that Winnie was only a child. All the
responsibility lay upon her shoulders. She ripped the cover from the
packet and read the note.
"Kathlyn: If not heard from I'm held captive in Allaha. Sealed
document can save me. Bring it yourself to Allaha by first steamer.
"Father."
"I knew it," said Kathlyn calmly. The fear in her heart had, as the
brown man had anticipated, blinded her to the fact that this was not her
father's characteristic blunt scrawl.
"Oh, Kit, Kit!"
"Hush, Winnie! I must go, and go alone. Where's the evening paper?
Ah, there it is. Let me see what boat leaves San Francisco to-morrow.
The Empress of India, six a. m. I must make that. Now, you're your
father's daughter, too, Winnie. You must stay behind and be brave and
wait. I shall come back. I shall find father, if I have to rouse all India.
Now, to pack."
When they arrived at the station the passenger train had just drawn out.
For a while Kathlyn felt beaten. She would be compelled to wait
another week. It was disheartening.
"Why not try the freight, then?" cried Winnie.
"You little angel! I never thought of that!"
But the crew would not hear of it. It was absolutely against the
company's rules. Kathlyn could have cried.

"It isn't money, miss, it's the rules," said the conductor kindly. "I can't
do it."
Kathlyn turned in despair toward the station. It was then she saw the
boxed lion on the platform. She returned to the conductor of the freight.
"Why isn't that lion shipped?"
"We can't carry a lion without an attendant, miss. You ought to know
that."
"Very well," replied Kathlyn. She smiled at the conductor confidently.
"I'll travel as the lion's attendant. You certainly can not object to that."
"I guess you've got me," admitted the conductor. "But where the
dickens will we