Adventure, August 1917 — page 100: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

98 ‘““AND how is the shoulder?” asked Miss McNish. “Fine, ma’am,” returned McCon- aughy. ‘An’ yourrself?” She smiled radiantly. “T don’t know why it is, Captain Mc- Conaughy, but I feel better than I have in a long time. It—it seems strangely as though I had gotten some weight off my mind.”’ McConaughy blinked shrewdly. “Might it not be ye ha’ rid yourrself o’ the burrden o’ contemplatin’ enforrced matrimony?” he asked. Miss McNish walked over to the window of her office without replying. McCon- aughy, after a sly glance at her back, began to flick through the pages of the manifest of the Elizabeth Barrett. “Captain McConaughy,”’ abruptly. He looked up. “T have a confession to make.”’ *fAy?”’ She hesitated. ‘“‘The plain truth,’ she said desperately, “is that I’m not a bit sorry poor Herbert Tibbotts was captured. I’m glad. Yes, glad. I find myself hoping that the war will last for years.” ‘“‘About that last ye need not fash your- self, ma’am,” remarked McConaughy dryly. “The prresent state o’ mind o’ the English an’ the bunglin’ o’ their leaderrs is a sure guarantee ye will not be botherred by the young man this mony a yearr.” “But I ought not to feel this way. It’s —it’s rotten.” “T wouldna say so,” he replied judicious- ly. ‘It’s ma soberr judgement ’twas for the best 0’ a’ concerrned.” “How?” | ‘Well, you wouldna dispute ma obserr- vation so far as yourself is concerrned?”’ “No, indeed.”’ “‘As for the young man, well, ma’am, he was an uncommon worrthless spoiled prro- duct o’ sodden riches. It may well be this experrience will be the makin’ o’ him. At the long worrst, it couldna do him harrm.”’ ‘“‘Perhaps,”’ she agreed. “But his father? Poor old Lord Claragh feels it bitterly. By the way, here is a letter from him that partly concerns you.” She recrossed the room to the desk and tossed over to him several typewritten sheets. she said Adventure Without answering her last objection, McConaughy began to peruse them. He read: Dear Tabitha: As you can readily understand, the news which came almost simultaneously from you and the Admiralty has wellnigh prostrated me. People refuse to believe it, but I am growing old. Herbert was all I had, as you know, and now I must think of him wasting some of the best years of his life in a German prison-camp. I at once took up with the Premier the question of securing a special exchange, but I am told that there has been so much scandal about previous exchanges of this character, the Ministry have puta stop to them altogether. However, I was able to secure intelligence through the American Ambassador at Berlin that Herbert was well and none the worse for his heroic deeds. In fact, my dear Tabitha, the one consolation which I have is the thought of Herbert’s dauntless courage and self-sacrifice.. Perhaps you have heard that he has been gazetted at the Admiralty for the War Cross. Some of my friends say that he should have had the Victoria Cross, and I dare say if I had subscribed, as I was asked, to the last Liberal fund, it would have been arranged. But I take pleasure in thinking that after all Herbert won his decoration without family influence or pressure of any kind, simply by his own splendid devotion to duty. Captain McConaughy’s report of the way in which Herbert covered the landing- party’s retreat, has been read by many of my friends, and I hear, is receiving some circulation in the daily press. It must afford you, too, my dear, satisfaction to know that your childhood playmate has raised himself to such high esteem. McConaughy stopped at the bottom of — the first page. “It proves ma p’int,”’ he said, tapping the paper. “The old lorrd is no less pleased wi’ mattherrs than yourself. If his son had come back he wouldna ha’ got the Cross an’ been called a hero. Claragh would ha’ been pleased, ’this thrue, but he wouldna ha’ gained the satisfaction he knows today.” Miss McNish pondered this fora moment. “Ves,” she assented at last, “I fancy you are right. But go on. You haven’t read the last page yet.” Silently, McConaughy complied. For Captain McConaughy’s share in the enter- prise I entertain the most profound gratitude, both to you and to him. I wonder if I might have your permission to approach him with a proposition which has been approved by our directors. I need scarcely say that I shall remain silent concerning it if you do not care to approve of my suggestion. We have been feeling for some time the need of a technical seaman on the board to assist me in the executive control of the line. I need scarcely say that the salary would be commensurate with the responsibility entailed, and while I do not desire to seem to reflect upon the Red Funnel Line, which your dear father built up so nobly, still, it is un- questioned that the Claragh Line is the larger of Comicloook 5}