"GAY VENTURE"

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 October 1940, Page 10

"GAY VENTURE"

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT. COPYRIGHT.

By

T. C. BRIDGES.

, . CHAPTER I. In the seclusion of her cabin Eve Nisbet was wearing hardly more clothes than her first namesake, yet despite the scantiness of her attire the heat seemed more than she could bear. For reasons of economy Eve had taken the cheapest berth available in the Multan Castle, and that meant an inside cabin on the lower deck. During the first stage of her journey from New Zealand this had not mattered, but now, twenty-four hours out of Colombo, the sticky heat of the Indian Ocean made life a misery and sleep impossible. There are limits to human endurance, and Eve decided that the deck was the only place possible on a night like this, so slipped into her pyjamas, pulled on a dressing gown, inserted her pretty feet into a pair of mules and went up. The night was calm but the sky thick with cloud, and sheet lightning flickered in the North-West. The old ship was pushing through the calm sea at a steady fifteen knots, and her motion made a breeze that was very refreshing after the dreadful stuffiness below Eve found her own deck chair and cocked her toes up with a sigh of relief. She chuckled under her breath. “What would Jane say if she could see me?” sne murmured. “Why should Jane say anything?” came a man’s voice from the gloom close by. “Who are you," Eve asked, startled. “Keith Hedley,” was the prompt reply. “Age twenty-eight, nationality British passenger from Colombo to London. No special vices, but at present very hot and very bored and full of hope that Miss Nisbet will allow me to sit and talk to her a while.” His voice was deep and pleasant, and and as he stepped out of the thick shadow there was just light enough for Eve to see a clean cut profile above a pair of broad shoulders. “You sound all right,” Eve said with a laugh. “Always supposing you account of yourself is true. Yes, you can sit down and talk to me. But how did you know my name?” “I’ve been on board for twenty-four hours and I’m not deaf or dumb,” Keith retorted as he stretched himself on the next chair. “You said you had no vices. What about inquisitiveness?” “You can be inquisitive in a good cause and then it isn’t a vice,” Keith answered. "Now tell me about Jane. “Jane is my sister-in-law,” Eve replied, “or rather my half sister-in-law. I’ve lived with her almost all my life. She’s very proper, and she’d have fits if she could se me sitting here at one

in the morning, in my pyjamas, talking to a strange young man.” "She’d feel much happier to know you were in safe company than all by yourself,” Keith said promptly. Eve laughed again, and Keith Hedley loved the sound. “Nothing like having a good opinion of yourself,” she jeered “I’m 'hoping to make you share it when you’ve known me a little longer,” Keith said, and something in his voice gave Eve a small thrill. They sat and chatted. Keith was very easy to talk to and Eve found herself telling him all about her life on the farm of her half-brother, Peter Dane, at Wanguni, in the South Island. “Peter’s a dear,” she said, “but he is much older than I. And Jane is kind as can be, but we have very few neighbours,and life isn’t exactly exciting.” “So you got fed up and made a break,” Keith suggested. ‘Not quite that. An old friend of my mother, Agatha Lynd, sent me an invitation to come and stay with her in London. She even sent me money for my passage. So of course, I came.” “Agatha Lynd,” Keith repeated slowly. “I have met a lady of that name.” “You know her!” Eve exclaimed. Keith shook his head. “I don’t think it could be the same." “But why not? And Agatha is not a common name.” “You forget how many people there are in London. Everyone has a namesake.” “But why don’t you think this is my Miss Lynd that you know?” Keith laughed. ‘I couldn’t imagine her as anybody’s friend, let alone your mother’s.” Eve stuck to her point. “Do you know where she lives?” “I don’t. I only met her at a dance a year ago when I was last in England.” “My Miss Lynd has a flat in Suffolk Street, Kensington.” “I haven’t a notion where this one lives. Let’s talk about yourself. It’s much more interesting.” “I’ve talked quite enough about myself. I want to hear about you. What brought you East?” Instead of answering Keith held up his hand. Two men were pacing the deck, talking in low voices. They came past within a couple of yards of Keith and Eve. but did not see them. As they went by Eve caught a sentence from the taller of the two. “Do you want to hog it all? There’s plenty for both.” What the other answered Eve could not hear but, from the tone in which he spoke, it did not seem as if he was in the best of tempers. “Hog it all,” repeated Keith softly. “I don’t know wnat the bone of contention is, but I do know that whatever it is Youd Tarver would never leave a penny piece for the other chap." “Youd Tarver—what a funny name! Who is he, Mr Hedley?” “Everything that’s beastly,” Keith answered deliberately. "He calls himself a Commission Agent, but his one aim in life is to do down the other chap. And, I may say. he generally succeeds.” “He sounds perfectly horrid,” said Eve with conviction. “Has he ever done you down, Mr. Hedley?"

“He’s tried,” Keith answered. “And what did he get?” “A thick ear,” said Keith, with a faint chuckle, and Eve laughed merrily. Keith grew grave again. “I wonder who that chap is with him.” he said slowly. “American by his accent. Eut I don’t think I'll worry. Probably one of the same kidney,” Eve stirred.

‘I think I'll go down,” she said. “It’s cooler now, and perhaps I can get some sleep.” As Keith helped her up there came the sound of a loud splash from the darkness aft. "Man overboard!” someone shouted, and Keith was gone as swiftly as a shadow. To Eve it seemed impossible that anyone could move so quickly. Other things moved. There was a hearse shout from the bridge, a bell rang, and from the stern came a loud splashing as the engines were reversed and the screws began to turn in the opposite direction. Men appeared from nowhere, pulleys creaked as one of the aft lifeboats began to swing down from the davits, and at this moment a search light blazed out, flinging a white beam across the long, smooth swells. “Oh, there he is!” cried Eve leaning over the rail and pointing to a black 'dot against the side of one of those swells, but a steward who had appeared beside her answered: — "No, Miss. That ain’t him. That’s the gent as went over after him." With a queer shock Eve realised that the dot was the head of Keith Hedley CHAPTER 11. The boat smacked into the water, but though driven by eight stout oars it seemed to Eve that it crawled like a beetle across the smooth hills of brine. Her eyes were fixed on that small, dark dot which rose and fell, now high on the summit of a wave, then lost to sight in the dark hollow between two crests. Somehow the news had spread and, in spite of the hour, men and women in all sorts of queer attire were watching almost as breathlessly as Eve herself. “He’s gone!” gasped a woman. “He’s not. He’s swimming like a seal,” retorted a man. “Are there sharks?” asked someone else in a horrified whisper, and Eve found herself shuddering in a sudden horror.

“Not out here, silly,” was the scornful reply, evidently from a brother. “Who was it fell over?” came a question.

, “Don’t know, but that’s Captain Hedley who went after him. You know—the wild beast man.” “Jolly good effort!” exclaimed the ; former speaker. “There, the boat’s ’ reaching him. He’ll be all right.” ; Sure enough the boat was at last up ’ with Keith Hedley and Eve sighed r with relief as she saw him pulled , aboard. But still the searchlight played on the sea and still the boat circled, ( rising and falling on the silken swells. So far another ten minutes, then came l a sharp blast from the ship’s siren, and, the boat’s head turned and she came back to the ship. With man-of-war like promptness she was hooked on and swung up. ’ “You didn't get him?” said First . Officer Milsom, who was at the rail. “No, sir,” replied the coxswain. “Not ! a sign of him. Captain Hedley didn’t see him either.” “He was hurt in falling, Mr Milsom. . or he had heart failure,” said Keith. “There never was a chance of saving him.” “Well that wasn’t your fault, Captain Hedley,” said Milsom. “It was an uncommonly good effort on your part, and I’ll see it’s properly logged. Come and have a drink or will you change first?” “Oh, I’m not cold. I’ll have a drink. Who was the chap?” "Kemp is his name. So Mr Tarver tells me. I don’t know anything more than that, but of course there’ll be an inquiry in the morning. Come. ’ He led Keith through the staring throng and Eve taw them vanish into the chart room. As she went below ner face was thoughtful. “The wild beast man,” she said under her breath. “Now what did he mean by that?” She paused. “But he’s nice,” she continued presently. ‘l’m sure he’s nice.” She stretched hbrself on her bed and was soon asleep. At Colombo a number of fresh passengers had joined the ship, among them a Major Kingscote and his wife who had been visiting a planter son in Ceylon. They sat at Eve’s table and Eve had already made friends with Mrs Kingscote, a plump, pleasant, still pretty woman of forty-five. She and her husband were busy with their grape-fruit when Eve appeared. “Good morning, my dear,” said Mrs Kingscote. “Have you heard about the excitement last night?” I saw it I saw the whole thing," Eve told her. Mrs Kingscote’s eyes widened. ‘No! Tell me!" she exclaimed. So Eve described how she had been driven on deck by the heat, how she had talked to Keith Hedley, how they had seen Tarver pass with another man., and how Keith had gone overboard on a vain attempt at rescue. “Good work —by jove!” declared the Major, laying down his spoon; but Mrs Kingscote went straight to the heart of the matter. “Was it Kemp you saw with Tarver Eve?” “I don't know. It was too dark to see faces, and I should not have known Kemp if I had seen him. It was Captain Hedley who said that one of them was Tarver." ‘Did he say anything more about Tarver?" put in the Major. ‘Yes,” Eve lowered her voice. “I gathered he did not think much of Tarver." “I shouldn't think he did..” said Major Kingscote. "The fellow's a crook! I heard a lot about him from < cur boy. Ronald. I shouldn’t wonder (Continued?.