The Port of Adventure   By: Charles Norris Williamson (1859-1920)

By

Charles Norris Williamson

and

Alice Muriel Williamson

1913

Published in Great Britain under the title: The Love Pirate.

BY THE SAME AUTHORS

LORD LOVELAND DISCOVERS AMERICA ROSEMARY IN SEARCH OF A FATHER LADY BETTY ACROSS THE WATER MY FRIEND THE CHAUFFEUR THE LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR THE GUESTS OF HERCULES THE PRINCESS VIRGINIA THE GOLDEN SILENCE THE CAR OF DESTINY THE MOTOR MAID THE CHAPERON SET IN SILVER THE HEATHER MOON

TO

THREE FRIENDS IN CALIFORNIA

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. IN A GARDEN II. NICK III. THE ANNIVERSARY IV. A GIRL IN MOURNING V. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT VI. WHEN THE TABLES WERE TURNED VII. A POLICE MYSTERY VIII. THE GOLD BAG COMEDY IX. THE LAST ACT OF THE GOLD BAG COMEDY X. WHEN ANGELA WENT SIGHTSEEING XI. THE MAN AT THE WHEEL XII. THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY OF MAKE BELIEVE XIII. FOR THE SAKE OF DRAMATIC EFFECT XIV. THE MYSTERY OF SAN MIGUEL XV. THE WISE BIRD IN THE DARK XVI. ANGELA AT HER WORST XVII. SEVENTEEN MILE DRIVE XVIII. LA DONNA È MOBILE XIX. THE CITY OF ROMANCE XX. THE DOOR WITH THE RED LABEL XXI. "WHO IS MRS. MAY?" XXII. THE BOX OF MYSTERY XXIII. THE HAPPY VALLEY XXIV. THE BEST THING IN HER LIFE XXV. THE BROKEN MELODY XXVI. AN INVITATION FROM CARMEN XXVII. SIMEON HARP XXVIII. THE DARK CLOUD IN THE CRYSTAL XXIX. THE PARTING OF THE WAYS XXX. THE MAKING OF A GENTLEMAN XXXI. THE BREAKING OF THE SPELL XXXII. AN END AND A BEGINNING

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"Nick thought her adorable in her gray motor bonnet"

"Santa Barbara Mission, with its history and romance"

"Angela was enchanted with the peninsula of Monterey"

"They weren't trees, but people, either nymphs or witches"

"The world was a sea, billowing with mountains"

PROLOGUE

On a great ship a woman sailed away from the Old World, wishing to forget. In her mind was the thought of a far off place toward which she was travelling. There were no figures in this mental picture. She painted it as a mere flowery background; for she was very tired of people.

In the New World, a man lived and worked, and dreamed when he had time.

Between this woman and this man lay six thousand miles of land and sea. They were two, among many millions, and they did not know of each other's existence. There was no visible reason why they ever should know, or why they should ever meet. Yet, sometimes when the moon shone on the sea, the woman said to herself that the bright path paving the water with gold seemed to lead on and on beyond the horizon, as if it might go all the way to the Golden Gate. And the Golden Gate is the Port of Adventure, where every unexpected thing can happen.

I

IN A GARDEN

"I wonder what makes Nick so late?" Carmen Gaylor thought, hovering in the doorway between the dim, cool hall and the huge veranda that was like an out of doors drawing room.

Though she spoke English well almost as well as if she had not been born in Spain and made her greatest successes in the City of Mexico Carmen thought in Spanish, for her heart was Spanish, and her beauty too.

She was always handsome, but she was beautiful as she came out into the sunset gold which seemed meant for her, as stage lights are turned on for the heroine of a play; and there was something about Carmen which suggested strong drama. Even the setting in which she framed herself was like an ideal scene for a first act.