HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1909-08-19, Page 7THE 1YSTERY
Bij STEWART EDWARD WHITE
And SAMUEL IHOPKINS ADAMS
COPYRIGHT. 1907
BY rdcCLUItE. PHILLIPS & CO.
fain establishraent. By Thursday at
latest another would be iustalled.
I learned curious facts about seals in
those days. The hunting did not ap-
peal to me particularly, because it
seemed to me useless to kill so large
an animal for so small a spoil. Still
it was a means to my all absorbing
end, and I confess that the stalking,
the lying belly down on the sun warm-
ed grass over the surge and under the
clear sky was extremely pleasant.
While awaiting the return of the big
bull often we had opportunity to
wateh the others at their daily affairs,
an(, even the unresponsive Thrackles
w truck -with their almost human
if • : hence. Did you know that seals
le each other and weep tears when
g. el?
:e men often discussed among
e:.nselves the narrow,dry cave. There
the animals were practically penned
In. They agreed that a great killing
could be made there, but the impossi-
bility of distinguishing between the
bulls and the cows deterred them. The
cave was quite dark.
Immersed in our own affairs thus,
the days, weeks and months went by.
Events had slipped beyond my con-
trol. I had embarked on a journalis-
tic enterprise, and now that purpose
.was entirely out of my reach.
Up the valley Dr. Schermerhorn and
his assistant were engaged in some ex-
periment of whose very nature I was
still ignorant; also I was likely to re-
main so. The precautions taken
against interference by the men were
equally •effective against me. As if
that were not enough, any move of
investigation on my part would be
radically misinterpreted and to my
own danger by the men. I might as
well have been in London.
however, as to my first purpose in
this adventure I had evolved another
plan and therefore was content. I
made up my mind that on the voyage
:tome, if nothing prevented, I would
tell my story to Percy Darrow and
throw myself on his mercy. The re-
sults of the experiment would proba-
bly by then be ready for the public,
and there was no reason, as far as I
could see, why I should not get the
"scoop" at first hand.
Certainly my sincerity would be
without question, and I hoped that
two years or more of service such as
I had rendered would tickle Dr. Scher-
merhorn's sense of his own impor-
tance. So adequate did this plan
seem that I gave up thought on the
'subject.
My whole Iife now lay on the shores.
I was not again permitted to board
the Laughing Lass. Captain Selover
1,saw twice at a distance. Both times
he seemed to be rather uncertain, The
men did not remark it. The days
went by. I relapsed into that state so
well known to you all when one seems
,caught in the meshes of a dream ex-
istence which has had no beginning
and which is destined never to have
an end.
We were to hunt seals and fish and
pry bivalves from the rocks at low
tide and build fires and talk and al-
ternate between suspicion • and securi-
ty, between the danger of sedition and
the insanity of men without defined
;purpose, world without end forever.
CHAPTER XIX.
H1I inevitable happened. One
noon Pulz looked up from his
labor of pulling the whiskers
from the evil smelling masks.
{`How many of these things we got?"
he inquired.
"About three bender' and fifty,"
'Thrackles replied.
"Weil, we've got enough, for me.
I'm sick of this job. it stinks."
They looked at each other. I could
see the disgust rising in their eyes, the
reek of rotten blubber expanding their
nostrils. With one accord they cast
.aside the masks.
"It ain't such a fortune," growled
nd in the
Traveler's Grip
Tho means by which ho cured a very
seveye ease of piles
Very many traveling salesmen know
what it is to suffer from itching piles
and will read with interest the follow-
ing letter:
Mr. W..1. Saunders, salesman for the
Sawyer -Massey Co., and who lives at
Killarney, Man,, states: "After hav-
ing suffered for three years with a very
had case of piles a friend recommended
Dr. Obese 's Ointment and I cannot now
!peak too highly of same: After hay -
mg used two boxes of Dr. Chase's Oint-
ment I can truthfully say that I um
cured of piles, and cheerfully recent -
:need it to anyone suffering from this
complaint, 1 am never without a -box
of this ointment in my grip."
It ie impossible to claim too much
for Dr, Chase's Ointment as a cure for
every town of itching, bleeding and
protruding piles. It seems to have no
rival in this regard and the teeerd of
.lutes is simply wonderful.
Neatly any druggist can tell you of
tbcortes of cures that have come to his
notice. Some of these effeeted even
.after surgical operations lied failed, f0
-emits n. box, at all dealers or IMinatison,
Sates & Co., Toronto.
Pulz, his evil little white face thrust
forward. "There's other things worth
all the seal trimmin's of the islands."
"Diemen's," gloomed the nigger.
"You've hit it, doctor," cut in Solo-
mon.
There WR were again, back to the
old difficulty, only worse. Idleness de-
scended on us again. We grew touchy
on little things, as a misplaced plate,
a shortage of firewood, too deep a
draft at the nearly empty bucket. The
noise of bickering became as constant
as the noise of the surf. If we valued'
peace, we kept our mouths shut. The
way a man spat or ate or slept or even
breathed became a cause of irritation
to every other member of the company.
We stood the outrage as long as we
could; then we objected in a wild and
ridiculous explosion which communi-
cated its heat to the object of our
wrath. Then there was a fight. It
needed only liquor to complete the de-
plorable state of affairs.
Gradually the smaller things came to
worry us more and more. A certain
harmless singer of the cricket or per-
haps of the tree toad variety used to
chirp his innocent note a short distance
from our cabin. For all I know he
had done so from the moment of our
installation, but I had never noticed
him before. Now I caught thyself lis-
tening for his irregular recurrence with
every nerve on the quiver. If he de-
layed by ever so little, it was an agony,
yet when he did pipe up his feeble
strain struck to my heart cold and
paralyzing like a dagger. And with
every advancing minute of the night I
became broader awake, more tense,
fairly sweating with nervousness. One
night—good God, was it only last
Week? It seems ages ago, another ex-
istence, a state cut off from 'this by
the wonder of a transmigration at
least. Last week!
I did not sleep at all. The moon had
risen, had mounted the heavens and
now was sailing overhead. By the
fretwork of its radiance through the
chinks of our rudely built cabin I had
marked off the hours. A thunderstorm
rumbled and flashed, hull down over
the horizon. It was many miles dis-
tant, and yet I do not donbt that its
electrical influence had dried the mois-
ture of our equanimity, leaving us rat-
tling busks for the winds of destiny to
play upon. Certainly I can remember
no other time in a rather wide expe-
rience when I have felt myself more
on edge, more choked with the rest-
less, purposeless nervous energy that
leaves a man's tongue parched and his
eyes staring. And still that infernal
cricket or whatever it was chirped.
I had thought myself alone in my
vigil, but when finally I could stand
it no longer and kicked aside my cov-
ering, with an oath of protest, I was
surprised to hear it echoed from all
about me.
"0— that cricket!" I cried.
And the dead shadows stirred from
the bunks, and the hollow eyed vic-
tims of insomnia crept out to curse
The darkness in front of vis was WW1
with fiery eyeballs.
their tormentor. We organized an ex-
pedition to hunt hum down. It was ri-
diculous enough, six strong men prowl-
ing for the life of orae poor little insect.
We did not find him, however, thotigh
we succeeded in silencing him. But'
no sooner were we back in our bunks
than he began it again, and such was
the turmoil of our nerves that day
found us sitting wan abont a fire, hug-
ging our Anees.
We were so genuinely emptied..not
so Bruch by the cricket as by the two
years of fermentation, that not one of
tis stirred toward breakfast. In fact,
not one of us moved from the listless
attitude in which day found him until
after 9 o'clock. Theis we pulled our-
selves together end Cooked coffee and
salt horse. As a signiflnnitt fact, the
nigger left the dishes unwashed, and
no one eared.
Bandy Sdtomou finally hook Wm -
tele and arose.
"I'm siek of title," said he. "km go•
in' seal hunting."
They arose without a word, They
were sick of it, too ---sick to death. We
were a silent, gloomy crew indeed as
we thrust the surfboat afloat, clam-
bored in and shipped the oars. No one
spoke a word; no one had a comment
to make, even when we saw the rook-
ery slide into the water While we were
still fifty yards from the beach. We
pulled back slowly along the coast.
Beyond the rock we made out the en-
trflnce to the dry cave.
"There's seal in there!" cried Handy
Solomon, "Lots of 'coal"
Ito thrust the rudder over, and we
headed for the cave. No one express-
ed an opinion.
As it was again high tide, we rowed
In to the steep shore inside the cave's
mouth and beached the boat. The
place was full of seals. We could
hear them bellowing.
"Two of you stand here," shouted
IIandy Solomon, "and take them as
they go out! We'll go in and scare
'em down to you!"
"They'll run over us!" screamed
Pulz.
"No, they won't, You can dodge up
the sides when they go by."
This was indeed well possible,' so
WO gripped our clubs and ventured in-
to the darkness.
We advanced four abreast, for the
cave was wide enough for that. As
we penetrated the bellowing and bark-
ing became more deafening. It was
impossible to see anything, although
we felt an indistinguishable tumbling
mass receding before our footsteps.
Thrackles swore violently as he stem -
bled over a laggard. With uncanny
abruptuess the black wall of darkness
in front of us was alive with fiery
eyeballs. The seals had reached the
end of the caye and had turned toward
us, We, too, stopped, a little uncertain
as to how to proceed.
The first plan had been to get behind
the band and drive it slowly toward
the entrance to the cave. This Was
now seen to be impassible. The cav-
ern was too narrow, Its sides at this
point too steep and the animals too
thickly congested. Our eyes, becom-
ing accustomed to the twilight, now
began to make out dimly the individ-
ual bodies of the seals and the general
configuration of the rocks. Ono big
bowlder lay directly in our path, like
an island in the shale of the cave's
floor. Perdosa :stepped to the top of
it for a better look. The men attempt-
ed to communicate their ideas of what
was to be clone, but could not make
themselves heard above the uproar. 1
could see their faces contorting with
the fury of being bated. A. big bull
made a dash to get by. All the herd
flippered after bins. If be had won
past, they would have followed as
obstinately as sheep and nothing could
have stopped them, but the big ball
went down beneath the clubs. Thrac-
kles hit the animal two vindictive
blows after it had succumbed.
This settled the revolt, and we stood
as before. Puiz and Handy Solomon
tried to converse by signs, but evident-
ly failed, for their faces showed augry
in the twilight. Perdosa, on his rock,
rolled and lit a cigarette. Thrackles
paced to and fro, and the nigger lean-
ed on his club farther down the cave.
They had been left at the entrance,
but now in lack of results had joined
their companions.
Now Thrackles approached and
screamed himself black trying to im-
part some plan. He failed, but stoop-
ed and picked up a stone and threw it
into the mass of seals. The others un-
derstood. A shower of stones follow-
ed. The animals milled like cattle,
bellowed the louder, but would not
face their tormentors. Finally an old
cow flopped by in a panic. I thought
they would have let her go, but she
died a little beyond the bull. No more
followed, although the men threw
stones as fast and as hard as they
were able. Their faces were livid with
anger, like that of an evil tempered
man wi'tsr an obstinate horse.
Suddenly Handy Solomon put his
TIM W1NCellikel. TIMES, AUGUST 19 Wins/
Was Taken Very tit with
DIARRHOEA.
WAS WEAK AND DISCOURAGED.
DR. FOWLER'S
EXTRACT OF
WILD STRAWBERRY
CURED !-l1Nl.
Mr. T. W. Robertson, Elm Valley, Man.,
writes:•—"I was taken very ill with diarr-
hoea, and tried everything I had ever
heard of, as being good for it, but, with-
out success until I was finally advised to
try Dr. Fowler's Extract of Wild Straw-
berry. I was so week and discouraged
that I didn't expect to derive much bane -
fit from it,but I am happy to say, that,
after I hataken two doses I was greatly
relieved, and a few more entirely cured
ate. I shall always he pleased•to recom-
mend your medicine to all sufferers and
I consider myself fortunate to get such
a marvelous relief after expecting to die."
We wish to warn the public against
being imposed on by unscrupulous
p 1era who substitute he so-called
leat
dealers
";strawberry Compounds" for Dr, Fow-
ler's.
• If you want to be on the safe side, ask
for I)r. Fowlers Extract of Wild Straw-
berry and insist on getting what you ask
for.
The original is nanufsetured only by
The T. Milburn Co., Limited, Toronto,
Ont. Price 35e.
7
heart StreMth
ntri nth, Strength,
r N r.e rWeakness-nothing Heart
nioi t . Pos-
itive/Y.
not one weak heart in a hundred is. in it-
a,It, ec•tually diseased. It is ethicist always is
h•.kb'n tiny little nerve that really is all at fault..
This obscure nerve -the Cardiac', or IBeart Nerve
--,-haly needs. and untst have, more rower, more
stability, nve( controlling, more uovernine.
strength. Without that the Heart mut contitur
to h il, and the stomach incl kidneys also hav
ti ar t' euotroliin . nerves.
%his clearly rxplah s why, as a medleme, I'r
Pete
Restorative etive he s lu the pint (lone ,'o nut( t,
f• week end ailing Hearts. hr. shoot) first seam,
it e ••, use of all this painful, lrtipttiiiott. s:r;c ., t•
: g heart clistr"s'1. Dr. Shoop's Re-htrntfrt.--tr.':
•A etch end ( wash, en-is
nerve entrr...'t'It t1, icl
it strengthens: it off rd reel, genuine heart nein.
yen wenl+l 1,r t'' strong 11,•0 its, str,'' ;
tion, strengthen thew ,.nerves- re.otttblisc
es net.4ed. with
n
liicl "
.ilr•
e
WALLEY'S DRUG STORE.
head down and with a roar distiuctly
audible even above the din that filled
the cave charged directly into the herd.
[ saw the beasts cringe before him. I
caw his club rising and falling Indis-
erinainately, and then the whole back
of the cave seemed to rise and come
at us.
This was no thence of sport now,
but a struggle for very Life. We real-
ized that once down there would be
no hope, for while the seals were more
anxious to escape than to fight we
knew that their jaws were powerful.
There vas no time to pick and choose.
We hit out with all the strength and
quickness we possessed. It was like
a bad dream, like struggling with an
elusive hydra headed monster, knee
high, invulnerable. We hit, but with-
out apparent effect. New heads rose,
the press behind increased. We gave
ground. We stnggered, struggling des-
perately to keep our feet.
How long this lasted I cannot tell.
It seemed hours. I know my arms be-
came leaden from swinging my club.
My eyes were full of sweat. My breath
gasped. A sharp pain in my knee
nearly doubled me to the ground, and
yet I remember clamping to the
thought that I must keep my feet,
keep my feet at any cost. Then all at
once I recalled the fact that I was
armed. I jerked out the short bar-
reled revolver and turned it loose in
their faces.
Whether the flash and detonation
frightened them, whether Perdosa,
still clinging to his rock, managed to
turn their attention by his flanking ef-
forts or whether, quite simply, the
wall of dead finally turned them back
I do not know, but with one accord
they gave over the attempt.
I looked at once for Handy Solomon
and was surprised to see him still
alive, standing upright on a ledge the
other side of the herd. His clothing
was literally torn to shreds, and he
wns covered with blood. But in this
plight he was not alone, for when I
turned toward my companions they,
too, were tattered, torn and gory. We
were a dreadful crew, standing there
in the half light, our chests heaving,
our rags dripping red.
For perhafes ten seconds no one
moved. Then with a yell of demoniac
rage my companions clambered over
the rampart of dead seals and attacked
the herd.
The seals were now cowed and de-
fenseless. It was a slaughter, and the
most debauching and brutal I have
ever known. I bad hit out with the
rest when it had been a question of
defense, but from this I turned aside
in a sick loathing. The men seemed
possessed of devils and of their unnat-
ural energy. Perdosa cast aside the
club 'and took to bis natural weapon,
the knife. I can see him yet rolling
over and over and embracing a big
cow, his head jammed in an ecstasy of
ferocity between the animal's frons
flippers, his legs clasped to hold her
body, only his right hand rising and
falling as he plunged his knife again
and again, She struggled, turning him
over and under, wept great tears and
fairly whined with terror and pain,
Finally she was still, and Perdosa stag`
gered to his feet, only to stare about
him drunkenly for a moment before
throwing himself with a screech on an-
other victim.
The nigger alone did not jump into
the turmoil. He stood just down the
cave, his club ready. Occasionally e
disorganized ruSh to escape Would be
made. The nigger's lips snarled and
with a truly orad enjoyment he beat
the poor animals back.•
I pressed against the wall horrified,
fascinated, unable either to interfere
or to leave. After a little a tiny
stret&nm. growing each moment, began
to flow past nay feet. It sought its
channel daintily, as streamlets do, feel'
Ing among the stones in eddies, quiet
pools, miniature falls anti rapids. 'For
the moment 1 did trot realize whet it
Could be. Then the light von;:ht it
delta who're the trigger waited. and I
saw it was red.
At first the racket of th•e seals W1114
overpowering. Now gt•adeelly it was
losing violent'e. 1 1 e nin, to h,'ni' tee
binsphelnles. ferocio1s tries. smelting
of anger hurled egitn:t the cavo wells
by the teen, The thit'k. etic'.cy smell
grew stt'onget•. the 1I:t'tt seemed to
grow dimmer. as thota:'t It (ste tl a tt
burn in that fetid nits .1 e'en1 came
e , nee He mare .,tl-:in
,t at t.i-:i t
nee 'Tooted 1 nl t
from tier ryas. Then :rho Mitt✓rr,l
atfitleswly away, out of her tutor wi;s
with terror'. The sight finished mo
I staggered name the length of t:u•
black tunnel to the boat.
After n long Interval n little three
n eths' pup waddled dawn to the eel
terns edge, aught .slght of rue e,n't
with a squeal of fright, dived far.
Poor little devil! I would not have
hurt Hint for worlds. As far as I
know, this was the only survivor of
all that Ilerll.
The men soon appeared, ono by one,
tired, sleepy eyed, glutted, walking in
a catlike trance of satiety. They were
blood and tatters from head to foot,
and from drying red masks peered
their bloodshot eyes. Not a word sald
they, but tumbled. into the boat, push-
ed off, and in a monient we were float-
ing to the full sunshine again.
We rowed home in au abstraction.
For the moment Berserker rage had
burned itself out. handy Solomon
continually wetted his lips, like an ani-
mal licking its chops. Thrackles stared
into space through eyes drugged with
killing. No one spoke.
We lauded in the cove and were sur-
prised to dud it iu shadow. The after-
noon was far advanced. Over the hill
n -e dragged ourselves and down to the
spring. There the men threw them-
selves flat and drank in great gulps
until they could drink uo more. We
built a fire, but the nigger refused to
cook.
"Some one ease turn," he growled.
"I cook aboard ship."
Perdosa, who had hewed the fuel, at
once became angry,
"I cut heem de wood," he said. "I
do my share. Eef I cut heem de wood
you mus' cook 'teem de grub!"
But the nigger shook his head, and
Perdosa went into an ecstaey of rage.
He kicked the fire to pieces. Ile scat-
tered the unburned wood up and down
the beach. Ile even threw some of it
into the sea.
"Eef you no cook heem de grub you
no hab my wood!" he shrieked, with
enough oaths to sink his soul.
Finally Pulz interfered.
"Here, you foreigners," said he,
"quit it! Let up, I say! We got to
eat. You let that wood. alone or you'll
pick it up again!"
Perdosa sprang at hint with a
screech. Pulz was small, but nimble,
and understood rough and tumble
fighting. He met Perdosa's rush with
two swift blows, a short arm jab and
an uppercut. Then they clinched and
in a moment were rolling over and
over just beyond the wash of the surf.
The row waked the nigger from his
sullen abstraction. He seemed to come
to himself with a start; his eye fell
surprisedly on the combatants, then lit
up with an unholy joy. Ile drew his
knife and crept down on the fighters.
It was too good an opportunity to pay
off the Mexican,
But Thrackles interfered sharply.
"Come off" he commanded. "None
o' that!"
"Go to h—l!" growled the nigger.
A great rage fell on them all, blind
and terrible, like that leading to the
slaughter of the seals. They fought
indiscriminately, hitting at each other
with fists and knives. It was difficult
to tell who was against whom. The
sound of heavy breathing, dull blows,
the tear of cloth and grunts of punish-
ment received; the swirl of the sand,
the heave of struggling bodies, all riv-
eted my attention, so that I did not
see Captain Ezra SeIover until he stood
almost at my elbow.
"Stop!" he shrieked in, his high,
falsetto voice.
And would you believe it, even
through the blood haze of their com-
bat the men heard him and heeded?
They drew reluctantly apart, got to
their feet, stood looking at him through
reeking brows half submissive and
half defiant. The bullheaded Thrackles
even took a half step forward, but
froze in his tracks when Old Scrubs
looked at him.
"I hire you men to fight when I tell
you to and only then," said the captain
sternly. "What does this mean?"
He menaced them one after another
with his eyes, and one after another
they quailed. And their plottings,
their threats, their dangerousness dis-
sipated like mist before the command
of this one resolute man. These pirates
who had Seemed so dreadful to me
now were nothing mope than cringing
schoolboys before their master.
And thea suddenly to my horror 1,
watching closely, saw the captain's
eye turn blank. I am sure the men
must have felt the change, though cer-
tainly they were too far away to see
it, for they shifted by ever so little
from their first frozen attitude. The
captains hand sought his pocket, and
they froze again, but instead of the
expected revolver he produced a half
full brandy bottle.
The change in his eyes had crept into
his features. They had turned foolish-
ly amiable, vacant, confiding.
"'L lo, boys," said he appealingly.
"You good fellows, ain't yeti? Have a
drink. 'S good stuff. Good 01' bottl'.'
Ito lurched, caught himself and ad-
vanced toward them, still with the
empty smile.
They stared at him for ten seconds,
quite at a loss. Then:
"Ice's drunk!" Handy Solomon
breathed, scarcely louder than a 'whis-
per.
There was no other signal given.
They sprang as with n single impulse.
One instant I saw clear against the
waning daylight the bulky, foolish
swaying form of Captain SeIover, the
nest it had disappeared, carried down
and obliterated by the rush of attaek-
Ing bodies. Knives gleamed teddy in
the snnsot. There was no struggle. I
beard a deep groan. Then the murder -
ors rose slowly to their feet
I
CHAPTER :tie.
HAD plenty of time; to tun
away. I do not know why I
did not do so, but the fact
stands that I retrained where
I was until they bad finished Captain
Selover. 'Then I took to my heels, but
was soon cornered. I drew' any _meetly-
er, remetnbereii that I had emptied it
in the seal cavo and had tine for no
more coherent mental processes. A
smothering weight flung itself on Me,
mununurnnun.1111 unuun.utrn++ninn,moumnue. ...
x.01)"
i..—__rug.
i7egetablle PreparationforAs-
similatll giheFoadi'tndRegtila-
ling the Stcivachs can r,.Bnwcls of
tilat
Promotes Di4es lion,Cheerful-
nessand Rest.Contai ns neither
Opium,Morphiae Por Niimera1.
NOT li etIC: OTIC:.
t br ,titin G c,'I'
iYl,lx.d.nna •
RAO..
z..v Seitt •
,7tppc,mrnt -
,ttt
047-6,rn 7& .r,a&&rr
/?iYm Je. -
�ai!(ulfe,cnr
,',perfect F:' -mecca for Constipa-
tion, Sour SWr:acti,Diarrhoea,
lVor'ms,Co ttvL.isi,.C,s,Fevcf i5.i-
ttess andLass OF SLEEP.
Facsimile Si;cerrtere of
NEW YORK.
IA
For Infants and Children,
Tho nal You Have
Always Bou t
'Cara the
Signature
of
In
Use
For Over
Thirty Years
,St a _,.,Vie'-:::rw:Y°t'esetee..'i:.'
THE CENTAUN COMPANY. NEW YORK
IA
etre.
against winch I struggled as hard as
I could, shrinking In anticipation from
the thirsty plunge of the knives. How-
ever, though the weight increased un-
til further struggle was impossible, I
was not harmed and in a few moments
found myself, wrists and ankles tied,
beside a roaring fire. While I collected
myself I heard the grate of a boat be-
ing shoved off from the cove and a
few moments later made out lights
aboard the Laughing Lass.
The Iooting party returned very
shortly. Their plundering had gone
only as far as liquor and arms, Thrac-
kles let down from the cliff top a keg
at the end of a Iine. Perdosa and the
nigger each carried an armful of the
30-40 rifles. The keg was rolled to the
fire and broached.
The men got drunk, wildly drunk,
but not helplessly so. A flame commu-
nicated itself to them through the
liquor. The ordinary characteristics of
their composition sprung into sharper
relief. The nigger became more sullen,
Perdosa more snakelike, Pulz more
viciously evil, Thrackles more brutal,
while Handy Solomon, staggering
from his seat to the open keg and back
again, roaring fragments of a chanty,
his red headgear contrasting with his
smoky black hair and his swarthy hook
nosed countenance—he needed no fur-
ther touch.
Their evil passions were all awake,
and the plan, so long indefinite, devel-
oped like a photographer's plate.
"That's one gone," said Thrackles.
"And now the diamonds," muttered
Pulz.
"There's a ship upon the windward, a
wreck upon the lee.
Down on the coast of tho high Bar -
bare -e -e,"
roared Handy Solomon. "It's the best
night's work we ever did. The stuff's
ours. Then it's me for a big stone
house in Frisco 0!"
"Frisco!" sneered Pulz. "That's all
you know. You ought to travel. Paris
for me and a little girl to learn the
language from."
"I get heem a fine caballo an' fine
saddle an' fine clo's," breathed Perdosa
sefitimentally. "I ride and the silver
jingle and the senorita look" --
"What you want, doctor?" they de-
manded of the silent nigger.
But the nigger only rotted' his eyes
and shook his head. By and by he
arose and disappeared in the dusk and
was no more seen.
"0— fool:" muttered Bandy Soto -
mon. "Well, here's to crime!"
lie drank a deep cup of the rase
rum and staggered bacit to his seat on
the sands.
"'1 am nota man -o' -war, nor a priva-
teer,' saict he,
Blow high, blow low: what care we!
'But I am to jolly pirate, and I'm sailing
for my fee;
town on the coast of the high Ilar-
bare-e-e.'
he sang. "We'll land In 'Valparaiso
anti we'll go every man his way, and
we'll sin!: the old Laughing Lass so
deep the mermaids can't find her."
Thrackles piled on more woed, and
the fire leaped high.
"Let's get after 'one" said he.
"Tomorrow's jes"'s good," stuttered
Pnlz. "Les' hav' 'uother drink."
"We'll stay here 'n see if our of
frten' Percy don' show up," said Tlan-
dy Solomon. He threw back his head
and roared forth a volume of sound
toward the dtm stars.
"Broadside to broadside the gallant ships
did lay,
Blow high, blow low; what earn wet
''111 the Jolly man-o"war shot the pirate's
Wiest away,
.Down on the coast of the high Sar-
bare -e -e."
I sant* near me it live coal dislodged
frotu the lire when Thrackies had
-....._ ...aa - .iu •'tea
ll,uiQ�t!(I� �1l�d1114,: �:•-�-'.�..-�..::".�!,�;?,-`„ ; ;(ie�:,��; iut,�Y+.
At the edge of the wash 1 could make
out something prone, dim, limp. .
thrown on the armful of wood. An
Idea came to me. I hitched myself to
the spark and laid across it the rope
with which my wrists were tied. This,
behind my back, was not easy to ac-
complish, and twice I burned niy
wrists before I succeeded. Fortunate-
ly I was at the edge of the illumina-
tion and behind the group. I turned
over on my side So that my back was
toward the fire. Then rapidly I cast
loose my ankle lashings. Thus I was
free, and selecting a moment when
universal attention was turned toward
the rum barrel I rolled over a sand
dune. got to my hands and knees and
crept away.
Through the coarse grass I crept
thus to the very entrance of the ar-
royo, then rose to my feet. In the
middle distance the fire leaped red.
Its glow fell intermittently on the
surges rolling in. The men staggered
or lay prone, either as gigantic eil-
houettes or as tatterdeinelions palate
(To be Continued),
CATARRH
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