The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1890-11-14

"Well. air, said Ben. A. he got on Ills
pins, and strapped ON hia cutlass, there he
IL. sir! and as neat q piece Of cross -lsshing
% ever did. He looks as IL he had grow
ed there, jist like hawk. bill turtle a.bilin'
inthe ships coppsrs only he can't paddle
about.
And what did that doctor propose to do
with him. In case he was not TO be stung to
death BY insects. sand. dies, mosquitoes,
and what not?
.Lift the trestle for the last time, men,
and Ak II here over this thick bed Of cactus,
as the little Abger may touch the letter
on this white tombstone"
Now Captain Brands doubts were reliev.
ed. and he knew what was coming. 0 no!
no! qs.4. r
there! that is right! Now collect stones
and rocks, and wall this trestle up solid to
the edge Of the frame 80 that hurricane
can't loscn It,"
Big Danou went to work now, and pres
emily his job was done; coral rocks and
loose headstones Of pirates, we'll packed
down with sand, made the sides Of the liv-
ing tomb. Then the black pail was drawn
over the body, and they left the pirate to his !
inevitable doom. ,.a+.
Soon the three executioners reached the
Tigers Trap.
sBanou, take this locket and chain-eh,
You know it well-to your young master.
Brown, the two thousand dollars will be
placed in your and Greenfields hands for
distribution among the schooner's crew;
make good use Of it! Tell the comlno-
Gore that shall take an old woman we have
found here away with me in stolen fisher
mans boat to Munzanillo, and within tho
year shall be Mt home! There! shove OF,
my lads!"
Vain boast! Paul Darcentel had forgot
ten that Vengeance is mine. will repay,
saith the Lord. And he was punished for
the torture he inflicted on the infamous
pirate, b. never again beholding his home
or Henri. Neither the doctor nor Ignacio's
widow were ever heard of again.
As the gig skinned through the Tigers
Trap, Paul Darcantel with the widow Of
her Ignacio, sailea out by the Allgator's
mouth; apd rs they crossed that roaring
ledge, the sun sunk in its unclouded glory
in the west, and the young moon. with its
pearly crescent. looking timidly down upon
the island.
And the night passed, and the next, and
the next, with scorching days and blazing
suns between them; while the mangrove.
the palm. the cocoa nut. and the cactus
ali! that luxuriant plant-throve apace,
shooting up its steel-pointed bayonets two
AuShCS Va I" hSaV III tAoAuS ucuuleS Ub tulck
MS pins in paper; growing clean through
the hide ofox or man like blood, till their
hard-edged leaves met resistance, when
turning fiat side up they put forth score
for one of the neddle bayonets. No escaDe
from them! From shoulder to heel one
long. hopeless agony. The fierce sun fam.
ing down. absorbed by the black pail of
death! The moon glimmering in pale white
rays OF splendor through the moth-eaten
holes upon the finger and tho white tomb
stone! All the day and all the night!
Was it IL dream. Captain Brand? No! A
frightful reality! Don't you feel q fresh
thorn Mt every slow pulse Of the heart they
ore aiming at? And don't you hear those
dread croakings Of gulls and cormorants,
tapping in the air, who have left their prey
on the reef to join their vultures in their
feast on the shore? You may always catch
the grating sounds of the rasping jaws of
the sharks, MS they crowd into the inlet, and
rest their cold noses on the shelly cove
where you slept!
Fleshan blood, and pinions and beaks
can endure it no longer! A cloud of car
nivorous birds swoop down Mt last. snap
the black pail in their talons and bills, ana
fly, fighting and screaming away with it.
Another cloud, darker than the rest, lights
upon the body, and while the needle points
pierce the palpitating heart, and the breath
hutters en- the still, clenched lips and nos
trils, the eyes are picked out, and the flesh
is torn piecemeal, b ide strands and all, till
nothing is loft but hideous white skele.
ton. with the long, bony finger pointing to
the letter l..
THE END OF CAPTAIN BRAND"