St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-07-05

darkness, and that dim light came
| from somewhere, but not from bove,
was sure. Presently a nuft1ed
| eroan reached me from the direction
of the stern, and on looking over
nv shoulder. l saw the STOPPING
form of a man outlined by the rays
of lantern in front of him, about
twenty feet away.
l gained my feet with some diff
fcultv and was about TO step tor
ward, when the ship gave lurch
and | was thrown lengthwise
against the hull. Before l could
stand up again, the bent form as
sumed an upright posture and |
recognized the big Dane. Mutterlng
incoherently, he picked up the lantern
and started toward the place where
l had first fallen, off to my left.
Whether it was fear, the shock
caused by striking the hull, or the
effects of the chloroform kept me
from trying to get up, am not
prepared to say, but l did not at
tempt to move hand or foot.
AS the light drew near, l discover
ed a rope dangling from the deck.
When the Dane drew near this rope,
he deposited his lantern beside him,
rubbed big hard hands together
with a loud, rasping noise, and
laughed a low, hendish sort OF
| chuckle, which fairly chilled my
blood. A moment later, his merrl-
ment subsidized, and taking hold OF
the rope with one hand, he picked up
the lantern with the other. l ex-
pected to see him run his arm
through the handle of the lantern
and 90, hand over hand, through the
hatchway, but he was in no hurry
and began to talk in a harsh under
tone
so far so good, King Qvistgard, ="
he said. "A million pounds of dia-
monds, sewed up in sacks of silk,
and all my own. Oh, what a royal
present for my ebony princess
Fifteen days more and shall
reign supreme The two mates and
the captain are now my loyal sub
iect and tomorrow night the passen-
ger will join them. Then comes me
hearties, Hutton and the little
Welshman, and so on down the list.
Ha, ha, ha, hal"
Never until that awful moment
had [ heard the bloodcurdling
laugh of maniac, but l recognized
it as quickly as if | had passed all
nv DAYS inside the walls of mad
house. Before l knew 1t, my
strength, or courage, or both, sud-
denly returned, and l arose cautious
lv to my feet, discovering at the
same time the revolver whic had
fallen from my hand when stumbled
on the deck. 1t was lying almost at
the feet OF the Dane. Advancing
slowly, stopped and was about to
pick up the weapon; but before l
could get hold of it the ship lurched
again, | collided with the mailman,
and we both went down together.
The revolver esca ped me, the light
in the lantern was extinguished, and
there was a scream, a piercing cry OF
fright and anguish, such as only a
terror-striken mailman can after.
And then, with that awful Shrek
ringing in my ears and the strong
fingers of the demented Dane clutch
ing nv throat, became insensible.
When consciousness returned, l
was living in my berth; it was day
light, and Hutton was standing be-
side me. AS soon as l was able to
talk, he told me that just after dark,
on the previous evening, horrible
cry was heard coming fromthe direc-
ton of the main hatchway, and that
when the little Welshman and several
other sailors rushed to the spot, the
raving Dane was seen to climb up a
rope from the hold. AS soon as he
gained the deck, he ran screaming to
the rail and threw himself into the
sea. l was found more dead than
alive, and taken to my cabin. Soon
after the captain and the two mates
were discovered, gagged and bound
near the spot where had first seen
the Dane. The captain recovered
from the effects Of the chloroform
which had been administered to him,
and was removed with the two Of
fcers, who were still alive, but too
weak and exhausted to stand on
their feet for many hours.
In two days all had recovered, and
the "Plupging Petrol" was manned
and differed as before, save for the
absence of Bates and the big Dane.
All went we'll to the end ofthe voyage
The mutiny was only myth in
the mind of the madman.-[ Romance
for July.
,-ao,,;,a hundred fhO11