The Atlanta constitution., 1894-05-14


ness, pining for the fresh air and the sun
shine and wondering how much longer /
was to wait for Back S summons to emerge,
the hatch raised. / shrank and held
my breath, with my hand grasping the
biscuit poised midway to my mouth, as
though / had been withered by a blast of
lightning. A faint sheen foated in the lit
tie square. 1t was the dim luSter of dis
tant lamplight whence [ guessed it was
night. The figure of q man cautiously
dropped through the hatchWay and by some
means, and all very silently. he contrived TO
readjust the hatch. shutting himself down
as Back had shut me down. The motion of
the ship, as ! have said, was gentle the
cTealIing noises throughout the working
fabric were dim ana distant: indeed, /
could hear the man breathing as he seemed
to pause after bringing the hatchWay to
its bearings over his head. | did not sup
pose that the captain ever entered this part
of the ship. The man. for all | could con-
lecture might be one of the mates or the
boatsWain or the head steward. visiting the
laZarette on some errand of duty and COM
ing down very quietly that the passengers
who slept in the cabins on either hand the
corridor should not be disturbed. Accord
ingIy I shrank into the cOmpactest posture
l could comfort myself into and watched
A lucifer match was struck; the flame
threw out the figure Of man standing
on the cargo just under the hatch. II
pulled out a little bulls-eye lamp from his
pocket and lighted it and carefully eXtin-
guished the match. The lOng, misty beam
Of the magniGed flame swept the interior
like the revolving spoke of q wheel as the
man slowly turned the lens about in crit
teal search of the place, himself being in
blacl<ness. The line OF light broke on the
cask behind which [ crouched and left me
In deep shade unperceiYed. After some
minutes of this sort OL examination the
man came a little way forward and
crouched down upon bale or something Of
the sort directly abreast of the casks,
through whose cant-lines 1 was peering.
He opened the lamp and placed it beside
him; the light was then full upon his hg-
ure.
lie might have been an officer of the ship
for all | knew. His ures5 was not dis
tinguishable. but l had his face very plain
in my sight. He was extremely pale; his
nose was long and aquiIine; he wore mus
tache, whiskers and short beard, black, but
well streaked with gray. His eyebrows
were bushy and dark; his eyes Were black
and the reflected lamplisht Shot in CLEANS
from them like to the level spoke OF radi-
ance with which he had swept this laza-
rette. His hair was unusually long even
for that age of the fashion and his being
without a hat made me guess he was not
from the deck, though l never doubted
that he was one of the ships company.
When he opened the bulIs-eye lamp and
SCI ii down ne drew something OUT of his
pocket which gIittered in his hand 1
stra d nay sight, yet should not have
n .nased TO make out what he grasped
btn for his holding it close to the light; [
>, See> ,hat j.. was q small circular brass
x itrtt.. loet"N C,s3.t.'c~. !rl.s.-
whose side fcl length of black line he
then shut tue lamp auo flashed it upon
what l saw was medium-sized barrel,
such perhaps as brewer would call
four and a half gallon cask. II rested en-
lis bilge, after the manner in which the
casks behind which L lay hidden We're
slowed.
now saw him pull a sple or spike of
wood out of the head OF the barrel and
insert the end of the black line attached
to the small blacl, piece in the oritice This
done he fitted a key to the brass box and
wound it up. He may have taken t"caly
turns with The key; the lalaretta VAS 50
ouieu that | could ustincLiy hear The harsh
grit OF the mechanism as il "eVolt ltea. All
the While he was thus employed lie pre-
served his scrOWHn8 smile and Whispered 10
himself, After he had wound up the piece
Of clockworll he placed it on the bale where
his lamp stood ana taking the light made
for the hatchway, underWhich he CAME TO
a stand whilst ne eNtnGuished the bun $
eye. [ then heard him replace the hatch
and knew he was gone.
The arrangement he had wound up licked
- 49,, 1II,i5e of = Outch clock. nae but
lit+la I,,.afns in those GAYS as [ have told
,.o11 and i'm sad truth [ am not ov 2rloaGed
t+}, Nat ,,arricular sort Of cargo at tEIs
l,,. I,,t was not such q "Jol dS lot to
he ,bIe to guess what the man intended
do and what that hollow, desperate
tfcl-i,]o, gis7ifisd. on, my sreat God, L
+,a,,a@l,t 70 myself, it is an internal machine
,1 no shin viii be blown up!
~, horror and fright went far beyonl
+,1@ naraIyzing form; they ran d sort Of
madness into my blood and VltaIized I1(
i,,to desDerate instant action. Utterly heed
les now Of hurting and Wounding myself
scrambled over the casks, ana directed
nv the noise Of the ticking, stretched toru
NV hand and grasped the brass machine
7 fercely tugGed it, then feeling t0r the
slow match, rs / guessed the line to De,
ran # through my fingers to make sure
had pulled that end out Of the barrel Th'
murderOus thing licked in my hand with TIE
energy Of ii hotIy-reVolVed capstan, while
I stood breati ing snort, COlSlueflnS VIVA
[ should DO whilst the pelspiration soakeC
through my clothes as though a bucket O
oil had been upset over me. Heavens! tn,
horror of standing in that black lazarettt
with an internal machine ticking in my
hands and a large barrel of guppoWder, a:
| easily guessed, within reach of a kick o
my FOOT [ trembed in every limb an(
sWeatcd at every pore ana seemed to wan
brains enough 10 tell me what ought mex