Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-03-31


Il or not, and she'd be examined. Then
that intake valve couldn't be missed. and
It couldn't be explained away. Man. as
you know, the things as big as sluice
gate"
"All the bilge pumps In the gulf of
Mexico couldn't make Roadway against
that valve once it was fairly opened. It's
the quickest and cleverest way OF scut-
thing q steamboat ever heard of or read
about. But I don't quite see how the
valve is going to be turned"
"You leave that to me-"
lyon seem used to the game" said
Kettle, with half sneer.
mo, I'm not" returned the other
quickly. 1--WE never had my fingers in
anything SO ugly or SO dirty before, and
because don't want to have the expert
cnce over again I'm going to make this
turn to a big profit or get killed in the
trying. I'm tired and sick of this wild
bucketing life. A woman drove me to it,
but / believe II I had the means to settle
down in comfort now I could forget all
about her and wake up other new inter
ests.''
WELL" said Kettle, 81 hope We may
each Of us buy farm out of this racket,
but tell you straight I'm not oversweet
on the chances. To begin with, you and
can't handle this steamboat alone. It's
an absolute certainty we must have an
other hand to help US. You'll have to
take the wheel and pilot her through, If
you can, though that's mighty big job
for one man, and the odds are about ten
to one you'll pile her up somewhere. I've
got to BIO below. At pinch might drive
the engines, though don't know much Of
ho hr1t I do, hot m
two hole boilers and wheel Goals out of the
bunkers as well. Now think the dom
kcyman is the chap we want. He under
stands his way about down there, he's rs
strong as a winch, and I fancy he knows
which side his biscuits margarined.
Yes, I'm with you there. Wen have
the donkeyman If he'll come"
Then why not sound him nows'
Because I III hint of this Internal scheme
to no one till its fairly ablazc. Man, If n
ghosts whisper of it got about, the crew
would rise and grab us. pistols or no pis-
tolls. They'd have that amount of scare
in them, they'd walk straight up to a
Maxim gun. They'd trample us out of
existence before we could fairly look
round. No, my neck itches enough as
things are ct present, and if another man
on board now besides you knew what was
going to be done tonight should feel
bowline moose inside my collar, with half
a dozen hangmen beginning to tug ut it, "
''See here, Mr. Cambel,' - said the ship
master, ARE you getting sorry you came
out on this trip:''
The other laughed harshly. "Sorry!
Whatever have you got in your head now?
If do a thing, do it with my eyes open,
and make "a point of never indulging in
off W ~,
Kettle, I'm going through with this mat
ter, whether it succeeds or fails, whether
it is brought about without injury to a
single human soul or whether it costs the
last pant of breath from every man in this
ship. But l own to you I am nervous
The only things which we can be sure
will happen are the unexpected, and we
can't prepare for those, and the want of
preparation may ruin u.s.
Its big gamble" assented Kettle,
land wish 1 could say, May the Lord de-
fend the right But can't, and you can't,
and least of all Shelf can't. It's DEVILS
job anyway, and he don't always stand
by his men. The only thing is even Nick
can't diddle my wife and kids out of the
insurance I made for them; So personally
speaking. 1 don't much care what hap
pens. You go below to your room now
and get call of sleep. You'll want it,
And first, If you please, I'll shake hands
with You. We've never done it before, be-
cause n mods been enough other times,
but this is different. You're decentish
sort, and I fancy II that woman hadn Z
meddled you wouldn't have been ship
mates here with me tonight
They exchanged quick hand grip,
each looking rather ashamed of himself,
and then Cambel went down the bridge
ladder whistiing, and Owen Kettle reset.
tod himself in his campstool. When next
they met, the tragedy of the Port Edes
would have begun, and in it perhaps both
would die by any out of ten violent deaths
tTo BE CONTINUED