Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-08

| them marksmen. vehs shot at anything that
moved. and who had a. little compunction
In dropping prisoner 10 any other sports
man would have IN knscking over q part
| ridge. br :
10. ada to Captain Kettles tally of dan
! gers. the phospheeesceRce that night was
breasted 1t; his wake WAS lit with streams
OF silver fire; his whole body stood out like
shoulder Of fanle o. cloth of black
velvet. HIS presence moved upon the face
| He was an illuminatef target for every
rine that chose to sight him, and far worse.
ne was hery bait briSht enough to draw
every shark In the Caribbean. And sharks
! sWarmed there. Hills limbs crept as he
swan with them. : 81
| 10 move fast was to increase the phos-
| phorescence. to move slew was to linger in
tnat horrible suspense and think it is one
VI the nlsheSt testimonials to Kettles in
| domlnabie courage when l can say that not
cnce during that CHASTITY voyage did he
| either hurry or scurry or splash. He was
| prey 10 the most abominable dread; he
| eNpenaeu one ana a. half hours over an
| nours swim. and 1t seemed to him a space
| OF years; and when he grounded on the
| peach OF the Isle de Salut he was almost
ldih a from the strain OF his emotions.
| anu LOT a while lay on the sand, sobblng
| IKE an hysterical school girl.
| but sound revived him and sent full
energy Into his limbs again without a
| prelude From the distance there came tn
him the noise of shod feet crunchinr with
| regulation tread along the shingle. He
| was iylnS In the track or Il sentry's beat
by instinct his hand dragged the revolver
| from It's beckets ON his cap, and then he
iosc 10 MS Feet ana dnrtct away like some
| sum. PINK ghost across the beach into the
| shelter or the thickrta. lie lay there hold
ing ms breath. and watched the sentry pace
| up on his patrol 1t was evident that the
man had not seen him. the fellow neither
SEthceu toward the cover nor searched the
Deacn Tor root tracks: and yet he carried
MS rifle in the crook of his arm ready for
a snapshot, and filckercd his ewes to this
SIDE and to that like II man haMtuajIv
framed to sudden alarms and q quick trig-
ger nnser. HIS every movement was eio-
Suent OF the care with which the Isle de
Salut was warded.
Kettle waited till the man had o,o,o oce
INTO the dark again and the soundless dis
lance ana then stepped out from his am
nush' ana ran at speed along the dim star
it beach. The sandpits sprang backwards
from his flying toes and the birds IN ths
forest rim moved uneasily as he passed
ne little man was seabred first and last
ana ne mad no knowledge of woodcraft a
silent stork was flight far beyond him
and he raced along his Way. revoIver IN
nana. confident that he. could shoot any in
.luuihs sentry before a rifle could he
brought II bear.
VI course the discharge of weapons would
nave walked the isle and brought tho wboia
wasp nest about his ears But this WIS a
state OF things he could have faced ont
or Throughout all his stormy life
ne mad never yet shirked melee and nor
maps immunity from serious harm had
even MN an over-estimate of the percent
age Oh bullets which goes astrav Al ony
Ia, ,aoe .he thr1ii of brisk fighting was a pleas
ure ne well knew. and he never went for
out OF his way TO avoid it. Rut as ~
Vas Vas ne sped along his path unnoticed
th ne piuIoers OF chance threatened him
tn: the shadows and the chain of SEN
tr!es SO that no living soul picked IN the
a'arm. till at last he pulled IN nantipg -,
;ne cage OF the open space which hedged
IN the grim convict barrack itself
III. nv now wv. began hateful tedium of
waiting. The day he had fixed with Clara
was the right one: the hour of the renTaz-
Vcus was vague. He had said .as near
,niohisht as maybe" in his message. bur
ne was only able to guess at the time him
seif. and he expected that Clare was In .
similar plight. Anyway, the man was not
ttere, and Kettle 'gnawed his fingers with
III nauence as he awaited him.
Inc night under the winking stars yD,s
Iuil or noise. In the forest trees the Ia
MES, and the tree crckets. and tho ko1v
Gus, Kept up their maddenins chorus Tho
ufbniai ins mosquitoes scented the naked
ran ran from afar, and put every inch of his
bcdy to the torment The moist damn
neat of the place made Kim pant 70 Get
Els breath. The prison itself was ruII of
| Inc uneasy rust1Tng OF nen sleeping in dis
eclnIort. ana at regular intervals some
crazy wretch within the walls cried o,,t
Dieu, Dieu, Dieu,' as, though he were n
| human cuckoo clock condemned to china
alter stated lapses of minutes, -.
An honr passed and still the uneasy night
dczed ON without notice that a prisoner
was trying to escape. Another hour Went
| by, ana Captain Kettle began to contem
plate the possibilities of attacking the pyjn,
oulidlng With his own, itching fingers. and
| Dragging Clare forth in the teeth of what
| ever opposition might befaH. "Dieu. DieI1.
| Dieu, rang out the tormented man within
.he VANS, and then from round the fur
,Eer angle OF the place figure came run
| ning. who stared wildly about him rs
| thougn in search of some one
Kettle stepped cut from his nook Of con-
Garment, a clear, pale mark in the star
,lsn.. me runier s"erved. stopped and
| hesltated. Kettle beckoned him and raced
up The little sailor thrust out a moi #
hand. You'll be Mr.. Clare, sir, 1 pre-
| sume?" h
| Yes"
I'm very pleased to have the honor of
! meeting you. I'm Captain Kettle, that was
asked as d favor by Miss Carnegie"
Let US get away. quickly. They will be
| alter me directly and if they catch me
| shall be shot. Mr.. Kettle, quick, where
| is your bOat?"
But the little naked man did not bulge.
80. am accustomed; sir" he said stifly,
| Ito having my title
Il don't understand. Oh aftcryard. Rut
| let us get away now at once"
| Captain Kettle, sir"
| captain Kettle. certainly But this
waiting may cost us our lives"
Il am not anxious to take root here
| SIR, but as for the boat you've a good
| swim ahead of you before you reach that. J."
| And he told of the way he had come.
There was no other plan for it, Mr. Clare.
| 1t would have been sheer fooishness to
| have brought my boat to this island with
| all these busy people with guns proving
about 1 had just got to leave her at nav
| Headquarters, and you must make up your
| mind TO swim and risk the sharks if YOU
| wish to join her."
Il am open to riskng anything" said
Clare. Its neck or nothing with me after
what I did five minutes back in that hell
| over yCnder. One of the warders-' he
broke off and dragged hand across his
eyes. Look here, captain, we are bound
| to be seen if we go back round by the
beach. Come with me and I'll show YOU =
| track through the woods.
He started Off into the cover without
| waiting for reply, and Kettle with a
| trown, turned and followed at his heels.
Capt. Kettle preferred to do the ordering
himself, and this young man seemed apt to
assert command. However, the moment
was one for hurry. The night was begin
ming to thin. So he got up speed again,
and the trees and the underbrush closed
behind him.
"Dieu, dleu dieu," cried out the torment
ed prisoner within the wall as a parting
benedcticn.