Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-06-11

or snuegiUG arms. BAT ne telt the night
10 be full Of eyes, and for a Havana
bound shin to leave the usual steam
lane which leads 10 the English channel
was equivalent TO a confession Of her
purpose from the outset. So ne took the
parallel rulers and penciled off on his
chart the stereotyped course which Just
clears Whitby and Marlborough Head
and the Sultan of Borneo was held
along this, steaming az her steady nine
knots, and it was not till she was out of
sight Of land Off Humber mouth and
the sea CHANGED to be desulate that he
starboarded his helm and stood off for
the ocean rendezvous.
A hand on the fore topsail yard pick
ed up the yacht outof the gray mists Of
dawn, and by eight bells they We're IL
ing hove to in the trough, with 100
yards of cold gray water tumhling be-
tween them The transshipment was
made in two lifeboats, and Kettle went
across and enjoyed an extravagant
breakfast in the yacht S cabin. The talk
was all upon the Cuban revolution.
Carnforth, the yacht S owner, brimmed
with it.
IF you can run the blockade, cap
tain, - said he, land land these rifles
and the Maxims and the cartridges,
they II be grateful enough TO put up n
statue to you. The revolution will end
in snap The Spanish troops are half
of them fever ridden aud all of them
discouraged. With these guns You are
carrying the patriots can shoot their
enemies over the edges of the island in
to the Caribbean sea. And there is no
reason why you should get stopped.
There are filibustering expeditions fitted
out every week from Key West and
Tampa and the other Florida ports, and
one or two have even started from New
York itself. .
'But they haven t got through, sug-
gested Captain Kettle.
"Not all of them,' Mr.. Carnforth
admitted "But, then, you see, they
sailed - gchooners, and you have got
steam. Besides, they started from the
States, where the newspapers knew all
about them, and so their arrival was
cabled ON to Cuba ahead, and you have
the advantage of sailing from an Eng
lish port. ="
Il don't see where the pull comes
in, = said Kettle gloomily. "There isn't
blessed country on the face of the
globe more interfering with her own
people than England. A Yankee can do
as he darn well pleases in the filibuster-
ing line, but if Britisher makes a
i,ot lox
stretches ont 90 hands and plucks him
back by the tail before he S half started.
No, Mr. Carnforth, I'm not sweet on
the chances I'm poor man, and this
means lot to me- That why IN anx
ious. You're rich. Ycu only stand to
lose the cost of the consignment, and if
that gets confscated it won't mean
much TO you.
Carnforth grinned. You pay my
business qualities a poor compliment,
captain. You can bet your life had
money down in hard cash before / STIR
red foot in the matter. The weapons
and the ammunition were paid for at
90 per cent above list prices. so as to
/ cover the trouble of secrecy, and got q
/ charter for the yacht to bring the stuff
4 out here which would astonish you if
you saw the figures. No, I'm clear of
the matter from this moment, captain,
but I'll not deny that | shall take an
interest in your future adventures with
the cargo. Help yourself to a cigarette. +"
"Then it seems TO me, /" said Kettle
acidly, THAT you'll look at me inst as
hare set on to run for your amuse-
ment.
The yacht owner laughed "You put
it brutally, he said, "but that about
the size of it. And, if you want further
truths, here's one: | shouldn't particu-
larly mind if you were caught
Flows that"
Because, my dear skipper, if the
Spanish captured this consignment, the
patriots would want another, and |
should get the order, whereas. if you
land the stuff safely, it will see them
through to the end of the war, and my
chance of making further profit will be
at an end.
"You have very clear way of put
ting it, " said Captain Kettle.
Haven't l? Which will you take
green chartreuse or Yellow"
And, Mr.. Gedge, can you tell me,
sir, how he stands over this business?"
"Oh, you bet Gedge knows when to
come in out of the wet! He's got the
old Sultan underwritten by the insur-
ance and by the Cuban agents up to
double her value, and nothing would
suit his books better than for Spanish
cruiser to drop upon you.
Captain Kettle got up, reached for
his cap and swung it aggressively on to
one side of his head
Every we'll, 4" he said. That's your
side of the question. Now hear mine
That cargo's going through, and those
rebels or patriots or whatever they are
shall have their guns if half the Span
ish navy was there to try and stop me-
You and Mr. Gedge have started about
this business the wrong way Treat me
ON the square, and I'm man. a child
,niobf bapdla buf Iid not no drf,o,, ~.