Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-08-24
CHAPTER III.
CONTRABAND OF WAR.

land. The white wings of the Hendrix
Hudson were spread, but as often as
not tapped idly against the mast when
the breeze died. rose and died again.
over the narrowS of the sound lay a
haze simmering in the April sun. The
white cottages of Naedbek and other
longshore villages nestled into the
green OF the beech woods. showing
spotlessly against the glare. 1t was u
perfect day in perfect Scandinavian
spring.
Barr rolled, stretched himself and
then sank luxuriously back into his
lair among the cushions. His face OK.
pressed a beatitude Of content. His
cigar smoke encircled him like n lus.
cious halo His yawn concentrated in
to its cxpansveness the languorous de-
lights of seven days of uninterrupted
idleness. He blinked upon the Danish
shores with n placid sense of propri-
etorship in their beauties as by right of
discovery. He was soaked and surfeit-
ed in a warm bath of sea breeze and
sunshine. His blood ran within him as
wine
TO him entered Desmond from the
companionway. A businesslilie air and
the Importance of command lay thick
upon him. He bawled his orders with
no uncertain sound. and the whir Of
the wheel spokes followed swift upon
prov crept round to starboard. The
yacht began to nose inland to where
Copenhagen showed dim in the man
tie Of the heat haze, girt with the for
est Of her shipping.
Barr raised his eyebrows. Going in,
old MANI" he queried.
Desmond nodded. Yes going to call
for an hour"
You said you shouldn't stop short of
Uleaborg. Why this waywardness?"
Desmond shrugged his shoulders
There were all these rumors OF war
before we came out. Best to hear
what's happened, If l can. l couldn't
make out what those men meant that
we hailed just now. Something about
Russia. If we're going to shove our
heads into the bears jaws, we may as
well know how we stand"
Barr groaned loudly. IF that isn't
my luck exactly! Here am on my first
real holiday for two years. and then
the blighted emperor of Russia must
step in to spoil the whole show. |
should have thought my little egg has.
ket might have been spilled without
plunging the nations into war. But, no;
my luck is the kind that impresses it.
self upon you with stupendous and
carefully thought out cataclysms. With
any ordinary folk 1t would have been
measles, or broken arm, or, at most,
a shpwreck. With me it's either drop
the whole business or a probable FIVE
years Of Russian fortress. or, may
hap, bullet. Well. we'll, mans born
to trouble as the sparks fly upward
I'm sorry my eternal destiny has drag
ged you into it's baneful orbit, Billy"
Desmond laughed and filed his pipe.
"AlPs experience, my boy. even the in
side OF a Russian prison. Not that
think it'll come to that. We needn't
make our moan till we hear more GER
tainly. Curl yourself up again and
snore peacefully. I'll waken you when
we clear for action"
They drifted slowly along, the two
knot zephyr tanning irregularly upon
their canvas, and passed into the chan
mel that runs between the island and
the blunt spit Of land upon which the
Danish capital stands. AS the chain
ratified in the hawse pipe the dngcy
took the water and Desmond was set
ashore. Barr returned happily to his
slumbers.
Two hours later he was awakened by
the sound of his friends voice and by
the din of the anchor coming home.
lie was aware as he blinkingly sur
veyed his surroundings that the yacht
was under weigh again and was creep
ing out of harbor. She was heading
for the Swedish coast. Desmond had
returned TO his chair and to his eternal
pipe, which he was methodcally stuff
ing with birdseye. The grin that
usually lurked on his ingenious coun-
tcnance was lacking. He seemed to be
considering something with absolute
seriousness and concern. This phenom-
enon was so entirely foreign to his
temperament and customs that Barr
sat up to regard him with anxiety.
How now, BillyW he questioned.
"For goodness sake, what's up"
Desmond blew cloud at him. "Noth-
ing at present. Everything, probably,
in the near future. Victoria, queen of
Great Britain, and Napoleon, emperor
of the French, have conformity espous-
ed the cause Of Turkey They have
notified Nicholas, the Russian. that he
is to quit pounding the sons of Islam.
Most unjustifiably and unaccountably
they have failed to consult me. A rum.
pus must needs ensue. The question is,
What about us and our little game"
as war an absolute certaintyf'
"Nothing's a certainty, my boy. but
the odds are a thousand to one on.
Nicholas is not the man to take that
sort of thing sitting down"
Barr shrugged his shoulders. "How
can | say, ol,l man! | risk nothing but