Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-07-06

other side'6f the cabin sprawIed tie doctor,
somewhat more than tipsy, has head rolling
to and fro with the plunge Of the vessel
while in his hand was a bloody rag or
bandage. He was vainly trying to reach
bottle and glass that stood near him on the
floor the heave OF the schooner throwing
him off his balance at each attempt to raise
himself. At the extreme end Of the COM
partment was Lounsbury on his knees work
ing at the bulkhead with a carpenters chisel
and calking malet. Ignoring the presence
OF the drunken surgeon, he had torn away
half the casing to the partition, and had
finally struck upon my hidden gold, which
now lay as plain to my eye as to his For
this, and probably for this alone, he had
once attempted to betray me, threatened my
life, and wellnigh lost his own. He had
guarded the secret as well as |, and now,
after months Of waiting, hard fare, and
harder blows, he doubtless felt full meas
ure Of sordid pleasure as my little hoard lay
uncovered before him. And not so little,
either. Five hundred pounds would make
him passing rich among his fellows,
Though his face was from me, its oxulta-
ton seemed to strike through him and shine
from his back l could almost see the dry
greedy grin and close set of his ragged teeth
as he laid his hand on the bag to Judge its
worth by lifting With the Unborn sus.
picion OF the everfearful thief or miser, he
threw cautious look over his shoulder, and
as he did so his eyes met mine.
! once saw a laughing man shot clean
through the heart, and the sudden change Of
his expression as death seized him, was APP
paling; but it was nothing to the swift al
teratIon that came over the face of Louns-
bury as that villain recognized me. Crouehed
low at the top of the companion way, with
one foot on the steps and the other on deck,
| remained immovable as | witnessed the
effect OF my sudden appearance. Without
shifting his position, the wretch held his
head craned over his left shoulder, his jaw
dropped and his small, piglike eyes opened
to their farthest extent, glaring at me as
though their owner was in a trance. His
face was too blaekened and weather-beaten
to allow of change Of color, but palIor and
fright were plain in his very attitude. Not
sound or movement was made by either of
US as we thus faced each other, and the
surgeon, marking nothing amiss, still made
desperate though ludcrous hobs toward the
liquor on the floor
IelhapS Tor minute LOunSDury helQ MS
position, and then with slow, snakelke
motion, his eyes still fixed on mine, he
twisted till his bacl, was to the bulkhead,
where, extending his arms against the wood
work, he llattened himself as though try
ing to shrink through the partition, horror
and dread written over his swollen and re-
pulsve features.
1t had never been in my mind to play a
part, but it was plain that to this ignorant
and superstitious man | was nothing less
than a veritable spirit OF the dead. Indeed,
the clustering of my dripping clothes, the
pastered hair on my head, unshaven, and
with the paleness Of long immersion on my
face, these, with the probable glitter Of ex-
element in my eyes, all tended to make me
uncanny in appearance, especially as my
figure was backed by the absolute blackness
of the night Lounsbury had seen me IN APP
parent desperation plunge overheard, and
doubtless thought ! had been drifting faith
oms deep below the Phantom keel, yet in
the hour of his success | had come to tor
ment him Like Banquo's ghost and ghost
LAS "a him ] would not down