El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-08-04
CHAPTER XIV.

|
| The one eyed man, Billy Mutt, and his
| friend and partner, whose name was APP
| parently Hank, without further attach
| ment, made livelihood by tranSgreSSing
| the laws of the United States and supply
| ing a strong demand. Ladies of society
| wished for egret plumeS and other feathers
| for external adornment, and the Seminole
! of the Everglades desired corn whisky for
! his stomach S sake, and white game regu-
! lations forbade collection of the first, In
dams protection acts vetoed lawful dis
| tribution of the second. And for the trans
! greSsor there We're distinct and heavy pen
| alties.
| But to begin with, States law does not
| carry very far in the Everglades of Flor
| ida, which is the home of outlaws, and in
| the second place Mr.. Mutt and friend were
| both wanted on several counts already
| among which unjustfiablo homicide
| ranked high, that they were men en-
| tirelv reckless and inclined to look upon
poaching and Illicit whisky peddling to
the aboriginal as the mildest of mild pee
cadilloes. Moreover, in furtherance Of
their business they were extremely well
| armed and apt to shoot first and reflect
afterward when annoyed. they were not
persons to be argued with by any of tho
more gentle methods
The three men on the steamer were in
no way prepared to receive these dubious
V1SlCOrS-Werc, IN IaCU, COInpletely OOllS-
ious OF their approach, being still chained
in the deadest slumber. The sun had
dropped below the tree tops. and already
the night noises of the forest were begin
ning-the rattle of crickets and toads in
the trees, the grunting of the bullfrogs in
the swamp, the dry rustic of the jar flies
and the warm hum of the never sleeping
mosquito. In the darker tree aisles there
commenced the brief light snappings of
fireflies, and in the black Swallowed water
of the bayous were other phosphorescent
glOws, like these, only coming from the
eyes of some prowling alligator.
The sloop ran down her jibtopsail, and
as the iron hanks screamed along the stay
a negro trotted nimbly out along the fiat
bowsprit top to secure the sail in it's gas
kets. The wind was dropping with the
sun, and because the current raced man
fully down the blight where the stranded
steamer was lying the sloop made but a
fathOm to the good by every board
across the river The one eyed man danced
a barefoot tattoo of fury on the floor boards
of the cockpit at this slowness, and his
loose limbed partner, who still sprawled
on the cabin roof, chuckled with easy
amusement. But the breeze held long
enough for their purpose They ran up
above the steamer, and the stream ground
their planking against the rust streaked
iron. y pair of davit falls hung down,
with the blocks weed covered in with wa
ter, and overhauling one of these they
made it fast round the bits. Then,
swarming up the other fall, the whole
five of them gained the bridge deck above.
1nstinctively when once their feet were
on the warm gray planks each man, black
and white, handled his weapon ready to
fight any one, as might be demanded of
him, but no one appeared to seek explana-
ton of their presence, and from staring
another rather foolishly. If one has been
expecting a brisk game of murder, and
one meets with empty silence, it rather
spoils the sequence of ideas.
Come to think of it, said Hank in an
oppressive whisper, ''if there'd been an
anchor watch, they'd have hailed us before
we got this far. 1 bet the old mans asleep
in the charthouse. 'Twouldn't be a bad
idea to bottle him
He battered across the deck, right hand
inside his shirt bosom, pistol gripped in
that, and peered in through the open door.
The place was tenanted by noliving thing
larger than flies and cockroacheS. He
drew back half scared by the ecriness of
it, and then reckoning his mates headed
them down the companion ladder, tread
ing like a stage conspirator. At the foot,
two doors opened; one into the alleyway,
which was empty, the other into the main
cabin, on the floor of which Kettle had
been deposited by the donkeyman. But in
the eliminating spasm of his cramp the
little captain had rolled away out of sight
under the table, and SO to all appearance
this place was deserted also.
The men peered about them and ran
aft, poking their noses in pantry and gal
lery and engine room. Coming back
the alleyway, they searched the
two mate rooms and found them empty,
and going out on the iron foredeck found
the forecastle deserted also. Then they
gathered round that gaping rent where
the forehatch had been in curious wonder
the crumpled plates which
were yellow with new rust and pointing
out to one another the twisted stanchions
and splintered debris below. And at this
they were engaged when the sun took it's
final dive beneath the waters of the Mex
lean gulf TO westward and the tropical |
darkness snapped down upon them like
the shutting of box.
Hank, said the one eyed man, this /
gets me- What in hades have they been |
doing to this blame steamboat, and for why |
have they gug- gug gone off and left herr"
"Euclids out of my line" said Hank
oracularly.
''Oh, you blank putty headl'' retorted
his friend, ''th think
You tire me- If they aren't here, they
aren't. P'rapS they We gone off and toted |