Evening star., 1901-05-04

questions that they heard a very distinct
and peculiar rap! rap! rap! on the door
of small pantry used by the scullion for
the storage of pots and pans-a noise which
tesque attitudes: Choky recovered first
and called hoarsely, who's there?" Then,
as no answer was returned he walked 10
the door and threw it wide OPEN On the
threshold crouched a pale-faced boy, VINO
at sight of them retreated into the OBJ
scurity of the closet.
.sWell, will you get on to that!' ejacu-
lated Reardon, in amazement. Hey, there
come out of that! What the blazes Is this
game! Hey, come out nOW!
There was a short silence, then sud
den movement of the pots and pans, after
which the boy walked forth and gazed
fearfully from one to the other. He was
probably sixteen years old. and his fea-
lures like his clothes, were not OF Amerl-
can cut.
"Pardonnez-moi. messieurs," he said
"Je cherche mon cousin"
Now, there you are, gentlemen said
Reardon derisively to the others. There
1t is in few simple jaw-breakers. French,
l guess. .,
the Canadian frontier and he had picked
up enough patois to enable him to get at
the boys story.
Look here he said. "He isn't one OF
the crew He's stowaway. His cousin
Is a cooks helper. The crew must have
gone off and left him
ASK him where the boat came from anu
how about it,
Morley started limited dialogue with the
boy in the course of which he learned the
vessel had cleared from Antwerp for Ha-
vana. She had come over to her present
position in 11O days and she had been there
since the night before. although the crew
must have left early that morning for the
boy-his name was Jean Loyeux-had
spoken to his cousin only an hour ago. 1t
was very odd. There had been some noise,
silence and these strange men
were there. He wished to know what 1t was
all about and, particularly, where was his
cousin.
A sudden thought came to Reardon and
he went on deck. Procuring wrench from
the engine room, he went to a hatchway
and loosened the screws on the comb1ng.
He raised a couple Of hatch sections and
looked into the hold. Packing cases long
and narrow formed the top layer of the
cargo, level with the deck girders. He peer
ed at a name burnt into the wood Of one
| case. 1t was that of European arms COM
pany, and further along he saw other words
pregnant with a certain meaning. He stood
up with a jerk, for the possibility that sug-
gested itself appalled, him.
ANDY! Andy!" he yelled, running to
| where the others were yet raiding the lard
er. "B'jee, do ye know what this ship is ?
She's regular f1oatin' arsenal, that's what
she is!'
| the Buckeye. Sudden heavy meals made
him sodden.
"How? Look at her freight She's load
ed with machine guns under her forward
hatch. and, b'jee. she may have dinnymite
! In the other hold
What" said Andy. "are we up against
| dinnymite again? That reminds me- and
| he fished from his pocket dirty clay pipe
But Reardon fell on him and snatched 1t
away.
Don't ye see? Don't ye see?' he almost
screamed. Here we are, f1oatin' around on
big ship full o powder and guns and the
Americans and the Spaniards huntin' each
other all over the face Of the cart. B'jee,
there may be one of them after us nowr'
And he rushed out on deck again to see.
Now, 1t so happened that some five miles
away to the north of the Lotus, where the
| morning haze had not thoroughly cleared.
there rode dim, gray vessel whose COM
mander and crew had sworn allegiance to
the government. She had been there since
daylight, for her commander carried GER
| tain orders, and the eyes Of her officers
Lotus had not noticed her. so engrossed
were they with their personal comforts The
sight Of her now sent chilling paralysis into
| the spine of Mr.. Choky Reardon, who. when
he could get back his voice, shrieked the
name of his Maker in a shrill treble and
called on his fellows to look In the panic
that ensued many things were said some
| of them were blasphemous-most of them
were totally irrelevant. The two deserters
were particularly distracted Private rch
er ran about the deck and cried a little
Private Morley tugged vainly at a four
teen-foOt steel lifeboat and cursed the day
he entered the service. Andy the Buckeve
SAID things about both of them which might
nave led stranger to the facts to believe
that they alone were to blame for the az
fair, while Choky Reardon grouped them
ALL, himself included, into composite