The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-10-30

CUNeF any I1ShS, Sdlu lle WOlldH WIFI
some contempt.
"And l shall be earning my pay" said
the red haired man doggedly. '"This
small person here's holy terror. Well,
| must be getting on deck to see the
pilot take her down the river Here,
I'll put him on the bed before 1 go.
He'll sleep it off more comfortably
there"
"You shall not touch him." said Don
ma Clotilde. 81 will do all that's need
full. l have waited for this moment for
three long years."
"Weil, you must be pretty keen on
him if you can sit by him when he does
not know you"
81 have loved him since the first mo-
ment we met, and he knows it, and l
do not mind who else knows it also. l
am entirely without shame in the mat
ter. glory in it. l ain not one of your
cold blooded European women"
WELL" he said you're paying me to
run this yacht, and must be off to see
the pilot takes her out of the river
without losing us any paint" And he
went out of his room and left Donna
Clotilde La Touche alone with this
man by whom she was so fiercely at
tracted.
The yacht steamed out between Tyne
pierheads, and the pilot left her in the
boat which had been towing stern first
alongside. Her destination was the
Mediterranean, but she did not port
her helm at once. Instead she held on
straight out into the North sea and
then turned off to make the Mediter-
ranean, north about-that is, through
the Pentland and round Scotland She
kept cleaT$of Ireland also, making a
course for herself through the deeper
wildernesses Of the north Atlantic,
avoiding the north and south traffic Of
the bay and, ia fact, sighting scarcely
a single vessel till the red haired man
at last starboarded his helm and put
her east for the straits.
The voyage was not one of monoto-
ny. Captain Kettle lay for the first
| twentyfour hours in state of snoring
unconsciousness, and when he did come
to his wits again he found himself in a
cabin alone. He got up and stretched.
| he was not conscious of having re-
ceived any hurt. He clapped hand to
the region of his loins and nodded his
| grim head significantly. His pistol
was missing. He looked in the glass
| and saw that his face above the red
| torpedo beard was drawn and white
| and that his eyes were framed in
black, dissipated looking rings. There
was an evil taste in his mouth, too,
| which even bottleful of water did not
allay. However, all of these were
| minor details. They might be repaired
afterward. His first requirement was
revenge on the man who had lured
| him aboard
His natural instincts of tidiness made
him go through the ceremony of toilet,
and then he put on his cap and spruce
| ard pale, went out through the luxuri-
GUS cabin and passageways Of the
yacht and found his way on deck.
The time was night, the cold air was
| full of moonshine and fortune favored
| him insomuch that the red haired man
whom he sought was himself standing
/ watch. He walked up to him with
| out any concealment and then, swift as
light, slung out his right fist, sending
| every ounce of his weight after it, and
| caught the red haired man squarely on
the peak of the jaw.
The fellow went down as if he had
| hQon Ilo1navo1 Il
| top of him. The three other hands of
the watch on deck were coming fast to
| their big captains assistance, and Ket-
tie made the most of his time. He had
been brought up in a school where he
was taught to hit hard and hit first
and keep on hitting, and, moreover, he
was anatomically skilled enough to
know where to hit with most effect
| He had no time then for punctilious
fighting. He intended to mark his man
in return for value received, and he
did it. Then the three lusty deck hands
of the watch came up and wrenched
| him off and held him for their officer
in turn to take vengeance on.
Kettle stood in their grip. painting
and pale and eXultant.
"You great, ugly, red polled beggarp'
he said. 'T've made your face match
your head, but you needn't thank me
for it. You'd dare to shanghai me,
would you? By James, I'll make your
ship perfect hell till I'm off it!'
"You hit a man when he's not look
ing"
Liar" said Kettle. "You saw me
plain enough. If you were half a sailor,
you'd never have been hit"
you're half my size. l couldn't fight
| you"
''Tell your hands to set me adrift and
try"
The big man was tempted, but he
/ swallowed down his inclination. He
ordered the men who were holding
| Captain Kettle to set him free and go
away forward again, and then he
thrust his own fists resolutely in his
pockets "Now," he said when they
were alone, "I'll own up to having
earned what you've given me, and
hope that II suit you, for, by Jove, if
it doesn't, I'll shoot you like rat with
your own gun! You've handled me in
way no other man has done before,
and so you can tickle your pride with
that and simmer down. If you want
to know, 1 was man like yourself,
hard up and was paid to kidnap you,
and I'd have kidnapped the devil for
money just them"
! Il know nothing about the devil"