Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-01-06
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She faced him with heaving bosom.
I'VE shall see who wins" she cried.
"Probably." said Captain Kettle, and
he took off his cap Good night, miss,
for the present. We know how we
stand. The game appears to begin be,
tween us from now." He turned de-
liberately away from her, walked for
ward and went below. and after lit
tie waiting Donna Clotilde shivered
and went back to her own luxurious
stateroom.
But if she was content to spend the
rest of the night in mere empty long
ing Captain Kettle was putting his
time to more practical use. He was
essentially man Of action.
Cautiously he found his way to the
stewards storeroom. filled case with
meat tins and biscuit and then. coming
on deck again, slowed it away in the
lifeboat, which hung in davits out
board without being noticed. With
equal success he took the boats break
er forward, filed it from water tank
land got it fixed on its checks again,
still without being seen. The moon
was behind clouds, and the darkness
favored him. He threw down the coils
of the davit on deck, cast off one from
where it was Delayed, took turn and
carried the blight to the other davit so
that he could lower away both tackles
at once.
But he was not allowed to get much
further. The disused blocks screamed
like a parcel Of cats as the ropes rem
dered through them, there was shrill
whistle from the officer of the watch,
and half a dozen men from various
parts of the decks came bounding
along to interfere.
Captain Kettle let go both falls to
overhaul es they chose and picked up q
greenheart Delaying pin out Of the pin
rail and stood on the defensive. But
the forward fall kinked and jammed,
and, though the little man fought like
a demon to keep off the watch till he
got it clear, they were too many for
him and drove him to the deck by
sheer weight of numbers. He had
cracked one mans forearm in the scuf-
fe, laid open another's face and
smashed in the front teeth Of third,
and they were rather inclined to treat
him roughly, but the red haired skip
| per came up and by sheer superior
strength picked him up, kicking and
struggling, and hustled him off below,
whether he liked it or no.
The lifeboat dangled, half swamped,
from the forward davit tackle, and all
hands had to be piped before they
! could get it on board again, and by
the time they had completed this job
there was another matter handy to oc-
cupy their attention. A fireman came
up from below, white faced and trem-
bling.
"The yachts half full of waterw he
said.
Now that their attention was called
to it they noticed the sluggish way she
rode the water.
"She must have started plate or
something" the fireman went on ex-
citedly. I'VE got both bilge pumps
running, and they won't look at it..
The waters coming in like sluice.'
Carpenter" sang out the red haired
man, come below with me and see if
we can find anything And he led the
way to the companion. Between decks
they could hear the water stopping
about under the flooring. 1t seemed a
bad, an almost hopeless, case.
Instinctively the red haired man went
| to his own room to pocket his valua-
bles, and by chance he was moved to
| lift up the door of the floor which cov-
cred the bath beneath it. Ah, there
was the mischief! The sea cock which
filled the bath was turned on to the
| full, and the iron tub was gushing wa
| ter on every side. The next stateroom
was empty, but the bath cock there
was also turned ON to the full, and aft
er going round the ship and finally en-
tering Kettles room (and covering him
with a revolvep and turning off his
water supply he found that the sea
had been pouring inboard from no less
than eight separate apertures.
And this is your work. you little
devil, l supposew said the red haired
man savagely.
Certainly" said Captain Kettle.
"Shoot me if you like, put me ashore if
you choose, but don't grumble If you
find me deuced ugly passenger. I'm
not in the habit of being made to travel
where don't wish"
That afternoon Kettle contrived to
set the yacht atire In three separate
| places, and good deal of damage was
done (and night had fallen again be-
| fore the scared crew managed to eXtin-
| guish the flames, and this time Donna
| Clotilde interviewed. She asked for Ket
| ties parole that he would attempt no
further mischief and when this was
fatty refused incontinently put him in
ironS The lady was somewhat tigerish
| in her affections.
A second time Captain Kettle man.
aged to get the yacht in blaze at the
imminent peril of immolating himself.
and then. from lack of further oppor
tunity to make himself obnoxious. lay
quiet in his lair till such time as the
yacht would of necessity go into harbor
to coal. The eXasperated crew would
cheerfully have murdered him If they
had been given the chance, but Donna
Clotilde would not permit him to be
harmed. She was young woman who
up to this had always contrived to have
her own way, and she firmly believed
that she would tame Kettle in time.
When the yacht passed the straits.
she had only four days more coal on
board, and the executive (and Kettle)
expected that she would go into Gi-
braltar and lay alongside hulk to re-
bunker. But Donna Clotilde had other
notions. She had the yacht run down
the Morocco coast and brought to an
anchor. So long as she had Captain
Kettle in her company upon the wa
tiers she did not vastly care whether