Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-01-16
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dashed to the roof OF the cabin.

turbed the prospective voyagers,
though none mentioned it. Where
was Hestor and the Shark Z and
would he interfere with their depart
ure? Had he observed their prep
arations for escape? They could not
hope to make any effective fight
against recapture, but every man
swore to himself to resist such an
outrage to the last extremity. Tn. :
Monday night Sidney and Mr.. Kent
climbed the cliffs and scanned the
sea. There was no ship or craft in
sight. but for NIL they knew the
sShark" might be anchored behind
the cliffs which jetted out from the
opposite horns of the crescent which
limited their range Of vision north
and south.
At a conference it was decided to
put out to sea about IL o'clock the
following forenoon, unless the wird
and weather absolutely precluded
such q risk. At this hour the tide
was. favorable, since it swung with o
strong current to the north. They
aimed to circle the island TO the
north and head straight for the main
land; which in their opinion was not
more than $50 miles to the west or
southwest.
by the way" said Sidney. -have
you and Vincent put your idols on
board The Jumping Jupiter'2"
Il have made special compart-
ment for them in my stateroom, y
said Mr.. Pence. I'VE will put them
on board tomorrow morning.
SO the good ship Jumping Jupi-
ter is to be a treasure ship, is hep"
said Mr.. Kent. How about that,
Mr.. carmody |? Who owns The
Jumping Jupiter? In my opinion,
we all own an equal share. Now, this
gold shipment is purely business
proposition. The jumping Jupiter
was designed solely as passenger
boat. Any one could tell that by
looking at him: It is q great risk
lto#s ship 1900 pounds of gold. We
should Charge heavy freight. 1 should
say that we should be justified in
tcharging not less than 25 per cent.
Of the value of the cargo as freight.
1T Pence and Vincent can use our
boat to carry q lot of heathenish
idols, want to carry an equal
weight in bananas. Hammond is
also anxious to ship some rare wood
he has found. Each OF us is, entitled
to at least $50 pounds Of freight.
The Jumping Jupiter cannot hold
any such burden in addition to our
common store of provisions and
other necessities. What are we GO
ing to do about it?"
Mr.. Kent winked solemnly at MI.
ICarmody.
7 have thought Of that" said Mr..
Carmody Il have found some beau
tiful marble, and would like to take
back some, of those carvings from
the ruined temple. It-zcertainly is
not fair to let two men monopolize
the carrying capacity of The Jump
ing Jupiter for their private gain. y
That is right, !, said Mr.. Morton.
"yve must be fair in this matter I
think that 20 per cent.sis too low a
rate, # should be at least 80 10 per
cent. The gold is worth $500, 900, as
Enear as we can estimate, and this
will mike the freight charges $780,
O0o., This will be divided equally
-among six Of us. or 5000 each, Mr..
Pence and Mr.. Vincent will have
s240, 900 to divide between them. AS
a matter of equity, we all have an
equal share in this gold, since it. was
discovered by these men in the per-
iformance OF common duty But
we will waive that. insist that
$4,000 is not too much to charge
for freight. ssS
II think ten per cent. is enough =
said Mr., Pence. BE fair, gentlemen,
be fair. s;i
The Jumping Jupiter, has an abs
isollite monopoly of this business.,,
said Mr.. Kent. 1T is not customary
for shippers to fix rates. II you and
Vincent do not like our way Of doing
business, transfer your trade to some
tother firm. This is not a matter OF
II sentiment. AS q stakeholder, and
las d man who made the masts OF
The Jumping UPPER, move you,
Mr.. President, that we accept this
freight risk for SO 1-3 per cent. of the
value ofsthe gold, and retain the mer-
chandise as security until such time
as proper settlement is made. =
IT second the notion" said Mr..
Haven.
All in, favor say aye" said Mr..
Rockwell.
/ Six men roared .ayea 81
THOSE opposed say nol''
no! No!' shouted Simon Pence.
Vincent did not vote. Mr.. Kent had
nudged him to keep quiet. 3
1t is an outrageous rate, and
will never pay it! 7 said Mr., Pence.
do you fix such IN unheard-
Of rate ~ s &
The Jumping Jupiter is trust,
land we, need the money, said Mr.,
Kent. q am afraid those grinning
idolsswill hoodoo us as it is. / move
that we leave them behind, Mr.. Presi-
dent. The best we can get is q law
ssuit.,n' y. Y 4
Il will pay the rate! I will pay
I'll. exclaimed NJ. Pence. 81 was
only joking .s's,
Draw up an agreement, Ham:
paond, and have " properly signed
and witnessed, said Mr.. Rockwell.
Sidney did SO, and Mr. Pence and
Vincent signed II. Early the follow
ing morning the idols went on bonrd