Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-03-17

Dinner vas served al SIX o cloek.
| The wcigllt Of entertaining fell on
Hester and Vincent. While the lat
ter gentleman had not yet been able
| to attract the attention of Mr. Car
mody he was satisfied that he would
have an abundance OF time ilf which
to explain his plans MIR. Morton
had acquainted his associates with
t the failure which thus; far had at
tended his negotiations. lie yet held
out hope, but it was faint. When
coffee had been served, llestor arose
and said:
from Cape Cod. During the evening |
am going to send man ashore with
letters. You will find stationery in
| your staterooms. | suppose that all
| Of you wish 10 send word assuring
your families and friends that you
are alive and well. You can do so,
| but you must not enter into any par
ticulars about this outing. You can
/ inform those in whom you are con-
ccrned that you are safe: that You
will return to them after a reasonable
| length of time. or you may make any
| other statement not connected with
business or with your present where
abouts. Hand me the letters I'M
scaled, and | viii examine them and
have them mailed during the night.
| / should have all of them in my pos
session before nine O'clock"
How about me?" asked Mr.. Vim
cent.
| You are included" said Mr.. Hes
| tor.
There was no hcsjtancy in accept
| ing this invitation. The thought that
they could speedily communicate
with their loved ones lifted great
load from their minds. For an hour
| 1Iestor acted as censor on these let
ters. He made but few changes, and
| these of course rendered it neces-
sary to rewrite the rejected letters.
In the meantime the yacht had
rounded Cape Cod and dropped into
the quiet waters of the bay.
Shortly after nine o'clock the
dinghy was swung out on her davits
and lowered into the water A young
man in business suit, such as worn
for everyday service. by the average
| citizen, acted as mail carrier. Pro-
PEELED by the sturdy arms of a sail
or, the little craft disappeared in
| the darkness. Two miles away the
| lights of Provincetown ficllered in
1 the distance.
At about one o'clock IN the morn
ing, when most of the passengers
were asleep, the dinghy made anoth-
er trip ashore, and returned without
| the mail messenger. He was landed
near Boston, and on the following
morning made a, rapid journey to
Springfield, Mass, and Albany, N. Y,
thence to New York city and Brook
| Ign, reaching Philadelphia late that
night. In these cities he posted the
letters which, as has been told were
received with SO much JOY. The next
day he left Philadelphia for Cape
May; late that night boat came
in from the ocean, and an hour later
he was on board the shark
From the time the sand dunes Of
Cape Cod faded away in the night
| until six days had passed, the pas
sengers and crew of the shark
caught no sight of land. Many ships
we're sighted, but Capt. Waters so
directed the course of the yacht that
none came within signalling distance
and generally remained hull down
on the horizon.
1t was cloudy most of the time,
and by the temperature alone was
| it surely known that a southerly
course was being taken. Thursday
night was uncomfortably warm, and
the following day when the sun came
| out from behind the clouds the
shade from the awnings was found
grateful. On Friday the signs that
the tropics had been entered were
unmistakable.
When Mr.. Pence awoke about three
o'clock Tuesday morning he was
much alarmed. He was certain that
something serious had happened. An
unearthly silence prevailed. The en-
gines had stopped, and save for the
| faint buzz of the electrical machin-
cry there was no sound on the
SHARK" The boat had lost all mo-
!. ton. 1t no longer rose and fell to
| the heaving of the seas.
Mr.. Pence hurriedly dressed and
| went on deck. A seaman was pac-
ing back and forth on the after
deck. Mr.. Pence looked out over the
port side of the yacht. A huge wall
| Of rock lowered almost over his
head. In the light of the nascent
moon. the shark seemed to rest
in the center of vast amphitheater
Of beetling rocks and crags. Here
and there he could make out the
form of a palm, and to his ears
came the distinct Sound of falling
water, as of a cascade. To the east
the cliffs threw long shadow over
the lake in which the yacht was an
chored. The moon had just scaled
the highest peak, and the effect was
of indescribable beauty. But the 81.
lence was oppressive. The heavy
breathing of Mr.. Vincent, as it pen
| etrated from the deck below, was q
relief, and after one reassuring
| glance at the placid scene Mr.. Pence
| went below and soon was Sleepina