Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-04-09

yacht, ! demand of you. as its cap
tain, that you Immediately put about
and return to New York. You arc
responsible. Mr.. Hestor is clearly
irresponsible. 1t is our wish to re-
turn at once"
ut certainly is! It certainly isl"
exclaimed Mr.. Pence, attempting to
grasp Capt. Waters hand. That Of
fetal glanced at Mr.. IIcstor as if
waiting for him to answer.
"You know your ORDERS" said Hes
tor. "You are the captain of this
yacht"
81 get my orders from Mr.. Hestor
and obey them" said Capt. Waters,
addressing no member of the group
in particular. His voice was grufr,
but not unkind. I'VE are headed
east, nor'east. When he SAYS 10
change her course, / will change her
course. Until then, not. That's ALL"
This was a long speech for Capt.
Waters. He turned and walked to
the door.
"The Shark is yours, gentlemen"
said Hestor. airily. "The servants are
yours to command, but 7 will issue a Il
necessary orders to the captain.
You gentlemen, who have such great
interests under your control, must
realize that in such an outing as
have planned, Capt. Waters must not
be annoyed with conflicting orders.
have provided everything for your
comfort, and am sure you will thank
me for the treat | have in store for
you. ] will reioin you in few mo-
ments. / wish to study our charts
and determine our course for the
night. Then we will have some music
in Social Hail. I would like to see
you for IA few moments, Sidney; if
the gentlemen will excuse you
Mr.. Hammond hesitatcd a moment.
Mr.. Carmody stepped to his side and
spoke few words in low tone.
Sidney listened. and bowling to him
and the others. joined Hestor and
followed him into his private state
rooms at the forward part of the
deckhousc.
"Well, III be damned" said Mr..
Haven, with perhaps iustifable en-
phasis, as Hestor smiled graciously
and departed with Sidney Hammond.
1--WE are kidnapped"
did you inst find that out ?"
drawIed Mr.. Kent. as he reached for
another cigar. Il knew that five
minutes ago"
you take it mighty cooly." said
Mr.. Haven, glaring at the big specu-
Iator. "One would think that the
kidnapping of six of the wealthiest
men in New York was an everyday
event by the way YOU take it,"
u have seen stranger things than
this happen" said Mr.. Kent. Take
it easy. Take it easy. You will get
Pence excited"
Mr. Pence had passed the stage Of
excitement. He was lost in the
depths of despair. Had one of the
10 walk the plank it would not have
added to the weight of woe which
overwhelmed him.
Mr.. Palmer j. Morton had taken
no part in the brief proceedings
which had accomplished this revolu-
ton. He graspcd the situation from
the moment Hestor made his first
declaration, and realized that
whether their dilemma was the re-
suit of plot or the within Of n
maniac. that arguments and force
were useless. Mr.. Morton pridcd him
self that he could divine the mach
nations of the cool-headed buSi-
ness schemer. but was he expected
to cope with the fantastic plots of
crazy man? II was enough to know
that he had been duped. He must
devise way ont of the trap which
he had helped To set.
"Gentlemen,' he said. this is
serious affair. but we must meet it
cOolly and with deliberation. IT is
of no avail TO storm and rage. We
are Gagged, and it will do no good TO
beat our wings against the bars. I
feel myself largely at fault in this
affair. but all of us are likely to make
mistakes and 10 suffer apses in
judgment. In this"
MIR. Norton" interrupted Mr..
Rockwell, IF think | speak for all
present when say that we do not
hold you in the least responsible for
this ridiculous event. should have
done the same thing. So would any
of u.s.
Il thought that newspaper trust
one of the best things ] ever heard
off, said Mr.. Pence, and his eyes
frightened for the moment at the
thought. Il figured il out that the
stock would have paid 90 per cent.
dividends ON the original Investment.
Oh, it is awful"
Mr.. Pence evidently did not refer
to the magnitude Of the vanished div
idends, bat to his present sorrow.
I'VE must retire TO one of the
staterooms and consider what can
be done" said Mr.. Morton. Il pre-
sumo the owner or the officers of the
boat will not object To our move
ments, so long as we comply with
the rules of discipline. We have been
informed that the yacht is ours. and
| suggest that we select our state
rooms and meet in one of them and
confer together
You can do anything you please"
said Hcstor. who had entered the
room. and had overheard the latter
part of Mr.. Morton'S remarks. But
the hour is early. and there is plenty
of excellent wine Straining against