Evening journal., 1904-05-06
CHAPTER ".


over n couple Of axes.
wen have to knock holes all
through the house and break in the
skylights and let the gas escape before
we can do anything. Take the kid
over and give him whisky. Then come
along back and bear hand"
Wilbur had considerable difficulty in
getting into the dory from the deck Of
the plunging derelict with his dazed
and almost helpless charge. Even as
he slid down the rope into the little
boat and helped the girl to follow he
was aware OF two dull brownish green
shadows moving just beneath the wa
ters surface not ten feet away, and
knew that he was being stealthily
watched. The Cinnamon at the oars
of the dory, with that extraordinary
absence Of curiosity which is the mark
Of the race, did not glance a second
time at the survivor of the Lady Let
oy's misadventure. To them It was
evident she was but a for'mast hand.
However, Wilbur examined her with
extraordinary interest as she sat In
the stern sheets. sullen. half defiant,
half bewildered and bereft of speech
She was not pretty-she was too tall
for that--Quite as tall as Wilbur him
self, and her skeleton was too massive.
Her face was red, and the CLINT Of
blue ice was in her eyes. Her eye
lashes and eyebrows, as well as the
almost imperceptible down that edged
her cheek when she turned against the
light, were blond almost TO whiteness.
What beauty she had was Of the fine,
hardy Morse type. Her hands were
red and hard, and even beneath the
coarse sleeve OF the oilskin coat one
could infer that the biceps and deltoids
were large and powerful. She was
coarse fibered, no doubt. mentally as
well as physically. but her coarseness,
so Wilbur guessed, would prove to be
the coarseness Of primitive rather
than Of a degenerate character.
One thing he saw clearly during the
few moments Of the dory's trip be-
tween bark and schooner-the fact
that his charge was woman must be
kept from Captain Kitchell. Wilbur
knew his man by now. 1t could be
done Kitchell and he would take the
Lady Lefty into the nearest port as
soon as possible. The deception would
have TO be maintained only for day
or two
He left the girl on board the schoon-
er and returned to the derelict with
the axes He found Kitchell on the
house. just returned from a hasty sur
vey OF the prize.
she's a daisy" vociferated the cap
tain as Wilbur came aboard. 1--we
been havin' a look round. She's brand
new. See the date on the eapst'n head?
Christiania is her hailin' port-built
there. But it's her papers I'm after.
Then wen know where we're at.
How's the kid?'
"Shes all right" answered Wilbur
before he could collect his thoughts.
But the captain thought he had ref
erence TO the Bertha.
Il mean the kid we found in the
wheel box. He doesn't count in our
salvage The bark's been abandoned
as plain as paint. If thought he stood
in our way" and Kitchelrs jaw grew
salient, I'D shut him in the cabin
with the old man a spell till he'd cop
ped OF. Now, then, son, first thing to
do is to chop vents in this yere house. "
Hold up, We can do better than
that" said Wilbur, restraining Kitch-
ellis fury of impatience. "Slide the big
skylight of. It's loose already"
A couple Of the scnooners hands
were ordered aboard the Lady Lefty
and the skylight removed. At first the
pour OF gas was terrific, but by de-
grees it abated. and at the end Of half
an hour Kitchell could keep back no
longer.
Come on he cried. catching up an
ak. Rot the difference All the plum
dering instincts of the man were
aroused and clamoring. He had be-
come a very wolf within scent OF its
prey. a veritable hyena nuzzling about
its carrion.
"Lordr he gasped. ITO think that
everything we see, everything we find,
is oursw
Wilbur himself was not fer ind
him in eagerness. Somewhere deep
down in the heart OF every Anglo Sax
on lies the predatory instinct OF his
viking ancestors, an instinct that a
thousand years Of respectability and
taxpaying have not quite succeeded in
eliminating.
A fight of six steps, brass bound and
bearing the double L OF the bark s
monogram. led them down into a sort
Of vestibule. From the vestibuIe a
door opened directly into the main
cabin. They entered.
The cabin was some twenty feet long
and unusually spacious. Fresh from
his recollection of the CRIME and reelS
OF the schooner, it struck Wilbur as
particularly dainty. 1t was painted
white, with stripes OF blue, gold and
pea green. On either side three doors
opened of into staterooms and private
cabins, and with each roll of the dere,
llct these doors banged like an irregu-
lar discharge OF revolvers. In the cen.
ter was the dining table. covered with
a red cloth very much awry. On each
side OF the table were four armchairs
screwed to the deck, one somewhat
larger at the head. Overhead in swing
ing racks were glasses and decanters
of whisky and some kind OF white
wine. But for one feature the sight OF
the Letty's cabin was charming. How
ever. on the floor by the sliding door in
the forward bulkhead lay body, face
upward.