Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-01-25
DAILY SHORT STORY
Changers Island.
'opyright. Is53. by Z. .. Lewis. ]

| part OF the island was sterile and
rocky. and amid the rocks he one day
found a pirates cave. There were. he
contended in the most earnest way,
thousands of pieces of silk and other
costly goods. boxes of pearls. chests of
jewelry and kegs of coin. He roughly
estimated his find TO be worth $1,000,
900.
What the American wanted was to
charter n ship To fetch away the treas
ure. and when lie learned that | was Il
navigator he made Inc an offer that |
closed with at once. The man seemed
to have plenty of money, and in the
course of Il week lac got hold of
schooner which was for charter. and
ten days later she had been fitted out
for the voyage.
We cleared for a port in Japan and
got away with fair wind, and dur
ing the two weeks it took us TO work
up TO the locality of Changers island
all went well with us. He had located
the place OH the chart as being about
fifty miles tn the east of the island OF
Hainan-
Granger had been swept ashore at
the island and been taken off Oh the
other. He claimed to remember GER
tain landmarks. however. ana for ten
days we threaded the channels of the
islands. and lie took close look at
every one. 1t was on the twelfth day
of our search that we came 10 his
island, and the finding Of ii gave us all
queer feeling. There We're no such
landmarks as he described, nor was
the lay of the land at all according
to his drawings. 1t was IL totally diff
ferent island in size and appearance,
and yet he stOutiy maintained that it
was the one we had come in search
Of and that there could be no mis-
take. We carried deep water To within
half a mile of the beach, and then the
schooner was anchored, and we pulled
ashore in the yawl.
We landed on Il sandy beach. and
Granger headed into the forest without
hesitation. After walking for half an
hour he said that he recognized certain
landmarks. and that the treasure was
not far away. Presently he remarked
that something had worked into his
shoe, and telling us to keep right OH
llIi VI ItSlClttl tIlt lpNhS. bt sat hON II
and began unlacing his shoe. We left
him behind in Il moment, as the bushes
were thick. and though we walked for
half Il mile we found no rocks. In go
ing Il distance of less than Il mile we
struck the other shore.
Granger had not yet joined us. and
after waiting fifteen minutes l sent
one of the men back to ascertain the
cause of the delay. Failing to find the
man. the sailor kept on to the beach.
and then returned to us with the an
nouncement that the yawl was missing.
All my suspicious were now aroused.
and we broke into q run as we made
for the spot where the boat had been
beached and left to care for herself.
We got TO the shore to see her along
side the anchored schooner. Two men
had been left aboard, and as we stood
there we saw Granger drive them into
the yawl ut the point of Il pistol and
command them To row for the shore.
We yelled and shouted and demanded
explanations. but he gave lis no at
tentiOn whatever.
Well, there we We're, eight of us
ashore on small island and an insane
had firearms, and we had only our
knives. 1t would have been no trick ut
all to go off to him in the boat. but
with his pistols he could have shot
every one of lis before man could
have reached the deck.
Changers conduct showed that he
was out of his mind. He could not run
away with the craft. but what we fear
ed was that he would scuttle her or set
her on fire We made our beds on the
sands that night and slept soundly
enough. and when morning came and
Granger still refused 10 answer our
halls we made up our minds that some
thing must he done before the day was
out
After two or three hours Of watching
on our part and having seen no stir
board one of the men climbed n palm
tree and from a height Of fifty feet got
fair view Of the schoouer's deck.
Nothing was to be seen OF Granger
He might he watching us from the
our chances of that.
1t was soon after noon that we all
got into the boat TO sculI quietly down
on IN" ahcHoFcu craft. edcb lhah pelhS
armed with club. Had he appeared
we We're prepa red To PUT back at once.
but foot 10y foot We approached the
schooner without any alarm. and at
length We were alongside. Five min
utes after getting aboard we found |
him hanging by the neck in the cabin. |
and the state Of the body proved that |
he had been dead for hours
Who was Granger? He had paid a /
round price To charter the vessel. and |
vet he had come on n fools errand. |
He could never have been wrecked as /
he stated. and there was no treasure
house Why did he tell such a yarn: |
We knew that he had been 4 sea cap
tain. and the only explanation Of his
strange conduct was 10 believe that he