Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-07-12
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 CHAPTER XXVI. N XONTY was on deck when tn Nl inspiration seized him, and h
 lost no time in telling hi A X guests, who were at breaf
CHAPTER XXVI.

fast. Although he naQ mlSSlVlnSS aOout their opinion of the scheme, he was not
 prepared TOT the ominous silence that
 followed his announcement.
 Are you in earnest, MT. Brewster?"
 asked Captain Perry, who was the first
 of the company to recover from the
 surprise
 Of course I am. 1 chartered this boat for four months, with the privi-
 lege of another month. I can see no reason to prevent us from prolonging the trip" Monty's manner was full of self assurance as he. continued, You people are so in the habit of protesting against every suggestion I make that you can't help doing it now.'
 But, Monty" said Mrs. Dan. what If your guests would rather go homer" x Nonsense; you were asked for five months cruise. Besides, tbink of get ting home in the middle of August, with every one away
 Brave as he was in the presence of his friends, in the privacy of his state room Monty gave way to the depreS sion that was bearing down upon him. !. It was the hardest task of his life to go on with his scheme in the face of oppo- esition. He knew that every. man and swoman on board was against the prop -osition, for his sake at least, and it was difficult to be arbitrary under the cir cumstances. Purposely he avoided Peg gy all forenoon. His single glance at her face in the salon was enough to dis turb him immeasurably.
 The spirits of the crowd were sub- dued. The North cape had charms. but $the proclamation concerning it had @been too sudden-had reversed too sQuickly the general e1pecta ton and de- Ssire. Many of the guests had plans at shome for August, and even those who Ehad none were satiated with excite fment. During the morning. they gath Tered in little knots to discuss the situa- stion. They were all generous, and each zone was sure that be could cruise in- definitely if on Monty's account the Fnew voyage were not out of the ques- tion. They felt it their duty to take Edesperate stand.
 The half hearted little gatherings re- solved themselves into ominous groups, ssand in the end there was a call for a general meeting in the main cabin. I Captain Perry, the first mate and t the chief engineer were included in 1 the call, but Montgomery Brewster was not to be admitted. Joe Brag- Fdon loyally agreed to keep him en- K gagged elsewhere while the meeting \ was in progress. The doors were locked, and d cursory glance assured the chairman of the meeting, Dan De Mile, that no member of the party bwas missing save the devoted Brag- don. Captain Perry was plainly nerv- ous and disturbed. The others were the victims of a suppressed energy K that presaged subsequent eruptions. R Captain Perry, we are assent mbled for purpose said DeMille, clearing his throat three times. First of al E as we understand it, you are the sail z ing master of this ship. In other X words, you are, according to maritime 1. law, the commander of this expedition lE You alone can give orders to the sail !. ors, and you alone can clear a port ' Mir. Brewster has no authority except . that vested in a common employer. z Am correct?'
 c MT. DeMille. if Mr. Brewster in- 2 structs me to sail for the North cape 7 shall do so,' said the captain firmly X "This boat is his for the full term of z the lease, and I am engaged to sail . her with my crew until the 10th of < next September
 t "We understand your position. cap tain, and I am sure you appreciate z ours. It isn't that We want to end a very delightful cruise, but that we ( regard it as sheer folly for MT Brew z stef to extend the tour at such tre- 6 mendous expense. He is-or was-a rich man, but it is impossible to iy- nore the fact that be is piunging much too heavily. In plain words. we want 10 keep him from spending more of his money on this cruise. Do you under stand our position, Captain PerryT'
 Fully. I wish with all my soul that l could help you and him. Ny hands are tied by contract, however, much as regret 1t at this moment
 How does the crew feel about this additional trip, eaptainT' asked De Mile.
 ''They shipped for five months and will receive five months pay. The men have been handsomely treated. and they will stick to NIT. Brewster to the end" said the captain.
 There is no chance for a mutiny. thenY' asked Smith regretfuIIy. The captain gave Sim a hard look, but said nothing. Everybody seemed uncom- fortable
 Apparently the only way is the one suggested by Mir Smith this morning" said Mrs. Dan. speaking for the wo- men ''No one will object am sure. if Captain Perry and his chief officers are allowed to hear the plan
 Tt is very necessary. in fact" said yrr. Valentine. We cannot proceed without them But they will agree with us. am sure. that ft is vise-
 An hour later the meeting broke uP. and the conspirators made their way to the deck IL was a strange fact that no one went alone Thsy were in groups of three and four. and the mys- tery that hung about them vas almost perceouble Not one was willing to face the excited. buOrant Brewster wffrout heIn- Thev fouai strength and