Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-02-09
Copyright. 1904. by Herber, S. Stone & Company

as we understand 1t, yon are the sail
ing master of this ship. In other
words, you are, according to maritime
law, the commander of this expedition.
You alone can give orders to the sail
ors, and you alone can clear a port.
Mr.. Brewster has no authority except
that vested in common employer.
Am l correct?"
Mr. DeAIille, if Mr.. Brewster in
structs me to sail for the North cape
l shall do So" said the captain firmly.
This boat is his for the full term of
the lease, and l am engaged to sail
her with my crew until the 10th of
next September"
1--WE understand your position, cap
tain, and / am sure you appreciate
ours. 1t isn't that we want to end
very delightful cruise but that we
regard it as sheer folly for Mr.. Brew
ster to extend the tour at such ire
mendous expense. He is-or was-a
rich man, but it is impossible to ig-
more the fact that he is plunging much
too heavily. In plain words, we want
to keep him from spending more OF his
money on this cruise Do you under
stand our position, Captain Perry?'
gully. | wish with all my soul that
1 could help you and him. My hands
are tied by contract, however, much as
l regret it at this m0ment."
"How does the crew feel about this
additional trip, captain?" 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 Mr.. Brewster to
the end" said the captain.
"There is no chance for mutiny,
them asked Smith regretfully. The
captain gave him a hard look, but said
nothing Every body seemed uncom-
Portable
apparently the only way is the one
suggested by Mr. 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"
1T is very necessary. in fact" said
Mr. Valentine I'VE cannot proceed
without them. But they will agree
with us, am sure. that it is wise
An hour later the meeting broke up,
and the conspirators made their way
to the deck. 1t was a strange fact that
no one went alone. They were in
groups of three and four, and the mys-
terry that hung about them was almost
| perceptible. Not one was willing to
face the excited, buoyant Brewster
without help. They found strength and
security in companionship.
Peggy was the one rebel against the
conspiracy. and yet she knew that the
others were justified in the step they
proposed to take. She reluctantly join
ed them In the end, but felt that she
was the darkest traitor in the crowd.
Forgetting her own distress over the
way in which Monty was sQuandering
his fortune, she stood out the one de-
fender of his rights until the end and
then admitted fearfully to Mrs. De-
Mile that she had been quite unrea-
sonable' in doing so.
Alone in her stateroom after signing
the arrangement she wondered what he
would think of her. She owed him so
much that she at least should have
stood by him. She felt that he would
be conscious of this How could she
have turned against him? He would
not understand of course he would
never understand. And he would hate
her with the others-more than the
others. 1t was all a wretched mud
die and she could not see her way out
of it.
tu re 1ifHnIlt
They listened to his plans with but lit.
tie interest, and he could not but see
that they were uncomfortable. The
situation was new to their experience,
and they were under a strain. They
nope around like lot of pouting boys
and girls, he growled to himself. But
it's the North cape now in spite of ev-
erything | don't care If the whole
crowd deserts me. My mind is made
up"
Try as he would, he could not see
Peggy alone He had much that he
wanted to say to her. and he hungered
for the consolation her approval would
bring him, but she chung to Pettingill
with a tenacity that was discouraging
The old feeling of jealousy that was
connected with Como again disturbed
him.
'She thinks that I am a hopeless
brainless IDIOT" he said to himself
"And | don't blame her either
Just before nightfall he noticed tina
his friends were assembling in thu
bow AS he started to join the grouI
Subway Smith and DeMille advanced
5 to meet him. Some of the others were
: smiling little sheepishly, but the TIVE
5 men We're pictures of solemnity and de
cision.
: Monty" said DeMille steadily, "w
have been conspiring against you AM
have decided that we sail for New
York tomorrow morning"
Brewster stopped short, and the ex
preston on his face was one they new
L H..