Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-07-06
bltting q
FIcuse Boat
By CLAUDE pAMARES
Upright, 1900. by NJ. NJ. Cunningham

and ...l painted the portrait of Ruth
Bascomb and fallen in love with her.
Whether she returned his love or not
was the thing he was worrying over.
Harry Stevens was a New York sculp-
tor, and he had desired to bring out "A
marble bust OF Miss Bascomb and also
had fallen in love with her. AS to
whether she would consent to be
"sculpcd" aud marry him was a mat
ter that gave him headaches. Both the
artist and the sculptor had sisters that
we're friendly with Ruth Bascomb, and
this was the general situation for the
playwright to build on.
The present situation was that Ruth
Bascomb's mother, who was u fairly
wealthy widow. had become possessed
of a house boat and had determined to
float around Princess bay and up the
Shrewsbury river for a month or so.
Her guests were TO be the artist and
his sister and the sculptor and his sis
ter and two or three other persons.
a day was appointed. "A tug engaged
to tow the house boat down New York
bay and leave her at her first anchor
age, and all was going merrily when
the villain hidden in the thicket show
ed his hand.
1t always has been suspected that he
was a villain belonging to the same
club as the artist and sculptor. He
became aware of the house boat party,
and out of pure deviltry and from no
desire to see the sculptor get ahead of
the game he worked his little trick.
The day before the boat was to sail
he fixed up ii telegram calling Harold
Strong to Philadelphia to see about
painting the portrait of a millionaire.
The artists return was indefinite.
He knew that be was leaving a rival
behind him, and he knew that the CO.
lOnial Dame, as the craft was called,
would scarcely have come to anchor in
the bay and the moon risen above the
waters when that cheeky sculptor
would be talking soft nonsense to Ruth
Bascomb, but the artistic spirit was
strong within him.
He arranged with his sister to inter-
rupt if the sculptor tried to take advan-
tage of the occasion. Feeling himself
as secure as any man ever can feel
where a woman is concerned. he de-
parted on his mission, and the stately
Colonial Dame also departed on hers.
Sometimes Il millionaire can be found
sitting on his front steps and smoking
a fairly good cigar and waiting to be
interviewed. Again he is as elusive as
the midnight mosquito. The one the
artist sought was elusive. 1t took a
whole day to run him down, and when
he was finally brought to bay his reply
was:
Young man, don't try any Of your
confidence games on me If you want
to keep Out of Jail. l didn't telegraph
you. | want no painting of IL sort. |
don't like the look of you. If you are
honest, hen some one has made a fool
of you if you are a confidence man.
then try the first corner grocery"
Harold Strong had been bunkoed. 1t
was only natural that he should believe
the game had been played by his rival.
He didn't wait to devour even a sand
wich before catching a train for New
York. For three hours he sat in a
chair car and murdered the sculptor.
He killed him in seven different ways
and was planning the eighth when he
arrived ut a good sized town in Penn
sylvania and was asked by the porter
If he wished to stop there. He had got
into a car that had been switched off
at a junction on to another road while
he was doing the numbering act.
1t was noon when the artist reached
New York. 1t was > o'clock before
he began his hunt for some craft to
take him down to Princess bay and lay
him alongside the house boat. The
sculptor had had one moonlight night
in which to weave his net of romance
around the victim, but he should not
have another. The artist tried to char
ter all sorts of crafts, from an Albany
day boat to a sand barge. but the after
noon wore away and night was coming
on before he landed at the foot of
Thirty-ninth street, Brooklyn. and in
terviewed Captain links OF the Merry
Sal.
Can you charter me to find a house
boat in Princess bay tonight?" repeat
ed Captain links as he zen his head
to scratch the back of his neck. Yes,
sir, | reckon you can if you've got a
twenty dollar bill about you. You've
got a schooner right here which is not
much to look at compared with some
schooners, but if there is anything on
land or water that she can't pick up
I'd like to see it. That's her great holt.
young man-picking up things. There's
goin' to be a fog tonight as sure's you
live, but if l don't hit that house boat
plumb center before midnight then I'll
never sing gospel hymns off Cape Hat
teras ag'in."
Harold Strong closed with the offer.
The crew of the Merry Sal consisted
of the captain and a lunkhead Of a
young man and a boy of ten who had
run away from home and was trying
a life on the pillows. The captain look
ed upon the artist as a husband pursu-
ing an clipping wife; the lunkhead look
al unop him 40 IN idiot for OivinO nm