The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1906-10-31
Dlttlng a
Dousc Boat
By CLAUDE PAMARES
Copyright, 1908, by M. M. Cunningham

i Harry Stevens was New York ScuIp-
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
"sculped" and marry him was mat
ter that gave him headaches. Both the
artist and the sculptor had sisters that
were 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 a fairly
wealthy widow, had become possessed
of a house boat and had determined to
float around Princess bay and up the
Shrewsbury river for 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, 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 telegram calling Harold
Strong to Philadelphia to see about
| painting the portrait of millionaire.
The artists return was indefinite.
He knew that he was leaving a rival
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 a millionaire can be found
sitting on his front steps and smoking
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. I didn't telegraph
you. 1 want no painting of any sort l
don't like the look Of you. If you are
honest, then some one has made 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
witch 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 at good sized town in Penn
sylvania and was asked by the porter
If he wished to stop there. He had got
into car that had been switched off
at junction on to another road while
ne was doing the numbering act.
1t was noon when the artist reached
New York. 1t was 2 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 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 q house
boat in Princess bay tonight?" repeat
ed Captain links as he bent his head
to scratch the back Of his neck. Eyes,
sir, reckon you can II you've got a
twenty dollar bill about you. You've
got 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 1t. That's her great holt.
young man-picking up things. There's
goin' to be fog tonight as sure's you
live, but If don't hit that house boat
plumb center before midnight then I'll
never sing gospel hymns of Cape Hat
teras ag'in."
Harold Strong closed with the offer.
The crew of the Merry Sal consisted
young man and boy of ten who had
run away from home and was trying
Life on the pillows. The captain look
ID upon the artist as a husband pursu-
Ing an clipping wife; the lunkhead look
ed upon him as an idiot for giving up
$50 when the captain would have TAX
en- $40, and the runaway boy figured
It out that he was some sort Of CRATER
escaping from the police.
The opinion Of the crew did not affect
Mr.. Strong, however. He helped to cast
of the schooner and cant her head the
right way and hoist the mainsail, and
presently she was careering down the
bay and avoiding as many statues Of
Liberty, men-of-war and Staten Island
docks as she conveniently could. What
she couldn't avoid she crlwled over
until she struck deep water on the
other side. She struck the fog at Fort |
Hamilton, and then the anxious artist |
asked:
Captain, isn't this going to make it
difficult for us to find the house boat?" |
"Not at all, my son-nDt at ALL" was |
the confident reply. 81 told you we |
should have a fog, but that it would |
make no difference. The Merry Sal is
a-sailin' of herself She's a-follerin' of |
her own nose. I've told her that |
want her to hit house boat called the |
Colony Damned, and she'll do it or
never look me in the face again."
''The Colonial Dame is the name Of
the boat" corrected the artist.
'Wel, I got near enough to it for
the schooner to understand what is
Won inst oniov voI1rSoIf oDd /