The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-22

"Jes' cinch up that mug O yours,
pardner,' said Masters quickly, and
his words carried the dangerous drawl
of the southwest. Set here a minute.
miss he said in voice of such gen.
tleness that the Rat began TO Singer
again.
Hey, there, gimme a hand to cut
this -- - rope" snaTled Murphy
forward. Masters Ieaped TO his aid.
Me hands is that numb 1 can't open
me knife" said Murphy. Masters
whipped a blade from his belt and
drew ii across the tense hawSeT, which
parted a strand wiping the skin from
! MurphyS jaw. Less than a quarter
! Of mile up stream the oyster tug was
racing down on the brim of the ebb
( tide.
"Chug-chug. chug-chUg. chug -chug. g"
/ thumped their own engine, as Salters
/ set in motion the heavy flywheel, and
successive explosions began to heat the
powerful cylinders. Salters leaped into
/ the wheel house and began to shove
/ down the spokes, the sloop turned i'm a
wide arc and moment later was rae
/ ing out TO sea.
/ Masters glanced astern toward the
/ pursuers, almost indifferently; he start
/ ed ahead with a leaping heart; the
ocean was there: the ocean of which he
/ had heard so much, dreamed so many
! times, and never seen! Then his rowing
| eye fell upon the huddled figure of the
/ girl and his face lost its eager inten-
sity and became kind. He stepped
| quickly toward her.
Come down in the cabin. miss" he
said. It's right cold out here"
A pallid face was turned up to him
and Masters grew suddenly embar-
! raised at something which the moon
| light showed him there. he had been
I on guard at the doorway when she
/ had surprised Salters i'm the study
/ French maid" Salters had growled. as
he emerged from the house with the
| woman. terrified to muteness. IF we
leave her here all hands gets nabbed -
/ Now. as he looked down at her. what
ever of chivalry there was i'm Masters
j recognized the caste and felt the blood
/ in his face.
He began TO stammer. "I-er-SaIt-
ma'am. You know" he went on eager
~, eve didn't want 10 carry you of
none, but we was afraid to leave you
behind"
Where are you taking me-" she
asked in a trembling voice.
/ oh, we're jes runnin' away. l reck-
on. said Masters redssuTingly. Don't
worry, ma am, you'll be all right: you
come down in the cabin now. / reckon
this boat has a cabin, hain't She ."
! He spied the cOmpaniOnway and led
her below Striking match. he dis
/ covered a lamp slung i'm gimbles from
! the bulkhead. small stove. which
/ sloWed dull red, made the cabin more
] than comfortably warm. but not dis
agreeable to one coming from tenn
/ perature of perhaps 10 degrees.
Masters lit the lamp and looked
about with involutary interest
| Say" he cried inqUisitively. this is
right cOzy amt it?"
! The note of unmistalxable interest
! aroused the woman from herself. She
stared at the young man curiOusIy. \
/ hoarse voice came down from above
Hey, Masters. come on Up. Them
/ felleTs in a-gainin on us
Scuse me, ma am" said Masters
and climbed to the deck. Murphy point
ed astern; in the blaze Of the moonlight
the vessel pursuing seemed very close;
at the least she had shortened the
separating distance.
/ Masters regarded her with a cool.
calculating eye; often he had shot COW
otes in the lambert moonlight of the
plains. and now it seemed to his skilled
estimation that the black cluster on her
/ forward deck doomed larger than any
coyote
/ Six reports from the pursuers came
IN quick succession. splinters flew.
| Murphy at the wheel cursed; Saiters
stepped behind the wheel house, covet-
ling the corner of hths-inch pine.
! Masters, a fine target in the full blaze
Of the moon, spun his forty-four by the
trigger guard on his index finger and
measured the distance again
Them fellers is gainin'." .snarled
Gal4
she'd oughter. Why don't you open I'D
on EN-, Masters, you're such a dandy
| with a gum"
''Ali right, old pard-" answered Mas
| tiers indifferently. He sauntered aft
/ and stood by the taffrail reckless.
! light-hearted, in a rollicking mood born
of this new. strange. exhilarating ex-
| perience, the salt, icy spray. the tum-
| bling tide-rip through which they
swashed; he threw his weapon above
his head and stood a sharp target
against the glazing white of the deck
/ house.
/ Three shots from the tug cut close.
| Look out. boys" called Masters, and
! began TO shoot Into a BUNCH as he
would have said. Men dropped behind
! the bulwaTks. some of their own ac-
cord, some of his: then. when he had
| emptied his big revolver he noticed
that the beat of his own engine had
/ altered in rhythm. Previously il had
sung: "Juba-this, Juba-that, Juba-had-
yellow-cat" What it now said
was: "Juba-this. Juba-that. Juba-this,
Juba-that' and no mention whatever
was made of the yellow cat. interest
ed in this phenomenon Masters looked
/ into the engine room and saw Salters
lowering over the machine, spanner i'm
one hand, oil can in the other, scraping