Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-07-12
The Plunderers
= BY C. j. cuTLIFEE HYNE.

Deen gong on, YOU'D nave naQ nalI the
crew sick on your hands for a dose
of that kind. They're bad enough after
our sour doctors physic, but for a
tumbler OF liquor and a spell OF idle
ness an old sailor would nave an ear
II three toes cut off any day. How
ever" he added, rising stifiiy to his
feet and stretching, the chief and the
donkeyman III see he doesn't malinger
for long. They are none of them sweet
on doing another mans work, that
gang. Heigh no! See that line OF surf
we're bringing over the lea quarter"
1.-The Tortugas" 2"
"The Dry Tortugas. There's a YAM
kee convict station on n Of them
Don't mention it,
Kettle grinned. "We shall have made
enough westing soon, and then our
course viii be pretty nearly due north,
so as to dodge the gulf stream as much
as possible, and" he added In a lower
tone, ito get the ship as near as may
be To your channel into Florida before
we jettison the crew"
I'VE shall run into the ship tracks
from all h northern gulf ports to
Europe"
Il know, and we must lake our
chance of not being spotted. For a
western there's a regular string OF
traffic trailing down TO the Dry Tortu-
gas. There you are for one. Look at
that old wind jammer."
He jerked with his thumb toward a
green painted wooden Italian bark
which was squattering past less than
a quarter OF a mile away, right athwart
the last rays of the windy sunset. She
wa driving merrily homeward, send
ing her bows into it until the seas
creamed against her catheads and
darkening her iibs with brine up more
than half their height. She was me-
thodically reducing sail, a dozen
many hued picturesque tatterdemalions
were aloft on the foretopgallant yard
hammering the struggling canvas into
the gaskets.
The cowardly Dagos," said Kettle.
That's always their way. Snug down
to topsails as soon as it gets dark, even
IL there's only a catspaW blowing. BY
James, with a breeze like this I'd be
carrying royals on that old tub. And
yet" he went on, with his beard In the
heel of his fist and his eyes gazing
out over the tumbling waters, "and yet
they say there used TO be poetry In a
craft of that sort, while there was
never and never will be with a steamer.
/ suppo the reason is that q poet has
to be a man who knows nothing what
ever about what he writes upon. /
know that some chaps who string verse
nowadays have been on a steamboat
and smelled the smells Of her and
seen her lines and watched the men
who do the work, and yet they make
no poetry about it. But OF the old
crew who wrote about moaning harbor
bars, and fair white pinions and lusty
wooden walls, and trusty hearts OF
oak. why, they knew M more about
the thing than q, London bobby does
OF angels. And that, / suppose, was
why their stuff. is called poetry and the
r.I 81. ~ ,tn1l 49, rnnnffan1
You give mo a smart steamboat. Mr..
Cambel. There's all the a on
ner III old sailorman's got any use for,
and he understands it, too, even If he
can't put 1t down on paper"
II believe you're right" sale Cambel
thoughtfully, and some day a new
Dana or a new Michael Scot will come
ashore from the upper bridge, or from
an electric lighted forccastle, or a
forced draft engine room, and show
II to us plainly, whereupon we shall
swear that we saw it for ourselves all
along. But" he went on, with a sud-
den froyyn, 'for the present let that
drift. You and l have enough to think
of in our own immediate present With
out speculating over a possible prophet
which Is to rise"
I'VE have, but so much must be ar
ranged by 'he chance Of the ONE
that i don't see we ear do much good
by talking it over how All arrange
ments that can be made ahead, l fancy, |
we've got fixed up already. BY the
way, | suppose you are sure that o u
explosion in the forehold won't be too
big. 1t would be an awkward do for
us IL the old ships bottom was really
blown out in sober earnest"
The sun had gone entirely out alto
gether. and the young moon was sail
ing high amid scurrying cloud banks.
In the white n shifting light Patrick
Gamblers face looked pale and anxious.
You're sure" Kettle repeated, lit
won't be q case OF the engineer being
hoisted with his own thinganmy?'
mo, I'm not sure, and that's what
hothers me-. You see n couldn't
quite get an expert TO measure out the
precise necessary dose, n I've had to
guess at 1t. / daren't undercharge my
bomb. IL our explosion was a fizzle
and the crew didn't get scared and run,
why, then they'd take her up torNew
Orleans whether we liked 1t or not. and
she'd be examined. Then that intake
valve couldn't be missed, and It could
MT be explained away. Man, as you
know, the things as big as a sluice
gate"
"All the hilge pumps in the gulf OF
Mexico couldn't make Roadway against
that valve once ii was fairly opened.
It's the quickest and cleverest way of
scuttling a steamboat l ever heard Of
or read about. But I don't quite see
how the valve Is going to be turned"
You leave hat to me-"
You seem used to the game said
Kettle. with a half sheer.
mo. I'm not" returned the other
quickly. I've never had my fingers in
anything so ugly or dirty before, and
because | dent want TO have the ex-
perSence over again I'm going TO make
this turn TO a big profit or get killed
in the trying. I'm tired and sick of this
wild Sucketing life. A woman drove
me to 1t, but / believe IL / had the
means to settle down In comfort now I
could forget all about her and wake
up other new interests"
well" sad Kettle, IT hope we may
each OF us buy q farm out of this
racket. but ! tell you straight I'm not
Ovsrswe1t on the chances. To begin
With. you and ! can't handle this
Steamboat aIore. It's an absolute cer-
tainty we must have another hand TO
help us. You'll nave to take the wheel
aud pilot her through. II ron can,
though that's a mighty big job for one
mar. and the odds are about ten to- one
you'll pile her UP somewhere. I've got
TO be below. At a pinch might drive
the engines. though l don't know much
OF the trade, but I can't do that and
fire six fwo-hoie boilers and wheel
Goals out of the bunkers as well. Now