Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-07-18

tCIl % VI Ptll0 III libl SiLSSls OCIAtlC6,
some of them. You should have tried
him on those little silver coated chaps
marked c.. They're regular tw1sters."
Well, you see, he was twisted
enough already. poor devil. n II it
hadn't been for the donk eyman holding
him he'd have been overheard through
the ash hute to be rid of his misery.
So. as 1t was. I gave him u tumbksr
full Of raw whisky. and that seemed
gradually to unite him again out OF
his knots.'
The captain snorted. You're green
err than l thought. MIR. Cambel. II we'd
been going on. you'd have had hatf the
crew sick on your hands for a lose
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 have an ear
and three toes u off any day. How
ever" he added. rising stifiy to his
feet and stretching. the chief n the
donkeyman IL see he doesn't malinger
for long. They are none of them swesx
on doing another mans work, that
gang. Heigh no! See that line of sarf
were bringing over the lea Qunrter?"
THE Tortugas?
The Dry Tortugas. There's a Yam
kee convict station on one of them"
Don't mention It,"
Kettle grinned. I'VE shall have made
enough westing soon. and then our
course will 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 j~ettison the crew."
w shall run into the ship. tracks
from all h northern gulf ports to
Europe"
Il know, n we must take our
chance of not being spotted. Fer a
western there's a regular string OF
traffic trailing dow to the Dry Tortu-
gas. Their you are for one. Look at
that old wind jammer."
He
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 unset. She
was driving merrily homeward. send
ing her bows into 1t until the seas
Dreamed against her catheads and
darkening her jibs with brine up moro
than half their height. She was me-
thodically reducing sail, and 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 low
to tOpsails as soon as 1t gets dark. even
If 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.
l suppose the reason Is that a poet has
to be a man who knows nothing what
ever about what he writes upen. I
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 1t. 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 no more about
the thing than a London bobby does
why their stuff is called poetry and the
lubberly old wind TANNERS poetical.
You give mo a smart steamboat. Mr..
Cambel. There's all the on
her an old sailorman's got any use for.
and he understands 1t. too. even II he,
can't put 1t down on paper"
Il believe you're right" said Cambel
t~hOughtfully, land some day q new
Dana or a new Michael Scott Will come
ashore from the upper bridge. or from
an electric lighted forecastle, or q
forced draft engine oom and show
1t to us plainly. whereupon we shall
swear that we saw 1t for ourselves all
along: But" he went on. with a sud-
den frown. ( o the present let that
drift. You and l have enough to think
Of in our immediate present with
out specializing over a possible prophet
which Is to rise"
w have. but 30 much must be ar
ranged by The chance Of the momen
that I don't see we can dc much good
ments that can be made ahead. I fancy,
we've got fixed up already. BY the
way. I suppose you are sure that your
explosion in the forehold won't be too
big. 1t would be an awkward do for
us II 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 and shifting light Patrick
Gamblers face looked pale and anxious.
You're sure" Kettle repeated. lit
won't be q a ~ of the engineer being
hoisted with his own tbingammy?'
NO. I'm not sure, and that's what
bothers me. You see me couldn't
quite get an expert to measure out the
precise necessary dose, and I've had to
guess at 1t. / 'daren't undercharge my
bomb. II our explosion was a fexie
n the crew didn't get scarce and run,
why. then they'd take her up to New
Orleans whether we liked It 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 an big AZ a sluice
gate"
IAN the hilge pumps in the gulf of
Mexico couldn't make Roadway against
that valve once it was fairly opened.
It's b quickest and c~leverest way q
scuttling q steamboat I ever heard Of
or read about. But I don't quite see
how the valve 10 going to be turned"
You leave that to me-"
You seem used to the gamess said
Kettle, with q half sneer.