Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-09-12
THE Plunderers
Z BY c.. j. cUTLFFE HYNE. !
CHAPTER Xxx.
DECISIONS.

DE1lolO.NS.
When Cambel arrived back at the
Port Edes. he found Captain Kettle
sitting In the chart room with IA pen
ripped between his teeth and Il rhyn-
ing dictionary in his hands surrender
ing It's reluctant treasures. on the
mahogany desk in front OF him was Il
sheet of much corrected manuscript,
with n capital letter at the commence
ment of every line. And beyond. in a
Jam pot. was Il bunch OF waxen leaved
magnolia flowers. with two coral pink
magnolia cones. set around with a frill
of sheeny leaves.
Captain over Kettle was composing
a sonnet on the magnolia. n logged
work was trying to finish what "a one
line inspiration had begun. The two
gaunt mosquitoes who had slipped into
the room when the wire gauze door
was shut grew visibly fatter without
danger to life or wing. In his fine
creative frenzy Captain Kettle never
felt their touch.
Hello. Kettle, got back at last. you
see. and Il devil of a time I've had Of
It,"
Than popish saint more holier."
wrote the little man, reading the words
AZ tn>. sprawled across the paper.
And now l want to get in something
the thing. only 1t dom seem to lay up
handily with the rest. Angels are GER
tain to have good breath. and these
flowers smell as fine as anything I've
tried. Just take a sniff at them your
self. Well. Mr.. Cambel. here you are
again. and ! haven't aid I'm glad to
see you. But l am. It's as good as
meat to put eyes on you and hear
what's to be doing next. l tell you it's
been pretty dull work with the donkey
man off all day bird shooting. and me
us ships husband sitting here on my
own tail. l fancy you'd be Il bit as
tonished at walking on board same as
Ing to hail a boat"
"A little. not much. was prepared
for anything after what | saw be-
tween Point Sebastian INT here
Il fancy they'll have to bring out
new geography books about this part
OF Florida. l never saw such a place.
Why. sir. the blessed ground fairly got
up and walked during that blow. l
don't think the steamer shifted much.
Canted Il bit to leeward maybe, but
didn't bulge out of her keel groove, but
1t was the shores that fetched weigh.
When once they broke mornings, the
trees set back their shoulders and
sheeted home. and great islands pore
down on us like ships. The lightning
burned flares all the time, and l
watched 1t through the chart room
ports because none could stand on deck
outside. I'm not Il frightened a Mr..
Cambel, or a superstitious. but l
houEh that night vas too hard for q
cyclone. I tell you, sir. and you may
ugh II you like. l reckoned it up that
judgment day had come. and l got the
prayer book and read myself the burial
service clean through. sea bits and all.
80 as to fetch whatever happened. land
or water. I haven't led n bad life, Mr..
Cambel. Pretty religious ashore, and
never sparing myself trouble In haz-
Ing n crew so as to carry out ow ler's
business at sea, and when I'd said that
burial service l felt I'd done all that
could be expected.
I'D heard II chap prophesy about
The end OF the world in Waterloo street.
Liverpool. not a year ago. and l bought
a pamphlet OF him. and it showed the
thing out according to Revelation and
Daniel all as clear as a big book could
have done. 1t was to finish in 1908. and
there was n picture of the earthquake
and another picture OF people going
up to the sky in their ordinary clothes.
And when l looked out through the
glass at that tearing. raging DEVILS
work that was going on outside, and
he river and the lakes disappearing
before my eyes. and dry land taking
their place. l felt sure that the chnp
was right In the main. only he'd got u
bit foul in his dates.
- OAAA WIZ IN Ltl0 u
tie man added p~laintively-"I wished
I'd q new washed jacket aboard. Tho
one I'd on was that smeared and
crumpled l should have felt ashamed
to appear in It,"
., Wei. I'm glad you weren't hurt"
for any one in this area"
y came through 1t. Mr.. Cambel,
without so much as n finger nall brok-
en-. . did the donkeyman. He came
up here and asked IL 1 wanted him
when tho blow began, and when told
him NO he went TO his own room
and turned in and slept till It was
over. Now. the niggers didn't. When
efie scaimcr began to list. they got
scared. Thought she'd turn bilge up-
permost. I suppose. and bolted down to
their fishbox OF a schooner which lay
alongside. OF course when the shores
slipped their moorings and bore down
on her the schooner had to give. and
the nfgSers arc buried somewhere yon-
der to ~stnrhoard but whcrc I don't
know. Two looked. but there isn't so
much rs a spa there isn't so much as
a Whit CT circus to put a label on the
spot. I've had mighty little to do lat
terly. and l might havo stuck up
some sort OF n %signboard to 'em, mig
gers though they were. IL 1 could have
fixed thep place to an acre. but when u
gravc head gets bigger than that you
may be writing here licth' in moro
senses than one. So I left them quiet.
course with the steamer high and
dry up country. M the river two
miles away through thick woods. It
wasn't much good. our messing with
paint pots and changing name plates.
We'd built a new forchatch and shipped
It. and grcased up the engines. and as
that seemed to me oil that was ncces.
sary. v given my shipmate holiday
ever since. There's the making of y
sportsman In our donkcymaiI. Mr..
Cambcl. There isn't a thing that crawls
or flies or swims in this section OF
Florida that blessed Irishmnn hasn't