Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-08-08
THE STORY OF THE
C. O STEWARD

old man knows his business, but no one
else knows it,"
The mystery of the thing only deepened
forwards admiration for the chief in
spector. He had often heard of the cele-
brated cases In which this man had fig
ured. but now he was to see history in
the making. The glimpses OF the human
side Of Barnes added to the fascination.
VINO would dream that this old, white
haired man. who shaved twice a day.
drank coffee by the quart and talked of
crlm1nolOgy and Jurisprudence like II judge
on the bench, would he capable OF frus-
trating the sordid devices of vulgar snug
glers?
The chief made his survey quickly and
peckoned to the others to join him. a
deep-throated bell was striking twelve.
The old man pulled out an open-faced sill
yer watch. the back of which was perfect
iy smooth from constant wear. A piece of
cora that a shoestring served
the purposes OF a watchguard. Barnes
scanned the face OF his timepiece and then
gave a whimsical smile as If to say that
the big clock was right.
The fog was thick on the river, and at
long intervals the silence was broken by
the shrill piping OF some vessel as 1t
plowed Its dangerous way up or down the
stream. Through the de1ss veil that hung
over the waters could be seen a dirty yell
low blur. CLANCY pointed in that direc-
ton.
That's the lantern hanging on the bow
of the Vulture."
The chief mediiated for a moment
There was "A silent chewing of the thumb
nail. Presently he spoke:
This is not n waiting game, Clancy.
It's a case for speedy action. Is the
launch ready"
Clancy's reply was a low prolonged
whistle. Soon Il faint pun, pun was heard.
and Il rakish looking little boat glided out
of the fog from nowhere and was at their
service.
They climbed In. The engineer and two
uniformed night inspectors awaited them.
Barnes whispered something to the man
in charge of the steering apparatus. He
gazeu at the mist before him.. and started
In the direction OF the dirty yellow blur.
The moon. which had been shining. crept
behind 81 big cloud. and the darkness was
complete. The fog. added to the raw and
chilly air, made the adventure uncertain
as well as disagrceable. A headlight was
fastened on the how of the launch, but ii
was kept covered as much as possible so
az not to unduly alarm the occupants of
the Nulture. orcc when a big %ferryboat
coming from the other aide nearly cap
sized the launch the men grumbled.
but Sarnes settled the whole question with
II terse reference to the old adage about a
miss being as good as d mile. A little lat
err a putting tug. pulling a great coal barge,
barely graZed the s;ern of the launch.
Presently the moon came out again. and
soon after that the fog was dissipated a
bit. The dirty yellow blur became more
pronounced unit! it finally developed into
a distinc. light against the background of
the misty night. The black hull of the
Nu!ture came into sight. and while the
eye OF every man in the launch was glued
on the big vessel the three men were
startled by a splash, as If something had
dropped into the water. When their eyes
became accustomed to the gloom they saw
that a boat had been lowered and that a
man was climbing down the rope ladder.
CLANCY" said Barnes, softly, you take
charge of this"
The nimble assistant picked up a dark
lantern and pointed ii i'm the direction of
the rowboat VIXEN 1t was properly TO-
cused he pushed back the slide. and the
man dangling in mid-air was pictured in
Il halo of bright light. He let out a foul
oath:
Cockney accent.
Nothing" replied Clancy softly. EEK
cept that Uncle SANS on guard"
The fellow was burly and had a red
face and light curly hair. He wore a
cap. Il flannel shirt and velvet trousers.
He was about to hurl back "A defiance
when it occurred to him that it would be
tR'' iCthNs " tooA 80 Nv y l
officers.
well. what is 1t you want?' he asked
finally. in surly tones.
Your name. your business and the OBJ
ject of this midnight excursion" was the
tcrse reioiader.
This official formula did not swee,en the
mans temper. He mu,nblcd something
unpleasant. In which the words, "imperti-
nent." damn and Yankees" could be
imperfcctly distinguished. After that he !
raised his voice and said civilly enough:
MY name is Ben altman I'm the
second steward on the Vulture. just In
from Calcutta, and I'm going shore to
spend the night with some relatives"
THANK you,'' replied Clancy: that's
quite comprehensive. Now. merely as a
matter OF form We'll have to take a look
at your boat. and you'll have to help us
search the Vulture."
During the dialogue Barnes and For
ward remained In the background, over
Swallowed by the friendly fog. The chief
kept his eyes and ears open and did not
miss a single word or movement on the
part of the second ,cwardo of the Vulture. |
Clancy's demand annoyed the man excess
lively. but nc finally agreed to it. and the
alert assistant and the two night in
spectors quickly got down to work. They |
found nothing contraband In the rowboat. |
and the stewards person was innocent of
anything contrary to law. The search
of the Vulture took longer and was more
complicated. Clancy and his two assist
ants went through the stewards quar-
ters with the tenaci;y of fine tooth combs. |
They paid special attention to the coal
bunkers-favoritc, spots for the conceal
ment of smuggled goods-and even went
80 far as 10 examine the linen chests and
the pantry. The second steward gave
them the keys To the various closets, and
once when he volunteered to lift out some
of the packages Clancy waved him aside |
In melodramatic style. exclaiming: ITO |
many cooks spoil the BROTH
An hour had elapsed when they re-en- |
tered The launch. Tallman got into the |