The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-04-20
Ole
MYSTERY
By Stewart Edward White
And Samuel Hopkins Adams
Copyright, leO7.by Mcclure, Phillips Co.


or to leave. After little a tiny
stream, growing each moment. began
to flow past my feet. 1t sought its
channel daintily, as streamlets do, feel
ing among the stones in eddics, quiet
pools, miniature falls and rapids. For
the moment I did not realize what II
could be. Then the light caught 1t
down where the niger waited. and |
saw II was red.
overpowering Now gradually ii was
losing violence. l began TO hear the
lblasphemies, ferocious cries. screams
Of anger hurled against the cave walls
by the men. The thick. sticky smell
grew stronger. the light seemed to
grow DINNER, as though IT could not
burn in that fetid air. A seal came
and looked mp at me. big tears rolling
from her eyes. Then she flippered
almlessly away. out of her poor wits
with terror The sight finished me.
staggered down the length of the
black tunnel TO the boat.
After long interval a little three
ter's edge, caught sight of me and,
with sQueal OF fright, dived far.
Poor little devil! l would not have
hurt him for worlds As far as
know. this was the only survivor OF
all that herd
The men soon appeared. one by one,
tired, sleepy eyed. glutted, walking In
a catlike trance of safety. They We're
blood and tatters from head 70 foot.
and from drying red masks peered
their bloodshot eyes. Not a word said
they, but tumbled into the boat, push
ed off, and Ia moment we We're float
Ing in the full sunshine again.
We rowed home In an abstraction.
For the moment Berserker rage had
burned itself out. Handy solomon
continually wetted his lips. like an ami
NAL licking its chops. Thrackles stared
into space through eyes drugged with
killing. No one spoke.
We landed in the cove and We're sur
prised TO ind 1t in shadow The after
noon was far advanced. over the hill
we dragged ourselves and down to the
spring. There the men threw them
selves fiat and drank in great gulps
until they could drink no more. We
built a fire, but the Niger refused to
cook.
Some one else turn" he growled
Il cook aboard ship"
Perdosa, who had hewed the fuel, at
once became angry.
Il cut heem de wood" he said. 81
do my share. Eef cut heem de wood
you mus cook heem de grub!'
But the Niger shook his head, and
Perdosa went into an ecstacy OF rage.
He kicked the fire TO pieces. lie scat
tered the unburned wood up and down
the beach. He even threw some OF 1t
into the sea.
"Eef you no cook heem de grub you
no hab my woodr' he shrieked, with
enough oaths to sink his soul.
Finally Pull interfered.
Here, you foreigners" said he,
"qult IL! Let up, l say! We got to
eat You let that wood alone or you'll
pick It up again.
screech. Pull was small, but nimble,
and understood rough and tumble
fighting He met Perdosa's rush with
two swift blows, a short arm jab and
an uppercut. Then they clinched and
in moment were rolling over and
over just beyond the wash Of the surf.
The row walked the Niger from his
sullen abstraction. He seemed to come
TO himself with a start; hiS eye fell
supposedly on the combatants. then lit
up with an unholy JOY. He drew his
knife and crept down on the fighters.
1t was too good an opportunity to pay
off the Mexican.
But Thrackles interfered sharply.
Come orr he commanded. "None
o. that"
Go to h-lr' growled the niger.
A great rage fell on them all, blind
and terrible, like that leading TO the
slaughter OF the seals. They fought
Unfortunately. hitting at each other
with fists and knives. 1t was difficult
to tell who was against whom. The
sound Of heavy. breathing, dull blows,
the tear of cloth and grunts of punish
ment received; the swirl of the sand,
the heave OF struggling bodies, all rlv-
eted my attention. so that | did not
see Captain Ezra Selover until he stood
almost at my elbow.
"Stopw he shrieked In his high
faisetto voice.
And would you believe II, even
through the blood haze Of their com
bat the men heard him and needed?
They drew reluctantly apart, got to
their feet, stood looking at him through
reeking brows half submissive and
half defiant The bullheaded Thrackles
even took a half step forward, but
froze In his tracks when Old Scrubs
looked at him.
IL hire you men to fight when l tell
you to and only then" said the captain
sternly. what does this meanr
He menaced them one after another
with his eyes, and one after another
they quailed. And their plottings,
their threats, their dangerousness dis
sipated like mist before the command
Of this one resolute man. These pirates
who had seemed so dreadful to me
now were nothing more than cringing
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