Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-05-26

chest before they RAM"
Probably not" replied barrow.
"Slade spoke Of Pulz taking to the
maintop and being shaken out by the
sudden shock of wave. That may
have been a volcanic billow. What
ever 1t was, 1t undoubtedly heeled the
ship sufficiently to bring down both
lids, which were rather dellcately bal.
| anced."
Eyes, for Billy Edwards found tina
! chest closed and locked" said Barnett.
"Of course. 1t was a spring lock.
You sent Mr.. Edwards and his men
aboard. No such experts as Pull or
Perdosa were i'll your crew. Conse-
| quently it took longer to get the chest
| open. When at length the lid was
raised there was a repetition of the
| tragedy. Mr.. Edwards and his men
leaped. Probably they were paralyzed
almost before they struck the water.
Your bo's'n, whom Slade picked up,
was the only one who had time even
| to grab life preserver before the i'm
| pulse toward water became irresistl-
BILE. There was no element of fright,
you UNDERSTANDING desertion of their
post. They were dragged as by the
sweep of tornado" barrow spoke
direct to Captain Parkinson. eff there
is. any .feeling among you other than
sorrow for their death, it is unjust
and unworthy"
"Thank you, Mr.. Darrow," returned
| the captain quietly.
| eve found the chest closed again
when the empty ship came back" OBJ.
served Barnett.
| Being masterless, the schooner be.
gan to yaw,'' continued barrow. "The
first time she came about would have
heeled her enough to shut the chest
Now came the turn of your other men. y
lives and MCGUIRE" said the captain
as barrow paused.
| The glow came again that night, and
the next day we picked up Slade," said
Barnett.
"You know what the glow meant for
your companions" said barrow.
'But the ship! The Laughing Lass,
man! She's vanished. No one has
| seen her since"
you are wrong there" said barrow.
II have seen her.
leaned to him.
Yes, have seen her. l wish I had
not. Let me bring my story bnck to
the cave on the island. After the vol
| canic gases had driven me to the ref.
uge sat near the mouth of the cave
looking out into the darkness. That
was the night of the Tth, the night you
saw the last glow. 1t was very dark,
except for occasional bursts of fire
from the crater. Judge of my in
credulous amazement when in an &C.
cess of this illumination I saw plainly
a schooner hardly mile offshore, com.
ing in under bare poles.''
Under bare poles" cried Slade.
'"rhe halliards must have disinte
grated from some slow action of the
celestium. 1t could be destructive, ter.
| rifically destructive. You shall judge
There was the schooner, naked as your
hand. Possibly might have thought IL
hallucination but for what came aft.
er. Darkness fell again. supposed
then that Handy Solomon's crew
were managing-or mismanaging-the
Laughing Lass without the aid of their
leader, whom had satisfactorily bur.
led. I hoped they would come ashore
on the rocks. Yes. l was vengeful then
| "Of sudden there sprang from the
darkness ship of light. You have all
seen those great electric effects at ex.
positions. Some one touches a button
you know. 1t was like that, only that
the piercingly brilliant jeweled wonder
Of ship was set in the midst of q
swirl of varicolored radiance such as
can't begin to describe. You saw II
from distance. Imagine what it was
coming close upon you that way. dead
on, out Of the night-a living glory, 8
living terror"
His voice sank. With shaking
hand he fumbled amid his cigarette
papers.
| ut came on. "A human figure, glow
ing like diamond ablaze, leaped ou
| from If. anotbar shot down FROM, +h.