Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-02-06

chemy. 1t resumed it's course in the /
direction Of our voyage. Each dis
covered that the others knew nothing,
and each Numbered against the as
founding fact of double wages.
"All know is the pays good, and
that's enough" concluded Thrackles |
from a bunk
1.-THE pays too good" growled Handy |
Solomon. "This amt no job to go |
look at the eclipse of the moon or the |
devils a preacher"
/ wat you maik heem, den|' queried |
Perdosa.
ITS treasure. of course" said Handy !
Solomon shortly.
He, he, hew laughed the negro |
without mirth.
whats the matter with you, doc
tori" demanded Thrackles.
'Treasurew repeated the niger
"You see dat box he done carry so
cairful? You see dat?'
A pause ensued. Somebody scratch
ed a match and lit pipe.
mo, l don't see that" broke out
Thrackles finally, with some impa-
thence. Il sabe how a man goes after
treasure with a box, but why should
he take treasure away in box?
What do you think, BuckoT' he sud
denly appealed to me.
1 looked up from my investigation
of the empty berths.
Il don't think much about it." l re-
piled, except that by the look OF the
stores we're due for more than Homo
lulu, and from the look of the light
we'd better turn to on deck"
An embarrassed pause fell.
"Who are you, anyway bluntly de
manded the man with the steel hook.
MY name is Eagen." l replied; I've
the berth of mate. Which of these
hunks are empty"
They indicated what | desired with
Just a trace of sullenneSs. l under
stood well enough their resentment at
having a ships officer quartered on
them-the foc'sle they considered as
: their only liberty when at sea and
my presence as a curtailment to the
freedom of speech. I subsequently did
my best to overcome this feeling, but
never quite succeeded
At my command the niger went to
his galley. l assembled to the deck.
Dusk was falling in the swift Califor-
MAN fashion Already the outlines OF
the wharf houses We're growing indis-
tinct, and the lights of the city We're
beginning to twinkle. Captain SelOver
1 came to my side and leaned over the
l rail, peering critically at the black wa
ter against the piles.
"She's at the food" he squeaked.
"And here comes the Lucy Belle"
The tug took us in charge and puffed
l with us down the harbor and through
the Golden Gate. We had sweated the
l canvas on her, even to the flying jib
}, and a huge club topsail she sometimes
: carried at the main, for the afternoon
t trades had lost their strength. About
: midnight we drew up on the Faral-
: lones.
. The schooner handled well. Our
j crew was divided into three watches.
an unusual arrangement, but comfor-
e table. Two men could sail her handi-
S ly in most sorts of weather. Handy
: Solomon had the wheel. Otherwise the
: deck was empty. The mans fantastic
+ locks, the hawk outline of his face mo-
o mentarily silhouetted against the phos-
e phorescence astern us he glanced to
!, windward, all lent him an appearance
+ of another day. l could almost i'm
agine | caught the CLEAN of silver but
ted horse pistols and cutlasseS at his
d waist
[ | broOded in wonder at what l had
v seen and how little l had explained
:. The number of boats, sufficient for a
It craft of three times the tonnage; the
l. capacity of the foc'sle with It's
It eighteen hunks, enough for a passen
q ger ship-what did it mean? And this
l. wild, unkempt, yillainous crew with its
master and his almost ridiculous con
r trast of neatness and filth-did DR.
Schermerhorn realize to what he had
p trusted himself and his precious eXpe
(, dition, whatever it might be?
e The lights of shore had sunk. The
E. Laughing Lass staggered and leapet
II jOyously with the glory of the oper
a. sea. She seemed alone on the bosom
q of the ocean, and for the life of me
d could not but feel that was embark
u, ed on some desperate adventure. The
ii notion was utterly illogical That
Is knew we'll In sober thought l, a re
id porter, was shadowing a respectable
and venerable scientist, who In turn
ID was probably about to investigate a
s. length some little known deep sea con
ar ditions of phenomena of an unexploret
island. But that did not suffice to N!
lie Imagination. The ship, its surround
u ings, its equipment, its crew-all reat
fantastic. So much the better story,
d. thought, struggling my shoulders a
last
th
lie CHAPTER X
N - FTER my watch below the mex