The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-07-03
"pId You Ever Hear of Scarlet sIras7"

him on the quiet Sam colored M,
for he saw the old fellow was on TO
Handy's nudge, but before he could
say word the stranger laughs quite
jolly like
That's the correct ticket" he ses,
noddng at Dandy Il like to see
saiOrmen careful Of their money, be.
ing as they have to work so hard
for It, You don't need to spend any
thing with me; I'm well paid for what
| do and have plenty of loose change.
If your mate has come into bit Of
coin. as ! heard some Of the boys
sayIn', the best thing he can do is to
salt it away and not waste IT.
With that he called for more re-
freshmcnts and paid the waiter out
of a big bundle of bills that made
Bandys and Sans eyes fairly bulge
out of their heads when they seen It.,
Must be a good business, yours, -
scs Bandy, "judgIn from the size Of
your roll"
why yes" sos the old follow, ut
pays well, and ! hope it'll pay better
still before ! get ready to retire into
private life"
Might | ask wot business you're
in?" SEES Dandy. quite polite
The old chap smiled again and
coughcd.
Before | tell you that he SEES,
you must both promise not TO betray
me. I've taken a fancy TO you boys
and feel like trustin' you, but a man
has to be careful In my line"
Bandy and Sam was all ct up with
curiosity, and they swore earnest to
keep their mouths shut. The old fel.
Ter looked around as II to make sure
nobody was piping him of, and losses
EN- a card with the name Austin Bar
ram on it in nice printed letters.
Down in the corner was a picture
of scrcamin' eagle with the words
~. S. Secret Service" underneath.
Did you ever hear of Scarlet Silas,
the pirate terror of the South seas ?"
whispered Barram. leanin' across the
table. They both shook their heads.
81 thought pirates was out of date"
ses Bandy. Anyway | never heard
of EN- shippln' on the lakes"
"Of course you didn't" ses Barram.
This chap is too big hlghnyer to
so foolin round duck pond even II
his trade was carried on here, which
II amt. No, boys, Scarlet Silas is n
bloody.minded ruffan that has defied
the European governments, robbin'
vessels in the Pacific ocean, cutting
the threats of men, women and chill
dren, sinkin' ships with all hands on
board, and done all such devlments
for years"
I've heard Of such things" SOS
Bandy, who remembered reading lot
of hair.raisin' sea stories when he was
kid, but ! thought they was all
done away with"
That's right" ses Barram. This
here Scarlet Slas Is the last of the
bunch, and he quit the game ten
years ago and settled down. But the
British government hit his trail the
DtHtT uuN anu ne lit bul Vi mum ana
started for the States There's n re-
ward of $4,000 for him. dead or
alive. Two weeks ago got the tip
that he had come to Chicago and
here | am. I'm closin In on him now,
and figure that | may want some help.
That's why ] picked out you fellows.
You're young and strong and got lots
OF nerve. II you agree to go In with
me, can promise you $4,000 to cut
up between the two of you when we
land our man"
We're on ses Bandy and Sam
in the one breath; but why don't you
have the police help you?"
Not me-" ses Barram. "a amt bin
40 years in United States service for
nothing. They'd want all the credit OF
the capture and most of the reward.
It's different with you boys. can
see by your faces that you're honest.