Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-02-11
CHAPTER ~.

CHAPTER Nv.
N semitropic Pacific weather the
unexpected so seldom happens
as to be negligible quantity.
- The Wolverine met with it on
June s. From some unaccountable
source in that realm of the heaven
securing trades came a heavy mist
Possibly volcanic action, deranging by
its electric and gaseous outpourings
the normal course of the winds, had
given birth to it. Be that as it may,
1t swept down upon the cruiser, thick
ening as it approached, until presently
1t had spread curtain between the
warship and Its charge. The wind
died. Until after fall of night the
Wolverine moved slowly, believing for
the schooner, but got no reply. Once
they thought they heard distant
shout of response, but there was no
repetition.
Probably doesn't carry any fog
horn" said Carter bitterly, voicing n
general uneasiness.
No log; compass crazy; without fog
signal; don't like that craft. Barnett
ought to have been ordered to blow
her up as a peril to the high seas"
"We'll pick her up in the morning
surely" said Forsythe. This can't
last forever"
Nor did it last long. An hour before
midnight pounding shower fell, lash
ing the sea into phosphorescent white
pess. 1t ceased, and with the growl
of leaping animal squall flu
rtously beset the ship. Soon the great
steel body was plunging and heaying
in the pillows. 1t was gloomy COM
pany about the wardroom table. Upon
each and all hung an oppression Of
spirit Captain Parkinson came from
his cabin and went on deck. Constitu-
tfonally he was a nervous and pessi
mistic man with fixed belief In the
conspiracy of events, banded for the
undoing of him and his. Blind or du-
bious conditions racked his soul, but
real danger found him not only pre-
pared, but even eager. Now his face
was a picture of foreboding
pulling on his string" observed the
fiippant Ives to his neighbor.
Worrying about the schooner. Hope
Billy Edwards saw or heard or felt
that squat coming" replied Forsythe,
giving expression to the anxiety that
all felt.
Hes a good sailor man, said Ives,
".:and that's a stanch little schooner by
the way she handled herself
cob, IT will be all right. said Carter
confidently. 1.-THE winds moderatlng
now
tBpt there's no telling how far out
of the course this may have blown
him."
Barnett came down, dripping.
aAnything new2" asked DIR. Trendon
The navigating officer shook his
head.
Nothing, But the captains in a
state of mind" he said.
whats wrong with him?"
"The schooner. Seems possessed
with the notion that there's something
wrong with her."
"Aren't you feeling a little TINT
way yourself?" said Forsythe. II am.
I'll take look around before l turn
in"
He left behind him silent crowd.
His return was prompt and swift.
Come on deck" he said.
Every man leaped as to an order.
There was that in Forsythes voice
which stung. The weather had cleared
somewhat, though scudding wrack still
blew across them to the westward.
Fhe ship rolled heavily. OF the sea
naught was visible except the arching
waves, but In the sky they beheld
again, with sickening sense of disas-
ter, that pale and lovely glow which
had SO bewildered them two nights
before.
1.-THE aurora!" cried Mcclure, the
paymaster.
ooh, certainly" replied Ives, with
sarcasm. dead in the west. Com
mon spot for the aurora. Particularly
On the edge of the south seas, where
they are thick,,',,.''e 'stn sS-ss' w {
Then what IS tt?..
N9body had an answer. Carter has
tened forward and returned to report.
It's electrical anyway" said Carter.
1.-THE compass is queer again.
aHdwards ought to be close to the
solution of 1T" ventured Ives. tThis
gale should have blown him Just about
to the center of INTEREST,"
"If only he isn't involved in it." said
Carter anxiously.
what could there be to involve
himf" asked Mcclure.
II don't KNOW said Carter slowly.
Somehow feel as if the desertion of
the schooner was in some formidable
manner connected with that light
For perhaps fifteen minutes the glow
continued. 1t seemed to be nearer mt
hand than on theFf former sighting. But
it;took no comprehensive form. Then
1t died away and all was blackness
again. But the officers of the Wolyer-
Inc had long been in troubled slumber.
before the sensitive compass regained
Its exact balance, and, with the shifting
wind to mislead her, the cruiser had
wandered by morning no man might
know how far from her course.
!. All DAY long Of June the Aysalyerine,
biilfbd by patches of mist and moving
rain squalls, patrolled the empty seas
without sighting the lost schooner
The evening brought an envelope of
fog again, and presently a,light breeze