, 1909-05-20
CHAPTER xI.
In Which

~ 49, eSPfdiH TO hCF Ld0H6Ntp.
gazed directly into his bullying
eyes with a depth Of contempt l made
no slightest effort to disguise. Then
arose deliberately to my feet.
Anderson, pluck that knife out and
put it back in your belt"
Tn damned If"
DO as ] say quick. you surly brute"
interrupted. sternly. Not another
word. I'm in command here yet, and
you'll obey orders. or I'll make you"
He understood / meant 1t, with his
innate cowardice plainly apparent, yet
| did not yield until futile interfered
I with a sarcastic laugh.
The captain isn't exactly the sort
to be handled in that kind O. way,
Bill" he said. smoothly. Hes a
deep-water sailor. not a land-shark,
but | guess he's likely ready enough
by this time to say what he's willin'
to do
The entire situation seemed to IN
roll before me like a panorama as /
stood there. hastily making up my
mind for action. | was afioat on the
high seas. absolutely powerless to re-
sist the set purpose of these men sur
rounding me, all rendered desperate
by greed. Much as l despised Anderson.
] comprehended that his threat was
no idle one; nor did | possess a single
comrade on board who would stand
at my back. | was utterly alone; nay,
worse even than alone-with two
women dependent upon me. II | out
wardly agreed with these ~rascals. and
thus retained semblance of command
over them. l might possibly preserve
all our lives; l could. at least for the
the present. protect the women from
insult, perhaps from danger.
We'll, Mr., Tuttle." | said. quietly,
II may as well return you my an
swer n time as another. / don't give
q tinker's damn for Anderson's
threats. and don't altogether put
much faith in u yarn. But per-
haps it's worth taking a chance at.
What is to be my authority on board,
providing I agree to go with you""
You're the captain"
Absolutely in commando"
He shifted about, appearing a trifie
disconnected under my rapid Ques-
tioning.
Well. yes; in everything concernin'
the discipline an sailin' of the yacht"
he explained. There won't be no
fuss about that job, sir. But We amt
a regular articled crew, bein' that
we're all here on shares in the enter
prise. IN so. as regards the purpose
OF the voyage, it'll have to be decided
by majority vote. However. that dom
need make no trouble"
What is to be my share II you fad
the treasurer"
He thrust his head out of the win
low nearest him, looking up and down
the deck: then he leaned across the
table toward me. lowering his voice
until it was little more han whisper.
You get one-ffth. sir: the four OF
us here get one-ffth each; the other
fifth is 10 be divided among the crew.
Amt that fair enough, sir?"
1T would appear so: yet there Is
still another matter of some impor-
lance to be decided first. There are
two women on board: how about
them?"
What" The vibrant excl ement
| " MS hlShli'tiiNu hoSo4 oie 49,
echoed by the others.
This steam-yacht we have stolen
was the property of the earl of Oar
lington." / explained. Lady Darling
ton and her maid are still on board, in
the cabin aft"
This unexpected and undesirable in
formation seemed fairly to stun the
fellows. their eyes meeting blankly. l
heard Bill Anderson swear.
The question is, how can we best
dispose of them? This is no excur-
sion Tor laGies. no nIt. -.r- or any
kind. we've started on. .all we NIL
some passing vessel and trans Sh D
them. or shall we run in TO Juan f2r-
nandez and Put them both safely
ashore?"
None of the three men ventured TO
glance toward me and for u long
moment no answering voice spoke
Then futile gave oily utterance TO
words of compromise.
Blame II his don't sort o knock
me all out. sir" he acknowledged. i
don't exactly cotton to either of those
! idees of yours, an | don't know what
is best. | guess I'll have to talk 1t
over with my mates here first, but 20
can tell them ladies' that well get en-
out somehow before we turn sou ~
ANYHOW, they don't need to wo"'.
none bout bein' ill-treated. TAel
take it. sir, that you mean to sail VIII
u.s."
There doesn't appear to be any
thing else | can do.
You're about ri2ht there. wen
let's stake hands on 1t"
| did so. deliberately ignoring DOH
the others. and feeling my hel
witch when | touched his iabby pain
futile chewed ~savagely on the toDac-
co in his cheek.
".Jamp the women!" he m.nen
4, ,udden ANGER. Better give the