The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1909-05-28

lllI l AAS NAllOs Z
what in the deuce shall l do for 6
smoke"
The shippers pipe is in the chart
house." | soueaked. M~idshipmen O,
tender years are known as squeakers
Good boy!" cried Chilo. Look Out
for the ship and the skipper-chiefy
the skipper" and he dived down the
ladder.
Now. the chances of the captain
coming on the bridge at such an
hour-gin and bitters time-were OF
the remotest. Nevertheless, keeping
half an eye on the 1%4,OOO-ton battle.
ship ahead of us, I kept one and a hall
glued on the fore-and-aft bridge.
Suddenly, to my amazement, I saw
the old man coming. My dive down
the port ladder equaled Chilo's, while
the way he showed the pipe in its
drawer and nipped up the s~tarboard
has v been beaten.
By that time the enemy was on US
saluted gravely and %fervently prayed
he might go on up to the bridge. Not
a bit of it! He put his gray head
into the charthouse and then started
back.
Some one has been smoking in
this charthouse!"
said nothing, and kept on say.
ing it.
The c%harthouse is full of smoke.
sir This time he addressed me di.
rectly,
l again said nothing.
"Who is the officer of the watch.
sir?"
My lips moved, but words failed to
come.
Officer of the watch!" he shouted
That was fatal. The suddenness of
Chllo's appearance almost fabber.
gasted me, while the way he clicked
his heels, saluted, dropped his tele.
scope and then calmly ignored the
captains frantic effort to save what
was already safe were a combined
masterpiece.
Had the gods been with us the old
boys nerves would have been so shat.
tered that he would have forgotten
what he had intended to say and gone
below to steady theui. But now he
waited a few seconds to recover
breath and then opened the ball with
a vengeance.
Some one has been smoking in
that c~harthouse, sir and he eyed
Chllo as ste1nly as he was able.
Chllo's astonishment knew no
bounds. Really, SIR"
mat c~harlhouse is full of smoke
sir The captain was working him.
self up.
Chilo looked in and shifted loudly
its atmosphere you could barely have
cut with a razor; so, removing his
cap, he went through the motions of
thinking profoundly.
Then the captain entered the chart
house and, opening a drawer, placed
the sacred pipe marked &C" in his
mouth. ! thought he would have apo.
pleXy. Between the clouds of smoke
which curled from his mouth he at
length sputtered: "My-my-my
pipes alight, sir
The face of Holmes - Sherlock
Holmes-at the bottom of a world.
paralyzing mystery was nothing to
Chllo's. All ct was an 'ah" O,
vast rellef.) "Ah. Now l see, SIR
said he.
You see, sir? What do YOU see?'
the captain.
1T confirms, sir, what I have often
told the navigator" The quiet convic.
ton in Chilo's voice would have n
verted a Turk. THAT that tobacco
you and he use is simply chock-full of
saltpetre. sir; once you light it it will
never go out
The captain first capped, then gasped
and at last groaned. "But-I-that is
to say, we might have burned the
down"
You might indeed, sir" acquiesced
solemn Chilo.
EXTRAORDINARY - most e%xtraordi
nary. Ask INSTRUMENTATION to
speak to me-" Poor old CAP
He felt he needed support.
| rushed to obey.
S"A"lIS soltlt, me SOC up
from dinner and followed me on deck.
"Navigator,' almost shouted the
quaklng old skipper, my pipe l left
IN n a drawer has kept alight for
for-nearly four hours, and Mr.
.hilo-tells me it's because the to-.
bacco we use is simply full of salt.
petre. Why, we might have burned
the ship down"
The navigator said nothing. What
could he say? But he slowly raised
his fist behind the captains back and.
shaking it in Chilo's grinning face, his