The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-05-20
CHAPT EP VII,
In Which | SUSPECT Evil

In Which Suspect Evil.
Early dawn reached us IN sodden
gray, the sun a shapeless blob Of dull
red, with no vestige of its golden
light forcing passage through those
dense clouds of misty vapor closing rs
in as between curtained walls. The
swell of the sea was not heavy but
the pervading gloom gave TO the sur.
rounding water a peculiarly sullen an
pearance, through which We tore reck-
less of accident, at full speed A new
hand was at the wheel, Johnson hav-
ing gone below an hour since. bur I
still chung to the bridge. nv eyes
heavy from peering forth into the fog.
bank, my clothing sodden with ths
constant drip.
only a few of the men We're visible.
three or four grouped about the cap
stan on the forecastle head and As
many more gathered along the lee
side of the charthouse Evidently reg
ular watches were already chosen, and
portion of the crew had been turned
in for theil trick below futile him
self, clad in wet, glistening oil.skins
and looking gaunt and cadaverous, his
chin-beard forking straight out over
the high collar. was standing aft. be-
side the fellow who still kept guard
over the companion | moved across
to the starbOard end Of the bridge.
and, when he glanced around. made
signal for him to Join me
Not very much chance OF any one
overhauling us in this fog. Mr. Tuttle."
! said, pleasantly. 1t would be like
hunting a needle in a haystack.
lis as the Lord wills" he re-
turned, rather sourly. Man proposes
but God disposes. The sun will lift
that whole outfit in another hour. How
far do you figure we're off shore"
Figure it for yourself. We're doing
all of Is knots, and have been for
four hours at that speed. With an
other to be added even our smoke
ought to be below the horizon. We've
given them the slip all right. and
from now on it's merely question Of
steaming to keep ahead | don't re
call anything in the Chilean navy that
can overhaul us What discoveries
have you made below"
He turned his crafty. Offering eyes
toward me, twisting the lump of tobac.
co under his tongue In some way be
meath the revealing daylight, | became
even more distrustful of the man.
more conscious of his hypocrisy.
Not a great deal" his mouth at
tempting a grin; except that we've
got the crew Gagged. Everybody was
ashore but the harbor watch"
Then you found the forecastle
empty"
"Nothin there but dunnage and bilge
water; regular sea-parlor, sir"
And no officer on board?" | asked.
scarcely believing It possible
None, barring the engineer, so far
as | know. The cabin was locked up
by your orders, so let that alone"
And that, then is all you have dis
covered, is 1t. Mr. Tuttle?"
He shifted his long legs, but made
no effort to turn aud face me.
wen, guess mat about the
whole of il" he answered. slowly. as
though celebrating over the choice
of words. only I'm a bit puzzled
about some things what don't look just
right. We started out. as understand
1t, to run of with a Chilean warshlp
named the Esmeralda, a schooner.
rugged steam yacht. That was the con
tract, wasn't it, SIR"
| nodded, gravely, wondering what
the man could possibly be driving al
That was my understanding" his
nasal tone becoming more pronounced
and disagreeable. And somehow
what we've got here looks just bi'
odd. This here is schooner.riggeC
steam-yacht all right. an | guess tbs
tonnage isn't very far out of the rs
meralda class, but we haven't found
blame Chilean on board-two Swedes
Dutchman, two Kanakas, an {
bloomin English engineer"
We'll, what of that" | broke IL
impatiently. You know as well az
do that the entire Chilean navy II
filled with foreigners
Sure. he conceded, with a swift
questioning glance toward me; that
all true enough, sir but never say
whole crew Of those beggars an n,
Chilean bossin EN-. But then thst