The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-03-17
,etS tE
SCHAP1ERx XII.

tHrgtfglNfaNlgIF5 aWt --ft AtAAF .EH-44a.. P. H2
ins W Explain to Her Ladyshlp.
gazed directly into his. bullying
eyes with. d depth OF contempt l made
mo- slightest effort to disguise. Then
arose deliberately to my feet
Henderson pluck that knife out and
e put 1t back in your belt"
Ell damned IL"
DoEas1 say quick, you surly brute"
Uninterrupted, sternly. mot another
word. I'm In command here yet, and
you'll obey orders, or I'll make you"
He Understood ] meant It, with his
innate $cowardiee plainly apparent, yet
dldt mot Yield until futile interfered
WlthSa sarcastic laugh.
The captain isn't exactly the sort
to be handled in that kind o way,
Blll3, he said, smoothly. Hes a
$daep:water5 sailor, not a land.shark,
I but i guess he's likely ready enough
this time to say what he's will'n'
Il; do
The entire situation seemed to uh.
roll before me; like q panorama as |
stood there, hastily making up my
mind for5action. was afloat on the
high seas, absolutely powerless to re-
u sissits the set purpose Of these men sur.
rounding me, all rendered desperate
BY greed. Much as I desplsed Anderson,
II comprehended that his threat was
no idle zone: nor did I possess a single
#comradc on board who would stand
at my back: I was utterly alone; nay,
ssworse even than alone-wlth two
women dependent upon me. II out
sSwardly agreed with these %rascals, and
thus retained semblance Of command
over them. | might possibly preserve
AL our lives; i could, at least fe' the
#the$ present, protect the women from
insult, perhaps from danger
swell, Mr. futile" said. quietly.
may as well return you my an.
3swers one time as! another. don't give
aS tinker's damn for Anderson's
threats. and | don't altogether put
much faith In your yarn. But per.
haps it's worth taking 4 chance at.
What Is to be my authority on board.
providing 1 agree to 50 with you?"
sYou're the captain"
sAbsolutely In command"
ri Ssshifted about, appearing q trifle
disconnected under my rapid ques.
tionIng.
We'll, yes; In everything. %concernin
tie discipline an sailln' Of the yacht"
he Explained. There won't be no
furiss( about that job sir. But we amt
al regular artlcled crew, helm that
we're all here on shares in the enter.
prise; an SO, as regards the purpose
ofSSt the yoyage,itl have 10 be decided
by majority vote. However, that don't
need make noItrouble." &
What Is to be my share II You find
the treasure? "$
S5He4thrust his head out OF the win.
dow nearest him, looking up and down
sdthe deck; then he leaned across the
table toward me, lowering his voice
until 1T was little more than whisper.
Y 9 get one,afth, sir; the four OF
as here get one.ffth each; the other
NTH ii, toSbe divided among the crew.
Ain,tsthat fair enough, SIR"
1T would appear SO; yet there. is
stillSanother matter Of some impor.
tance tos be decided first. There are
two women on board; how about
them"
S.s'Whiat!m The vibrant excitement
~ his high.pitched nasal voice was
echoed BY the others,
sThls steam.yacht we have stolen
was. the property Of the earl Of Oar.
lington;Tf Il 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.
question Is. how can We best
dispose OF them? This Is no excur.
sipnf ftorl;; ladies, no! pleasure trip Of aH7
kim; we've started on. Shall We hail
Ssome passing vessel and lrans.shlp-
them, or shallEwe run In to Juan Fer
Eiantdez3 and put them both safely
v ! ~ "a otI SYSjiI6 m ~ kt t-.-4rsr" ..1
None iiof the three men ventured to
glance toward me, and for 4 long
moment no answering voice spoke.
Then futile gave oily uttcrance TO
words ofScompromlse.
Blame II this don't sort O. knock
me all out. sir" he, acknowledged. Il
don't exactly cotton to either of those
ideesS OF yours, an | don't know what
s best. ! guess I'll have to talk 1t
oyer$wEth my mates here first, but you
can tell them ladies that well get 'em
out somehow before we turn south.
Anyhow, they don't need TO worry
none bout bein' ill.treated. Then !
take Il, slr, that you mean to sail with
ngusa + X; 4
There doesn't appear to be any.
thing else can do"
you're about right there. We'll,
let'sS3shakc hands omit"
did so, deliberately ignoring both
the Others, and feeling my flesh
witch when5I touched his ilabby palm:
futile .chlewed sayagely on the tobac.
Cd tnS his cheek.
Damn the women!" he commented
IN sudden anger. .:Better give the
crew their breakfast. Anderson. Mr..
Stephens, I've sent sDade into the
cabin d attend things aft: He'll Il
make d good hand at that sort 5oi
lob,