The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-03-13

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M Which i, Learn Our Port

head within my; hands, and endeayored
earnestly to collect thought and nerve
afpr,the coming struggle. The terrible.
mess Of our situation only became
,nore apparent as considered 1t In
the light Tot the discoveries already
made, and In my understanding OF the
mature 5of those with :whonil was now
soclated. Neither futile nor Do
Nova had ever mistaken the Sea
Queen for the, warshIp Esmeraida. It
was impossible TO conceive that these
two trained seamen could have made
sslch an error, or that the men under
them could have been SO utterly de.
!; ceived. Tuttle's boat came up directly
4 beneath the bows, with the riding
lamps burning brightly and revealing
1 the name; every man aboard must
have seen st plainly. Yet what OBJ
sject could have led to so desperate an
s5acts of piracy? What part was / DIES.
tined toFplay in the final working out
Ssofs their lawless scheme?
ysii The. longer I studied over the prob.
lem the more thoroughly did ] become
8mystiaed, and confused. What could
these men ever; hope to accomplish in
this Eglawless fashion? They must be
Sffools or. madmen. This was not the
iage of piracy; every league Of sea was
ipatrolled; every port protected by
telegraphic Communication. Where
could they sail? Where could they ex.
I pect to. land Where on all the round
globe could they hope to go to escape
the vengeance Of British power on the
&hlgh seas? What object could pos.
sIbly inspire them to SO reckless an
act?
Difficult as my own situation un.
sdoubtedly was, apparently helpless
lamong this crew Of sen devils. with.
out "a man on board in whom | could
sSputS trust,Sit was rendered a thousand
Etimes harder BY the presence Of those
two women. what way could pro.
SStectS and serve them? l wondered II
Sail the crew forward were In the plot,
s2or swere the leaders alone involved
Could Il count on finding single hon.
est sailor in all that rlffraff who would
SSstand by me In revolt? There were
.sothers on board--the three seamen
\ and the engineer Of the yachts crew,
ssSSthe Chilean officer captured on shore
they were prisoners, far more
helpless even than myself. The longer
"a thought the darker grew the pros.
pect, the closer the cords Of Fate
oppressed about me. There was moth.
ling TO- do except to face the conspira.
tors boldly, and thus ascertain the
whole truth. 4 glanced upward at the
telltale compass overhead-the yes.
;yssel's, course had already been altered;
E.swesWere now headed westward. direct.
Fly out into the broad Pacific.
sI met futile at the end Of the
35brldge, cllnging To- the handrail, his
3oiIskins Tapping in the head wind. He
never glanced toward me, the cool,
studied insolence Of the fellow causing
! me 10 feel more deeply than ever be.
fore his consciousness OF power.
S%Thes yacht Is several points on her
i course, Mr.. $Tuttle.' l said. sharply,
u determined to test him. MAY | ask
Siflthe change was made by your
Sorder?. 4 KS S5i3s
He swept one long arm toward tho
Snorth. and, following the direction Of
SShls finger, l dlmly perceived spiral
5fofS black smoke barely visible above
4 the horizon.
II thought we had better sheer OF,
slas there was no guessing who that
fellow yonder might prove to be-"
Y remained silent, watching the dis.
sstant smudge. and occasionally CLAN.
cling aside into his imperturbable face.
Z He syawned sleepily.
t'I3rather guess one Of US had better
Slturn In, Mr.. Stephens" he suggested
FINALLY, 8.for we'll have to arrange
Sabout our watches aft" a..
Presently, Mr. futile: we haven't
6 brenkfasted yet. Meanwhile l should
prefer to understand matters Il little
more clearly, I've Just been through
the cabins. None Of the yachts OIL.
5$cers are on board" i5is n
could see his thin lips drawn
back Sin "a sinister grin, which re.
IIlSyealed his yellow teeth. rlr
The Lord helpeth those who help
themselves he returned. piously. up
i trolling his eyes. THE race Is not al.
1 why's to the swift, nor the, battle to
stheg strong
Il III also discovered" | went on. an.
gered By, such abomlnable cant, that
this vessel we have captured Is not
1.-The Chilean jEsmeralda at all, but the
yacht Sea Queen, owned by Lord Oar.
slington, and flying the English flag"
1.-THE hell you say"
'tMoreoyer, have not the slightest
doubt that you knew It from the FIRST
SNowFIS demand some explanation, Mr..
siTnttle. What does this mean?"
VI He stood leaning back against the
2rail facing me, the dIsagreeable grin
gone from hts lips. his haltcioscd
eyes gllnting unenslly.
y S!SssaaWelli what OF IT,"
N Only that we have committed an
actSof piracy Every naval vessel OF
1.-THE civilized world Will be used to hunt
Jus down. We shall not be safe on any
sea nor able 10 land in any port OF
The globe. IL we resist we shall be
blown Sout Of the water; II captured,
}onr crime means DEATH. You have de.