Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-07-22
pos. by the Bobbs Merrill Co.

Ht tsb'tWUt w y Wv ~ttTIIt
BILE noisily over the shin"lr. huu
booted heels "rnnrhirr. toward "nc "
| the dcries To this he set his shQnl
/ der. showing II steadily down the
beach until nnly the stern was dry
Kirkwocd looked bnck for TIE Inst
time. M the road to Shccrprss. NWh
Ing moved upon II. lie was rid Of
Mrs. Iallam. II face TO face with 4
sterner problem. He had few pence
over 10 shillings in bis pocket and had
promised to pay the man four times as
much. He would have agreed to ten
times the sum demanded, for the boat
he must and would have. But he had
neglected to conclude his bargain, to
come to IN understanding rs TO the
method Of payment. and he felt more
thnn little dubious a. to the recep-
| ton the fisherman would give his
proposition. sound rs he (Kirkwood,
knew II to be. :.
In the background thu cnbby loi.
tered. gnawcd by Unsuitable curiosity.
The fisherman turned. calling over
his shoulder. III ye'd catch yon yes.
| sci. GOMEZ"
With one final twinge Of doubt-thc
task Of placatlng this surly dog was
anything but invlting-the American
strobe TO the boat and climbed In. tax.
! ing the stern seat. The fisherman
showed Of
In time the dory lay alongside the
/ cntbont. the fisherman with a gnarled
! hand grasping the latter's gunwale to
hold the two together. with some DIFF
ficuIty Kirkwood transshipped himself.
landing asprawl In the cockpit amid a
tangic Of cordagc slippery with scalez
The skipper followed. with clumsy ex-
! pertncss bringing the .dOry's painter
with him and hitching It to rlngbolt
abaft the rrddrr head. Then. pausing
an instant to stare into the enst with
4 sombor eyes. he shipped the tiller and
bent TO the halyards. As the sail rat.
tied up. Tapping wildly, KlrkwOOd
marked with relief. for It meant SO
much time saved. that II was already
close reefed.
But when at last the Room was
thraxhing overhead and the halyarda
had been made fast 10 their clents tbs
fisherman again stood erect, peering
disirustfully at the distant wall Of
cloud.
Then. In two breaths. Cant do It,
he decide<l--"not at the price,"
"Whyy' Klrkwood stared despair
inply after the brigantine, that was al
ready drawn far ahead.
| ha Pol
wind"
AT u loss completely. Kirk wood found
no words. lie dropped his head. con
sidering.
Not at tue price," the sullen voice
iterated. aud he looked up to find the
cunning gnzc upon him.
"Ilow much, thenY"
Five pun I'll have. no less. fol
riskin' my life this day"
Impossible. I haven't got It,"
In silence the man unshipped the till
er and moved toward the cleats.
Hold on minute"
Mrkwood unbuttoned his coat and
freeing the chain from his waistcoa
buttonholes. removed his watch. A,
well abandon them altogether. He hat
designed to leave them as security
J for the &c and had delayed stating thu
terms only for fear lest they be 70
fused. Now, too late. as ever. he rec
ognized his error. But surely, h,
thought. 1t should be apparent even 4
that low intelligence that the time
piece alone was worth more than thu
boat itself.
xviii you take thesey' no offered
. Take aud keep them. Only set mi
! aboard that ship"
! Deliberately the fisherman weighet
the watch and chain In bis broad. bar,
palm. eyes narrowing to mere Sits Il
bis bronzed mask.
"How r,uch?' he asked slowly.
Eighty pounds together. The chail
alone cost me twenty"
The shifty, covetous eyes range,
from the treasure In his hand to tn
threatening east. A pun Of vim
caught the sail and sent the boon
nthwartships like a mighty nail. Bot
men duckcd instinctively to escape
Draining.
How do ] know objected III
skipper.
I'm telling you. II you've eyes yo
can see." retorted Elrkwood savaReiy
/, seeing that he had erred In telling tn
|. truth The amount he had named wa
too greet to he grasped at once by TIL
] crude. cupiLinOus brain.
How do l known the man repca
I ed. Nevertheless he dropped waite
and chain into his pocket. then, with
I nsenning grimace. extended again hi
] horny. greedy palm.
what
Hand over tn two pun and we'll 60
'I'll see you hanged frst"'
: "AshOre ye 60" He pronounced hi
J ultimatum. motioning EIrkwood to FL
I ter the boat.
The American turned, looking fC
the Alethea or for the vessel that h
4 believed bore that name. She wa
nearing the lightship when he foun
her. aud as he looked n squat Ilurrc