The Owosso times., 1910-05-06
lContinued from page a.


sensible.
Watts had gone from the bridge. he
might have been whirled to death over
the side like the unfortunate foremast
hand she had seen tossed from off the
forecastle. But Coke, whose charmed
life apparently entitled him to act like
lunatic, was actually balancing him.
self on top of the starboard rails of
the bridge by clinging to stay, hav-
Ing climbed to that exposed position
In order to hurls oaths at the soldiers
on shore. He had gone frantic with
rage. His cap had either fallen of or
been torn from his head by bullet.
His squat, powerful figure was shak-
ing with frenzy. He emphasized each
curse with passionate gesture Of the
free hand and arm. He said, among
other things and with no lack Of force
ful adjectives, that If he could only
come to close quarters with some of
the Portygee assassins on the island
he would tear their sanguinary livers
out.
The Andromeda, uncomfortable as
destiny and quite as needless Of her
human freight. swung around with the
current until her bows pointed to the
islet occupied by the marksmen. All
at once Coke suspended his flow Of in
vectives and rushed into the chart
room, where Iris heard him tearing
lockers open and throwing their con-
tents on the deck. To enter he was
obliged to leap over the body of the
dying man. The action was gro
tesque. callous. almost inhuman. 1t
Jared the girls agonized transports
back into species of spiritual calm.
mental state akin to the fatalism often
exhibited by Asiatics when death is
imminent and not to be denied. The
apparent madness of the captain was
now more distressing TO her than the
certain loss of the ship or the invisi-
BILE missiles that changed into white
patches on the iron plates. cut sudden
holes and scars i'm the woodwork or
whirred through the air with buzZing
whistle of singularly menacing sound.
She began to be afraid of remaining
on the bridge. Her fear was not due
to the really vital fact that it was so
exposed. 1t arose from the purely
feminine consideration that she was
sure Coke had become raving ma
MAC. and she dreaded meeting him
when. if ever, he reappeared
A bullet struck the front frame of
the chart room. and several panes Of
glass We're shattered with fearful
din. That decided her Coke. If he
were not killed. would surely be driv-
en- out. She sprang to her feet and
literally ran down the steep ladder to
the saloon deck Through the open
door of the officers mess she witnessed
another bizarre act-an act quite as
extraordinary in its way as Coke's
jump over the steersmans body. In
the midst of this drama of death and
destruction Watts was standing there.
with head thrown back and uplifted
arm. gulping down tumberful of
some dark colored liquid. draining it
to the dregs. while he held a black
bottle in the other hand
Then from somewhere she heard a
gruff voice:
"Hev' ye shut off steam. Macfar-
lane?"
lou ay. It's a. snug below till the
water reaches the furnaces" came
the answer
SO some of the men were doing their
duty. Thank God for that! Unde-
tered by the fact that live shell had
burst among the engines. the oil stain
ed. grim looking engineers had not
quilted their post until they had taken
such precautions as lay in their power
to insure the ships safety. A light
broke in on the fog in the girls mind.
Even now. at the very gate of eternity.
one might ry to help others The
thought brought ray of comfort.
She was about to look for the speakers
when a bullet drilled hole in panel
close to her side. she began to run
pgain, for terrified glance through
'hc forward gangway showed that the
Ehip was quite close TO the land,
where men in blue uniforms, wearing
,uriously shaped hats and white gait
pTS. NtIe dlilOLfS tlC iONho'
some standing. some kneefng. some
prone. but all taking steady aim.
But it showed something more. Eo.
zier was now lying sideways OH the
raised deck of The forecastle He part
ly supported himself on his right arm.
His left hand was pressed to his fore
lead. He was trying to rise With an
intuition that was phenomenal under
the circumstances Iris realized that he
was screened from observation.for the
moment by the windlass and the
corpse that lay across it. But the
ships ever increasing speed and the
curving course of her drifting would
Boon bring him into sight. and then
those merciless riflemen would shoot
him down.
'Oh, not that. not THAR she walled
aloud.
An impulse stronger than the In
Etinct Of self preservation caused the
blood to tingle In her veins. She had
waited to take that one look. and now,
bent double so as to avoid being seen
by the soldiers, she sped back through
the gangway, gained the open deck,
.rouched close to the bulwarks on the
port side and thus reached unscathed