Imperial Valley press., 1910-11-26
BY
 CYRUS
 TOWNSEND BRADY Copyright, The Frank A, Munsey Company.
CHAPTER I.
The Letter Of Marque.

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 As idle as the proverbial painted ship upon the proverbial ocean they lay. which does not mean that the ship was still although there was no breeze.
 The Hiram and Susan, and her pur- suer as well, a half league away, out of gunshot astern and to windward, were rolling back and forth with long, deliberate. sluggish motions, under the influence of that heaving swell which is rarely absent from the ocean, no matter how profound the calm.
 An observer midway between the two ships would have seen not a sign of life about either of them. Yet if he could have stood on the decks of first one and then the other he would have been amazed at the scene of activity before him.
 In the minds of the men of the Hi ram and Susan was all the fear of the pursued, and in the minds of the men of the other ship all the zeal and lust of the pursuer. A stern chase is a long chase, and this one had been going on for several days amid baffiing airs and alternating periods of calm. If anything, the pursuer had gained and weathered on the pursued, but their positions, relatively, had changed little since the morning of two days before, when the rising sun suddenly disclosed to the watchers on the small CT vessel the larger ship close at hand Each captain had used all the skill and seamanship that his experience suggested Both were past masters of the art, and the change in relative positions, therefore, indicated the qualities of the two ships.
 The light variable winds had at last definitely abandoned that section oi the ocean, and the most weatherwise could see no promise of a breeze Il
 
 was in the nature of events that the crews of the two ships should have been as idle as their vessels, and tha they were busy indicated the nature of the exigency. Unless the nigh brought wind it would inevitably, il the judgment of the captain of tht Hiram and Susan, bring danger.
 The ships were near enough for |; boat expedition, and the Hiram anC Susan was sufficiently valuable prize to risk much in the gaining.
 Therefore, while the men on the big frigate were busily laying plans for 2 cutting-out expedition the men on the smaller ship were equally energetlc 1T preparing for their reception.
 It was about sunset, and the older and more experienced sailors on the merchantmen realized that if the at. tack came at all it would come soon In default of boarding nettings, lines were run between the shrouds al short intervals which would offer some obstacle to man attempting to clam. Der up the sides of the ship.
 The five guns on each broadside which constituted the armament O the Hiram and Susan, and the longe gun in the high topgallant forecast, were cast loose and provided. Tn, arms chests were broken open and tn, men supplied with cutlasses and Dis tols.
 Capt. Hiram Hubbell and his zealou and energetic mate, one Owen Conan of Nantucket, a gigantic New Eng lander, consulted together and mad, every preparation they could think of
 Even the Spanish cook and his bo, Manuel were busy in heating caldron of water. Bars of iron and othe heavy articles were arranged amid ships handy to either side.
 When all had been done the mel were given their suppers and wer, ordered to turn in on the spar deck