Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-04-29
CHAPTER VII.
In Which ! Suspect Evil.

In Which ! Suspect Evil.
Early dawn reached us in sodden
gray. the sun a shapeless blob Of dull
red, with no vestige Of its golden
light forcing passage through those
dense clouds Of misty vapor closing us
in as between curtained walls. The
swell Of the sea was not heavy, but
the pervading gloom gave to the sur
rounding water a peculiarly sullen ap-
pearance. through which we tore. reck-
less of accident. at full speed. A new
hand was at the wheel, johnson hav-
ing gone below an hour since. but l
still clung to the bridge. my eyes
heavy from peering forth into the fog
bank. my clothing sodden with the
constant drip.
Only few Of the men were visible.
three or four grouped about the cap
stan on the forecastle head, and as
many more gathered along the lee
side OF the charthouse. Evidently reg
ular watches were already chosen. and
. portion OF the crew had been turned
in for their trick below. Tuttle him.
self. clad in wet. glistening oil-skins
and looking gaunt and cadaverous. his
chin.beard forking straight out over
ne high collar. was standing aft, be-
side the fellow who still kept guard
over the companion. I moved across
to the starboard end OF the bridge.
and. when he glanced around. made
signal for him to Join me.
Not very much chance Of any one
overhauling us in this fog. MIR. Tuttle,"
/ said, pleasantly. 1T would be like
hunting q needle in a haystack."
"'Tis as the Lord Wills" he re-
turned, rather sourly. Man proposes.
but God disposes. The sun will lift
that whole outfit in another hour. How
far do you figure we're on shore?"
Figure It for yourself. We're doing
all OF 16 knots. and have been for
four hours at that speed. With an
other to be added. even our smoke
ought to be below the horizon. We've
given them the slip all right. and
from now on it's merely a question Of
steaming to keep ahead. don't re-
call anything in the Chilean navy that
can overhaul US. What discoveries
have you made below?"
He turned his crafty, glitering eyes
toward me. twisting the lump Of tobac-
CO under his tongue. In some way. be-
meath the revealing daylight, became
even more distrustful of the man.
more conscious OF his hypocrisy.
Not a great DEAL" his mouth at
tempting a grin: except that we've
got the crew Gagged. Everybody was
ashore but the harbor watch"
Then you found the forecastle
empty?"
"Nothin' there but dunnage and bilge
Eater; regular sea-parlor, SIR"
And no officer on board?" asked.
scarcely believing It possible.
None. barring the engineer. SO far
as I know. The cabin was locked up
by your orders. SO let that alone"
And that, then. is all you have dis
covered. is 1t. Mr.. Tuttle?"
He shifted his long legs. but made
no effort to turn and face me.
well. I guess that's about the
whole Of It," he answered, slowly, as
though celebrating over the choice
Of words. "Only I'm n bit puzzled
about some things what don't look Just
right. We started out. as understand
It. to run OF with a Chilean warship
named the Esmeralda. schooner
rigged steam yacht. That was the con-
tract, wasn't 1t, sir?"
nodded, gravely. wondering what
the man could possibly be driving at
THAT was my understanding" his
nasal tone becoming more pronounced
and disagreeable. And somehow
what we've got here looks Just bit
odd. This here is a schooner.rigged
steam-yacht all right, an I guess the
tonnage isn't very far out of the Es-
meralda Glars. but we haven't found a
blame Chilean on board-two Swedes.
a Dutchman. two Kanakas. an a
bloomin' English engineer"
We'll, what OF that?" l broke In
impatiently. "You know as well as I
do that the entire Chilean navy Is
fllled with foreigners"
Sure" he coincided. with a swift.
questioning glance toward me; that's
all true enough, sir. but l never saw
a whole crew of those beggars an no
Chilean bossin' 'em. But then that's
Vhly part OF 1t. Every one Of them
small boats down there. an the life.