Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-03-09
CHAPTER XVIII. (Continued.)

WAS General Fordibras on board
with the man you speak OFF,"
mot this trip. l heard tell he'd gone
70 Europe. He's too easy for this job.
Hcld knife in the face. l guess his
daughters got all the courage"
We had passed another oor of steel
az he spoke and descended a short flight
OF stairs to a second corridor, above
which were cabins of a m or
der. Here the surgery of the ship had
been Iocated-a well-fitted, thoroughly
modern apartment, recently tenanted, 1t
seemed, by a doctor who knew what the
hospitals Of Europe were doing. A
quick search discovered the antiseptics,
the wool, the liniment, and the lancets,
without which so little could be done
Tor the wounded men above. There was
nothing missing for the practice of a
modern art.
1t would be q work Of supererogation
to tell you of the long hours which fol-
lowed Immediately upon my assumption
OF the role Of ships doctor. I passed
through them as one passes through a
dreamland of restless thoughts. There
wa no less than 81 wounded men upon
tho steamer, n Of these seven be-
ionged to the fo'castle party. "a to the
saloons. The latter chained my inter-
csts In spite Of their condition. for there
were Englishmen among them and
IaceS that the stories of recent crimes
had made familiar to me. One lad,
slashed heavily across the forehead by
remembered in connection with the
famous forgeries upon the bank Of
England some five years ago. l recog-
nized the Italian jewel thief Detucchi,
the German forger Urich. the young
1el61an Monterey. supposed to be serv-
life for his attack pon King Leopold.
Happily, a few Of these men had been
wounded by rifle bullets. Those whom
the guns had killed fell upon the in
slant n their bodies were already in
the sea. My patients were the victims
OF cuts. fearful gashes in some cases
and difficult fractures in others. Two
died while I tried to help them. 1t was
. woeful task n l trust that / may
never be called to its fellow.
The honest men. happily-for so I
Tered considerably less. found them
profoundly grateful for such services as
could render them: nor did the Am
ertcan hesitate to tell me frankly the
story of the mutiny.
aWe were for making Rio. but Mr.. Ross
St0Nd out" he said. "a relief's ex-
pected. and | guess there are some law
sick folk on board her. He treated us
dirt n began to talk of rafting.
Do you know what rafting is, doctor
no; well. it's putting living men over
OO11Iu vi raIt as OlS as u zeal DOarO
and wishing EN- good luck while they
-: Don't try 1t while you can sail
saloon. Colin Ross fell sick of a fever,
ana 10 down below. raving now. We
GOT the arms by tickling the mates
wMskcrs and promising him Ross's
berth. That was the first and the last
Of It. We hut en- down like sheep.
ana now we're going ashore % spend
4 money-those that live. though
they're ike to be few enough"
Here was truth beyond all question.
! stood on the deck Of a veritahle plague
entp. A wall Of death rose increasingly.
Night had come down and a thick white
mist enveloped the ocean all about us.
The yacht was nowhere to be seen. OF
~ the hours Of that great endeavor,
snie to me was the worst. alike in its
menace and its suggestion.
For I said that the yacht might lose
me In h fog n leave me, the pris-
0nof. OF these desperate men and their
h0etage against the Justice which
CHAPTER XIX.
was In q situation OF grave peril:
oos !t would have been imprudent be-
y0nd measure to nave admitted It.
Old Valentine knew a good tap when |
AZ tasted It. and there's plenty Of the |
slens sort on board, h American said
GOT TO give . name to It and the corks !
viii be flying like rockets. Ask for
what you're wanting, doctor, and I'll
KIN 2 lubber who doesn't run to /
Seech II God knows what my mates |
Would hare done IL you hadn't come |
among them"
4 was honestly said. and az honestly
meant. And yet. willingly az I would |
nave accepted his cordial offer. fear Of
q consequences held me back. Who
would dare to think Of drink amid such