The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-02-02


Gentlemen" / said, "the Diamond
ship is some hundred-odd miles from
us as we lie, and Joan Fordibras and
Imroth are aboard her. Captain Larry,
will you give the necessary orders?"
CHAPTER XIV.
I ordered supper at II o'clock and
invited both Larry and Benson, our
engineer, to my table. Hardly were
the glasses filled when I began to put
my laconic questions, and wrote upon
the slip OF note at my side, the an
swers to them.
Mr.. Benson?"
THAT depends how far and how fast
you steam, SIR"
Suppose that we are lying drifting
here in these Gains. There is no great
consumption of coal them"
mo, sir; but IL you wish steam kept
up against run, that empties your
bunkers."
1T will depend upon what the other
people can do, Benson. They may be
in the same position as we are. If
our friends at home believe our story,
don't suppose there will be much coal
going for Val Imroth or any of his
company. OF course, he may have
other resources. He would not rely
upoH TSilel SHIPS ITOHl
| gether. The American governments
are not likely to concern themselves
| overmuch in the matter. Their news
| papers will make as much of the mat
ter as the police will make little. In
| credulity we must expect. If we are
believed anywhere, 1t will be by the
men who lost hundreds of thousands
| Of pounds every year in South Africa.
That's the keynote to this mystery.
| Imroth may have a hundred agents
stealing diamonds for him at Kimber-
| ly. He hides the men and the booty on
this great moored ship until the dan
ger has passed. A hint to those pleas
ant people, the magnates of Park
Lane, will supply money enough for
any purpose. / doubt their sense, how
ever. They will leave the protection
OF their so-caled interests to other
| people, as they have always done. We
really need not consider them in the
matter"
| "'Tis yourself and the young lady We
have to think ONO Others" interrupt
ed Timothy; 'phat the divil is Park
| Lane to you or to me or to any decent
man? Do we care whether their di-
almonds are safe or stolen? Not tink-
er's curse, me bhoy If we hunt Imroth
| down, tits for your vanity's sake, and
not for the good Of humanity at all.
Faith. I'd be a fool to tell We tbs not
so! Ye want the glory of this, and we
want the girl on top Of the glory. Let's
be plain with each other, and We'll get
on the faster"
Timothy" said you are a philos-
opher. We won't quarrel about it. The
glory OF it is nothing to you, and IL 1t
were In your power you'd return to
Europe by the first steamer willing to
carry you there. Let us agree to that"
BE hanged to It! / agree to moth
| Ing Of the Sort"
/ &c MOI
sheltered also in another human bos-
om Say no more. If i am serious, it
| is to tell you that vanity has been less
to me in all this time than the safety
of Joan Fordibras and her freedom.
or that account myself the guardian.
She is on board the Diamond Ship
reflect among what company Of vii
| lains, thieves, and assassins! Captain
| Timothy, have not the courage to tell
myself what may befall her. Perhaps
| 1t would be better Il she did not live
to speak of it. You know what 1t may
be. You must try to help me where
my judgment falls"
ITO the last man on the Ship" said
| Captain Larry very solemnly.
| I'VE should sight the ship after
eight BELLS said !, diverting the sub
ject abruptly, land then our task be-
gins. am hoping to outwit them, and
! to force a surrender by sheer bluff
/
even lose the yacht in the venture.
can promise nothing save this-that
while / live will hunt Imroth, afloat
or ashore. Let us drink to that, gentle
men, bumper. 1t may be the last &C.
casion we shall find for some days to
come.
We filed our glasses and drank the
toast. When the second officer in
| formed me exactly at eight bells that
the telegraph was working again and
very clearly, heard him almost with
Indifference. For the moment 1t might
| be dangerous to send any message
across the waste Of waters. There could
be no further talk exchanged between
| Imroth and myself until I had def
nitely declared myself.
"They would shift their position,
captain. We must hold them to 1t
and track them down. You say that
| we should sight them at two bells in
the middle watch. I'll step down and
hear what they have to say, but un-
less it Is vital, shall not answer
them
found the instrument tapping
sharply, as the second officer had said.
The words spelled out Colin Ross"
the name of the officer upon one of
their relief ships, as they had already
informed me. Repeated again and again
1t gave me in the end an idea I was
quick to act upon. They must think
| the rel1ef steamer broken DOWN, i SAID.
Such should be the first card I had to
play.
"Fordibras." signalled-and-agai
l-"Fordibras," and then upon it the
simple words-'Propeller shaft broken
all hands at work-repaired tomorrow
cable eight BELLS
1 say that l repeated the message,
az one almost invariably is called upon
to do when the instrument is wireless
and no receivers have been tuned to
a scheme. A little to my astonishment
there was no reply whatever AS had
ceased to speak to the Diamond Ship
yesterday, so she had ceased to speak
to me tonight A renewal of the call
earned no better reward. / fell to the
conclusion the news had been of suffi-
cient import to send the immediate re-
ceiver headlong to the vessels captain,
and that he would return me an answer
anon. So half an hour passed and
found me still waiting. 1t must have
been nearly ! O'Clock by this time.
recollect that 1T was at IL minutes past
one precisely that our forward lookout
digcerned the lights of the Diamond
Ship upon far horizon and that
Captain Larry burst in upon me with
this splendid news. Now, surely, had
no further need of messages. You
may Judge how / followed him to the