Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-08-17
No MANS V
LANDS. M@M]ANGE
,BE5IOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
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NS1eRENE4 ~ ~ <1ll1l .le&E1l
Yes" assented Appleyard serene
~. II make my living that way.
t0oyernuent pays me q handsome sal
hEy for doing It,"
What" A light was beginning to
10 dawn upon Coast
The little man nodded gravely. '"rhe
70. 8. Secret Service" he affirmed.
let u begin at the beginning, for
tclearer understanding" Appleyard
1continued I'm not hero for my
hsalth-Im on the Job; and things
have shaped round 50 that I want
pour help temporarily-while you Ger.
kainly need mine. That's why I'm let
ting you In by the basement door and
speaking in stage whispers. You get
me? What I'm telling you 70 TO b
hspt under your hat"
Certainly; that's understood"
Fright you are. Now. the
particular phase Of lawless industry
iat present engaging my distinguished
professional attention is"-he allowed
himself the dramatic pause-'smug-
,gling. For some time the Treasury
Department has been aware that q
very considerable quantity of highly
sdutiable goods was finding its way
Into the country-mainly for the New
York markets-without paying toll
IA syndicate of Maiden Lane jewelers.
has been reaping most of the profit.
although other goods have been com.
ing through: but that's by the way
Now the Customs net is fac enough
ito assure us that no such heavy i'm
iportations could have been sneaked
I'm through any regular port Of entry.
All we were certain of was that It
was getting In duty free-though we
couldn't prove even that. So
then, I was turned loose on the prob.
lem, and I've been pulling over It for
six months
He vas briefly silent, apparently in
reminiscent mood. EARLY in the
game" be resumed. Il had cause to
believe that most OF the stuff was
seeping in through New England. So
III sat me down and tried to figure 1t
out from the other SIDES point OF
,view-supposing wanted to turn
the trick on my own account. See!
Clearly. Go on"
Being q product Of this neck O
tho woods made It some easier; l
know the coast pretty thoroughly. 1t
struck me how alfred easy 1t would
lbo to establish depot for the re-
ception Of goods ON ono Of these little
ISLANDS heTsabouts-or even at some
retired point on the mainland. Then
one could ship the stuff over by any
old unlikely tramp, trans-ship 1t to
smaller vessel at some agreed point
of the coast, and stow 1t away for
distribution practically at ones own
convenience. With such q central
station, the stun could be smuggled
Ito the railroad through any number
of small harbors-a trunkful here. .
'trunkful there, all disguised % pas
senger baggage; and these waters are
$50 thick with small craft that their
scomings and goings attract practically
no attention. Plausible. fea-
sible-yes?
Ingenious. certainly"
ITO cut 1t short. I finally satisfied
myself that the schooner employed
for the trans-shipment was the fisher.
man that, a. you saw, preferred my
room to my company took a chance
there, Like Q fool-lucky to get on
with . whole skin. But by tho time
i hit the water felt pretty sure they
had some sureenough good reason
for not wanting any strangers hang.
ing round"
"rd think you Justified in assuming
chat much"
"The worst Of It was. that mishap
made me . marked man: I'd been
wee mite too. 1ndiscreet. For while
i thought I'd have to fade into tho
BACKGROUND and let one Of my brother
'sleuths polish OF the Job. You can
fancy how that would have CALLED.
fortunately you offered yourself-
II like that" Coast commented.
Anyway, my magnificent imag1na.
ton offered you to me-" Appleyard
pursued without loss OF oountenance.
RI began to see how easy 1t would 'be
TO snoop along the coast as your crew
t-inconspiouous, unexpected. You
seemed to have only the vaguest idea
,of Whist you wanted to do, where you
wanted 70 cruise. And I'd begin to
suspect myself Of failure Of the parts
'of speech II / couldn't insidi0usly talk
Iyou into going where wanted to-
mo Mans Land. Muskeget. Tucker
mack, ChappaQuiddick, or wherever"
.Tm ready to certify you're quail
lned to talk the hind legs of the do
lmegtdc mule" Coast averred with en-
IthuSiasm.
Don't worry: I'm q merciful man.
Rather cheap. that-wha:?"
sExtronely.''
your fault: you fed It to me. I'm
lbeginning to thiak you must b the
only original. perfsctly-pasteurised
mascot. Since W net the very stars
haye seemed to battle in their course
Ter me. Even the fog helped-shunt-
51g u OF to No Mans Land"
Yes"
r had NO particular notion OF In
svAstieaffng that island first of all; but
+ lumber Of circumstances made me
si-..-.->~< ma wnnA IN lta pAj0hhOrhOOd