The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-01-25

IL
an Iris ,t)ker drew ell eyes to the
after part Of the ship.
4 Holy war. VIII We look at thatr
Iouted the man. Sure the skipper
isn't dead a. all. dc all!'
j Iris had failed to grasp the mean
cng of CokeS antics in the chart room.
but they we're now fully explained
The bulldog breed Of this self confessed
rascal had taken the upper hand Of
him. Though he had not scrupled to
plot the de 'truction of the ship and
thus rob marine insurance company
OF considerable sum Of money, though
at that very instant there was actual
proof OF his scheme in the preparations
ne had made to jam the steering gear
when the anchor was raised after the
TANKS were repenished. IT was not in
the mans nature to skulk into COM
parative safety because a foreigner, a
pirate, not-to-be-mentioned-i
society POrtygee. opened fire on him In
this murderous fashion Moreover,
Coke's villainy would have sacrificed
no lives. The Andromeda might be
converted into scrap iron and thereby
give back. by perverted arithmetic, the
money invested in her, but her white
decks would not be stained with blood
Whatever risk was incurred would be
MS, the responsible captains, his only
1t was a vastly different thing that
shot and shell should be rained on an
unarmed ship by the troops Of q civil
LIED power when she was seeking the
lowest form Of hospitality. No won
der II the bull necked skipper foamed
at the mouth and used words forbid
den by the catechism, no wonder If he
tried to express his helpless fury In
one last act Of defiance.
He rummaged the lockers for a
union jack and the four flags that
showed the ships name in signal let
ters. He determined that she would
go down with colors flying II he were
not put out OF action by bullet be-
rore he could reach the main halyard.
The swerve In the ships course as
she passed the island gave him an op-
portunity. In justice to Coke it should
be said that he recked naught Of this,
but 1t would have been humanity i'm
possible otherwise for the soldiers to
have missed him. And now, while the
vessel lay with straight keel In the set
or the current, the national emblem Of
Britain. with the Andromeda's code
fags beneath. fluttered up the main
mast.
There are many imaginable condi-
tions under which Coke's deed would
be regarded as sublime; there are none
which could deny his splendid audac-
fty. Yhe soldiers, who seemed to be
actuated by the utmost malevolence,
redoubled their efforts to hit the SQUAT
Hercules who had beloved at them
and their fellow artillerists from the
bridge. Bullets struck the deck, lodged
IN the masts. splintered the roof and
panels Of the upper structure, but
not one touched Coke. He coolly made
fast each flag in its turn and hauled
away TIL the union jack had reached
the truck; then, drawn forward by q
hoarSe cheer that came from the fore
castle, he turned his back on the enc
my and swung himself down to the
fore deck.
AS he numbered along the deck he
mopped his face vigorously with
pocket handkerchief, and this homely
action helped to convince Iris that she
was mistaken In thinking him mad.
Ills words, too, when he caught sight
Of her were not those Of q maniac.
"Well, Missy" he cried, "wot'n they
say In Liverpool now? s'pose they'll
ear Of this some day." and he jerked
q thumb backward to indicate the un-
ceasing hail Of bullets that poured into
the after part Of the ship.
The girl looked at him with an air
Of surprise that would have been COM
tcal under less grievous conditions.
She knew with q vague definiteness
that death was near, perhaps unavoid-
able. and 1T had never occurred to her
that she or any other person on board
need feel any concern about the view
entertained by Liverpool as to their
fate. Before she could frame q reply,
however. Hozier seemed to recover
his faculties. He stood up. walked
unaided to the side Of the ship and
glanced ahead.
Shouldn't we try to lower q boat,
SIR" he asked instantly.
"Wots the user growled Coke.
zoos goin' to lower boats while them
blighters on the island are pumpin'
lead into us? And wot good are The
boats wen they're lowered? They've
been drilled full
!: ! !. ! !: !: !: :: !: : !:
49, Of h les. You
M& might as well try
H Il to float sieve"
RA EWfAa/9 Are none of
NJ WNFS the boats sea-
%@ &SAG worthy"
ST dHy5 Not one. They
e AN"\kN are knocked to