Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-30

tened to the small still voice that clicked into the
telephones of his head harness He Casco plunge
down the sand Dunes and caught the blare of his deep
voice, shouting orders which drowned out by the
changing of Ships Bottom bell, the rumblng of the
boathouse DOORS and the rattle of thrown into
the lifeboat
PUT it was the flicker of lights and the tossing black
- shadow out the that held Carlins gaze. The
scene ftfully lighted by storm-cloud moon, under
his eyes dar1ened stage of theater the
wireless operator of the cutter told Of the chase of the
contrabandist there could be doubt OF the char
acter of the steamship running nshore with darkened
lights and approaching dangerously close to the out
lying reefs of Ships Bottom.
"Shen hit the shadows off Ships Graveyard, IT she
doesn't sheer off mighty soon!"
The rising wind was cold bitter with the weight of
rousing evanter behind it; but it doomed in steadily
not in shipwreckng blasts The cutter had stopped
calling; instead the hollow grun of gun told that she
too the fugitive ships danger. The snugger was
under the black shadow of the Clouds then for hands
trail gray crossing the dark waters coming inshore
moonlight or shred of sail torn from the incoming
ships sheet ropes Was it?
At the same moment the feeting steamer veered
just second too late; for another deeper boom
swered the cutters gun. Out the shadows the black
ship suddenly stopped stream of fire and sparks from
had attracted Carlns attention Suddenly he set up
shout, his mind Illuminated though from the
smuggler's fiery breath.
@Sending in smuggling -aeropane! They re sending
in smuggling goods by that aeropane-thas what it isl
That's what that operator tried to tell meme or some
body else!"
The thought, wild and improbable as it seemed
struck home with blow that brought conviction The
Revenue and the coast guard could form blockade on
the Atlantic seaboard that ship could steal through
but they could build barrier only by water and land
the buser and contrabandis had free port of entry
through the air. Little skill and less danger in
volved in launching self sustaining aeroplane as safe
water land, and capable of carrying hundreds
of pounds of highly dutiabe goods; the Government
proposed to convey mail sacks from incoming liners
The Government itself had shown them the way
launching aeroplanes from warshps to shore And what
better place than the sandy reaches of Baega Beach
to safe landing place? Criminal agents apt
scholars and false charters profitable.
One two successful landings would mean fortune.
They could afford to lose their ship her Struggled
stuff was safe ashore or repeat, ad minimum.
THE whole possibility of the thing flashed through
Carn's mind as he peered eagerly at the futtering
thing floating inshore like scrap of mist cloud hover
ing wraithlike the sivery CLEAN of the Ships
Graveyard
That's the Flying Dutchman, all right! That's the
S. O. S. crook" he cried triumphantly maybe those
other calls for help were false alarms but this isnt
We got her cornered this tme!"
AS he looked, the lowering aeroplane dropped. @On
the quicksand, by George! That was her 6nsh Carin
we'll knew.
A thin tongue of fame fckered up at sea from the
stranded steamers bow. "Destroying the evidence,
that's what those fellows at-burnng the launching
apparatus Too late, SOM"
The whole scene was fairly before him as he ran down
the sand dune to Ships Bottom Station, vanly shout
ing to Casco he went Captain Casco and his
had their work cut out for them in surf and and
wind.
The aerop1ane was his end of the business of rescue
and capture. He Sprang into the station after CaScoS
long brass telescope bracng against the ab of the
door he swept the mury surface of the qulCkSand
gunshot away, down beach,
@Hes there yet! can see him crawling the thing,
and he's good and plenty scared He's close to that old