The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-06-05

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Here" bawled Tank. becoming
alarmed. keep away! What you
mean?"
You said closer, didn't your"
tainted the man at the wheel, bring
ing the boat up sharp another point
80 that 1t was headed almost directly
for the burning steamer. bows on.
You crazy fool, what are you
doing?" shrieked Tank. Back her!
Back her!
At the same moment he sprang for
the ladder. Before he was halfway up
he heard the order for full speed ahead.
Great God" he thought, the man
must be crazy for certain" He was
going to ram the nose of the Bisbee
right into the burning hulk which was
likely to explode at any time and
jeopardize every life upon the excur-
sion steamer.
The boss leaped upon the hurricane
deck and dashed into the pilot room,
hearing as he did go hasty step be-
hind without noticing or caring to no
ttce whose 1t was. A single glance at
the man in the pilot house served to
confirm Tanks suspicion that he was
crazy, insane with liquor. With look
of hendish glee upon his face he was
watching the bow Of his own vessel
bear down upon the mass Of flames not
fifty yards away. He fought like the
nadman he was to keep the wheel, de-
tanning Tank for tho hundredth part
Of second, and then was thrown
crashing into q corner. where he lay
stunned.
Suddenly as Tank looked straight
ahead at the veering bow Of his own
boat and the glaring mass before, he
heard above the rear Of the flames,
above the shrieks and cries of its
women and children, another sound.
1t was still. small sound. but echoed
loud. like the booming of a cannon
heard from within the turret- Yet It
WAS merely the shooting of a bolt in
the lock of the door of the pilot house
"a single. ominous click, but 1t
startled Tank He looked round to
confront the great stolid face of Long
shore Tom. He had not seen him since
morning.
Lilo, Dan" he said, with his deep
voice, and looked ahead at the turning
bow Of the boat and marked where It
would strike.
Lilo. Tom" said Tank, not liking
the situation much.
Tom did not think rapidly, as has
been noted before, but Just now his
cerebration. like verybody's else, was
accelerated 80 that 1t was fairly quick
He snatched up ropes end from the
floor and with quick pass dashed the
wheel where Tank had set 1t.
way. "This-is-where-I
Been waitin' for this-been waitin' all
day. Now we're all alone. There amt
no room for you to rush me. You'll
just lay to and fight, and when you get
through I ask you, will you give me
that job or not? If-you don't
y.
There was menace in the unfinished
sentence. The words reverberated in
the narrow space IN hollow awesome-
ness. The drunken man moaned I'M
easily in the corner Tom did not
strike. He merely reached out and
laid his hands on Tank as casually as
boys at school when they begin to
wrestle.
Meantime Tank was thinking hard.
In the first place he had half mind
/ to give Tom the job-and Tank knew
well he was needed outside to calm the
! people and check the incipient panic
that threatened the army of picnickers.
He could give him the job now, place
him at the wheel and go outside to his
4 duty. But yield to a subordinate under
duress7 Not Tank. 1t was outside his
code. Or tell the man little lie. Just
TO pacify him for moment? Not that
either.
/ The situation photographed itself
+ clearly on Tanks mind. They were
I locked In the wheelhouse The ships
crew were drunk. The pilot lay grovel-
Ing and helpless. The passengers were
in panic. The ship with thousand
souls WIS driving into collision with a
burning snip loaded Win OIL The
most horrible death threatened ten
hundred human beings. Tom had laid
his hands upon the arms of Tank as
the latter grasped the wheel.
81 ask you once more" he said,
hoarsely, will you give me the Food
Inspectors job?"
The two men looked each othe,
straight in the eye AS they looked
the ships impacted with dull grind
while the cries of the women and chill
dren gwelled into mighty, heartrend
ing Shrek.
Tank seized the instant Of collision.
mo" he answered; and quick
quicker than anything but thought
he had dealt his first blow at the Jaw
of the longshoreman and was upoI
him, all over him at once, beating ham
mering, smothering, trying to brinf
him down where his ponderous weigh
could tell. But Tom was not caugh
mapping. He drew his muscular necl
to one side, the blow aimed for the Jaw
only grazed it. He crowded in close
wound sinewy arm and legs about tn.
heshy one, punched him frightfully II
the stomach with his knee. locked al