Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-02-17
CHAPTER xIv-(continued.)

He rang down the order to the en-
CINE room and we raced straight ahead.
not q man uttering a sound, not a
light showing aboard us. Holding on
in defiance of prudence and respon-
sibility, we drove the yacht into the
very shadows of h great
ship we had tracked SO far. To say
that we stood within an ace or de-
structien would be to treat OF our cir
cumstances light. A word amiss might
have destroyed US so utterly that not
a man of us all could have told the
tale. There, towering above us, was
the great hull of this floating mystery,
the massive outline Of a vessel pullt
upon the lines Of an Atlantic steamer,
yet carrying four masts ana a iunnel
so low that one might lock twice TO
detect it at all. Flashing lights from
stern to stern, we could almost count
the men uren the decks or TINS phan-
tom of the high SeaS-men wearing I'll
varieties of dress, some ne caro- OF
fashion, some that Of ordinary Work
men. a few in the uniform or sailors.
And what a hive of activity those oecks
appeared to be! How the fellows were
running to and fro, changing their
positions every moment, taking tnelr
stands now in the shrcud. now hlgh
upon the ~fo'castle, an agitated, expect
ant throng. turning, as II were, one race
TO the steamer which came to relieVe
them, and by which news or their
safety or their danger might come
Their very interest, however, became
our confidence. Taking my place with
the forward lookout, / conned every
feature of the great ship and i'm
pressed the facts of 1t upon my mem
DRY. No thought of peril troubled me
now
scanned the decks, 1 say, as quietly
as one surveys a ship hat must De
locked. noted the black shapes or the
yelled guns, the w~retched. h~aphazard
armament amidships, the unsultablllty
of the great hull to the purposes now
indicated, the seeming absence or all
order and method and even leadership
upon it's decks. This monstrous, float
ing haven of crime and horror-no
sailor had chosen it for It's present
purpose I made sure. In a ighter mo
ment I could say that it had once been
a second class cruiser, and now stood
for a witness to an age which ADDED
raking masts to it's warships n eyed
askance the supremacy OF steam, I'M
roth. II might be, had purchased this
ship from a government that had no
further use for 1t. He a gone TO
Chill or the Argentine-a second
thought said to Italy, FOR thls Vessei
had more than q smack or ltallan oe-
sign and practice as we knew 1T In
the last days Of canvas and n nrst
of steel. And he had bought this relic
at his own price, had maintained Its
engines, added new masts for disguise
and so adapted it to that master
| scheme whose aims rose so far ABOVE
this evidence Of realization. All thls'
| say, my swift survey showed me. But
| the supreme question 1t did not answer
There were women to be discerned up
oil the deck of the ship; but not the
| figure of Joan Fordibras. OF her the
| night had no news to give me.
We lay at this time, 1 suppose, some
200 yards from the great ship. a little
astern of her, n ready, need II be
said, to bound away Into the rkn
should the need arise. Our daring is
neither to be set down to courage nor
! foe~Ihardiness. It was plain that every
man on board Valentine lmroths
sanctuary had eyes but for the APP
preaching steamer, ears but for the
! news * should carry. Absolutely con
WINGED OF L safety, we watched the
spectacle with that air of assurance
and self content which any secret
agent of a good may assume at
the moment of his triumph. My own
doubt and trouble could hardly be
shared by the honest fellows about me:
or If it were shared, then had they the
| good taste to make light OF 1t. indeed
| they were upon the pOlil u PSAStoNAh6
me that If ii were Joan Fordlbras
had come out to seek, then the sooner
I get me back to Europe the better.
There's no Joan upon yonder ship
said old Timothy in a big whisper;
"Pd as soon look to find the Queen OF
Sheba there" =,
Indeed. sir" added Larry kindly, 81
do think Mr.. McShanus is right. Iheyo
/ never take Il lady among that riiT-tafr
: don't see how it would serve them
anyway We must credit General For
dibras with some feelings, If the Other
las none. He's taken Miss Joan tC
Europe, be sure Of it."
could make no answer, for my
SEASONED opinion had that obstinate
G~ogmatism which must attend the
logical idea If logic be of any worth al
all. II were better. / thought, not tC
discuss it, and for that matter, there
were events enough to take a mans
mind from the graver doubts. The re-
lief steamer had by now drawn sc
near to the other hat loud cheers were
raised between them, boats put off ir
haste from the Diamond Ship, and
boats from the newcomer. We hearc
greetings exchanged-in French, II
German, In Italian. Instantly almost
a great business OF making ready tc
unload a cargo out there In mid-At-
lantic began. / perceived that the two
ships were to be caught together by
immense grapplings, and so held while
the affair Of discharging was done. o.
what the patrols cargo might be,
could only surnaise. She would brins
the invaluable coal, of course-eis
could not the water be distilled aboard
the rogue-coal and food end news
and, It might be, new rufiians who hat
escaped the justice Of Europe or Africa
This, / say, was a surmise. The i'm.
mediate test CT it my eyes carried nc
further: for CHANGING to look again a
hazard toward the greater vessel,
detected q solitary figure at h taft
rail and instantly recognized my little
Joan, standing apart from all tina
ruffian crew, and looking wistfull,
toward that very place where White
wings lay IN ambush on the waters
And then I knew that I had don,
well to dare this voyage, and that
cost what II might In blood or treas
ure. I would save his child from I'm.
roth and that which he had prepared
for her.
CHAPTER XIV.