The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-11-04

The captain bit his lip and reflected,
glancing abstractedly at the nearest bell
cordout Of the tail of his left eye as he satup.
Whittier caught the glance and smiled, a
rayless, penitential smile. cts no use,
sir, he proffered lugubriously, as if touch
ing on common travail between them.
The captain wrote, and handed book,
pencil, and message to the quartermaster
with the autocratic air that was his when
exercising his own will and authority
Whittier received them gingerly with the
tips of his left fingers, the elbow Of Is -'y..t
arm, supporting the revolver, crooked
craftily backward. He read the n'ca,cgc
with one furtive eye and laid it, with the
same crafty reach, on the edge Of the couch
He backed away and stepped be!,iI.d IT, ial!
mirror; but one basilisk eye, the r,'...c~' -;
firearm and the sea-browned hard ttat
grasped it, showed beyond the edge OF the
cheval
"You may ring for your oricgly, s;r, he
said. "But mind, l know which bell i Is;
and if you attempt to give him any message
except the one you have written there, you
and | will pay the price together"
The captain obeyed calmly, realizing that
he had surrendered too much, given the
madman too great an advantage, to risk his
life, and in all likelihood lose it, at this stage
OF the queer d5jdcLe.
In flash, it had come upon him that he
must go to Loomce. He must give the
order, and, once it was given, to counter
mand il would call down the angry inquiry,
and eventually the condemnation, of the
whole world. He must deal later with
Whittier, in what manner he left to the
future for devisation. The belted, bayo-
netted, and altogether magnificent marine
orderly who took the order and retired with
statucsque crcctness and silence saw no
indication of anything unusual in the APP
pcarancc or dcmeanor of his commander,
dignihcd even in rcposc, with whose man
ncrs and habits he was fa.riliarizcd by long
personal service,
The quartermaster came from his hiding
place less furtively, though not less guard
edly, than he had cntercdi it; and there was
a perceptible softcning OF the steel in the
gray eyes.
"Pm not going to stand post over you
until eight o'clock, Sir I'm going to hand
you NNSt NY bhlii dllhi II YOU tbil 9lOlp nv
90 back the way came Whatever else
you may do, ] know you won't change that
order, and that's all care about And be-
sides, | don't think you will care to go on
deck for a few hours all the officers will be
up there right away like hounds on the
scent, and you'd be annoyed by unwelcomc
congratulations up therc-you know the
feelings Of the crew, officers and men about
this matter as well as Lido, sir. AS for me,
you may send me TO the Stone Frigate or
Napa prison or insane asylum) your word
will outweigh mine, and you know I'll never
deny the charge il you make one, anyway.
But the day I'm brought to trial your name
will become by-word and an abomination
in the service and the country for all time to
come. I've done you good service, sir, il
you could see it that way I'm sorry, sir,
though / can't ask you to forgive me. l
couldn't help it, God, sir when a mans
whole world is locked up in one small female
form, is there anything on earth or the
waters that can be done that he won't do to
keep from losing it9"
His voice fatered. In the reaction, tears
gushed from the gray eyes in childish
pientitude. Whittier was his Jekyll-self