The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-01-26
CHAPTER XIII.

They heard me with evident pleas
ure. Loyal as the men had been all
along, these weary weeks of fruitless
pursuit could not but tell their tale
upon them. When we sailed away from
Villa da Porto and raced to the south
ern Atlantic, it was in the minds Of all
of us that we should track down Imroth
successfully In as many days as we had
now devoted weeks to a futile quest. All
the arguments were upon my side. II
the unknown vessel harbored Irnroth's
| rogues, and not them alone, but the
fruits of their robberies, then was it
plain that she must abide, at least for a
time, in the situation where we had first
discovered How could her commune
cation with the shore be estab-
lished otherwise? Relief ships from Eu-
rope would be visiting her constantly.
She must be provisioned, coaled, and
kept aware of what was going on
ashore. 1t seemed impossible to me that
she could shift her present cruising
ground or make any wide detour, un-
til open pursuit compelled her to do
so. These reasons had kept me dog
gedly to my quest of her. But they had
failed to satisfy my comrades, and
there were other impulses bidding me
return.
1T is hard to give it up, doctor"
said Captain Larry, when l had done;
! but. really, 1 think you are right. If
the government had sent out a ship to
help us, the course would have been
plain enough. AS 1t is, We can do moth
ing, even If we track them down, and
we might lose valuable lives in the en-
deavor. Get back to Portsmouth. and
leave it to the government. That's my
word, and that, / think, is what Mr..
McShanus thinks. We have done all
we can, and precious sight more than
most would have DONE"
AYE. and tits sense the man speaks!"
added McShanus. THE last man in the
world would I be to cry off while the
| fox Is running; but, Fan, me bhoy,
he's gone to ground as sure as blazes.
and what for would we fog a good
horse to death? Here's a fortune spent
| in coal, and a sea hot enough to fry
haddocks. and divil Of sign as much
as of rowboat. The captains not be-
hind me In knowing of other people
who have claim upon your consid-
Grafton. Go to Europe and learn of
their welfare. There is one who may
need We sorely. And poor talk will 1t
| be that you'll hear then If they tell
you Of what might have been!' Go
back to Europe, say /, and learn what
has become of Joan Fordibras. IT'S bet
ter work than roasting like heather
on this blaZes of an ocean,"
| We set the yacht upon a northward
course, and lived through a morning of
angry silence. Disdaining any lunch but
a biscuit and proud cigar, Timothy
| McShanus fell to "reminiscences. / re-
member that he discussed the law Of
chances, reminding me Of the American
citizen who, being asked If he were
a lucky man, replied that he once held
four aces at game Of poker in Mex
| leo City and only got shot in the leg.
| In a lachrymose mood, Timothy went
on to say that he cared little whether
he lived or died, but that he would
give much to know what they were
doing at the Goldsmith club In Lon
don town. / did not answer him, for at
that moment Captain Larry came
scurrying along the deck, and one look
at his face told me that he had news
of moment.
well, I.arry--and now?"
| There " message, sir"