The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-03-02

" damped down, or was there steam
the boiler? One tremendous pull
..pon the rope had no answer for me
at all. Again, n again l jerked the
cord back as though very desperation
would sound the alarm which should
ummon my friends and save me from
the rabble. And the men below
watched me aghast, their curiosity
overpowering them, their mouths
agape, so that when the SIRENS blast
went echoing over the still sea at
last. you could ave heard a football
on our decks or caught the meaning
of 4 whispered message.
The men were dumfounded, l say.
II without idea. This l have ever
observed to be a habit among sea-
men when the news of any great dis
aster comes upon them or they are
taken uQawares in an instant of emer-
gency, No clown could look more child
ish then, or any Master Boldface laugh
as foolishly. There they We're in q
group below me, some with their hands
thrust deep into their pockets, some
smoking idly; some looking into the
faces Of their neighbors as though a
glance would answer the riddle of the
light. And while they stood, the siren
reared a blast of defiance again, as
the voice OF a Minotaur of the deep,
warning and terrifying and not
to be resisted. Had / doubted
the vigilance of my good comrades
upon the yacht, / could have doubted
my signal almost instantly in a higher
note of defiance, in a shrill assent TO
that Wild roll call. the orator mecban-
ical of honest friendship, And as she
answered. her sirSr eTned TO put q
| reproach pom NE. :, The yacht
| Is here-alI is w~si1-Wny have you
doubted GsE"
A deep silence fel upon the Dia
| mond Ship when this signal came re-
| verberating over the waters. None OF
| the amazed seamen spoke q word or
made a movement for many minutes.
I had already put my pistol into my
| pocket ana = cigaret from my
| case. II 1 wished the men TO believe
that the hour OF crisis had passed, |
was under no delusion at all myself.
! For remember that / had gone up to
thc bridge and stood there, during this
/ supreme instant of danger, and that,
/ if l would regain the deck of the yacht,
must descend the ladder down
| through these serried ranks of men:
SauG must pass as one who was going
1 from them TO the house of an aVenger
10 his comrades who would Judge the
7 story and help him TO decide p
I The punishment, The rogues' very sal
! walton depended upon my captivity; 1
was their hostage, and by ME would
reprieve come, if reprieve We're TO be
hoped for at all. This l perceived
long before il 3 dawned upon the
witless rabhle; but it occurred even to
t;sc.is - last. and crasaing about the
/ ladders foot they told me bluntly that
They were aware of it.
Guess its our turn said the
American, venturing a step upward but
ne more His manner had become
sheepish. I observed, n he spoke with
less turbulence
My turn, as you say. Sir" I re-
Joined with what composure l could.
L am now going aboard my yacht,
and there I will decide what is to be
done with you. That will depend upon
your behavior, l advise you to remem-
Der as much"
I lit my cigaret and waited for him
to go on. White Wings was evident
" quite near to us now-I could hear
the throb of her turbines; her siren
hooted repeatedly. The night was mine
but for an accident. And yet, HEAVIER
knows, it appeared to me then that 81
accident must befall ME unless a mir.
acle interviewed.
That's your yacht, right enough
the Yankee went or Immediately. "Anl
so far as it's her, we're in a Glove,
hitch ourselves. The question is, who.
to put you aboard her, and what shall
we be about when he's doing it? Now
see here. as between mar and man
you give us your solemn affldaVlt no
to do anything against the ships crev
and you're free to come and go a
you choose. That's my first condition
the second is as you sign the pape
Will Rayner has drawn up n abid
by it's terms. Do as much as that an
, your friends shan't be more willing t
! help you. But il Q don't do it
: why, then, look out for yourself, fo'
by the Lord above me, you amt &c
3. 10 minutes to live ~
!. He came another step up the lac
! der, cheered, as 1t seemed, by his ow
eloquence. AS for the men, they opene
their lips for the first time since m
: yacht had answered me, and the
hoarse roar Of defiance, uttered in thu
: unpleasant timhre to which h sea a
s tunes the human voice. backed tt
Z threat and made 1t their own. Had
= been left to me under circumstance
: less dangerous. I might have give
: them my word to let them &c fire
and signed the paper their leader spol
about; but just in the same measu
: that they threatened me, so did n
:. anger against then, rise-and steppil
II briskly to the topmost rung of the la
!, der 1 answered them in a senten
!, that even their dull intellects cou
% understand.
fronttn,,ed Noyt week