The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1912-05-03

the wide, shadowy reaches of the riv-
er. But the mystical distances con-
fused and eluded him. The launch
seemed to move, painting, in an abyss
of night. She made little noise: a
hiss of water beneath her stem; the
steady humming of the motor, throt-
tied down to half speed; the muffled
gasping of the exhaust. And present.
ly even these ceased at a word from
Couch, and the launch moved only
with the tide.
Abruptly a towering wall of Opaque
black rose out of the darkness to
starboard. O'Rourke braced himself
for the imminent instant of action.
ingertips that a swell from a moving
vessel would have thrown him or
his balance. perhaps overheard. The
launch closed swiftly and silently in
upon the black wall; it lowered over
him like cliff; far above he could
see dim divisions between black and
black that must be the rail. And he
shook his head, dismayed: he could
never scale that, he thought; not even
the O'Rourke could accomplish a mir
scle. But in a breath it had faded
back, and he realized that the tower
ing poop of the junk had misled him.
They were now alongside at the waist.
He stood up and saw a low railing
moving and caught 1t over the edge Of
he rail, drew the launch in, let go the
oathook and, with the headwarp
wrapped about his hand. jumped
olindly.
Something dealt him vicious. all
put paralysing. blow In the pit of the
stomach he doubled up, for a mo-
ment helpless, across the junk's rail,
out retained sufficient presence of
mind to hold on to the headwarp.
Then, recovering trihe, he sq-irmed
over and fell sprawling upon the deck,
his heels drumming an abrupt and
violent alarm. From somewhere he
heard a shrill jabbering arise, with an
ensuing patter of bare feet. Swiftly
he got upon his knees and drew in the
neadwarp, with his free hand search
ing along the rail for a cleat Some
thing thumped heavily on the deck be-
side him, and grunted; and something
else followed with a second bump;
and the launch swung outward and.
caught by the current, jerked the
headwarp from his grasp. May the
luck of the ORourke still hold" he
prayed fervently. getting upon his feet
to realize that, with Couch and the
man Wheeler, he was imprisoned
aboard the junk, doomed there to re-
main whatever might befall, until
the coming of the second launch {.
g. or perhaps for longer time.
AS he rose some indistinct body ran
into him and cannoned off with an I'M
couth yelp; with no time to draw his
revolvers, the adventurer struck out
with bare hand and had the salts
faction of finding a goal for his blow
of landing heavily on bare flesh and
or hearing the dull sound of a fall
upon the deck
spontaneously lights were flashing
out for and aft. A revolver spat ven
'omously beside him. Somewhere a
man screamed and fell, whimpering
horribly. The revolver expoded sec
ond time. There were confused
noises. as of furious struggle, rough
and tumble, and he suspected that one
or another of his companions had
been tackled bodily by one of the
junk's crew. On his own part he
caught glimpse of shadow moving
ghostlike against one of the lights.
and promptly exercised It with a shot.
BY this time the vessel seemed to
be caught In the grip of pandemon-
1um; shouts and shots We'd with
screams, groans, confused padding
footsteps, to make the moment one OF
a nightmare. The boarding party stood
at bay not daring to venture from the
spot on which they had landed, firing
steadily. but with discretion.
no be continued.)