Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-12-31

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and twice more did flares OF gun.
powder among the foothills Of the At
las call notice to the fact that Africa
was awake Captain Kettle steered
by compass alone, and las the current
was running strongly had to make a
cast back before he found the Norman
Towers and even then, SO black was
the night that the noise of his oars
,scraping along her plates was the
first advertisement he had OF her
lnearness. ,. 1 s-,p.,, j..
"Row steady, men" he ordered, and
coasted down hers length and then
swung the boat under her counter,
and brought UP against the ladder
which hung down her farther side.
The heavy teak ladder had rungs
broken, and the davit to which 1t hung
was bent cupboard. U a..
You will stay here" he ordered,
ready to push off when come
back" and with that he stepped out
on the grating and ran lightly up the
steps, and disappeared into the black
silence of the night .... ID.
Presently, his voice called down in
a shostly whisper from the rail above:
"Mr McTodd, tell the men to pass
the boat slowly round to the star
!, board side. Mind, they're to work
her along inch by inch. SO as not to
stir up the phosphorescence, and
/ will drop them a ropes end overheard
to ride TO, just level with the break
of the bridge deck. Dye hear me?'
AYE. aye" ...4 -. Co.,. "s>& - Is,
"And do you come up on top here
Yourself, and bring that spanner
you're so proud Of ..f
Mr.. McTodd's gait was ungainly, but
his oil.soaked slippers made no
sound Also. being a shipman, he
knew which way to turn and what to
avoid # s..
"Weel" he said when he joined his
commander, cts fine night. and for
get when enjoyed an evenings pros
poets more thoroughly. But whens
the entertainment to commence?"
Hold your tongue, Mac and listen.
Listen hard .....,, ...
Mr.. McTodd removed his pipe,
opened his mouth, and cooked. an at
tentive ear. ~ @.. ,'
We'll. what do you make out?"
II hear small slap-slapping OF
/ wavelets upon the old girls skin, and
bit of a sough Of the wind and you're
breathing although I reckon you're
trying to keep 1t quiet: and I think
there's a yap of a dog-thoush maybe
it's a Neutrality-suspicious. among those
mountains in the far distance"
but where are the moors who
should be waiting around the corner
to jump out and cut our throats"
I can only hear what telled ye."
81 can make out no more myself.
If there we're men here In quantity
we ought to hear them breathing. or
rustling, or coughing. Mac, l believe
they've played a game on us. We
came here Cloth Of us, suppose)
ready for battle, murder, and sudden
death. and It's my idea the ships de-
serted"
"But we'll go-look-see before I. 0. K.
that" said the cautious Scot.
And we'll go together, and stand
by ready for trouble. But It's my idea
we shall find none"
| AYE" said McTodd. reading his
thoughts, "it'll look ugly II they've
left her Weel, we may as we'll begin
where there'll be the worst smell, and
that's forrard."
! Section by section they searched
the. Norman Towers. They went
through both ,fremen's and seamen's
forecastle, and found no living soul.
Matches we're of, and they peered into
the gloom OF holds, and into the gassy
corners OF bunkers. They clattered
down the rusted engine room ladder,
and hunted through shaft-tunnel, pump
alley, boiler room and more bunkers.
McTodd climbed aloft and investi.
! gated dusty corners behind the donkey
| boiler. They went through mess room,
galley. pantries, state rooms; they
hunted through more holds. They
searched the chart house. and (as q
last afterthought) the paint store. And
nowhere did they find single Moor
or Berber alive or dead.
'"This Is q beggar," said Mr.. Nc
Todd.
"Une can understand that they
would go over every bit Of her even
more carefully than we have done
and loot right and left. But the az
tonishing thing to me is: frst, the
amount of dirt they have brought on
board; and second, why they should
/, have left it practically all in one
i track. The decks below were com
paratively clean, and they don't seem
to have been padding about particu
LARRY in the,cabins, for instance, or thu
engine room But from the port gang
way over ;yonder there are two line'
OF mud and stone splinters going for
ward and att, and then going thwart
ships as soon as there's chance
and then promenading all the length
OF the port side"
McTodd scraped match, stopped
tdown, and stirred, the deposit with hi
finger. There's too much here fol
! them to- have brought aboard stuck
between their toes or smeared on theil
sandals. There's enough depth Of mut
on these decks, skipper, to grow oats
and 1t looks good, dark, chocolate
/ coIored, fertile soil. too, II one raket
out some the splinters Of stone"
j "That rock they. were quarryini
\ from, and which we can't see in thil
i darkness. is chocolate-colored, too
Can you see the loom Of the shore
|line, Mac? How far do you make Il
away from the ships side?"
~ should say kherb's length p
! That's exactly my idea. The shore