Evening star., 1912-11-24

ing one had BEEN He felt curiously downcast. Only
with an effort he thrust the mood from him. well,
they got the old surboat yetlt they got enough able
bodied to jump her out, he sald making the best
of bad job.
That is just what Ships Bottom Life Station did not
have Even Shark Gascoigne himself, accustomed
he was to the hazard of the beach, taken aback
when he stopped at the wdeopen door of the ifeboat
house to take counsel with himself. He had come
across the bay in hot flush of resentment, determined
shave it with the Ships Bottom bunch He had
his character to protect!
But now that he the ground he felt curiously
embarrassed. There was an atmosphere OF disaster
about the place Out of the boom of wind and IN
the boahouse, he could hear the hum of voices in the
adjoining station building.
He noticed too that the Surfboat resting its broad
tired sand wagon beside him. not IN its usual orderly
array, in which Ships Bottom like all life took
prde-"P Particular as women mostly, he muttered
Oarblades stuck over the gunnels OF the boat and
in several places the ooped felnes snapped and
dsconsolately trailing. "The bullies must had
time las night" Gascoigne murured to himself. Il
see such mess
As he stood there, mystifed and doubtful Little
Welsh gunrer and bowman of the life flung open
the intervening door between boathouse and station,
dared in snached up length of signal line, and hur
ried out. Gascogne knew What that meant. From in
side the station mans rav1ngs and sounds OF
struggle. The beachcomber listened gloom1ly. He was
blame for the consequence of shlpwreck but he
had curously cold feeling round the heart,-an odd
sensation for usually reckless of consequences
of any kind.
"One of them Mindora bulles has gone off his head
couldn't be the life bunch: they re tough-hours an
hours after he reskied He had seen that happen
before on the beach, Still, he wasn't responsible.
IN that brief instant in the boathouse Welsh had
ognized the lurking figure of the beachcomber and
reported. Sharks outside mousn round, he told
Captain Casco. Reckon he's come over to interview
Joe cordin to invitation" Welsh grinned at Bronson,
well he might for badly bruised face, souvenir
of the nights work.
Fully half the Ships Bottom were stove up.
Some lay listlessly in their bunks all in And in the
corner by the Vesuvius heater Captain Casco with
his bandaged to his side, talked to little gray
shipmaster, who fumbed inerminable bundle of
ships papers, the only precious salvage of the Mindora
wreck, and tremblngly thanked Heaven he hadn't
trusted his wife and baby his ship, because of
its treacherous salt cargo, but had shipped them north
on a brother Captain ship, the Mystic Belle
A sudden silence following Welsh's announcement
made Casco turn to the door. The big life Captains
face went black when he saw Gascoigne standing def
antly in the entrance.
You got my message?" Casco said, when the glances
passed like swordthrlsts. "You know the order that
has gone to clear the beach? What you doing
here, Shark Gascoigne? Come to what you done?"
That's what | come here to find out-what amt
done" Somehow the cold feeling still in Gas
coignes heart. He tried to fight it off "What in thun