Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-03-13

He advanced and bent over the
Irishman, who lay motionless, his up
per lip rolled back to show his
clenched teeth. "Heugh!" exclaimed
the first officer, peering into his face,
his tone expressive of the liveliest'
! concern. Without further hesitation
he dropped the revolver into his pocket
and-roceived tremendous short-arm
blow in the face.
With a stified cry he fell back,
clutching at a broken nose, and
sprawled at length; while O'Rourke,
leaping to his feet, deliberately put
heel into the pit of Dennison's stom-
ach, thereby effectually eliminating
him as factor in the further contro-
versy. simultaneously he advanced
upon Captain Hole.
But in the latter he encountered no
mean antagonist. The man-it has
been said-was as tall as and heavier
than the adventurer, and by virtue of
his position a competent and expert
enced rough-and-ready fighter. In a
breath he had lowered his head and,
believing like bull, launched him
self toward O'Rourke.
The Irishman met the onslaught
with a stinging uppercut; which, nev-
ertheless, failed to discourage the
captain, who grappled and began to
belabor O'Rourke with short, stabbing
blows on the. side of the head, at the
same time endeavoring to trip him.
The fury of his onset all but carried
the Irishman off his feet. At the same
time it defeated Holes own purpose.
O'Rourke watched his chance, seized
the mans throat with both hands and,
tightening his grip, fairly lifted him
off his feet aud shook him as ter
rier shakes rat. Then, with grunt
of satisfaction, he threw the captain
from him and turned to face greater
odds.
The noise of the conflict had brought
the crew down upon the contestant.
Surrounded, he was rushed to the rail.
With that to his back he drew on his
reserve Of strength and, posing him.
self, began to give his assailants per-
sonal and individual attention. They
pushed him close, snarling and ours
ing, hindering one another in their
eagerness, and suffering variously for
their temerity. 0'Rourke fought with
trained precision; his blows, lightning
quick, were direct from the shoulder
and very finely placed; and so straight
did he strike that almost from the
first his knuckles were torn and
bledipg from their impact upon flesh
and bone.
Fight as fercely as he might, how
ever, the pack was too heavy for him;
and when presently he discerned, not
IN one but in half dozen hands,
CLEANS Of light-the rays Of a nearby
lantern running down kniie-biades-
he conceded the moment imminent
when he must sever his connection
with the Pelican. Moreover he had a
shrewd suspicion that Hole was up
and only waiting for an opening to use
his revolver.
Leaping to the rail, he poised an
instant, then dived far out from the
vessels side, down into the Stygian
blackness of the harbor water; good
clean dive, cutting the water with
hardly splash, he went down like an
arrow, gradually swerving from the
straight line of his fight into a long
arc-so long, indeed, that he was
well-nigh breathless when he came to
the surface, dozen yards or more
from the Pelican.
Splitting out the foul harbor water,
and with swift glance over his shoul-
der that showed him the Pelican's
dark freeboard like wall, and a
cluster of dark shapes hanging over
the rail at the top vaguely revealed
by lantern light, he struck out for the
nearest vessel, employing the double
overland stroke, noisy but speedy.
That he heard no cry when he came
to the surface, that Hole had not de-
tected him by the phosphorescence'
| and that he had held his hand from
firing, at first puzzled O'Rourke; but
he reasoned that Hole probably feared
to raise an alarm and thereby attract
much undesirable attention to himself
and his ship. In the course of the first
| few strokes, however, he managed to
peep again over his shoulder, and from
the activity on the Pelican's decks
concluded that he was to be pursued
by boat; which, In fact, proved to be
| the case.
Fortunately the Pelican rode at an
chor in waters studded thick with
other vessels, affording plenty OF hid
| ing places on night as black as that.