The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-05-17
CHAPTER XIiI.--lCnntInuedN

CHAPTER TIil-~(Contlnued.)
He mopped hin brow, simply iAA be.
fitted ono Of his apparent station In
llfe) with tho bacE Of a hand, and
stood erect, cxuItinE In the scent, tho
Understandable, impalpablo, insistent
odor OF the East that Ia forgotten Of
none who had ever known it. Tho hot
wind drove It gustily In his face, and
he shifted and drew great lungtulB
and was glad.
"'Tis good" he said simply, And.
a bit later, while on tho Bhort-llno the
brhzon arcs were beginning to pop ont
silently: There's the customs boat
I'm thinking I'll slip below"
No lamps had yet boon lighted be.
low, but O'Rourks knew the way to
his room. He entered and shut the
door. The aftergIow Of tho sunset,
entering through the porthole, rem
dered the little coop light enough for
his purpose, Dropping to his knees,
the freshman pulled his klt.box from
beneath the bunk.
The lid came up freely as he
touched II, For n full minute he did
not breathe. Then, In ominous 81,
lence, he bent and examined the lock,
II became Immediately evident that
his memory bad not tricked him; the
trunk was locked, as he Ind left It
that morning. But the clasp had
yEnIdna IN "a raid ebiunl
II was hardly worth the trouble,
still 0'Rourke rummaged through the
contents OF the box, assuring himself
that the chamols bag was gone. 80
far as he could determine then, moth
ing else had been taken,
He shut down the lid and sat down
TO think It out. eyes hard, face grimly
expressionless, only nm intermittent
nervous clenchIng and opening of his
hands betraying his gathering rage
aud excitement, At length he arose,
determination In his port.
One phrase alone escaped him:
And not a gun 10 me pRmot"
He went on deck. Already tho trop,
10 night had closed down upon the
harbor. but II was easy enough TO 10.
cate the captaia and first officer, still
waiting at the gangway. From over.
aide arose the spluttor of q launCh-a
raucous sound, yet one that barely rip
pied the surface Of O'Rourke's con
seriousness. He stepped quickly to
the captains side and touched him
gently on the arm,
Captain" he said quickly. I'm he
asking the favor Of a word with ye IN
private"
Hole caught the CLEAN Of the Irish.
mans eye in the lamplight and
stepped back a pace.
Get forrard,' he said CURLY. "Carn't
you see the customs officer coming
aboard? III see you later"
"Ye will not, Yen hear me now
captain"
Hole backed further away, "Wot!"
he barked hoarSely. raising his voice.
"Wotl I'll show you 'oo's master
aboard this ship Get forrard to your
quarters! S'helpme-gGwdi" he OK,
pioded violently, 100 ever heard the
like Of itg"
O'Rourke stepped nearer, HIS fists
closing, Drop that tone, ye scud!"
he cried. Dye want me to SPOIL your
little game?"
The shot went home. The CAPTAIN
gasped, and In the darkness 0'Rourke
be lost a shade or two of HIS
color.
"WotCher mean?" he demanded. low.
Cring his tone,
Il mean" replied ORourke in n |
quick whisper, that the Egyptian Gus.
toms officer ia at the side. Return
what we've stolen from me this day.
or I'll tell the whole harbor what
we've been up to! And, II We want
me to be more explicit, perhaps the
word 'hash!sh' will refresh your mem.
TIL talk to you later"
Yen give me back me property this
minute Or"
ORourke was at the rail In n stride.
sinai tell him. he demanded.
a swift step sounded beside him
turned an instant too late. who had
geckobed without Dennison. As hen
moved to protect himself the first OF.
ieer'a fist caught the freshman Just
under the ear. And one hundred and
seventy five pounds Of man and malice
behind II. O'Rourke shot into