The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1913-05-15
Disappeared
By ]. BERRY CRAPO
By |. BERRY CRAPO

/ Aloric. bound for New York. His dest1na-
ton is New York. Arrest him and holo
him waiting extradition papers. He STANDS
six feet two. has red hair. light complex
ion and weighs 200 pounds. supplement-
airy description by mail.
The above cablegram was sent from
Berlin to the police of New York and
received five days before the Alor1c
was due in New York. A wireless was
also sent to the captain of the ship
asking If any one answering the de-
scription was on board his vessel. The
first and second cabin passengers were
looked over and those in the Storage
were lined up and examined critically.
No person answering the description
was found among either the first or
second class passengers. Some of the
steerage passengers reported that tall
man apparently weighing something
less than 200 pounds, but with black
hair and olive complexion. had been
among them, but had disappeared.
| The wireless was received by Captain
| Davidson Of the Aloric when the steam
or was in mdocean. She had not
touched at any port. She had passed
Gibraltar in broad daylight In the mid
die of the strait, and it would have
been impossible for any one to leave
her even if he had had the wherewith-
al to float himself without being seen.
Gottlieb did not reappear on the Alor-
ic and when she reached New York
he was not found aboard.
af h
It is true that q man answering the
description given Of GOttleb sailed
from Nice on the Aloric, and he was
the man the request from Berlin re-
ferred to. But his name was not Colt
lieb, nor was he German citizen. He
was Russian Pole named Blamisky,
wanted by the car Of Russia to work
in the Siberian mines. An officer OF
the secret Russian police had traced
him to Berlin, and it was he who had
done the forging, sending messages in
the name of the Berlin authorities.
The usual passage Of ships between
Gibraltar and New York is to the
southwark of the island Madeira. On
the 10th Of November, 49,, yacht
bearing the name Mill on her stern
left Funchal, the principal port OF
that island, and steered eastward. She
had made some fifty knots when sew
eral sails appeared on the horizon, and
all turned their prows toward the
Mill. When they came near together
the captain Of one Of them signaled
that the Aloric was in latitude 30 de-
grees 20 minutes, longitude west OF
Greenwich IL degrees Is minutes, and
would pass Madeira about fifty miles
south of Funchal at IL o'clock that
night. Whereupon the captain Of the
Mill signaled the little feet to steer
by different courses to a point south
of Funchal fifty miles and east of the
Funchal meridian thirty miles.
That same night the tall Storage
passenger on the Aloric, after all ex-
cept the ships watch had turned in.
stole along by a route that would
render him unseen toward the after
deck. His size since he had turned in
had increased so that his girth meas
ured some twelve inches more than be-
fore and proportionately on the other
cans-one Theoretically sealed, the 9TH
err opening by spring upon pressing
on button. Both these cans were at
tached to his body by small chain.
Blamisky reached the stern of the
ship unobserved and found no one
there The night was clear and the
sea was smooth. a long swell only pass
Ing from southeast to northwest. The
fugitive looked up to the stars, mutter-
ed prayer and. mounting the taffrail
jumped over into the ocean.
He sank but few feet, for under
his clothes was an india rubber encase
ment which he had blown full of air.
He took no action whatever, merely
watching the lights of the receding
ship. Though his escape depended upon
her leaving him alone upon boundless
waters. be saw her recede with a kind
Of awe. An hour later when the last
glimmer had gone out he pressed the
button on one of his tin boxes and
took out an ordinary can opener, leav-
ing in the box some food and bottle
OF water. With the instrument, hold
ing the other tin box above his head, he
cut a hole in the tin, took out a rocket
and a patent cigar lighter. Holding
the rocket in his hand. he lighted the
fuse with the latter. The rocket went
high in the air.
He watched eagerly for a response,
but none appeared. In half an hour
he sent up another rocket, then another
till he had fired six rockets. After that
breeze sprang up, the waves FRESH
ened and bis remaining rockets were
one he fired brought a response. A
thin streak Of light appeared perpen-
dicularly on the horizon just before day
broke.
Within twenty minutes sail ap-
peared from out the gloom of recedng
night. bearing nearly straight toward
the man In the water. When he saw
that she would pass him far to the
south he took from his pocket metal
ball, moved slide on its surface and
threw it as far from him as he could.
In few minutes there was an explo-
sion. The coming vessel heeded it and
turned toward him. In another ten
minutes he was taken aboard one of
the boats that had been dispatched by
the Mill.
Such is the escape of one of Russia's
principal revolutionists. But he had
many assistants.