The Springfield herald., 1913-03-21
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STOLEN :@
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BY MARTHA BELIzINGERs
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= MARTHA DELIINGER,

or promise of reward could persuade
the ships men into supplying his
need. He received consignments of
food: short rations they would be, he
judged, for an able-bodied seaman.
But inactivity and confinement to the
fo'cas'le soon worked havoc with his
physique, SO that appetite, and even
desire of life itself, temporarily dis
appeared in the gloom of seasickness.
In spite of difficulties. Jim tried to
find out something about the boat
The seamen were none too friendly;
but by patching up his almost forgot
ten French and by signs, he learned
something. His sudden failure of
strength in the water had been due to
blow from floating spar, as a
bruise on his forehead testified; the
old man." whom Jim supposed to be
the captain. was hard master; Mon
sieur Chatelard was owner, or at least
temporary proprietor. of the yacht;
ard the present voyage was an un-
lucky one by all the signs and omens
known to the seamen's horoscope.
The sullenness of the men was ap-
parent and was not caused by the en-
forced presence of stranger among
them. In fact. their bad temper be-
came SO conspicuous that jim began
10 believe that 1t might have some
thing to do with the mysterious ac-
tions of the man on shore. He pom
dered the situation deeply; he evolved
many foolish schemes to compass his
own enlightenment, and dismissed
them Hp rphnCta6
that man without clothes can scarce
ly be hero. whatever his spirit. Not
since the days of Olympus was there
any record of man or god being re-
ceived into any society whateveS
without his sartorial shell, thought
Jimmy. But in spite of his discomfort.
he was glad he was there. The In
tuition that had led him since that
memorable Sunday afternoon was
strong within him still, and he never
questioned its authority. He believed
his turn would come. even though he
were a prisoner in the fo'casle of the
Jeanne dare.
AS the violence Of his sickness
passed. Jim began to cast about for
some means Of helping himself Grad
ually he was able to dive into the for
gotten shadows OF his French learn
Ing. BY much wrinkling OF brows he
evolved sentence. though he had to
wait some hours before there was a
favorable chance to put 1t to use. AT
last his time came. with the arrival
of his former friend, the sailor.
90 avay-voo cashay mon money
belt?" he inquired with much conf
dence. and with pure Yankee accent.
The sailor answered with a shrug
and spreading of empty hands.
Pas de money-beit, pas de panta-
Ion. pas de tcus! Dam queer Arnayri.
cain!"
Jim was not convinced OF the sail
or's innocence, but perceived that he
must give him the benefit of the
doubt. AS the sailor intimated, Jim,
himself. was open to suspicion. and
couldn't afford to be too jealous In
calumniating others. He fell to think
ing again. and attacked the next
Frenchman that came into the TO-
castle with the following:
"Kond jaytay malade don ma tate.
kee pree mon money-belt?"
1t was the ships cook this time, and
he turned and stared at Jimmy as
though he had seen ghost. When
he found tongue he uttered a volume
of opinion and abuse which Jimmy
knew by instinct was not fit to be
translated, and then he fed up the
ladder.
On the fourth day, toward evening.
t., l., ;.-tt -
had been pitching and rolling, and by
afternoon she was laboring In the vio-
lence of a storm and was listing badly.
James was fearless seaman. but 1t
crossed his mind more than once that
II he were captain. and If there were
port within reach. he would put into
it before midnight. But he could tell
nothing of the ships course. He
turned the subject over in his mind as
he lay on his bunk in that peculiar
state halfway between sickness and
health. when the body Is relaxed by a
purely accidental illness and the mind
is abnormally alert. He wished in
tensely for a bath, shave, and fair
of clothes. He longed also
to go up the hatchway for a breath of
aiI and was considering the possibil-
ity of doing this later. with blanket
and darkness for shield. when he be-
came conscious Of pair of neatly
trousered legs descending the ladder.
1t was quite a different performance
from the catiike climbing up and
down of the sailors.
Jimmy watched In the dim light un-