Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-19
AND MOONSHINER

will jump into the air in establishment when
we enter like ghosts from Valhalla!'
Wolsbach, smiling in the darkness, di-
rected the boat carefully and quietly away
from the little landing pier, skirted the
densely wooded island, and 1aboriously
rowed until he was on its farthest side. He
had never been there before. He was not
certain that there was place toN1and, for
his observations from distance led him to
know that on that side jagged rocks thrust
from the depths; but the water was still,
and therefore there was no fear of the surf.
Straight in between the jaws of a reef he
blundered, with fools luck, and grounded
the boat on strip of sand. Together these
old CampalgnerS, accustomed to silent for
avs, slipped up and into the black heavy
woods with the General, softly chuckling,
in the lead. Then, abruptly, Wolsbach al
most stumbled against him; for he had
stopped and held back through the darkness
a restraining hand.
"Humph! What is this?" he heard the
General mutter, and staring round him to
discover the cause of the halt saw thin,
wavering bars of light through the forest in
front.
The General cautioned him to silence, and
they slipped forward again, more cautiously
than ever, and curious as to what was ahead.
Suddenly they came to barricade, higher
than their reach, stretching up into the
blackness of the trees. The lights they had
seen filtered through the cracks, and, side
by side, they peered through one of these.
1t was as if what they saw held them spell
bound and speeches..
INSIDE what seemed to be considerable
Enclosure of planks, sort of screen, they
saw men working about monstrouS shapes.
The men were all negroes, of that black,
enormous, muscular type from the far
Caribbean seas,-rnen of the type who had
been pirates and warriors and poets. Stripped
to the waist they were, and barefooted and
bareheaded. They strove like devils feed
ing the fires under the monStrouS shapes, and
the light of springing, angry flames revealed
the persplrat1on dripping and glistening
across their ebony skins and huge, obedient
muscles.
They worked noiselessly and persistently,
carrying logs and branches with which they
constantly fed the fires. And the flames
sWirled and glowed round huge kettles,
catching dull red reflections from their
rounded copper bellies, waiting outward
now and then to expose stray wiSp of steam
that curled angrlly upward and dissipated
itself in the branches of the brooding trees
that appeared to hang low over the night
work, as if participants in brewing some evil
draft A strong fragrance of cane crept out
ward now and then, a fragrance that seemed
fitting atmosphere for these black men
from the mysterious, evil tropics. Sometimes
the flames, sweeping outward, brought into
relief the arms of the stills which appeared to
writhe and quaver in the shifting light, as
they bent their curved necks downward to
barrel and cask to seek the condensing agent
of cold water pumped from the placid lake
that lay behind, still and innocent under the
shielding night sky.
Wolsbach, peering wide-eyed through the
crack, felt steady, harsh fingers laid on his
arm. Obediently he followed their direc-
ton, as the General turned and fastened
less carefully away from the barricade, out
around it, and into a path that their feet
struck, which both knew must lead to the
rear door of Heinrich Roths home. Vols
bach heard the Generals hand fumbling for
the doorknob, heard it turn, heard the door
open, and followed in. A light shone from
] beneath crack at the end of the passage