The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1913-01-31

I- ' VIVA hto
physique, so that appetite. and eyen
ueSire OF life itself, temporarily dis.
appeared IL the gloom of seasickness.
IA spite Of difficulties, Jim tried to
n,u out something about the boat.
'ne seainen were none too friendly;
out oy patching up his almost forgot.
Yen french and by signs, he learned
something. His sudden failure OF
''iehgth In the water had been due to
= dow from a floating spar. as a
oiuise on his forehead testified; the
oiu nan,' whom Jim supposed to be
'he captain. was a hard master: Mon.
sieur Chatelard vas owner. or at least
temporary proprietor, Of the yacht;
aUu the present voyage was an un.
lucky one by all the signs and omens
HhoWn 10 the seamen's horoscope.
The sullenness of the men was an
parent and was not caused by the en-.
'orced presence Of a stranger among
'hem. In fact. their bad temper be-
came so conspicuous that Jim began
10 believe that It might have some
ming TO do with the mysterious &C
lions OF the man on shore. He pom
dered the situation deeply: he evolved
many foolish schemes to compass his
own enlightenment. and dismissed
them one by n lie grimly reflected
That a man without clothes can scarce
ly be a hero. whatever his spirit. Not
since the days OF Olympus was there
any record OF man or god being re-
ceived into any society whatever
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. w though he
were a prisoner In the ~fo'cas'le 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 a sentence, though he had to
wait some hours before there was a
favorable chance to put II to use. At
last his time came, with tn, 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 a spreading Of empty hands.
Pas de money-belt. pas de panta-
Ion, pas de tcus! Dam queer Amayri-
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
eliminating others. He fell to think
ing again. and attacked the next
~Frcnchman that came into the TO-
coslr with the following
"Kond i'aytay malade don ma tate,
kee n pree men money-belt?"
II was the ships cook this time. and
no turned and stared at Jimmy as
though he had seen a ghost, When
no found tongue he uttered a volume
-, opinion and abuse which Jimmy
lnew by instinct was not fit to be
translated. and then he fed up the
ladder.
ON the fourth day, toward evening,
lanes had a visitor. All day the yacht
mad been pitching and rolling. and by
at,ornoon she was laboring In the vio-
Ianco y, a storm and was listing badly.
lanes was a fearless seaman. but 1t
,.ossed his mind more than once that
:, no were captain. and II there were
= mort within reach, he would put into
:, before midnight. But he could tell
n of the ships course. He
,urned the subject over In his mind as
no Law on his bunk ! N that peculiar
tote halfway between sickness and
,,"a,,h when the body Is relaxed by a
n,rs,y accidental illness and the mind
:" ahnormally alert. He wished in
,onsolv for a bath. n shave. and a fair
sonnlement Of clothes. He lonsed also
80 90 nm the hatchway for a breath OF
a,r and was considering the POSSIBLE
i,v Of doing this later. with a blanket
md darkness for a shield. when he be-
conscious Of a pair OF neatly
,romsered legs descending the ladder
:, u.as mite a different performance
rom the catlike climbing up n
down OF the sailors.
Jimmy watched in the dim light un'
81 ,be whole figure was complete, ran
,astically supplying. in his magma
ION the coat. the shirt. the collar
. ua the tie to so with the trousers.
u, the things which he himself lacked.
a., here also a hat?, Jimmy couldn't
mate out, and SO he asked:
MAJ. Have you got on a hat"
A frigid voice answered ! DEF your
pardon" ,..r,n. . hat, I
.,r,dny see. you know"