Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-03-14
The. Daily Story
: A Football of Fate.-By r. A. Mitchell
Copyrighted 1914 by Associated Literary Bureau.

Bin SomerB was propdDiy as mucn
of a football of fate as any man VINO
ever lived. Bill was kicked all over
the world. He began as cabin boy
on a ship cited out for relief of north
| pole expedition and spent some time
! among the Eskimos. Next he was In
| the hears of Africa trading in ivory.
At twenty-five he had made lot OF
| money and thought he would stay at
| home and enjoy himself; but. like Sind
bad the Sailor, he soon grew tired Of
1 quiet and embarked on another voy.
age.
He bought vessel and stocked her
| with cotton goods, such as are used
| among the common peopie OF eastern
countries with warm climates. and
| started for Asia, attending to exchange
them for silks ana other goods used in
America. but was wrecked in a ty-
phoon Off the coast OF Ceylon and had
nothing left but the dripping clothes
| in which he was thrown upon the
| shore.
We next hear Of Bill in Picking,
| China. He didn't seem to do much
planning. or, If he did, fate paid no at
tention to his plans, but kept on kick
ing him, and he kept on rolling. Like
an ordinary ball, he occasionally got
into a hole where IL looked as IL he
would remain and rot. But he was
always kicked out and recommended
his bounding and rolling both over the
land and the sea.
In Picking he found an old, wheezy
steamer of about 200 tons burden that
! had been worn out tramping over the
waters, and he concluded to buy her.
Where he got the money does not ap-
pear, but the probability is that her
owner was SO anxious TO get her on
his hands that he was glad to take
Bills note for the amount of the pur-
chase secured on mortgage. The new
owner did what he could by way of
repair and started down the Peitang
river for the gulf Of Pechili.
What Bill was going to do with his
steamer doesn't pertain to this story.
1t wouldn't be interesting to follow his
intentions, because he never succeeded
in carrying anything out.
CAPTAIN Somers on this voyage down
the river and across the gulf had with
him an English engineer, Tom Hooper
by name, and heather Chfnee deck
hand whose name was so unpro-
nounceable that he was obliged to sub
NIT to the conventional English name
of Charlie Charlie, like most China
men, seemed. very stupid, but also, like
his countrymen, was very sly. As for
the engineer, he was as obstinate as
Establishment usually are and as hard to
kill
Captain +Soners and his crew passed
out of the gulf between Port Arthur
and Tengchau, rounded Shantung and
found themselves in the Yellow sea-
Quite probably they were going to ia
pan, but this doesn't matter, for be-
fore reaching the coast of Korea Som
ers got kick which sent him in an
other direction.
About noon, when Bill was at the
wheel-indeed, Bill was always at the
wheel, and Tom was always at the
engine-he heard something snap be-
low and fixing of steam. Up came
Tom, showed his face in the companion
way and said that one of the small
steam pipes had burst. Meanwhile the
propeller ceased to turn, and the boat.
the Siren, lay helpless. Why Bill had
given her that name is beyond compre-
hension, for she was the ugliest craft
in Chinese waters.
Leaving the tiller, Bill went below
with the engineer, and the two stood
gaping at the exploded pipe, wonder
ing how they were going to repair it
without tools or machinery. Bill had
congratulated himself on being able to
buy the Siren without cent of money,
but now saw how, after all, the seller
had got the better Of him.
However, Tom hunted through box
of odds and ends and found bit of
pipe that he thought he could put in in
place of the exploded one, and there
was a soldering jet aboard. But it
was necessary to put out the fires in
the furnace before anything could be
done. Bill concluded TO dump" the
furnace, since It would be easier to
light a new fire If freed from the re-
mains of the old one. So they follow
ed this plan, and Tom began work on
replacing the broken pipe.
Tom had been working some time.
Bill had gone into the furnace. which
had cooled sufficiently to admit him to
make an inspection. The Siren was
drifting. Suddenly Charlie came run
ming down into the furnace room, with
his eyes standing out or MS race ana
his complexion the color of cinders.
Bill looked out through the open fur
mace door.
"Cap'n," gasped Charlie, "pilates!"
"What?"
"Pilatesv
"Git out o. this!" growled Tom.
Were busy"
Charlie wrung his hands and contin-
red to cry "Pnatesr
~ wonder if he doesn't mean pi-
rates." cried Bill.
YES" cried Charlie; "pilates!"
Bill sprang out OF the furnace box
and, followed more slowly by Tom and
Charlie. ran up on deck. There. sew
eral miles away, was small craft OF
a Chinese cut pointing straight for the
Siren.
SLOW 10 vo,, t-noxv sba,S . Miro ~ ~.