Putnam patriot., 1915-02-26

ment of the vessel and realized there NaS some sea on. although the engines were being operated only at half iierd. This seemed odd if speed was desirable. as 1 supposed it must be on l voyage of this nature. 1 was not in Ihe least sleepy and sank down in the first ehair 10 think. my eyes on the captains door.
 What Henley meant to do with the girl WAS problematical-I had not thought 10 ask but he either intended putting her ashore in Honduras or eise holding her prisoner on board un- il tie Seq Gull returned north. Eli ther contingency was bad enough. and he suspicion dashed suddenly across ne that the nnai decision would de iend on how kindly she might receive lhe atteHtions o4 the captain. Nor did | question the result 1 had not known The iadY long. but in that brief time our relations had been sufficiently inti- mate to yield the good insight into her womHHly character. There would he no welding ne compromise
 felt my teeth lock my hands clinch in sudden anger.
 may have remained there for a quarter of an hour. motionless. think ing over every incident. No one dis turhed me The captain was still in his stateroom. where once or twice I imagined 1 heard him pacing the floor The steward had apparently retired for the night. although it was not late, as glance at my watch proved. My eyes traced the doors on either side, ten altogether each plainly numbered. and l opened the one assigned to me and glanced within. Except that it was more commodious and contained washstand at one corner. it did not differ greatly from the other forward where l had been held prisoner.
 l wondered which of these others might be hers and passed silently from door to door. vaguely hoping for some sign of guidance. They were all tight ly closed, and l dare not try the locks. as l was certain one, at least. of the under officers would be sleeping below. My round bad brought me to the sec end door on the port side when in the dim light l perceived something lying at my feet and stopped down to better determine it's character. It was the end of q very narrow light blue rib. bon. apparently caught beneath the door The door was numbered "5. . Whether by accident or design. she had left the one elew l most needed thrust it into my pocket but the soft touch of the silk seemed to bring back to me a sense of caution knew the door was locked and assured myself there waS no space beneath. If was to communicate with her other means must be employed. What? This was the second stateroon on the port side Judging from my own, the width of each room would be about six feet There ought to be no difficulty in locat- ing her porthole from the deck above nor in attracting her attention.
 The one thing l desired now was to re-establish myself fully in her conf dence assure her l was at liberty on board. able and willing to be of sery- ice. This necessity overshadowed ev erything e:se If could discover means of communication we could y. III. This seemed possible. the way to it's accomplishment open. Shadowed from observation by the thick butt of the after mast. 1 wrote few lines hastily on the back of an envelope. thrust it into my pocket and ventured up the companion stairs.
 glance sutficed to convince that ! xuac .tIapa ap1 1lnnISapyad 1NhA daaiy was unobstlucted aft. except for d small boat swung to davits astern and the cabin transoms These last were elevated some three feet. but consider able space separated from the rail-
 slipped into this opening on the port side. crouching in the dense shadow until again assured l was alone. My position afforded as good view for ward as the darkness would permit and likewise enabled me to see into the dimly lit cabin below. was not watched or spied upon. For the first time began to feel free.
 With glance below at the unoccu- pied cabin l stepped back and paced off the distance until convinced that had safely located where the porthole of No , should be 1 leaned over. seeking to trace its outline by some reflection of light from within. but the receding side of the vessel baffled me Yet. assured that l must be correct in my measurements. 1 marked the spot on the rail and began search for some means by which could open com munication with the girl below.
 The flag locker was astern. and standing on it 1 could feel inside the boat swung to the davits It was a small. lighf boat. fashioned like a cut ter. a good seagoing craft for it's size Two oars and short mast. together with a roll of canvas. were slowed on top of the thwarts and secured by lashings. l cut one of these and drew forth about three fatboms of line. suf- fciently pliable for my purpose The boat hung ready for launching. the falls easily unlocked. and two pair of hands would be sufficient to lower it into the water There was locker forward l was unable to reach. hut two water kegs. filled. were strapped snder the stern sheets. leading me to believe the craft was fully equipped for immediate service My mind filled with daring hope by this discovery I fastened the note to the end of the cord. weighted it with bunch of keys and crept hack to where 1 had marked the rail. Inch by inch l paid out the line. leaning well over. At last my ears detected the dangling of the metal T. keys against the glass. and by