Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-11-04
SIXTH INSTALLMENT
THE CAVERN or DEATH

CHAPTER XIV.

a Secret Service Message.
Neal turned to Annette. Good" he
exclaimed, you're safe at any rate.
Where is my mother-where are the
rest?"
"In the wireless room" returned An
nette She laughed a bit Historically.
Even Joe Welcher is quite safe," she
said
Neal held her for moment, shield.
ing her body with his own. He looked
about him.
This mutiny is over" he said, in
tone of relief
lie was quite right. The mutiny
was over, but with disastrous results
Neals commanding officer lay on the
deck with fractured skull. The CAP
tain and the mate of the fruit steamer
Coronado were dead or nearly So and
the decks were strewn with disabled
bleeding mutineers.
''Now come with me-" said Neal. Is
waved his hand and small squad oi
his companions joined him. He sought
and found his mother and her fright
ened companions, Joe Welcher ana
the Castro girl-known to the rest q
Irene Courtier. He led them aft and
placed a guard over them.
"Now," he said warningly, "stay
where you are, mother, and all the
rest. You, too, Annette. I've got ms
work cut out for me for some hours
Annette shook her mead. Not untl
/ dress your arm" she said
Neal nodded to one of his compan
ions. Mate" he said, shoot the frs
person who disobeys. I've got other
fish to fry
He went back to his work. He wig
wagged to the Jackson for his orders
The orders were brief and to the
point:
You take charge of the steamer
We are sending help"
he took charge OF the steamer, mol
only because ne was ordered but be
cause he had to.
Inside of half an hour ne had his
own lieutenants wounds carefully and
scientifically dressed-had all his
ogn companions well attended to-in
short. in q few hours he had righted
the ship completely.
lie signaled for further orders, for
the Coronado was now resting quietly
st anchor, and he got his orders:
Put into the nearest port"
BY midnight they had reached the
nearest port-had docked. By mid.
night he had landed all his passengers
and had reported considerable prog
fess to his commander on the Jack
son. BY midnight something else
lappened-a secret service message
ltered through space and got the
wireless operator on the destroyer
Reduced from cipher, it read about
like this:
American citizen said collecting
arms and ammunition at Martinique
or Porto Rico for Dolores insurree-
ton. Follow at once. investigate, ar
rest, prevent. Report.
Next morning this news had filtered
into Neal. He took it to the homely
little Motel where Annette and his
mother and their party had been har.
bored for the night. He dropped into
q chair.
~Now,' he said, Il can talk and
listen to some talk. Gee whiz, but I'm
aog tired"
Annette pouted; then she smiled. II
love to talk" she said. And then she
added two significant words. Scar
ace"
Neal leaped to his feet. "Scsr-face.'
a,.,al
ON the Coronado said Annette.
I saw him twice-Scar-face and his
two companions. the big man and the
other"
Tell me everything" said Neal.
She told him. He waited impa-
GENTLY until she had finished, then
darted down upon the wharf again
He boarded the Coronado and gave or.
ders for a search. The search was
made. but without avail, for at mid
night on the night before something
else happened. Hernandez and his
two companions. together with his
cargo OF cocaine and heroin, had
slipped quietly overheard into bor-
rowed rowboat and had disappeared.
Neal. chagrined, went back to An
nette.
The bird has fown," he said dis
gruntled.
Where do you go. Neal?" queried
his mother.
Its an open secret where we 60"
said Neal, but why we 90 nobody
krcv-S we Cn firSt ~ Martinique
Ito Be Continuedl