The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1915-01-21

Nor was there, for all his hopes and
prayers, based on the telegram to
Digby, a sign OF a motor car.
Still, not much Of the street was
revealed. The docks on either hand
were walled and rooted, cutting off the
view.
If they ran for 1t, they must surely
be overhauled. Something must be
done to hinder the crew Of the
schooner from landing.
"Here!" he cried sharply to Barcus.
You take Rose and hurry to the
street and find that motorcar. l
know she's there. Digby never failed
me yeti"
But YOU"
Don't waste time worrying about
me. III be with you in three shakes.
I'm only going to put a spoke in Ju-
dith's wheel, I've got a scheme!"
AS for his scheme-he had none
other than to give them battle, to sac
rifce himself If need be, to make sure
the escape Of Rose.
Sheer luck smiled on him to this
extent, that in turning his eye lighted
or a fourfoot length of stout, three
inch scantling, an excellently for
midable club.
But soon. disarmed, his case was
desperate-and there were two al
ready safe upon the dock and others
madly scrambling up to reinforce
them.
Wildly he cast about for some sub
stitute weapon, he leaped toward a
small pyramid of little but heavy kegs.
and Selling one. swung 1t overhead
and cast It full force into the midrin
of his nearest enemy; 80 that this one
doubled up convulsively, with a sick
ish grunt, and vanished in urn over
the end of the wharf.
His fellow followed with less injury.
But Alan had no time to wonder
whether the man had tripped and
thrown himself in his effort to escape
a second hurting key. or had turned
coward and fed. 1t was enough that
he had returned, precipitately and
heavily, to the schooner.
The keg, meeting with no resistance.
pursued him even to the deck. where
the force of it's impact split its seams.
None Of the combatants, however,,
Alan least Of all, noticed that the pow
der that filtered out was black and
coarse. Alan, indeed, had only the
haziest notion that they we're powder
kegs he used as ammunition. That
they were heavy and hurt when they
collided with human flesh and bone
was all that interested him.
In the same breath he heard q
friendly voice shout warning far up
the dock, and knew that Barcus was
coming to his aid.
A glance over-shoulder, too, discov-
cred the cause Of the warning; two
men who had thus far escaped his
attentions were m~aneuvering to fall
upon him from behind. The bound
required to evade them brought him
face to face with Judith as she landed
on the dock.
"Oh," she cried. II hate you, I hate
you"
$50 you've said, my dear, but"
His final words were not audible
even to himself. In his confidence
(now that Barcus was taking care of
the others) and his impotence with
the woman, and in his perhaps un-
worthy wish to demonstrate conclu-
sively how cheap he held her, Alan
had tossed the pistol over the end Of
the wharf.
1t was an old-fashioned weapon, and
the force with which it struck the
deck released the hammer.
Instantly the "A cartridge blazed
into the open head of a broken powder
keg.
And with a roar like the trump OF
doom and a mighty gust of fame and
smoke the decks Of the schooner were
riven and shattered; her masts tot
tered and fell