Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1915-01-23

for some place where he could lie
and observe the works below him
without chance of being seen. There
would then remain the task of get
ting to close quarters. At the worst
ne had decided that he would walk
boldly up to the plant and apply for
work. That, indeed, had been his
original intention, but the sight of
the convict-train had given him food
for thought.
He was not quite decided as to
what status TO assume. 1t now
looked as though in all probability
but a few skilled artisans were en-
ployed; the remainder OF the work
being done by the prisoners, such
as had gone by him yesterday.
While passing as a coolie, he could
scarcely claim a knowledge of
skilled workmanship.
Presently he came to a ledge of
rock and a cave. 1t was a dry shall
low hole, reaching back under an
overhang Of rock. Before it the lip
of the ledge was covered with fallen
fragments o. rock and bushes and
weeds. Gafford hailed it with de-
light. He promptly placed his blan-
ket and the remains of his food in
its shelter Then, taking a pair of
glasses which Spry had given him
before he left the yacht, he crept to
the edge of the cliff and lay down in
the weeds
From his acrie he could look down
to the plant from an unob-tructed
view. He focused the binoculars and
swept the scene. His admiration
grew as he continued his inspection.
avfnnciNra ,n1ant Craat
buildings were flung wide before
him, their walls of concrete, their
roofs largely of glass, 10 Judge by
their sheen Huge cupolas and
mighty stacks belched the cloud of
smoke which yelled the valley.
Spidery tramways led to the former,
and he could see men moving tiny
push-cars along their rails.
To one side he could mark the line
c" the railway he had followed, and
also a switch, which seemed to lead
off from the works in the direction
of the hill on which he lay. He fol-
lowed il with his glasses, and there
swan into his vision an immense
circular structure, something like
the roundhouse of a railroad. In
fact, that was at first what he be-
lieved it to be, and turned his glasses
back to the factory itself. Then, for
the first time, he took particular
notice of another structure on the
far side 1t was a vast, low-walled
compound, inside of which were sew
eral heavily constructed buildings
with barred windows.
In the wall of the compound, next
to the plant proper, was a massive
gate, and upon the walls paced what
he made out to be armed men. 1t
was the prison-house in which were
kept the convict laborers at night.
Between the walls of this prison
bunk-house and the nearest of the
factory buildings was a low bunga-
low-like structure, with a pagodalike
roof.
It attracted Gaffords attention
for two reasons. First, there floated
above it the sun-ray flag of Japan.
Secondly, it was the only structure
boasting any attempt at ornamental
ton in the whole grim place. He
decided that it was probably the
home of the commandant or super
intendent of the works. With a leap
of the heart he wondered if it might
he the prison of Shiela McRae.
While he lay there the sound of
bugle came family to his ears. The
great gate of the prisoners COM
pound opened, and line of human
forms began to creep out Of it and
across the space TO the factory
buildings.
They moved with swaying
rhythm, and beside them at inter-
walls walked guards carrying guns.
They disappeared among the smoke
belching buildings, but the gate re-
manned open. Presently Gafford saw
other lines of men returning from
their night of toll. 1t was then that
he witnessed 2 peculiar phenomenon.
The sun had crept sufficiently high
over the mountains so that its rays
no longer struck under the pail of
smoke, but through it. Suddenly
the scene upon which he looked
turned red 1t was as though the
lenses of his glasses had been
flooded with a crimson film. The
great buildings, the towering stacks,
the compound of the prison, the
crawling line of men returning from
their labors, even the white of the
sun-hag itself, took on a hue of
rudy menace. Ii was as though
that valley where men wrought for
Uitil y blb tAiiCANy pNCh
bathed in tn crimson blood of their
victims, and the swayinc line of con-
victs marched from their labors over
a blood-soaked ground.
The whistle Of a locomotive called
him from his contemplation of the
weird red scene Turning from his
inspection Of the great plant, he be-
came aware that train had drawn
out from among the buildings and
was approaching the circular struc-
ture below him along the spur of
switch he had observed before.
II consisted Of small engine and
a string of fat-cars, and upon the
latter were q number of the strang-
est objects he had ever seen. To his
starting eyes it seemed that they
were cross between an aeroplane
and Whitehead torpedo.
They were long, slender, cigar
shaped, as Gafford judged them,
some ten feet in length. They stood
on what looked like skids, some