Putnam patriot., 1915-03-12


 Pierre who vrote telling you of Philips
 death? Not voniane. was it?"
 "You devilr' he burst forth. tortured
 beyond resistance. His teeth ground
 together savagely. aud be burst into &
 strias of oaths.
 That's enough And | got to my feet "l see l'H have to gag you again"
 replaced the sag aud look survey
 of the cabin 10 make sure ali was SC cure Nothing had occurred in the out
 CT cabin during my absence. but the
 growing shadows evidenced the ap-
 proaeh of twilight. In those wa<erS
 pight caWe quickly Lacking the cap.
 tain's door. entered my own state
 room and sat down op the lower berth
 to wait. leaving tny door slightly ajar
 The cabin gre~ constantly darker, al-
 thongh outside. through The open port.
 l could still distinguish gleams of light
 along the gatei surface and the heights
 of the iSland Herman came down and
 entered his >tatesoom, but without clos
 ing the door. He remained but mo
 ment or two and then hurried back on
 deck Suddenly gust Of wind blew
 in through the port. and Il began to
 rain gently. but in huge drops. Far
 away was tue rumble of thunder, echo
 ing across the open sea. The storm
 was evidently coming up slowly from
 the east. as all the western sky was
 clear and streaked with golden red.
 Then a sailor came down the com
 panion stairs, his oilskins ruStlng. and
 pounded on the second mates door
 All hands. Mir BrousSard"'
 There was untitled response. and
 the creole. bnttuning his jacket as he
 passed. followed the other on deck. A moment later l heard lhe slow throb Of
 the engines and glanced out 10 note the
 shore line slipping past into the gloom
 The Sea t;ull wis nihler way. It would be some time yet fifteen or twenty minutes at the best before dared attempt to carry out my plan Of escape In spite uf the overspread- ing cloud and steady rainfall daylight fingered in the west and a spectral glow hung above the ocean There
 were prelininaries to be attended to aud was easei to be busy. The steward had aroused from his nap. and 1 watctied him lower the ta- bic. and spread il with white cloth Now the distant clatter of dishes proved him to he in the pantry He could he dealt with there even to bet ter advantage than in the cabin. and. Doncombafant as he undoubtedly was. felt il safer to place him beyond power to ercate any alarm The task confronting me was far too serious to leave our rear unguarded. 1 slipped silently along the short passageway. aud watching his back closely, investi- gated the lock of the pantry door. It was of the spring variety. easily set to fasten. and could not be operated from the inside As 1 pressed in the catch there was clicking sound which caused the negro to turn around, the whites of his eyes gleaming oddly. "Oh, my lordy! l nebber heard you. Massa Craig. By golIy, sah, dis yere niggah sure thought he was shot" Not yet. Lous.' 1 replied quietly, standing in the opening, one hand still on the latch. .f3ut 1t Is just as well | for you to be serious about tive got | the weapon all right-see." and push ed the revolver butt forward into his ] range of vision ''l don't mean to | hurt you so long as you keep still" 1 What what you agoiD' fer to do. ! sah?"
 Get away from this ship if l can. and you are going to help by remain ing right where you are, boy First, whats in the small boat, hung to dav- !, its provisions. l mean?" "Thar's a breaker of fresh water. | an'-an' a package O sea biscuit, sah. | Ah-Ah reckon that's all" Good. Do you happen to know how l far we are away from the main l coast?''
 "A-about thirty-five mile. sah." "FioridaY''
 "Yes, sab"
 Gan you tell me the compass | pointy'
 He scratched his head. his confidence
 that he was not going to be hurt re- l turning as l questioned him. "Waal. sah, aint no saiiorman | myself-no. sah-but de second mate | he done point it ont dis mohnin' when l An was on deck, an he say it lay nor'east by east, sah. An members ] dat distinctly"
 That will be all. Louis Now listen to me. l am going to shut this>door and lock you in I'll be on board here | for an hour yet. and if you utter so much as whimper I'll come down here and fill you full of lead l closed the door. testing 1t before l turning away. smiling grimiy to my self at recollection of those bite eye | balls glarinp af me through the gloom. i Louis was evidently not the stuff of which martyrs are made
 There was small teltale compass fastened 10 d beam over the table. | unscrewed this without difficulty and dropped il into my pocket II would be dark night with that cIond shut ting out the sky. with probably not a shore lighf visible. Then climbed the companion stairs to take survey of the deck We were slipping through the water at fair rate of speed. leay- ing a very pereeptible wake astern. The open decks glistened with water. although the rainfall was light and in termittent: thunder rumbied to the northward. with occasional flashes Of then he went over. whlrling through the air.
 What Is it?'' she asked. her voice barely audible. What has happenedr Her voice seemed To recall me in stantly, to restore my nninDed facul-