The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-08-04
IRON

| ~ smoking on I1e-IecK or an extremely
powerful-engined but extremely dirty
launch moored in the shadow CT a
wharf. That worthy, indeed, showed
a marked preference for gloom, since
| neither his cabin n5r his deck lamps
were alight. Equally without light
| was the numbering truck which
crawled cautiously down to the lip OF
the wharf, where, after an exchange
of quiet whistled signals, a nulber Of
| vaguely outlined figures set about lift
ing pile OF small but sturdy canvas
sacks and boxes from the motor truck
to the waiting launch. This was done
in utter silence. The moment the
transfer had been completed the
launch slipped out from the wharf
shadow.
Morose as seemed the man steering
that launch, the two newcomers who
had been ordered aboard his craft,
after it had been SO silently and quick
ly loaded, occupied much of his at
tention. 1t was soon plain, however,
that he had small wish for converse
ton with them. When, after three
miles Of silent travel, during which the
white-bearded man at the wheel had
responded with nothing more than a
suiky grunt, one of the newcomers sud.
denly struck a match and held it close
to the white-bearded face, the hands
gripping the wheel quite as suddenly
relinquisaed their hold and fastened
themselves about the throat Of the
cverinquisitive cargo sentry. Before
his companion, standing quite close to
the bow of the boat, could quite real
| lie the meaning of the movement, the
two men beside the wheel were with
ing and stamping and painting about
the narrow deck.
Fierce as that fight was, it was not
a prolonged one. For the white beard
ed man, despite his age, with one final
effort, succeeded in lifting his op.
ponent clear Of the deck-boards and
| fing1ng him headforemost into the
| black water Then he turned and
braced himself for the charge Of the
second man. This second man he met
| by dropping quite fiat and unexpected
ly on the deck itself. He felt the
| charging body go over his own, caught
at one still kicking foot as he twisted
! quickly about, and before his opponent
| could recover from that fall the patri-
LoI icto I'd
| welcome guest over the deck-lip after
his companion.
But, oddly enough, in that struggle
the bewhiskered old boatman had I'm
dergone sudden and startling change.
The clutching fingers Of his enemy in
the second contest along the boatdeck
had buried themselves in the thick
white beard decorating that launch
owners chin. And when this enemy
went overheard that fringe Of whis-
kers went with him, leaving at the
wheel a som q nat altered and consid-
erably younger looking man. And tat
this unknown amender Of destinies
was still intent on nursing the secret
of his identity was further evidenced
by the fact that, before turning his
boat about and facing the ebb-tide cur
rent of the North river, he carefully
adjusted over his nose a narrow band
of yellow cloth, with it's little apron
of an inverted crescent. Still later,
as he closely watched the light-span-
gled shore line, he caught sight Of
two small winging eyes of green and
red. Accepting this apparently as a
signal, he swung in close under the
shadow of a coal barge and made fast
at the slip end. where high above him
a waiting taxicab stood close beside
the stringpiece. Yet, hurried as the
man in the mask seemed to be, he took
time to sit under one of the cabin
lamps and indite a short epistle, This