Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-04-27

Mcarwhiir, In the snip captains
cabin the Foreign Alliance was sill ia
session. The Silent Menace. however.
was not present. lie had bcen there
and his return was ~momcntarily ex-
pectcd.
"He Is late" commented one men,
Der Of the group looking at his watch.
After some time had passed. a taxi
cab dashed UP to the landing. -Four
men of businesslike appearance leapcd
out and gazed around rs IL expecting
to be met. In seine disappointment
they dismissed the taxi and cautious
ly approached the vessel. The decks
fore and aft were deserted.
II guess this Is the boat" speculated
n Of the four. noticing the name on
the prov. .It's the Il. Ii. Thomas"
They hurried across the gang plank
into the wagon entrance under the
head rail. There u masked man. lin
sering in the shadows. stepped forth.
"The disguise is excused, gen .le-
men?'
Sure" grunted n of the men.
THAT was understood"
you are ready 10 do buslnessr
For spot cash only"
Follow"
Several OF the ships crew. negroes.
now put In an appearance. hustled u
huge o on their shoulders and led
he way TO the ship captains cabin.
They deposited their burden and with
drew.
The four visitors entered, followed
by the man In the mask who closed
and locked the door.
"Messieurs." he began. addressing
the Foreign Alliance. whose faces also
were muiiled. ''These are the Amer
can munition manufacturers.
The Foreign Alliance returned to
their seats, focusing their undivided
attention upon their leader and the
matter at hand.
Monsieur Karnavi! !" The man thus
addressed rose. You are the NUM-
ton expert and will outline our prop
osition."
1T Is this" briskly began Karnavir
advancing. 1--WE have here point
Ing TO the box. e. an explosive Of
hitherto unimaginable potency. We
alone know It's composition. several
tons Of which are secreted In this ship
What we lack are castings. These cas-
lngs must be In various sizes and
shapes, resembling say. an imitation
bunch Of grapes, an ear or corn or u
potato. and so forth. How quickly a
gou manufacture the casings!'
How soon do you want themf'
"A cnrload OF the potato sizes with
I'm two weeks from date
Delivered whereT"
'sTo our submarine warehouses at
at -" turning 10 their silent and
listening leader. at which ware
house. monsieur? Bay, Sound, Capes
or Gulf. or shall we save time by ship
ping Via the West Coast?"
Now ensued a short parley In a Ian
guage which the intensely interested
and somewhat uneasy visitors did not
understand. Presently Monsieur kar-
nayi mentioned a certain celebrated
town on the middle Atlantic coast.
The munition manufacturers agreed
that freight facilities to this point
we're ideal and that unloading could
be accomplished without the slightest
suspicion.
Now let us see the color OF your
none and that sample bomb" said
one Of the manufacturers. inpatient
~. "We can make the deliveries IL
the castings are simple to mold"
Another member Of the Foreign Al
lance left his seat and taking from his
pocket an of.icIal-like envelope handed
IL TO his superior. II was unsealed.
IL contained a draft payable ut the
banking house OF Null & Son. one of
the foremost financial institutions In
America. having to 10 with information
nj dealings running fur into the mil
lions Of dollars.
There was no question Of the genu-
Inc character Of this draft which any
one could cash.
rs II satisfactory. gentlemenr'
suavely inquired the leader Of the For
clgn Alliance.
The Americans were more profound
ly impressed han they cared TO show.
quite" AL smiled broadly.
The leader of the Foreign Alliance
now approached the box containing the
sample bomb. IL vas n curiously con-
Structed affair not unlike a wardrobe
trunk In size and dimensions.
1.-The lid Is on the SIDE" explained
the leader of the Foreign Alliance n
he stopped to release IL. "It's a pretty
big hiding place for such a little pack
age. But, them He shrugged ex-
pressively. 1.-The package IL SO dan
gerous II IL were TO strike the fioor
II would explode and blow up the
ship"
The Americans drew back In alarm
as the leader OF the Foreign Alliance
opened the lock.
An instant Of suspense followed. He
started to raise the lid when II flew
open and he drew back startled. Miss
Pearl Dare stepped out OF the box
holding the potato-shaped sample
bomb t~hreateningly In her hand.
"Stopi" she cried, as with wild yells
and blanched faces every one in the
party ran toward the door. She made
d move as IL to throw the bomb at
them. 'IIl send YOU all TO kingdom