Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-11-14
The Work Of 4 Flend.


In spite Of what knew; Of the hor-
Tor and tragedy had just left behind;
the unspeakable terror Of feeling that
somewhere aboard, hidden in some
black corner, lurked an irresponsible
being. with murder in his crazed brain;
being devoid of all impulse, save the
frenzy of hate, the desire for destruc-
ton. yet the sight of that cool, silent
deck, already darkened by the gath
ering shadows Of night, instantly
Gained me, and brought back my pow.
ers Of reasoning. The man was not
aft; then he must be forward. It was
impossible 10 hide long on shipboard in
the face Of IN intelligent search. OF
! one thing I was dscided-f the fellow
had, indeed, succeeded in slipping for
ward unobserved, he was never to be
permitted to return aft again unseen.
would, first of all, see to it that the
decks were guarded, and then the rest
OF US would hunt him In his hole.
s'White, you remain here in front Of
the cabin, and keep your eyes open.
Don't let shadow get past you aft;
You underStan0T
aye, SIR"
ssGive me the lantern. There is NO
knowing what that fellow may do; he
might fire the ship, or wreck the en-.
gines, unless we get him in time"
''You think he's forward, sir?"
"Where else can he BET I'll put an.
other man at the mainmast, and then
run him down"
Leayord, attracted by the CLEAN of
Z the lantern, leaned out over the poop
rail-.
.4rhat you, captain7 Have you got
Bascom yeti"
..No; he has managed to escape, and
get forward, but not without leaving
another victim behind. Tony Rapello
II dead In the stokehole."
''The bloody villainl How did he
ever get out of thereT
(which is more than can figure
out; stole on deck, probably, and then
slipped along In the rail shadow.
Where IL McCannr'
"Just gone forward to fix the ridin'
lamps"
'.All right; sing out to him to keep
his eyes on the deck. There doesnN
seem to be great deal Of wind, or
sea, Mr.. Leayord; do you imagine Miss
Darlington could hold the wheel for
half an hourf"
" don't see no reason why she
shouldn't, sir; I've seen her do 1t in
worse weather"
'sThen ask her, please; I'm likely to
need both Of you II we round up that
fellow. Hes crazy and armed, and sure
to fight hard. Pick up any weapon you
/ can fnd, and come down here"
They were beside me almost instant
II, eagerly questioning as to what had
occurred below, their faces expressive
Of the deep horror both felt at the stu
alton In which we found ourselves. I'm
der other conditions know. ! should
have felt sincere sympathy for the sud
denly stricken Bascom. His former
friendship with Vera, what knew Of
his misfortunes, the very conception
of the mans character which I had
formed myself during our brief ac-
,lduaintance on board, all tended to
make the man an object Of pity. The
murders he had committed were but
the result Of a diseased brain, the sud-
den swapping Of responsibility. !
could not hate the man, or seek him
ayil-but could dread him. That was
the whole Of thread! Here was q
7 man crazed, murderously insane, who
had safely tasted blood. whose insan-
ity had been caused by fear, and brood
&s.-s. nver . great wrong In h!s ;di. .ssoors-
/ dered brain a mad, desperate desire for
revenge had overshadowed all else. To
obtain this no deed was impossible, no
crime too hideous. And this creature
49, hidden somewhere between decks,
ana. unless discovered and made cap
tiye, held In his hands the fate of every
I soul on board. The thought Of what he
s might do during the black darkness of
M night terrorized me. At any cost
~ must have him within our control !;
~ dare not even walt to hope that the
nan might reveal himself-we must
d IS after him, crawling In the dark,
y feeling within crevice and cavity, until
~ 1nceyered his hiding place
sss