Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-05-03


body stricken I could see death strike
him, his Jaw set, his eyes fixed--an
instant he stood rigid; then his whole
form seemed to contract and he fell
iifeless to the deck.
| I sprang toward him, but Masters
gripped me, and hurled me back.
Hands off all of you!" he
| on any of them; you are dead men II
you do"
"What do you mean? What is it?"
"The most diabolical bit of deviltry
| ever contrived," he answered. these
men have been killed by electricity /;
| the current is still on. heard the
whir Of the dynamo as came aft.
Don't move until find the switch and
disconnect; for Gods sake stand where
/ you are"
Perhaps he was gone five minutes
I could never tell; saw nothing but
those dead men; heard nothing but
the heavy breathing of my mates In
the doorway. No one spoke; but once,
it seemed to me, I caught the throb Of
that deadly dynamo, yet even as ]
seemed to distinguish the faint sound,
it ceased abruptly. Masters pushed in
past me.
cay, that was the truth" he said,
''but it's safe enough now. Lord; did
you ever hear Of such a d, cold
blooded crime. See here, men, the vii
lain planned his job well-here are
the wires along the deck, pressed into
seam, and connected to each swivel
chair. See, the circuit is complete, and
no one would ever suspect. All he had
to do was stand back there in the stew.
ards pantry and press the switch.
Those six men died before they could
| wink an eye"
"But the fellow who did it? What
/ has become Of him?"
| Masters shook his head.
| 81 don't know, sir; but there must
have been one; there amt none o
these dead men could have turned the
trick"
perhaps it was that cuss dangling
over the side, captain" said Whites
voice, from back behind the others.
"What is that?"
'There's a fellow got jammed in 6
small boat alongside, sir. just hap
pened to look over, and saw him a
hangin' there"
We were glad enough to escape that
cabin of horror, and / slid the com
panion door to, and bolted it, before
following White across the deck ia
the starboard rail. Excited as was
obsessed by this awful tragedy, my
mind yet grasped every detail-the
shining brasswork, the spotless decks
the white boats in their davits, the
snowy canvas aloft. The very i'm.
maculateness Of the vessel seemed to
add to the horror, and 1t was a shocb
Ito even read the schOoner's name
painted on lifebuoy-Rose of Gaspe
A glance below revealed the whole
story of the accident. It was clear
enough to be read instantly by sail.
or's eyes. The man in his efforts al
escape had chosen one Of the smaller
boats, but one staunch and well
equipped. No doubt it had been secret
ly prepared in advance, for the lock
ers contained food, and beaker OF
fresh water was securely lashed to a
front thwart. There was also spar
and sail aboard, safely secured, to-
gether with pair of serviceable oars
What had happened, as seemed clear
to us, was this: a heavy brass-bound
chest, Of odd workmanship and dingy
appearance, had been slowed away in
the bows. It must have been placed
there with rope and pulley, for nc
single pair of arms could ever have
lifted it over the rail. Then the fellow
had clambered in, eager to be off, nc
doubt, and undertaken to lower the
boat, standing probably amidships
where he could manipulate both ropes
But the forward rope must have
damned in the pulley, permitting the
stern of the suspended boat to sag
suddenly enough to send the heavy
chest sliding aft. Before he could
check the fall, or save himself by leap.
ing overheard, it had pinned his legs
against the stern sheets; and there he
dangled still, his face buried in the
green water alongside, his knees
crushed helplessly beneath the weight
of the chest-an inert dead body.
''The fellow got his, SIR" said Lea
yord solemnly. "Ixikely enough killed
by the very thing he was tryin' to
git away with. What shall we do with
the boat and what's in it, sir?"
"Untangle that pulley slowly, and
hoist up even with the rail-" I an.
swered. "We'l1 have look at the man.
and find out what's in the chest; it's
an odd-looking affair.""
I helped balance it, and with White
using his uninjured arm, we drew the
dead mans body in over the rail. The
two mates released his limbs from the
grip of the chest, and we laid him out
on the deck. He was an Unlocking
fellow, deeply tanned, with livid scar
across one cheek, and an anchor tat
tooed on his forearm. Leayord drew a
paper out Of the inner pocket OF hia
shirt, and passed 1t over to me. II