Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-04-19

LADYSM
securely. us there any communica-
ton between the forecastle and the
hold, Winter asked staring helpless
" at the steel barrier.
mo, sir; the fo'castle is all above
deck
GLOW was this door manipulated? Do
either of you known
swell, / had charge o. loadin' the
! after-hold, SIR" and Olson scratched
his head trying to remember. '"That
door never was opened but once, when
Captain Hadley tested it before we left
Baltimore, or maybe after we got out
In the Chesapeake. I think it wuS
opened an shut frum the bridge, Mr..
Hollis"
'That is the usual arrangement, but
there is slot here for key; still the
door is steel, and it looks too heavy for
any one man to operate
I leaned over, and looked down into
the lighted engineroom at the bottom
of the shaft. All / could see was
great wheel steadily turning.
| Masters"
The engineer stepped into view, and
peered up into the darkness; he ap-
peared burly and shapeless.
'That you, captain?"
Eyes. BascOm, the owner, has gone
crazy, and has hidden himself some
| where on board"
"Well, I'll be swamped! Can't you
find him?''
mot yet; we've searched every place
aft. He hasn't visited your"
mot to my knowledge. Tony is back
In the fireroom; I'll ask him."
The three of us chung to the ladder
gazing down, the light from the lantern
revealing our faces. Masters was not
gone a moment, but his voice had
| changed.
"Tony's killed, SIR" he called up ex-
| citedly. "He's lying on the coal in
number one bunker, cut in the back
with a knife"
The words were not out Of his
mouth before we were scrambling
down. But our haste gained us moth
| Ing. The only trail BascOm had left
was the dead Italian, stretched out in
the half emptied coal bunker, his lips
closed forever It was knife thrust
which had killed him-just such
| thrust as had done for his two mates
In the cabin above; but the mailman
had disappeared. However, here was
proof positive that the fellow was still
He had not reached the open, or flung
himself into the sea. Masters could
| tell us nothing; he had heard no
sound, seen no shadow. He had been
| oiling the machinery, and man could
have slipped down the ladder unob-
served, and escaped again in the same
way. There was no other entrance to
| the engineroom the forward bulkhead
| was solid; there were two ventflatOr
shafts, but neither was large enough
for the passage of a mans body, and
! the coal chute was kept closed and
/ locked at sea. Nevertheless I had these
examined, determined to take no
chances, and our lantern penetrated
every inch of the engineroom and coal
bunkers At the end, utterly baff1ed,
White gave vent to an oath.
sit beats me, sir" he confessed
| hoarsely, unless it's a spook we're
a-huntin' for"
81 wish it was; the trouble is it is
a man, and mighty dangerous one.
| Well, he's not down here, and he must
have gone back by way of the ladder.
The fellow has either found some
means of getting into the hold, or else
he's managed to slip on deck and per-
haps is hidden in the forecastle-no
one messes there now?"
mo, SIR
.sThen let's have a look up above !;
come on, men,"
eyer amt goin' ter leave me down
here all alone, are yer, captain?" Quee'
| lying dead in there, an murderer
prowlin' about?'
He'll not be down here again, but 1
suppose you must have fireman.
White, you better stay"
faint no job like, sir; SHOW
eled coal here already for eight hours"
''Tll tackle it, sir" interrupted Oh
son quietly. 'That big boob would
throw fit down here every time he
saw shadow. After you get those
matches off send him in ON top o. the
cargo. There'd be no danger o. his
gettin' hurt if Bascom was a hidin'
there"
eyer dirty liari l amt no more
afraid than you are!'
'Then why don't you stay hereY
'I'm plumb tired out shovelin'."
.That will do, men," I broke in
sternly. 'There will be work enough,
and maybe fighting enough for both of
you. AS long as you have volunteered,