The Monmouth inquirer., 1918-06-13
IIYon mean that were bound

Autralia than we ever will Ecuador. II
means we must change our plans"
sat down, thinking hard. BLAKE"
/ questioned, "if you wanted to make
a Mediterranean port-say Trieste Tor
instance-would you go round Cape
Horn or across the South Seas?"
cat this time of the year, across the
Pacific, surely"
"And that would explain our pres
ent course as indicated by your COM
pass?"
1T would-now; but why the de-
tour?"
'eWould an attempt to keep out of
the line of regular traffic explain III"
| asked.
Eyes. it might. If this yacht does
MT want company, it is going the right
way to avoid it. But are we to stand
for this sea cruise, Gilmore?"
whats the alternatiye?"
'Take the ship
/ opened the door softly, then clos
ed it; the saloon was entirely empty.
friends or foes. / sat down on the
edge of my berth.
sBlake," began, 'T'm promised to
that program, but there are two wo-
men aboard this boat, and we must
think of them. If we can capture the
yacht without imperiling their lives,
very good; I'm with you. But no
chances taken with them"
understand" said Blake promptly.
"Have you a pistol?"
/ smiled. Carried one eighteen
years when l didn't need it; gave it
away when did," replied.
Blake grunted. 81 have one, so has
Reedley; Burns / don't know, but
probably not. Got knife?'
"Certainly," said, pulling out my
iyory-handled penknife from my poch-
%.
"Hell! Think this is to to be a
manicuring session? Find yourself
something that will either stab or
crack skull. Steal one of the mar
line-spikes on the foredeck, but get a
weapon"
when will the party take placer"
/ asked.
Tonight, after Belgrag comes to
his cabin from the first watch at
midnight. Well let him turn in, then
you and l will truss him up in his
berth, close the hatch on the men be-
low, and deal with the middle watch
as they decide. l believe if get once
on the bridge, can make the men
take my orders"
"Why this confidence? Is it in your
self or them?"
'Both. Gilmore, do you remember
when we thought the yacht was not
going to pick us up?"
'And the mate ran across and be-
gan argument with the captain? You
asked if it was church sociable or
something"
THE mate and some of the men
made the fat swine change his mind,
which isn't proper discipline aboard
ship. Some of these sailors have the
same opinion of their captain that
have, and that is not fit for publica-
tion. If we take the ship, we'll have
support from inside
81 believe you. The chief engineer
is a decent white mana Scot. Burns
is in his watch. I'll get word to
Burns"
"Tell him / want him in my state
room at twelye-fifteen, and armed.
Reedley and Clifton will take care of
the fore-hatch and keep the men be-
low. You and l will look after the
pig" And we made all details of our
plan.
1t was after supper that had oppor-
tunity to tell Isabelle of our intended
mutiny, and l took her up into the
bows where we would be safe from
surveillance. l outlined our plan and
told her to keep tight-locked in her
cabin whatever happened. / should
knock at her door when all was right,
two raps, then three, which would be
the signal to go to sleep quietly, that
we were headed for Mazatlan.
She had some minor objections to
the plan-quite natural-but agreed
thoroughly to the advisability of it as
a whole. She had no desire to go
cruising in the South Seas to Austria
liza or Igeria, but she thought there
were safer parts of the scheme that
could do better; such as watching out
side the door while Blake and some
body else-anybody else-tied up the
captain. l liked having her solicitious
of my welfare, and anticipated, in her
present anxiety, the pleasure of being
told not to forget my oYershoes in
the future.
Reedley and Clifton had supreme
confidence in Captain Blake, and
were willing to take orders unques-
tioningly; and Burns, to whom I whis-
pered the word, nodded agreement.
There were five of us all able and will
ing to fight if necessary, and the odds
were in our favor should we be able
to get the forehatch closed on the
first watch.
Including captain and mate, there
were fourteen men in the crew, and I
felt sure Kodani and the Chinese cook
might be counted out of the melee
Two engine-room men would probably
never know of the affair until it was