The Pulaskian., 1918-01-11
CHAPTER xxIx-continued.

mySeII, as IneTe was Scarcely room ln the narrow space for even one to creep about. Pushing the lantern before me, every nerve singing like a copper wire, crawled cut at last, dripping with precipitation, and as black as though 1 had been for half a day in the coal hole. To Leayord's inquiries l could only shake my head.
 "Well, sir" he said obstinateIy, srm a sailorman, but I never did believe in ghosts, an l ain't a-goin fer ter believe in lem now. It warnt no spooks what did this job. This yere Bascom was a sure enough human the last time I put eyes on him, an I don't reckon he's changed much since, 'cept maybe in his line O brains; do you, sir?"
 "He's flesh and blood, all right, if that is what you mean; only insanity makes them cunning"
 That's what I sed to Red here while you was crawling round in the fore peak, lappin' up bilge-water. He reck- oned it might O bin ghost doin' these things; but claimed thet ghosts don't shove knives into sailormen; leastways I never heard O none that did. So it naturally stands to reason, sir, that this bloomin' lunatic is still aboard somewhere"
 He leaned forward, striking one hand on the other to better express his argu- ment I was thinking, paying little at tention to his words, my eyes un- consciously viewing the ship aft The deck was so wrapped in gloom that outside the radius of our lantern I could perceive no movement not even determine the presence of the two men left on guard. The two masts, with their heavy spars, cast all below into dense shadow, but beyond, on the poop, the faint rays of the pinnacle lamp re flecred softly on the face of the girl at the wheel, making her appear almost as vision. The sight for an instant fascinated me.
 ''Ain't thet so, sir?"
 "Why, yes, Leayord; am unable to see it any other way-but whereY
 'Well, there ain't but one place aboard unexpIored, sir. Hanged if I know how he ever got there, but he's either there, overheard, or aloft; or else I've got to take off my hat to Red here, an acknowledge it's a real ghost we've got aboard the old hooker"
 "The cargo hold?"
 Aye, aye; Pm fer takin' off the hatches, and letting man or two creep down there; we've got to find out where that devil is.'
 There was no answering his logic and a determination to complete the job was already in my own mind.
 'Get the tarpaulin out of the way, Liverpool" I said sharply, throwing the lantern where the light was need ed. "Cut it loose, man; don't waste time with the lashings; there's plenty of spare canvas in the sailroom. Whats slowed first below, Mr. Leayord?"
 .'That's the devil of 1t, sir" he re- piled soberly. T never told you, for I didn't see no cause. There was lot O boxes come on board, sir, maybe thousand of 'em, the ends clamped with iron, an they was almighty heavy. We hud to load lem with the donkey en- zine, an most of lem were dumped in jist below the main hatch"
 Do you know what they contained?"
 "Mi. Bascom told me they was army stoves. sir, and maybe he thought they vas, fer he seemed sure about it; but along at the last the hook slipped off che Of them, an the box dropped about thirty feet, smashin' the whole end in -it was plumb full O loaded shells"
 'Ioaded shells?"
 '@rhat's what; there was powder enough scattered about there ter blow the whole ship to Blades an back"
 No doubt other explosives are aboard. The greater reason for us to lay hnnds on Bascurn Take hold there with Red and help rip up that iarpaulia; now get the point of this capstan bar under the hatch clos ings; here's your levcr-it'I take the weight of the three of us to move the iron-now, heavc hop
 We bent to it, exerting every ounce of strength, encouraged by tho fact that tho heavy hatch yielded to our combined effort, and began to move, to lift over the grooves and shove back slightly. With no other thought but to gnln opening enough for another inser- ton Of the lever, we bent to the task. Something caught, rendering the great iron lid. immovublc.
 ''WhiTe.' I called, "come over here, and give us a hand
 I heald him batter across the deck in his bare feet, bat before he reached the bar, tho fellow stopped. staring at the narrow opening, and snifIing like q pointer doG-
 Lay holdw I called out angrily. "The weight is breaking our baclSs.'
 'But there's fire below, sir" he roared excitedly. That's smoke a risin out the hatch--the .cargo's afire !"
 saw it now, and SC did Red, and the nate--a thin, crcling vapor barely per ceptible in the night, curling up