The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1918-02-01


fully set for meal, covered with a
white cloth, and. glistening bravely
with china and glass. There was food
in abundance, partially eaten, and
wineglasses half filed. saw all these
details; recalled them afterwards,
yet in that first instant of horror, the
impression left upon me was merely of
those silent. motionless figures sitting
upright in their chairs. 1t was grew
some sight! A great monster of a
man faced me, his white. CHASTITY face
appearing above shaggy gray beard,
hia siglftless, open eyes, staring full
info mine. A wineglass had fallen
from his opened fingers. and lay bro
ken on the deck. Indeed, everyone
had apparently died as by a stroke,
retaining exactly the posture last as.
sumed In life.
To the right Of the broad-shouldered
giant was thin, young fellow, scarce
ly out of his teens, but with hard,
repulsive face, and at his left a dark
faced man almost negro, grinned hor-
ribly, as though death had stricken
him even as he laughed. Nothing
could be more awful to look upon than
the CLEAN of his teeth, beneath the
fantastic curl of his mustache. There
were six altogether, five sitting upright
in swivel chairs, screwed to the deck.
or leaning forward with heads resting
on the table. The sixth, gray-haired
and partially bald, had fallen side
ways, and lay In shapeless heap on
the rug. They had the look of sea-
men, and were roughly dressed, three
Of them plainly foreigners, one with
rings in his ears. The big man alone
possessed the appearance of leader
ship.
I saw all this in that one swift
glance. Breath had not come sobbing
back to me, when Leayord's hand
crushed my arm and his voice rumbled
in my ear:
"See, captain they're dead; they're
all dead!"
"Yes," answered, choking over the
words. "there Is no doubt of that.
Something terrible has occurred here.
Call-call the other men,"
I heard him stumble out through the
companion door, and the roar of his
voice as he shouted to those forward;
I could distinguish the sound of their
feet on the deck. but could not remove
my gaze from that awful sight in the
cabin. The eyes of that giant dead
man, staring at me so fixedly across
the table, held me as in vise-there
was something so CHASTITY, so terrible,
about their expression, as to rob me
of all sense, all courage. The men
Joined me, Liverpool entering in adj
vance, and pushing past where /
stood. l have no recollection Of seeing
the others, although felt and heard
their presence. But I saw him
marked his sudden stop, the quick
blanching Of his face, and the sharp
oath which burst from his lips, the
swift, incredulous look of surprise, Of
recognition, which leaped into his eyes.
He was staring straight into the ghast-
ly face Of the giant opposite. doubt
II he even saw any Of the others.
"Heart Of the devilw he shouted.
"If it isn't CASTOR de Lys! So you've
got 1t at last, you old hound"
He leaped forward, circled the table
with a single stride, hate, memory,
whatever the impulse might be, con-
quering all fear, and gripped his hand
hard on the dead mans shoulder. And
then he stiffened, every muscle Of his
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
lifeless to the deck.
sprang toward him, but Masters
grIpped me, and hurled me back.
Islands of all Of your he
screamed. "Waiti Don't lay a finger
on any of them; you are dead men If
you do"
"What do you mean7 What is 1T"
"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, caught the throb Of
that deedly dynamo, yet even as I
seemed to distinguish the faint sound,
It ceased abruptly. Masters pushed in
past me.
"Ay, 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
a 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