Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-04-26
Continued from last week.

Lie uOOT was IWO-tlliTuS SHUT, anu
We slid it wide open to gain entrance,
feeling our way cautiously down the
steps. The place had never been a
sea-parlOr, but now, deserted by the
crew, it presented as dismal a scene, in
the dim light of the lantern, as ever l
put my foot into. The air was foul
with bilge-water. while rOtting gar
ments hung to the beams above, or
were strewn along the deck. The shad-
Ows were grOtesque and hideous, and
much of the space was cluttered up by
discarded sea boots, battered chests
and miscellaneous riffraff which the
men had left behind in their flight. 1
stopped at the foot of the steps, but
LeayOrd and Red advanced to the tier
of hunks, the former lifting the Ian
tern, while the latter took survey with
in each. We found no trace of Bas-
com, but at that was glad enough to
be back again on the open deck, breath
ing in the fresh night air. 1t was like
q tonic.
The paintroom and the fOrepeak
came next, and / explored the latter
myself, as there was scarcely room in
the narrow space for even one to creep
about. Pushing the lantern before me,
every nerve singing like copper wire,
/ crawled out at last, dripping with
perspiration, and as black as though
had been for half a day in the coal
hole. To Leayords inquiries l could
only shake my head.
swell, sir" he said obstinately, 'I'm
a sail0rman, but never did believe in
ghosts, an amt a-gOin' fer ter believe
in 'em now. 1t warn't no spOoks what
did this job. This yere Bascom was a
sure enough human the last time l put
eyes on him, an I don't reckon he's
changed much since, 'cept maybe in his
line o. brains; do you, sir?"
Hes flesh and blood, all right, if
that is what you mean; only insanity
makes them cunning"
''That's what l 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 a dom
these things; but / claimed tibet ghosts
don't shove knives into sailormen;
leastways / 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. was thinking, paying little at
tentiOn to his words, my eyes I'M
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-
fiected softly on the face of the girl at
the wheel, making her appear almost
as a vision. The sight for an instant
fascinated me.
"Ain't tibet so, sir?'
"Why, yes, Leayord; am unable to
see it any other way-but where?"
swell, there amt but one place
aboard unexplored, sir. Hanged if !
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 real ghost
we've got aboard the old hooker"
"The cargo hold?'
"Aye, aye; I'm fer takin' off the
matches, and letting man or two creep
down there; we've got to find out
where that devil u.s."
There was no answering his logic,
and determination to complete the
lob was already in my own mind.
"csat the tarpaulin out of the way,
Liverpool" I SID 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. What's
slowed first below, Mr.. Leayord?'
''That's the devil of it, SIR" he re-
piled soberly. 81 never told you, for
didn't see no cause. There was a lot
o. boxes come on board, sir, maybe
thousand of 'em, the ends clamped with
Iron, an they was almighty heavy. We
had to load 'em with the donkey en-.
CINE, an most of 'em were dumped in
jist below the main hatch.'
'DO you know what they containedY'
"Mr. Bascom told me they was army
stoves. sir, and maybe he thought they
was, fer he seemed sure about it; but
along at the last the hook slipped off
one of them, an the box dropped aboaf
thirty feet, smashin' the whole end In
1t was plumb full o. loaded shells"
LOADED shells?"
"That's what; there was powder
enough scattered about there ter blow
the whole ship to Hades an back"
"No doubt other explosives are
aboard. The greater reason for us to
lay hands on Bascom. Take hold
there with Red and help rip up that
tarpaulin; now get the point of this
capstan bar under the hatch clos
ings; here's your lever-it'll take the
weight of the three of us to move the
iron-now, heave ho!"