The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-02

volver. But on marching his prison
ers to the Militia station-"police" is
a tabooed word in Russia-he was in
formed that the Jail was full, and
that he might as well release the
robbers.
The weekly steamer for Tsurga was
leaving a day behind schedule-on
Sunday, November eleventh. It took
all the responsiveness of the Yankee
to induce the bank to open on that
day for the removal of the boxes. The
officials were for having a small army
of watchmen escort the boxes to the
dock but Mr.. Draper firmly declined.
He engaged two Chinese coolies,
and their wagons, and with a con-
spicuous show of indifference watched
the loading of the boxes.
All the cut-throating riff-raff of
Vladivostok saw the boxes as the
drays passed through the worst part
of the city on the way to the steam
er. The few workmen soldiers patrol
ling the streets would have been lit
tie, if any protection in case of need.
Rather they would have led an at
tack on the boxes.
At o'clock the steamer whistle
blew announcing the departure of the
boat thirty minutes afterward. Mr..
Draper went below to the stateroom
where the boxes WeSe stored. At $50
the steamer was still at her dock. A
badly broken steam pump was caus-
ing the delay, the captain told him.
Mr.. Draper was now experiencing
the most nervous moments Of the
whole trip. He feared that the brok-
en- feed pump was a sequel of the
leak of the contents of the boxes.
AS darkness came on and the steamer
still remained at the dock he was
almost convinced that the repair work
on the pump was camouflage of a
plot.
His fears were relieved at II
o'clock, howevaS, when the captain
assured him positively that the steamer
would leave at midnight. So he
again went below to his 100000
stateroom, this time to retire for the
night.
Awaking at o'clock Monday
morning he looked out of the port
hole, and was dumfounded to find
that the steamer was still at the dock.
AAC1 was 44OtAAAAe I4AC OAS1ACOA
could do but wait, and his patience
was rewarded at II o'clock by the
sailing of the steamer. An hour later
the dinner gong sounded, and Mr..
Draper sat down to the MONDAY meal
with perfect assurance that his trou-
bles were over.
The dinner was just about half SER
we'd when the steamer slowed down
perceptibly. The captain. left the ia
BILE. Returning in a few minutes, he
sat down without explanation, and
Mr.. Draper infeSred that all was well.
AS he was gazing serenity through
port hole out onto the sea, while
waiting for the last course to be SER
we'd, the engineer suffered a veritable
galvanic shock.
The steamer was turning around.
whats the matter?'' he asked the
captain, depressing his vexation and
anxiety with difficulty.
Feed pump busted again." the
captain informed him. "Been trying
to get it fixed for the last three
months, but ever since the revolution
no one works in Russia. We've been
patching it up ourselves every trip.
Now We'll have to go back and do it
all over again.
On arriving at the dock it was
learned that the steamship company
manager had gone for the day. Mr..
Draper made strange noises with his
molars and found that long absence
from home had not caused him to for
get certain explosives one uses to ex-
press disgust at the business lapses
of other races.
Not until the following morning did
the manager put in appearance. Then,
after striking a pose Of profound con-
temptation, he delivered himself Of
the following 'goat-getter:''
I'VE are sailing three days late as
| it is. If we hold the steamer here
four days more we will be able to
resume the sailings according to our
schedule. We will, therefore, sail on
next Saturday"
The engineer groaned.
| Ut was impractical to leave the
treasure in the stateroom SO it was
again carted carelessly through the
streets of Vladivostok to the bank.
| Saturday came and it was again
carted back to the steamer. Mr.. Dfap-
er had become SO accustomed to the
] Indifferent handling of the treasure