The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1918-01-04
CHAPTER xiv.-Continued.

.Nou VI tuclT luteTeSL temporarily Ou
what was being done forward, had
saved us from discovery. Yet 1 could
not remain there, almost In plain view.
Where should / turn first? Bascom
would be of no value, even II / re-
leased him; my only hope Of assistance
lay In the two seamen. Gripping the
iron bar, the revolver snugly slowed
away In my pocket, crept down the
black passageway leading forward,
glad to escape from the light Of the
cabin.
Mccain believed his prisoners were
secure: that 1t was quite safe to leave
them unmatched for the short period
before deserving the ship. The very
fact that the inefficient Dade had been
Miss Vera, and myself. was evidence
that he needed every seaman to carry
out the work on deck. The measure of
his confidence, his conceit, was what
gave us this opportunity to act. My
hand, fumbling for the lock encoun-
tered a bar, stout wooden bar, ex-
tending from jamb to jamb, and my
placel I had found 1t already, and the
men I came to release were impris-
oned exactly as had been. / tapped
gently on the panel.
''Who Is it?" Low as the whisper
was, felt convinced the speaker must
be Leayord.
Hollis. Stand by now; are you
aloneT'
Eyes: Olson and Masters are to-
gether In the bosun's quarters"
Masters when did they lock him
up?"
"About an hour ago he made quite a
fight of it-that's how l knew what
was going on, sir. Can you get me
outT'
AYE! TIL rip this bar Off in jiffy.
Have you a light In there?"
'Black as the inside Of whales
belly, SIR"
got a purchase with my iron lever,
and put my full strength to 1t. The
bar was of oak, but the jambs soft
pine, and the nails drew out. creaking
slightly. but making no noise to create
any alarm. It was so intensely dark
could not even perceive the outlines of
the mans figure. yet felt aware that
Leayord fronted me In the open door.
He found my hand somehow, and
gripped 1t.
I'm sure glad to meet you, captain v
be exclaimed heartily, "and get out O.
that hole. What's the word. sirT'
Release the others. and get busy
minutes are worth hours now. Mccain
and his gang are DESERVING ship; they
have the boats provisioned, and along
side already; that is why the guards
have been withdrawn"
"They were going to leave us aboard
locked Inf"
AYE, and with the sea-cocks open
dead men tell no tales"
He whistled, his fist shifting the
wood of the door.
"The dirty houndI And where are
we, sirT'
"Off the Newfoundland coast; they
think less than fifty miles, but there's
nearly a hundred miles of blue water
to the west Of us. Here's the way of
It in a nutshell: was locked In my
stateroom the same as you. 1t was
Miss Darlington who gave us our
chance. She became friendly with Nc
Cann, and agreed to 60 with him. She
was left free on board and managed
to release me while the crew were oil
on deck. The steward was left on
watch in the cabin, and she had to hit
him with this iron"
"She did! Lord, I'd never have
thought 1t of that slip Of thing
What's become o. the girl?"
''She's In her room, waiting for Nc
Cam to come down for her. She'll de-
lay him all she can. Is this the door,
AYE, aye, sir and give me the iron"
He was not minute at the job, aud
It required scarcely longer to acqualnt
the other two released men with a
knowledge Of the situation. Olson
picked up the bar of wood for u
weapon, asking simply:
''Vat we do now, captain? ISIS 1t to
nghtT
"Hush !" whispered Masters, there's
someone coming up the ladder"
We crept back into the bOsum's state
room and waited breathlessly. There
was scarcely room for the four Of us.
and the door caught, and would not
wholly close. A dim light reflected
along the walls Of the passage, making
me aware that the fellow who was
slowly climbing the iron ladder from
below, had a lantern with him. Lea
yord retained the iron leg, and I drew
my gun. holding 1t tight gripped in one
hand. The mans head and shoulders
emerged through the round opening,
and the dim light enabled me to recog-
nize Tom Dugan. He paused on the
edge, looking down.
'All quiet enough up here" he called.
"You better draw the fires, Tony"
"No use o. that" answered q sullen
voice from distance. "The water
will fix 'em in half an hour; there's two
cocks open. I'm goin' on deck; that
crooked millionaire don't 0it no chance