The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-24

Heavy and solid as live forest tree, along through the blue waters of the North Sea In the old days she had been wood clipper. and had carried many a cargo of feecy bales from down under" but steam had fin ally put the good ship out of the trade, and she had been sold to a firm of Norwegian timber merchants, who had cut her masts short, had rigged up a windmill pump on her foredeck, and 1atterly had drawn couple of stout chains under her keel, and braced them over the deck to keep her old timbers together.
 Skipper Rolf Alafsen sat on her broad poop talking cheerfully to his daughter Nina in the red Northern sunset. and above their heads the square sails bellied out in a good land breaze, which drove the cid craft through the seas with some far off memory of her forgotten racing speed.
 She was bound for a neutral port with dressed timber. the Norsk col ors were painted on her sides from stem to stern, and the Norwegian flag flew out from her mizZen. A perfecly harmless trader, but that fact did not trouble a Hun pirate who was lurking under the surface waiting for a vic tim which was not likely to be car rying a four-inch gun on her poop, or four iron casks with three hundred pounds of T. N. T. under the break of her foc'sle.
 About a couple of cable lengths from the old ships side a periscope winked redly in the slanting sun, and a torpedo leaped out and came froth- ing along under the surface, with bubbling wake.
 A hoarse yell from the lookout brought the greyhaired skipper to his feet, but there was no time to avoid the driven death that was bearing down on him. The tin fish hit the Frigi fairly on the beam, there was a. roar as if sea and sky had come to- gether, and the old ship simply burst open-
 The released timber spread out over the surface of the waves, tossing and crashing togetn CT, nipping the helpless men who struggled for life among the drift, greatly to the glee of the pirate. who had come to the surface to gloat over his miserable work
 Unfortunately for the pirate, he was too intent on his job. and maybe the level rays of the sun blinded him. But 1t was certain hat the camou- flaged Gertrude, sheering along at thirty knots an hour, was almost on top of him before he even guessed at her presence
 "Give her the beak. quarermaser," said Craddock quietly. He is clamp ing down the lid on his coming tower, but we'll have him before he can dive"
 Just abaft the coming tower the Gertrude struck the pirate craft, and drove clean through her. The two halves swirled on the surface for a moment, throwing out air and oil and shrieking men, and then they sank to that particular corner of his locker which Davy Jones keeps for unworthy sailor men.
 Craddock made no attempt at res cue, but swung his vessel right into the heart of the tossing field of tim Der, which marked where the old Frigi had sunk.
 "Something out on the starboard beam, sir" It was the quartermaster's voice behind them, and looking over the rail, they caught sight of the long golden hair. and white, despairTng face of a young girl drifting past
 Craddock sent a coil of rope whirl- ing out to the beam on which she was clinsing, and with a despairing effort she caught 1t, and was lowed A and Dan Crnddock himself went down and brought the lass up dripping in his strong arms.
 My father, have you got him ?' was her first agonized question, and her great blue eyes swept along the deck and out over the timber-strewn sea
 ''w've only got you as yet" the skipper said as cheerfully as he could Better go below, and our doctor will look after you while we cruise round"
 No, mo-" she cried, and walking with staggering steps to the rail. lift ed her voice and cried aloud, Father, father,"
 They left her clinging to the rail, and took the Gertrude wearfly through the floating timber, already begin ming to scatter on the North Sea drift, but they found no further survivors, and they were back over the oil- streaked spot where the pirate had met his doom when the lookout aloft hailed the deck.
 ''Something moving ahead" he-cried shading his eyes with an incurved palm TWO points off the port bow, air"
 Craddock lifted his glasses, gave a quick order to the quartermaster and slowly the Gertrude moved down on the moving object
 Hanged is it isn't ono of those blasted pirates.' Tom Boyle was lean ing far over the wing of the bridge. i'-rhe commander, too. by his rig. Curse the rascal. let him drownH'
 'Ts 1t my father?'' Nina Olafsen aslked. lifting her head from the rail and gazing wildly out to where the man struggled for life in the fast failing twilight
 No" said Tom Boyle, its the pirate king himself. and it's blessed hard luck that we should have found htm-"
 A boat was dropped. for 1t is moi the British way to leave even a treacherous enemy to drown. and ir n few minutes a young officer in q German naval uniform was hoisted to the Gertrude's deck, and stood staring rather fearfully round the hard circle of faces that had gathered about him. tntl suddenly Nina Olaf sen came bursting through the group
 wilhelm Gulden!" she screamed N<I fux l,<,x