The state herald., 1919-09-12
CHAPTER XVII.
A Murder on Board.


To be certain of free space extend.
ed one hand and my fingers came into
unexpected contact with the back Of
chair. Without moving my body I
grasped this welcome weapon Of de-
fense and swung It above my head.
Whoever the invader creeping upon
us might prove to be, he was certain
ly an enemy. actuated by some foul
purpose, and no doubt armed. To
strike him down as quickly md silent
ly as possible was therefore the plain
duty of the moment. I had no other
thought.
The slowness with which he groped
his way forward indicated unfamiliar
lty with the apartment, although his
direct advance proclaimed some spe-
cIal purpose. Clearly he had no fear
of attack. l could determine almost
his exact position as his advancing
foot felt cautiously along the deck.
He came forward Inch by inch. I
measured the distance as indicated by
faint. shuflling sounds.
could not see but knew. With all
my force 1 struck! Blindly us 1t had
been delivered the blow hit fair /; there
was thud, an inarticulate groan. and
the fall of a body upon the floor-be-
yond that nothing. I waited breath
lessly listening for the slightest move
ment. / felt Dorothy touch my shoul-
der and caught the sound Of her voice
trembling ut my ear.
"what is It? What did you DOR
81 struck him with a chair; he lies
there on the deck. Walt where yon
are"
1 bent over and touched him. The
fellow lay in n heap with no percep-
tible heartbeat, no semblance OF
breathing. My fingers sought his face,
md could scarcely suppress a cry OF
surprise-he was not Estada. Who.
then. was he? What could have been
his purpose In thus invading this
stateroom? All i could grasp was the
fact that the fellow was not the Por-
tuguese-he possessed q smooth face,
long hair. and was q much smaller
man. dragged the body where the
light illumination from the after port
fell directly on the upturned face. The
features revealed were unfamiliar
those unquestionably Of q half-breed
Indian. Dorothy crossed to my side,
her foot striking q knife. which came
glimmering into the narrow range Of
light. She stared In horror at the
ugly weapon. and then at the ghastly
countenance.
He came to murderi See. his knife
lies there. Why should he have sought
to kill meT
at Is all mystery" I admitted.
What shall be done with the bodyi
It cannot be left lying exposed here:
no one would believe you killed him,
and my presence must not be suspect.
ed"
"Cou.d It," she suggested, be
dropped through the port2"
She shrank back from touching the
inanlmate figure, yet 1t required the
combined efforts Of both to force the
stIffenlng body through the portfolio.
We could distinguish footsteps on the
deck above. but these were regular
and undisturbed-the slow promenade
from rail to rail Of the officer on
watch. Clearly nothing had been
heard or seen to awaken suspicion.
'If you should be questioned tomor.
row you had best know nothing"
said grnvely. II do not think you will
be. for surely an attack can be no plan
Of Estada's. II could gain no adyan.
tage. The fellow was pillaging on his
own account; II he n missed II will
be supposed he fell overheard, and no
one will care. You are not afraid to
remain here aloner'
mo: am not greatly frightened.
but shall try and bar the door with .
chair. have no key"
"Then III leave you; half Of my
watch below must be gone BY now. I'll
tnke the fellows knife along. as II
must not be found here"
We parted with clasp Of hands. M
II opened the stateroom door md
slipped out into the cabin. To my sur.
prise the light over the table had
been cxtinguished. rendering the cabin
no black hnd to actually feel my why
forward. The lantern must have becu
put out since then by some confcd
crate. After q moment Of hesitation
I found my way across to my OWE
stnteroom and pressed open the door