The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-04-18
CHAPTER TX.
a Swim to the Namur,

All was black, hopeless; with head
buried in my hands / sat on a thwart,
daZed. Before me-, pleading, express
sive Of agonized despair, arose the
sweet face of Dorothy Fairfax. No
doubt by this time all was over-the
dead body Of Sanchez discovered, the
projected attack on the house carried
cut, the two old men left behind, Ell
Their dead or severely wounded, and
the girl borne off q helpless prisoner.
Ay, but this l knew; there was only one
place to which the villains might fee
with their booty-the Namur of Rot
terdam. Only on those decks and we'll
at sea would they be safe or able to
enjoy their spoils. The thought came
to me in sudden revelation-why not?
Was not here a chance ever yet to foil
them? With Sanchez dead no man
aboard that pirate craft could recog-
nize me. / felt assured of this. I had
fought the giant negro in the dark;
he could not, during that fierce en-
counter, have distinguished my fea-
lures any more clearly than 1 had his
own. There was no one else to fear.
If only | might once succeed in get
ting safely aboard, slightly disguised,
perhaps, and mingle unnoticed among
the crew, the chances were not bad
for me to pass undetected. Such ships
carried large crews and were constant
ly changing in personnel. A strange
face appearing among them need not
arouse undue suspicion. And / felt
convinced I could locate the Namur.
But could l hope TO attain the ship in
advance Of the returning party Of
raiders? God helping me, / would try
My brain throbbed with fresh resolu-
tion-the call to action.
There were oarS in the boat. I
shipped . the useless rudder inboard
and chose my course from the stars.
My boat had drifted considerably far
Their out into the bay than I had sup
posed, and it required a good half
hour Of steady toll at the oars before
/ sighted ahead of me the darker out
lines Of the shore. At first I could
identify. nothing, but finally there sud-
denly arose, clearly defined, the gaunt
limbs of a dead tree, bearing a faint
resemblance to a gigantic cross, that
had been pointed out on the sloop.
This peculiar mark was at the extrem-
ity of the first headland lying north
of the point itself, and consequently
a straight course across the bay would
land me within five hundred yards of
where the Namur had last been at
anchor.
To a degree my immediate plan of
action had been definitely mapped out
within my W mind while toiling at
the oars. / would beach my dory and
strike out on foot directly across the
narrow neck of land. The Namur was
not so far out from shore as to make
swimming to her a dangerous feat,
and l could approach and board her
with far less chance Of discovery in
that amer than by the use Of a boat.
The greater danger would come after
/ had attained the deck, wet to the
skin. The sharp bow of the dory ran
up on the soft sand of the beach, and
l stepped ashore.
Then there came to me the first real
consciousness Of the reckless nature
Of this adventure. AS 1 faced then
J the probabilities there scarcely seemed
n cnmce IN a hundred. And yet I
must admit there was the one chance;
and in no other action could I per-
ceive ever that much encouragement.
If Dorothy Fairfax was already In the
hands of these men, then my only op-
p%ortunity for serving her lay In my
being close at hand. No alternative
presented itself; no other effort could
be effective. 1t was already too late
to attempt the organization Of q res
cue party. No. the only choice left
was for me either to accompany the
girl or else abandon her entirely to
her captors. I must either face the
| possibility Of discovery and capture.