Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-27
West Wind Drift
By GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
ru1s STARTS THE STORY
Copyright. isso, BY George Borr MoC.toneon

wi TO the Untted States totth $50
ppos,enocrs, tDas O mystery TO
ynssiod World. After ne ysssel leaves
gmmsrica;,, gm u brought before Captain
r,ncosr by the chief engineer as q
s.,n,ca,oav. Tho captain questions hin,
~ 10 ho,o he boarded the vessel and
y. adorned that he came aboard as q
| VII payser. He tcdnts to return to tho
Tnited states and captains that rob
~. haze taken oil Ms moncy. The
e.,,oin also learns that too deck
snrds have leaped from the ship und
hs suspects a plot to torock the ship.
"Psrcival ,oas genuinely dsfontshed to
,soyn that the aot OF the too men Woa
..lropn to tho captain"
AND HERE 1T CONTINUES
"A HURRIED conference of the ships
~ officers anc the commander Of the
-, crew resulted In single but definite
.onelus,on. The desperate, even suicidal
tanner In which the men left the ship
.,gn,aed but one thing: the absolute
rsee.sity Of flight before an even more
.d,,.t.r peril confronted them. Not a
ran on board doubted for an instant
,ha, they had taken their chance In the
ya,ers as a part or a preconceived plan,
ana they had taken 1t with all the devil
,sn hardihood Of fanatics.
Tbe presence Of the motor craft, so far
ar, from port, lurking with silent engine
IN the path of the steamship, could have
hut one significance. 1t represented one
NJ the carefully thought-out details in a
stupendous. ar-reaching plot.
n there were signals between the
notor boat and the two men aboard the
vtearnship, they were not observed by the
lookouts In all probability no signals
were given. The little craft was to be
st certain place at a certain hour--and
she was there The men who jumped
knew that she would be there. black.
tiny speck on the broad expanse Of
water, sheltered by night Of almost
stygian darkness. she lay outside the
narrow radius to which visual observa-
ton was confined, patiently waiting Tor
tho Doraine to pass designated point.
There was TO be no miscalculation on
the part Of either the boat or the men
who went over the side Of the big steam
ship into the seethinswaters.
The closest inquiry among the mem
.bers of the crew failed to reveal any
one who had witnessed the leap Of the
men. Perclval was positive, however.
that some one ran along the lower
deck. but whether toward or away from
the spot where the men went over ne
had no means Of knowing. He offered
the suggestion that there were three
nsrsons actually involved, and that one
of them, more likely the victim Of a
coin hipping decision, had remained on
board to complete the work the trio had
been chosen to perform. even though
death was TO be his lot.
The second officer had been regarding
Perclval with ever growing suspicion.
"Is there anything to prove. young
man that you are not the one VINO
stayed behind to complete the jobF' he
de%anSesa deaHatssas" q isst sSia perclvai promptly
and somewhat soathinsly,. nothing at
ali, except the trifiins fact that ! am here
talking II over with you gentlemen IN
stead of attending to my business, as
any honest conspirator should pc DONG
Ycu may be quite sne OF no I'm 'n'ns ,Enc css y
BUSINESS II IN 10 i:rjs TIC J,h nc isn
idle. Hes getting on with the Job at this
minute, gentlemen. II you'll take my
advice you will institute two inyes.
tssaI,'es sssm to stern. % from keel to bridge. fc
bcmbs or Internal machines. Second
lost anything In the shape Of pearls
diamonds, coin Of the realm. or any
thing else worth jumping Into fht
Capt. trigger looked at him over
the top Of his eyeglasses.
at present, Mr.. Percival," he sale
The young man eusaed. . II beg
All YOU have TO- do" said the
second officer. fixing him with an In;
not o I us how to so rSn Ss Snp
Percival did his best to hold back
the retort, but falling. released 1t will
considerable sharpness,
Well, IL was running this ship ia
head her for shore pretty blamed
The American in command Of the CUR
crew was the only one who smiled, and
he did It openly Capt. Triggers face
darkened redly.
on TAXI as THIS %an,s msn wor in sharsS vs T sSrm Sm
Am I suspected. Capt Trigger. OF
being In league"
i, Every man, every woman. on board
'ae dssson 'eS one 'ns S caf1S
myself down, The rest Of us grasp
that fact, even II you do not"
And 80 It was that while Algernon
Adonis Perclval, under the watchful eye
the scuppers on the boat deck, the stern
business Of searching the ship went for
ward with a thoroughness that left no
room for doubt as to the fears and ap.
Prehensions OF the men who had her IN
eharge. Despite the fact that intensive.
snIious hours of delving revealed no
hidden. sinister agent Of destruction,
there was no relaxation on the part of
me officers and crew. One by one the
passengers were examined; their rooms
ana their luggage were systematically
SSverhauled No one resented these
drastic operations for by midday the
whole ships company knew what had
Tanspired during the night. Eagerly
.ney answered the questions, cheerfully
they submitted to the examination Of