Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1920-09-10

brought ashore after was picked up.
Laynton snorted savagely, and pick
ing up pair Of dividers indicated the
position with exact precision.
"To the norad bit, among those
islands =! he snapped. "You know fast
enough what l meant"
Wallen shook his head.
''Don't you'll" Laynton rasped. "Well
how about this?" He pulled piece OF
paper from his pocket, and f1attened il
out on the chart. ''They correspond
don't they? You dropped this out OF
your pocket I had a Kanaka aboard
then, who picked it up and gave it to
me-"
He smiled at Wallen unpleasantly.
II haven't got that Kanaka now
He disappeared. There's something
damned queer about it-and about
those shots last night, wouldn't you
say? Dye think I'm fool-d'ye think
! wouldn't stake my oath that mealy.
mouthed Indian you brought aboard
with you didn't fire 'em? But / still
thought you were Wallen then, and
was still for giving you all the rope
you wanted.
swell, here's the latitude and longi-
tude on the paper and here's the pO-
sition on the chart, and l guess in a
general way we're pretty hot on the
scent-it's only the few details that
may be lacking when we get there that
I'm asking you to supply. What?'
It was a moment before Wallen
spoke.
The position given on that piece of
paper had come, Gunga had said, di-
rect from Ram Gulab Singh. There
were many islands around Mac
Knights station, and among them, evil
IDENTIFY enough now, Ram Gulab Singh
had his lair.
"Do you mean," he asked abruptly,
"that you are going there?"
"D'ye think there's any doubt about
it?" returned LayntOn caustically.
"Then," said Wallen earnestly, q
warn you, you're running the head II
every one aboard this ship into ~
moose If you want the truth of the
whole business, it's this: Years bach
my father had trouble with a poWci
full native named Ram Gulab Singl
who was and is the head Of many
the Malay pirates that irl"st t
waters. The man swore revenge. The
feud still exists.
ut was to save me from plot Ram
Gulab Singh had Matched to murder
me on the Upolo that my father char
tered you. Furthermore, there was no
accident aboard here when my father
died. 1t was this Kanaka, that you
say has disappeared, who murdered
him-the man who started this cock
and-bull story about treasure because
he is in Ram Gulab Singh's pay, and
that paper he gave you was to lure the
ship into his masters claws if he was
unsuccessful in doing away with my
father himself.
"He did away with my father, but
he still gave you the paper for the
same purpose, except, of course, that /
ana substituted in my fathers place."
There was an incredulous sheer on
the faces of the two men.
Sounds almost as fshy as you
writing yourself down dead in the
lOg" commented Laynton, with an
ugly laugh. "Of course, you don't
want us to go there, Ell! Well, that's
all right, and thanks for the warning;
but don't worry about us coming to
any harm, though it does credit to
your heart! We don't scare aboard
this ship. Mebbe if there was the
prospect of bit of scrap it wouldn't
stand in our way none either. Have
you by any chance taken note of the
crew."
A sort of savage anger came upon
Wallen.
II grant you they look like cut
throats," he said evenly.
you're -wrongw rejoined LayntOn
with evil smoothness. "You amt half
looked at 'em, and you don't do 'em
credit. Fallen angels are saints along
side of 'em; and there amt one Of
EN- but has been aboard here with me
for the matter of a good few years
which proves that your yarn about the
Kanaka and this ere friend of yours
Ram What-d'ye-call-hi is another lie. |
"'Tain't likely you've ever heard of |
the Monleigh before, because we've got |
a superstition aboard here that keep
ing the same name too long is bad
uck
when we carry cargo it's because
times are Internally poor and the pick
ng thin-the crew has got prefer
ence for private pearl beds, or mebbe
he opium trade, or I've even known
EN- to horn in on bit of black-birding
~ way of variety. We've been living
lnder kind of righteous restraint,
Mr.. Man, out of Difference to who we
thought you were, and could see the
rev was sort of chatting under it; but
guess you'll get a better idea of
Kings from now on, and by the time
We get down off Arru again you won't