The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1922-12-14

stare mOOdily out of the port.
He had learned little of the slightest
value; merely that Natalie had been
of the party leaving in the automobile
the night before. She, undoubtedly,
had been the one who had droppeJ
the note. Then, in spite of all they
said about her, In spite of what sha
had told him, she was actually a prls.
oner, desperately begging for assist.
ance to escape. AS to the other things
Hogan had told him, the probability
was they were mostly lies West did
not believe the girl had returned to
"Fairlawn," the story did not sound
natural The longer he thought it all
over, the more thoroughly was he con.
vinced the girl and he were both pris.
oners on the same vessel. Yet what
could he do? He sank down, with head
In his hands, totally unnerved-it was
his fate to attempt nothing; only ia
wait on fortune.
Mark brought in food, merely open.
ing the door slightly, and sliding the
tray in on the floor. No words were
exchanged, nor was the tray removed
until just at twilight, when the fellow
appeared again on similar mission.
1t became dark, but no light was fur
nished. Outside the clouds had thick
ened, and heavy swell was tossins
the vessel about rather roughly. Seem
ingly the engine was merely endeavor
ing to maintain Roadway, with nd
port in immediate prospect; they wer,
steering aimlessly into the promise
of stormy night. No sonnd reached
him from the cabin, ana finally. woru
out mentally and physically, West
flung himself OH the lower bunk. and
lay there motlOnless, staring up int
the intense darkness.
Lying there motionleSs, vet widt
awake, his senses alert. he could fed
the labored efforts Of the vessel, tn,
slap or waves against the side, the
rush of water aStern. The Seminole
rolled heavily, yet there was nothing
ut all alarming in her actions, and
West felt no premOnitlon of illness,
or fear as to the sea-worthineSs of the
little craft. He endeavored to arouse
himself, To keep awake, but finally
fatigue conquered, and he sank into
deep sleep. He had no Knowledge Of
how long this slumher lasted, or
what suddenly awakened him, so STAR
tlSG at the moment that he sat up in
the berth, staring into the blaCkneSS.
Was it Il dream, or reality? Had
some one spoken? He could neither
see nor hear anything; the boat
seemed to be mOtionlcss, not even
throbbing now to the beat of the en-
Sine-the silence was uncanny Some
thing WAS wrong, must be wrong
Where were thcy-at anchor in some
harbor or helplessly adrift on the
lake? The yacht rocked gently, as
though the swell OF the sea no longer
buifeted her; there was no sound of
action on the deck above. Then he
heard voice again, outside, reaching
him this time plainly through the open
port.
"All set, Mapcs," it said sharply.
Come OH down. You finished the
jOb?"
"Ay, ay, sir" the answer gruff, but
with tinge of excitement in the tone.
shes fixed all right. Hold hard, now,
mate"
West leaped to the port-hole, and,
endeavored to gain glimpse without.
If land was near 1t remained invisible,
nor could he even be sure of the close
proximity of boat. There seemed
to be smudge there aOthe left, a
black, Jumping shadow, shapeless
against the background of sea; yet
he could not be sure Even as he
gazed at 1t dOubtfully, the dim object
disappeared, fading away like
mirage. Something told him that mys-
terious shadow was boat boat
filled with men, creeping away silently
into the night fleeing from the yacht,
and vanishing into the darkness.
What could such action mean? Had
every one gone, leaving the vessel
totally abandoned, wreck buffeted
by the surges, doomed to go down,
unseen, It's final fate unknown Un-
known! The word rising to his brain
was the answer. There was the crest
OF the plot. What could be easier, or
safer, than this ending? Who would
ever know the truth? Who could ever
prove anything, even If they suspect
ed? And who was there to suspect 2
1t was plot Internal.
But If Natalie Coolidge was also
prisoner on board, what of her?
Wasn't that the very thing most prob
able? or course it was; how foolish
he had been. These men, recklessly
criminal, as they were, would never
sacrifice the yacht and risk their own
lives. merely to put him out Of the
way. He was not important enough
for that; he was but an incident.
While this was-must be--a carefully
arranged plan. The girl then must be
the real victim-his own plight arose
merely because he CHANGED to be
there, and the villains dare not leave
him alive to tell the story.
The certainty Of this acted like an
electric shock. He must find the girl,
and serve her. Surely she must wei.
come his coming to her assistance
now. She would he alone, free to re-
veal the truth of all this strange mix
I'M of afTuirs. narhnnv ha OH t,,.t