Evening star., 1922-05-07

eide where there's a jail. Drag the
vile creature to the bar of justice"
co In came the captain gripping by
- the collar this snub-nosed
youngster with the freckled face and
the impudent blue eyes.
Caught him tryin' to snitch some
thing to eat through the galley port
noie." says Capt.. Mears. Found the
hatch off the forepeak. too. so he
must have been hiding down there
with the spare anchors ever since We
sailed. Sneaked aboard the night be-
fore we left, 1 reckon"
well. sonny" says I, whats the
alibi?"
He should have been scared stiff
but somehow he wasn't that kind.
He didn't even seem uneasy. He
simply wriggled his neck bit to
loosen the grip of the Captains fin-
gers, shrugged his narrow shoulders.
and threw me a bored look. One of
these. impish-faced youngsters, who
might have been anywhere between
ten and fourteen. and he was cos
TUNED simply in a ragged shirt and
disreputable khaki knickers. Also he
was smooch-here and there with
rust. grease and plain dirt. A movie
director would have declared him
perfect for an East Side mob scene.
Sorry to trouble, you. Buddy" says
], "but you're charged with breaking
and entering on the high seas. That
is, you will be unless you can tell
US why and how you happen to be
here
"Aw. dunno" says he.
Il see." says l.. "On advice of coun-
sci. 1 suppose? Perhaps. you'll take
a chance on telling us your name"
Sure" says he. I'm Wilfred
ROCKEFELLER Gould. but mostly the
kids cali me Flipper."
II should say that Flipper was
good fit" says I. You were Sleep
walking when you came on board.
were your
NAH" says he.
Then you smust have been drugged
and brought here by gang OF
masked men," 1 went on. Am l
right?"
you're some kidder. you are"
says Flipper. II sneaked on here
to get away from old man Dillon
who was gonna lick me again for
not bringin' home'more money. That's
all. lady. Honest"
4 Sounds reasonable" says I. "And
who is Dillon?"
Jaw. he's the bird my old lady got
married to- says Flipper. Tries to
frisk me Of all I get caddyin' and
sellin' papers. he does: and just be-
cause I lost some coin shootin' craps
he gets sore and comes after me with
a leather belt. So does a fadeaway.
runs down to the dock. and hides in
that hole up front. Musta gone to
sleep, for when / woke up I heard
the water splashin' and didn't dast
come out until night. didn't wanna
get carried off on no yacht. 1t amt
my fault"
There you are. Captain says I.
Counter charges of kidnapping.
How about it?''
Hes swell little liar, that's ALL"
says Capt. Mears. "Lemme show you
what found in the forepeak besides
him. You hold him minute. Mr.,
Platt."
"Aw. amt gonna jump overheard
and swim to Mexico" protests Flip
per. "You don't hafta hang onto me-"
Very well.'' says I. stand over
there until we view the incriminat-
ing evidence from the forepeak.
4 X x X
A ND what the captain brought in
1 l was a. half filled water bottle. a
in paper. a Boy Scout rubber poncho.
an old spade and pick with one
point broken off.
He must have made two or three
trips to smuggle all this junk down
there" says the captain. Probably
did it at night"
We examined the lot curiously. II
can understand the provisions and
The rubber blanket" Flipper." says I.
But why the garden tools?'
"They was there when came" in
sists Flipper.
You lyin' young wharf. rat" pro-
tests Capt. Mears. ''Whaddye sup
pose we'd be doin' with a spade and
pick on a yacht"
How do know, you big stiff"
.etorts Flipper, with another bored
took.
THAT will do. Flipper," says l..
Calling the captain names isn't go 4
ing to get you anywhere. And if heg
says those things weren't on board,
then somebody must have brought
hem here. The arrow points to you.
Now tell us what they're for"
But Flipper wouldn't. He Insisted
hat he'd just found 'sm down In the
anle and hadn.t noticed 'em much.
anyway. ss, - S
.a-A - -Ir AA -