Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-01-02

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I'LL NGnC -CA4Ch VI lIiSG AI10SA4AASlS P10SSAitCu
their hearing anything at all, and when at
the end OF several minutes Matt stopped
the engine again there was a silence broken
only by the jeering but mufiied wall Of the
distant fog siren. And the fog now was
thick and viscid all about them.
There" said Nancy- angrily. you've gone
and let her give US the slip"
Sorry, but I couldn't help 1T" said Matt.
You might have run alongside and looked
her over when we had the chance"
" Yes, and put them on their.4 guard. ~ +
might have gone aboard and tried to take
charge with the ~extinguisier, too. 2if3you
hadn't been along"
That's right" said Nancy, /" blame 1t. on
me-"
well, do you think l was going to risk
your getting a bullet or a charge OF buck
shot? The men in this business don't stop
at much, anyhow, and if there's a job OF kid
mapping thrown in they wouldn't be taking
any chances. They were heading far out
around the Cape, but as HE us not that was
Just u blind and they might NOW be on their
course for Nova Scotia or any other place.
The best we can do is to get back home, and
that's going to take a bit of doing in this fog.
Then tomorrow We'll lave the. old Putney
place overhauled and put some of these dip,o.
mats through the third degree"
He turned the launch IN Il wide circle, stop.
ping the motor twice again to listen, but
without result. Nancy had sunk into a
silence OF fatigue, and, as Matt concluded,
sulky irritation at their failure to learn more
of the outlaw vesseI. But there was 10 help
for it, SO he held his peace and focused his
attention on finding his way back through
the fog.
at the. end of half an hour Matt stopped
the engine again. and they drifted silently
and with ears tense and listening. They had
not waited long when the stiffness was
broken by about the last noise which, they
might have expected TO hear out there in
that waste of water. For suddenly the abys.
mai quiet was rent at no great distance by a
terrific canine yowl Of pain and anger and
surprise. Moreover, from the depth and vol.
ume of this protest it proceeded unn1istak.
ably from the throat and lungs Of c. big dog.
Holy ,0ackerol," whispered Matt, that's
our crowd, and they must have taken that
Harlequin Dane aboard. Somebody's walked
on him in the dark. l don't hear the motor,
though" .
They've stopped" Nancy whispered.
No; I hear 1t now"
The mufned put-put-put became again dis.
tinsuishable. A few seconds passed, and even
in this brief lapse Of time it seemed as II the
schooner was heading directly for them.
You think they heard us?" Nancy muir.
INJURED.
Il don't believe So" said Matt. "she
makes more noise than we do, and the fog
smothers it,"
YOU'D better. get~~out of the way" said
She. They seem to be coming straight
at u.s."
L et EN- colne,' said Matt. IF they pass
close enough to see us III hail them and say
we were out looking for Sylvia and broke
down.
They waited tensely while the fog, at this
moment not very thick. drifted past i'm
wreathing wisps. Then all at once, just as
Matt was about to shout<a warning, Il dark
mass bulked up astern, and from the space
between the lnasts Matt saw that they were
in no danger of being run down. What an.
peared to be, SO far as he could determine. a
small fishing schooner or possibly an old
yacht with black painted hull, forged. pas.
with surprising speed at Il distance of about
u hundred yards. The hoarse- murnlur5 CT
conversation in low. tones came from hey
decks. and, as this continued uninterrupt-
eddy, Mattconclude that the launch-had no,
oeen seen, the more so as she was low i'll the
water and painted a blush gray, a perfect
disappearing color under such conditions.
The schooner swept past. and O. nnnent
later the launch was rocking in her swell.
. Nuw 500 if y,u cen follow without losing
Icf, NE'i~'""'"i Nancy.
Matt a" II. Laying the launch in tho
wake of Inc schooner far enough astern TO
be able to keep her In sight and regulating
ms speed SO as not to overhaul Her, he kept
his eyes on the compass for some minutes.
Then reaching in Il forward locker where b,
Knew there was a chart of the region. hn
took it out. and, shielding his torchlight witt,
the skirts Of his raincoat, he examined it
attentively. Not satisfied with this examina
ton. he took the parallel rules from the hook
on which they hung and laid them on the
chart.
Nancy. watching his maneu vers, grew pres
entity inpatient.
"iiWhcn YOU get through studying nayisa-
ton said she, you'll probably find were
lost again. What's the idea anyhow
think said Matt, that your persist.
e1ce in sticking at the game is going to turn
up something. 1 believe 1 know where they're
heading for"
II know where you're heading for" said
Nancy. land that's for the c.. p"
Well, it's sort of an honor to have gen.
cral paresis,' Matt answered. i" because i. i.
a disease which attacks only the brilliant
minded"
In that case said Nancy. you are en-.
tircly safe
II | We're to be long in your charming
society, said he,*" might get something Q
lot worse, which is paranoia, only there
would be no decisions about the persecution.
But to drop our chit-chat and gentle raillery
and get back to the job in hand, the fog Is
beginning to clear"
Are You referring to the weather or to
your poor muddled head? Nancy asked.
Both and the problem we are Jointly
working at in such close harmony. These
fellows zigzaggedSto to throw off any boat they
thought might be trying to keep an eye on
them, and they are now heading straight for
an island straight OFF shore. I know the
place, because l landed there once when
cruising with a chlm Of mine in college who
was a bug Tor paleontology. There are shell
heaps on the island. and he wanted to dig In
them for fossil triiobltes and things"
What 2 jolly time you must have had
said Nancy. " Two nuts in q shell heap.
Quite So" said Matt. !. a shell game. a. Il
were
Then said Nancy. " these may notSbs
bootleggers after an, but Acknowledged Is
that your hea2 It's . pleasant night for NJ,
a perfect night for their job, - Matt nd,
rnitted. !. But they might not be looking for