The St. Charles herald., 1922-03-18

skipper gets the same as l do. an the
ship, which is the same as his daugh-
ter, gets almost as much. You men
were offered a share on top Of yOre
wages if you wanted to take the
chance-two shares to the hunters. 1t
was ID liberal, an you grabbed at
1t. / got left on the Ice, blind on
breakin' floe an you sailed off an
grabbed a handful or so of gold,
enough to set you crazy.
what in biazes would you know
what to do with it, emmy Of you? Spill
it all along the Barb'ry coast. or
gamble 1t off TO Deming. Is there
one Of you 'ud have got off thet foe
an, blind as | was turned up ag'in?
Not one Of We. An when | did show
you got sore becoz you'd figgered
there 'ud be more with me away.
"A fine lot of skunks. You can take
yore ID bit of paper an light yore
pipes with it, for all of me. To h-ll
with it!
"Shut up!" His voice topped the
murmurs at the table. Carlson sat
quiet, sometimes licking his lips gent
ly, listening to Lund as he might have
listened to the rantings of melodra-
matte actor. But Rainey sensed that
he was making a mistake. He was
letting Lund go too far. The men were
listening to Lund, and he knew that
the giant was talking for specific
purpose. Just to what end he could
not guess. The big booming voice
held them, while it lashed them.
Equal to me? Bah, I'm a man.
Yo're a lot Of fools. Talk about me
bein' blind. 1t was ice-blink got me.
Then ophthalmy matterin' up my
eyes. It's gold-blink's got you. Yo're
cave-fish, lot of blind suckers"
He leaned over the table pointing
a massive square finger. thatched with
red wool, direct at Carlson, as If he
had been leveling weapon.
"Carlsen's fake He's got you
hipped. He thinks he's boss, becoZ
he's the only navigator of yore crowd.
| amt overlooked that card. Carlson.
HAT AIN tlic tiliN StilE Sot va
We. Nor the three shares he expects
to pull down. He made you pore suck
ers fire off all your shells: he found
out you amt got gun left among you
that's emmy more nse than club. He's
got gun an he showed you how he
could use il. He's sittin' back larfin'
at the bunch of yout"
The men stirred. Rainey saw Carl
sens grin disappear. He dropped the
paper. His face paled. the veins
showed suddenly like purple veins in
dirty marble.
"I've got that gun yet, Lund," he
snarled.
Lund laughed. the ring of it so con-
fident that the men glanced from him
to Carlson nervouIy.
"Yo're fake. Carisen." he said.
"And I've got yOre number! To HI
with you an yore pop-gun. You amt
even a doctor. l saw real doctors
ashore about my eyes. Niphablepsia,
they call snow-blindness. I'll bet you
never heard of it. Yo're only wom-'
an-conning dope-shooter, Else you'd
have known that niphahlepsia amt
permanent, I've bin gettin' my sight
back ever since left Seattle. An
now, d-n you for moldy-hearted.
slimy-souled fakir, stand up an say
yo're my equal"
He stood up himself. towering above
Az. -o~e ,s thar roSo frny, thair chair
tearing the black glasses from his
eyes and fiinging them at Carlson. who
was forced to throw up a hand to
ward them off Rainey got one glimpse
of the giants eyes. They were gray
blue. the color of agateware, hard as
steel. implacable.
Carlson swept aside the spectacles
and they shattered on the floor as he
leaped up and the automatic shone in
his hand. Lund had folded his arms
above his great chest. He laughed
again. and his arms opened.
In an instant Rainey caught the OBJ
iect Of Lund's speechmaking. He had
done IL 70 enrage Carlson beyond en-
durance. 70 make him draw his gun.
Giant as he was. he moved with the
grace of a panther, with a swiftness
too fast for the eye to register. Some
thing flashed in his right hand. q gun.
that he had drawn from holster
slung over his left breast.
The shots blended. Lund stood
there erect. uninjured. A red blotch
showed between Carlsen's eyes He
slumped down into his chair. his arms
clubbing the table. his gun falling
from his nerveless hand. his forehead
striking the wood like the sound OF
an auctioneer's gavel. Lund had beat
en- him TO the draw.
Lund. no longer a blind Samson,
with contempt in his agate eyes, SUI
veyed the scattering group Of men who
stared at the dead man duly, as II
gripped by the exhibition of miracle.