, 1923-03-28
PART |
CHAPTER I
A Floating Caravan.

The sky from sea-line to sea-line
was crusted with stars, a triumphant,
cloudless, tropic night-sky beneath
which the Dryad rode at her anchor,
lifting lazily to the swell flowing up
from beyond the great Bahama bank.
She was Skeletons boat, a six-hun-
dred-tpnner, turbine engined, rugged
with everything new in the way of
sea valves and patent gadgets. and
she had anchored at shutdown off
Palm island, a tiny spot. gull haunt
ed. and due west of Andres.
Bobby Radcliffe, as he leaned on
the s~tarboard rail smoking i~l listen
ing to the wash of the waves on the
island beach, was thinking of SHELTON,
who was down below writing up his
diary. Before coming on this win
ter cruise of the West indies in my
yacht" Bobby did not know that Skel-
ten kept y diary. that SHELTON had n
very nasty. ~nagging temper, hat he
had prayers Sunday morning in the
cabin. which the chief steward. the
understewards and the officers off
watch were expected to attend-also
Bobby. Two other men were booked
for the cruise, Int they cried off at
the last moment. II they had come,
things might nave been different. AS
II was, Bobby, to use his own Ian
guage, was pretty much fed up.
SHELTON was a right good sort, but
he was not the man witt wi ON to
share loneliness. and Bobby was only
twenty-five, II ~good-looking, clean
youth, well-balanced enough, but de
sirous of fun And there was still
two months OF this blessed cruise to
be worked out!
He IA thinking of this when Skel-
ton came or deck, his white shirt
front shining in the starlight. He was
In IN amiable mood tonight and, rang
ing up beside Bobby, he spoke about
the beauty OF the stars.
Perhaps It was the starlight. or the
tepid wind blowing up from the
straits of Florida, or the distant star
III palms of Palm Island that set Skel-
ton off n touched n vein in his
nature hitherto unsupported: what
ever II was, he warmed to his sub
ject and for the first time on the voy-
age became interesting. He could
talk Nombre de Dios, Carthagena
and Porto Bello-he touched them
alive again. set the old plate-ships
sailing n the pirates O%verhaullng
them, sacked cathedrals of gold and
Jewels, showed Bobby Tortuga. the
great rendezvous Of the buccaneers
and the Spaniards attacking II. men
marooned on desolate places like
Palm island. treasure b~uried--and
then all of n sudden closed up m
became embarrassing agnln. lie re-
tired into himself and then went be-
low 10 find n book he was reading.
leaving the deck TO Bobby md the
anchor watch.
Radcliffe, his mind full OF pirates
and buccaneers, Spnnlards and rlnte-
ships. found himself wondering II
men had ever been marooned here.
II Morgan and Van Horn and all TINT
crowd had ever had dealings on thnt
beach. md what the moon could tell
about II all II she could remember
and speak. lie was thinking this
when the creak Of block and cordage
struck his ear. and past the stern OF
the Drynd q me gliding The fore cnn-
yns OF n small vessel. n thing that
seemed no lnrger thnn n fishing boat.
He watched her gliding shoreward
like Il phantom. ant then across the
water came a voice. shrlll rs the voice
OF n bird:
SEVEN fnthoml"
And on top of that another voice
LET got"
The OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES m
anchor chain followed. and then the
silence Of the night closed In. broken