Evening star., 1924-05-07
Outrunning Rum-Runners
Small Boat WoThe Chase of the Nervous Fhermen-The
Bootlegger Who Didn't Run-The Mysterious Flight
Of he on The
In Five Parts-Part I'LL.

working again. If the cutter were
here now there would be a merry
chase. But the boat, chugginS away
ahead, suspects nothing.
Crew Prepares for Worst.
Meanwhile, preparations are under
way for the worst. The crew strap
holster flaps. The Lewis gun is
brought to bear on the enemy and
the Springfields are made ready. The
writer, unarmed, prepares to duck.
But there's no action. Put yourself
in the rum-runner's place. You are
breezing along, headed for the great
open spaces ashore, with cockpit
full of liquor, and you see another
rum-runner slowly overhauling you.
Nothing to be excited about in that.
Merely a neighbor, passing along the
way. Then imagine our friend rum
my $ feelings when this neighbOrly
boat astern displays, simultaneously,
Il revenue flag, three Springfield rifles,
II Lewis gun and four men in the
uniform OF the United States Navy,
everything pointing your way. Either
pandemOnium or CONSERVATION must
reign supreme, and the rummies,
caught in the act, stop their boat.
customers, both of them. They offer
no explanations, for no questions are
asked. Six hundred cases of alcohol
and Scotch whisky are stored in the
forward cockpit, with a tarpauiin
covering the loot. We transfer three
men, suitably armed, to the captured
vessel and both boats proceed across
the sound and into the New London
harbor.
In Transportation Game.
Caught with the goods, these boot
leggers were not backward. They
are in the transportation game, they
say, and haven't anything to do with
disposing of the liquor after it's
ashore. They get as high as s. a case
for transporting. On 500 cases they
make $4,000 Not a bad days work.
And when they are arrested the bond
is not usually more than $500. An
other days work will make that up.
The Seminole drops into the harbor
and anchors a little after we do. she
has spent the day looking over the
ships in the rum fleet off Montduk
Point. New arrivals are reported,
coming back after having left their
anchorage during the storm. More
will be coming in through the night
sailors VIII BE Sailors.
Messages are sent to the United
States commissioner in New London
and a hearing is arranged for the
Sen1inole's prisoners on the day fol-
lowing. The captured boats are tied
securely alongside the Seminole and
alrs well for the night. During the
night, by the way, sundry groans ana
curses are heard from that portion
of the ship designated as Nforrud-
There the bootIeggers are reclining
on certain unoccupied portions of the
deck and every now and then sailor
stumbles over a head or foot or a
lung or something, thus causing boot
logger owning same to groan loudly.
One of them spoke thus the following
morning: "Capn, put me in the brig,
or put me in the hoosgow ashore, put
for Pete's sake don't make me spend
another: night forrud on this here
shin. Every time l get to sleep some
bird shoves me in the RIB WIN ms
foot. I'm sore all over. Possibly
il was unintentional on the sailors
mart But boys will be boys.
While the Seminole is lying over IN
New London awaiting disposition OF
the cases her small boats crew takes
time investigating the waters IN
Block Island Sound. We see no
craft to arouse suspicion, but the
lieutenant in command decides 70 en-
ter Great Salt Pond on Block Island
and see what's doing in that stirring
port. 1t is late in the afternoon, ana
the launch, with her uniformed crew
sitting low in the cockpit, approaches
the dock, where waits small truck
Two men forget their uniforms and
stand upright The men ashore, at
tending the truck. take one look at
the uniforms and leap into the truck,
and away she rattles over the hill and
out of sight. Barely has she gone
when a ruSty-looking Ford deScencs
the hill, skidS to a stop, and the
driver gets out on dock. Everybody
is standing up now in the launch,
and one look at the uniforms seems
to satisfy the man in the Ford. He
bounds back into the drivers seat
and away he goes. travelling as only a
Ford can travel, bounding from crag
to crag, over the crest of the hill and
away. We stick around close to the
dock to get some explanation for this
strange behavior, but nothing is
forthcoming and nobody else puts in
an appearance. The men ashore were
probably expecting a load of liquor
from the fleet They saw the launch,
saw the uniforms and left for parts
unknown
But it's getting late. We've got to
meet the cutter off Block Island.