The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-10-02

'ouched water. He had halted on tho
ease OF stream or inlet-prohablv
.ne last, as he quickly ascertained
.hat the water was salty. 1t appeared
10 oe twenty or thirty feet broad
Hesitatingly he faced seaward-then
Jumped, as a sparkle of light flashed
TO his eye. II was the merest aa.b
gone almost before 1t was seen but II
was as conclusive as a bonfire. Some
human being was at the bottom Of the
ravine, close at hand. Silently bs
crept toward the spot.
me way was not long. nor the
walking difficult. The path was we'll
uodden and free from distractions.
ana ne moved along rapidly. Almost
instantly he heard voices, one of which
At least, though low, was wrung with
pain.
Something's wrong" the speaker
walled. Something's wrong. Shed
have come back else. What shall | do
What shall l dor Nelliel Nellie |
Nellier'
The voice broke; then went on.
Flash your light, Olafl" 1t ordered,
Flash your liz It."
An electric torch flashed, revealing
the tossing waters of the bay. Again
and again 1t flashed. Then the voice
spoke again, hopelessly. IT'S no use
Olaf. Something's gone wrong and
I'm helpless. If she's lost the way
But she hasn't lost the way. Shed
have called out If she had-if nothing
were wrong"
Then another voice spoke. what
can have gone wrong, Mr. Archman
1t is your ship and"
Archman! Lord George started. So
1t was Bess' father upon whom he
had CHANGED. Well and goodl He
slipped his pistol into his belt and
took step forward
Good evening, Mr.. Archmanl" he
said quietly. "Tm delighted to find
you'll"
Two suppressed exclamations and a
sudden thudding Of feet came from in
front. Lord George could barely see
the men, but he knew that they had
faced around. Don't shootw he
called laughingly. I'm alone and I'm
friend. repeat, Mr.. Archman, that
am glad to find you. Your wife and
younger daughter are waiting for you
only few yards away. We came
down on the Ell Rio."
my wife and Bess- Who are you?'
I'm a Johnny Bull-Lord George
Caruthers. Flash your torch on me
and satisfy yourself, If you like. All
Quite right. You see I'm alone. Now.
If you'll allow me. I'll come nearer and
explain"
There was a pause; then Archman
spoke quietly. "Come nearer If you
like. If you are from the Ell Rio, God
knows you are welcome"
Lord George came forward briskly.
.I'u cut II short" he said, "for I fancy
we're all in hurry. It's this way
Swiftly he told about the voyage OF
the Ell Rio, the shore excursion. and
the mutiny he had witnessed from the
mountain top.
At this point Archman groaned.
"Good Heaven" he breathed. Mel
lies on board"
"Nellie7 Your daughter"
"Yesl We heard this afternoon that
a ship was lying here. Nellie heard II
first and left at once. saying she was
going on board. / was detained. As
soon as / could, l hurried after her,
but when I got there she was gone
gone in the only boat-and darkness
had shut down. / could see the lights
of the ship, but I couldn't make any
bodv ON board hear me, shout as l
might. And / had no boat, you know.
7 sent back for one. but 1t couldnt DO
brought until low tide. l am expect
ing 1t now; but-but Nellie has oeen
gone for nearly six hours. God! IL
drives me mad. mad! You-you know
who was on the FL Rio. Tell me. why
sbould the men mutinyf captain
Bunker is not hard master"
T don't think 1t was questioh oi
discontent. Things have been happeh-
inc all the way down" LORD deorge
told of the attempt to signal the dls-
coyery of the destroyer lying IN wait
and the passage of the Danish-speaK-
inc sailors. Somewhat to his surprise
the story seemed to encourage Arch'
man. .. .f
az, that is ALL he breathed; III
that is all-all will be we'll Already
they guess that-that-no matter
Tbev will treat Nellie with all re-
spect. Take me to my wire anu ~
Ross" He made step forward.
Abruptly the third man. who mao y,
NOT yet spoken, broke in. "The moon T.
ne .aid. "She comel"
Archman drew long breath may
he we would better walt" ne sa,u. @
.rhe moonlight will reach the NJ MO
IN = few minutes. And If the destroy
- - 10 near-r He paused impressively.
"perbaps 1t will be- Lord George
"But-hang 1t all, l hate 70
oro,k YOU know, but I'm afraid you re
IN for a fine disappointment. we saw
.he trouble from the mountain ana 'ne
destroyer didn't take any part In II.