, 1926-03-03

| saw Portuguese, Films, Scandinavia
ans, French and English cheek by
jowl with negroes, Moors, Indians and
slant-eyed yellow men. But what i'm
pressed me the most was the absolute
silence which greeted us. a silence all
the more impressive because the wind
carried to our ears the bedlnm of
shouts, cheers, oaths and imprecations
with which the Walrus was receiving
Bones boat several hundred yards
away.
Murray waved me to the ladder ms
he set foot on the first cleat.
up with Won. Nephew. Peter also.
The rest go to the Walrus."
Darby snatched at my hand as l
rose.
"Whirra, whirra. but there's an G Ii
in my heart to be parted from We,
Master Bob!" he cried. "And II we
was TO be pirates 1t do seem we might
be together on the same ship
He made to follow me, indeed, but
Silver pulled him back.
"You stays wi us, Darby" growled
the one-legged man. BLAST We. lad.
you're our good luck. Flintll douse
the ship in rum after one look at We"
Well meet again, Darby" ] said.
Never you fear.'
He was still jabbering in n mixture
of grief and JOY when | climbed over
the bulwark and dropped beside my
great-uncle into the midst of another
world.
Fore and aft from poop to fo'csle
gtratrhAA tta nil. In,I- fra,, xEIfgh
the lofty spars rose like forest giants.
The massive bulwarks were shoulder
high, and inhoard everything was
painted red exactly as in a kings ship.
The hundreds of men who had
watched us from the bulwarks had all
sifted for'ard. We stood in the midst
of an open space, with only three
others.
one of these three was a very small
old a with wispy gray hair and
deeply hronzed face, from which his
eyes peered intensely blue Il child
ishly simple. He had gold rings in
his ears, and his dress was neat and
plain.
MY s%arvice, captain" he greeted
Murray. "Ship's in order, | hope. -
my eyes If we've had so much ms a
- o. genuine wind since the -
hussy bore away from We of the
Hook"
The effect of the ~unspeakable bias.
phemies which poured with mild in
donation from his lips was ridiculous,
but nobody appeared to notice it, and
l learned afterwurd that his habit of
wNy.n.rt,v I~ ~.
twelve apostles and various saints and
sacred figures was the quaintest of
several quaint characteristics Of an
unusual personality.
1--WE won't complain about that.
Master Martini replied my great
uncle. 81 have brought back my grand
nephew to be the mainstay of my old
age. Here he lS-AIaster Ormerod.
Martin. All. and this is n friend of
his and an bid enemy of mine. Peter
Corlaer." MS Peter rolled over the ton
of the bulwarks, "He is more to be
reckoned with than you might sup
pose. is Peter.
Master Martin. Nephew Robert. is
my mate, and as such. my right hand
and arm"
Martin stepped back, and the second
of the three men confronting us
touched his cap. This was a squnre
heavy.bullt fellow with n dour CLINT
to his eye, who wore n decent blue
cloth coat and small clothes.
"And here * Saunders, Master
Martins second" continued my great
uncle. "a Scot like myself. NV
papbov ehouid nnoEa a gpa S,,t.
ELI. S%aunders1'
Hes n braw-lookln' laddle in
seemln'," Saunders agreed cautiously.
your meaning is that we must
prove him?H responded Murray.
Quite true. We shall. Hola, Cou-
penul"
And he ratified Into n string Of
French which could not follow MS the
third a met him with a bow and a
scrafS OF one foot. Coupeau was us
brutnl In looks and manner as Black
Dog or Bill Bones. but without the
sinister implications Of speech and nc
tlon that made me shudder whenever
the blind man Pew approached me or
spoke In my hearing. He had been
branded on the cheek, and. an attempt
to obliternte the brandon perhaps
TWINS the superimposed scar OF n
wound-had made that side OF his face
n very nightmare. His wrists and
forenrms showed gouges that wound
upward like snakes and suggested
what other torments his gaudy cloth.
ing concealed.
%"Coupeau." remarked my great
uncle. turning again TO me-. * our
gunner. | saved him from the French
gnlleys, and he Is not without devo-
tion tlnged by self-interest which Is
to he preferred above NIL.
"And now we Will % nft and pre-
pare TO receive Captain Flint"
Murray led MS TO n door In the break
OF the boon which WINS nnnned for us