White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-10-04
Lucknsr and his companions take pas
sage on vessel at Walaya with the ides
q capturing Il when Il put to sea.
CHAPTER xv-Continued

My officers were with me, and the
men also saw the point but agreed
with much reluctance. Certainly, none
OF us wanted to 60 to a British prison
camp. But there seemed no help for
Il.
1t was the twenty-first OF Septem-
Der, just two days short Of month
since our departure from Mopelia.
The lieutenant and his four men in
those short pants and bare knees came
aboard Followed by his men, he
stepped up to me.
"I've got to arrest you" he began
decently enough. "Who are your"
"Allow me-" l responded, Ito intro
duce myself. ! am Count Luckner.
commander of the Seeadler. These
men here are part Of my crew"
"Are you Count Won Luckner7"
"Yes."
He gazed around bewildered, fright.
ened, and certainly nonplussed. i'm
agined could see his legs shake. Ap
parently, he was digesting the fact
that he and his men were practically
unarmed and the certainty that we
must be armed to the teeth.
I'VE have" continued, "hand gre
nades and firearms enough to send you
and your knee-pants army here to
Kingdom Come, and II we were In uni
form, you would be our prisoners.
However, be that as It may, you have
caught us In civilian clothes-but look
here"
We took our weapons out OF our
pockets. had had two of our men
bring up our bundles We cut them
open and displayed the grenades, pis-
tolls, and machine guns. The lieuten-
ant stared, still aghast in spite of my
reassuring speech. The soldiers were
funny. You could see the goose PIN
pies on the skin below the lower edge
Of those short pants. They edged to
the rail, evidently ready to tumble
overheard. The captain of the schoon-
er and his crew now knew what kind
Of guests they had welcomed aboard
They stood gaping.
II must ask you to stand bnck a
moment, lieutenant" exclaimed.
"while destroy my war material
Overheard with 1t ALL" called to my
men.
Pistols, grenades, and machine guns
dropped. splashing into the water.
Sand now. lieutenant" saluted, "at
your servicel"
"Right no, count" he replied. you
men have made great name for your.
selves on your cruise, and now you
have played cricket with me. You will
receive decent treatment. You have
my word as Briton for that" He
emphasized the word "Briton."
had no doubt as to what our first
ordeal was to be. Unless the British
had more recent news than we con
corning our comrades whom we had
left at Mopelia, which was not prob
able, we would be questioned as to
the whereabouts OF the Seeadler and
the remainder of her crew. told my
men that they should give the same
reply to all interrogations. namely that
| had hidden them to keep silent and
that ] would answer for ALL That
would prevent us from tripping one
another up. We had taken care to
throw away any notes or papers we
had that gave any hint as to where
we had gone ashore In the Society is
lands They could search us rs much
as they liked. but they would find
nothing. One mischance. though be
fell us. was to learn In few days
that one of my comrades had dropped
notebook, which presently was found
In II he had brief diary of the See
adler's:4 voyage l questioned the di
artist who had kept the unfortunate
record, and he told me that his notes
about Mopelia we're very sketchy He
remembered clearly that he had writ
ten we had captured the sailing ship
Manila. After that was single en-
Try.
LANDED stores at Mopelia."
There his diary broke off. There was
no mention of our having sunk the
Manila or of our having lost the See
adler at Mopelia or take: refuge on
the island.