pippsipppiijppiw
mystery
By Stewart Edward White
And Samuel Hopkins Adams
copyrisht, 1907, by McClure, Phillips & Co.
[CONTIXUF.r».l
Below us the bottom was clouded
■witli black figures darting rapidly like
a school of minnows beneath a boat.
They darkened the coral and the sands
md the glistening sea growths, only
the occultations and brightenings suc
ceeded each other much more swiftly.
We stared stupefied, our thinking
yower blurred by the incessant whirl
motion and noise.
Suddenly Thrackles laughed aloud.
“Seals!” he shouted through his
trumpeted hands.
Our eyes were expanding to the twi
light. We could make out the arch of
the room, its shelves and hollows and
niches. Lying on them we could dis
cern the seals, hundreds and hundreds
of them, all staring at us, all barking
and bellowing. As we approached they
scrambled from their elevations and,
diving to the bottom, scurried to the
entrance of the cave.
We lay on our oars for ten minutes.
Then silence fell. There persisted a
ttny drip, drip drip, from some point in
the darkness. It merely accentuated
the hush. Suddenly from far in the
Interior of the hill there came a long,
hollow boo-o-oml It reverberated, roar
ing. The surge that had lifted our
boat some minutes before thus reached
its journey’s end.
The chamber was very lofty. As we
rowed cautiously in it lost nothing of
Sts height, but something in width. It
was marvelously colored, like all the
Tolcanlc rocks of this island. In addi
tion some chemical drip had thrown
across its vividness long gauzy stream
ers of white. We rowed in as far as
the faintest daylight lasted us. Th^
occasional reverberating boom of the
surges seemed as distant as ever.
This was beyond the seal rookery on
the beach. Below it we entered an
open cleft of some size to another
squarer cave. It was now high tide.
The water extended a scant ten fath
oms to end on an interior shale beach.
The cave was a perfectly straight pas
sage following the line of the cleft.
How far in it reached we could not
determine, for it, too, was full of seals,
and after we had driven them back a
hundred feet or so their fiery eyes
scared us out. Vv'e did not care to put
them at bay.
The next day I rowed out to the
Laughing Lass and got a rifie. I
found the captain asleep in his bunk
and did not disturb him. Perdosa and
I, with infinite pains, tracked and
stalked the sheep, of which I killed
fme. We found the mutton excellent.
The hunting v.*as difficult and the
quarry as time went on more and more
suspicious, but henceforward we did
not lack for fresh meat. Further
more, we soon discovered that fine
trolling was to be had outside the
reef. We rigged a sail for the extra
dory and spent much of our time at
the sport. I do not know the names
of the fish. They were very gamy,
indeed, and ran from five to an inde
terminate number of pounds in weight.
Above fifty pounds our light tackle
parted, so wo had no means of know
ing how largo they may have been.
Thus we spent very pleasantly the
greater part of two weeks. At the end
of that time I made up my mind that
it would be just as Vv’oll to get back
to business. Accordingly I called Per
dosa and directed him to sort and clear
of rust the salvaged chain cable. He
refused flatly. I took a step toward
him. He drew his knife and backed
away.
“Perdosa,” said I firmly, “put up
that Ivuife.”
“Xo,” said he.
I i)ulk‘d the saw barreled Colt’s 47)
and raised it slowly to a level with
his breast.
‘Tordosa,” I repeated, “drop that
knife.”
The crisis had come, but my resolu
tion v.as fully prepared for it I
should not have cared greatly if I had
had to shoot the man, as I certainly
hould have done had ho disobeyed.
There would then have been one less
deal with in the final accounting,
whicli strangely enough I now for a
luument never doubted would come. 1
L.ul not before aimed at a man’s life,
you can see to what tensity the
Laffliug mystery had strung me.
1‘erdosa hesitated a fraction of an
i-staiit. I really think he might have
’lianced it, but IlanOy Solomon, who
1;1 boon watchiiic me closely, growl-
t‘d at him.
“Drop it, you fool!” he said.
Perdosa let fall the knife.
“Now, got at that cable,” I command-
■ U still
work and tlie IiauIIn’ and cuttin and
cleanin’ and the rest of It we’ll do
gladly. But we ain’t goin’ to pound
any more cable, and you can kiss the
book mi that.”
“You mean to mutiny?” I asked.
He made a deprecatory gesture.
"Put us aboard ship, sir, and let iis
•hear the old man give Ills orders, and
you’ll find no mutiny In us. But here
ashore it’s different. Did the old man
give orders to* pound the cable?”
*’I represent the captain,” I star
stammer
ed.
He caught the evasion. “I thought
so. Well, if you got any kick on us,
please, sir, go get the old man. If he
says to our face pound cable, why
pound cable It Is. Ain’t that right,
boys?”
They murmured something. Perdo
sa deliberately dropped his hammer
and joined the group. My hand stray
ed again tovrard the sawed off Colt’s
45.
“I wouldn’t do that,” said Handy
Solomon, almost kindly. “You couldn’t
kill us all. And w’at good would it do?
'^Perdosa,’* said I firmly, up that
knife.’^
I asks you that. I can cut dow’n a
chicken with my knife at twenty feet.
You must surely see, sir, that I could
have killed you too easy while you
were covering Pancho there. This ain’t
got to be a war, Mr. Eagan, just be
cause we don’t want to work without
any sense to it.”
There was more of the same sort. I
had plenty of timo to see my dilemma.
Either I would have to abandon my
attempt to keep the men busy or 1
would have to invoke the authority of
Captain Selover. To do the latter
would be to destroy it. The master
had become a stuffed figure, a bogy
with which to frighten, an empty blad
der that a prick would collapse. With
what grace I could muster I had to
give in.
“Y’ou’ll have to have it your own
way, I suppose,” I snapped.
Thrackles grinned, and Pulz started
to say something, but Handj^ Solomon,
with a peremptory gesture and a black
scowl, stopped him short.
“Now, that’s what I calls right prop
er and handsome!” he cried admiring
ly. “"We reely had no rig*bt to expect
that, boys, as seamen from our first
officer! You can kiss the book on it
that very few crew's have such kind
masters. Mr. Eagen has the right, and
we signed to it all straight to v/ork us
as he pleases, and w’at does he do?
Why, he up and gives us a week shore
leave, and then he gives us light
watches, and all the time our pay goes
oa just the same. Now, that’s w’at I
calls right proper and handsome con
duct, or the devil’s a preacher, and I
ventures Vv’ith all respect to propose
three cheers for Mr. Eagen.”
They gave them, grinning broadly.
The villain stood looking at me, a sar
donic gleam in the back of his eye.
Then he gave a little hitch to his red
head covering and sauntered away
humming between his teeth. I stood
watching him, choked with rage and
indecision. The humming broke into
words:
“ ‘Oh, quarter; oh, quarter!’ the jolly
pirates cried.
Blow high, blow low, what care we!
But the quarter that v/e gave them was
to sink them in the sea,
Down on the coast of the high Bar-
bare-e-e.”
“Here, you swab,” he cried to
Thrackles, “and you, Pancho, get some
wood, lively! And, Pulz, bring us a
pail of water. Doctor, let’s have duff
to celebrate on.”
The men fell to work with alacrity.
CHAPTER XVIII.
HAT evening I smoked in a
splendid isolation while the
men v.'hispered apart. I had
nothing to do but smoke and to
chew my cud, which was bitter. There
could be no doubt, however I may have
saved my face, that command had
been taken from me by that rascal,
Handy Solomon. I v.'as in two minds
v>'hite hoat. 1 stood over v.’hethcr or not I should attempt
hL:u until he v.'as v>oll at work, then warn Davrow or the doctor. Y’et
t-luod back to set tasks for the other ^ v.’hat could I say and against whom
i^-cn. Handy Solomon met me half-, should I warn them? The men had
i Si'iimblod, as men always do grumble
■ Bogging yor.r pardon, Mr. Eagen,” ; idleness, and had perhaps talked a
‘ iil ho, ‘T want a word vcith you.” I wildly, but that was nothing.
I have nothhig to say to you,” 1! indisputable fact I could
Euapped. still excited. | adduce vras that I had allowed my
It ain t reasonable not to hear a Ji^ithoritj' to slip through my fingers,
say,” he advised in his most adequately to excuse that I should
t -vCiliatory manner. ‘T’m talking for confess that I was a writer
of us.” j and no handler of men.
^ - paused a moment, took my si- ' ^ abandoned the unpleasant train of
IV -ce lor consent and went ahead. j thought with a snort of disgust, but it
“Begging your pardon, Mr. Eagen,” another. In the joy and
^i-id he, “we ain’t going to do anv ^^certainty cf living I had practically
iiiore useless vrork. There ain’t no sight of the reason for my coming,
laziness about us, but we ain’t going ^ had always been more the
to be busy at nothing. All the camp *^<^^enture than the story. My writin^'
was a byproiluct, a ullllzation of what
life offered me. I had set sail pos-
sesited by the sole idea of ferretiujg^
out Dr. Schermerhorn’s iavestigationa,
but the gradual development of affairs
had ended by absorbing my every fac
ulty. Now, cast into an eddy by my
change of fortunes, the original ideft
regained its force. I was .out of the
active government of affairs, with
leisure on my hands, and my thoughts
naturally turned with curiosity again-
to the laboratory In the valley.
Darrow’s “devil fires” were agala,
painting the sky. I had noticed them
from time to time, always with in
creasing wonder. The men accepted
them easily as only one of the unex*-
plained phenomena of a sailer’s experi
ence, but I had not as yet hit on a
hypothesis that suited me. They were
not allied to the aurora. They differed
radically from the ordinary volcanic
emanations and scarcely resembled
any electrical displays I had ever seen.
The night was cool. The stars bright.
I resolved to investigate.
Without further delay I arose to my
feet and set off into the darkness. Im
mediately one of the group detached
himself from the fire and joined me.
“Going for a little walk, sir?” asked
Handy Solomon sweetly. “That’s quite
right and proper. Nothin’ like a little
walk to get you fit and right for your
bunk.”
He held close to* my elbow. We got
just as far as the stockade in the bed.
of the arroyo. The lights we could
make out now across the zenith, but
owing to the precipitance of the cliffs
and the rise of the arroyo bed it was
impossible to see more. Handy Solo
mon felt the defenses carefully.
“A man would think, sir, it was a
cannibal Island,” he observed. “All so
tight and tidy like here. It w’ould i./ke
a ship’s guns to batter her down. A
man might dig under these here two
gate logs if no one was against him.
Like to try it. sir?”
“No,” I answered grufily.
From that time on I was virtually a
prisoner, yet so carefully was my sur
veillance accomplished that I could
place my finger on nothing definite.
Some one always accompanied me on
my walks, and in the evening I waa
herded as closely as any cattle.
Handy Solomon took the direction of
affairs off my hands. You may be sure
he set no very heavy tasks. The men
cut a little wood, carried up a few
pails of water. That was all.
Lacking incentive to stir about, they
came to spend moat of their time lying
on their backs watching the sky. This
in turn bred a languor which is the
sickest, most soul and temper destroy
ing affair invented by the devil. They
could not muster up energy enough to
walk down the beach and back, and
j'et they were wearied to death of the
inaction. After a little they became
irritable toward one another. Each
suspected the other of doing less than
he should. You who know men will
realize what this meant.
The atmosphere of our camp became
surly. I recognized the precursor of its
becoming dangerous. One day on a
walk in the hills I came on Thrackles
and Pulz lying on their stomachs gaz
ing dow'n fixedly at Dr. Schermer
horn’s camp. This w*as nothing ex
traordinary, but they started guiltily
to their feet when they sav,' me and
made off, grov,"ling under their breatlis.
All this that I have told you so brief
ly took time. It was the eating
through of men’s spirits by that worst
of corrosives, idleness. I conceive it
unnecessary to weary you with the de
tails.
The situation was as j^et uneasy,
but not alarming. One evening I
overheard the beginning of an absurd
plot to gain entrance to the valley.
That was as far as detail went, I be
came convinced at last that I should
in some way warn Percy Darrow.
That seems a simple enough propo
sition, does it not? But if you will
stop to think one moment of the dif
ficulties of my position you will see
that it was not as easy as at first it
appears. Darrow still visited us in
the evening. The men never allowed
me even the chance of private com
munication w’hile he was with us. One
or two took pains to stretch out be
tween us. Twice I arose when the as
sistant did, resolved to accompany him
part way back. Both times men reso
lutely escorted us and as resolutely
separated us from the opportunity of
fl. single Vv’ord apart. The crew never
threatened me b.v word or look. But
v\^e understood each other.
I was not permitted to row out to
the La\ighing Lass without escort.
Therefore I never attempted to visit
her again. The men were not anxious
to do so. Their awe of the captain
made them only too glad to escape his
notice. That empty shell of a past
reputation was my only hope. It
shielded the arms and ammunition.
As I look back on it now the period
seems to me to be one of merely po
tential trouble. The men had not tak
en the pains to crystallize their ideas.
I really think their compelling emo
tion was that of curiqsity. They w’ant-
ed to see. It needed a definite im
pulse to change that desire to one of
greed.
The impulse came from Percy Dar
row and his idle talk of voodoos. As
usual he M'as directing his remarks to
the sullen nigger.
“Voodoos?” he said. “Of course
there are. Don’t fool yourself for a
minute on that. There are good ones
I and bad ones. You can tame them
I if you know hov>% and they w’ill do
! anything you want them to.” Pulz
I chuckled in his throat. “You don’t be-
I lieve it:” drawled the assistant, turn-
1 ing to him. “Well, it’s so. You know
that heavy box we are so careful of?
Well, that’s got a tame voodoo in it”
The others laughed.
“What he like?” asked the nigger
gravely.
He’s a fine voodoo, with wavery
arms and green eyes and red glows.”
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Watching narrowly its effect he swung
off into one of the- genuine old croon
ing voodoo songs, once so common
down south, novr so rarely heard. No
one knows what the words mean—they
are generally held to be charm words
only—a magic gibberish. But the nig
ger sprang across the fire like light
ning, his face altered by terror, to
seize Darrow by the shoulders.
“Doan you! Doan you!” he gasped,
shaking the assistant violently back
and forth. “Dat he King Voodoo song!
Dat call him all de voodoo—all!”
He stared wildly about in the dark
ness as though expecting to see the
night thronged. There was a moment
of confusion. Eager for any cliance I
hissed under my breath: “Danger!
Look out!”
I could not tell whether or not Dar
row heard mo. He left soon after.
The mention of the chest had focused
the men’s interest.
“Well,” Pulz began, “we’ve beon
here on this spot for a long time.”
“A year and five months,” reckoned
Thrackles.
“A man can do a lot in that time.”
“If he’s busy.”
“They’ve been busy.”
“Yes.”
“Wonder what they’ve done?”
There was no answer to this, and
the sea lawjer took a new tack.
“I suppose we’re all getting double
wages?”
“That’s so.”
“And that’s say four hunder’ for ns
and Mr. Eagen here. I suppose the old
man don’t let the schooner go for noth
ing.”
“Two hundred and fifty a month,”
said I and then would have had the
words back.
They cried out in prolonged aston
ishment,
“Seventeen months,” pursued the lo
gician after a few moments. He scratch
ed with a stub of lead. “That makes
over $11,000 since we’ve been out. How
much do you suppose his outfit stands
him?” he appealed to me.
“I’m sure I can’t tell you,” I replied
shortly.
“W^'ell, It’s a pile of money anyway.”
Nobody said anything for some time.
“Wonder what they’ve done?” Pulz
asked again.
“Something that pays big,” Thrac-
Icles supplied the desired answer.
“Dat chis’ ”— suggested Perdosa.
“Voodoo”— muttered the nigger.
“That’s to scare us out,” said Handy
Solomon, with vast contempt. “That’s
what makes me sure it is the chest.”
Pulz muttered some of the jargon of
alchemy.
“That’s it,” approved Handy Solo
mon. “If we could get”—
“W^e wouldn’t know how to use it,”
interrupted Pulz.
“The book”— said Thrackles.
“Well, the book”— asserted Pulz
pugnaciously. “How do you know
what it will be? It may be the philos
opher’s stone and it may be one or’
these other things. And then wMiere'd
w^be?”
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
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HINTS ON itOAD WORt
V. s. Office of Public Road
How to Make and Mai
Model Earth Road.
While American road
are as capable of constrncti
roads as those of any
the old world, they have
as loyally supported as
those countries in maintai
highways after completon
deplorable state of many
thonsand miles of road i
counted for. County and t
ofacials may at the outs
the expense of having a
but they strenuously obj^e
asked to provide funds "
the road that has been
go to ruin.
It is important that
learn of the benefits to ’
from good eo,rth roads; ths
boards be impressed with
of a proper maintenance
same, and that road bui
overseers learn how best
for the roads in their char
The persistent and pow(
mies of earth roads are ^
narrow tires, and the const
of the men in charge of
should be to guard agai
destructive effects and
damage as quickly as
The simple implements wl
been found to be of greau*
tance in this work are
the drag scraper, the wliee
the road grader and the
drag.
With a sandy soil and a
clay, or clay and gravel, d
-jug so as to raise and mi
with the surface soil and
prove beneficial. The coi
forms a sand-clay road at
expense. On the other hi
road be entirely of sand
will be made if it is plo'v
clay can be added. Sue
would merely deei^en tne
at the same time break u
amount of hard snrfac
which may have,forme
subsoil is clay and the su
in sand or gravel, plowi
not be resorted to, as it
suit in a clay surface ra
one of sand or gravel,
naan must know not on
plow and what not to
Tiow and when to plow,
is of the kind which ac
the above instructions
plow^ed over its w^holo
best method is to run th
row in the middle of th
work out to the sides, th
a crown. Results from
ing are greatest in tht
early summer.
In ditches a plow can
good advantage, but she
lowed by a scraper or g
make wide, deep ditch
better than the ordii
scraper has yet been do
hauls under 100 feet, or
“fills” it is especially s
It is a mistake, ho we
tempt to handle long ha
with this scraper, as
scraper is better adap
work. For hauls of me
feet a wagon should bo •
The machine most gei
in road work is the grai
machine. This macliii
cially useful in smo
•crowning the road an<
ditches. A clay subsc
thin coating of soil sh
disturbed with a gradei
a mistake to use a g
criminately and to pi
from ditches upon a sai
Not infrequently turf,
from ditch bottoms an
middle of the road in a
ing mudholes a certain
portant in using a gra
building u}^ the road
one time. A road gn
up by frequent use of
will last better than
at one operation. 1
frequently thinks liis
high in the first instan
up material from 10 inc
in depth only to learn,
rival of the first rain,
furnished the material
inches of mud. All ma
be brought up in thin
layer well pnd.(llcd
packed by roller or 1
the next is added. A (
take is to crown too h:
road machine on a nar
The split-log drag sL
to fill in ruts and smc
when not too badly v
drag possesses great mi
simple in construction
tion that every farmer
one. A special article
lished later telling h
.and use the drag.
mm