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Page Six. Ami wuw wfim The Ingratitude of Kings rr 1 NARRATIVE OF I tt CAPTAIN ADAMS ' ' Detective -Diplomat By H. M. EGBTKT (Copy light, by W. N looking over my! diaries I find that I j hare little more to tell concerning my relations with His Majesty Ed- ward VII., and my serr-, Ice as his courier among the courts of Europe. And yet It might be well to narrate the circumstances un der which I relinquished this post. In the holding of which I had so fre quently received the royal encomiums. The manner of my resignation Is an eloquent commentary upon the uncer tain fortunes which he must expect who putsJils faith in princes. The dominant feature of my period of service was the Intense hostility that existed between the royal houses of England and Germany, and was re flected between the two nations. Yet the time came when Edward and the Kaiser did in some measure settle their differences. If rivalry remained, they at least gave up the rather du bious methods that they had been con strained to use, in the fulfilment of which I had been the weapon ever at King Edward's hand, as Stapfhaus was that of the kaiser. The enmity between Stapfhaus and myself reached such a point that it was bound to be settled once and for ever between us. On more than one occasion on that of x the North sea adventures, and that of the czar's drive Stapfhaus had outwitted me. He had brought the prestige of Eng land low and exalted that of Germany. Yet I, too, had won from him at times; altogether, each of us feared the other and felt that In him his country had Its most dangerous enemy. In other words, both Stapfhaus and I had determined that we would kill each the other, whenever our paths crossed again. I think King Edward recognized and understood this, for his face was more than usually grave when he called me to appear before him at St. James palace one morning, upon that occasion of my service as his courier, which was to prove the last though this I did not guess. "Captain Adams," said the king, In a very kindly way, "I have selected you out of all my representatives be cause I have the most confidence in your ability, and because you alone can checkmate the designs of our cousin across the North sea. I want vnn tn start fnr Wflshlntrtnn (mma. diately. "As you know, the ex-presldent and the kaiser are men possessing a vast admiration for each other, and they draw the bonds uniting the two coun tries exceedingly close. Nevertheless, the kaiser could not nduce the pres ident to form an alliance. One presi dent shrewdly saw that this would, In the end, strain the ties of friend ihip between his country and Eng land. But the present executive has been less cautious. "He has not, indeed, been willing to enter into a hard and fast treaty, but he has been induced to execute a pre liminary agreement for Joint action against China, in defiance of the clear treaty rights of England. This docu ment, containing the signature of the kaiser, is on its way to Washington. If we can lay hands on it, the more threat to publish it will abort the whole scheme. But we must have the document. It is in the pocket or j wallet of Stapfhaus, the chief German agent. You know him. He sails on j the Kaiserin Augusta from Hamburg today, direct for Baltimore. It is not the commonest route, and Stapfhaus has chosen it to avoid the chance of detection. The Kaiserin Augusta is rather an old and slow boat, and she will call at Southampton tomorrow morning. Stapfhaus will bo on board. Follow him, and secure the treaty be fore the ship touches port across the water. Then open the sealed' or ders " he handed me an envelope "and f olow Instructions that they con tain. That is all that I need tell you, except to reiterate that the whole fu ture of England depends upon your success." He shook hands with me and wished me well. I have never seen him from that day to this. But how was I to know what manner of mission this was upon which he was sending me? I went in good faith and carried oat bis comands, so far as I could, loy ally. Early the next morning I was at Southampton, waiting for the Kaiserin Augusta to enter port for her brief stay of an hour. My plan was a very simple one; I was going aboard In a double capacity. Firstly, I had se cured a private stateroom under an as sumed name; secondly, I had been ac cepted as a first cabin steward under another alias. This was done through the medium of the home secretary, in asmuch as the Kaiserin Augusta was licensed to carry English mail, and consequently a hint to the London board sufficed to have instructions re garding me sent to the captain. It was an unpleasant way in which to cross the Atlantic, and entailed dis agreeable services; but in no other manner, I felt sure, could I . obtain an opportunity to examine the - cabin of Stapfhaus. f - ) G. Chapman.) I quickly discovered my quarry when waiting upon the first saloon table. He was traveling under the name of Reich. So little did he expect that he would be followed that, beyond the change of name, he had not taken any trouble to disguise himself, where as I had shaved off my mustache and assumed a wig of hair different from my own by at least two shades. I was content the first couple of days to dis cover the location of his cabin. I was delighted to discover that he occupied a stateroom alone. He had no serv ant; all was propitious, and it was only necessary to enter and take what I needed. My plan. In brief, was this. The cabin which Stapfhaus occupied, un der the name of Reich, was not very far distant from that which I had en gaged under an assumed name. At midnight I woula arm myself, put on my steward's coat, and boldly enter his cabin and search for the treaty, cowing Stapfhaus with my revolver. When I had found It and I did not doubt that it would be about'hls per son or under his oinow or, if it should unhappily be necessary, when I had taken his life, I would run with all haste to my cabin, doff the stew ard's coat, throw it through the port hole, and assume the role of the wealthy gentleman whom the agonies of sea sickness had hitherto prevent ed from leaving his cabin. The plan was perfect and could hardly fail me. At midnight on the third night I put my plan Into execution. It was my turn off duty. The lights were low; the passengers, not yet accli matized, were all in bed, except a small group In the smoking room. Wearing my steward's coat I went noiselessly to the door of my enemy's room. It was not closed, being fastened by the interior hook that permits about two inches of space for the purpose of ad mitting air. I listened stealthily outside. There was no sound from within not even the sound of breath ing. Very cautiously I thrust my hand within the aperture and pulled out the hook. The door swung open with the lurch of the ship. A light was burn ing Inside. Still there was no sound. I looked in; the cabin was empty! Yet, only 20 minutes before I had seen him, dressed In his pajamas and a dressing gown, returning to his room from the bath. Had he dressed and gone up to the smoking room? There seemed no other solution of the mys tery. But I had no time for specula tion. In an instant I had securely locked the door from within and was down upon my knees, delving into his cabin trunk, his grips, pulling apart the bedclothes, rummaging under the mattress, beneath "the carpet, every where that I thought the ingenuity of man could have devised as a hiding place for the treaty which meant so much to both of us. 1 searched the pockets of his clothes, the lining of his shoes I even tore apart the stitches of his garments in my futile' efforts. And when, 15 minutes later, I arose, bitterly disappointed, I had at least the consolation of knowing that the treaty could not be- in his cabin. The only solution then must be that It was about his person. .He must carry it upon his body, day and night My first plan then was to He in wait for him upon his return. But what If he should discover me? There was no place within the cabin to hide, except under the bed, and that afforded only the most cramped quarters. Besides, should he stoop to his trunk, he must discover me. And then I could never rearrange his clothes. I must escape at once, and leave hinato think that a thief had been in his cabin. Would he suspect my presence? 8pmehow I must waylaw him and get what I sought perhaps next night in the dark of the deck. I opened the door and hurried down the corridor toward my room. As I went I noticed that the air had grown uncommonly cold, as though icebergs were In the vicin ity, which, at that period of the early summer, was a thing to be prepared for. The ship was plunging along un der an increasing gale. I turned the corner, saw my room before me, and, just as I was about to enter, the door opened, and out stepped Stapfhaus! He smiled at me in an evil way when he saw me.. My hand went to my pocket, but the German was the speedier. In an Instant I was looking into the muzzle of an automatic pistol. My hands dropped to my sides. When one is helpless and at the mercy of another, there is nothing to be gained by a show of bravado. And Stapfhaus was hot reputed to be slow with his weapon. He motioned me Into my cabin, and I went in first, Stapfhaus following. In the mirror in front of me I could see that his aim never wavered. To my astonishment the place had been ran sacked even as I had ransacked his. Stapfhaus motioned me to be seated upon the bed. He himself took the chair. "Where have you been, Adams?" he asked, grimly. I could see that my life hung upon only the flimsiest thread. I answered promptly. "Ransaiking your room, Stapfhaus." He started. "TUmackinf my room?" he cried. 'What the devil for?" "What forf I reiterated, bitterly. I felt bitter toward him. Even If be spared my life, at least I knew that my career was over. I could never face my sovereign again. And here he was mocking me. "I ransacked your room. I replied, "to find the treaty. Why do you sup pose I came?" I saw him start- The pistol quivered in his hand. "Do you think I followed you for a Jest, or to play puss-in-tbe-corner?" I do not know what he would have done. He seemed to take deliberate aim at me. Then I heard wild, des perate cries from the deck above. A blast of Icy air seemed to strike me and suddenly there came a tremen dous shock which flung us from our seats with terrific violence. I heard the pistol explode as it left Stapfhaus fingers. Then, stunned and dazed, I picked myself up from the floor, to find that the sea was pouring through the porthole and that I was wading in a foot of water, which swilled from side to side of the cabin as the ship rolled heavily In the trough of the sea. Above me I heard orders being shout ed, hard and clear; heard the stamp ing of feet; then Stapfhaus and I were running along the passage side by side, and making for the deck. Water was pouring down the com panlonways. Passengers of either sex, In night attire, were screaming, pray ing franticaly, and rushing hither and thither In wildest terror, which gradu ally yielded before the orderly preci sion of the officers and the sailors. When we had forced our way to the deck we found that the vessel had struck an immense Ice floe, clearly discernible in the bright moonlight, and toppling like a drunken thing 200 yards on the bow side, rolling heavily in the surge, and almost split in twain by the force of the impact. What damage we ourselves had sus tained was uncertain. The engine room was flooded, the engines had ceased working, the electric lights had gone out. Everywhere through the vast, black hull resounded shouting and screaming. From beneath, pas sengers, with a few hasty wraps around them, were running up to the deck, their numbers constantly aug- menting, while they carried with them such trifles as they had been able to save or had snatched up in the con fusion often of the most Incongruous nature. From abaft came curses and groans. From time to time the boards would resound with the confused trampling of bare feet; then these sounds would cease suddenly and the shouts would be resumed. Looking down, I became aware that these cries were from the steerage passengers. At each ladder which led to the decks from this region of the ship two men were posted; and each held a pistol In either hand and guarded the ap proaches. The burly figure of the captain ap peared. There was a concerted rush for him. For a moment passengers and crew struggled together. Then his voice rose clear and clean above the medly of sounds: "There Is no immediate danger. Lower the life boats and be ready to cast off." Hardly had the words left his lips, however, when" a thrill seemed to run through the ship. The stem rose per ceptibly In the air. "She Is sinking! cried a hundred voices. All disci pline was lost The sailors, lowering the boats, had the ropes snatched out of their hands by frantic passengers. The mob was gaining control. And, at the critical moment, suddenly there came a renewed rush from the steer age against the ladders. I heard a re volver crack, a man cry. Then, with the roar of a single beast, the steerage passengers had swept over all ob- stacles and no further semblance of order was possible. Suddenly I felt Stapfhaus thrust a pistol Into my hand. "What for?" I cried in astonish ment. We stood a little aside from the fighting, furious mobs, helpless to prevent their deeds. Women were be ing thrust, aside; I saw a boat swing clear, descend to the water head first and grind against the ship. spilling out Its helpless occupants among the waves. Cries of terror arose. All this passed before 'my eyes like a panoramic vision. My brain was back In the Utt! cabin, and Stapfhaus was threatening me with his pistol. Then I looked down and saw the weapon In zny own hands. "What for? I cried again. To defend yourself, he cried back to me. You are a man of honor. I give you quality with me. I have lost my advantage. Afterward we will fight out our quarreL" Then, seeing that I still did not un derstand, he shouted: -We will fight our way toward one of the boats. We must live. It is our duty to live. I want you to live so that I can get that treaty." -What?" I cried, astounded. "It isn't in your cabin. And you brought it on board. Therefore It is upon you. I will not lose sigh f of you as long as either of us lives. Had the disaster unhinged his mind, that lie, the treaty bearer, should ac cuse me of being In possession of it? Stay! Why had he ransacked my room? Was it credible that Stapfhaus was under the delusion that I, too, had a treaty? Before I could turn my mind to the consideration of th4s problem the vessel lurched forward and side wise, her stern rising until almost per pendicular. It was evident that she might sink at any moment. I can hard ly describe the terror and the confu sion the plunging waves that covered us with spray first, and then drenched us, the formidable floes that ground against one another with a noise as of colliding trains, the black heaving wa ters, and the pandemonium of confu sion and evil passions aroused by fear. I saw women clubbed and struck down j upon the deck, men fighting with tooth and claw for admission to the boats, which hung all ways in the air and either never reached the water or were launched only to be pounded to fragments against the vessel's sides. And, even as I watched this final scene, with a final shudder the vessel began to sink beneath the waves. I stood still, clinging to the stern rail, in a kind of lethargy. I no longer felt the bitter coid of the icy bilows "7b defend your3eff," he cried mat roareo, waist-nign, around me. Suddenly I felt Stapfhaus grasp me by the arm. I could not hear his ' words amid those awful cries, of de-j spair that went up to the heavens. TMmlv T a1 Vt VI- 111 a. I 4. icit iuai u.ia win, stronger than my own at this supreme crisis, demanded that I should plunge with him into those foaming, churning depths. With a last despairing shriek I leaped; I felt the black waters close over my head, and went down, down, for an Interminable period, until the breath pent in my lungs seemed about to rend me. Then I felt my head struck violently by some floating ob ject; I emerged above the surface, gasping and choking, and found my self clinging to a deck chair, one of those which had been in occupation only a short hour before, in the lee of a deck shelter. The current cre ated by the sinking ship had, most luckily, carried me away instead of drawing me under. All around me, un der the full moon, was the black, heaving sea, rimmed with ice floes that seemed to have withdrawn to leave a clear space In which the ves sel might sink to her ocean bed. Now, where she had been there was no ripple to show, nothing but the dark, leaping waves, spume-flecked beneath the wind, and on their breast there floated spars, chairs, debris of every kind. I clung to my chair and shouted wildly. No call came back across the waters. If any had escaped; they had pulled away from the danger spot. The entire company and crew seemed to have perished. I felt that I could not keep my senses much longer. Be numbed by the Icy water, spent, ex hausted, my strength fast leaving me, I put all my powers Into one last, des perate cry. Then came an answer. I knew the voice I plunged onward des perately through the waters. The hall came more loudly. All at once there lifted Into view, separating Itself with mysterious suddenness rrom tne waste of the sea, an empty life boat. And, clinging to its edge, making des perate efforts to enter it. was Stapf haus. With the last vestiges of my rapidly waning strength I pulled my self together; the heavy boat slowly dipped toward us till her edge was level with the waves. One last en deavor, and Stapfhaus and I lay on her bottom, side by side. But wheth er we were friends or bitterest ene mies, neither of us was able to lift a finger toward the other In friendship or enmity. How long we lay there helpless at the mercy of the winds and waves, I do not know. Luckily, the promise of the storm had not been fulfilled, or we should have been swamped many times before morning. When the sky lightened I was able to sit up and look wearily round me. We had drifted beyond the circle of treacherous Ice floes, which had vanished utterly, as though, having fulfilled their deadly purpose, there remained nothing more for them to do. We were adrift upon the breast of the Immense Atlantic. Stapfhaus hauled himself Into a sit ting posture and regarded me. When he spoke his voice was nothing but a shaky whisper. I wonder, now, wheth er mine was, too. "Adams," he said, "I have no weap ons here. But, for all that we have gone through and escaped from, I swear that one of us shall never live to be picked up by any ship unless unless you hand to me the Anglo American treaty." "I stared at him awhile; then an swered: "Stapfhaus, when you accused me of having a treaty in my possession last night I thought that the disaster had turned your brain. Yet now I rec ollect that you actually ransacked my room, even as I did yours, apparently under the influence of that same be lief. Stapfhaus, I have no treaty. But you have one which Is upon you round your waist or about your neck. And I swear that one of us shall go plunging down into this depths of sea, unless you deliver it to me." "Why did you ransack my room?" he demanded, huskily. "Why did you take ship with me?" "To get the treaty. "I have no treaty," he shrieked out at me. "I took ship to intercept you at New York because I heard that you were on your way to deliver your treaty to the American president." "Who told you that?" I demanded., "My sovereign, the kaiser," he an swered, proudly. "And you?" "His majesty. King Edward VII.," I answered. "Well, shall we strip?" "Wait!" he said, thoughtfully. "Have you no papers upon you?" SURELY HAD A BUSY DAY And With All the Excitement Perhaps They Were Not to Blame for Their Oversight. "I am awfully tired," sighed Loretta as she dropped heavily into a chair. "But I have had a very good day of it. Mrs. Dingle and I went shopping to get some toys for the bazar. The church women decided that they would have a booth for Inexpensive toys to catch the children's pennies and per haps a fishpond." "What's a fishpond?" asked her brother. "A matrimonial booth?" "It's a place where the children have fishpoles and fish over a curtain be hind which we hang toys on the hooks. Of course we had to have lots of small toys that didn't count up in price, so Mrs. Dingle and I decided we'd go to the five and ten-cent stores and select a number. "We were rather late getting started because Mrs. DIng'ie couldn't find the list that the president of the Aid so ciety gave her, but at last we set out. It was after 12 when we got downtown, so Mrs. Dingle took me to a tea room for luncheon. It isn't the quickest place in the world to get waited on; but real ly we were rather slow ourselves. We had a lot to talk about, and I think wo discussed everything under the sun. "Then Mrs. Dingle wanted to go to a matinee, even if it was late, and we tried at two or three places, but we couldn't get seats. So we went over to a vaudeville performance and It was really quite good." "And such a help to the bazar!" her brother murmured. "No doubt you two will be put on every available commit- tee on account of your faithful and conscientious labors. I always said you were a wonderful worker when you once got started." "We didn't stay for the whole per formance," Loretta explained. "You see. Mrs. Dingle remembered that she wanted to match some ribbon and, any how, the last part of the program was not new. I would have stayed If I had been alone, but I was Mrs. Dingle's guest, and I couldn't very well say I didn't care particularly for her errand. Now, could IT" "Hardly. I am Droud to you have the right spirit and recognize duty when it stands In your path and waves its arms." "You needn't make fun of me" Lo- all right, though we had to go to IZ"?- "was last year's ribbon . BtorM neTcr carf7 the same colors two years In succession." -tandVeSi11 1 tlV We 801 ribbon we went tottj ten-cent stores and bought Z . "The plot thickens! erUrf "Now we cj. toe ! "Tes" I answer! -j skin bag reread a . , tains no trty-cr;, ; " t . lion which tu C4j-,Vi In person, with it:H - u should open then :Ur Tj i the treaty. K 4' btaprnacr atared a: - ly. Then he uria So 7.,-; Tare you cpa !tr "See- From t-ra.v Wl" 4 jk " JIWUVTM a Similar ta cedent, rather, fcu t. 4 the kaiser handed to departure." he nid. - ,.71 ,;Jr j that I should oec st "r. u" -- til lauira ujc treaty :rc t I said no more, tst V, the sewn oilskin. The rX etrated not st all Stapfhaus ripped hu cs c- ' la4d them in the bouc cf and stared at then. They were Idectlcl talned a single cote cj ;u Ua England to the valu of with each, was a fort, from the civil service cf or r,1 tlve countries, and a rtt tiv'T ture employment u cot to u pected. I think It was some t! u t understood the tenor of tLii "7. i heard some one sobbing ur a hsnd. I looked up; SupfUi weeping unrestrainedly. Ati fell on my own hand. "I served my emperor" U cv MT rf mr llf fnr him I -. j i - o " U died for him gladly at act un I did not think the day mcili when he would make a j? & sending me on an lmpoltle cImI-j to obtain a treaty when there u treaty. Why should he rnock it or your sovereign at you?" Then a dubious thought ciz. trj my brain. "Perhaps it was not dene vhcHy u a jest." I said- "What do you mean? cried Su haus. "Perhaps our sovereign thocitt that we had been too serviceable tm we knew too much that If each bent upon his fatal purpose, ni shot or stabbed each other deaths might remove two men u knew more of the politics of Ectx than was good for them." "And if we lived" "That fate had choeen fo." Stapfhaus was silent for tb3i Then he raised his hand to tb u lute. "My emperor's will be done," U said. His eyes wandered Into til offing. Then he gave a crj d pointed. A large steamship was betrt down on us. a lot of small packages of the prettint toys you ever saw. Fire engines, iolU, blocks, puzzles everything a child could wish. They were so attract:! that we played with them oumlrei 03 the counter before they were vrr: up." "Where are they?" her brotitf asked. "I'd like to see them cd r new my youth. The fire enginei pi tlcularly will charm me." Loretta's face fell. "I haven't thes." she confessed. "I suppose Mrs. Dt4 took them. Still I am not sure." "Here at last is the mystery," mH her brother, " 'Where Are the Teji! or the Adventures of an Empty Pair pond.' " "Don't be foolish," said Loretu ner ously. "I wish I knew" ."Invention has given us a handy ! strument," her brother su?geii. "through which we can converse friends at a distance. This is cai'.e4 1 telephone, derived from the wcrd- But Loretta did not wait for ierira tlons. . A moment later her brottef heard her talking to Mrs. Dingle. Tti conversation lasted for some tice .4 was evidently spirited, so he waited ic hear the outcome. When Loretu cin back, however, she was not UlUM and It required skill to enable hia discover what was wrong. "Well, If you must know." Lores ea!d at last desperately, "Mrs. V'4 thought I had everything." "Rather a heavy load for one." "And I thought she had the toys. both remember seeing the large eel on the wrapping counter of sc54 store, that's all. We must have f and left them there. Mrs. Di actually ill-tempered about cago Dally News. "Whigs" In History. Th party in the colonies vhlea V moted and backed the revolution taw the name Whigs. Their prinei?1 were the same as those of the of England, only they were m4 -JJ pilcable to this country. In 14 name was revived, the Federal having come to an end In 181" frc that time all American VmcZ were simply Republicans. But different views were held by the rious members of the party witj results that factions were fcrEeuJ der their own leaders. Adam. c and their followers believed in Icy of protection and fedenU lsterwj Improvements and a broad or construction of the constitution, v rs, who construed the cocstiwJ strictly, opposed these tWcg found a leader in Jackson. TW mer took the name of National Kv Ucans. After his defeat their J leader was Clay, whom they d for president In 1831. 1?" sition to Jackson drew to th10 rious elements, and. as oWDtJ tt executive usurpation. In lJ -va'i coalition took the old name o The Whig body always forrr.'J ition rather than a party, there two divisions, the norths southern Whigs.
The Caucasian (Clinton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 18, 1912, edition 1
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