Newspapers / The Monroe Journal (Monroe, … / Dec. 17, 1915, edition 1 / Page 3
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Rye. Portehecter, the car flew. And i like grim death, hi purpose neyer werring, Guntdorf clung to the spar Urea. Hla feat waa worthy of a better. Vengeance la no man a. "Yen geance ia mine, aaith the LordV The old fishing town of Giddinga was dark aa tin. The financiers, con- that the presence en the schooner of a man unknown and untouched for waa not pleasant So he descended Into the hold, struck a match, and had a look at the sleeper's face. Then rery softly he returned to the deck, half closed the hatch, and. thrusting hie head through the open- - , uuiuuu mi una iuiuuu tuv Vrcw- ferring. had determined to make this. . inr that remained hi. called loudlT: rather than Ifiaaaquid. their point of , .-Wake up. there!" departure. They would be to late,. The snores ceased and were ft to catch the last boat for BarteU a. , lowed by a kind of sleepy groaning. Clddtnga. with Ifiaaaquid. formed the "Gunadorf,,, called Barclay In a oase or a triangle, 01 wnich Gull Island waa the apex. Therefore, If they could here charter some craft to con rey them to the Island, there would , be a great earing of time. The car ran half way through the little town, turned a right angle and descended to the wharves, and here. In the darkness, stopped. Gunsdorf was the Bret to alight. He slipped Into the shelter of a shed that me1!"4 of fish and flung himself to the ground. Why didn't he shoot down the finan ciers as they alighted from the car? Ilia hands were so cramped from grip ping the tires he could not have held or pointed a gun; they were shaking like leaves of poplar trees In a ind. He was in acute physics pain. Rut, lying on the ground, writhing with exhaustion, he began to recover little by little from the ordeal through which he had passed, and be was able to keep an eye on the car and on the shadowy men whom he hated, and to listen to what they had to say to each other and to the flshorman whom tbey routed from his bed, and who finally, . for a prodigious sum of money, con sented to venture out in the easterly storm that was brewing and carry .them and their luggage to Gull Is land. The name of bis llttlo schooner wss the Mary Nye. She was at the end ' of the long wharf, half unloaded. No, he bad given up fishing. There was more money In coasting. Tbey could start at once; he would have to get his crew together two men and a boy. Had they really come all the way from New York? They must be hard set Better coma to the house. He'd rout the misses out of bed, and she'd give thorn coffee. Barclay gave some orders to bis driver, and much money; also he gave much money to the other man on the box, and he shook hands with them both and thanked them for their devo tion to them, and told them that their future would be his care. Then the car went one way, and the financiers and the fishermen went an other, and presently Gunsdorf doubled half over, like a man crippled with rheumatism, rose from his hiding place, and hobbled off In a third. The Mary Nye lay in the lee of tho long wharf near the end. She was a sharp, incisive voice, "can yon bear mef "I hear you." "What are you doing on this boat?" No answer. "Well, you'll not be able to do any mischief. Ton seem to like It down there. I am going to close this hatch that you can't open It You will uut get out until the boat Is back of her starting point The captain Is a safo man. You will not find out from him where I have been set ashore. So good night to you." Gucsdorf's answer was to fire two wild shots from his automatic Bar clay slammed the hatch to and suc ceeded In fastening It so that it could not be opened from below. Then be went once more to the cap tain and talked to him for some time In an undertone. After that be waked Sturtevant and Semmes to tell them what had happened. "He's been insane for some time, said Sturtevant. "He wouldn't stop at anything. I hope to God be hasn't got a stick of dynamite with htm. He'd think nothing of blowing himself to pieces If we went, too." Gunsdorf had no stick of dynamite. He had only an automatic with a few cartridges in the magazine, and an in sane, murderous rage and hatred in his breast. So they'd land somewhere, would they? He'd be carried back to the starting point, would be? Not if be kno.nr It His ride on the back of the automobile was all In vain, was it? He'd show 'em damn em! And bis hands, their strength re freshed by hatred. Insanity and sui cidal daring, sought and found the big auger and began to bore a hole through the bottom of the schooner. He would drown, but so would they! After a time the edge of the hole he was boring becamo damp, water began to trlcklo from the bit, then to spit and hiss, then the bit went clear through, and when he had withdrawn it water spouted upward as from a garden hose. Gunsdorf laughed aloud, and at once began to bore a socond bole. When he had nearly finished a third the bit broke short off, and Gunsdorf cursed. But the Mary Nyc was taking In a good deal of water, and the failure of the bit only seemed to have post- V a, Gunsdorf Clung to the Spare Tires. 1 t-s a S2L J dirty little ship. Amldshlp was a hold, formerly used as a container for codfish; it still smelled of them. The hatchway giving access to this bold was open, and into it Gunsdorf de scended. It seemed to him, after ex plorlng tho schooner from stern to stem, to offer tho best means of con cealment The little cabin aft was 1 cleaner. It would be the choice of the trlumvlrato for their own quarters. Gunsdorf was half crazy with fa tigue. In a far corner of the hold he found a pile of sacking and flung himself down on them. But there was something bard among them that hurt blm. He groped for this, and found that It was a powerful two-handed augur, fixed with an Inch and a half bit He pushed It to one tide and in a moment was sound asleep. Barclay was restless; tbe cabin was stuffy and verminous; be preferred the deck and the open air. So It hap pened that In passing the main batch, In a lull of the wind, he heard a sound of a man snoring. He had left Semmes and Sturtevant complaining pf the dis comforts of the cabin. Captain Nye waa at the wheel, tbe two men and the boy forward. "Here," thought Barclay, "we've got a stowaway aboard. Some poor son-of-a gun of a wharf rat, I suppose." He strollol aft "There's someone asleep in the mala hold," he said. "The hell there Is!" "Yea can hear him snoring If yon listen la the hatchway." "Well, let him snore." i Gradually it dawned npoa Barclay, poned the tlmo when the sea should close over her. But in the book of fate the Mary Nye was not destined to perish by wa ter alone. Among her heterogeneous coastwise cargo which had not been unloaded, from the small hold back of the main bold, were two sacks of un slaked limo. After a time a trickle of water found its way to these, and they began to smoke. Tbe first person to be aware of the smoke was Gunsdorf. It filtered Into the main bold before It found its way to the dock. Gunsdorf at the moment, with a kind of diabolical eagerness, was trying to calculato the rapidity with which tho water was rising. This was a difficult matter, owing to the motion of the vessel When he smelled the smoke bis heart almost stopped beating, he was frightened. Water and dynamite bad no terror for him,. but death by fire had always been his nightmare. He was like a man waking after a great drunkenness, during which, let us say, ho has committed some crime which his frenzied brain at the time of Its Haiy Nye tfil she went down? She carried a boat for Just sura aa emer gency. But he, Gunsdorf, while the others rowed merrily off. would be left la the dark. In the first moment of reasoning h did not occur to him that the ship waa on fire. Rather be thought that the smoke wsa some devilish device of the triumvirate to asphyxiate him. From the eastern cliffs, which re ceived the onslaught of the open sea. Tommy and Celestia walked to those lower western cliffs whose feet are washed by the less strenuous waters which flow between Gull Island and the mainland, and here, sheltered from the wind, they seated them selves, ostensibly to admire the view. but really to admire each other. The view consisted of gray water, a vast expanse of It In commotion, and of a vast expanse of small gray sky; and, many miles distant a small sctooner beating slowly up to the is land. Tbey must be cooking a bonny breakfast." said Tommy, "Judging from tho smoke." "Judging by the smoke," said Ce lestia, "they've got "more than one move," "By George yon are right!" said Tommy. Then, a moment later, with excitement: "She's on fire. That's why the davits are swung outboard They are waiting till the last moment to lower a boat Thank the Lord they've got one! I suppose they want to get Into the lee of. the island. It must be pretty rough out there for a skiff. They're not making much headway, though. She looks very low la the water. Probably leaks like a sieve, and the fire keeps them from getting to tbe pumps." "Cant we do anything to help?" "Not unless the launch has come back from Bartells. She went over early for newspapers and supplies. Let's go see." So they raced off to tbe landing, The launch had not yet returned, and there was neither sight nor sound of her. A catboat without even a mast was drawn up on ways, and the only other craft at the landing was a flat bottomed skiff, so low In the water that she could not have lived In the rough water outside of the harbor, "We can't do any good," said Tommy with a great deal of regret in his voice. Let's hurry back and see the end of it." They stopped at the house for field glasses, of which there were several pairs in a drawer of the hall table, and hurried back to the western cliffs, In his explorations of the night be foro Gunsdorf had noted the sacks of lime raised from the floor of the hold to keep them from any chance water, And It dawned upon him it was his own fault that they had got wet, and generated enough heat to set the ship on fire. Captain Nye had kept his courage up, and held grimly to the task of trying to make head againat the fire and against the water rising in the hold. Through what remained of the night, and through all the long, an tous morning, he and his two men, aid' ed by Barclay, Semmes and Sturte vant, had fought like heroes against tho fire and water. It was discouraging to have to cart Into the burning after-hold so much of tho water that they blistered their hands pumping it out of It. At one time it looked as if they were going to get the fire under control. In that event they could have kept the vessel afloat Indefinitely. Captain Nyc had suggested bringing Gunsdorf on deck and putting hlra to work, and the effort had been made, The man was disarmed as he came up, wet to the knees and choking with smoko. But at the sight of Barclay all his hate returned. He would not work; they couldn't make him. "Why tho hell should I," said he, "when I took the trouble to bore the i holes that are sinking her and to start the Kro that's burning her?" All regnrded the man with a hop ror that was akin to awe. Anger suc ceeded this. "Is that the truth?" asked Captain Nyc?" "Yes." Captain Nye motioned to his two men. They seized Gunsdorf, and after a short struggle cast him back Into his prison and battened down the hatch. "There's no room for him in the small boat," said Captain Nye; "and there's no more mischief he can do down below." It was only the fatigue of those who were trying to save her that even tually settled the fate of the Mary Nye. Her captain called the party together. "Thanks, all bands," be said. "You've done all men could do. We'll need what strength We've got left to get us ashore. So let her burn." The boy, who bad been at the wheel ever since tbe discovery of the fire, was relieved by Captain Nye. The boy promptly lay down on the deck, and the others followed suit, resting themselves against the time of em barking in the small boat At last the moment came when Cap tain Nye thought best to abandon his commission had soemcd a reasonable j ,nlP- His eyes filled with tears. and even a meritorious thing to do, I 'Don't grieve, captain," said Bar but the memory of which makes the clay: "I'll Pay you ber value five times same brain, the fumes of alcohol gone, 0Ter- You're a good man." a prey to the most awful terror and remorse. Ia short, tho man had recovered from his murderous and suicidal mad ness. He was sano a rational crea ture, who rcallned w!nt he had done, and that the cited v.-as in vain, and that he alor.e vo'ild be destroyed by It What m.idn"M tn eurot'e t':at such a man as Barcny wsu d 6ta by the As thev were about la Hon inn the boat that bumped alongside, but little below the level of tbe sinking deck, Barclay said curtly: "I can't leave .Gunsdorf to die like that" He himself unfastened tbe hatch. Gunsdorf bad climbed up the ladder to keep out of water as long as pos sible. I.e was more dead than alive. They had to lift him Into the boat 6h rode very lor In the water and rolled precariously when she had drifted out of the lea of the doomed schooner, and when she hit the rough water she rolled quietly over and float ed bottom up. The ahock of the cold water revived Gunsdorf so that he did not at once drown. He succeeded In getting hold of the boat and keeping his head oat of water. Over the inverted bows Barclay crawled out of the water and lay sprawling on the arched, slippery bot tom of the boat From this advanta geous position he looked about eager ly to see whom h. could help. Of that whole party only Barclay and the boy could swim. Sturtevant and Semmes. If they ever came to the sur- .,.'A.v '-llV: r.v.v. Vw W Preparedness At Low Cost! Winter is here. To meet it we have the reliable Craddock- Terry Shoethe shoe that lasts and still looks well Special attention is call ed to our line of School Shoes and men's heavy work shoes. T. C. Lee & Co. Began to Bore a Hole Through the Bottom of the Schooner. face, were never seen again by mor tal eyes. The boy swam to the boat and climbed up on It, with Barclay's help. Then for the first time Barclay saw the agonized face of Gunsdorf. The man's grip was failing, and he knew it At a little distance Captain Nye floated faro down. His two men came to the surface, came together, clinched and died, each trying to use tho oth or as a ladder by which to climb out of the water; Barclay looked for a while coldly Into Gunsdorf's face, and then looked away. "For God's sake help me!" Barclay's expression did not change. He did not look at Cunsdorf. "For Christ's sake!" Then ,the llttlo boy, bis teeth chat teriiig, said: ' " 'Tain t pretty to see men drown,' and began to blubber. With an oath Barclay reached for Gunsdorf and tried to draw him out of tho water. It was a difficult and precarious operation. "Steady! Don't got rattled!" said rnrclay. "You, boy, steady her as much an you can." And Barclay worked with all bis strength to suve the wretched man's life. There was a strange look In Guns dorf's face. It was no longer hatred. There was hope In it; but, more than that, there was something that was akin to love. A miracle had been wrought In the evil man's heart. Barclay trying to save him! "You're a good man," he said. "I thought you were the devil." 'My man," said Barclay, "I can't get you up here. I'm sorry. My strength Is petered out. If It's any comfort to you, 1 forgive you for what you have done. I've done plenty of evil, too. I guess we both thought we were trying to do good. We looked at life from different angles. You dl.in't believe that men like me were iiuivun be ings; I had the same feeling about men like you. I guess that's mostly what's the matter with this world, any way." Holding tightly to Gunsdorf's hand, he still managed to keep the an archist's head out of water. All this Tommy and Celestia saw from the top of the cliffs. Tbey had recognized the two chief actors in the drama, and Tommy's suspense over the fate of the man who had been good to him was awful to see. It was that white, quiet suspense that transcends all outcry and lamenta tion. "Gunsdorf," said Barclay, "I'm slip ping; I can't hold you any longer. I'm sorry. All right," said Gunsdorf. And he let go of Barclay's hand and sank like stone. "My God!" exclaimed Barclay. "What sand!" The moment Gunsdorf's bead reap peared Barclay slipped quietly Into the water and tried to save him. But Gunsdorf had gone down -open- mouth. He was too confused to un derstand the calm, steadying com mand of Barclay to keep his head to keep still. He tried to climb upon his would- be savior, and they went down togeth er. Then Barclay's presence of mind left blm, and he, too, grappled. And so tbey died In each other's arms. The little boy, his teeth chattering, pushed on the Inverted boat, blubber ing bitterly. On the cliff of Gull Island th girl from heaven was trying to consols one of tbe richest men In the world. (THE END.) Phone 255- Lsr;mm:.su MADE RIGHT HERE IN MONROE. Coca-Cola "THE FAMOUS UNIVERSAL DRINK." Delivered in case lots to dealers in Monroe and surrounding localities. MONROE COCA-COLA COMPANY. F. X. SNYDER, Manager. 'Phone 340. Monroe, N. 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The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 17, 1915, edition 1
3
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