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Show 1 j D!Ck RODliEY; j I j or. Th (pAdventures of 3 : I An Eton Boy... 5 (?t- ......j-lllUtllllfilltlK((-fj -iisstra-fasfrss- sstssn CH PTKR XX. (Continued ) He took us so suddenly by surprise, that, although wo had been waiting and watching for him since dawn, hi resolute aspect and the arms ho wielded wield-ed controlled us all, and we stared nt tech other with Irresolution In our purposo nnd In our faces Nn man. apparently, eared to art us our leader. "Presto!" roared tho Cubano; "oby and keep quiet, or. demonlu! a there nro so many, I have a arret mind to shoot ont-half, that I mar control the rest Out loos those top sails, nnd up with the royal again -set the fly-Ing-glb and main trysailquick, per-roa, per-roa, or I'll inako shark's meal of some moro of you!" Tho crew seemed to lack either resolution res-olution or the power of romblnatlon, and no man appeared anxious td Incur In-cur the suro penalty of Instant death by acting In opposition to hi peremptory peremp-tory orders In setting an example to tho rest. Fo, sullenly and silently the sail trimmers stood by the tarka and bract; tho wheel revolved In the unwilling un-willing hand of Neil Carlton, who wns compelled to obey, for the cold muatlu of a slt-liarreled revolver, capped and cocked, was held close to hi left temple. tem-ple. Tho head of the Hugenle payed off In obedlenco to her helm, th yards swung round and were braced shnrp un: and with the starboard tacks on board, In three tnluutoa v. were sterr-1 sterr-1 Ing ns duo westward a her bead would lie tor tho coast of South America. Tho alteration of our course furnished fur-nished tho crew with a new source of speculation. It was evidently the Intention In-tention of Antonio, If he could reach tho coast of Beguro, or that of Hahln, to escape with all Ids valuable and bis vengeance; and to this end, It ships passed without succoring or overhauling us, nnd It we did not do-troy do-troy him, ho ml p. lit certainly destroy us, by scuttling the brig, or selling her on fire. Tbo noon passed over without an "observation," for there wns no one to work It, to cstlmata the latitude or longitude, to keep a reckoning, or lake I note ot our variation and leeway; and lest wo should signal any pissing ship, Antonio, who was n most thoughtful scoundrel, threw every color ovor-board ovor-board II" did not romc on deck again for soiiio time, as he had plenty ot spirits and provisions below, and tho tell-tale compass In the skylight afforded af-forded him constant Information as to whether tho brig was slecrtd In tho direction h wished. . ' ias(8V ITo wos constantly drinking, bor nover become o Intoxicated n to b unwary. And so tho fated brig gilded ot the bot sea, under tho blazing sun. The albatrosses camo round us again, with tripping feet, flapping wing and open bills; but no 0110 molested them now we bad other thing to think nt; and as I sat on the anchor alock In the weather bow, watching them floating In tho water, or skimming over It with their vast wings outspread, I thought of the "Ancient Mariner," and all that ho had suffered for killing "tlie bird of good omen." I felt a strange dread creeping over me while theso verses seemed an my tongue they wero so descrlptlvo of the atmosphcro and at the situation. "All In a hot nnd copper sky. The bloody sun nt noon, Ttlght up nbovo tbo mast did stand, No bigger than tho moon, "I closed my lids, and kept them close. And tho balls like pulses be at, For tho sea and sky, and the sea anil sky, Lay like a load on my weary eye. And tho dead wero at my feet," CIIAPTIJIt XXI. I Confront tho Cubano, From the wild thoughts and fancies which tbo horrors ot that early morning, morn-ing, our strange situation, and my own rather actlvo Imagination, wero suf-getting, suf-getting, I was roused by Ned Carlton, who, on being relieved from the wheel, camo forward to tho hows, where most ot tho crew were sealed on the wlnl-lacs, wlnl-lacs, or were lounging against tho bltt. speculating on what might turn op next. In an excited nnd Impressive manner, man-ner, he reported Hint ho had heard, from time to tlmo, the sound of moass, aa tram some ono In groat pain In the cabin; that ho believed that either tho oaptaln or mate yet survived and If wo could get down by any mesas wo might bs In time to rnvo ono ir tho other. If be was bleeding to death, the victim could not last long a llttlo time, and we should bo too latel This Information Increased our anxiety, anx-iety, and grcallr excited us. Remembering tho manner In wnl'h Antonio first cme on board the -tery of his being alone In the bloodstained blood-stained boat his dreams the dl"P-pesrance dl"P-pesrance of Roberts-tho ouurreiwe of the morning and though lut not least, the rough treatment to w'eh tho crow had subjected him oa tho night wo passed tho lino none ro very willing to ontor tho cabin hro thla sayago Cubano, flushed 'th brardy, bloodshed and ferocltri Mt with loaded pistol In hi handfc Hut all felt that sornctbtnir mint b "; that, while a doubt remained. It should bo solved, and a life ,m" i 1 ptfatll to us saved even though otb-crtflsj otb-crtflsj rlekwl lor It. moltintPFrrd to become the envoy oflhe crew gfo, no, Master llodney," ssld Tattooed Tat-tooed Tom: thla will never do' What ilajoil think we will let you venture) Into ibat murderer's den while so many abb-budled fellows hang arfjmr pillt I know bis langunge. which not of you do ' Sftlpcak the c,'n. 1 , rncllsh now asjvell as any of us" s,ill Carlton, "aid If I had only a pistol or a bins-kelto bins-kelto ghe me but one ihaiue for my 11(7, I would have lunilo It tprak to hlo Ions ago. In the lingo am h pirate litbw beat." Moreover, aa I did not molet him ogtho nR'11 ' missed the line, lit his 110 particular grudge at me." I ttri id, jThere Is om sense nnd truth In that," muttered set oral if the crew. jl'lt no It Is settled.' iht I, anxious tojsolrs the myst-ry of the grontti, wFlle feeling a glow of triumph at the applflUso I should gain for the risk 1 ran, which assuredly was not a small one. It Is a shame for us luhbtrly fel-loan fel-loan to aland by here and see that lad risk his life," said Prnbart, one ot the crfw; "and If so be that create picaroon pica-roon falls foul ot him " If he does." exclaimed Tom Lam-bourne Lam-bourne through bis firmly st teeth, whllo striking hi olenched right hand on Hid bard palm ot the left, "may I never llngtanl again If wo don't attack him at stem and atern at onto! Ill drop down tho sk' 'Ight, with ns many as will follow me, while you, Ned, will dash down the companion-way companion-way with the rest, and then at him with hatchet, handsaw nnd capstan-bar. capstan-bar. Ho can't kill us all, shipmates, that's ono comfort he can't kill ui all!" Tlin prospect of an early dcmlie was neither soothed nor encouraged by this promise ot tho bloody sccno that was to follow. The carpenter gavo me a small but cry sharp tomahawk. I concealed It In my breast, and resahed to use It to some purpoeo If molested In tho cabin. Tbo Idea flashed upon mo that by ono determined blow I might disable- dim forever, and perhaps do an act of justice jus-tice by dlspatcblng him outright. I With a vague sens that I was about to fata a terrible danger, and that tho toonsr It was faced and past, ths bet- 4tsr.,t .walked , hastily alt, and on de-Iceuvlng de-Iceuvlng tho'compantanlaaasr) paused when halfway down, nnd after knocking knock-ing on the bulkhcnd called out distinctly distinct-ly and boldly "Antonio! Hallo, Cubano!" "Well, what do you vnnt?" asked bo sulkily. 'To speak with you; may I come down?" "Enter, companero; jou havo not yet harmed me, thus I bear you no mallco." Putting a hand lu my breast to ascertain ascer-tain that my little hatchet was secure, I entered tho cabin, where the Cubano, Cu-bano, with hi broad back placed against the ruddcrcase, was seated on tho stcrn-lockor at tho table, which he had coered with bottle, biscuits, rhceio nnd polonies while papers, dockets, broken desks, and boxes lay scattered about him He was clad, a I havo slated. In tho poor skipper's best shore-going suit of clothes, which ho wora open and loose, for tho atmosphere atmos-phere ot tho cabin, notwithstanding tho shattered skylight, wns oppresslvo-ly oppresslvo-ly hot, as the sun was now almoit vertical; ver-tical; tho flies were la noisy swarms, and Iho cockroaches wero crawling over tho beams and bulkhead panels. On first hearing a foot on the companion-ladder, ho had ovldently snatched up a revolver, and cocked It; but on finding that his visitor was only me, ha put It down, threw away tbo fag-end of a clgarlto, nnd said, with a ferocious grin nnd Ironical politeness "lluenos dlas (a good day), scnor, to what am I Indebted for this vUltt" It was tho first tlmo I had over looked In the face of a man wtio bad coolly destroyed a fellow-being as bo bad done, and my flesh seemed to creep llh an Indescribable loathing; but I had a purpose to achieve, and determined deter-mined to do It. I was about to enter Weston's stateroom, state-room, when the Cubnuo cocked bis revolver re-volver and cried, In n volco ot thunder thun-der "Come back, or I will shoot yt, as dead as ho 11 Ha, ha! por graJos" (by degrees) "I shall' get rid of yoa all." I paused and looked at him; ray young heart beat wildly; I felt that I was facing death nnd what would 1 not have given bad my hatchet been e. pistol, oven with one barrel, though my opponent was master of twelve charges, "Ho I dead, then?" said I In a husky voice. "Who which?" nskeil tho Cubano, with u froth clgarlto betwten his strong white teeth. "Captain Weston." "Aye, dead a Judas!" said he, laughing laugh-ing hoarsely. "Dul I understand that Illslop " I stammered. "HI contra-maoitro well?" At that moment a low moan which wont through my heart camo from tho stateroom or llttlo side cabin of Mara Ulilop. t "Well, bombre. what of him?" tvowl ed Antonio. "Ho Is bleeding to ilsalh, and I wlsb to remov him." "Do a you plente; tie will be food for the fish before the sun wtsl" "You will allow me to take biro, n. deck?" said I, earnestly, aliion Inr plorlngly. "Yea; you have dona me no barm (bo repeated thla very often); woe to those wbu hsve done so!" A glentn of suspicion flashed In tho eyt of Antonio a he said: "True; but not n man shsll enter here, nnd leave alive. Th 1ilp-boya may assist you; bnt 1 will shoot the whoto crew down like dogs It they Ventura Ven-tura to approach me: hi I give yoil flio minute to earty the conlm-maes-Ira to the forecastle bunks, or to pitch him overboard, whichever you please, though tbo last would pleoie me." "Flvo minute?" "Ye, five by till wateh," he added, pulling out ot his fab u gold repealer, which, oven In the excitement ot the; moment, I rerognlied to be mine, th samo whlrn my molhor gave me when I first left home for Kton, and of which I bad been robbed at Trnnarlffo. There was no doubting th llttlo rings and charm which my sisters, Dot, Sybil and on of their female friends had appended to It: nnd thus I discovered another black link in tho llfo of An tonio, I dared not appear to recognlxo It when his strung brown hairy hand, ths bloody spot on which made mo shudder, shud-der, held It toward mo, leat ho might hoot mo down, but Mimmonrd Hilly Wllklns, the cnbln boy, by desiring tho roan nt the wheel "to pass word forward for-ward for him and another apprentice." The boy enme, but not without grout tear nnd reluctance; nnd while Anlonlo proceeded leisurely lo ninko another paper cigar, keeping his ear open for every sound, nnd his black rye fixed keenly on us the whllo, we entered tho little stateroom nt Mare Illslop and Uhcld a alght which filled us with tbo deepeat commiseration and dismay. CHA1TBH XXIt. I Iteecuo tho Mute. Tata as marble, with hi lower Jaw relaxed and his eyes nlmoil closed, motlonleM If dead, but. nevertheless, still breathing slowly and heavily, poor Marc Illslop lay In his bed, the clothe and pillows of which wero saturated with blood, for ho seemed lo be covered cov-ered by wounds, nnd tho crimson current cur-rent had flowed over tho plies ot his favorite books, which wero scattered upon the cabin floor, where they had been trod tinder foot by Antonio whllo overhauling iho repositories ot the unfortunate un-fortunate proprietor. Shuddering, and In baste, we llttcd blm from tho bed, muCted him In a blanket nnd conveyed him, passlvo a a child In our hanCs, from tho cabin. I Aa wo passed out, for n moment It seemed as It the ruffianly Spaniard repented re-pented ot bis temporary clemency; for I when he saw tbo pale, bloody and In-I In-I sensible farm of tbo poor fellow trailed past, ha made an ominous strldo toward to-ward us, and threateningly clutched ' tb.OiatUotsUaaAIWeta.knlfailn.hl., sash. Then waving bis bamv'nlmost1 contemptuously, he said) " "'. "Ilastn go, go-It mailers Utile now, cither lo blm or fo me. Dcmonlo! 1 always strlko deep." Alarm and pity endowed ut with unusual un-usual strength, and wo boro tho speechless speech-less victim ot Aalonlo up (ho steep stair to tho deck, where our crow, with muttered oath of vengeance, and expressions ex-pressions of commiseration, bore him Into tho forepart ot tho vessol, There n bed wai mado for blm on deck; for roolness, an awning was rigged over It, and we bad his wounds examined. Wo found a deep stab In the neck, most dangerously near tho Jugular vein; a second In tho breast, a third between th bones of the rlslit forearm and n fourth In tho left thigh; all ktd evidently been dealt through the bedclothes, bed-clothes, and with a cavago enrrgy ol purpose. (To be continued,) |