Show f Jay p ADVENTURERS' ADVENTURERS CLUB 3 to M HEADLINES H E A D L I N E S FROM FRO M THE LIVES L I V E S So OF o F P PEOPLE E 0 P L ELI LIKE KEY YOURSELF 0 U R S ELF Mad ad Week End By Dy FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Deadline Headline Hunter Danter HELLO EVERYBODY Talk about being in a tough spot Heres Here's just about the th toughest one I ever heard of Suzanne Mathias of New NewYork NewYork NewYork York City contributes this tale to the column and becomes a Distinguished Adventurer on the strength of it As far tar as Suzanne is concerned the only redeeming feature of this experience is Ja that a number of other people shared it with her It was down in Miami in December 1929 A crowd of ot Suzanne's friends had clubbed together and chartered a boat for tor a weekend week fishing trip It was an old ol boat of ot the cabin cruiser type with plenty of ot bunks in It It and the party sailed at midnight on the captains captain's assurance that by morning hed he'd have them at a spot where there'd be plenty of good fishing When they awoke next morning they were out of sight of land The only thing that showed on the horizon was a small island that looked as if It it might be one of the Florida Keys Suzanne Suzanno asked the captain where they were and he told her they were about a out 90 miles from Miami but but he be didn't say In what direction Their Captain Was Crazy And shortly after that things began to happen The first Inkling we had that anything was wrong Suzanne says came from my mother who was chaperoning the trip She came up and asked us what we knew about the captain She had been talking to him she said when suddenly he began raving saying raving saying that his son was The Tho High Priest of ot the Temple and that his father tather was the right hand man manto manto manto to the king of ot Sweden A couple of ot us decided to investigate and started a casual conversation with the captain After talking with him a few tew minutes we were left in no doubt He was CRAZY AS A That didn't look so good Ninety miles out at sea sea out out of ot sight of land land and and totally at the mercy of ot a crazy razy boat captain The whole crowd agreed that the best thing to do was to put back to Miami But the captain didn't agree with them He flatly refused to move the boat and said a few tew things more too He told them that not one of ot them knew t 1 0 l dT y The captain appeared with a gun In his hand A 4 thing about navigation and couldn't run the boat by themselves themselves that that they didn't even know where they were were and and what was more he was in absolute authority while at sea and not even the President could tell him j what to to todo do with his ship They tried to cajole him but that didn't work The men started to threaten him but bot he walked away and five minutes later appeared in the companionway with a gun in his band hand handI I S After that nobody cared to argue with the skipper Planned to Kill All of Them The day wore on slowly No one fished for tor every one was too scared to fish The captains captain's raving didn't make them feel teel any better either He had suddenly got the idea in hi his head that the whole crowd was just justa a bunch of ot sinners and that hed he'd be taken straight to heaven if it he killed them all then and there The night was even worse None of the crowd could sleep They huddled together in hi one of the cabins while the captain prowled about the boat Early in the evening they found he had let out the fresh tresh water supply that supply that they had nothing to drink There was a little ice In the refrigerator and they melted that What they were going to do when It was gone they didn't know Still the mad captain prowled restlessly about the boat Late that night one of ot the men saw him slinking along the deck leck a flashlight In hi one hand and a heavy wrench In hi the other He followed him below The skipper crept into a dark cabin walked noiselessly to one of ot the bunks raising the wrench high in the air and brought it down with crushing force on the pillow Then he turned on the light looked at the bed and grunted his disappointment when he saw there was no one in hi it The man who had followed him bun went back to the main cabin and told what he had seen By that time halt half of the company were ill W. One girl was having hysterics another had developed a nervous hiccough and Suzanne who had acquired a bad case of sunburn during the day was down with chills chUb and fever To To- Toward Toward ward dawn the hysterical girl quieted down and they sat In hi si- si silence knee lence to await the rising of the tho sun Lord Told Him to Go Back to Miami l Daylight made them feel teel a little better but better but what would the day bring About eight o'clock the engine started chugging What did it mean meanT Were they going back to Miami Or was the mad captain taking them still farther tarther out to sea One of ot the men ran up to the bridge to find out He came back with good news The Lord told me not to bother with news you the captain had said Hell I ell ll take care of ot you himself Were We're going back to Miami They reached port early that evening and reported what had hap hap- happened happened to officials at the dock The officials weren't especially sur sur- surprised surprised surprised for tor another boatman had already noticed the skipper acting queerly and had told them about it If It the boat hadn't come In hi that night they said they were going to send a coast guard cutter out to look for it Outside a little hysterical reaction Suzanne says everyone in n the rho crowd was all right Suzanne hasn't been out In hi a boat since she claims although she might be induced to ride on a ferry terry boat some some- sometime sometime sometime time it u she could have the captain examined by an nn alienist before she started Copyright Service |