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Show I j ' 1 The Courage of Captain Plum Lj ' aaaaH!1m ; '-" a" "ffernuoii In 1 1 n early summer 41 1 H ' ,I?:'r' 'ji pt :i f i j Nathaniel Plum. mii:;toi H and owjier of I lu sloop Typhoon, was on- Hl' 1 gaged in nothing more important limn 1 i ., tlio smoking of ;in oiioiniou: plp Clouds Hmi; of strongly-odorcd sniok' limed with the HJI, )' lights of tl)o H"t t Intr sun. had rli.eu above Hjll ' bin head in tin i (.'in it ting volumes for the Hjlf last half-hour. There w;iu Infinite con- H'jjl ', tcntnicnt In his face, notwlthstanuijig the H'i(. fact that lie hud boon meditating on n Jf subject. that was not altogether pleasant. K But Captain Plum was, In :i way, Kv, philosopher, though ono would nol have j ) guessed thlti fan from his appearance. m.h iva.s, In tlio first place, a young man. j noL more than olghr or nine and twenty. M and Ills strong, rather thin face, tanned L hv exposure to the sea. was Just now HP lighted up by cyea that .shorn; with mi n un ho I m dot) good humor which any in- i stain might take, tli form of laughter. H At (ho present limit Captain Plum's Ht vIhIoii was confined to otic diructfon, w which carried his gaze out over Lake Michigan. Karller In thn day In; had 1 been able to discern tlio hazy outline of '. Ihc Michigan wilderness twenty miles to ! (ho eastward. Straight ahead, shooting M't up rugged and sharp hi the red light of Hj' i the day's end, were two Islands. Between ( these. " throe miles away, the .sloop Ty- B j phoou was strongly silhouetted in the r ' fading glow. Beyond the Islands and the K - ' filoop I here were no other object s for Bi ' Captain Plum's eyes to rest upon. So far as he could see there wnu no other sail. ' I At his bnck lie was shut in by a. douse H ' i growth of trees and creeping vines, and M l unless a small boat edged close in around j 1,10 n'5 f Benv'-'r udnnd his place of cnneiilnint inuM voinaln nndiscovcrcd. , i i. iimI this seemed an assured fact to t'aplalu Plum. In lh .-u'euritv of hs jiosillon In: began Jo whistle .MOftlv as in- l-at I In bowl of his pipe on his boot -ho.-) to mpiy It c ashes. Tin-It he ilrow a long-baiT'Med ivolvor from under a coat thai ho had thrown asldf. and oNaniiin'd It uHrefuliJ to sue that the powder and ball were in solid and that none of th caps was. missing. miss-ing. From the same place he brought forth a belt, buelcled II round ins waist, shoved the revolver Into Its holster, and dragging the coat to hhn, tlahed out a letter from an Insldo pocket. It was a dirtv. much worn letter. Perhaps he had rend It a scorn of time. He read it again now, and then, refilling his pipe, settled back against the rock that formed a rosi for his shoulders and turned li In eyes in the direction or the. sloop. Tin- last rim of the sun had fallen be-low be-low the iMIehlpnn wilderness and in the rapldlv increasing gloom I he sloop was becoming linHctJnguishahle. t'aptain Plum looked at his watch, He must still wait a little longer beforo setting out upon the adventure that had brought him to this Isolaled spot. Ho rested his head against the nick, and thought. Ho had been thinking for hours. Back In the. thicket I"' heard the prowling of some animal. There came the sleepy curp of a bird and the rustling of tired wings settling for (he night. A strange stillness still-ness hovered about him. and wllh It there came over him a. loneliness that was chilling, a loneliness thai made him homesick. Il was a new and unpleasant sensation to Oaplaln Plum. He. could not remember Just when he had experienced experi-enced il before; thai is. If he dated the present from Iwo weeks ago tonight. It was then that the letter had been handed to him In tMileago. and II had been a weight upon his soul and a prick to his conscience ever since. Oneo or fnlec he had made up his mind to de-stro de-stro It. but each tlni" he had repented : at the last moment, in a sudden revul- slon at his weakness he pulled himself j together, crumpled the dlrl .missive Into . a ball, and Hung 11 out upon tho white j rtui of beach, , At this action there came a quick movement in the dense wall of verdure behind him. N'nlselessly the tangle of vines separated and a head thrust Itself out in time lo sec the bit of paper fall short of the water's edge. Then the head shot back as swiftly and as silently as a 1 serpent's. Perhaps Captain Plum heard the gloating chuckle that followed the movmenl. If so. he thought II only some uiglit bird In the hrjish. "Heigh-ho."' he. exclaimed with sonic, return "of his old cheer. '"It's about time1 we were starling!" He .lumped lo his feet ,ind began brushing the sand from his clothes. When he had done, hoi walked out upon the rim of beach and stretched himself until his arm-bones cracked. J Again Hie hidden head shot forth ftom Its concealment. A sudden turn and j Captain Plum would certainly have been startled. For it. was a weird object, this, spying head: Us face dead-white against Ihe dense green of the verdure, with shocks of long white, hnir hanging down on each side, framing between them a pair of eyes that gleamed from cavernous sockets, like black glowing beads. There was unmistakable fear, a tense anxiety in those glittering eyes as Captain Plum walked toward the jiaper, but when lie paused and stretched himself, the sole of his boot carelessly trampling the discarded dis-carded letter, the head disappeared again and there eamo. nnothcr satisfied bird-like chuckle from Iho gloom of the thicket. Captain Plum now put on his coat, buttoned It close to conceal tho weapons in his belt, and walked along the narrow nar-row water-run that crept like a white ribbon between the lake nnd the island wilderness. N'o sooner had he disappeared disap-peared than the hushes and vines behind the rock were torn asunder and a man wormed his way through them. For an Instant he paused, listening for returning return-ing footsteps, and ihen with startling agility darted to the beach and seized the crumpled letter. Tho person who for the greater part of the afternoon had been spying upon : Captain Plum from the scniirltj- of Ihc thicket was to all appearances a very small and a very old man, though there was something about him that seemed to belle a first guess at his age. T-Ils face was emaciated: his hair was white and hung in straggling masses on his shoulders; his hooked nose bore apparently appar-ently the Infallible' stamp of extreme age. Yet there was a strange and uncanny strength and quickness In his movements. move-ments. There was no stoop to his shoulders. shoul-ders. TTIs head was set squarely. Hlsi eyes were as keen as steel. 11 would have been Impossible to have told ' whether he was llf ty or seventy. Eagerly i he smoothed out tho abused missive and evidently succeeded, even in tho failing' light. In. deciphering much of It. tor Ihe ; dimmer, of a. smile flashed over his thin i features as he thrust the paper Into his i pocket. Without a moment's hesitation he set out on the trail of Cantata Plum. A. quarter of a mtlc. down the path he over- i took the object of hi spursult. ."Ah, how do you do. sir?" he greet- ! ed as the younger man turned about upon hearing his approach. "A might v I fast pace, you're setting for nn old man. ! sir;" lie broke Into a laugh that was not altoccfhcr unpleasant, and boldly" held. out a hand. "We've been expecting ypii, but not In this way.- I hope there's nothing wrong?" Captain Plum had accepted the proffered prof-fered hand. Its coldness and the singular appeaiance of the old man who ban come Mko an apparition chilled him. 7n a moment, however. It occurred to him that he was a victim of mistaken idenlitv. As far as ho knew there Was no one on Beaver I.-land who was cxpccllng him. Ty the best of his knowledge he was a fool for being iliere. I lis crew aboard th- sloop had agreed upon that point wl'h extreme vclieinence. and. to a man. had attempted to dl-.sunde him from the mad projed upon which he was launching launch-ing himself among the Mormons In ih'efr island i.trongliold. All this came in him while the Utile old man was looking up Into his face, chuckling, and nhaklnp his hand as If he were one of the most, important im-portant ami most groatly-to-bo-dC3itcd personngen In the world. t "Hope there'n nothing wrung. CapnV' he repealed. "night :ii u trivet here, Dad," replied the young man. dropping the coin hand that still persisted in clinging to his own. "But I guess you've got the wrong party. Who's expecting nieV" The old man's face wrinkled Itself In a 'grimace and one gleaming oyc opened ami closed In an understanding wink. "Ho. ho. ho! of cour.se you'ni not c.-pectr-d. Anyway, yon'ro not expected to 1)0 expected: Cautious a born general mighty clever thing lo do. tjtrang should appreciate It." The old man gave ve.nl to his own approbation in a scries of Inimitable chuckles. "Is that your sloop oul tliercV" ho Inquired, Interestedly. Interest-edly. Something in the strangeness of the situation began lo inl crest Cuplaln Plum, lie had planned a little adventure of his own. but here was one that promised to develop Into something more exciting. lie nodded his head. "That's her." "Splendid cargo," went on the old man. ".Splendid cargo, eh?" "Prettv fair." "Powder In good shape, cli?" "Dry as tinder." "And bnlls lots of balls, and a few guns. ehV" "Yes, we have a few guns," said Captain Cap-tain Plpm. The old man noted the emphasis, em-phasis, but the darkness that him taut settled about i.hem hid the added meaning mean-ing that passed In a curious look over the other's face. "Odd . wav to come In, though very odd!" continued the old man, gurgling and shaking as if the thought of It. occasioned occa-sioned him great, merriment. "Very cautious. cau-tious. Level business head. Want lo know thai things are on the square, eh?" "Thai's It!" exclaimed Captain Plum, 'calchlng at the proffered straw. Inward-j ly he was wondering when his feet would touch bottom. Thus far he had succeeded succeed-ed in getting hut a single grip on tho situation. Somebody was expected at Ueaver Island with powder and balls and guns. Well, ho liiid a certain quantity of these materials aboard his sloop, and If he could, make an agreeable bargain bar-gain j The eld man interrupted the plan that was slowly forming Itself in Captain i Plum's puzzled brain. "It's the price, ch?" .Tie laughed i shrewdly. "You want to sec Ihc color of the gold before you land the goods I'll show il to you. I'll pay you tlni whole sum tonight. Then you'll take the stuff where I tell you to- ICh'f Isn't thai so?" lie darted ahead of Captain 'Plum with a quick, alert movement. "Will yon please follow me. sir?" For an Instant Captain Plum's impulse was to hold back. In thai. Instant. It suddenly occurred lo him that he vas lending himself to a rank imposition. At the same time he was filled -with a desire de-sire to go deeper into the adventure, and his -blood thrilled with tho thought of what It might hold for him. "Are you coming, sir?". The little old man had stopped a dozen paces away and turned expectantly. "I tell you again that you've yut the wrong man, Wad!" "Will you follow me, sir?" "Well, if you'll have it so damned If I won't!" cried Cantalti Plum. He felt that he had relieved his conscience, anyway. any-way. If things should develop badly for him during the next few hours no one could say that he had lied. So he followed fol-lowed light-heartedly after the old man. his eyes and curs alert, and his right hand, by force of ha hit, reaching under his cout to the butt of his pistol. His guide said not another word unru they bail traveled for half an hour along a twisting path and stood at last on the bald summit of a knoll from which they could look down upon a number of lights twinkling dimly a. quarter of a mile away. One of these lights gleamed above all the others, like a beacon set among fireflies. "Thai's St. James." said the old man. TTis voice had changed. It was low and soft, as though ho feared to speak above a whisper. "St. James!'' The young man at his side gar.ed down silently upon the scattered lights, his heart throbbing in -a. sudden tumult of excitement. Ho had set out that day with the Idea of resting' his eyes on St. James. Tn its silent mystery the town, now lay at his feet. "And that ' light-' " spoke the old man. He pointed a trembling arm toward to-ward the glare that shone more powerfully power-fully than the othors. "Thai light marks the sacred home of the king!" His voice had again changed. A metallic hardness came Into It. his words- were vibrant 1 with a. slrange excitement "which he strove hard to conceal- Tt was still light : enough for Captain Plum lo see that the old man's black, beady eyes were start-lingly start-lingly alive with newly aroused emotion. "You mean " "Strang!" TTe started rapidly down the knoll aud Ihorc floated back to Captain Plum the soft notes of his meaningless chuckle A dozen rods farther on his mysterious guide turned Into a by-path which led i them to another knoll, capped by a good-I good-I sized building made of logs.- There i sounded the grating of a key In a lock, the shooting of a bolt, and a door opened to admit them, "You will pardon me If T don't light up," apologized the old man as he led the way In. "A candle will be sufficient. You know, there nsl he privacy In these matters alwuys. Eh? Isn't that so?" Captain Plum followed without rcplv. He guessed thai, the cabin was mado lip of one large loom, and that at tho present pres-ent time, nl least, it possessed no other o-e.upant than 'the singular creature who had guided him to it. ' "It is just as veil. -on this particular night, that no light is seen at the win-, win-, dow," continued (he old man as he rummaged rum-maged about, a table for a match and a j candle. "I have a- little corner back h'lrc I that a candle will brighten up nicely land no one' In the world will know i. Mo. ho. ho! how nice il is to havo a quid little corner sometimes! Eh, Can-lain Can-lain Plum 7" At the aound of his rraino Captain Plum started as though an unexpected hand had uuddenly been laid upon him. So he was expected, aflcrall, and his name wan known! For a moment his surprise robbed him of Iho power of speech. The little old man had lighted his candle. and. grinning back over his shoulder. P.-ioied through-;! narrow cut in tho wall i hat co'ild hardly be called a door and (planted his light on table thai, stood lu the center of a small room, or closet, not more than five feet square. Then i he coolly "pulled Captain Plum's old letter . from hhi pockcL and smoothed it out in I the dim light. ! "Be .coaled. Captain Plum; right over Uteris opposite me. So!" He continued for a moment, to smooth out me cp-ases In tho loiter and then proceeded to read It with as much as-. as-. lira nrc .is though lis owner wen; a thousand thou-sand miles, av.ay instead of wlihln arm's rehe-.i of hhn. Captain Plum was dnni-I dnni-I rounded. Ho felt the hoL blood rushing Lo his face and his first Impulso was to ' recover the crumpled paper and demand omrlhlng more than an explanation, in tin- ix xi. inslant II occurred lo him that this action would probably spoil whatever poxnibilltles his night's adventure might have for him. So he held his ponce. The old man w.th fo Inicnt in bin perusal of Ihe Ieti. thai the end of his hooked no'e olniosi scraped ibo table. Ho went over ihc dim. partly obliterated words line by line, chuckling now and then, and apparently uMrly oblivion; of th Oi hers proHMice. When he had come to Uj end he looked up. his eyes glittering with unbounded satisfaction, carefully folded ihc letter, and handed it ly Can-tain Can-tain Plum. Tnat'n the Iv Introduction In tho world. Captain Plum (be verv IbI : Ho. bo! it couldn't be le?Mer. "I'm glad found it." Ho ehuekld gleef,iv, and j ... d hir. ogrelpl, h..;.d In the palms of. bin .;I:eeton-like handr, his elbow orf the table. "Si i you're Golnc hack liome M'on? "1 hnvi-n'1 made up mv mind y-u Pad." responded Capiain .Plum, pulling o:tl his plp.i and tobacco. "Yon'vo read the letter pr-tl.v carefully. 1 guoxx. IV hat would you do?" " Vermont 7" questioned tho old man diorM'. . 'Tha'. II." "Well, Id do, and verj reon, Captain Plum, vert, soon Indeed. t;k. I'd hurry'." 'I he old man Jumped up with the quickness quick-ness of a eal. So sudden was his movement move-ment that If startled f'aptalu Plum, and ho dropped his tobacco pouch. fty Ihc time ho hnd recovered this article his slrange companion was back in hla seal again holding a leather bag in his hand. Quickly he untied the knot at Jtri lop and poured a torrent or glittering gold pieces out upon the table. "Business business and gold." he gurgled gur-gled happily, rubbing his thin hands and twisting his finger.; until they cracked. "A preity sight, eh, Captain Plum? Now to our account! A hundred carblnos. ch? And a thousand of powder and a ton of bnlls. Or Is II in lead? II doesn't, make any difference not a hi I. It's Hireo thousand, that's tho account, eh?" Ho fell to counting rapidly. For a full minute Captain Plum remained re-mained In slupofied bewilderment, silenced si-lenced by tho sudden and unexpected turn his adventure hail taken. Fascinated, Fasci-nated, he wntohed the skeleton lingers as they clinked tlio gold pieces. What yva the mysterious plot Into which ho had allowed himself lo bo drawn? Why wcro a hundred cnius and a Ion and a half of powder and balls wanted by the Mormons of Heaver Island? Instinctively he reached out. mid closed his hand over the counting fingers of the. old man. Their eyes met. And there was a shrewd, half-understanding half-understanding gleam In Ihc black orbs thai fixed Captain Plum In an unflinching unflinch-ing challenge. For a little Bpaco there was silence. It was Captain Plum who broke it. "Dad, I'm going to I ell you for the third and last Mine that you'vo made a mistake. I've got eight of the besL rl!le9 in America aboard my sloop oul there Kul there's a man for ovory gun. And I've got something hidden away undcr-deek undcr-deek thai would blow up St. .lames In half an hour. And there Is powder and ball for the whole outtlL Bui that's all. I'll ticll you what I've got for a good price. Beyond that you'vo got the wrong man'" He settled back and blew a volume of smoke from his pipe. For anothor half minute the old man continued to look i at him, his eyes twinkling, and then ho i fell lo counting again- Captain Plum was not given, over to j the habit of cursing. But now he jumped to his feet with an oath that jarred the table. Tim old man chuckled. The gold pieces clinked between his fingers. Coolly I lie shoved two glittering piles alongside the candlestick, tumbled the rest back ! Into the leather bag. deliberately tied tho end. and smiled up Into the face of the exasperated captain. "To be sure you're not the man," he said, nodding his head until his elf-locks danced around his face, "Of course vou're not the man. I know It ho, ho! you can wager thai 1 know it! A little ruse of mine. Captain Plum. Pardonable excusable, oh? I wanted to know If you were a liar. I wanted to sec If you were honest." With a gasp of astonishment Captain Piuni r.ank back Inlo the chair. Hln Jaw dropped and liln pipe was held Ilrcle33 In hand. "The devil yon ,ay!" "Oh. certainly, certainly, if yon wish It. chuckled the Ktllo man, in high humor. hu-mor. "1 would have visited your sloop lodny. Captain Plum, if yon hadn't come ashore so opportunely thlu morning. Ho. ho, ho! a good Joke, eh? A mighty good joke!" Capiain Plum regained his composure by relighting hia pipe. H; heard the chink or gold pieces, nnd when ho looked .igalti Iho Iwo piles of money 'we.ro clone lo tho edge of bin side, of the table. "That's for you, Captain Plum. There's Just a thousand dollars in those two piles." There, wan a tonso earnestness now in the ojd man's face and voice. "I've imposed on you," he. continued, speaking as one who had nnddenly thrown ofC a disguise. "Jf it had been any oilier man It would have been the same. 1 want help. 1 want an hnne;l man. I want a. ninii whom I can I runt, f will give you a thousand dtnlarn If you will take a package back to your vessel with you and will promise to deliver it us quickly as you can." "I'll do it!" cried Capiain Plum. He Jumped to lilu feet and held oul his hand. Hut tho old man slipped from his chair and darted swiftly out into the blackness black-ness of the adjonllng room. Aa lie came back Captain Plum could hear 'his insane in-sane chuckling. "Business business business " he gurgled. "Eh, Cuptalu Plum? Did you ever tuko an oath?" lie tossed a book on tho table. Jt wan tho Bible. Captain Plum understood. lie reached for the book and held II under Ida left hand. Ills right ho lifted above his head, while a smile played about his lips. "I suppose yon want lo place me under oalh to deliver that package," ho said. The old man nodded. INe ons gleamed with a feverish glare. A. HUd-den HUd-den hecllo flush had gathered 111 h b death-like cheek.-;. Ho trembled. ills voire, rose barely above a. Whisper. "Repeat," lu: commanded. 'I, Captain Nalhanlol Plum, do solemnly uwcar before be-fore Cod " , . . , ..... A thrilling Inspiralion shot into Captain Cap-tain Plum's brain. . , , - "Hold!" ho cried. Ho lowered his hand. With .-something thai vm almost a anarl Iho old man sprang hack, his hand:; clenched. "1 will takn this oath upon one other consideration." continued Captain Plum. "I came lo Beaver Tsland to see something of the Ufc and something some-thing of tho people of St. .Tamoc If you. in turn, will swear to show me as much an vou can tonight I will take the oath. Tho old man was beside the (nolo again in an Inslanl. tl ,, ,, , "I will show it to you all all . no exclaimed excitedly, "t w"1 3ll0.w 1 vou- yes. and svvoar lo it upon tho body of Christ!" . . Captain Plum lifted his hand again and word hv word repealed tho oath, when IL was "done the other look his place. "Your iinme?" asked Captain Plum. A change scarcely perceptible swept ovor tlio old man's face. "Obadiah Prlco." "But you are a Mormon, ton havo i tho Bible, there?" Again the old man disappeared Into the adjoining room. "When he returned he placud two hooka aido by Bid and stood litem ou edge so that he might clasp both between his bony fingers. One waa the Bible, the other tho Book of Mormon. In a cracked, excited voice ho repeated the strenuous oath Improviacd by Captain Plum. "Now." suld Captain Plum, distributing the gold plece.s among his pockets, "I'll take that package." This time tho old man vns gono for several mlnulca. When he returned he placed a small package tightly bound and scaled into his companion's hand. "Moro precious than your life, more priceless than gold," ho whispered tensely, tense-ly, "yet worthless to all but tho one lo whom It Is to bo delivered." There were no marks on the package. "And who Is that?" asked Capiain Plum. The old man camo so close that his breath fell hot upon tho young man's cheek. He lifted a hand as though to ward nound from Iho very wIilW closed fhoni lu. mut "Franklin Pierce, president -M United Slates of America!" 'fH (To be Con tinned t H |