| Show L nil r CW CA LIA A battle to death in darkness of night synopsis geoffry carlyle muster master of sailing ships at tuon ty alx 81 T Is 13 sentenced to 20 years servitude in III tile american eel colonies for participation in the rebellion in england among tile alio passengers on oil I 1 ward board tile 81 blila on oil which liu lie is sent across nic cloger fit fairfax I 1 wealthy I 1 y maryland planter lits ills niece dorothy fairfax and lieutenant sanchez a 11 gpaul nid view w 10 acquainted matli alio fair faxes in london carlyll meets dorothy who informs fornis In him her uncle ling has bought ills his services sanchez shows tit encina carlyle Carly lc the fairfax party now on oil its own sloop in tile the chesil peake buy bay encounters a mysterious bark the namur of rotterdam ter dain CHAPTER VII 4 the tha unmasked where the ilia craft could be bound for what secret purpose it was afloat who were aboard were but so ninny many unanswerable sw erable questions arising in lily iny mind inland where it have come from unless from that strange dutch ilitch bark if it really cattle came from the atie nainar of ilot hot lind had it been sent in ili answer tills to some signal by sanchez cis I 1 could think of nothing else I 1 determined to assure myself as to the identity of these strangers if they had bad actually landed atwould it would require only a few moments to ascertain the truth the di distance stanco proved somewhat greater than anticipated because of the deep curve in tilt shore and I 1 hud had n nearly early reached tile conclusion that tile boat must have rounded the point and gone ori on when suddenly I 1 was brought to a halt by a voice speaking in spanish sli ono of those harsh croaking cranking voices never to be reduced to it whisper not the spot manuel of course it Is do you not suppose I 1 know tills this Is the place and now there Is nothing to do but walt wait the senor lie will bs be hero here presently 11 ay unless you misread the signal a n somewhat more discreet but piping voice replied doubtfully 1 I saw nothing of all you tell lell about estada tile the two men went on to discuss plans evidently communicated to estada by sanchez from england gland I 1 was about to creep nearer when a newcomer comer moved past me scarcely a yard distant along the narrow strip of sand directly opposite ray my covert lie ho paused estada no ile spoke tile the namo name cautiously tiou sly ay captain and another figuro figure emerged noiselessly from the gloom we awalt await you good I 1 rather questioned if you caught my lily signal I 1 was watched and obliged to exercise care how many have you hero here four senor with manuel stevan estevan E 11 quite sufficient ilow how Is it here are arc there suspicions none senor wo have cruised outside most of oc the time there Is no warships in tho these bousaid You said sald you ou were being watched wat chea on tile the sloop are you known A dog of a servant who came ova over with us one of brood the fellow watches nit me like a hawk we lind had some words aboard and there ls Is hato bate between us usa hay alay I 1 ask your plans senor yes I 1 am here to explain this planter fairfax has haa returned from england with a largo sum it Is in gold and notes it represents the proceeds of the alie tobacco crop of himself nil find a number of ills his neighbors without doubt it will be upward of fifty thousand pounds this still remains in ills his possession but ft a part will be dispersed tomorrow so BO if we hope to gain the whole we must do so now everything to Is rendy ready and there Is not the slightest suspicion of danger not even a guard set over the treasure then it Is at the house in tin nn ironbound iron bound chest in the room assigned to fairfax for the night only two servants sleep in the main house the cook and a maid both yemen women fairfax Is vigorous and will put up a fight if lie he ling lias ony any chance lie must be taken care of before hp he arce have any acy travers Is an old man to be knocked out with a blow all we ve have tu to fear ore are those fellows on the sloop ond and they will have to be attended to quietly without any alarm reach lug the house I 1 am going to leave that flint job to you its not bovi your first the old sea orders captain ay that will be quicker and surer re r the voice hardened to sudden fe ferocity 1 tj but mark you with one exception h English mra la ix not to be killed billed if lie can be gilhen alive I 1 would deal w with lilt him then after that sanchez went on deliberately us ns though murder wits was of squall account adeo you sou will follow nip life up the bluff who aro are tile the others with you sou carl anderson pedro belendez and Co cochise Coch chose 11 well chosen i mendez Is tile least valuable alun blo find and we will leave him with the prisoner at the boat the big no gro cochise Cu Co chose together with Ittin manue uel can attend to travers and the two ne lie grasses they sleep below that will leave you sou and tile the swede to get the cht chest no firearms it if they can ile he avoided nol ded I 1 have been over the house and drawn a di agrain you can call look it oer in the ho of the sloop tito stairs lend lead up ill from tho the front hall fall I 1 will go you sou to the door of fair coxs foxs room and you sou senor the girl what know you sou of tiny girl that there theio wits outon tho the dock deck of the sloop an hea beauty lity it was wag when you turned to greet tier her that you yon gave ga me ine the signal t I 1 merely thought that perlin pel imps ris 11 then stop thinking idIng burst forth sanchez enraged thinking ling lias nothing to do willi your sour work if there Is a girl I 1 crittend to tier lier let that suffice dicost blosl nin I 1 chief here or tire arc you you havo my lily orders now obey them and hold your tongue bring the men up here the little ban band of men emerged front the concealment of tile the fog noiselessly I 1 could distinguish no faces scarcely indeed tile outlines of their separate forms in ili the gloom but one was au an unusually big fellow co chose lads gilds he sald incisively a sharper note of leadership lender shill tn in the tone it ling has been a bit quiet inlet for you sou lately but now I 1 am back again find and well try our luck nt lit sea once more thero there was a savage growl of response it ii sudden lenning leaning forward of dark figures well begin on n job jet tonight there are fifty thousand lanI pounds for us its in that house yonder find and I 1 waive my share estada will explain to you the work I 1 want done ily daylight wo we shall bo be on blue witter water with our course set for porto crande Cj rande ilow how Is it bullies do you sniff nt at the salt sen sea ay ny ay captain and see sec tile the pretty girls waiting and hear the chink of gold ay senor then do not fall me tonight and remember it Is to be the knife estada I 1 have forgotten one thing scuttle the sloop before joining roe me better to make all safe and now strong inns arms and good luck go to your sour task and it if one falls me it will mean the ansh insh nt at tile the mast butt 11 they moved off one by one estado lending leading along the tha narrow strip of sand five of them on their mission of murder the lender leader remained alone ills back toward where 1 I crouched ills eyes following flowing f 6 their vanishing figures until the night had swallowed them CHAPTER vill VIII A victory and a defeat I 1 broso silently to my feet fully aware that till nil hope of thwarting tills athla villainy lily lay in immediate action san had turned tinned slightly and stood with its his face toward the bay I 1 ven cn aured a cautious stop step forward and stood on the apen sand scarcely a yard vard to ills his rear some vague sense of my presence must have influenced the lie man for lie swung suddenly about uttering a stifled cry of startled surprise as wo we met face to face F for or an instant wo we were locked so closely within ench each others desperate grit grip his fits head bent beneath my arm with roy my fingers clutching nt at his throat threat to block ally call for help fell that he possessed no knowledge of his assailants identity identify iut but the ninn man ans like a tiger the surprise of attack was to my advantage yet almost before I 1 realized what wits was being done lie had rallied broken my first told hold and hla his eyes were glaring straight into mine then he knew roe me ills his free hand instantly grasping nt at its his knife even as lie he jerked it forth I 1 crushed ills his wrist within my fingers forcing ills ida forearm back there was no outcry no noise except that of our heavy breathing and trampling feet personal hatred had as tendency cen dency in both our hearts I 1 doubt 1 H he ever thought of aught else but the desire to kill me there with hid hi own hands only once did ho he even utter a word hissing out the sentence as though it were a poison to hell bell with you you aniz sneaking aking english cur curl I 1 what followed has to rno me no clearness no consistency never have I 1 fought with deeper realization that I 1 needed every ounce of strength and every trick of wit and skill now I 1 knew the fellow poci essed greater knowledge now ledge of the garne earne until than I 1 anit aal a quicker movement I 1 excelled 10 lo weight of body and coolness of brain twice he pricked nio me deep enough to draw blood before I 1 succeeded in twisting backward the arm with which lio lie held the made blade lie ire met alio lie ganio game too late falling failing halt back upon one knee hoping thus to foil felt lily iny purpose thero there was the lie sharp crack of a bone ns as ills his useless fingers let the he knafo drop a snarled curse of pain and the midi lilt tile the rage hige of a nind dog Sati sanchez cheZ struck ills teeth deep into my cheek with a thrill thrift of exultation I 1 gripped tile knife driving instantly the keen heel blade to its lilt into tile mans hie ilu 11 made tie no cry no struggle the set teeth unlocked and lie fell limply back on the sand ills his lead head lapped by tile waves tito follow fellow lay motionless ills his face upturned to the sky but invisible except in dim outline I 1 rested my lily ear car over bi bis his 1 libart alenri defecting ti ting no no murmur allu mur of ris ponso touched the veins of ills wrist but found thero there no answering throb of life with ali the death dealing knife still gripped in lily iny hand I 1 raced forward along tile narrow strip of sand reckless it ss of what I 1 might encounter I 1 ran on until I 1 rea reached clied lie he sloop through the gloom concealing the leek deck I 1 could cent perceive only dlin dim figures a riot of men battling furiously liand blind to hand yet out of the ruck loomed through the darkness in ili larger outlines than the others cochise Co choho chose the negro I 1 leaped tit at the fellow and struck with tile keen knife missing ang the heart but plunging tho lie blado blade deceli into tile the flesh of oc the sho shoulder nider tito next instant I 1 was in ili a bears grit gri the very breath crushed out of me yet by by some chance my iny one arm remained free and I 1 drove tile steel into him twice before lie forced the weapon from my fingers I 1 thrust on nn elbow beneath ben calli the brutes chin and thus forced his hig head back until the neck cracked ile iio was too strong too immense of stature apparently by its ills wounds rounds the giant negro thoroughly aroused exerted ills his mighty muscles inu seles and despite my utmost effort tit at resistance thrust me file back against tile the stern rail where the weight of lilt hla body pinned tile me helplessly with a roar of rage lie drove ills his huge fist into my face but happily was too close to give much force to the blow my ly own awn hall fiands gripping the neckband neek band of Ms his coarse shirt twisted it tight about tile the great throat threat until in desperation panting for breath the huge brute actually lifted me in ills his arms and hurled burled me file backward headlong over the rail I 1 struck something as I 1 fell yet rebounding from tills splashed into the lie deep water and went down so nearly unconscious as to make not even the slightest struggle and yet I 1 came up once more to the surface it made no cry no struggle arising by chance dir directly ertly beneath tile small dory which my body must have struck as aa I 1 fell towing fly by a painter astern of tile the sloop and fortunately tuna tely retained sense enough to cling desperately to tills this first thing my hands touched and thus remained concealed tile the tory dory caught in some current floated nt at the very extremity of its slender towline lne and in consequence the ab sloop appeared little more than a mere smudge when my eyes endeavored to discover its outlines evidently tile the bloody work had been completed ale ted for now all was silent on board then came the voice of estada la in a gruff inquiry so you are hiding here cochise Co chose what are you looking for in the sea why that dd d d man mon dir dlou ul I 1 lie ile fought roe me like a road mad rat 11 tte the you say bay ile he was ana here then lion it was ho you battled witt with became ot of the fellow lie went down there senor the log doff stabbed roe me three times it was either lie or I 1 to go you mean you threw him overboard bo aril ay witt with ills his ribs crushed in and not n breath left in ills dd d d body iles hes never come up even ive watched und find there has not been so much os as a ripple where he sank too lato late to save cave dorothy from the hands of sanchez vil lazrous lal rous crew carlyle sees see but one det desperate chance of going to her aid shall he take it TO BE BB CONTINUED |
