Show AM M CHAPTER V continued 8 the men after vociferously signifying their acceptance of tills fills plan went forward while the captain nid and hurford burford descending into the cubin cabin began poring OUT r of tile the currly boan bean debating whether to lay iny to or to live keel wiy on tile the schooner during the night for reasons which they did not reveal repeal they seemed suro sure that the alio shark had headed liei ded south and accordingly wy ive laid our own course in ili that direction with the first fawn dawn of day the lie lookout tit at the lie masthead lustily announced tho the presence of a sail I 1 had never before seen the captain so excited as lie he paced tive ali deck with an air si so vengeful and so savage that I 1 was gla glad to its as far from him as I 1 could yet its as tile the day advanced ills mood gradually tilt altered ered to one of grim mirth for everk everything thing appeared to favor our fortunes and to injure those of the deemy alwn the breeze sprang up tip as it presently did it came light and puffy from the north and east and we in ili the sailors sa llora phrase bro brought tight the wind up with us drawing steadily nearer anti and nearer to our toe foe until the captain gazing through fill spyglass announced that she was without doubt tit tiro shark nial and at once ordered the white flog flag with the sable panther to be displayed at the peak presently however tile tho increased toa steady whole sall sail breeze abid 1 I being totally ignorant of our surroundings thought of HIM old adago adage that a stern chase Is it ft long chase and expected every instant to see the cup cap tarns wood change chan ge again kut but to my illy remained ns as cheerful as ever and as soon scott Rs ns the op opportunity offered I 1 asked burford tile the reason fur for the captains good humor and learned that alint directly to the southard in ili tile the shape of a crescent moon stretched clied a line of low banks resembling the famous cammans caymans Cay mans maliq so close to the surface that to be onea onca among them meant certain shipwreck into this bay we wore were tiow now driving the 04 shark it was no longer possible for tier to escape us she would have to tight kut but why did she walk into such a trap I 1 asked burford shrugged tits his shoulders perhaps re maps lie ho answered ansas ared they counted on their fuse burning true perhaps all hands front from the captain down were roaring drunk and tirey have one chance elIn cil yet vet though its it a long one there Is a channel through tile the banks but there annit amit three well nien in jamaica who know it mid and its not likely that they have bave one of those three on oil board the shark now all tills this time we were draw drawing ln closer und and now novi at last we made ready in fit anticipation of our suit suddenly altering tits his courve cour ve and showing unlit surely I 1 reelected relec re l ted I 1 wits was to havy a taste of real fighting now and at the thought of the women and children I 1 had seen lying dead on oil alic sea gulls nils deck I 1 welcomed tile the coull lct my coll companions oils to be sure were vile enough but they could not be worse than their foe mitu nian and I 1 was wag ready to risk my lily life to strike one good blow in fit revenge yet still the shark did not alter tier her course still she bore on to the south anti and I 1 could could see front from the look on the captains face that lie he tild did not understand tier her maneuvering site she cant be going to try the channel he cried look at the color of the water almost on the shouts shoals now but the next moment leveling hla fits glass lie he exclaimed they are going to try it I 1 know khow that tit at the wheel its brown mose the best pilot in jamaica 6 n them theiu give us the slip oner all I 1 he le was half frantic frain tic with tile the alo lonce of his rage ills swarthy fac was hushed flushed almost purple and he ground tits ills teeth in the extremity of tits his passion then by ill luck tits eye happened to fall on oil tile me here you sharpshooter lie cried suddenly vick pick tile me orf olt that helmsman anti and quiet quick too or of well be aground our elvas 1 I lind my iny rifle in my hands in ili OT nr tho rin expected battle und thus by ELLERY A sr H CLARK copyright 1 1 I b by Y bobbt co OW nu s service hail had no alternative hut but to c carry rry out or ir to carry 0 out u tit tho c captains rather anther to try conini and at one once on e therefore I 1 stop stopped pei to t tile lie ratio rail dropped on oil one knee and making in tills novel situa tion the bet best allowance I 1 could for the dIr dirren nt coursed tile the tw two is ves vessels els were steering I 1 my distance 11 1 tance j nil lot let irive dile and yet ns I 1 ild did so I 1 ivas conscious flint something hinder hindered pl ini illy mill anti while tit nt tile lie time per pei imps I 1 could not have put it into I 1 know now what tile the trouble was lien I 1 aimed at a squirrel in 1 it i tree top or a at t a 11 belavic duck feeding in the sound I 1 to kill everi very nerve end sinew was hent brut to that on oils purpose nil fill was rat foll ea alto in ill ille I 1 was ns abaro of nothing wol oita I 1 ut now no shooting tit nt n who lind never neur done tile me hartil in SIRO oi of nii Illy self I 1 nil betl balf not bently ykhing to lilt tile mark anti anil thus I 1 a clean miss il the bullet In linked leed could donld not line bave gone so fur far astrab for the pilot riot not lacking cill couin alg RP turned and waved ned 11 liand tit nt U us hallo tie shark true to lier her co course the iho captain explored in angry 1 I n you w I 1 thought yon were a 11 lip cried land seizing n rifle froin jill j liand lie he ninde mide its 11 it if to it in isis ills turn 1 i thell n ais it not caring to entinger ending ir lili fits hold over oer ilk hi inen in by to their darl del I 1 blon if lie alsed tills ml sed lio he thought better of nf it and handed tile he piece to tile me try tr agrin he 1 and to burford lie load the boys bois rifle as quick as af you ou can 1 I could not but admire the quick ness with ith which tits mind worked to load lily in own firm agnin was the bet best possible judgment dament ju for in delicate work nork like tills the thorough knowledge of ones piece Is essential and no nc cordingly though I 1 held as true as I 1 could with Bur burford fords s rifle I 1 ila had no great expectation of dropping my ni man what tile the result of the really was I 1 I 1 shall never neer know if the negro were hit he gave no sign but I 1 have hae always imagined that the bullet struck him though not in a vital spot in any event bent he remained erect at isis his post and the shark continued to glide town down the entrance of the cl channel annel an and now at tills second miss I 1 realized for the first time that the negros was not tile the only life in danger the dark face turned actually livid end quick as a lash flash he whipped shipped a pistol front from his big belt and lev le cled it tit at nii my hend you ou kill that ninn on oil our next net shot lie he sold said in n to tone ne of the most dreadful and onil ominous calm or so licit roe me gold god ill scatter your sour brains over tills deck at the same instant burford handed me my rifle ride once more inore I 1 dropped to my knee once more I 1 took a moment to calculate distance velocity of wind the allowance that must be made for the different tingles angles at which wo we sailed and then according to my illy custom I 1 banished from rny my mind nil all thoughts of ships of sea and sky arid and of everything in the world save that broad brown back gleaming in ohp sun and forming against the background of the white mainsail niallisa ll a magnificent ent target ills life afe or mine I 1 thought grimly and pressed tile the trigger tilts tills time there was wag no suspense simultaneously with the report tile the negros hands loosened their grit grip on the wheel his arms flew upward end and then in a crumpled heap ile he slit slid headlong down the deck well shot I 1 roared the captain well shot my bull bully I 1 and then savagely and exultantly now let them ind find the channel they wont have two men 0 on n board that know it in five minutes by my watch be agiou aground tid lie ile did not exaggerate in fact the catastrophe occurred sooner than abail any one anticipated there wits was confusion on the alip decks of our antagonist no one I 1 dare say in ili view of had just cared to be tile next to stand a trick nt at the wheel driven with good headway and with just juit sufficient ur ferit depth of water not to check tier too soon we saw her bow rise suddenly followed by half tile the length of tier her hull bull then till all headway ceasing ing she hung poised for an all Ins instant tillit settled slowly to leeward and there hung fust fast tile captains face was transfigured trans figured with an unholy joy look at tier her W lie he cried look at lier her her starboard guns pointed at tile the bottom of the sea and tier her port guns pointed R at the sky heres tile the end of tile the shark lads we can call knock her to pieces is as we please it was evident that lie he spoke tile the truth heeled over as sli she e w was as tier her guns were rendered rende reil useless it only remained for us to begin begill at our leisure what would te be not a battle but a slaughter hearing bearing down a trifle closer to make sure ot of our range and paying no more heed to tier her scattered musketry fire than to the buzzing of so many any hornets we gave tier her our port broadside then luried came bout about end followed suit with our starboard guns while burford ancess incessantly antly handled liand led our long ing tort torn will d deadly C adly nim aim both masts lasts came crashing down splinters lew flew from froin her rall rail huge gioles gaped through her exposed and unprotected hull what a few moments before had bid been al a trim and beautiful vessel was now a hopeless wreck presently burford came running aft those that ore arc left lie cried lire are m manning anning tile the 1 jonts boats going to t run for it an and 1 I to prove the truth of ills s words almost almo at lit at once we IV e saw sair three boats put off from tile khurk k endeavoring ns its best they could to keep heel tile hulk of the wreck between themselves and us yet with ech each succeeding stroke that they took the 0 of avoiding our lire fire became greater bur fords forda deadly rill with w ith our long tons tom shattered one leaving those of its inmates not little killed outright struggling in ill ill the water a whole broadside trained on oil the second reduced hor her to a like plight the third however Illa managed tinged to get g et out of reach find and I 1 imagined that 1 the captain would let the elements or to lier her g go 0 trusting to rival freebooters to them in n fitting manner I 1 lind not yet plumbed tile the depths of ills his hatred for mcallistor or tiny iny one connected with ill him al ind id to tile shout of boarders away our alist fastest jong longboat boat was low ere bied tind and manned mat ikier rigged forward with a contrivance I 1 I 1 new to tile me it Y V shaped piece of wood narrow end forward nili and with ill an opening like a loophole on either i side of the what tills this was for I 1 realized realize willett when the captain ordered burford and myself to take our scads scats behind it armed with our rifles and a plentiful supply of ammunition then the captain himself took the 1 Z D heres the end of the shark lads lada we can knock her to pieces as we please tiller ropes rod and we were off it was grim enough ellough to pass among the few survivors of the sunken boats their heads lieada bobbing up and down on the waves As we passed they cursed us and at one whose language was incredibly vile tile captain leveled its his pistol and shot him through gil the head flood the others lie ho spared not from mercy as I 1 well divined but for the pleasure of leaving them to a slower and more lingering death on we swept after the one remaining fugitive and ant as we steadily tIlly gained upon tier her tile captain ordered burford hurford end and myself to open I 1 ire I 1 obeyed without scruples for one thing I 1 did not regard these blackguards black guards as men but as vermin wila whose extermination would le leave ave tile atie world infinitely better off and in the second place though I 1 own owl it with will sh shame iline there had risen in me the wild excitement of tile the pursuit tile the thrill of this contest where the prize was wag death and though but a scant half hour before I 1 hod had leveled my rifle at the pilot of our foe wit with a feeling of reluctance now I 1 opened alre on our fleeing enemies without re morse or compunction und and with a steady hand I 1 fear that after till nil the philosophers are right that civil civilization izil Is only skin jeep deep ani and that without the aid of law we e should soon revert to tile the standards of our savage progenitors there could be but one outcome to tile struggle our boat was lighter our men hlen were fresh nn and while it was OV evident Ident front unwounded un 1 lar stroking of the irre their 6 bonrath on ar rath 8 that their rowers were already iv some and sticking to their ay badly bit p tits k read dread of their impending dingaS doom only f ri when our rifles began to speak 1 4 aa tile the loopholes loop holes ad inen ti here there began to pitch forwar 11 forward stilt still then an as tile saying is them we elm 6 upon hand over list flat I 1 vw they abandoned their oar a 8 a it sayed rayed a scattering alre front from r fifles pistols theira i at 11 but it was wa their last effell demoralization y had seized theta when we come came al alongside the 1 few e au were dispatched in one oneal A rush the capell capt captain ll cool and bu busin like as ever stove in their boat boac wit tin an ax and lot tile bodies of the del ea hoat float free for tit the scavengers of 0 th 1 ocean two of our own crew lay with upturned laces faced and with bimat w round holes in their forehead ill also were acro tossed over OUT to 0 loin the 0 fleet of tile the floating dead and ali now my illy bullies cried n captain well lay alongside and 88 what till tills shark has towel towed in her hernia ma plenty of rum ruin ill warrant and pleat of gold and all for us alvea ite wis lads and tonight we sup like 1 alln inn ta CHAPTER VI port of the devil four days later on a bright an cloudless evening a light breez brought us within landing distance 0 ja jamaica melea 1 I mas as gazing g over oer the ra nl straining my eyes toward the islam when the captain approached to gli ei me my porting parting instructions in very few moments lie told me bil bi ford will set you ashore asli ore As soon i you 1 land anti makil make your sour way to the them itea est town which lies about two mile inland port of tile the devil dell they call caell I 1 and it deserves its title there therein 13 inn there named or rather in nil named the palace of delight aher all the young bloods eye aye and the ol 01 ones too meet to drink and gambli gamble to match their race horses ani t make maice love to the girls I 1 advise advis eye jo to do none oi of these things any one enec t thorn may fasten basters a pretty quarrel your hand spend the night at the I 1 it and have a care that you ou bar you yon door tomorrow press on to the plan pin antion find shively and tell him yo tire are nephew ue ile will tm te you over to the island in the lagow lagai tell your uncle your our story thus you yoc vessel was captured by pirates an burned to the waters edge you loin yo self after performing prodigies v valor leaped overboard irk in the ilari dess and the next morning wo nr picked up by a trading schooner brought you to tile the island invented |