Show in n valhalla a bhalla im and out by korge george ethelbert wash 2135 by W 0 chapnik Chap nim service ON THE PELICAN SYNOPSIS fishing in idle fashion from a private dock pick nick van ness watches a a ship h P the pelican which he lecog n t as a the th B beacon hla his fathers yacht lit b before e for vacon bl a delith death and fin financial a n i al rove reversed rever seB forced him to part with it A man whom he hears a girl who accompanies hini him address as mr r alake a 6 lands from the yacht the girl earl drops her handbag in the eamand ii tream and dick recovers tt it than thanking kin him im she he given elves him her visiting card CHAPTER II 11 continued 2 mr blake lie he mused placing ironle ironic emphasis on the name wonder if K hes going aboard the pelican he eie meditated in silence a few me moments and then followed it was easy to keep tile the couple within sight without exposing himself blin self to view they were going in the direction of the private dock and dick had no doubts about their objective lie he took of very every fa favorable street lamp to study stud their heir backs backa and once when the second man stopped to light a cigar ho he got a glimpse of his face that old man cutler either lie he said frowning too young for him and too bigand big and husky it if I 1 remember gnem ber rightly lie he was a small wizened dried up man the one accompanying mr blake was anything but that tall square shouldered and bony ot 0 arms and legs he was the very picture of health and muscular strength dick caught a glimpse of gold braid on an arm sleeve leere fi and tho the flash of something on his cap the captain of vito the Pell pelican call he be breathed iia he smiled as he be recalled the amount of gold braid and emblems that tits his fathers skipper wore captain johnston I 1 where was he be half had he lost hla his job with the sale of tile the old beacon apparently he had for this ono was the very antithesis of tile the short fat navigator of the yacht under its former ownership the dock was in dense gloom except tor for red lights burning at the end and a white one at the entrance there was no sign of a watchman watch inan and as the men were unchallenged dick followed when thy they stopped at the head of the steps leading down to the float dick was within twenty feet of them thein he slid behind a and remained motionless better coal early in the mowing dining La captala brent mr blake was saying take enough aboard tor for a couple of months we may need it we dont want to get caught short reckon beckon not mr blake replied the other chuckling atwould sort of let lei the ca cat t out of the bag if we had to sneak into some harbor for coal bp before the time was up yes we must guard against any uch such contingency ill phone to blanks pier the first tiling thing in the morning for all the coal you can store aboard what tomell the old man yant want to come aboard queried captain brent puffing at his cigar shortly after sundown lay off here at gunset and when you see aee the signals s send end the boats ashore therell be a lot of dunnage j 1 spose ap oae no nothing burlight but light traps chiefly personal thIng of miss butlers cutlers Cut lers most bloat of the baggage will go aboard earlier ill see se e to that you say bay therell ifie rell be tour four of 0 binl e m yes mr cutler miss allce alice her maid and doctor alster and yourself certainly 1 said mr blake a little tartly ill coma com down with the party all right I 1 ill HI hava everything ready reckon now it if I 1 dont have any trouble finding that island well have a pleasant voyage why dodou say bay that demanded blake uneasily have you any doubts about finding it why no if the map you gave mes inea correct 11 well lt it Is I 1 snapped the other ive ver verified laid it in eiery every particular you dont think id slip up on such a email thing as that when theres therea so much at stake ano no 1 I reckon not ani tta its it ft bit puzzling in places some bamo of them dots and marks looks like as if been put there tor for use you dont spose Bp ose now that mat captain was up to any misleading iri tricks fiks marking tile alie location wrong and shifting shit ting the channel buoys do you ur mr blake smiled and shrugged hs shoulders forget he said coldly tait that im running this little expedition arid ad I 1 never make mistakes the chart ta correct I 1 alt replied brent moving toward the steps then well pick up the island in a couple of days he topped stopped and stared out into midstream why dont they send bend that boat ashore aa hore he added irritably here it cornea comes now I 1 wed veil ill bo be solas going I 1 go got t to put in a ingot COME some figuring 1 blake nodded and waited for him to walked tc the ima nd of the float bloat A 1 tew few tular i the yachts tender appeared appear td and captain brent was whisked out into the gloom the min man on the end of the dock remained motionless until it was gone and then turned und walked briskly away ricks Dicks first impulse was to follow and then he changed change tits mind lie ile came from behind ills his hiding biding place and stood near the steps watching tile the lights flickering dickering on the river and running over again in tits his mind the words lie he had heard they were a little puzzling but the main fact was clear clearts cle arto to hini him steve cutler and tits his niece were starting g 0 on n a long cruise in the pelican tile the following bowing evening salling sailing under the cover comer of darkness which might or might not mean anything unusual mr blake was to accompany them il leill and according to his lit sown own statement lie was running tile tho expedition their destination was some soma island whose exact location was a mittory mystery to captain brent who was mr blake and what island was it ltv dick puzzled over the situation for a long time ile he recalled the reference to some mysterious captain who might have played a trick on them by marking the map wrong who was he piecing together ono one thing after another dick finally came to the conclusion that the expedition was waa rn an nd ad venture undertaken by cutler for the furtherance further anco of somo some personal scheme that ho he wished to keep secret and mr blake was managing it for him so far all 1111 seemed plain but the mystery of the island to which they were going introduced a puzzling factor that bailles dick for a long time it was hours later when the truth seemed to dawn upon him idill he exclaimed suddenly bringing his two hands together as its a treasure hunt huni or something like that old butlers cutlers Cut lers come into possession of some old sea captains chart of they only half filled the box un an island when the treasures troas treas bres urea burled buried and hog like hes tricked the owner of it find and intends to gobble up the whole thing its like steve Cut cutler lerl I 1 ile he went over the conversation again sentence cd by sentence as he recalled it t and jn in tho the end his conclusion wag strengthened all the facts fitted admirably into this theory with tile the chart of the unknown island in his possession cutler intended to pay a visit to lt it and it if there was any treasure on it dig die it up and add it to ills his already swollen fortune in the event of its proving a hoax he could hush up the matter and no one but a few of ills his servitors would be any wiser A treasure tren suie hunting expedition lu in the pelican I 1 dick roused mused thoughtfully what an adventure 1 I 1 wish I 1 were going lie he cast longing glances at the yacht in midstream the he wild idea entered ills his head of swimming out to the craft and smuggling himself aboard As a stowaway lie he might make the trip and bluff it out when discovered but tills this was fin impractical practical for several reasons the tide in the river was strong and even it if lie he made the yacht safely the chances were ten to one that lie he could not climb aboard unobserved that lie concluded would have to be ills his last resort tile the yacht would coal at blanks pier in the morning could he disguise himself as a coal heaver and during the bustle hide in one of the bunkers dick knew every nook and corner of tile the craft and lie he felt if lie he could once get below decks he would be safe from discover then the card that allce alice cutler had given him jogged bogged ills bis memory he took it out and stared at it in the gloom as if trying to read some message aiom it it for a long time lie he sat in nuzzled silence frowning jit at the bit of white pasteboard then an eyelid flickered and hla his lips parted a smile slowly scowl spread across his features and a chuckle broke the ithe silence 1 I could work it ho he mused with a little luck I 1 believe VII ill try it I 1 in n th the morning at the worst I 1 could a say ay ii I 1 was just a lark an original method metho d 0 of if lj making her redeem her promise ho chuckled softly and waved a liand hand as if in farewell to the city aty that had treated him so shab bly ill bet he murmured it will be a blar big improvement anthis on this smoky godless city of Mft Winon CHAPTER III dick van ness nes proceeded deliberately to put his little scheme schema to the test but first he provided himself with a few hours of sleep to refresh the body and steady the nerves ry bi daylight lie he berle reviewed wed the situation calmly and decided that the plan was as an feasible its as it had appeared the night before ile fla ate fl a hearty breakfast at a nearby restaurant and then ordered it a huge batch of sandwiches wrapping ench each one in oiled paper as if for a picnic leaving these to be called for later he paid a visit blatt to a dry goods store where lie he selected an oblong paper box big enough to contain it mans suit of clothes with wrapping paper and stout twine lie he returned to the restaurant for tits sandwiches they only half filled tile the box the rest of the space was war stowed with bottles of water and sweet drinks PLC pickles kles olives fruit cakes and candy the proprietor of the restaurant smiled when lie he clapped the cover on tile box bar looks da as 1 if you yott were loading up to last a week lie ho remarked 1 I may need it replied dick frankly im going where grub may be hard bard to got get I 1 dont want to take a chance As aa lie ho paid for the food and trouble the restaurant man mado made no further inquiries and dick volunteered no additional dit ional IonnI information when tile tho box was wrapped lie he borrowed pen and ink and wrote on the outside miss alice cutler steam yacht pelican blanks pier city 1 I guess that will do lie he chuckled admiring its ills five fite minutes later he was waa on his way to blanks pier the pelican was already at the dock coaling dick took a swift survey of tile scene and then whistling nonchalantly with the box under his arm he walked toward tile the imd end no one challenged him and when he reached tile the Pel pelicans leans side aide he stopped d A dozen grimy men were storing coat coal ablard a deck hand checking off on a card the number of bags carried into the hold A swall small gangplank was thrown from the main deck to the pier dick started up this and reached tile the deck before anyone challenged him then a booming voice right behind him caught lils ear car hello what ayou want dont you know this 1 Is a private I 1 it was waa captain brent sure I 1 replied dick nonchalantly its the pelican it mr cut lers yacht well e what it Is growled the captain nothing except I 1 guess ill hakea rest here ilot hot lay it ile ho removed lils hat and bogna began wiping wl plug hla forehead yes its ita hot but it may be hotter if you dont look sharp what you got in that box dick smiled and winked if I 1 know cap I 1 dont know that id tell you but well both have a guess alss cutler take me into her confidence fi maybe its a bathing suit or oi a diving dress dresa its for miss cutler queried brent picking it up and reading the name and address well slowly after weighing it with both hands she a lie aint here leave it and pit ill give it to her ill put tt it in liar her cabin ue ile started to walk away with the package but dick rescued it not so fast cap he said good natu she tell me to leave it slie she said not to leave it if she here when I 1 called I 1 was to wait half an hour then if she appear I 1 was to carry it around to her house the skipper looked a little puzzled and gave tile the package another sharp scrutiny queer he be muttered 1 I know site she expected to come aboard this morning ill bet slie she know herself grinned dick why slie she said not to walt wait for lier her longer than halt half an hour she gave me flits card to make sure I 1 could find her home lie he fingered the card carelessly and a to take it he lot him have it the man stared at it a moment and then returned it dick felt that taint the card would remove any suspicion that might find lodgment in the alie others brain all right lie he said finally stay on this flits deck and when the half hours up go down that gangplank you came up sure curol I 1 you dont think I 1 was going to jump overboard and aln did you the skipper frowned and eyed him with disapproval dick flirted out a cigarette and added any objections to smoking cap cali rm im dead for a few whiffs no not if you stay outside was the surly retort dick k la 13 taking big chances fw whre h will he hide 1 tto TO UM CONTINUED |