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Show CAPTAIN SAZARAC I -By CHARLES TENNEY JACKSON I I Copyright by The Robba-Merrill Company 1 quietly attentive, his calm face unreadable. un-readable. And suddenly this dull Impasse was cut through with ft slmut. Uorglo, on the highest dune, was pointing sen-ward. sen-ward. "She Is coming In I She Is making the Inlet wl' tide und topa'll air!" The Seraphlne was moving. Then there was another shout. Ahove her, in the misty oiling, another sail showed, dimly and slowly under way. "The Spanish frigate, sir 1" cried Rohon. "Standing In close as she dares, to look the schooner over! Crackley must ha' hammered her rudder rud-der on the bar last night I fsee n false rig over her end. She's feruled, and lie's laying her up In the wooded river out o' the king's hlg guns !" De AlmonnsTer shrugged; it meant the end of flight or hiding for those marooned on the open reef. "Ah, well ! " he glanced about : "Mademoiselle, "Mademoi-selle, our honorable gentlemen may well look aghast !" He laughed, but to the chief he muttered: "Monsieur Sazarac, we might as well build a fort In the sands and sell our lives dearly. If not the Spaniards, it will be the Campeche savages coming out upon us. If not them, starvation and the sun in a few days. There Is no water on this reef, Monsieur!" Mademoiselle had listened. De Al-monaster's Al-monaster's tone was light, as If both the gentlemen were affecting n debonair debo-nair nonchalance for her sake. Monsieur Mon-sieur Sazarac's shrug was of delicate dissent to discuss their lives' end In her presence. Then he smiled distantly: dis-tantly: "You will recall the instruction I once gave? You were to be my prisoner, pris-oner, Monsieur, in event the Seraphlne if A Mademoiselle turned to the captain holly: "What Is this Jesting?" "They mean no disrespect." He motioned mo-tioned to the grinning crew with' u serious affection : "Now, get you gone, fellows! See that our wine and little water Is stored from the sun. Work the longboat doner In on the tide." "Sazarac!" they shouted In hours laughter and went to obey him. He saw the hurt pride In her eyes, and tbe old wonder at bis evasion. She turned to IVi Alinonusler with n pathetic little gelt lire of despair at the moods of Monsieur Sazarac. She could not understand. She sat drawing draw-ing figures In the Kand, and when she raised her dark ey ?s, to watch the tall figure out by tlii sun-wash on the shoals, the youwj man saw the great tears in them Which she presently wiped away. She dried her eyes with a final, resolute res-olute Httle soli "Monsieur, do you know well, once, he came for me . . . it v.is on te sts.ircase of a court the Hotel OiVeanf, and very late. He was going from me, i,nd he had been nil chivalry. He turned away, allowing allow-ing Colonel Cnrr to boast that Sazarac would not fight, because he wished to spare my name. He said all, It was a silly thing for me to do! but I dropped a (lower !o him ns he left . . . and another mnfj stumbled from the shadows and picked it up." "Another man?' echoed De Almon-aster. Almon-aster. "That was before you had come to me, Raoul, on the Seraphlne. As to the other man, thnt was no matter. I suppose a beggitr In the courtyard caught my cnmel.'la. I don't know It was silly to throw a flower to Sazarac, the river gamester ... I was hot with shame afterward at doing so. Hut If he had caught it . . . Ah, well! I thank Heaven he never knew It! after I found myself in bis hands upon the Sernphlne! The ragged fellow fel-low who caught It stared up once and then hurried aft'T Monsieur Sazarac. At the aren-arcft he turned. It appeared ap-peared he tried to pose as a lover, and then he fell over his own foot, or something, very absurdly!" "A ragged flllow," muttered De Almonaster. "Like one of these old tattered followers. fol-lowers. A ghost of a man fading Into moonlight !" A shout arose from the exiles who were dragging file longboat nearer in the shoals. Monsieur Sazarac had paused half-way to them. He saw what had hithefto been bidden by a low spit of sand-Five sand-Five armed tioats had drawn inshore, in-shore, coming from the distant Spanish Span-ish frigate, without doubt. They had crept unnoticed by the refugees on the reef until they were fair In the break of forest wall where there had been the last glimpse of the Seraphine's snowy sail. "Do you see, Monsieur de Almonaster?" Almonas-ter?" said the chief of the exiles quietly. qui-etly. "It was as I reasoned. The schooner will be taken this night. It is what one would greatly desire. Th dons will have tio quarter for Crack-ley's Crack-ley's men there is no escape for them In the river jungle. After the affair, sir you are to go with Mademoiselle and parley with the Spanish captain." "And you?" mademoiselle cried again breathlessly and sprang upon the sands. "You and your men cannot stay here to die!" Monsieur Sazarac smiled with a high serenity. "The sea is wide, Mademoiselle Mademoi-selle Lestron. Wide, and far is the way to Its secret places. I have mind I said this once to you. O little place In the sea a secret place, where a secret may be buried, Mademoiselle." He turned to the younger man : "You will make ready to go, Monsieur, when the hour comes. There are two black men of our company who can pull the longboat for you under a flag of true . . . two black serving men who will not find the air of Vera Cruz conducive con-ducive to a fatal malady. The rest of us, I fear, must do without the ministrations min-istrations of the Spanish viceroy's physician phy-sician as long ati we can possibly a day or so more, ere the doctor calls for us." His smile still lingered when Da Almonaster came closer, torn by a wild bitterness which he, himself, could not fatho'n. "Jean," he whispered whis-pered : "I have not spoken. The choice is hers between you and me and she might save you from KcuVlllo's men ! She might plead with the viceroy that she loved you even Lafltte of the black flag!" "That is a Jest," murmured Sazarac absently, "worthy of John Jarvls, who played the clown to betray me a plea for Lafltte's life to Murillo!" (TO BE CONTINUED.) imam iumwiiaHmiiiBMijiu a-im CHAPTER XIV 17 A Flower for a Ragged Fellow. The longboat made a shallow pass between two curving reefs of dreary smul. rising to wlnd-twlsted mangrove clumps at the higher points, and was beached In a quiet lagoon. The red q sunrise found them there marooned; silent men wandering over the waterless water-less spaces and then coming buck near to a shelter canvas which Wad been roped to the hushes for Mademoiselle Lestron. Then the last lieutenants of Latltte sat apart to discuss the mutter. The Seraphlne lay plainly visible west and north, her sails idle and a flat, smooth coastal tide between. "She'll be beating off with the morning morn-ing breeze," growled Bohon. "How much water did Crackley leave to us?" "Two casks ; bread and the salt horse for three days no more. We count six muskets and twelve pistols. When the Indians put off from the woods to spy us out we can hold 'em off a bit." "Aye, for what? Where's a river mouth to make?" "There Is none the Spaniards do not hold. There Is no cove either way where you would not find the king's men. The rest is jungle. . . . Vvliat does the captain say to It?" Old Dominique puffed his long pipe tranquilly. "What does Captain Jean make of it?" repeated Bohon to them. "There Is nothing to make of it," returned re-turned the alderman. "Eh, bien ! A little while of waiting a day or two, old robbers, in the sun and without water. At that, something will be tried. Leave it to Jean that something some-thing will be tried for ye all. The lady Is at breakfast with the captain," he muttered irrelevantly. "He has toasted the bread he has made the coffee himself for the English lady. Name o' G d ! I have witnessed that!" "Captain Sazarac Is calling to you," observed the count. "Now, go, all there is a message." They went slowly, trudging through the sands with dry muttered jests and hopeless prophecies. Men, for the most part, past the prime of life; some heavy, indeed, with years, coming com-ing before their captain with an endeavor en-deavor to assume a sprightly seaman's bearing. Faithful, rugged, Implacable faces adventurers who had given their wild youth to him. "It Is in my mind to put the English Eng-lish lady and my friend, Monsieur de Almonaster, in the way of safety," said the chief quietly. "There is a chance for them. The rest I, and you " He stopped and smiled at them. "There was a shout. "I and you !" Jean with them? Nez Coupe came closer, tying tight the bloody silken head scarf about his seal-brown skull. His wound-wrecked face took a ghastly ghast-ly grin. They would then still be rid of the English woman by some miracle mir-acle ! Jean would shake free of his burden of the English woman . . . and be with them once again? "It can be established that Monsieur de Almonaster Is of Spanish lineage; and that Mademoiselle Lestron is of a mission that was working in the pay of the Spanish king " went on Cap- tain Sazarac evenly. "If, then they 1 could reach a ship It is probable they ' would find refuge. The rest " And again the shout of grim humor cut him off. The rest ! Why, the rest could expect the reef, the tropic sun . . . and their captain! Still their sour, hopeless humor. Certainly there was nothing for the rest of them ! But now the English woman came out of the hot little shelter. "Now, you will listen to me, also, men of the Seraphlne !" she cried suddenly. "To me as well as to your captain ! v Surely there is a way for us after these treaeherous mutineers put off with the schooner! Surely, I know your faithfulness to him and to your ship ! What is there to fear for seamen sea-men who serve loyally their master and their ship?" They llstenad curiously. Monsieur the captain pushed back the iron-gray hair from his temple and listened. It was as if he had heard It all and had no more answer than they. "See, you !" The girl went on hotly. "Monsieur Sazarac, playing the part of a patriot to his adopted country! I an English Tory can testify to that! The attack upon the Genaron surely I can swear to the admiralty of my country, that It was done for me In all honor. Monsieur Sazarac's honor " There was a stir among them then the silence again. Old Dominique sighed. The honor of Sazarac . . . the word of Captain Sazarac to the admiralties that his men were good and true! "For me In all honor. By you all honorable men " Again she was puzzled by their stir and murmur. The grim Baratarians rubbed their heads in doubt themselves. them-selves. Beluche walked away and began be-gan to cut at the grass with his saber, Idly. Nez Coupe joined him, feeling of bis wreck of a nose. The English woman knew she was falling with them. Monsieur Sazarac was looking at her pityingly. Mon-leur Mon-leur de Almonaster, with folded arms, "For Me in All Honor. By You All-Honorable All-Honorable Men " was taken on the seas? You were to be as one held to an unlawful affair against your will " De Almonaster flushed to his eyes: "Monsieur! Do you think that I " he stopped. Sazarac could not offer him life lightly in her presence! "Undoubtedly the Spaniard will ne-cept ne-cept you and Mademoiselle Lestron. Monsieur Dominique, also a municipal munici-pal officer of New Orleans there Is no reason why the Spaniards should not receive and protect you." "And you?" The younger man could not help tbe whispered question. "I take It that the Spaniards will attack the Seraphlne in those woods and leave no soul living on her. I assume as-sume that the mouth of every scoundrel scoun-drel on her will be closed by death. Then you with Maflemoiselle Lestron to the frigate and say that you were marooned by the buccaneers, and claiming protection. Why, the Spanish Span-ish governor at Merida, or Vera Cruz, must know of Carr's plot ! Surely he would welcome Mademoiselle Lestron and her friends " "Why, are you not, Monsieur, also my friend, and protected with die?" the girl cried wonderlngly. "It Is, indeed, a fair story an Intrigue to save us all I Why did I not think the Spaniards would protect us when they will suppose that I am still In the plot of Carr's purpose to aid their schemes? Messieurs, I can safeguard you all to Vera Cruz with that plea !" They all heard her. But a silence fell. The girl looked eagerly from one weathered face to another of, Monsieur Sazarae's few followers. Suddenly Monsieur Sazarac laughed again. Aloud and clearly. He arose and adjusted his neckerchief. There was a gasp, a grumbling bewilderment, and then laughter, from all the old buccaneers. They shipped each other on the shoulders, grinning knowingly at their chief. "My compliments to the lady!" shouted .Tohanness, "but tbe climate o' Vera Cruz my lungs are delicate!" "And I mind that I might have a humor o' the blood were I there!" mocked Bohon. "My head " complained the sour Nez Coupe, "the rest of it might go a-twist at sight of the governor's castle !" |