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Show Pi &i-44 k ARTHUR D. MiAlyiV Hi-SrT HOW DEN CHAPTER XI Continued 19 Red headed Alovslus O'Shiiiiftliin'SS) au.csested assuming joint responsibility with Bod Inglepin. "Klood me (or a foul, t'upliiln tint 'talu't In the nanrhure of a nnian to see a lady the like o' hei pui up lu the diK'k with a parcel o' blgliwn.vim-ii and coin clippers 1 So It 'tis all the same to ye. Just throw me In Irons, and 111 swear out a declaration I whs for tnurtherln every dirty politician In Washington. Or put It how ye will Shure, we can saay "twas nie wrote the letter and all." An overpowering conviction ol meanness, of unrscap.'ihle malice. tort at Fellowes' hearL A vole wllhln him cried that here was a stronuei force than hate, but a second voice Is sued drily from his mouth "I fear yoo are the victim of yohi , emotions, doctor Treason Is not crime to be condored " "She knows no more o treason not ) do of Boney's gfzr.nrd." flared O'Shnughnessy "The poor lady m;i be made a mistake, but I'll take me oatb there's not a morsel of aanrni In ber." "Natheless, she must pay fot It." And as the Irishman opened his mouth to reply, Fellowes fell bark iimd the same argument he had offered Sopher: The lady, belug what she Is. will not suffer another to assume hei responsibilities." respon-sibilities." It was prohahly from O Shauglinessy whose tongue wagged freest, that Cara ( learned of Fellowes' determination to fight the Badger Their hnhit was tq exchange the briefest of greetings, bin the day the wind swung HStern and the sun came out Doldly she crossed the de-k to where he srod. sweeping the horizoD with his glass. "Do you look for the Badger. Cap tain Fellowes?" she asked. , " iJvoM-feT ma'am,:" be Answered choking his surprise. Her hands clasped together nervous ly. There was aching appeal In the eyes that met bis. "Oh. sir Is It not sufficient that we my father and I should be pun lshed! Captain t'ollishawe is Dot re Eponslble for what we did He acted as an enemy, to serve his sing And he had his orders from Commodore Hardy, from Admiral Cockburn. And my Lord Wellington was behind thera all, for twas he supported us with the ministry " Fellowes forced himself to speak, harshly, mechanically. "Captain t'ollishawe Is, as you say an enemy, ma'am. As an enemy, 'tis my duty to destroy him." "But to seek him ont ! To hunt him as ODe beast bunts another I Musi yoo and James, you two of all the world, b deadly enemies for for " her voice sank to a whisper "my She trembled so that he pnt out bis arm to steady ber, conscious of the carious glances of the officers on the far side ol the poop; his mind was In a whirl hate. Jealousy, pity, anger resentment and an emotion be would cot name, even to himself, boiling and -, seething in one nauseous brew Touch lng her. he had a mad desire to em brace ber, to cover her moutb with kisses. If that was bis price, she'd pay. be bad no duihL She was no coward. But he heard himself say gently : "You make too much of this. Miss Inglepin. We are all on the rack of fate." "Fate?" she repeated, drawing away from him. "You should say hare, "lis an 111 thing, sir, and recoils upou him who sponsors It-" Fellowes bowed his head. "That Is a point you need not argue with me." he said, "i have set myselt a task, and I am bound In honor to complete IL" "To slay James?" Her voice run scornfully "Y'ou are over cunlident " "It may be." tie paused, fumbline for words to phrase his thought "II " 1 might, I'd serve you I shall havi-110 havi-110 happiness of what I do. And yet hate him: I bate him as I haled ('hater and what satisfaction nave I had from ("hater's death? Bui I'll not rest until he's punished or I am dead." Her face was tragic; there was no corn In her voice when she replied: "Yes, you are a proud man. And 1 am a proud woman, if my back bad been beaten raw. I'd hate. too. Oh. you do well to hate, l.lon 1 Bur 'tis Die you should hate. You should tie me to the mast there, and Hog me as James flogged yon, flog me while youi sailors look on, and lick their lips and gloat as men do at sight of Mother's pain. Wouldn't that satisfy you? For I deserve It, I who have brought you to enmity, two men " Her voice broke in a wall, and Fel iowes beckonea O'Shaughnessy to him , "Conduct Miss IngleplL below, doc tor, She Is too have every attention You understand ?" The Irishman gave til in a saturnine glare. "Aye, and . t!s more than ye do. Captain, (lod forgive ye! There, now ahinua come along with Aloyslus." Westward diove the Centui'lan. top musts whipping from Hie Ihlds Ice rlii ging slack; hut so keenly did Fel Iowes watch her thai she never carried away a spai despite Hie press of sail he kept tier under. There was no more grumbling as ttiej ncared thcli goal The sea lawyers of the fo'c's'le had discovered that the sinking of an enemy s sloop ol war must he rewarded re-warded by n hantIome grant from congress "I Hdu't Hie Constitutions crew git fifty thousun dollars for the tiuenierc?" Gradually, the Centurlan's company came- to understand the practical reasons rea-sons for her unusual armament. All sea-faring men knew the Yankee frigates were heavier built, heavier i Her Face Was Tragic; There Was No corn In Her Voice When "She Re plied. armed. Tliey could outsail their enemies, ene-mies, and their batteries could out rayige any craft below a llne-o'-battle sliip. And precisely so. the Centurian could outsail and outrange the Badger f'eit to the Long Tom, which he 1 named the "Big Sarpeut," CufTee worshiped Cara Inglepla "Him piny III, nilssee" was the one person aboard, eif-ept Fellowes. who was tolerated ahiiut when the negro was-&w'!(Minjj and wiping his pet -'ol the least of Fellowes worries during this latter stage of the voyage was Cara'f health. After his refusal to,abaudon the quest of the Badger, sh remained secluded In her cabin for three days, and he knew, from Ben Inglepin's furious looks as well as O Shaughnessy s resentful reports, that she was a sick woman "on the bare edge of brain' fever. Captain, and no' fault o' jour's. It I save her from that same." At O'Shaughnessy's ur gence. she was fetched on deck as soon as the fever abated, and the air and sunshine put new strength In her; but there was a shadow on her face that wrung Fellowes heart, and the circles neneath her eyes were gouged deeper with every week the CenturloD bore on Into the west He was beginning to grow moody plagued by a dread lest the Badger had succumtied ro rhe winter's storms or been transferred to another station and as they neared the American coast he consulted frequently with Torn and CufTee, refurbishing his memory ot Collishuwe's cruising beau deriving satisfaction from their matter-of-fact assurance of success. The Initial problem In trapping the Badger, lis Fellowes saw It, was to toll her out of the blockading suail ron, without exposing himself to one of the pinching maneuver nt which the Britishers were adepla. But Moon er or Inter, he watt suro, the Badger would beat the niilcra south of the Hook that Is. II tdie wan still on Iho station. And soulh of the Hook he'd cast bin lure. Fellowes ho contrived It that the brig sighted the highlands' of Nave sink an hour n f r it sunrise of a clear, warm morning, hut llirro were no signs of the Badger. Fretting and stewing, he ran southeast a days sail, then lay to. and the nexl morn lng heal hack ngalnsl a contrary wind, plotting his course farther off shore, on the chance that he might Intercept Hie Badger returning from one of In n ii m it n 1 1 1 o errands entrusted to Col llshawe. But she was nowhere to seaward, and in ttie night he wore ship and loafed south, planning to repeal his first approach. This time he succeeded. At noon the hall came from the lookout, perilled precariously astride the fore royal yard: "Sail hoi Mchtie a pint (o sta'trd. sir." Fellowes caught a glass from the blnnnclo rack, and ran for'ard. beckoning beckon-ing CulTce to follow him up the nit lines ;o t tie forelop CufTee. staring across ttie eddying banks, made a little lit-tle chicking sound with his tongue, faw-ny eyes agleatn "Dm him Badger, marsr." "Sure of It?" Fellowes queried almost al-most fearfully. "S'pose yo' take hlin glass, yo see." Slowly, verj slowly. Fellowes swept the sea to stir'b'd Yes. there could be no mistake ahoul that topsi. Fel Iowes. himself, had helped to set It He trembled so violently thnl CulTee steadied him on the confined platform of ttie top. "Don yo fuss, mars'r," crooned the negro. "We goln' bust hlin Col-llshawe. Col-llshawe. Tah, him Big Sarpenl golu go blara-blam Mum I Dat de bea' l.onij Tom CufTee ever see." Half ashamed, Fellowes smiled crookedly. crook-edly. "I was afraid something had hap pened to him. Does he see us?" "Oh. my aunt, dat hlin r" yal' drop I Him come plenty quick." Fellowes hailed ttie deck. "Wear ship! Weil stand off across his bows on the sta'b d tack Beat to quarters. Mr Spencer. CufTee, you might take a shot with the Long Tom." Fellowes lingered In bis lofty aerie while the drum thumped hysterically and the stnmplng of sea hoots beat an accompaniment. For'ard. almost at his feel, he could see the gleaming bulk of the Big Parpent. swinging to la'h'd In response to the pressure of handspikes. CufTee a figure ot de moniaral energy. Issuing Instructions adjusting the wad. shoving home the round shot with the last thrust of the rammer. "Wha' hlin match? Gib hlin CufTee Tah. Big SarpenL hiss yo' song!" The brass throat of the gun clanged resonantly and a Jet of flame and smoke spat out In the Badter's direction. direc-tion. A rumble ot cannon fire respond, re-spond, muflled by the mist : the Bad ger's chase guns. And Fellowes list ened for the whir of splash of shot, but the range was too great probably prob-ably too great for the twenty-fonr pounder Yet it was essential to give the slixip-of war a mark to head for. Fellowes hailed the sailing master on the poop: "Mr. Noggle! We must reduce speed. See If yon and Chips can manage a drag to tow astern In haste I" "Aye. aye. sir." assented Noggle. Leaping from the forechalos to the . deck. Fellowes stumbled against Cara Inglepin. balanced on an armchest to peer over the bulwarks "Yon have no business here, ma'am." he exclaimed. "We may be in action any moment." "Is it James?" she asked hesitantly hesi-tantly He nooded. "And you sail away from him?" "1 can't fight Uie Badger under the guns of the San Domingo and a razee and perhaps a couple of thirty-sixes.' " Tis a lure, then?' she said "He doesn't know yon are stronger He'll come after yon so bravely and yoo you will hammer hlin to pieces." "If I can keep away from him." Fel iowes answered grimly "At close range twould be a different mutter." "Surely sir, yo.r have accomplished enough hy this cruise?" she persisted "And Is it honorable to sacrifice other men's lives In a private quarrel?" Fellowes flushed angrily. "By youi leave. Miss Inglepin 1 This is war I tight my country's battles equally with my own Captain Col-llshawe Col-llshawe is more than my personal enemy." en-emy." (TO BE CONTINUED) |