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Show 4 f .' yrf. , I : STORY FROM THE START Km miliiK to America, durliiK tho Wiir of 1SU. nliiT a nuccesa tul voyas. Capl. l.loa t-Yllowv merchant slop S-aclu'in Is sunk on Fort uii.il by h ttritifh f rlfciite. It it crew surreiwlrrs. but Krlli'WCJ reaches shore exhausted, lite life '8 saved by an KiiKlisli-sixuklnK Klrl who conceals her Meiilily He learns from her. however that she Is about to set out (or Lisbon. Fellowes goi'8 10 Lisbon hoping to find a vessel America bound. He tneeis Captain Chalet of the American ship True Llounly, an acumilhtanoe. Ch:iUT offers him a berth as mate. Fel-lowes Fel-lowes reluses. knowlns dialer Is disloyal In trading with the en-my. en-my. He meets the plrl who saved hia life. Cara Inglevi.n. d.ulshler ot the owner ol the True lummy Oara Inducee him to s.tll as mate. Kellowea fulU In love with her. The True fiounty Is stopped by the British friRtUe, Badger. Captain Collishawe. Col-lishawe. Respite his Anieruan elusenshlp Fellowea Is taken aboard the Badser a pressed man. Maddened at what he believes be-lieves is Cara's and Chater's treachery he strikes Collishawe who orders him a hundred lushes-wlth lushes-wlth the "cat." CHAPTER IV 5 Tom Grogan and Cuffee Cockroach Cock-roach In his delirium Fellowes nas plagued by a iveird specter Hie head j of Collishnwe no the siuewy torso it Bob Clinch that brandished a drip ping cat over his lacerated back But Jg always as the lashes were about to fall a gigantic black figure Intervened, and a soft, crooning voice quieteil Ills frenzied defiance: "Hush yo'se'f. mars'r, Cuffee hoi yo ban . lur, yo Uou need holler am t only Cuffee n Tom wid yo'. Fellowes raised his head as the negro spoke, and his lips parted in a groan He was lying on his stomach od a pile of hummocks; the yellow-glare yellow-glare ot a battle-lanihorn. suspended above biin. revealed the confined space of the Badger's berth deck. From his neck to his loins bis back was a blaze of ugony. "How long have 1 been here?" be ?'- whispered. "Pis two nighf. To hab much bob bery. niars'r. Yo' boiler, an yo' yell, an' yo' wan fo kill hltn cap a Ob. my aunt, yo' plenty sick !" Fellowes moved again, tentatively, to ' ease a stiffness ID his tegs, and with Ue stab of pain which shot through him he felt an oily moisture percolating percolat-ing down bis Banks. "What have you got on me?" be asked, between gritted teeth. "Plenty slush. Dat best tcf yo Bob -Clinch fotcb biin from cookee. l'o' go fo' sleep." The negro settled back on his beels. "Sleep mo' better fo' yo'." "But why do you do this for me?" exclaimed Fellowes. "Cuffee help yo' fo dat yo' strike him cap'D bad face. An Cuffee link yo' plenty Juju fo' take Hoggin' wldout holler. Cuffee like yo' Cue." Tin very grateful." said Fellowes weakly. "You It's the last thing I expected. What did you say your name was?" "CulTee, trjars'r Cuffee Cockroach Now yo go fo' sleep." The crooning voice hummed a slow monotonous tune, and despite him self, despite the pain that racktd and burned. Fellowes drifted off into a drowsing slumber. When he awak " ened sunshine was pouring down an open batch, be turned his head with dilbcnlty. and at once a gruff voice spoke beside him. , "Easy 'all, shipmate That back's puny tender." The speaker .was the short, bow legged sailor, of the bristling black beard and mahogany-tanned hide "There was a negro here." Fellowes answered feeebly. "In the uight " "CulTee, messmate He's on watch leastways, he's at gun drill. Ye wouldn't skeercely suspect 1L now would ye, b.it that nigger's a mallet band with Long Tom? Holystone me if he ain't the smartest gunner I evei seed." "Yout name Is Tom, Isn t It?" Tom Grogan ot Fhilydelphy. P A likewise A. B. Pressed oft the schooner Martha out o' Baltimore But inebbe ye could eat a morsel? All ye had was a sup o' rum since ye came below." He dropped on his knees by Fel lowes' bend, and offered him a spoon ful of steamy liquid from a pannl kin. "Cuffee cooked this for ye," he pur sued. "For an Igu'rant nigger he's got a surprisin' lot o' knowhow " Fellowes was amazed at the last! ness nnd savor of the mess. "What Is It?" he asked. "Salt-horse n hardtack n' whatever - .- Cuffee could steal out 0' the galley " Grogan replied, grinning. "He's a master-cook, too that's how we Shipped biin on the Martha." "You were pressed- together?" "For sartain. Collishnwe was only for taliln' me. but Cuffee. he up and says as how he s alius shipped with 'nie. n' If I'm transferor to the r'yal navy, why. he'll come, too." "Then CulTee Isn't a slave?" Grogan set down the pannikin, and scratched his ear doubtfully "We'l, male, that's a question Pve . often asked myself. Y'see. the Martha I to6k him off I lie wreck ot a slavrr San Jago. of Havana dismasted In "By m Arthur D. llotvden Smith Copyright, I'-1- AttTlll'K 1. lKJWl'LN SMITH YVNU ServUs the .Middle passage. He was the only 1 1 v 1 n crllicr aboard. I guess be wniildn'1 have lasied uior'n a day If we liailn t happened by Cap'n. he did!) I want to take Culfee olT but I was a eur'ous young feller, and thar was it clniii. e the slaters had left treasure behind em. so the cap'n. lu hems n' haws and 'lows I can go. It so be 1 iu alone, which same I did." Fellowes found the narrative minis-Ing. minis-Ing. It removed his thoughts from his fomircd hack. tlrogan went on: "CulTee come, 'n he kissed my hand, and kneeled down on Hie deck In front of me. And after I look hltn back to the .Manila, n we'll failed hltn a piece, why, ye lest couldn't pry him away from nie. Cap'n, he called him 'Tom Grogan's nigger,' and nrx time we made Baltimore that s how the cus totns orf'cers entered him. 'Cuffee Cockroach, property o Tom Grogan. A II.. of Phil.vclelphy. P. A.' " A shadow fell ucross Fellowes face, and Clinch summed opposite Grogan. 'Teelin' a mite more peckish, lad? inquired the bsuti. "liot my cuts hut yer a game bantam." He paused awkwardly. "No aneemoseetees. I 0H?" Fellowes thrust out a hand, regard less of i lie pain the movement caused him. "1 haven! anything against yon nosun." lie answered. "I'm sore, hut IJMil IN. 1 1 V Vi 'f I "What Yo' Po' Fool" Dor Cuffee Scolded. I'll be op and about soon. And then I'll attend to the cur who used yon." Clinch darted a worried look over bis shoulder. "Belay that talk, lad," he ordered, gruffly. " Twon't get ye nownere Ye can't reach the cap'n. Ain't It so. Tom Grogan? Yer a pressed man Tell the lad I'm tnlkin' for 'Is own good.' "Sartain. sartain," Grogan corroborated corrob-orated soothingly. "Ye got to use plain sense Yer Jest a pressed sea man like me 'n' Cuffee, only ye hit the cap'n in the Jaw and lived to reck'lect lL" "Aye, aye," ngreed Clinch. "Don't forget thaL Cripes, lad, a cap'n can't let one o' 'Is men strike 'm." 'B was as easy as 'e could be." "Easy!" Fellowes snapped scornfully. scorn-fully. "I'd rather have been killed than flogged." Clinch rose uncomfortably. "See 'ere." he said. "1 don't like the way ye talk. The capo', e s fair, but 'e's 'ard. All for discipline. 'e 'is." Fellowes experienced a profound sensailon of weakness. "It doesn't matter." he mumbled, flghtins; back the tears of rage that pricked his eye lids. "But If I live G d. how I hate the cur! And herl and her I" His voice became a wail. There was a sudden putter of feet on the deck "What vo' po' fool' do?" Cuffee scolded. "Buckra mars'r, him slick, like lit chile. Yo' wan' fo' make him mo' bobbery ?" "We ain't done nothln' to him. nig ger." Clinch protested. " 'E was atnlk in' ag in the cap'n " "Yo' let him talk! Capn' bad man Someday bim die. DIs buckra mnrs'r plenty Juju. Yah. Mm good man, hint Juju man." The big. calloused hand slid caressingly caress-ingly on to Fellowes' head. "l'ar, now, mars r, yo' go fo' sleep. Culfee here." And the crooning, monotonous hum of liquid polysyllables fell like an anod.vie on Fellowes' aching nerves. The l-ong Islander Improved steadily. stead-ily. Ills back, which, fortunately, he could not see. remained u horrid spectacle; spec-tacle; but gradually the shredded llesh commenced to scab over, and, what meant most to hltn. his nerves eased off from the terrific tension Imposed Im-posed upon them. And now he was morbidly anxious lest the mitigation of his pain should quench the tire of hatred burning In his heart. But he need not have concerned himself. The first time he was assisted to the spar-deck, spar-deck, und saw, aloof In the sacred precincts aft, Colllshawe's straight, trim figure, his eyes were clouded by the same red mist which had blinded him the day he hoarded the Badger. Willi nothing else to think of, Fellowes Fel-lowes found diversion In whetting the edge of his haired, scheming plans of vengeance And slowly, as his mind became normal, he relinquished the fantastic dreams which had occupied him In tils earlier convalescence. No ordinary retribution for him I No blow In the dark, do shot across a smoke tilled deck, oo yielding to suicidal sui-cidal hysteria. They'd stand face to face. aye. ship to ship, when the time came. Watching Watch-ing Collishawe. he discovered the Englishman's heart was bound up Id the Badger. Smash her, take her from hltn. and Collishawe would suffer suf-fer Infinitely more than the pangs of death. T.ut to take or trap the Badger Fellowes must first escape from her. and this posed an apparently apparent-ly Insoluble problem. He cudgeled his wits over It. and finally called on Tom and Cuffee for advice. "Mehbe a man can escape when he's ashore," commented Tom; "but how ye goln' to escape anywhere In all this water?'1 "There's always a way, If we can find It," Fellowes answered doggedly. dogged-ly. "We must hope, and keep a watch. And If we do get ashore I'll buy a ship that can run the Badger Into bet hole In Davy Jones' locker and yon shall be with me." Cuffee was all smiles. "Yo" hab Long Tom, Mars'r Fellowe? Oh, my aunt, I inns' please to deaf wlrl him !" "Ye'll be dead afore yer pleased, nigger," Tom sighed dolefully. But Fellowes refused to despair. "Nonsense, Tom," he exclaimed. "'You shall be bosun. Think I A sharp, Yankee privateer that'll carry royals In an ordinary blow. Ion wait aDd see." A few days later the sloop-of-war spoke the Shannon frigate, which made signal she was bound south with dispatches for Admiral Cook-burn Cook-burn cruising off the capes of the Chesapeake, and Fellowes heard the signalman's report to Collishawe, and Colllshawe's prompt rejoinder. "My compliments, and ask em to heave to. Tell 'em Captain Collishawe Col-lishawe has Important documents for the admiral's attention. Mr. Curry, have a boat lowered. I'll see Captain Cap-tain Broke, myself." Fellowes remembered the papers Collishawe had discussed with Cara Inglepin and Chater In the True Bounty's cabin. This could be oo trival plot, which, was referred direct to the admiral commanding the blockading block-ading squadrons, having previously been Indorsed by British authorities across the Atlantic nother reason for escape. Here should be a weapon with which to humble the Lngleplns and Chater. For be mustn't waste all his hatred on Collishawe. No no! It was Cara Inglepin who had betrayed him In the first place. And sneaking Saul Chater. If he might only escape I With any luck, he'd see them hung In chains for the traitors they were For several hours the two vessels tossed on the waves, then Colllshawe's boat put off from the Shannon, and the frigate scurried away south, while the Badger tacked Inshore to resume her putrol. Dripping wet-in his boat-clonk, Collishawe Col-lishawe climbed the Badger's side as adroitly as though It was a garden-path. garden-path. His eye lit on Fellowes. and the Long Islander, perceiving it made a derisive tug at his forelock.' 'You are the pressed man who was flogged?" Collishnwe asked abruptly. 1 (TO BE CONTINUED) |