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Show CHAPTER X Continued 17 In the midst of everything the Cen turlon stood ruthlessly through the heart of the convoy, loosing her broadside batteries at Intervals to heighten the existing consternation The frigates, responding to frenzied signals from the flagship, finally gave chase, but by the time they had dis covered the whereabouts of the prl vateer the fog blanketed her, and Fel -lowea changed his course to due south, tie saw no more of the con voy, although In the morning he picked up oue of Its trailers, a little Scotch brigantine, which was so crank a sailor that he burned her The following week, cruising back ward and forward In wide loops across the track he expected Chnter to take, he spoke a Charleston prlva teer schooner, driven Into these latitudes lati-tudes by a storm the Centurion had avoided. Her master had tracked the brig's course, but had seen noth log of the True Bounty, so Ktllowes turned northward again Into a region of frequent fogs, where the cold was biting and Ice froze on the ratlines, until the men could scarcely And a footing when they went aloft. Headwinds drove him back, and In more moderate latitudes a pair ot fast thirty-eight gun frigates, evidently evident-ly one of the patrols on the watch for the hard-hitting Yankee men o'-war o'-war of the same class, chased the Centurion two days' sail to the southward. south-ward. Having dolged his pursuers, Fellowes caught a smart Plymouth enow, the Sprightly Jean. Inaded with Jamaica rum. a cargo which Joshua couid sell at a ready profit la the state of the New York market He depleted his crew to man out the prize, and agaio pointed the brig's bow north Certain of the crew grumbled at this departure from the trade-routes. But Fellowes held on his course to the Fifties, held on until he was convinced con-vinced ('hater had not ventured so barsb a latitude. Driving southeast, they struck the outbound track of the West Indian convoys, and snatched a sonsy, six-hundred six-hundred ton ship, the Mary Carroll, of l-ondon. from under the guns of a razee and a thirty-two-gun frigate-Conflicting frigate-Conflicting airs permitted the Cen turion to make off with the prize CuITee's snap-shooting with the l-ong Tom diminishing the frigate's ardor for the chase. A sweet prize the Mnry Carroll; her strong hoi held ten thousand pounds In gold, and her holds were full of fancy goods and kickshaws for the spoiled wives of planters, Fellowes put ten men and a prize-master aboard her, and dls patched her for New York, after shifting the coin to the Centurion. There was no more grumbling, now thai the brig steered east by south ftr the trade routes to southern F.11 rope and the Mediterranean. The rigid blockade of American ports seemed to have rpleaswd British mer thantmen from their earlier dread ot the Ynnkee privateers, and these southerly seas almost swarmed with shipping. The Centurion captured a small Canton trader, the Pembroke of Priatol, nnd the very next day ran down Ihe Jessie brig, of Falmouth hound for the Gold const with trade goods. Simply as a privateering enterprise the cruise had been successful up to this point, but Fellowes was per turbed by the failure of his main ob Jeclive He had come to s-a. first ot all, to catch the True P.ounty and the True P.ounty had disappeared as completely as the Flying Dutrhninn sailors said was forever trying to round the Cape of flood Hope and forever dlappn!nted by headwinds blown against him by an outraged rlvlnlly. "The course Is southeast by east.' tie announced to Itreed. who relieved Mm. "We'll follow It until we strike one of the Gibraltar patrol I'll cruise 'twlxt here and the latitude of Cadiz." And they zlgzatrgi-d westward, now nor'west, now wont by nor, now wet, now west by south, now go'wesl. The third day. an hour past sunrise, a thin hall drifted dirwn from Ihe main top : "Sail hoi Fower p'lnts to sta'b'd." Hpetircr, olli'er of the deck, sum moned Fellowes, who tumbled out ot his bunk, half dressed. One look through his glns.i, and tie sped a man for'ard to rouse CufTce. "Take the glass." Fellowes directed "Can yon make out thai sail? Is she he True P.ounty?" "Coffee don' wan' no glass, Mars'r Fellows'. I'al him ('hater' ship." The Jagged while teeth glistened In the colli sunlight. "Ob, my aunl I Now we shoot him Long Tom, mars'r. Now we shoot him plenty hard." Fellowes' Hps tightened. He strove to reconcile the rising floods of exnl tatlon nnd sorrow, of triumph and foreboding, that choked him emotion nlly "P.nt shoot carefully," he warned "We may require to rrlpple, n mast hot I'll have no killing If It can he avoided " "Yah, inars'r. CnlTee know. We don tuitil hint pltty III Mlstee. Put him Chiiter -" The Immcnsp black hands, frro id flHt swaying ratlines opened nnd rbrved. crooked nod slashed. "I tut whf should yon hnte Chnter?" Fellowes ipies! lofied, CufTe tint hlin Chalur fo Uut jo' j Arthur T. Hobuden Smith Copyright. 19!S ARTHUR D. HOWDEN SMITH WNU Servlca hate him, mars'r. To" seel Cuffee kill him plenty quick." "Not save 1 hid you." Fellowes can tioned sternly, descending to the deck. A dangerous force, this hatred he reflected. A disease which seeped from one heart to another. But a smoldering glow burned In his blue eyes, and his Jaw squared aggressive ly. No moment for sentiment. This was the day of his vengeance, the day he had nwaited for months. Ah. but why should the savor of II be bitter In his mouth? He remembered Joshua's parting advice. Hate I Hate enough, and all would be simple. Hnte every one of your enemies, uye, every one linked with t Item. Hate 'em root and branch. And a mighty wave of re sentment swamped his spirit. Resentment Resent-ment against Joshua, against Ben against Chnter, against against He clawed open his neckcloth so fever Islily that his officers, busy though they were, regarded him perplexedly Aye, against her I Above all, against her I She, who consorted with the na tlon's enemies, who intrigued with Wellington and God alone knew what other British statesmen, who enter 9 $f V?M fe? Jm P Mil -Well, Naov." He Snarled. "Murdered Me. Ain't Ye?" talned Colllshnwe's suit, who hnd not lifted a finger to save him from be Ing Bogged I Why shouldn't he bn'e her? She merited nothing from him She, whose lover was the man who had whipped him I She, who had ac cepted a visit from this man after their Hps hid tnel thnr Inst night on the True Bounty! Something swelled op la his throat, hot. sufTornllng. Hnte? Aye, butel "liun out that Long Tom." he or dered hoarsely. "A shot betwlrt hU masts. CufTce." Chnter had the weather gauge, and maneuvered exiwrtly to make ue of the advantage; but Ihe Centurion could sail two knots to the True Bounty's one. nnd a couple of round shot between his niastg seemed to convince hlni of the hopelessness of his plight. He lay to while the brig overha uled him and rounded his stern in position to rnke, Fellowes dom Inatlng her crowded decks, bis slight figure taut with repressed energy Above, on the lofty poop of the True Bounty. Chnter glowered sullen ly, beside him Ben luglepln, an ex presslon of well nourished resentment clouding the merchant's chubby coun tenance. Cora, muffled In a great roat of fur, clung to her father's arm There was curiosity In her glance, hill no fear; nnd as often before, Fel lours was constrained to admit a grudging measure of respect for her The Ceiifnrlon came back, with a din of flapping canvas, nnd not wait lug to be hailed, luglepln bawled angrily : "What Is this that yon do. Cap tain Fellowes? Yon have reason to know tills vessel. D'you not see the colors she flies?" "I'm r.ot osMured you hnve ft Justlfl nhle claim to that flag's protection. sir," Fellowes answered shortly. . "Captain "Cap-tain Chaler, I'm coining aboard to ex amine your papers." "I'urty uigh piracy, I'd say,", whin tiled Chater. "A letter-of-marque duon't give ye the right to s'urch American vessels." Nimrod Soplier oudged Fellowes elbow. " 'Tis as he says," murmured the lawyer-marine. "Look to your com mission, my friend. The private ship o'-war is distinguished from (he regu In r naval vessel by a limitation of her legal exercise of hostility and supervision." super-vision." "I didn't ask your udvlce," snapped Fellowes. "It comes lute In the day. Mr. Silencer, you'll take the ship. Tom, call away the longbout's crew; you'll go as coxswain. Yes, CufTee, you, too." In Ihe bustle ot mustering the boarding board-ing party, no one on the Centurion noticed the disappearance ot the lugle-pins lugle-pins and Chuter from the True Bounty's Boun-ty's poop. Indeed, when the longboat pulled under her lee the only members, mem-bers, ot the merchantman's crew In sight were young Korke and the helms man. but a rope ladder had been lowered low-ered from the waist, and Fellowes el 1 uilied its Jerking rungs without 8 thought of danger, bidding his men follow him one at a time. He reached the buhvurks level, and vaulted carelessly care-lessly to the deck to be pounced upon by a dozen seamen, whose liulry. brown paws effectually sealed his lips. In the background Chaler hovered, whin nying orders : That's right, men I Grab the durned pirate. I calc'hite he'll do for u hostage. Here, one o' ye cut loose that ladder." But the Inst word was still wet on his tongue when a rour resounded from the bulwarks. Fellowes glimpsed a glganilc hluck shape sailing through the air and crnshed dowo on t tie deck with (he rest ol the dozen as Cuffee bounced Into their midst, lilrlit and left, the negro klrkeil and struck, legs nnd arms hitting with ferocious ac-cu ac-cu rucy. Half blinded, dazed, battered Sore, Fellowes staggered to his fcvL thinking think-ing to supiMirt Cuffeee charge. But a pistol cracked behind him. and he spun around In (line 10 see Chater drawing a second weaMn And In.silnrtlvely. without conscious effort, the l-ong Islander sniiU-licd for Ids ow a pistol, and pressed the trigger. ("hater's green ees widened tte-wlhleredly tte-wlhleredly ; the pistol allped from hie hand, his (Inters clawing nt his chest. "Well, riaow." tie snarled. "'Murdered "'Mur-dered in., ain't ye?" And tie l1opd on t tie ib-ck. a lou.Hcled heap of garments leaking ruMlly. "Will too hnve my surgeon?" Fellowes Fel-lowes offered perfunctorily. "No use. Bui ye won't find whut ye wnnt. Sfie'e ag in ye. Workln' for British. But yell never knnow not for snrtnln." The grotesque chin tmped. and Fellowes ondersKMMl the man sn dend na surprised, too. Hint he should cxerlrnce neither aatlsfnct Ion nor compunction But here was no lime for reflection The lorigtHni'f party, pouring over the lee bulwarks, were drUIng the True I'.ouoly a crew lor'ard li:to Ihe fo'c's'le, no dlfllruli enterprise, for (lie spirit hnd gorip out of the atilp'a defenders, nnd lliey dim-hid under Ihe flats of cutlasses nnd Tom (Irognn'a hearty abuse Ntm rod Sopher. lulling ttie bonrders. n course, uas wrlngliin tils hnnds. ngliasl nl the sight ot ( hater's body. "My dear I. lout What a misfortune 1 And n dellrnie question to admiralty law. Maiislauttier In fact. It may lie murder on the high sens " "Captain Fi Howes killed Captain Chnter In self defense, sir." I'ara luglepln lu-glepln s voice was low pitched and steml'. and there was color In her siui-wnrmed siui-wnrmed cheeks as she stepped from the raliln cnmpanloiiwuy Ben Ingle pin, who followed her. was much lea mailer of hlms'-lf. Ills hands shook, ami his moulh wobbled nervously The duenna, billowing after lliem. funereal In black, her fat hands clicking click-ing a rosary, her beady eyes roving nnd probing, was ns phlcginnl Ic as ever she had been In Perenhn. "You saw It with me. Father?" Cam appealed ap-pealed to Ben. "Captain Chaler Hied first. A dastardly shot I" "A must lamentable Incident,- quavered quav-ered Ben (TO ltl CONTINUKU) |