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Show mi )U. serious jo ended IKK It is iw&y mill rl's state-reply state-reply lie in, leaving iney. going cii . at eight hells, of the forenoon . the hows ns he Ing for the bll as he trod, the Instantly recoir-iindy recoir-iindy jet 7" chan?e. I SJSr as not often .:, and Iiainey f.fierienced any d the giant as .ouncing his in-ard. in-ard. Lund nod-i nod-i Rainey as if to ctor was going to hunters, and that pportunity to talk ," he said. "Eyes ice in the wind." ady vanished and room. lie galley corridor was poked in cau-iy cau-iy came into the niibvf Mister Rainey, sir," )out, "I was through ii-jljV. I wanted to have His pop-eyes roamed 6:l5in doubtfully. here," said Rainey, and ..7'.idy into his own quarters, sy.en," he said, established while Sandy stood by the 'vslouching, Irresolute, his working as If he was chew-Jing, chew-Jing, "what Is It, my lad?" f-kick the stuflin' out of me ew this." said Sandy. "I've ill to hold my tongue. Denize Deni-ze d cut it out If I chattered, milil. Rut " ihat? Sit down, Sandy; I e. vou away." rent overhoard after me, sir. -w ii uieui "mini, i if neaiu nar Lj I risen said, that I didn't erniount P,,li!n'. Mehbe I don't, hut I've .iy own reasons for hangin' on. y course I don't ermonnt to much. W I ivoii'il I? If I ever had mother ather, I never laid eyes on 'em. inaile my own tlvin' sence I was -. I've never 'ad enough grub in joII y till I worked for Tamada. .lap slips me prime fill'n'. lie's .y a Jap, but he's got more heart in the rest o' that bloody bunch put rgetlier." t' Rainey nodded. "Tell me what you know, quickly, l'ou may lie wanted ;;nv minute." The words senir-d to stk !c in the lad's dry throat, and then they came w iih a gusli. "It's the doc! It's ('arisen who's turned 'cm into a lot of bloody Rol-sheviks. Rol-sheviks. sir. To'd 'em tlicy ought to have an ekal share in the go'd. I-'kal all round, a'l except Tamada en' me. I don't count. An' Tamada's a Jan. The men is sore at Mr. Lund hecoz he se. the skipper left him he'id on ihe ice. Carlsi-n's wiirked that up. too. Said Lund made 'em ail out to he cowards. "C'pt Hansen, that is. He don't dare say too much, or they'd jump him, hut Hansen sort of hints that Cap'n Simms ought to have livic hack after Lund, could have gone back, is the way Hansen put it. So they're ail goin' to strike." Rainey's mind reacted swiftly to Sa.ndy's talk. It seemed Inconceivable thr,t Carlsen would he willing to share alike with the hunters and the crew. Sandy's imagination bsd been running wild, or the men had been making a fool of hi in. The girl's share would be hrown into the common lot. And then fla.vied over him the trick by which Carlsen had disposed of all the nminu-j nminu-j nltlon In the hunt-rs' possession, tie is Mate INN 1 had a deeper scheme than the oi.e he fed to the hunters, and which he merely mere-ly offered to serve some present purpose. pur-pose. Rainey's jaw muscles bunched. "lo on, Sandy," he said tersely. ' "There ain't much more, sir. They're goln' to put it up to Lund. First they liggered some on settin' him ashore with you an' the Jap. That's what Carlsen put up to 'em. But they warn't in favor of that. Said Luird found the gold, an' ought to have an ekal share with the rest. An' they're feelin' diff-'runt diff-'runt about you, sir, since you saved me. Not hecoz It was me, but hecoz It was what Deming calls a d n plucky thing to do." "How did you learn all this?" demanded de-manded Rainey. "Scraps, sir. Here an' there. The sailors gams about It nights wdien they thinks I'm asleep In the fo'c's'le. An' I keeps my ears open when I waits on the hunters. But they ain't goin' to give you no share, hecoz you warn't In on the original deal. But they ain't goin' to maroon you, neither, unless Lund bucks an' you stand back of him." "How about Captain Simms?" "Carlsen sez he'll answer for him, sir. He boasts how he's goin' to marry the gal. That'll glv' him three shares countln' the skipper's. The men don't see that, but I did. He's a bloody fox, is Carlsen." "When's this coming off?" asked Rainey. "Quick I They're goin' to sight land termorrer, they say. I heard that this mornin'. I hid in my bunk." "All right, Sandy. You're smarter than I thought you were. Sure of all this?" "I ain't much to look at, sir, but I ain't had to buck my own way without Aim i ' It -k1- lihi But His Gun Was Out. As He Raised It Rainey Gripped With Him. glttln' on ter myself. Tou won't give me away, though? They'd keelhaul me." "I won't. You cut along. And If we happen to come out on top. Sandy, I'll see that you get a share out of It." "Thank you, sir." "I'll come out with you," said Rainey. "If any one comes in before you get clear. I'll give you an order. I sent for you. understand." But Sandy got hack into the galley without any trouh'e. Rainey began to pace the cabin again, and then went hack into his own room to line the thing up. Lund was asleep, but he would w alien him. lie decided, rilled with admiration at the blind man's sagacity and the way he had foreseen I he general situation. There was not much time to lose. Rainey did not see what they could do agai; st the proposition. He was sure that Lund would not consent to it. And he might have some plan. He luul hinted that he had cards up his sleeve. What Carlson's ultimate plans were Rainey did not bother himself with. That it meant the fooling of the whole crew he did not iloui-t. lie intended eventually to gather all the gold. And the girl she would he in his power. But perhaps she wanted to he? Rainey got tint of his blind alley of thought and slimed into the main cabin to give Lund the news. The girl was coining out of her father's fa-ther's room. "Any better?" asked Rainey. "No. I can't understand it. He seems hardly to know me. Doctor Carlsen came along because of father's sciatica, but there's something else and the doctor can't help It any. I can't quite understand " She trailed off in Iter speech, looking look-ing uncertainly at Rainey. The latter came to a decision. "Miss Simms." he said, "are you going to marry Doctor Carlsen?" Suddenly Rainey was aware that some one had come Into the cabin. It was Carlsen, now swiftly advancing ...ant him. lu. i'ace livid, his mouth snarling, aad his hlacl: eyes devilish wilh niisehief. "I'll attend to this end of It," he said. "I'eggy, you had better go In ro your father. I'll be in there in a minute. min-ute. He's a pretty sick man," he added. His snarl had changed to a smile, and he seemed to have swiftly controlled con-trolled himself. The girl looked at both of them and slowly went Into the captain's room. Carlsen wheeled on Rainey, his face once more a mask of hate. "I'll put you where you belong, you d d interloper," he said. "What in h I do you mean by asking her that quest ion ?" "That's my business." "I'll make it mine. And I'll settle, yours very shortly, once and for all. I suppose you're soft on the girl yourself." your-self." lie sneered. "Think yourself a hero 1 Do you think she'd look at you, a beggarly newsmonger? Why, she " "You can leave her out of It." said Rainey, quietly. "As for you, I thiuk you're a dirty blackguard." Carlson's hand shot back to his hip pocket as Rainey's fist flashed through the opening and caught hhu high on the Jaw, sending him staggering back, crashing against the partition and down Into the cushioned seat that ran around the place. But his gun was out. As he raised It Rainey grappled with him. Carlsen pulled trigger, and the bullet smashed through the skylight above them, while Rainey forced up his arm, twisting it fiercely w ith both hands until the gun fell on the seat. Simultaneously the girl and Lund appeared. "Gun-play?"- rumbled the giant. "That'll be you, Carlsen ! You're too fond of shooting off that gat of yores." Rainey had stepped back at the girl's exclamation. Carlsen recovered his gun and put it away, while Peggy Simms advanced with blazing eyes. "You coward 1" she said. "If I had thought oh !" She made a gesture of utter loathing, loath-ing, at which Carlsen sneered. "I'll show you whether I'm a coward cow-ard or not, my lady," he said, "before I get through with all of you. And I'll tell you one thing: The captain's life is in my hands. And he and I are the only navigators aboard this vessel, except a fool of a blind man," he added, add-ed, as he strode to the door of Simms cabin, turned to look at them, laughed deliberately in their faces and shut the door on them. "Well?" asked Lund, "what ere you goin' to do about it, Rainey? Stick with me, or line up with the rest of 'em, work yore passage, an' thank 'em for nothing when they divvy the stuff an' leave you out?" "You haven't said outright what you are going to do yourself," replied Rainey. "As for me, I seem to be between be-tween the devil and the deep sea. Carlsen Carl-sen has got some plan to outwit the men. It's inconceivable that he'll be willing to give them equal shares. And he has no use for me." "You ought to have grabbed that gun of liis before he did," said Lund. "He'll put you out of the way if he can, but, now his temper's bi'led over a bit, he'll not shoot you. Not afore the gold's in the hold. .-is iui iij, lie eiii. uu, 1113 iiiKt; deepening. "I found this gold, an' they didn't. I don't have to divvy with 'em, an' I won't. If enny of 'em thinks he's my equal all he's got to do is say so, an' I'll give him a chance to prove it. Feel those arms, matey, size me up. Man to man, I c'ud break enny three of 'em in half. Put me in a room with enny three of 'em, an' the door locked, an' one 'ud come out. That 'ud be me." This was not bragging, not blustering, bluster-ing, but calm assurance, and Rainey felt that Lund merely stated what he believed to be facts. And Rainey believed be-lieved they were facts. There was a confident strength of spirit aside from his physicial condition that emanated from Lund as steam comes from a kettle. ket-tle. It was the sort of strength that lies in a steady gale, a wind that one can lean against, an elastic power with big reserves of force. .But the conditions were all against Lund, though he proceeded to put them aside. "Man to man," he repeated, "I c'ud beat 'em into Hamburg steak. An' I've got brains enough to fool Carlsen. I'va outguessed him so far." "He's got the gun," warned Rainey. "Never mind his gun. I ain't afraid of his gun." He nodded with such supreme su-preme confidence that Rainey felt himself suddenly relegating the doctor's doc-tor's possession of the gun to thg background. "If his gun's the only thing trubblin' you, forget it. You an' me got to know where we stand. It's up to you. I won't blame you for shift in' over. An' I can git along without with-out you. if need lie. But we've got along together fine; I've took a notion to you. I'd like to see you get a whack of that gold, an' all the devils in h I an' out of it ain't goin' to stop me from gitt.n' it !" "High per.k, sir. Dead ahead! j Clouds on cr smoke." i (TO EK CONTINUED.) |