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Show aniBM-i tiu Ben Am ls Wi lliams P fe VJ'.r'i V. lami"' ClIAl'TKU XVU Continued. IS When she ended. Mat Forbes spoke. "Ma'am, I'm not saying you're right or wrong; but we've nothing to go on." "We've got to look at it straight." he pointed out. "We can ask Mr. Corr to go back; but if he won't, why he's the Captain. Cap-tain. We can't make him, unless we know for sure." To attempt to compel him in any way. or even to disobey his commands, com-mands, was an action tainted with y mutiny; and Mat, as the whispered discussion proceeded, repeatedly pointed this out. "He says Cap'n Corr was killed. He's logged it that way; and he can't go back on that, if it's true or not. He's got to stick to it; and short of handling him, there's nothing noth-ing we can do." "But I know he's lying," Mary pleaded. "I know Cap'n Corr's alive." She felt Corkran's eyes upon , her; and she appealed to him. V" "Don't you, Corkran?" Corkran was a long moment in replying; re-plying; and before he spoke, his eyes swung from her to George. "Reverence," he asked gravely, "what do you say? Are you for going go-ing back?" "Yes." "Would you be thinking to satisfy the young lady, so she'll know he's dead? Is that maybe it?" "N'o. No, I'm sure he's alive. He's hurt, maybe. If he weren't, he'd have come to the boats. But I think he's surely alive." x "Then it's knowing he's alive that you'll want to go back and get him?" "Yes, certainly." Corkran stood up, and turning to the mate, said simply: "Mr. Forbes, if himself here says go back, then I say go. If he said not, I'd say no; but we'll do. what he's wanting." Mat Forbes nodded. "Yes, certain. cer-tain. I'd say go back, if we'd anything any-thing to go on. But it's hard to say to Peter that he's got to go back without knowing something." "There's a way to know," Cork-ran Cork-ran told him quickly. "Gee was with them ashore. Whatever happened, Gee knows. Gee's hated Cap'n Corr, and talked killing ever since the Cap'n had him flogged. Maybe he was in this, maybe not; but whatever what-ever happened, he knows about it" This was, clearly, true. If Peter had lied about Richard's movements on shore at Hoakes Bay, Gee must know it Mary whispered earnestly: "Yes, yes! Don't you see, Mr. Forbes? Gee must know." CHAPTER XYm A half hour later Corkran reported that Gee, after some "persuading," had given him enough information to justify turning back. Mat then led the way into the common room aft, and he moved with a certain heedlessness, careless of the noise he might make. There he lighted cne of the hanging lamps, and Corkran lighted another; and Mat turned toward the door of the Captain's cabin where Peter was aslppn. But before he could touch the 1 door, it opened and Peter faced them. He stared from one to the other. There were six men and Mary, Ma-ry, against him alone. Peter must have read their faces; and guilt for a moment flickered in his so plainly every man there could see it. He leaped backward and slammed the door shut; but before he could bolt it, Corkran's weight against it forced it open and threw Peter headlong against the cabin wall, and Corkran after a moment's struggle pinned him helpless there. Then Peter, his voice cracking, asked in a sharp panic: "What is this, anyway? What's the matter?" Mat Forbes said: "Bring him out here, Mr. Corkran." "What's the matter?" Peter demanded. de-manded. "What is this, mutiny?" Mary, watching him almost with sympathy, thought again that his beard was like a mask behind which his eyes flickered. Peter cried: "Blast you, get out of here, back where you belong!" Mat Forbes spoke almost gently. "Mr. Corr, we're going back to Hoakes Bay to find Cap'n Corr." "Find him?" Peter wetted his dry lips. "He's gone." "We'll have a try, anyway." "You can't find him. I told you what happened to him!" Mat said: "We're going back to y have a look, and Gee tells a different differ-ent story. "Gee?" This was Peter. "Yes. He says you told him to say a lion killed Cap'n Corr; but he says Cap'n Corr never came out of the tussocks on the way up the ridge." "He's a liar!" "Not Gee. He wasn't lying. He knew it wasn't safe to." j. "Then you scared him. A scared darky will say anything you want him to. I tell you he's lying." "We'll go back and see for sure." Mat asked almost pleadingly: "Will you go along, sir? Or do we have to iron you?" Peter, seeming to consider, moved absently toward the desk. He stood with one hand on top of it, looking down at it, his side toward them. Corkran had left the upper drawer a little pulled out; and suddenly Peter's Pe-ter's hand dropped into that drawer. But before he could fetch the weapon clear, Corkran with a leap ! bore him side-wise and down. The j heavy revolver clattered against the edge of the drawer, was jerked by 1 his fall from Peter's hand. Mat Forbes picked it up. Corkran held Peter flat, twisted him on his stomach, stom-ach, dragged him to his feet, Peter was stony silent now. Mat Forbes turned to Mary. "You and Mr. McAusland move in here, into these cabins," he said briefly. "I'll iron him to the mizzenmast." Later Mat came to speak to her. He was white with strain, but his voice was calm and steady. "He's secured," he said. "I've left Mr. Corkran with him, and the door's bolted between. You'll be safe here. I'll go call the watch and wear ship, make back for Hoakes Bay. We'll be there, with luck, soon after day. Mr. McAusland can take the Cap'n's cabin. You have yours." It was upon Mat Forbes that the responsibility for the Venturer and those aboard her now fell. Half persuaded per-suaded by Mary, and then convinced by Gee's enforced confession, he had accepted the necessity of leading what was technically a mutiny. He had not read that treason never prospers, since if it succeed then none dare call it treason; but he understood quite clearly the implications im-plications of his own position. If Richard were found, dead or alive. Mat's, action would be justified. If Richard were not found, then he and V, "I'll shoot you if yoa do!" George retorted. those who had supported him In making Peter captive were simply mutineers, damned not only by the laws but by all the tradition of the sea. So, for their salvation, Richard must be found. Mat, on the way back to Hoakes Bay, questioned Gee. The Negro repeated that he and Richard and Peter started through the tall tussock grass up toward the pond where the geese had lighted; that they entered the grass abreast. and that when he emerged at the upper border of the grass, he was first, and Peter presently appeared, but Captain Corr did not. Beyond that, he swore in beseeching terror, he knew only what the mate had told him. "Believed what he told you, did you?" Mat demanded. "Yas, suh." Mat said evenly: "You're a liar! There wasn't any beach in the tussocks, tus-socks, nor any sea lions. You knew well enough nothing like that happened hap-pened to the Cap'n in there." With one strong motion he ripped Gee's shirt off his back. "Get a boat spade, Rannels," he directed. "Cut a hole through his small, cut the truth out of him!" Rannels said with a relish: "Take my knife. It's nicked, and dull, and jagged as a saw; but you can hack a couple of rib chops out of him with it." At the fearful picture Rannels' words evoked, Gee surrendered altogether alto-gether and damned Peter beyond denial. He said the mate had given him a pearl, and promised him a rich reward later, if he would tell the tale and stick to it. Gee appeared to have no more to tell, but Mat had no remaining doubt of Peter's guilt. Yet even so it was necessary that Richard be found, alive or dead, for final proof. Mat had no intention of evading the issue. is-sue. If Richard were not found, he must release Peter and return him to command, and himself submit to the arrest that would follow when the Venturer reached Stanley. But if Richard were found, then the situation would be in Richard's hands. So he must be found. Mat decided that when they came to anchor an-chor again in Hoakes Bay, he would send Corkran to command, and direct di-rect the search ashore. Corkran was wise and strong. Mat himself, clearly, had better stay on board the Venturer. Someone must keep an eye on Peter, and on Gee; for the two prisoners and the ship herself her-self were the key to the situation. So Mat would stay aboard. He meant to send ashore as many men as possible, to prosecute the search for Richard with the best chance of success. George clearly could not go. His strength would not permit it. Mary would wish to stay with her husband. A matters developed, one other man stayed aboard the Venturer. After the anchor was down, since the wind was freshening, Mat ordered or-dered the suils all furled. This meant sending the men aloft. Hurd, the little Cockney, descending afterward, after-ward, in some way fell the last few feet to the deck. He landed on his feet; but he howUd with pain, and when he tried to stninl he could not Apparently he had broken a bone in his ankle, or suffered a severe sprain; certainly he would be of no use ashore. So when the boats put off, twelve men went in them; or rather, eleven men and Tommy Hanline. Corkran commanded one boat, Big Pip the other. Seven men and Mary were left aboard. Hurd was in the forecastle. fore-castle. Gee and Peter in irons below, be-low, George in his bunk in the Captain's Cap-tain's cabin, Willie Leepcr in his galley,, and Mat and Rannels and Mary on deck to watch the boats depart i Rannels, like the other harpoon-ers, harpoon-ers, was by the etiquette of the ship restricted in his movements, forbidden forbid-den to come to the after house except ex-cept on business. So while the boats moved away from the vessel's side, he stood alone in the waist. Mary and Mat were together by the rail just forward of the after house. They saw the boats land and saw the men haul them high and dry. It occurred to Mat to inspect Peter's Pe-ter's irons. He called to the har-pooner: har-pooner: "Take a look at Gee, Rannels." Ran-nels." The other man went obediently obedi-ently toward the fore hatch, and Mat descended into the cabin with Mary. He slid back the bolt on the door between the common room and the main cabin. Peter sat there at the table, his hands in front of him, the irons on his wrists passed through the loop of chain around the mizzen; and he met Mat's eyes, but he did not speak. Mat closed the door and bolted it again. When he turned, Mary stood in the doorway door-way of the Captain's cabin; and George was on his feet inside the cabin, facing her, and coughing a little. Mat Forbes felt rather than saw a shadow pass along the skylight over his head. He looked up sharply sharp-ly at the skylight too late to see anything; and then he took the revolver re-volver out of his belt and cocked it and stepped quickly toward the companionway. He started to ascend. Mary came to the foot of the companionway; and his feet were level with her shoulders, his head just emerging from the companion, when she heard the crack of the smashing blow that felled him. The revolver, without being discharged, dis-charged, dropped out of his hand and clattered down to her feet. Mat slumped forward limply on his face, his body sprawling on the deck, his legs hanging down the companion-way. companion-way. Rannels shouted something; and she looked up and saw the har-pooner, har-pooner, his face red with excitement excite-ment grab Mat by the collar. Mary snatched the revolver from the floor; but Rannels hauled Mat out of sight before she could shoot. On deck crossed to her side, took the weapon from her. Looking up, he whispered: "What happened?" She was strangely not excited. "Rannels killed Mat!" she told him simply. Through the companion above them they could see the sky, the rain-filled clouds, the after rail. They heard Rannels speaking. "Watch the companion," he pant- . ed, his voice thick. "I'll go get him loose, and Gee. You stay here, and if anybody shows a head, bust 'em." Mary did not know Hurd was aboard. She looked at George and saw, with a quickening respect and admiration, that he was calm; that strength had run into him to meet this emergency. He said: "Go get the guns out of the rack and load them. I'll watch here, in case they try to come down." She said from across the cabin by the arms rack: "It's locked. The guns are locked in." "Can you break it open?" "No! I don't see how." "Then find the bomb gun." She turned to look for that huge and awkward weapon. Someone tried the bolted door between; and Peter called to them sharply: "Mary, let me in." George said strongly: "No, Peter." Pe-ter." "You sick fool, I'll break down the door." Peter's voice cracked as it was likely to in moments of emotion. emo-tion. "I'll shoot you if you do!" George retorted. He made a sign to Mary to hurry; his lips shaped the words: "Bomb gun!" Peter was whispering to Rannels in the main cabin. George and Mary could hear the murmur, but no words. Mary found the bomb gun, as heavy as a small cannon. Luckily it was loaded. The voices in the main cabin could no longer be heard; and there was no sound on the deck above their heads. She asked George: "Will that bomb explode if it hits anything?" "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know how they work." He grinned doubtfully. "Richard said the back end of a gun like this does as much damage as the front, but it's better than nothing; and if that bomb hits anyone, even if it doesn't explode, they'll know it!" (TO BE CONTINUED) |