Show D A A wair in isay fiss fj ea sa ma f story of by RANDALL north C j copyright A C mcclurg a co CHAPTER continued 20 lenaord and 1 I were the last and we wc ae left it the dinghy behind us dangling and crushed against the steel side of the schooner upheld only by the strength of the rope it was waa nil the work of a feverish int minute nute in which thought wits was impossible because of the stress of notion but now as I 1 clung breathless to those lower ratlines rat lines the seven of us jammed upon ulon ul on the little platform tile the green surge of water below blushing shing against the wreck wo we had just left the strange silence once of this vessel which we had hoarded boarded struck tile me with full force in heavens name what could it menn mean it was broad daylight if thorn thern was a ninn mun nilve aboard lio lie could never have foiled failed to see or hear us its in tills this fierce struggle for life yet no one was visible no sound of voice was hoard heard no face peered over at us its neove tile rail it vius like ift ghost schooner and I 1 felt the very heart of tile me chill as I 1 stared into the he blank faces of my huddled companions and along the shiny sides igind tho deserted rail tilts Is a ruin go sir ventured lenaord soberly aint she got tic no crew 1 I dont know what to make of it I 1 confessed but well soon find out help the lady Lea leaford Leay yord oid olson come with me we footed the ropes and swung up lip to the anil clinging there long enough to gain swift view of the deck beyo beyond nol it was ns as clenn clean ns as a millionaires yacht and had the appearance of one with glistening and paint fresh and bright every rope seemed coiled in place tile the still sail gaskets firmly tied the planks spotless f the canvas IS as white ns though just out of the he rail loft my mv eyes surveyed the whole fore and ancl aft the low lov forecastle the lie cooks f my imy heaven olson olion theres not a sailor on deck galley with door standing wide open revealing it fireless stove stoe the boats in chocks not one slog slag the after cabin on the lock deck let le i its companion door ajar the wheel astern outlined against the sky swinging slightly to a lashing of rope and nowhere a human doing I 1 could scarcely believe the evidence of my own eyes I 1 If heavens eavens olson theres vot not a sailor on n deck clock I 1 gasped no sir sar it bents beats me ive ie been at sea BOO it n long time sir but I 1 never neer see sec like this they aint to left at for fer tile the bonts boats are all there an the chool lavished ashes just a n herself theres no dign of any trouble aboard why those decks are scrubbed like a floor hurry up Lea leaford yord th the schooner seems deserted come on mate we vo shall bare to clear flits mystery up we W sprang down on the deck and the others ahme tumbling over the roll rail aft afar r iia us each face expressive of mys vera touched my sleeve lir eyes searching mine what can have happened I 1 1 I do not la in tho least know I 1 anew ered tile the mystery mastery Is 14 too deep to guess at al there has been no storm no fire no evidence of desertion every boat seems to be in its proper place the only thing I 1 can call think of ns as possible Is 13 drink the whole crew may be doinik hut but that seems like a dream we cant stand here doing nathl nothing ng white you are nr not of much use with that broken arm so remain alongside side miss carrington keep your our edem open lenaord kenyor Len yord you and I 1 will have ha fro in peep into inlo that cabin the rest or iou YOU take the forecastle do bo careful di aill but dont miss misi anything scatter 66 now I 1 tho the Comp companion anlon door and entered in advance the cabin floor wits was on a level with tile the main I 1 deck and its lt glass front flooded the interior with light A glance revealed revel led everything and I 1 stood motionless my ni breath caught in my throat threat my hand band artill till grip gripping the edgo edge of the door 1 wat aware that lenaord peered in across my shoulder and heard his hl startled lips utter titter one muffled flon it was n low celled apartment lod white with ports porta along the EJ J ai sides tile the only cing lift A bright hued rug covered the floor and there were leather divans under the ports the table la ili tile the center was fully set for a meal covered with a white cloth and glistening bravely with china and glass there was food lit in abundance partially eaten and wille glasses half hair filled I 1 saw till all these det details alls I 1 recalled them afterwards yet in ili that first instant of horror the impression left upon me was ns merely of those silent motionless figures sitting upright in heir chairs it was it i sight I 1 A gront great monster onster ni of a ninn faced me ills his white ghastly face above a shaggy gray board beard his sightless open eav berei staring full into mine A binl fallen from its ills opened fingers and len on the lock leek indeed everyone had apparently died us as by it a stroke fc retaining exactly the posture last its as sinned in III life to the right of the brond bron d shouldered flored slant glant wits was a thin young fellow scarcely out of lits his teens cens but with a hard repulsive filco face anil and tit at ills his left a dark faced man almost a negro grinned hor bor rahly as though lind had stricken bilm even as h ho laughed nothing could hp he more awful to look upon fluell tilt alio gleam of his tooth teeth beneath tit alio f curt curl of his 1113 mustache there wore ere ss six ix altogether live britting frit ting upright in swivel chairs cli alra screwed to the lock deck or loaning leaning forward with heads resting on oil the lie table the sixth gray halrid ared and partially bald tind had fallen sideways and lay iny in it shapeless heap on the he rug they hild had the look of sen sea inari and were roughly dressed three of them plainly foreigners one with rings in his ears the big man alone possessed the appearance of leadership I 1 saw nil all this in that hint one swift glance breath had find not come sobbing back to me when ft hen Leav hand blind crushed my arm and his voice rumbled in my ear see captain 1 there dead bend nil dead dcarl P yes I 1 answered choking over the words there Is no doubt of that something terrible lifts has occurred here call call tile the other men I 1 hear him stumble out through tho the companion door and the roar of hla his voice ns as he flouted to those thore fo forward rivard I 1 could distinguish the sound of their feet on the deck but could not remove my gaze from that awful sight in the cabin the eyes of that giant dead man staring tit nt me so fixedly across tile the table held me as in a vise there was something so ghastly so terrible about their expression ns as to tn rob me of nil all sense all courage the men joined tile me liverpool entering in advance and pushing past where I 1 stood I 1 have no recollection recollect lon of seeing the others although I 1 felt and heard their presence but I 1 saw him marked his sudden stop the quick blanching of hla his face and te sharp oath which burst from ill hl tile the swift incredulous look of surprise of recognition which leaped into ills his eyes ile he yaa wring staring straight into the ghastly race face of the giant opposite I 1 doubt lf if lie ho even saw tiny nt nf the others ir heart eart of the devil detill I 1 lie he shouted if it conston do de lys lesl I 1 so youve got it nt at last you old hound ile ho leaped forward circled the table a single stride hate memory whatever the impulse might be conquering all benr and gripped his hand blind liard hard on the dead mans shoulder and then lie stiffe every muscle of his body stricken I 1 could see benth d nth strike ill him ills his jaw set ills his eyes ft fixed x mi instant lie ho stood rigid then ills Nl whole lole form seemed to contract and ho he fell lifeless to tile the leek deck I 1 sprang toward him but masters gripped me and hurled buried roe me back hands ON off nil of you youl V ho he nc cream reamed walt wait I 1 dont lay jay a finger on tiny of them you are dead men it if you to do what do you moan mean what Is it tile the most diabolical bit of deltry ever contrived 11 he adf an ered these men have hare been killed by electricity the ho current Is still on I 1 hoard board ft the whir of the dynomo as I 1 come cattle aft dont move until I 1 fin find the he switch and and disconnect for gods sake stand where you 0 are re perhaps ho he wits gone five minutes I 1 could never tell I 1 sow saw nothing but those dead men heard nothing but the heavy breathing of my mates in the doorway no one spoke but tit once it seemed to me I 1 caught the ho throb of 0 that deadly dynamo yet even ns as I 1 seemed to distinguish the inina sound it ceased abruptly masters pushed in past me ay that was the truth he be EC said id hut but atiq enfa enough now lord rid did you ever hear of such a d cold blooded crith see here men the villain planned his job well hero bere are the nores along aba he deck presse pressed 1 I into n seam and connected to ench each swivel chair see tho the circuit la IR complete and noone would ever suspect all lie he had to do was vias stand back there in the stewards pantry and press the switch those six men died before they could wink an eye hut the he fellow who did it what has become of him insera Mn sera shook his hi a iad WI 1 dont know sir but there must most have been bap one there more 0 A f W these d dead ad men could have turned the trick Pt haps it was that cuss dangling over or the side captain said bald whites voice from back behind the others what Is that theres a follow fellow goi go jammed in n small bout boat alongside I 1 r I 1 just imp hop bened to look over awl and saw him ali angin there wo we were glad enough to escape that cabin of horror and I 1 slid C corn on panton door to and bolted it before following white acres tile ho fleck dock to the lie starboard rail H xIt etl as I 1 woi I 1 obsessed by tills awful tragedy my mind yet vet grasped every detail the shining tho the spotless flocks docks tile the white bouts bonta in ili their davits dat the snowy canvas aloft the very till lin macula toness of tile vessel seemed to add to the horror and it was it shook lc to even road read tile schooners ners nall name painted on a of gasp A glance below revealed the whole story of the accident it i clear enough to bo be road rend dinst it r a 2 sailors eyes eves the man I 1 in n in bi P tit nt escape had chosen ono one of the smaller boats ant lit one staunch and well equipped no doubt it had and been secretly y prepare in advance for the lockers contained food and a honker beaker of fresh winter was securely lasho lashed d to a front thwart there was ia also a spar and still sail aboard safely secured together with a pair of serviceable oars what had find happened ns as seemed dealto us ni was tills this in henvy heavy brassbound brass bound hound chest of odd workmanship and dingy appearance had and been stowed stoned away in the jows bows it must have been placed there with rope and pulley for no single pair of arms could ever have lifted it over the anih then the follow fellow bad clambered in enger eager to bo be off no no doubt and undertaken to lower the boat standing probably amidships where he could manipulate both ropes but tho the forward ropo rope must have jammed in the pulley permitting ahn storn stem of the suspended boat to sag suddenly enough to send the heavy chest sliding elldon aft before lie could check the fall or save himself by leaping overboard it ha had 1 I pinned ills his legs against the stern sheets and there ho he dangled still ills his face burled buried in tho the green water alongside his knees crushed helplessly beneath the weight of the chest tin an inert dead I 1 dy tile the fellow ellow pot got ills his clr id dd lon lea yord solemnly likely enough killed by the very thing he was bryin to IQ git away with what shall we do with the boat and in it sir serl untangle that pulley slowly and holst hoist up even with the rall rail I 1 answered nit well have n look nt at the man and find out in tho the chest its an odd looking tiff affair air I 1 helped balance it arid and with white using his uninjured arm we drew W the lend dead mans hotly body in over the rail the two mates released ills his limbs from the grip of the chest and we lam laid mm him out on the deck lie ile was an ill looking follow deeply tanned wiit a n livid sear scar across one check and tin an anchor tattooed on his forearm lenaord drew a paper out of the inner pocket of 0 his bis shirt and pasted passed it over to me it was a letter with no dd dateline or signature nat tire rind find had been io fo f o soaked in salt water as to be almost illegible T the he only conn connecting erting words I 1 could study out were do DC lys LS lins has all its his men but a cook try to get an I 1 hell never know you after those epars 1 does it tell you anything bir air asked olson oison anxiously 11 not much only tills his fellow sailed ns as cook and got tile the job for a purpose lie ile had known de lys years before do lys yes that was iras the name of the big fellow in the robin lie must have been tit nt the head of the party the one liverpool know its as gaston anston tic do lys lya f it t that chest onto the dock no doubt UHS tile secret Is there CHAPTER A secret of the sea wo we were compelled to resort to rope tind and pulley and then search through lie dead nian s clothes to discover tile the I 1 key I 1 aven ven with that found it required the lie sharp chirp edge of ff n hatchet to force open the cover As it lifted the sight was granted with cries of astonishment good lord sir its it s money and a stack of english and french coins I 1 aye and spanish I 1 whites voice broke in above the babble the old harsh croak I 1 r remembered so BO well well see bee here lads he shouted whose Is A nil all this gold anyhow aint it just naturally ot oisa s its sure no good to these yere vero dead men nil an there want else good when we come then why it ourn now to divide share tin nn share about we undoubtedly have a claim I 1 answered for entrago and f the heirs of the rightful owners are unable to prove themselves themselves justly entitled to the gold perhaps we might hold bell the entire amount time Illi lel I 1 snorted white the use ol 01 0 nil all abit poppycock I 1 these fellows likely enough stole the money or else dug it ft up somewhere sonn where it never belonged to them eny coy moren tt it does docs to us nobody knows knowis tho the st uneven ex I 1 ests 8 ts why s should au id we NYC go around i about it im fer dIvI dial tt it up lip square t between tho the five 0 us no by li beav e a ire ens ns ril III count the girl for a full ashare lu re the six air and never say kayln lift nuth lit in about it when we c go ashore aint unit that tile ilio lest best way mates inn tea do you agree to this sir mr Loa yord I 1 asked irked suddenly ile he sifted lifted ills his eyes to mine in be 1 I dont just know knotte sir or ho he stam slam red it seem exactly the lie sunru thing Is 13 1 3 it sirl no its not I 1 answered flir annly nily ind and I 1 slummed down tho the cover locked it and put the key in my pocket now look here men and you particularly jim white tills this our gold I 1 tic do not I 1 iw who it belongs belong to or how bow ond end men ever came enni into its pos eslon e sl hut but there la Is it curse on the stuff which has cost the lives of eight wen men that wo know of no mw line lias has toll clied it hilt but it to ile die ill toll tell you ion fellows plainly just what ini im going 0 lie do im going to still tills schooner straight into st johns harbor with dead men inen locked in the cabin lind this flits chest of gold hero here unopened on the lock deck it la Is going to ile ho edg english lish courts which will |