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Show I ; rm FOOD FOR SKEPTICS I ". W ; By JOHN BARTON OXFORD mmmS m iliaMwl3varNs, liKl I pST MM MMM; 8j pRI Hi 3S&S rmH H I "-U3T as the first gray streaks In H J the sky to tho cast were herald- Hj ing tho approach of " day, the Mj weird, nerve-racking walls, which had H 1 Bounded intermittently Birice .midnight H from the branches of a maplo close H ; i to the bedroom windows, began again. H Scarcely had tho first melancholy Hl . noto shattered tho frosty stillness H i when, tho back door was opened cautl- H oosly, and down the steps camo Cap- H j tain Solomon Beale, tho collar of his H hastily donned overcoat turned up H about hla neck, and his bare feet H thrust into a pair of well-worn carpet H J slippers. H t In one hand he bore a stout gunny- H ! sack; ia the other waB a qaucer of H I cream, which ho balanced gingerly as M he tiptoed to the foot of the maple. -niBu up ja mo Drancnes above his H i had, a furry ebon ball, crouched on H ; one of tho spreading limbs, showed H I him tho position of the enemy. H ' The captain's lips set In grim de- H '. termination. lie held out the saucer H ' o cream in enticing fashion, the H ,, while herntrove to work something H l'ko blandishment into a voice of un- H 'J usual gxyflaess. H "Come, kitty, como!" he coaxed, but H I the black ball above him, possessed. B ', Bscmlugly, of Borne inkling as to the H jl true inwardness of tho captain's sud- H , den hospitality, refused to venture H ' from Its retreat A pair of green H- t eys stared down at him, as if already H ' thoy moro than half suspected tho B .' trccbary ho was planning. Hj i ' Captain Beale put down the paucer H j at the foot of the tree and moved H j away a few paces. Thero was a light B ' movement of tho branches, tho Bound til outspread olaws upon the bark, !nnd down the trunk came the cat, ualffod auspiciously tho contents of the saucer, and then began to Hck the H cream with a relish that wbb moat B apparent. Hj Tho grim expression upon Oaptain m M Bfude's face becam more 'pronounced. 1 n-TM-nt l A He took one cautious step forward, and then another. Engrossed In the feast before it, tho cat paid not tho least attention to the stealthy approach. ap-proach. It was only when tho captain was close beside It, that it condescended conde-scended to turn its attention from tho croam, and then It was too late; for the captain, with an agility surprising in a man of his years, suddenly leaped forward and caught the black body by tho napo of tho neck. Vainly did the cat give vent to Its outraged reelings; vainly did it struggle strug-gle to effectively ubo its teeth and claws. In a trlco tho captain had thrust it into the gunny-sack, the neck of which he tiod with a piece of stout twine. Panting, but triirmphant, he laid the wriggling bundle, from which came tho sounds of a lost soul in tho deepest deep-est woe, upon the ground. He turned to cast a hurried and guilty glance at tho windows of tho houso next door, half oxpec'clng to find thero numerous protesting witnesses to his perfidy; but the windows of tho house next door remained discreetly curtained. Thanking his lucky stars for this de-Iievorance de-Iievorance of his enemy into his hands, Captain Beale picked up tho sack, bore it into the house, and wont up-stalrs to array himself somewhat moro fully. It was only too obvious that a man, bearing a bundla of such liveliness as tho 3ack bade fair to bo, could never hope to go through tho village streets in broad daylight Tvithout attracting unpleasant attention to himself. Therefore, as coon as the captain had completed a hurried toilet, ho came into tho kitchen, took up the sack, and while yet tho town was wrapped in Blumber, made hia way to the water-front, where his schooner, a II t-tlo t-tlo craft of aome hundred tons, lay at tho dock, her cargo of potatoes aboard, all ready to Ball with the morning tide. But oven in the half-light of early morning tho captain was not without a certain breathless aT:Iety as he hurried hur-ried along the silent, deserted streots, the gunny-sack over his shoulder and the cat within It sending out soulful protests every step 'of the way. Indeed, it was only when he gained tho dock, scrambled aboard tho Lu-clnda, Lu-clnda, and tossed his burden unceremoniously uncer-emoniously into the spare stateroom of the little cabin, that ho found courage to draw a long breath. "Thero, drat ye!" he apostrophized tho sack, "squall your1 In'ards out now for all I care or for 'all the good it will do ye! I'll learn ye to come sneakin round that maple by my bedroom bed-room every night I tryto stay ashore, keopin' me awako with your Infernal yowlin'. Go on; keep it) up now; don't mind mo! Have your luu while you can I cal'late you've pretty nigh yowled your last yowl, and spit your last spjt. I sum. I'd heave you overboard over-board pow, if it wa'n't for the tide takln' you ashore and them Rider folks next door gettin' suspicious that I drowned ye. I'll jest keep ye trussed up In the bag till we git outside, and then over you go like the wuthless carcass you are. I guess likely next time I stay ashore here In my own house I'll git a little moro peace, so fur as you arc concerned, anyway." stateroom, crossed tho cabin, and threw himself into his own berth to snatch, what sleep ho might before it was time to start for Rockvlllo with tho cargo. He was awakened somewhat later by the sound of heavy footsteps on tho deck over his head. IIo arose and went up tho companionway to ilnd his two foremast hands, and Joe Blair, his cook, but Just come aboard. "All right, boys," ho greeted them cordially. "Glad you got here brlLht and early. May as well git under way right off. TIdo's settin' jc-st; right for us now. Git brkrabc goin', Joo. Look- alive the)-?, for'ard. Cast off them lines." In a fow moments the Lucinda was drifting with tho tldo away from the dock, and presently, with all sail set, she went careening across tho bay toward the open sea. It was after ho had eaten one of Joe Blalr'B excellent breakfasts that Captain Bealo's mind returned to tho spare stateroom and tho sack therein. Ho arose from the table, and, thrusting thrust-ing his head out of the qompanlonway, mentally noted tho schooner's position. posi-tion. Far away tho shore was but a hazy blue line; whllo just ovor tho port bow loomed tho gray shaft of tho lighthouse on Flat Island. Tho captain chuckled. ' j "TJils is 3,8 good as any. place," he told himself. "The tlde'll Wver wash It ashore from here." ' Ho descended to tho cabin, oponed the stateroom-door and drow out the sack. With much Yocal effort, the unwilling tenant had well-nigh exhausted ex-hausted Itself, but as the bag was lifted it summoned sufficient spirit to send up a last wall that would have killed tho lust spark of pity in tho captain's heart, had such a spark existed. ex-isted. As It was, ho stolidly carried the bag to the deck, and looked about for a convenient piece of scrap-iron to servo as sinking-weight. He was Intent on his task of securely se-curely lashing a piece of spare chain to the neck of tho bag when Joe Blair, with a basket of dirty dishes on his arm, camo up from tho cabin. He spied the captain seated on the bltts forward and made his way thither. "What you goin' to do with that, cap'n?" ho demanded. Captain Beale went on with his work without so much as looking up. "I'm goin' to hoavo this bag over," said he, "So? What yer got in tho bag?" The contents of tho bag answered for itself. There came from its depth a wall of misery that would have melted tho heart of an Idol. Joe Blair started perceptibly. He set down the basket of dishes and looked accusingly at his supprior. Jts a cat," ne said. Captain Beale bristled. Hard lines appeared about the corners of his mouth. "Well, rt'hat of that,?" said he. "What you goin' to do with that cat?" tho cook questioned in a tone that boded trouble. "Do with it?' the captain snapped. "What do you s'pose. D'yer think I was goin' to uso it for a figgcr-head? I'm goin' to do jest what I told yer I war. heave R overboard " Joe Blair's brow darkened. He pushed back bis Boiled cap and scratched his bead in doubtful fashion. It was plain ho wanted to speak his mind, and yot felt some hesitancy In doing so. He shifted from foot to foot, and looked helplessly at tho basket of dishes at his feet. "Saj'," ho ventured at length, "say, I ain't exactly what you'd call a superstitious su-perstitious man, which ain't sayin', neither, that I ain't .got my peculiarities. peculiari-ties. But I was on a vessel once tho. old Starlight, bound for Mara-calbo, Mara-calbo, it was and they had a cat aboard that took sick, and they hove it overboard; and afler that " "Yc3, yes. I know," tho captain interrupted in-terrupted irritably. "You've told mo all about that once or twlco before? Thero ain't nothln' like that goin' to happen this time. Thle ain't tho ship's cat. It's ono I fetched aboard a purpose to drowned." v "It don't make no 'difference' the ccok maintained doggedly, "it's, bad luck to heave a cat over, no matter whero it camo frpm, nor how it got aboard. Say, what color is It9" "Black," said tho captain with incautious in-cautious truth. Joe Blair fairly gasped. "Black!" he cried. "Say, you don't mean you'd heave a black cat overboard, do ye?" "I ain't so terrible partial as to colors," was tho captain's sardonic response. "Don't you go to heavln' no black cats off'n this Bchoonor!" tho cook said in a shaking voice. Beale stiffened. "So here, you blasted grease-skimmer," he bellowed, "I'm cap'n of this craft. You want to remember that. I shall most proba- t bly do about as I'm mind to, and that j blasted cat is goin' over see?" "If she does," tho cook threatened, "I'll git out of this schooner see'f 1 don't. I'll git out of her as soon as we git to Rockvlllc If wo ever do," he ended gloomily. The throat struck Captain Beale in a vulnerable spot. Tho ono boast of his otherwise modest nature was of the superiority of his cook. All too well ho remembered the galley regimo beforo Joo Blair had shipped with him. All too well he pictured tho soggy biscuits nnd tho greasy hash of Joe's predecessor. What mattered tho cat's presence for a few days. anyway? He could manage to tako tho peHt ashore when thoy arrived at Rockville and lose it somewhere The main thing was to get rid of it. Whero or how were secondary considerations. con-siderations. Therefore Captain Beale unbent. "Well. If you'ro so terribly touchy about It, take the critter into tho galley, then," he commanded, "and keop her there out of my sight until wo git to Rockville." "I tell ye I ain't what you'd call a superstitious man," tho cook reiterated, reiter-ated, ''but you'd got into some kind of a scrape if you'd drowndod her." He picked up the sack and slouched off toward the galley. Captain Beale, with a grunt of disgust, as much for his own weakness as for tho cook's, stalked aft to tho wheel. It was ideal weather that followed them that trip. Tho wind held fair and brisk; the fogs, usually prevalent in Hiobo waters In tho early spring, were conspicuous only by Ihclr absence. ab-sence. In the galley Joo Blair made friends with the cat and fed it upon tho best the lockers afforded. "Havln' a good run of It this trip, ain't we, cap'n?" ho observed to Beale tho third day out, with a grin that angored tho captain. "Couldn't be better as I see," tho skipper replied. "Know what makes It?" the cook questioned, with a meaning Jerk oLhls head. "It's the cat." Nor was It onlj tho piopitious' i weather that Joe Blair ascribed to the cat'B presence. When they discovered the old leak, that had caused thorn more or less trouble the last trip, had stopped, it was tho cat according to Joe. Nothing but the cat saved one of tho foremast hands from serious injury when he fell from aloft, and, by something in tho nature1 of. a miracle, mira-cle, landed unhurt upon his feet on the deck. Again It was the cat that steered them into a school of pollock, and brought the cook the luck of, landing land-ing some hundred and fifty pounds of them as he trolled a line astern. Day by day tho cat's benign influence influ-ence grew apace; and day by day Captain Bealo waxed more wroth and disgusted. "Say, after the luck' we've had this trip, I dunno aB I should want to go to sea again in this schooner, if tiie cat wa'n't along," tho cook confided, and tho remark set Captain Beale to thinking aud plauuing. Plainly the cat was becoming all too popular. She bado fair to bo a permanent fixture unless something l was done to shadow her with dls-l repute. Somehow or other suspicion I must be brought to rest on her. Cap-, tain Beale meditated long and deeply. "I don't want to lose such a cook, and I'll bo eternally cussed If I'll have a cat aboard." he rumlnnfoH "T ' guess likely the best way out of It is to have something nulucky happen whilo she's aboard. Something unlucky, un-lucky, that's the ticket," he repeated with a chuckle, a plan already beginning be-ginning to unfold itself to his mind. Long that evening Captain Beale sat beforo the little table in the cabin, figuring laboriously. "She's got to go on the ways before long and have some new plunk in her bottom, anyway," he mused, the whllo a smile of satisfaction wreathed his homely face. He consulted an almanac al-manac at his elbow. "Now, if she was to hit Shovel Rip Ledge to-jnor-rer, say about six in tho evonin', tho wust she'd do would be to hang there till high tldo, long about nine, and, maybe, pound out a plank or two. Sho might jest as well go on tho ways this trip as any. That's the ticket; let her pound out a couple of plank whilo she's hangin' on tho ledge Jest enough to git her leakln' so'st all hands, includtn' tho cook, wll have to work tho pumps for dear life tho rest of the way to Rockville, and thon let's see what becomes of that cuBsed cat's reputation. I'll bet they'll heave her over themselves." To aid tho captain in his plan, the next afternoon a gray mist began to rise from the sea. Steadllv it thickened, thick-ened, until by five o'clock "it was an impenetrable pall. In the bow tho fog-horn in the hands of the lookout boomed and bar-r-r-hed in monotonous tasUion, sending out its hollow wail i : ' ' & nirougn tao aun-colored walls thaz , m had closed about them. Captain pfj Beale glanced into the binnaclo, bL headed the schooner a point farther " to tho south'ard, and grinned. '''fj Presently by the bltts ho could seo 1H1 1$R the lookout straining his ears be- ftl tween the blasts of the horn, evidently tRJ listening intently. Full, well the cap- Fll tain knew to what he was listening; M.I for already through the mist he could hU hear the dlstanct moan of. the whia- rWJ tllng-buoy, which marks tho outer S edge of Shovel Rip Ledge. M The sound grew steadily plainer. )m Captain Bealo's grin widened. At last Jrl the lookout hailed: fl "Whistlln'-Jbuoy dead ahead, sir!" vM j The skipper made a great pretense rjn 1 of listening. "I don't hear it," he de- lHj clared, and held his course. Tho m lookout seemed a trifle uneasy. In a 1(9 moment he was hailing once more: pQ I "There it goes again, sir. Whistlin'- ) buoy dead ahead!" jM ! Captain Beale affected a fine scorn. 2 "I don't hear no whistlin'-buoy," ho f'l maintained, "but I can hear some old tyl freighter groanin' off there." Slw The lookout's next hall, which fol- 4m I lowed almost immediately, was a wild 7 l I yell, while ho tore aft at his bes, nfl I speed. A M I "Breakers, sir, right under her Vfl jbcw!" he howled. And then tho 'l schooner struck. njfw There was a shock, a jolt, a grind- pM ing sound. The little craft shivered ' 'l from stem to stern. "Up the galley , I companionway came tumbling the UiM I cook- Wk "Lord help us!" he yelled as the h,rRj 1 familiar groan of the whistling-buoy LJ smote his ears from close quarters. '. 'pysM "We've hit Shovel Rip OLedge!". ii 3 There was another bump a series ft rM of bumps; tho schooner stopped, sSS surged ahead, then stopped again. ?iWS3e .Then tho grinding beneath her keel ivS began once more; slowly' sho forged " ffOQ , ahead. They could plainly hear tho 1 i?y surge under her bows. ilm "Judas Priest!" shouted the amazed flSfjll skipper. "What do you make of that? wB Dummod If we hain't hit Shovel Rip fcrM Ledgo. and gone clean over it! Start rAm tho pumps, quick!" nfl In a trice the pumps were shrieking LfrflS their protests. ''IfM "How much water's she takin'?" the IlilJm skipper demanded. '- H "Not a drop, sir," the men at tho lkVJ pumps answered. ftnMm Captain Beale wiped his forehead. li'H For a timo he stood staring stupidly vJm at the binnacle before ho put th r!rMl schooner back on her course. ("Ml Then the cook came running aft P'ifl with a black, furry body in his arms. 'jl "Say, will you bclfeve it now?" ho tfmm shouted. "Ain't there something in it. il Would you ever got off'n that ledgo. WlWJ much moro gone over it, If It hadn't l5imm been for tho cat? Ain't it a special )5RM providence you fetched her? I'll tell PRM yo one thing, I ain't goin' to sea again inMR on this schooner, nor no other, with- c'lRM out a black cat aboard." tH The skipper burst into a great roar MB of laughter, which left tho cook star .TVmI ing at him in opon-inouthed wonder, r )H '!You win," said Captain Beale. 3'B9 when he had somewhat recovered hia V-, iiJHK breath. "I'm most beginnin' to tliiull JimmT myself there's somethin' In it Thai SRM cat stays aboard." v r faMjRJ (CopyngltJ, The Frank A. Munscy Co.) ' Kol 1 im rRRRR |