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Show iy 4hHhH 't (t $ ft .j. s ft .H COUNT LUCEMERll THE SEA DEVIL f Copyright bjr - f p.ublMuy, Dwa 4 By LOWELL THOMAS j t ji t t 'I J fr tH" A ,t, A A A 4, A ,t, )t, (t, ,t, A A a AAitiitAttAAAAttA. to proceed to Chrlstlanla and there pick up a cargo. Why not a cargo of lumber for Melbourne! I ent to Coienhagen, donned old clothes, and got a Job as a dock wal lper no the pier where the real Mulcts Mu-lcts wus moored. That ennhled me to study her. There was one thing that promised to be difficult to e-mn terfelL That was the log book. This precious volume contained the life his tory of the Mttleta, when she left the Argentine, what kind of cargo she car rled, what course she steered, the wind, the weather, observations ot sun and stars, etc, etc. That log nook must he In the captain's cuhln and I must have It. But a watchman was stationed aft, so how could It be done? I discovered that the captain and both males were still In Norway wltb their families. So It would he some days before the loss of the book would be noticed If I got It So one night. In the uniform ot a Couat tucaner toll el btlnf eraeree to tali eoaieaand ol Mills, , IS, to run tbe Britlak blockade. Th. meet waa vwt ana cerrtee era of lit. It rae dieaiBeea m that tu nl mmtm miU Ml m Hwcxrmd nnpt bj a am xpkto wrinMv t vu rlulw4 Itwl Um cm w to U Httht4 u NanmW Luckaar eauld totok Nor. wsa fliMaib'. CHAPTER II. Continued 3 It would have looked suspicious for a naval officer to be directing work of this kind wltb such Infinite pains, to at the ship yards I posed as 1 1 err fon Eckmnnn. Inspector of the naval ministry. An old retired captain of the Ship Inspection service happened to be stopping in the same hotel, ills ove for bis old profession caused him to take a most embarrassing Interest In my work. One day. he met a bona Ode ship Inspector and asked bltn whether he knew me. "Von Eckmunn? Let's see, I know for our "Norwegian" sullors, eacb set totally different from the other. Of course, the atolen log of the Ma leta guve us a lot of useful Infmma-tion Infmma-tion about her crew, and our fake letters let-ters were made to tnlly with this Information. In-formation. Women In the admiralty and foreign ottlces who knew Norwe-(ian Norwe-(ian wrote them for us. We got oi l Norwegian stamps and Norwegian postmarks of various ports the letter were supposed to have been sent to. Then we aged the letters In clieml calstore and smudged some of them. I picked as my otlkers men wno like myself had spent long years b fore the mast, who knew Norwegian, and were of the right spirit First Of-Mi-er Kllng had been a member of the Kllchner expedition, In which he hud distinguished himself. The ottlcer whom I selected to go aboard captured ships wus a former comrade of mine, a fellow of six feet four, whom I met by chance on a dock. In response to customs Inspector, I stole aboard the Muleta. The watchman, as usual, was sitting near the captain's cabin. The ship was moored to the pier wlih ropes fore end art. Steulthlly I tiptoed tip-toed to the bow and cut the ropes, not quite through but almost. A stiff wind was blowing. The ropes cracked and broke. The ship swung around. The watchman ran forward shouting, and at the same moment I run aft Turn bling around the captain's cabin I at first failed to locate the log. finally. I discovered It under the skipper's mattress. Shoving It beneatb my belt. I sllped out. On board now, and also on the pier, half a dozen men were shouting and throwing ropes to haul her back so she wouldn't side-swipe a nearby ship. I joined In the shouting, pretended to help them for a minute, then clmn bered on to the dock and burrlcd oft in the dark. We now put on the final touches that were to turn the Pass of Balmaha into the Maleta. We painted her the same color as the Maleta, arranged her deck the same, and decorated the cabins with the same ornaments. In my captain's cabin, I hung pictures of the king and queen of Norway and also of their jovial relative. King Ed ward VII of Englund. The barometer, thermometer, and chronometer, and all the other instruments were of Norwegian Nor-wegian make. I had a Norwegian library li-brary and a Norweiglan phonograph and records. We bud enough provisions pro-visions from Norwegian firms to last us through the blockade. It would hardly do to have any Bismarck herring, her-ring, sauerkraut, and pretzels In sight If the British boarded us, would ItT The names of the tailors sewn In side my suits and my officers' suits were replaced with labels from Nor wegian tailors. On my underclothing we embroidered the name of the cap everyiwujr in ine service. There Is Do Von Eckmnnn on the roster." "Then," blurted out the old captain, "be must be a spy. I always said he bad a typically English fuce. I'll watcb blm." Through mistake, two letters enme for me without the usual cover ad dress. Both of them gave my full name and rank. I argued wltb the head waiter, trying to get him to give me the letters for delivery to "my friend. Count I.uckner." The old cap tain happened to be snooping near by. altbougb I didn't know It. By now. anything I did was suspicious He already bad me hung and quartered as bis country's arcb enemy. "What did that fellow want?" be In Quired of the bead waiter. "He asked me to give him the letters let-ters for Lieutenant Commander Count son Luckner." "Ha r I suspected nothing. That evening I took the train for Bremen. A detective de-tective entered my compartment and demanded my papers. I gave them to blm. "Count von Luckner," he exclaimed, astonished and embarrassed, "I must have made a mistake. I am looking for a spy from Geestemunde." I grew worried. Could it be that enemy secret agents were watching the work, on my auxiliary cruiser? "Where was the spy reported?" "He lives at Beermann's hotel." That wus my hotel. The spy was watching me. . I told him that I would take upon myself the responsibility ot saying that there were the most or gent reasons why this spy must be caught, and that he must wire his principals that the utmost vigilance must be used. "We already have the railroad covered cov-ered at both ends. But we will In rreflRp our nrecnntlona." he refilled my quesuoo wiiviuer ne wumeu to accompany ac-company me, he asked: "Is it one of those trips that Is likely like-ly to send you to heaven?" "Tes." "Then I'm with you. My name Is I'relss, and you are after prizes. 6o I'll bring you luck." My artillery and navigation officer, Lieutenant Klrchelss, was a wizard navlgutor. Engineer Rrauss was our motor expert The boatswain, tha carpenter, and the cook, the three mulnstays of a voyage in a sailing vessel. I picked with like care. Of the men who were to go wltb me I only needed twenty-seven with a knowledge of Norwegian. There were Just twenty-seven aboard the real Maleta. In selecting my men, I interviewed each candidate personally but gave him no hint of why I wanted him. I tried to read these men's souls In order to discover dis-cover In them the qualities of courage and endurance that would be needed. Now we needed a name for our raider. raid-er. We needed one that she coold take for her official name as an auxiliary aux-iliary cruiser after running the blockade. block-ade. I wanted to call her the Alluit-ross Alluit-ross out of gratitude to the albntrrws that saved me from drowning when I was a lad. But I discovered that there was already a vessel wltb that name, a ndne layer. Then I wanted to call the ship the Sea Devil, the name by which I personally wus afterward after-ward to be called. My officers favored some name that would suggest the white wings of our saltshlp. So we compromised on Seeadler, or (Jea Eagle. On a pitch-dark November night the Seeadler, wltb a small emergency crew, raises anchor and sails out of the mouth of the Weser Into the North Sea. There, some distance offshore, we drop anchor. At a remote place along the do-ks at wiineunsnuven, men appear one ny one. By the light of a dimly burning lantern I gather my crew. Next morning a scow of lumber lay alongside, and we stacked timber to a height of six feet over alt the deck, and fastened It down with wire and chains. Every man had bis role. Every man must now prove his mettle as an actor. Officers and sailors were given the names of officers and sailors aboard the Maleta, They had to get used to their new names. Frits Meyer wus now Ole Johnsen, Miller became BJornsen, Huns Lehman became Lars ('arisen, and they knew me only as Captain Knudsoo. We had long practice prac-tice drills until the new names slid off our tongues without getting stuck. Each man also bad to learn a lot about his native town that be never knew before! I had already assembled assem-bled as much Information as I could about the towns listed in the stolon log book, and the rest we Invented. Eacb man had to leurn the names of the main streets of his town, the principal prin-cipal hotels, taverns, and drug stores, as well as the names of the mayor and other officials. Much of this sort of mnterlal bad already been woven Into the letters we bad prepared for the sailors. Each man had to familiarize famil-iarize himself with the set of photographs photo-graphs that bad been allotted to blm, and the names of them all, the contents con-tents of his letters, and fix In his mind a whole new past life, according to the life of a sailor of the real Maleta whose role he was to play. (TO BE CONTINUED.) "The spy will surely be caught." In Bremen at Hlllman's hotel I was Igaln stopped by a detective who de tnanded my papers. Again my papers confounded and bewildered him. "The description of the spy fits you exactly." he said. Once more I urged that the head quarters of the secret police be commanded com-manded to catch the secret agent at ny cost At the Trocadero. I sat with a bottle of wine In front of me. A provosi officer with two men In uniform came up to me. "Come wltb as. Jou are under arrest" ar-rest" I flew Into a rage at these repetl Hons of stupidity, as I thought them to be. "1 am a naval officer." "You are a spy. Come with us H The usual spy mania spread throughout through-out the restaurant. Blows were threatened, chnlrs were brundlshed nnd there were shouts of "Kill the spy. kill him 1" on all sides. If the officers hadn't fought the crowd off, I would have been badly beaten. At headquarters I was shown a description de-scription nnd even a picture of myself So there was no doubt but what I was their man. "Coder what name does this spy travel?" I demunded. "Under the name of Marine In ipector von Eckmnnn." "Why. I am he." If . "But you Just said you were Count von Luckner." I was compelled, wltb great Injunctions Injunc-tions of secrecy, to take tliem luto my confidence, and had them tele phone the admiralty for confirmation The prying old captain at Geeste munde soon took blmself to other parts by request I As I explained, my plan was to slip through the British blockade as a ueu tral and If possible disguised as some other ship that actually existed. There happened to be a Norwegian vessel that was almost a dead ringer foi the Pass of Balmaha. She wus sched uled to sail from Copenhagen. I de elded that we would take her name, and suit the doy before she sailed, so that If the British caught us and wirelessed wire-lessed to Copenhagen to confirm out atory they would receive word thut such a craft had left port at the time we claimed. This other ship wus named the Maleta. For some time she hod been discharging grain from the Argentine. From Demnurk she was ; McCarthy Not Sure : Joe McCarthy, Chicago Cubs man ager. seems to tblnk the Cubs' chance of winning the National league pen rinnl this year hinges around pitching ,I haven't got enougli of em. Mc i'urtliy said referring to the alubmen evidently meaning he would have liked to have hud more youngsters on Tthe chance of rinding another regular However. Joe believes his preset.-regulars preset.-regulars will come through, and --o. to think that hie Cuts, will pul through victorious In the end tain of the Maleta Knudsea I bad learned In Copenhagen that a donkey engine was being Installed on the Maleta. Very well, we g"t o donkey engine ot the same make from Copenhagen and Installed It n our ship. The log book of the Maleta was solemnly put in place, and the tint entry was made, "Today put in a new donkey engine." We got up our cargo papers In reg ular form, signed and sealed by both the Norwegian port authorities vnd British consul. We also had a letter signed by his majesty's consul at Copenhagen Co-penhagen stating that the Maleta was carrying lumber for the use of the government of the Commonwealth of Australia. Tbe letter requested all British ships to help us If any emergency emer-gency arose To prove that this -.'oc-ument was genuine, It was even stamped with the British Impcriul seal (made in Germany!). 1 also had a letter which a .iritish officer had supposedly written to my shipowner and which my shipownei had forwarded to me, wanting us agulnsl German search officers, but advising ad-vising us to place our trust In the British I A sailor wltb tbe loneliness of the sea upon him nearly alwuys tskes with him on bis voyages photographs of his people. Now the crews on British Brit-ish warships know sailor ways, so 1 Inquired ail about the procedure from cuptulns of neutral ships who had bad their ships searched. They told me that the British always Inspected the to'c'sle to see that everything looked right there. I Immediately got togetb er a lot ot photographs to pass as those of Norwegian sailors' parents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, sweethearts, wives and mothers-in-law What did It matter whether the sweet hearts were good looking or not? Suitors' Suit-ors' sweethearts are not always prize deautles. We sent a mnn to Norway for the pictures In order to have the names of Norwegian photographers stomped on them. The British are smart people, by Joe, and they know how to search a ship. They attach speclul Importance to sailors' letters. The sailor eagerly looks forward to the letter be will receive re-ceive at the next port He never throws the letters away either, but al ways keeps a stack of them in his sea ctiesL Sometimes yon will see him reading a letter that his mother sent him eight years before. So we had to get up a whole set of letters a ' Greenville of the South Atlantic lengue has purchased Bill Onsen, diminutive Inflelder. from the Knox ville club of the same league a a The sale of FrPd Spurgeon. former second hiiRenian of the Cleveland In tliuns, to the Kansas 'lt.v el.ih of the American association Is announced, a a a George CtimntliiR e-lf professional. his winters In Kingston. Ja nu.icu. and his summers in Ci.nuda tthere he lots been with the Toronto liolf club for thirty years. |