Show h valhalla va bhalla and an out by george ethelbert walsh by W 0 chapman TWIT service ON THE PELICAN fishing in idle fashion from a private dock 1 alck ick va van n ness watches a e ship the pelican which he recognizes recognises as a the th beacon his fathers yacht before his death and financial reverses forced him to part with it A man whom he hears bears a girl who accompanies him address as mr blake lands from the yacht the girl drops her handbag in the stream and dick recovers it thank ing him she be gives elves him her visiting card CHAPTER 11 II con continued linued mr blake he mused placing ironic emphasis on the name won der it if hes bes going abrard aboard the pelican lie ile meditated in silence a few moments and then followed it was easy to keep the couple within sight without exposing himself to view they were going in the direction of 0 the private dock and dick had no do doubts about their objective ile he took advantage ot of every favorable street lamp to study their backs and once when the second man stopped to light a cigar he got I a glimpse of his face that old man cutler either he said frowning too young for him and too big and husky if I 1 remember rightly he was a small wizened dried up man mail the one accompanying mr blake was anything but that tall square shouldered and bony of arms and legs he be m was as the very picture of health and muscular strength dick caught a glimpse of gold braid on an arm sleeve and the flash of something on his bis op cap the captain of the pelican he breathed ile he smiled as he be recalled the amount of gold braid and emblems that his fathers skipper wore captain johnston I 1 where was he had he lost his job with the stile sale of the old beacon apparently he bad tor for this one was the very antithesis of the short fat navigator of the yacht under its former ownership the dock was in dense gloom except for red lights burning at the end and a white one at the entrance there was no sign of a watchman and as the men were unchallenged dick followed when they stopped abruptly at the head of the steps leading down to the float dick was within twenty feet of the them lie he slid behind a spile and remained motionless better coal early tn in the morning captain brent mr blake aas as saying take enough aboard for a couple of months we may need it we dont want to get fiet caught short reckon Ite ckon not mr blake replied the other chuckling atwould sort of let the cat out of the bag if we had bad to sneak into some harbor tor for coal before the time was up yes we must guard against any such contingency ill phone to blanks pier the first thin thing in the morning for all the coal lou can store aboard what thuell ruell ti the old man want to come aboard queried captain brent puffing volcanically at his cigar shortly after sundown lay off if here at sunset and v when ben you see the signals send the boats ashore therell be a lot of dunnage I 1 spose no nothing but light traps chiefly personal things of miss cutlers butlers Cut lers most of the baggage will go aboard earlier ill III see se to that you say lb therell erell be tour four 0 em yes mr cutler miss alice her mold maid and doctor alster and yourself certainly I 1 said mr blake a little tartly ill come down doun with the party all right I 1 ill have everything ready reckon now it if I 1 dont hae any trouble finding that island well have a pleasant voyage why do you say bay that demanded blake uneasily un endly have you any doubts about finding it why no it if the map you gave me mes ia correct well it jill snapped the other ive verified it in every particular you dont think id slip up on such a small thing as that when alen theres so much at stake sinker no I 1 reckon not but its a bit puzzling aling in places some of theril them dots and marks looks like as if been put there tor for private use you dont spose now that captain was up to any misleading tricks marking the location wrong rong and shit ting the channel chandel buoys do you mr blake smiled and shrugged his shoulders you forget he said coldly that im running this little expedition and I 1 never make mistakes the chart Is correct all right replied brent moving joving toward the steps then well paek up the island in a couple of days lie ile stopped and stared out into midstream why dont they send that boat ashore he be added irritably here it comes now neil ill be kolne going I 1 got to put in a ingot living some figuring biake nodded and waited for hl him t to en alio the steps then walked ic the baj aj of albo float floal A ten few minutes later the tender appeared and captain brent was whisked out into the gloom the man on the end of the dock remained motionless until it was gone and then turned nud and walked briskly away dicks first impulse was to follow and then he be changed hla big mind he came from behind his hiding biding place and stood near the steps watching the lights flickering on the raier aher and running over again la in his mind the words lie he had heard they were a little puzzling but the main tact fact was clear to him steve cutler and his niece were starting on a long cruise in the pelican the following lov ing evening sailing under the bever cever ot of darkness which might or might not mean anything unusual mr blake was to accompany them and according to ills his own statement he be was running the expedition their destination was some island whose exact location was a mystery to captain brent who wits was mr blake and what island was it dick puzzled aled over the situation for a long time lie ile recalled the reference to some mystery mysterious captain who might have played a trick on them by marking the map wrong w who was he piecing together one thing after another dick finally came to the bonciu sion that the was an adventure undertaken by cutler for the furtherance of some personal scheme that he wished to keep secret and 31 mr blake was managing it for him so far all seemed plain but the mystery of the island to which they were going introduced a puzzling factor fa c that baffled dick for a long time it was hours later when the truth seemed to dawn upon him it he exclaimed suddenly bringing his two hands together its a treasure hunt or something like that old cutlers butlers Cut lers come into possession of some old sea captains chart of TRY OUI PIES a they only half pilled filled the box an island where the treasures buried and hog bog like hes bes tricked the owner of it and intends to gobble up the whole tiling thing its like steve Cut cutler lerl 1 ue ile went oi 0 er the conversation again sentence by sentence as he recalled it and in the end his bis conclusion was strengthened all the facts fitted admirably into this theory with the chart of the unknown island in hla his possession cutler intended to pay a visit to it anti and it if there was any treasure on it dig it up and add it to ills his already swollen fortune in the event of its proving a hoax lie could hush up the matter and no one but a few of his would be any wiser A treaburn tre trea asuro bure hunting expedition in the rel pelican leani dick mused thoughtfully what an aden adventure Lurel I 1 wish nish I 1 were going he cast longing glances at the yacht 1 in midstream the wild idea entered his head of swimming out to the craft find smuggling himself aboard als s a stowaway lie he might make the trip and ud bluff it out when discovered but this was impractical tor for several reasons the tide in the river was fe troug and even if he be made the yacht safely the chances were ten to one that lie he could not climb aboard unobserved that he concluded would have to be his last resort the yacht would coal at blanks pier in the morning could he disguise himself as a coal beaver and during the bustle hide in one of tb the bunkers dick knew every nook and corner comer of the craft and lie he felt if lie he could once get below decks he be would be safe from discovery then the card that alice cutler had glyen given him jogged bogged his memory lie took it out and stared at it in the gloom as it if trying to read sonic gome message frow from it for a lung long time lie hat bat in puzzled silence frowning at the i bit of white pasteboard then an eyelid flickered and his lips parted i ii smile slowly spread across his features and a chuckle broke the silence 1 I could work it he mused with a little luck I 1 believe rii ill try it to in the morning at the worst I 1 could say it was just a lark an ori original giDal method of making her rede redeem cill her promise lie ile chuckled softly and bated a hund hand as if in farewell to the city that had treated him so shabbily ill bet lie he murmured it will be a big improvement improve fluent on this smoky godless city of CHAPTER 11 III I 1 T dick van ness proceeded ly to put hla his little scheme to the tet test but first he provided himself with a few hours of sleep to refresh the body and steady the nerves by daylight he be reviewed the situation calmly and decided that the plan was na as feasible as it had find appeared the night before se ile ate a hearty break breakfast fas t at a nearby restaurant and then ordered a huge batch of sandwiches wrapping each one in oiled paper as it if for a picnic leaving these to be e filled called for later he be paid a visit to a dry goods store where he selected fill an oblong paper box big enough to contain a mans suit of clothes with wrapping paper and stout twine lie he returned to the restaurant for his sandwiches they only hilf filled the box the rest of the space was stowed with bottles of water and sweet drinks pickles olives fruit cakes an and d candy the proprietor of the restaurant smiled when he be clapped the cover on the box looks as if you were loading up to last a he be remarked 1 11 I may need it replied dick frankly im going where liere i grub may be hard to get I 1 dont want to take a chance As he paid for the food and trouble the restaurant man made no further inquiries and dick volunteered no additional dit ional information when the box was wrapped he borrowed pen and ink and wrote on the outside miss alice cutler culler steam yacht pelican blanks pier city 1 I guess that will do he chuckled admiring ills his chirography five minutes later he was on hla his way to blanks pier the pelican was already at the dock coaling dick took a swift survey of the scene and then whistling nonchalantly with the box under his arm he walked toward the end no one challenged chillen ged him and when he reached the pelicans side he be topped A dozen grimy men were storing coal aboard a deck hand checking off on a card the number of bags carried into the hold bold A small gangplank was wa thrown from the main deck to th the pier dick started up this and reached the deck before anyone challenged him then a booming voice right be bind him caught his ear hello there what ayou want dont you know this Is a private yacht it was captain brent surel isarel replied dick nonchalantly its the pelican it sir mr cut lers yacht well what if it Is growled the captain nothing except I 1 guess ill take a rest here hot day it ile he removed his hat and began wiping his forehead yes its hot but it may be hotter if you dont look sharp what you got in that box dick smiled and vil winked liked it if I 1 knew cap I 1 dont know that id tell you but well both have a guess miss cutler take me into her confidence fi maybe its a bathing suit or a ahing dress its ICs for or miss cutler queried brent picking it up and reading the name and address well slowly after weighing it v ith both boll hands bands she aint here leave it and ill give it to 0 o her ill put it in her cabin 11 lie ile started to walk away with the package but dick rescued it not so fast cap lie he said good natu she tell me to leave it she said bald not to leave it if she here when I 1 called I 1 was to wait half bialt an hour then if she appear I 1 was to carry it abou arou around rid to her house the skipper looked a little puzzled and gaie gae the package another sharp scrutiny queer he muttered 1 I know she expected jo to come aboard tills this morning ill bet she know herself grinned dick why she said not to wait tor for her longer than half an hour she gave me this card to make sure I 1 could find her ber home hoine ile he fingered the card carelessly and when hen brent readied reached out a hand to take it he let him have it ft the man stared at it a moment and then r returned cm it dick felt that the card 1 I would remove any sup suspicion lelon that might und find lodgment in the others brain all right he said finally stay on oil tills this deck and when the hulf half hours up go down that gangplank you came up sure I 1 you dont I 1 was going to t jump overboard and did you 7 the kipper frowned and eyed him film with disapproval disappio 0 dick flirted dried out a cigarette fi garette and added any objections to smoking cap rill im dead for a few whiffs no not if you stay outside was the surly retort dick Is taking big chances where will he hide HO BE CONTINUED CONTINUE D |