Show t it t itt t t t t t it W t W it it it t t t 1 NT 19 E t THE SEA DEVIL W by by LOWELL THOMAS doubleday Koub loday doren doran ft c co cia W V V CHAPTER XV so 20 caught by the british at wa kaya the alie island was lakaya several old suiting ships were to io the harbor we grimed at them with hungry eyes and eager plans of capturing one ran through our minds natives on shore spied us took us for far shipwrecked sail gall ors ora and put a bunt boat out to meet us it suited culled our plans pl ins tu to let them thein c on thinking we had find been ked that thai might make it much easier tilt foi us to get gel some information about the vessels at anchor leaving a couple of my boys in the boat the other oilier law of us accompanied the uncles to their hell huts hills where they treated us hospitably they were a simple trusting people several half breeds and a couple of white men however looked at us sus one half breed was par ticul arly offensive and insisted on ask ing us its many questions we did not nol like his behavior at all Kirc heiss and I 1 look a walk along alon a path in the woods wands to talk over what seemed another menacing A white man come came galli galloping N b on nn horseback lie was pale with exilie excite ment lie slowed down for a moment gayed tit at u us a responded curtly curlly to tilt greeting and wen on alarmed nel we hurried harried back to tile the vil loge lage same curious business was afoot and we were determined to find out vi bahit hill it was our last halt gallon ot of rum Kirch elss murmured regretfully yes I 1 responded it Is too bad but it 11 vo nil III go to a useful purpose we ve got hold bold ol of the half caste who bad been so inquisitive the white man we had seen on horseback was ans with hlin him something indeed wax was afoot we talked casually lah aich them and then suggested drinking they were interested and became astle when we produced our halt half gill gal ion of ruin in the half breeds hu but we staged a drinking bout which last ed halt half through the night nothing like rum ruin to make men friendly and conversational tile the hall ball breed got so conversational that he blurted out why youre fill all right cut but at first we thought you were germans we could get gel fifty pounds if you viere nere germans now us an american sailor would say youve got to hand it to the english they know how to spend money when it 11 Is useful we germans are usually more niggardly or careful slime might call it IL we will try to save a mark and then lose thou sanda sands having received the wireless warning from the resident at AlIn taki of mysterious armed germans in the south seas the authorities in the had pissed word among tile the on an lives to be on the hie lonk tall for us and had offered a two hundred and fifty dollor dollar reward to anyone who turned in information almut a parts part of Gerni poising as it was 0 ivar enough that tenil the file hilt half breed and thi the white man lind had hren been to haud us oer coer to the 1111 thorit les hut hill how fui far they had gd gone ne ne ime dil did no know we tind find out that flight it ha ant nol until later inter that va we e lear le arned tied tile white than 9 horm lon k ride biml hern been if to give i warning us its to the captain if f a cutter culler in fill alir harbor or tin ural that lite ruffer had nl ni once rhnea off to curry carry the ige to the flip of tile the larger ands H u days still nil away not knowing this ihla we used a good deal af il in to put file lie lite firmly into inn tile deais tit ot the tuo gitterl that e rould could loo be ger mans it may have been tour our p pl quetie or mitre lloil ll lil tin tilt kental grain in fluence of the ruin flat but of ai ully ra ip they exiled t to go ili cifre tilt nil tit 0 their ous conr and becom t clial wr wo were flip norwegians Norwegia ns arlot sea it d I 1 I 1 I 1 a I 1 a kir juelss und 1 some what tit in e from our four session ui of detec def eclie llie work slept at the mans house the tow others aare ere ofle ienir ashore for the night but luu ul oil my lily hnyz lelo leniul allied nei in llie lie bout boal as a curtion it II was well file did too during lite lie flight native went out to her anti anil rut cut the ant rope they were pul aul up to it by a pollee tin li wan sulla aiu l flous of its ll 11 not no knowing any of tit 1111 apen would remain on iniard tier her since site was only an oliva lifeboat lir lie planned il tined to her so sit lie he t henl tilt his swimmers out to lo pull ull tier her ashore all binl tier her the wind vono ha the rope roe cut cul lie filing in out two men dupre fre asleep irl only awakened when kept keel I 1 or red against doll flow durk ligure il were around in lite lie auter trying to pull buil flip boi on oil the llie beach out mr wen men pl ital in hand der them ovin and ilien pushed our into open wilier tilt on the lie idill boing jay we anade our firel cosily comly error the ships in ill clr barbor alln elg heil il anti am calil full fail we picked the llie title seemed 1 lol alir lo lodest esl eest and arranged with the alie skipp s to 0 o take us u along with willi film tit lo on tilt the island vill leu of clourse oui cut plan wy was to tit still a feu fea mile lot fit 0 o sea ren will hlin filin and ali t sake abke HIP flip ship ourselves after our and nd getting tour out ull all it t weapons A di iii juull bieu ili up and forced the vessel bilk bach to port we returned wit wajih tier tn r and now we should it f ie token liken tier her while she lily lii ut it dinho r tile people ashore would have seen nhat hall wax was nulls going on OD but bill ne e could tone hell up file he island and theu put to tc sea storm or on no storm that was Is our first impulse we should have followed owed it always trust your iret impulse at any rate it if you go into lie pirate basIn business coss it Is tile the boldest anti and bicht instead we chose fl a wore more rani loii course we resolved to wait linth tile following follow liiK day and capture pur our ship when it had gol cot out to sen BOB willie while we acted lilted alted lil ted another vessel arrived slip was a beauty too and would have deligh delighted led tiny seamans eye as she come came into lie harbor she hall had lust josl arr arrles led wr we mere ere told from suva site ran regularly among tile the islands candying airn handlee to the traders she was a handsome three ghosted schooner with aux auxiliary illary motor power new clean and trim just the kind ol of sililo we wanted B D joe I 1 said to in my boys theres our oar ship we immediately dismissed nil all idea of 0 the old A we bad aad intend ed to capture and demoted ourselves to this beauty A council of war rt 4 b 1 4 1 A i moa captured by the escaping pris arl oner was abeld after which Kirchel KIrch elss sit went to the captain of the lite lessel which now had find docked lirk rd and told him that we were norwegians Norwegia ns who while tille making a cruise in a lifeboat bad missed out our abil liln which was taking coal coil from aus A us to suva could we not tako passage alth him to suva instead ot of tin the other slower old craft so that thai we could get gel back to our own sh ship I 1 p I 1 we would pay regular rates tor for the passage all right replied the captain a jovial ov lil unsuspecting fellow caime me bicard at eight this evening we sall in the file morning it was wa out oui plan again that once aboard i this lovely lively ship find and out at w sen we would appetta in our lidi ant ortist and hoesl the he germun gennan flug flag we made rendy really to m the lie life fit fitina illar tip longings rc careful pitching we put rides ni machine schine gimp anil and grenades in our rings hanpa wrapped our o ir naval uniform Il rolind these an and then rolled each handle in a of blankets ann tied ird it wi irely A 4 dismal linnol lim mojid not the lie arinno tent inside kadi of us gitnik a pistol in ili one and H hand grenade in lite hie other A ai elgia oc lovIc wo we went aboard the tour out maneuvers had bren been 1111 inide le carefully and we hurl had attracted tin no nials co ni tive tit of the file people who alio pre ere ol of us aarl the received us no hrs bola and ltv e went around 10 kinA cpr pt adul we expected to tit make our ou next prize of 0 war and a prize slie wua us lust just a year out of the shipyard abill finished lo in every do de tall fall I 1 could hardly wall tor for her to 0 o balse anchor nit set mi sull still allut ue e had ball counted that brood tit ol ingwal chirk chick onit o nit before alliey had hatched by jot joe 4 t A steamer sten nici slid into port I 1 the skipper ot of our clipper who was wai standing next nejl to lo we me said be supposed she ahe had brought over the proprietor of the 1 he island the new a arrival lowered a final boat in it were a n military anti anil four indian soldiers the boot boat rowed straight toward our ship we surmised ill at onre that they were coming for ns as having received the i message sent by the suspicious auspicious halfbreed I 1 and tile lie white annn that there I 1 were six bias germans on the island the authorities had bad sent a force of mill mili tary pollee to arrest us there had been some delay in this fills as the only aval intile boat on which to send gend the pollee police nas as a cattle steamer the amra and she could not raise anchor tor for some hours site she had arrived now right in the nick of time tin had comma ril ested with the shore and been la formed that we were aboard the I 1 selic schooner ioner I 1 the storm had bad cleared during the I 1 early ing the palm trees ashore I 1 were ablaze with the tropical sunshine the water under us was of the deep blue that you see only in the south seas A brisk refreshing wind I 1 blew brorn the west the boat with the and tour four soldiers cattle came rowing with long powerful strokes the indians wore puttees and those funny little pants that leave the knees bars bare they carried no arms other then than bayonets the officer had a sword and a revolver we could easily have shot them down with our pistols or thrown a hand ban grenade in their boat or held them up op at pistol point when they came aboard then we could have captured the ship and sailed away the steamer would have been power less in the face of our machine guns there were mutterings rIngs amon among 9 my men they were full of fight foght we should about they urged wake make the capture and get away I 1 passed an uncomfortable moment of at our uniforms were pricked packed to in our bundles stowed slowed below we would have to tight off arrest and take the ship in the gule not of naval soldiers but of cl civilians villaDs and as civil ions inns we would have to raise our vea against soldiers that ool not only went against ag ilist the grain but it went against the unwritten laws of the game there are many sporting sparring traditions that are carefully incel caged in ID every german naval officer tf if we could have fought to ID our cull forms forma it would have been as honor able naval men in the end the odd adds would he be all against us its and the chances ere at least a hundred to one that we would be captured before getting hark home if we fought us as naval men and were later captured we wo would uto be entitled to the treatment dur due honorable prisoners of war it if WP we fought to lo citizens clothes we were i more than international ban ills and as such almust almost sure to hung binally from rom a yardarm they say any that thai nil Is fair in love and war hut but this does not alter aller tile the fact that there arp are filings s you rad can do that are not play lite 1 he game of course each aiding lins its spies und and a spy it if caught ex peels no do clu arter and gets none rut bill duding the war of if unit und dur ing the late into war too we germans ere most severe with ci villano who sniped at soldiers li it lull flits been one of out our cardinal prin iper that war must bp be waged by lial formed soldiers ra in the world war both sides allies were charged with intro during new met methods lindS ot of warlane thug thai were not nol in se accordance cor dance with the tit of the name game but you will rp call hint even allied corgo cargo and pas an dpn er snips ships armed with will runs guns to ore fire tin on submarines ninde it a general rut rule e to furry carry gun crews of uniformed m on maps to lo handle the guns auns no I 1 said to lo my men in the on fornis forms 0 of our country we fan can tight As an elvIl civilians lans we cannot cannal at al any rute rule we tire roll nol to drop a north down there and kill I 1 that hill do p lire lice officer etor flail and his men in those partial there would be neither fun fill nor glory in that TO no BE CONTINUED 1 |