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Show OP THE SEA rtjrS I vNlVrSiV BY G4 L H'M W.N.U. Zeleaia 3SSW THE STORY THUS FAR: The crew of a. imall galling vessel In the Caribbean pick up Dick Jordan, adrift on a raft. Dick realize! be li amoni men who are virtually pirates. They come npon a drifting schooner. Only people aboard are demented Captain Cap-tain Bedford and his daughter, Rose. Tucn and his pirates attempt to capture the schooner, but Rose turns them back, aided by Dick. During the night Tucu again attacks and captures Rose and Dick. He then begins a fruitless search lor the "treasure" supposed to be aboard. Dick talks him Into a deal. Tucu Is anxious to get the treasure and get away. Rose Is startled when she bean Dick's bargain. we'll see If y'made up that one 'bout the smuggled gems." Matters had certainly reached a climax. The crew under Tucu's orders or-ders were preparing to return to the lugger. Dick didn't quite un-I un-I derstand what It meant until half an hour later two Caribs cut the ropes holding him to the mast. He tried to extract from them some Information; In-formation; but they mutely disregarded disre-garded him and conducted him to the small boat Ten minutes later he was rowed back to the lugger. All except two of the crew were abandoning the schooner. When Tucu and Black Burley came aboard the lugger, Dick's fear for his own safety was secondary to his dread that something some-thing terrible was about to happen to Rose. "Where's Captain Bedford's daughter?" he demanded sharply. "Where she wanted to be aboard the schooner," replied Tucu, grinning. grin-ning. "She's not going with us?" "No." "Is she alone?" "Y've been lyln' t'me." arms, but Dick ducked in time to elude them. Shaking the brine out of his eyes, he began swimming, holding his head as high out of the water as he could. He made no resistance to the waves, but swam with them, striving to keep on their crests for better observation. A light twinkled twin-kled out of the darkness, but he wasn't sure whether It came from the lugger or the schooner. He conserved his strength as much as possible, swimming easily and treading water every time he was swept on the crest of a wave. From this pinnacle he had a wide glimpse of the sea; but the darkness now shut out everything, and neither nei-ther the lugger nor the schooner was visible. "I've missed it," he groaned once. "I Should have been there before this." In the midst of his bitter reflections reflec-tions his hand caught something that startled him. It was a watersoaked rope! His mind nimbly leaped from despair de-spair to to hope. He clutched eagerly eager-ly at the mass of slimy ropes that before had been sea monsters and : slippery eels. Now they were life lines flung out to help him. Their continued lashing and twisting were pleasant indications that they were real and substantial. He was not dreaming. He began clawing at them, pulling himself from one mass of rigging to another. When his hands came in contact with a floating spar, and it bobbed up and nearly smashed his face, he laughed in glee instead in-stead of cursing. If he could crawl up the wreckage to the schooner's deck he would be safe. Finally a giant wave carried him clear over the rail and dropped him heavily on the deck where he lay sprawled for some moments, gasping gasp-ing for breath, and groaning from the effects of the terrific struggle. The crests of the surging waves reached him even here, but they no longer had the power to use him as a battering ram. When he finally raised his head and looked around the wave-swept deck, he had a queer feeling that all his efforts had been in vain.' The schooner was abandoned, with him as the only living being aboard. A little startled by his discovery, he began crawling in the direction of the cabin. If Rose and her father were aboard he would find them there, for the wet, slippery deck was no place for them, and they could not hope to navigate the derelict dere-lict on such a wild night. When he reached the head of the companion, a welcome ray of light came through the open door of the cabin, bringing joy and relief to his tortured mind. Rose was below with her father, watching, hoping, and praying or stoically awaiting their fate. Dick staggered to his feet and started down the steps; but before he had taken one, sounds of a muffled muf-fled commotion halted him. Craning Cran-ing his head forward, he listened, peering intently through the murky gloom until his eyes came to a focus fo-cus on something lying half across the threshold. With a little start of surprise, he recognized the body of one of the two Caribs left behind on the schooner. Another Ugly Battle For Rose and Dick A reddish clot of blood in the middle mid-dle of the forehead told where a bul-get bul-get had entered and brought his life to a sudden end. From inside the cabin came the low, shifting sounds of a wordless conflict, with the combatants struggling strug-gling back and forth In a deadly embrace, their breath coming in short, wheezy gasps. Dick slipped down the few steps and stood astride the dead Carib. He blinked a moment under the strong light of the swinging cabin lamp before he took in the significance signifi-cance of the scene. The second Carib had disarmed Rose, and with one powerful hand pinning her against the wall he was trying to encircle her waist with his free arm. With a growl of rage, Dick sprang at the brute, catching him by the neck, and with a jerk wrenched his head back. Then looping an arm around the neck he pried the head backward until he could get a strangle hold on the windpipe. The Carib was a big, powerful man, with a head as hard as a battering bat-tering ram, and arms and legs as thick and solid as tree trunks. After Aft-er the first shock of surprise, he struggled to shake his assailant from his back, grunting and blowing blow-ing loudly. Dick's strength had been badly spent in the struggle in the water, and as they rolled and twisted twist-ed over the cabin floor his own breath came in short, labored gasps. In spite of his advantageous hold, he realized that the Carib might eventually get the better of him. The bull-like neck rose and fell, emitting horrible gurgling sounds, but his strength showed no signs of weakening. The powerful muscles were working slowly and steadily, while Dick's were rapidly weakening weaken-ing under the strain. Then, when it seemed as if his last ounce of strength had been used up, and his burly antagonist was stiJJ fresh and active, a sudden deafi-ing deafi-ing crash shattered the stillness. (TO BE CONTINUED) CHAPTER VI "Don't be sorry until you know what you're sorry for," she Interrupted Inter-rupted sharply. "I didn't say there was anything of value aboard. What Father says I'm not responsible for. He says a lot of crazy things." "Then then " She waved him to silence as a footstep sounded on the stairs and Captain Tucu pushed his way Into the room. He glanced from one prisoner to the other. "Well," he growled, "y'ready to tell?" "As much as we know, captain," replied Dick quickly. "Neither of ' us knows where Captain Bedford hid 'the money. If we had known we'd have left the schooner before you came aboard." Rose Bedford turned to face the half-breed, her cheeks flushed and angry. There was no fear in her. "If you think I'd tell if I knew where It was hidden," she said defiantly, de-fiantly, "you're mistaken. You could never get it out of me." Her defiance brought the blood into the old pirate's face and the devil in his eyes. He stepped toward her and caught an arm in his powerful pow-erful grip. "Y" wouldn't!" he snarled. "Y'wouldn't, eh? Well, y'little she-devil, she-devil, I'll show ye. I'll wring it out of ye, an " "Hold on, captain," Interrupted Dick, "she doesn't know anything about it. Let up on herl You promised prom-ised not to make war on her. Settle It with me." "Well, what d'ye know about it?" was the savage retort, as he turned from the girl to him. "Y'tell me or y'll go back In the water where we found ye. Pretty damn quick, too!" Dick was struggling between a strong desire to twist the man's neck and the need of extra caution in playing his hand skillfully. The latter finally triumphed. He smiled good-naturedly. "If you dropped me overboard, captain, you'd lose both treasure and those jewels. Now you don't want to do that." Tucu growled impotently, expending expend-ing his wrath by glancing from one to the other with wicked, malevolent eyes. He spat viciously on the floor, and then exploded: "I'll give y'until tonight sundown to And out If we ain't got the atuff by that time, y'got to find it for us ye an' that witchl Y'get me? It's got to be found! I don't care how y'do it, so's it's done. If not we'll string the capt'n up by his thumbs 'til he remembers, an' ye an' this girl'll come next. If we can't do any better we'll tie y'up in the cabin an' set the schooner afire. Then ye an' the treasure can go to hell together." "And the smuggled jewels?" queried Dick, smiling. Captain Tucu regarded him an instant in-stant in silence, and then shook his head. "1 ain't sure there ever was any jewels," he said suspiciously. "I may give y'one more chance to prove it. Then then ye'll wish y'd died on that raft. It would be much easier, I reck'n, than the way ye'll go if y'disappoint me." Tucu Is Convinced There Is No Treasure As the search proceeded, and nothing was found, the half-breed's temper grew short and surly. He .kept the deck most of the time, his eyes on Dick, who was lashed to the foremast, or on Rose. Captain Bedford had been held a prisoner in the fo'c's'le where he had been subjected to certain third-degree methods of Tucu's Invention; but the wandering mind of the demented dement-ed man was a treacherous thing to depend upon. In time the old man's very willingness will-ingness to talk of the hidden treasure treas-ure disgusted them. "Hell," muttered Tucu in disgust: '"He never had no treasure." He strode on deck, his eyes bloodshot blood-shot with anger. Seizing Rose by the arm, he said: "Y've been lyin' ter me. There wasn't no treasure aboard." "I never said there was," she replied re-plied coolly. "You took Father's word for it, and I told you he wasn't responsible for what he said." Tucu glared at her in silence, his face working in a passion. Then without a word, he dropped her arm and strode toward Dick. "Y'got one more chance," he said ominously. "Y'lled 'bout this treasure. Now we'll see if y'were lyin' 'bout them jewels." "What's wrong, captain?" asked Dick, realizing that something had happened to bring matters to a head. "There ain't no treasure aboard. Y'made up that tale. Now "She's got two o' my men to keep her company, an' that crazy father," fa-ther," leered the half-breed. Dick frowned. The sea was rough and choppy, and the wind blowing half a gale. The threatened storm was rapidly approaching. The schooner was In no condition to weather it. Captain Bedford was worse than useless, and the Caribs' were indifferent seamen. "Storm's coming, captain," Dick said finally, "and the schooner will go down in it. Why not take the captain and his daughter off? You don't want them to drown." "The hell I don't," snapped the other. "I didn't put 'em there, an' I ain't goin' to take 'em off." "Then will you let me go back to them?" Tucu grinned. "Y're goin' to show me where them smuggled goods was chucked off the steamer, or y're goin' to feed the fishes." The man's plan was clear enough now. Convinced there was nothing of great value aboard the schooner, he had abandoned her until after he had found the smuggled gems. Later, if the storm did not send the schooner to the bottom, he could return and salvage her If she was worth it. The gale was stiffening every minute, and the work of getting under un-der way was hurried. With almost bare poles the lugger would have great difficulty in standing up in the wind and rough sea. A giant wave swept the deck. With a yell Dick tried to save himself, but with his arms tied behind his back he was as helpless as a child. He rolled over and over, and was saved at the last minute by Black Burley, who Jerked him back in the nick of time. Once Again Dick Plunges Into Sea "Cut these ropes," Dick spluttered, splut-tered, "and give me a chance. Another An-other wave like that will finish me." Captain Tucu nodded to his mate. "Cut 'em an' take him below." Dick waited his chance. He had definitely decided to trust his life to the sea again and to try to reach the schooner. Better die battling with the elements than sail away with the black pirates. He stood a moment, stretching his limbs, and watching the heaving seas. Another An-other wave, smaller than the first, but big enough to give him an excuse, ex-cuse, swept over the bow of the lugger and rolled aft. When It struck him, he gave another an-other veil, as if calling for help, but Instead of resisting the mass of green waters he plunged straight Into them and assisted them In carrying car-rying him overboard. Black Bur l-made l-made a grab for him with his long |
