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Show AHHMH 4. t$M$ $ $1 $. 1 .$ if. (j. f$t ifrljfr Ififf ifr 't 'frftfr ill OTGEMEE If I C :: THE SEA' DEVIL' .- .I' ' . I I ' B? LOWELL THOMAS itt it it tti iti ill itl itl itl itl itl itl ill ill itl lit ill itl ill itl '1' itl it' itl 'tl 'li itl it) & & 4l & & llnfr it ll ill it 4k INTROpUCTORY Count Felia von Luckner, was aa Lowell Thomas aaya, "the most romantic ro-mantic and mysterious figure on the aide of the central powers In the war." Born in Saxony of a JkPfc family that for generations had furnished distinguished cavalry commanders com-manders for the armies of their time (his great grandfather was a marshal mar-shal of France), hla father was d" termlned he should carry on this cavalry cav-alry tradition. But Felli was enamored enam-ored of the aea from his childhood ; A "husky young devtl. fond of sports," he refused to apply himself to his studies, and when thirteen and a halt year old he run awny to Hamburg and with the help of a superannuate td sailor obtained the post of cabin boy aboard the Russian full rioted ship Mot) bound for Australia. Eighty days of rough sailing and ftuA,n.n k nil, hllM A Ity be had become accustomed to em ploy created consternation and am-hnrrasanient. am-hnrrasanient. So as air. Thomas saya. be submitted himself to a long and rlKorous course of eelf-dlsclpllne to extract th biasing nnutlcal ontha from hla common sech. Their larc waa taken hy the harmless expression "My Joe" which appears so frequeutit throughout bis story. . , . CHAPTER I The Fairy of Feurteventur The emperor transferred me to th' ('anther, which wus then assigned to our West African station, the Cam eriHina. If my being aboard the ('anther Inspired. In lUelf, vivid recol' lections of my past life, my service ss an officer of the ship presently brought me to another and fur more delightful memory of my sailing-ship days. This waa an Incident that not i come? Slit la too lovely for any mortal mor-tal being." . So deep was I In funtasy that theae thoughts Inspired me to a sad rocrel and resignation. When evening came, I returned to the ship happy ami yet downhearted, - Thut night we entertained on board members of the Uoyal Spanish club and their guests Some came for din tier, tome afterward. It was a Jolly meal. ' Then we gave an after-dinner entertainment, and I was called uton to entertain and amuse our gtieata During m days aa a sailor I was often oft-en In demand to amuse the company The (rlrks I had learned among the Indian fakirs In Australia I had re talned and cultivated. To Ihla day I am somewhat skillful at various kinds of sleight of hand. I put on oriental rohee and turban. My face, freshly tanned by the aun of the Cam eroons, needed no darkening. I had learned from the fakirs the solemn merely returned to me In Imagination, but one that brought to me that rarest gift of fortune. dream come true. The events thai preceded the climax cli-max of which I speak were such as to provide the ever-striking qualities of contrast The African jungle, the pursuit of savage beasts, black war riors, an extraordinary black king, fan tostle war dance and all the unearth ly sights and sounds that are Africa, and then ...... , Having to take the Tanther bark to Germany for overhauling, we steamed north. Our first stop was to be for provisions at Fuertevetitura, one of the Islands of the CanarleY a i "Ml ft':. A uukiiui ll caiiiiciii uiiiwkiii i,,u Freeraantle. ' where an Inn keeper's daughter persuaded hlra to desert the ship and work for her father as a dishwasher. 1 Always seeking adventure. Fells Joined the Salvation army (n Free-mantle, Free-mantle, then In succession became assistant as-sistant to a lighthouse keeper, work er In a sawmill, kangaroo hunter, helper to a band of Hindu fnklra and prlr.e fighter. Rut the sea still lured him and he shipped on the American four masted echooner Oolden Shore for Seattle. By this time Felix wa ambitious to be hla own master, so he and another Oerman Ind went to Vancouver and stole a email sailboat to become fisheni en. They were caught hut a lenient Judge put them on probation for a few weeks. Signing Sign-ing on the English ship I 'In more, the young adventurer now hnd a long voyage around Cape Horn to Liverpool Liver-pool In the course of which calms, storms, scurvy and herl-berl nearly did for the entire crew. Returning to Hamburg. I'helax, as he, called himself In those days, signed on the ('aesarea. his first German Ger-man ship, and then besnn a voyage that furnished him with what he called "a real sea yarn." After a not unpleasant passage to Melbourne they took a cargo of coal to t'hlle where Phelax spent New Vear'a day In Jail as a result of a spree and then sailed for Plymouth with snltpeter. Off the Falkland Islands they were caught In a terrific hurricane but mnnaged to reach port. " Their next destination wns New York, and on Christinas day they were struck hy a white squall, followed hy a hurricane hurri-cane that completely wrecked their ship. Many of the crew were lost but Phelax, with a broken leg. and a few others cot away In the captain's boat Six days later, their food and wnter all gone, they were picked tip by an Italian steamer that took them to New York. Discharged from tne hospital In eight weeks. Phelax shipped on the Canadian schooner Flying Fish for Jamaica, but white discharging rargt hla other leg was broken and he was left behind In Kingston. Able otrlv to hobble, he waa thrown out of the hospital there and. penniless and feeble, soon became a real bench comber. One day the Oerman war ship Panther came Into port and poor Phelax. hungry to hear his native tongue, slipped aboard and was glv en fond by the sailors. But he waa so dirty and disreputable in appear ance fhnt the officer of the watch or dered the "unspeakable creature" off the ship. Years later, when he had resumed hla own name and station In life and waa befriended hy th kaiser, be told this atory to Wilhetm. and the ruler declared It would be appropriate and poetic to put him aboard that same Panther as an off) cer which was done. Another voyage took Phelax to Tamplco. where he and a comrade went for horseback ride and lost their ship. For time they made a living carrying market baskets, and then Joined the Mexican army. Work In a railroad construction camp and on a fruit ranch followed, and then came voyages on a Norwegian vew.el In the course of . which Phelax ac quired a knowledge of the Norwegian Inngunge that was destined to pia an Important part In hla , later adven tines aboard the Seendler during the mystical demeanor and alow Imprea-slve Imprea-slve move men Is that they cultivated. I must say that aa I appeared before the guests In the salon of the Panther I cut quite an oriental, wonder-working figure. .. . I bad performed several Tricks and had . come to the one In which I snapped a ring onto a cane hi Id at both ends by an assistant, when two newcomers arrived and entered through a door not far from me. "t.uckner." I thought, "are you going crazy? I'helnx, there Is she. your fairy princess." - She was on the arm of a itnielj old genttetnun. She bad the rosy Hps. the short, pretty nose, the childlike eyes and the rich blonde hnlr that had haunted my Imagination. She came close to me and watched me with an expression of Interest and somethln of awe. As I learned Inter, she thought 1 waa truly an Indian fakir. "Phelax," I aald to myself, "she has come to you. your fairy princess. She knows you are on her Island, and she haa come." I tried to go on with my trick, but my hands shook and were clumsy. I could not control them. Nor could I keep my eyes atvay from the blonde girl who si ood there. "I'm sorry," I said to my assistant, one of our officers. "The other ones went all right, hut I can't seem to do this one. We've had enough anyway." any-way." "Ladles and gentlemen," he announced an-nounced Jocularly, "the great fakir has reconsidered and thinks It would be wrong to disclose this Inst marvelous trick. He feels that It Is his duty to retain It and exhibit It for the first time before his sovereign, the king of F.ngland." . Everybody laughed, I wenl out and changed Into my naval uniform aa quickly aa I could. When I returned. I asked one of the other officers to present me to the blonde young lady. I have never felt so bashful aa when I made my botv before her. She was much amused at having taken me for a genuine Indian fakir and talked merrily. Her laughter was very sweet She told me her name was Irtna. Her father owned great plantations on the Island of Sumatra .She was With him nf Fuerteventura on a sojourn for his health. The remainder of my stay on the Island was perfect happiness. Irmn's father entertained us officers at his bungalow Irtna and I were together all of the time.- We took long walks among the white houses and through the green glades the night of which had so gladdened poor Phelax long years before. When the Panther steamed north again, I was happy with the assurance that Irma had given giv-en me that she and her father were sailing for home In short time and that I would see her there. I did see her There, and we became engaged to be married. The Panther was to sail for the Cameroons again on July 17. We were ready to start when we received an unexpected telegram tele-gram from the admiralty "Do not start" On August 1. Germany declared de-clared war on Russia, and the. world waa ablaze. I told Irma that our mar rlnge must be put off. It would be wrong to have her become the wife of a man who might so soon leave her widow. She wanted an Imme-. dlate marriage but I was determined CTJ BB CONTINUED t The Modern Buccaneer and Hla Bride. vacationing and health resort I was on watch. Straight ahead, a speck of land appeared on the horizon, Fuerteventura, Fuer-teventura, the Island for whlcb we were bound. -- It was a ' green Island, ' Presently, through my glass, I could distinguish waving pulms and white houses, white nouses with green sliuters and red roofs. A vague feeling made my heart Jump. ' ' " . ' "Luckner," 1 thought "it la the same island, the Island you saw when you were a cabin boy aboard the Ntobe. the island of the fairy princess." It was. . There could be no doubt of It So clear was memory Impressed by a great feeling that I could recog-oize recog-oize Individual bouses I had gazed up-tin up-tin seventeen years before while I leaned on the rail dreaming a bappy dreum. . . '; ... . I went ashore by myself, and sauntered saun-tered over the island all day. It wus small, with gentle hills and an ahun dunce of vegetation.' Flowers were everywhere. It was truly an Isiund of flowers. I wenl on through perfumed valleys and over breezy hills. Inst In reverie, lost In my former life. A kind of hypnotism was upon me. "I'helnx." I thought "of course you do not see the fairy princess. She Is hidden beyond the flowers there. . She will stay hidden, la she to come to I'helux, a common sailor Or even If you were a naval officer, would she war. ; When he ran away from home l.m-kner vowed he would not return until he could do so aa a naval officer In the Imperial service. To realize thla ambition he must study oavign tlon. serve aa officer In the mercan tile marine and then enter the navy All Ihla he accomplished with much travail, and on being mustered In foi volunteer service he waa recognized hy bis uncle. Admiral Count Rn lulls sin. From tbat time of course his fortune was assured and he waa reunited re-united with his family. (Wore long Prince Henry of Prussia ordered him Into active service and the emperor took a warm Interest In bla advancement advance-ment Count von Lnckner's narrative rrotn this point la given In bla own language as be told It to Uiweli Thomas. It should he explained that when be returned to "reHpectHble' ; die he found tbat the vivid profuo 1 ' - ;i |