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Show ' . - I Tn thIs tale I I 1 JACK LON- ( DON'S SEA EX-X VPERIENCE IS TJSED WITH ALL J I -HIS -VIrTlE . REN - SYNOPSIS. 16 Humphrey Van Woyden, critic and dilettante, dilet-tante, llnds himself nhoard the sealing eehooner Ghost, Captain . Wolf I.arsen, bound to Japan waters. The captain makes htm cabin bov "for tile Rood of his mil.'- The oooknev cook, MuKildgo. la Jealous and hazes him. Wolf hnz.-s a Bea-man Bea-man and mak.'s It the basis for a philosophic phil-osophic discussion with Hump. Cooky and Hump whet knives at each other. Hump's Intimacy with Wolf Increases. A carnival of brutality breaks loose In the ship. Wolf proves himself the master brute. Hump, despite his protest. Is made mato on the hell-ship ami proves hy bis conduct in a blow- that he has learned "to stand on his own Ickm." Two men desert the vessel In one of the small boats. A young woman wom-an and four men. survivors of a steamer wreck, are rescued from a small boat. The deserters are sighted, but Wolf stands away and haves them to drown. Maude Prewster. the rescued girl, nnd Van "eyden find thev know each other's work. They talk together of a world alien to Wolf. Maude sees MugrldKe towed overside In a bowline to Rive him a bath and his foot bitten off by a shark its he Is hauled aboard. She begins to realize her dancer nt the hands of Wolf. Van "eyden realizes that he loves Maude, "olfa brother. Heath I.arsen. comes on the sealing trounds in the steam sealer Macedonia and blankets Wolfs boats, so stealing 1,1, catch. IValh I.arsen "hogs" the sea again and Wolf captures one of bis boats with Its men. CHAPTER XXI Continued. He dropped down to the dork and rested his rifle across the rail. The bullets we had received had traveled nearly a mile, but by now we had cut -that distance in half. He fired three careful shots. At the third the boat-Bteerer boat-Bteerer let loose his steering-oar and crumpled up In the bottom of the boat. "1 guess that'll fix them." Wolf Larsen Lar-sen said, rising to his feet. "I couldn't afford to let the hunter have It. and there Is a chance the boat puller doesn't know how to steer. In which case, the hunter cannot steer and Bhoot at the same time." His reasoning was Justified, for the boat rushed at once into the wind and the hunter sprang aft to take the boat-Bteerer's boat-Bteerer's place. There was no more shooting, though the rifles were still cracking merrily from the other boats The hunter hail managed to get the boat before the wind again, but we ran down upon it. going at least two feet to its one. A hundred yards away. 1 saw the boat-puller pass a rifle to the hunter. Wolf Uirsi n went amidships and took the coil of the throat-halyards from its pin. Then he peered over the rail with leveled rifle. Twice 1 Faw the hunter let go the steering oar with one hand, reach for his rifle, and hesitate. We were now alongside) and foaming past. "Here, you!" Wolf I.arsen cried suddenly sud-denly to the boat puller. "Take a ) urn " At the same time he flung the coil of rope. It struck fairly, nearly knocking Die man over, but he did not obey. Instead, he looked to his hunter for orders. The hunter. In turn, was in a i ua mlary. His ride was between Ills knees, but if ho let go the steer- Ingoar in order to shoot, the boat would sweep around and collide with the schooner. Also he saw Wolf I.ar-nen'a I.ar-nen'a rifle bearing upon him and knew he) would be shot ere he could get his rifle Into play. "'Take a turn," he Raid quietly to the man. The boat-puller obeyed, taking a turn around the little forward thwart and paying the line as it Jerked taut. Tho boat sheered out with a rush, nnd the .hunter Hteadled It to a parallel course aome twenty feet from the side of the Ghost. "Now get that sail flown and come alongside !" Wolf Larson ordered. Onco aboard, the two prisoners hoisted In the boat and under Wolf Larsen' direction carried the wounded wound-ed boat-steercr down Into the forecastle. fore-castle. "If our five bonta do an well an you and I have done, we'll have a pretty full crew." Wolf Larsen said to me. "Tho man you shot - he Is, I hope " Maud Ilrewster quavered. "In the shoulder," he answered. "Nothing serious. Mr. Vuti Weyder. will pull hlin around as good us ever In three or four weeks." "I:ut be won't pull fhose chaps around, from the look of It." lie added, pointing at the Macedonia's third boat, for which E had been steering and which was now nearly abreast of us. "That's Horner's and Smoke's work. I told them we wanted live men, not carcasses. Hut the Joy of shooting to hit Is a most compelling Ihlng. when once you've learned how to shoot. Kvcr experienced It. Mr. Van Wcydon?" I shook rny head and regarded their work It hail Indeed been bloody, for they bud drawn oh and Joined our other three bonis In the allaek on the remaining two of the enemy. The deserted de-serted host was In the trough of the sea, rolling rlrunkenly across each .comber, lis loose sprllsall out at right nnglcH lo It anil flullerlng nnd flapping In the wind. 'I he hunter and boat-puller boat-puller were holh lying awkwardly In the bottom, but the boat nleeror lay across the gunwale, half In and half out. bis ntiiia trailing Iti the water anil his h"nd rolling from side to side. "Iion't look, Miss I'.rewsler, please don't look." I had begged of her, and I was glad Mini she had minded me nnd been spared Mm sight. "Ilend right Into the bunch, Mr. Van Weydcn," was Wolf I.arsen a ( inn Aland. as ha drew neater, Mm firing ceased, l -. '. cnpyKiaor e .JACK LCMPOrT I and we saw that the fight was over. The remaining two boats had been captured cap-tured by our live, and the seven were grouped together waiting to be picked up. "Look at that!" I cried involuntarily, pointing to the northeast. The blot of Btuoke which Indicated tho Macedonia's position had reappeared. re-appeared. "Yes, I've been watching it," was Wolf Larsen's calm reply. He measured meas-ured the distance away to the fog-bank fog-bank and for an instant paused to feol the weight of the wind on his cheek. "We'll make it, I think; but you can depend upon it that blessed brother of mine has twigged our little game and is Just a-humping for us. Ah, look at that!" The blot of smoke had suddenly grown larger, and it was very black. "I'll beat you out, though, brother mine," he chuckled. "I'll heat you out. and I hope you no worse than that you rack your old engines into scrap." CHAPTER XXII. When we hove to. a hasty though orderly or-derly confusion reigned. Tho boats came aboard from every side at once. As fast as the prisoners came over the rail they were marshaled forward into the forecastle by our hunters, while our sailors hoisted In the boats, pell-mell, dropping them anywhere upon up-on the deck and not stopping to lash them. We were already under way, all sails set and drawing, and tho sheets being slacked off for a wind abeam, as the last boat lifted clear of the water md swung In tho- tackles There was need for haste. The Macedonia, belching the blackest of smoke from her funnul, was charging down upon us from out of the nc.-th-east. Neglecting the boats that remained re-mained to her, she had altered her course so as to anticipate ours. She was not running straight for us. but ahead of us. Our courses were converging con-verging like the sides of nn nngle, the vertex of which was at the edge of the fog-bank. It was thora. or not at all. that the Macedonia roCd hope lo catch us. Tho hope for the chnst lay In that she should pass that point before the Macedonia arrived at it. "Hotter get your rifles, you fellows." Wolf I.arsen called to our hunters: and the live men lined the he rail, guns In hand, and waited. The Macedonia was now but a mile away, the black smoke pouring from her funnel at a right angle, so madly she raced, pounding through the sea at a seventeen knot gait " 'Sky booting through the brine,' " as Wolf I.arsen quoted while gazing at her. We were not making more than nine knots, but the fog bank was very m ar. A puff of smoke broke from the Macedonia's d'-ck, wo heard a heavy report, and a round hole look form In the stretched canvas of our mainsail. They were shooilng at us with one of tho small cannon which rumor had said they carried on board. Our men. clustering amidships, waved their hals and raised a derisive cheer. Again there was a puff of smoke and a loud report, this time the cannon ball striking strik-ing not more than twenty feet astern and glancing twice from sen to sea lo windward ere It sank. Hut there was no rifle firing for the reason that nil their hunters wero out In tho boals or our prisoners. When tho two vessels were half a mile apnrt. a third shot made another hole In our mainsail. Then we entered the fog. It was about us. veiling and hiding us In Its dense wet gauze. The sudden transition wns startling. The moment before we bad been leaping leap-ing through the sunshine, the clear sky nhovo us, the sen breaking and rolling wide to the horizon, anil a ship, vomiting smoke nnd lire nnd Iron missiles, mis-siles, rushing nindlv nnon nn. Anil nt once, as In nn Instant's leap. I ho sun was blotted out, thero wns tio sky, even our mastheads were lost to view, nnd our horizon wns such as tear blinded blind-ed eyes may see. II was weird, strangely weird. I looked nt Maud Ilrewster nnd knew Mint she was slmllnrly nffecled. Then I looked nt Wolf I.nrsen, bill there was nothing subjective about his slain of consciousness. Ills whole concern wns wllh the Immeillnle. objecllve present, lie sllil held Ihe wheul, nnd I felt Mini ho was Mining Mine, reckoning Ihe pnsnago of Ihe minutes wllh ench forward for-ward lunge nnd leeward roll of tho Mhosl. "Mo for'nrd and hard n len without any nolne." he said lo mo In a low voice, "( lew up (lie topsails first. Hot men nt nil Mie sheets. Let there he no rallllng of blocks, no sound of voices. No noise, understand, no noise." When nil wns rendy, the word "hnrd-n "hnrd-n leo" wns passed forwnrd lo inn from man to ninn; nnd Ihe (ihost licclnd nboul on the port lack wllh prnctlonlly tin iioIho nt all. And what llltle there wns - Ihe slapping of n few rocrpnlntn and Din creaking of n riheuve In a block or two - wns ghoslly under Ihe hollow echoing pall In which were swal bed. Wn bad scarcely filled nwny, II seemed, when the fog Ihlnned abruptly nnd wn were ngnlu In Mm suiiHhlnn, Mm wide stroti hlng sen breaking beforn us to Mm skyline. Hut the ocean, was bare. No wrathful Macedonia broke Its surface nor blackeued tho sky with hor smoke. Wolf Larsen at once squared away and ran down along the rim of the fog-bank. fog-bank. His trick was obvious. He had entered tho fog to windward of tho steamer, and while the steamer had blindly driven on into the fog in the chance of catching him he had come about and out of his Bhelter and was now running down to re-enter to leeward. lee-ward. Successful in this, the old simile of tho needle In tho haystack would be mild Indeed compared with his brother's broth-er's chanco of finding him. He did not run long. Jibing the fore and main Bails and setting the topsails again, we headed back Into the bank. As we entered I could have sworn I saw a vague bulk emerging to windward. wind-ward. I looked quickly at Wolf Larsen. Lar-sen. Already we wero ourselves burled in the fog, but he nodded his head. He, too, had seen it tho Macedonia, Mace-donia, guessing his maneuver and falling fall-ing by a moment In anticipating !t. There was no doubt that we had escaped es-caped unseen. "I'd give five hundred dollars, though," Wolf I-arscn said, "Just to be aboard tho Macedonia for flvo minutes, listening to my brother curse." "And now, Mr. Van Weyden." he said to mo when he had been relieved from the wheel, "wo must make these newcomers welcome. Serve out plenty of whisky to the hunters and see that a few bottles slip for'ard. I'll wager every man Jack of them Is over the side tomorrow, hunting for Wolf Lar sen as contentedly as ever they hunted for Death Larsen." Wolf I-irsen took the distribution of tho whisky off my hands, and the bottles bot-tles beran to make their appearance while I worked over the fresh balcii of wounded men In tho forecastle. 1 had seen whisky drunk, but never as these The Macedonia Waa Now but a Mile Away. men drank It. from pnnntklns anil mugs, nnd from Ihe bodies - great brimming drinks, each one of which wns In llself a debauch. Hut they did not stop nt one or two. They drnnk nnd drank, nnd ever the bottles slipped forwnrd and they drunk more. The steernge, whero wero two wounded hunters, wns a repetition of the forecnstle. eicepl that Wolf Larson Lar-son wns nol being cursed; nnd It was wllh a great relief (hat I again emerged on deck and went aft to tho cabin. Supper was ready, nnd Wolf Ijirncn nnd Maud were waiting for mo. While nil bis ship was gelling drunk ns fast ns It could he remained sober. Not a drop of liquor passed his lips. Ho did not dare It under Mm circumstances, circum-stances, for be bnd only Louis nnd mo lo depend upon, nnd Louis wns even now at Ihe wheel, We were stilling on through the fog without n lookout nod without lights. That Wolf I.nrsen bad turned the liquor loose among Ills men surprised tun, hut lie evidently knew their psychology and Mm best method of cementing In cordiality what had begun In bloodshed. Ills victory over Denlh I.nrsen seemed lo hnvo had a remarkable effect ef-fect upon hltn. Tho previous evening he had reasoned himself Into Mm blues, and I had been walling momentarily for 0110 of bis charaotciiMl le outburst)!. Vet he discovered himself In splendid trim when I entered Mm cabin, lie had had no headaches for weeks, his eyes wero clear blue an Mm sky, his brotrzo was beautiful with perfect heiillh; life swelled through his veins In full nnd magnificent Hood. While walling for me he had engaged Maud In nub mnled discussion. lie seemed voluble, prone to speech ns I had never seen hltn before, Tho discussion was on lovn and, nn nnual, bin was Mm sheer Inaletiallsl le side, nnd M 11 ml h wns tho Ideiillnlle. For myself, beyond a wind or so of suggestion or cotreiilon now nnd ngnlu, I look no pari. lie wan brilliant, bill no wns Maud, nnd for some 1 1 inn I lost Mm Ihtead of Iho conversation through studying her fnco nn she talked. II wns n fnco Mint rarely displayed color, but tonight It 'THE STORY OF ( 1 A MAN WHO J UN HIS OWNj Tittle world ALOARDSHIP WAS A LAW . U N TO - H I M S ELI was flushed and vivacious. Her wit was playing keenly, and she was enjoying enjoy-ing the tilt as much as Wolf Larsen, and he was enjoying it hugely. For some reason, though I know not why, in the argument, bo utterly had I lost it in the contemplation of one stray brown lock of Maud's hair, he quoted from Iscult at Tlntagel, where she says: Blessed am I beyond women even herein, Thnt beyond all born women Is my sin. And perfect my tranSKrctjtilfm. As he had read pessimism Into Omar, so now he read triumph, stinging sting-ing triumph and exultation, into Swinburne's Swin-burne's lines. And he read rightly, and ho read well. He had hardly ceased reading when Louis put his head into the companlonway and wbl-pered wbl-pered down: "Ho easy, will ye? The fog s lifted, an' 'tis the port light iv a steamer that's crossin' our bow this blessed minute." Wolf Larsen Bprang on deck, and so swiftly that by the time we followed him ho had pulled tho steerage-slide over the drunken clamor and was on his way forward to closo the forecastle-scuttle. Tho fog, though It remained, re-mained, had lifted high, where It ob-scurod ob-scurod the stars and made the night quite black. Directly ahead of us I could see a bright red light and a white light, and I could hear the pulsing of a steamer's engines. Beyond a doubt It was the Macedonia. Wolf Larsen had returned to the poop, and we Btood In a silent group, watching the lights rapidly cross our bow. "Lucky for mo he doesn't carry a searchlight." Wolf Ijirsen said. "What if I should cry out loudly?" I queried In a whisper. "It would be all up. he answered. "Hut have you thought upon what would Immediately happen?" j H foro I had time to express any do ; sire to know, he hail me by the throat : with his gorilla grip, and by a faint quiver of the, muscb-s a hint, as It were he suggested to mo tho twist that would surely have broken my i neck. Tho next moment ho had released re-leased me and wo wire gazing al the 1 Macedonia's lights. "What If I should cry out?" Maud asked. "I like you too well to hurt you." ho said softly nay, there was a tenderness tender-ness and a caress In his voice thai made me wince. "Hul dun I dd it. Just ! the same, fur I'd promptly break Mr. an We den's neck." "Then she has my permission to cry out." I said defiantly. "I hardly think you'll care to sacrifice sacri-fice the I enn o' American Letter tho j Second." he sneered. 1 We spoke no more, though wo had ' become loo used lo one another for tho silence to be awkward; and when the red light and tho wbilo had disappeared disap-peared we returned lo the cabin lo finish the Interrupted supper. If ever Wolf Ijirsen attained tho summit of living, he attained It then. From Mum to time I forsook my own thoughts to follow- hltn. nnd I followed In amaze, mnslered for tho moment by his remarkable Intellect, under tho spell of his passion, for ho was preaching preach-ing tho passion of revolt. It was In evltnhln thnt Milton's Lucifer should bo Instanced, nnd Iho keenness with which Wolf Ijirsen nnalyied nnd depleted de-pleted tho character was a revelation of his stifled genius. It reminded mo of Tallin, vet I knew Iho man had never heard of that brilliant though dangerous thinker. TO UK I'DNTlM'Kli ) |