| Show sa 0 0 0 0 wa LVE S OF ad ad 11 A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 by RANDALL PARRISH 0 0 0 by A il U c mcclure McC luri c co dare he confide in anyone A carlyle takes a chance synopsis geoffry carlyle Cari yle waster master of sailing ships at awen ty ste is sentenced to 20 years servitude in the american colonies for participation in the monmouth rebellion in england among the passengers on hoard board the ship on which he Is sent across tire are roger fairfax wealthy maryland planter his niece dorothy fairfax and lieu tenant sanchez a spaniard who became acquainted with the F fair air foxes faxes tn in london carlyle meets dorothy aho vho informs him her undo uncle lins lias bought his hi services sanchez shows himself an enemy of carlyle Cari yle the fairfax party now on its own sloop in the chesapeake bay encounters a mysterious bark the namur of rotterdam carlyle discovers that sanchez is black sanchez to steal the fairfax gold and abduct dorothy ile he fights sanchez and leaves him for dead in a battle with sanchez followers however ife is overpowered and thrown into the bay in a desperate effort to save dorothy carlyle decides to swim to the namur by a ruse he be gets aboard and mingles with the crew the pirates return to the namur with dorothy the captured gold and sanchez badly wounded but still alive CHAPTER XII continued 8 he glanced about warily lowering his voice until it became a hoarse whisper P three years mate and most of that time has been hell I 1 even been ashore but once and that was on an island these fellows dont put ciny any trust trost in my kind nor give them any chance to cut and run once in awhile a lad ind does get away but most of them are caught and those that are sure sore get their punishment they never try it again ive seen them staked out on the sand and left to die aie that aint no nice thing to kemem ler bit sant tat how bow did you come into it alke most of the rest I 1 was second mate of the ranger a glasgow alg these fellows overhauled us at Bay brcak about a hundred miles off ge we east end of cuba our skipper was scotch cotch and he put up some ight fight f but any use there was only ethree ee of us left alive when N hen the pirates jame me aboard one of these died two pays ys later and another was washed overboard overboard ver board and drowned down in the val allf I 1 am all that Is left of the anger gyon you saved your life by taking on 1 sanchez had bad the two of us who awe ere able to stand back in his cabin be put it to us straight ile he said it t acup to us whether we signed up P or balked ked the plank and he ap ear r to care a damn which we chose chase L and you say others of this crew ew ye ve i been obtained in the same man adv er I 1 questioned deeply ply interested d perceiving in this a ray of hope not exactly no I 1 would nt presely say gay that its true per perhaps haps ST t most of the Britis hers era were forced join in about the same came way I 1 was 41 HO he glanced about warily nd d there may be a scandinavian wo 0 with a few dutch or to be counted sn that list but the most are pirates auosa choice its their trade and they ko 0 it sanchez only allos aims to keep d wyid ot a 9 few good men because lie he lbs got to have aau r albors ore lut but most of crew are nothing but it plain cut ats oats india indians as and half breeds firs cheoles creoles cre olea portuguese nig spanish and ory mong mongrel rel you ever heard ot of hi 8 elf III IB hau half french the bell hound who kicked you Is a portuguese and levere Is more digger than anything else ill bet there is a hundred rats on board this namur right now cut your throat for a sovereign and nev never er so eo much as think of it again A hundred Is there that many aboard A hundred an thirty all told most 01 0 em bunk amidships not sall sailorman ormen but just cut throats an sea wolves yer ought ter see em swarm out on deck like hungry rats when athars a fight comin its au all good ter fer watkins I 1 said soberly after a pause during which he be spat on the dirty deck to thus better express his feelings do you mean to say that in three years youve had no chance chanc to escape no opportunity to get away not inot a C hance chance mate no more will you I 1 know what yer th Inkin bout I 1 had them notions too when I 1 fust come aboard gettan all the dec decant nt sort ter gether and taka the vessel work aint nough bough who iud risk it and if yer get lern cm ter gether sanchez is too damn smart fer thet every damn rat is a spy I 1 aint hed bed no such talk as this ibis afore in six months gates the last time cost me twenty lashes at the mast butt yer have in yer mind mate only tills this watkins ive got to do something and believe I 1 can trust you its not my life im thinking about but that of a woman A woman not the one brought aboard last night exactly now listen im going to tell you my story and ask your help my name is not gates and I 1 am not the man mendez brought aboard drunk and who nho was thrown over the rail by levere that fellow was drowned I 1 am geoffry carlyle an english skipper thereupon I 1 told mm him my story in detail then I 1 said 1 I have no plan to become a member of the crew was my only thought cut but I 1 must act it if at all before the captain recovers he would recognize me at sight you will aid advise me that is easier to ask than answer mate he admitted finally 1 I am an E english seaman and will do my duty buts but so BO far as I 1 can see there is no plan we can make it is god who will save the girl it if she is to be saved he may use us to that end but it Is wholly beyond our power to accomplish it alone the only thing I 1 can do is to sound out the men aboard and learn just what we can expect of them if any opportunity to act comes there are not more than a dozen at most to be relied upon play your part and keep quiet if you can let her know of your presence aboard it might be best for if she saw you suddenly unprepared she might say or do something to betray you there are other reasons why it may be best for her to know she is not entirely deserted he leaned over motioning me toward him until his lips were at my ear it may not prove as hopeless as it appears now he whispered confidentially 1 I helped carry sanchez to his stateroom and washed and dressed ills his wound there Is no surgeon aboard ile he has a bad cut and is very weak from loss of blood the question of our success hinges on pedro estada this is a chance he has long been waiting tor for the only question Is lias has he the nerve to act acl I 1 doubt it if he his has alone but levere is with him and that halfbreed half breed would cut the throat of his best friend you understand the death of sanchez would make estada chief cut but I 1 interposed in that case what would the crew do accept estada no doubt at least the cut throats would be with him for he Is of their sort but Sanc hezs death would save you from discovery and his voice still lower so that I 1 barely distinguished the words in the confusion aboard if we were ready the namur might be so disabled as to compel them to run her ashore tor for repairs that would give you a chance it if once we reach porto grande there Is no hope A marling spike pounded founded on the scuttle and hagues II alnes voice roared down port watch hustle out bul bullies llesi 1 CHAPTER XIII I 1 accept a proposal I 1 wont went on deck with the watch nut and mingled with them forward A portuguese boatswain set MO at polishing the gun eun mounted on the forecastle I 1 was busily at work on this bit of ordnance when estada came on deck tor for a moment the fellow chanced to observe me you must be a pretty tough bird gates he said roughly agor or I 1 would have killed you last night I 1 had the mind to something about his voice and mon manner mander led me to feel that in spite of his roughness he was not in bad humor that would have been a mistake I 1 sir I 1 answered straightening up ritz rae in hand for it would have cost you a good seaman three years ago I 1 was skipper on my own vessel the bombay castlo castle london to hongtong Hong kong I 1 wrecked lier her oft off cape mendez in a fog I 1 was drunk below and it cost me my ticket you know west indian waters vaters 1 slightly I 1 made two voyages to panama and one to havana and speak spanish A little bit sir as you ou see I 1 learn languages easily he stared straight into my face but without uttering another word turned on his heel beel and went below I 1 had bad finished my labor on the and was fastening down securely the tarpaulin when a thin stoop shouldered fellow with a hangdog hang dog face crept up the ladder td the poop and shuffled over to levere mister levere sir well what Is it gunsaules senor estada sir lie he wishes to see a sailor named gates in the cabin who gates oh yes the new man ile he swept his eyes about until 41 7 11 I 1 waited for the man to speak lie saw me follow the steward below senor estada wishes to see you go 90 just as you are very good sir 11 the fellow led me away there was no one in the main cabin I 1 followed the beckoning steward who rapped with his knuckles on one of the side doors espadas Es tadas voice answered I 1 stepped inside doubtful enough of what all this might mean yet quite prepared to accept of any an chance it might otter offer estada sat upright in the chair gazing straight at me his own face clearly revealed in the light from the open port his its face was swarthy long and thin with hard set lips under a long intensely lilack black mustache his cheeks strangely crisscrossed by lines the nose was large distinctively roman yielding him a hagli like appearance but it was his eyes which fascinated me they were dark and deeply set absolute wells of cruelty I 1 had never before seen such eyes in the face of a 8 human being they were beastly devilish I 1 could feel my blood chill as I 1 looked into their depths yet I 1 held myself erect and waited for the man to speak then his lips curled in what was meant to be a smile he arose stepped quietly to the door and glanced out returning apparently satisfied 1 I dont trust that steward he be said nor as a matter of fact anyone else wholly he paused and stared at me then added ive never had any faith in your race gates but am inclined to use you every englishman I 1 ever knew was a liar and a sneaking poltroon I 1 was brought up to hate the race and always have I 1 cant say that I 1 like you any better than the others I 1 dont for the matter of that but just now you can be useful to me it if you are of that mind this Is a business proposition and it makes no odds it if we hate each other so the end Is gained how does that sound not altogether bad I 1 admitted 1 I have been in some games of chance before 1 I thought as much eagerly and anc money has the same chink however it 1 be earned you could use some carlyle sees a chance to carry through his wild plan to save dorothy and himself himsel fp but there are arc many pitfalls in the way the chance Is a desperate one shall he take it carlyle can see but one answer to the question 11 0 n TO DE CONTINUED |
