THE SEMI.WEEKLV TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
CHAPTER XVI Continued.
11
"Yes; hold my hand while I guide
you; wc can sit licrc."
It wos a couch of some kind against
the outer wall. She did not release
her grasp, seemingly Kilning courage
from this physical contact, and my fin
gers closed warmly over her own."
"Now, plenso," breathlessly, "how is
It possible you are aboard this ves
sel an ofllcor?"
I told hor the strange story, ns
Hwiftly and simply as possible, speak
ing scarcely above n whisper, feeling
ns I progressed that I related a dream
rather than n series of facts. It
seemed to mo she could scarcely bo eje
pectcd to bollevo the truth of what I
snld, nnd yet she did, almost unquos
tlonlngly, the clnsp of her lingers per
ceptibly tightening as I proceeded.
She sat so close beside mo that I
could feel her breath upon my cheek.
"Why, If If you hud not told mo
this yourself I could hardly believe
such a tale," sho exclaimed. "Yet It
must be true, miraculous as It seems.
Hut what Is to be the ending? Have
you any plan of escape?"
"Hardly n plan. I have hud no op
portunity even to learn tho true na
ture of tho crew. Wutklns Is an hon
est sullor, nnd ho has told mo of oth
ers on whom I could rely. There uro
thoso aboard but I fo not know how
many who would mutiny If they had
a leader and a reasonable chance of
success. I must reach these and learn
who they are. Fortunately the voyage
promises to bo long enough to enable
me to plan carefully."
"iou navo uiscusscu tho voyage
with this man Estada?"
"Ho told mo what he had decided
upon ; not to return to their rojiiloz
vous until nftor they had captured
some prizes nnd could go with gold
chinking In their pockets."
"Where Is their rendezvous?"
"An lslndll In tho West Indies, prob
ubly not on tho churt. They call it
Porto Grnnde." -
"And they will swoop tho ocean be
tween horc nnd thcro seeking victims?
Unarmed merchantmcnt to rob nnd
sink? And you you will bo compelled
to take part In such scenes, such nets
of pillage and perhaps murder?"
"I presume I must seem to bo one
of them to nvnld suspicion. Uavo you
nny suggestions?"
"There Is conspiracy on bord al
ready," sho said quickly, "that you may
not know about."
"You mean to deposo Sanchez?"
"Yos; you had susplcloncd It? They
thought mo unconscious In the boat,
and talked among themselves tho
two at tho stern, Estada and that
beast Munucl. I did not understand
nil they said, but I do not think thoy
intend tho captain shnll recover."
"You think It best that ho should?"
"Oh, I do not know; there Is no
best that I can see. Yet I would hnvo
more faith In being spared dlsgraco
if at tho mercy of Sanchez, than his
lieutenant. Both may bo equally guilty,
equally desperate, but they ilro not tho
eumo men. I may bo wrong, for I
Judgo us a woman, yet I would feel
safer with Sanchez. The other merely
doslrcs with tho passions of n brute.
No appeal would reach him ; he would
laugh at tears and tlnd pleasure in
Buffering. And yet you would havo
me npponr friendly with Estadu?"
"We cuuuot permit him to feel that
cither of us are enemies, no Is tho
power aboard; our lives, everything
are In his hands. If he means to be
rid of Sanchez tho man Is doomed, for
lie will find a way to accomplish his
purposo; murder mouns nothing to
theso men."
"Of course you nro right," sho ac
knowledged. "Our caso Is so desper
ate we must resort to nny weapons.
You bellevo It will servo tho possibility
of cscnpo If I permit this mounter to
Imagine that I havo somo Interest In
him?"
"To do so might delay tho explo
sion," I replied gravely, "and just now
nny delay Is welcome I doubt If oven
Estada will resort to force on board;
Indeed force will bo the vory ?ast card
ho will enro to play In your case. You
uro English and all tho practical sea
men ou board nro from northern Eu
rope English and Scandinavian.
Theso men aro not pirates from choice
. thoy nro prisoners who havo taken
'on to save their own lives. With his
bullies nnd cutthroats amidships he
can compel theni to work, but ho daro
not go too fur. Once these fellows
unite In mutiny they could take tho
ship. An assault on you would bo
dangerous."
"It Is theso men you count on?"
"Yes; but for mo to gain their conll
Hence and leadership will require
time. The slightest slip would meim
tfnlluro and merciless punishment. At
best . tho situation Is absolutely des
pcratc but I see no other solution."
"jLnd my Mrvlco is deceit tho net
Ing of a part tof blind tho eyes of
Estada?" '
"I slncorely bellevo your greater
chnnce of security lies In this course.
Tho fellow Is a supreme egotist; op
position will anger him, while flattery
will make him subsorvlout. You have
the wit and discretion to hold him
within certain limits. It Is a danger
ous game, I admit, and a dlsagreeablo
one, but the case requires desperate
remedies."
She lifted her eyes, searching my
face through tho dim light.
"Geoffry Carlylc," sho said at last,
n tromor in tho low voice, "there Is
no sacrifice I would not make to pre
serve my honor. I hate this man; I
dread his touch; I shrink from con
tact with him as I would from a
snake, but I am not going to refuse
to do my part. If you say this Is
right and justified I will consent."
"I believe It Is."
"And you will not lose fnlth In mo?"
sho questioned earnestly. "It will not
lower your belief in my womanhood?''
"Nothing could do that. Mistress
Dorothy, I want you to realize the
depth of my interest and respect. Your
friendliness has meant much to me,
nnd I would never urge you to lower
your Ideals. Hut wc must face this
situation us It Is. Wo possess but two
wenpons of defense deceit or force
A resort to tho latter is nt present Im-
possible. I cannot conceive that you
are lowering yourself In any way by
using tho power you possens to escape
violence "
"The power I possess?"
"Yes beauty nnd wit. These nro
your weapons, and most effective ones,
You enn ploy with Estada and defeat
him temporarily, at least. I confess
there Is dnnger In such u came ho Is
a wild beast, and his evil nature may
overcome his discretion. Take this
pistol. Keep It hidden about your per
son, but use It only when all else falls.
You retain faith In mo?"
"Implicitly."
"And pledge yourself to your part
leaving mo to attend to mine?"
' Her two hnnds clasped my fingers,
her eyes uplifted.
"Geoffry Cnrlylc, I havo always bo
lleved iu you, and now, after the sac
She Lifted Her Eyes,
rlilce you hnvo made to servo mo I
can rcfuso you nothing you nsk. I
will endenvor to accomplish nil you
requlro of me. God knows how I hato
tho task; but but I will do my best
Only only," her voice sunk, "If If,
tho beust lays hands on mo he he
pays the price. I could not do other
wise. Geoffry Cnrlylc I urn a Fair
far." Satisfied with my mission nnd confi
dent nothing more need be said, I
nroso to my feet.
"Then wo can do nothing further
until I learn tho disposition of the
crow," I said quietly. "Estndn Ib not
likely to resort to extreme measures
nt present. Thnt Is why I bellevo you
uro comparatively safo now his own
position of command Is In tho bal
ance."
"I will sco you nguln?"
"Perhaps not hero; it Is too danger
ous; but I will find means to commu
nlcnto with you. Good-by."
Wo stood with hands clasped In tho
darkness. I thought she was going
to speak again, but tho words fulled
to come. Then suddenly, silently the
door opened a mere cruck, letting In a
gleam of yellow light from tho mnln
cnbln, while tho crouching figuro of a
man, like n gliding shadow slipped
through Iho nixsrturo, closing the door
buhlnd him us softly us he hud opcucd
IL I heard her catch hor breath nud
felt her bunds grasp my alcove, but I
never stirred.
Who could he be? What might be
the purpose of his entrance? Hut oto
nnswor occurred to me I'cdro Estndn,
driven by unbridled pnsslons to attach
the girl. I thrust her behind me, nnd
took u step forward, with body polswl
for nctlon. I wus unarmed, but cnrd
little for thnt in the swift desire to
come to hand grips with the brute. I
could hear him now, slowly and cau
tiously feeling his way toward us
through the darkness.
CHAPTER XVII.
A Murder on Board.
To be ccrtnln of free space I extend
ed one hand nnd my fingers came Into
unexpected contact with the back ,f
a chair. Without movlugny body I
grasped this welcome weapon of de
fense and swung It above my head.
Whoever the Invader creeping upon
us might prove to be, he wus certain
ly an enemy, actuated by some foul
purpose, and no doubt armed. To
strike him down ns quickly nnd silent
ly as possible wan therefore the plain
duty of tho moment. I hn'd no other
thought.
The slowness with which he groped
his way forwnrd indicated unfamlllan
lty with the apartment, although his
direct advance proclaimed some spe
cial purpose. Clearly he had no fca
of attack I could determine almost
his exact position us his advancing
foot felt cnutlously nlong the deck.
Ho enme forwnrd Inch by Inch.
measured the dlstunco ns indicated by
faint, shullllng sounds.
I could not see but I knew. AVlth nil
my forco I struck 1 Blindly ns It had
been delivered tho blow hit fair; therq
was a thud, an Innrtlculatc groan, nnd
tho fnll of n body upon the floor bo
ynnd that nothing. I waited breath
lessly listening for the slightest move
ment. I felt Dorothy touch my shoul
der and caught the sound of her voice
trembling ut my oar.
"What Is It? What did you do?"
"I struck him with a chair; ho Ilea
there on the deck. Wnlt where you
are."
I bent over nnd touched him. The
fellow lay in a heap with no percep
tible heart-beat, no semblance of
breathing. My Angers sought his face,
nnd I could senrcely suppress a cry of
surprise he was not Estada. Who,
then, wns he? What could have been
his purpose In thus Invading this
stateroom? All I could grasp was the
fact that tho fellow was not the Por
tuguese ho possessed a smooth face,
long hair, and was n much smaller
man. I dragged the body where the
light Illumination from the after port
fell directly on tho upturned face. Tho
features revealed were unfnmlllnr i
thoso unqucstlonubly of u half-breed
Indian. Dorothy crossed to my side,
her foot striking a knife, which camo
glimmering Into tho nhrrow range of
light. Sho stared In horror at the
ugly weapon, nnd then nt the ghastly
countenance.
"lie came to murder I Sec, his knlfo
lies there. Why should he havo sought
to kill mo?"
"It . Is all mystery," I admitted.
What shall bo done with the body?
It ennnot bo left lying exposed here;
no ono would believe you killed him,
and my presence must not be suspect
ed." "Could It," sho suggested, "bo
dropped through tho port?"
She shrank back from touching tho
Inanimate figure, yet It required tho
combined efforts of both to force tho
stiffening body through tho porthole.
Wc could distinguish footsteps on tho
deck above, but these were regular
and undisturbed tho slow promenade
from rail to rail of tho officer on
watch. Clearly nothing had been
heard or seen to awaken suspicion.
"If you should be questioned tomor
row you had best know nothing," I
said gravely. "I do not think you will
bo, for surely nn'nttack can bo no plan
of Estada's. It could gain no advan
tage. The fellow was pillaging on his
own account; If he Is missed It will
bo supposed he fell overboard, and no
ono will care. You are not afraid to
remain here alono?"
'No; I nm not greatly frightened,
but shull try and bar the door with a
chair. I havo no key."
"Then I'll leave you; half of my
watch below must bo gono by now. I'll
take tho fellow's knife along, as It
must not be found here."
Wo parted with a clasp of bunds, as
opened tho stateroom door and
slipped out into tho cabin. To my sur-
prlso the light over tho table had
becu extinguished, rendering tho cabin
so black I had to actually feel my way
forward. Tho lantern must havo been
put out since then by some confed
erate. After n moment of hesitation
found my wny across to my own
stateroom nnd pressed open the door.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
The Polka Dot.
Hecause In 183ft n Hohcmlan pens-
nnt girl danced a now step In a little
village near tho Polish border a nun
gnrlnn dunclne master Introduced It
in Europe under tho nnmo of Polkn,
which Is tho fcmlnlno of Polnk or
Pole. By 1814, at tho time James K.
Polk was running for tho presidency,
the dnnco had spread to America nnd
tho nnmo "Polk" nnd tho word "Pol
ka" formed n coincidence at once ap
pealing to everyone. Tho manufac
turers, merchants and designers Ira
mediately presented Pollfti IwU, Polk
shoes, Polka gauze nnd the "newest
design In fabrics for gentlewomen."
On a Commercial Basis.
Gerald gave his grandmother n little
gift for her birthday, nnd bho sum
"Well, you nro n good lad; I shall
glvo you u nlrkel for yourself," to
which tho llttlo chnp replied, "Hut,
crandma, tho present cost 15 couU."
BUILDING
INTEREST IN ROADS GROWS
More Attention Now Given to Im
provement In Highways Than
Ever Before In History.
The good rpads movement Is seeing
a big revival now that business Is
becoming normal. The most Impor
tant program that has recently como
to our attention Is that of the stnto
of Michigan, which hns Just voted In
favor of a S.IO.OOO.OOO program that,
when cnrrled out, will plnce Michigan
on the map big so far as good ronds
are concerned, writes Hlrkett L. Wil
liams, truck sales .nannger for a largo
motorcur corporation.
Everywhere else yon see also more
Interest In good roads than In nny
period In our history. It is true to say
thnt the war nnd Its needs taught us
the value of good roads. Perhaps it
did. Perhaps It brought home to thoso
dull cars of higher tips the supreme
Importance of nn Intelligent system of
nuvlgublo highways. Hut more nnd
more It comes home to tho man who
studies the sltuntlon that buck of the
good roads movement must be the or
dinary mun, the average man who
pays taxes and votes nnd thinks ns he
votes. '
The fnrmor or rural dweller In ccr
tnln sections for n long time stood In
tho wny he wnnteH the roads, but he
didn't want to pny for them. He did
not renllze thnt In the long run good
ronds pay for themselves out of snv
lngs mnde to the community In haul
age of people' and merchandise. Hut
tho farmer toduyls reckoning In units
of time.
Yes, he realizes the value of min
utes throughout the season and he Is
just as keen In conserving time ns the
city-bred man who operates a big fac
tory; If anything, ho Is a bit keener,
for seasons do not wnlt nnd crops must
be sowed nnd cultlvnted, reaped and
mn.rketed nt the right time. He has
convinced himself thnt time Is money.
And he knows thnt good ronds save
time and thnt they save time largely
because they make It possible to get
satisfactory services from motorcars
nnd motortrucks. And ho Is not one
bit blind to the fact that operating cost
Is largely Influenced by rond condi
tions thnt good rouds make gasoline
more elastic, rubber nnd steel more
durable nnd bring markets nearer, and
thnt good ronds Increase property val
ues out of nil proportion to the cost
mm
Good Roads Are Necessary to Efficient
Operation of Automobiles.
of good roads to nny one Individual.
Therefore, the farmer Is now back of
road Improvement.
Does tho city mnn foci any Interest
in good roads? Ask your neighbor.
If he doesn't own an automobile he ex
pects to own one, nnd ho knows all
nbout where the good roads aro and
what they mean. But when his Influ
ence counts, big, tho greatest Impetus
hnB naturally sprung from the numer
ous army of motorcar owners to whom
motorcar ownership has made tho ter
ritory for miles around his neighbor
hood.
Counties nnd stntes where gosd
roads havo become a steady part of n
progressive program of legislation havo
seen values shoot up In the most sur
prising fashion, and this, ngatn, has
brought homo the fact that good roads
pay for themselves. Thus It Is natu
ral that tho yenrs 1010 ond 1020 will
see tho most stupendous good ronds pro
grams inaugurated In America that tho
world hns over known. This will
result In "Iho wider utility of motor-
enrs anu motortrucks and, of course,
piov n big aid to tho solution of tho
freight traffic problem.
NEW ROADS COST $8,000,000
Utah Plans Extensive Improvement
on Lincoln Highway on Wyoming
Utah Line.
Tho rond law Just adopted by tho
Otnh state leclslaturo will nrovlde In
connection with tho federal aid fund
n total or about ?8,000,000 for high
way construction In that state. Pres.
ent plans call for extensive improve
ment' on tho Lincoln highway, partic
ularly between the Wyoming-Utah lino
and salt lmkc uuy.
CARE FOR HEALTH OF FOWLS
Dropping Boards Should Be Cleaned
Weekly Isolate Birds With Colds
Keep Away Insects.
'Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Clean the dropping boards nt least
once n week, and spray tho roosts
once a month with kerosene or some
commercial preparation for killing
mites. Have a irood sunnlv of sand or
dry dirt on bund to use on the drop
ping boards.
If any of the birds develop colds,
k Clean House Promotes the Health
of Poultry.
put as much potassium permanganate
ns will remain on the surface of a
dime into a gallon of water nnd keep
this material In their drinking water
for several days, or until tho symp
toms of the colds have disappeared.
Remove nny sick birds from the flock
as soon ns noted and treat them in
coops by themselves or kill nnd bury
them if thoy are not worth fronting.
Examine the pullets and hens for
lice and dust thoroughly with a good
Insect powder or apply n mixture of
equul parts of vaseline nnd mercurlnl
or blue ointment, applying a piece
about the size of n pea ono inch below
tho vent of the bird, rubbing the mix
ture lightly on tho skin. An appli
cation of this ointment two or three
times n yenr will keep the fowls free
from lice. Where Insect powder Is
used, It should be applied three or four
times a year, or oftener if the fowls
become Infested with lice. Provide a
small box In the house, partly filled
with dry road dust or fine dirt, In
which the hens may dust themselves,
thus helping to keep them free from
lice.
It Is an easy matter to overfeed
fowls. Hear this In mind unless tho
fowls nre on range.
Hens that uro laying nro not likely
to nccumulnte fnt; It Is when they uro
not luylng that they do so.
Give tho fowls good dust: and plenty
of It. This Is how thoy keep them
selves free of vermin nnd well.
Hens of light breeds mny bo profit
ably kept for three seasons; those of
the heavy breeds for two seasons.
Good layers are bred up und not fed
up. All tho feeding In tho world can
not induce a naturally nonproductive
hen to change her nature.
A trap nest Is the ono accurate way
to tell whether you uro keeping a pay
ing flock, but the poultryman who
keeps It must look: after the nest In n
proper wuy.
If you have made a failure of every
thing else, don't think the chicken
business will prove to be a life saver.
It requires not only brains, but an
overplus of energy.
Chickens never wash, as many other
birds do but cleanse themselves of In
sects by wallowing In soil. For this
reason every poultry houso should bo
provided with a dust box.
Flvo eggs out of evry 100 are
spoiled by being fertile. Producing In
fertile eggs does not require anything
but tho removal of Iho rooster from
tho flock after tho need for hatching'
eggs Is past.
Milk Is no substitute for meat, for It
Is not sufficiently concentrated. It Is
Impossible for fowls to drink enough
of It to take the placo of meat. When
fed with animal food, milk performs
excellent service.
Infertile eggs nro more common
umong poor luyers than good ones.
Experiments at the Maine experiment
station proved it nearly impossible to
get fertile eggs from tho hens that
were tho poorest layers. .
HUSBAND
SAVES WIFE
From Suffering by Getting
Her Lydia E. Pinkham's
Vegetable Compound.
rittsburgh. Pa." For many months
I was not nblo to do my work owinp to
a weaKncss wmcn
caused backacha
nnd headaches. A
friend called my
attention to one of
your newspaper
advertisements and
immediately my
husband bought
three bottles of
Lydia E. Pinkhnm'a
V ogotnblo Com
pound for me.
After tnkinp two
bottles I felt fino
nnd my troubles caused by that weak
ness are a tiling of tho past All women
who suffer as I did should try Lydia E.
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound."
Mrs. J AS. Roiiiujeug, C20 Knapp St,
N. S., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Women who suffer from nny form of
wenkness.asindicntedby displacements,
inflammation, ulceration, irregularities,
backache, headaches, nervousness or
"tho blues," should accept Mrs. Rohr.
berg's suggestion and give Lydia E
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound a
thorough trial.
For over forty years It has beet
correcting such ailments. If you havo
mysterious complications write for
ndvico to Lydia E. Pinkbom Medicino
Co., Lynn, Mass.
Unfortunate, Wasn't It?
It wus the ame old story. He had
got the wrong number on the tele
phone. 1
Only this time he received n 'shock.
I'm sorry I gave you the wrong
line," said n sweet voice over the wire.
"It doesn't mutter a bit," ho replied,
not to be outdone In courtesy. "I'm
sure the number ypu ,gavo, me wns
much better than the ono I asked for;
but It just happened that I wasn't able
to use It."
To Have a Clear Sweet Skin.
Touch pimples, redness, roughnesi
or itching, If any, with Cutlcura Oint
ment, then batho with Cutlcura Soap
nnd hot, water. Rinse, dry gently and
dust on a little Cutlcura Talcum to
leave a fascinating fragrance on skin,
Everywhere 25c each. Adv.
Love In a cottage may be O. K but
how nre a lot of us gonna get tho
cottage?
Taxes are what a nation pays for
glory.
Couldn't Work
S. W. Bishop Was Laid Up By
Kidney Trouble. Now Owes
Good Health to Doan's.
"1 owe my present good health, large
ly, to Doan's Kidney Pills," says S.
W. Bishop, 5102 Kensington Ave., St.
Louis, Mo. "I wasn't able to work.
Sharp pains would catch me when I
stooped or tried to lift anything, and
at nignt tuo Kiuncy se
cretions passed frequently
and were scanty and
painful. Specks seemed to
1 wmilrt ppt. iiizzv. There
was a pufliness under my
nvnu I simtlfl enn mvcnlf
failing from day to day 4S3
and I finally was laid up WAv
trom dune until fccptem-
ber. I cot Doan's Kid. nr. BUlOp
ney Pills and used them. I received
relief with the first box and became
at night and the kidney secretions were
now of natural color. The dizziness
and other troubles disappeared and I
picked up in weight. After I had used
four boxes of Doan's Kidney Pills I
looked and felt like my old self. The
cure seemed a miracle and I firmly be
lieve that my lifo was saved by this
remedy."
Sworn fo "before me.
JOHN W. BRUNS, Notary'PubUc.
Get Doin'i at Any Store, GOe a Box
DOAN'S K "iSS
FOSTER.MILBURN CO., BUFFALO. N. Y.
Baby's Clothes
will be white as the driven snow
when laundered if you
uso
Red Cross Ball Blue
It never streaks or spots the
clothes, nor docs it injure the
most delicate fabric.
All good erocers sell it; 5 cents
a package.
DAISY FLY KILLER v&
AUi f LlLS. Hrot,
cheap. Luta
II ituon, Mftda ot
mrtftl, can't eplll or
tip over ; will not soil
or Injure inthing.
In&renteen .nrfUta.
1 BoM . by oVlr r. or
EUUOUJ ttOMtlta, 14) lio iCAli) An., UrooUm, tT.
