Young Man Who Finally Won Out By Edward Marshall
(Copyright. V.m. All Rights Reserved, by
F. L. Marshall.)
CHAPTKK VI.
It nln't the powder magazine that's dan
gerous. U'm the IJut with the lighted
mutch. ThR Ixig Hook of The Kyddy.
r-'iKXT day na they were passing
I TJ I out of the last readies that mUht
LAJ i I y ny possibility le called the
IrfcSftl 'Channel" they were fortunate
KS!-J enough to travel with and through
nn of those extraordinary processions of
tho world's craft which are more often
Been there, perhaps, than In any other
waters on the surface of the enrth. Of all
of them the captain dlscuunej learnedly,
with ninny qunlnt expressions and from
diver original points of view, which pleased
Parton more jind more as the distance be
tween the Isle of Wight and the I.ydia
Sholfeld Incrcas-cd.
It was at the season of the British naval
maneuvers and many small war rraft were
teaming about with apparent ulmlessnea.
Among them were u dozen or more torpedo
boat, whw-c speed rurled the water over
their hows In great cascade of white foam.
Tho two men rove from their seats and
loaned over the rail to watch them as they
raced last. Suddenly, with a swish and a
saucy toot from her whistle, one of them
shot along at the side of the Lyill.i with
great speed and appjrently reckles.-dy near.
She sat low In the water, her funnel's top
being scarcely higher than the I.ydia's rail,
and as she passed not more than four or
flvo feet of water separated her from tho
sailing craft
It was a reckless piece of dare-devilment
and the captain burnt Into a fury of wrath,
lie ran aft, trying to keep alongside of the
flying craft as long as he could and hurling
Ms strange substitute for profanity nt the
natty young commander us long as he cou'd
feel at all sure (hit his voice would carry
so ns to reach his ears.
When he returned to Ills place at Tarton's
side he was breathless with Indignation.
Ho fumed for a few moments and then
burst Into a hearty laugh.
"Uy John! But he'd been a badly fooled
commandln' monkey If he'd rnmnied me,"
lie said, with a face on which the Imagined
Joy of sweet revenge was brilliantly re
flected. "CJulncy! If he'd hit me Just one
' good, hard piuich nmldshlps he'd thought
that war had been declared, and (hit It all
was hapiMHiln' right here nnd oil at once.
If he's a good man nn' got a soul ealc'lute 1
to go to heaven I guess It'd had a right
smart hustle to git there 'fore his body ril l,
If ho'd rammed me In my middle! By
Adams! Yes, sir, as they say at th' county
fair, It would been a purty race, with all
th' odds In favor o th' body, by John
tulncy Adams'."
"Why?" asked Parton. "Would he have
blown up? I don't believe they carry real
exponlvis on these practice trips, do they?"
"Well, meblie they do an' mebbe they
don't," said the captain. "Even If they
do they only carry a little. There's where
the Joke would a come In. You'd think
they was all ou'doors dangerous with
their war paint on, an' their off'cers in
ervlce uniform, an' all that, now wouldn't
you?" An' you'd never believe that th' old
L.yddy here could blow 'ein all th' hull
John fleet of 'em Into Kingdom Come, if
they should go pokln' any o' their noses
Into her Innards! lint she could, an',
what's more. If they should hit her right, I
guess she would. That's what made me
to mad at that fleet."
"Why?" asked I'arton In surprise.
"Well, I'll tell you. It's for th' same
.eabou that I don't like ta have you smoke
for'ard. I've got a big consignment of
Humberlte 'bout 'midships. It's a new ex
plosive thaj'a been Invented by an Kngllsh
uan. He wants to. bell th' patent, or
tomethtn. to th' I'nltcd States, an' I'm
arryln" over a ton nnd a half of samples,
hj to speak. They wouldn't take It on
one o' th' regular freighters.- It knocks
ne out o' my Insurance, but I get a mighty
no cargo price for It, an' made up my
nlnd I'd take my chances. Mebbe I'd
ught a told you 'bout It 'fore we started;
.ut, somehow, 't didn't seem nec'sury.
aebbe you'll want to git out an' walk, now
hat I have told you. I'll stop th' ship,
o's't you c'n climb over th side nice and
omf'table. If you want me to."
"I think I'll stay on board," said Parton.
CHAPTER VII.
t you feel that you've really got to tell a
secret, go somewhere where It's dark and
you'll be all alone. Then keep your mouth
shut. The Log Hook of the l.yddy.
It was not until several day afterward
that the captain reverted ta the time when
Parton had told him the story of the dia
monds on the after deck while the captain
sat on tho cabin skylight and suddenly
rose with the declaration that they were
"a pair o' fools."
During the entire morning the captain
had roamed around the ship with an ac
tivity that was almost feverish and was
by no means welcome to the men. II; In
sisted, always, that the l.ydla should be
kept In shipshape, but this day he was
more than ordinary exacting, and kept the
men at work continually nt scrubbing and
polishing, small repairing find painting. Ily
the time supper was over and the men were
forward growling because they could t ot
smoke, and he was aft, sitting quietly by
Parton'a Bide and watching the early even
ing sea, both he and the crew were thor
oughly tired. It was Mr. Brown's watch
Brown was down there, llstenln. I don't
mean to say that he overheard us for sure,
or that If he overheard us he'd take ad
vantage of it for sure. But I'm Just a
warnln' of you, that's all.
"I know that man, an" what I think of
htm's best told when I say that I wouldn't
nohow shipped him if I could got any
body else. It's mighty hard to git off'cers
for wind-jammers these days. I'm mighty
sorry to have to say It, but I don't believe
that thut man's any better'n a yaller dog
that Is, as a man. As a sailor he can't
be beat. lie's a reg'lar Yankee Doodle
Bailor, an' Yankee Dondl? means the best
they is. But aa a man lie re'ly ain't worth
mentlonin'.
"He'd be a sea lawyer If he was before
th' mast; he'd be a brute to th' men If
lie was in command. As it is, he's their
of a desire to establish an Intimacy fcecam
even more pronounced and Parton talked
it over with the Captain. They agreed that
they could only let matters take their
course and trust In Providence, hoping that
the mate had not overheard the conversa
tion. It was not long before Parton was gltd
that he had been put upon his guard, for
he saw a growing tendency on the part of
the mate to sound him on subjects which
Indicnted that the Captain had been right
In his fears that the conversation that day
by the open cabin skylight had been over
heard. This came about In the most natural of
ways. The mate asked him soma ques
tions about South Africa, and Parton
knew that he had never mentioned to him
the fact that he had been there, althouslt
cots
TlfK CAPTAIN RAN AFT, HURLINO HIS STKANGK PROFANITY AT TUB YOUNG COMMANDER.
below and it was possible at times to hear
that officer's hearty snores through the
open cubln rkylight. Parton laughtd a lit
tle us one of them, born only after a severe
nasal struggle, drifted out to them, and
tho captain, looking up, smiled, too. Then
he rose quietly and beckoned to Parton to
walk aft. When they had reached the
Lyddy'a afterrall they leaned over It and
watched the ship's wake for a few mo
menta, the white, phosphorescent, eddying
foam gleaming prettily and stretching back
like an undulating ribbon of sparkling i li
ver until it was lost In the gloom of ap
proaching night.
They discussed the matter of the tlLsposU
of the stones after they should reach p'jrt,
and both agreed that It would tie dargerous
to even attempt It for a long time after
the l.ydla reached Boston.
"I don't Bfe that you're goin' to be much
better off than you would be if you didn't
have 'em," said the captain. "You (Imply
can't sell 'em 't wouldn't be safe for a
minute." .
"Well," said Parton, "I suppose that I
ran carry them around with mo after I
get ashore Just as I do now when I'm on
board ship. I cay. do go for a while, any
way, and"
"Don't you say a word to me nor any
body 'bout whore they be whilst you're
on this ship," interrupted the captain
quickly. " That's what I've got to tell you.
You remember the day we'd been Bittln' on
th cabin skylight, talkin' about them
dl'monds, when suddenly I began to cuss
an' got up. That was because I happened
to re'ltse that what we'd been sayin' might
a oeen heard down In th' cabin if there'd
been any ono there to hear it, for th' sky
light was open, an Its astonlshln' how
plain you can hear anythln' that's goln'
on on deck down there when that skylight's
open! By Qulncy! It's aatonishin'. Now
I ain't a-golu' to say nothln' about this
ac'ln; but I'm inclined to think that Mr.
chum, an' th' best way to spoil a sailor,
next to abusln' of him. Is to get chummy
with him. I don't like him an' I don't count
on him an' I don't want you to like him,
and I don't want you to count on him.
Have you noticed anything queer about
him and you?"
"Well," said Parton, "he asks a good
many questions."
"That's always when I ain't around, ain't
It?" commented the Captain In one of those
questions which New Knglandera ask with
out expecting an answer. "Now, my no
tion Is that he overheard what wo was a
sayln' there that day. Mebbe he didn't.
If ho did you see I've got to tell you th's
or I wouldn't I'm afraid that th' chance
of glttin' that big reward might go tome
considerable distance further with him
than It would with some other folks that
I can think of. I'm John sorry! Quincy!
I wouldn't a-had it happen for a new
penny.
"At first I thought I wouldn't say nothln'
to you about it, but presently when I see
that he was a-tryin' to make up to you
and git friendly when he thought I wasn't
by, 1 reckontd I d better tell you what's
perfectly true, that I don't trust him,
neither. Only don't git him mad at ycu.
That might be Jest as bad as th' other."
From that time oil Parton watched the
mate with some suspicion. He noticed
with new attention now that Mr. Brown
showed a singular curiosity about his past
life and was prone to ask many questions
when they were by chance thrown Ugttlier
out of the Captain's earshot.
When the Captain was by the mate kept
his distance and was anything but familiar
in his manner. Parton, however, attributed
a part of this to the habit of discipline into
which he knew a sailor must almuBt in
voluntarily fall. That he had tried to be
especially friendly In an Insinuating sort
of way Parton now realised.
DurUuj th (olio wing week these marks
he remembered very well the fact that It
had been discussed In the course of that
unfortunately unguarded talk.
Nothing dennlte was said about it, but
there seemed to be a calm assumption
doubtless unconscious of what reflection
and suspicions It might give rise to that
Parton had been In South Africa and that
ho knew that country pretty thoroughly.
For a few moments Parton put the subject
off without comment. He neither affirmed
nor denied that he had been at the Capa
and knew about that vast and largely un
explored country which lies to the north of
the Transvaal. But one day the mate
asked him a point blank question about
Klmberley.
Parton may have changed color 'at thla
direct confirmation of the captain's sus
picions; but he tried to conceal the troubla
that It gave him as he answered:
"What In the world, Mr. Smith, makes
you think that i have been in South
Africa?"
The mate saw that he had made a slip
and colored darkly underneath the ocean
tan.
"Oh, I don't know what did make ma
think so," said the mate, and I'arton knew
that he lied.
CHAPTER VIII.
If you keep your rum keg out of sight,
you won't tempt no one, and you'll have
more for yourself. The Log Book of the
l.yddy.
That evening Parton told the captain
about the mate's strange knowledge of his
Journeying in South Africa. The good old
man was obviously worried by it.
The next morning Parton, who had been
on deck, went to the cabin to get some
thing, and was amazed as he entered, to
see the mate emerging hurriedly from his
berth. The mate colored vividly, and,
laughing uneasily, tried to pass the episode
off with statement that ha had cost-