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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1904)
Anenst 7, 1004. TOE ILLUSTRATED BEE. 15 Mm, Bullitt," he commanded. "We'll take him down an" tie him In his bunk an we'll leave lm there until we're good an' ready f'r him. See?" O'Keefe did not resist They took him down. . The mate produced soma heavy rope and the captain Ued him with his own hands. Then they left him. It wa about dusk and the moon waa due In a couple of hours. The captain and the mate then re tired to the captain's room for supper. Each ate and drank with a keen antici patory relish of the coming affair. Now, for the last few days both the mat and the captain had been wining and din Ins; to an extraordinary extent In honor of their guest, whom they had supposed to be Constitutional Smith. And, though In toxicants Invariably arour- the captain's pugilistic Instincts and put Into him the strength and boldness of two men, they dulled his caution with reference to other things. In his present condition he could fight almost any man to finish, provided there was a man to fight. But he ought not to tiave attempted to tie rope. lis bad un dertaken too nat a task when ho had tried to bind O'Keefa. O'Keefe lay In his bonk and submitted . without a murmur to the binding; he had dealt with drinking men before, and ho was counting on a slip somewhere be knew not where. But bo soon found out. lis found that Jenks had been too overconfid ent. Jenks had bound him, but he had not bound him well enough. And he had not left a man on guard. While the captain and mate were feasting up above, O'Keefa was struggling silently In his bunk below. The rope was a new and untried rope, and by dint of much wriggling he succeeded la starting one of the knots In It. Finally be was completely successful. The rest was comparatively easy work. Finally BllUngtan O'Keefe crept from his bunk and leaped silently upon the floor, a free man, so far as the rope was concerned. Ha climbed stealthily up the ladder knd reached the floor above. There he found a small piece- of lumber and with this In hie hand, and his heart in his mouth. ' he crept aft. He passed the captain's state room and beard tbe hoarse shouts of laugh ter that proclaimed that the captain was Just getting into condition. Still traveling toward the stern, be reached the deck. The dusk bad deepened into darkness. OS on the h orison the moon was Just begin ning to make Itself visible. Porwaid. here and there, b could dis tinguish the figures of ene or two of the crew. But aft. fortunately for himself, ha waa alone. This was highly necessary to his plan. Bl Kington OTteefe, from one standpoint, was going to do a very foolish thing. From bis owa standpoint ha was doing the only thing that there was left to do. He did not doubt for one Instant that behind him was a man who. In bis drunken frensy, would stop at nothing short of murder. And ha did not relish standing op to be made the victim of another fierce onslaught lie was deter mined to take his chances with old father Neptune. He had gathereed on his way one or two hard, moldy crusts of bread and lie had saved up a Bmall store of pro visions shortly after he had come aboard. He had done this with the idea of ultimata escape. He reached the extreme stern. Out be hind, over the water, there hung a fair sized dingy. A pair of oars lay in It. Bil llngton O'Keefe seised the ropo that held , It In the davits and noiselessly released It, band over hand. The boat gently low ered itself to the surface of the ocean and BUlington O'Keefe leaped over the ta Trail and followed suit. He was no sailor, but necessity, like experience, la . a first-class teacher. There was a strong breese and the Ssrah Margaret was scudding along under full sail. Biltlngton O'Keefa reached his row boat, east off tha blocks, seised the oars and adjusted them in the oar locks. Then, with a few strokes, he swung his boat about. Then, half raising himself In his eoat. ha turned and shook his fist vindic tively In tha direction of the "Sarah Mar garet" It was goodby forever, so he hoped. He grasped his oars and rowed for dear Ufa. Ha didn't know where or how to go. But be knew one thing. The "Sarah Margaret" was scudding away In one direction and he was rowlug steadily but surely la tbe other. Bulow, tha captain had sent Bullitt on dark to take a squint at tbe-moon. Bullitt squinted. He saw more than one; be saw a multitude of moons all of them was fun. Just as ha was himself. Ha went back and reported. The captain poured out two more large drinks. lie drained one himself and passed the other over to Bullitt. "Now," roared Captain Jenks of the "Sarah Margaret," "I feel as fit as a fiddle. Iet's go and get that son of a seacook. and Til knock him Into the middle of next week In two shakes of a lamb's tall. By George, I will." They went below to find BlUinjrton O'Keefe, Impostor. Naturally they did not find him. The bird had flown. The cap tain swore and yelled with disappointment. He and Ballitt searched the ship without success. Then they set tbe crew to work, but without success. Finally, one of the crew reported that the boat was missing from the davits aft. Then the captain roared again. He was beside himself. "Get a telescope!" ha yelled to Bullitt. Together they scanned tha moonlit surface of tha sea. But upon It there was no small boat, no BUlington O'Keefe. Captain Hold worthy Jenkins, baffled, started In and licked every common sea man In the crew. And he started In with the man who had reported that the little boat was missing. Like many other peo ple, Captain Jenks had little use for tha bearer of bad news. CHAPTER VIIL Tha Ir iartpellty f Swat. Tha Island of Swat' Is one of tha many unnoticed bits of land In tha Paciftc ocean, and many Teasels have anchored there, but for a short period of time, only to weigh anchor and proceed. An article on the Island of Swat may be found In at least one of tbe late en cyclopaedias, but the searcher after knowl edge must be careful to distinguish this Island of Swat from tha other principality of Bwat, which is located la the ' north western part of India. And, though both of these principalities bear tha same name. It Is doubtful whether In any sense they have ever had any connection, the one with tha other. It Is probable that tha derivation of tha name In the one In stance .was different from the derivation of the name In the other. It is, of course, possible that some of the inhabitants of the island might harve drifted in ages past into India, or vice versa. However, the two countries are separated ha this sge not only by distance, but by customs and habits and other characteristics as W1L Tha Inhabitants of Swat were well enojgh in their way, and the majority of thorn weighed enough, too; but they were 2.OJ0 odd years behind the tune. In appearance they seemed to be a cross between the African and the Mongol. Their men were handsome and their women were beautiful; but they were almost hopelessly stupid. These people of Swat were not a war like race, as savage races go, but they had Ideas of their own and they were stickler for those Ideaa. Bat, as has been said, they were stupid. This Is true of other races. The traveler In Cairo or Alexandria may stt upon the veraada of a modern hotel, equipped with every modern eoavezriep.ee and luxury and invention, In the midst of people who are the foremost reprenentatrrea of the twen tieth century, and ha may look over the railing and oat upon the street and sea myriads of men and women who dress and act and talk as did their ancestors thou sands of years ago. Tha natives appar ently have not moved forward; civilisation springs up about them, but they remain the same. Thus It waa with, the Inhabitants of Swat. Each of them waa the same old two-and-eixpeaee that be would have bean centurtes ago. Each lived In the same old way, plowed la the same old way. dug houses In the same old way. lit fires la the same old way and they were ail happy. This sluggishness waa due In great part to tbe fact that the Inhabitants of Bwat constituted a very close corporation. They were separated by many miles from any other island, and they were Jealous of their own right, to exclusiveness. They- did not visit, and they did not Invite. It was due further to the fact that they did not en courage the encroachments of the whites. At some period In their history the white men had maltreated and abused them, and they were through with white men for good and all at least that Is what they hoped. Vessels stopped there, it is true . Sometimes the white men went ashore and attempted to make a trade or two, but they were re ceived with scant courtesy. although not with active hostility. But the white men cared but little for the place. For it waa as uneventful and unproductive a place as might well be Imagined. Upon tbe Island of Swat there was positively "nothln doln' at any season of the year. Other Islands and other countries Invariably nave some commodity or commodities desirable or useful In some way to the Inhabitants of civilised countries, bat not so the Island of Swat. For Swat was sul generis one of ita own kind. From one standpoint the Island of Swat would have been a study for those who are interested In what are known as "com munity interest" governments. For among themselves the people lived a peaceable life; strife was known only at the end of many years; every man divided with his neigh bor, and save for the Akoond and his im mediate retinue which was, however, small no man lived better than tha other. There was nothing to fight for. There was little or no fighting over the women, for the women considerably outnumbered tha men, and each rarin had his quota of wives. And even if one man happened to fancy the wife of another and win her, the latter seldom made a fuss. A wife more or less, what did It matter? And so they lived their inoffensive lives in the same manner and with the name aids nnd utensils and devices as did their forefathers in the year one. And the akoond? Well, after the man ner of all nations, ancient and modern, tlie akoond was cl.osen from among the 'rest by reason of Just - one quality which ho alone enjoyed. The akoond Invariably waa the strongest man, and because of that be was the csar, the sultan, the absolute ruler. His word was law. Is it not so cvorywheraT Are not the leaders chosen In monarchy or democracy for their strength and that alone? It may be financial strength. In telligent strength or the strength and abil ity to Influence men, but It Is always for strength that men are selected, from the ward leader up to the president of the United States. And when all Is said and done the selection and election of rulers Is always a lottery, and It may be just as well to choose leaders for their physical strength as for ability la any other direc tion. At any rate. Just so long as tha akoond could bold his own he maintained his su premacy; but the office, like the prise ring championship, was always open to new comers. Tha husky youngsters of Swat were told time and again by their parents that some day, who knows, they might be future akoonds or Swat. And tie few or the youth wbo had ambition Immediately went Into training from the day almost that they were able to walk. But the akoond himself, a huge black man, with rather a sinister countenance tha others as a rule were brown and pleasant of face generally was able to hold his own. for there were many claimants of the crown, and tbe onslaughts ef these claimants con stantly kept him In very fit condition. At one time he came very nearly going under, for. by virtue of a happy thought of one of the young men, a syndicate or claim ants was formed, which agreed not to dis turb the akoond for at least a year or two, during which time 1t was quite evident he would become somewhat fat and unwieldy. At the appointed ttmo the members of the syndicate, by a process of elimination and preliminary triala chose their best man. and he met the akoond. But the akoond Was a man of too large experience and he knew too many tricks, and the great heir presumptive syndicate of Swat, like many another trust, failed signally, nh e.n hlsow selff hrd etoo eU eteolnnn It has been said tluU the inhabitants of Swat had no love for the white man. This is literally true. But every rule is known by its exception The Inhabitants were deeply religious and supers titious, as was natural and to be supposed. They believed in divinities and Bigna Ih fact, it was be cause their ancestors bad believed white men to be divinities, and because the di vinities had taken them in .la a dastardly way, that they tabooed all white men as a class. One day, however, a few of the natives were siting in a group upon the beach. They were there not -without a purpose. For far out, a mere speck upon the ex panse of ocean, was an infinitesimal object slowly moving In upon them. From a mere atom upon the face of the water this thing became an aggregation of atoms. When It came into full view It turned out to be a man a white man, bared to the waist, and rowing steadily bat feebly In a small dory. From time to time he turned and looked toward the shore. Then he turned and rowed again. The group of natives finally rose to Its feet nnd stood In expectant attitudes upon the shore at the very water's edge. The white man was very near. Suddenly he summoned all his strength, pulled a mighty stroke upon his oars, and as the boat, under Its Influence, shot ahead, he dropped back into it, completely fagged ouL Ha had fainted from exhaustion. The black men gathered round about him and pulled him from his boat, whkh had been buttered by tbe waves, and luld him flat upon the shore. They gated upon lilm for an Instant Then a wild hubub rose among them. For one man, an old one, was pointing with long, lean finger to the middle of the white man's bared breast. The other yelled with excitement. Then one man ran to a low shed some distance away and fetched a gourd. Its contents he hurriedly poured down the white man's throat. The white man coughed and spluttered and revived. Then two or three of the group, still pointing excitedly to the whit man's chest, lifted him and carried him through the constantly Increasing crowd far up Into the grove of trees. There they set up a series of howls and brought forth first, another retinue of men, and last, but not least, a black man of gigantic pro portions. The excitement heightened. The black man stepped into the center of tbe group. Once more they pointed to tha whit man' breast. The black man took one look and then, without hesitation, be made a low obeisance to tbe white man, and especially to the white man's breast. There was nothing which would have been ordinarily remarkable about the white man's breast except that upon It, tattooed la a variety of colors, was the figure of a snake, colled and Just ready to strike. Bat the black man, grasping the white man's hand In his own and touchlug him upon the breaBt, suddenly raised his bead and looked Into tbe air. In front of the group stood a grotesque building' of a crude manufacture and from the welter of tin; b:.-ildlng a Jong, strong pole ri&rftU lacXt toward the sky. And upon the top of this pole there was perched something that at first the white man could not make out. Finally, however, he discovered what it was. It was nothing more or less than a crudu image of a serpent. This serpent was coiled and Its head was pulsed Just ready to strike. It waa the counterfeit presentment of tha tattooed figure on the breast of the white man. Then the while man understood. The snake was the god. the guiding spirit of the men alnuit him. And he, the white man, hud upon his breast none other than the holy mark. He was a mnn among men, this white man. lie understood that at once. The black man, of course, was the Akoond or Swat. The white man was none other than BUlington O'Keefe. (To be continued.) An Easily Won Race Dr. James M. Anders, or Philadelphia, who believes that violent athletic xer ctaes have a harmful effect on the art-iiu of the young, sold the other day: "1 should like to see all tho more vio lent forms of athletics reduced to the mod eration that a fat friend of mine advo cates. "My friend is six feet ta'l and ho wtlgha 290 pounda On day a slim youth said to him: " 'You, I fancy, can't do much In tho way of running. " "Oh. I don't know,' my friend replied. 'Would you like to race tne for a din ner?' " 'Indeed r woukl,' said tha other, and be gave a loud, mocking laugh. " 'Well,' said my friend, 'I carry about one hundred and fifty pounds more weight than you, and that, in a hundred yard dash, ought to entitle me to five yards handicap.' "I'll give you five yards handicap,' said the slim youth. " 'And will you let ma choose my, ground? " 'Gladly.' "The two, with a half dnsen witnesses, started forth at once for the race. My friend led the crowd onward till he came to a very long and narrow alley. He walked Into It for a distance of five yards. Then he halted. He blocked the alley up comp:etely; between tho tall brick wills there was Just room for his burly should ers, and no mora. 'Take your place five yards behind me.' he said to his opponent, 'and when I count three start But you can take your tuna. I am going to take mlna' "New York Tribune. Lessening Temptation WeU, Caesar," said Colonel Kaintuok, "I hear you've Joined the church?" "Yes. sah," the old darky replied. "I sho' has." "That means you've reformed, of coarse." "Oh, yes, suh, co'se it do." "Well, now let's see how yoa'd 'asd temptation. .Let's suppose a case. Sup pose you were coming across my property, Caesar." "Yea suh." "And you saw some object that belonged to me. Suppose you saw a great big, fat, juicy watermelon. You wouldn't steal it, would you?" Caesar shifted uneasily from one foot t the other. "Look yere. Kernel," be blurted finally, "kynnt you make dot objack sotnepln elsa besides er watermlllyn. suh?" 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