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HE story of the elopement of a French officer.
T" I the pursuit of his yacht and hie brldo by Mala?
I pirates, and their rescue by a French cruiser
. Jl I after a chnse of ninny miles through the
Islands which dot the stretch of sea between
Sumatra and Borneo, Is not set down In the
official reports filed with the ministry of the
marine at Paris. There ar some things that
even French naval records conceal, and n romance is not
supposed to have a place In the archives of France.
Henri Bcrgerac Vllleneuve, a lieutenant In the customs
marine service and stationed at Saigon, the capital of French
Indo-Chlna, since May, KXi.1, was In love with Maril Clochet,
the daughter of a wealthy exporter and merchant whose
coasting steamers and sailing vessels plied the waters be
tween Saigon, Bangkok, Tonquln, Singapore, Batavta, and
Acheen. Old Clochet was Inordinately proud of his navy, as
tie called It. He had his own flag, and he was so wealthy and
so Influential that his flag wag accorded a half official salute
In most of the native ports where his vessels touched.
Clochet has been engaged In the oriental trade for twenty
three, years. His agents are in every port. He deals In teak
wood from the forests of the upper Mekong river In Slam,
silks and tea from Hongkong and Canton, opium from Macao,
and coffee, cotton, and sugar cane from Java and Borneo.
He Is as secretive as he Is proud and conceals the Identity
of his business under a score of names, firms, and corpora
tions. Few persons know Clochet. In Singapore, In Bang
kok, In Hongkong, In Batavla, his Individuality Is merged
tnto a dozen different names.
Plans Marriage of Daughter. -
It has been Clochefs pmbltlon to retire from active busi
ness at the end of twenty-five years and return to France,
marry his only daughter, Marie, to a French marquis, settle
upon her a magnificent chateau, and live the remainder of
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afternoon. What was more natural than that the swift rev
enue service cutter, commanded by Lieut. Vllleneuve, should
be waiting under steam In the bay?
Out In the bay, three miles from shore, a signal fluttered
to the masthead of the revenue cutter. An answering pen
nant flew to the foretop of the yacht's mainmast, and the
sailing craft lay to, awaiting a boat from the revenue cutter.
I, lout. Vllleneuve went on board the yacht, his boat returned
to the cutter, Capt. Mclvor of the yacht made all sail
and the elopement began.
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Elopers Start for Singapore.
The yacht was headed stcalght across the China sea to
Singapore, l.uio miles as the gull flies; but the weather was
fine, the breeee a stiff one, and the sea like a bowl of placid,
azure cream. Capt. Mclvor declared he would land the lov
ers at Singapore, at the door of the French consulate, In
three days and nights, and all went well.
Back In Saigon old Clochet suspected nothing until even
ing; th"n he discovered no one knows how the elopement.
By that time the lovers had eight hours' start. It was two
hours more before Clochet could get any clew to the possible
course taken by his yacht. It was midnight before he left
Saigon on the swiftest steamer of his merchant fleet. He
knew that the elopers had sailed, southward and guessed
that they had started for Singapore.
The elopement began on Monday afternoon. Tuesday
afternoon Clochet and his steamer were midway between
The Brothers Islands, 100 miles south of Saigon, and North
Nat unns Island. 400 miles south. Of course, the yaJht had
not been sighted. This fact caused but little anxiety, how
ever, because old Clochet knew that his steamer would ar
rive nt Singapore hours ahead of the sailing vessel In spite
of Its twelve hours' start. But Clochet was more anxious
about the state of the weather, which was gradually but
certainly becoming threatening.
Tuesday night the steamer ran through a squall, and by
Wednesday morning the wind was Wowing from the north
west. With the wind came lowering banks of dun yellow
clouds and a driving mist of rain that hid all objects from
view.
Thursday forenoon the steamer crossd the bows of a
Freneh cruiser and checked Its course In response to sig
nals thnt an officer was coming on board. When the naval
officer arrived he told a story that wrung old Clochefs soul
with anguish.
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Lovers Pursued by Pirates.
Briefly, this Is what the French officer disclosed: Eight
hours before, in the early dawn, while cruising northward
through the half gale, the lookout descried a man In the
sea clinging to a spar. The man, when taken on board,
proved to be none other than Capt. Mclvor.
Clochet, In despair for the safety of hH daughter, hurried
on board the cruiser to learn Mclvor's story. When he had
heard it his despair Increased.
Mclvor's story was soon told. The yacht with the lover
board had kept pace with the breeze all Monday ana
Tuesday without a mishap to mar the happiness of the lov
ers., Tuesday night. In the moonlight, a strange sail was ob
served to the leeward, and, half an hour later, another on
the port side. Both strangers were recognised as native lug
gers by the huge square wills. But the sea was known to
be full of native luggers, and Mclvor thought little of the two
craft that kept pace with his yacht on either side.
tentlons. One glance at the anxious faces of the canny old
Scot and her lover, and a quick sweep of the sea showing
the pirate luggers In pursuit, revealed the pwful truth. From
that moment Marie Clochet refused to leave the deck.
Captain Is Knocked Overboard.
Ijite Wednesday afternoon, while at a particularly dan
gerous moment, when the luggers were closer to thlr prey
than they had been at any time during the day's chase, Mc
lvor gave a sharp lorder to the man at tht wheel. In re
sponse to the order the man brought the helm hnra over, and
ns the yacht swerved to the lee side a rudden gust of the
wind swung the main boom across the deck. Mclvor ducked
too late, and In another breath found himself struggling
In the sea, half stunned.
That, was all that Mclvor could tell old Clochet. The
yacht and the pursuers disappeared to the eastward In the
gloom of the mist. Whether the yacht had been captured
or not the Scotchman could not guess.
Pursuit of Pirates Begins.
Clochet and the commander of the ctulper made their
plans hurriedly. Clochet, with his own steamer, was to
crowd on all speed and steam to the westward of Great
Natunas Island, sweep southward and the westward to the
South Natunas group. The cruiser, on the other side, was to
make all possible steam through the chennel between the
Natunas and Anamasa Islands and proceed to the eastward.
Thus the steamer would get In front of the yacht and Its
pursuers, while the cruiser would come up behind them. If
the weather cleared they were almost certain to sight the
yacht and the luggers.
Then the chnse began. Clochefs steamer had the great
er distance to go, but It was a speedier craft than the cruiser.
Therefore they met Friday afternoon south of Great Na
unus Island, neither having sighted the yacht or Its pur-
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'his days In quiet enjoyment?
No wonder, then, that old man Clochet Dew Into a tower
ing rage when he discovered that his daughter Marie, whom
he had dreamed of as a future marchioness, had fallen In
love with an officer of the customs marine and a penniless
J one at that without even the hope of ever being an admiral
In the French navy.
One day Marl Clochet managed to see Lieut, Henri
Vllleneuve at the home of a mutual friond and told him
thaf her father was sending her to France by the next
steamer.
An elopement was decided upon; but where could the lov
ers elope to, and how?
Marie Clochet was as resourceful as she was beautiful, and
Lieut. Henri was equal to any emergency. Therefore, one
afternoon last October, Marie obtained permission from her
father to go for a sail on his sailing yacht, the handsomest
and fleetest craft of Its alxe under sail In the orient. With
her was her maid. The captain of the yacht was her father's
trusted agent, but he wn a canny old St'Ptchman and he
was also m friend of old Clochefs duuguter and Henri Vllle
neuve. .
. The yacht stood out from the harbor of Saigon on a bright
When Wednesday's dawn struggled through the dimness
of cloud and misty rain Mclvor noticed that the luggers had
drawn much nearer to him. .At that Inhlant the thought
of Malay pirates flashed Into the Scotch captain's mind. In
an Instant his perilous situation was borne in on him with
terrible force. His yacht, with his employer's daughter on
board and only a score of sailors to defend her. On the
Malay luggers doubtless were 200 or 300 armed men.
Despairing Race with Pirates.
Then began a race seldom witnessed at sea. Mclvor, with
out alarming Miss Clochet, called Lieut. Vllleneuve above
deck, assembled all of his crew except the man at the wheel,
pointed to the pirate luggers, and In the briefest sentences
possible explained the danger, which was only too apparent.
Then every man went to his place. The sturdy Scotch
man knew hia yacht as a father doe his own child. He
knew to a nicety just what the yacht would .do in answer to
the slightest pressure of the helm. He knew to & stitch Just
how much sail the masts and yards could carry. He resolved,
therefore, to outmaneuver the pirates even If he could not
hope to outsail them.
Time and again the luggers tried to close In on the yacht.
Every time, . however, -the yacht was turned this way or
that, each time sweeping clear of one or the other of the
luggers that alternately threw themselves across the pathway
of the little vessel or tried to get close enough to cast a grap
pling line on board.
This fearful game of teg continued for hour after hour.
Marie Clochet, from her cabin below decks, suspected that
something was wrong, and, without saying a word, quietly
made her way up the companion ladder and gained the deck
before Capt. Mclvor or Lieut. Vllleneuve guessed of her.to-
suers. They turned southward, keeping a sharp lookout.
All Friday night they steamed. Saturday morning the
cruiser's lookout sighted the sailboats and the commander
from the bridge easily made out the yacht with his glass.
The cruiser put on all steam and rapidly overhauled the
Balling vessels. Some master hand on the yacht was manag
ing the vessel with the, same keen eye and firm hand that
had been Mclvor's. Whose band was It? Who had the
courage, the endurance, the audacity to take hairbreadth
chances T
By 10 o'clock Saturday morning the cruiser was near
enough to send a shell from Its five centimiter guns through
the sails of the nearest pirate lugger. ,Thnt ended the chase.
Up to the instant the gun had been fired the pirates had
been so Intent In following the yacht that they had not no
tlced the swift approach of the cruiser. When the five centi
meter shell brought the iralnsull of the lugger to the deck
there was a wild panic to get away. But the sea was smooth
and the cruiser's guns had the range.
Of course it was Lieut. Vllleneuve who had taken com
mand of the yacht after Mclvor had been swept overboard,
and It was his seamanship and courage that had kept the ves
sel out of the hands of the Malays. Old Clochet had to for
give hU daughter for eloping and he ha 3 to consent to an
Immediate marriage. Only now Lieut. Vllleneuve Is the
manaflng director of old Clochef a merchant fleet and Mo
Ivor still commands the yacht. .
