The DeLeon Free Press. (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, January 15, 1926 Page: 3 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Comanche Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Comanche Public Library.
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CdPYRJGHT IM.G.CHAPMAN
CHAPTER III
If he’s a genUe-
• <«■■■■■■«• a a ria « a V a
place in the cabin.
Wehl
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Dick drew
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Continued Next Week
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The
CHAPTER IV
preiiiedjiMtloii
had
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niece, •*
splrator.
the cruise
Won’t Wa, Captain?”
Blake Speaking.
will, through the
• Alster, the
burning in order to study the behavior
• f tlie Insects.
saw him before; be
He wu« differ-
i
The flr.-t ui^ht he Icuraed £rvw du-
ett
Stere
id
■ ■ ffiaH
k.
>n
of
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\\’. v \'< $ .' • VK\WVl
JLv \ TPYOt^l^
kJ pies f
$9/
long enough for u limn to stretch him-' -incited remark* filing* tluit both
self aiid move Jibynt without bumping | tightened and bewildered him.
Beetles Eat House
Beetles have practically destroyed ■
■c
riFTO
M
gyfe
ex e- bulging W fill fear.
him emerge from the dusty
materializing out of
as it were, and all the siiperstl
grillwork. Instead of etching sus-
picion, allayed the curioaity of any-
one Inquisitive enough to want to
thump the walla to see if there was a
hollow apace behind. ' e€
Approaching footsteps on the deck
brought Dick out of his reverie of in-
decision. With a ahndder he wiped
away the. worst of the dust , and
stepped inside. He hesitated again be-
fore closing the panel. Then Captain
Brent’s booming voice aroused him. ,
“Where’s that young fellow with the
package?” he called angrily.
Dick touched the spring nod watched
-the panel slide noiselessly in (toaltion.
At the same moment the cabin door
it refugee problem. The
the purpose is a
:»< it will run into
The Nansen
a< cording to oiliciat opinion.
bine to be started on a ainiiiF
5«tw
k :
•.
rs
4
:_______________________________
. /</-
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PE LEUn rffEE PRE -
human occupancy, and when IMck ‘ ~
‘ glanced la it be felt a Htlll of doubt.
• The du«t rtf yeqim had accumulated
over the floor, showing that It had not
been used by tire present. .owner of the
yacht. Dick had guessed right that
the secret of It had not been passed
— on with the sale of the craft, und no
one, In refiltiug the interim*. had
stumbled uprtn the spring that o|>ened
the panel.
Il w as just about wide enough and
long enough for u man to stretch him-'
n
<1
I
I
I
■ 1
I
Walhalla^
4»<fOut
i George H
Etheloert.
Walsh
i .
Cutler w.i- going on u cruise much
■ own
Without premeditation Dh’k _ __ _
place«i hlmjMtlf la lua poauhm.of be-" Inlet ttutil yen get a wireless from aaa.
It Wk JMvde dmdgnad Tar i«f 1« eavesdropper to *v*cy bit at
Apples Need Pure Air
We ate told that Hpples, like men.
breathe. 'they take In oxygen and
give off l iirbon dioxide. If there Is In-
sufltcient ventilation In the storage
rooms the/ get suffocated and die of
brown heart. Since scientists made
the diioovery there has been a revolu-
tion In shipping ventilation, and.
though a quarter.of a million pounds
was loat through brown heart only
three years ago, this year it la re-
garaled utmost ns -a curb why. The -
new instriiment which records the at-
mosfybere of storage ch umbers by a
Climbing over the rail he lowered . chemical process will make the deli-
cate work of*adjusting the ventilation
a very much simpler matter.
a camp stool Hear the railing nnd con- !
tentedly puffed away at his cigarette
He was aiqutrenHy Htteresied mily th
the scene on the dock, and never on<-e
turned Ids head sideways or back-
ward. He felt that eyes were watch-
ing him. btit'he w asn't sure.
’i lie minutes sped along slafwly, and i ’h’*5 ’be suction created kept his nar-
after Hie ITiTFiT' ct^areHe hTs beau |
sagged to one sidatas if lie slept
atlfifts.t a<nce or twicer
Radio for Lords
To Improve ’ the scoust|c» In the
IrtHTse of lords in London loud ■poek-^*
efti have dw-ew inatolled. Tbo micro-
phone* Iteye been diegulsed •• books
to match the roferooco votigBM
against which they stM< «
1
k JI
fl
“We’ll Be Thero by Tomorrow Night, ■
uv^..a \AZ* i* xa/._ u- '
cabin walked outside on deck.
“It’s an even chance, cap. that I’ll
go with you on this little trip,” lie
mused, grinning to himself. “Anyway^
J you’ll have a hard time finding me.”
A little light entered the coinpart-
l meut through the register, und as the
I air from the cabin escaped through
Aid for Armenian Refugees
Dr. Frltjof Nansen, famous Arctic
explorer and peace ehampion, has
just completed g- survey .of Kussiaa >
Armenia, where he has been cooper-
ating witli Hie Near Must relief h»
studying plans for colonizing lUO.UOO
Armenian refugees there.
As high commissioner of the League
of Nat bins. Doctor Nansen hope* to
find homes for l-tAMMLjATiitcnlan refu-
gees noxv In Greece. .*,tMX) in Constanti-
nople, and ho.t'ito strewn over other
countries of Europe ami the Nenr
East. Ills report sltoxxA that co!j»ntza-
, tion xx HI hax e to be preceded by 1 argo
sen-t |.nnel. and s,'"le >ro><ts In ordef Io
- I make arid lamia mailable for cotton
| and grain.
Hesiora! ion of this land, says Doc-
! tor Nansen, xxi.ll mean a final soluti»»»t
| of the Armour
! capital requires
I s»-rioiis obstacle,
several million dollars,
pro jeet.
xx ill
.«t-a 10.
.
place la the mulu ,..lb(ll L
to got aboard the Pelican he had hard
ly given CoBaideraflon to the thought
thkt fl,e open register would adndt
■a*<y and uh sounds. He waa Huie*
jftHttlvd vx hen lie fuuutfmjundiatiuctty
■"even a wldH»er xvaa carried to him. It
was us If t lie r-abln wus u great sound-
ing bPW’<l tit’ll its focul point of wove
s “Nothing, except I guess I’ll take a .
rest here. Hot day. Isn’t it?" He re-
moved his hat and Iwgan Wiping his
fdre1ie<id7
“Tea. it’s hot, but it may be hotter
if. you don’t look sharp. What you got
In that box?”
flick smiled and winked. “If I
knew, cap, I don’t know Ihnt I’d tell
you, but we'U.imth have a gues^Miss
ihifier didn’t take me into her. c<»n-
fldmne. Maybe it h a l.alhing suit, or
u di«Ing drew." XL
"It’s for .Miss Cutler?’’ queried
Bfrtit, picking It Up and reading the
mime and address. ’’Well." slowly.
afteRyrelghlug it with larth hand*, "aha
ainftlidre. Leave It. ami I’ll give It
t<> her. I’ll put It in her cabin.’
He atarted to walk away-wtrh the
' t«ckage, hut Dick rescued It. .“Not
'’ •$ faat, caK" Im
“Mhe didn’t 1 ell me tv J**’® 1*—*,Mf yul<U
a remarkable
He sat slowly’"’
uprighl. ami gazed sxviftlx and keenly
around the d»s-k._ He xvas a lorn- on It. j
Not a per.-on.was In sight.
Without further delay he picked Up
his package and darted for the. mailt,
saloon cabin. <»nce in it he closed the
door softly ami stared around. The
He gave vent to a
Dick Van Ness pTmmwIed delWierate-
ly tv put his little scheme to the test;
■O-ut first he provided himself with s
few hours of sleep to refresh the body
and sternly the nerves. By daylight
he reviewed the situation calmly, and
decided that the plan was ns feasible
as it had appeared the night before.
He ate a hearty breakfast at a near-
by restaurant, and then ordered a
Luge batch of sandwiches, wrapping
rnch one in oiled paper as if for a
picnic, l.eaving these to be called for
later, he paid a visit to u dry goods
store where be selected an oblong pa-
per box big enough to contain a man’s
suit of clothes. With wrapping paper
nnd stout twine, lie returned to the
restaurant for his sandwiches.
They only half tilled the box. The
rest of tlie space was stowed with
Like American Shoe Polish
The l ulled States eoniinue» to sup-
ply the shine for Iffwtworld's ahoas^
according to the Department of <’•■»- y
meree. During May 4I.H37 pound yet
The shoe polish, xaliie’d at {122342, wer»°
exported Cuba bought S4.H11 pounds;
Mexico, 44,.'14 pounds; Canada, 43,-
977 pounds; Australia. 4O.S77 imitmls;
Japan. HaJIMS pounds'; I’ruguay. 32.191
pounds, and Spain. 30.0SR pounds. The
Max Shipments vxere more- than 2.&09
pounds In ex«ess of ex|>orta during
April. During the Ave months end-
ing May. 192.V. foreign markets con-
»tiiiit>il 2,jdt>.(X»:{ pounds of American
polish, valued at S.’a;7..’>83.
his elbows or scarring bls shins. It
was high enough for-the tallest man,
with an oj»en register above throu^i
which the air .of the cabin escafk-d.\
» Til® presenct-of this register of iroj
rmv tpirrrters fnirty welt ventflated.
- -He ! “1 won't, smother.’' he reasoned,
looking’ up. “Plenty of air." He
I He was conscious <>nce of a catlike i glunced nt his package amt smiled
i footstep i-niiiing ‘arquml the forward ' again.
J cabin, ami halting near him, but he ■ a wee!
' continued to snore i>ea<-efull>, A'wenty |—A-we
I minutes, amt lie xvas still in the same cigare
I position. Out of the vomers of his
half-ciusexl eyes, he saw Captaiu
Brent go <lown tin- gangplank undwirtk”' btiFd hn-lc’
uTt where the men xyere linjshing their
Job of coaling the yacht.
t liice out of his sigh!
■ cjmnge came over Dick.
®~—7i
i’r'i r
W i
sect eompleiely shelterraj from view.
He sat there wringing bls cladbes when
Marie, *<x-ompanieil by Brent, eiwtf
the gangplank and landed on the dock.
Mite wan stfll prtxtesHKg that she had
seen a ghost.
“He came right through Hie wan.
Cflji'n Brent/ she tuosneal
fainted when I saw him "
“You’d better imt tell Mr. Cutler you
daw a ghost on-hls yudit. If yon don’t
want to Ve fired,’’ n-plied Breof. “Now
HP I” ”’*’ house or Ml*« Cutler
will—1
“Caplnin,'’ lutvnupied u voice out of
the darkues*. Ax hat's nil this noise —
about? Mr. Cutler sentpue down to
Inquire." >
' Tdck rocognlxtd the voice of Mr.
Blake. K
’’Nothing but a‘hysterical woman,**
growled Brent. “She thought she saw
something-a ghost—and site let out a
shriek likaji fog whistle. Hustle her
up to her mistress. 1 gut enough to do
without looking after her.”
“Oh, Mr. Blake." wailed Marte. “o«
my word and honor I saw something
—a nmn—”
' lliuiigbt you said It was a ghost."
Jtb-red Brent. ’ ;
"Well, sir, it was a man ghost—a
tall young man. with dark hair and
black eyes, with--wlth n white face.*'
Brent laughed hoarsely. “We got a
lot Of dark men in the crew, Marie—•
g<s»d-lookers, too.” ‘
“But I never
was not in the crew.
ept- -n gentleman.”
Blake iiml life captain exchanged
glances, amt the latter finally said:
"Well, if he’s aboard, Marie, I’ll Und
him, ftwl when 1 do I’ll bring him up
for you to identify.
man he won’t try to frighten yon
again; but between you and me and
the fishes. I don't lieiieve there wna
anybody. If there was it was one of
(lie crew." • '
Brent turneil -and walked away.
Marie shuddered, und nnmmred, “Oh,
no, sir, he wasn’t-one of Hie crew. I
know all of them."
“tlo tip to the house. Marie," Blake
interrupted sharply. ’Your mist res* tai
waiting for you.” '
hour.
sure I could find her home,” . I
He fingered the card carelessly, and |
when Brent renclieif out a hand to ‘
tnke it he let him have it. The man
stared at it- a.moment, ’and then re-
turned it, Dick felt that the curd
would rethove any suspicion that bright
find lodgment in the other's brain.
“All right,"*In* said finally. “Stay
on this deck, and when the li.ilf lmur's
up go down that gangplunk you .came-
up.”
“Sure! ' You don't think 1 was going
to Jump overboard nnd swing did
J»u’”
The skqqier frowned and eyed him
with disapproval. JLljvk flirted out a
cigarette, and added ; "Any objections
to smoking, cap? I'm dead for a i
few whiffs '*
.... ’ . .. . . 1 of relief when tiie inau finally moved
“No. not if j on stat outside, wax . , , .
‘ , axvay, and after another tonr of the
the surly retort. I
When he walked away, Du-k moved •
he muttered.. “I 1
to come
“I don’t know, nncle. 1’11 And ant.
Please don't excite yourself. You
knoxv the <l<»ctor rays the change will
do you good.”
Dick recognized the voice of Alice
’Cutler.
“Il won't **' came the explosive ctHl-
tradiction. ■ “It will make me worse!
Go on deck, and send Blake to me—
no, semi Doclor Alster! I've g«»t to
hav# aotue relief from this pain. Tell
hint to burry.”
There were Soft footstep* across
the can>eted flow, and a umme.ut later
the 'cablp door; ojxened and closed.
Dick could hear loud, stertorous
breathing <«f one In great pain.
after >hri«-k filled the-cabln.
Dick -. iir--l impulse xyas In step buck
nnd lihh- again, but the girl's discovery
of him made that course Imprsctlcnble.
Ho closed the panel with a touch of
Ilie- spring and sprang hack Inin the [ knife blades
gloom of lhe cabin. TJte door of a '
Stateroom >puo<l open, and through It
be plunged xvithoiit looking around.
At almost lhe same Insla-lit I nptnln
Brent appeared in llje cabin., and de-
manded of the uiuid, -“What's lhe mat-
ter? Whai're you yelling for?”
Marie was unable for a 1’ew seconds
to recover tier wits She kept on ■
shrieking and <
the skipper shook her by the arm.
“Quit that!’’ he I'otumanded. ’•JHnit i
up. and tell me wlial’a the ma,tier."
“A ghpst, eu pt a in.” she stammered
between chattering teeth. “Il come
right out of the wall come come ”
“Ghost, your grandmother!” growled
Rretit "Now "
Dick waited to hear no mure.
stateroom he was In opened directly
upon the deck. He slipped the cafeli
noiselessly amt stepped om. It was
dark, and there was no one on inat
side of the yacht. In the gloom hr
si^xv the dark outlines of trees and
rtvt'ks. with the land rising abruptly
from the water to a sort of peak,
topped off hy a low rambling atrnre-
lltre. whose I'htiuneys stood silhouetted
sgaluat the sky like gaunt flugera.
Light* twinkled here and there In
the distance, some atatlonary, othera
moving and xohes broke the stil’ne*
oi-caaioimllx a« one cnllrJ to another.
; At I la ft'ft the phosphorescence-of the
o<ee«i gleamed fitfully in the half light.
The yacht had landed at a dock that
Juttexl far out Into the water.
Dick glanced st Hie end. measured
the dist.wv to the island, ami decided
rhuii.lUa safest way would be to drop
tsverboard and avrim ashore. The com-
motion in the cabin, caused by Marie’s
st-reaitis ha«l extended to th»- dodu
and running fe*t could be heard up
proa«*ldng.
Mid not to leave it. -* if site wasn’t
twsc^when I called. I was to wait half
an hour Then if site ^Idu'l appear I
waa to carry it around to her house.”
The skipper looked it little puzzled,
and gave the package another sharp
scrutiny.
“That’s queer.”
didn't I noxv she expected
aboard this morning.**
“I’ll het she didn’t know herself."
grinned Dick.
won't, smother,'
"Plenty
his package
“Grub and drinks enough for
week.” --
lawaox.low-lv, he drew forth a
cigarette oud started to light it. but
cheeked himself. “Smoking forbid-
den.” he said in a rueful voice. ‘'Tliat’S
Then tn a relieved voice,
he added. "At night w hen every body's
asleep. I can light up.’ The ventilator
will carry axvay -the smoke and odor”
After that he tried to make liims'elf
as comfortable as possililK, in his nar-
row quarters. It xvas spnw satisfac-
tion to- kn<'xx that he xvoulxl tie far
more comfortalde than in the coal
bunkers, xvhvre lie had first thought
of hiding, ,
“As a stoxvaxxax I'm prt-Hx well off,"
he decided. "Nothing to do but eat
drink and slx'ep, with a quiet smoke at
night.” He opened his box and dis-
tributed its contents around in the
The furnishings had been re-uyj ) c<*rners. counting ilie number of sand-
I 1 .a ix ,1 I ho to ,jlia*,,i*l.* ,1,111 it ot-oH ___• i a . i i t * * i •
They Only Half Filled-the Box
bottles of water and sw<s*!- drinks,
pickles, olives. fruit, cakes and candy.
The proprietor of the" resfauraut
snHled xvlien he dupped the cover on
the box.
“Looks ns if you were loading up to
Inat a week.’’ he remarked.
“I may need it," replied Dick frank-
ly. “I'm going jylp-re grub may be
hard to get. 1 don’t xvant to take a
chan<o."
* Az lie paid for the food and trouble,
’ tfj^* restaurant man made n« further
inquiries, and Diek volunteerexl no ad
- Alt lull a I iiifpi'iimtlpii. WIten Hie box
was wrapped, lie hprroxved pen and
Ink, and wrote on the outside:
“Mjsk" Alfi e rttfi-f.
Steam Yacht Pelican,
Blank's Pier. <’fty.”
“I guess that xvill do," lie chuckled,
mhnlring his chln<gr.iphy.
Five minutes later lie was on hi*
way to Blank’s plec. The-Pelican waa
already,»t the duck coaling. Dick took
a swift survey of the acene, and than,
whistling nonchalantly, with tha box
under Ids arm, lie walked toward tha,
end.
No one challenged hiita, and when ha
; ranched the Pelican's aide he stopped.
A dozen grimy men were storing coal
aboard, a deck liand checking off on
a card (tie number of bags carried into
th*, hold. A small gangplank was
thrown from the main deck to the
pier.
Uck started up thia and reached
t.he®deck before anyone challenged,
him. Then a booming voice right be-
hind him caught his ear.
"Helio, there! What d'you want?
Don't you know this is a private
yachtT’
U was Captain Brent
“Sure!” refilled Dick nonchalantly.
“Illg the 1’ellcan, Isn't it? Mr. Cut-
l«Fa yacht?"
“Well, what If it la?" growled the
captain.
much exercise. Scrubbing the dock
under l ie angry eyes of Captain Brent
seemd preferable to remaining In the
narrow ■ oinpartnient.
't he. main cablu was deserted, and
Dick struck a march t<> light a ciga-
rette It w»* his one cou*srt»tiun. xud
now tlixt he was indifferent abotil ills
future he lost his usual caution. Only
one electric light was burning iu the
cabin, -“'d the stillness of tlie place
got on his nerves.
"I II get out tonight and *ake a good
rest on one of tbuse cushions,' he
mitseii 1 aptaiu Brent will get n Jolt
when he finds me there." He ggliined
at the luollgilt..
Sm1<t“i*,y he became con*-i*ous of
the presence »»f some one in the c >h:n.
The soft fall of a foot on the luck
carpet near hi* hiding place xxa* fol-
lowed s moment later by th* o;>enln.'
iiml do-tug of a dour. Another f m>»
step. fJi'Mvier and clumsier thnr the
first, lenclied his ears. The live met
n<>t fat from the open register, so fh.it
their «hisj»ere»l xxurtis could be dis
; thxcUy heard.
€ "Well lie there hy tomorroxx ni.hl,
Won't we. captain?"' It waa Mr. Blake
speaking.
>e- If - nothing Impftens
barometer’* falling a little, but I gues*
we'H get’aheed of any storm. It seem*
lu be breaking behind il« Instead of
against his
- tirgMit mixice of Doctor Alster, the
I* family physician, nnj of \Ir yigke,
bjn private secretary, with Allee, Ha
u loving but firm Cv-tXJU-
'1'lie theory of Dick’s that
"us to hunt for some hid-
den treasure received a severe jolt.
The ymhl x>aa bound lor Valtmllu.
an island off the aoutheru coast, that
had been fitted up at great expense by
the williona-ire for u quiet winter re-
sort. ft was a small. Isolated Island
without any communication with the
mainland, and far enough from the
lanes of travel to protect the occu-
pants from visitors ami curiosity seek-
-era. - -—....... i
Cutler xvas « sick man. according to
the teHtimonv wf his physician, and
unless he took a rest of a few weeks
the inevitable breakdown vxould fol-
low. Angered both at the doctor who
.•ondeitinci! iiim to a period of Isola-
tion. and at nature for playing him
"tiuch a shabby, trick, Hie old inun
fumed and fret led.
When he realized the actual situa-
tion Dick regretted the course lie had
tuken. The romance of the voyage
suddenly lost its tlavor. There wits a
chance of adventure on a deseited is-
land, with ii parly of sea niters for
buried-treaSUH-: nut a stimll privately
owned place, even if it were a mere
dot on the ocean far from land, offered
little of mm nice ami less ok ttdven-
i uro.
There ...would l>e -ervants on it, a
s-tnaH army of them, perhaps; formal
gardens-ttiuTcultivated fields; couven-
l tlonal sumim-r houses; golf links, ten-
nis courts, and all the artificial inven-,
lions of civHiza'.ion to amuse Visitors.
There would be hardly u wild nook or
cranny where lie could hide and make
himself comfortable.
DiMMIIMted l>v t fie out look, he felt in-
clined jto a a; dot. all secrecy and step
forth from bis place of ebncealiueiit
and confess. They could d<> nothing
more th-in hold IUmi as a stowaway ttnd
make him work for his passage. On
the xx'hole that would not be onerous.
The pt'esclM i- Id Alice <'tltler - would
add a little z,-t of romam-e to tire
exja-rien»c
Tl*e rfecvtml tiigltt <>at his cramped
prison began lb tell on bi- nerves. Too
milch Inaction was worse than too
■bead' »
There was a see.Hld 4w«. Of a! '
lenct- Then Blake adde^: ■
“You understand Ju*t what d« do?
Wlien I give the fligiial »»U uniat *nfl
■ way. Don't atop ^o a«k question*,
amt dont mind what other* »*y. Get
off at oiit'O, and hang aroitiHl Marsh
it v«oi ma “
wirelcaa aabora flon’c
*'‘nxeraation' that took work?®*
.------ plannlt^ *-j( work. f'U mo to that. I'm
something of an expert. If anyihlng’z
wrong with It, I’ll aoou repair It. Don’t
worry about that.” •
“Yotf? ‘,’Xtymi can keecdhe old man
quiet r LZZ
“He won’t bother me any,” was the
___ lvy„, quiet reply, ueeumpunled. Diet
vibration at XtegiZr over‘l.D head | lma«i«ed’ * »«*»• * c<mfl<lence.
““ - »- • ■ . "Well, good night! We don’t want
tu be keen together ahme. 1 shan’t
speuk to you again unices the other*
ittic around.” •
Dick heard them move across the
cabin In opposite direct ions. Captain
Brent went outside uu the deck, and
Mr. Blake crept back to hla state-
room.
... Dick forgot Ids cigarette and per-
mitted the light to go nut. He waa
pondering the words of the two men.
They puzzled him, und awakened in
lus mind the old suspicion that there
waa something in the cruise not put
duwj^ in the itinerary uf Steve Cutler.
“I guess 111 sleep oyer It,” lie de-
cided, ainillng. “Mnylie I won't show
myself quite yet. Blake’s a slick chap,
and Brent looks like u prize fighter.*”
He slept fitfully until mornln;;, and
, with the dawn of a new day cattle a
new resolution. He wouhLsee the ad-
venture through as planned, and, not
expose his hand untit they landed. In
the hope that tie would overhear more
conversation to enlighten him he kept
iiis ears open every time anyone en-
tered the cabin; but ns it was a beau-
tiful day most of the passenger* re-
mained on the deck, nnd nothing of
consequence happened. v
It was-late in the afternoon when n
commotion on dt-vk aroused him From
the tramp of immy feet lie concluded
that something unusual laid happened;
but lie was a lit He disappointed when
Alk’e Cutler passed through tlie cabin
and said to her maid:
“Get my things ready. Marie,
land before dark.”
Once again the desire to step cut of
his hiding place surged up in Dick, hut
he suppressexl it. Now that relief from
hla Intolerable position was in sight he
didn'l wont to make a find break. If
the family landeij before dark th«
yacht would l>e partly deserted, and
the opportunity of Mealing forth un-
observed would come to him.
Half uu hour later tlie screw of the
yacht slowed it* revolution*. Dick
Judged they were ap|>ro.‘ihhing~land or
passing Hifougb some c-oo\<>,| chan-
nel that required < ii.tioti. The en-
gine-room hell v langed i •-|>.-:il eilly, and
the yacht varied its sjuuM :i»r»«nliagly.
Then came a slight jar a'tid vibra-
tion. Sharp orders lr.••^l Brent, an-
other jar. and then the propeller
censed its activity. Tlo-v were at Val-
halla. and Hie voxa -i-r- were landing.
Dick listened imp J --Hi iv to the b<l*-
tling commotion oittside until It sub-
sided. He wal ed a full hah’ hour after
j tl»H t» make sin--* they wore ashore.—
j ‘TIk* i he quietly touched the spring
| that coin rolled I he ■
j as l,li>- I iiit-r tie ' " - -ii he craned hLJ
. In :i.| fi>rr ;ird. I'li- cabin was empty.
’ With a -mile of relief lie s’f'tqied out.
' (hie foot laid seareel v tombed Ho*
I ear|>elei| floor when a shriek that tilled ;
I tlie enbin with echoes startled hhtl.
1 Around Hie wav from him. with her
!.*.••■ k to the opposlte. wall. v-ro'-iirg her
self with both hands, stood Marie, Iter
She had seen
compart
I merit, materializing out of a blank
wall, as it xv ere. and all the siiperstl
tion of her nature was aroused. Shriek
large vicarage nt Geiniiin in the Mark,
according ti> a Berlin dispiijch. Th*
first <>f Hiese insects, called "Iifms, ■
beetles,” entered the vienrage a few
years ago, and proceeded to work like
< on clothing and bedding;
eariMPts and cin tains. The inset ta mul-
tiplied rapidly and penetrated walla,
floors, plumbing and cel lam The Ine-
iuau inhabitants foligfit witli all the
xxeat>ons thex could think of hut to no
avail. Now it lias been decided that
the xiearage must be Immed in order
to prevent the pliigue from spreading
wits She kept on i t>> other dwellings. ' The .NaHoiml Bi»-
erosaiux hereelf until i **" superintend thn
place wus xacatil.
chuckle of relief.
'Ilie cabin vx.-is not much changed
from the da.vs wlien his father owned
it. ■ - ■ - * ...
bolstered, and the-woodwork done over,
and a few pictures distributed arotiud;
l»ut In five main 4t was exas-Hy as he
had always known it. It xvas home to
him, and a great desire to shout and
proclaim Hie fact made 1dm lightheart-
ed fur a uiuiiH-ut.
3, But a^babel of voices on the deck
I warned him that any nmmeut Captain
Brent nttglit return, and find him^
gone. He grossed the richly carpeted
floor in a few strides and came to a
halt in front of a paneled xva.il. He
gqve one swift glance up snd around
It. slot then dropped down uu hia
knees.
His hands shook a little as lie fum-
bled al the base with nervous finger*,
tils breath came and went in little
sharp, tremulous waves. He knew-
that Uif critical moment■ had, arrived
that would decide tlie success or fail-
ure of his scheme. Like a bank
burglar opening a safe, witli tlie fear
of the police beating on hix braln, he
played nia liaiuls up and down skil-
fully and witlj precision, huulitig for
gomelhing tflat lime had dimmed In ilia
memory.
Suddenly a low exultant cry ea-
caped hiy lip*. His fingers had touched
the thing he had. been searcliitig fbjr.
I It was a liny crack between the tuoltl-
1 ing and baseboard. It was hardly wMe
euotigli t<> adiMit tha bind* »f ■ packet
knife.
With ane finger pressed on It for
flear of loalug It, Dick got hla knife out
of hl* pocket «nd opened the amaUeat
blade. Inserting th* j>olnt of thia In
the crack he pre*aed It harg against
eomethiug that gave forth a aoft tink-
ling, metallic sound. ; —
The effect . of hi* jiianlpulution*
would have startled Captain Hrent had
be appeared then, but,to Dick It waa
no more than lie expected. The nar-
row panel before him *ll<1 slowly to
•>ue aide, revealing an xqxening In the
wall ahont the *1ze of a small atate-
ruom. . ’
'iijie secret compar.tment tn the wall
bad been designed by the arl'hlteet* of
the yacht |o satisfy a whinmical fancy
of Dick’a father. It had been used a*
a atorage place for special paper* and
wciirltie* that lhe elder Van Neoa
Often cm i led *w«y with him ua h«l
, al me same moment tne cuom uvior
1 at s w iv she said Operie<j with a bung, and Brent stamped
not to wait for her longer Hmn half an (
She gave lhe this card to make ’
wiclies anti hotties of drink. Making it
mental calculation he concludexl that,
with carefut nrttnnrng. ire -wmttrt* ttnt*
suffer for a week. Then’ making a
idltow of Iiis cihit nml box, lie lay
tLiwn and fried lo»ki)l time with sleep.
/ Tlie npisea outside did not alarm
/trim. Coal was still pouring into the
/hunkers, and the tramping of many
’feet, accompanied by lond order* and
oath*, convincetl him that the search
was still going on. Now Dial lie felt
secure this did not concern him, amt
ilxleniug dreamily to tlie confusion of
sound* lie dropped off into restful
slumber.
He woke with a start finally. Un-
able at first to collect his senses, he
»at upright ami ktared around him.
vtver iiis head a stream of electric
TVghr entered tbfotigb the register,
vjatside voices^ sounded so clear and
bistinet that It gave him a shock at
first. The Jar and vibration of the
yacht told him they were under way.
4 querulous voice was saying:
“Blake's a f««»l. Alice. 1 don't think
• hla trip will d<> me any gobd. I could
rent at home—don't need a change at
all- -never did like salt water— sure
to be seasick. ... Where’* Doctor
Alater? Heil have to. give me some-
thing to make, me sleep. I'm wide
■wake’s an owl. What'a that Infernal
racket almut?"
Inside.
“Search the yacht !" lie-commanded.
“If you find him bring him to me. I'll
teach Him 4o snoop uround. No, not
in Imre! He's not In tlie cabin.
- Search l*(>|ow -.leeks!"
Nevertheless, he made a careful ex-
! aminatioir of every possible hiding
,___... . .. ..... Dick, holding hl*
breath, heard him tramping around,
opening nnd closing doors and lockers,
and even thumping the soft cushions.
Once Im stopfved in front of the reg-
ister, and remained quiet for so long
that Dick feared he hud discovered
Home clue.
Tlie spring bud been a little rusty,
and possibly it had not ckised com-
pletely. The presence of a little dirt
or rtlsl near the crack might /excite
Brent's suspicion. Dick drew a sigh
hliuaelf with a rope until his feet -
tmtehed the water, He aldvered a llt-
tt» al lhe chill; and then dropped
noiMlea*ly In t^e cold brine and begun
awluunliig quietly toward the shore.
Mart*'* alarm, after all. helped him,
for, It drew the at left ion n? lhe wliol*
<trp»Mc» the cabin *n«| by tlie time any-
one thought of Marching lhe mitald*
<>f It D1<-k.waa putting Maaaelf upon a
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Scott, R. L. The DeLeon Free Press. (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, January 15, 1926, newspaper, January 15, 1926; De Leon, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1262163/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Comanche Public Library.