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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1911)
r r . "- ':'- a.. .AtrntriT BAftfT Attn', CtTM'AW; UlrtOMlMft Hf AV fll ' 14 r- ' THE OREGON v SUNDAY juunftMxw"'1', uymuHv,,, r ioi "- . " v' ' 1 1 -" . i --- 1 i i ' i ! i . . . - mtM La asaaB l flMHHB - i ilii il!iiL!idi3 v. ; SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING" INSTALLMENTS "i-nut- - 1ve" refer. t party or Hnsiiin cm, . X bv an anuu.1 tllnnvi. wnn.h i v, liom Uin. lo .. n. tf ITTeat P.m. IO 'in. which I. attended by 111 sis eeheei- At fcllnwa who ha. obtained 4 irs.cy oi "" with II, snu, ii eurvlvor. Aft.r e d..l or dlu..ion. ihr propoMl li ush lh roi.l'r t!..d.r not very f.vor.bly (II. id li. On. of ilicm. country gentl.m.n ef non. Hunt mt.llrrt. .nd already In lM, ha. to mortf.C A thou tow It tlifii develop. Ih.t R'sln.M Carnforth, . L.hlon.hl. eltornev, who h.i ni.rrt.-d .n e.tr.vagant woman Is In dif ficultly. Slid di-ld. Ih.i n muni b- lh l.t 'n Pis to h left eM. N ion. allerwsrd "l.udt I.lvrde, who ropH the Toniine. el. .1 meeting f lh ftl, hll rrnrerth'. lf. t hn rh.prnln . upnr p.rly, com prd m.lhly o( Ihn children of l.ord Wlndiokh.m. Colon.l Vmbry and Ourdvn, ho art .lo In (h Tontlnf. (CONTINI'KD FROM LAST SUNDAY) CHAPTER X The First Coup , UNCHEON wa drtwlnt to oIom en Bunday, and th houaa party at Hln ton Waj-na waa vary merry. "Ul, what ara th plana for this afternoon?" aaked Carnforth from th head of the table. "Toil ahall all do juat what you lik for being1 ao good at church thle morning. Th only on who drvt a puntahment it th Tkl. for aolna to Bleep and at- ttmptfng to nor In th sermon." "H alwaya do at home," Mid Mr. Qundon, who waa on her hoat left; "ao Squirrel and I have to alt on on eh Id of hint and keep him awake y atlcklng ptna Into him and pinching nlm." Everybody laughed. In cluding th Yokel hlma.lf. "Well, w rouat forgive him this time," .aid Reggie gayl, "aa he la on a holiday, and no on stuck pins Into him. What re you ladles going to do, dearr h went on, addreeslna; Lady Guendolen. "$leep," she answered, laughing. "We have already arranged that All truly religious people sleep on " 8undy afternoon. A genuine country sermon has nearly as soporific effect upon me as It has on Mr. Gurdon, only it takes longer to act We can go for a run in th car after tea." "All right, said Reggie; "and what about the rest , af yur "I'm going out in the motorboat with you." said Chalmers, promptly. hl liked th Uttl run we had yesterday, and want some more of It." "AH tight, old chap; I snail be delighted," said Reggie, smiling genially. "And you-, VamT And th Yokel and Wlrtiiler "Oh, well play bridge, shs'i we?" said Varobery. "I feel lasy." The other two asaented. f ' "Bt who'll maka a fourth?" asked the Yokel, look .r Ing round. "Cyril, will you? or, better still, th Crook. lc playa a better frame." "Anyhow. I'orlty and the twins are barred." Inter posed tho earl. "They play too rottenly for anything." "Eepceially Ponty," said Lady Judy, half under her tireath, nudging blm In a friendly way. "But w -Vouldn't play anyhow, thank you,' she added in a louder voW. "We are going for a run with Ponty on Ills new car." "Well, that only leaves Jack and Cyril," said th host, look Ins; round. "Do you two think you can mue eacli other?" "We ll try." said Cyril, with a quiet smile, relieved at not having to play bridge. "I've promUed to show ' Jack the Roman ramp along the road." "Well, If that's all satisfactorily settled, I'm ready ny time you are, I'eter." said Reggie, as they rose :(r-om the tsble. "Oh, shall we have another glaaa of yort Oefnre wp go?" Th barrister si-qiilesced, and th men sat down to the table again after the women and the younger gen eration had left the room. "Here's good luck to you and a safe return, Reg gie." said Winnie, lifting his glass. "I must 6ay iTn not overfond of. those mechanical contrivances. On the road they are pari enough, but they are the devil and all on the nea. I don't iliink any one knows very much About them et, and I always expect them to bust up." , Reggie lai'ghed a. he drank jiln port. "Don't croak. Winnie. You epeak from an escess tot ignorance, and you are making poor Peter quit fervous. Can't you see the perspiration standing out Jl :', brow? A.h) hoWJ. v nol-had -Bei- cfent yet ! "Touch wood." said the Yokel. "You may change your luck." Carnforth looked at him with a good-humored contempt. "I don't believe In luck," he said, almost sharply. 1 believe in mjself And I don t believe in letting jrjrcumstances make me, but in making circumstances to suit myself." "What a Hiiblime egoist:" laughed Vam. "Doesn't It giv you confidence, f'eler. my boy?'" "I've plenty of conttilcme, thank vou," answered 4he barrister, emptying his glass. "Come along, Reg fie, let's leave these old women to their bridge." "All right, old chap," said Reggie, rising. "Just Sflve me five minutes to slip some tlannelij on. Can I lend you some?" "No. thanks, I'll go as 1 am. Your things are a bit too big to be comfortable, and it will he cool enough n the water, I expect " Ten minutes later Carnforth ami his guest wer Strolling through the plantation to the cliff. "it's a deuce of a limb up again," said Keggie as they began to descend the steps which had been built Into the side of the steep ,-iiff; "but the other way is so far round. 1 had these built when 1 bought the Place, , and made a boathouse at the bottom" In the boathouse they found the motorboat all ready. "I let the man come down and clean her, and tinker the engine about." explained Carnforth, as they ran th boat down on the rollerH; "but I never take him cut. It's quite easy to run. and you don't want a beastly man llblening to everything you say" - Peter nodded. e "No, of course not; It would be so bad for his morals But what would you do if the engine broke flown ? "Oh, that s all light 1 understand the engine well enough;, and. if the worst came to the worst we could start?" m' U'H qU'tC "Bh'' Have a l''Kar before we Carnforth handed his case, a large leather one ipeclally made, to Peter. alid took one himself. Then Instead of putting it back in his pocket, as a aeconrt uuuni.L, .ic ii uovin careiuiiy on a shelf ln aoatliouse. , "It ruins cigais to take them on to the Ynlalneri. "ami ,.f .hot..,. v.t ... . the he r , - tisan win last ua as long as we are out." , It was a dull. warm, autumn afternoon, with a still fectly smooth 1 1 " ' v. nu- Kiay-ureen sea wti rh u - , . ' "A splendid afternoon for a spin," he exclaimed ' water0 liUle bat beean l CUt h" way through th; , "Grand." answered the other enthusiastically "i m enjoying it no end." 1 ra ' Iveggie : Carnforth looked very striking ln his white flannel suit and bare head, with its white hair brushed back off his foreheau. as he sat at the tiller steering tn nine crart ne aeemed like nome modern vikini iVtt V??J1iom lhe Kreat Impression of strength which he gave, huge and powerful, yet active wit n.i ion hi face a 1 l.tje smile hovered-not a UogeThe? a " i'"vnig ueepiy as ne talked lightly, going over eacb step of his ntan for ih. iJ., ?iu? 1 sure 'meit that nothing had been over- " Then banoddW twice almost unconsclouslv to him. elf. No. It wn all right, and nothing had "been left t fhacj-but there Was no hurry, ife did not want to get, back too soon-that would be the trying time; and th shorty it was the better. And as h aat there, - fronv am Instinct of curiosity he began to . analyse kia feeUnge He was perfectly cool, and with- , el tracr of nervousness; nor did he feel the leaat suspicion of compunction or pity for hla victim. No. in a certain sense he was sorrv for Peter he was a good, chap and sn old friend; but there waa no help lor it. Hi. waa hi the way. and be had got to go? it was hs dcatfc aontence. ' FSri,lm.e--iJ hy fhatteit. he ran th boat along P arallel to the shor. aBout three hundred yarda from tjyijia h Aw.t?f . X2. !" out rd. bend to the left -, i-nglng-oer rlghtroutno sea. and beading for the . T . U r.,.alri wh.t la do i !Ji"."T.n ..f MMhrF ul the p..ly. n K.igll.h earl. . . flfii f.uiH.blv ptnu to found Tentlne, each of In. I V' to "onHluuU .a Ilk .mount. Th. '"?; .n. hVnri" sad wnlx th..u.n pound., It 10 ( to th. Is.l I ' v ; k . 1 wooth aurfao bfor Carnforta turned, pointing back r' ) . . . ' again direct for th shor. All th tlm h Ulked and . . . O " ''- ' laughed in hla moat genial way, a though h had not V ' V ' ' ' a car In th world; and th barrlaur rpatdly - . iS9T!,r ' . ..: pressed hla enjoyment - f "V ' V " ' t - ''''' r -1 must get n th an4 rua It on th rlvr. ST "r ,' ' '''. ' v-' f 4 T"' " J- , . - . .;...v Reggie," h said at last "It look ay nough.- ', . ' ( l,'1 . )''" " ', '' They wer about thr-quartra of a mil from th . v r, , 1 . , NV.'- , shore, which wa half lost to alght In th hat; and , ! . .; ',',. f ' ? v ' : . . , , VCT' Carnforth felt assured that thy wr f from obr- ' mrm ' .-..'" I. t ' X'-, " ' '' ' '. ' upon. -oh, yes. rather." he answerta carelessly, -you li A ' " I .' .. , VT could run It all right. If nothing went wrong. That " J) SifiT JL V, -y. '-vy,. .;,,4. . hl when tha bother coin." ft i I L With hi unoccupied hand h dftly touched on of ,ff fO f KrSl ' ' t '. v"'' m.-" 'i-- th lvrs and stopped hla angina with a crunch. "Good Lord!" h xclaimd. "talk about th devil! Now something ha gone wrong." He Uansd over th engine, a though arrilnlng It closely; and, picking up a heavy spanner, b tightened one or two of th nuta. "Look here, Peter," he said, lifting hla head, "this Is what's happened. Com and aaa for yourslf." The barrister moved from hla seat and leaned over the engine without a shadow of suspicion. Then, as he looked up to apeak to Carnforth, h waa conscious of a raised arm and th heavy spanner dacndlng with terrific force; and on hi friend's face ho law a look he had never aeon before, making It absolutely different, ln the eyes was grim pftllessness, n unnat ural glitter; the veins on the forehead wer black and knotted; and the mouth waa unpleasantly set In' a hard line, drawn down at the corner; and Chalmers recoiled in horror. But It waa too late. Th spanner descended on hla left tempi with unerring aim. On dull thud; and he fell senseless. Carnforth drew a deep breath. So far, so good. Whether h waa dead or merely stunned mattered little. From the locker beneath him he drew out a great leaden weight with a ring In It. to which was attached a piece of strong cord. Stepping across the engine, he leaned over the barrister's body and lashed his feat together firmly with the cord; and then, lifting him with his great strength, he dropped him coolly over board, feet foremost. There was a splash, a few bubbles on the surface, and some gradually widening ripples, and all was over. The whole affair had scarcely taken three minutes from start to finish. Carnforth stood for an instant In thought, the white face with the gash in the temple photographed in his memory. Then he shrugged his shoulders and sat down. There was no time to be lost; and he must go on with the completion of his plans. First, he took up the spanner again and deliberately struck himself in .the face with. It. inflicting a gash on the right cheekbone and drawing blood; but he took particular care to avoid any dangerous spot The pain for a moment was Intense; but it produced no outward effect on him beyond a grim smile. Then lie pulled the plug out of the boat and waited for it to fill. It waa only Just over half a mile to the shore, vand he wag a Very powerful swimmer, aa much at home in the water aa on the land; and be had. nothing on to impede liim, only a light suit of flannel, and a pair of canvas shoes. He waited quietly till th boat's edge was almost level with the water, puffing away at the atump'of his lgar. Then, with an easy motion, throwing It away, he dived over the side and watched the boat settle dpwn and sink. " Then he struck out for the shore with great power ful strokes. ... ' . ', . . w rv j Jj ' --'' 'One dull thud, and he fell eenseleaa." CHAPTER XI A Came of Bluff ' c YRIL ana Jack were makltyr their way back from ma itoman camp along th clins Juat a to day was beginning to grow dusk. It bad ben a happy af urnoon nappy . not. only in what had been said, but In what had been left unsaid) and an understanding had been arrived ,t between them that Cyril should again approach Colonel Vambery and ace whet he had to say on th on sub ject which interested them. "You leave him to m, Squirrel, dar," the little girl said confidently, looking up at him with her brown eyes very bright. "1 can alwaya manage th eld dad all right, and when I want a thing very much 1 can always get my own way." "And do you want me very much, delrf asked Cyril, half In fun and half In earnest. "You r a horrW thing!" exclaimed Jaek, blushing suddenly and atarting to run along- th cliff. In half a dosen strides Cyril, with his long legs, had caught her. and, exacted a penalty, realizing for the first time the exquisite pleasure of making Up. Suddenly Jack broke away from him, waving her arm and pointing out to sea. "What's that?" she crfed out excitedly. "If-lt looks Ilk a man swimming." Cyril looked ln the direction of her Uttl brown hand and saw aomethlng whit In th water. At first it appeared Tike tho white crest of some Isolated little" wave on the smooth sea or some snowy-crested bird skimming the surface. Then he realised that It was the head of a white-haired man. swimming slowly and methodically toward the shore. "Oood heavens!" he exclaimed. "It's Unci Reggie! There must have been an accident. Cut along to the house, Jsck, as hsrd as you can pelt and bring help brandy, towels, blankets." Th last words were shouted back over hla fchoul- "Cyril bent over him anxiously and undid his shirt and -collar at the neck.'! der, as he himself began to run toward the chine which had served as the way down to the sea before Cam forth had built the steps. It was half a mile from the house, but quite easy in it Incline, . As lie ran he cooed and waved bis handkerchief.; The swimmer was soma three hundred yarda away from the shore, and did not appear to bear blm at first; but at last, he rained his head and called back. There could be "no doubt that Jt 'van Carnforth. Carnforth. meanwhile; bail been taking It iult easily, swimming well within himself; and to him a swim of ' hut little over. half a mile, even in his clothes, wa no very great feat But When ha hard ryrtr cry and realized that he waa being wauhed. ha began 4 swlra- more slowly and to make tlfn -of ditrs. It was sn integral part .hia plan that when le reeohed tha shor . t : . h allould b don up so a to avert any possibility oX auaptctan. . v Aa Cyril feet touched the atony beach hi atarttd t take bit coat and waistcoat off aa he ran, and h only paused for an instant to slip off his boots betor plung ing Into, the aea. , From the cliff h bad notlcd that Carnforth waa beginning to roll and to flounder a little, arid he read physical tthauetlon Into th aign. H won dered what had becom of Peter Chalmera, but h bad i hotlme to Ihlhk. ! , ' He atruck out atrohgly, calling Out one or twlc ta th awlmmer to encouraga him. atid a hundred and fifty yards from shore he reached him. "Nearly done. Squirrel," gasped Carnforth feebly. "Turn on your back. Unci Reggl. and Ml tow you In." said Cyril coolly. "It a not far now. Turn on your bacR." . Carnforth did not eeem to realise for a moment Then, with an, effort that appeared difficult, ha obeyed and turned on bis back, almost letting himself go undar a h,dld eoj'and Cyril, grasping blm under th arm. . began swimming on his back toward th ahore.' Th dlatanee seemed trebled by the great weight he had to tow, and be waa glad when ha felt the sand beneath hla feet . "Here we are, safe and sound, Uncle Reggie, he tried. "Now one more effort, and you'll be on dry land again." . J . - Carpforth made a labored turn, arid with Cyril help crawled up the beach a few yards beyond the limit of the eurf. .,-... "Narly-don, Squirrel, h said again With gasp. "Aorld'snfpoor old Peter drowned.'' , Thn he fell back on the atones and lay a till, aa though exhausted. .,,, Everything had fallen out exactly as h n;P,nn',i and nothing "ould have been better. Cyrll e rrlyal waa an unexpeoted deus. ex , machine, and would help hla atory immensely. Though his eye were ahut, hla brain waa working acutely, physically he had a delightful snse ot languor; and. if it had not been for pi wet flannel, he would have beteh.very comfortable. Alt he wanted waa fits favorite attehdaht from the Ttlrklsh bath ; to rub him downl ' . .. '. '. .,. : - v - . r. ". ; Cyril bent over him anxiously and undid hi ahlrt and collar at the neck.' Therf, takiag hla handkerchief from hi a coat he dried Carnforth far and hands and . began to chafe them, waiting anxiously-for help from . the house. He did not know what to do In esse of drowning, but had ome vsgue idea of artlflcisl L ? n, "r'iJl !and for lavine plisiioDi . lakitig.the older mans arms li moved tbetn clumsily 114, and down, backward ward. In tha bona .of helnlna- him - ' Carnforth relaxed-the muscles of his arma. Having them quite limp. He waa silently amused at the boy's . Vell-lntentloned. effort,- but wished Mhfttbie, would (Copyright, 1311, by the Xttih American Company!) 'w '-atop, etop. ,He' eould aot however. proteat, aa Ujaa all part cf the game, w i . ' i At last, after what seemed agea to both of them, help arrived In the shape of two of th mn servants and the rest of the Fire with, white, anxious facaa . By Vam'a order they laid g: blanket on th tone. ,;whl!a they Btripped' off hie we clothes. Then they. ( placed hlra on the blanket, and the wo"men rubbaoT him down, and chafed him with rough tewele. while, VVam poured a little 'brandy-Carnforth noted that it waa the old '81 brandy , h had alway reserved for the 8lx and atate occaelona-between hla teeth. Then be v lUtle aigh, and ' took a gulp of the : brandy, 'which wet very pleasant after hla long awlm. , "That a ght. old chap." said Vam'a . calm.' quiet vole, "Take , little" tnorat.lt will do you good." . ' Carnforth awallowed aoma- more with an apparent effort, Then' lie. opened hla eyea and tried to raU hlmaelf. N , 1 v: "Accident,! gasped. In a" low. husky vole. "En gine ; bust i up boat went down-poor old Peter- erewned-couldn't nod him. '-ThSlt K - fall hafV I.I. 1 m I .ji- - p iia.juw- i .iu i .u mi. "'6ti, old chap; you muatn't try to talk." said Vara gently. "Tou ahall ' tell . us all later on. when you are better ; - . . , ... j - .' Carnfoj'tn lay still as thy wrapped his big: body In V' a dry. blanket. f . V. " "How horrlbl." aald '.Winnie, .' his red face almost white. "I always hated those damned boats. I-I sup pose there's no chance of saving old Pater." Vambery shook hla head aadly, "No, I'm afraid not.. Vou can e from Reggie's ex -hauated condition that U must have happened a good wy out and Reggl wou)d hvf have left him It there had been a chance. Are you dry, Squirrel? Then fun Op to the house and tell them that Reggie Is all right .We'll get him up aa aoon aa wa can move him. One "of the grooms Is bringing the light cart round , Uo wn the chine.", - Aa Squirrel started off, Carnforth moved again, and epeneo his eeg. "Wm all-right. ryu boys," ha aaid,vwlth'a feeble trice of, hla old amlle. "Don't worry about m Jut give ma time Peter got knocked out and J never earn up I dived." . " Then he sank back again; and Vambery gave him aoma more (randy. ' , "Poor old chap," said Winnie, examining .Reggie's theek. "He got a nasty knock, too he's got a gash Under hla eye. lic ky It wasn't a bit higher up." ' Vambery examined It closer? and. nodded. ' "Ys," he aald, "but It a only superficial, Just a cut and a, bruise. It will only want plastering up, and the doctor. can do that when he cornea. Hla heart is all right! and that's the main thing." , Carnforth could hardly repress a atari at he men tion of the f word "doctor." H had forgotten about html but fortunatoly, be had fOur miles to "come and could not arrive for at least another half hour. He must be practically all right by then,, aa his condition would deeelve no medical man. - He waited for a minute or two and then raised ' himself with an effort "I'm better now, boya,' he said In a stronger voice. "I waa a bit don, thata all. Isn't It awful about old Peter? I I think I can walk with an arm." "po. you O better not try, Heggle," said vam gently. -i n jignt cart win o ner any mlnut now, and then we il get you oacK. "All right" saia Keggie. lrini right," eai'd Reggie, lying ."flick. "Ml wait I'll tell you all about It later. 1-1 can't talk just yet it's awfully good of you chaps to take auch a lot of bother with me." ; And be took Vamberys Jand, and pressed It grate- fully. - - i'.. CHAPTER XII The Pour T iHAT night,- slttlhg In a low armchair in?the Bmoklhg room, Reggie ledd the other three the tbry he had prepared for them, and they aat round listening to him In awed atience. II himself looked none the worse for hla ducking of the afternoon, except for the plaster on his face, ' which helped to disguise th normal condition of hla health) but it pleased every one to mak a fusa of him, and, much as he disliked It he realised-that It waa part of the game. He had been carried straight Into the smoking room, or, rather, bad walked, with Winnie and the Yokel supporting him on each aide, and he had enjoyed quite a comfortable eleep In front of the biasing log Are, covered up with blankets. When he had awakened he had drunk a large cup of strong black, coffee with a liberal dash of old brandy In it. and then he had asked for a cigar. The doctor, who had arrived, had examined him before he fell asleep, strapped hla face up, and pronounced him all right: ano,, navlng nothing else to say, he had. reoommandad rt' and promised to call In the morning. "Marvelous constitution and strength Mr. Cam forth has got,? ho aald to Lady uuendolen and the anxious three, who Were awaiting his verdict. "What would kill lots of .men doe him no harm. He tells me that he swam In at least a mil and a half. But. of cours, ha s a spUndid awlmmer, and hla bart, despite (.! irul wlrii. Im aa an li nit u a ball. There lan't "the least cause for anxiety or alarm. 1 tan assure you." Lady Quendoien had sat with htm till UnurUmv.J holding his grest hand between her aunt wniteonea and not allowing him to talk; and, though he fair perfectly welt he had deemed It wiser and more tn keeping With th part not to get up for dinner. More over, he knew that dinner that night eould net but be a funereal function under the clrcumetancea and. he would have hid to keep a sharp hand .on hla spirits, which were considerably elated at the wonderful suc cess of his plana. Ho h aat all alone In th 'smoking room and contented himself with eating a splendid meal, washed down by a bottle of old champagne, and satlafying the extraordinary appetite Induced by hie '""After-dinner h 8kd for Vambery. Gurdon and tha earl; and the three brought their cigar In with them, sitting round him with grave faea. Each one of them he took by the hand When they came In, greeting them With a warm pressure, and thank Ing them for the trouble they had taken with him. "You chap have been awfully good to me," he aald in a low voice, smiling on them, "and I can't tell you how good it was to come to on that beach and find tlte three of you there al) that la left of us now," he added, Al"it waa awfully good to find you; all right, old chap." said th warm-hearted peer huskily. "It waa e terrible shock when Jack rushed Into the houae tike a whirlwind and told us. it's It's terrible losing old Peter but, by gad, I don't know what we should have don without VUThother two nodded gravely ln assent The absent Peter we at the moment more In. their mlnda than the present Ftegle, snatched jthough he had been from the( "Tell ns tell ua about Peter," said Vam slowly. alter a pause, carefully knocking t bedash off hie pause, cigar Into the fend, as though nothing else inter ested him. At tlmas of great emotion he Waa alwaya . niAit nmclsa about little, unimportant detail. A silence fell on the room for a moment- Then Cinfu'ti spoke In, a low, well-modulated voice. i'i I'll try." ne aald. With a touch of healtancr la hi tone; "but it knocks me over every time l tnlrtk ulitmt it. aa you can Imashe v. it , seem terrible to be hire without mm. but-pat" here his vole almost brok liera wiuivul tum, It waan't my fault. jtie pauaeu ur u V "nt course not. old ehabV broke in Vambery. al most sharply, "there is ho need to tell us that." The other two nodded eagerly In assent: and Carn forth looked Around the little circle gratefully. . "Thank you. you dear old chaps. 1 1 knew you would(all feel the,!;, but It's very hard to Wear, all the "lle drew a iong breath and went oh. u Ilka thlai Wa had a solcndld little anln , found the coast ana oaog ana men 1 neauea rignt out to 'sea, as It was so calm and Peter was enjoying hlnW eelf ao much. AH went splendidly and Peter waa talk io- nf huvloff a motorboat for the river, when sud denly, about a mile and a half out, as nearly aa I can Judge, aomethlng In the Infernal engine jammed. I began to examine It. but could not make out quite what wa wrtfng I'm hot much of an engineer, as you chaps khow ana Old Peter wa leaning down overjth engine too, as man wtl do instinctively at a time like that even Jf he know h can't do any good. tinkered about for a bit and thought I had got it right you know; so I began tasting the-lever one by one, when all of a sudden there was a crack and an explo lon.' Something hit me In the cheek a you see" Carnforth pointed to hla plastered face "and knocked , me out for a few minute. When 1 came to, the boat - was just -going under, and there Waa fto sign of Peter. . All t can conclude U that something . must have ' knocked htm ' Insensible and overboard at th same '" time. I swam all round and round and uived several times: but I could find no, trace of him. 1 stuck to it till after the boat had gone-down, but It waa no good; ao t toad to leave the snot. The blow had knocked m bit out of time; and I knew I had a tough swim In front 'of wei and I did not ee what good 1 eould do l by ataylna. But It seemed horrible to Tme away without hfini and I felt all through th long wlm a ''.Qhoufh I should never get back at all." iniouii-n n 00 nea iymninui-sny, -. v . ;3
