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About The news=record. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1907-1910 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1910)
t5he OlA a y By LOUIS TRACY Author of the "Pillar of Light," "The Wings ol the Morn ing" and "The Captain of the Kansas." Copyright. 1989 by Edward J Cloda CHAPTER V. gnowiuo WHAT BECAME of tite an- DROllfcUA. i . . . 1 1 1 AA Oil ll H ship again. Three more sheila were fired, but each projectile screamed harmlessly far out at sen. A trainei! gunner, noting, these facts, would reason that the shore battery made good practice In the first In stance solely because Its ordnnnce was trained at a known range. Indeed, be o some ... u.e .. might even hazard a guess that the duty.. Thank God for that! Unde Andromeda warm reception was ar- ; torrcd by the fact that a 1 ye shell had ranged lung before her masts and fun-1 burst among the engines, the oil stain nel rose over the horizon. That the ed. grim, looking engineers had not Islanders Intended nothing less than quitted their post until they had taken her complete destruction was self evl-1 such precautions as lay In their power dent Without the slightest warning ; to insure the ship s safety. A light they had tried to sink her. and now i broke In on the fog In the girl b mind, that she was escaping the further at- Even now. at the very gate of eternity, tentious of the fieldpieces a number of ! one might try to help others. The troops stationed on South point and ; thought brought a ray of comfort, the Isle des Kregates began to pelt her (She was about to look for he speakers with bullets. Iris, when the first paralysis of fear bad passed, wheu her stricken senses resumed their sway and her limbs lost their pulsy, flinched from this new danger and sank sobbing to ber knees behind the canvas shield of the bridge. Somehow this flimsy shelter, which sailors call the "dodger," cave Btmie sense of safety. Her throbbing brain was incapable of lucid thought, but it was borne In on her mistily that the world and Its occupants bad suddenly gone mad. The omen of the blood red water bad Justified itself most horri bly. ' The dead carpenter was sprawl lug over the forecastle windlass. Ills hand still clutched the brake. The sailor at the wheel had been shot through the throat and bad fallen limply through the open doorway of the chnrt room. lie luy there, oongn lng up blood and froth and gasping his life out. The two men wounded by the second shell wore creeping down the forward companion lu the effort to avoid the hall of load that wan beating on the ship. Hoiler was raising him self on bands and knees, bis attitude that of a man who la dazed, almost In sensible. , Watts had gone from the bridge. 'He might have been whirled to death over the side like the unfortunate foremast bund she had seen tossed from off the forecastle. Dut Coke, whose charmed life apparently entitled him to act like a lunatic, was actually balancing him self on top of the starboard rails of the bridge by clinging to a stay, hav ing climbed to that exposed position In order to burl oaths at tbe soldiers on shore. lie bad gone frantic with rago. Ills cap bad either fullen off or been torn from his bead by a bullet. Ills squat, powerful figure was shak ing with frenzy. lie emphasized each curse with a passionate gesture of tbe , free hand and arm. lie said, among other things and with no lack of force ful adjectives, that If he could only eome to close quarters wltb some of the Tortygce assassins on the island ho would tear their sanguinary livers out. , The Andromeda, uncontrollable as destiny and quite as heedless of her human freight, swung around with the current until her bows pointed to the Islet occupied by tbe marksmen. . All at once Coke suspended bis flow of in- , Toctlves and rushed Into tbe chart room, where Iris beard blui tearing lockers open and throwing their con tents on the deck. To enter be was obliged to leap over the body of the dying man. The action was gro tesque, callous, ' almost inhuman. It jarred the girl's agoulzed transports back Into a nicies of spiritual calm, a ' mental state akin to the fatalism often exhibited by Asiatics when death Is Imminent and not to be deuled. The apparent madness of the captain was now more distressing to her than the certain loss of the ship or the luvlsl bio missiles that clauged Into white patches on the Iron plates, cut sudden, holes and scars la the woodwork or whirred through tbe air with a buzzing whistle of slugnlarly uietiaclug sound. Bhe began to be afraid of revaluing on the bridge. Her feur waa not duo to the really vital fact that It was so exposed. It arose from tbe ' purely feminine consideration that she was sure Coke had become a raving ma niac, and she dreaded mooting him When, If ever, be reappeared. A bullet struck the front frame of the chart room, and several paaes. of glass were . shattered wltb a fearful din. That decided her. Coke, If ho were not killed, would surely bo Urlv ' eu out She srang to her feet and literally ran down the steep ladder to the saloon deck. Through tbo open door of tbe officers' mess she witnessed aaother bizarre set a a act quite as extraordinary In its way a Coke's Jump over tbe steersman's body. In tbe midst of this drama of death and , Uwtructlon Watts W.H standing: thero. CI V with henil thrown baeE ana uplifted anu, gulpinR down a tumbarful of some dark colored liquid, draining It to the dregs, while he held a blactt Then from somewhere Bhe beard a gruff voice: 'Ilev' ye shut off steam. Macfar Inner "Ou ny. It's b' snug below till the water reaches the furnaces," came the answer. when a bullet drilled a bole in a panel close to her side. She began to run again, for a terrified glance through the forward gangway showed that the ship was quite- cIdrb , to the laud, whore men in blue uniforms, wearing ;uriously shaped huts nnd white gait Dis, were scattered among the rocks, some standing, some kneeling, some prone, but all taking steady aim. Hut it showed something more, no bler was now lying sideways on the raised deck of the forecastle, ne pnrt ly supported himself on his right arm. His left hand wns pressed to his fore head. He was trying to rise. With an Intuition that was pheiiomeunl under the circumstances Iris realized that he wns screened from observation for tbo momeitt by the windlass and the corpse that lay ""across It. Hut the ship's ever Increasing speed and the curving course of her drifting would soon bring him iuto sight, and then those merciless rlneinuu would shoot him down. "Oh, not that, net that!" she walled aloud. An Impulse stronger than the In stinct of self preservation caused the blood to tingle in her veins. Bhe bud waited to take that one look, and now, bent double so ns to avoid being seen by tbe soldiers, she sped back through the gangway, gained the opeu deck, crouched close to the bulwarks on the port side and thus reached unscathed the foot of the compnnlon down which the wouuded men had crawled. The zinc plates on the steps wero slippery with their blood, but she did not falter at the sight. Up she went, stooped 'qCICUl" SHS PANTKl). " LET UB I1KLP KOUl" over ' nozler and placed ber strong young amis round his body. ' "Quick!" sho panted. "Let me help you! You will be killed If you remain here!" Her voice seemed to rouse him as from troubled sleep. "I. waa hit." he muttered. "What Is ItT What Is wrong?" "Oh, come, come!" she screamed, for some unsveu agency tore a transverse gash In the planking not a foot In front of them. He yielded with broken expostula tlona. 8 he dragged hlui to the top of the stairs. Clinging to him, she half walked, half fell, down the few steps. Wut she did uot quite fall. Hozler's weight was - almost more than she coubl manage, but she clung to him desperately, saved him from a head long pinnae to tbe deck and literally carried him Into the forecastle, where she found kc me of the crew who bad scurried there like rabbits to their bur row wheu the first hell crashed Into tbo engine room. Irl' lino , eyes darted Ibjhtulug at thorn. - .-v 7 V .Tnu call yor.rsCTres men," she cried thrilly. "yet you leave one of your officers lying- on deck; to be shot at by those fiends :" "We didn't know he was there. miss," said one. The firing now appeared to Increase lu volume and accuracy. Several bul lets clanged against the funnel or broke huge splinters off the boats. "Great heavens, listen to that!" growled a voice. "An' we cooped up here, blazed at by a lot of rotten da goes, with not a gun to our name!" Iris was still supporting Hozler, whose head and shoulders were pil lowed against ber breast as she knelt behind him. "Cnn nothing be done?" she asked. "I believe Captain Coke has been kill ed. Mr. Hozler Is badly Injured, I fear. Bring some wnter, If possible." "Yes, yes; water. Only a knock on the head. How did It happen? And what Is that noise of firing?" v Hozler's scattered wits were return ing, though neither be nor Iris remem bered that the Andromeda was water less. He looKed up at her, then at tbe men, and he smiled as his eyes met hers again. "Funny thing!" he said, with a nat ural tone that was reassuring. "I thought tbe windlass smashed Itself Into smithereens. But it couldn't. What was it that banged?" "A shell fired from the islnnd," said the girl, Hozler straightened himself a little. ne was hearing marvels, though far from understanding them as yet. A shell!" he repeatedly vacantly. Had she said "a comet" It could not have sounded more Incredible. "Yes, It might have killed you. Sev eral of the men are dead. I myself saw three of them killed outright, and two others are badly wounded." "nere you ore, sir drink this," said a fireman, offering a pnnniklu of beer. It was unpalatable stuff, but It tasted like the nectar of the gods to one who had sustained a blow that would have felled an ox. Hozler had almost emp tied the tin when an exclamation from an Irish. stoker drew all eyes to the after part of the ship, "Holy war! Will ye look at that!" shouted the man. "Sure the skipper Isn't dead at all. at all!" Iris had failed to grasp the mean ing of Coke's antics In the chart room, but tliey were now fully explained. The bulldog breed of this self confessed rascal had taken the upper band of him. Though be had not scrupled to plot the destruction of the ship and thus rob a marine insurance company of a considerable sum of money, though at that very instant there waa actual proof of his scheme in the preparations he had made to jam the steering gear when the anchor was raised after tho tanks weri replenished, it was not In the man's nature to sknlk Into com parative safety because a foreigner, a pirate, a not-to-be-uientloned-lu-pollte-soclety i'ortygeo, opened lire ou him In this murderous fashion. Moreover, Coke's villainy would have snerltieed uo lives. The Andromeda might be converted Into scrap irou and thereby Give back, by perverted arithmetic, the money invested in her, but her white decks would not be stained with blood. Whatever risk wns incurred would be his, the respousiblo captain's, his only. It was a vustly different thing that shot and shell should be rained on an unarmed ship by tho troops of a civi lized power,when she wns seeking the lowest form of hospitality. No won der if the bull necked skipper foamed at the mouth and used words forbid den by the catechism, uo wonder If he tried to express his helpless fury In one Inst act of defiance. He rum in aged the lockers for a union Jack and the four flags that showed the ship's name In signal let ters. He determined that she would go down with colors flying if he were uot put out of action by a bullet be fore he could react) the main halyard. Tbe swerve lu the ship's course as iihe passed the Island gave blm an op portunity. In justice to Coke It should bo said that he recked naught of this, but It would have boon humanly Im possiblo otherwise for the soldiers to have missed hi in. And now, while tbe vessel lay with straight keel In the set of the current, the uatlonul emblem of P.iitalu, wltb the Andromeda's code flugs beucutb, Uuttered up tho main mast There are many Imaginable condi tions under which Coke's deed would be regarded as sublime; there are noue which could deny his spleudid audac ity. The soldiers, who Beeined to be actuated by tbe utmost malevolence, redoubled their efforts to bit tbe squat Hercules who had bellowed at tbem aud their fellow artillerists from the bridge. Bullets struck the deck, lodged In the masts, splintered the roof and panels of the uwer structure, but not one touched Coke. He coolly made fast each flag in Its turn and hauled away till the union Jack had reached tbe truck; then, drawn forward by hoarse cheer that came from the fore castle, be turned his back on the ene my and swung himself down to tbe fore deck. - As ho lumbered along tho deck be mopped his face vigorously with a pocket handkerchief, aud this homely action helped' to convince Iris that she was mistaken In thluking him mad. His words, too, when be caught sight of ber were uot those of a maniac, "Well, missy," he cried, "wot'll they say lu Liverpool now? I s'pose they'll 'ear of this some day," and be jerked a thumb backward to Indicate the un ceasing hnll of bullets that poured Into the after part of the ship. The girl looked at blm wltb an air of surprise that would have been com ical under less grievous conditions. sue knew wltb a vague defiulteness that death was near, perhaps unavokl able, and It bad never occurred to ber that she or any other person on board need feel any concern about the view entertained by. Liverpool a to their fate. . Before she couIS frame a reply", however, Hozler seemed to recover bis faculties. He stood up, walked unaided to the side of the ship and glanced ahead. "Shouldn't we try to lower a boat, sir?" he asked Instantly. "Wot's the use?" ' growled Coke. "Oo's goin' to lower boats while them blighters on the island are pumpin' lead Into us? And wot good are the boats w'en they're lowered? They've been drilled full of holes. You might as well try to float a sieve." "Are none of the boats sea worthy?" "Not one. Tbey are knocked to pieces. Sorry for you, Miss Yorke. But we're all booked for king dom come. In 'art a niinnit or less we'll be on tbe reef, an' the ship must begin to break up." Coke was tell ing the plain truth, but Hozler ran aft to make sure that he was BE COOLLY HAULED AWAY. right in assuming tbe extent of the floats' damages. It was common knowledge that the vessel must be lost and that those who still' lived wheu she struck would have the alternative of being drowned or beaten to pieces against the frowning rocks or shot from the mainland like so many strand ed seals if some alliance of luck and strength secured a momentary foot hold on one of the tiny Islets that barred the way. Some one threw a cork jacket over the girl's shoulders and bade ber fas ten its straps around ber waist She obeyed without a word. Indeed, she seemed to have lost the power of j could see quite clearly downward. Tte speech. In a curiously detached way j ship was breakbig up with Inconceiv she wondered why Hozler did not re- j abb rapidity. turn. The prayers and curses of the Iris heard a ghastly yell from be men surrounding her fell unheeded on neath, and an eerie face appeared above her ears. Wrhere was Hozler? What the stairway. It was Watts, mad with was he doing? Why did he not come I fright and drink.. He scrambled up, a to her? She felt u strange confidence . pitiable object A couple of rntsi ran In blm. If he had not been struck j over his body, and as each whlskud down by that calamitous shell' he ! across his shoulders and past his cheek would have saved the ship assuredly he uttered a bloodcurdling yell. A big he would have devised some means of i w-ave surged up into the recesses saving their lives. Perhaps even now of the cleft and was flung off In a he was attempting some desperate ex- drenching shower on to the forecastle. pedtent. The thought nerved ber for an Instant Then a rending, grinding noise was followed by a sudden swerve and roll of the ship that sent ber stag . ering against a bulkhead. An out .urst of cries and shouting rang hrougb her brain, aud a shriek was wrung from her parched throat. But the Andromeda righted herself again, though there was another sound of tearing nietul. and the deck heaved perceptibly under a shock. Ah, kind heaven! Here came Hozler, running, thundering some loud order. "The port lifeboat seaworthy!" There was a fierce rush, lu which She joined. She was knocked down. A strong hand dragged her to her feet It wns Coke, swearing horribly. She saw Hosier leap against the flood of men. "Curse you, the woman first!" she beard him say, and be sent the leaders of the mob sprawling over the hatches of the fore hold. Coke, almost carrying her In his left arm, butted In among tbo crew like an infuriated bull. Some of the men, shamefaced, made way for them. Ho sier reached her. She thought he snld to the captain, "There's a chance if we can swing ber clear." Then tho ship struck, and they were all flung to the dock. They rose, some how, anyhow, but the Andromeda, ap parently resenting ' the check, lifted herself bodily, tilted bow upward nnd Struck again. A mass of spray dashed down upon the struggling figures who bad beeu driven a second time to tbeir knees. There wns a terrific explosion In the after' bold, for the deck had burst under the pressure of air, and another ominous roar announced that tbe water bad reached the furnaces. Steam and smoke and dust mingled With tbe lucessaut lashing of sheets of spray, and Irla waa torn from Coke's grip. She fancied She heard nozler cry "Too Intel" and a lightning glimpse down the sloping deck showed some of the engineers and stokers crawling up toward tbe quivering forecastle. "I CA.1TKOT BREATH!" SHS SOBDID. She felt herself clasped In Iloiler'a arms aud knew that he was climbing. After a few breathless seconds she realised that tbey were standing on : tbe forecastle, where the captain and naoz of tint crew' were clinging. to lbs windlass and anchor and "caEle and bulwarks to maintain their footing. Below, beyond a stretch of unbroken deck, the sea raged against all that was left of tbe ship. The bridge just showed above tbe froth and spume of sea level. The funnel still held by its stays, but the mainmast was gone and with it the string of flags. ' The noise was deafeuing. overpower ing. It sounded like the rattle of some immense factory, yet a voice was audi ble through the din. for Hozler was telling her not to abandon hope, as the fore ptirt of the ship was firmly wedged in a cleft In the rocks. They might still have a- chance when the tide dropped. , So that explained why It was so dark where a few moments ago all was light. Iris pressed the salt water out of her burning eyes aud tried to look up. On both sides of the narrow triangle of the forecastle rose smooth overhanging walls, black and dripping. They were festooned with seaweed, and every wave that curled up between the ship's plates and the rocks was. thrown back over tbe deck, , while streams, of water fell constantly, from the masses of weed. She gasped for breath. The mere sight of this dismal cleft' with its supersaturated air space made active the choking sensation of which she was just beginning to be aware. "I cannot breathe!" she sobbed, and she would have slipped oil Into the welter of angry foam beneath had not Hozler tightened a protecting arm round her waist "Stoop down," he said. She had a dim knowledge that be unbuttoned his coat and drew one of Its folds over her head. Ah, the bless ed relief of It! Freed from the stifling showers of spray, she drew a deep breath or two. How good he was to ber! How sure she was now that If he had been spared by that disabling shell he would hnve saved them all! Bent aud shrouded as she wnj, alio It nearly swept Watts Into the next world, and It drove every rodent in that exposed place back to tbe dry Interior. To return tbey had to use the un happy chief otticer as a causeway, and the poor wretch's despairing cries were beartrendlng. He was clinging for dear life to a bolt In tbe deck when Coke Joined hands with a sailor aud was thus enabled to reach blm. Coke pulled him up until he was lodged in safety in front of the windlass. TfO HH CftH'1'IHMHH.T THE EVENING TELEGRAM'S BAR GAIN PERIOD RATE THIS YEAR , WILL BE $3.50 The Portland Evening Telegram can be secured the balance of this year and all of next, by nw or old subscribers for the bargain period price alone, m other words, $3.50 pays from now until January 1, 1912. Present suhscribei-s ,who pay their subscription, to date at the regular rate may take advantage of this bar gain period offer also. LEAVE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AT . THIS OFFICE Ia Grande Iron Works. D. FITZGERALD, Proprietor. Foundry and Machine Shop. Casting and Ma chine Work done on short notice. WE ALSO MANUFACTURE FEED MILLS Saw-mill break down jobs promptly attended to GIVE US A TRIAL I L.BERLAND Dealer in Harness, Saddles, Chapps, Spurs and Leather Goods of all descriptions. . I will fit you out with the best goods for the least money. When in need of anything in my line, call and ' inspect my stock before purchasing. ENTERPRISE, - - - OREGON What Can You Expect? ' What can you expect your business to amount to withe ut a Telephone? Do you suppose a customer will lose time running after you when you can call your compet itor by 'phone? Home Independent Telephone Co. NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION. Department of the Interior. U. S. Land Office at La Grande, Oregon, Oct. 26h., 1910. , Notice la hereby given that Lulu M. Bowlby, .whose postofflce address Is Enterprise, wallowa Ooumty, Or egon, did, on th 14th. day of April, ' 1910, file In this office Sworn S Uu be lli em t and Application, No. 07891, to purchase, tine SB SW14, Nft SW SWU, amdSWtt &W SW1-4 of Sec., 22, and the NEtf, NW, SW NW14 NvVtf, audi NWtf, NW NW,, Sec tion, 27, Township l South, Range 46 Kijat, Willamette Meridian, and the timber thereon, under the provis ions of the act of June 3, 1878, and acta amendatory, knOwa as the "Tim ber and Stone Law," at such value as might be fixed by appraisement, and 'that, pursuant to such applica tion, the laud and Umber thereon have teen appraised, at $350.00 as" being chiefly valuable for Us atone; that ( said applicant will offer final proof in support of his application and sworn statement on the 19th. day of Janua-ry, 19H, before W. C. Boat man, County C'.erk of W-Jlowa coun t. at Enterprise, Oregon. Any person la at liberty to protest this purchase be.'ore eatTy, or In itiate a corniest at any time before -ate", ioaues, by filing a corrobo fXed affidavit In this office, alleg- .eta which would defeat the e'ltry. . 11 c 11 F. C. Bramwell, Register. We do good job printing. Try us. ENTERPRISE OPERA HOUSE Watch for Next Announce ment THE GOOD TOBACCO SHOP V is HOMAN'S If You Prefer the Best Brands of. Cigars or SmoKing Tobacco you can always get what you want here. Fine line of . PIPES The same is true of all our Stock. Come in and see. PRENTISS HOMAN'S Next Door to Bank Enterprise, - Oregon &