SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER I—Robert Hollis, one-time
eea captain, who tells the storv, Is a
truest on (Jerald Carrington's yacht, Es
meralda. It Is supposed to be a "stag”
party and Hollis Is surprised on discover
ing a woman, who evidently wishes to re
main unknown, aboard.
CHAPTER II—Hollis, the next night,
succeeds In having an Interview with the
woman. She merely tells him her came
la Vera.
CHAPTER III—Carrington tells his
guests of the coming war, and that lie
Is engineering a copper pool.
CHAPTER IV—The yacht Is sunk In a
collision and Hollis saves McCann, mil
lionaire, and one of the party.
CHAPTER V—Hollis and McCann res
cue Vera and leave the ship In a small
boat.
( IIAITER \ I Hollis and Vera become
friendly, though he Is unaware of her
Identity.
CHAPTER VII—McCann refuses to sub
mit to Hollis’ authority, and the latter
enforces It.
CHAPTER VIII—The castaways are
righted by a ship, the Indian Chief, which
takes them aboard.
CHAPTER IX—The Indian Chief luis
recently been struck by lightning and Is
almost u wreck. All the officers are dead
Hollis meets the owner, who tells him
the vessel has a cargo of ammunition,
consigned to the German government.
CHAPTER X—Hollis consents to take
• barge of ship and i ontinue voyage Vera
recognizes an old friend In Robert
Hascom. owner of the Indian Chief
liascom and McCann are deadly ene
mies.
CHAPTER XI. ‘W'T/
— t
I Select My Officers.
The die was east. However the
strange adventure might eventually
end, whatever peril lurked ahead of us.
it was now too late for regret. The
full responsibility I had assumed al
most overwhelmed me as 1 Ilr^l
emerged upon deck, hut there came to
me also a spirit of recklessness, which
brought a laugh to my lips and a shrug
to my shoulders. Why should I care?
It Was her choice, not mine. A moment
T lingered at the port rail, staring out
'to the smother of the coming dusk.
" dering how it would all end, before
1 the ladder to the poop deck.
The -iv'gro was at the wheel, while
Masters stood aft gazing astern. He
was not aware of my presence until I
•poke sharply.
‘‘.Mr. Masters.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“I have agreed to take command of
the vessel for the remainder of the voy
age,” I said quietly, “and would have
a word with the crew.”
“The remainder of the voyage, sir?”
“Yes; the vessel has sufficed no se
rious damage, und there are surely
seamen on hoard to serve as watch offi
cers.”
“The bosun Is a good man, sir,”
“What is his name?”
“Lea.vord.”
“Very well; have the men piped aft."
“All hands, sir?”
“Certainly, Mr, Masters. They have
had rest enough, 1 imagine, the past
few days. Now they are In for a spell
of work.”
I was not altogether pleased with
the engineer’s manner, a vague suspi
cion coming Into my mind that he also
rather preferred n return to Baltimore,
and that the crew might desire the
same decision. As I went forward to
the rail I noticed that both Vera and
Hascom had come up as far as the
head of the companion, and now stood
there In the shadow, where they could
hi Mil see and hear. McCann, however,
did not nppeur, and was probably
asleep below, or still doctoring his dis
colored optic. I bad Just n moment to
observe these things before the men
began to nppeur aft the mainmast, and
form in a straggly line across the deck.
They were Indeed n rough-looking lot,
even for a freighter’s crew, plainly
showing the effects of prolonged de
bauches ashore, with several among
them still manifestly under the influ
ence of liquor. The re-establishment
of sea discipline on board was evi
dently to he my first task, and my
teeth clenched tightly as my eyes swept
their faces.
“<’ome farther aft, men,” I ordered
sternly. “Bosun, bring them closer In.
where they can hear what I say—ay!
that’s more like It.”
I stared down Into the upturned
faces, noting, It seemed to me, charac
teristics of every race on earth, and
realizing that here before mo was
grouped the scum of the seven sens.
“Men,” I began, gripping the rail and
speaking swiftly, “my name Is Hollis,
and I held command In the old Atlas
line. The owner of this vessel and
cargo—Mr. Philip Bascom—hns just
done me the honor of appointing me as
captain for the remainder of the voy
age.”
The fellows remained silent, except
for iho restless shuttling of their feet,
on the deck.
“And what Is the vlge to be, mister?"
suddenly asked a hoarse voice back In
the group.
“The same one yon signed on for, of
course.”
“Ter Hamburg?”
“That’s where we lay her head.”
“But ter perdition will It; we’ve a
wrecked ship, an’ they tell us there s
a war on.”
“Who tells you that?”
1 he siuy TTiiit come aboard along
wi1h yor; lu> told the cook.”
“Well, war or no war, this ship
cleared before there was any declara
tion, and you fellows shipped with her
for the voyage.”
“That’s a d- lie,” sang out an
other voice shrilly. “The most of us
was signed on by crimps.”
1 straightened up, determined to end
the matter then and there.
“W»‘ have hud enough of this, lads.”
I said sternly, staring straight dowt
into their faces. “I don't know who
among you are doing all of this talk
ing, tin) I'll answer you tliis: T ;un rap
tain of the Indian Chief, and if any of
you want to try out whether 1 can
handle inv crew or not, pi to it. Bosun,
come here."
The man named separated himself
from the others, and slowly climbed
the ladder. He was a big. muscular
fellow, with red hair, clipped close to
his head, and intelligent blue eyes.
"Your name is Lcnyord?”
"Aye, aye, sir."
“This is your first voyage on the
Indian Chief?”
"No, sir; my third.”
“Very good. Mr. Lea.vord; from now
on you will mess aft, and rank as first
mate, serving watch and watch with
me. Is there a man forward capable
d' filling the second mate’s berth?”
lie ran his eyes over the group be
ow rather doubtfully.
“Olson might, sir,” he answerei
inaily. “11c is sober, and a good seu
nun.”
“Step forward, Olson.”
The mass of men parted slightly, and
a man was pushed to the front, lie
possessed a strongly marked Swedish
face, smooth shaven and almost boyish.
“How old arc you, Olson?”
“Twenty-eight, sir.”
“Y'ott know the sea?”
“Twelve years in the fo’enstle, sir."
“All right ; I’m going to give you a
chance to make good as second officer.
Mr. Olson. Now, lads, that’s all for
the present. 1 take it you are sailor
men. and know what that sky means.
The chances are ten to one we'll have
a storm before midnight, and we’ll
meet It better with clear decks. Get
forward, all hands, and clear away
that riffie—lively now.”
They were a bit slow about It, grum
bling among themselves. Olson spoke
once or twice, although 1 could not
hear exactly what was said, and the
power of sea discipline finally con
quered. Within ten minutes they were
working cheerfully enough, and Lea
yord had ceased liis gruff ordering, and
stood silent beside the lee rail. It
pleased me to observe that Olson took
hold along with the others, and did his
full share of the work. I leaned far
ther over to gain view of the cabin en
trance, but Bnscom had disappeared.
The girl, however, held her place, and
glanced up, her eyes meeting mine.
“Could I cotue up there, Mr. Hol
lis?” she questioned.
is free for your use. Take the star
board ladder,"
I gave her my hand, and helped her
to grasp the rail. She glanced about
Into the mist.
“How gray and somber it is,” she
said soberly. “The fog is almost like
a hand clutching at you.”
“The glass is falling rapidly,” I an
swered, “and I suspect a storm is
brooding behind that curtain; that is
why I tun so anxious to make all clear.
What do you think of the crew?”
She glanced aside toward the mo
tionless negro at the wheel, and then
at the men shutfling about their work.
“I—I hardly know; they—they look
awfully rough and—and disreputable.
Weren’t some of them drunk?”
"No doubt, yes. Don’t worry. Miss
Vera. Those things are frequent
enough on shipboard. We will have
these lads thoroughly tamed within an
other twenty-four hours. There is never
a mutiny without some leader and a
better cause. I am working under
your orders, you know.”
She glanced up quickly Into my face.
"Under my orders? No, not that,
Mr. Hollis. You told me it would be
your choice; I merely granted permis
sion.”
“Your permission was equivalent to
an order. I so accepted it.”
“P»ut that is hardly fair. Not that I
regret the choice, for I coiild never
have forgiven myself if my selfishness
had ruined Philip Bascom. lie is really
an old friend.”
“So I supposed; a very interesting
man in spite of his misfortune.”
“He was, indeed, before that bullet
wrecked him. It Is sad; and to think
that the one who shot him is actually
on board—his guest.”
*Not altogether a pleasant thought
j to me.” I said soberly. “For McCann is
Hie kind to breed more trouble if he
can find an excuse.”
ou do not consider the man dan
gerous?”
“Not in the sense you mean. He will
pcver attack openly, or permit himself
■o he known in any conspiracy. But
iie will have to he watched, neverthe
ess. He is the sort to harbor revenge,
and as he feels hatred and distrust j
oward both Bascom and myself, we !
•annot he too careful. I shall have to >
tell Leayord the whole story.”
“Lenyord?”
“The man I named for first officer;
he is standing abaft the foremast yon
der.”
“The second officer Is a Swede?”
“Yes; rather young, but I like his
face, and he seems to have the re
spect of the men.” I turned and gazed
Into the face of the compass, already
lighted.
“What is your name?” I asked of the
black at the wheel.
“Watson, sah; Charles Watson.”
“Well, Watson, let her head full off
a couple of points—that’s it, my man.
! Is this the signal cord to the engine
| room?”
lie nodded, the whites of his eyes
i showing oddly, and I rang for an in
crease of speed. Watson, bracing the
wheel with one knee, wiped his lips on
his sleeve.
Ain yo snorei.v nimin ter ter sail
lis yere ship long ter Hamburg, sah?”
lie asked cautiously.
“Von heard what I said to the men?”
“Yas, sail, T done heerd dat. But J
thought maybe I best tell yer, sail, that
thar’s sure a bad lot forward, an’ i
rhey’s plum set against goin’ no far
ther.”
"A bad lot, hey? And who seems to
he the leader, Watson?”
He scratched his head.
“Wal, sail, there’s two or three who
lias a lot ter say. but I sorter reckon as
how de real boss is a white pusson
•all’ Liverpool Bed—he dun started ter
knife me night afore last, and if I
hadn’t done got outer thar right lively,
i reckon I’d bin a dead nigger sure.”
“What objection does this fellow and
•he others with him have to finishing
his voyage?”
“Wal, nioslly at first It wus just
ird’nary cussidness, snh ; hut now they
rot tlie war ter harp about, dat Liver
>ool is a-playln’ it up ter beat all. sail.
Ie says tids ship is loaded with war
uff". and bound ter lie sunk or enp
ured ; am dat so, sah?”
"Wo#have a miscellaneous cargo,” 1
nswered, “and some of it might lie
•ontrabnnd. But it was shipped before
• nr was declared, and wo have ample
ime to reach port before the establish
ment of a blockade. There will be no
trouble, Watson, if the men only do
their duty. You let them know that
I said so when you go forward.”
“Yas, snh.”
I left him, and walked over to the
rail, realizing keenly the position of
peril into which I had drifted. With
a loyal crew my task would prove no
easy one, but with a crippled ship, and
the men already on the verge of mu
tiny, the situation wus almost despe
rate
(Continued Next Week.)
POOR ROADS ARE EXPENSIVE
Mistaken Idea That Improved High
ways Are Solely for Benefit of
Automobile Owners.
Poor roads are very expensive things
for country communities. The farmer
who thinks that improved highways
are mainly for the benefit of those who
drive automobiles should reflect on
the results of a recent Investigation by
the deportment of agriculture, which
finds that the cost of hauling farm
produce over ordinary country roads
is 23 cents n ton mile, whereas over
hard-surfaced roads it is only 13 cents.
—Youth’s Companion.
OPERATION OF A ROAD DRAG
Use Pokiest, Laziest Kind of Team
and Let Them Have Their Own
Time—lust Keep Moving.
Do not wait for anything; build a
drag and get out onto the road.
Drive very slowly. Use the pokiest,
laziest team you own, and give them
their time. Just so they keep moving
they will be going swiftly enough.
After you have used the drag a year,
and have learned when to drive rap- j
idly and when to drive slowly, you can
carry a whip or drive a mettlesome
team.
Vetch as Cover Crop.
An expert says that winter vetch
does best as a cover crop if a little rye
Is seeded with It. One bushel of vetch
to one-half bushed of rye per acre is
ubout right.
Bad Habit of Cow.
Once a cow finds out she can get
over an old fence there will be trouble
perhaps for all time.
I
I
WAGE EARNER HAS MORE TO
LOSE THAN ANY CLASS
BY DEFEAT.
SLAVE OR FREEMAN, CHOOSE
Secretary Wilson Points That With
Democracy’s Downfall Common
People Will Lose Hard W_n,
Dearly Bought Liberties.
A strong appeal to the workingmen
of this country to participate in the
second Liberty Loan to the fullest ex
tent has been made by William B.
Wilson, Secretary of lAbor. Secretary
Wilson points out that ‘‘the workers
have more at Btake in this great con
flict than any others, because it is
only In a democracy that the common
people can come into their own.” Sec
retary Wilson's statement is as fol
lows:
To the Wage-Workers of the United
States:
The great European war In which
we are now involved came to the poo- j
pie of the Western Hemisphere as a
terrible shock, and to no portion of
the people did it come as a greater
shock than to the wage earners of tha
United States. They believed in and
wanted international peace, but they
wanted it on a basis of International
justice which would insure the right
of our people to govern themselves.
When the Imperial German Govern
ment undertook to destroy the lives
of our people and to impose a rule
of conduct upon us without our con
sent in places under the Jurisdiction
of the United States Government,
there was no course left but to resist.
The workers have more at staka
in this conflict than any others, be
cause it is only in a democracy that
the common people can come into j
their own. The great privilege U not j
given to all of us to aerve our country
on the battlefield or in the trenches,
but there are other ways in which we
can serve and assist those who are
privileged to carry our flag on the
battlefields of Europe. The im, ulse
of sacrifice for the common good is
sending the youth of our country into
the trenches in defense of liberty, hu- :
manlty and democracy. To those o1
sis who must of necessity remain at |
home to till the soil, harvest ths
crops, man the factories, mines and
mills, the way Is open for additional
service. We, too, must make sacri
fices. The men who go forth to do
battle in the field must be equipped
and sustained. Funds must be forth
coming to furnish the food, the fire
arms and other supplies for the fight,
ing forces of the nation.
I am reminded of the fr.ble of a
great drought when the crops were
wasting for the want of water, anc (
one little raindrop said to another in
the clouds, “I would like to go down
to the relief of the farmer and his
perishing crops, but 1 am so little it
would be useless.” And another lib
tie raindrop replied, “It would be use
less for you to go down alone, bul
let us all go down and our combined
effort will bring the needed relief."
And so it is with the workers. The
funds each has available is but a
drop, but all of the drops togethei
tan make a shower of funds that will
furnish the needed supplies, bring joy
to the hearts of the boys at the front
and consternation to our enemies.
WILLIAM B. WILLSON,
Secretary of Labor.
MR. SMALL INVESTOR.
THIS VITAL MESSAGE
IS ADDRESSED TO YOU.
How to Invest Money.
Joseph D. Uucom, secretary and
treasurer of the Broderick & Bas
com Rope Co., Si. Louis, whose com
pany has bought $250,000 of the
second series of the Liberty Loan,
give* excellent reasons for invest
ing in the bonds.
Mr. Bascoili is a successful busi
ness man, and while he urges In- '
vestment in Liberty Bonds as a
patriotic duty, he sees the advan
tage from a business standpoint of
buying the bonds.
Investing surplus earnings in
Liberty Bonds, Mr. Bascom says,
is better than paying dividends.
The great corporations are accumu
lating funds to meet Increased
taxes and value depreciation. What
better investment for these funds
and other reserve funds than 4 per
cent Government bonds—the safest
in the world?
Individually Mr. Bascom is set
ting a good example to small in
vestors. He says that the Eastern
capitalists are investing in Liberty
Bonds and he has always found it
wise to follow their example. The
first rule for small investors is to
follow the advice or example of
those experts who know how to in 1
vest money to best advantage. Men
who have made and are making
money are the best guides in mosey
saving and money making.
Small Investors cannot do bet
ter than follow the leadership of
the big investors and the capable
businesa men at the bead of sue !
* essful corporations. Buy Liberay J
Bonds.—From the at. Louis Post
Dispatch.
I
I
I
j
I
The Liberty Hell s
Message to You!
HELP SOUND THE TOCSIN OF LIBERTY
AROUND THE WORLD!
Liberty Loan Bonds—What
They Are and How Obtained
The bonds of the second Issue of the Liberty Loan are to be issued
under the act of Congress approved bv the President September
24, 1917.
The amount of the Issue will be $3,000,000,000 or more;
$3,000,000,000 will be offered, and the right la reserved to allot bonds
in excess of that amount to the extent of one-half of the oversub
scription. That is, if $5,000,000,000 is subscribed the right Is reeerved
to issue $1,000,000,000 more than the $3,000,000,000.
The bonds will be offered for sale on October 1, 1917, and sub
scriptions will be received until the close of the business day of
October 27.
The bonds will bear date November 15. 1917, and will mature
November 15, 1942. But the Government reserves the right to call
in and pay the bonds in full, with accrued interest, any time after
10 years after their date.
It is believed that the second Liberty Loan, like the first issue
of Liberty Loan Bonds, will be heavily oversubscribed, but no matter
how largely oversubscribed, the policy of distributing these bonds
as widely as possible among the people of the country will be followed,
and every subscriber to an amount not greater than $1,000 is sore
to receive the bond or bonds subscribed for.
Subscribers to larger amounts will receive an allotment based
on the amount of the bond issue and its proportion to the amount
of subscription. What proportion of their subscription they will
obtain will not he known until all subscriptions are in.
The main differences between the bonds of the first issue and
the bonds of the second issue of the Liberty Loan are (1) they
run for only 25 years instead of 30, and may be redeemed by the
Government in 10 years after date Instead of 15; (2) they bear 4
per cent interest instead of 3% per cent; (3) they are liable to sur
taxes and excess-profits and war-profits taxes (except as to ths in
terest on $5,000 In the hands of any holder); (4) allotment may be
made to the extent of half of the oversubscription, and (6) the In
stallment plan of payment is slightly different.
The bonds are convertible gold bonds and bear 4 per cent annual
interest, the interest being payable semiannually an May 16 and No
vember 15 of each year.
The bonds are exempt., both as to principal and interest, from
ail taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United Staten, any
state, or any other possessions of the United States or by any local
taxing authority, except (a) estate or inheritance taxes, and (b) grad
uated additional income taxes, commonly known as surtaxes, and
excess-profits and war-profits Luxes now or hereafter imposed. They
are not liable to the ordinary Federal income tax.
The interest on an amount of bonds the principal of wbioh does
not exceed $5,000, owned by any individual, partnership, association
or corporation, are exempted from the taxes pnpvided f°r *n clause
(b) above.
the right is given to Holders or the bonds to exchange them for
bonds bearing a higher rate of Interest if any such shall later be
issued by the United States before the terralnat’xm of the war. This
conversion privilege must be exercised, if at all, within six months
after the issuance erf such higher-rate bonds.
The second issue of Liberty Loan Bonds wrlll be of two kinds,
registered and coupon.
The registered bonds will be registered at the Treasury In the
names of their owners and will be of tba d</bontdna^lona of $60, 1100,
$500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $100.*00. Checks fog the interest on
these bonds will be mailed from the Tre|*«ry to the owners eaeh
semiannual-interest date.
The coupon bond* will be payable to taefrar and will have coupon*
attached for the Interest. They will be In ttaaosnlnaiUona of (50, $100,
$500, $1,000, $6,000 and $10,000. The ooufjons can be cashed like a
Government check at any bank.
The coupon bonds of this loan "will have only four coupons at
tached, representing the h* mi annual interest for two years, Between
November 15, 1018, and May 16, 1830* the holders of coupon bonds
must exchange their bonds for uew bond* baring full seta of eoupona
These temporary bonds are isyfued because the work of engraving so
many bonds with so large a, number of coupons aftsrhed cannot be
completed within a reasonable timer for delivery.
Bonds of the second 'idberty tx>aq can be purchased by filling
out an application blank, made on the form prewtribed by the Secre
tary of the Treasury, which can be.’ obtained from any bank or Liberty
Loan committee, and sending it or haring R aeuk to the Treasury of
the United States or any Federal Reserve bank or branch, accom
panied by the payment of 2 per cent of Ihe amount of bonds ap
plied for.
These applications must reach fhe Treasury Department, a Fed
eral Reserve bank or branch thereof, or some Incorporated or trust
company in the United States, '/n or before the close of business
October 27, 1917. Practically e'/bry bank la the United Slates will
willingly receive these applicative and bandks tbs whole transaction
of the purchase of bonds for ana- subscriber
A purchaser may pay In fujA tty his bonds at tbs time of making
his application or, if h« so- vdui, he can tak» advantage of the
installment plan .vtd pay 2 por cent on appttcation, 18 per eent on
November 15, 1917. 40 per cent on Docomtxft- 1$, 1*17, and the re
maining 40 per cent on J^iuary lh, 1*18.
Although so far as the Government la, concerned the purchase
price for the bonds muyt be paid as above, nearly every bank in the
country will make arrangements by wbioh .Liberty Loan Bonds can
be paid on an installment plan providing Kbr'.weekly or monthly pay
ments, and a great many employers i*ill tuakacthe same arrangements
for their employes.
Payment can be, made to the Treasury Department or to any one
of the Federal Reserve banks, but purdias*rs are urged to make their
payments to the banks or other agemcitis with whom they placed
their subscriptions.
f—1