Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, May 11, 1922, Page 2

(Continued from last issue) CHAPTER XIII. Nells Halvorsen often wondered what had become of the Maggie and Captaln Scraggs. Mr. Gibney and Bar- tholomew McGuffey he knew had turned their sun-tanned faces toward deep water some years before Captain Scraggs and the Maggle disappeared from the environs of San Francisco oay, and Neils Halvorsen was wise enough to waste no time wondering what had become of them. These two worthles might be anywhere, and every concelvable thing under the sun might have happened to them; hence, in his idle moments, Nells Halvorsen dld pot disturb his gray matter spec- ulating on their whereabouts and their then condition of servitude. But the continued absence of Cap- tain Scraggs from his old haunts cre- ated quite a little gossip along the waterfront, and in the course of time rumors of his demise by sundry and devious routes came to the ears of Neils Halvorsen. Hence “The Squsarehead” was puz- zled. In fact, to such an extent was Nells puzzled, that one perfectly calm, clear night, while beating dowh San Pablo tay In his bay scow, the Willie and Annple, he so far forget himself and his own affairs s to concentrate all his attention on the problem of the ultimate finish of Captain Scraggs. So engrossed was Nells in this vain speculation that he neglected to ob- serve. toward the rules of the ocean bighways that nicety of attention which Is highly requisite, even in the skipper of a bay scow, If the fulsome title of captain‘is to be retained for any definite period. As a result, Nells became confused regarding the exact number of blasts from the siren of a river steamer desiring to pass him to port. Consequently the Willle and Annle received such a severe.butting from the river steamer in question as to cause her to careen and fill. Being, unfortunately, loaded with gravel on this particular trip, she subsided in- contlinently to the bottom of San Pablo bay, while Neils and his crew of two men sought refuge on a plank. Without attempting to go further into the details of the misfortunes of Nells Halvorsen, be It known that the destruction of the Willie and Annle proved to be such a severe shock to Nells’ reputation as a safe and sane bay scow skipper that he was ultl- mately forced to seek other and more virgin flelds. With the fragments of his meager fortune, the umnbitious Swede purchased a course In a local nautical school from which he duly managed to emerge with sufficient rourage to appear before the United States local Inspectors of hulls and boilers and take his examination for a second mate’s certificate. To hls un- utterable surprise the license was granted; whereupon he shipped as quartermaster on' the steamer Ala- meda, running to Honolulu, and what with the lesson taught him In the loss of the Willle and Annle and the ex- acting dutles of his office abonrd the liner, he forgot that he had ever known Captain Scraggs. Judge of Nells Halvorsen's surprise, ° therefore, upon the occasion of his first trip to Honolulu, when he saw something which brought the whole matter back to mind. They were standing In toward Dinmond head and the Alameda lay hove to taking on the pllot. It was early morning and the purple mists hung over the entrance to the harbor. Neils Halvorsen stood at the gangway enjoylng the sunrise over the Punch-bowl, and glancing longingly toward the vivid green of the hills beyond the city, when he was aware of a “put” “put” “put”® te starboard of the Alameda. Neils turned at the sound just In tlme to see a benutiful gasoline schooner of about a hundred and thirty tons head- ing in toward the bay. She was so close that Neils was enabled to make out that her name was Maggie II. “Vell, aye be dam,” muttered Nells, and scratched his bead, for the name revived old memories. An hour later, when ‘the Alameda loafed into her berth at Brewer's dock, Nells noticed that the schooner lay at anchor off the quarantine statlon, That night Neils Halvorsen went ashore for those forms of enjoyment peculiar to his calling, and in the Pan- theon saloon, whither his pathway led him, he filled himself with beer and gossip. It was here that Nells came across an item In an afternoon paper which challenged his instant atten- tion. It was just a squib in the ship- ping news, but Neils Hulvorsen read it with amazement and joy: *The power schooner Maggle II arrived this morning, ten days from the Friendly islands. The little schoonsr came into port with her hold bursting with the most valuable cargo that has entsred Fono- lulu_in many years. It consists for (he It Was Just a Squib in the Shipping News. most part of black coral. ~ “The Maggie 1I Is commanded by Cap- tain Phinens Scraggs, and after taking on provisions and water today will pro- ceed to San Francisco, tomorrow, for dis- charge of cargo.” “By yiminy,” quoth Neils Halvorsen, “aye bat you that bane de ole man so sure as you bane alive. And aye bat new hat he skall be glad to see Nells Halvorsen. I guess aye hire Kanaka bd¥ an' he bane pull me out to see de ole man.” A Jacol's ladder was hanging uver the side of the schooner as the canoe shot in under her iee quarter, and half a minute later the expectant Nells stepped upon her deck. A tall dark man, wearing an anclent palmleaf hat, sat smoklng on the hatch coam- ing, and him Neils Halvorsen ad- dressed. “Aye bane want to see Cap'n Scraggs,” he said. The tall dark man stood erect and cast a quick, questioning look at Nells Halvorsen. He hesitated before he made answer, . “What do you want?” he asked de- Iiberately, and there was a subtle menace in his tones. As for Nells Halvorsen, thinking only of the sur- prise he had in store for his old em- ployer, he replied evasively: “Ayve bane want job.” “Well, 'm Captain Scraggs, and I haven't any job for you. Get off my boat and walt until you're invited be- fore you come aboard again.” For nearly a minute Neils Halvor- sen stared open-mouthed at the spuri- ous Captain Scraggs, while slowly there sifted through his brain the no- tion that he had happened across the track of a deep and bloody mystery of the sens. There was “something rotten in Denmark.” Of that Neils Halvorsen was certain. More he could not be certain of until he had paved the way for a complete Investigation, and as a preliminary step toward that end he clinched his fist and sprang swiftly toward the bogus skip- per. ““Aye tank ‘you bane d—n liar,” he muttered, and struck home, straight and true, to the point of the jaw. The man went down, and in an in- stant Neils was on top of him. Off came the sallor's belt, the hands of the half-stunned man were quickly tied behind him, and before he had time to realize what had happened Neils had cut a length of cord from a trafling halyard and tied his feet securely, after which he gagged him securely with his bandana handker- chlef. A quick circuit of the ship con- vinced Nells Halvorsen that the re- wainder of the dastard crew were evidently ashore, so he descended to the cabin fn search of further evi- dence of crime. He was quite pre- pared to find Captain Scraggs' mas- ter's certificate in its familiar oaken rame, hanging on the cabin wall, but he was dumfounded to observe, hang- ing on the wall in a similar and equally familiar frame, the certificate of Adelbert P. Gibney as first mate of steam or sail, any ocean and any tonnage. But still a third framed certificate hung on the wall. and Neils again scratched his head when he read the wording that set forth the legnl qualifications of Bartholomew McGuffey to hold down a job as chief enginecer of coastwise vessels up to 1,200 tons net registes It was patent. even to the dull- witted Swede, tuat there had been foul play somewhere, and the schoon- er's log, Iying open on the table, | holystone the, deck. Seémed “to offer the first meads at hand for a solution 'of the mystery. Eagerly Neils turned to the last en- try. It was not in Captain Scraggs' handwriting, and -contained nothing more Interesting ‘than the stereotyped reports of daily observations, cur- rents; weather conditions, etc, in- cluding a notation of arrival that day at Honolulu. Slowly Halvorsen turnéd the leaves backward, until at last he was rewarded by a glimpse of a different handwriting. It wa. the last entry under that particular hand- writing, and read as follows: “June 21, 19—. ‘Took an observation at noon, and find that we are in 208 8., 1784 W. At this rate should lift, Tuvana- tholo', early this afternoon: All hands well and looking forward'to the fun'at Tuvana. Bent a new flying Jib this morn- ing and had the king and: Tabu-Tabu A. P GIBNEY." Nells: Halvorsen™ sati down ‘to think, and after several minutes: of ‘this un-! usual exercise ' it “appeared to the Swede that he had stumbled upon a clue to . the situation. - The last entry in the log kept by ‘Mr. Gibney was under date of June 21st—just eleven days ago, and on that date Mr. Gib- ney had been looking forward to some fun at Tuvana-tholo. Now where was that island and what kind of a place was it? Nells searched through the cabin until he came across the book that is the bible of every South sea trading vessel—the British admiralty reports. Down the index went the old deck- hand's callouséd finger and paused at “Friendly islands—page 177;" where- upon Neils opened the hook at page 177 and after a five-minute search discovered that Tuvana-tholo was a barren, uninhabited island in Iatitude 21-2 south, longitude 178-49 west. Ten days from the Friendls 'slands, the paper said. That meart under power and sail with the trades abaft the bean. It would take nearer fif- “teen days for the run from Honoluln to that desert island, and Neils Hal- versen wondered whether the ma- rooned men would still be ziive by the time aid could reach them. For by some sixth sailor sense Neils Hal- vorsen became convinced that tis old friends of the vegetable trade were marooned. They had gone ashore for some kind of a frolic, and the crew had stolen the schooner and left them to their fate, believing that the caste aways would never be heard from and that dead men tell no tales. He rushed on deck, carried his pris- oner down into the cabin, and locked = Carried His Prisoner Down Into the Cabin. the door on him. A minute later he was clinging to the Jacob's ladder, the canoe shot In io the side of the vessel at his gruff command and passed on shoreward without missing a stroke of the paddle. An hour later, accompanied by three Kanaka sallors picked up at random along the water front, Neils Halvorsen was pulled out to the Maggie IL Tier crew had not returned and the bogus capiain was still triced hard and fast In the cabin, The Swede did not bether to inves- tigate in detail the food and water supply. A hasty round of the schoon- er convinced him that she had at least a month's supply of food and water. Only one thought surged through his mind, and that was the awful necessity for haste. The an- chor came in with a rush, the Ka- naka boys chanting a song that sounded to Nells like a funeral dirge, and Nells went below and turned the gasoline engines wide open. The Maggle II swung around and with a long strenk of opalescent foam trail- ing behind her swang down the biy and faded at last ! the ghostly moon- light beyond Diamond head; after which Nells Halvorsen, with murder in his eye and a tarred rope’s end i his horny fist, went down into the cabin and talked to the man who posed as Captain Scraggs. In the end he got a confession. Fifteen winutes Iater he emerged, smiling grimly, gave the Kanaka boy at the wheel the course, and turned in to sleep the sleep of the conuselence-free and -the weary. . * s . e . o Darkness was creeping over the beach at Tuvana-tholo before™Mr. Gibney could smother the. despair in his heart sufficlent to spur his jaded imagination to working order. IFor nearly an hour the three castaways Lad sat on the beach in dumb horror, gazing seaward. They were not alone In this, for a little further up the beach s the two Fiji Islanders sat huddled on thelr haunches, gazing stupidly first at the horizon and then at their white captors. It was the sight of these two worthies that spurred Mr. Gib- ney's torpid brain to action. “Didn’t you say, Mar, that when we left these two carnibels alone on this island that it wowlé develop into & case of dog eat uog or somethin' of that nature?” Captain Scraggs sprang to his feet, his face white with a new terror. However, he had endured so wuch since embarking with 3Mr. Gibney on a life ot wild adventure that his nerves had become rataer inured to impending death, and .presently his fear gave way;»to an overmastering ‘rage. He hurled his hat on the sands ‘and jumped on it until it was & mere shapeless rag. Ul | “Let's call a meetin’ of the Robin. son Crusoe syndicate,” said Mr. Gib- ney. b3 “Second the motion,” rumbled- Mec- Guffey. “Carrled,” sald the commodore. “The first business before the meetin’ is the organization of a cxpedition to chase these two cannibals to the other end of the island. I aln't got the heart to kill ‘em, so let's chase ‘ern away before they get fresh with us." “Good Idea,” responded McGuftey, whereupon he picked up a rock and threw it at the king. Mr. Gibney fol- lowed . with two rocks, Cuptaln Seraggs scremmed defiance at the ene emy, and the enemy fled in wild dis- order, pursued by the syndicate. After a chase of half a mitle Mr. Gibney led his cohorts back to thce beach. “Let's build a fire—not that we need It, but just for company—and sleep till mornin’. By that time my fmagination’ll be in workin' order and I'll scheme a breakfast out of this Godforsaken hole.” At the -first hint of dawn Mr. Gib- ney, true to his promise, was up and scouting for breakfast. He found some gooneys on a rocky crag and killed half a dozen of them with a club.” On his way back to camp he discovered_a few handfuls of sea salt in a crevice between some rocks, and the syndicate . breakfasted an hour later on roast gooney. It was oily and fishy but an excellent substitute for nothing at’all, and the syndicate was grateful. The breakfast would have been cheerful, in fact, if - Captain Scraggs had not made repeated ref- erence to his excessive thirst. Mc- Guffey lost patience before the meal was over, and cuffed Captain Scraggs, who thereupon subsided with tears in his eyes. This hurt McGuffey. It was like salt in a fresh wound, so he pat- ted the skipper on the back and humbly - asked his pardon. Captain Scraggs forgave him and murmured something about death making them all_ equal. (Continued in Next [ss=e) BALLOON FREE! A Toy ;Balloon FREE to each ill one bringing in a roll of kodak films to finish—and a Balloon FREE to each child who gets his or her picture taken—and one Balloon FREE to each child who brings us this ad with his or her name written on it. Rich Portrait Studio Portraits—Kodak Finishing Phone 570-W 10th & Doud e McKee Farniture and Undertaking Company H. N. McKee, Manager PHONE 222.-W RESIDENCE PHONE 222-R BEMIDJI MINN. CLARIFIED MILK | HAS NOTHING ADDED OR TAKEN AWAY Have it delivered to your door every morning! MILK and CREAM from healthy cows— il handled in a sanitary way. PHONE 16:F-4 {JALAFLEA DAIRY W. G. SCHROEDER Fred Webster, Mar. | il 2R —— Consolidation of Railway Lines or Government Ownership and Operation - By SENATOR ALBERT B. CUMMINS of Iowa. C5C505050505050505052505050505060625052626252525252 2525 The interstate commerce commission is hearing . the views of railroad officials and others on the. various consolidation schemes which have been proposed to car- ry out the following provision of the transportation act of 1920: .“A commission shall, as soon as practicable, pre- pare and-adopt'a plan for the consolidation of the rail- way propetties of the continental United States into.a limited number of systems. T predict that if we do'nét sheceed in carrying out BESNNSSIS. {ho principle of consolidation, which has already, gone- “forward in a satisfactory way, it will presently begin to appear to all the people of the country that there is just one other solution—that is, govern- ment ownership and operation. And I want it’ to be understood that I am || unalterably opposed to government ownership and operation of our rail- roads. The American railroad problem will never be finally solved unless all the railroads are consolidated into comparatively few systems, say, fifteen or twenty, and competitive in their character. I might add that there is no competition in the railroad world, and ought to be none, except the competition of good service. When that is done we can fix rates so that the lowest schedules that will sustain these properties as a whole may be established. There are now pending hefore congress, and especially in the senate, a great many bills which have for their purpose the modification of the transportation act of 1920 in vital respects. The farm organizations— and the farmers have my deepest sympathy because I know the hardships through which they are passing—demand the repeal of what is known as Section 15-A. This section provides that the interstate commerce commission shall consider transportation from a national standpoint; that we shall no lon- ger attempt to regulate our common carriers by reference to the particular condition of any specific carrier. Some of the hest people of the country impute to it all the ills which can flow from the most vicious legislation. But if ‘I can prevent it, Sec- tion 15-A will not be repealed. E I NS ; Sy E N R ¥ y "EU § I' m L! £9 LS & Ep El E D N == R E N 10th STREET AT FOURTH AVENUE" MINNEAPOLIS The Northwest’s Largest and Most Beautiful Hostelry All Roems are Outside and Each Room has Private Bath TARIFF: 75 Rooms gl’rivne Baths) Single at $2.00—Double $3.00 325 Rooms (Private Baths) Single at $2.50—Double $3.50 200 Rooms (Private Baths) Single at $3 00—Double $4.00 Others from $4.00 to $15.00 i ) O RO S 5 \ B. W. LAKIN, President E. R. EVANS, Manager C. L. 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