The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 7, 1906, Page 5

’ BY & =y +’ CUTCLITTE ™ T - / e a0 ory published to-day Pearl Poachers—is the ixth of & series of thrill- ng wes stories by Outliffe Hype detalling “The Ad- $ ventures of Captain Ketfle” 3 f you want something that will warm the blood amd lift 3 you out of the dead level of every-dsy - commemplaceness @on’:s miss these stirring ex- periences of Captain Kettle. One complete story of adven- id Kettle. “That's & I've no doubt that with a 85 ture will appear every week 3 few rifies we ,; iz The Sunday Call uatil the ¢ their gunboats § weries is Sinished. by and do, say, = e e O if that gunbost e or wherever oprright by Cu ¢ Mr. Carnfo , we may find ki g our size. Of | oing to fit out & \ h a gun or two, ~ & - s ehip's - 4 - - e E %S £ b ® » £ = & L 3 ! ! s : . k . So when he came of the said, enough, hing below but sea- n ud; and the boat rowed E f t the > he lagoon; and the schoon- £ sail sheet and the new reef, t on the charts, ngue his in- dn't find one at once; ait , in fact; and hen he found me. I guess that skipper would be easler ox nds in future if he only kn be'd jost, eh, has to get the ful of his hands, or rg his duty. I can picture r, Mr. Carnforth, and I pie- man hearing what he's Il carrying on the driv- g game. The things we have to ship sailors are beasts, and you have to eat them as such; and If you can w me & master who's popular in the castle, I can show you 2 man who's g his hands shirk work, and not arning his owner’s pay.” “H'm!" said Carnforth. “T've seen dle a crew, and I know your s and little ways, and 1 know 2lso that you're far too obstinate an imal to change your opinions in a ry. T've a pretty strong will myself, so I can sympathize with yor. However, we'll let that matter of ethics e for the present, and go. intp the question of ways and means”—and on the dry detail of this they talked till far into the night . Here, however, the historian may for awhile withhold his pen, since thoss in the shipping interest can fill the gap for themseives, while to all others these small questions of ways and means would be infinitely tedious. e yacht's voyage out to Japanese rs may also be omitted. The Eng- lish papers announced Iits commence- ment in one of the usual formal para- graphs: “Mr. Martin Carnforth, M. P. for the Munro Division of - Yorkshire, has started in his fine steam yacht, the Vestris, for a lengthened tour in China seas to study Oriental questions on the and will probably be absent some considerable time.” log kept on board was scanty, being confined to nts of distances run and y meteorological happenings and toward the latter en- these were skilifully fictl- deed, when the vessel neared her yellow funnel ith a crimson band, yards were crossed er dainty gaff sails laced by service- midship house tion of a coat of s and awnings. ing the expert be- , that she was & mere ad always been a trader. tical eve she was unsu those ex- aking a humble rs. A couple of ke any brass- and a little brusa soo s wonderfully course, is but a e which is (the hstanding) most p at her birth is endowed with a shape of “papers” ers she cannot enter a h d not “clear” at e; and to attempt do- uld be a blatant confession So when the CAPTAIN KETIHY \ paint brushes went round, the name Vestris on counter boats and lifebuoys Wwas exchanged for Governor L. C. Wal- throp (which seemed to' crf¥™a slight American flavor), a half.sigh went up from some of the ship's company, and a queer little thrill passed through the rest, according to their temperaments. They were making themselves sea pariabs from that moment onward until they should deem fit to discard the alias. Captain Kettle himself finished let- tering the last of the Hfebuoys und pu down his brush and shook his head. Carnforth was watching him from & deck chair. “You don’'t like it?" he said. “I never did such thing before,™ said Kettle, “and I never heard of it being done and come to any good We're nobodles now, and it's every one’s business to meddle with a nobody. If you're a somebody, only the proper peo- ple can interfere.” “I can’t help it,” sald Carnforth. “The Vestris is well known at homs, and I'm well known, t0o; and we've just got to see this business through one way or the other, under pursers’ mes. She's the Governor L. C. Walthrop, and I'm 1”]: Plar!ia and you can be what you ike. carried it & good man through most kinds of weather, and it's had 50 many stones thrown at it that few more won't hurt If we get through with this little game. all right: if we get interrupted, I guess the only thing left will be to attend our own funerals. I'm not going to taste the inside of a Japanese jall at any price™ “I never saw such a fellow for look- ing at the gloomy side of things,” sald Carnforth irrftably. “It's the gloomy side that's mostly come my way, sir.” “I wish to goodness I'd never been idiot enough to come out hers oa this harebrained scheme.” “Whyi” sald Kettle In surprise “you've got the remedy to your hand You give your orders, Mr. Camforth, and I'll boutship this minute and take you home.™ “And don't you want to go through with it, akipper?” “I don't see my tastes need de men- tioned,” sald the sailor stifiy. “You are my owner, sir. I'm here to do as I'm bia” “Captain Owen Kattle,” sald the oth- er with a laugh that had got some sour earnest at the back of it, “you're a cantankerous little beggar. I salled with you before, and found you the most delightful of shipmates. I sall with you now, and you keep me always at boathook’s length away from you. hanged if I ses what I've done to en you." Ir,” sald Kettle, “on the Sultan of Borneo you were my guest; on th yacht you are my owner; there’s all the difference in the world.” “You wish to point out, I suppose, that a shipmaster looks upon an owner as his natural enemy, as he does the board of trade. St I dom’t think X personally have deserved that™ “I am as I have been made, sir, and I suppose I can't help it.” “You are a man w some wonder- fully developed weaknesses. as to going back, I'r tify myself by doing see the thing thr happens.” Martin Carnforth nodded curtly, and got up and walked the deck. He was conscioug of 2 se of disappoint- ment and disillusion: started off on this expe: 2 warm glow of grubbing along = pursults for the larger pa and adventure, as looked outside, had always lured Once in Kettle’s compa of the real Cuban revol safely, and settled again for a time; and t had grown restless. He of adventure in his bl beginning to learn th: lative poison. So, once more he had started of this time he was being chilled fr outside. Properly treated, the prospects of the trip would have been rosy enough. Handled by C in Owen Kettle, the whole affair was made to assume the aspect of a commercial speculation of more than doubtful san- ity. And, as he walked, he cursed Ket- tle from his Inmost heart for bringing him to earth and keeping him there among sordid considerations. The little mariner himself was seated in a deck chair under an awning, turn- ing In the frayed sleeve of a white arill jacket. His sewing tackle stood in a pictured tin biscuit box on the deck besde him. He unripped the old stitches with a pocket knife, and resewed the slesves with exquisite accuracy and neatness. His flerce eyes were intent on the work. To look at his mimble fingers one would think that they had never held anything more deadly than the ordinary utensils of talloring. Carnforth broke cI* his walk, and stood for a moment beside him. “Skipper,” he said, “you'rs m queer mixture. You've lived one of the most exciting lives any man's ever gone through, and yet you seem to turn your more peaceful moments to tallor- ing or poetry indifferemtly, and enjoy them with gusto.” “Mr. Carnforth,” said the little saflor, “I guess we're all discontented animals. We always like most what we get least ot.” _ “Well, T suppose that's intended to sum up my character as well as your own,” said Carnforth, and sat down and watched the sewing. The mate on tae yacht's upper bridge plcked up the reef with his glasses that evening a couple of hours after sun- down. The night was velvet black, with only a few stars showing. A sullen groundswell rolled the seas into oily hills and valleys, and the reefs ahead showed themselves in a blaze of phosphorescence where the swell bro into thunderous surf. ft seemed as, though the yacht was steaming toward the glow and dim of some distant ma- rine volcano. The watch below were all on deck, drawn there by curlosity, and along one bulwark the watch on duty were handling the deepsea lead. At intervals came the report, troiled in a minor key, of “No bottom.” The engines were running half speed ahead, and presently they stopped, and the order was given for the yacht to lay to where she was til daybreak. A light breeze had sprung up, bringing with it a queer taint into the sweet sea air. For a long time Caraforth had been snufing diligently. “T'm sure I smell something,” he said at last. “It's there,” said Kettle. “Have you ever been in a north country. Norwe- gian port, sir?” “By Jove! yes, skipper. same. Decaying fish.” “There’s not another stink like it on this earth. You kmow what it means here?™ “I suppose some other fellows are the lagoon before us and they're ro ting out shell” “That's it,” saild Kettle; “and we're going to have our work cut out to get a cargo. But we'll do it, Mr. Carnforth, never you fear. I suppose there’ll be trouble, but that'll have to be got over. We've not come all this way to go back with empty holds.” Carnforth looked at the little‘man siyly. Here was a very different Cap- tain Kettle from the fellow who had been mending the white drill ceat half a dozen hours before. He was rubbing his hands, his eye was bright, his whole frame had stiffened. He was whistling a jaunty tune and was staring keenly out at the phosphorescent blaze of the (Continued on Page 1)