Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2 16-3 Adventure they c’n alw’ys locate a ship that easy. We’ve hooked on to her, sir. What d’you want done with her?’’ The three visionaries sprang instantly into renewed life. Carl and John were clamorous to have her hauled ashore at once for examination and appraisal, but, before any orders were given,. Phil remem- bered that Ward had an interest in the business, and so sought him in the tent, followed by the mechanician and the ardent chauffeur. “Better have her brought right up here - on the beach, don’t you think so?” Phil Suggested. Ward pondered a moment. “Well, I’ll tell you,” he said. “T’ve been thinking this over pretty seriously. If these men see what she is, they won’t keep quiet - about it, whether they are in Cuba or at the North Pole. Another thing: if she is up on the beach and a nor’easter settles in, we'll have the devil of a mess doing anything with her.”’ “Well?” asked Phil, as he paused, “What’s the big idea?”’ “T’d have them haul her around the inlet below and into the cove behind this land spit,” said Ward. “That will have two great advantages: it will make them com- plete the work in the dark and so will keep them in ignorance of what we have found, and it will leave the wreck up on a shel- tered beach where we can work on her re- gardless of weather.”’ “By Jove, Ward,” Phil exclaimed,“‘that is a long head you carry about with you, even if you do lack imagination in some things. That’s just what we will have them do. What do you say, boys?” He turned to Carl and John, and Ward — _ smiled in spite of himself to see the perfect footing of equality in council upon which the millionaire placed these two employes. Both nodded their heads in enthusiastic agreement. “All right,” said Phil. “Tl go out and tell the man. And Carl, for Heaven’s sake, - get dinner ready. I’d completely forgotten that I’m as hungry as a bear.” There were strenuous demurrers from the workmen at this plan of laboring at such a task all night, but Phil was an expert in the art of quietly passing out bribes, and it was not long before the whole crew was smilingly declaring that two nights of such work would be a pleasure for a man like him. ; to In the darkness that followed dinner, with heavy black clouds threatening rain and totally obscuring moon and stars, it was impossible for any one to make out de- tails of the big hull that, swung half way out of the water, was slowly towed down the coast to the inlet and up the shore of the cove. Before the east showed the first faint streaks of gray she was up on shore and the wrecking crews were back upon their boats to snatch a few hours of needed - sleep before setting out for their business farther south. But for the four men in the big tent there was no such thing as sleep. They threw themselves down on their cots and tried hard to keep their eyes closed, but the hull on the shore kept beckoning to them with unseen hands, and Phil finally kicked his blanket to the ground with an exclamation of impatience. ‘“‘What’s the use?” he cried in the dark- ness. ‘I can hear you fellows tossing about and I know you are not sleeping any more than I am. It will be light enough in an- other hour. Let’s get a cup of good coffee now, and we'll be ready as soon as the sun comes up.” They. saw her first in the dim twilight that preceded the dawn. She was long and sleek and graceful of outline, with not the slightest resemblance to the heavy-jowled square-riggers of pirate days, and Carl, voicing the disappointment of the vision-. aries, said, “She’s not a ship at all; she’s a yacht—a blamed fine yacht, but nothing that looks like doubloons or pieces-of-eight or kings’ ransoms. It’s a shame; that’s what I 4 PP) ‘You'll get no salvage out of her,” put in Drummond. “The man that owned her must have had plenty of money, so he could have salvaged her himself if there’d been anything on her worth having. What do you think, Mr. Conway?” But Phil was out of ear-shot, walking slowly and thoughtfully about the craft, examining her bow and stern in the half light, and apparently puzzled at something. Ward noticed his attitude and joined him. “What is it?” he asked. “T’m hanged if I know,”’ answered Con- way, in a perplexed tone. ‘“There’s some- thing mighty familiar to me in her lines. Seems to me-I’ve been aboard her, but then I know so many fellows who have yachts, Eomichbooks*e