The Argosy — page 92: what you’re looking at

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

284 | THE ARGOSY, and though at first I could make out nothing, gradually a little dark cloud © began to form upon the eastern horizon. At first it was so thin and indis- tinct that I should not have noticed it if left to myself ; but as I watched, it perceptibly assumed a deeper shade and stretched further across the heavens. Like a long wisp of cloud it seemed, a thing that had no business in the per- fectly clear sky, and as I watched I knew what it meant. It was a cloud, truly, but a cloud of smoke cast up by some steamer which was not vet in sight. The men all crowded to the starboard side and turned anxiously to the far horizon; even the Portugee Luiz crawled up from his reeking engine room, and hung his ugly, dirty face over the side. I darted below for my glasses, and while there I slipped a small box of cartridges into my pocket. When I reached the deck again, the topmasts of the steamer were distinctly visible. I filled my pipe and tried patiently to await the development of events ; but though I may have preserved an outward appearance of calm, inwardly I was throbbing with excitement. Each minute that passed seemed multi- plied by ten, and when at length the hull of the advancing vessel began to loom up, and I saw that she was coming toward us, I felt as though the fate of the whole world was hanging on the issue.. Presently Hayling came aft, a bundle of flags under his arm, and as he began to knot them to the signaling halyards I crossed over to him. ‘The big fellow looked exceedingly solemn; I felt so. As he nodded to me there was never the ghost of a smile on his hard face. ‘‘ What are you going to do, Hayling ?”’ ‘‘ Signal to that vessel that we are badly in need of lrelp.”’ I advanced still closer to him. ‘“ What does this mean, old fellow ?”? ‘“Can’t you guess?’’ said he, still busy with the flags. ** hdare riot, *” He laughed between his teeth. ‘‘ My dear Ravensford, we’re going to stop that ship, and sink ‘her, too, if she gives any trouble.’’ ssireey 1?” ‘That's about it,” Again he laughed, and I thought his face looked fiendish. ‘“ What ship is it ?’’ I asked. | ‘‘T haven’t the faintest notion, but I think you will find that she is bound from Sydney to Hong Kong.”’’ | | “The Chung Tong left Sydney on the 25th inst. with fifty thousand pounds in gold on board.” ‘“ How do you know ?’’ said he sharply. In as few words as possible I told him how I had become possessed of the information. ‘Then depend upon it, Ravensford, that vessel is the Chung Tong.’’ By this time he had arranged the flags correctly, and just as he was hoist- ing them the captain, Murrell, and half a dozen men came aft in a body. j : Gomicbooks-com