LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2446, 7 February 1882, Page 4

LITERATURE.

THAT LITTLE SQUARE BOX. (" London Society.") (Concluded.) 'May I ask, captain,' I aa'd. bending forward and speaking very distinctly, * what yon think of Fenian manifestoes ?' The oaptaln's ruddy face became a shade darker from honest indignation. , They are poor cowardly things/ he tald, ' as Billy as they are wicked.' ' The Impotent threats of a set of anonymous scoundrels,' said a pompons-looking old gentleman beside htm. ' O captain !' said the fat lady at my side, ' yon don't really think they would blow up a ship ?' •I have no doubt they would if they oould. But I am very sure they will never blow up mine;' 'May I ask what precautions are taken against them ?' said an elderly man at the end of the table. 'All goods sent aboard the ship are strictly examined,' said Captain Eowie. 'But suppose a man brought explosives aboard with him?' said I. * They are too cowardly to risk their own lives in that way.' During this conversation Flannagan had not betrayed the slightest Interest in what was going on. He railed his head now and looked at the captain. ' Don't yon think yon are rather underrating them ? he said. ' Every secret society has produced desperate men—why shouldn't the Fenians have them too ? Many men think it a privilege to die in the service of a cause which seems right in their eyes, thougb others may think it wrong,' 'lndiscriminate murder cannot be right in anybody's eyes,' said the little clergyman. 'The bombardment of Paris was nothing else,' said Flannigan ; ' yet the whole civilised world agreed to look on, with folded arms, and change the ugly word * murder' into the more euphonious one of 'war.' It seemed right enough to German eyes ; why shouldn't dynamite seem so to the Fenian ?' ' At any rate their empty vapourings have led to nothing as yet,' said the captain. ' Excuse me,' returned Flannigan, ' but is there not some room for doubt yet as to the fate o! the Dotterel ? I have met men in America who asserted from their own personal knowledge that there was a coal torpedo aboard that vessel.' ' Tben they lied,'said the captain. 'lt was proved conclusively at the court-martial to have arisen from an explosion of coal gas —but we had better change the Bubjeet, or we may cause the ladies to have a restless night;' and the conversation once more drifted back to its original channel. During this little discussion Flannigan had argued his point with a gentlemanly deference and a quiet power for which I had not given him credit. I could not help admiring a man who, on the eve of a desperate enterpripe, could courteously argue upon a point which must touch him so nearly. He had, as I have already mentioned, partaken of a considerable quantity of wine ; but though there was a Blight flush upon his pale cheek, his manner was as reserved as ever. He did not join in the conversation again, but seemed to be lo.it in thought. A whirl of conflicting ideas was battling in my own mind. What was I to do ? Should I stand up now and denounce them before both passengers and captain ? Should I demand a few minutes' conversation with the latter in his own cabin, and reveal it all ? For an instant I was half resolved to do it, but then the old cocsti tutlonal timidity came baok with redoubled force. After all there might be some mistake. Dick had heard the evidence and had refused to believe in It. I determined to let things go on their course. A strange reckless feeling came over me. Why should I help men who were blind to their own danger? S-urely it was the duty of the officers to protect us, not ours to give warning to them. I drank off a couple of glasses of wine, and staggered upon deck with the determination of keeping my secret looked in my own bosom. It was a glorious evening. Even in my excited state of mind I could not help leaning against the bulwarks and enjoying the refreshing breeze. Away to the westward a solitary sail stood out as a dark speck against the great sheet of flame left by the setting sun. I shuddered as I looked at it. It seemed like a sea of blood. A single star was t wick' ing faintly above our mainmast, but a thousand seemed to gleam In the water be'ow with every stroke of our propeller. The only blot in the fair scene was the great trail of Emoke which stretched away behind us like a black slash upon a crimson curtain. It seemed hard to believe that the great peace which hung over all Nature could be marred by a poor miserable mortal. 'After all,' I thought, as I gazed into the blue depths beneath me, ' if the worst cornea to the worst, it Is better to die here than to liDger In agony npon a sick bed on land,'

_—_ _ yfjl a yer y p a ifc r y thing amid A man's life seei. • Mature. All my philothe great forces ot -event my shuddering, sopby could not p. m y head and saw however, when I turi_ v fc olner side of the two shadowy figures at U <{gg a ity i a reoogdook, whioh I had no di 8 conversing nlsing. They seemed to nity of overearnestly, but I had no opportu wllteate a hearing what was said ;so 1 , 4 kaß myself with pacing up and down, ax ing a vigilant watoh upon their . meats. , It was a relief to me when Dick came or. deok. Even an incredulous conndant la better than none at all. ' Well, old man,' he said, gmng me a facetious dig In the ribs, 'we've not been blown up yet.' . ~ , • No, not yet,' said I; ' but that sno proof that we are not going to be\- , . _ ~ 'Nonsense, man!* said )?.<<*? I .. oa * l ' conceive what has put this Idea into your head. I have been ta. wn S ~ one of your supposed assassins, and . seems a pleasant fellow enough; anlte a sporting character, I should think, from the way he speaks.' ' Dick,' I Bsid, ' I am as certain that those men have an infernal machine, and that we are on the verge of eternity, as if I saw them patting the match to the fnse.' • ' Well, if you really think so,' said Dick, half awed for the moment by the earnestness of my manner, * it U your duty to let the captain know of your suspicions.' 'You are right,' I said; 'I will. My absurd timidity has prevented my doing so sooner. I believe our lives can only be saved by laying the whole matter before him.' • Well, go and do it now,' said Dlok ; ' but for goodness' sake don't mix me up in the matter.' ' I'll speak to him when he comes off the bridge,' I answered ; ' and in the mean time I don't mean to lose eight of them.' •Let me know of the result,' said my companion ; and with a nod he etrolod away in searoh, I fancy, of his partner at the dinner table. Left to myself, I bethought me of my retreat of the morning, and climbing on the bulwark I mounted into the quarter boat, and lay down there. In it I oould reconsider my course of action, and by raising my head I was able at any time to get a view of my disagreeable neighbours. An hour passed, and the captain was still on the bridge. He was talking to one of the passengers, a retired naval officer, and the two were deep in debate concerning some abstruse point in navigation. I oould see the red tips of their cigars from where I lay. It was dark now, so dark that I oould hardly make out the figures of Flannigan and his accomplice. They were still standing in the position wh'ch they had taken up after dinner. A few of the passengers were scattered about the deck, but many had gone below. A strange stillness seemed to pervade the air. The voices of the watoh and the rattfe of the wheel were the only sounds which broke the silence, .another naif nour passed. The captain was still upon the bridge. It seemed as if he would never oome down. My nerves were in a state of unnatural tension, so much so that the sound of two steps upon the deck made me start up in a quiver of excitement. I peered over the side of the boat, and saw i hat our suspicious passengers had crossed from the other side, and were standing almost directly beneath me. The light of a binnaole fell full upon the ghastly face of the ruffian Flannigan. Even in that shore glance I saw that Muller had the ulster, whose use I knew so well, slung loosely over his arm. I snnk baok with a groan. It seemed that my fatal procrastination had sacrificed two hundred innocent lives. I had read of the fiendish vengeance which awaited a spy. I knew that men with their lives in their hands would stiok at nothing. All I could do was to cower at the bottom of the boat and listen silently to their whispered talk below. •This place will do,' Baid a voice. • Yes, the leeward side is best.' ' I wonder if the trigger will act ? ' ' I am sure It will.' 'We were to let It off at ten, ware we not?' " Yes, at ten sharp. We have eight minutes yet.' There was a pause. Then the voice began again,— 'They'll hear the drop of the trigger, won't they ? ' 'lt doesn't matter. It will be too late for anyone to prevent It's going off.' • That's true, '.there will bo some exoitement among those we have left behind, won't there ?' ' Rather ! How long do you reckon it will be before they hf ar of us ? ' 'The first news will get in In about twenty.four hours.' ' That will be mine.' ' No, mine.* 'Ha, ha! we'll settle that.' There was a pausa here. Then I heard Muller's voice in a ghastly whisper, ' There's only five minutes more.' How slowly the moments seemed to pasß ! I oould count them by the throbbing of my heart. ' It'll make a sensation on land,' said a voice. 'Yes, it will make a noise in the newspapers.' I raised my head and peered over the side of the boat. There seemed no hope, no help. Death stared me in tho face, whether I did or did not give the alirm. The captain h'id at last left the bridge. The deck was deserted, save for those two dark figures crouching in the shadow of the boat. Flannigan had a watch lying open in his hand. ' Three minutes more,' he said. ' Put it down upon the deck.' ' No, put it hero on the bulwarks.' It was a little square box. I knew by the sound that they had placed it near the davit, and almost exactly under my head. I looked over again. Flannigan was pouring something out of a paper into his hand. It was white and granular—the same that I had seen him use in the morning. It was meant as a fuse, no doubt, for he shovelled it into tho little box, and I heard the strange noise which had previously arrested my attention. ' A minute and a half more/ he said. ' Bhall you or I pull the string ?' ' I will pull it,' said Muller. He was kneeling down and holding the end in his band. Flannigan stood behind with his arms folded, and an air of grim resolution upon his face. I could stand it no longer. My nervous system seemed to give way in a moment. 'Stop!' I screamed, springing to my f*et. 'Stop, misguided and unprincipled men!' They both staggered baokwards. I fancy they thought I was a spirit, with tho moonlight streaming down npon my pale face. I was brave enough now. I had gone too far to retreat. 'Cain was damned,' I oried, ' and he slew but one; wou'd you have tha blood of two hundred upon your souls ?' ' He's mad !' sad Flannigan. * Time's up. Let it off, Muller.' I sprang down upon the deok. ' You shan't do it!' 1 said. 'By what right do you prevent us ?' ' By every right, human and divloe.' 'lt's no business of your, C ear out of this!' ' Never !' said I. ' Confound the fellow! There's too muoh at stake to stand on ceremony. I'll hold him, Muller, while you pull the trigger.' Next moment I was struggling la the herculean grasp of the Irishman. Resistanco was useless ; I was a child in his hands. He pinned me up against the side of the vessel, and held me there. •Now,' he said, 'look sharp. He can't prevent us. * I felt that I was standing on tho verge of eternity. Half strangled in the arms of the taller ruffian, I saw the other approach the fatal box. He stooped over it and seized the string. I breathed one prayer when I saw his grasp tighten upon it. Then came a sharp snap, a strange rasping noise. The trigger had fallen, the side of the box flew out, and let off—two gray carrierpigeons ! Little more need be said. It is not a subject on whioh I care to dwell. The whole thing is too utterly disgusting and absurd. Perhaps the best thing I can do is to retire gracefully from the. scene, and let the sporting correspondent of the " New York Herald" fill my unworthy place. Here is an extract clipped from its columns shortly after our departure from America :

'Pigeon flying extraordinary.— A novel znatoh has beea brought off last week, between the birds of John H. Flannigan, of Boston, and Jeremiah Mailer, a well known citizen of Ashport. Both men have devoted much time and attontlon to an Improved breed of bird, and the challenge Is an oldstanding one. The pigeons were backed to a largo amount, and there was considerable locsl interest in the result. The start waa from the deok of the transatlantic ship Spartan, at ton o'clock on the evening of the day of starting, the vessel being then reckoned to be about a hundred miles from ti Ve land. The bird which reached home waa to be declared the winner. ConsideraNß caution had, we believe, to be observed. a « British captains have a prejudice against the bringing off of sporting events aboard their vessels. In spite of some little difficulty at the last moment, the trap was sprung almost exaoily at ton Mailer', bird arrived at Ashport in an extr@me state of exhaustion on the following 1 «ftofftson, while f lannigan's has not been hear 4 ne backers °f tne latter have the sat "~*«<*fcM l °* knowing, however, that the whole aU> b»s been characterised by o^»-.r m » *o!~„». The pigoons were oonextreme fatness. --- v / n f ed tr which fined in a specially iu " ,""" -T. „ ~ oould only be opened by a ." orin ß- " was thus possible to feed them thron*/ 1 an a P cr " ture, but any tampering with their wT 0 8 B was quite out of the question. A few such matched would go far towards popularising pigeon flying in America, and form an agreeable variety to the morbid exhibitions of human endurance which have assumed such proportions during the last few years.' A. C. D.