VAGABOND VOYAGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 June 1938, Page 10

VAGABOND VOYAGE

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT COPYRIGHT

BY

ALROY WEST

(Author of “Stratosphere Express”)

CHAPTER XXV —Continued. Then he turned away in order to help Alla, who was struggling with the keg of water. They carried it to the remainder of the provisions, and once more returned to the beach. Peter looked towards the ship and then gave a cry of alarm. There was a fight going on on the deck. It was too far for him to be able tc make out what was happening, but evidently one of the prisoners had managed to free himself more than Gallop had anticipated. The two were engaged in a terrific struggle, rolling backwards and forwards on the sloping deck. Peter handed his revolver to Alla. : “We can’t leave him to fight on his own,” he said. “I’ll try to swim across.” Alla gripped his arm. “You musn’t!” she warned. “There may be sharks.” “I’ll have to risk that!” Peter cried. He raced towards the water and then stopped. The fight on deck was over. He could see a body sprawled out, but did not know who had won until he realized that all the other prisoners were being set free. Two of them moved to the loser of the fight, picked the limp body up and dropped it over tfie side. It disappeared immediately. Alla, behind Peter, gave a cry of distress. “It looks as though we are in for trouble,” Peter said, as calmly as possible. One of those men evidently got his hands loose and took poor Gallop by surprise. Our job is to prevent them from landing.” He took his revolver from the girl and watched the four men moving about the ship". Evidently Wicks was seeing if there was any chance of getting the trawler off the sandbank. It was not long before they started to pile thing into the dinghy, preparatory to coming ashore. Wicks was the last to enter the boat, which at once came towards the beach. Peter waited until it was within two hundred yards and then fired a warning shot. Wicks shouted a command, and the dinghy was turned round. It returned to the ship, and the men climbed back on board. Peter waited about for a time, but they gave no sign of attempting to take to the boat, so at last he joined Alla and discussed what they should do next. “We can’t hold the island against them,” the girl said. “That is the trouble. I expect Wicks will wait until night before he tries to land. I think our best plan is to search about for some place where we can put the supplies and make ourselves as comfortable as possible.” They climbed'the rather steep slope which rose at the back of the belt of trees. Some way up one of the hills they came upon a small cave which had one or two large rocks near to it • “I think this will suit us admirably,” Peter decided. After considerable labour they managed to get all the supplies to the cave. Leaving Alla to arrange things as well as she could. Peter climbed to the top of the hill, gathering as much wood as possible on the way. There were one or two stunted trees in the less exposed parts. At last, coming to the summit, he built a fire, but made no attempt to light it. Several journeys were required before he had a satisfactory amount of wood. Looking down he could see the trawler lying amid the different-coloured water which just covered the sandbank. He could tell, from this position of vantage, that the trawler was lying practically in the centre of the bank and would have considerable difficulty in getting off it. The dinghy was still in the water alongside the ship. Of Wicks and the others there was no sign. Peter made his way back to the cave and had some food. Afterwards, accompanied by the girl, he went back to his place by the stack of wood, gathering some more on the way there. “It’s just possible that we may attract. the attention of some passing ship,” he said hopefully. Suddenly Alla gripped his arm and pointed towards the trawler. There was activity on her deck, and the four men seemed about to enter the dinghy once more. “They’re acting in a queer manner,” Peter said thoughtfully. It took the men some time to get the boat to the beach. Peter decided to wait for a time before going down to attack them. He was at a loss to understand why they were making a landing while it was still light. But when the men came on the beach he began to understand. Wicks was perfectly steady on his feet, but the other three were reeling about considerably. “They’ve been drinking!” Alla exclaimed. “Yes. It seems to me that it would be a good plan for me to attack them A single shot fired over their headmight send them away again pretb quickly. You stay by the fire and bo ready to light it if you catch a glimpse of smoke on the horizon.” Long before Peter could get near to the beach a furious quarrel broke out between Doyle and Crockett. In vain did Sinclair try to stop them fighting. He had been drinking more than was good for him and was not sufficiently strong on his feet to be able to do anything effective. Wicks, on the other hand, was sullen over the loss of his ship and the gold and refused to have anything to do with any of his companions. Consequently, before he could take any action, the tragedy occurred.

Crockett, stung beyond endurance at a taunt hurdled at him by Doyffi. who was blaming him for the predicament in which they had all landed, leapt forward, drawing his knife. Doyle dodg-

ed and then caught him, flinging him to the ground and falling on top of him. For a second or so the two men struggled like wild cats. Then Doyle rose slowly to his feet and brushed the blood from his eyes. He had a nasty gash across his forehead. Crockett lay suspiciously still. Wicks rushed on the scene, turned Crockett over and realized at once that the man was dead. He turned on Doyle and cursed him volubly. Sinclair, sobered by what hadlaken place, joined in the slanging match. In the end Wicks moved away from them. After a time he set off in the direction of the trees, evidently with the idea of trying to discover where the gold had been concealed. Peter, watching him, felt sure that Wicks had guessed that the gold had been buried. After watching the captain for a few minutes, he decided to try and take him by surprise and accordingly made his way along the foot of the hill. Just as he was moving off, Sinclair realized that Wicks was missing. He stood up, glanced at Doyle, as though to make some comment to him, and then changed his mind. He walked along the sands and tried to find where Wicks had gone. He missed his way and came through the belt almost face to face with Peter. Peter at once raised his revolver, but Sinclair, giving a cry of alarm, darted back into shelter. It was too risky to follow him, so Peter made his way back up the hill, realizing that the cry would have warned Wicks that somebody was near. On his way up the hill he realized that Alla had lit the signal fire. CHAPTER XXVI. Alla had sighted a faint smudge on the horizon and at once lit the fire in the hope of attracting attention. It seemed years before the smudge became more distinct, and it was long after Peter joined her before there was any certainty that the distant ship was coming towards the island. There was considerable confusion on the beach. Doyle had evidently noticed the smoke of the fire and drew the attention of his companions to it. They held some sort of a conference and then started to make for the trees. “We’ll get down to the cave,” Peter decided. “There’s going to be some trouble, I’m afraid.” They reached the place without incident, and Peter moved out among the boulders in order to keep a watch for the three men. Alla came across to him after a time with some food. “Splendid!” he cried. “This sentry duty is irksome. I began to feel both tired and hungry.” “I’ll relieve you for a time,” she offered. He shook his head. “Then I’ll stay with you.” “You must promise to get back to the cave if there is any trouble,” he told her. She shook her head. “Why should I promise that?” she demanded. “There will be no danger because we can keep them at a safe distance by firing at them. Then, when the ship draws near they may possibly hear the sound of the shots and that will make them realize that there is trouble on the island.” “More likely to make them sheer off.” Peter said. Some time after he had finished his meal there came a hail from the bushes about four hundred yards away. It was followd by the fluttering of a white flag. (To be Continued.)