gs Raises

=i

 
 

BY

JULES VERNE

4UTHOR OF “AROUND THE WORLD IN
THOUSAND LEAGUES ONDEX mB SEA";

\

TO THe MOON,”

NEW YORK »
THE FEDERAL, BOOK COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

 

SE TST MET, ONE AE RG SOME EE

 
 

Copyricut, 1897
bY
@. TENNYSON NEELY

CONTENTS,
CHAP Be
I, Healthful House....... Ra vecee wk

IL. Count CArieadi rf 5 8 ee
TIL. Kidnapped....,. patke'e

IV. The Schooner « Ebba ”

wenhaete seereesenee 18

SPOS eee ese sees rs sesees

XI. Five Weeks in Back Cup
XII. Engineer Serko’s Advice. ..
XIII. God Be with It.,
XIV. Battle Between the “Sword ” and the Tug 165
XV. Expectation..... WE GAAC TS Ra OBER Ox Seba yay oer OE 180
XVI. Only a few more Hours
XVII. One against Five

vite weed usd 8 08 ba eh Sowegasue ce bese SOM

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG,

CHAPTER L

HEALTHFUL HOUSE.

- Tue carte de visite received that day, June 15, 189-,
by the director of the establishment of Healthful House

Was a very neat one, and simply bore, without escutch-
eon or coronet, the name:

COUNT D’ARTIGAS.

Below this name, in a corner of the card, the follow.
ing address was written in lead pencil :

“On board the schooner Ebba, anchored off New-
Berne, Pamlico Sound.”

The capital of North Carolina—one of the forty-four
states of the Union at this epoch—is the rather impor-
tant town of Raleigh, which is about one hundred and
fifty miles in the interior of the province. It is owing
to its central position that this city has become the seat
of the State legislature, for there are others that equal
and even surpass it in industrial and commercial im-
portance, such as Wilmington, Charlotte, Fayetteville
Edenton, Washington, Salisbury, Tarborough, Halifax,
and New-Berne. The latter town is situated on the

estuary of the Neuse River, which empties oe inte

 
FACING THE FLAG.

Pamlico Sound, a sort of vast maritime lake protected
by a natural dyke formed by the isles and islets of the
Carolina coast, :

The director of Healthful House could never have
imagined why the card should have been sent to him,
had it not been accompanied by a note from the Count
d’Artigas soliciting permission to visit the establish-
ment. The personage in question hoped that the

irector would grant his request, and announced that
he would present himself in the afternoon, accompanied

by Captain Spade, commander of the schooner Ebba.

This desire to penetrate to the interior of the cele-

brated sanitarium, then in great request by the wealthy
invalids of the United States, was natural enough on
the part of a foreigner. Others who did not bear such

a high-sounding name as the Count @ Artigas had
visited it, and had been unstinting in their compliments

to the director. The latter therefore hastened to
accord the authorization demanded, and added that he
would be honored to open the doors of the establish-
ment to the Count d’ Artigas.

Healthful House, which contained a select personnel,
and was assured of the co-operation of the most cele-
brated doctors in the country, was a private enterprise.
Independent of hospitals and almshouses, but subjected
to the surveillance of the State, it comprised alt the
conditions of comfort and salubrity essential to estab.
lishments of this description designed to receive an
opulent clientele, :

It would have been difficult to find a more agreeable
situation than that of Healthful House.
ward slope of a hill extended a park of two hundred

aeres planted with the magnificent vegetation tha¢

On the land-

a

“yy

%

FACING THE FLAG. ‘eae
grows so luxuriantly in that part of North America,

_ which is equal in latitude to the Canary and Madeira

Islands. At the furthermost limit of the park lay the
wide estuary of the Neuse, swept by the cool breezes of
Pamlico Sound and by the winds that blew from the
ocean beyond the narrow Udo of the coast.

Healthful House, where rich invalids were cared for _
under such excellent hygienic conditions, was more
generally reserved for the treatment of chronic com:
plaints; but the management did not decline to admit
patients affected by mental troubles, when the latter
were not of an incurable nature.

It thus happened—a circumstance that was bound to
attract a good deal of attention to Healthful House,
and which perhaps was the motive for the visit of the
Count d’ Artigas—that a person of world-wide notoriety
had for eighteen months been under special observation
there. ~

This person was a Frenchman named Thomas Roc
forty-five years of age. He was, beyond question, suf-
fering from some mental malady, but expert alienists

admitted that he had not entirely lost the use of his

reasoning faculties. It was only too evident that he
had lost all notion of things as far as the ordinary acts
of life were concerned ; but in regard to subjects de-
manding the exercise of his genius, his sanity was un-
impaired and unassailable—a fact which demonstrates
how true is the dictum that genius and madness are
“often closely allied! Otherwise his condition mani-
fested itself by complete loss of memory ;—the ee
bility of concentrating his attention upon anything,
of judgment, delirium and incoherence. He no longer
even possessed the natural animal instinct of self-pre

 
 

 

 

 

 

eir inefficacy has long
Were these moral mea

' Thomas Roch? One may be
permitted to doubt it, even amid the tranquil and salu.

brious Surroundings of Healthful House. As a matter
of fact the very sy
temper, irritability,
choly, apathy, and
tions were distin
capable of curing or eve
This was patent to all h
It has been justly rem
of subjectivity ; that ig to say, a state in which the
mind accords too much to mental labor and not enough
to outward impressions,

{n the case of Thomas Roch
this indifference Was practically absolute.

mptoms of uneasiness, changes of

an excess

FACING THE FLAG.

tarium, where every utterance that arpa viii ~
caped him during his crises were noted and reco

ith the minutest care.
ea months previously the Secretary _ =
Navy at Washington, had received a — oe
audience in regard to a communication that Thomas
Roch desired to make to him.

As soon as he glanced at the name, the ——
perfectly understood the nature of the communicati :
and the terms which would accompany it, and an im
mediate audience was unhesitatingly accorded,

Thomas Roch’s notoriety was indeed such that, out
of solicitude for the interests confided to his keeping,
and which he was bound to safeguard, he could not
hesitate to receive the petitioner and listen to the _pro-
posals which the latter desired personally to submit to
Sea. Roch was an inventor—aa inventor :
genius. Severai important discoveries had aoe
him prominently to the notice of the world. Pesce
to him, problems that had previously remain is 3
theoretical had received practical application. : ss = :
cupied a conspicuons place in the front rank a0
army of science. It. will be seen how worry, decep =
mortification, and the outrages with which he oe <s =
whelmed by the cynical wits of the press com a a
drive him to that degree of madness which necessita

is i nt in Healthful House.
ss aire invention in war-engines bore the pie
of Roch’s Fulgurator. This apparatus possessed, : t)
was to be believed, such superiority over all ot —
that the State which acquired it would become abso
iute master of earth and ocean.

 

 
\

10 PACING THR FLAG. FACING THE FLAG. n

effect under the action of a deflagrator that was om
ew. ;

: When this engine, no matter in what way its
launched, exploded, not on striking the object aim
at, but several hundred yards from it, its action upon
the atmospheric strata was so terrific that any coe
tion, warship or floating battery, within a ~~ z
twelve thousand square yards, would be blown re ye
This was the principle of the shell launched by

The depforawie difficulties inventors encounter in
connection with their inventions are only too well
known, especially when they endeavor to get them
adopted by governmental commissions. Several of the
most celebrated examples are still fresh in every body’s
memory. It is useless to insist upon this point, because

there are sometimes circumstances underlying affairs
of this kind upon which it is difficult to obtain any
i Roch, however, it ig

N

\

case of the majority

of his predecessors, his pretensions were excessive,

He placed such an exorbitant price upon his new
engine that it was practicably impossible to treat with
him,

This was due to the fact—and it should not be lost
sight of—that in respect of. previous inventions which
had been most fruitful in result, he had been imposed
upon with the greatest audacity, Being unable to
obtain therefrom the profits which he had a right to
expect, his temper had become soured. . He became
suspicious, would give up nothing without knowing
just what he was doing, impose conditions that were
perhaps unacceptable, wanted his mere assertions ac-
cepted as enfficient guarantee, and in any case asked

for such a large sum of money on account before con-* ~

descending to furnish the test of practical experiment
that his overtures could not be entertained.

In the first place he had offered the fulgurator to
Frano2, and made known the nature of it to the com-
misna appointed to pass upon his proposition. The
fulgumtor was a sort of auto-propulsive engine, of
peculiar construction, charged with an explosive com-

_ pose? of new suostances and which only produced its

. . . : ts had
Zalinski pneumatic gun with which experimen
already been made at that epoch, but its results were

multiplied at least a hundred-fold. : ;
If, therefore,» Thomas Roch’s invention possessed
this power, it assured the offensive and defensive supe-

~riority of his native country. But might not the

inventor be exaggerating, notwithstanding came ck
tests of other engines he had conceived had Heh a
contestably that they were all he had claimed them

be? This, experiment could alone show, and it was

precisely here where the rub came in, tar bia
not agree to experiment until the millions at whic

I id to him.
valued his fulgurator had first been paid t
It is certain that a sort of disequilibrium had then

occurred in his mental faculties, It was felt that he
was developing a condition of mind that would gradu-

i t could
ally lead to definite madness. — No governmen
Saati condescend to treat with him under the con.

ditions he imposed:
The French commission was compelled to break off

all negotiations with him, and the newspapers, even

those of the Radical Opposition, had to admit that it

was difficult to follow up the affair, : <
Tn view of the excess of subjectivity which was up

ae:

 
12 FACING THE FLAG.

ceasingly augmenting in the profoundly disturbed mind

of Thomas Roch, no one will be surprised at the fact
that the cord of patriotism gradually relaxed until it
ceased to vibrate. For the honor of human nature be
it said that Thomas Roch was by this time irresponsi-
ble for his actions, He preserved his whole conscious-
hess only in so far as subjects bearing directly upon
his invention were concerned. In this particular he
had lost nothing of his mental power. But in all that
related to the most ordinary details of existence his

moral decrepitude increased daily and deprived him of —

complete responsibility for his acts,

Thomas Roch’s invention having been refused by the
commission, steps ought to have been taken to prevent
him from offering it elsewhere. N. othing of the kind
was done, and there a great mistake was made,

_ The inevitable was bound to happen, and it did.
Under a growing irritability the sentiment of patriot.
ism, which is the very essence of the citizen—who

_ before belonging to himself belongs to his country---
became extinct in the soul of the disappointed inventor,
His thoughts turned towards other nations. 13 e crossed
the frontier, and forgetting the ineffaceable past, offered
the fulgurator to Germany,

There, as soon as his exorbitant demands were made
known, the government refused to receive his com.
munication. Besides, it so happened that the military
authorities were just then absorbed by the construc.
tion of a new ballistic engine, and imagined they could
afford to ignore that of the French inventor,

As the result of this sccond rebuff Roch’s anger
became coupled with hatred—an instinctive hatred

of humanity—especially after his pourparlers with tha

 

FACING 1HK FLAG.

British Admiralty came to naught. ‘Tho English ne
practical people, did not at first repulse te —
They sounded him and tried to get round him;

Roch would listen to nothing. His secret was ate
millions, and: these millions he would have, oe me
would not have his secret. The Admiralty a
declined to have anything more to do ssid ee

It was in these conditions, when his ie pee
trouble was growing daily worse, that wy mae e —
effort by approaching the American git Bye
That was about eighteen months before thi

opens. _

The Americans, being even more practical than the

. e) ’ a3
English, did not attempt to bargain for — Biss
gurator, to which, in view of the French c ere
reputation, they attached exceptional importance. y

ae

i i k the +=
rightly esteemed him a man of genius, and too

measures justified by his condition, prepared to indem-
ify hi uitably later. 2
eae Roch gave only too visible proofs -
mental alienation, the Administration, in the = ih
interest of his invention, judged it prudent to seq

hi 2 . . *
aia known, he was not confined in a lunatic

which
_asylum, but was conveyed to Healthful House,

- treatment of his
arantee for tho proper treatment
a iuk Yor tee. the most careful attention had

been devoted to him, no improvement had manifested :

:
itself,

Thomas Roch, let it be again remarked—this point

cannot be too often insisted upon—incapable though —

i rforming the ordinary
ee of comprehending and pe ;
ae ee duties of life, recovered all his powers when

 
FACING THE FLAG.

was wanted, he had applied at Healthful House for the
place, and had been engaged to look after the new
inmate.

In reality the alleged Gaydon was a French engineer _
named Simon Hart, who for several years past had
been connected with a manufactory of chemical prod-
ucts in New Jersey. Simon Hart was forty years of
age. His high forehead was furrowed with the wrinkle =~
that denoted the thinker, and his resolute bearing
denoted energy combined with tenacity. Extremely
well versed in the various questions relating to the
perfecting of modern armaments, Hart knew every
thing that had been invented in the shape of explosives,

_of which there were over eleven hundred at that time,
and was fully able to appreciate such a man as Thomas
Roch. He firmly believed in the power of the latter’s
fulgurator, and had no doubt whatever that the in- —
ventor had conceived an engine that was capable of
revolutionizing the condition of both offensive and
defensive warfare on land“and sea. He was saware  ——
that the demon of insanity had respected the man of
science, and that in Roch’s partially diseased brain the
flame of genius still burned brightly. Then it occurred _
to him that it, during Roch’s crises, his secret was |
revealed, this invention of a Frenchman would be _
seized upon by some other country to the detriment of
France. Impelled by a spirit of patriotism, he made
up his mind to offer himself as Thomas Roch’s guard-
ian, by passing himself off as an American thoroughly —
conversant with the French language, in order that if
the inventor did at any time disclose his secret, France
alone should benefit thereby. On pretext of returning ©

to Europe, he resigned his position at the New Jersey |

 
betray his secre
one of the pavil-

veillance of Simon
become Gaydon the warder.

 

 

of his native
However,
bles, Thom

country,
notwithstan

 
type of Malay. If he

CHAPTER IL

COUNT DARTIGAS

Jusr who was this Count d'Artigas? A Spaniard ? q

80 his name would appear to indicate. Yet on the : 5
stern of “4 schooner, in letters of gold, was the name =

Ebba, whic

is of pure Norwegian origin. And had a
you asked him the name of the captain of the #2ba, he

would have replied, Spade, and would doubtless have

added that that of the boatswain was Effrondat, and —
that of the ship’s cook, Helim—all singularly dissimi-

lar and indicating very different nationalities,

Could any plausible hypothesis be deducted from the
type presented by

the color of his skin, his black hair, and the easy grace

Count d’Artigas? Not easily. If —

of his attitude denoted a Spanish origin, the ensemble

of his person showed none of the racial characteristics —

peculiar to the natives of the Iberian peninsula,
He was a man of about forty-five years

‘y

of age, about

the average height, and robustly constituted. With his 4
calm and haughty demeanor he resembled an Hindoo |
lord in whose blood night mingle that of some superb 7

that he was.

him and his crew, it was one of those idioms current in

was not naturally cf a cold —-
_ temperament, he at least, with his imperious gostures |
and brevity of speech, endeavored to make it appear |
As to the language usually spoken by

Y

4

the islands of the

scarcely betray

the greatest luxur
where he resided

. Private life of

FACING THE FLAQ,
Indian Ocean and the adjacent seas.

Yet when his maritime excursions brought him to the
coasts of the old

or'new world he spoke English with
ity, and with so slight an accent as to
his foreign origin.
None could have told anything about his past, nor
nt life, nor from what source he

America,—nor —
when at home, nor where was the

is schooner hailed, and none would
have ventured to question him upon any of these points

80 little disposed was he to be communicative. He
was not the kind of man to of

Provisions and stores for a lengthy voyage. She would
take on board not only flour, biscuits, preserves, fresh
and dried meat, live stock, wines, beers, and spirits,
but also clothing, household utensils, and objects. of -
luxury—all of the finest quality and highest price, and
which were paid ,
Other coins of various countries and denominations. z
Consequently, if no one knew anything about the
Count d’Artigas, he was nevertheless
Very well known in the various ports of the United —
States from the Florida peninsula to New England,

Sie re

 

for either in dollars, guineas, or
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FACING THE FILAQ.

Tt is therefore in no way surprising that the director
of Healthful House should have felt « veatly dattered by
the Count’s visit, and have received him with every
mark of honor and respect,

It was the first time that the schooner bbq had
dropped anchor in the port of New-Berne, and no
doubt a mere whim of her owner had brou;
the mouth of the Neuse, Ctherwise
have come to such a place? GC

for Pamlico Sound offe
Sources nor faci]

Why should he
ertainly not to lay in
red neither

ities to be.found in

New York, Dover, Savannah,

is piastres and

Berne?
town of Craven County contaiz
thousand inhabitants,

Its commerce Cousisted prin.
cipally in the exportat

ion of grain, pigs,
and naval munitions, Besides, a few we
the schooner had loaded up for

as usual, was unknown,

Had this enigmatical] personage then come sol

for the Purpose of visiting Healthful House? ¥
likely. There would have be

i Qreiture,
eks py: eviously,
some destination whieh,

ely

ery
en nothing surprising in

blishment enjoyed a high

ired by eu riosity

ty vculd have
l cnough in view of the uni-
hinyentor,

sht him to |

ted barely six \ 7

FACING THE FLAG. 21

Count d’Artigas presented himself in the afternoon at
the door of Healthful House, accompanied by Captain
Spade, the commander of the EBba.

{n conformity with orders given, both were admitted
and conducted to the office of the director. The latter
received his distinguished visitor with empressement.
placed himself at his disposal, and intimated his ire
tion of personally conducting him over the esta nee
ment, not being willing to concede to anybody else a
honor of being his cicerone. The Count on his Pp

was profuse in the expression of his thanks for the
considerations extended to him.

They went over the common rooms and private
bishitations of the establishment, the director prattling
unceasingly about the care with which the ioe
were tended—much better care, if he was to be believ 2
than they could possibly have had in the a i
their families—and priding himself upon the see
achieved, and which had earned for the place its well.
merited success.

The Count d’ Artigas listened to his ceaseless _—
with apparent interest, probably in order the
to dissemble the real motive of his visit. praiee a
after going the rounds for an hour he ventu
= Have you not among your patients, sir, one anent
whom there was a great deal of talk some time ago,

: : eas-
and whose presence here contributed in no small m

”
ure to attract public attention to Healthful House?

, ”
“You refer to Thomas Roch, I presume, Count ?
queried the director.

“ Precisely—that Frenchman—that inventor—whose
mental condition is said to be very precarious.

 
22

“You speak wisel ?
_ you. Real progress do
I regard as inimical

_ follow it. But has this inventor entirely lost the use
of his intellectual faculties ?”

-“ Entirely, no; save as reg
of life, no longer possesses either
ponsibility. His genius as an in-
remains intact; it has survived hig
moral degeneracy, and, had his insensate demands been
complied with, I have no doubt he would have pro-
duced a new war engine—which the world can get
along very well without.”

__ “Very well without, as you say, sir,” re-echoed
the Count d’Artigas, and Captain Spade nodded ap-
» proyal, ,

ventor, however,

ards the ordinary things |

FACING THE FLAG. | 23

“ Never, Count, never. He has a permanent pees
ant in whom we have implicit confidence, who spea ,
hislanguage and kéeps the closest possible watch upon

him. If in some way or other some indication rela-

tive to his discovery were to ‘escape him, it would se
immediately noted down and _ rene would be pas
upon by those competent to judge. : =
pai Count WP Artigas stole a rapid and ere

glance at Captain Spade, who responded vine : ees Hae
which said plainly enough: “ I understand. A : re
any one observed the captain during the visi > ey
could not have failed to remark that he examine i ;
the greatest. minuteness that portion of the par - Pe
rounding Pavilion No. 17, and the different sgn: er a
ing to the latter—probably in view of some preasretiged am
scheme, \

The garden of the pavilion was near re ee
surrounding the property, from the foot o he wee:
the other side the hill sloped gently to the rig .
of the Neuse.

The pavilion itself was a one-story building sur-

mounted by a terrace in the Italian style. It contained

two rooms and an ante-room with strongly-barred be x
dows. On each side and in rear of the reece * re =
clusters of fine trees, which were then in full : aoe <
front was a cool, green velvety lawn, ee eae
shrubs and brilliantly tinted flowers. The who aa
den extended over about half an acre, and was rese poe
exclusively for the use of Thomas Roch, who baa si
to wander about it at pleasure under the surv ;

f his guardian. . ;
: wes the Count d’ Artigas, Captain Spade, ee Bet)

- director entered the garden, the first persen they

 
see the occupant of Pavilion N
inventor was justly regarded ag
inmate of Healthful House.

_ attention was attracted by the

presented by the two visitors, of whose nationality he
was ignorant. If the name of the Count @ Artigas
was not unfamiliar to him, he had ney
to meet that wealth y gentleman during the latter's
sojourn in the eastern ports. He therefore had no idea
as to who the Count was, Neither was he aware that
the schooner -27Bba was then anchored at the entrance

#0 the Neuse, at the foot of the hill upon which Health.
ful House was situated,

“ Gaydon,” demanded the director, “ where is Thomas
_ Roch?”

er had occasion

replied the warder, pointing to a man

king meditatively under the trees in rear
of the pavilion,

‘  § The,Count d’ Artigas; has been authorized to visit
Healthful House,

»” the director explained, “ and does

“A necessary precaution, Count.” . :
“Necessary, as you observe, Mr, Director Tt

FACING THE FLAQ,

better for the peace of the world that his secret should
die with hin” ~ ee

After having glanced at the Count @ Artigas, Gaydon
ha:l not uttered a word ; but preceding the two strangers
he walked towards the clump of trees where the in.
ventor was pacing back and forth. °

Thomas Roch paid no attention to them. He ap.
peared to be oblivious of their presence. :

Meanwhile, Captain Spade, while being careful not.

to excite suspicion, had been minutely examining the
immediate surro

From the top of
easily distinguish the peak
above the wall of the park.
He recognized the peak at a glance as being that of the
Libba, and knew therefore that the wall at this part -
skirted the right bank ot the Neuse.

The Count @’ Artigas’ whole attention was concen-
trated upon the French inventor. The latter’s health

appeared to have suffered in no way from his eighteen
months’ confine

ment; but his queer attitude, his inco-
herent gestures, hig haggard eye, and his indifference to
what was passing around him testified only too plainly
to the degeneration of his mental faculties, :
At length Thomas Roch dropped into a seat and with
the end of a switch traced in the sand of the alley the
outline of a fortification, Then kneeling down he
made a number of little mounds that were evidently
intended to represent bastions. He next plucked some

leaves from a neighboring tree and stuck them in the

ast which showed

mounds like so many tiny flags. All this was done.

with the utmost seriousness and without any attention
whatever being paid ta #he onlookers.

 
Baga coer | FACING THE FLAG.

» It was the amusement of a child, but a child would
have lacked this characteristic gravity.
“Is he then absolutely mad?” demanded the Count
d’ Artigas, who jn spite of his habitual impassibility ap-
peared to be somewhat disappointed.
“IT warned you, Count, that nothing could be obtained
from him.” :
. ©Couldn’t he at least pay some attention to us?”

“It would perhaps be difficult to induce him to do
80.”

Then turning to the attendant:

“Speak to him, Gaydon. Perhaps he will answer
you.”

“Oh! he'll answer me right enough, sir, never fear,”
replied Gaydon.

Ile went up to the inventor and touching him on the
shoulder, said gently; “Thomas Roch!” \

The latter raised his head, and of the persons pre-
sent he doubtless saw but his keeper, though Captain

Spade had come up and all formed a circle about
him,

“Thomas Roch,” continued Gaydon, speaking in | ;

_ English, “here are some visitors to see you. They are
interested in your health—in your work.”

The last word alone seemed to rouse him from his
indifference,

“ My work?” he replied, also in English, which he :

- Spoke like a native,

Then taking a pebble between his index finger and
bent thumb, as a boy plays at marbles, he projected it
against one of the little sand-heaps. It scattered, and
he jumped for joy.

“Blown to pieces! The bastion is blown to picoos!

~

e

FACING THE FLAG,

My explosive has destroyed everything at one blow!”
he shouted, the light of -triumph flashing in his
eyes, ;
“You see,” said the director, addressing the Count
pa rtigas “The idea of his invention never leaves
m.
“And it will die with him,” affirmed the attendant,
“ Couldn’t you, Gaydon, get him to talk about hig
ator?” asked his chief.
“T will try, if you order me to do s0, sir.”
“Well, I do order you, for I think it might interest

the Count @ Artigas,”

= Certainly,”
nomy betrayed
agitating him,

~ {ought to warn you that I risk bringing on an-
other fit,” observed Gaydon,
_ “You can drop the conversation when you consider
it prudent. Tell Thomas Roch that a foreigner wishes
= negotiate With him for the purchase of his fulgura-

F

“But are you not afraid he may give hissecret away?”
questioned the Count. se

He spoke with such vivacity that Gaydon could not
restrain a glance of distrust, which, however, did not
“ppear to disturb the equanimity of that impenetrable
nobleman,

“No fear of that,” said the warder, “No promise
Would induce him to divulge his secret. Until the
millions he demands are counted into his hand he will

assented the Count, whose physiog-
no sign of the sentiments which were

- Temain as mute as a stone.” :

“T don’t happen to be carrying those millions about
me,” remarked the Count quietly,

 
anxious to acquire your invention.”
The madman started,

“My invention 4” he cried. “ My deflagrator ?”

And his growing animation plainly indicated the —

imminence of the fit that Gaydon had been appre-
hensive about, and which questions of this character
invariably brought on,

“ How much will you give me for it—how much?”
continued Roch. “How much—how much 4”

“Ten million dollars,” replied Gaydon,

“Ten millions! Ten millions!
million times more powerful than anything hitherto
i Ten millions for an autopropulsive pro-
jectile which, when it explodes, destroys everything in
sight within a radius of over twelve thousand square
yards! Ten millions for the only deflagrator that
can provoke its explosion! Why, all the wealth of
the world wouldn’t suffice to purchase the secret of my
engine, and rather than sell it at such a price I would
cut my tongue in half with my teeth. Ten millions,
when it is worth a billion—a billion—a billion !”

Tt was clear that Roch had lost all notion of things,

and had Gaydon offered him ten billions the madman.

would have replied in exactly the same manner,

The Count @Artigas and Captain Spade had not

taken their eyes off him, The Count was impassible ag
usual, though his brow had darkened,

shook his head in a manner that implied plainly;
% Desistedly there is nothing to hope from this poor
devil |”

FACING THE FLAG. _

After his outburst Roch fled across the garden cry-
thg hoarsely ;

“Billions! Billions!”

Ydon turned to the director and remarked :
- “T told you how it would be.”

Then he rushed after his patient, caught him by the
arm, and led him, without any attempt at resistance,
into the pavilion and closed the door.

The Count @’Artigas remained alone with the

f the wall at the

“You see 1 was not guilty of exaggeration, Count,”
director. “It is obvious to every one that

i oming daily worse, In my opinion

If all the money he asks

.* Very likely,” replied the Count, “ still, if his pecu-

raf demands are supremely absurd, he has none the —

ss invented an engine the power of which is infinite,
ome might Say,”

“ That is the opinion expressed by competent per-

ng, Count. But what he has discovered will ere long

of these fits which are be-

uent and intense, Very soon even

rest, the only sentiment that appears

Vived in his mind, will become extinct.”

 
OHAPTER Lil.

KIDNAPPED.

_ Har an hour later the Count d’Artigas and Captain

Spade were following the beech-lined road that sep-

arated the Healthful House estate from the right bank
of the Neuse. Both had taken leave of the director, 4

the latter declaring himself greatly honored by their

visit, and the former thanking him warmly for his
A hundred-dollar bill left as a a

courteous reception.
tip for the staff of the establishment had certainly not

belied the Count’s reputation for generosity. THewas —

—there could be no doubt about it—a foreigner of the —

highest distinction, if distinction be measured by gen- SS

erosity.

Issuing by the gate at the main entrance to Health- _

fal House, they had skirted the wall that surrounded

_ the property, and which was high enough to preclude

i

the possibility of climbing it. Not a word passed be- —

tween them for some time; the Count was deep in 4
thought and Captain Spade was not in the habit of —

addressing him without being first spoken to. y
_. At last when they stood beneath the rear wall be- -
hind which, though it was not visible, the Count knew ;

Pavilion No, 17 was situated, he said: .

“You managed, I presume, to thoroughly explore 3

the place, and are acquainted with every detail of it?” 4

In carrying him off—_»

— sion to go out by the river,

easier. than scaling

FACING THE FLAG.
“ Certainly, Count,”

ing the title.

go through the park with my
< If you still persist in carrying out your
aceraed the pavilion can be easily reached.”

‘Ido persist, Spade.” {

“Notwithstanding Thomas Roch’s mental condi-

“ Notwithstanding his condition ; and if we succeed

“That is my affair,

hout
“By the entrance gate }”
“No, on this side.”

gives the alarm 1”

“Don’t worry yourself in the least about that. We
ave only got to go in and come out by this door.”

* Captain Spade pointed to a narrow door let into the
oo a few paces distant, and which was doubtless used _
y the staff of the establishment when they had occa-

“That is the4vay I propose to go in.

the wall with a ladder.”
“But the door is closed.”

“Tt will open.” _
“ Has it no bolts?”

“Yes, but I shot them back while we were strolling

It’s much

 

‘ ee
31
82 FACING THE FLAG.

about, and the director didn’t notice what I hal
done.” a
“How are you going to open it 2” queried the Count,
going to the door. a
“ Here is the key,” replied Spade, producing it,
He had withdrawn it from the lock, where it hap-
pened to be, when he had unbolted the door, a
“Capital!” exclaimed the Count, « Tt couldn’t be
better. The business will be easier than I expected.
Let us get back to the schooner, At eight o’clock one
of the boats will put you ashore with five men.”

“ Yes, five men will do,” said Captain Spade. “There

will be enough of them to effect our object even if the —
keeper is aroused and it becomes necessary to put him

Roch’s secret ?”
*Trne.”?

“ Besides, Thomas Roch is used to him, and I don’
Propose to make him change his habitudes in any way.”

This observation was accompanied by such a signifi
cant smile that Captain Spade could entertain no doub

as to the rdle reserved. for the warder of Health nig
House.

p them both was thus settled, and _

appeared to have every chance of being successful ; un- |
less during the couple of hours of daylight that yet
ined j ticed that the key of the door had

bolts drawn back, Captain Spad 7
‘ed his men could at least count upon being able te

which were Squared as n

FACING THE FLAG. -

enter the park, and the rest, the captain affirmed, would
be easy enough,

Thomas Roch was the on

ly patient in the establish-

to try and seize Roch and Gaydon separately and bind
and gag them before they could cry out.

The Count @ Artigas and his companion wended their
way to a creek where one of the LHbba’s boats awaited
them. The schooner was anchored two cable lengths
from the shore, her sails neatly rolled upon her yards,

eatly as those of a pleasure
yacht or of a man-of-war, At the peak of the main-
mast a narrow red pennant was gently swayed by the
wind, which came in fitful puffs from the east.
The Count and the captain jumped into the boat and
a few strokes of the four oars brought them alongside
of the schooner, _They climbed on deck and going for. —
ward to the Jib-boom, leaned over the starboard bul- |
wark and gazed at an object that floated on the water
® few strokes ahead of the vessel, It was a small
buoy that was rocked by the ripple of the ebbing —

tide.

Twilight gradually set in, and the outline of New.

‘Berne on the left bank of the sinuous Neuse became

More and more indistinct until it disappeared in the
deepening shades of night. A mist set in from the sea,
but though it obscured the moon it brought no sign
of rain, The lights gleamed out one by one in the
houses of the town. The fishing smacks came slowly _
ap the river to their anchorage, impelled by the oars
of their crews which struck the Water with sharp, thyth- i
3 ars : . F

 
sa

FACING THE FLAG,

mical strokes, and with their sails distended on
chance of catching an occasional puff of the dropping
wind to help them along. A couple of steamers passed, —
sending up volumes of black smoke and myriads of 4
sparks from their double stacks, and lashing the water
into foam with their powerful paddles. 1

At eight o’clock the Count dl’ Artigas appeared on the’

schooner’s deck accompanied by a man about fifty
years of age, to whom he remarked :
“It is time to go, Serko.”

“Very well, | will tell Spade,” replied Serko.
At that moment the captain joined them.

FACING THE FLAG.

“We must have both Roch and Gaydon,” insisted
the Count @’ Artigas. 5,

“That is understood,” replied Spade,

___ The boat pushed off, and the sailors on the deck of

the schooner watched it till it was lost to sight in the
darkness,

Pending its return, no preparations for the Hbba’s i
departure were made. Perhaps there was no intention

of quitting the port after the men had been kidnapped,

Besides, how could the vessel have reached the open |
| seat Not a breath of air was now stirring, and in half
an hour the tide would be setting in again, and rising

strongly and rapidly for several miles above New-Berne,

Anchored, as has already been said, a couple of cable- —

lengths from the shore, the Ebba might have been
brought much nearer to it, for the water was‘ deep

enough, and this would have facilitated the task of the

kidnappers when they returned. from their expedition,
; If, however, the Count d’ Artigas preferred to let the
7 _ Vessel stay where she was, he probably had his reasons.
i BS Not a soul was in sight on the bank, and the road,
t to arouse their sua With its borders of beech trees that skirted the wall of |
Healthful House estate, was equally deserted. The
boat was made fast to theshore, Then Captain Spade
and his four sailors landed, leaving the boatswain in
charge, and disappeared amid the trees.

When they reached the wall Captain Spade stopped
and the sailors drew up on each side of the doorway.
The captain had only to turn the key in the lock and
push the door, unless one of the servants, noticing that
4 the door was not secured as usual, had bolted it. In |
; this event their task would be an extremely difficult —
| ene, even if they succeeded in scaling the high wall,

‘<

“ You had bet‘er get ready to g0,” said the Count,
“Allis ready.”

“Be careful to prevent. any alarm being given, and

arrange mattcrs so that no one will for a minute gus- ;

pect that Thomas Roch and his keeper have been q
brought on board the H2da.” =

__ “They wouldn’t find them if they came to look for —
them,” observed Serko, shrugging his shoulders and

laughing heartily as though he had perpetrated a huge >
joke. ¢

“ Nevertheless, it is better no
picion,” said d’ Artigas, 4
_ The boat was lowered, and Captain Spade and five -
sailors took their places in it. Four of the latter got
out the oars. The boatswain, Effrondat, who was to |
remain in charge of the boat, went to the stern beside
Captain Spade and took the tiller, 4 A
“Good luck, Spade,” said Serko with a smile, “ and
don’t make more noise about it than if you were a
gallant carrying off his lady-love.” a

“I won’t—unless that Gaydon chap——”

 
86 5 FACING THE FLAG,

; a Bt
The captain put his ear to the key-hole and listened. ous: “tor, ‘culen
Not a sound was to be heard in the park. Not even aE Sa ois ‘his stead ia

aleaf was rustling in the branches of the beeches — he whole Siablisnee 8 ;

under which they were standing. The surrounding :
country was wrapt in the profoundest silence.

4 The essential
Captain Spade drew the key from his pocket, in- i

session of Roch, [f they could kidnap

In conformi i i i
serted it in the lock and turned it noiselessly. Then — C oh ke ent With the intentions of the
he cautiously pushed the door, which opened inward, —

80 niuch the better.

_ Things were, then, just as he had left them, and no-
one had noticed the theft of the key. a

After assuring himself that nobody happened to be ©
in the neighborhood of the pavilion the captain entered, |
followed by his men. The door was left wide open, so 7
that they could beat a hurried and uninterrupted re-
treat in case of necessity. The trees and bushes in
this shady part of the park were very thick, and it —
was so dark that it would not have been easy to dis
tinguish the pavilion had not a light shone brightly in ©
one of the windows, :

No doubt this was the window of the room occupied
by Roch and his guardian, Gaydon, seeing that the
latter never left the patient placed in his charge either
by night or day. Captain Spade had expected to find
him there, © é 4

The party approached cautiously, taking the utmost 7
precaution to avoid kicking a pebble or stepping on a

_ twig, the noise of which might have revealed their
presence. In this way they reached the door of the.
pavilion near which was the curtained window of the
room in which the light was burning. é
But if the door was locked, how were they going to

get in? Captain Spade must have asked himself, He

had no key, and to attempt to effect an entrance

 
38 FACING THE FLAG,
will be remembered, was close
of which Spade and his men

remained where they were t

seen, not only by the doctor, but by the

was accompanying him to the door,

Before they made their appearance, however, th
sailors, at a gs

ign from their chief, had
hidden themselves behind the bushes, whil
self crouched in the shadow beneath

stopped on the step and remarked :

“This is one of the worst attacks ou
One or two more like that and he
reason he still possesses,”

“Just so,” said Gaydon. “I wonder that the direc or
doesn’t prohibit all visitors trom entering the pavilior ,

Roch owes his present attack to a Oount W Artigas,
for whose amusement harmful questions were put to
him.” ;

“T will call the director’s attention to the matter,”
responded the doctor. : 4
He then descended th
door of the pavilion aj
of the path. ~
When they had go
his men rejoined him.
Had they not better
pectedly afforded them
Roch, who was in a se
await Gaydon’
entered {

e steps and Gaydon, leaving the
ar, accompanied him to the end

ne Captain Spade stood up, and

-_

profit by the chance thus une 7
to enter the room and secure

8 return and seize the warder as he

to the window in fro u
were standing. If they
hey could not fail.to be
warder, wh¢

dispersed nd
ile Spade him-
the window.

:

r patient has had.

happened,

what had b

mi-comatose condition, and th ne

FACING THE FLAG.

This would have involved considerablerisk. Gaydon,
at a glance, would perceive that his patient was miss-
ing and raise an alarm; the doctor would come running
back ; the whole staff of Healthful House would turn

out, and Spade would not have time to escape with his
Precious prisoner and lock the door in the wall after
him. .

He did not have much chance to deliberate about it,
for the warder was heard returning along the grave
path. Spade decided that the best thing to be done

was to spring upon him as he passed and stifle his cries

and overpower him before he could attempt to offer

any resistance, The carrying off of the mad inventor
would be easy e

nough, inasmuch as he was unconscious,
and could not raise a finger to help himself.

Gaydon came round a clump of bushes and ap-
proached the entrarce to the pavilion. As he raised his
foot to mount the steps the four sailors sprang upon
him, bore him backwards to the ground, and had
Bagged him, securely bound him. hand and foot, and
bandaged his eyes before he began to realize what had

Two of the men then kept guard over him, while -
Captain Spade and the others entered the house.
As the captain had surinised, Thomas Roch had sunk
into such a torpor that he could have heard nothing of

een going on outside. Reclining at full
length, with his eyes closed, he might have been taken
fora dead man but for his heavy breathing. There
Was no need either to bind or gag him. One man
took him by the head and another by the feet and
started off with him to the schooner.

Captain Spade was the last to quit the house after

 
FACING THE FLAG.

| “Yes, sir, all right!”
id be missed before morning. 7

“ Both of them?”
Gaydon was carried off in the same way as Thoma
Roch had been. The two

“Both the madman and his keeper.”
remaining sailors lifted hit
and bore him quietly but r

™ “Doesn't anybody know about it up at Healthful
apidly down the path to th@ House 7

door in the wall. The park was pitch dark. Not eve
a glimmer of the |

“Not a soul.”
ights in the windows of Healthf u
_ House could be g

It was not likely that Gaydon, whose eyes and ears
een through the thick foliage,
Arrived at th

) Were bandaged, but who preserved all his sang-froid,
€ wall, Spade, who had led the way

Ry ee
# could have recognized the voices of the Count @’ Artigas
stepped aside to allow the sailors with their burdens td
_ pass through, then follow

and Captain Spade. Nor did he have the ae >
ed and closed and locked thé No attempt was immediately made to hoist ha hank
door, He put the key in his pocket, intending to throm board. He had been lying in the bottom of the ox
it into the Neuse as soon as they were safely on board alongside the schooner for fully half an hour, he ca
the schooner,
There was no one on

sated, before he felt himself lifted, and then lowered,
the road, nor on the bank of
the river,

doubtless to the bottom of the hold. : : a
The kidnapping haying been accomplished it woul
The party made for the boat, and found that Effron |

7. } h
seem that it only remained for the Hbba to weg:
dat, the boatswain, had made all ready to receive them.
Thomas Roch and Gaydon were

anchor, descend the estuary and make her way wee
laid in the bottom) sea through Pamlico Sound, Yet no preparations
of the boat, and the sailors again took their places at departure wero made, rere aiter
the oars. 4 Was it not dangerous to stay where they: Ww er fe
~ “Hurry up, Effrondat, and ¢ast off the painter,”*> their daring raid? Had the Count d@Artigas ae
ordered the captain, & his prisoners so securely as to preclude the possi 21.5
The boatswain obeyed, and pushed the boat off with? of their being discovered if the /bba, whose esas
his foot as he scrambled in. = in proximity to Healthful House could not fail ghross
The men bent to their oars and rowed rapidly to the Suspicion, received a visit from the ee aie
schooner, which was easily distinguishable, having hung) However this might have been,.an hour a rs
out a light at her mizzenmast head. 7 return of the expedition, every soul on board sa ee
watch—the Count d’ Artigas, Serko, and Captain Sp

: é ; i fore
in their respective cabins, and the crew in the
castle, were sound asleep.

 

 

 
. THE FLAG. 43
FACING THE FLag, | FACING

have been supposed that the Count d’Artigas would
have preferred a steam-yacht with which he could
_ have gone anywhere, at any time, inany weather. But
apparently he was satisfied to stick to the old method,
. even when he made his long trips across the Atlantic.
; On this particular morning the wind was blowing
ae ay, : gently from the west, which was very favorable to the “3
Ebba, and would enable her to stand straight outof
*HE SCHOONER EBBA, 7 the Neuse, across Pamlico Sound, and through one of
the inlets that led to the open sea. ! :
Atten o'clock the Ebba was still rocking lazily at
anchor, her stem up stream and her cable tautened by 2
the rapidly ebbing tide. The small buoy that on the
Previous evening had been moored near the schooner was
No ‘onger to be seen, and had doubtless been hoisted in.
Suddenly a gun boomed out and a slight wreath of
white smoke arose from the battery. It was answered
by other reports from the guns on the chain of islands
along the coast. ; ; :
At this moment the Count d’Artigas and Engineer
Serko appeared. on deci. Captain Spade went to meet
them,
’ “Guns barking,” he said laconically. : “a
“We expected it,’ replied Serko, shrugging his
shoulders. “ They are signals to close the passes.
- “What has that to do with us?” asked the Count
~ @Artigas quietly. ae %
“Nothing at all,” said the engineer. eae
They all, of course, knew that the alarm-guns indi-
eated that the disappearance of Thomas Roch and the

el wardcr Geydon from Healthful House had been dis-

however, she — @overed. e :
from the sama _ At daybreak the doctor had gone to Pavilion No. 17
and it might © 33S : ; |

‘gt

 
FACING THE FLAG.

« Shall I weigh anchor?” demanded Captain Spade.
“Yes, as we have a fair wind; but you can take
” replied the Count @ Artigas.

FACING THE FLAG.

to see how his , i
patient had °
fo passed the nigh
Se tone He immediately corte
was then diesaeccat ties MOrenehee searched. It , :
pene aaa Sie though pe “ge ak - eee hs ¢ aoa P mlico Sound will be under obser-
: e 4 e passes of Pamlico Soun
aris as tae pia os eae Baws ed a @ “zation,” narra Engineer Serko, “ and no vessel will
: i mried out that ; be able to get out without iving a visit from gen-
were the kidn $ way. But who e able to get out witho recelving a g
appers# No one could possibly imagine, 4. ao as or creek ‘as ap will a ee
| ever mind, get under way a e same, 0
cers of the cruiser or the

All that could ;
ee an sp ees cs was that at half-past #
attended Thomas Roch, hae tne doctors had a the Count. “When the offi sage tare
his fits, and that when the saediodd ering from one of ss Custom-House officers have been over the at the
al man had left him i o embargo “ore eee I sth be a panera if
EB we are not allowed to go about our usiness. :
s for the liberty taken,

the invalid was i :
im an unconscious condition. What ”
a « With a thousand pardon
for a good voyage and speedy return,”

i

had ha
the teehee ao took leave of Gaydon at 2
n-path could not even be Bt and best wishes
at a. | chuckled Engineer Serko, following the phrase with anes

jectured. ‘
The news of the di
paces ce thence Ae Bldg Oe ae be 4 | ane ape Oe sectiok at New-Berne, the
was r had fo ree —s that A Sout : ES ‘ authorities at first were pees = na set eps the
5 ier iia sabre ie mast Slee 4 = vied of imfs, however, Rock's Sight could not hats
rerun pret tem vues SASS Seiya i
Jons in this respect. At the same stawindy, E % ne fie director and management of Healthful House
; me g the warder was absolutely above suspicion. They

ures were taken to ke i
ani village in the Ps a strict lookout in every town As kid d
: aa 2° must both, then, have been kidnapped.
agined what a sensation the news

The Count @ Arti
was a couple of tidiee a te te Balch which -.. en he French i
getting stea 4 e east in the estu Boe caused in the town. What! the French inventor who
mup and ee Obie: sceapaitea cS had been so closely guarded had disappeared, and with
would take at le a him the secret of the wonderful fulgurator that nobody
. had been able to worm out of him? Might not the
most serious consequences follow? Might not the dis-
covery of the new engine be lost to America forever?
If the daring act had been perpetvated on behalf of

pete f

 
ae

46° FACING THE FLAG.

.

another nation, might not that nation, having Thomas
nag in its power, be eventually able to extract from
what the Federal Government had vainly en:
deavored to obtain? And was it reasonable pis it
permissible, to suppose for an instant that he had bee
carried off for the benefit of a private individual ? 2
Certainly not, was the emphatic reply to the latte
question, which was too ridiculous to be satariatinnd,
Therefore the whole power of the State was emplo ed
in an effort to recover the inventor, In every si
of North Carolina a special surveillance was or nies
on every road and at every railroad station eB
house in town and country was searched. Eve int
from Wilmington to Norfolk was closed, and idee
of any description could leave without being thoroughl
. overhauled, Not only the cruiser Falcon, but ae ~
available cutter and launch was sent out with ord i!
to patrol Pamlico Sound and board yachts ida
Soria Ss — smacks indiscriminately whether
so not and search them down to the keel.
Still the crew of the Hbba i
anchor, and the Count hae oe sone = bat
in the least concerned at the orders of the snthineition
and at the consequences that would ensue, if Thomas
Roch and his keeper, Gaydon, were found on board.
At last all was ready, the crew manned the capstan
bars, the sails were hoisted, and the schooner glided
gracefully through the water towards the Rehnds
Twenty miles from New-Berne the estuary curvég

abruptly and shoots off towards the northwest for

about the same distance, gradually wideni :
empties itself into Painlins Sound, y widening until it

PACING THE FLAG.

he latter is & vast expanse about
sland to Roanoke. O

across from Sivan I

Lookout to Cape Hatteras

Henry, near Norfolk City, .
the islands and islets form an

Numerous beacons on

seventy miles
n the seaward
w islands, form- “

in Virginia.

king refuge from the
e chain they are cer

good anchoring grounds.

Several passes afford an

sea, Beyond Sivan Island
next is the inlet of Hattera

wn as Logger Heac
The Ocracoke was

and Oregon inlet.
the Lbba, and she could

the Falcon was Se
through.
difference, for

- the guns of t
by government vessels.

The Lbba, therefore,

oid nor offering to approac
to be merely a pleasure-

cher. Was she, t
spared the bother ©

@ Artigas considere

-to be thus molested, an
though he was regarded as a dis-

who lived the life of luxury eD- ©

‘Tt was unlikely, for
-tinguished foreigner
-joyed by the favored

arching all vessels t
This did not, however, Me

hen, specially privile
f being searched? Was.the Count —

d too high and mighty a personage —

outlet from the Sound to the ~
lighthouse is Ocracoke in-
gs. There are also

{ inlet, New inlet,
the one nearest
make it without tacking, but
hat passed
ke any particular
all the passes, upon which

by this time all t
he forts had been trained, were guarded

kept on her way, neither try- —
h the searchers.

yacht out for a

time been made to accost
ged, and to be

d delayed even for an hour? ©

of fortune, no one, as a matter

 
 

FACING THE FLAG,

of fact, knew who he was,
whither he was going.

Captain Spade.

“ They don’t seem in a hurry to board us,” remarked
Serko.

“ They can come whe
the Count in a tone of supreme indifference,

“ No doubt they are waiting for us at the entrance
to the inlet,” suggested Captain Spade,

*“ Let them wait,” grunted the wealthy nobleman,
into his customary unconcerned

never they think proper,” said

pade’s hypothesis was doubtless correct,
The Falcon had ag yet made no move towards the

schooner, but would almost certainly do so as soon as _
the latter reached the inlet, and the Count would have
to submit to a search of h

is vessel if he wished to reach
the open sea.

How was it then that he manifeste
nary unconcern? Were Th
safely hidden that their hi
be discovered ? .

The thing was possible,
@’ Artigas would not have bee
he been aware that the Zs

nalled to the warship and rey.
_ The Count’

day had now

d such extraordi-
omas Roch and Gaydon so

ding-place could not possibly

but perhaps the Count

@ had been specially sig-

enue cutters as a suspect.
8 visit to Healthful House on the previous

attracted particular attention to him and

nor whence he came, nop

FACING THE FLAG.

his schooner. Lvidently, at the time, the age pars
he motive of his visit.
had no reason to suspect t :
aap few hours later, Thomas Roch and aus keeper had
been carried off. No one else from outside verre
ili dmitte at i
he pavilion that day. It was a
a re been an easy matter for the Count’s sg
i rv di he director’s atten-
i le the former distracted t .
sages ft the door in the wall and
i ush back the bolts of the ;
on oe key. Then the fact that se sic
i ly afew hundred yards from,
anchored in rear of, and only | epernntghante ir
ate, was in itself suspicious. Nothing
ae Pb for the desperadoes than to egies ne
door, surprise their victims, and carry them off to the
hooner,
ae suspicions, neither the director nor the per-
sonnel of the establishment had at first liked to hs
expression to, but when the “dba was seen si
anchor and head for the open sea, they appeare
d. Pe
eee as communicated to the authorities at S,
i i red the commander
who immediately ordere
9  Fealeon to intercept the schooner, to search her
raat high and low, and from stem to stern, and =
ae account. to let her proceed, unless he was er y
rtain that Roch and Gaydon were not on board.
S asateity the Count d’Artigas could have had no
idea that his vessel was the object of such stringent
onde - but even if he had, it is questionable whether
st aes haughty and disdainful nobleman would
a6 . .
i lar anxiety.
nifested any particu
cg ae three o’clock, the warship which was cruis-
ing before the inlet, after having sent search parties
ist a few fishing-smacks, suddenly manceuvred to
4

 
 

 

 

LACING THE FLAG,

the entrance of the pass, and awaited the approaching
schooner. The latter surely did not imagine that she
eould force a passage in spite of the cruiser, or escape
from a yessel propelled by steam. Besides, had she at-
tempted such a foolhardy trick, a couple of shots from
the Falcon’s guns would speedily have constrained her
to lay to.

Presently a boat, manned by two officers and tem
sailors, put off from the cruiser and rowed towards the
L'bba. When they were only about half a cable’s length
off, one of the men rose and waved a flag.

“That’s a signal to stop,” said Engineer Serko,

“ Precisely,” remarked the Count d’ Artigas.

“We shall have to lay to.”

“Then lay to.”

Captain Spade went forward and gave the necessary
orders, and in a few minutes the vessel slackened speed,
and was scon merely drifting with the tide.

The /alcon’s boat pulled alongside, and a man in the
bows held on to her with a boat-hook. The gangway
was lowered by « couple of hands on the schooner, and
the two ofiicers, followed by eight of their men, climbed

on deck.

They found the crew of the #2a drawn up in line
on the forecastle.

The. officer in command of the boarding-party—a
first lieatenant—advanced towards the owner of the
schooner, and the following questions and answers
were exchanged ;

“ This schooner belongs to the Count d’Artigus. te
whom, I presume, I have the honor of speaking#”

% Yes, sir.”

* What is her name?”

FACING THE FLAG.
“Tho Fbba.”

“She is commanded by ?—”

“ Captain Spade.”

“ What is his nationality ?”

“ Hindo-Malay.” ©

The officer scrutinized the schooner’s flag, while the
Count d’ Artigas added : .

“ Will you be good enough to tell me, sir, to what
circumstance I owe the pleasure of your visit on board
my vessel ?”

“ Orders have been received,” replied the officer, “to
search every vessel now anchored in Pamlico Sound,
or which attempts to leave it.”

He did not deem it necessary to insist upon this
point since the /bba, above every other, was to be
subjected to the bother of a rigorous examination.

“You, of course, sir, have no intention of refusing
me permission to go over your schooner ¢ a :

“ Assuredly not, sir, My vessel is at your disposal
from peaks to bilges. Only I should like to know
why all the vessels which happen to be in Pamlico
Sound to-day are being subjected to this formality.”

“T see no reason why you should not be informed,
Monsieur the Count,” replied the officer. “The gov-
ernor of North Carolina has been apprised that Health-
ful House has been broken into and two persons kid-
napped, and the authorities merely wish to satisfy
themselves that the genet s off have not been

sod during the night.
— a ‘possible 2” exclaimed the Count, feigning
surprise. “ And who are the persons who have thus

”
disappeared from Healthful House ¢”
“An inventor—a madman—and his keeper,”

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

~* A madman, sir? Do you, may I ask, refer to the
Frenchman, Thomas Roch 2?”

“ The same.”

“The Thomas Roch whom I saw yesterday during
my visit to the establishment—whom I questioned in
presence of the director—who was seized with a vio-
lent paroxysm just as Captain Spade and I were leav-
ing?”

The officer observed the stranger with the keenest
attention, i an effort to surprise anything suspicious
in his attitude or remarks,

“It is incredible!” added the Count, as though he
had just heard about the outrage for the first time.

“I can easily understand, sir, how uneasy the au.

thorities must be,” he went on, “in view of Thomas

Roch’s personality, and I cannot but approye of the
measures taken, I need hardly say that neither the
French inventor nor his keeper is on board the Ebba.
[lowever, you can assure yourself of the fact by ex-
amining the schooner as minutely as you desire. Cap-
tain Spade, show these gentlemen over the vessel.”

Then saluting the lieutenant of the Falcon coldly,
the Count @’Artigas sank into his deck-chair again and
replaced his cigar between his lips, while the two offi.
cers and eight sailors, conducted by Captain Spade,
began their search, :

In the first place they descended the main hatch-
way to tho after saloon—-a luxuriously-appointed place,
filled with art objects of great value, hung with rich
tapestries and hangings, and wainscotted with costly
woods.

It goes without saying that this and the adjoining

cabins were searched with a care that could not bave

FACING THE FLAG,

been surpassed by the most experienced detectives.
Moreover, Captain Spade assisted them by every
means in his power, obviously anxious that they should
not preserve the slightest suspicion of the Zbba’s
owner.

After the grand saloon and cabins, the elegant dining:
saloon was visited. Then the cook’s galley, Captain
Spade’s cabin, and the quarters of the crew in the fore
castle were overhauled, but no sign of Thomas Roch
or Gaydon was to be seen.

Next, every inch of the hold, etc., was examined,
with the aid of a couple of lanterns, Water-kegs,
wine, brandy, whisky and beer barrels, biscuit-boxes,
in fact, all the provision boxes and everything the hold
contained, including the stock of coal, was moved and
probed, and even the bilges were scrutinized, but all in
vain,

Evidently the suspicion that_ the Count d’Artigas
had carried off the missing men was unfounded and
unjust. Even a rat could not have escaped the notice
of the vigilant searchers, leave alone two men.

When they returned on deck, however, the officers,
as a matter of precaution looked into the boats hang.
ing on the davits, and punched the lowered sails, with
the same result,

It only remained for them, therefore, to take leave
of the Count d’Artigas.
- “You must pardon us for having disturbed you,
Monsieur the Count,” said the lieutenant.

“ You were compelled to obey your orders, gentle-
men.”

“ It was merely a formality, of course,” ventured the

‘officer.

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG,

By a slight inclination of the head the Count signi-
fied that he was quite willing to accept this euphemism,

“Tassure you, gentlemen, that I have had no hand
in this kidnapping.”

“We can no longer believe so, Monsieur the Count,
and will withdraw.”

“ As you please. Is the Zdba now free to proceed ?”

“ Certainly.”

“ Then au revoir, gentlemen, aw revoir, for lam an
habitué of this coast and shall soon be back again. I
hope that ere my return you will have discovered the
author of the outrage, and have Thomas Roch safely
back in Healthful House. It is a consummation de-
voutly to be wished in the ‘interest of the United
States—1 might even say of the whole world.”

The two officers courteously saluted the Count, who
responded with a nod. Captain Spade accompanied
them to the gangway, and they were soon making for
the cruiser, which had steamed near to pick them up.

Meanwhile the breeze had freshened considerably,
and when, at a sign from d’Artigas, Captain Spade set

sail again, the 24a skimmed swiftly through the inlet, |

and half an hour after was standing out to sea.

For an hour she continued steering east-northeast,
and then, the wind, being merely a land breeze, dropped,
and the schooner lay becalmed, ber sails limp, and her
flag drooping like a wet rag. It seemed that it would
be impossible for the vessel to continue her voyage
that nigit unless a breeze sprang up, and of this there
was no sign.

Since the schooner had cleared the inlet Captain
Spade had stood in the bows gazing into the water,

now to port, now to starboard, as if on the lookout

FACING THE FLAG.

for something. Presently he shouted in a stentorian
voice :

Furl sail!”

The sailors rushed to their posts, and in an instant
the sails came rattling down and were furled.

Was it Count d’Artigas’ intention to wait there till
daybreak brought a breeze with it? Presumably, or
the sails would have remained hoisted to catch the
faintest puff.

A boat was lowered and Captain Spade jumped into
it, accompanied by a sailor, who paddled it towards an
object that was floating on the water a few yards
away. a

This object was a small buoy, similar to that which
had floated on the bosom of the Neuse when the £dba
lay off Healthful House.

The buoy, with a towline affixed to it, was lifted
into the boat that was then paddled to the bow of the
Elba, trom the deck of which another hawser was
cast to the captain, who made it fast to the towline of
the buoy. Having dropped the latter overboard again,
the captain and the sailor returned to the ship and
the boat was hoisted in.

Almost immediately the hawser tautened, and the
Ebba, though not a stitch of canvas had been set, sped
off in an easterly direction at a speed that could not
have been less than ten knots an hour.

Night was falling fast, and soon the rapidly reced-
itig lights along the American coast were lost in the

mist on the horizon.

 
 

 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

OHAPTER V.

WHERE AM 1}
{Notes by Simon Hart, the Engineer.)

Warrz am 1? What has happened since the sud-
den aggression of which I was the victim near the
pavilion,

I had just quitted the doctor, and was about to
mount the steps, close the door and’ resume my post
beside Thomas Roch when several men sprang upon
me and knocked me down. Who are they? My eyes
having been bandaged [ was unable to recognize them.
I could not cry for help, having been gagged. 1 could
make no resistance, for they had bound me hand and
foot. Thus powerless, I felt myself lifted and carried

about one hundred paces, then hoisted, then lowered,
then laid down.

Where? Where ?

And Thomas Roch, what has become of him? [t
must have been he rather than [ they were after. I
was but Gaydon, the warder. None suspected that ]
was Simon Hart, the engineer, nor eovld they have sus
pected my nationality. Why, therefore, shonid they
have desired to kidnsp a incre hospital attendant ?

There can consequenily be no doubt that the French
inventor has been carried off; and if he was snatched

FACING THE FLAG.

from Healthful House it must have been in the hope of
forcing his secret from him.

But 1 am reasoning on the supposition that Thomas
Roch was carried off with me, Is it so? Yes—it
must be-—-it is. 1 can entertain no doubt whatever
about it. 1 have not fallen into the hands of malefac-
tors whose only intention is robbery. They would not
have acted in this way. After rendering it impossible
for me to cry out, after having thrown me into a clump
of bushes in the corner of the garden, after having knd-
napped Thomas Roch they would not have shut me up
—where | now am. :

Where? This is the question which 1 have been
asking myself for hours without being able to answer it,

However, one thing is certain, and that is that have
embarked upon an extraordinary adventure, that will
end ?—1n what manner | know not—I dare not even

imagine what the upshot of it will be. Anyhow, it is

-my intention to commit to memery, minute by minute,

the least circumstance, and then, if it be possilde, to
jot down my daily impressions. Who knows what the
future has in storeforme? And who knows but what,
in my new position, | may finally discover the secret of

" Roch’s fulgurator? If 1am to be delivered one day,

this secret must be made known, as well as who is the
author, or who are the authors, of this criminal outrage,
which may be attended with such serious consequences.

1 continually revert to this question, hoping that

some incident will occur to enlighten me:

Where am 1?

Let me begin from the beginning.
After ate been carried by the head and feet from

Healthful House, { felt that 1 was laid, without any ~

coer hon ip ere tet anc ete

Se oe

oe st Aa pnaaa ane eee

 
at

58 FACING THE FLAG.

brutality, I must admit, upon the stretchers of a row:
boat of small dimensions.
The rocking caused by the weight of my body waa
succeeded shortly afterwards by a further rocking—
which 1 attribute to the embarking of a second person.
Can there be room for doubt that it was Thomas Roch?
As far as he was concerned they would not have had
to take the precaution of gagging him, or of bandaging
his eyes, or of binding him. He must still have been
ia a state of prostration which precluded the possibility
of his making any resistance, or even of being conscious
of what was being done. The proof that I am not de
ceiving myself is that I could smell the unmistakable
odor of ether. Now, yesterday, before taking leave of
ts, the doctor administered a few drops of cther to the
invalid and—I remember distinctly—a little of this
extremely volatile substance fell upon his clothing while
he was struggling in his fit. There is therefore noth.
ing astonishing in the fact that this odor should have
‘elung to him, nor that { should have distinguished it,
even beneath the bandages that covered my face.
Yes, Thomas Roch was extended near me im the
boat. And to think that had I not returned to the
pavilion when I did, had I delayed a few minutes
_ longer, I should have found him gone!
Let me think. What could have. inspired that Count
@ Artigas with the unfortunate curiosity to visit Health-
ful House? If he had not been allowed to see my pa-
tient nothing of the kind would have happened. Talk-
ing to Thomas Roch about his inventions brought on a
fit of exceptional violence. The director is primarily
to blame for not heeding my warning. Had he listened
to me the doctor would not have been called upon to

FACING THE FLAG.

~ attend him, the door of the pavilion would have been

locked, and the attempt of the band would have been
frustrated. :
As to the interest there could have been in carrying
off Thomas Roch, either on behalf of a private person
or of one of the states of the Old World, it is so evi-
dent that there is no need to dwell upon it. However,
I can be perfectly easy about the result. No one can
possibly succeed in learning what for fifteen months
I have been unable to ascertain. In the condition of

intellectual collapse into which my fellow-countryman
has fallen, all attempts to force his secret from him

will be futile. Moreover, he is bound to go from bad
to worse until he is hopelessly insane, even as regards
those points upon which he has hitherto preserved his
n intact. :
aaiiee all, however, it isless about Thomas Roch than.
myself that I must think just now, and this is what I
have experienced, to resume the thread of my adventure
where I dropped it: a
After more rocking caused by our captors. jumping
into it, the boat is rowed off. The distance must be
very short, for a minute after we bumped against some-
thing. I surmise that this something must be the hull
of a ship, and that we have run alongside. There is
some scurrying and excitement. Indistinctly through
my bandages I can hear orders being given and a con-
fused murmur of voices that lasts for about five min-
utes, but I cannot distinguish a word that is said. ;
The only thought that occurs to me nowis that they
will hoist me on board and lower me to the bottom of

hold and keep me there till the vessel is far out at
128 Obviously en will not allow either Thomas

 
 

 

 

Saas

SEE AES:

60 ; FACING THE FLAG,

Roch or his keeper to appear on deck as long as she
remains in Pamlico Sound.

My conjecture is correct. Still gagged and bound
Lam at last lifted by the legs and shoulders My im-
pression, however, is that I am not being raised over a
ship’s bulwark, but on the contrary am being lowered,
Are they going to drop me overboard to drown like a
Tat, so as to get rid of a dangerous witness? Thig
thought flashes into my brain, and a quiver of anguish
passes through my body from head to foot, Instine-
tively I draw a long breath, and my lungs are filled
With the precious air they will speedily lack.

No, there is no immediate canse for alarm. Iam
laid with comparative gentleness upon a hard floor.
which gives me the sensation of metallic coldness, I
am lying at fulllength. To my extreme surprise, I find
that the ropes with which I was bound have béen un-
tied and loosened. ‘ The tramping about around me
has ceased. The next instant I hear a door closed
with a bang.

Where am I? And, in the first place, am I alone?

I tear the gag from my mouth, and the band
Anh h, andages from

It is dark—pitch dark. Nota ray of light, not even

the vague perception of light that the eyes rese:
ry
when the lids are tightly closed. ce %

I shout—I shout repeatedly. No response,
voice is smothered. The air I breathe is hot, heavy
thick, and the working of my lungs will become diff.
cult, impossible, unless the store of air is renewed,

T extend my arms and feel about me, and this is what
T conclude:

Tam in a compartment with sheet-iron walls, which

FAOING THE FLAG.

cannot measure more than four cubic yards. I can feel
that the walls are of bolted plates, like the sides of a

ship’s water-tight compartment,
I can feel that the entrance to it is by a door on one

‘Bide, for the hinges protrude somewhat. This door

must open inwards, and it is through here, no doubt,
that I was carried in.

I place my ear to the door, but not a sound can be
heard. ‘The silence is as profound as the obscurity—a
strange silence that is only broken by the sonorousness of
the metallic floor when I move about. None of the dull
noises usually to be heard on board a ship is perceptible,
not even the rippling of the water along the hull. Nor
is there the slightest movement to be felt; yet, in the
estuary of the Neuse, the current is always strong
enougk to cause a marked oscillation to any vessel.

But does the compartment in which I am confined,
really belong toa ship? How do 1 know that I am
afloat on the Neuse, though I was conveyed a short
distance in a boat? Might not the latter, instead of
heading for a ship in waiting for it, opposite Healthful
House, have been rowed to a point further down the
river? In this case is it not possible that I was carried
into the cellar of a house? This would explain the
complete immobility of the compartment. — It is true
that the walls are of bolted plates, and that there is a
vague smell of salt water, that odor sui generis which
generally pervades the interior of a ship, and which

there is no mistaking.
An interval, which I estimate at about four hours,

must have passed since my incarceration. It must
therefore be near midnight. Shall I be left here in

 
652° 5 FACING THE FLAG.

which is the regular dinner-hour at Healthful House.
Tam not suffering from hunger. In fact I feel more
inclined to sleep than to eat. Still, Thope I shall have
energy enough to resist the inclination. I willnot give
Way to it. i must try and find out what is going on
outside. But neither sound nor light can penetrate
this iron box. Wait a minute, though ; perhaps by
listening intently I may hear some sound, however
feeble. Therefore I concentrate all my vital power in
my sense of hearing. Moreover, I try—in case I should
really not be on terra sirma—to distinguish some move-
ment, some oscillation of my prison. Admitting that
the ship is still at anchor, it cannot be long before it
will start—otherwise I shall have to give up imagini
why Thomas Roch and I have been carried off.

At last—it is no illusion—a slight rolling proves to-

me, beyond a doubt, that Iam not on land. We are

evidently moving, but the motion is scarcely percep.

‘tible. It is not a jerky, but rather a gliding move-
ment, as though we were skimming through the water
without effort, on an even keel.

_ Let me consider the matter calmly. I am on board
a vessel that was anchored in the Neuse, waiting under

sail or steam, for the result of the expedition. A boat —

brought me aboard, but, I repeat, I did not feel that I
was lifted over her bulwarks. Was I passed through

a porthole? But after all, what does it matter? —

Whether I was lowered into the hold or not, I am.
certainly upon something that is floating and moving.

No doubt I shall soon be let out, together with
Thomas Roch, supposing them to have locked him up
as carefully as they have me. By being let out, Imean
being accorded permission to go on deck. It will not

FACING THE FLAG,

be for sothe hours to. come, however, that is certain, —

for they won’t want us to be seen, so that there is ne

chance of getting a whiff of fresh air till we are well
out at sea, If it ‘s a sailing vessel, she must have
waited for a breeze—for the breeze that freshens off
shore at daybreak, and is favorable to ships navigating
Pamlico Sound.

It certainly cannot be a steamer. I could not have
failed to smell the oil and other odors of the engine-room,
And then I should feel the trembling of the machinery,
the jerks of the pistons, and the movements of the

screws or paddles. .

The best thing to do is to wait patiently. Ishan’t be
taken out of this hole until to-morrow, anyway. More-
over, if 1 am not released, somebody will surely bring
me something to eat. There is no reason to suppose
that they intend to starve metodeath. They wouldn’t
thavé taken the trouble to bring me aboard, but would
‘have dropped me to the bottom of the river had they
‘been desirous of getting rid of me. Once we are out at
sea, what will they have tofearfromme? No one could

hear my shouts. As to demanding an explanation and
making a fuss, it would be useless. Besides, what am
I to the men who have carried us off? A mere hos-

ital attendant—one Gaydon, who is of no consequence.
Tes Thomas Roch they were after. - I was taken along _
too because I happened to return to the pavilion at the
critical moment. .

At any rate, no matter what happens, no matter who _
our kidnappers may be, no matter where we are taken,
1 shall stick to this resolution: I will continue to play
my role ot warder. \No one, no! none, can suspect

tat Gaydon is Simon Hart, the engineer. There aig

 
 

 

wa: SSS
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FACING THE FLAG. z

two. advantages in this: in the first place, they will
take no notice of a poor devil of a warder, and in the

second, I may be able to solve the mystery surround- ©

ing this plot and turn my knowledge to profit, if I suc.
ceed in making my escape. :

But whither are my thoughts wandering? I must
perforce wait till we arrive at our destination before
thinking of escaping. It will be time enough to bother
about that when the occasion presents itself. Until
then the éssential is that thoy remain ignorant as to
my identity, and they cannot, and shall not, know who
Iam.

Tam now certain that we are going through the
water. But there is one thing that puzzles me. It is
fot a sailing vessel, neither can it be a steamer, Yet
it is incontestably propelled by some powerful machine,
There are none of the noises, nor is there the trem-
bling that accompanies the working of steam engines,
The movement of the vessel is more continuous and
regular, it is a sort of direct rotation that is commu.
nicated by the motor, whatever the latter may be,
No mistake is possible: the ship is propelled by some
special mechanism. But what is it?

Is it one of those turbines that have been spoken of
lately, which, fitted into asu bmerged tube, are destined
to replace the ordinary screw, it being claimed that

they utilize the resistance of the water better than the.

latter and give increased speed to a ship ?

In a few hours’ time I shall doubtless know all about
this means of locomotion.

Meanwhile there is another thing that equally
puzzles me. There is not the slightest rolling or pitch.

ing. How is it hat Pamlico Sound 18 s0 extraordi«

FACING THE FLAG. : 65

narily calm? The varying currents continuously ruffle
the surface of the Sound, even if nothing else does.
It is true the tide may be out, and I remember that
last night the wind. haa fallen altogether. Still, no
matter, the thing is inexplicable, for a ship propelled

by machinery, no matter at what speed she may be
Gong, always oscillates more or less, and I cannot per-
ceive the slightest rocking,

: Sx ghts.with which my mind is per-
sistently filled, Despite an almost overpowering
desire to sleep, despite the torpor that is coming upon
me in this suffocati I am resolved not

ake till daylight, and

ill it is let into my

utside, Perhaps even if the door

Were open it would not penctrate to this black hole,

and I shall probably not see it again until I am taken
on deck,

as my eyelids are
Olent in spite of myself, I get
up and wali about. Then I wax wrathful, anger fills

my soul, I beat upon the iron walls with my fists, and
shout for help. In vain! \ I hurt my hands against the
bolts of the plates, and no one answers my cries.

Such conduct, is unworthy of me, I flattered my-
self that I would remain calm under all circumstances,
and here I am acting like a child.

The absence of any rolling or lurching movement
at least proves that we are not yet at sea,

. crossing Pamlico Sound, may we not be going in the

opposite direction, up the River Neuse? No! What

ters they go further inland fort If Thomas Roch

 
FACING THE FLAG.

has been carried off from Healthful House, his captors
obviously mean to take him out of the United States
—probably to a distant island in the Atlantic, or to
some point on the European continent, It is, there-
fore, not up the Neuse that our maritime machine,
whatever it may be, is going, but across Pamlico
Sound, which must be as calm as a mirror,

Very well, then, when we get to seal shall soon
know, for the vessel will rock right enough in the
swell off shore, even though there be no wind,—unless
Tam aboard a battleship, or big cruiser, and this I
fancy can hardly be!

But hark! If I mistake not—no, it was not imag-
ination—I hear footsteps. Some one is approaching
the side of the compartment where the door is. One
of the crew no doubt. Are they going to let me out
at last? I can now hear voices. A conversation ig
going on outside the door, but it is carried on ina
language that I do not understand. Ishout to them—
I shout again, but no answer is vouchsafed.

There is nothing to do, then, but wait, wait, wait!
I keep repeating the word and it rings in my ears like
a bell.

Let me try to calculate how long I have been here,
The ship must have been under way for at least four
or five hours. I reckon it must be past midnight, but
I cannot tell, for unfortunately my watch is of no use
to me in this Cimmerian darkness.

Now, if we have been going for tive hours, we must
have cleared Pamlico Sound, whether we issued by
Ocracoke or Hatteras inlet, and must be off the coast
a good mile, at least. Yet I haven’é felt any motion
from the swell of the sea, .

I realize
Has she reached her

perfectly that she is
destination? In thig

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

that I breathe more easily, and that the air is no longer
poisoned by carbonic acid.

Was the air renewed while 1 slept? Has the door
been opened? Has anybody been in here?

Yes, here is the proof of it!

In feeiing about, my hand has come in contact with
a mug filled with a liquid that exhales an inviting
_ odor. I raise it to my lips, which are burning, for I
am suffering such an agony of thirst that 1 would even
drink brackish water.

It is ale—an ale of excellent quality—which refreshes
and comforts me, aud I drain the pint to the last
drop.

suppose ?
No, for in one of the corners I find a basket, and

this basket contains some bread and cold meat.

I fall to, eating greedily, and my strength little by
little returns.

Decidedly, Iam not so abandoned as I thought I
was. Some one entered this obscure hole, and the
open door admitted a little of the oxygen from the
outside, without which I should have been suffocated.
Then the wherewithal to quench my thirst and appease
the pangs of hunger was placed within my reach.

How much longer will this incarceration last? Days!
Months? I cannot estimate the hours that have elapsed
since I fell asleep, nor have I any idea as to what time
of the day or night it may be. -I was careful to wind
up my watcb, though, and perhaps by feeling the
hands——-._ Yes, I think the little hand marks eight
o’elock—in the morning, no doubt, , What I do know,

But if they have not condemned me to die of thirst,
neither have they condemned me to die of hunger, I

FACING THE FLAG.

however, is that the ship j . 3
ship is not : .
the slightest quiver, P is not in motion There is not

Hours and hours, Weary

Sid Ligonier whetter 1h’ interminable hours go by,

ey are again waiting till night

ew my stock of air and provisions.
are waiting to take advantage of my slum.
t this time I am resolved to resist. I will

be asleep—and I shail kn
ow hi
answer from whoever enters | Espo

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

CHAPTER VL

ON DEOK,

Herz I am in the open air, breathing freely once
more. I have at last been hauled out of that stifling
box and taken on deck, I gaze around me in every
direction and see no sign of land. On every hand is
that circular line which defines earth and sky. No,
there is not even a speck of land to be seen to the
west, where the coast of North America extends for
thousands of miles.

The setting sun now throws but slanting rays upon
the bosom of the ocean. It must be about six o’clock
in the evening. I take out my watch and it marks
thirteen minutes past six.

As I have already mentioned, [ waited for the door
of my prison to open, thoroughly resolved not to fall
asleep again, but to spring upon the first person who
entered and force him to answer my questions. I was
not aware then that it was day, but it was, and hour
after hour passed and no one came. I began to suffer
again from hunger and thirst, for I had not preserved
either bite or sup. —

As soon as lawokeI felt that the ship was in motion
again, after having, I calculated, remained stationary
since the previous day—no doubt in some lonely creek,
since I had not heard or felt her come to anchor.

FACING THE FLAG.

; A few minutes-ago—it must therefore have been six
° clock—I again heard footsteps on the other side of
the iron wall of my compartment. Was anybody
coming to my cell? Yes, for I heard the creaking of
the bolts as they were drawn back, and then the door
opened, and the darkness in which I had been plunged
Since the first hour of my captivity was illumined by
the light of a lantern.

Two men, whom I had no time to look at, entered
and seized me by the arms. A thick cloth was thrown

Over my head, which was enveloped in such a manner
that T could see absolutely nothing.

What did it all mean? What were they goi
with me? TI struggled, but they held - eee
grasp. I questioned them, but they made no reply.
The men spoke to each other in a language that I could
not understand, and had never heard before.

They stood upon no ceremony with me. It is true I
Was only a madhouse warder, and they probably did
not consider it necessary to do so; but I question very
much whether Simon Hart, the engineer, would have
received any more courtesy at their hands.

This time, however, no attempt was made to gag me
nor to bind either my arms or legs. I was simply re-
strained by main force from breaking away from them.

In a moment I was dragged out of the compartment
and pushed along a narrow passage. Next, the steps of
a metallic stairway resounded under our feet. Then
the fresh air bléw in my face and I inhaled it with
avidity.

Finally they took their hands from off me, and I
found myself free. I immediately tore the cloth off
my head and gazed about me, a

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

Tam on board a schooner which is ripping through
the water at a great rate and leaving a long white trail
behind her,

I had to clutch at one of tne stays for support,
dazzled as I was by the light after my forty-eight hours’
imprisonment in complete obscurity. Be

On the deck a dozen men with rough, weather-beaten
faces come and go—very dissimilar types of men, to
whom it would be impossible to attribute any particu.
lar nationality. They scarcely take any notice of me,

As to the schooner, I estimate that she registers from
two hundred and fifty to three hundred tons. She has
a fairly wide beam, her masts are strong and lofty, and
her large spread of canvas must carry her along at a
spanking rate ina good breeze. :

Aft, a grizzly-faced man is at the wheel, and he is
keeping her head to the sea that is running pretty high.

I try to find out the name of the vessel, but it is not
to be seen anywhere, even on the life-buoys.

IL walk up to one of the sailors and inquire:

“What is the name of this ship?”

No answer, and I faney the man does not under.
stand me.

“ Where is the captain?” I continue.

But the sailor pays no more heed to this than he did
to the previous question.

I turn on my heel and go forward.

Above the forward hatchway a bell is suspended.
Maybe the name of the schooner is engraved upon it.
{ examine it, but can find no name upon it.

I then return to the stern and address the man at
the wheel. He gazes at me sourly, shrugs his shoulders,
and bending, grasps the spokes of the wheel solidly,

FACING THE FLAG.

and brings the schooner, which had been headed off by
a huge wave from port, stem on to sea again,

Seeing that nothing is to be got from that quarter,
I turn away and look about to see if I can find Thomas
Roch, but 1 do not perceive him anywhere. Is he not
on board? He must be. They could have had no
reason for carrying me off alone. No one could have
had any idea that [ was Simon Hart, the engineer,
and even had they known it what interest could they
haye had in me, and what could they expect of me?

Therefore, as Roch is not on deck, I conclude that
he is locked in one of the cabins, and trust he has met

with better treatment than his ex-guardian,

But what is this—and how on earth could I have
failed to notice it before? How is this schooner
moving? Ler sails are furled—there is not an inch of
canvas set-—the wind has fallen, and the few puffs that
Occasionally come from the east are unfavorable, in
view of the fact that we are going in that very divec-
tion. And yet the schooner speeds through the sea,
her bows down, throwing off clouds of foam, and leav-
ing a long, milly, undulating trail in her wake.

Is she a steam-yacht? No—there is not a smoke-
stack about her. 1s she propelled by electricity—by a
battery of accumulators, or by piles of great power
that work her screw and send her a!ong at this rate?

T can come to no other cone!asion. In any case she
must be fitted with a screw, and by leaning over the
stern I shall beable to see it, and can find out what
Sets it working afterwards.

The man at the wheel watches me ironically as I
approach, but makes no effort to prevent me from

looking over.

 
FACING THE FLAG.

I gaze long and earnestly, but there is no foaming
and seething of the water such as is invariably caused
by the revolutions of the screw—naught but the long
white furrow that a sailing vessel leaves behind is dis-
cernible in the schooner’s wake.

Then, what kind of a machine is it that imparts such
a marvellous speed to the vessel? As I have already
said, the wind is against her, and there is a heavy
swell on.

I must—I will know. No one pays the slightest
attention, and I again go forward.

As I approach the forecastle I find myself face to
face with a man who is leaning nonchalantly on the
raised hatchway and who is watching me. He seems
to be waiting for me to speak to him.

I recognize him instantly. He is the person who
accompanied the Count d’Artigas during the latter's
visit to Healthful House. There can be no mistake—it
is he right enough.

It was, then, that rich foreigner who abducted
Thomas Roch, and I am on board the “dba, his
~ schooner-yacht which is so well known on the Ameri-

can coast !
The man before me will enlighten me about what I

want to know. I remember that he and the Count
spoke English together. :
I take him to be the captain of the schooner.
“Captain,” I say, “you are the person I saw at
Healthful House. You remember me, of course ?”
He looks me up and down but does not condescend
to reply. :
“T am Warder Gaydon, the attendant of Thomas
Roch,” I continue, “and I want to know why you

FACING THE FLAG.

have carried me off and placed me on board this
schooner ¢”

The captain interrupts me with a sign. It is not
made to me, however, but to some sailors standing near.

They catch me by the arms, and taking no notice of
the angry movement that I cannot restrain, bundle me
down the hatchway. The hatchway stair in reality, I
remark, is a perpendicular iron ladder, at the bottom

of which, to right and left, are some cabins, and for-
ward, the men’s quarters.

Are they going to put me back in my dark prison at
the bottom of the hold ?

No. They turn to the left and push me into a cabin.
It is lighted by a port-hole, which is open, and through
which the fresh air comes in gusts from the briny.
The furniture consists of a bunk, a chair, a-chest of
drawers, a wash-hand-stand and a table.

The latter is spread for dinner, and I sit down.
Then the cook’s mate comes in with two or three
dishes. He is a colored lad, and as he is about to with-
draw, I try to question him, but he, too, vouchsafes no
reply. Perhaps he doesn’t understand me.

The door is closed, and I fall to and eat with an ex-
cellent appetite, with the intention of putting off all
further questioning till some future oceasion when I
shall stand a chance of getting answered.

It is true I am a prisoner, but this time I am com-
fortable enough, and I hope I shall be permitted to
occupy this cabin for the remainder of the voyage,
and not be lowered into that black hole again.

Tnow give myself up to my thoughts, the first of
which is that it was the Count d’Artigas who planned
the abduction; that it was he who is responsible fos

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

the kidnapping of Thomas Roch, and that consequently
the French inventor must be just as comfortably in-
stalled somewhere on board the schooner.

But who is this Count d’Artigas? Where dess he
hail from? If he has seized Thomas Roch, is it not
because he is determined to secure the secret of the
fulgurator at no matter what cost? Very likely, and
I must therefore be careful not to betray my identity,
for if they knew the truth, I should never be afforded
a chance to get away.

But what a lot of mysteries to clear up, how many
inexplicable things to explain—the origin of this
d’Artigas, his intentions as to the future, whither we
are bound, the port to which the schooner belongs, and
this mysterious progress through the water without
sails and without screws, at a speed of at least ten
krots an hour!

The air becoming keener as night deepens, I close
_and secure the port-hole, and as my cabin is bolted on
the outside, the best thing I can do is to get into my
bunk and let myself be gently rocked to sleep by the
broad Atlantic in this mysterious cradle, the Zbba.

The next morning I rise at daybreak, aud having
performed my ablutions, dress myself and wait.

Presently the idea of trying the door occurs to me.
I find that it has been unbolted, and pushing it open,
climb the iron ladder and emerge on deck.

The crew are washing down the deck, and standing-

aft and conversing are two men, one of whom is the
captain. The latter msnifests no surprise at secing me,
and indicates my presence to his companion by a nod.

This other man, whom 1 have never before seen, is

FACING THE FLAG.

an individual of about fifty years of age, whose dark
hair is streaked with gray. His features are delicatelw
chiselled, his eyes are bright, and his expression is in-
telligent and not at all displeasing. He is somewhat
of the Grecian type, and I have no doubt that he is of
Hellenic origin when I hear him called Serko—Enginees
Serko—poy the Captain cf the £0ba,

As to the latter, he is valled Spade—Captain Spade
—and this name has an Italian twang about it. Thus
there is a Greek, an Italian, and a-crew recruited from
every corner of the earth to man a schooner with a
Norwegian name! This mixture strikes me as being
suspicious.

And that Count d’Artigas, with his Spanish name
and Asiatic type, where does he come from?

Captain Spade and Engineer Serko continue to con-
verso in alow tone of voice. The former is keeping
a sharp eye on the man at the wheel, who does not ap-
pear to pay any particular attention to the compass Mm

front of him. He seems to pay more heed to the gest-
ures of one of the sailors stationed forward, and who

signals to him to put the helm to port or to starboard.

Thomas Roch is near them, gazing yacantly out upom
the vast expanse which is not limited on the horizon by
a single speck of land. Two sailors watch his every
movement. It is evidently feared that the madman

may possibly attempt to jump overboard.
I wonder whether 1 shall be permitted to commun

cate with my ward.
I walk towards him, and Captain Spade and Engineer

Serko watch me. ‘
Thomas Roch doesn’t see me coming, and I stand

beside him. Still he takes no notice of me, and makes

 
FACING THE FLAG.

no movement, His eyes, which sparkle brightly,
wander over the dcean, and he draws in deep breaths
of the salt, vivifying atmosphere. Added to the air
surcharged with oxygen is a magnificent sunsct ina
cloudless sky. Does he perceive the chanze in hig
situation? Has he already forgotten about [Tealthful

~ were a steamer, the funnel ough

*

Smee rapa

. Thenhe —

We | the furled sai
fle gazes at the masts and the Re

: lace where
turns back and stops at the p Pte - pean ga

this case ought to be belching forth a cloud of black

smoke.
~ What appeared so strange to me
Thomas Roch as being strange, too.

evidently strikes
He cannot ex-

and, as did, he walks

plain what I found inexplicable,

, aft to see if there is a screw. . : os
ere _ On the flanks of the Ehba a shoal of porpoises ars ee
est i clporsiile. Swift as‘is the schooner’s course they easily a
pass her, leaping and gambolling in their native element ae
~ with surprising grace and agility.
Thotias Roch pays no attention to them, but leans ,
over the stern. ee
Encineer Serko and Captain Spade, fearful lest he — ~
5

should fall overboard, hurry to him and drag him — et
ently, but firmly, away. a 2
: I Sean from long experience that Roch is a prey A
to violent excitement. He turns about and gesticulates, :
ing i vhile. ‘¢
ttering incoherent phrases the whi es eS.
‘ Tt is plain to me that another fit iscoming on, similar _ :
to the one he had in the. pavilion of Healthful ae |
on the night we were abducted. He will have to be ~
seized and carried down to his cabin, and I shall per
him. 3
haps be summoned to attend to 5
Meanwhile Engineer Serko and Captain Spade ses %
not lose sight of him for a moment. They are ev

i ill do. ‘
dently curious to see what he w : 3 a
on walking towards the mainmast and assuring |

i i ot set, he goes up to it and
himself that the sails are 0 = ae St icigesl

ingi i ound it, tri
flinging his arms ar re oat eek

House, the pavilion in which he was a prisoner, and”
Gaydon, his keeper? It is highly probable. The past
has presumably been effaced from his memory and he
lives solely in the present.

In my opinion, even on the deck of the Lbba, in the
middle of the sea, Thomas Roch js still the helpless,
irresponsible man whom I tended for fifteen months,
His intellectual condition has undergone no change,

and his reason will return only when he is spoken to
_ about hisinventions. The Count d’ Artigas is perfectly
_ aware of this mental disposition, having had a proof
of it during his visit, and he evidently relies thereon to
surprise sooner or later the inventor’s secret, But with
what object ? é

“Thomas Roch!” I exclaim, ;

_ My voice seems to strike him, and after gazing at

me fixedly for an instant he averts his eyes quickly.

I take his hand and press it. He withdraws it

_ brusquely and walks away, without having recognized

me, in the direction of Captain Spade and Engineer
Serko,

- Does he think of speaking to one or other of these
‘men, and if they speak to him will he be more reason.
__ able than he was with me, and reply to them ?

At this moment his physiognomy lights up with a
- gleam of intelligence. His attention, obviously, hag
been attracted by the queer progress of the schooner. —

>

shake it, as though seeking

 
80 FACING THE FLAG, —

Finding his efforts futile, he quits it and goes to the
foremast, where the same performance is gone through, ©

He waxes. more and more excited. His vague utter.
ances are followed by inarticulate cries,
Suddenly he rushes to the port stays and clings to

them, and I begin to fear that he will leap into the |

rigging and climb to the cross-tree, where he might be
precipitated’ into the sea by a lurch of the ship,

On a sign from Captain Spade, some sailors run up
and try to make him relinquish his grasp of the stays,
but are unabie to do so. I know that during his fits
he is endowed with the strength of ten men, and many
_ a time I have been compelled to summon assistance in
order to overpower him,

Other members of the crew, however, come up, and

_ the unhappy madman is borne to the deck, where two

big sailors hold him down, despite his extraordinary
strength.
The only thing to do is to éonvey him to his cabin,

and let him lie there till he gets over his fit. This ig .

what will be done in conformity with orders given by
4 new-comer whose voice seems familiar to me,

I turn and recognize him.

He is the Count d’Artigas, with a frown on his face
and an.imperious manner, just as I had seen him at
Healthful House.

Tat once advance toward him. I want an explana-
tion and mean to have it.

“ By what right, sir ?”—I begin.

“ By the right of might,” replies the Count,

Then he turns on his heel, and Thomas Roch is
tarried below.

a

_ FACING THE FLAG.

CHAPTER VIL

TWO DAYS AT 8EA,

Prruars—should circumstances render it nece

a may be induced to tell the Count d’ Artigas that I

am Simon Hart, the engineer. Who knows but what
I may receive more consideration than if I remain
Warder Gaydon? This measure, however, demands
reflection. I have always been dominated by the
thought that if the owner of the Libba kidnapped the
French inventor, it was in the hope of getting posses-
sion of Roch’s fulgurator, for which neither the old nor
new continent would pay the impossible price de-
manded. In that case the bes thing I can do is to

gly.
Meanwhile, where is the Z0da bound ?—first question,
Who and what is the Count @ Artigas !—second
question.
The first will be answered in a few days’ time, no
doubt, in view of the rapidity with which we are rip-

Ping through the water, under the action of a means

of Propulsion that I shall end by finding out all about.

 
FACING THE FLAG.

As regards the second, I am by no means so sure that
my curiosity will ever be gratified.

In my opinion this enigmatical personage has an all
important reason for hiding his origin, and I am afraid
there is no indication by which I can gauge his na-
tionality. If the Count d’Artigas’ speaks English
fluently—and I was able to assure myself of that fact
during his visit to Pavilion No. 17,—he pronounces it
with a harsh, vibrating accent, which is not to be found
among the peoples of northern latitudes. I do not re-
member ever to have heard anything’ like it in the
course of my travels either in the Old or New World—
unless it be the harshness characteristic of the idioms in
use among the Malays. And, in truth, with his olive,
verging on copper-tinted skin, his jet-black, crinkly
hair, his piercing, deep-set, restless eyes, his square
shoulders and marked muscular development, it is by
no means unlikely that he belongs to one of the ex-
treme Eastern races.

I believe this name of d’Artigas is an assumed one,
and his title of Count likewise. If his schooner bears
a Norwegian name, he at any rate is not of Scandina-
vian origin. He has nothing of the races of Northern
Europe about him.

But whoever and whatever he may be, this man ab-
ducted Thomas Roch—and me with him—with no good
intention, I'll be bound.

But what I should like to know is, has he acted as
the agent of a foreign power, or on lis own account?
Does he wish to profit alone by Thomas Roch’s in-
vention, and is he ia the position to dispose of it
profitably? That is another question that I eannot
yet answer. Maybe I shall be able to find out from

FACING THE FLAG. 88

what I hear and see ere 1 make
be possible.

The £bba continues on her way in the same mysteri-
ous manner. Iam free to walk about the deck. with-
out, however, being able to go beyond the fore hateb.
ey. ea I attempted to go as far as the bows
see © 1 could, by leaning over, perceive the schooner’s

as it cut through the water, but acting, it was

‘plain, apie received, the watch on deck turned me
vane anc one of them, addressing me brusquely i

cig grating English, said: eit

Go back! Go back !
working of the ship!”

With the worki ‘
working, ing of the ship! There was no

Ss vega cane that I was trying to discover by
ans the schooner was propelled? Very li
kel.
and Captain Spade, who had looked on, mae lee

known it, too, Ey i
L + diven a hospital attendant coul
fail to be astonished at the fact that a ba ers 5

Bikes : :
ther screw or sails was going along at such a speed

Tlow i
wever this may /be, for some reason or other the

bows of the Z%a are barred to me.
Tow

my escape, if escape

You are interfering with the

ard ten o’clock a breeze spri
A prings up—a_ north-
west wind and very favorable—and Captain Spade

gives an order to the boatswain. Th
; ‘ e latter im-
mediately pipes all hands on deck, and the mainsail,

sae co staysail and jibs are hoisted. The work
ae tO haye been executed with greater regularit
and discipline on board a man-of-war. y

The Zbba now has a slight li
ght list to port, and he
Speed is notably increased. But the motor saueicaee

hpi) ho

to push her along, as is evident from the fact that the

 
TA Ls

> ts SP LAA aie a DNS Za ea See a

84 FACING THE FLAG.

e

sails are not always as full as they ought to be if the
schooner were bowling along solely under their action,
However, they continue to render yeoman’s service,
for the breeze has set in steadily. ‘

The sky is clear, for the clouds in the west disappear
as soon as they attain the horizon, and the sunlight
dances on the water.

My preoccupation now is to find out as near as pos

sible where we are bound for. I am a good-enough ©

sailor to be able to estimate the approximate speed of
aship. In my opinion the £d)a has been travelling at
the rate of from ten to eleven knots an hour, As to
the direction we have been going in, it is always the
same, and I have been able to verify this by casual
glance the binnacle. If the fore part of the vessel
is barreq@ to Warder Gaydon he has been allowed a
free run of the remainder of it. Time and again I

have glanced at the compass, and noticed that the ©
needle invariably pointed to the east, or to be exact,

east-southeast. ;
‘These are the conditions in which we are navigating
this part of the Atlantic Ocean, which is bounded on

the west by the coast of the United States of America,

lappeal to. my memory. What are the islands or
groups of islands to be found in the direction we are
going, ere the continent of the Old World is reached ?

North Carolina, which theschooner quitted forty-eight

hours ago, is traversed by the thirty-fifth parallel of
latitude, and this parallel, extending eastward, must, if
I mistake ~ot, cut the African coast at Morocco, But
along the ime, about three thousand miles from Amer-
ica, are the Azores. Is it presumable that the Zdbe is

heading for this archipelago, that the port to which she

iv

FACING THE FLAG. 85

belongs is somewhere in these islands which constitute
one of Portugal’s insular domains? I cannot admit
such an hypothesis.

Besides, before the Azores, on the line of the thirty-
fifth parallel, is the Bermuda group, which belongs to
England. It seems to me to be a good deal less hy-
pothetical that, if the Count d’Artigas was entrusted
with the abduction of Thomas Roch by a European

Power at all, it was by the United Kingdom of Great
_ Britainand Ireland. The possibility, however, remains

that he may be acting solely in his own interest.

Three or four times during the day Count d’Artigas
has come aft and remained for some time scanning the
surrounding horizon attentively. When a sail or the
smoke from a steamer heaves in sight he examines the
passing vessel for a considerable time with a powerful
telescope. 1 may add that he has not once conde-
scended to notice my presence on deck.

Now and then Captain Spade joins him and both ex-
change a few words in a language that I can neither
understand nor recognize.

It is with Engineer Serko, however, that the owner
of the “dba converses more readily than with*anybody
else, and the latter appears to be very intimate with .
him. The engineer is a good deal more free, more
loquacious and less surly than his companions, and I
wonder what position he occupies on the schooner. Is
he a personal friend of the Count d’Artigas? Does he
scour the seas with him, sharing the enviable life en-
joyed by the rich yachtsman? He is the only man of |
the lot who seems to manifest, if not sympathy with,
at least some interest in me.

I have not seen Thomas Roch all day. He must be

 
Gs Ri a ae BO ech ea

ent Rn erate

A
|
|
a
;
'
{

FACING THE FLAG,

shut in his cabin, still under the influence of the fit that
came upon him last-night.
I feel certain that this is 80, when about three o’clock

in the afternoon, just as he is about to go below, the

Count beckons me to approach.

I do not know what he wishes to say to me, this
Count d’Artigas, but I do know what I will say to him.

“ Do these fits to which Thomas Roch is subject last
long?” he asks me in English.

“Sometimes forty-eight hours,” I reply,

“ What is to be done?”

“ Nothing at all. Let him alone until he falls asleep.

After a night’s sleep the fit will be over and Thomas —

Roch will be his own helpless self again.”

Very well, Warder Gaydon, you will continue to
attend him as you did at Healthful House, if it be

necessary.”
“To attend to him!”

“ Yes—on board the schooner—pending our arrival.”

«Where ¢”
“ Where we shall be to-morrow afternoon,” replies

‘the Count.

To-morrow, [ say to myself. Then we are not bound
for the coast of Africa, nor eyen the Azores.” There
only remains the hypothesis that we are making for
the Bermudas. 3

Count: d’ Artigas is about to go down the hatchway
when I interrogate him in my turn:

- “Sir,” I exclaim, “I desire to know, I have the right

to know, where I am going, and——”

“Here, Warder Gaydon,” he interrupted, “you have »

no rights. All you have fo do is to : SRSWOF when you
= pte spoken to.”

FACING THE FLAG.

ba sick is

“Protest, then,” replies this haughty and ie big
personage, glancing at me menacingly. <

Then he disappears down the hatchway, leaving me
face to face with Engineer Serko. P

“Tf I were you, Warder Gaydon,I would resign my-
self to the inevitable,” remarks the latter with a smile. —
“When one is caught in a trap——” ;

“One can cry out, I suppose ¢” :
« What is the use when no one is near to hear yout” 3

“Thal be heard some day, sir.”

“Some day—that’s a long way off. However, shout
as much as you please.”

And with this ironical advice, Engineer Serko leaves
me to my own reflections.

Towards four o’clock a big ship is reported about six”
miles off to the east, coming in our direction. ~ She is —
moving rapidly and grows perceptibly larger. Black
clouds of smoke pour out-of her two funnels. _ She isa -
warship, for a narrow pennant floats from her main-
mast, and though she is not flying any flag I take her
to be an American cruiser.

I wonder whether the Hba will render her the cus
tomary salute as she passes.

No; for the schooner suddenly changes her course.
with ‘he evident intention of avoiding her.

This proceeding on the part of such a suspicious’
yacht does not astonish me greatly. But what does
cause me extreme surprise is Captain Spade’s way of
manceuvring.

He runs forward to a signalling apparatus in the
bows, similar to that by which orders are transmitted

to the engine room of asteamer. As soon as he presses

 
FACING THE FLAG.

one of the buttons of this apparatus the Edsa veers off
a@ point to the south-west.

Evidently an order of “some kind” has been trans:
mitted to the driver of the machine of “some kind”
which causes this inexplicable movement of the schooner
by the action of a motor of “some kind” the principle
of which [ cannot guess at.

The result of this manceuvre is that the Ebba slants
away from the cruiser, whose course does not vary.
Why should this warship cause a pleasure-yacht to turn
out of its way? I have no idea.

But the “tba behaves in a very different manner
when about six o’clock in the evening a second ship
comes in sight on the port bow. This time, instead of
seeking to avoid her, Captain Spade signals an order
by means of the apparatus above referred to, and re-
sumes his course to the east—which will bring him
close to the said ship.

An hour later, the two vessels are only about four
miles from each other,

The wind has dropped completely. The strange
ship, which is a threc-masted merchantman, is taking
in her top-gallant sails. It is useless to expect the wind
to spring up again during the night, and she will lay
becalmed till morning. The £bba, however, propelled
by her mysterious motor, continues to approach her,

It goes without saying, that Captain Spade has also
begun to take in sail, and the work, under the direction’
of the boatswain Effrondat, is executed with the same
precision and promptness that struck me before.

_ When the twilight deepens into darkness, only a mile
and a half separates the vessels.

Captain Spade then comes up to me—I am standing

FACING THE FLAG.

- on the starboard side—and uncerémoniously orders me

to go below.
L can but obey. I remark, however, ere | go, that

the boatswain has not lighted the head-lamps, whereas
the lamps of the three-master shine brightly—green to

starboagd, and red to port. _ ;
I entertain no doubt that the schooner intends to

pass her without being seen; for though she has
slackened speed somewhat, her direction has not been
in any way modified. Se.

ITenter my cabin under the impression of a vague

_ foreboding. My supper is on the table, but uneasy, 1
know not why, I hardly touch it, and lie down to wait

for sleep that does not come.

I remain in this condition for two hours. The
silence is unbroken save by the water that ripples along
the vessel’s sides.

My mind is full of the events of the past two days, and
other thoughts crowd thickly upon me. ‘fo-morrow
afternoon we shall reach our destination. ‘To-morrow,
I shall resume, on land, my attendance upon Thomas
Roch, “ if it be necessary,” said the Count d’ Artigas. —

If, when I was thrown into that black hole at the
pottom of the hold, | was able to perceive when the
schooner started off across Pamlico Sound, 1 now feel
that she has come to a stop. It must be about ten
o’clock.

Why has she stopped? When Captain Spade ordered
me below, there was no land in sight. ‘in this direction,
there is no island until the Bermuda group is reached—at
least there is none on the map—and we shall have to
‘go another fifty or sixty miles before the Bermudas

can be sighted by the lookout men.

 
ek SL, se

FACING THE FLAG.

_ Not only has the /ba stopped, but her immobility
ea almost complete. There is not a breath of wind,

and scarcely any swell, and her slight; regular rocking

is hardly perceptible.
Then my thoughts turn to the merchantman, which

was only a mile and a half off, on our bow, when I
“game below. If the schooner continued her course

towards her, she must be almost alongside now-

We certainly cannot be lying more than one or
two cables’ length from her. The three-master,

which was becalmed at sundown, could not have

gone west. She must be close by, and if the night is.

clear, I shall be able to see her through the port-

hole.

It occurs to me, that perhaps a chance of escape pre-
sents itself. Why should I not attempt it, since no
hope of being restored to liberty is held out to me?
It is true [ cannot swim, but if I seize a life buoy and
jump overboard, I may be able to reach the ship, if I

. am not observed by the watch on deck.

I must quit my cabin and go up by the forward
hatchway. I listen. I hear no noise, either in the
men’s quarters, or on deck. The sailors must all be
asleep at this hour. Here goes.

‘I try to open the door, and find it is bolted on the
outside, as | might have expected.

I must give up the attempt, which, after all, had

-small chance of success.

The best thing I can do, is to go to sleep, for I am

weary of mind, if not of body. I am restless and.
‘racked by conflicting thoughts, and apprehensions of I

know not what. Oh! if I could but sink into the
blessed oblivion of slumber !

"PACING THE FLAG,

I must have managed to fall asleep, for I have just

~ been awakened by a noise—an unusual noise, such as I>

have not hitherto heard on board the schooner.
Day begins to peer through the glass of my port-
hole, which is turned towards the east. I look at my

watch. — It is half-past four.

The first thing I wonder is, whether the Z2ba has
resumed her voyage.

No, I am certainshe has not, either by sail, or by
her motor. The sea is as calm at sunrise as it-was at —

~ sunset. If the “ba has been going ahead while I ae
she is at any rate, stationary now.

_— The noise to which I referred, is caused by men

hurrying to and fro on deck—by men heavily laden.
I fancy I can also hear a similar noise in the hold be.

neath my cabin floor, the entrance to which is situated

abaft the foremast. I also feel that something is scrap- ae

ing against the schooner’s hull. Have boats come
alongside? Are the crew engaged in loading or un-
loading merchandise ?

And yet we cannot possibly have reached our jour-
ney’s end. The Count d’Artigas said that we should
not reach our destination till this afternoon. Now, I
repeat, she was, last night, fully fifty or sixty miles
from the nearest land, the group of the Bermudas,
That she could have returned westward, and can be in.
proximity to the American coast, is inadmissible, in
view of the distance. Moreover, I have reason to be-
lieve that the Zbba has remained stationary all night.
Before I fell asleep, I know she had stopped, and I now
know that she is not moving.

However, I shall see when I am. allowed to go on
deck. My cabin door is still bolted, I find on trying it; —

»

gow east Fs
oust Fis Ne
(oS ee a

 
i
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a
ie

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Nea feb

FACING THE FLAG.

but Ido not think they are likely to keep me here

when broad daylight is on.

An hour goes by, and it gradually gets lighter. I look

out of my porthole. The ocean is covered by a mist,

which the first rays of the sun will speedily disperse.
I can, however, see for a half a mile, and if the three.

masted merchantman is not visible, it is probably be-

cause she is lying off the other, or port, side of the

Ebba. s

Presently I hear a key turned in my door, and the
bolts drawn. I push the door open and clamber up the
iron ladder to the deck, just as the men are battening
down the cover of the hold.

I look for the Count d’Artigas, but do not see him
He has not yet left his cabin. ;

Aft, Captain Spade and Engineer Serko are superin.
tending the stowing of some bales, which have doubt

less been hoisted from the hold. This explains the
noisy operations that were going on when I was

awakened, Obviously, if the crew are getting out the
cargo, we are approaching the end of our voyage.
We are not far from port, and perhaps in a few hours,
the schooner will drop anchor,

But what about the sailing ship that was to port of
us? She ought to be in the same place, seeing that

_ there has been and is no wind.

I look for her, but she is nowhere to beseen. There
is not a sail, not a speck on the horizon either east,
west, north or south. F

After cogitating upon the circumstance Ican only
_ arrive at the following conclusion, which, however, can
only be accepted under reserve: Although I did not
notice it, the 4ba resumed her voyage while I slept,

mA

‘pacive THE Pag 98
leaving the three-master becalmed behind her, and this

is why the merchantman is no longer visible.

‘Tam careful not to question Captain Spade about it,
nor even Engineer Serko, as I should certainly receive
no answer.

Besides, at this moment Captain Spade goes to the
signalling apparatus and presses one of the buttons on
the upper disk. Almost immediately the dda gives
a jerk, then with her sails still furled, she starts off
eastward again. |

Two hours later the Count d’ Artigas comesup through
the main hatchway and takes his customar J place aft,
Serko and Captain Spade at once approach and engage
in conversation with him.

All three raise their telescopes and sweep the horizon
from southeast to northeast.

No one will be surprised to learn that I gaze intently
in the same direction ; but having no telescope I can-
not distinguish anything. ‘

The midday meal over we all return on deck—all
with the exception of Thomas Roch, who has not quitted
his cabin.

Towards one o’clock land is sighted by the lookout
man on the foretop cross-tree. Inasmuch as the Zbbda
is bowling along at great speed I shall soon be able te
make out the coast line. 2

In effect, two hours later a vague semicircular line
that curves outward is discernible about eight miles off.
As the schooner approaches it becomes more distinct.
It is a mountain, or at all events very high ground, and
from its summit a ctoud of smoke ascends.

What! A volcano in these parts? It must then
be——

f,

 
FACING THE FLAG,

CHAPTER VIL
. BACK OUP,

In my opinion the #dba could have struck no other
group of islands but the Bermudas in this part of the
Atlantic. This is clear from the distance covered from
the American coast and the direction sailed in since we
issued from Pamlico Sound. This direction has con-
stantly been south-southeast, and the distance, judging
from the /bba’s rate, of speed, which has scarcely
varied, is approximately seven hundred and fifty miles,

Still, the schooner does not slacken speed. The
Count @’Artigas and Engineer Serko remain aft, -by
the man at the wheel. Captain Spade has gone for-
ward,

Are we not going to leaye this island, which appears
to be isolated, to the west ?

It does not seem likely, since it is still broad daylight,
and the hour at which the Z#'lba was timed to arrive.

All the sailors are drawn up on deck, awaiting
orders, and Boatswain Effrondat is making preparations
to anchor.

Ere a couple of hours have passed I shall know all
about it. It will be the first answer to one of the
many quéstions that have perplexed me since the
schooner put to sea.

FACING THE FLAG.

And yet it is most unlikely that the port to which
the Hbba belongs is situated on one of the Bermuda
islands, in the middle eof an English archipelago-—unless
the Count d’Artigas has kidnapped Thomas Roeh for
the British government, which I cannot believe.

I become aware that this extraordinary man is gaz
ing at me with singular persistence: Although he can
have no suspicion that Tam Simon Hart, the "onginesr,
he must be asking himself what I think of this adven-
ture. If Warder Gaydon is but a poor devil, this poor
devil will manifest as much unconcern as to what is in
Store for him as any gentleman could—even though he
were the proprietor of this queer pleasure yacht. Still
Tam a little uneasy under his gaze.

I dare say that if the Count d’Artigas could guess
how certain things have suddenly become clear to me,
he would not hesitate to have me thrown overboard,

Prudence therefore cOmmands me to be more circum
spect than ever.

Without giving rise to any suspicion—even in the
mind of Engineer Serko—I have succeeded in raising
a corner of the mysterious veil, and I begin to see ahead
a bit.

As the £bba draws nearer, the island, or rather islet,
towards which she is speeding shows more sharply
against the blue background of the sky: The sun
Which has passed the zenith, shines full upon the
western side. The islet is seolatedl, or at any rate I
cannot see any others of the group to which it pie.

either to north or south.
This islet, of curious contexture, resembles as near

as possible a cup turned upside down, from which a
fuliginous vapor arises. Its summit—the bottom of

 
: :

4 Fhe Sy ne eee
| anni ee
i >a
i

~

FACING THE FLAG.

the cup, if you like—is about three hundred feet above
the level of the sea, and its flanks, which are steep
and regular, are as bare as the sea-washed rocks at its
base.

There is another peculiarity about it which must ren-
der the islet easily recognizable by mariners approach-
ing it from the west, and this is a rock which forms
a natural arch at the base of the mountain—the handle
of the cup, so to speak—and through which the waves
wash as freely as the sunshine passes. Seen this way
the islet fully justifies the name of Back Cup given
to it

Well, I know and recognize this islet! It is situated
at the extremity of the archipelago of the Bermudas.
It is the “reversed cup” that I had occasion to visit a
few yearsago—No, lam not mistaken. 1 then climbed
over the calcareous and crooked rocks at its base on the
east side. Yes, it is Back Cup, sure enough!

‘Had I been less self-possessed I might have uttered —

an exclamation of surprise—and satisfaction—which,
with good reason, would have excited the attention and
suspicion of the Count d’ Artigas,

These are the circumstances under which I came to

explore Back Cup while on a visit to Bermuda,

This archipelago, which is situated about seven hun-
dred and fifty miles from North Carolina is composed
of several hundred islands or islets. Its centre is crossed
by the sixty-fourth” meridian and the thirty-second
parallel. Since the Englishman Lomer was ship-
wrecked and cast up there in 1609, the Bermudas have
belonged to the United Kingdom, and in consequence
the colonial population has increased to ten thousand
inhabitants. It was not for its productions of cotton,

; ~ : ens
FACING THE FLAG.

- Coffee, indigo, and arrowroot that England annexed

ized it, one might say; but because it
iti tion in that part of the

th > and Bermuda is
now administered by a British governor with the

addition of a council and a General Assembly.
pelago are called

is also the capital of the group.

The largest of these isles is not more than seventeen
miles long and five wide, Leaving out the medium-
sized ones, there remains but an agglomeration of islets
and reefs scattered over an area of twelve square ~
leagues, :

Althongh the climate of Bermuda is very healthy,
very salubrious, the isles are nevertheless frightfully

- beaten by the heavy winter tempests of the Atlantic,
Ae and their approach by navigators presents certain diffi-

: What the archipélago especially lacks are rivers and
tlos. However, as abundant rains fall frequently, this
drawback is got over by the inhabitants, who treasure

_ up the heaven-sent water for household and agricult-

ural purposes. This has necessitated the construction of
vast cisterns which the downfalls keep filled. These
works of engineering skill justly merit. the admira-
tion they receive and do honor to the genius of man.
It was in connection with the setting up of these

cisterns that 1 made the trip, as well as out of curiosity
to 6 ee the fine works.

 
 

FACING THE FLAG,

I obtained from the company of which I was the
engineer in New Jersey a vacation of several weeks,
and embarked at New York for the Bermudas.

While I was staying on tlamilton Island, in the vast

port ot Southampton, an event occurred of great in-—

terest to geologists.

One day a whole flotilla of fishers, men, women and
children, entered Southampton Harbor. For fifty
years these families had lived on the east coast of
Back Cup, where they had erected log-cabins and
houses of stone. ‘Their position for carrying on their
industry was an exceptionally favorable one, for the
waters teem with fish all the year round, and in March
and April whales abound,

Nothing had hitherto occurred to disturb their tran-
quil existence. They were quite contented with their
rough lot, which was rendered less onerous by the
facility of communication with Hamilton and St.
George. Their solid barks took cargoes of fish there,
which they exchanged for the necessities of life. d

Why had they thus abandoned the islet with the
intention, as it pretty soon appeared, of never returning
to it? The reason turned out to be that they no longer
considered themselves in safety there.

A couple of months previously they had been at first
surprised, then alarmed, by several distinct detona-
tions that appeared to have taken place in the interior
of the mountain. At the same time smoke and flames
issued from the summit—or the bottom of the reversed
cup, if you like. Now no one had ever suspected that
the islet was of volcanic origin, or that there was a
crater at the top, no one having been able to climb. its

sides. Now, however, there could be no possible doubt .

_ FACING THE FLAG. 99

that the mountain Was an ancient volcano that had
suddenly become active again and threatened the
village with destruction.

During thé ensuing twé months internal rumblings
and explosions continued to be heard, which were ac-
companied by bursts of flame from the top—especially
at night. The island was shaken by the explosions—
the shocks could be distinctly felt. All these phe-
nomena were indicative of an imminent eruption, and

~ there was no spot at the base of the mountain that

could afford any protection from the rivers of lava that
would inevitably pour down its smooth, steep slopes and
overwhelm the village in their boiling flood. Besides,
the very mountain might be destroyed in the eruption.

There was nothing for the population exposed to
such a dire catastrophe to do but leave. This they
did. Their humble Lares and Penates, in fact all their
belongings, were loaded into the fishing-smacks, and
pe entire colony sought refuge in Southhampton Har.

The news that a volcano, that had presumably been
smouldering for centuries at the western extremity of
the group, showed signs of breaking out again, caused a —
sensation throughout the Bermudas. But while some
were terrified, the curiosity of others was aroused, mine
included. The phenomenon was worth investigation,
even if the simple fisher-folk had exaggerated.

Back Cup, which, as already stated, lies at the west-
ern extremity of the archipelago, is connected there-
with by a chain of small islets and reefs, which cannot
be approached from the east. Being only three hun-
dred feet in altitude, it cannot be seen either from St,
George or Hamilton.

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

+

T joined a party of explorers and we embarked in a
eutter tut landed us on the island, and made our

way to the abandoned village of the Bermudan fishers.

The internal crackings and. detonations could: be
plainly heard, and a sheaf of smoke was swayed by the
wind at the summit.

Beyond a peradventure the ancient volcano had been
started again by the subterranean fire, and an eruption
at any moment was to be apprehended.

Tn vain we attempted to climb to the mouth of the
crater. The mountain sheered down at an angle of
from seventy-five to eighty degrees, and its smooth,
slippery sides afforded absolutely no foothold. Any-
thing more barren than this rocky freak of nature it
would be difficult to conceive. Only a few tufts of
wild herbs were to be seen upon the whole island, and
these seemed to have no raison @étre. é

Our explorations were therefore nevessarily limited,
and in view of the active symptoms of danger that
manifested themselves, we could but approve the action
of the villagers in abandoning the place; for we enter-
tained no doubt that its destruction was imminent.

These were the circumstances in which I was led to
visit Back Cup, and no one will consequently be sur-
prised at the fact that I recognized it immediately we
hove in sight of the queer structure.

‘No, I repeat, the Count d’Artigas would probably
not be overpleased if he were aware that Warder Gay-
don is perfectly acquainted with this islet, even if the
£bba was to anchor there—which, as there is no port,
is, to say the least, extremely improbable. «

As we draw nearer, I attentively examine Back Cup.
Not one of its former inhabitants has been induced to

FACING THE FLAQ. 101

return, and, as it is absolutely deserted, I cannot
imagine why the schooner should visit the place.

Perhaps, however, the Count @ Artigas and his com.
panions have no intention of landing there. Even
though the dba should find temporary shelter be
tween the rocky sides of a narrow creek there is
nothing to give ground to the supposition that a
wealthy yachtsman would have the remotest idea of
fixing upon as his residence an arid cone exposed to all
the terrible tempests of the Western Atlantic, To live
here is all very well for rustic fishermen, but not for
the Count d’Artigas, Engineer Serko, Captain Spade
and his crew, — .

Back Cup is now only half a mile off, and the sea-
weed thrown up on its rocky base is plainly discernible,
The only living things upon it are the sea-gulls and
other birds that circle in clouds around the smoking
crater,

When she is only two cable’s lengths off, the schooner
slackens speed, and then stops at the entrance of a sort
of natural canal formed by a couple of reefs that barely
rise above the water,

I wonder whether the #'Ba will venture to try the
dangerous feat of passing through it. I do not think
so. She will probably lay where she is—though why
she should do so 1 do not know—for a few hours, and
then continue her voyage towards the east.

However this may be 1 see no preparations in prog.
ress for dropping anchor. The anchors are suspended
in their usual places, the cables have not b
and no motion has been’ made

 
es :

102. *

and Captain Spade go forward and perform some
manceuvre that is inexplicable to me.

I walk along the port side of the deck until Iam
near the foremast, and then I can see a small buoy
that the sailors are hoisting in. Almost immediately
the water, at the same spot becomes dark and I observe
a black mass rising to the surface. Is it a big whale

FACING THE FLAG,

rising for air, and is the Zda in danger of being shat-

tered by a blow from the monster’s tail ?

Now I understand! At last the mystery is solved.
I know what was the moto? that caused the schooner
to go at such an extraordinary speed without sails and
without a screw. Her indefatigable motor is emerging
from the sea, after having towed her from the coast of
America to the archipelago of the Bermudas. There
it is, floating alongside—a submersible boat, a sub-
marine tug, worked by a screw set in motion by the
current from a battery of accumulators or powerfal
electric piles.

On tne upper part of the long cigar-shaped iron tug
is a platform in the middle of which is the “lid” by
which an entrance is effected. In the fore part of the
platform projects a periscope, or lookout, formed by
port-holes or lenses through which an electric scarch-
light can throw its gleam for some distance under
water in front of and on each side of the tug. Now
relieved of its ballast of water the boat has risen to the
surface, Its lid will open and fresh air will penetrate
it to every part. In ah probability, if it remained sub-
merged during the day it rose at night and towed the
Fbba on the surface,

But if the mechanical power of the tug is produced
by electricity the latter must be furnished by some

_ FACING THE FLAG, 103

manufactory where it is stored, and the means of pro-
curing the batteries is not to be found on Back Cup, £
suppose.

And then, why does the £%da have recourse to this
submarine towing system? Why is she not provided
with her own means of propulsion, like other pleasure-
boats ¢

These are things, however, upon which I have at
present no leisure to ruminate,

The lid of the tug opens and several men issue on to
the platform. They are the crew of this submarine
boat, and Captain Spade has been able to communicate
with them and transmit his orders as to the direction
to be taken by means of electric signals connected with
the tug by a wire that passes along the stem of the
gchooner.

Engineer Serko approaches me and says, pointing to
the boat: =.
~“ Get in.”

“Get in!” 1 exclaim.

“ Yes, in the tug, and Jook sharp about it.”

As usual there is nothing for it but to obey. I

hasten to comply with the order and clamber over the :

side,
At the same time Thomas Roch appears on deck ac-
companied by one of the crew. He appears to be very

calm, and very indifferent too, and makes no resistance

when he is lifted over and lowered into the tug.
When he has been taken in, Count d’Artigas and En-
gineer Serko follow.

Captain Spade and the crew of the 42ba remain be-
hind, with the exception of four men who man the

dinghy, which has been lowered. They have hold of

7

int

i

i

|

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

a long hawser, with which the schooner is probably te
be towed through the reef. Is there then a creek in
the middle of the rocks where the vessel is secure from
the breakers? Is this the port to which she belongs?

They row off with the hawser and make the end fast
to a ring in the reef. Then the crew on board haul
on it and in five minutes the schooner is so completely

lost to sight among thé rocks that even the tip of her —

mast could not be seen from the sea.

Who in Bermuda imagines that a vessel is accus-
tomed to lay up in this secret creek? Who in America
would have any idea that the rich yachtsman so well
known in all the eastern ports abides in the solitude of

Back Oup mountain ?

_ Twenty minutes later the dinghy returns with the
four men towards the tug which was evidently wait-
ing for them before proceeding—where ?

They climb on board, the little boat is made fast
astern, a movement is felt, the screw revolves rapidly
and the tug skims along the surface to Back Cup, skirt-
ing the reefs to the south. _

Three cable’s lengths further on, another tortuous
canal is seen that leads to the island. Into this the tug

enters. Whenit gets close inshore, an order is givento .

two men who jump out and haul the dinghy up on a
narrow sandy beach out of the reach of wave or weed,
and where it will be easily get-at-able when wanted.
This done the sailors return to the tug and Engineer
Serko signs to me to go below. .
A short iron ladder leads into a central cabin where
various bales and packages are stored, and for which
no doubt there was not room in the hold of the
schooner. I am pushed into a side cabin, the door ig

FACING THE FLAG.

shut upon me, and here I am once more a prisoner in

profound darkness.
I recognize the cabin the moment I enter it. It is

‘the place in which I spent so many long hours after

our abduction from Healthful House, and in which I
was confined until well out at sea off Pamlico Sound.
It is evident that Thomas Roch has been placed ina
similar compartment. ; :
Aloud noise is heard, the banging of the lid as it
closes, and the tug begins to sink as the water is ad-
mitted to the tanks,
This movement is succeeded by another—-a move
ment that impels the boat through the water.
Three minutes later it stops, and I feel that we are
rising to the surface again.
Another noise made by the lid being raised,
The door of my cabin opens, and I rush out and
clamber on to the platform.
T look around and find that the tug has penetrated
to the interior of Back Cup mountain, :
This is the mysterious retreat where Count @’ Artigas
lives with his companions—out of the world, so to

speak,

 
FACING THE FLAG

CHAPTER IX.

INSIDE BAOK OUP,

Tur next morning I

e g Iam able to mak

tion of the-vast cavern of Back Cu meee
prevent me, -

; _— oa op ee eee What strange visions.
ura what impatience I waited for
I was conducted to a
grotto about a hundr
, from the edge of the lake where the tug rite The
grotto, twelve feet by ten, was lighted by an inca

cent lamp, and fitted. with
eat ae ae an entrance door that was

I am not surprised that electricity j i
lighting the interior of the onsark, a 3a Ae eae
in the submarine boat. But where is it generated?
Where does it come from? Is there a cams
installed somewhere or other in this vast crypt ith
pari adeno and accumulators ? ie Sho

y cell is neatly furnished with a table on whi
obese: are spread, a bunk with bedding, a ne

ir, a wash-hand-stand with toilet set, and a closet
containing linen and various suits of clothes Tn
drawer of the table I find paper, ink and pens. ; :

My dinner consists of fresh fish, preserved meat, ”

me 2
0 one seeks to

FACING THE FLAG.

bread of excellent quality, ale and whisky; but lam
so excited that I scarcely touch it. Yet I feel that I
ought to fortify myself and recover my calmness of
mind. I must and will solve the mystery surrounding
the handful of men who burrow in the bowels of this
island.
So it is under the carapace of Back Cup that Count
’Artigas has established himself! This cavity, the
existence of which is not even suspected, is his home
when he is not sailing in the dba along the coasts of
the new world or the old. This is the unknown retreat
he has discovered, to which access is obtained by a sub-

marine passage twelve or fifteen feet below the sur-

face of the ocean.
Why has he severed himself from the world? What

has been his past? If, as I suspect, this name of
d’Artigas and this title of Count are assumed, what
motive has he for hiding his identity ? Has he been
banished, is he an outcast of society that he should
have selected this place above all others ? Am T not in
the power of an evildoer anxious to ensure impunity
for his crimes and to defy the law by seeking refuge
in this undiscoverable burrow? - I have the right
of supposing anything in the case of this suspicious
foreigner, and I exercise it.

Then the question to which I have never -been able

to suggest a satisfactory answer once more surges into
my mind. Why was Thomas Roch abducted from
Pealthful House in the manner already fully described?

Does the Count d’Artigas hope to force from him the
secret of his fulgurator with a view to utilizing it for

the defence of Back Cup in case his retreat should by
chance be discovered !

 
FACING THR FLAG.

Hardly. It would be easy
gang out of Back Cup,
supplying them with provisions,
the schooner could never break th
lines, and if she did her descriptio
every port. In this even
Thomas Roch’s inventio
Decidedly, I cannot understand it!
About seven o’clock in the mornin
bed. If I am a prisoner in the ¢
not imprisoned in my grotto cel

when | turn the handle and
out.

Thirty yards in front of me

g I jump out of
avern I am at least
1. _The door yields
push against it, and I walk

is a rocky plane, forming

Several
aged in landing bales and

the tug, which lays along:

a sort of quay that extends i
¥ tor
sailors of the Zlsa are eng: i Sac task

stores from the interior of
side a little stone jetty.

A dim light to which my eyes soon grow accustomed

envelops the cavern and comes from a hole in the

centre of i
— of the roof, through which the blue sky can be

a $ Was su
as 1 supposed myself, The flames that ee

on: = ago, and the columns of smoke that still rise
— 0 are prodneed artificially. The detonationg
rumblings that so alarmed the Bermudan fishers

orkings of nature,

enough to starve the
by preventing the tug from

On the other hand,
rough the investing

t, of. what possible use would
n be to the Count @ Artigas?

FACING THE FLAG.

island, who wanted to scare away the inhabitants who
resided on the coast. He succeeded, this Count ad Arti-
gas, and remains the sole and undisputed monarch of
the mountain. By exploding gunpowder, and burning
seaweed swept up in inexhaustible quantities by the
ocean, he has been able to simulate a voleano upon the
point of eruption and effectually scare would-be settlers
away ! 2

The light becomes stronger as the sun rises higher,
tne daylight streams through the fictitious crater, and
1 shall soon be able to estimate the cavern’s dimensions,
This is how I calculate:

Exteriorly the island of Back Cup, which is as nearly
as possible circular, measures two hundred and fifty
yards in circumference, and presents an interior super-
ficies of about six acres. The sides of the mountain at
its base vary in thickness from thirty to a hundred
yards,

It therefore follows that this “excavation practically
occupies the whole of that part of Back Cup island
which appears above water, As to the length of the
submarine tunnel by which communication is obtained
with the outside, and through which the tug passed, I
estimate that it is fifty yards in length.

The size of the cavern can be judged from these
approximate figures. Bat vast as it is, I remember that _
there are caverns of larger dimensions both in the old »
and new worlds. For instance in Carniole, North-
nmberland, Derbyshire, Piedmont, the Balearics,
Hungary and California are larger grottoes than Back
Cup, and those at Han-sur-Lesse in Belgium, and
the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, are also more exten-

give, The latter conta no fower than two hundred

 
FACING THE FLAG.

2 and twenty-six domes, seven rivers, eight cateaabtie
thirty two wells of unknown depth, a an immense

lake which extends over six or seven leagues, the limit =

of which has never been reached by explorers.

Iknow these Kentucky grottoes, having visited them,
as many thousands of tourists have done. The princi-
pal one will serve as a comparison to Back Cup. The
roof of the former, like that of the latter, is supported
by pillars of various lengths, which give it the appear-
ance of a Gothic cathedral, with naves and aisles,
though it lacks the architectural regularity of a
religious edifice. The only difference is that whereas
the roof of the Kentucky grotto is over four hundred
feet high, that of Back Cup is not above two hundred
and twenty at that part of it where the round hole
through which issue the smoke and flames is situated. -

Another peculiarity, and a very important one, that

requires to be pointed out, is that whereas the majority
_ of the grottoes referred to are easily accessible, and
were ther2fore bound to be discovered some time or

other, the same remark does not apply to Back Cup.

Although it is marked on the map as an island forming
part of the Bermuda group, how could any one imagine
that it is hollow, that its rocky sides are only the walls
of an enormous cavern? In order to make such a dis-
covery it would be necessary to get inside, and_to get
inside a submarine apparatus similar to that of the
Count @’ Artigas would be necessary.

In my opinion this strange yachtsman’s discovery of ee

the tunnel by which he has been able to found this

disquieting colony of Back Cup must have been due to
pure chance. ea.

Now I turn my attention to the lake and observa

PACING THE FLAG.

that it is a very small one, measuring not more than
four hundred yards in circumference. It is, properly
speaking, a lagoon, the rocky sides of which are per _
pendicular. It is large enough for the tug to work
about in it, and holds enough water too, for it must be
one hundred and twenty-five feet deep. .
It goes without saying that this crypt, given its posi-
tion and structure, belongs to the category of those
which are due to the encroachments of the sea. It is

at once of Neptunian and Plutonian origin, like the

grottoes of Crozon and Morgate in the bay of Douar-

-nenez in France, of Bonifacio on the Corsican coast, —
- Thorgatten in Norway, the height of which is estimated

at over three hundred feet, the catavaults of Greece,
the grottoes of Gibraltar in Spain, and Tourana in
Cochin China, whose carapace indicates that they are
all the product of this dual geological labor. i

The islet of Back Cup is in great part formed of cal-
careous rocks, which slope upwards gently from the |
lagoon towards the sides and are separated from each

other by narrow beaches of fine sand, Thick layers

of seaweed that have been swept through the tunnel by

the tide and thrown up around the lake have been

piled into heaps, some of which are dry and some still
wet, but all of which exhale the strong odor of the —
briny wcean. This, however, is not the only combusti-
ible employed by the inhabitants of Back Cup, for 5 he

see an enormous store of coal that must have béen Sa

brought by the schooner and the tug, But it is the
incineration of masses of dried seaweed that causes the
smoke yomited forth by the crater of the mountain,

Continuing my walk I perceive on the northern side —

__ of the lagoon the habitations of this colony of troglo-

 
Bee siete é - ;
FACING THE FLAG. —

: , gigantic cup turned upside down, not only to —
acon aypeanct bt inwardly, too, though people
i = s es .
vy oe ads saan that the Beehive is. situ-
‘ated to the north of the lagoon, that is to say 2 Boe
left on entering by the tunnel, On the onpOSt f =
are the storerooms filled sg os pre .
‘bales of merchandise, barre of wine, m bea a
ious packets bearing different marks and labe
Be thas they came from all parts of the bees
|}. ~~ One would.think that the cargoes of a “Apes Pp
Beehive I calculate that oe (eee Oe been landed here. ee
eee rmons. number: fron eighty to ee A little farther on is a large ss ie segs
of which is easily distinguishable. rom ise eee
it a network of thick copper wires extends W. : c
ducts the current to the powerful electric lig Vs —_
pended from the roof or airs ba to erie Ree: x
in each of the cells of the hive. 3
ot tt are also installed among the stone i
and light up the avenues to their pe ee
“Shall I be permitted to roam about w. ~ se
lease?” IL ask myself. I hope 80. I cannot age
life of me see why the Count Sieg tg : a
oi 0, for I cannot get farther
a ak of his mysterious domain. I sis
tion whether there is any other issue than the tunnel,
and how on earth could I get through that? eas,
ee Besides, admitting that.I am able to get t depict F
ay = je I cannot get off the island. My coerce:
be another passage communicating with the coast, | _-be soon’ noticed, and the Ge eon ee
either natural or artificial, and this I shall have to co aha men who would explore ev " Nt ees
make my business to find out, ae $2 should inevitably be ai ere sg s! cool .
_ The island well merits its name of Back Oup. It ig ; Beehive and deprived of my y

justifies its name, for i

- vated in the limeston

bees—or perhaps th
reside,

The lay of the cavern to the east is very different,

Here hundreds of pillars of all shapes rise to the dome,

and form a veritable forest, of stone trees through the

sinuous avenues of which one can thread one’s way to
the extreme limit of the place.

By counting the ceils of the
Count d’ Artigas’
one hundred.

As my eye wanders over the place I notice that the

ount is standing in front of one of ‘the cells, which

is isolated from the others, and talking to Engineer
i After a while

t is honeycombed by cells exca.
@ rock and in which these human
ey should rather be called wasps—

; ¢

out of the tug and transporting the goods in boats to »
the other side, where great

cellars have been excavated
’ in the rocks and form thes

The orifice of the tunnel is not visible in the waters
of the lagoon, and Iremem

< ber that when I was brought
/ here I felt the tug sink sev

eral feet before it entered,
Ih this respect therefore

Back Cup does not resemble
either the grottoes of Staffa or Morgate, entrance to
which is always Open, even at high tide. There m

t

 
 

 

 

 

FACING THE FLAG,

[ must therefore give up all idea of making my es
cape, unless I can see that it has some chance of being
successful, and if ever an opportunity does present it
self T shall not be slow to take advantage of it.

On strolling round by the rows of cells I am able to
observe a few of these companions of the Count @Arti-
gas who ate content to pass their monotonous existence
in the depths of Back Cup. As I said before, calculat-
ing from the number of cells in the Beehive, there
must be between eighty and a hundred of them.

They pay no attention whatever to me as J pass, and
on examining thein closely it seerns to me that they
must have been recruited from every country, I do
not distinguish any community of origin among them,
not even a similarity by which they might be classed
as North Americans, Europeans or Asiatics.’ The color
of their skin shades from white to. yellow and black—
the black peculiar to Australia rather than to Afriéa,
To sum up, they appear for the most part to pertain to
the Malay races. I may add that the Count @ Artigas
certainly belongs to that particular race which peoples
the Dutch isles in the West Pacific, while Engineer
Serko must be Levantine and Captain Spade of Italian
origin.

But if the inhabitants of Back Cup are not bound to
each other by ties of race, they certainly are by in-
stinct and inclination. What forbidding, savage-look-
ing faces they have, to be sure! They are men of
violent character who have probably never placed any
restraint upon their passions, nor hesitated at anything,
and it occurs to me that in all likelihood they have
sought refuge in this cavern, where they faney they
ean continue-to defy the law with impunity, after a

FACING THE FLAG.

long series of crimes—robbery, murder, arson, and ex
cesses of all descriptions committed together. Tn this
case Back Cup is ‘nothing but a lair of pirates, the
Count d’Artigas is the leader of the band and Serko
and Spade are his lieutenants.

I cannot get this idea out of my head, and the more
I consider the more convinced I am that I am right,
especially as everything I see daring my stroll about
the cavern seems to confirm my opinion,

However this may be, and whatever may be the
circumstances that. have brought them together in this
place, Count d’Artigas’ companions appear to accept
his all-powerful domination without question. On the
other hand, if he keeps them under his iron heel by
enforcing the severest discipline, certain advantages,
some compensation. must accrue from the servitude to
which they bow. What can this compensation be? :

Having turned that part of the bank under which:
the tunnel passes, I find myself on the opposite side of
the lagoon, where are situated the storerooms contain
ing the merchandise brought by the Ebba on each trip,
and which contain a great quantity of bales.

Beyond is the manufactory of electric energy. I
gaze in at the windows as I pass and notice that it
contains machines of the latest invention and highest
attained perfection, which take up little space. Not
one steam engine, with its more or less complicated
mechanism and need of fuel, is:to be seen in the place.

As I hod surmised, piles of extraordinary pewer sup-
ply the current to the lamps in the cavern, as well as
to the dynamos of the tug. No doubt the current is
also utilized for domestic purposes, such as warming
the Beehive and cooking food, I can see that in

 
FACING THE FLAG.

neighboring cavity it is applied to the alembics used ta
produce fresh water. At any rate the colonists of
Back Cup are not reduced to catching the rain water
that falls so abundantly upon the exterior of the
mountain.

A few paces from the electric power house is a large
cistern that, save in the matter of proportions, is the
counterpart of those I visited in Bermuda. In the lat-
ter place the cisterns have to supply the needs of
over ten thousand people, this one of a hundred—-
what ? a

I am not sure yet what to call them. That their
chief had serious. reasons for choosing the bowels of
this island for his abiding place is obvious. But what
were those reasons? I can understand. monks shutting
themselves behind their monastery walls with the in-
tention of separating themselves from the world, but
these subjects of the Count d’ Artigas have nothing of
the monk about them, and would not be mistaken for
such by the most simple-minded of mortals,

I continue my way through the pillars to the ex-
tremity of the cavern. No one has sought to stop me, |
no one has spoken to me, not a soul apparently has
taken the very slightest notice of me. This portion of
Back Cup is extremely curious, and comparable to the
most marvellous of the grottoes of Kentucky or the
Balearics. J need hardly say that nowhere is the labor
of man apparent, All this is the handiwork of nature.
and it is not without wonder, mingled with awe that
T reflect upon the telluric forces capable of engender
ing such prodigious substructions. The daylight from
she crater in the centre only strikes this part of the

savern obliquely, so that itis very impertectly lighted,

FACING THE FLAG.

but at night, when illuminated by the electric lamps, its
aspect must be positively fantastic.

I have examined the walls everywhere with minute
attention, but have been unable to discover any means
of communicating with the outside.

Quite a colony of birds—guils, sea-swallows and
other feathery denizens of the Bermudan beaches have
made their home in the cavern. They have apparently
never been hunted, for they are in no way disturbed .
by the presence of man,

But besides sea-birds, which are free to come and go
as they please by the orifice in the dome, there is a
whole farmyard of domestic poultry, and cows and

“pigs. The food supply is therefore no less assured

than it is varied, when the fish of all kinds that abound
in the lagoon and around the island are taken into
consideration. ;
Moreover, a mero glance at the colonists of Back
Cup amply suffices to show that they are not accus-
tomed to fare scantily. ‘They-are all vigorous, robust
‘seafaring men, weatherbeaten and seasoned in the
burning beat of tropical latitudes, whose rich blood is
surcharged with oxygen by the breezes of the ocean.
There is not a youth nor an old man among them.
They are all in their prime, their ages ranging from
thirty to fifty. :
But why do they submit to such an existence? Me

they never leave their rocky retreat ?
Perhaps | shall find out ere I am much older.

 

 
 

FACING THE FLAG

CHAPTER X.

KER KARRAJE.

Tue cell in which I reside is abo dred
1 wi ut a hun paces
from the habitation of the Count @ Artigas, which j
one of the end ones of this row of the Beehive, itl
am not to share it with Thomas Roch, I presume the

latter’s cell is not. far off, for in order that Warder

Gaydon may continue to care f
or the ex-pati

See House, their respective spasnadi ef bee

0 be contiguous. However, I su pose I shall
enlightened on’this point, ee : ee

Captain Spade and Engineer Serk i
ain © reside separa:
in i asap to D’ Artigas’ mansion, ere
fansion? Yes, why not dignify it wi i

. . * . with
sinceé this habitation has been pape with ~e Sue
art? Skillful hands have carved an ornamental facade
sn the rock, A large door affords access to it. Ool-
vred glass windows in wooden frames let into the lime-

stone walls admit the light. The interior comprises
ng-room

several chambers, a dining-room and a drawi
lighted by a stained-glass window, the whole being
perfectly ventilated. The furniture is of various styl

and shapes and of French, English and fees i
make, The kitchen, larder, ete, are in adjoining ells
in rear of the Beehive, ; =

In the afternoon, just as I issue trom my cell with

455 Se RRR TRE Me a eee

ad

FACING THE FLAG. 119

the firm intention of “obtaining an audience” of the
Count d@’Artigas, I catch sight of him coming along
the shore of the lagoon towards the hive. Either he
does not see me, or wishes to avoid me, for he quickens
his steps and Iam unable to catch him.

« Well, he will have to receive me, anyhow!” I mut
ter to myself.

I hurry up to the door through which he has just
disappeared and. which has closed behind him.

It is guarded by a gigantic, dark-skinned Malay, who
orders me away in no amiable tone of voice.

I decline to comply with his injunction, and repeat
to him twice the following request in my very best

~ English :

“Tell the Count d’Artigas that 1 desire to be re-
ceived immediately.”

I might just as well have addressed myself to the
surrounding rock, This savage, no doubt, does not
understand a word of English, for he scowls at me and
orders me away again with a menacing cry.

I have a good mind to attempt to force the door and
shout so that the Count @’ Artigas cannot fail to hear
me, but in all probability I shall only succeed in rous-
ing the wrath of the Malay, who appears to be endowed.
with herculean strength. 1 therefore judge discretion
to be the better part of valor, and put off the explana-
tion that is owing to me—and which, sooner or later,
I will haye—to a more propitious occasion.

I meander off in front of the Beehive towards the
east, and my thoughts revert to Thomas Roch. I amt
surprised that I have not seen him yet. Can he be in

the throes of a fresh paroxysm ¢ :
This hypothesis is hardly admissible, for if the

 
FACING THE FLAG,

Count d’Artigas is to be believed, he would in thig
event have summoned me to attend to the inventor.
A little farther on I encounter Engineer Serko. ;
With his inviting manner and usual good-humor thig
ironical individual smiles when he perceives me, and
does not seek to avoid me. If he knew I was a col-
league, an engineer—providing he himself really ig
one—perhaps he might receive me with more cordiality
than I have yet encountered, but I am not going to be
such a fool as to tell him who and what I am,

He stops, with luaghing eyes and mockin

g mouth,
and accompanies a “ Good da

Y, how do you do?” with
a gracious gesture of salutation,

I respond coldly to his politeness—a fact which he
affects not to notice.

“May Saint Jonathan protect you, Mr. Gaydon!”

he continues in his clear, ringing voice,

[ presume, disposed to regret. the fortunate circum-
stance by which you were permitted to Visit this sur-
passingly marvellous cavern—and it really is.one of the
finest, although the least known on this spheroid.”
This word of a scientific language used in conversa-
tion with a simple hospital attendant surprises me, |
admit, and I merely reply:
“T should have no reason to complain, Mr. Serko, if,
_ after having had the pleasure of visiting this cavern, I
Were at liberty to quit it.”
“What! Already thinking of leaving us, Mr, Gay-
don,—of returning to your dismal pevilion at [Mealth.
ful Hoase? Why, you have scarcely had time to ex.
plore our magnificent domain, or to admire the incom.
parable beauty with which nature has endowed it.”
“What I have seen suffices,” I answer; “and

“You are not,

FACING THE FLAG,

rchance be talking seriously I will assure
ei that I do not want to see any more of
a Come, now, Mr. Gaydon, permit me to -point bres
that you have not yet had the opportunity of Bieri
ing the advantages of an existence passed in ae ; 29
rivalled surroundings. Itis a quiet life, exemp ie
care, with an assured future, material Seine -
as oe not to be met with anywhere, an even 2 atts
and no more to fear from we Be aed 2 ion: 7%
in this part of the an
sole a ranice or she heatof summer. This ee
and salubrious atmosphere is scarcely omnes: y
changes of season. Here we ae gigs to appre en
F either Pluto or Neptune. ;
=o tip ts “itis impossible that this climate ~
suit you, that you can appreciate living in this gro
”

was on the point of pronouncing the name ——
Cup. Fortunately I restrained myself in time. Ree
would happen if they suspected that 1 am 4 ns
the name of their island, and, consequently, : its posi.
tion at the extremity of the Bermuda group : :

“ However,” 1 continue, “ if this climate os a
suit me, I have, I iiadeae the right to make a change.

x ight, of course.

# eskenad from your remark that I shall be =
nished with the means of returning to America whe

i ”

ees ae reason for opposing your oe Mr.
Gaydon,” Engineer Serko replies, “and 1 ag i
presumption asa very natural one. pet a Z
that we live here in a noble and superb independence,

 
that we acknowled i
ge the authorit i,
that we are subject to no outside . ane te ts

4 uthori
the colonists of no state, either of the ae , that we are

This is worth considerati
i eration by whomsoever h
of pride and independence. Besides, what nagar’

are evoked in a cultivated mi
which seem to haye been pines eee re

gods and in which the
oracles by the mouth of Troph ae ee

phonius,” ©
Decidedly, Engineer Serko ig fond

: : 6t ai
oe y! Trophonius after Pluto and N, aimetnee

e magine that Warder Gaydon ever heard te
phonius? It is clear this m ie ia

ock i
and T have to exercise the oe ai

reat i i
not to reply in the same ie Parse loss.

“A moment ago,”

I continue shortly, “I wanted

if I mistake not, is
at I was prevented,”

to enter yon habitati i
that of the Count Par
< By whom, Mr. Gaydon } oe
By a man in the Count’s
“He probably

“ Possibly, yet whet i
gt aoe pars vhether he lik

it’s employ.”
had received strict orders about it,” -

“ You are jesting, I presume ;
“Tt was not the
Mr. Gaydon.”

“Who was it then, ma; I
*. 3 k ss
“ The pirate Kee Kaseaja” =

elled by the hands of the ©

PACING THE FLAG.

This name was thrown at me in a hard tone of voice,
and Engineer Serko walked off before I had presence
of mind enough to detain him,

The pirate Ker Karraje!

Yes, this name is a revelation to me. I know it well,
and what memories it evokes! It by itself explains
what has hitherto been inexplicable to me. I now
know into whose hands I have fallen.

With what I already knew, with what Ihave learned
since my arrival in Back Cup from Engineer Serko, this
is what I am able to tell about the past and present of
Ker Karraje:

Fight or nine years ago, the West Pacific was in-
fested by pirates who acted with the greatest audacity.
A band of criminals of various origins, composed of
escaped convicts, military and naval deserters, etc.,

operated with incredible audacity under the orders of '

a redoubtable chief. The nucleus of the band had been
formed by men pertaining to the scum of Europe who
had been attracted to New South Wales, in Australia,
by the discovery of gold there. Among these gold-
diggers, were Captain Spade and Engineer Serko, two
outcasts, whom a certain community of ideas and char-
acter soon bound together in close friendship.

These intelligent, well educated, resolute men would
most assuredly have succeeded in any career. But
being without conscience or scruples, and determined
to get rich at no matter what cost, deriving from
gambling and speculation what they might have earned
by patient and steady work, they engaged in all sorts
of impossible adventures. One day they were rich, the
next day poor, like most of the questionable individuals
who had hurried to the gold-fields in search of fortune.

 
FACING THE FLAG.

acity. a8 | ae cove and creek, and it was impossible to come ac

VY, one of those men who stick him.
i ‘ ~and whose influence
ite natures is irresistible,
§ man S name was Ker Ka

2 Bt: crime— . : «
He maintained a perfect reign of terror. England,

France, Germany, Russia and America vainly dis-
patched warships in pursuit of the phantom vessel
which disappeared, no one knew whither, after rob-
: 3 beries and murders that could net be prevented or

his name—or at least the name he 2 ; punished had been committed by her crew.
known ail over the world, and in : i One day this series of crimes came to an end, and no
; more was heard of Ker Karraje. Had he abandoned
sonage, a bogev, invisi , the Pacific for other seas? Would this pirate break out
T have ie pias Br in a fresh place? It was argued that jotWeehanding
Malay. However, it is of litte ¢ that Ker Karra jeisa | what they must have spent in orgies and debauchery
; © consequence, after all. Z. the pirate and his companions must still have an
enormous amount of wealth hidden in some place known
only to themselves, and that they were enjoying their

ill-gotten gains, :

Where had the band hidden themselves singe they
had ceased their depredations? This was a question
which everybody asked and none was able to answer.
All attempts to run them to earth were vain. Terror
and uneasiness having ceased with the danger, Ker
Karraje’s exploits soon began to be forgotton, even in
the West Pacific. ;

This is what had happened—and what will never be
known unless I succeed in escaping from Back Cup:

oe! 3 These wretches were, as a matter of fact, possessed

Although the wherea 5 of great wealth when'they abandoned the Southern

commanded by Captain Z, Seas. Having destroyed their ship they dispersed in

known to the authorities, - different directions after having arranged to meet on
: . the American continent.

Engineer Serko, who was well versed in his pro-

fession, and was a clever mechanic to boot, and who

rraje,

 

 
‘6 a special stud
to Ker Karraje that they

boats in order to continu

of submarine craft,
roposed
should construct oes these ~

e their criminal i
expl i
tiveness, Pere

proposition, and as they
Was soon carried out,
While the so-called

Work upon the lat

and when the boat

ier cecupied fully eighteen mon

ie tigen finished it excited the admi.

marine navigation,

erested in these enoi
: gines of;
By its external form, its Saterias

4

FACING THE FLAG.

arrangements) its air-supply system, the rapidity with
which it could be immersed, the facility with which it
could be handled and controlled, and its extraordinary
speed, it was conceded to be far superior to the Coubet,
the Gymnote, the Zede, and other similar boats which
had made great strides towards perfection.
‘After several extremely successful experiments a
public test was given in the open sea, four miles off
Charleston, in presence of several American and foreign

warships, merchant vessels, and pleasure boats invited
for the occasion. ;

Of course the ba was among them, with the Count
d@’Artigas, Engineer Serko, and Captain Spade on
board, and the old crew as well, save half a dozen men
who manned the submarine machine, which was worked °
by a mechanical engineer named Gibson, a bold and
very clever Englishman,

The programme of this definite experiment com-
prised various evolutions onthe surface of the water,
which were to be followed by an immersion to last
several hours, the boat being ordered not to rise again
until a certain buoy stationed many miles out at sea
had been attained.

At the appointed time the lid was closed and the
boat at first-manceuvred on the surface. Her speed
and the ease with which she turned and twisted were
loudly praised by all the technical spectators.

Then at a signal given on board the “bathe tug
sank slowly out of sight, and several vessels started for
the buoy where she was to reappear.

Three hours went by, but there was no sign of the
boat.

No one could suppose that in accordance with in

Mixy

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

structions received from the Coun
gineer Serko this submarine mac
tined to act as the invisible tug of
not emerge till it had gone seve
rendezvous, Therefore, with th
who were in the secret, no one
that the boat and all inside h

result of an accident either t
or machinery,

On board the #dba consternatio
simulated. On board the other ve
Drags were used and divers sent

course the boat was Supposed to have taken, but it
could not be found, and it was agreed that it had been
swallowed up in the depths of the Atlantic,

Two days later the Count @ Artigas put to sea again,
and in forty-eight hours came up with the tug at the
place appointed, :

This is how Ker Karraje became possessed of the ad-

mirable vessel which was to perform the double
function of towing the schoon

With this terrible engine of

» whose very
existence was ignored, the Count @

Artigas was able
to recdmmence his career of piracy with security and
impunity.

These details I-have learned from Engineer Serko,
who is very proud of his handiwork,—and_ also very

positive that the prisoner of Back Cup will never be
able to disclose the secret.

t @ Artigas and En.
hine, which was des.
the schooner, would
ral miles beyond the
@ exception of those
entertained any doubt
er had perished as the
o her metallic covering

n was admirably
ssels it was real,
down along the

It will easily*be realized how powerful was the offen-

sive weapon Ker Karraje now possessed. During the

FACING THE FLAG. 329

the schooner wiiea couid not possibly have excited any
suspicion, would run cuungside and her hare of se
throats would pour on to the doomed vessel s deck an
massacre the helpless crew, after which they would
hurriedly transfer that part of the cargo that
worth taking to the Hbba. ‘Thus it happened noe
ship after ship was added to the long list of those t
never reached port and were classed as having gone
ith all on board.

epilheses after the odious comedy in the bay of
Charleston Ker Karraje operated in the Atlantic, and

his wealth increased to enormous preportions. The
merchandise for which he had no use was disposed ot

in distant markets in exchange for gold and silver,
But what was sadly needed was a place where the pro-
fits could be safely hidden pending the time when they
to be finally divided.
Shanes ‘athe to their aid. While exploring the
bottom of the sea in the neighborhood of the Eermudas,
Engineer Serko and Driver Gibson discovered at the
base of Back Cup island the tunnel which led to the
interior of the mountain, Wouid it kave been possible
for Ker Karraje to have found a more admirable refuge
than this, absolutely safe as it was from any possible
chance of discovery? ‘Thus it came to pass that one
of the islands of the Archipelago of Bermuda, erst-
while the haunt of buccaneers, became = lair of an-
ga good deal more to be dreaded,
Tee having ees delinitely adopted, Count
@ Artigas and his companions set about getting their
place in order. Engineer Serko installed an electric

_ power house, without having recourse to machines

whose construction abroad might haye aroused suspi

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

cion, simply employing piles that could be easily
mounted and required but metal plates and chemical
substances that the Zdba procured during her visits to
the American coast.

What happened on the night of the 19th inst. can
easily be divined. If the three-masted merchantman
which lay becalmed was not visible at break of day it
was because she had been scuttled by the tug, boarded
by the cut-throat band on the bbe, and sunk with all
on board after being pillaged. The bales and things
that I had seen on the schooner were a part of her
cargo, ant all unknown to me the gallant ship was
lying at the bottom of the broad Atlantic!

How will this adventiire end? Shall I ever be able
to escape from Back Cup, denounce the false Count
d@’Artigas and rid the seas of Ker Karraje’s pirates ?

And if Ker Karraje is terrible as it is, how much
more so will he become if he ever obtains possession of

Roch’s fulgurator! Ilis power will be increased a -

hundred-fold? If he were able to employ this new
engine of destruction no merchantman could resist him,
no warship escape total destruction.

Iremain for some time absorbed and oppressed by
the reflections with which the revelation of Ker Kar-
raje’s name inspires me. All that | have ever heard
about this famous pirate recurs to me—his existence
when he skimmed the Southern Seas, the useless ex-
peditions organized by the maritime powers to hunt
him down. The unaccountable loss of so many vessels
in the Atlantic during the past few years is attribu-
table to him. He had merely changed the scene of his
exploits. It was supposed that he had been got rid of,
whereas he is continuing his piratical practices in the

FACING THE FLAG,

most frequented ocean on the globe, by means of the
tug which is believed to be lying at the bottom of
Charleston Bay.

“ Now,” I say to myself, “ T know his real name and
that of his lair—Ker Karraje and Back Cup;” and I
surmise that if Engineer Serko has let me into the
secret he must have been authorized to do so, AmI
not meant to understand from this that I must give up
all hope of ever recovering my liberty ?

Engineer Serko had manifestly remarked the im-
pression created upon me by this revelation. I remem-
ber that on leaving me he went towards Ker Karraje’s
habitation, no doubt with the intention of apprising
him of what had passed.

After a rather long walk around the lagoon IT am
about to return to my cell, when I hear footsteps be-
hind me. I turn and find myself face to face with the
Count d’Artigas, who is accompanied by Captain
Spade. He glances at me sharply, and in a burst of
irritation that I cannot suppress, I exclaim :

“You are keeping me here, sir, against all right. If
it was to wait upon Thomas Roch that you carried me
off from Healthful House, I refuse to attend to him,
and insist upon being sent back.”

The pirate chief makes a gesture, but does not reply.

Then my temper gets the better of me altogether.

“Answer me, Count d’Artigas—or rather, for 1
know who you are—answer me, Ker Karraje!” I
shout.

“The Count d' Artigas is Ker Karraje,” he coolly
replies, “just as Warder Gaydon is Engineer Simon
Hart; and Ker Karraje will never restore to liberty
Engineer Simon Hart, who knows his secrets.”

 
FACING THE FLAG.

CHAPTER XI.

FIVE WEEKS IN BACK OUP,

Tur situation is plain. Ker Karraje knows who 1

-am. He knew who I was when he kidnapped Thomas
Roch and his attendant.

How did this man manage to find out what I was

able to keep from the staff of Healthful House? How.

comes it that he knew that a French engineer was per-
forming the duties of attendant to Thomas Roch?» I
do not know how he discovered it, but the fact remains
that he did.

Evidently he had means of information which must
have been costly, but from which he has derived con-
siderable profit. Besides, men of his kidney do not
count the cost when they wish to attain an end they
have in view.

Henceforward Ker Karraje, or rather Engineer
Serko, will replace me as attendant upon Thomas
Roch. Will he succeed better than I did? God grant
that he may not, that the civilized world may be spared
such a misfortune!

I did not reply to Ker Karraje’s Parthian shot, for 1
was stricken dumb. I did not, however, collapse, as
the alleged Count d’Artigas perhaps expected I would,

No! I looked him straight in the eyes, which glit

FACING THE FLA@, |

tered angri:» and crossed my arms defiantly, as he had
done. And yet he held my life in his hands! At a
sign a bullet would have laid me dead at his feet.
Then my body, cast into the lagoon, would have been
borne out to sea through the tunnel and there would
have been an end of me. |

After this scene I am left at liberty, just as before.
No measure is taken against me. I can walk among
the pillars to the very end of the cavern, which—it

is only too clear—possesses no other issue except the
tunnel.

When I return to my cell, at the extremity of the
Beehive, a prey to a thousand thoughts suggested by
my situation, I say to myself:

“Tf Ker Karraje knows I am Simon Hart, the engi.
ineer, he must at any rate never know that I am aware
of the position of Back Cup Island.”

As to the plan of confiding Thomas Roch to my care,
Ido not think he ever seriously entertained it, seeing
that my identity had been revealed to him. I regret
this, inasmuch as the inventor will indubitably be the
object of pressing solicitations, and as Engineer Serko
will employ every means in his power to obtain the
composition of the explosive and deflagrator, of which
he will make such detestable use during future piratical
exploits. Yes, it would have been far better if I could
have remained Thomas Roch’s keeper here, as in
Healthful House.

For fifteen’ days I see nothing of my late charge.
No one, { repeat, has placed any obstacles in the way
of my daily peregrinations. Ihave no need to occupy
myself about the material part of my existence. My
meals are brought to me regularly, direct from the

 
FACING THE FLAQ.

kitchen of the Count @Artigas—l cannot accustom
myself to calling him by any other name. The food
leaves nothing to be desired, thanks to the provisions
that the /ba brings on her return from each voyage.
It is very fortunate, too, that I have been supplied
with all the writing materials I require, for during my
long hours of idleness I have been able to jot down in
my notebook the slightest incidents that have occurred
since I was abducted from Healthful Tlouse, and to keep

a diary day byday. As longas I am permitted to use

a pen I shall continue my notes. Mayhap some day,
they will help to clear up the mysteries of Back Cup.

From Suly § to July 25.—~ A fortnight’ has passed,

and all my attempts to get near Thomas Roch have
been frustrated. Orders have evidently been given to
keep him away from my influence, inefficacious though
the latter has hitherto been. My only hope is that the
Count d’Artigas, Engineer Serko, and Captain Spade
will waste their time trying to get at the inventor's
secrets.
Three or four times to my knowledge, at least,
- Thomas Roch and Engineer Serko haye walked together
around the lagoon. As far as I have been able to
' judge, the former listened with some attention to what
the other was saying to him. Serko has conducted
him over the whole cavern, shown him the electric
power house and the mechanism of the tug. Thomas
Roch’s mental condition has visibly improved since his
departure from Healthful House.

Thomas Roch lives in a private room in Ker Karra je’s
“mansion.” I have no doubt that he is daily sounded
m regard to his discoveries, especially by Engineer
Serko. ‘Will he be able to resist the temptation if they

FACING THE FLAG. ~ 185

offer him the exorbitant price that he demands? Has
he any idea of the value of money? These wretches may
dazzle him with the gold that they have accumulated
by years of rapine. In the present state of his mind
may he not be induced to disclose the composition of
his.fulgurator? They would then only-have to fetch
the necessary substances and Thomas Roch would
have plenty of time in Back Cup to devote to his chemi-
cal combinations. As to the war-engines themselves
nothing would be easier than to have them made in

tions in different parts of the American continent,
My hair stands on end when I think what they could
and would do with them if once they gained possession
of them.

These intolerable apprehensions no longer leave me
a minute’s peace; they are wearing me out and my
health is suffering in consequence. Although the air
in the interior of Back Cup is pure, I become subject
to attacks of suffocation, and I feel as though my prison
walls were falling upon ‘me and crushing me under
their weight. I am, besides, oppressed by the feeling
that I am cut off from the world, as effectually as

‘though I were no longer upon our planet,—for I know

nothing of what is going on outside.

Ah! if it were only possible to escape through that
submarine tunnel, or through the hole in the dome and
slide to the base of the mountain !

On the morning of the 25th I at last encounter
Thomas Roch. He is alone on the other side of the
lagoon, and I wonder, inasmuch as I have not seen
them since the previous day, whether Ker Karraje,
Engineer Serko, and Captain Spade have not gone off
on some expedition,

 
 

 

FACING THE FLA,

" [ walk round towards Thomas Roch, and before he
can see me I examine hiin attentively,

His serious, thoughtful physiognomy is no longer
that of a madman. He walks slowly, with his eyes
bent on the ground, and under his arm a drawing:
board upon which is stretched a sheet of paper covered
with designs,

Suddenly he raises his head, advances a step and
recognizes me,

“Ah! Gaydon, it is you, is it?” he cries, “I have
then escaped from you! Iam free!”

He.can, indeed, regard himself as being free—a
deal more at liberty in Back Cup than he was in
Healthful House. But maybe my presence evokeg
unpleasant memories, and will bring on another fit,
for he continues with extraordinary animation:

“Yes, I know you, Gaydon.—Do not approach me‘
Stand off! stand off! You would like to get me back
in your clutches, incarcerate me again in your dun-
geon! Never! I have friends here who will protect
me. They are powerful, they are rich. The Count
@Artigas is my backer and Engineer Serko is my
partner. We are going to exploit my invention! We
are going to make my fulgnrator! Hence! Get you
gone!”

Thomas Roch is in a perfect fury. He raises his
Voice, agitates his arms, and finally pulls from his
pockets many rolls of dollar bills and banknotes, and
handfuls of English, French, American and German
gold coins, which slip through his fingers and roll
about the cavern.

How could he get all this money except from Ker
Karraje, and as the price of his secret ?

FACING THE FLAG.

The noise he makes attracts a number of men to the
scene.’ They watch us for a moment, then seize Thomas
Roch and drag him away. As soon as | am out of bis
sight he ceases to struggle and becomes calm again.

July 27.-Two hours after meeting with Thomas
Roch, 1 went down to the lagoon and walked out to
the edge of the stone jetty.

The tug is not moored in its accustomed place, nor
can I see it anywhere about the lake. Ker Karraje
and Engineer Serko had not gone yesterday, as I sup-
posed, for I saw them in the evening.

To-day, however, I have reason to believe that they
really have gone away in the tug with Captain Spade
and the crew of the Auba, and that the latter must be
sailing away.

Have they set out on a piracy expedition? Very
likely. It is equally likely that Ker Karraje, become:
once more tue Count d’ Artigas, travelling for pleasure
on board his yaclit, intends to put into some port on the
American coast to procure the substances necessary
to the preparation of Roch’s fulgurator.

Ah! if it had only been possible for me to hide in
the tug, to slip into the Ztéba’s hold, and stow myself
away there until the schooner arrived in port! Then
perchance I might have escaped and delivered the world
from this band of pirates. a

Tt will be seen how tenaciously I cling to the thought
of eseape-—of fleeing-—flecing at any cost from this

lair. But flight is impossible, except through the
tunnel, by means of a-submarine boat. Is it not folly
to think of such a thing? Sheer folly, and yet what
other way is there of getting out of Back Cup?

While I give myself up to these reflections the water

 
FACING THE FLAG.

of the lagoon opens a few yards from me and the tug
appears. The lid is raised and Gibson, the engineer,
and the men issue on to the platform. Othermen come
up and catch the line that is thrown to them. They

haul upon it, and the tug is soon moored in its accus-
tomed place.

This time, therefore, at any rate, the schooner is not

being towed, and the tug merely went out to put Ker
Karraje and his companions aboard the Libba,

This only confirms my impression that the sole object
of their trip is to reach an’ American port where the
Count d’ Artigas can procure the materials for making
the explosive, and order the machines in some foundry,
On the day fixed for their return the tug will go out
torough the tunnel again to meet the schooner and

Ser Karraje will return to Back Cup.

Decidedly, this evildoer is carrying out his designs and

has succeeded sooner than I though

August 3.—An incident occurre
the lagoon was the theatre—a ve
that must be exceedingly rare.

Towards three o’clock in the afternoon there wasa
prodigious bubbling in the water, which ceased for a

minute or two and then recommenced in the centre of
the lagoon.

About fifteen

t would be possible,
d today of which
ry curious incident

pirates, whose attention had been
naccountable phenomenon, hurried

manifesting signs of astonishment
not unmingled with fear—at least I thought so,

The agitation of the water was not caused by the’

tug, as the latter was lying alongside the jetty, and the
idea that some other submarine bo

through the tunnel was highly i

FACING THE FLAG. 188

Almost at the same instant cries were heard on the
oj posite bank. The newcomers shouted something in
a )ioarse voice to the men on the side where I was
standing, and these immediately rushed off towards

Beehive. : wee
re conjectured that they had caught sight of some
sea-monster that had found its way in, and was floun-
dering in the lagoon, and that they had rushed off to
fetch arms and harpoons to try and capture it.

I was right, for they speedily returned with the latter
weapons and rifles loaded with explosive bullets. :

The monster in question was a whale, of the species
that is common enough in Bermudan waters, which
after swimming through the tunnel was plunging about
in the narrow limits of the lake. As it was constrained
to take refuge in Back Cup I concluded that it must
have been hard pressed by whalers.

Some minutes elapsed before the monster rose to the
surface. Then the green shiny mass appeared spout-

ing furiously and darting to and fro as though fighting
with some formidable enemy.

“If it was driven in here by whalers,” I said to my-
self, “there must be a vessel in proximity to Back
Cup—peradventure within a stone’s throw of it. Her
boats must have entered the western passes to the very
foot of the mountain. And to think I am unable to
communicate with them! But eyen if I could, I fail
to see how I could go to them through these massive
walls,” ee

I soon found, however, that it was not fishers, but
sharks that had driven the whale through the tunnel,
and which infest these waters in great numbers, I

gould see them plainly as they darted about, turning

a cat

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

sche Spade tn Asplaying their enormous moutina
ng with their cruel teeth
Sa five or six of the monsters, and they fhe el
® om with great viciousness.: The latter's only means
ence was its tail, with which it lash
with terrific force and rapidi yet
pidity. But the whale h
cated several wounds and the water was Siiged oe
its life-blood ; for plunge and lash as it would, it could
a escape the bites of its enemies,
owever, the voracious sharks were
J ere not permitted
= = ee Ah 23 man, far more pipet with
rents ©: eath, was about to take a h
and snatch it from them. Gathered around the come
: es a companions of Ker Karraje, every whit as
erocious as the sharks themselves, and well: deservin g
= a name, for what else are they?
anding amid a group, at the extremit j
of th
= armed with a harpoon, was the Sie thoes ane
o prevented me from entering Ker Karraje’s house
: se the whale got within shot, he hurled the harpoon
3 . great force and skill, and it sank into the levi
than’s flesh just under the left fin. The whale plun a
siesta eppoteers by the relentless chase The
e attached to the weapon ran out for abc ta
yards, and then siackened. The men aoe be =
ee onit, and the monster rose to the surface Scania
e end of the tunnel, struggling desperately in its death

agony, and spurting great columns of water tinged

with blood. One blow of its. tail
fits tail struck a
a: clean ont of water against the oie
w hers it dropped in avcin, badly, if not fatally fahared
he harpoon was torn from the Mesh by the jerk, and
>

FACING THE FLAG.
at it washed up

last time, and lashed the water so th
from the tunnel end, disclosing the top of the orifice.
but

Then the sharks again rushed on their prey,
of the explosive bullets.

were scared off by a hail
boatand attached a line to

Two men then jumped intoa
the dead monster Tho latter was hauled into the
jetty, and the Malays started to cut it up with a dex

terity that showed they were no novices at the work.
No more sharks were to be seen, but I concluded that

it would be as well to refrain from taking a bath in the

lagoon for some days to come. “
I now know exactly where the entrance to the tunnel

js situated. The orifice on this side is only ten feet
below the edge of the western bank. But of what use
is this knowledge to me?

August 7.—Twelve days have elapsed since the Count

d’ Artigas, Engineer Serko, and Captain Spade put to
sea. There is nothing to indicate that their return is
expected, though the tug is always kept in readiness
for immediate departure by Gibson, the engine-driver.
If the Hida is not afraid to enter the ports of the
United States by day, L rather fancy she prefers to
enter the rocky channel of Back Cup at nightfall.
1 also fancy, somehow, that Ker Karraje and his com
panions will return to-night.
August 10,—At ten o’clock last night, as 1 anticipated,
the tug went under and out, just in time to meet the

Ebba and tow her through the channel to her ereek,
alter which she returned with Ker Karraje and the

others.
Wkcn I look out this morning, I see Thomas Roch
g down to the lagoon, and

and Engineer Serko walkin r
talking about I cap easily

the whale went under. It j a
: under. 14 Gang up again for the - talking. Waat they aro
Bi

ee
ads

 
 

cuntain the substane
es b
ixture of which, the ulgasntae
The engines, doubt-

when t rican
hey are ready, the schooner will Shek , ae
m an

bring them to Back Cup.

For once in a whi
a stl hile, anyh
turned with aby stolen m yhow, the £2ba has not re-

has returned with a clear bill,

erchandise, She went out and

But with what terrible

Be die Sd aaa die

CHAPTER XI

ENGINEER SERKO’S ADVIOE.

Tuomas Rocn has started work and spends hours
and hours in a wooden shed on the left bank of the
lagoon that has been set apart as his laboratory and

io _ workshop. No one enters it except himself. Does he

ing the explosive in secret and does

should not wonder.
The manner of employing Roch’s fulgurator is, {

believe, very simple indeed. ‘The projectile in which it
is used requires neither gun. nor mortar to launch it,
nor pneumatic tube like the Zalinski shell. It is auto-
propulsive, it projects itself, and no ship within a cer
tain zone when the engine explodes could escape utter
destruction. With such a weapon as this at his com-
mand Ker Karraje would be invincible. ;

From August 11 to August 77.--During the past
week Thomas Roch has been working without inter-
mission. Every morning-the inventor goes to his
laboratory and does not issue therefrom till night. I
have made no attempt to stop him or speak to him, =»
knowing that it would be useless to do so.

Although heis still indifferent to everything that
does not touch upon his work he appears to be per
fectly self-possessed. Why should he not have Tre

 
et ee

i |
ie

_jetty. Thomas Roch is going to his laboratory and

7

roused by several detonations,

“Has Back Cup been ”
thought. “Has the echnnes ae meiacce
been chased to the entrance to the passes? Is the is]
being bombarded with a view to its destabuéat tne
Justice at last overtaken these evilxloers ere Tho
Roch has been able to complete the manufacture of hia

explosive, and before the autopropulsj ;
be fetched from the continent : #4 Pusive engine could

The dctonations, which are yery Violent, conti
succeeding each other at regular intervals and ne seas
to me Lbat if the schooner has been destro ed ieee
munication with the bases of supply beth im ‘ble,
Back Cup cannot be provisioned, oe

It is true the tug would be able 4
d’Artigas somewhere on the Bites ce ae,
money being no object, he could easily ae ey aa
another vessel... But no matter, If Back Cn wecaee
destroyed before Ker i arraje has Hoshi. “fa ae
at his disposal I shall render thanks to hoecass tates

A few hours later, at the usual time, I quit
All is quiet at the Beehive, The men ae Paces
their business as usual. The tug is Seat Ba iis

Ker Karraje and Engincer Serko are tran
backwards and forwards by the lake a;
The island therefore could not have b

during the night. Yet I was awakened
of cannon, this I will swear.

quilly pacing
nd chatting,
een attacked
by the report

FACING THE FLAG.

At this moment Kerr Karraje goes off towards his
abode and Engineer Serko, smilingly ironical, as usual, —
advances to meet me,

~ Well, Mr. Simon Hart,” he says, “are you getting

accustomed to your tranquil existence? Do you

appreciate at their just merit the advantages of this
enchanted grotto? Have you given up all hope of
recovering your liberty some day or other?”

What is the use of waxing wroth with this jester?
l reply calmly : Y

“No, sir. I have not given up hope, and I still ex-
pect that I shall be released.” ;

“What! Mr. Hart, separate ourselves from a man
whom we all esteem—and 1 from a colleague who per-
haps, in the course of Thomas Roch’s fits of delirium,
has learned ‘some of his secrets? You are not serious!”

So this is why they are keeping me a prisoner in Back
Cup! They suppose that I am in part familiar with
Roch’s invention, and they hope to force me to tell
what I know if Thomas Roch refuses to give up his
secret. This is the reason why I was kidnapped with
him, and why I have not been accommodated with an
involuntary plunge in the lagoon with a stone fastened
to my neck. I see it all now, and it is just as well
to know it.

“Very serious,” I affirm, in response to the last
remark of my interlocutor.

«“ Well,” he continues, “if I had the honor to be
Simon Hart, the engineer, I should reason as follows:
‘Given, on the one hand, the personality of Ker Kar- ~

_ raje, the reasons which incited him to select such a
' mysterious retreat as this cavern, the necessity of the
said cavern being kept from any attempt to discover

 
FACING THE FLAG.

it, not only in the interest of the Count d’ Artigas, but
in that of his companions—’”

“ Of his accomplices, if you please.”
“Of his accomplices, then—‘and on the other
hand, given the fact that I know the real name of the

Count d’ Artigas and in what mysterious safe he kee
his riches—?® : i

“ Riches stolen, and stained with blood, Mr. Serko.”

“ ¢ Riches stolen and stained with blood,’ if you like
—T ought to understand that this question of liberty
cannot be settled in accordance with my desires.’ ”

It is useless to argue the point under these conditions,
and I switch the conversation on to another line,

* May I ask,” I continue, “how you came to find
out that Gaydon, the warder, was Simon Hart, the
engineer ?”

“ T see no reason for keeping you in igndrance on the

subject, my dear colleague. It was largely by hazard,
We had certain relations with the manufactory in

‘New Jersey with which you were connected, and
which you quitted suddenly one day under somewhat
singular circumstances. Well, during a visit I made
to Healthful House some months before the Count
d’Artigas went there, I saw and recognized you.”

“ You 4 ”»

“ My very self, and from that moment I promised
myself the pleasure of having you for a fellow-pas-
senger on board the /bba.”

I do not recall ever having seen this Serko-at Health.
ful House, but what he says is very likely true,

“TI hope your whim of ‘having me for a companion
will cost vou dear, some day or other,” I-say to myself.
Then, abruptly, I go on:

FACING THE FLAG. 147

“Tf I am not mistaken, you have succeeded in in-
ducing Thomas Roch to disclose the secret of his ful:
gurator ?” x

“Yes, Mr.. Hart. We paid millions for it. But
millions, you know, are nothing tous. We have only
the trouble of taking them! Therefore we filled all
his pockets—covered him with millions!”

“ Of what use are these millions to him if he is not
allowed to enjoy them outside ?”

“ That, Mr. Hart, is a matter that does not trouble
him a little bit! This man of genius thinks nothing
of the future: he lives but in the present. While en-
gines are being constructed from his plans over yonder
in America, he is preparing his explosive with chemical

‘substances with which he has been abundantly sup-

plied. Hel! he! What an invention it is, this auto-
propulsive engine, which flies through the air of its own
power and accelerates its speed till the goal is reached,
thanks to\the properties of a certain powder of pro-
gressive combustion! Here we havean invention that
will bring about a radical change in the art of war.”

“ Defensive war, Mr. Serko.”

“ And offensive war, Mr. Hart.”

“ Naturally,” I answer.

Then pumping him still more closely, I go on:

“So, what no one else has been able to obtain from
Thomas Roch ——”

“ We obtained without much difficulty.”

“ By paying him.”

“ By paying him an incredible price—and, moreover,
by causing to vibrate what in him is a yery sensitive
shond.” 3 rei cereale )

§* What chord?”

 

 
LT ewhebaBle

a iM ali ae dt

|
\
{
;

148° _ FACING THE FLAG.

“ That of vengeance 1”
* Vengeance ?— against whom }”

“ Against all those who have made themselves his
enemies by discouraging him, by spurning him, by ex-
pelling him, by constraining him to go a-begging from
country to country with an invention of incontestable
superiority! Now all notion of patriotism is extinct in
his soul. He has now but one thought, one ferocious
desire : to avenge himself upon those who have denied
him—and even upon all mankind! Really, Mr. Hart,
3 sheet of Europe and America committed a
stupendous blunder in refusin i
his fulgurator is worth !” Peeler

And Engineer Serko describes enthusiastically the

various advantages of the new explosive which, he
Says, 1s Incontestably superior to any yet invented.

“ And what a destructive effect it has,” he adds,

“ Tt is analogous to that of the Zalinski shell, but is a
hundred times more powerful, and requires no machine
for firing it, as it flies through the air on its own wings,
0 to speak.”

I listen in the hope that Engineer Serko will give

away a part of the secret, but in vain. He is careful
not to say more than he wants to.

“ Has Thomas Roch,” I ask, “made you acquainted -

with the composition of his explosive?”
“Yes, Mr. Hart—if it is all the same to you—and

we shall shortly have considerable quantities of it

stored in a safe. place.”

“But will there not be a great and ever-impending __

danger in accumulating large quantities of it? If an

Soak : :
pio gnia happen i would be all up with the

FACING THE FLAG?

Once more the name of Back Cup was on the point .
of escaping me. They might consider me too well.

- jnformed if they were aware that in addition to being

acquainted with the Count d’Artigas’ real name Talso

know where his stronghold is situated.-

Luckily Engineer Serko has not remarked my reti-
cence, and he replies: .

“There will be no cause for alarm, Thomas Roch’s \
explosive will not burn unless subjected to a special

‘deflagrator. Neither fire nor shock will explode it.”

« And has Thomas Roch also sold you the secret of
his deflagrator?” —

“Not yet, Mr, Hart, but it will not be long before
the bargain is concluded. Therefore, ZL repeat, no
danger is to be apprehended, and you need not keep
awake of nights on that account. A thousand devils,
sir! We have no desire to be blown up with our cave
ern and treasures! A few more years of good busi-
ness and we shall divide the profits, which will be large
enough to enable each one of us to live as he thinks
proper and enjoy life to the top of his bent~-after the
dissolution of the firm of Ker Karraje and Co. I may
add that though there is no danger of an explosion,

we have everything to fear from a denunciation—
which you are in the position to make, Mr. Hart.
Therefore, if you take my advice, you will, like a sens
sible man, resign yourself to the inevitable until the
disbanding of the company. * We shall then see what

in the interest of our security is best to be done with

you!”
It will be admitted that these words are not ex-

tly calculated to reassure me. However, a lot of
things may happen ere then, I bave learned ong

me

 
FACING THE FLAG.

150. FACING THE FLAG,

invention is that rather too much time has to be

 

 

od thi i :
go ing from this conversation, and that is that at ‘expended in re gulating the firing.”

if Thomas Roch has sold his explosive to Ker Kar.
raje and Co., he has at any rate kept the secret
of his deflagrator, without which the explosive is of
no more value than the dust of the highway.

But before terminating the interview I think: I
bug to make a very natural observation to Mr.

ear,” T say, “you are now acquainted with
the composition of Thomas Roch’s explosive. Do
it really possess the destructive power that ‘th e
aha attributes to it? Has it ever been tried

a,
= y ames ae ghee atte a composition as inert

“You are doubtless better inform is poi
than you pretend, Mr. Hart. ac aia
you for the interest you manifest in our affairs and
am able to reassure you. The other night we ta
a series of decisive experiments. With only a f :
grains of this substance great blocks of on ie
reduced to impalpable dust!” be:

This explanation evident] i
cg gary y le to the detona-
“Thus, my dear colleague,” i
gue,” continues ~Engi
— “JT can assure you that our sxpeutitiony | favs
een answered. The effects of the explosive surpass

anything that could have been imagined. <A f

thousand tons of it would burst our spheroid nd
scatter the fragments into space. You can be Sia
lutely certain that it is capable.of destroying no
es what vessel at a distance considerably greater
than that attained by present projectiles and within
® zone of ‘at least a mile. The weak point in’ the

Engineer Serko stops short, as though reluctant to

give any further information, but finally adds:

“Therefore, I end as I began, Mr. Hart. Resign

yourself to the inevitable. Accept your new exist-
ence without reserve. Give yourself up to the tran-
quil delights of this subterranean life. If one is in
good health; one preserves it; if one has lost one’s
health, one recovers it here. That is what is hap-
pening to your fellow countryman. Yes, the best
thing you can do is to resign yourself to your

lot.”

Thereupon this giver of good advice leaves me,
after saluting me with a friendly gesture, like a man
whose good intentions merit appreciation. But
what irony there is in his words, in his glance, in
his attitude. Shall 1 ever-be able to get even with
him ? ;

I now know that at any rate it is not easy to regu-

Jate the aim of Roch’s auto-propulsive engine. It is
probable that it always bursts at. the same distance,

and that beyond the zone in which the effects of the
fulgurator are so terrible, and once it has been passed,
a ship is safe from its effects. If I_could only inform
the wotld of this vital fact!

August 20.—For two days no incident worth record-
ing has occurred. I have explored Back Cup to its
extreme limits. At night when the long perspective
of arched columns are illuminated by the electric lamps,
{am almost religiously impressed when I gaze upon
the natural wonders of this cavern, which has become

my prison. 1 have never given up hope of finding

 
pha

wh Late ade,

iat
ay

2 + FACING THE FLAQ,

- somewhere in the walls a fissure of consi anak of which ~

.the pirates are ignorant and through i
make my escape. It is true that pas ane pes
have to wait till a passing ship hove in sight. : M a
evasion would speedily be known at the Beehive ‘set
should soon be recaptured, unless—a hap th h
strikes me—unless I could get at the Ebbou for be
was drawn up high and dry on the little sand om
in the creek. In this I might be able to mak 2
to St. George or Hamilton. pes
This evening—it was about nine o’clo
myself on a bed of sand at the Seo ee
columns, about one hundred yards to the east of the
lagoon. Shortly afterwards I heard footste Z th :
voices. Hiding myself as best | could behind Ag ; xy
of the pillar, I listened with all my ears oe
recognized the voices as those of feat
Engineer Serko. The two men caer ae Ss
I was lying, and continued their conversation in Bax
lish—which is the language generally used in Back

Cup. I was therefore able to understand all that they

said.

They were talki
. 7 one ing about Thomas Roch, or rather

“Tn a week’s time,” said Ker Karraje, ¢

, e, “I shall

to sea in the Fbba, and fetch the iii ts of the meee
that are being cast in that Virginian foundry.” :
x * And when they are here,” observed Engineer Serko,

I will piece them together and fix up the frames for
firing them. But beforehand, there is a job to be done:
which it seems to me is indispensable.”

“What is that?”

“To cut a tunnel through the wall of the cavern.” —

: FACING THE FLAG. 158
« Through the wall of the cavern ?”

«Qh! nothing but a narrow passage through which
only one man at a time could squeeze, a hole easy
. enough to block, and the outside end of which would
be hidden among the rocks.” :
- «Of what use could it be tous, Serko#"

“T have often thought about the ptility of having
some other way of getting out besides the suimarine
tunnel. We never know what the future may have in
store for us.” er

« But the walls are so thick and hard,” objected Ker
Karraje. Nie

«“ Oh, with a few grains of Roch’s explosive { under-
take to reduce the rock to such fine powder that we shall

be able to blow it away with our breath,” Serko replied.

It can easily be imagined with what interest and

~ eagerness I listened to this. Here was a ray of hope. —

It was proposed to open up communication with the
outside by a tunnel in the wall, and this held out the
possibility of escape.

As this thought flashed through my mind, Ker Kar.
raje said:

“ Very well, Serko, and if it becomes necessary some —
day to defend Back Cup and prevent any ship from

approaching it——. It is true,” he went on, without
finishing the reflection, “our retreat would have to
have been discovered by accident—or by denunciation.”

“ We have nothing to fear either from accident or

denunciation,” affirmed Serko.
“ By one of our band, no, of course not, but by
\

- Simon Hart, perhaps.” .
; “ Hart!” exclaimed Serko, “He would have to

escape first, and no one can escape from Back Oup. 1

Ke

 
FACING THE FILAG,

am, by. the bye, interested in this Hart. He is a col
league, after all, and I have always suspected that he
knows more about Roch’s invention than he pretends.
: will haa him so that we shall soon be discuss
Ing physics, mechanics, and matt allistic: ikea
ae oraane ; ers ballistic like a

“No matter,” replied the generous and_ sensible
Count d’Artigas, “when we are in full possession of
me secret we had better get rid of the fellow.”

z ne Rare plenty of time to do that, Ker Karraje.”

If God permits you to, you wretches,” I muttered
to myself, while my heart thumped against my ribs

And yet, without the interventi
5 : ention of “
what hope is there for me Providence,

The conversation then took another direction.

“Now that we know the composition of the explo-
sive, Serko,” said Ker Karraje, “ we must, at all pe:
get that of the deflagrator from Thomas Roch.”

Z Yes,’ replied Engineer Serko, “that is what I am
trying todo. Unfortunately, however, Roch positivel
refuses to discuss it. Still he has already made a few
drops of it with which those experiments were made,
, and he will furnish as with some more to blow a hol ;
through the wall.” :

“But what about our expeditions at sea?” queried
Ker Karraje.

“Patience! We shall end by getting Roch’s thun.
derbolts entirely in our own hand, and then——”

“ Are you sure, Serko ¢”

“ Quite sure,—by paying the price, Ker Karraje.”

The conversation dropped at this point, and they
strolled off without having seen me—very luckily for
me, 1 guess. If Engineer Serko spoke up somewhat in

\

FACING THE VLAG. 155

defence of a colleague, Ker Karraje is apparently ani-
mated with much less benevolent sentiments in regard
tome. On the least suspicion they would throw me
into the lake, and. if I ever got through the tunnel, it

would only be as a corpse carried ont by the ebbing tide.

August 21.—Engineer Serko has been prospecting
with a view to piercing the proposed passage through
the wall, in such a way that its existence will never be
dreamed of outside. After a minute examination he
decided to tunnel through the northern end of the
cavern about sixty feet from the first cells of the
Beehive.

I am anxious for the passage to be made, for who
knows but what it may be the way to freedom for me #
Ah! if I only knew how to swim, perhaps I should
have attempted to escape through the submarine tun-
nel, as since it was disclosed by the lashing back of the
waters by the whale in its death-struggle, I know ex-
actly where the orifice is situated. It seems to me that

-at the time of the great tides, this orifice must be

partly uncovered. At the full and new moon, when the
sea attains its maximum depression below the normal
level, it is possible that-——I must satisfy myself about
this.

1 do not know how the fact will help me in any way,
even if thé entrance to the tunnel is partly uncovered,
but I cannot afford to miss any detail that may possibly
aid in my escape from Back Cup. ;

August 29.—This morning I am witnessing the de
parture of the tug. The Count d’ Artigas is, no doubt,
going off in the Lbba to fetch the sections of Thomas
Roch’s engines. Before embarking, the Count con-

verses long and earnestly with Engineer Serko, who, ap-

 
FACING THE ELAG.

parently, is not going to accompany him on this tri
and is evidently giving him some recommendations of
which I may be the object. Then, having stepped on
ah the ee he — below, the lid shuts with a
g, and the tug sinks out of sight, leavi i
bubbles behind it, Bike Shae Oein ee:

The hours go by, night is comi
ng on, yet the t:
does not return. I conclude that it has pie to ice

the schooner, and perhaps to destro
any merch
vessels that may come in their way. ee
Tt cannot, however, be absent very long, as the trip

to America and back will t
Sing not take more than a

Besides, if I can judge from the c i
esides alm atmosph

the interior of the cavern, the Hbba must es tenet
with beautiful weather. This is, in fact, the fine season

in this part of the world, Ah! if only I could break

out of my pr‘son!

FACING THE FLAG.

CHAPTER XIIL

GOD BE WITH IT.

From August 29 to September 10——Thirteen days
have gone by and the “ja has not returned, Did
she then not make straight for the American coast ?
Has she been delayed by a buccaneering cruise in the
neighborhood of Back Cup{ It seems to me that
Ker Karraje’s only desiro would be to get back with
the sections of Roch’s engines as soon as possible,
Maybe the Virgifian foundry had not quite finished
them. j

Engineer Serko does not display the least anxiety or
impatience. He continues to greet me with his accus-
tomed ironical cordiality, and with a kindly air that 1
distrust—with good reason. He affects to be solicitous
as to my health, urges me to make the best of a bad
job, calls me Ali Baba, assures me that there is not, in
the whole world, such an enchanting spot as this Ara-
bian Nights cavern, observes that I am fed, warmed,
lodged, and clothed, that I have no taxes vo pay, and

that even the inhabitants of the favored principality of
Monaco do not enjoy an existence more free from care.

Sometimes this ironical verbiage brings the blood to
my face, and [ am tempted to seize this cynical ban-
terer by the throat and choke the life out of him.
They would kill me afterwards. Still, what would

 
158 FACING THE FLAQ.

that matter! Would it not be better to end in this
way than to spend years and years amid these infernal

and infamous surroundings ? However, while there is
life there is hope, I reflect, and this thought restrains —

me,

I have scarcely set eyes upon Thomas Roch since
the dba went away. He shuts himself up in his lab-
oratory. and works unceasingly. If he utilizes all’ the
substances placed at his disposition there will be enough
to blow up Back Cup and the whole Bermudan archi-
pelago with it!

I cling to the hope that he will never consent to give
up the secret of his deflagrator, and that Engineer
Serko’s efforts to acquire it will remain futile.

September 3.—To-day I have been able to witness

with my own eyes the power of Roch’s explosive, and
also the manner in which the fulgurator is employed.
During the morning the men began to pierce the
passage through the wall of the cavern at the spot fixed
upon by Engineer Serko, who superintended the work
in person. The work began at the base, where the

rock is as hard as granite. To have continued it with

pickaxes would have entailed long and arduous labor,
inasmuch as the wall at this place is not less than from
twenty to thirty yards in thickness, but- thanks to
Roch’s fulgurator the passage will be completed easily
and rapidly.

I may well be astonished at what I have scen. The
pickaxes hardly made any impression on the rock, but
its disaggregation was effected with really remarkable
facility by means of the fulgurator.

A few grains of this explosive shattered the rocky
mass and reduced it to almost impalpable powder that

 

FACING THE FLAG.

one’s breath could disperse as easily as baci is:
explosion produced an excavation measuring : ee
cubic yard. It was accompanied bya sharp detonati
that may be compared to the report of a cannon.

The first charge used, although a very small one, a
mere pinch, biew the men in every direction, ae two
of them were seriously injured. Engineer Serko him-
self was projected several yards, and sustained some |

ere contusions.
one how this substance, whose bursting force
surpasses anything hitherto conceived, is employed, :

A small hole about an inch and a half in length is
pierced obliquely in the rock. A few grains of the
explosive are then inserted, but no wad is used, fe

Then Thomas Roch steps forward. In his hand is a
little glass phial containing a bluish, oily liquid ae con-
gealsalmost as soon as it comes in contact with the me
He pours one drop on the entrance of the his; an
draws back, but not with undue haste. It takes a cer-
tain time—about thirty-five seconds, I reckon—before
the combination of the fulgurator and deflagrator is
effected. But when the explosion does take place its
power of disaggregation is sach—I repeat—that it rca
be regarded as unlimited. It is at any rate a thousan:
times.superior to that of any known explosive.

Under these circumstances it will probably not take
more than a week to complete the tunnel. ie

September 19.—For some time past 1 have observec
that the tide rises and falls twice every Se
hours, and that the ebb and flow produce a rather swift
current through the submarine tunnel. It is pretty
certain therefore that a floating object thrown into the
lagoon when the top of the orifice is uncovered would

 
hae

FACING THE FLAG,

be carried out by the receding tide. It is just possible
that during the lowest eduinontiel tides hop of om
orifice is uncovered. This I shall be able to ascertain
as this is precisely the time they occur. To-day Sep-
tember 19, I could almost distinguish the summit of

the hole under the water, The day after to-morrow,
x 3

if ever, it will be uncovered. f

Very well then, if I cannot myself attem
through, may be a bottle Seows into = tector
might be carried out during the last few minutes of the
ebb. And might not this bottle by chance—an ultra-
providential chance, I must avow—be picked up by a
ship passing near Back Cup? Perhaps even it might
a as pik ¢ by . friendly current and cast upon one
e Bermudan beaches, if the
ees ea if that bottle con.

I cannot get this thought out of my mind, and it
works me up into a great state of excitement,
objections crop up—this one among others: the bottle
might be swept against the rocks and smashed ere ever
it could get out of the tunnel. Very true, but what if,
instead of a bottle a diminutive, tightly closed keg were
used? It would not run any danger of being smashed
and would besides stand a much better chance of reach-
ing the open sea. ,

September 20.—This evening, I, unperceived, entered
one of the store houses containing the booty pillaged
from various ships and procured a keg very suitable for
my experiment.

T hid the keg under my coat, and returned to the Bee-
hive and my cell. Then without losing an instant I
set to work. Paper, pen, ink, nothing was wanting, as
_ Will be supposed from the fact that for three months T

FACING THE FLAG. 161
have been making notes and dotting down my impres

‘sions daily.

I indite the following message:

“On June 15 last Thomas Roch and his keeper Gay-
don, or rather Simon Hart, the French engineer who —
oceupicd Pavilion No. 17, at Healthful House, near
New-Berne, North Carolina, United States of America,

- were kidnapped and carried on board the schooner

Lbba, belonging to the Count d@’ Artigas. Both are now
confined in the interior of a cavern which serves as a —
lair for the said Count d’Artigas—who is really Ker
Karraje, the pirate who some time ago carried on his
depredations in the West Pacific—and for about a hun-
dred men of which his band is composed, |
“When he has obtained possession of Roch’s ful-

gurator whose power is, so to speak, without limit, Ker

Karraje will be in a position to carry on his crimes

with complete impunity.

“Tt is therefore urgent that the states interested
should destroy his lair without delay.

“The cavern in which the pirate Ker Karraje has
taken refuge is in the interior of the islet of Back Cup,
which is wrongly regarded as an active volcano. It is
situated at the western extremity of the archipelago
of Bermuda, and on the east is bounded by a range of
reefs, but on the north, south, and west is open.

“Communication with the inside of the mountain is
only possible through a tunnel a few yards under water
in a narrow pass on the west. A submarine apparatus
therefore is necessary to effect an entrance, at any rate
until a tunnel they are boring through the northwestern
wall of the cavern is completed.

_ “The pirate Ker Karraje employs an apparatus af |
Tt

 
 

FACING THE FLAG,

this kind—the submarine boat that the Count d’ Artigas
ordered of the Crampsand which was supposed to have
been lost during the public experiment with it in
Sharleston Bay. This boat is used not only for the
purpose of entering and issuing from Back Cup, but
also to tow the schooner and attack merchant vessels
in Bermudan waters.

“This schooner //’}ba, so well known on the American
coast, is kept in a small creek-on the western side of
the island, behind a mass of rocks, and is invisible from
the sea.

“ The best place to land is on the west coast formerly
occupied by the colony of Bermudan fishers; but it
would first be advisable to effect a breach in the side of

the cavern by means of the most powerful melinite
shells.

“The fact that Ker Kerraje may be in the position
to use Roch’s fulgurator for the defence of the island
must also be taken into consideration. Let it be well
borne in mind that if its destructive power surpasses
anything ever conceived or dreamed of, it extends over
a zone not exceeding a mile in extent. The distance
of this dangerous zone is variable, but once the en-
gines have been set, the modification of the distance
occupies: some time, and a warship that succeeds in
passing the zone has nothing further to fear.

“ This document is written on the twentieth day of
September at eight o’clock in the evening and is signed
with my name

“THOMAS HART, Engineer.”

The above is the text of the statement I have just
drawnup. It says all that is necessary about the island,

_ FAOING THE FLAG. 168

whose exact situation is marked on all modern charts and
maps, and points out the expediency of acting without
delay, and what to do in case Ker Karraje is in the
position to employ Roch’s fulgurator.

I add a plan of the cavern showing its internal con-
figuration, the situation of the lagoon, the lay of the
Beehive, Ker Karraje’s habitation, my cell, and Thomas
Roch’s laboratory.

I wrap the document in a piece of tarpaulin and
insert the package in the little keg, which measures
six inches by three and a half. It is perfectly water-
tight and will stand any amount of knocking about
against the rocks.

There is one danger, however, and that is, that it may
be swept back by the returning tide, cast up on the
island and fall into the hands of the crew of the Zbba
when the schooner is hauled into her creek. If Ker
Karraje ever gets hold of- it, it will be all up with me.

It will be readily conceived with what anxiety I have
awaited the moment to make the attempt: Iam ina
perfect fever of excitement, for it is a matter of life or
death tome. I calculate from previous observations
that the tide will be very low at about a quarter to
nine. The top of the tunnel ought then to be a foot
and a half above water, which is more than enough
to permit of the keg passing through it. It will be
another half hour at least before the flow sets in again,
and by that time the keg may be far enough away to
escape being thrown back on the coast.

I peer out of my cell. There is no one about, and I
advance to the side of the lagoon, where by the light of
a nearby lamp, I perceive the arch of the tunnel, towards
which the current seems to be setting pretty swiftly.

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

I go down to the very edge, and cast in the keg
which contains the precious document and all my
hopes. ge

ne God be with it!” I fervently exclaim. “God be

ith it!” : :
ee a minute or two the little barrel remains station-
ary, and then floats back to the side again. I throw it

out once more with all my strength. :
This time it is in the track of the current, which to

my great joy sweeps it along and in twenty seconds,

it has disappeared in the tunnel.

: Yes, God be with it! May Heaven guide thee, little
barrel! May it protect all those whom Ker Karraje
menaces and grant that this band of pirates may not

escape from the justice of man!

 

BACING THE FLAG.

CHAPTER XIV.

BATTLE BETWEEN THR “SWORD” AND THE TUG

Txroven all this sleepless night I have followed
the keg in fancy. How many times I seem to see it
swept against the rocks in the tunnel into a creek, or
some excavation. I am in a cold perspiration from
head to foot. Then I imagine that it has been carried
out to sea. Heavens! if the returning tide should
sweep it back to the entrance and then through the
tunnel into the lagoon! I must be on the lookout
for it. ;

I rise before the sun and saunter down to the lagoon.
Not a single object is floating on its calm surface.

The work on the tunnel, through the side of the
cavern goes on, and at four o’clock in the afternoon on
September 24, Engineer Serko blows away the last rock
obstructing the) issue, and communication with the
outer world is established. It is only a very narrow
hole, and one has to stoop to go through it. The
exterior orifice is lost among the crannies of the rocky
coast, and it would be easy to obstruct it, if such a
measure became necessary.

It goes without saying that the passage will be strictly
guarded, No one without special authorization will be
able either to go out or come in, therefore there is little
hope of escape in that direction.

 
FACING THE FLAG.

September 25.—This morning the tug rose from the
depth of the lagoon to the surface, and has now run
alongside the jetty. The Count d’Artigas and Captain
Spade disembark, and the crew set to work to land the
provisions—boxes of canned meat, preserves, barrels of
wine and spirits, and other things brought by the #dba,
among which are several packages destined for Thomas
Roch, . The men also land the various sections of Roch’s
engines which are discoid in shape.

The inventor watches their operations, and his eyes
glisten with eagerness. He seizes one of the sections,
examines it, and nods approval. I notice that his joy
no longer finds expression in incoherent utterances, that
he is completely transformed from what he was while
a patient at Healthful House. So much is this the case
that I begin to ask myself whether his madness which
was asserted to be incurable, has not been radically
cured.

At last Thomas Roch embarks in the boat used for

crossing the lake and is rowed over to his laboratory.
Engineer Serko accompanies him. In an hour’s time
the tug’s cargo has all been taken out and transported
to the storehouses.
_ Ker Karraje exchanges a word or two with Engineer
Serko and then enters hismansion. Later, in the after-
noon, I see them walking up and down in front of the
Beehive and talking earnestly together.

Then they enter the new tunnel, followed by Captain
Spade. If I could but follow them! If I could but
breathe for awhile the bracing air of the Atlantic, of
which the interior of Back Cup only receives attenuated

puffs, so to speak.

From September 26 to October 10.—Fifteen days have

FACING THE FLAG. 167

elapsed. Under the directions of Engineer Serko and
Thomas Roch the sections of the engines have been
fitted together. Then the construction of their supports
is begun. These supports are simple trestles, fitted with
transverse troughs or grooves of various degrees of in-
clination, and which could be easily installed on the
deck of the Z’bba, or even on the platform of the tug,
which can be kept on a level with the surface.

Thus Ker Karraje, will be ruler of the seas, with his
yacht. No warship, however big, however powerful,
will be able to cross the zone of danger, whereas the
Ebba will be out of range of its guns. If only my
notice were found! If only the existence of this lair

“of Back Cup were known! Means would soon be found,

if not of destroying the place, at least of starving the
band into submission !

October 20.—To my extreme surprise I find this
morning that the tug has gone away again. Irecall that
yesterday the elements of the piles were renewed, but
I thought it was only to keep them in order. In view
of the fact that the outside can now be reached through
the new tunnel, and that Thomas Roch has everything
he requires, I can only conclude that the tug has gone
off on another marauding expedition.

Yet this is the season of the equinoctial gales, and
the Bermudan waters are swept by frequent tem-
pests. This is evident from the violent gusts that drive
back the smoke through the crater and the heavy rain
that accompanies it, as well as by the water in the
lagoon, which swells and washes over the brown rocks
on its shores. .

But it is by no means sure that the Zbba has quitted
her cove. However staunch she may be, she is, it

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

seems to me, of too light a build to face such tempests
as now rage, even with the help of the tug.

On the other hand, although the tug has nothing
to fear from the heavy seas, as it would be in calm
water a few yards below the surface, it is hardly likely
that it has gone on a trip unless to accompany the
schooner.

Ido not know to what its departure can be attrib-
uted, but its absence is likely to be prolonged, for it
has not yet returned.

Engineer Serko has remained behind, but Ker Kar-
raje, Captain Spade, and the crew of the schooner, I
find, have left.

Life in the cavern goes on with its usual dispiriting
monotony. I pass hour after hour in my cell, meditat-
ing, hoping, despairing, following in fancy the voyage
of my little barrel, tossed about at the mercy of the
cur tents and whose chances of being picked up, I fear,

are becoming fainter each day, and killing time by writ- -

ing my diary, which will probably not survive me.

Thomas Roch is constantly occupied in his labora-
tory manufacturing his deflagrator. I scill entertain
the conviction that nothing will ever induce him to
give up the secret of the liquid’s composition; but I
am perfectly aware that he will not hesitate to place
his invention at Ker Karraje’s service.

I often meet Engineer Serko when my strolls take
me in the direction of the Beehive. He always shows
himself disposed to chat,with me, though, it is true, he
does so ina tone of impertinent frivolity. We con-
verse upon all sorts of subjects, but rarely of my posi-
tion. Recrimination thereanent is useless and only
subjects me to renewed bantering.

)
|

>

FACING THE FLAG. 168

October 22.—To-day I asked Engineer Serko whether
the Aba had put to sea again with the tug.

“Yes, Mr. Simon Hart,” he replied, “and though
the clouds gather and loud the tempest roars, be in no
uneasiness in regard to our dear Lbba.”

“ Will she be gone long?”

“We expect her back within forty-eight hours. It
is the last voyage Count d’Artigas proposes to make
before the winter gales render navigation in these
parts impracticable.” __

“Ts her voyage one of business or pleasure?”

“Of business, Mr. Hart, of business,’ answered
Engineer Serko with a smile. “Our engines are now
completed, and when the fine weather returns we shall
resume offensive operations.”

“ Against unfortunate merchantmen.”

“ As unfortunate as they are richly laden,”

“ Acts of piracy, whose impunity will, I trust, not
always be assured,” I cried. i

“Calm yourself, dear colleague, be calm! Be calm!
No one, you know, can ever discover our retreat, and
none can ever disclose the secret! Besides, with these

engines, which are so easily handled and are of such ter-
rible power, it would be easy for us to blow to pieces
any ship that attempted to get within a certain radius
of the island.”

“ Providing,” I said, “that Thomas Roch has sold
you the composition of his deflagrator as he has sold
you that of his fulgurator.”

“That he has done, Mr. Hart, and it behooves me to
set your mind at rest upon that point.”

From this categorical response I ought to have com

- gluded that the misfortune had been consummated, but

 
FACING THE FLAG.

a certain hesitation in the intonation of his voice the forest of pillars
warned me that implicit reliance was not to be placed obscurity.

upon Engineer Serko’s assertions. I was walking about in

October 25.—What a frightful adventure I have just ~ passed me.

been mixed up in, and what a wonder I did not lose — Isaw that he was Thomas Roch,
my life! It is only by a miracle that Iam able to re- — He was walking slowly, absorb
sume these notes, which have been interrupted for his brain at work, as usual. eae os ‘
forty-eight hours. With a little luck, I should have Was this not a favorable opportunity to talk to him,
been delivered! I should now be in one of the Ber- to enlighten bim about what he was probably ignorant,
mudan ports—St. George or Hamilton. The mysteries namely, the character of the people into whose banda
of Back Cup would have been cleared up. The de- he had fallen ?

scription of the schooner would have been wired all “He cannot,” I argued, “ know that the Oqant
over the world, and she would not dare to put into any @ Artigas is none other than Ker Karraje, the pirate.
port. The provisioning of Back Cup would be impos- He cannot be aware that he has given up @ part of his

sible, and Ker Karraje’s bandits would be condemned invention to such a bandit. I must open his ni tog se
to starve to death! . the fact that he will never be able to enjoy his millions,

This is what occurred : that he is a prisoner in Back Cup, and will never be
At eight o’clock in the evening on October 23, [ allowed to leave it, any more than I shall. Yes, Twill
quitted my cell in an indefinable state of nervousness, make an appeal to his sentiments of humanity, and
and with a presentiment that a serious event was im- point out to him what frightful misfortunes he will be
minent. In vain [ had tried to seek calmness in sleep. responsible for if he does not keep the secret of his
It was impossible to do so, and I rose and went out. deflagrator.” . e
Outside Back Cup the weather must have been very All this I had said to myself, and was preparing to
rough. Violent gusts of wind swept in through the carry out my resolution, when | suddenly felt, myself
crater and agitated the water of the lagoon. seized from behind. .
I walked along the shore on the Beehive side. No Two men held me by thearms, and another appeared
one was about. It was rather cold, and the air was in front of me.
damp. The pirates were all snugly ensconced in their Before I had time to cry out the man
cells, with the exception of one man, who stood guard English : : ”
over the new passage, notwithstanding that the outer «Hush! not a word! Are you not Simon Hart
entrance had been blocked. From where he was this “Yes, how did you know?”
man could not see the lagoon, moreover there were *T saw you come out of your cell.”
only two lamps alight, one on each side of the lake,and * Who are you, then?”

was wrapt in the profoundest

‘the shadow, when some one

ed by his thoughts,

exclaimed in

 
FACING THE FLAG.

“Lieutenant Davon, of the British Navy, of H. M. 8;
Standard, which is stationed at the Bermudas.”

FACING THE FLAG.
some—-and you also, Mr. Hart. The Sword will not

i h on board. If she
leave the lagoon till you are both « :
33 not sa up at St. George again, they will know
that I have failed—and they will try again.

j »”
“ Where is the Sword, Lieutenant ?
“ On this side, in the shadow of the bank, where it

ot be seen. Thanks to your directions, 1 and my
sce were able to locate the tunnel. We came ees
all right, and ten minutes ago rose to the surface ¥
the lake. Two men landed with me. I saw you =
from the cell marked on your plan. Do you know

Emotion choked me so that it was impossible for me
to utter a word.
“We have come to rescue you from Ker Karraje,

and also propose to carry off Thomas Roch,” he added.
“Thomas Roch?” I stammered.

“Yes, the document signed by you was found on the’
beach at St. George——”

“In a keg, Lieutenant Davon, which I committed to
tne waters of the lagoon.”

“And which contained,” went on the officer, “ the

hays

Se Oe NE

Sie

ak

 

notice by which we were apprised that the island of
Back Cup served as a refuge for Ker Karraje and his
band—Ker Karraje, this false Count d’ Artigas, the

author of the double abduction from Healthful House.”
* Ah! Lieutenant Davon——”

“Now we have not a moment to spare, we must
profit by the obscurity.”

“One word, Lieutenant Davon, how did you pene-
trate to the interior of Back Cup?”
“ By means of the submarine boat Sword, with whicn

we have been making experiments at St. George for
six months past.”

“ A submarine boat!”

“Yes, it awaits us at the foot of the rocks. And
now, Mr. Hart, where is Ker Karraje’s tug?”

“It has been away for three weeks,” -

“Ker Karraje is not here, then?”

“No, but we expect him back every day—every
hour, I might say.”

“It matters little,” replied Lieutenant Davon. “It
is not after Ker Karraje, but Thomas Roch, we have

rete Kale

where Thomas Roch is?.” an :
“A few paces off. He has just passed me, on his

way to his laboratory.” 2B
_ “ God be praised, Mr. Hart!

“ Amen, Lieutenant Davon.”

The lieutenant, the-two men and I took te path
around the lagoon. We had not gone far when we per
ceived Thomas Roch in front of us. To throw ous
selves upon him, gag him before he could utter a cry,
bind him before he could offer any resistance, and bear
him off to the place where the Sword was moored was

he work of a minute,

: The Sword was a submersible boat of only twelve
tons, and consequently much inferior to the tug, both
in respect of dimensions and power. Her screw was
worked by a couple of dynamos fitted with accumu
lators that had been charged twelve hours previously
in the port of St. George. However, the Sword would
suffice to take us out of this prison, to restore us to
liberty—that liberty of which 1 had given up all hope.
Thomas Roch was at last to be rescued from the

clutches of Ker Karraje and Engineer Serko. Tne

Res

 
FACING THE FLAG.

rascals would not be able to utilize his invention, and
nothing could prevent the warships from landing a
storming party on the island, who would force the
tunnel in the wall and secure the pirates !

We saw no one while the two men were conveying
Thomas Roch to the Sword, and all got on board with-
out incident. The lid was shut and secured, the water
compartments filled, and the Sword sank out of sight.
We were saved !

The Sword was divided into three water-tight com-
partments. The after one contained the accumulators
and machinery. The middle one, occupied by the pilot,
was surmounted by a periscope fitted with lenticular
portholes, through which an electric search-lamp lighted
the way through the water. Forward, in the other
compartment, Thomas Roch and I were shut in.

My companion, though the gag which was choking
him had been removed, was still bound, and, I thought,
knew what was going on,

But we were in a hurry to be off, and hoped to reach
St. George that very night if no obstacle was encoun-
tered.

I pushed open the door of the compartment and re-
joined Lieutenant Davon, who was standing by the
man at the wheel. In the after compartment: three
other men, including the engineer, awaited the lieuten-
ant’s orders to set the machinery in motion.

* Lieutenant Davon,” I said, “1 do not think there
is any particular reason why I should stay in there

with Roch. If 1 can help you to get through the tun-
nel, pray command me.”

« Yes, I shall be glad to have you by me, Mr. Hart.”

Is was then exactly thirty-seven minutes past eight, —

PACING THE FLAG.

The search-lamp threw a vague light through the water
ahead of the Sword. From where we were, we had to
cross the lagoon through its entire length to get to the
tunnel. It would be pretty difficult to fetch it, we
knew, but, if necessary, we could hug the sides of the
lake until we located it. Once outside the tunnel the
Sword would rise to the surface and make for St.

George at full speed.
“ At what depth are we now 2” | asked the lieutenant.

“ About a fathom.”
“It is not necessary to go any lower,” I said,
‘From what 1 was able to observe during the equ-
aoctial tides, | should think that we are in the axis of

jhe tunne!.”

“ All right,” he replied.

Yes, it was all right, and I felt that Providence was
speaking by the mouth of the officer, Certainly
Providence could not have chosen a better agent to
work its will.

In the light of the lamp 1 examined him. Hie was
about thirty years of age, cool, phlegmatic, with reso-
lute physiognomy—the English officer in all his native
impassibility—no more disturbed than if he had been
on board the Standard, operating with extraordinary
sangfroid, | might even say, with the precision of a
machine.

“On coming through the tunnel 1 estimated its
length at about fifty yards,” he remarked.

“Yes; Lieutenant, about fifty. yards from one ex-
tremity to the other.”

This calculation must have been pretty exact, since
the new tunnel cut on a level with the coast is thirty-

five feet in length.

 
FACING THE FLAG,

The order was giyen to go ahead, and the Sword
moved forward very slowly for fear of colliding
against the rocky side.

Sometimes we came near enough to it to distinguish
a black mass ahead of it, but a turn of the wheel put us
in the right direction again. N avigating a submarine
boat in the open sea is difficult enough. How much
more so in the confines of a lagoon !

After five minutes’ manceuvring, the Sword, which
was kept at about a fathom below the surface, had
not sueeeeded in sighting the orifice,

“ Perhaps it would be better to return to the sur-
face, Lieutenant,” I said. “We should then be able to
see where we are.” ~

“T think you are right, Mr. Hart, if you can point
out just about where the tunnel is located.”

“ I think I can.” \

“ Very well, then.”

As a precaution the light was turned off. The en-
gineer set the pumps in motion, and, lightened of its

water ballast, the boat slowly rose in the darkness to
the surface.

I remained at my post so that I could peer through
the lookouts.

At last the ascensional movement of the Sword

stopped, and the periscope emerged about a foot.

On one side of me, lighted by the lamp by the
shore, I could see the Beehive.

“ What is your opinion?” demanded the lieutenant,

“ We are too far north. The orifice is in the west
side of the cavern.”

_ “Ts anybody about?”
“ Not a soul.”

e.

« FACING THE FLAG. 171

“ Capital, Mr. Hart. Then we will keep on : “
with the surface, and ee we wee ae of the tun-
ou give the signal, we will sink.
one, aha ate be done. We moved =
again and the pilot kept her head towards the pees é
When we were about twelve yards off I aes “
signal to stop. As soon as the current was turned o

* the Sword stopped, opened her water tanks and slowly

Cana tie light in the lookout was turned ee
and there in front of us was a black circle that did no
mp’s rays. :

ger ee ‘ tee thore is the tunnel!” I cried.

Was it not the door by which I was going to ra

from my prison? Was not liberty awaiting me on the
ide? ;
Sp a Sword moved towards the orifice. a

Oh! the horrible mischance! ned ae I surviv

is it that my heart is not broken ;
os ay ae sae in the depth of the tunnel,
about twenty-five yards in front of us. The 2
light could be none other than that projected throug:
the lookout of Ker Karraje’s submarine boat.

“The tug! The tug!” Lexclaimed. “ Lieutenant,
here is the tug returning to Back Cup!”

“ Full speed astern,” ordered the officer, and the
Sword drew back just as she was about to enter the
ane chance remained. The lieutenant had swiftly
turned off the light, and it was just possible that we
had not been seen by the people in the tug. Perhaps,
in the dark waters of the lagoon, we should roe
notice, and when the oncoming boat had risen

2

 
FACING THE FLAG.

moored to the jetty, we should be able to slip out un
perceived,

We had backed close in to the south side and the
Sword was about to stop, but alas, for our hopes! Cap-
tain Spade had seen that another submarine boat was
about to issue through the tunnel, and he was making
preparations to chase us. How could a frail craft like
the Sword defend itself against the attacks of Ker
Karraje’s powerful machine?

Lieutenant Davon turned to me-and said: “Go back
to the compartment where Thomas Roch is and shut
yourself in. I will close the after-door. There is just
a chance that if the tug rams us the water-tight com-
partments will keep us up.”

After shaking hands with the lieutenant, who was
is cool as though we were in no danger, I went for-
ward and rejoined Thomas Roch. I closed thé door
and awaited the issue in profound darkness.

Then I could feel the desperate efforts made by the

Sword to escape from or ram her enemy. I could feel
her rushing, gyrating and plunging. Now she would
twist to avoid a collision. Now she would rise to the
surface, then sink to the bottom of the lagoon. Can
any one conceive such a struggle as that in which, like
two marine monsters, these machines were engaged in
beneath the troubled waters of this inland lake?

A few minutes elapsed, and I began to think that
the Sword had eluded the tug and was rushing through
the tunnel. ;

Suddenly there was a collision. The shock was not,
it seemed to me, very violent, but I could be under no
illusion: the Sword had been struck on her starboard
quarter. Perhaps her plates had resisted, and if not

’

FACING THE FLAG.'

the water would only invade one of her compartments,

I thought.
Almost immediately after, however, there was

another shock that pushed the Sword with extreme
violence. She was raised by the ram of the tug which
sawed and ripped its way into her side. Then I could
feel her heel over and sink straight down, stern
foremost.

Thomas Roch and I were tumbled over violently by
this movement. There was another bump, another
ripping sound, and the Sword lay still.

Just what happened after that I am unable to say,
for I lost consciousness. ,

I have since learned that all this occurred many
hours ago.

I however distinctly remember that my last thought
was: :
“Tf Iam to die, at any rate Thomas Roch and his
secret perish with me—and the pirates of Back Oup
will not escape punishment for their crimes.”

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG,

CHAPTER XV.

EXPECTATION.

As soon as I recover my senses ] find myself lying

en my bed in my cell, where it appears I have been
lying for thirty-six hours.

Iam not alone. Engineer Serko isnearme. Hehas

attended to me himself, not because he regards me as
a friend, I surmise, butas aman from whom indispen-
sable explanations are awaited, and who afterwards
can be done away with if necessary,

Tam still so weak that I could not walk astep. A
little more and I should have been asphyxiated in that .

narrow compartment of the Sword at the bottom of
the lagoon. ie
Am I in condition to reply to the questions that

Engineer Serko is dying to put to me? Yes—but I
shall maintain the utmost reserve.

In the first place 1 wonder what has become of
Lieutenant’ Davon and the crew of the Sword. Did

those brave Englishmen perish in the collision? Are

they safe and sound like us—for I suppose that Thomas
Roch has also suryived ?

The first question that Engineer Serko puts to me is
this :

* Will you explain to me what happened, Mr, Hart ?”

FACING THE FLAG.

Instead of replying it occurs to me to question him
myself,

“ And Thomas Roch ?” I inquire. :

“In good health, Mr. Hart.” Then he adds in an
imperious tone : “ Tell me what occurred !”

“In the first place, tell me what became of the
others.”

“ What others?” replies Serko, glancing at me sav-
agely. Sick Ire

“Why, those men who threw themselves upon
Thomas Roch and me, who gagged, bound, and carried
us off and shut us up, 1 know not where?”

On reflection [had come to the conclusion that the
best thing to do was to pretend that I had been sur-
prised before I knew where I was or who my aggressors
were.

“You will know what became of them later. But”
first, tell me how the thing was done.”

By. the threatening tone of his voice, as he for the
third time puts this question, I understand the nature
of the suspicions entertained of me. Yet to be in the
position to accuse me of having had relations with the
outside he would have had to get. possession of my keg.
This he could not have done, seeing that it is in the
hands of the Bermudan authorities. The pirates cannot,
I am convinced, have a single proof to back up their
suspicions.

I therefore recount how about eight o’clock on the
previous evening I was walking along the edge of the
lagoon, after Thomas Roch had passed me, going to-
wards his laboratory, when I felt myself seized from
behind ; how having been gagged, bound, and blind-
folded, I felt myself carried off and lowered inte a hole

 

 
FACING THE FLAG.

with another person whom I thought I recognized
from his groans as Thomas Roch ; how I soon felt that
I was on board a boat of some description and natur-
ally concluded that it was the tug ; how I felt it sink;
how I felt a shock that threw me violently against the
side, and how I felt myself suffocating and lost con-
sciousness, since I remember nothing further.

Engineer Serko listens with profound attention, a
stern look in his eyes and a frown on his brow ; and
yet be can have no reason that authorizes him to doubt
my word.

“You claim that three men threw themselves upon
you?” he asks,

“Yes. I thought they were some of your people,
for I did not see them coming. Who were they?”

“ Strangers, as you must have known from their lan-

guage.”
“They did not utter a word!”

“Have you no idea as to their nationality ?”
“ Not the remotest.”

Do you know what were their intentions in entering
the cavern?”

“T do not.”

“What is your opinion about it?”

“My opinion, Mr. Serko? I repeat I thought they
were two or three of your pirates who had come to
throw me into the lagoon by the Count d’Artigas’
orders,.and that they were going to do the same thing
to Thomas Roch, I supposed that having obtained
his secrets—as you informed me was the case—you
had no further use for him and were about to get rid
ef us both.”

“Is it possible, Mr, Hart, that you could have

 WACING THE FLAG.

thought such a thing!” continued Serko in his sar

castic way.
“T did, until having been able to remove the bannge

from my eyes, I perceived that I was in the tug.” —
“Tt pas ian the tug, but a boat of the same kind

that had got through the tunnel.”

“ A submarine boat?” I ejaculate. ee

“Yes, and manned by persons whose mission was to
kidnap you and Thomas Roch.” _

“ Kidnap us?” I echo, continuing to feign surprise.

“ And,” adds Engineer Serko, “I want to know what
you think about the matter.”

“What I think about it? Well, it appears to me
that there is only one plausible explanation possible.
if the secret of your retreat has not been betrayed—
and I cannot conceive how you could have been be-
trayed or what imprudence you or yours could have
committed-—-my opinion is that this submarine boat
was exploring the bottom of the sea in this neighbor-
hood, that she must have found her way into the tunnel,
that she rose to the surface of the lagoon, that her
crew, greatly surprised to find themselves inside an in-
habited cavern, seized hold of the first persons they
came across, Thomas Roch and myself, and others as
well perhaps, for of course I do not know——”
Engineer Serko has become serious again. Does he

realize the inanity of the hypothesis I try to pass off
on him? Does he think I know more than I will say ¢
However this may be, he accepts my professed view,
and says :

“In effect, Mr. Hart, it must have happened as you
suggest, and when the stranger tried to make her way |

out through the tunnel just as the tug was entering,

 
FACING THE FLAQ@.,

there was a collision—a collision of which she was the

victim. But we are not the kind of people to allow
our fellow-men to perish before our eyes. Moreover,
the disappearance of Thomas Roch and yourself was
almost immediately discovered. Two such valuable
lives had to be saved at all hazards. We set to work.
There are many expert divers among our men. They
hastily donned their suits and descended to the bottom
of the lagoon. They passed lines around the hull of
the Sword——”.

“The Sword ?” I exclaim.

“That is the name we saw painted on the bow of the
vessel when we raised her to the surface. What satis:
faction we experienced when we recovered you—un-
conscious, it is true, but still breathing—and were able
to bring you back to life! Unfortunately all our at-
tentions to the officer who commanded the Sword, and
to his crew were useless. The shock had torn open
the after and middle compartments, and they paid with
their lives the misfortune—due to chance, as you ob-
serve—of having discovered our mysterious retreat.”

On learning that Lieutenant Davon and his com-
panions are dead, my heart is filled with anguish ;
but to keep up my rdle—as they were pbrsons with
whom, presumably, I was not acquainted, and had
never seen—I am careful not to display any emotion.
I must, on no account, afford ground for the suspicion
that there was any connivance between the com-
mander of the Sword and me. For augit I know,
Engineer Serko may have reason to be very skeptical
about the discovery of the tunnel being accidental.

What, however, [am most concerned about is' that the
unlooked-for occasion to recover my liberty was lost,

sain = a ee ee

FACING THE FLAG. 195

Shall I ever be afforded another chance? casi se
this may be, my notice reached the English = —
of the archipelago, and they now know w. ene we
Karraje is to be found. When it 1s seen tha
Sword does not return to Bermuda, there can be -
doubt that another attempt will be made to get Inside
Back Cup, in which, had it not been for the inopportune
return of the tug, I should no longer be a prisoner. :
I have resumed my usual existence, and spies =
layed all mistrust, am permitted to wander freely abou
as usual. :
=a Stunt that the adventure has had no ill effect

upon Thomas Roch. Tntelligent nursing brought him
around, as it did me. In full possession of his mental

faculties he has returned to work, and spends the
entire day in his laboratory.

The Hbba brought back from her last trip bales,

boxes, and a quantity of objects of varied origin, and .

I conclude that a number of ships must have been
pillaged during this marauding expedition.

The work on the trestles for Roch’s engine goes
steadily forward, and there are now no fewer than
fifty engines. If Ker Karraje and Engineer Serko are
under the necessity of defending Back Cup, three or
four will be sufficient to render-the island unapproach-
able, as they will cover a zone which no vessel could
enter without being blown to pieces. And it oe
to me that they intend to put Back Cup ina state o

er having argued as follows:
ei te pees of the Sword in the lagoon was
due to chance the situation remains unchanged, and no
power, not even England, will think of seeking for the
Sword inside the cavern. If, on the other hand, as the

~

 
 

FACING THE FLAG.

result of an incomprehensible revelation, it has been
learned that Back Cup is become the retreat of Ker
Karraje, if the expedition of the Sword was a first
effort against the island, another of a different kind—
either a bombardment from a distance, or an attack by
a landing party—is to be expected. Therefore, ere we
can quit Back Cup and carry away our plunder, we
shall have to defend ourselves by means of Roch’s ful-
gurator.”

In my opinion the rascals must have gone on to
reason still further in this wise:

“Ts there any connection between the disclosure of
our secret—if it was, and however it may have been
made—and the double abduction from Healthful Housel
Is it known that Thomas Roch and his kceper are con-
fined in Back Cup? Is it known that the abduction
was effected in the interest of Ker Karraje? Have
Americans, English, French, Germans, and Russians
reason to fear that an attack in force against the island
would be doomed to failure ?”

Ker Karraje must know very well that these powers
would not hesitate to attack him, however great the
danger might be. The destruction of his lair is an
urgent duty in the interest of public security and of
humanity. After sweeping the West Pacific the pirate
and his companions are infesting the West Atlantic, and
must be wiped out at all costs.

In any case, it is imperative that the inhabitants of
Back Cup should be on their guard. This fact is
realized, and, from the day on which the Sword was
destroyed, strict watch has been kept. Thanks to the
new passage, they are able to hide among the rocks

without having recourse to the submarine tunnel to get

d day and night a dozen s\ _ pos
oe ne island, The moment a ship appears in sight

the fact is at once made known inside the cavern.

however,

FACING THE FLAG.
sentries are posted

Nothing occurs for some days, and the latter succeed

each other with dreadful monotony. The pirates,

that Back Cup no longer enjoys its former
security. Per moment an alarm from the yaa
posted outside is expected. so ogre : pif tee
e since the advent of the 4
Seats Davon, gallant crew, may nig eng ee i.
civilized nations, never — erie ave sa
lives in the cause of humant
tt is evident that now, however atalino ger © =
their means of defence, even more esos Rag
network of torpedoes, Engineer Serko and ie :
Spade are filled with an anxiety that they vainly - i
todissemble. They hold frequent conf erences er
Maybe they discuss the advisability of En cae
Cup with their wealth, for they are aware t : : =
existence of the cavern is known means will be pag :
to reduce it, even if the inmates have to be starv < :
This is, of course, mere conjecture on my part. W 57
is essential to me is that they do not suspect mas
having launched the keg that was so providenti Re
picked up at Bermuda. Never, I must say, be
Engineer Serko ever made any allusion to et an
probability. No, I am not even suspected. peter
contrary were the case lam sufficiently flees i
Ker Karraje to know that-he would long ago ptt ce
me to rejoin Lieutenant Davon and the Sword a
e lagoon. 8
eas conpeils have set in with a ie hee
fhe wind howls though the hole in the roof, and rude

 
 

FACING THE FLAG,

gusts sweep through the forest of pillars producing
Sonorous sounds, so sonorous, so deep, that one might
sometimes almost fancy they were produced by the
firing of the guns of a squadron. Filocks of seabirds

_ take refuge in the cavern from the gale, and at in-
tervals, when it lulls, almost deafen us with their
screaming, z
It is to be presumed that in such weather the
schooner will make no attempt to put to sea, for the

stock of provisions is ample enough to last all the
. Season. Moreover, I imagine the Count @ Artigas will
not be so eager in future to show his Lbba along the

It oceurs to me that if the apparition of the Sword
was the commencement of a campaign against the
island, a question of great moment relative to the
future of Back Cup arises,

Therefore, one day, prudently, so as not to excite any
suspicion, I ventured to pump Engineer Serko about it,

We were in the neighborhood of Thomas Roch’s
laboratory, and had been conversing for some time,
when Engineer Serko touched upon the extraordinary
apparition of an English submarine boat in the lagoon.
On this occasion he seemed to incline to the view that

it might have been a premeditated expedition against

Ker Karraje.
“That is not my opinion,” I replied, in order to bring

him to the question that I wanted to put to him. :
“Why ?” he demanded,

“ Because if your retreat were known a fresh attempt,

FACING THE FLAG.

if not to penetrate to the cavern, at least to destroy

i de.”
uld ere this have been ma
ena, it 1” cried Serko. “It would be a danger

f
ous undertaking, in view of the means of defence ©.
i now dispose.” ;
eer can know nothing about een
i imagi ither in the
ko. It is not imagined, et pees
a old, that the abduction from Healthful House w

effected for your especial benefit, or that io oe
ceeded in coming to terms with Thomas Ko

i son 2?
vention, ; eee
f Engineer Serko made no response to this obsery ;

which, for that matter, was unanswerable.

tinued : iS. e
; Therefore a squadron sent by the maritime pow

who have an interest in breaking up this nr ae
not hesitate to approach and shell it. : s ed
from this that as this squadron has not ye Pps . .
it is not likely to come at all, and puien a ined
known as to Ker Karraje’s whereabouts, an Re spe
admit that this od diancboes is the most cheerful one,
rned.’
Pathe hie a, "Aba glatoer Serko replied, “ but ie
is, is. Whether they are aware of the fact gee .
w hips approach within five or six — ee .
island they will be sunk before they have
fire a single shot !”

= d what then?” Sar
3 wait ‘then? Why the probability is that no

others wo iment.”

th vould care to repeat the experiment a

“That again,may be. But these warships would in
>

d the Lbba
beyond the dangerous zone, an
yond tpt beable to put in to the ports she previously

 
 

 

 

190 FACING THE FLAG.

visited with the Count @ Artigas. In this event, how
would you be able to provision the island ?”

Engineer Serko remained silent.

This argument, which he must already have brooded
over, was too logical to be refuted or dismissed, and I
have an idea that the pirates contemplate abandoning
Back Cup.

Nevertheless, not relishing being cornered, he con-
tinued :

“We should still have the tug, and what the Hbba
could not do, this would.”

“The tug?” Ieried. “Butif Ker Karraje’s secrets are
known, do you suppose the power sare not also aware of
the existence of the Count d’ Artigas’ submarine boat ?”

Engineer Serko looked at me suspiciously.

“Mr. Hart,” he said, “you appear to me to carry
your deductions rather far,”

“T, Mr. Serko ?”

“Yes, and I think you talk about all this like a man
who knows more than he ought to.”

This remark brought me up abruptly. It was evi-
dent that my arguments might give rise to the suspi-
cion that I was not altogether irresponsible for the
recent incident. Engineer Serko scrutinized me sharply
as though he would read my innermost thoughts.

“Mr. Serko,” I observed, “by profession, as well as
by inclination, I am accustomed to reason upon every-
thing. This is why I communicated to you the result
of my reasoning, which you can take into consider-
ation or not, as you like.”

Thereupon we separate. But I fancy my lack of
reserve may have excited suspicions which may not be

easy to allay,

~ Porhaps, during the next

91
FACING THE FLAG. 1

Lous
From this interview. however, I — .
bit of information, namely, that the danger

‘ i ff.
: five and six miles 0
Roch’s fulgurator 1s Ae ania tia tides, another

30 reach a
notice to this effect in another keg may also r

abe! 5
a ahs eae weary months to wait egies the ori
fice of the tunnel will again be ween ee ae

The rough weather continues, and t ms bor
more violent than ever. Is it the state 0

2 q Lieu
delays another campaign against nun Ti expedi
tenant Dayon certainly assured me tha

; st. George,

: f : did not return to § 8
items Sh — different conditions would be
a p this bandits’ lair.

another attempt

ith a view to breaking u and
pends later the work of justice must be done,

Back Cup be destroyed, even though I may not survive

its destruction, a ae te
why can , u =
oe Scatants the vivifying air outside? bed ge4s
not permitted to cast one glance over the 3 tne
the distant horizon of the Bermudas? y eo ae
Ys concentrated in one desire: to get eee eae
in the wall and hide myself among bs apegtit
chance 1 might be the first to catch sight 0
of a squadron heading for the Awe ee
This project, alas! is unrealizable, Peg
sted day and night at each extremity 0 me Be
No one can enter it without Engineer sate Pe a
ization, Were 1 to attempt it, 1 shoul . ass,’
deprived ot my liberty to walk about the cavern,

might happen to me. — :
= ines out tage conversation, Engineer Serko’s attitude

eathe, it only for a

 
 

 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

towards me has undergone a change. His gaze haa
lost its old-time sarcasm and is distrustful, suspicious,
searching and as stern as Ker Karraje’s, 5

November 17.—This afternoon there was a great
commotion in the Beehive, and the men rushed out of
their cells with loud cries.

I was reclining on my bed, but immediately rose and
hurried out.

All the pirates were making for the passage, in front
of which were Ker Karraje, Engineer Serko, Captain
Spade, Boatswain Effrondat, Engine-driver Gibson and
the Count d’Artigas’ big Malay attendant,

1 soon Jearn the reason for the tumult, for the sentrieg
rush in with shouts of alarm.
Several vessels have been sighted to the northwest—

warships steaming at full speed in the direction of
Pack Cup,

CHAPTER XVI
ONLY A FEW MORE HOURS.

this news has upon me, and what emo
sie it Sates within my soul! The end, I feel, is at
hand. May it be such as civilization and humanity are
entitled to. :

Up to the present [ have indited my notes of by
day. Henceforward it is imperat-ve that 1 shou is
scribe them hour by hour, minute by minute. Who
knows but what Thomas Roch’s last secret may be Te
vealed to me and that I shall have time to commit it to
paper! Should 1 die during the attack God grant ge ;
the account of the five months | have passed in Bac

may be found upon my body |
oe first Ker Rae Soph Serko, Captain Spade,
and several of their companions took up position on
the exterior base of the island) What would i not
give to be able follow to them, and in the friendly
shelter of a rock watch the on-coming warships t

An hour later they return after having left a score
of men tokeep watch. As the days at this season of
the year are very short there is nothing to fear before
the morrow. It is not likely that the ships will attempt
anight attack and land a storming party, for they must
imagine that the place is in a thorough condition of

 
194 FACING THE FLAG.

All night long the pirates work, ae: hat owe:
i Six have been
ifferent points of the coast.
sont peters to places selected in adv _ ea
This done, Engineer Serko joins Thomas Roe in
laboratory Is he going to tell him what # tt
is in view of Back Cup, an
t a squadron is in view 0
a ae will be employed to defend the island t
What is certain is that half a hundred engines, eac

FACING THE FLAG,

195
possible to ascertain. And what does it matter, after
all, so long

as this haunt igs destroyed, even though I
should perish in the ruins like ihe heroic Lieutenant
Davon and his brave crew?

Preparations for defence continue with coolness and
method under En

gineer Serko’s superintendence.
These pirates are o

 

 

 

charged with several pounds of the explosive eer
jectory superior
bstance that ensures a trajec
he other projectile, are ready for their work of
tion. ;
eats the deflagrator liquid, See TE
i mber of phials of it, and—tI knox ;
vail ail not refuse to help Ker Karraje’s pirates
ith it.
* Teathig these preparations night has come he oa
the lamps of the Beehive are lighted and a se
ity reigns in the cavern.
negate eae cell. It is tomy interest to keep =
of the way as much as possible, for Engineer Serko’s

suspicions might be revived now that the squadron is .

ing Back Cup.
4 Serre veiiila sighted continue = their a
in this direction? May they not be merely passing
th Se ce tenet For an instant this doubt
: oa m res No; no, it cannot be! Besides, Ihave
it Keard Captain Spade declare that they are lying to
in vi f the island. ;
ana es nation do they belong? Have the es
desirous of avenging the ‘eats of bir
iti ot er
undertaken the expedition? May n nisers
— nations be with them? I know not, and it is im

bviously certain that they will be
able to annihilate their assailants as soon as the latter
enter the dangerous zone. Their confidence in Roch’s

fulgurator is absolute. Absorbed by the idea that

these warship are powerless against them, they think
neither of the difficulties nor menaces held out by the
future,

I surmise that the trestles
northwest coast w
engines to the nor
already stated, th
reefs that stretch

About nine o’

will pay little attention to me, and perhaps I may
escape notice in the obscurity. Ah! if I could get
through that passage and hide behind some rock, so
that I could witness what goes on at daybreak! And
why should I not succeed now that Ker Karraje, En-

gineer Serko, Captain Spade, and the pirates have taken
their posts outside ?

The shores of the lake are deserted, but the entrance
to the passage is kept by Count @ Artigas’ Malay. I
saunter, without any fixed idea, towards Thomas Roch’s
laboratory. This reminds me of my compatriot. Iam,

on reflection, disposed to think that he knows nothing
about the presence of a squadro

n off Back Cup. Probe
ably not until the last moment will Engineer Serko

have been set up on the
ith the grooves turned to send the
th, west, and south. On the east, ag
e island is defended by the chain of
es away to the Bermudas.

clock I venture out of my cell, They

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

apprise him of its proximity, not till he brusquely
points out to him the vengeance he can accomplish,

Then I conceive the idea of enlightening Thomaa
Roch, myself, of the responsibility he is incurring and
of revealing to him in this supreme hour the character
of the men who want him to co-operate in their crimi-
nal projects. : =

Yes, I will attempt it, and may I succeed in fanning
into a flame any spark of patriotism that may still
linger in his rebellious soul!

Roch is shut up in his laboratory. He must be alone,
for never does he allow any one to enter while he is

reparing his deflagrator.

: + I es the ‘ety. I notice that the tug is moored
in its accustomed place. Here I judge it prudent to
walk behind the first row of pillars and approach the
taboratory laterally—which will enable me to see
whether anybody is with him, When I have gone a
short distance along the sombre avenue I see a bright
light on the opposite side of the lagoon, It is the
electric light in Roch’s laboratory as seen through a
narrow window in the front.

Except in that particular spot, the southern shore of
the lake is in darkness, whereas, in the opposite direc-
tion, the Beehive is lit up to its extremity at the north-
ern wall. Through the opening in the dome, over the
lake I can see the stars shining. The sky is clear, the
tempest has abated, and the squalls no longer penetrate
to the interior of Back Cup.

When near the laboratory, I creep along the wall and
peep in at the window. :

Thomas Roch is there alone. The light shines full
on his face. If it is somewhat drawn, and the lines on

FACING THE FLAG. 197

the forehead are more pronounced, his physiognomy, at
least, denotes perfect calmness and self-possession. No,
he is no longer the inmate of Pavilion No. 17, the mad-
man of Healthful House, and I ask myself whether
he is not radically cured, whether there is no further
danger f his reason collapsing in a final paroxysm,

He has just laid two glass phials upon the table, and
holds a third in his hand. He holds it up to the light,
and observes the limpidity of the liquid it contains.

I haye half a mind to rush in, seize the tubes and
smash them, but I reflect that he would have time to
make some more of the stuff. Better stick to my first
pian.

I push the door open and enter.

“Thomas Roch !” I exclaim.

He has not heard, nor has he seen me,

“Thomas Roch!” I repeat.

He raises his head, turns and gazes at me. :

* Ah! it is you, Simon Hart!” he replies calmly, even
indifferently.

He knows my name, Engineer Serko must have in-
formed him that it was Simon Hart, and not Keeper

Gaydon who was watching over him at Healthful
House.

* You know who I am?” I say.

* Yes, as I know what your object was in undertaking
such a position. You lived in hopes of surprising a
secret that they would not pay for at its just value!”

Thomas Roch knows everything, and perhapsit is just
as well, in view of what Dam going to say.

“Well, you did not succeed, Simon Hart, and as far
as this is concerned,” he added, flourishing the phial,
“no one else has succeeded, or ever will succeed,”

 
 

 

 

 

ws FACING THE FLAG. '

¢

As I conjectured, he has not, then, made known the
composition of his deflagratar.

Looking him straight in the face, 1 reply:

“You know who I am, Thomas Roch, but do you
know in whose place you are?”

“In my own place!” he cries.

That is what Ker Karraje has permitted him to be
lieve. The inventor thinks he is at home in Back Oup,
that the riches accumulated in this cavern are his, and
that if an attack is made upon the place, it will be with
the object of stealing what belongs to him! And he
will defend it under the impression that he has the
right to doso!

- Thomas Roch,” I continue, “listen to me.”
“What do you want to say to me, Simon Hart?”
“This cavern into which we have been dragged, ig

secupied by a band of pirates, and——”

Roch does not give me time to complete the sentence
~—I doubt even whether he has understood me,

“T repeat,” he interrupts vehemently, “that the

treasures stored here are the price of my invention, ,

They have paid me what I asked for my fulgurator—
what I was everywhere else refused—even in my own
country— which is also yours—and I will not allow
myself to be despoiled |”

What can I reply to such insensate assertions? I,
however, go on:

“ Thomas Roch, do youremember Healthful House ?”

“ Healthful House, where I was sequestrated after
Warder Gaydon had been entrusted with the mission
of spying upon me in order to rob me of mysecret? I
do, indeed.”

“I never dreamed of depriving you of the benefit of

- FACING THE FLAG. 199

your secret, Thomas Roch. I would never have ac
cepted such a mission, ~ But you were ill, your reason
was affected, and your invention was too valuable to be
lost. Yes, had you disclosed the secret during one of
your fits you would have preserved all the benefit and
all the honor of it.”

“Really, Simon Hart!” Roch replies disdainfully.
“Honor and benefit! Your assurances come somewhat
late in the day. You forget that on the pretext of in-
sanity, 1 was thrown into a dungeon. Yes, it was a
pretext, for my reason has never left me, even for an
hour, as you can see from what I have accomplished
since I am free.”

“ Free! Do you imagine youare free,Thomas Roch?
Are you not more closely confined within the walls of
this cavern than you ever were at Healthful House?”

“ A man who is in his own home,” he replies angrily,
“ goes out as he likes and when he likes. I have only
to say the word and all the doors will open before me.
This place ismine. Count d’ Artigas gave it to me with
everything it contains. Woe to those who attempt to
attack it. I have here the wherewithal to annihilate
them, Simon Hart!” The inventor waves the phial
feverishly as he speaks.

“The Count d’ Artigas has deceived you,” I cry, “as
he has deceived so many others. Under this name is
dissembled one of the most formidable monsters who
ever scoured the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. He isa
bandit steeped in crime—he is the odious Ker Karraje!”

“Ker Karraje!” echoes Thomas Roch.

And I wonder if this name has not impressed him, if
he remembers who the man is who bears it. If it did
impress him, it was only momentarily.

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

“TJ do not know this Ker Karraje,” he says, pointing
towards the door to order me out. “I only know the

Count d@’ Artigas.”
“Thomas Roch,” I persist, in a final effort, “ the
Count d’Artigas and Ker Karraje are one and the same
person. If this man has purchased your secret, it is
with the intention of ensuring impunity for his crimes
and facilities for committing fresh ones. He is the

chief of these pirates.”

“ Pirates!” cries Roch, whose irritation increases the
more 1 press him. “Tho real pirates are those who
dare to menace me even in this retreat, who tried it on
with the Sword—for Serko has told me everything—

‘ who sought to steal in my own home what belongs to
me, what is but the just price of my discovery.”

“No, Thomas Roc’, the pirates are those who have
imprisoned you in this cavern of Back Cup, who will
utilize your genius to defend it, and who will get rid

of you when they are in entire possession of your
secrets !”

Thomas Roch here interrupts me. He does not
appear to listen to what I say. He has a fixed idea,
that of vengeance, which has been skilfully worked
upon by Engineer Serko, and in which his hatred is
concentrated to the exclusion of everything else.

“ The bandits,” he hisses, “ are those who spurned me
without a hearing, who heaped injustice and ignominy
upon me, who drove me from country to country, where-
as { offered them superiority, invincibleness, omnipo

tence!” é
It is the eternal story of the unappreciated inventor,
to whom the indifferent or envious refuse the means of

testing his inventions, to pay him the value he sets

 

FACING THE FLAG.

upon them. I know it well—and also know all
the exaggeration that has been written upon this
subject.

It is clearly no time for reasoning with Thomas
Roch. ~My arguments are entirely lost upon the hap-
less dupe of Ker Karraje and his accomplices, In re
vealing to him the real name-of the Count. d’ Artigas,
and denouncing to him this band and their chief I had
hoped to wean him from their influence and make him
realize the criminal end they have in view. My hope
was vain. He does not believe me. And then what
does he care whether the brigand’s name is Count
@ Artigas or Ker Karraje? Is not he, Thomas Roch,
master of Back Cup? Is he not the owner of these
riches accumulated by twenty years of murder and
rapine ?

Disarmed before such moral degeneracy, knowing
not how [ can touch his ulcerated, irresponsible heart,
I turn-towards the door, It only remains for me to
withdraw. What is to be, will be, since it is out of
my power to prevent the frightful dénouement that will
occur in a few hours.

Thomas Roch takes no more notice of me. He
seems to have forgotten that I am here. He has re
sumed his manipulations without realizing that he is
not alone.

There is only one means of preventing the imminent
catastrophe. Throw myself-upon Roch, place him
beyond the power of doing harm—strike him—
kill him—yes, kill him! It is my right—it is my
duty *

I have no arms, but on a near-by shelf I see some
tools—a chisel anda hammer. What is to prevent me

 
 

 

 

 

202 FACING THE FLAG,

from knocging his brains out? Once he is dead Ihave
but to smash the phials and his invention dies with
him. The warships can approach, land their men upon
the island, demolish Back Cup with their shells. Ker
Karraje and his band will be killed to a man. Can I
hesitate at a murder that will bring about the chastise-
ment of so many crimes ?

I advance to the shelf and stretch forth my hand to —

seize the chisel.

As I do so, Thomas Roch turns round,

It is too late to strike. A struggle would ensue,
The noise and his cries would be heard, for there are
still some pirates not far off. I can even now hear
some one approaching, and have only just time to fly if
I would not be seen.

Nevertheless, I make one last attempt to awaken the
sentiment of patriotism within him.

“Thomas Roch,” I say, “warships are in sight.
They have come to destroy this lair. Maybe one of
them flies the French flag!”

He gazes at me. He was not aware that Back Cup
is going to be attacked, and I have just apprised him
of the fact. His brow darkens and his eyes flash.

“Thomas Roch, would you dare to fire upon your
country’s flag—the tricolor flag ?

He raises his head, shakes it nervously, and with a
disdainful gesture :

“What do you mean by ‘your country?’ I no
longer have any country, Simon Hart. The inventor
spurned no longer has a country. Where he finds an
asylum, there is his fatherland! They seek to take
what is mine. I will defend it, and woe, woe to those
who dare to attack me!”

FACING THE FLAG.

Then rushing to the door of the laboratory and

varowing it violently open he shouts so loudly that
ba must be heard at the Beehive:

“Go! Get you gone \”
T have not a second to lose, and I dash out.

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG

CHAPTER XVIL
ONE AGAINST FIVE.

Fora whole hour I wander about among Back Cup’s
dark vaults, amid the stone trees, to the extreme limit
of the cavern. It is here that I have so often sought
an issue, a crevice, a crack through which I might
squeeze to the shore of the island.

My search has been futile. Tn my present condition,
a prey to indefinable hallucinations it seems to me that
these walls are thicker than ever, that they are grad-

aally closing in upon and will crush me.
How long this mental trouble lasts I cannot say

But I afterwards find myself on the Beehive side,
opposite the cell in which I cannot. hope for either re-
pose or sleep. Sleep, when my brain is in a. whirl of
excitement? Sleep, when I am near the end of a situa-
tion that threatened to be prolonged for years and
years 4

What will the end be as far as I am personally con.
cerned? What amI to expect from the attack upon
Back Cup, the success of which I have been unable to
assure by placing Thomas Roch beyond the possibility

FACING THE FLAG. — 205

remaining hours of the night in my cell. ‘The time has
rme to goin. At daybreak I shall see what
is best for me to do. Meanwhile, for aught 1 know I
may hear the thunder of Roch’s fulgurator as it de
stroys the ships approaching to make a night attack.

I take a last look round. On the opposite side a
light, a single light, is burning. It is the lamp in Roch’s
laboratory and it casts its reflection upon the waters of
the lake.

No one is about, and it occurs to me that the pirates
must have taken up their fighting positions outside and
that the Beehive is empty.

Then, impelled by an irresistible instinct, instead of
returning to my cell, 1 creep along the wall, listening,
spying, ready to hide if I hear voices or footsteps.

1 at length reach the passage.
God in heaven! No one is on guard there—the

passage is free!
‘Without giving myself time to reflect I dart into the

dark hole, and-grope my way along it. Soon I feel a
fresher air—the salt, vivifying air of the sea, that es
have not breathed for five months. 1 inspire it with
avidity, with all the power of my lungs.

The outer extremity of the passage appears against
the star-studded sky. There is not even a shadow in
the way. Perhaps ! shail be able to get outside.

I lay down, and craw! along noiselessly to the orifice

and peer out.
Not a soul is in sight!
By skirting the rocks towards the east, to the side

of doing harm? His engines are ready to be launched,
and 23 soon as the vessels have’ reached the dangerous

gone they will be blown to atoms.
However this may be, I am condemned to peas the

which sannot be approached from the gsa on account
i likely to be watched, I

 

— ae —=
eee =

 
FACING THE FLAG, ’ FACING THE FLAG.

~ twenty-five yards from where tho point of the coast
extends towards the northwest.

At last I am out of the cavern. Iam not free, but
it is the beginning of freedom.

On the point the forms of a few sentries stand out
against the clear sky, so motionless that they might be

full weil that the ships can never get 1 oe for
i h the island,
hells of the big guns to reac
2 ta ne isk of being discovered, for only my head
rotrudes above the hole in the rock and no one Pe
llcely to come this way. The only thing that worrl

 

 

 

mistaken for pieces of the rock.

On the horizon to the west the position lights of the
warship show in a luminous line,

From a few gray patches discernable in the east,
I calculate that it must be about five o’clock in the

morning.
November 18.—It is now light enough for me to be

able to complete my notes relating the details of my

visit to Thomas Roch’s laboratory—the last lines my
hand will trace, perhaps.

Ihave begun to write, and shall dot down the inci-
dents of the attack as they occur,

The light damp mist that hangs over the water soon
lifts under the influence of the breeze, and at last I can
distinguish the warships. -

There are five of them, and they are lying in a line
about six miles off, and consequently beyond the range
of Roch’s engines.

My fear that after passing in sight of the Bermudas
the squadron would continue on its way to the Ar

. tilles or Mexico was therefore unfounded. N 0, there
it is, awaiting broad daylight in order to attack Back
Cup..

There is a movement.on the coast. Three or four
pirates emerge from the rocks, the sentries are recalled
and draw in, and the entire band is soon assembled,

They do not seek shelter inside the cavern, knowing

me is that Serko, or somebody else may take it into

his‘head to see if 1 am in my cell, and if necessary
to lock me in, though what they have to fear from me

cannot conceive.
: At twenty-five minutes past seven: Ker a
Engineer Serko and Captain Spade advance to < :
extremity of the point, where they sweep the -
western horizon with their telescopes. Behind more
the six trestles are installed, in the grooves of whic
re Roch’s autopropulsive engincs. bee
; Thirty-five minutes past scven : Smoke arises oo
the statks of the warships, which are getting unde
way and will soon be within-range of the See -
Horrible cries of joy, salvos of hurrahs—how 3 °
wild beasts I might more appropriately say~-arise Trom
he pirate horde. :
: ‘A this moment Engineer Serko quits Ker —
whom he leaves with Captain see enters the
Roch.
rm, no doubt to fetch Thomas ;
When Ker Karraje orders the ee perpen
i i i ill he remember wha
ngines against the ships will or wi }
him? Will not his crime appear to him in - Pe
horror? Will he refuse to obey? No, Iam ee
convinced of the contrary. ries ee pats ri
jee en
illusion on the subject. e invel h
iis his own property. They are going to attack at
He will defend it. 3 ie hae
The five warships slowly advance, making

,s

 
 

 

 

208 FACING THE FLAG.

point. Perhaps they imagine on board that Thomas
Roch has not given up his last and greatest secret to
the pirates—and, as a matter of fact, he had not done
so when I threw the keg into the lagoon. If the com.
manders propose to land storming parties and the ships
advance into the zone of danger there will soon be
nothing left of them but bits of shapeless floating
wreckage.

Here comes Thomas Roch accompanied by Engineer
Serko. On issuing from the passage both go to the
trestle that is pointing towards the leading warship,
Ker Karraje and Captain Spade are awaiting
them.

As far as I am able to judge, Roch is calm. He
knows what he is going to do. No hesitation troubles
the soul of the hapless man whom hatred has led
astray.

Between his fingers shines the glass phial containing
the deflagrator liquid.

He then gazes towards the nearest ship, which is
about five miles’ distant.

She is a cruiservof about two thousand five hundred
tons—not more.

She flies no flag, but from her build I take her to
belong to a nation for which no Frenchman can enter
tain any particular regard.

The four other warships remain behind.

It is this cruiser which is to begin the attack.

Let her use her guns, then, since the pirates allow
her to approach. and may the first of her projectiles
strike Thomas Roch!

While Engineer Serko is estimating the distance,
Roch places himself behind the trestle. Three engines

- FACING THE FLAG.

are resting on it, charged with the explosive, ~ shore,
j by the fusing matter with-
are assured a long trajectory by ‘
i i atory movement
it being necessary to impart a gyra .
ay aad in the case of Inventor Turpin’s op gel as
projectiles. Besides, if they drop within a few eae
dred yards of the vessel, they will be quite near enoug

to utterly destroy it.
time has come. :
ewes Roch!” Engineer Serko cries, and points
he cruiser.
2 i is steaming slowly towards the gr
western point of the island and is between four an

‘tes off.
green assent, and waves them back fom

sg Karraje, Captain Spade and the others draw

ut fifty paces. ;
eke Roch ein takes the stopper from the =
which he holds in his right hand, and —, y

urs into a hole in the rear end of each oa —

drops of the liquid, which mixes with the g
pee i seconds elapse—the time pean = the
combination to be effected—forty-five secon : oe
which it seems to me that my heart ceases hee: = 2

A frightful whistling is then heard, and 3 peas
engines tear through the air, describing of at 0 Sar
curve at a-height of three hundred feet, and pass
cruiser.

hey missed it? Is the danger over?

Rehan eet after the manner of kar
Captain Chapel’s discoid projectile, return towards
doomed vessel like an Australian boomerang.

14

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

The xext instant the air is shaken with a violence
comparable to that which would be caused by the
explosion of a magazine of melinite or dynamite,
Back Cup Island trembles to its verv foundations,

The cruiser has disappeared,—blown to pieces. The
effect is that of the Zalinski shell, but centupled by
the infinite power of Roch’s fulgurator.

What shouts the bandits raise as they rush towards
the extremity of the point! Ker Kerraje, Engineer
Serko, and Captain Spade remain rooted to the spot,
hardly able to credit the evidence of their own eyes.

As to Thomas Roch, he stands with folded arms,
and flashing eyes, his face radiant with pride and
triumph.

I understand, while I abhor his feelings,

If the other warships approach they will share the
same fate as the cruiser. They will inevitably be de
stroyed. Oh! if they would but give up the struggle
and withdraw to safety, even though my last hope
would go with them! The nations can consult and
arrive at some other plan for destroying the island,
They can surround the piace with a belt of ships that
the pirates cannot break through and starve them to
death like so many rats in a hole,

But I know that the warships will not retire, even
though they know they are going to certain death,
One after the other they will all make the attempt.

And I am right. Signals are exchanged between
them. Almost immediately clouds of black smoke
arise and the vessels again advance,

One of them, under forced draught, distances the

others in her anxiety to bring her big guns quickly
into action.

FACING THE FLAG. 211

At all risks I issue from my hole, and gaze at the
on-coming warship with feverish eyes, awaiting, with-
out being able to prevent it, another catastrophe,

This vessel, which visibly grows larger as it comes
nearer, is a cruiser of about the same tonnage as the
one that preceded her. No flag is flying and I cannot
guess her nationality. She continues steaming at full
speed in an effort to pass the zone of dange: before
other engines can be launched. But how ca she
escape them since they will swoop back upon her ?

Thomas Roch places himself behind the second
trestle as the cruiser passes on to the surface of the
abysm in which she will in’ turn soon be swallowed
up.

No sound disturbs the stillness.

Suddenly the rolling of drums and the blare of bugles
is heard on board the warship.

I know those bugle calls: they are French bugles!
Great God! She is one of the ships of my own
country’s navy and a French inventor is about to de-
stroy her!

Not it shall not be. I will rush towards Thomas
Roch—shout to him that she is a French ship. He
does not, cannot, know it.

Ata sign from Engineer Serko the inventor has
raised the phial. j

The bugles sound louder and more strident. It is
the salute to the flag. A flag unfurls to the breeze—
the tricolor, whose blue, white and red sections stand
out luminously against the sky.

Ah! What is this?) I understand! Thomas Roch
is fascinated at the sight of his national emblem.

Slowly he lowers his arm as the flag flutters up te the

 
 

 

FACING THE FLAG.

mast-head. Then he draws back and covers his eyes
with his hand.

Heavens above! All sentiment of patriotism is not
then dead in his ulcerated heart, seeing that it beats
at the sight of his country’s flag!

My emotion is not less than his. At the risk of be-
ing seen—and what do I now care if I am seen?—I
creep over therocks. I will be there to sustain Thomas
Roch and prevent him from weakening. If I pay for
it with my life I will once more adjure him in the
name of his country. I will cry to him:

“ Frenchman, it is the tricolor that flies on yonder
ship! Frenchman, it is a very part of France that
is approaching you! Frenchman, would you be
so criminal as to strike it?”

But my intervention willnot be necessary. Thomas

Roch is not a prey to one of the fits to which he was

formerly subject. He is perfectly sane.

When he found himself facing the flag he understood
—and drew back.

A few pirates approach to lead him to the trestle
again. He struggles and pushes them from him.

Ker Karraje and Engineer Serko run up. They
point to the rapidly advancing ship. They order him to
launch his engines.

Thomas Roch refuses,

Captain Spade and the others, mad with rage, menace
him—curse him—strike him—try to wrest the phial
from him.

Roch throws it on the ground and crushes it under
foot.

Then panio seizes upon the crowd of wretches. Th

218

“rocks in every direction.
a eke is Thomas Roch? Has he been killed by

one of the projectiles ? No, I see him for the last time

dashes into the passage.
pone AT Engineer Serko and the others follow

im to seek shelter inside of Back Cup. ;
wT well not return to the cavern at any price, even if

 
 

 

OHAPTER XVIL
ON BOARD THE “ TONNANT.”

AFTER i i
a ad tne of Lieutenant Davon’s mission
ee gee e English authorities waited in vai
nes ‘aie tion to return, and the conviction =
oh aotaes sores that the bold sailors had perish ;
aan aie e Sword had been lost by strikin inet
ad been destroyed by Ker Karraj . SL
oe zai of course, be ascertained. oe
_Theo ject of the expediti
oe of the Septic: rant ie ‘a op vee
: are mp on the shore at St. George, ts to ee gir
a eon ere his engines were plecbete af?
ace entor having been recovered—without for.
— nd aa sii Simon Hart—he was to be ha ded
eee e care of the Bermudan authorities. T
, there would be nothing to fear from hi: eee
a tga the island was attacked. anaes
en, however, the Sword ha
ee Pama of a different pingecterke i oe
la a a had elapsed—-nearly eight wists
Oe a of the document found in the keg, had
iw ien a into consideration. It was thou ht tha
g the interval, Ker Karraje might ha Pad
possession of Roch’s secrets. . bg a

An entente concluded between the maritime power,

_ ee paieang iiot Bitey,

FACING THE FLAG. 215

five warships to Bermudan
ast cavern inside Back Cup
attempt to bring the latter
tion, by bombarding it with

reguited m the sending of
waters. As there was ay.
mountain, it was decided to
down like the walls of a bas

powerful modern artillery.
The squadron assembled at the entrance to the Ches-
apeake, in Virginia, and sailed for the archipelago,
which was sighted on the evening of November 17.
The next morning the vessel selected for the first

attack, steamed forward. It was about four and a

half miles from the island, when three engines, after

passing the vessel, swerved yound and exploded about
rds from her. She sank immediately.

sixty ya
The effect of the explosion, which was superior to

any previously obtained by new explosives, was. ins
stantancous. Even at the distance they were from the
spot where it occurred, the four remaining ships felt

the shock severely.
Two things were to be deduced from this sudden

catastrophe ¢
1,— The pirate

Roch’s fulgurator.
9,— The new engine possessed the destructive power

attributed to it by its inventor.
After the disappearance of the unfortunate cruiser,
the other vessels lowered boats to pick up @ few sur-
the floating wreckage.

vivors who were clinging to
Then it was that the signals were exchanged and the

warships started towards the island.
the Tonnant, a French cruiser,

The swiftest of them,
forged ahead while the others forced their draught in

an effort to catch up with her.
The Tonnand, at the risk of b

ossession of

Ker Karraje was in p

eing blown to pieces in

 
 

 

 

 

 

FACING THE FuLA@.

warn, penetrated the danger zone half a mile, and then
. ran up her flag while manceuvring to bring her heavy
guns into action.

From the bridge the officers could see Ker Karraje’s
band scattered on the rocks of the island.

The occasion was an excellent one for getting a shot
at them before the bombardment of their retreat was
begun, and fire was opened with the result that the
pirates made a rush to get into the cavern,

A few minutes later there was a shock terrific enough
to shake the sky down,

Where the mountain had been, naught but a heap of
smoking, crumbling rocks was to be seen. Back Cup
had become a group of jagged reefs against which the
sea, that bad been thrown back like a gigantic tidal
wave, was beating and frothing.

What was the cause of the explosion ¢

Had it been voluntarily caused by the pirates when
they realized that escape was impossible ?

The Tonnant had not been seriously damaged by the
flying rocks. Her boats were lowered and made
towards all that was left of Back Cup.

The landing parties explored the ruins, and found a
few horribly mangled corpses. Not a vestige of the
cavern was to be seen. °

One body, and one only, was found intact. It was
lying on the northeast side of the reefs. In one hand,
tightly clasped, was a note-book, the last line of which
was incomplete.

-A close examination showed that the man was stil!
breathing. He was conveyed on board the Zonnant,
where it was learned from the note-book that he was
Simon Hart.

217

time his life was despaired of, but sade
eventually brought round, and from the answers ve
to the questions addressed to him the following con

sion was reached :

Moved ‘to his very soul at the sight of the tricolor

jous of the crime of lése-patrie
Roch rushed through

the passage to the magazine where & ean
quantity of his explosive was stored. _ re are
could be prevented, brought about the terrible p

which destroy : ,
And now Ker Karraje an

appeared—and with them Thomas
of his inveation.

i k Cup. :
ed the island of — wa grey
Roch and the secret

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
wares wie

eee