Hallett Herald. (Hallett, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 7, 1916 Page: 2 of 8
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THE HALLETT HERALD.
1
— (oarRiAur <« ,i«r*u i rvMorW
SYNOPSIS.
—19—
Humphrey Van Weyden, critic and dilet-
tante, finds himself aboard the wealing
schooner <5hoBt, Captain Wolf Larsen,
bound to Japan waters. The captain
makes him cabin boy "for the good of his
soul." Wolf hazes a seaman and makes
It the basis for a philosophic discussion
with Hump. Hump's Intimacy with Wolf
In. r*Mea A carnival of brutality breaks
loose In the ship. Wolf proves himself
the mast< r brute. Hump Is made mate
on the hell-ship and proven that he has
learned "to stand on his own legs " Two
men desert the vessel In one of the Bmall
boats A young woman and four men,
survivors of a steamer wreck, are res-
cued from a small boat. The deserters
are sighted, but Wolf stand* away and
leaves them to drown. Maude Hrewster,
the rescued girl, begins to realise her
danger at the hands of Wolf. Van Wey-
den realizes that he loves Maude Wolf's
brother, I eath Larsen, comes on the seal-
ing grounds In the stearn sealer Mace-
donia, "hogs" the sea, and Wolf captures
several of his boats. The Ghost runs
away In a fog. Wolf furnishes liquor to
the prisoners. He attacks Maude. Van
Weydrn attempts to kill him and falls.
Wolf Is suddenly stricken helpless by the
return of a blinding head trouble, and
with all hands drunk and asleep Van
Weyden and Maude escape In a small
boat together. They land on Endeavor
Island.
CHAPTER XXV—Continued.
"Oh," was all she replied; but I
rould have sworn there was a note of
disappointment in her voice.
Hut "my woman, my mate" kept
ringing In my head for the rest of
the day and for many days. Yet never I
did It ring more loudly than that'
night, as I watched her draw back
the blanket of moss from the coals,
blow up the Are, and cook the evening
meal. It must have been latent sav-
agery stirring In me, for the old
words, so bound up with the roots of
the race, to grip me and thrill me.
And grip and thrill thoy did, till 1
fell asleep, murmuring them to myself
over and over again.
• ••••••
It was a dark and evil appearing
thing, that hut, not fit for aught better
than swine in a civilized land; but for
us, who had known the misery of the
open boat, it was a snug little habita-
tion. Following the housewarmlng,
which was accomplished by means of
seal-oil and a wick made from cotton
calking, came the hunting for our win
ters meat and the building of the
second hut. It was a simple affair,
now, to go forth in the morning and
return by noon with a boatload of
seals. And then, while I worked at
building the hut, Maud tried out the
oil from the blubber and kept a slow
tire under the frames of meat. 1 had
heard of jerking beef on the plains,
and our seal meat, cut In thin strips
and hung in the smoke, cured excel-
lently.
The second hut was easier to erect,
for I built it against the first, and only
three walls were required. But It was
work, hard work, all of it. Maud and
1 worked from dawn till dark, to the
limit of our strength, so that when
night came we crawled stiffly to bed
and slept the anlmal-Uke Bleep of ex-
haustion. And yet Maud declared that
she had never felt better or stronger
In her life. I knew this was true of
myself, but hers was such a lily
strength that I feared she would break
down. Often and often, her last re-
serve force gone, I have seen her
stretched flat on her back on the sand
In the way she had of resting and re-
cuperating. And then she would be
up on her feet and tolling hard as
ever. Where she obtained this
strength was the marvel to me.
"Think of the long rest this winter,"
was her reply to my remonstrances.
"Why, we'll be clamorous for some-
thing to do."
We held a housewarmlng in my hut
the night It was roofed
It was a pleasant evening Indeed,
and we voted that as a social function
on Endeavor island It had not yet
been eclipsed. Our minds were at
ease. Not only had we resigned our
selves to the bitter winter, but we
were prepared for It. The seals could
depart on their mysterious Journey
Into the south at any time, now, for
all we cared; and the storms held no
terror for us. Not only were we sure
of being dry and warm and sheltered
from the wind, but we had the softest
and most luxurious mattresses that
could be made from moss. This had
been Maud's Idea, and she had herself
Jealously gathered all the moss. This
was to be my first night on the mat-
tress, and I knew I should sleep the
Sweeter because she had made It.
As she rose to go she turned to
me with the whimsical way she had,
and said:
"Something Is going to hsppen—Is
happening, for that matter 1 feel It
Fomenting Is coming here, to us. It Is
coming now I don't know what, but
il Is coming.'
"Good or bad?" I asked.
She shook her head. "1 don't know,
but it is there, somewhere."
She pointed in the direction of the
sea and wind.
"It's a lee shore," I laughed, "and
I am sure I'd rather be here than ar-
riving, a night like this."
"You are not frightened?" I asked
as I stepped to open the door for her.
Iler eyes looked bravely Into mine.
"And you feei well? perfectly well?"
"Never better," was her answer.
We talked a little longer before
she went.
"Good night. Maud," I said.
"Good night, Humphrey," she said.
This use of our given names had
come quite as a matter of course, and
was as unpremeditated as it was nat-
ural. In that moment I could have
put my arms around her and drawn
her to me. ] should certainly have
done so out In that world to which we
belonged. As It was, the situation
stopped there In the only way It could;
but I was left alone in my little hut,
glowing warmly through and through
with a pleasant satisfaction; and I
knew that a tie, or a tacit something,
existed between us which had not ex-
isted before. /
CHAPTER XXVI.
I awoke, oppressed by a mysterious
sensation. There seemed something
missing in my environment. But the
mystery and oppressiveness vanished
after the first few seconds of waking,
when I Identified the missing some-
It Was the Ghost.
thing as the wind. When 1 had
dressed and opened the door, I heard
the waves still lapping on the beach,
garrulously attesting the fury of the
night. 1 had slept late, and I stepped
outside witji sudden energy, bent upon
making up lost time as befitted a
dweller on Endeavor island.
And when outside, I stopped short.
I believed my eyes without question,
and yet I was for the moment stunned
by what they disclosed to me. There,
on the beach, not fifty feet away, bow
on, dismasted, was a black-hulled ves-
sel. Masts and boomj, tangled with
shrouds, sheets, and rent canvas, were
rubbing gently alongside. I could
have rubbed nfy eyes as I looked.
There was the home-made galley we
had built, tho familiar break of the
poop, the low yacht-cabin scarcely
rising above the rail. It was the
Ghost.
It came upon me suddenly, s
strange, that nothing moved aboard.
Wearied from the night of struggle
and wreck, all hands were yet asleep.
Maud and I might yet escape. 1 would
call her and start. My hand was lift-
ed at her door to knock, when I recol-
lected the smallnoss of the island.
We could never hide ourselves upon
It. There was nothing for us but the
wide raw ocean. I thought of our snug
little huts, our supplies of meat and
oil and moss and firewood, and 1 knew
that we could never survive the wintry
sea and the great storms which were
to come.
And then, In a flash, the better solu-
tion came to me. All hands were
asleep. Why not creep aboard the
Ghost—well I knew the way to Wolf
larsen's bunk—and kill him In his
sleep? After that—well, we would
see. But with htm dead there was
time and space In which to prepare to
do other things; and besides, what-
ever new situation aroee, It could not
possibly be worse than the present
one.
My knife was at my hip. 1 returned
to my hut for the shotgun, made sure
it was loaded, and went down to the
Ghost. With some difficulty, and at
the expense of a wetting to the waist,
I climbed aboard. The forecastle scut-
tle was open. I paused to listen for
the breathing of the men, but there
was no breathing. I cautiously de-
scended the ladder. The place had
the empty and musty feel and smell
usual to a dwelling no longer Inhab-
ited. Everywhere was a thick litter
of the worthless forecastle dunnage
of a long voyage. I noted that the
boats were missing. The Bteerage
told the same tale as the forecastle.
The hunters had packed their belong-
ings with similar haste. The Ghost
was deserted.
The reaction from my fear, and the
knowledge that the terrible deed I
had come to do was no longer neces-
sary, made me boyish and eager. I
sprang up the break of the poop, and
saw—Wolf Larsen. What of my im-
petus and the stunning surprise, 1
clattered three or four steps along the
deck before I could stop myself. He
was standing in the companlonway,
only his head and shoulders visible,
staring straight at me. His arms were
resting on the half-open slide. He
Uiade no movement whatever—simply
stood there, staring at me.
I began to tremble. The old stom-
ach sickness clutched me. I put one
hand on the edge of the house to
steady myself. My lips seemed sud-
denly dry and I moistened them
against the need of speech. Nor did
I for an instant take my eyes off him.
Neither of us spoke. There was some-
thing ominous in his silence, his im-
mobility. All my old fear of him re-
turned and by new fear waB increased
a hundred fold. And still we stood,
the pair of us, staring at each other.
I was aware of the demand for ac-
tion, and, my old helplessness strong
upon me, I was waiting for him to
take the initiative. Then, as the mo-
ments went by, it was at last im-
pressed upon me that I was there, not
to have Wolf Larsen take the initia-
tive, but to take it myself.
I cocked both barrels and leveled
the shotgun at him. Had he moved,
attempted to drop down the compan-
lonway, I know I would have shot
him. But he stood motionless and
staring as before. And as I faced
him, with leveled gun shaking in my
hands, I had time to note the worn
and haggard appearance of his face.
It was as if some strong anxiety had
wasted it. The cheeks were sunken,
and there was a wearied, puckered
expression on the brow. And It
seemed to me that his eyes were
strange, not only the expression, but
the physical seeming, as though the
optic nerves and supporting muscles
had suffered strain and slightly twist-
ed the eyeballs.
All this I saw, and my brain now
working rapidly, I thought a thousand
thoughts; and yet I could not pull the
triggers. I lowered the gun and
stepped to the corner of the cabin,
primarily. to relieve the tension on
my nerves and to make a new start,
and incidentally to be closer. Again I
raised the gun. He was almost at
arm's length. There was no hope for
him. I was resolved. There was no
possible chance of missing him, no
matter how poor my marksmanship.
And yet I wrestled with myself and
could not pull the triggers.
"Well?" he demanded impatiently.
I strove vainly to force my fingers
down on the triggers, and vainly I
strove to say something.
"Why don't you shoot?" he asked.
1 cleared my throat of a huskiness
which prevented speech.
"Hump," he said slowly, "you can't
do It. You are not exactly afraid. You
are impotent. Your conventional
morality Is stronger than you. You
are the slave to the opinions which
have credence among the people you
have known and have read about
Their code has been drummed into
your head from the time you lisped,
and In spite of your philosophy, and
of what I have taught you, it won't let
you kill an unarmed, unresisting man.'
"I know it," I said hoarsely.
"And you know that I would kill an
unarmed man aB readily as I would
smoke a cigar," he went on. "You
know me for what I am—my worth
in the world by your standard. You
have called me snake, tiger, shark,
monster, and Caliban. And yet, you
little rag puppet, you little echoing
mechanism, you are unable to kill me
as you would a snake or a shark, be-
cause I have hands, feet, and a body
shaped somewhat like yours. Bah!
I had hoped better things of you,
Hump."
He stepped out of the companion-
way and came up to me.
"Put down that gun. 1 want to
ask you some questions. I haven!
had a chance to look around yet.
What place Is this? How Is the
Ghost lying? How did you get here?
Where's Maud?—I beg your pardon,
Miss Brewstei^-or should 1 say, Mrs.
Van Weyden'?"
1 had backed away from him, al-
most weeping at ay Inability to shoot
him, but not fool enough to put dow*
the gun. 1 noped, desperately, that
he might commit some hostile act, at-
tempt to strike me or choke nie; for
in such way only 1 knew 1 could be
stirred to shoot. .
"This 1b Endeavor island," 1 Bald,
"Never heard of It," he broke in.
"At least, that's our name for it," I
amended.
"Our?" he queried. "Who's our?"
"Miss Brewster and myself. And
the Ghost is lying, as you can see for
yourself, bow on to the beach."
"There are sealB here," he said.
"They woke me up with their barking,
or I'd be sleeping yet. I hesrd them
when I drove In last night. They were
the first warning that I was on a lee
shore. It's a rookery, the kind of a
thing I've hunted for years. Thanks
to my brother Death, I've lighted on
a fortune. It's a mint. What's lti
bearings?"
"Haven't the least idea," I said,
"But you ought to know quite closely.
What were your last observations?"
He smiled inscrutably, btit did not
answe^.
"Wei), where's all hands?" I asked.
'How does It come that you are
alone?"
1 was prepared for him again to
set aside my question, and was sur-
prised at the readiness of his reply.
"My brother got me Inside forty-
eight hours, and through no fault of
mine. Boarded me in the night with
only the watch on deck. Hunters went
back on me. He gave them a bigger
lay. Heard him offering it. Did It
right before me. Of course the crew
gave me the go-by. That was to be
expected. All hands went over the
side, and there I was, marooned on
my own vessel. It was Death's turn,
and It's all in the family anyway."
"But how did you lose the masts?"
I asked,
"Walk over and examine those lan-
yards," he said, pointing to where the
mizzen rigging should have been.
"They have been cut with a knife!"
I exclaimed.
"Not quite," he laughed. "It was s
neater job. Look again."
I looked. The lanyards had been al-
most severed, with just enough left to
hold the shrouds till some severe
strain should be put upon them.
"Cooky did that," he laughed again.
"1 know, though 1 didn't spot him at
it. Kind of evened up the score a
bit."
"Good for Mugridge!" I cried.
"Yes, that's what I thought when
everything went over the side. Only
I said It on the other side of my
mouth."
"But what were you doing while ill
this was going on?" I asked.
"My best, you may ue sure, which
wasn't much under the circum-
stances."
I turned to re-examine Thomas
Mugridge's work.
"I guess I'll sit down and take the
sunshine," I heard Wolf Larsen say-
ing.
There was a hint, Just a slight hint,
of physical feebleness in his voice,
and it was so strange that I looked
quickly at him. His hand was sweep-
ing nervously across his face. a3
though he were brushing away cob-
webs. I was puzzled. The whole
thing was bo unlike the Wolf Larsen
I had known.
"How are your headaches?" 1 asked.
"They still trouble me," was his an-
swer. "I think I have one coming
on now."
He slipped down from his sitting
posture till he lay on the deck. Theli
he rolled over on bis side, his head
resting on the biceps of the under
arm, the forearm shielding his eyes
from the sun. I stood regarding him
wonderingly.
"Now's your chance, Hump," he said.
"I don t understand," I lied, for 1
thoroughly understood.
"Oh, nothing." he added softly, as
If he were drowsing; "only you've not
me where you want me."
"No, 1 haven't," I retorted; "for I
want you a few thousand miles away
from here."
He chuckled, and thereafter spoke
no more. He did not stir as I passed
by him and went down into the cabin.
I lifted the trap In the floor, but for
some moments gazed dubiously Into
the darkness of the lazaretto beneath.
I hesitated to descend. What if his
lying down were a ruse? Pretty, in-
deed, to be caught there like a rat
I crept softly up the companlonway
and peeped at him. He wbb lying
as 1 had leu him. Again I went be-
low; but before 1 dropped into the
lazaretto I took the precaution of cast-
ing down the door in advance. At
least there would be no lid to the trap.
But it was all needless. I regained
the cabin with a store of Jams, sea-
biscuits, canned meats, and such
things—all I could carry—and rei
placed the trap door.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Contrary.
Mrs. Closefist—Let's stroll down the
boardwalk and visit the shops.
Mr. Closefiat—Why—er—don't you
think the sun makes these boards too
hot?
Mrs. Cloeeflst—Not so hot but
that you get cold feet when I want to
shop.
CALLED AN IDEAL KITCHEf
Snowy White, and Not a Single Dark
Cupboard in Apartment Marks Up-
To-Date Household "Workshop."
The following description of the
kitchen In the home of a woman famed
for her Interest In household efficiency
Is given to show what Intelligence,
combined with a reasonable amount
of money and a determination to have
one's workshop as up-to-date a place
as possible, can do.
The kitchen Is white from celling
to tiles and contains no dark cup-
boards, but In their place shelves and
cabinets. On the shelves at one side
are 50 glass Jars of graduated sizes,
each one labeled with the name of a
comestible or condiment. Opposite
these are rows of fireproof glass bak-
ing dishes for baking bread, cakes,
pies, custards; the old-fashioned tin
affairs have been discarded as un-
sightly and insanitary. Instead of
granite ware there are files of bright
aluminum sauce pans, reflecting points
of sunlight which streams In through
four large windows curtained with
dimity. Under these shelves Is a por-
celain sink 40 Inches high. No tired,
round shoulders In this kitchen, you
see.
Near this stands a gas range with
an automatic electric pilot—light and
glass doored ovens with thermometers.
Four feet above the floor and near the
range rests a modern steamer, which
will cook an entire dinner over one
gas jet In the middle of the room
Is a glass-topped table, and, sitting
there, the person who Is doing the
ordering can see at a glance what Is
lacking In the glass jars. The maid
supplies the list of groceries which
need replenishing at the beginning of
each month and these are purchased
In quantities at the most economi-
cal prices.
V.
RECIPE FOR EXCELLENT HASH
Mixture of Ingredients Has Been
Called by Its Admirers the
"Best Ever Made."
First of all, fry an onion, finely
chopped, In one ounce of margarine or
dripping, till it Is a golden brown, then
add one ounce of flour, and after stir-
ring well together for five minutes add
half a pint of stock, well flavored with
vegetables, 4wo or three cloves, salt If
necessary, and four tablespoonfuls of
catchup. Stir for a few minutes over
the fire, then flavor further with a tea-
spoonful or more of brown sauce or
meat extract. Let the sauce boll fast
over the fire, so as to reduce It a little,
then add some browning. Strain the
sauce Into a small shallow stewpan
and put It on one side to get cold. In
the meantime cut some meat, and not
too small slices from your meat let-
ting them be all as much as possible
of the same size, and remove every
particle of skin, fat, gristle or burnt
portion, as It Is the latter which gives
the "warmed-up" taste that is so un-
pleasant. When the sauce is cold lay
In It the pieces of meat, cover up the
saucepan and In about an hour's time
put It at the corner of the stove, warm-
ing by very gradual degrees. If al-
lowed to boll, the meat Is sure to be
tough. As soon as It Is thoroughly hot
It Is ready to be dished up, with the
sauce poured over It and It should be
surrounded with fingers of bread, fried
a golden color. The addition of a ljttle
finely chopped parsley greatly Im-
proves the look of the dish.
Excellent Clam Soup.
One quart of milk, four small pota-
toes cut Into small dice and boiled In
water until soft then drain, add milk
and when It comes to a boll add 25
clams chopped fine. Stir occasionally,
as It burns quickly. In the meantime
rream one tablespoonful of butter and
one of flour together and stir In soup
until all Is dissolved. Add chopped
parsley, pepper and salt to taste. This
is delicious nnd can be made quickly.
Deviled Filets of Chicken.
Cut the raw meat Into long, thin
strips, or use the legs of cooked tur-
key. Dip In melted butter and boll un-
til cooked or heated through. Place
on a hot serving dish and spread with
hot mixture. Stir In two tablespoon-
fuls of Worcestershire sauce or mush-
room catchup, and a dash of salt. These
hot seasonings are a matfer of taste
largely, nnd may be added separately
If preferred. The meat usay be gashed
nnd laid In the deviled mixture before
broiling.
French Dressing.
Put one saltspoonful of salt and one-
half saltspoonful of white pepper In
a bowl and stir In three tablespoonfuls
of olive oil, then add one-fourth tea-
spoonful of onion Juice and one table-
spoonful of vinegar. Mix welL
Fly-Paper.
To make fly-papers boll linseed oil
with a little resin till It forms a stringy
paste when cold. Spread this on pa-
per, using a large brush. This Is In-
expensive, and makes on* of the beet
traps for (Ilea.
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Hallett Herald. (Hallett, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 7, 1916, newspaper, September 7, 1916; Hallett, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc180760/m1/2/: accessed April 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.