Roland Ashford Phillips

“ Twice in the course of the next few minutes, Brant stopped to make inquiries, for the street he sought was in a strange part of the city, a mile of more from the business section. He never before had ventured into the picturesque maze of narrow streets, far remote from the haunts of inquisitive tourists. The winding, alleylike thoroughfares were dirty, ill-lighted, and swarming with life.
When the street was found, the number corresponding to that on the envelope revealed a squat, stucco building with huge shutters, railed balcony, and a bolted door that opened into a patio. ”

“ CHAPTER X. NO TIME FOR DREAMING. A FAIRYLIKE haze of golden twilight settled down upon the vast and placid Gulf. The distant, enchanted keys melted away. The yacht lights came on suddenly, twinkling like fireflies, to be reflected in the water.
Miss Newberry had gone to her stateroom, and Brant, deep in an easy-chair, looked up at the first, faint stars. He seemed half asleep; but in reality his mind never was more active. Before another sun touched the palms and sandy wastes of Seminole land, a part must be played and an unrehearsed performance given. ”

“ Brant heard one of the men walk away and decided that it was Korry; he heard a cautions step approach him and concluded that Meech intended to inspect the prisoner. Yet Brant dared not risk opening his eyes to make sure. So long as he remained quiet, he trusted the engineer would not bother him, or too closely examine the frayed ropes.
The crinkle of paper and the striking of a match indicated that Meech had rolled and lighted a cigarette. Aware that the man must be standing over him, Brant lay inert—a huddled, motionless figure in which life seemed all but extinct. ”

“ Meech stopped in his tracks. For a moment undecided, he whirled suddenly and picked up the revolver that Korry had knocked from his hand a few minutes before.
Instantly aware of the man's grim purpose, and spurred by desperation, Brant put forth all his strength. The ropes snapped. He flung himself headlong at the crouching engineer as the lifted revolver spouted flame. A hot, tearing agony numbed his shoulder; but unmindful of the pain he closed upon the man, bore him to the deck, hammered him with a blind, unreasoning ferocity ”

“ The hot sun streamed through the barred window and painted vertical lines on the opposite wall. Brant rolled off the cot and made for the door. This time, much to his surprise, it opened readily, and he stepped out into a wide patio.
He glared defiantly and rather amazedly about him. No one was within sight. The patio was empty; the doors that opened from it were closed. He had a debt to pay and meant to return it with interest. Just at the moment he felt in a mood for fighting; but there was no one to give battle; no one to answer questions. ”

“ Before Korry could find words suitable to express an unflattering opinion of what his captor had revealed, Miss Newberry emerged from the hatch. She stood, a slender figure in the misty starlight, and gazed wonderingly at the scene before her.
Brant greeted her with a smile. “Are the five minutes up?” he inquired. “Good! You're just in time to take a hand in the finish. Suppose you investigate Korry's pockets! It'll be safer all around when he's disarmed.” ”

“ The last two men did not look aggressive to Brant; but the engineer, to whom he took an instant dislike, and Korry himself, gave Brant food for thought. He did not underestimate the odds against him, and he realized that Meech and the captain would prove formidable antagonists in a hand-to-hand encounter. Only by a ruse, by pitting his wits against them, could he hope to come off victorious. ”

“ Robust adventure was somewhat to his liking; but so far, it seemed, the stars were slightly off their course. Still, he was ready for it. Adventure and romance fairly permeated Havana. One rubbed elbows with it at every turn of the road. The very atmosphere was full of it.
After waiting more or less patiently, however, Brant concluded that what was written in the stars was pure hokum; that Adventure, Romance and Company cared no more for his services than did the café proprietors or the departing vessels. ”

“ The skipper held unerringly to his course.
Countless palm-fringed islands, with their shining strips of white beach, began to spring up magically, like dark-blue clouds floating between turquoise sky and water. Flocks of sea gulls and pelicans, on the trail of fish schools, swarmed into view at intervals, filling the air with discordant cries. An occasional porpoise, its body glistening in the sun, disported playfully off the bows of the yacht. ”

“ At times the trees met overhead, and the boat swept through cool, leafy tunnels where birds screeched complainingly; again the yacht emerged abruptly into wide lagoons where the sun glare was blinding and the water lay like a mirror.
“What are you going to do?” the girl asked at length. “You've no weapon—nothing with which to defend yourself.”
“I've a likely pair of arms,” Brant said. ”

“ At twelve o'clock exactly the engine-room bell sounded, and with slowly churning screws, the Flamingo moved gracefully into the open water. Miss Newberry and Brant stood near the inclosed bridge, where Korry operated the wheel, and watched the receding shore line with its tinted houses, its picturesque harbor and busy docks bathed in the vivid glare of noon sunlight. ”

“ To a man they sensed what capture meant and wasted no time in watching a presumably bound and disheartened prisoner.
Breathing easier now, his mind occupied with a host of rash plans, Brant saw that the Federal cutter had gained on its quarry. It had altered its course in an endeavor to head off the Flamingo; but the situation was still in Korry's favor.
Brant realized that at once. He could depend upon no help from the authorities. The yacht was too swift and its skipper too adroit. Once beyond the dead line of islands the chink runner could laugh impudently at Federal pursuit. ”

“ Although the cargo of Korry's craft contained neither pieces of eight nor precious stones, it was none the less valuable, and the risks he ran were great. No skipper of a pirate ship was kept more on the alert; none more keen to realize the dangers that constantly threatened him.
At regular intervals, the single member of his crew, Meech, making his first trip out of Havana as a combination engineer, mate, and general utility man, came upon deck for a breath of fresh air and a drag at a cigarette. He was, in appearance, as forbidding as his skipper, whose capable hands controlled the wheel. ”

“ Brant experienced a sense of relief to find himself on deck again and proceeded to tackle one of Korry's cigars. However, he started involuntarily when Meech, appearing noiselessly out of the shadows, proffered him a light.
In the flare of the extended match, Brant studied the engineer's thin features and crooked smile at close quarters. The scrutiny was distinctly unfavorable. The man reminded him of a slinking, treacherous creature, dangerous when cornered, but preferring flight to fight in the open. ”

“ Instantly alert at the new danger, the skipper bounded across the deck.
A moment later, having studied the approaching craft through leveled binoculars, Korry cried the alarm: “It's the cutter! Look alive now!”
The smuggler himself took the helm, while Rambo and the Cuban crowded to the rail.
Meech, apparently indifferent to the unpleasant news, slipped from the hatch and bent a glowering face upon Brant. “Say, you're a wise guy, ain't you?” he snarled. “Like to crow about it! what you think you seen ain't goin' to travel far. You won't get a chance to squeal. ”

“ Lifting his head cautiously above the top of the hatch, Brant scanned the starboard deck. Two figures were visible, leaning over the rail forward of the pilot house. One of them he at once identified as Korry; the other was put down as the fourth member of the crew.
The inactivity aboard and beyond the yacht surprised him, and for an instant he wondered if the cargo had been landed. After a moment of reflection, however, he quieted his fears. The landing of the yellow men would have been attended with more or less noise; and he had heard nothing. ”

“ Once more Brant was comforted. The unpleasant sentence pronounced upon him fanned the embers of hope into a radiant flame. Surely the stars were kind to him! If the mutilated ropes were not discovered and Meech did not chose to interfere with plans of his own contriving, the prisoner had little to fear.
“Soon's I get a bite to eat,” Korry remarked presently, “we'll put over the dinghy and I'll round up Thatcher.”
“I'd appreciate a swig of somethin' stronger than Java,” Meech returned. “Seems like——”
“You'll get nothing until we're finished with our job,” the smuggler broke in. ”

“ You was it?” Thatcher lurched from his chair, a gaunt and terrible figure. “You turned loose them—them crazy monkeys?” His voice lifted to a shrill scream. “You done that when—when you knew my place was here?”
Korry brushed aside the hands that reached for his throat; gave Thatcher a shove that sent him crashing back into the chair. “What did you suppose I'd do?” he snarled. “Cut their throats and dump 'em overboard? The cutter had me trapped! It was a case of protecting my own interests first.”
Meech gazed down at the writhing, babbling fisherman; then glanced nervously toward the smuggler. ”

“ Brant,” she asserted in a surprisingly different tone, as if she had arrived at a decision after mature thought. “The right thing. I believe I can depend upon you. Are you willing to help? To take what may be a hundred-to-one chance?”
“In a minute!” Brant replied unhesitantly.
“I know who murdered Mr. Dixon,” the girl went on. “At least I am certain who was back of the cowardly deed. It was Captain Korry, the most notorious chink runner in Havana.”
“Korry?” Brant echoed, instantly recalling the name. “Why, Dixon and I were discussing him not half an hour ago. ”

“ Intuitively, Brant stiffened. The boat was still too far away to be recognized, but he was convinced of its identity and purpose. Spurred into activity and alive to the situation confronting ham, he was filled with apprehension.
Miss Newberry, turning guardedly in her chair, voiced that which already was uppermost in his thoughts. “It must be the Federal cutter,” she whispered.
Brant nodded. “Remember!” he warned. “We're at least five miles off shore. There's nothing to do but sit tight and wait. Any action on our part now will be fatal. Let Korry make the first move.” ”

“ Moreover, she was to rely upon him—Brant—to accomplish what Dixon had planned to do. Dangerous as it seemed, Brant never for an instant hesitated to accept the part offered him.
“We'll get Korry one way or another,” he declared emphatically. “You may not find me as resourceful and capable as Dixon, but I'll do my best.”
“I am sure you will,” the girl responded, a quick color rising in her cheeks. “It is for Mr. Dixon—to finish what he set out to do—that we must succeed. It is, perhaps, to avenge a despicable crime. Trap this smuggler, even though we do not wring the truth from him. ”

“ It was not difficult for Brant to imagine what particular item in the Havana Post the skipper referred to.
“You and Miss Newberry's played a smart game,” Korry went on, when it was evident his prisoner had no comment to make; “but it's got you nothing.”
“Hasn't it?” Brant countered.
“No; nothing but trouble. I'm landing my cargo just the same,” the smuggler boasted. “It's a five-thousand-dollar job. I know enough to keep my eyes open. Do you suppose I'd let a show actor and a girl put the blinkers on me? Not much!” ”

“ Although two sources of danger threatened Korry's life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, he had nothing but profound contempt for the handful of immigration officers and the revenue patrols. What he feared most of all were the breed of cunning, unscrupulous jackals known in the trade as “hijackers,'” freelance bad men, who were on the alert to stage surprise parties at the most inopportune times. ”

“ They walked briskly around the deck, fighting against the insidious lethargy that threatened to engulf them. The exercise helped a little; but Brant realized that something more strenuous must be indulged in if they were to stay awake. Sheer will power alone would not combat the effects of whatever drug had been given them.
Captain Korry had plotted well in the carrying out of his bold and nefarious scheme, Brant reasoned. ”

“ Although momentarily dazed by the unexpected attack, Brant recovered and started in pursuit, more than thankful that his quarry had set a course along a deserted thoroughfare. He preferred to deal with the man without raising an alarm or attracting attention.
The purloiner of the letter had gained considerable headway; but he remained in sight, and Brant rapidly overtook him. Apparently aware that he could not escape by running, the man darted into an open court that was lighted by a street arc, stopped, tore open the envelope, and scanned the inclosure as Brant pounced upon him. ”