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EVEIsTtfG LEDGER-lPmLADELPHTA, SATURDAY, JULY 15, 191G.
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by EDGAR RICE
BURROUGHS
AUTHOR OF THE
TARZANandMARS
STORIES
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CHAPTER I
In Chicago
BILLY BYItNE was a product of the
streets and alleys of Chicago's great
West Sldo.
From Halsted to Bobcy and from Grand
avenue to Lake street there was scarce a
bartender whom Billy know not by his
first name. And, In proportion to their
number, which Is considerably less, ha
know tho patrolmen and plnln-clothos mon
equally well but not so pleasantly.
His kindergarten education had com
menced In an alley back of a feed storo.
Hero a gang of older boys and mon waro
wont to congrcgato at such times as they
had nothing olso to occupy tholr time. As
the Bridewell was tho only placo In which
they over held Jobs for moro than two
consecutlvo days, they had considerable
time to devoto to congregating.
They wero pickpockets and second-story
men. mado and In the making. AH wero
muckers, ready to Insult tho rtrst woman
who passed, or pick n quarrel with any
stranger who did not appear too burly.
By night they piled their real vocations.
By day they sat In tho alley behind tho
feed storo and drank beer from a bat
tered tin pall.
Tho question of labor Involved In trans
porting tho pall, empty, to tho saloon across
the street and returning It, full, to tho
alley back of tho feed storo was sotvod
by tho presenco of admiring and onvlous
llttto boys of the neighborhood, who hung
wlde-ayed and thrilled about theso horoC3
of their childish lives.
Billy Byrne, at 'six, wan rushing tho can
for this noblo band, and Incidentally pick
ing up his knowledge of lifo and tho rudl
monts of his education. Ho gloried In tho
knowledge that ho was personally ac
quainted with "Eddlo" Welch, and that with
his own ears ho had heard "nddle" tell the
gang how ho stuck up a guy on West Lake
street, within 60 yards of tho 28th pre
cinct police station.
Tho kindergarten period lasted until Billy
was ten; then ho commenced "swiping"
brass faucets from vacant buildings and
celling them to a fonco who ran a junk shop
on Lincoln street, near Klnzle.
From this man ho, obtained the hint that
graduated him to higher things, so that
at IS he was robbing freight cars In the
yards along Klnzlo btreet. It was about
this same tlmo that ho commenced to find
pleasure In tho feel of his fist against tho
jaw of a follow man. He had his boyish
scraps with his follows off and on ever
since he could remember; but his first real
fight camo when he was 12. He had had
an altercation with an crstwhllo pal over
the division of tho returns from some
freight-car booty.
The gang was all present, and as words
quickly gave placo to blows, as they havo
a habit of doing In certain sections of tho
West Sldo, the man and boys formed a
rough ring about tho contestants.
Th,o battle- was a long one. The two
were rolling about In tho dust of the alley
quite as often as they wero upon their feet
exchanging blows. l
There was nothing fair nor decent nor
scientific about their methods. They gouged
and bit and tore. They used knees and
elbows and feet, and but for the timely
presenco of a brickbat beneath his Angers
at the psychological moment, Billy Byrno
1 would havo gone down to humiliating
i dofeat. As It was the other boy wont
down; and for a week Billy remained
Chidden by ono of tho gang pending the
report from the hospital.
1 When word came that the patient would
e, Billy felt an lmmenso load lifted from
s shoulders, for ha dreaded arrest and
Axrlence with the law that ho had
hrned from childhood to deride and hate.
course, there was the loss of prestige
hat would naturally have accrued to htm
could he have been pointed out as "tho guy
that croaked Sheehan ;" but there Is always
p. fly In the ointment, and Billy only sighed
and came out of his temporary retirement.
I The battle started Billy to thinking, and
the result of that mental activity was a
determination to team to handle his mitts
I scientifically people of the West Bide do
not have hands; they are equipped by
( nature with mitts and dukes. A few have
I paws and flippers.
I For several years he had no opportunity
to realize his 'new aream ; out wnen ne
was about 17 a neighbor's Bon surprised his
little world by suddenly developing from
an unknown teamster Into a locally famous
lightweight.
The young man had never been nfflUated
with the gang, as his escutcheon was defiled
with a record of steady employment So
Billy had known nothing of the sparring
lessons his neighbor had taken, or of the
work he had done at the downtown
'gymnasium of Larry Hllmore,
Now, It happened that while the new
'lightweight was unknown to the charmed
circle of the gang, Billy knew him fairly
well by reason of the proximity of their
respective parental back yards, and so when
tfthe glamour of pugilistic success haloed the
young man, Billy lost no time In basking In
the light of his reflected glory.
He saw much of his new hero all the
following winter. He accompanied him to
many mills, and on one glorious occasion
occupied a position In (he coming champion's
corner.
When the prize-fighter toured, Billy con-
tinued to hang around Hilmore's place,
running errands and doing odd Jobs the
while, and almost unconsciously he picked
up pugllstlo lore and absorbed the spirit of
the game along with the rudiments and
fine points of Its science.'
Then his ambition changed. Once he had
longed to shine as a gunman; now he was
determined to become a prize-fighter. But
the old gang still saw much of him, and he
was a familiar figure about the saloon
corner along Grand avenue and Lake
street.
Purlng this period Billy neglected the
boxcars on Klnzle street, partly because
ha felt that he was fitted for more dignified
-employment, and also for the fact that the
"railroad company had doubled the number
of watchmen In the yards. But there were
limes when he felt the old yearning for ex
citement and adventure,
fhese time were usually coincident with
an acute financial depression on Billy's
change pocket. Then he would fare forth
in the, tlU watch of the night with a
cnupia of boon companion and roll a souse
or iick up swvm-
Jt wa upon en occasion of this nature
that an vn occurred which Ws fated.
f later t harge the entire course of Billy
n Lyr w if e,
Vpoa tha West Side the oWr gacgi ure
Jealous of tho sanctity of their own terri
tory. Outsiders do not trespass, with Im
punity. From Halstead to Robey, nnd from Lake
to Grand, lay tho broad hunting preserves of
Kelly's gang, to which Billy had bren almost
born, one might say. Kelly owned tho feed
store back of which tho gang had loafed for
years, and though himself n respectable
business man, his namo had been attached
to tho pack of hoodlums who held forth nt
his back door as the easiest means of locat
ing and identifying its members.
Tho pollco and citizenry of this great
territory were tho natural enemies and prey
of Kelly's gang, but as tho kings of old pro
tected the deer of tholr great forests from
poachers, so IOlly's gang felt It Incumbent
upon them to safeguard for themselves tho
lives nnd property which they considered
theirs by dlvlno right It Is doubtful that
they thought of the matter In Just this way,
but the effect was tho samp,
And so It was that as Billy Byrno wended
homeward nlono In the wco hours of tho
morning after emptying tho cash drawer of
old Schneider's saloon and locking tho weep
ing Schneider Into his own Ico box, ho was
deeply grieved nnd angered to sco rank
outsiders from Twelfth Street beating
Patrolman Stanley Lasky with his own
baton, tho while they simultaneously strovo
to kick In liln ribs with their heavy boots.
Now, Lasky was no friend of Billy
Byrne's, but tho oillccr had been born nnd
raised In the district nnd wa3 attached to
tho Twenty-eighth precinct station on Lako
Street nenr Ashland Avenue, and so was
part and parcel of tho natural possession of
tho gang. Billy felt that It was entirely
ethical to beat up a cop, provided you con
fined your efforts to thoso of your own dis
trict, but for a bunch of yaps from south
of Twelfth Street to attempt to pull oft any
such coarse work In his bailiwick why. It
was unthinkable 1
A hero nnd rescuer of less experience
than Hilly Byrno would have rushed mel
odramatically Into tho midst of tho fray,
and In all probability havo had his face
pushed completely through tho back of his
head, for tho guys from Twelfth Street
wero not of tho rnh-rnh-boy typo of hood
lum they wero Bad men, with an upper
caso B.
So Bill crept Btcalthtly along In tho shad
ows until ho was qulto closo to them, nnd
behind them On tho way he had gathered
up n cuto little grnnlto paving block, than
which thcro Is nothing In tho world harder,
not ocn n Twelfth Street skull.
Ho was quite closo now to ono of tho men
him who was wielding the olllcer's club to
such excellent disadvantage for tho olllcer.
Ho raised the paving block only to lower t
silently and suddenly upon tho back of that
unsuspecting head "and then thcro wero
two."
Before tho man's companions had realized
what had happened Billy had possessed him
self of tho fallen club nnd struck ono of
them a blinding, staggering blow across tho
eyes.
Then number three pulled hl3 gun and
fired polntblank at Billy. Tho bullot toro
through his left shoulder.
It would havo sent a moro highly organ
ized and nervously Inclined man to tho
pavement, but Billy was nolthcr highly or
ganized nor nervously inclined, so that
about tha only Immediate effect It had upon
him wan to mako him mad. Before ho had
boon but peeved peoved at tho rank crust
that had permitted theso cheap skates from
south of Twelfth street to work his terri
tory. Thoroughly aroused, Billy was a
wonder.
From n long lino of burly nncestors ho
had Inherited tho phystquo of a prlzo bull.
From earliest childhood ho had fought al
ways unfairly, so that ho knew nil tho
tricks of street fighting. During tho last
year thero had been added to Billy's nntural
fighting ability and Instinct a knowledge of
the scientific end of tho sport
Tho result wns something appalling to
tho gang from Twelfth street
Before that gink could pull the trigger
again h(s gun hnd been wrenched from
his hand and (lung ncross tho street, nnd
he was down on tho grnnlto, with a hand
as hard as the paving block scrambling his
facial attractions beyond hopo of repair.
By this tlmo Patrolman Lasky had stag
gered to his feet, and most opportunely at
that; for yie man whom Billy had dazed
with the club was recovering. Lasky
promptly put him to sleep with the butt
of tho gun that he had been unable to draw
when first attacked, then he turned to assist
Billy.
But It was not Billy who needed assist
ance It was the gentleman from Bohemia.
With difficulty Lasky dragged Billy from
hla prey.
"Leave enough of him for the Inquest,"
pleaded Lasky,
When the wagon arrived Billy had dis
appeared, but LaBky had recognized him,
and thereafter tho two nodded pleasantly to
one another upon such occasions as they
chanced to meet upon tho street
Two years elapsed beforo the event
transpired which proved a crisis In Billy's
life, During this period dils existence had
been much the same as before,
lie had collected what was coming to
him from, careless nnd less muscular citi
zens. Hehad helped stick up a half dozen
saloons. Ho had robbed the night men In
two elevated stations, and for a while had
been upon the payroll of a certain ward
boss and done Btrong-arm work for $25 a
week.
By day he was a general utility man
iifTtfrim;:rtmiiftiafl?s
"Orders is out to get you, and if I
bout Larry Hilmore's boxing academy,
and time and time again Hllmore urged
him to quit drinking and live straight, for
he saw In the young giant the makings of
a great heavyweight But Billy couldn't
leave the booze alone, and so the best that
be got was an occasional five-spot for ap
pearing in preliminary bouts with third and
fourth rate heavies and has-beens. Vet
during the three year that be had hung
about Hl'more' he bad acquired an envl
able knowledge of the manly art of self
defense. On th night that thing really began
to happen in the life of BUly Byrne, that
estimable gentleman was lolling in front of
a saloon at th? corner ox j-aae ma juivey.
'.fUe dips hat congr ated nightly jhese.
BBTTBnTBmmirr "-"' ' iiKimmt mhhiuimtu.i u.mm...i..,il , .l ;-rr-mr,.-,v m . in uL..i,..L.i.ij jiii.miJtunmilffll1 II1 IH HHWTrTi. ..1IIL -'TTrai -J
"Avast, there,"
under the protection of tho powerful poli
tician who owned tho placo wore commenc
ing to nssomblo. Billy knew them all, and
nodded to them as they passed him.
Ho noted surprise In the faces of several
ha they saw him standing there. He won
dered what It meant nnd determined to
ask tho next man wl)o evinced oven muto
wonderment at his presenco what wns eat
ing him.
Then Billy saw n harness bull strolling
toward him from tho east It was Lasky.
When Lasky saw Billy he. too, opened
his eyes In surprise, and when he camo
quite closo to tho mucker he whispered
something to him, though ho kept hlB eyea
straight nhead as though ho had not seen
Billy, at all.
In deference to tho whispered request
Billy presently strolled around tho corner
toward Walnut street, but at the alley back
of the saloon ho turned suddenly In.
A hundred yards up tho alley he found
Lasky In the shadow of a telephone pole.
"Wotlnoll are you doln' around hero?"
asked tho patrolman. "Didn't you know
thot Sheehan had peached?"
Two nights beforo old man Schneider,
goaded to desperation by the repeated raids
upon his cash drawer, had shown light whpit
he had again been Invited to elevate his
were you I'd beat it, nnd beat it quick,"
hands, and tha hold-up men had shot bun
through the heart Sheehan had been ari
rested on suspicion.
Billy had not been with Sheehan that
night. As a matter of fact, he never had
trained with him, for, ' ce the boyish bat
tie that the two had waged, there had al
ways been lll-feellns between them.
But with Lasky's words BUly knew what
had happened.
"Sheehan eaya I done It, eht" he ques
tioned. "That's what h eaya"
"Why, I wasn't within a rolls of Shnel
der'a that bight" protested BUly-
jThe Ueut thinks different." said Lasky
Hel be only to. glad to. eoajt yo, for
f. jroae always been Voo slids hj get jslekea.
I
cried tho captain, and ho swung tho heavy
before. Orders Is out to get you, and if I
was you I'd beat It, and beat it quick. I
don't havo to tell you why I'm handing you
this, but It's nil 1 can do for you Now,
tnko my tip and slide, though you'll have to
go soma to mako your getaway now excry
guy on tho force has got your pedigree."
Hilly turned without a word and walked
east In tho alley toward Lincoln Mrcct In
Lincoln .Mrcct Billy wulkcil north to Kln
zle. Here ho entered the railroad yards.
An hour Inter ho was bumping out of
town townrd tha West on a fast freight.
Thrco weeks later he found himself in
Frisco.
Ho had no money, hut tho methods that
had so often replenished his depleted ox
chequer at home ho folt would bervo the
samo purpose hero.
Being unfamiliar with Frisco, Billy did
not know where best to work. But when,
by accident, he stumbled upon a street
whero thero wero many ealoons whoso p.i
trons were obviously seafaring i on, ho was
distinctly elated. What could bo better for
his purposes than a drunken tailor'.'
Ho entered one of the taloona and stood
watching a game of cards, or thus ho
seemed to bo occupied. As n matter of
fact, his eyes ucio constantly upon tho
alert, roving about the room to wheroxer a
man was In the net of paying for a round
o! drinks, that ft fat wallet might bo located.
Presently one that tilled him with long
ing rewarded his careful watch.
The man was sitting at a table a rhort
distance from Billy. Two other men were
with him As he paid tho waiter from a
well-Ailed pocketbook ho looked up to meet
Billy's eyes
With a drunken smilo he beckoned to the
mucker to Join them. BUly felt that fate
was overklnd to hltn. and he lojt no time in
heeding her call. A moment later ho was
sitting at the table with tho three bailors,
and had ordered a drop of redeye.
The stranger, who was cross-eyed to a
marked degree, was very lavish In his en
tertainment Ha scarcely waited for Billy
to drain one glass before he ordered an
other, and once after Billy had left the
table for a moment he found a fresh drink
awaiting him when he returned his host
had already poured. It for hltn.
It was this last drink thut did the busi
ness. CHAPTER II
The Half moon
WHEN Billy opened his eyes again he
could not recall, for the Instant, ery
much of his Immediate past. At last he
remembered, with painful regret, the
drunken sailor It had been hla Intention to
roli
He felt deeply chagrined that his right
ful prey should have escaped hUn. Ho
couldn't understand how It had happened.
"This Frisco booze must be something
fierce I" thought pilly.
His head ached frightfully, and ha was
very sick. So elcl$ that the room In whleh
he )ay seemed to be rising and falling In
a horribly realistic, manner. Every time It
dropped it brought, Billy's stomach nearly
to his mouth.'
BUly shut his eyfs. StUl the awful sen
sation. BUly groaned. He had never been so
sick In all bis life before, and my. how
his poor head dur hurt) Finding that U
seemtd only to make matters worse when
he ctaMd his vy3. Jiilly ,ppene4 ttiew
uKatn,
'uq lsS.Kti ubjut ttw room in wnuit'oe
stick ho usually carried full upon tho
lay. Ho found it a stuffy holo filled with
bunks In tiers thrcc-decp around tho sides.
In tho centro of tho room was a tablo.
Abovo tho tablo a. lamp hung suspcu'ed
from ono of tho wooden benms of tho
celling.
Tho lamp arrested Billy's attention. It
was bwlnglng back and forth rather vio
lently. Tills could not bo nn hallucination. Tho
room might seem to bo rising and falling,
but that lamp could not socm to bo swing
ing around In any such manner If it wero
not really and truly swinging. Ho couldn't
account for It.
Again ho shut his eyes for a moment.
When ho opened them to look again nt tho
lamp ho found that It still swung as beforo.
Cautiously ho slid from his bunk to tho
floor. It was with difficulty that he kept
his feot. Still that might bo but tho ef
fects of the liquor. At last ho reached the
tablo, to which ho clung for support while
he extended ono hand toward tho lamp.
Thero was no longer any doubt. The
lamp was beating back and forth like the
clapper of n great bell !
Where was ho? Billy sought a window.
Ho found borne llttlo round glass-covered
i ules near tho low ceiling nt one side of
tho room. It was only at the greatest risk
to life and limb that he managed to crawl
on oil fours to one of them
As he straightened up and glanced
through he was appalled at the sight that
met his oyes. As far oh he could see there
vas nothing but a tumbling waste of water.
Then the truth of wtiat had happened
to him broko upon his understanding.
"An I was goin' to roll that guy I" he
muttered in helpless bewilderment "I was
u k'oln' to roll him, and now look here wot
ho's done to mu I"
At that moment a light appeared above
as tho hatch was raised, and BUly saw the
feet anil legs of a large man descending
the Udder from aboe. When the new.
comer reached the floor and turned to look
about his eyes met Billy's, and Billy saw
that it was his host of the previous eve
ning. "Well, my hearty, how goes It?" asked
tho stranger.
"You pulled It off pretty slick," said
Billy.
"What do you mean?" asked the other
with a frowp.
"Come off," said Billy j "you know what
I mean."
"Look here," replied the other coldly,
"Don't you ferget that I'm mate of this
ship, an that you want to speak respectful
to me f you ain't lookin' fer trouble. My
name's Mr. Ward, an' when you speak to
me say 'sir.' Understand?"
Billy scratched his head and blinked his
eyes. He had neer before been spoken
to In any such fashion at least not since
he had put on the avoirdupois of man
hood. Ills head ached horribly, and he was
s(k to hla stomach frightfully sick.
His mina was more upon bis physical suf
fering than upon what the mute was saying,
so that quite a perceptible Interval of time
elapsed before the true, dimensions of the
affront to his dignity commenced to per
colate Into the befogged and patn-racked
convolutions of his brain.
The mate thought that his bliuter had
bluffed, the new band. That was what
he had come below to accomplish. Ex
perience had taught htm that an early
lessouftn discipline and subordination saved
unplefjant encounters in the future. Hi
also tiad learned that there. 14 no better
ttme fu put across a UuJX of pu ntura
back of Billy's head.
than when the victim is suffering from the
after-effects of whisky and a drug. Men
tality, vitality nnd courago are then at
their lowest ebb. A bravo man often Is
reduced to tho pitiful condition of a ellow
dog when nausea sits astride his stomach.
But the mate was not acquainted with
Billy Byrno of Kelly's gang. Billy's brain
was befuddled, so that It took soma time
for an Idea to wiggle its way through, but
his courago was all there, and all to tho
good.
BUly was a mucker, n hoodlum, n gang
ster, u thug, a tough. Whon he fought his
methods would have brought 11 flush of
shame to tho face of his batanlc majesty.
He had hit oftener from behind that from
before. He had always taken every ad
vantage of size and weight and numbers
that ho could call to his assistance. He
was an Insulter of girls and women. He
was a barroom brawler and a saloon
corner loafer.
Ho was all that was dirty and mean and
contemptible and cowardly In the eyes of
a brau man; and yet, notwithstanding all
this. Billy Hyrno was no coward. Ho wa3
what he was because of training and en
vironment He knew no other methods
no other code. Whatever tho meager ethics
of his kind he would have Ihed up to them
to tho death.
Ho had never squealed on a pal, and he
had never left a w ounded friend to fall Into
tho hands of the enemy, the police.
Nor had he ever let a man speak to
htm as the mate had spoken, and get away
with it, und so, while he did not act as
quickly as would have been his wont had
his balu been clear, he did act But the
Intei al of time had led tli mute Into an
erroneous conception of Its cause, and into
a further rash show of authority, and had
thrown him ott his guard as well.
"What you need," said the mute, ad
tanclng toward Billy, "Is a bash of the
beezer. It'll help you remember that you
ain't nothln' but a dirty landlubber, an'
when Jour betters come around ou'll "
What Billy would hae done In the
presence of his bettois remained still-born
In the mate's Imagination in the face of
what Billy really did do to his better, as
that worthy swung a sudden, vidou3 blow
at the mucker's face,
Billy Byrne had not been scrapping with
third and fourth rate hedvles and sparring
with real, live ones for nothing The mate's
fist whistled through empty air, the blear
eyed hunk of clay that had seemed such
easy prey to him was metamorphosed on
the instant into an alert, cat-like bundle of
steel sinews, and Billy Byrne swung that
awful right with the pile driver weight
that eten the Big Smoke himself had
acknowledged respect far. straight to the
short ribs of his antagonist
With a screech of surprise and pain the
mate cvumpled In the far corner of the
forecastle, rammed half way beneath a
bunk by the force of the terrtflo blow. Like
a tiger BUly Byrne was after blm, and
dragging the man out into the centro of
the floor space, he beat and mauled him
until his victim's -yolla echoed through the
hip from stem, to stern. ,
When the captain, followed by halt a
dozen seamen, rushed down the ceropanion
way he found BUly sitting astride - the
prostrate form of the mate. His great
fingers circled the mans throat, and with
mighty blows he was dashing the feUow'a
head against the bard floor.
Another moment and murder would have
been complete
' Avast there '" cried the captain, and as
though, to punctuate fcti wtcark. Jia gvnmB
the heavy Bttck he usually carried full upon
the back of Billy's head,
It was that blow that saved the mate's
life, for when Billy came to he found him
self In a dark and smelly hole, chained nnd
padlocked to a stanchion.
They kept Billy there for n week, but
every day tho captain visited him In an
attempt to show him the error of his way.
Tha medium UBcd by the skipper for Im
pressing his Ideas of discipline upon Billy
was the largo, hard stick.
At Iho end of tho week It Was necessary
to carry Billy above to keep the rat from
devouring him, for the continued beating
nnd starvntlon had reduced him to little
moro than an unconscious mass of raw
bleeding meat
"There." remarked the skipper, as he
viewed his work by tho light of day, "I
guess that fellow'll know his place next
tlmo an officer an' a gentleman speaks to
him,"
That BUly survived Is one of the hitherto
unrecorded miracles of the power of matter
over mind. A man of Intellect of Imagin
ation a being of nerves would have suc
cumbed to shock alone, but Billy was not
as these Ho slmoly lay still and thoughtless,
except for half-formed Ideas of revenge,
until nature, unaided, built up what the
captain had so ruthlessly torn down.
Ten dnjs after they brought him up
from the hold Billy waa limping about the
deck of the Halfmoon doing light manual
labor. From the other sailors aboard he
learned that ho was not the only member
of the crow who had been shanghaied.
Aside from a halfdozen reckless men from
tho criminal classes who had signed volun
tarily, cither because they could not get .a
berth upon a decent ship or desired to flit
as quietly from tho law zone of the united
States ns possible, not a man was there who (
had been signed regularly.
They were as tough and vicious a lot as
fate had over forcgathored In one forecastle,
nnd with them Billy Byrne felt perfectly
nt home. His early threats of awful ven
gennco to bo wreaked upon the mate and
skipper had subsided with tho rough but
sensible advice of his messmates.
Tho mate, for his part, gave no Indication
of harboring the nssault that Billy had mads
upon him other than to assign the most
dangerous or dlsagreeablo duties of the ship
to tho mucker whenever It was possible to
do so, but tho result of this was to hasten
Billy's nautical education, nnd keep him In
excellent physical trim.
All traces of alcohol had long sines
vanished from the young man's pystem
HIs face showed the effects of hl3 enforced
abstemiousness In a marked degree.
Tha red, puffy, blotchy complexion had
given way to clear, tanned skin; bright
eyes supplanted tho bleary, bloodshot things
that had given tho bestial expression to his
face In tho past. His features, always
regular and strong, had taken on a peculiarly
refined dignity from the salt air, the clean
life, nnd tho dangerous occupation of the
deep-sea sailor, that would have put Kelly's
gang to a pinch to hnvo recognized tholr
erstwhllo crony had he suddenly appeared
In their midst In tho alley back of the feed
store on Grand avenues.
With tho now lifo Billy found himself
tnklng on a new character. He surprised
himself singing at his work he, whoso
wholo life up to now hnd been devoted to
dodging honest labor, whoso motto had
been: "Tho world owes me a living, and
it's up to mo to collect It"
Also, ho was surprised to discover that
ho liked to work, that he took keen pride
In striving to outdo the men who worked,
with him. nnd this spirit, despite the sua.
plclon which tho captain entertained f,
Billy since tho episode of the forecastle,
went far to making his life more endurabls
on board the Halfmoon, for workers such
as the mucker developed Into are not to bs
sneezed at, and though ho had little Idea
of subordination, it was worth putting up
with something to keep him in condition to
work. ... j
It was this lino of reasoning that saved
Billy's skull on ono or two occasions when
his Impudence had been sufficient to havo
provoked the skipper to n personal assault
upon him under ordinary condltlonsvSqulnt
Kye Ward, having tasted orBUly's medicine
once, had no craving for another encounter
with him that would entail personal con
flict. Tho entire crew was made up of ruffians
and unhung murderers, but Skipper Slmms
had had little experience with Beamen of
any other Ilk, so he handled them rough
shod, using his horny fist and the short
heavy stick that he habitually carried. In
lieu of argument. But with the exception
of Billy the men all had served before tha
mast In the past, so that a ship's discipline
was to a certain measure Ingrained In them
all.
Enjoying his work, the life was not an
unplensant one for the mucker. The men
of tho forecastle were of the kind he haft
always known there was no honor among;
them, no virtue, no kindliness, no decency.
With them Billy was at home h
scarcely missed the old gang. He made his
friends among them, and his enemies. He
picked quarrels, as had been his way sines
childhood. His science and hla great
strength, together with his endless stock of
underhand tricks brought him out of each
encounter with fresh laurels.
Presently he found it difficult to pick a
fight his messmates had had enough of
1.1m They left him severely alone.
These battles, often bloody, engendered
no deep-seated hatred In the hearts of the
defeated. They were part of the day's
work and play of the half brutes that
Skipper Slmms had gathered together.
There was only one man aboard whom
Billy really hated. That was the passenger,
Divine: and Billy hated him, not because
of anything that the man had Bald or done
to Billy, for he had never even so much as
spoken to the mucker, but because of the
fine rtothea and superior air which marked
him plainly to Billy a a member of that
loathed element of society a gentleman.
Billy hated everything that was respect
able. He had hated the smug, self-satisfied
merchants of Grand avenue. He had
writhed n spirit at sight of every shiny,
purring automobile that had ever passed
him with Its load of well-groomed men and
women A clean, stiff collar was to Billy
as a red rag to a bulb
Cleanliness, success, opulence, decency
spelled bu ons thing to BUly physical
weakness ; and he hated physical weakness.
His idea of Indicating strength and man
liness lay In displaying a much of brutality
and uncouthness as possible.
To assist a woman over a raudhole would
have seemed to Billy an acknowledgment
of pusillanimity: to stick out his foot and
trip her so that she cprawled full length In
It, the hall-mark of bluff manliness.
And so he hated, with all the strength,
of a strong nature, the Immaculate, couiv
teous well-bred man who paced the deck;
each day smoking a fragrant cigar alter
bis meals.
Inwardly he wondered what the ,dde
was doing on board such a vessel as the
Halfmoon, and marveled that 0 weak a
thing dared venture among real men.
Billy's contempt caused him to nqttcs
Divine more than he would have been
ready to, admit He w that the man's
fac3 was handsome, but that there was
an unpleasant shiftiness to his brown eyes.
Then, entirely outside of hla former rea
sons for bating the man. Billy m to
loathe him Intuitively, a oaf who was not
td be trusted.
HfSiip
Continued in
Monday's
attkjj