Pictures and the Picturegoer (Jan-Dec 1925)

MARCH 1925 Pictures and P/ct\jreQuer 35 On the placid grey flat of the mighty ocean two objects only were visible. The first was the " Martha Lee " — or what was left of her. Over near the sunrise the last tattered shreds and spars of her floated grimly, a sad reminder for such eyes as saw of the grand ship that had proudly sailed the seas but a few short hours ago. The other forlorn object was a small lifeboat, the last to leave the " Martha Lee," and the only one now in sight. In it were four people ; the captain of the dead vessel, John Ferguson, his wife and child, young Colin, no more than a baby in arms, and a single seaman. As the seaman pulled off with rare futility from one empty area of the vast ocean to another area as empty, Captain John Ferguson sank down in the bows and drew his wife and child to his side. Eastward, the last sign of the " Martha Lee " had sunk from sight. " Where now, and for how long?" the captain murmured, trying to put cheer into his tones for the sake of his fellowvictims. They rowed on, until the arms of the men could row no more ; and presently the futility of their efforts was apparent to them. They might go on thus for years and die rowing, without ever sighting land or a sail. As wise to drift and wait and put their trust in Providence. Leaden of heart they drifted for three days, and the last biscuit was eaten and the last drop of water in the keg come to, when, just as their prospect seemed most hopeless and death inevitable, over to the south loomed a sail. At once the captain sprang to his feet and began to wave the tattered remnants of his coat. Within half an hour they were aboard ship once more. But a ship such as none there had ever seen before, though most had heard of. It was none other than the notorious " Eagle," a pirate boat, under the command of as evil a monster as ever sailed the seven seas, one " Butch " Anderson. It was not lightly that the name of " Butch " had been bestowed upon him. Anderson had been below when the survivors from the " Martha Lee " were picked up; but now he came storming up to see them, to sneer with peculiar amusement at the men and the child and to raise his eyebrows in satisfaction at the helpless spectacle of Mrs. Ferguson. "Where's the boat?" he snarled. " Still alongside," he was informed. He pointed to Ferguson, the seaman and the boy. " Put 'em back where they came from," he commanded. " Leave the woman." With a horrifying scream Mrs. Ferguson fell on her knees and threw her arms round her husband. "John! John!" she cried. "Save me. Get me away — don't leave me in the clutches of this fiend. John . . . ." " Never fear," responded Ferguson. " I'll save you, or he'll kill me first." A knife was his only weapon, the only weapon to be shared amongst the little band of survivors. He drew it now, stood before his sobbing wife and waited for " Butch " Anderson to come on. The crew of the " Eagle " formed a rough ring, which had the added disadvantage of cutting off the captives from such meagre means of escape as the wide ocean offered. They formed a ring and began to cheer their leader and sneer at his victim. " Butch " was as burly a warrior as he was an unfair. He made the rules of the game as he went along, and always to suit himself. Ferguson fought not an opponent but a crew, and he was not aided in his effort by the pitiful moaning of his wife, kneeling at the feet of their solitary seaman, with her child in her arms. The captain glanced round to give her a word of encouragement; when again he faced his opponent it was to see that "Butch" now held two knives in his, hand. "All's fair in — love and war!" said the pirate banteringlv: and he fell into the fight with added fur/ and violence. What happened then happened* too swiftly to ever be clearly recollected by