True Blue: Stirring Stories of Naval Academy Life — page 55: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TRUE BLUE, His would-be captor got up, snarling and enraged. He pointed the pistol at Clif. “Come back!” he shouted. “Will you kindly tell me how?” demanded Clif, right- ing himself to a sitting position. | The villain seemed to see the sense of this. He looked baffled, perturbed. He drew out a whistle, and facing the tilting rock blew an echoing signal call. A response farther distant than the rock sounded in a jerky, telegraphic way. The blacked-up man seemed to have received some re- assuring intelligence. | Clif’s heart sank. Quick to arrive at conclusions, he believed that the hoodoo had secured Bessie, was bearing her away to captivity. At all events, his enemy in view now seemed bound to keep him in sight, inthe hopes of discovering some way of recapturing him. The naval cadet found himself in a conspicuously un- pleasant predicament. He was a mile above the bridge, and he knew that nearer to it, after traversing a rock-haunted channel, the stream rolled onward with the fury of a torrent. Even now the skiff whipped around frightfully—an oar to guide it, a sail, and he might have managed, single- handed though he was. Those were not at call, but the next best thing was. and after a peculiarly menacing wrench of the boat, Clif leaned over and scanned an object lying in its bottom. “An umbrella!” he ejaculated. Clif “had ideas” the minute he espied it. Without dit- ficulty he got it across his knees and open. Then holding it towards the bow—for the wind set straight ahead—he cast a grim glance ashore, -~ Down the bank the blacked-up man was running to keep up with Clif. He set up a shout of dubious expression as he witnessed the adaptation to sail purposes that the cadet had brought about with the umbrella. “Clever!” he growled. Clif was proceeding straight, evenly now. e . ‘ @ ot an “a > . <. ee ~ Fall - ‘Ne £ ” ) Fite Rad — hl. ll : TAS Se or ee See A a Set ~~ Oe. oe DE ewe © * +) > a ,) $ —- Pal / & - » . ~-<.. = Pt. / : | . a r Sal ~ eer e- : ; micbooks.com