The Ogden standard. [volume], April 11, 1914, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 14

About The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920

Image provided by: University of Utah, Marriott Library

                
Milcffltrikt' Love- Qa&sify' ida
Written from the Motion Pictures Helen Harrington j
Copyrighted, 1914 by Warner's Features
ISnvoPSIS OF CHAPTER T
I The ship on which Zingo's parents are sailing in
I their trading' voyages through Oceania has been
I "wrecked. Before sinking, his mother has placed the
child in a box which she sets afloat on the open sea.
There was small chance of his being saved, but
Providence guides his baric, and lands him on an
island inhabited by friendly monkeys. Amongst
these strange creatures he grows to 1 manhood, but
on their discovering that he has no tail, they en-
deavor to declass him, which humiliates him so that
he decides to put out to sea on a cocoanut log. After
floating about in the water all night, he is picked up
by the crew of the "Pretty Leocadia," whose captain
and crew treat him kindly, and gradually train him
out of the monkey speech and habits which he has
formed on the island.
CHAPTER II
The Feast of the Pirates
yT INGO !"
. "Yes, good Captain."
"Wc arc sailing in dangerous waters to-night.
These islands arc infested with corsairs, and when we
anchor I will ask you to tell the men to keep a sharp
lookout. Do you know what corsairs arc, Zingo?"
"Bad men."
It was just a year from the time that Zingo had been
picked up by the "Pretty Leocadia." He was now the
I second mate, and looked very fit in his straight-but-i
toned jacket, white cap and smart white trousers. He
had acquired knowledge with surprising rapidity, owing,
no doubt, to the fact that in his childhood he had been
spared the frightful mental conflicts of trying to decide
whether he would give, to each kind lady or gentleman
he met, one of his curls, or whether he would go home
with them and be their little boy. His monkey friends
had never asked such foolish questions. Xor had it
ever been his lot, in his boyhood, to figure out the cost
of papering a room twenty feet long, eighteen feet wide
and ten feet high, allowing for doors and window
sashes and a triangle cut oft at one corner for a clothes
closcL It was to his immunity from such mental throes
I that he afterwards attributed the accurate working of
his brain and his ability to think clearly and to act
1 quickly in critical moments,
t The uneasiness in regard to corsairs had come from
a rumprihat there Had been some recent attacks, and
that small vessels were in danger in this particular
region.
They were sailing between Sumatra and Borneo,
bound for Java, where Captain Lombrico planned to
unload some of his cargo of wines in exchange for the
excellent coffees for which that island is noted.
The pleasant gentlemen known as corsairs began their
career on the Barbary Coast early in the Christian era.
They were particularly fond of wearing gay-colored
sashes and turbans, and of carrying off Christian
maidens. They were unbelievers, and it was entirely in
keeping with their conscience to plunder Christian ships.
They did this with the full consent of their govern
ment and on a strictly honorable business principle.
They were duly capitalized and organized with articles
; of incorporation. The pirates, on the other hand, plun
dered unofficially, and bore about the same social rela
tion to a corsair that a burglar docs to a financier,
though they were both sworn to the same ideal to
plunder while yet they might and wherever they could.
Like empires, the corsairs have had their rises and
' falls. They reached their highest wave of prosperity in
the seventeenth century, after which the industry degen
erated into piracy, and piracy itself, as an industry, died
in the early part of the nineteenth century. It is said
' that its ghost has appeared in another form in the
western hemisphere, but only those with the inner vision
have seen' it.
j At the time of which wc arc writing, however, it was
. rumored that on some of the islands amongst which the
"Pretty Leocadia" was sailing scattered remnants of all
classes and conditions of pirates and corsairs had col
lectcd. Amongst them could be found specimens of the
Caucasian, or white race; the Malay, or the brown race;
the Mongolian, or the yellow race; the Ethiopian, or the
black race. The only one too dignified to join them
was the American Indian, or the red race.
Now, the lookout to whom Zingo gave the orders con
fided to him by Captain Lombrico had sailed the seas
for many years, and had arrived at that state of indif
fcrence to danger that comes to all those whose duties
, carry them into dangerous places. To humor his young
superior, however, hcassured him that he would close
no eye that night. Then, as Zingo, followed by a sailor
carrying a lantern disappeared down through the dark
ncss of the deck he lit his pipe, watched the wind veer
tnc smoke, now cast, now west, for a moment or two,
flj thought of the many ports where his many loves were
keeping watch for him, yawned a fearsome yawn and
fell asleep.
Zingo, always alert, continued his patrol on the lower
Hl dfck, his quick eye taking in the least indication of
t carelessness or oversight on the part of the men. They
had come to the hold, when he stopped suddenly and
"Don't come any nearer with that lantern, Jack."
"Is there anything the matter, sir?" asked Jack, who,
on account of his special duty of carrying the lantern
at Zingo's heels, had been dubbed "Jack o' Lantern."
Do you sec that barrel in the corner?"
"Yes
"You must never come too close to that with a lighted
lantern. It contains dynamite."
"All right, sir," called Jack from a surprising distance
away. He had never obeyed an order with such alacrity.
After Zingo had finished his rounds he went below to
the captain's cabin, where he found the captain and. the
r.-atc engaged in talking over plans for the remainder
of the voyage.
The night was calm, a bright moon was shining and,
lulled by the gentle lapping of the waves, all the sailors,
including the night watch, were asleep.
From one of the' smaller islands some distance away
a number of small row-boats set out, looking like a flock
of harmless black ducks, gliding over the moonlit waves.
As they came nearer the vessel, if there had been
anyone awake to observe them, the occupants would
have presented a motley sight. There were pirates of
every description. Some of them wore hats, some wore
handkerchiefs, some wore hats and handkerchief?, and
some of them wore inverted chopping bowls on their
heads.
Nearer and nearer came the boats, rowed so silently
that even the dripping from the oars was so noiseless
that it blended in with the lapping of the waves.
Up the side 'of the boat, in the clear moonlight,
climbed dark, sinister figures stealthily, catching the
ropes that were suspended over the water.
Bruno, the lookout, had reached that delicious mo
ment in his dream when he was telling a divine blue
eyed creature how he had made the Barbary corsairs
tremble at his name and how. with one sweep of his
saber, he had scattered pirates far and wide, and she
sighed that she would that heaven had sent her such a
man, when he felt an iron grasp on his throat which
cut into a quick staccato the prolonged note he was
about to sing
The "Pretty Leocadia" was soon alive with pirates,
There was much cheering on the island and answers
by those in the boats when the heroes arrived, bringing
with them Captain Lombrico, Ben Hcydcckcr, Zingo
and all the crew, still tied together with strong ropes.
But their spirits would not down, they laughed even in
the face of the fate which they all feared now awaited
them.
The prisoners were brought to the tent of Bora Bora,
the chief, a magnificent person, who lived in a highly
decorated tent and wore at all times a highly decorated
costume.
All the contents of the ship were brought to the island
and the pirates now began making merry with the wine
that should have been exchanged in honest commerce
for coffee on the island of Java.
Bora Bora came out, strutted proudly before them,
telling them that it was his intention to cut off their
heads.
Zingo responded to this with a wild burst of laughter,
for, though he did not fully understand the language,
there is no misunderstanding the gesture of suddenly
running the forefinger across the throat and at the same
time making with the mouth a little spurting sound.
The chief laid his hand on the captain, howccr, and
Zingo started forward fiercely. To see this dog lay
THE PIRATES IN POSSESSION OF THE "PRETTY LEOCADIA"
and still more came scaling over the side of the vessel
as silently as though they had risen out of the sea.
Some of them sprang and acted quickly, taking posses
sion of everything of vantage they could lay their hands
on. Some of them, from long habit, although there
was no necessity for it in this particular situation, came
crawling as though sneaking through tall grass, carrying
their knives in their mouths, their eyes glared hideously
in the moonlight, and at times they made the gurgling
sound in breathing that terrified all who heard it.
They first seized all the sleeping sailors and tied their
arms behind their backs with ropes. Next they went
below, and after a hard struggle ' captured Captain
Lombrico, Ben Hcydcckcr and Zingo. The captain and
the mate realized that they had fallen into a perilous
situation, and were grave; but Zingo, never yet having
known evil, defied them, and laughed his wild laugh
until it hallooed to the very skies, which made some
of the pirates pause and grow afraid.
On in the moonlit seas sailed the "Pretty Leocadia,"
and no one would have suspected, as she glided over the
waves, that her gallant captain and crew were lied like
dogs at the bottom of the ship.
It was daylight before the pirates came near enough
to their own island to anchor.
With arms tied cruelly behind their backs, the cap
tain and crew watched the pirates loot the vessel and
transfer its contents into. their boats. A pirate with a
chopping bowl on his head, and a gentle corsair with" a
turban, lumbered up the stairs heavily with a. barrel
containing a yellowish substance. ,
"What's in this?"
"What's in this?" asked one of them. -
"Cornmeal,,"shoutcd Zingo.
"Good," said the pirate, and smacked his chops. ' '
In a cave in one corner of the island a party of
pirates were preparing a meager meal. It was long
since they had a rich haul. Their stomachs were grow
ing concave and ribs began to show.
"They come, they come." shouted a large Arabian,
dancing m frightful and hideous glee.
' v 1,aV fcaslins t0-day- They have done well,
fonder lies the ship at anchor, and here they come with
the prisoners and the loot."
$ The pirates could., now be seen approaching the cave, .
each stroke of' 'the oars bringing them nearer:' :
" - .' ' ... i
hands on his beloved captain was more than he could
bear. He started forward so fiercely that Bora Bora
was actually scared, even with the advantage of having
Zingo tied and having all his men at command. This
action on the part of Zingo aroused the special ire of
Bora Bora, at whose command Captain Lombrico and
Ben Hcydcckcr were taken away, but Zingo received a
special invitation to remain and have his head cut off
alone. Bora Bora, being of a changeable mind, how
ever, and, as a matter of cfricicncj', decided to have all
three heads cut off at a single stroke, which was also to
include as many of the sailors' heads as could be in
cluded in one sweep.
A short distance away from the spot where Zingo
and his companions were tied was the highly orna
mental tent of Bora Bora. Before this tent on what,
in a peaceful community, would be called the village
green, a merry group of pirates had collected, and there
was much sound of revelry by day. The wine which
they had obtained so easily was flowing like water and
there was merry jesting and good cheer. They had
arrayed themselves in their brightest garments, gay
colored handkerchiefs waved their tails from dusky
heads, and bright sashes encircled fast-filling paunches. .
Besides the unfortunate crew of the "Pretty Leocadia"
there was one sad man on the island that day, and that
was the cook. Arrayed in undecorated jacket and baggy
trousers, it was his lot to stay behind, and with labo
rious effort and, it seemed to him, in endless revolutions,
turn round arid round on a spit, as a farmer lad would
turn a grinding stone, the roasting pig which was to be
eaten at the climax of the feast. He had just settled
himself down to the resigned conviction that this was
all that life held for him, when, in a momentary glance
away from Ins duty; he beheld" from afar a merry
maker lift a bottle to his lips and drink long and deep.
"Hello 1 you, there' in the middle, can you turn a pig?"
"Yes," was the reply. '
He was calling to Zingo, and was rather surprised at
his willing compliance, but. as his thoughts were on
weightier matters, tic did not hesitate, but, taking his
saber, approached the group, cut the ropes which bound
Zingo, gave him a few hasty instructions, and was gone.
No sooner had the cook turned his back than Zingo
cast a quick glance, in the, direction of ihe captain and
the mate, motioned to tell them to remain quiet and
, '
not to struggle with their cords, as he had a better
idea in his head.
The captain, observing his actions, knew that he was
excited, for he had almost unconsciously dropped back
into the monkey speech, and as soon as the cook was
out of sight, resuming his primitive method of moving,
he hopped rapidly in the direction of a barrel which
stood near by a tree. It had been deposited there by
some of the pirates with instructions to the cook to
prepare it, as it contained delicious corn meal.
With the strength of a young giant he carried the
barrel to a convenient spot, thep, in his eagerness and
inexperience, with his bare hands endeavored to take
hold of the sizzling pig. Discovering that sizzling pigs
caused pain, he lifted the carcass by means of a stick,
placed it on the ground, and proceeded to stuff it full
of the brittle yellowish substance from the barrel.
Taking a twenty-foot fuse which had been deposited
with the barrel, he placed on the end of it a detonating
cap which he had in his jacket, put it inside the pig,
allowing the end of it to trail out, and was carefully
basting the pig together with a needle and thread, which
in the first days of his apprenticeship he had used in
mending sails, when some of the pirates returned.
"What's in that?" asked a tall, slim pirate, who, ex
cept on feast days, ate nothing but lettuce.
"Delicious corn meal," answered Zingo. '-".
"Good!" said the pirate.
"Bully!" said Zingo.
He told them that never was there anything so deli
cious as a pig stuffed with corn meal, and while they
did not understand each other's language very well, he
conveyed to their brains Hiat a pig so stuffed was as
toothsome as a hot tamalc.
Smacking their chops in anticipation, they lifted the
pig on to his bier and, with pirates for pall" bearers, he
was carried off in state, not, however, before Zingo had
succeeded in igniting the endof the fuse at the fire over
which the squealer had been roasting.
Zingo watched until they were out. of sight; then, hop
ping rapidly to the spot where he had observed the
pirates had laid down their weapons, he secured an arm
ful of all descriptions knives, rapiers, swords and
blunderbusses. With one of the swords he quickly cut
the cords that bound his comrades. They released
themselves. with difficulty, for their limbs were stiff with
the long confinement. Then they waited.
Before the tent of Bora Bora, the pirates held high
car.nival. Their eyes were glazed with wine, but their
spirits ran high. The tall, slim young fellow, who ate
only lettuce, and who was devoted to Bora Bora because
he was fat, made the proposition that they form a fed
eration of pirates and sons of pirates all over the world
and re-establish the industry' of piracy on the high seas.
They could capitalize the enterprise, he thought, for
about nineteen million dollars, which could be easily pro
cured from the next few ships that came sailing by.
You see these pirates were in .their "cup3," and enter
prises of great pith and moment were not' sicklied over
with the pale cast of thought.
A fuse will burn at the rate of a foot a minute.
From the time the pirates started off with the pig in
state it took the parry just about twenty minutes to
exchange compliment's, drink to' each other's health, to
their fathers' health' and to the health of their future
sons, for even pirates ,havc their tender emotions.
The little red spark in .the center of the fuse was
creeping on at the rate of one little slow foot a minute,
and the tar with ' which the wf use was covered melted
away at the ititc of a Toot a(minutc, its fragrance blend
ing with the other pcrfum'es'ofr.thc island the odor of
' ' '.'V ''v .' '- '( . " : ':
roast pig, the odor of good wine spilled freely and the J
scent of the flowers with which the land was covered. 'ij
The tall, slim pirate rose to drink a health to their
renowned chief, Bora Bora, the direct descendant of
Arouj, who fell in battle with the Spaniards in Algiers
in 1858.
The little red spark in the center of the fuse was
creeping on and the tar was melting until it now dripped
down the fat sides of the shaven pig. j
Bora Bora rose and bent his turbancd head till it
almost swept the ground. It was the first time he had
ever heard of this ancestor, but he accepted him on the
spot.
Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light and a re
port that reverberated throughout the Malay Archipel
ago. Up into the air Went the federation of pirates,
including representatives from the Caucasian, or the
white race; the Malay, or the brown race; the Mon
golian, or the yellow race; the Ethiopian or the black
race ; there was lacking only the American Indians, or
the red race.
At the moment of the explosion, each pirate, with the ' I
instinct which prompts a drowning man to grasp at a I
straw grabbed for the thing nearest him which, in each I
instance, was another pirate so that they rose into the I
heavens in a solid mass, then broke apart and fell
gracefully to the earth like sparks from a falling rocket,
their bright colored turbans and kerchiefs catching the
light as they fell. . ' , , J
Like Milton's angels:
"From morn till noon they fell from noori:to dewy eve."
It was a beautiful sight.
Zingo and his companions beheld itfrom the view
which they commanded in the distance, and they were
much edified. They were also for some time slightly
perplexed by what seemed to them a strange phenom
enon. It was simply this : The waves set. in motion by
the concussion from an explosion of dynamite travel
faster than the sound waves that carry .the human voice, ;
and high in the air the disembodied voices of the pirates
could be heard for some moments after they themselves '
had disintegrated into atoms. . i
"What do you suppose that was?" said' part of a
pirate to a friend who had landed with him on the same
tree. .;
"That was an awful earthquake," answered all that
was left of the other pirate.
These islands arc given to frequent eruptions and
carthqVakcVa lefr whole '
believe to this day that Zingo-and his mates were buried
in the ruins of the greatest earthquake in the memory
of man.
Some of, those in the dinner circle, however, had z
moment to observe thaflhcj-cxplosoncamc from the pig,
and said, as thejtasccridcift this was t'wt
first intimation they had had that yellow corn meal was
a high explosive. 1 ' TAf;' ,
Bora Eora being fat and ir.uch'hc'avichan the others,
did not go so high in;o the air, andwa'sjbnc of the few
that escaped instant, annihilation. Itut'ook some mo
ments' after the explosion for Zingo arid the others to
reach the spot, and Bora Bora landed bad: on the earth
again at about the same moment that the captain
arrived. With the fury of a maddened bull, he plunged
his knife into the gallant young captain, who fell hack
into the arms of his comrades. As Bora Bora with
drew, his knife he caught the eye of Zingo, ablaze with
anger, and turning swiftly, he ran, followed by a.ffcw
scattering ones of his band, who by some strange
chance had escaped unhurt. Bora Bora and his com
panions reached arcmole part of the island before JF
Zingo finally overtook them. With furv in his heart for lT
the injury done his beloved captain, he fired. Down fell ' t
Bora Bora like a log. For one instant Zingo paihcd, ;
kicked the hateful carcass with his foot, and said: .
"You have drawn my captain's blood, you dog!l , I
wish- you had a thousand lives, so that I might 'take
them all:" ' . i
For a moment he watched the retreating figure's -of . P
the others, who were flying pell-mell and, like frightened W
women, screaming for mercy. Even in that tragic mo- B'
mcnt Zingo could not help smiling at their craven flight. , S
Hurrying back to the spot where his captain , had IS
fallen, he found . the men standing white and silent, t
looking down on thc!,still form on the ground." He I
looked from one to the other of the men. but no one .
spoke. With a look that would have broken the heart ' g
of anyone who saw it, he turned to the mate, but got no L
reassuring word. ft'-
Throwing his cap aside, he knelt down beside the still f
form of the gallant fellow who had befriended him.
The cold, stiff feeling at the breast chilled his hand, and S
vith a great sob that shook his whole frame, he threw F
himself across the body and wept his heart out .in his f.
first great grief.
Finally the mate placed his hand gently on his shoul- L
der and reminded him that they were still in danger, . f
that those of the pirates who had escaped might signal i,
to others, and while there was yet time, they musf get ' l
into the row-boats and row for their vessel, which ,-was, At
at anchor in the offing.
Turning to the men. he said, quietly: "Men, J-our : -
captain is dead; you must choose his successor." From "
the deep throats of the men came, as one voice, the ' f
word : f-
"Zingo 1" i
A week later Zingo was formally and affectionately f
pronounced captain of the "Pretty Leocadia." The'gold '
lace of his captain's uniform was duly baptized in cham- . &
pagne. and with a rousing cheer the men swore to follow . k
him through thick and thin. Together they made a
compact to sail the seas in search of adventure, arid tor. 8'
right wrongs -wherever they found them. ; , I
Besides his desire for action and service, a stranger ' k
and deeper force was stirring within the heart of Zingoi. . t ,
He had no realization of what it was, but he was festr , k
less, and for all his new dignity and responsibility ihere
was something within him still unsatisfied. g
One night, standing alone on the deck of a vessel, the; R
meaning came to him, for into his mind, for the first a
time in his life, came the thought of a WOMAN: ,
Vague, dim and shadowy the vision floated across his K
consciousness, and he became filled with a desire to
serve, to face danger for her and to lay at her feet the Jg
results of" his; life's work. . .' &
He little knew vhat.awaitec1 Him,, or ho.w soon His dim1 K.
dream was to become a reality. " j ' j i It
To be continued! ' , -' life
- w