The presidential snapshot : $b or, The all-seeing eyeLebhar, Bertram
General
The presidential snapshot : $b or, The all-seeing eye
Lebhar, Bertram
Americans -- South America -- Fiction; Dime novels; Photographers -- Fiction; Political prisoners -- Fiction
“Not a bit--at least, not on my own account,” she answered, pressing
his hand with a warmth which in his opinion more than compensated him
for any risk he was about to run. “Please be careful, Mr. Hawley. If
anything should happen to you----”
“Nothing will,” he assured her. “Nothing ever happens to me. I guess I
was born under a lucky star.”
The moon had emerged from behind a black cloud, and he ducked hastily
to the bottom of the boat, fearing that he would be seen from the
fortress. For half a minute he remained there; then, as another
fleeting cloud once more plunged the sky in darkness, he left his
hiding place and poised himself on the boat’s gunwale.
“Try to manage to make a wide sweep so as to give me a chance to reach
the shore about the same time you do,” he said to Virginia.
The girl nodded. “But I don’t like to see you venture among those
horrid----” she began. Before she could finish the sentence, the Camera
Chap had dived, entering the water so easily that she could scarcely
hear the splash.
As he struck out for the shore, Virginia saw a phosphorescent streak in
the water close beside him, and she uttered a scream of terror which
was not prompted by her realization of the part she was to play.
A lone sentry at El Torro heard that scream, and, ceasing his pacing up
and down his post, gazed out to sea with great curiosity.
Above the sound of the waves lapping the shore, he could hear the
chug-chug-chug of a motor boat, first faint, then rapidly becoming
more distinct. Realizing that a craft of some sort was approaching the
fortress, he brought his rifle down from his shoulder to a horizontal
position, and stood prepared to challenge the unseen visitor.
Then, suddenly, there came to his ears a repetition of the weird scream
he had heard, followed by a series of screams in quick succession. The
moon appeared from behind a cloud, and by its light he caught sight of
a launch heading toward a point of the beach about two hundred feet to
the east of where he stood. Simultaneously he became aware of the fact
that the sole visible occupant of the boat was a woman, and that it
was she who was responsible for the cries of terror or distress he had
heard.
Now, fortunately for the Camera Chap and Virginia, and the righteous
cause for which they strove, there was not in the whole army of Baracoa
a more chivalrous man than this particular sentry. Naturally a man cast
in such a sentimental mold was not the sort to turn a deaf ear to the
call of beauty in distress. From where he stood he could not as yet see
that the woman in the motor boat was beautiful, but he took that for
granted.
Clubbing his rifle, he ran along the beach to the point where the
launch was about to land. As he came near, he saw that he would not
have to draw upon his imagination in order to class the craft’s
agitated occupant as young and very fair. With added zest he hastened
to assist her to disembark.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account