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Authors: L. Ron Hubbard
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necessary. He did not know how bad the fire actually was.
âAs for Morecliff, he was glad about the fire until it threatened his own life. He was sore because the West Indies Lines took business away from him. Therefore, Harrington is the firebugâthe murderer!â
Harringtonâs fat form lurched out of the chair. An automatic pushed him back.
âHarrington received the dope order from Davis. Harrington handles dope from South America and relays it to the United States. Harrington is greedy, and a coward. He received that million dollars with which he was supposed to purchase heroin and opium. He spent it and could not replace itâand he had no dope. He was afraid of Davisâterribly afraid of what Davis would do to him if the dope was not actually aboard. Unknown to Davis, those boxes were empty, and there was no dope aboard the Cubana.
âNow get this. Harrington had to cover up that fact before Davis discovered it. Therefore the Cubana had to be destroyed. So Harrington arranged to have a launch trail the liner. He thought he would be able to get away on it, but I happened along in time to spike that plan. Harrington wanted the Cubana to sink or burn. Fire was easier to handle. So he set fire to the liner by means of an acetylene torch connected with the bell hammer of the captainâs clock.
âAt eight bells, the clock opened the valve of the acetylene tank, and the fire began. Harrington had an alibi. He made certain that Davis and Morecliff were on the foâcâsâle head with him at eight bells.
âThen, so that no word could be sent out, Harrington murdered the radio operator and smashed the set. So that the ship would go off her course and lose her position, making her hard to locate, he killed the bridge officer and the helmsman. To make certain that no witness against him could escape, he had welded the bottoms of the lifeboat davits so that none of the boats could be launched.
âHarrington knew a Narcotics man was aboard. He had made certain that this fake dope cargo was traced in Havana; he wanted Davis to be sure that dope was aboard and that he, Harrington, had not swindled Davis. Afraid that the Narcotics man would gum his plans, he tortured the captain into revealing my name. Then he tried several times to kill me.
âWhen Harrington knew that he was slipping up, he started howling about his wife. There was a corpse in his cabin, but it was not his wifeâs. This locket from the dead womanâs neck says, âTo Madame Seville, for past services and future loyalty.â Madame Seville was an aide of Harringtonâs. But he knew she was double-crossing him. This ace of spades was written on by the dying captain, naming Madame Seville as the dope runner.
âJean Raymond and Madame Seville worked together. Jean Raymond was not certain that Harrington was the head of the Havana ring, but she had her ideas. Madame Seville was going to make the revelation last night, but she died before she got a chance.
âHarrington was ironbound in his alibis. He couldnât have started the fire, but he did. He wouldnât destroy a million and a half in dope, and so he knew that that would never be suspected by those who knew of his dope activities. And he wouldnât kill his wife. But Harringtonâs wife was in Havana. He sent her this radiogram on the night before the fire. I found it. That tripped up Harrington.
âAs for other angles of the case, I gave Davis into the hands of the steward, who immediately released him because Davis was a company director. Davis was stabbed by Harrington just before we were rescued, because Harrington was afraid Davis would get wise. But he failed that time.
âAnd finally, I want to get an invitation to Harringtonâs execution. Iâm not bloodthirsty, but he ought to be burned a thousand times for that flaming hell he kindled for innocent people!â
Then Clark pulled a piece of paper
âAs for Morecliff, he was glad about the fire until it threatened his own life. He was sore because the West Indies Lines took business away from him. Therefore, Harrington is the firebugâthe murderer!â
Harringtonâs fat form lurched out of the chair. An automatic pushed him back.
âHarrington received the dope order from Davis. Harrington handles dope from South America and relays it to the United States. Harrington is greedy, and a coward. He received that million dollars with which he was supposed to purchase heroin and opium. He spent it and could not replace itâand he had no dope. He was afraid of Davisâterribly afraid of what Davis would do to him if the dope was not actually aboard. Unknown to Davis, those boxes were empty, and there was no dope aboard the Cubana.
âNow get this. Harrington had to cover up that fact before Davis discovered it. Therefore the Cubana had to be destroyed. So Harrington arranged to have a launch trail the liner. He thought he would be able to get away on it, but I happened along in time to spike that plan. Harrington wanted the Cubana to sink or burn. Fire was easier to handle. So he set fire to the liner by means of an acetylene torch connected with the bell hammer of the captainâs clock.
âAt eight bells, the clock opened the valve of the acetylene tank, and the fire began. Harrington had an alibi. He made certain that Davis and Morecliff were on the foâcâsâle head with him at eight bells.
âThen, so that no word could be sent out, Harrington murdered the radio operator and smashed the set. So that the ship would go off her course and lose her position, making her hard to locate, he killed the bridge officer and the helmsman. To make certain that no witness against him could escape, he had welded the bottoms of the lifeboat davits so that none of the boats could be launched.
âHarrington knew a Narcotics man was aboard. He had made certain that this fake dope cargo was traced in Havana; he wanted Davis to be sure that dope was aboard and that he, Harrington, had not swindled Davis. Afraid that the Narcotics man would gum his plans, he tortured the captain into revealing my name. Then he tried several times to kill me.
âWhen Harrington knew that he was slipping up, he started howling about his wife. There was a corpse in his cabin, but it was not his wifeâs. This locket from the dead womanâs neck says, âTo Madame Seville, for past services and future loyalty.â Madame Seville was an aide of Harringtonâs. But he knew she was double-crossing him. This ace of spades was written on by the dying captain, naming Madame Seville as the dope runner.
âJean Raymond and Madame Seville worked together. Jean Raymond was not certain that Harrington was the head of the Havana ring, but she had her ideas. Madame Seville was going to make the revelation last night, but she died before she got a chance.
âHarrington was ironbound in his alibis. He couldnât have started the fire, but he did. He wouldnât destroy a million and a half in dope, and so he knew that that would never be suspected by those who knew of his dope activities. And he wouldnât kill his wife. But Harringtonâs wife was in Havana. He sent her this radiogram on the night before the fire. I found it. That tripped up Harrington.
âAs for other angles of the case, I gave Davis into the hands of the steward, who immediately released him because Davis was a company director. Davis was stabbed by Harrington just before we were rescued, because Harrington was afraid Davis would get wise. But he failed that time.
âAnd finally, I want to get an invitation to Harringtonâs execution. Iâm not bloodthirsty, but he ought to be burned a thousand times for that flaming hell he kindled for innocent people!â
Then Clark pulled a piece of paper
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