San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-04-04

ton of the probabilities of the morrow So
bered his mind, and he talked with certain
gravity. He drank sparely and forbore the
hideOus recolections or inventions he was
used to bestow on me, and indeed could find
nothing to talk about but the explosion and
what it was to do for us. l was very glad
he did not again refer to his project to bury
the treasure and carry the schooner to the
Tortugas The subject fired his blood, and
it was such nonsense that the mere naming
of it was nauseous to me. Eight and forty
years had passed since his ship fell in with
thu ice, and not tenfold the treasure in the
hold might have purchased for him the sight
of so much as a single bone of the youngest
of those associates whom he idly dreamed of
seeking and shipping and sailing in command
Of Yet imbecile as was his scheme, having
regard to the half century that had elapsed,
| clearly witnessed the menace to me that it
implied His views were to be read as plainly
as if he had delivered them. First and fore
most, he meant that should help him to sail
the schooner to an island and bury the plate
and money-which done he would take the
first opportunity to murder me- His chance
of meeting with ship that would lend him
assistance to navigate the schooner would be
as good if he were alone in her as if | were
on board too. There would be nothing, then,
in this consideration to hinder him from cut
ting my throat after we had buried the
treasure and were got north Two motives
would imperatively urge him to make away
with me: first, that should not be able to
serve as a witness to his being pirate; and,
next, that he alone should possess the secret
of the treasure.
He little knew what was passing in my
mind as he surveyed me through the curls of
smoke spouting up from his deaths head
pipe. talked easily and confdentially; but
l saw in his gaze the eyes of my murderer,
and was so sure of his intentions that had
shot him in self defense as he sat there, am
certain my conscience would have acquitted
me of his blood.
passed two most uneasy hours in my cot
before closing my eyes. l could think of
nothing but how to secure myself against the
Frenchman's treachery. You would suppose
that my mind must have been engrossed with
considerations Of the several possibilities of
the morrow; but that was not So My re-
Elections ran wholly to the bald headed, evil
eyed pirate whom in an evil hour l had
thawed into being, and who was like to dis
charge the debt Of his own life by taking
mine. The truth is, had been too hard at
work all day-too full of the business of
planning, cutting, testing and continuing
to find leisure to dwell upon what he had said
at breakfast; and now that l lay alone in
darkness, it was the only subject | could set
tie my thoughts to-
However, next morning l found myself
less gloomy, thanks to several hours of solid
sleep. thought: What is the good of an
ticipating? Suppose the schooner is crushed
by the ice, or becomes jammed in conse-
quence of the explosion. Until we are under
way-nay, until the treasure is buried-l
have nothing to fear, for the rogue cannot do
without me. And, reaSSuring myself in this
fashion, | went to the cook room and lighted
the fire; my companion presently arrived,
and we sat down to our morning meal.
We breakfasted in silence, and then l rose
saying: LET us now see what the gunpowder
is going to do for us"
The wind, as before, was in the southwest,
blowing without much weight, but the sky
was overcast with great masses of white
clouds, with a tint of rainbows in their
shoulders and skirts, amid which the sky
showed a clear liquid blue Those clouds
seemed to promise wind, and perhaps snow,
anon; but there was nothing to hinder our
operations. We got upon the ice and went
to work to fix matches to the barrels and
bags, and to sling them by the beams we had
contrived, ready for lowering when the
matches were fired, and this occupied us the
best part of two hours. When all was ready
l fired the first match, and we lowered the
barrel smartly to the scope of line we had
settled upon; so with the others. You may
reckon we worked with all imaginable wari-
ness, for the stuff we handled was mighty
deadly; and if barrel should fall and burst,
with the match alght, we might be blown in
an instant into rags, it being impossible to
tell how deep the rents went.
The bags being lighter, there was less to
fear; and presently all the barrels and bags
with the matches burning, were poised in the
places and hanging at the depth we had fixed
upon, and we then returned to the schooner
the Frenchman breaking into a run, and
tumbling over the rail, in his alarm, with the
deXterity of monkey.
Each match was supposed to burn an hour,
so that when the several explosions happened
they might all occur as nearly as possible at
once and we had therefore long time to
wait The margin may look unreasonable
in the face of our dispatch; but you will not
think 1t unnecessary II you consider that our
machinery might not have worked very
smooth, and that meanwhile all that was
lowered was in the way of exploding. So
interminable a period as now followed I do
believe never entered before into the expert
ences of man. The cold was intense, and
we had to move about; but also were we
repeatedly coming to halt to look at our
watches and cast our eyes over the ice. 1t
was like standing under a gallows with the
moose around the neck waiting for the cart