San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-02-07
CHAPTER VI.

said: sit seems as if she is going about. :"
| 'Givc me the glass;" said Maxwell,
hoarsely. ''She is making for Abe
marie er she has struck the current" said
| he, after pause. sit is the currentl
She is lost. See, they are lowering the
long boat and getting out the sweeps to
try and pull her out, but it is no use. She
will never get out now"
| And George and Maxwell watched the
| i'll fGted ship until it grew dark, but it
was the same old story, and in the morn
| ing they looked in vain for her. They
| looked for days and months for any
| vestige of the wreck, but they never
found any, and at last they gave up hope
| and settled again to their monotonous
| existence, and they were not entirely
| miserable.
TO say that they took no pleasure in
the fact of their possession of the gold
would not be true, for they often counted
it up and laid plans as to their future if
they should ever be saved from this
island, but they could neither eat nor
drink it, and it is probable that they
would have given chest full of it for a
meal of bread and vegetables.
In one of the chests was a complete
wardrobe for a lady and the material was
rich and beautiful, and there was a case
of jewels which were very fine and costly.
Among the other things in the chest was
bundle of faded letters which it was al
most impossible to decipher, but which
made it appear that the owner of these
had taken ship with her aunt for France
from Ireland to be married there to the
man she loved, but who was banished
from his couDSr .<or political reasons.
What had becoA~ of these two ladies
none now could tell, but it was probable
that their ship had been captured by the
pirates who had made this their rendez-
vous. Now pirates and captives were
alike dust, and the results were here and
by right of discovery belonged to this boy
and man.
Examining these chests, wandering
over the island and preparing their food
took up most of their time and study, con-
versation and sleep took the rest, and
thus two weary years had dragged them
selves away.
Maxwclls leg was snow well, but the
cords and sinews were shrunken so that it
bent the knee and ne could scarcely reach
his toes TO the ground, and he limped pain
fully as he walked; still he suffered no
more pain and spoke of himself as cured.
They had captured over 100 of those
great turtles and converted them into
food and fuel and light, and their beauti-
full breastplates adorned the walls of their
cave and their backs held the dried and
smoked meat
Winter and summer are alike in the
Galapagos. No rain falls or snow comes.
All is dry, burnt and parched in the day,
and at night the islands are hid in heavy
mist, which would wet a blanket so that
water could be wrung out of it in the
morning. Seasons come and go in other
parts of the world, but here it is one long
summer, with torrid sun eternally burn
ing above your heads, and so it came that
George and Maxwell lived on, without
taking much heed of time.
George and Maxwell had fitted up their
cave so that twas really comfortable, and
no matter how hot the dreadful tropic
sun beat down ON the island outside, it
was always cool within their cave, and
without their fire the dampness would
even have been unpleasant AS it was it
was cheerful, when at night they built up
a fire in their chimney which they had
constructed of stones and clinkers, and
they had plenty of light from its bright
blaze and the lamps they made.
George brought up from the beach the
coarse grasses that floated up there, and
they pounded them SO as to get the fiber,
and this they braided loosely together
into wicks, and they found shells which
held fat enough to feed flame for hours
at time
On one side of the second cave they
found n niche in the wall, which contained
the statue of some saint, and in several
ether places hung crucifxcs and other en-
blems, which proved that the pirates who
had inhabited this island had been very
worthy people, as such people go.
One day George took up the statuette OF
the saint which stood in the niche, and in
idle curiosity he turned it over in his
hands, when he saw that it was hollow,
and inside of it was a roll of parchment
He soon spread this out and began study
ing the writing and tracings upon 1t, and
then he called:
'N'Maxl Max! Come herel have made
O great discovery We can 60 down under
the ocean and come out on another island.
There's an underground passage, or rather
underwater one"
"You don't sayr'
'But do though Here is the map of
1t, and declare / have a desire to see it,
and go through
II wouldn't if was you. We're well
enough of here, and / think we hadn't
better go.''
81 don't want you to go, Max. Twill
go alone first
''Not much you won't Wherever you
Onea goes TOO and don't you make no