The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1895-05-03

this servants accommoda lion. the skip
per and mates all living forward in
cabins which had been Quilt in what
| had been the cargo space before the
| vessel was converted into a yacht
1t was at once decided to line the
bulk head of Don Pedro's cabin with
sails and coils of rope from the sail
room. which was cleaned out and made
as comfortable as possible for the re-
! ception of Juanita and her nurse. who
mad been her mothers maid when she
was married. and was thoroughly de-
voted to her young mistress.
These preparations We're made with
out any suspicion arising. for the
hemsman willingly consented to my
taking his trick for him, and no one
coming right aft, the slight noise made
by the two brothers. who were assisted
by Smithson and the steward, an old
servant of Don Pedro, was not heard
Juanita, like the brave girl she was,
entered into the work with spirit, and
her woman's wit suggested many
things which afterwards proved of
great use.
Arms were difficulty, for there were
only couple of old revolvers and
rifle in the possession of Don Pedro,
and the stock Of ammunition for these
was very SMALL and indeed, the pres
ence of these scanty means of defence
was more a matter of good luck than
good management.
That night and the next day passed
quietly: but after keeping the first
watch I was relieved by Smithson, and
sat down on the skylight. not intending
to go below for some time, and must
have dozed off to sleep. I was awakened
by bread bag being put over my head
and my arms being pinoned behind
my back. I heard Smithson cry out
and then there was a scuffle and some
shots were fired. I was carried off and
put into a boat which hung at the quar-
ter davits, and the same fate was dealt
out to Smithson, and then the boat was
lowered, though I heard Butcher saying
that 1t was best to kill us both, for no
luck ever came of mercy. Fortunately
his advice was not listened to. and Nc
Alpine. who had rushed on deck at the
first alarm, and been received by a
stab from the knife OF Herero, as he
reached the top of the companion, was
also passed into her before she was cut
adrift.
Notwithstanding his wound, Meal
me from our bonds, but had scarcely
done 30 when he tainted from pain and
loss of blood, and 1t was not until sun
rise that we were able to restore him
to his senses.
While we had been in the neighbor-
hood OF the schooner we heard oc-
casional shots. and took them as a sign
that Don Pedro had not been overcome,
but with Juanita. her nurse and the
steward had managed to secure himself
In our improvised fortress.
McAlpine told Smithson and myself
that the best thing we could do was to
get mast and sail up, and run down
the trades, when we must soon pick up
some island but that we were to be
careful and not to get too close to the
weather side, but to go round to lee
ward, where there would be lesss surf
and probably openings in the coral
reef by which we might get safely to
land. Next he told me to try and get
, a vessel to proceed in chase Of the
Juanita, which, he thought, would
, probably make for the Solomon Islands
though he feared that 1t would be toe
late to save his brother and niece
from the fate which awaited them a.
the hands of the ruffians aboard.
There's over a hundred Thousand
{ pounds aboard, and you may promise
thirty thousand as a reward If she /.
captured in time, for that my brother
gave me, and l doubt not he woult
: make 1t fifty thousand" he said, ant
then gave me directions about finding
out If any of his relations survived in
case we were unable to rescue Don
Pedro and Juanita, and telling then
how to recover the property which had
been left for Silas Warner to realise
Hardly had McAlpine completed his
instructions to me before he was seized
with a fit of coughing, which brought
UP quantities of blood, and few mo-
ments after the cough ceased, he ex-
pired without being able to say another
J word.
| Smithson and arranged the body as
} decently as we could in the stern
sheets OF the boat, and that being
done we rigged up an oar as a mast
and with a boathook as a yard, and
spread a sail made of our shirts and
the bread bags which had been showed
over our heads when we were surprised.
BY this time the "Juanita" was out
of sight, and we were apparently alone
for the second time on the wide Pacific
with neither food nor water; indeed
we were in a worse plight than after
the wreck of the Vandal, for then we
had McAlpine alive to help us, and
now, alas! there was but his corpse
as our companion.
Fortunately this time we had not to
endure such tortures as on the previ-
ousous occasion, for next moring we
were picked up by the "Wild Swan"
British man-of-war, of six guns, which
had been transferred from the Pacific
to the Australian station
We were taken aboard, and the body
of McAlpine was reverently commit
ed to the deep. The captain of the
"Wild Swan" after hearing my story,
determined to proceed in chase of the
"Juanita," and at first made use of
steam as well as canvas in the hope
of overtaking her. but owing to the
stock of Goals running short he was
not able to continue this for long. One
or two whalers which we sighted and
signalled reported having seen the
"Juanita," and that they noticed moth
ing amiss. Evidently we were on her
track, and McAlpine's idea that the
pirates would make their way to the
Solomon Islands was correct.
When we got close to this group, af.
ter five days cracking on, we found we
were close upon our quarry, for a san.
dal wood schooner which we met early
the same morning we made our land
fall, reported having seen a large
schooner running under the lee of one
of the islands, and that seeing her
rigging and sails were in disorder had