Evening star., 1897-04-03

me that way. or course. had got no sort
of tale that would be believed when it
came to putting it in bare words.
mo, my son." said Blake. Its a case
of all sticking together yet. and with luck
Wen not only save our necks. but We'll
realize on the ship
We've only two days more coal"
Il know that"
Then what's your plan, captain?'
TIL tell it you later. For the present
go away right now and make steam again.
l guess we've little enough time to waste.
There's a cruiser over yonder that can put
to sea in two hours and they'll send word
to her directly Knowles gets ashore with
his news. Away with you now, and make
your sweeps hump themselves, or else
they'll hang"
There was every inducement for hurry.
and every one knew that. Legrand was
down helping me, and SO was the carpen-
ter. We coaxed the steam up by every
| means We knew, and when al last Legrand
was able to go on the foredeck and heave
up it was none too soon. The cruiser astern
or us was bustling with life. naphtha
launch was coming to from the inner
harbor as last as she could pelt, and it was
plain that all Callao was alive with
Knowles tidings.
| The skipper had got the upper bridge
alone. and held the steam steering wheel
! in his own hands. He was heading her for
| the northern channel between San Lorenzo
! Island and the land. and, as usual, he was
| taking matters quite calmly and with
smile on his sanity face He neither swore
nor shouted He was the most unaccount-
able ship master ever came across in that
way.
But it was the naphtha launch that de-
| stroyed us. We started slow. and she
| nearly boarded: but as steam got up, SO
| did our pace improve. till at last she could
| do no more than keep her place.
| The hands were making steam for every
| thing they were worth, and all 1 had to do
was to run about my machinery with a hot
| oil Kettle and keep everything fabricated.
no volt ont 1.fr
| keep myself below all the time 1 Just had
to pop my head out of the engine room
| door every now and again to look astern.
| But II for moment the naphtha launch
| was out of sight. she'd roll up again high
| against the horizon over the next swell
and II we dropped her at all it was only
Tor lew fathomS to the hour. Still 1t
| wasn't her duty to board. She was only
| acting as a jackal to the bigger craft and
! presently the masts and smoke of that
| showed up against the sea line Landsmen
| might have chucked up the sponge then
| But We hung on. Everything was possible
| IN a stern chase at sea; besides, darkness
would be down in another hour and we
| might slip away under It's cover. We felt
| cramped about the throat. l can tell YOU
| then. 1t didn't take much imagination to
see the gallows ready rugged.
| Night came down when the cruiser was
hve miles astern, but it did not help u.s.
The SKY was lit like a theater; the swells
| were full Of Speckles of phosphorescence:
| and where they broke upon the beach Won
| might have thought there was a line OF
| bonfires. The cruiser followed US, and
| came up as though she had a Inc 10 our
| STERN and was heaving it in on her
| winches
| AT a mile and half she began to shoot,
| and I'll not say her practice was good 1
! Stcod outside my engine room door when
could spare moment to watch and saw
| the shots plow cutters in the sweIIs, and
| send fountains of flame toward the sky
| Ihen all OF a sudden the motion changed !;
the roll gave way to a steady pitch. and l
Knew what had happened. Capt Blake had
starboarded his helm and was going to
put the stolen steamer on the beach. Well
| there was a poor enough chance for US
| there in all that surf. A minute later there
| was whistle down the voice tube, and he
| told me In words what l had guessed al
| ready. He said also we'd be on the ground
| inside dozen minutes, and We We're all to
| come on deck, SO as to get the best chance
| of reaching shore
| 1 said AYE, aye" and told the hands
| and they went willingly enough. But for
| myself, 1 stayed. I'd got my engines to
| look after 1t was pretty tough work
waiting, though. l marked off Il minutes
| on the engine room clock, and lit my pipe.
But 1 had to fill it twice before time was
! up. The tobacco seemed to burn quicker
| than usual, somehow.
AT last she did it. She took the ground
| somewhere forward. and Jared fit to
| knock ones teeth out. Then she lifted on
| a swell, and lit the whole of her length on
| the ground, llil you nave tnOugnt the
| foot-plate would have risen up through
| your cap. Then she lifted twice more and
| began to make a noise like meat tin does
| when boys kick it along paved street
| BY that time she had broached to, and
| she was on her beam ends. with the en-
| gines racing badly. l shut off the throttles
| before the poor things rived themselves
| clear of their bedpiates. Then l opened
! the escape valve to the full and climbed
out on deck. The seas were making
clean breach over her by that time. But
| did notice that the port lifeboat was gone.
| and the falls showed she'd been lowered.
| There was not living man left in sight,
| but whether they had been washed over
| board or had gone away In the boat l could
not tell. never saw any of them again.
The Gocr l was holding to went with the
next sea, and there / in the surf two
| hundred yards off the dry beach. / can
swim like a rat or a krooboy. and had to
| do it then. That Pacific surf is something
awful when one Of those big ground swells
| is
But 1 got spewed up by the sea at last,
| bruised as though 1 had been beaten with
sticks. and there 1 lay on the sand and
watched the surf smash my beautiful en-
| gines till they weren't fit to put on the
scrap heap. The cruiser had done her
work and was steaming back for Callao;
| the naphtha launch was out of sight, the
! life boat, II she had survived, had slipped
empty.
Day sprang up over the water and got
| up stiff1y and walked north along the coast.
| A dozen miles brought me to an Indian
village, where l must say that nfggers
though they were, they treated me like
king. stayed there six months, and might
| have stayed a lifetime, but 1 was a fool.
and got restless. The sea always drags
me- And l went along to a little port and
| found a ship. The sea always does drag
me like that. 1t Is my luck, 1 suppose, to
be that kind of a fool
of course. Capt. Blake treated me badly,
and l worked a long time and very hard
without a sixpence of wage But some-
now. don't wish that man evil I've never
| come across any one with a nicer knowl-
| edge CT drugs. or a freer hand in giving
them out to his engineer officers. Why I
| must have taken eight boxes of those Cody
pills at the very least.
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