The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-19
Copyright. 1897. by Hugh II. LuskI
PART

among the Ladrones, group of island
with perhaps as bad a reputation a
any even in that part OF the world. Tn
group is a considerable one. We ha
already visited two trading stations bt
longing 10 the owners of the brig. an
one evening we found ourselves drift
ing rather than sailing between tw
romantic-looking islands whose peaks
rising sharp and sudden. separated b,
deep and narrow valleys, choked will
dense masses Of tropical vegetation, Alf
ficiently proclaimed their volcanic ori
gin.
Tom Madison and were seated idl,
on the bulwark. our eyes wandering
lazily--we had just finished good sup
per-from the purple tints of the shore
past which we were drifting, TO the
still more wonderful colors of the sea
and sky. now bathed in the light OF the
almost level sun. i had been asking
Tom, who was an old hand in these
waters having acted as supercargo for
the owners for years. how this par.
ticular group of islands had gained sc
bad reputation as to be named 'The
Robbers" hereabouts where all natives
seemed to be thieves.
Thieves" said Tom, swell I don't
know that for that matter they de-
serve 1t either better or worse than their
neighbors. It's only question of op-
portunity. / take it. with any of them,
as it is with good many other people
who don't hail from the Ladrones."
"But. surely there must have been
some reason" said, "why they got
fhe name from the Spaniards, or who
ever it was that gave it them?"
'Oh. yes, of course, though very likely
1t originated in a mistake, and it's Just
as likely as not they have been the vic
Tins of a slight misunderstanding. BY,
the by, the whole thing took place close
by here, If 4'm not mistaken"
Tell us the yarn, Tom," said; ~it's
the very time and place for good,
tough old yarn such as nobody could tell
much better than these old Spanish nav
igators." +
swell, it's not much of q yarn after all.
1t was somewhere about 1873 that it
happened. believe. One of those So
called treasure ships put in close by
here at nlolo bay on her way across the
Pacific, and she never got any further.
Only single boats crew are said to
have escaped, and they said the great
galleon was taken and destroyed for the
sake of robbery, but of course we have
only their word for that. All that is
known for certain is that the treasure,
ship was burnt and sunk, and that ever
since then the islands have gone by the
>ame Of the The Robbers as kind of
<et of for the loss of the galleon."
Whereabouts was It, Tom ?" asked,
my imagination fred by the. idea of the
sunllen treasure ship.
well, the story goes that 10 was just
inside the bay round the next point,
but OF course nobody can tell for GER
tain at this time of day."
1t was with a strange feeling Of ex-
citement that watched the deep Bay
OF Illolo slowly open to our view, splen-
did In all the glories of a tropical sunset
At another time 1 might have been
content TO admire, but not now. The
1t had been, had awakened hundred
memories of tales of sunlen treasure
ships and their fortunate recoverers,
aud as we turned slowly Into the bay
my eyes were eagerly fixed on the
CLASSY waters now cleaning with a
thousand tints reflected from the sky
overhead.
We drifted round the point and into
the bay, our sails hardly lifting to the
scarcely perceptible evening breeze, and
our course marked only by the faintest
ripple on the CLASSY water In the effort
to penetrate the secrets which that
transparent liquid, glowing with the
color Of the dying day, had kept so safe
ly and so long. AS l leaned over and
gazed fixediy ydownwards into the depths
below, felt my eyes grow more and
more accustomed TO the new medium
till seemed TO see almost as clearly
through the crystal water as / could
through the upper air. 1t was more
than twenty fathoms deep and yet i |
could see the bottom plainly. Great |
branching corals spread their boughs |
,f crimson and blue, of green and |
white--a rich ocean shrubbery of form |
and color more splendid than any gar
den of earth. Beneath the branches the |
silver sands glittered and sparkled with |
} thousand shells, and fish Of dazzling |
gold and deepest tinted blue swan in
and out and nibbled the tender shoots
of the coral that seemed TO move softly
with the movement of the tide.
Suddenly as gazed In breathless ad-
niration a shadow seemed TO rise in |
the very midst of Neptune's flower gar
len. Was 1t rock? II, too, was en-
,rusted with corals that grew out of IL
It every angle, while long-haired me
1usae spread their tendrils TO each mo-
ion of the water; yet as / looked il
somehow seemed TO take a shape that
vas familiar, though strangev-the
'hape of q vcssell started up.
"The galleon, Toni" I exclaimed,
the sunken treasure shipi"
"Sonsense, man. you've got a strong
said Tom, "that's what's