El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-10-12

They will search your ship from hOlo
| to quarterback"
| The purser could think of but one
possible place of concealment-a little
door and opening out of his own
stateroom. The width of the closet
! inside was scarcely two feet. This was
the rece ptacle of the purser's toilet ar
ticles, or clothes, and to keep 1t locked
seemed natural.
| To this cuddy he now hastily con
Quoted the refugee. at is the best
I can offer you, Colonel Maiz, - he
said s'Im sorry it is so narrow a
BIRTH"
| My friend Lerdo will give me a
narrower one within six hours if he
Captures me-" was the calm reply.
81 shall lock you in here" continued
| the purser. eff the key is asked for,
1 shall pretend to have mislaid it-for
| the time"
There was barely room for man to
stand erect inside the closet, but four
short blind SLATE in the door admitted
air. In front of these Stats the purser
hung large timetable.
This cOncealment had scarcely been
effected when the launches came under
the steamers lee and the soldiers
clam bered aboard.
Their officer stated that their orders
were to apprehend Gen. Porfrio Diaz,
who was reported to be passenger,
and also, if necessary, to search the
ship. Until this moment the full sig
nifcance of the adventure i'll which ne
was involved had not been app aren't to
Sands.
The captain, who knew nothing of
the matter, protested that there was
no such person on board; he called up
the Passengers and babe the purser
show the list. But this by no means
satisfied the Mexican commandment: his
orders compelled him to search the
vessel. Even the hold and stoke-hole
were Overhauled and the fremen eX-
amined.
Purser Sands meantime kept busy
with his accounts and went about his
duties, as if uncOncerned with the
search: he even left the window of his
room open: and although the Mexican
officers did not quite 60 to the length
of searching the captains stateroom or
his own. he saw one of them glance IN
sharply at the window as he passed
it.
Night came on, but still the soldiers
remained on board, watching all that
took place. Sentries We're posted on
deck to see that no one either left the
ship or came off to her from the shore.
The Mexican officers believed that
General Diaz was on board, and as they
searched they had talked of the fifty
thousand dollars to be gained by dis
covering him.
So closely watched were the move
ments of every one that the purser
dared not order food brought to his
stateroom; but at table he managed to
sccrete few bits in his pocket. and
these he struggled into the closet at
nj gh tall. Meanwhile the storm at sea
had by no means abated; the water in
the r0adstead was still rough. and the
vessel rolled at her anchorage. Rain,
too, continued TO fall at intervals, and
drove so fiercely that the sentries on
deck sought the shelter of the deck
house.
Shortly before midnight Diaz, who
had taken his resolu ton, scratched on
the inside of the blind stats, to attract
the purser's attention.
unlock the door cautiously" he
whispered, land if possible give me
chance to slip over the steamers side"
You mean to try TO swim ashore"
demanded the purser, in astonlshmeut.
Eyes, my friend"
But the wafer is still very rough"
Yes; but | am good swimmer"
''But this harbor is full of sharks"
every true: 1 must take my chance
with Them
The distance to the shore was nearly
mile, ana TO the purSef an aItempG To
swim there on such a night seemed lit
tie less than suicidal; but finding the
generals resolution not to be shaken,
be stole forth on deck and as none of
the sentries were astir in the rain on
the weather side. he assisted Disz to
get down from the rail into the water.
Immediately he was lost to view in the
darkness.
For long time the purser remained
watching, unseen by the sentries, and
then returned to his room; and since he
could do no more, lay down on his
bunk and tried to sleep. But sleep he
could not. His anxiety for the brave
man who had thus resolutely taken his
life in his hands to battle with the
waves, or with the still more to be
dreaded sharks, in the hope of escape,
kept him awake.
Again and yet again, impelled he
knew not by what impulse, he stole
forth to the rail to listen-nOt that he
really expected to see or hear anything
further. Yet, strangely enough, but
for this restless impulse on the part of
the purser, General Diaz would have
been captured.