The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-12-13

machinery, no matter how much refit-
ting he might do at the end oft, when
there happens to be safe harbor
within a hundred and sixty miles"
This was facer for me. The pen
ciled course on the chart showed the
absurdity OF the proposition; but
while was puzzling over it the cap
tain drew another line which gave the
problem a more favorable aspect.
Suppose we should change about
tomorrow" he said. call it hun
dred and thirty-one, twenty, cas-, by
'leven, fifty, moth. On straight runs
from there, we'd have forty-two hours
to Yap and seventy-fve or eighty to
Guajan; that is, on a twelve-knot ba-
sis. But the mates are calculating
upon the regular easy runs-Diaz
thinks Mac raced her to-day in order
to get the stiffness out of that fresh
Babbitt metal-and they figure on at
least sixty hours from the noon posi-
ton. tomorrow. into Tomil bay.
could cut the eighty hours, to Guajan
down to sixty-eight if he showed her"
"And that cura, Juan, is not only a
chap who seems to take things about
as he finds them, but pretty good
sailor into the bargain. So that if any
row comes of this it is most likely to
be from people at zap who are expect
ing mail and supplies, or who are wait
ing to leave for Manila. How long be-
fore you will get back there?"
"Well, let's see" eve figured out
the approximate runs, penciling them
on the chart, until the whole voyage
lay diagrammed before us.) 1--WE
would anchor off the landing wharf
at Apra about noon on Saturday;
that's the 4th of April. We ought to
get away from there Sunday and drop
the padre at saipan Monday morning.
Then, running straight for Kusaie,
with the no'theas' trades helping us
on our port beam, she'd make Chab-
rol Harbor some time Saturday fore
noon. It's short run from Kusaie
to Pouynipete; we'd strike Kittie har-
Dor about noon on Monday and leave
there next day; that's the 14th. The
navigation among these atolls in the
Carolines is too dangerous to risk
the group has never been surveyed,
you see-so we go to the no'th'ard of
them: but we ought to fetch into zap
by the following Sunday, easy enough.
That would be the 10Th, wouldn't it?
| Suppose us to be due there next Fri
day night, something under 16 days
late. AS matter of actual fact, the
regular steamer used often to leave
Manila several days over time; and,
as the colonies are run on the "a
lnanana' principle, the mere being a
couple of weeks behind wouldn't make
much difference. But if any of the
gobernador's party should happen to
be waiting for comfortable trip on
the steamer, with good meals and
baths, between zap and Pouynipete
or Guajan, they'd lick good deal on
having to wait until after the wet
monsoon had set I'M
well, but wait bit. How many
hours is it from zap to Guajan?"
Lets see. -Four hundred and fifty
twomiles; callit SO hours easy steam
ing"
That isn't SO very much. and Mac
has coal enough to make up heap of
,, lost time over the regular nine-knot
rate. Suppose you find that any of
these Caroline people do want to run
up to the Ladrones; what's the mat
ter with taking them from zap? It
would make but little more than two
days difference on the round voyage,
and Mac could reduce that materially.
Then they'd be under obligations to
| YOU, as we'll as the padre''
''That's pretty good suggestion,
Harry; I hadn't thought of it. You
would have nearly three weeks to
work in, and could return with me if
you were unsuccessful. But you'd
J have to take your chances on there be-
ing no one who wanted to reach
Guajan; in that case wouldn't have
an excuse for coming back, you know"
"Oh, understand that, of course.
I'm prepared to stay on that island for
six months, if necessary; it might take
all of that time to really accomplish
anything. When are you going to of
fer the padre his passage to Saipan?
after Macs little arrangement"
mo. I don't propose making any
advances at all to him; he's too slip
perry. I'm captain of this steamer, and
if anything occurs which seems to ne
cessitate a change in the navigation,
am supposed to use my own judg-
ment. Any owner or any chartering
company would be obliged to accept
my decision in such case, unless they
could prove that the necessity did not
exist. That is really where I lay my
self open, if there should be hitch in
Macs bluff. But he generally knows
what he's about, and has set the thing
up pretty well; though until the en-
CINE actually stops it is impossible to
say whether his scratch will look seri-
Gus enough to warrant the change of
course. The only way to handle the
padre is to keep still, listen closely to
what he says, and work the bluff for
all it's worth. Unless am very much
mistaken, he'll make some kind of sug-
gestion to me himself, especially if we
mind our own business and are not