The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-12-31

hours sooner thar expected, and
should be glgh 70 accommodate our
friend if he AkAft mind writing to
Manila a brieftkSint of the accident"
"scnor Capiisnt; You are un gener-
oso! l will the letter write tonight.
You shall have no feur of un cxamin-
cion at Manila: Santisima! have not
the casualidad myself secn?"
"Muy bueno9 padre; l will land you
safely at TanapaE in the morning
and, gobernador, hope to see Guaian
again before the companies regular
boat resumes7the service. l feel as
though you People were old friends
now, and when the Countess is with
drawn l may never happen to return;
so I'd like to keepion running here un-
til your term expires, anyhow"
"You do us la gran honra, capitano
milo. We arc made rich by your friend
ship; and 1t shall be that word is
spoken in Administrations de la COM
pania. Vlllabos will cable Barcelona,
perhaps" and so on, with many as
surances of regard and influence, until
Halstead seemed in fair way toward
arranging matters as he chose. 1t was
exceedingly wcll-handled, the whole af-
fair.
Finally the whistle sounded. and we
stepped into the boat. alongside. Hal
stead said merely: $50 long, old man,
be good to yoursek;" but there was a
good deal in our parting handshake.
Much was to happen before we saw
each other again. The pilot was so
cautious in getting clear Of the port
that we were driving to Agana before
he rounded Catalan bank; but as we
approached the town the good old
Countess, der lights reflected in the
water, caught up with us and blew
three long whistles by way OF good-by.
That night, in my quarters at the
gobcrnador's house, tried to arrange
plan of action, going over and over
the various points until my brain was
in a whirl. 1 had little doubt of being
able to find the reef, but it was q mat
ter of considerable importance that I
should do so as near the wreck as pos
sible. For this reason 1t seemed obvi-
GUS that an examination of the docu-
ment in Fray 1gnacio's coffin was nee
essary. The church was in charge Of
priests; good-natured, easy-going
churchmen they were, who could sing,
drink rum, or wager their pesos upon
a cock fight with the next man; and,
as some one had mentioned a mass
which was to be held at sunrise, de-
termined to hear 1t. Anxious to be on
time, I rose half an hour too early, but
was amply repaid by the freshness and
quiet beauty of the little town.
Looking north, spur of hills cut of
the view of the bay; and at their base
flowed little creek which bounded the
town on thee east and north sides,
crossed by two stone bridges, near the
lower of which stood Fort San Rafael.
Beyond the fort, and, alongshore to Port
Apra, the view was open to the sea.
On account Of the-shoal water for half
mile out. there was no surf, only rip
pies which showed, the direction of the
breeze. Between the church and the
infantry quarters there was small
open square; 'and west of the bar
racks, between them and the artil-
lery magazine, was a broad plaza
which separated The bamboo native
huts from hemore pretentious build
ings Of coquina, or coral limestone, in
habted by the Spanish element. Out
side Of tho town, the valley and hills
were covered with tropical vegetation
indescrbably beautiful in Its wealth
Of color and delicate tracery against
the sky line. The streets, laid out In
regular pattern, were wide and clean.
At the right of the gobernador's house,
looking east, stood the church, q small
chapel. and the college Of San Juan dc
Lntran, ID the left, between 1t and the
plaza, were San Ramon quarters, the
administrators office, the pharmacy
and the tribunal; on the southerly side
of the plaza, the military hospital and
prison. A few miles back of the town
and tsfoothills rose the peak of Mount
Tiniquio; and at the southwest the
peninsula of Orote poked it's nose into
the ocean. looked at Orote, its rocks
and palm trees glowing red in the early
sunrise, for several moments. 1t was
to be the base and starting point of all
my calculations.
A few OF the natives were lazilv
saunterlng into the church as
stepped across the square, and mass
was just beginning. There was girl
ish form kneeling by the pillar nearest
me, and l recognized Senorita Doro-
tea, wlro greeted me demurely as she
rose from her devotions, expressing
surprise and pleasure thut 1 should
have Weakened carly to attend mass.
My appearance that morning was
fortunate one in several ways. Padre
Bartolomco was compimented, for ono
thing, and exhibited his satisfaction at
my supposed Catholic tendencies by
showing ne what there was, to be seen
about the place as soon us the service
was over.
After inspecting the college build
ings and clostcrs, we went through
narrow door into IL room back of the
chancel, where there were number
OF votive images in wax, representing
either miraculous escapes from violent
death, recovcries from mortal ILL
nesses, or the cures Of foul diseases.
Although 1t was MS thoroughly I'M
pleasant Il collection as one could look
upon, some horrid fascination induced
me to examine many Of the figures.
One, for instance, was dressed in cot
ton brooches and .shirt, over which
gouts of blood from a fearful knife cut