The Mena star., 1899-05-18

screw was abreast of us, he sang out: Let her go."
 There was a big splash, and the lead disappeared, whipping coil after coil of the line after it from the reel on the taffrail. Fifty fathoms, 100, 200, 300, and no bottom. Slowly the two men at the reel hauled in tho line, and the cap tain signaled: Half speed ahead" About a mile further he stopped and tried it again, but with the same result Then he steered, successively, due south for three miles, and north, six, taking soundings at each limit. At eight bells 1 Padre Sebastiano came on deck and be- came so absorbed in the proceedings that he actually forgot his breakfast. Each time the lead was hauled up he would examine the tallow at the lower end to make sure that no sand or coral fragments were embedded in it, and as sounding after sounding proved unsuc- cessful at the full 30o-fathom depth, he couldn't keep the disappointment from showing in his face. Finally the cap tain told him that further search was useless, and when the steamer was headed for Guajan he went below.
 Halstead treated the matter as if it possessed, but little interest for him, yet when he glanced at me l could see that he was thoroughly discouraged. The engines had just started at full speed ahead, and we were preparing to go below for breakfast, when l noticed a little bunch of cumulus cloud a few miles to the southeastward, and called his attention to them.
 Well, what about them?" he said. They're just ordinary clouds, aren't they?"
 That's all, but I was thinking of what Maury says about atmospheric condensation in the neighborhood of all these coral islands, even the lowest atoll having tendency to collect va DOT over it at times. Now, whether q few fathoms of water over reef would or not, don't know. I should say the chances were that it would; but we'll, the atmosphere does queer things sometimes. What do you think?"
 Halstcad watched the bunch of cloud for a second or two, noticed that there was nothing else of the kind in that direction, and then ordered the man at the wheel to head southeast. l saw that he considered the search hopeless, but he was determined to leave no chance untried. Diaz had gone down into the fore-hold with some of his men, to overhaul the last cases for Agana and Moreno was below at breakfast; so that no one but the helms man noticed our again heading about, and he was dreaming of Visaya girls in Manila too deeply to do more than obey orders in purely mechanical way.
 Ittook less than half an hour to reach the position. Then Halstead himself climbed out upon the sounding perch with hand lead and 30 fathoms of line. He had stationed me at the telephones on the bridge, hastily arranging a series of signals, and, after watching the waters surface closely for awhile, waved his hand for ''half speed"
 In about two minutes I saw him swing the lead forward, paying out the line rapidly as it tautened under his feet. Five times more he cast it, hauling in the entire length after each one, them signaled: Full speed, ahead" After which, mounting the bridge, he ordered the helmsman to put her about and steer north by east, quarter east. noticed great beads of perspirati tion upon his forehead, and was wondering if heaving a lead were really violent exercise, when, beclSon- ing me to the end of the bridge as if to point out the position of Guajan, he whispered:
 Get below, quick, and pay out that patent log; I took the box down myself at four bells. Then eat your breakfast as if nothing had happened, and chat back here by six bells at the latest; we've got a heap to talk about"
 The change in feeling from despon- dency to well grounded hope almost made me lose my head, especially as I saw that we now had the game largely in our own hands I watched my op- portunity. and was paying out the log line astern, through the bitt port, in about ten minutes. Then I spent a good half hour over my meal. discuss ing with the padre, who remained to keep me company. the probability of Santa Rosa reef having sunk to the bottom, but advising him not to state this as fact ;n his forthcoming book until he had persuaded the govern meEt 10 make more exhaustive