The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1899-06-16

STEAD anu reacneQ the quay with my
luggage, and 20 minutes later we were
climbing the Countess of Devon's ac-
commodation ladder. out in the bay.
The Spanish mate stood at the top and
touched his cap. Halstead looked
along the gangway and said:
"Al the passengers aboard, Mr..
Diaz?"
Isl, senor."
"Pilot come off with Mr.. McPher-
son?"
Isl, senior"
"All right. Get your anchor up and
find how much she's drawing. Tell
buoy doesn't foul the screw this time.
and have the quartermaster bring Mr..
Stevens luggage up to my room. The
steward can give the passengers bis
cults and coffee if they want it before
turning in-there are only a dozen, l
think-and seat the ladies' party at
my table in the morning. Now, old
chap" turning to mel, I'm going to
give you the extra berth in my cabin.
and you can do as you please on board.
Go to sleep now, If you like, or bring
a stool up on the bridge and smoke. 4
shan't turn in until after breakfast"
IF that's the case. I'll stay with
YOU. Just to humor my fool curiosity,
1 wish you'd explain why you start at
such an ungodly hour. There's no bar
to cross, so the tides can't make any
difference"
mo; there's plenty of water, but
after passing Cape Santiago there
fsn't another light in the strait. There
are two dim ones on the no'theas' cor
ner of Burias island, but they're not
visible to west'ard, and l want to see
where I'm navigating between Burias
and Ticao. Well get there about five
o'clock tomorrow morning,-oughtt TO
pass Santiago at breakfast time to-
day,-so that during the night we'll
have plenty of elbow ROOM"
Suppose you strike rain or fog?"
1--WE won't. This is the morning of
March go. isn't it? Well, two weeks
from tomorrow it'll be sultry, and
still, and hot as Tophet. After that
the air'll smell like a furnace until
April "a. Then therell be hurricane
in this bay that will send pile of ships
ashore and spread corrugated iron
roofs all over the landscape, and from
that time to about the first of October
the weather'n be simply hellish-rain,
hurricanes, fever and mud. In other
words, the southwest monsoon will
have set in for six months. You ought
to know when the monsoon changes,
it you've been out here two years."
"Well, suppose I should. but I've
spent the summers in Yokohama and
Shanghai, and they don't make SO
much difference up there"
1t was a perfect night. The wind
had died down until there was scarce
ly a ripple on the water and each par
ticular star was reflected in it. The
lights of Cavite, on our left, were fast
dropping astern; and, approaching
Corregidor island at the entrance of
the bay, about three o'clock, the noun
tains of the Piquito on the south head
with the Sierra de Mariveles on the
porth rose like dark blue ghosts 1000
feet in the air. Corregidor itself stood
over 600 feet above high water, the
light on its summit filling the rocks
with grotesque shadows as we passed
close under it.
Halstead occasionally called my at
tention to some prominent point, but
he was too closely occupied in watch
ing the different bearings to talk very
much; and, although we didn't drop
the pilot until we'll past Cape Santiago,
could see that my friend preferred
to know himself just how his ship was
being navigated. After a six-o'clock
breakfast we turned in and slept un-
til noon. Then we went below and
sat down at our first meal with the
passengers, only four of whom spoke
our language, SO that the conversation
was mostly carried on in rudimentary
Spanish.
CHAPTER IT.