Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-01-05


Surrey and keep house parties going
all the year round on the income OF
militant" To which would grunt an
appreciatiye assent. followed by, And
think Of the clipper yacht. triple-eX-
mansion ard ccllu.oid bottom, that
man could keep in commission; yes.
and the town house. too. | could build
one in the middle of Mayfair, with cleo
tric lights. modern plumbing, marble
baths. and plenty of ground around it,
for a hundred and fifty thousand" BY
which YOU will see that the captain and
| we're counting our chickens not only
before they were hatched, but even
while the eggs lay at the bottom of the
western Pacific. This realization came
to us after awhile with crushing force,
along toward midnight, when the air
had become pretty damp and we had
smoked too many cigars. | could feel
nv heart sink down, down, like lump
of lead. But, before turning in,
thought: well, the voyage will make
new man of me, anyhow, and the ex=-
citement of the attempt will be some
thing worth remembering. whether
we succeed or not,"-in which my
friend quite agreed with me.
Shortly after four o'clock l heard
him tumble out of his bunk, and, be-
ing too restless to sleep, | soon fol-
lowed. It was not yet daylight, but
the gray shadows in the east were
tinged with a rosy reflection against
which were outlined the bold promon-
tories Of Point Bugui, the northwester-
" limit of Masbate island and Point
Sur, on Burias, the passage between be-
ing about eight miles in width. As we
gradually altered our course around
Point Sur, heading northeast toward
Port Sorsogon, on Luzon, in order to
clear San Miguel islet at the northerly
end of Ticao, great flames of red shot
up across the eastern horizon. The
grayness overhead lifted, like a fog
bank. There was a fresh and exhilarat'
ing dampness in the air. Then, as the
top rim of the sun appeared, broad
CLEAN spread across the heavens,
tingeing every line of the steamers
rigging and the sides of her funnel
deep crimson. Down on the main
deck, the barefooted second mate, Mo-
reno, was directing a stream from the
hose over everything in sight, while
his men of the starboard watch
scrubbed and holystoned the planking
Although there is plenty of water
all through the San Bernardino pas
sage, it has been but imperfectly sur
veved and is thick with submerged
rocks, navigation among which is rem
dered still more dangerous by rapid
current setting in from the Pacific;
and a feverish desire to be at work
made us doubly anxious to reach open
water without accident. Halstead had
been through the strait several times
and knew his bearings perfectly, but
we were well around the end of Ticao
before he ventured below for break
fast.
Sailing over smooth water between
the different islands, there had been
no suggestion of sea-sickness among
our passengers, and the ladies had
been on deck since sunrise, watching
the magnificent scenery; so when we
put in an appearance the captain was
piled with all sorts of inquiries con-
cerIing the different headlands, when
we would be finally clear of the shore,
whether it would be very rough out
side, ETC., etc.
At noon we were in the outer pas
sage, between Calantas Rock and
Capul, and by dinner-time we're stand
ing due east in the open sea north of
Espiritu Santo. As on the previous
evening, we stopped to chat with the
passengers, the two padres and the
Palacios especially, for an hour or so
after the meal, then went on deck to
size up the situation.
ITO begin with" said /, when we
were finally secure from interruption
in our quarters, where am | least
likely to attract attention when | go
ashort at Agana? Will it be advisable
to take lodgings in private house, or
had l better go to the best hotel?"
Halstead's eyes opened in amaze
ment, then broad grin appeared
through his beard:
"Oh, | should stop at the best hotel,
by all means, if there were such a
thing within a thousand miles. You
would be far more likely to attract at
tention in any of the private houses,
which are made of bamboo matched
with cocoa leaves and have pounded
mud floor; there's usually but one
room, you know, and the whole fam
lily live in that quite sociably. Say, old
man, what kind of a metropolis did
you think you were going to? Why,
besides the forts, the church, and gov
ernment quarters, there aren't a
dozen stone buildings in the town. No;
being a white and presumably wealthy
stranger, you will find yourself big
gun in Agana. And ordnance of your
caliber are usually quartered upon the
governor himself-free of charge,
mind you. Fortunately, 1 happen to
know Col. De Garma; Ferdinand Jose
Felipe Jesus de Garma de Lopez is his
everyday name. You want to commit
it to memory, too; because If you hap
pen to get il De omething-or-other
wrong il righ, make considerable
hard feeling. I've been thinking over
the matter a little, and have concluded
that your staying in the government
house as his guest will be rather favor
able to our plan than otherwise. He's
one of the most hospitable men ever
met-give you anything he's got, eX-
cept his daughter, and she's pretty
enough to eat. Here's n picture OF
them, with the officers of the colonel's
staff, taken with the patio. It's pret.
" fair likeness of the crowd, consider
ing the size What do you think of
them?"
l examined the photograph care
fully.
"Why, they're full-blooded Span
iards, aren't they@ They look like
educated people"
"Hmpf! II il comes TO blood, De
Garma can trace his family back to a
branch of the Braganzas on the distaff
side; the family are Portuguese, no;
Spanish, though they've lived in Gra.
NADIA for generations. But what DO
you think of the girl-Senorita Doro-
tea? Isn't she peach?"
"She IS beauty, isn't she? What an
Internal pity to hide away a girl like
that in a forgotten hole where all the
advantages she should have are de-
MED her!"
81 think, myself, that Agana is no
place for her; yet she won't stay there
always, and she isn't by any means the
untutored barbarian yQu imagine her
to be. They lived in Granada and Mad