El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-10
CHAPTER III.

The outline of Tampique bay stood
out clearly in bright moonshine. and
the sea down the path of the moon S
rays showed a canal of silver cut
through rolling fields of purple. The
green painted bark was heading into
the bay on the port tack, and at moor
ings before the town in the curve of
the shore the grotesque spars of a mod
ern warship showed in black silhouette
against the moonbeams. A slate colored
naphtha launch was sliding out over
the swells toward the bark. Captain
Kettle came up from below and watch
ed the naphtha launch with throbbing
interest.
A Jacobs ladder was thrown over
the side. The slate colored launch swept
up and emitted-a woman. Captain
Kettle started and went down into the
waist to meet her. A minute later he
was wondering whether he dreamed or
whether he was really walking his quar-
ter deck in company with Donna Clio
tide la Touche. But meanwhile the
bark held steadily along her course.
81 must beseech you, miss, to go
hack from where you came, said Ket
tie. ''You must trust me to carry out
this business without your supervi-
SION"
us your method very dangerous?"
she asked.
81 couldn't recommend it to any in
surance company" said Kettle thought
fully.
''Tel1 me your scheme,
Kettle did so in some 40 words. He
was pithy, and Donna Clotilde was
cool. She heard him without change of
color. "Ah," she said. Il think you
will do itl''
''1 on VIII know one way or another
within an hour from now, miss. But
I must ask you to take your launch to
a distance As 1 tell you, 1 have made
all my own boats so that they won't
swim. but if your little craft was handy
my crew would jump overheard and
risk the sharks and try to reach her in
spite of all l could do to stop them.
They won't be anxious to fight that
Cancelario when the time comes if
there's any way of wriggling out of
it. -
"You are quite right, captain; the
launch must go, only do not. 1 must
be your guest here till you can put me
on the Cancelario.
captain heutlo 1rOWnoQ. w nat 5
coming is no job for woman to be in
at, miss.
''You must leave me to my own
opinion about that You see, we differ
upon what woman should do. cap
tain. You say a woman should not be
president of a republic; you think
woman should not be sharer in a fight
am going to show you how a woman
can be both. She leaned her shoulders
over the rail and hailed the naphtha
launch with a sharp command. A man
in the bows cast off the line with which
it towed, the man aft put over his tiller
and set the engines a-going, and, like q
slim gray ghost, the launch slid quiet |
ly away into the gloom. "You see,
she said, I'm bound to stay with you
now" And she looked upon him with |
a burning glance.
But Kettle replied coldly: "You are |
my owner. miss, and can do as you |
wish. 1t is not for me now to say that |
you are foolish. Do I understand you
still wish me to carry out my original
plan 2''
Eyes" she said CURLY.
every well, miss; then we shall be
aboard of that war steamer in less than
Is minutes" He babe his second mate
call aft the crew, but instead of re-
to meet them he took a keen
glance at the bark's canvas, another at
her wake, another at the moored cruiser