Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-12-13

ing with the ocean. they had scrambled
TO whar instinct said WAS Il coign of
safety and now Clustered. Il brawny.
well armed group on the forecastle
head
y shorl cable of from where we
were wrG@cti the land rose high and
Iry-a small island. so far as we could
make out III thr as YET uncertain light.
THE waters shallow" said Job IRE
halion with his broadest grin. Shall
we go ashore. capt2in?"
I'VE can wade most of the way"
said |. and. for the rest. those who
can't swim can raft themselves on
planks. There are plenty of them
floating about"
What about sharks?" observed
Alec
"Oh. no. hor chuckled the old man.
Never fear the sharks. They've en-
joyed good meal of fat Spaniard;
they won't be hungry for lean Eng
lishmen See III give a lead" And
into the water he Topped and padded
with his arms to the shore.
The rest of US followed. some swim
ming. some on fragments O. wreckage.
and in a short time all got safely t.
land.
1t was q small island about two
miles in girth that we had been cas-
on, and the myriad sea fowl circlins
around our heads showed us there wa:
little danger of starvation. But a:
there was no pond or stream in sigh
half of us scattered in search of fresl
water while the rest busted them
selves on the shore or in the surf, lay
ing hold of any bits of wreckage tha
might drift within reach. Spanish
bandit and Spanish soldier worked
cheerfully beside the English sailor
and no one could have told that {
dozen hours ago they were flying a
one another's throats. But, though We
had by no means ceased to regard thu
Spaniards as prisoners, the pressing
need of the moment thrust party ran
cors into the shade. We were all ship
wrecked. and FOR the time everything
else was of minor moment
The blazing sun quickly dried what
ever we were able to rescue from the
water. so we We're soon in n position
to light (. fire with which to cook the
sea fowl which some of us had caught
Before nightfall we had n goodly array
Of these hanging on spits before two
huge fires and scores Of fresh eggs
roasting in the embers.
Better food this than you've [ 22I
RI Of lota f.ripl bp Olf
man. as he threw down a carcass from
which he had been tearing the, tough
.fishy fiber with his teeth. But tn,
sea fowl will soon become scary if W,
stay here long. and then we shall hav,
to take to barbecued Spaniard. Oh
ho, ho. juicy morsel, indeedr'
| turned from the old ghoul with ;
gesture of horror. He noticed it, ant
j l thought he WINGED.
"Ah, ha. ha! Jack, how do you lik'
the prospect?' he inquired banteringly
"Oh, ho. I'd give another toe nail, i
| the torment chamber had left me one
to see those great jaws of yours mum
bling over a rib of fat Spanish nut
ton"
Peace, cannbal," said l. 'The Sc;
| fowl will last us for many long day
and when they're gone we can live oil
! shellfish."
"Nay, but the old mans right, Mas
ter Topp," growled Jan Pengony's dec
voice. "Gulls soon gets scary, an fisl
| Is bad to depend on, let alone being thil
sort O. food to fight on at the best G
| times"
Then" said Alec decidedly, ''th'
sooner we get away from here the bet
ter. There are six other islands clus
tered near us. One is n mere way
washed rock; four are, | think, abou
| the size of this, and one, which lie
| some league and half to the south
east, appears to be of considerabl
! size"
| "Aye, captain, If we had a boat t
reach it, put in Pengony.
| "We have what's as good-the ma
terial for a raft" replied Alec. "Now
l think that the first thing to be don
is for small party of us to raft
across to that larger island, and Sc
what prospect it offers. If bad, we ar
no worse off than before, and can com
Il
back and max" larger raft on whic
we may attempt the voyage to tn
Spanish main itself. And once there
and in the neighborhood of Spanis
towns. we shall be able to improve GU
fortunes by a sufficiently generous us
of our English muscle"
Wen help ourselves and spoil tn
thieving dons, no fear, captain oh
served one of the men. But II that
to be our venture what call to go owe
to the large island at all?'
Because | hope we may find shil
there, or even n town. | have hear'
that the Spaniards have pearl tisherie
hereabout, which ought to prove al
easy quarry for US, while the othe
plan may mean long, tiresome hun
lasting for months"
"Axing your pardon, captain" SAT-
| another, but wouldn't 1t be best t
build the big raft straight away? l
there's Spaniards on that there island
why, then. the more Of us as there !
to tackle 'em the better an If ther