Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-12-26

on the viands. Eat the cooks were
not yet through. They served French
fried potatoes and Saratoga chips,
vast piles of buttercd toast, jars of
jam, and to crown all, Vincent
brought in the steaming coffee pot
and made the feast complete.
1--WE have no cream, but this con-
densed milk is not bad," said Sid
ney.
Make no excuses" said Mr.. Kent.
"You and Vincent are the kings of
chefs. Talk about your Waldorf-As-
toria! 1t isn't in it,"
The cooks joined in the break
fast, and it was a hungry and u
merry party. Mr.. Morton sat at the
head of the table and was in splen-
did humor.
You don't seem to be lost now,
Brother Pence" said Mr.. Kent, as he
helped that gentleman to another
portion of bacon and eggs sYou
certainly have found your appetite"
"You let Pence alone" said Mr..
Morton. I'VE will make you cook
the next meal as a punishment"
Perhaps you think l can't cook?"
said Mr.. Kent, defantly, You don't
know what l can dot"
II do" said Mr.. Haven. "Pass the
sugar, please
manner at Mr.. Haven, and continued
by saying that when a young man
he had served as cook for six
months in a western mining camp.
Breakfast over, they adjourned to
the veranda; Vincent volunteered to
clear the table and look after the
dishes. For an hour he was busy
man. He donned an apron and washed
and wiped the dishes, and stored
them away in the china closet. Dur
ing this operation he smoked a
large imported cigar. Every once
i'll while his face would wreathe
in smiles. When his task was ended
he lit fresh cigar, and joined the
rest of the party which was grouped
on the west veranda, engaged in
conference.
1--WE must divide our work and as
sign each member of the party GER
tain responsibility" Mr.. Morton was
saying. in the first place we must
ascertain, as near as possible, where
we are, and then devise means to
return to our homes. We may as
well dismiss this man Hestor and
his yacht from any further consider
alton. If not crazy he is villain,
and. in either case we have little to
hope from him. We must explore
this island, and then see what can
be done. About where do you sup
pose this island is located. Mr. Ham
mond? have my own idea, and 1
would like to hear from Others"
I'VE are somewhere in the West
Indies. or in the Gulf of Mexico or
the Caribbean Sea-" said Sidney.
'That is rather an indefinite answer,
l admit, but we should be able by
timing the sunrise by our watches
which are set by New York time-to
tell about how far west we are, and
possibly we can make calculation
which will determine our approxi-
mate latitude. i am inclined to
IL we are we'll to the west of
Cuba, and not many hundred miles
from the Mexican or Central Amer
lean coast
II entirely agree with you," said
Mr.. Morton. Il kept as. close watch
of the direction taken as possible.
Monday was cloudy, but l am sure
that on that day and on part of
Sunday we We're going in a westerly
or southwesterly direction. 1 figure
that we ran about 124 hours on
fairly direct course to this island.
The Sharks course was erratic only
when Capt. Waters was avoiding
other craft. Now, if we averaged
90 miles an hour, that would make
total of 2,4S0 miles. 1t may be 100
miles either way from this esti-
mate"
Sidney produced an atlas from the
library, and all pored over the map
of North America, as if demanding
solution of the puzzle from the
tinted page.
You will not solve the problem
of where we are at by gazing at that
map" said Mr.. Kent. "There are
thousands of islands in the West In
dies which are not on the map, and
we may be in any one of them.'
Here is something that may be
of service to u.s." said Mr.. Morton,
who had been absent for several
minutes. Il took a notion to ex-
anime the room occupied by Mr.. Hes
tor last night, and l found this on
the dressing CASE
Mr.. Hestor unrolled a sheet of ma
Mia drawing paper containing a
well-executed map labeled "Hesto-
ria" 1t was spread out on the din
ing table and examined amid much
excitement.
Here is what Hestor named Nor
ton Bay" said Mr.. Carmody, point
ing to the pear-shaped lake, land
the black L is the bungalow. Here
are the hills which surround the
lake. said Mr.. Carmody pointing to
the shaded portions of the map, back
of the bungalow and around Morton
Bay"
This is not complete map of
the island" said Sidney Hammond.
ut is merely a detailed map of the
immediate surroundings of the bay.
There is the reservoir he spoke
about, and here is the brook which
passes the bungalow. Let's see if