Evening journal., 1904-04-29


kicked him into the stays again, full
minating blasphemies.
"Sing,' he shouted as the Chinaman
clambered away like a bewildered ape
"Sing a little more! would II / were
you Why don't you sing ana wave,
you fool philly-loo bird?
"Yas. sRh." answered the cody.
"What you yell for? Charlie. ask
him whaffo him sing"
Il tinkum ship" answered Charlie
calmly, looking over the starboar1
quarter.
"Shipw
"Him veIly SICK" hazarded the Chi
naman from the ratlines. adding a sen
tence in Chinese to Charlie.
"He says he tinkum ship sick. all
same; ask um something ship velly
sick"
BY this time the captain. Wilbur and
all on board could plainly make out a
sail some eight miles or the starboard
bow. Even nt that distance and TO eyes
so inexperienced as those of Wilbur It
needed but glance TO know that some
thing was wrong with her. 1t was not
that she failed to ride the waves with
even keel; It was not that her rigging
wns In disarray nor that hor sails were
disOrdered. Her distance was too great
to make out such details. But in pre-
cisely the same manner as a trained
physician glances at a doomed patient.
and from that indehnable look in the
face Of him and the eyes Of him pro
nOunces the verdict death" 80 Kitch-
ell took in the stranger with a single
comprehensive glance and exclaimed:
Wreck
"Yes, sab. / tinkum velly sick"
"Oh, go 20, OF go below and fetch
up my glass-hustler'
The glass was brought "son." ex-
claimed Kitchell-'where is that man
with the brains? Son, come aloft here
with me-" The two clambered up the
ratlines to the crows nest. Kitchell ad-
justed the glass.
"She's a bark" he muttered, 'iron
built-about 700 tons, I guess-in dis
tress. There's her ensign upside down
at the mizz' z'nhead-loozs like Norway
an her distress signals on the spanker
gan. Take a blink at her. son-what
do you make her out? Lord, she's
ridin' high"
Wilbur took the glass, catching the
stranger after several clumsy attempts.
She was, as Captain Kitchell had an
nounced, a bark. and, to judge by her
flag. evidently Norwegian.
"How she rollsw muttered Wilbur.
That's what l can't make out" an.
swered Kitchell "a bark such as she
amt ought to roll thata way; her bal
last d steady her"
whats the flags on her boom aft
Ones red and white and square shaped
and the others the same color, only
swallowtail in shape"
That's II B. meanin' I am in need
Of assistance"
"Well, where's the crew? don't sec
anybody on board"
"Oh, they're there right enough"
"Then they're pretty well concealed
about the premises" returned Wilbur
as he passed the glass to the captain.
"She does seem kinda empty" sale
the captain in a moment, with a sud
den show Of interest that Wilbur fail
ed to understand
"An' where's her boats2" CONTINUES
Kitchell Il don't just quite make ou
any boats at ALL" There was a lon
silence.
Seems to be sort Of haze owe
her" observed Wilbur.
IT noticed that-air kinda quiver
oily-like. No boats, no boats, an I can
see anybody aboard" Suddenly Kitch
Il sll lowered the glass and turned t
Wilbur. He was a different man
There was a new shine in his eyes; {
, wicked line appeared ever the nose
the jaw grew salient, prognathous.
son." he exclaimed, gimleting VII
bur with his contracted eyes, Il have
I ree-marked as how you had brains.
kin fool the coolies, but l cane foo
=, you. 1t looks to me as If that bari
yonder was a derelict. An do yol
know what that means to US? Chav
on it a turn"
"a derelictg"
"If there's a crew on board, they'r
concealed from the public gaze. An
where are the boats then? / figge
she's an abandoned derelict. DO yol
know what that means for us-for yo
and II 1t means"-and, gripping Wi
bur by the shoulders, he spoke th
word into his face with a savage in
tensity-'it means salvage, do yo
savvy? Salvage, salvage! DO you fig
ger what salvage on a 700 tonne