The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-20
we're to fly a small white flag from

what you say does not agree, or if
when we meet the gunboat find that
you have been telling lies, you shall
both surely die. On the other hand,
if you tell the truth, will promise
that you shall go free and your yes
sci will not be confiscated." .4
>"Ah, senior, you are very good We
will tell all that we know, especially
now that all Is lost"
They went below and in about half
an hour. the2 captain came on deck
again and the other man went down.
In a few minutes he also came up,
followed by Boles.
They tell straight enough story
he said. IT'S Just as I thought.
Beyond that they've no interest in
the thing. And there is some money
coming aboard"
'.Whatll we do with them now?" I
asked.
That's the question. I believe III
just order them to keep by us for an
other twenty-four hours and then tell
them to clear out. That'll prevent
them from tagging the launch by
Hongkong. They'll be only too glad
to clear out. They're satisfied that the
whole game is up"
Amt they any way leary of us?'
I asked.
Motley think that we're just. sent
out as bait. to make extra sure. That
idea of the gunboat was an ,inspira-
ton
We had to shorten sail SO as not to
run away from them and all that night
they hung on SO close that I thought
once or twice they might foul us. The
weather kept fair and on the second
day after, as we were getting up near
the rendezvous, we hailed them and
told them to go back and that the
less they said the less chance there
was of their getting in trouble. Two
hours later they were hull down to
the southwest.
For three days we lay waiting
around the place of rendezvous and I
i must say that, except for one week,
when I had neuralgia from driving
the workmen on high trestle in the
winter, it was the most miserable sew
enty-tWo hours of my life. Boles didn't
seem to mind it, but was afraid that
little Brown was going to have nerv-
Gus prostration. He never painted a
single lick, which was mighty bad
sign.
On the morning Of the fourth day
I happened to be on deck. Boles and
Brown were below playing cribbage
We were dead becalmed, which doesn't
often happen in the China sea, and as
threw my eyes to- the westward, sud-
denly a column Of black smoke over
the horizon shot straight up into the
air. My heart gave a big jump and
then lit my pipe so as to get myself
together before Boles and Brown came
on deck. AS soon as I was able to
raiseA her full over. the sky line I
jumped up the fore rigging with a
binocular and made her out. She was
the filibuster all right, and coming as
if she'd been delayed on the street
and was afraid she might miss her
date. Then I called Boles and Brown.
Now that the suspense was over and
the time for action come we all took
a brace: I ran up our little white rag
to the peak, and then we just stood
and watched and all that you could
hear was the gurgle Of my old briar
and the smack in the water when 1
sucked in mouthful Of nicotine in
my excitement.
Up she came and we saw that she
was a launch of perhaps sixty or
eighty tons, and all housed in forward
with rough, unplaned planks to stand
the sea. In the cockpit aft there were
half a dozen or SO Of men, and there
was no telling how many more might
be down. in the cabin.
She ran UP almost alongside of us,
and not more than fifty feet away, and
then the bell rang and her propeller
sucked the water back under the stern.
in the sea, while a dozen binoculars
were playing over us from stem to
stern, and my skin itched under the
scrutiny. Boles calmly picked up a
glass and returned the stare.
Browns teeth went thru the stem of
his old pipe, and it fell on the deck
with crack that made us jump. ~
a iy, Ono ich no 1n1 f,,o,
the launch. s7: ~
What vessel is that? Where are
you bound ?''
'This is the schooner KaiuIani of
Manila" answered Boles. els Captain
Juan Gomez aboard that launch ?''
A grizzled old Spanish shellback
stuck his head out from behind the
buffalo,"
It am Captain Gomez. Who are
you?"
my name is John Rogers. T have a
message to you from your friend, Cap
tain Velasquez of the brig Torreador.''
! ALL Of the men looked at one an
other. Then thick voice hailed us in
a peremptory sort Of way that brought
UP my dander.
"Who the devil are you, anyway"
we were lying in Manila, and old
| Velasquez, whom T know pretty well
came off aboard and told me that he
thought he was being watched, and
offered to turn this job over to me.
was to let him know the next day, but
he didn't show up, so we just slipped
quietly out, and here we are. Well
run your stuff if you want us to, but
you'll have to bid up, as it's a dan
gerous job. Only yesterday a gunboat
| passed US close aboard, northward
bound probably Appari. She may be
back any minute" @
There was a hurried consultation
then the thick voice called out: a5
How much do you want?'
zone thousand pesos" answered
Boles.
| "You take advantage of our posi-
tion---we will give you three hun
dred.",
| Take it or leave it," said Boles.
| There was another pow-wow for q
| moment. Then the man called out:
All rights CO."
| Boles waved his hand to the, boys
forward.
Stand by to take a line. Get those
tenders overall right, haul away"
Five of the men on the launch
came aboard at once. One was g
/ Spaniard. two seemed to be mestizos
1 and of the other two one was Ger
| man and the other, I regret to say
had American written all over him
| One of the mestizos carried heavy
brass-bound box, and I had hard work
to keep from giving Boles a wink
when I saw it.
We. rugged a whip from the spring
stay, and it didn't take long to trans
| fer the junk. There were ten boxe.
|of rifles, and box after box Of ammuni
tion-also lot of American flour
and good supply Of American canned
/ Z, ,,r,S,4