Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-31

stop trying to fight the tre and save What
We can from the yacht
As 1t was, the boys had all they could de-
TO rescue the movable property OF the Midget
The fire was already within hundred teel
OF the yacht, and before the last article hac
been taken out Of her the glass in the cabiI
and engine room windows began to crack witt
the heat
dlllos had been moved first of all, and Tiny
lin had been shut up In a basket and car
ned to place OF safety.
After everything was out of the yacht, anC
even while the flames had already fastened
upon the upper deck. the boys made ont
more attempt to save the Midget, but It wa
as fruitless as their previous efforts had oeeh
Before half dozen pals OF water coula %
brought she was enVeioped IN flre from suen
to stern, and they stood gazing at the de
struetion OF the beautiful little craft IN sad anc
regretful silence.
Poor little Midget said al, mourn
fully as the flames burst from the port WIN
dows and the cabin was a mass OF hre- IL
wouldn't seem quite as bad if we hadn peer
the cause Of her loss. ] would willingly nave
stayed here month and worked on the rail
all the time, rather than have had her burn
ed
you must make the best Of il, Val. ior
"Ahoy! aho-o-oy," came from over the
water. inierrupting Arthurs speech OF con
dolence and reminding the boys that i1ends
were near to bring them relief,
Alloy, the boat" shouted Nal- nero
are you from?"
The North Stars lfeboat. with five hands
on boardi What is the matter! Have youi
tents been burned?" .
Worse than that The Midget's atiree.
Before any further conversation could DC
carried on. the boat was at the beach, ano
four men. led bv Mr.. SWazey- 1eaped ashore;
I 1,--- fayr
rubber collector the whole story. including th'
disappearance Of the hunting party; and, "het
Val concluded. ne said"
We mustn't fool around here very long i
that is the case. You will have TO leaFe
everything here. except the live stock, anc
run the Glance OF ats beng stoIeh. lor ~ w
can't get aboard the boat. Tumble the cages
in lively. men, and YOU boys follow snt
Do you think that you can Ind the ten's II
the nightg'
! think 50. sir" replied Val. awed by tht
concern Swazev showed regarding the tate oi
the hunting party. do you think anything
serious has happened to them?
q can't tell" answered the rubber col
lector. as he seated himself in the stern ol
the boat to steer and gave the order ior the
men to pull with a viii. 1t don't seem 70
nc that your father Is one OF the sort thai
would remain IN the woods all night without
sending some one back TO tell you where he
was, and for that reason m afraid they arc
in some kind OF trouble
"Are there many Indians in tins vleIn'
typ asked Val, fearing that the party
might have been made prisoners.
Il don't know Of any who would be up tc
mischief. and I can't make up my mind what
could have happened to keen the party out
Are you sure that they didn't intend to stay
awsy?"
Val was very sure that if either George
or his father had had a thought OF remain
~rN
him: and the fact that they took with then
no camp equipage seemed TO be proof that
they intended 10 return before dark.
An three OF the boys were on the lookout
for the camp. Arthur being in the bows, anC
Val and Fred aft. neither one Of them think
ing Of the loss Of the Midget, on account o
the greater sorrow they feared was about tC
come upon them
The sailors rowed vigorously. as If they
too. feared some terrible accident. and nC
one cared to talk very much after Mr.. Swa
zey said
IF they are not in camp when We ge
there ] shall feel pretty certain that it ha
gone hard with them"
The bovs had no means Of knowing how
far they had been carried by the raft. Va
had an idea that they had not come nor
than five miles from the camp. but Of cours
he could only guess at the distance. Ever,
one thought that the tents should be reache,
after a two-hours' pull at the most.
When this time had nearly elapsed. tn
F boat which had been running a hundre,
wards from the shore. was steercd in close &
/ the bank. and a few minutes later Arthu
called ont:
There's The point, The tents are jus
the other side Of It.
The moments necessary for the men to ro7
around the bend were long and painful ones
{ for. as soon the camp was in sight tn
/ question OF whether OF no the hunters ha
returned would be settled.
Can you see any fres?' Val asked. ans
iously, as thy neared the point, and Arthu
replied. disappointedly: