The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-05-27

grayish brown, with mobile face. nvely
look, easy walk with a certain swinging
of the hips. The woman still pretty
blonde, blue eyes, rather fresh com
plexion, her hair frizzed under a cape
a travelling costume which is in goof
taste neither in its questionable cut mol
in its glaring color Evidently mar
ried couple come in the train from Tinis
and unless am mistaken they are
French.
They are too much occupied to see me
In their hands, on their shoulders. they
have bags and cushions and wraps anc
sticks and sunshades and umbrellas. IheJ
are carrying every kind of little package
you can think of which they do not care
to put with the luggage on the steamer
1 have good mind to 60 and help them
Just as am walking up to them, Ephrl
nell appears, drags me away, and leave
the couple behind.
WELL" said l to the Yankee, how
are you getting on with your cargo"
"At this moment, sir, the thlrty-sev
enth case is on the road"
"And what may be in those cases,
you please?"
I'm those cases? All! There is thu
thirty-seventhw he exclaimed. and n
ran out to meet truck which had jus
come ON to the quay.
The Astara is loaded up. The hold Il
not big enough, and a good deal OF tn
cargo is overfowed on the deck. I'M
stern is reserved for passengers, but IRON
| the bridge forward to the top-gallan
| forecastle there is heap of cases GOV
cred with tarpaulins to protect then
| from the sea.
There Ephrinelrs cases have been put
He has lent a hand with Yankee energy
determined not to lose sight of his valua
BILE property, which is in cubical cases
about two feet ~on the side, covered will
! patent leather, carefully strapped, OF
| which can be read the stenciled words
''Strong, Bulbul & Co., New York"
"Are all your goods on board?'
asked the American.
"There is the forty-second case JUS
coming" he replied.
And there was the said case on thu
back of a porter already coming aloni
| the gangway. 1t seemed to me that thu
porter was rather lottery.
"Wait a bit!'' shouted Ephrinell. Their
| in good Russian, SO as to be better un
derstood, he shouted: "Look out! Lool
| out!'
1t is good advice, but it is too late
The porter has just made false step
The case slips from his shoulders, breaks
in two, and a quantity of little packets
Of paper scatter their contents on thu
deck
What shout of indignation did Ephri
nell raise! What a whack with his fis
did he administer to the unfortunate
| porter as he repeated in a voice Of de
spair, 'My teeth my poor teeth!'
And he went down on his knees tt
gather up his little bits of artificial ivory
that were scattered all about, while
could hardly keep from laughing:
It was for manufacturing five thou
sand cases a week for the five parts o.
the world that this huge concern existed
It was for supplying the dentists Of thu
old and new worlds; it was for sending
teeth as far as China, that their factory
required fifteen hundred horse power
and burned a hundred tons of coal 6
day! That is quite American!
The bell is ringing for the last time
All the passengers are aboard. The As
tara is casting off her warps. Suddenly
there are shouts from the quay. l rec
ognize them as being in German, tn.
same as I had heard at Tiflis when tn,
train was starting for Baku.
It is the same man. He is painting. h,
runs, he cannot run much faster. Thu
gangway has been drawn ashore, ant
the steamer is already moving off. Luck
lily there is rope out astern which still
keeps the Astara near the quay. The
German appears just as two sailors ar,
maneuvering with the fender. They eacl
give him a hand and help him on board
About quarter Of a mile out ther,
is a sort of boiling, agitating the sur
face Of the sea, and showing some deer
trouble in the waters. was near thu
rail on the starboard quarter, and, smok
ing my cigar, was looking at the harbol
disappearing behind the point round Cap,
| Apcheron, while the range of the eau
casus ran up into the western horizon
OF my cigar there remained only tn,
end between my lips, and, taking a las
Whit, l threw it overheard.
In an instant a sheet of flame burs
out all around the steamer. The boilins
came from submarine spring Of naph
tina, and the cigar end had set it alight
Screams arise. The Astara rolls annie
sheaves of flame, but movement of thu
helm steers us away from the flamins
spring, and we are out Of danger. The
captain comes aft and says to me in $
frigid tone:
THAT was foolish thing to do"
Really, captain, 1 did not know
You ought always to know, STRIP
These words are uttered in q dry. can
tankerous tone, few feet away from
me.
L turn to see who it is. It is the Eng
lish woman who has read me this ittl,
lesson.
NTo hn nnn%suundN