Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-15

49, ing. by the time the arose 1t
was pretty evident that the junk,
unwleldy as she was, had no thought of sink
drag held p'
They. tried the rude pump, and, to their
great Joy, the vessel was entirely free from
water. Her matches had been well battened
down. SO that the valuable cargo was in good
order; and 1t occurred to Jack that there was
chance OF repairing their fallen fortunes,
even then.
Ihey made their way into a curious struc
ture Sare IN the high stern, where they found a
entirely burned out
fred rummaged out some charcoal from an
oio Yea box, with which he replenished it. Mr..
Oar,lne found the teapot from which the
JUNK commander had so often refreshed him
self while Jack discovered some rice cakes and
dried fish,
:. Look here, boys" began Mr.. Carline,
lmpresslvely; when 10! hoarse whistle and
the sound OF escaping steam were heard with
out
To rush on deck was the work of an in
stant. cables length distant was an iron
screw steamer, flying the United States flag!
ae1a boat was even then being lowered, and in
a very short time she was alongside.
,cHelio there, John Chinaman" shouted the
5;11fs Giteer IN IN command, as they rounded to- a
avez%'
Il beg your pardon, SIR he said, touching
his cap at the sight of Mr.. Carline's gray
whiskers and hair. 'I see that you're not
q a. Chlnama1; and these two-they're not
Cinnamon! How's this?"
ITS a long story, sir" said Mr.. Carline,
and were pretty nearly exhausted"
IL see-I see!" replied the officer "We'll
go on board the Ajax and, after some re-
treshment, you can tell your story to Captain
Flagg"
''The junk has a very valuable cargo, sir"
said Mr.. Carline. Perhaps"
Captain Flagg will arrange about that, sir;
eave no ,uneasiness,''. was the answer
And the boat being held skillfully along
side, all four were soon transferred to the
deck of the Ajax.
Captain, Flagg, who was pleasantfaced
man, with a keen gray eye, gave them
friendly welcome and sent them below in
charge of the steward, remarking to Mr.. Car
line:
"I understand from Mr.. Bruce that the
junk has valuable cargo on board Perhaps
l had better lie by her until I have heard
your story, and then we can decide what is
best"
Mr. Carline bowed, and the three were
shown to the officers mess room by a colored
steward and for the first time in many days
Athey ate, as Jack declared, in a civilized fash
non. Then, by order of the captain, thew
were sent to the purser, who rigged Jack
and Fred out each with a comfortable navy
suit.
Until they spoke, Mr.. Carline, who had
been accommodated Win suit OF clothes
belonging to the purser was puzzled to tell
the one from the other.
"And that reminds me, boys" he began
again, when the steward summoned them to
the presence of Captain Flagg, who listened
to their strange stories with face of the
utmost amaZement.
'sWhere is the Ajax bound, sir?" inquired
HShe IS chartered by Mr. Wanlo the rich
Chinese merchant, of San Francisco-he's on
board, in his state room, now-for a trip to
Tahiti, after trepang," answered Captain
Flagg. "He thinks he can make a spec by
bringing freight of this, with other stuff Of
the kind, to San Francisco, where there's such
a large Chinese population"
@Trepangl" exclaimed Jack, eagerly. 'IWhy,
our junk is loaded with it and birds nest, and
what's the other stuff sir?"
"Agar-agar," replied Mr.. Carline, with a
smile,