Evening star., 1907-11-14
Bv LOUIS TRACY,
Author of 1.-The Wings of the Morning." Etc.

the Land o. Storms again justified its
name. Giant clouds came rolling in from
| seaward. The mountains were lost in
mist: the glaciers became sullen. rock
strewn masses of white-brown ice; the
fresh greenery OF the forests faded into
sonber belts OF blackness. Though 1t was
| high summer in this dssolate region.
| heavy showers of hail and sleet alternate
though the Kansas foated securely In a
depth of twenty fathoms yellow cur
rent swee ping past her starboard quarter
showed how accurately Courtenay had
read the tokens of the inlet. Many
swollen torrent, and. perhaps. one or two
fair-sized streams at the head Of the bay.
contributed this food Of fresh water.
And with the evening tide. there were
not wanting indications that the gale
without had developed q new fury A
solitary albatross. driven landward by
stress Of weather. rode in vast circles
above the ship. There was no wealth OF
bird life in that place Of gloom. Though
fitted to rear untold millions OF gulls and
other sea birds. this secluded nook was
almost deserted; generations Of men had
devoured all the eggs they could lay
hands on.
To Elsie and the doctor were intrusted
| the daylight watch on deck and the care
Of the sick. For the latter there was not
to feed them. and Frascuelo, the wounded
stevedore who had been discovered in a
state OF collapse. soon revived. and was
practically able to look after himself.
The others. under Walkers directions.
were hard at work in the engine room
and stokehold. for there alone lay the
chance Of ultimate escape.
The two sentinels conversed but little.
The outer war of the elements was dis
turbing. and Christobal. though unfail-
ingiy optimistic in his speech, was never
theless a prey to dark 'orebodings. Oncc
they were startled by the fall Of an ava
lanche. which thundered down a mountain
side on the farther shore. and tore a great
gap in the belt of trees until it crashed
! into the water. 1t sent four-foot wave
across the bay and the Kansas rocked
so violently that the men toiling below
| raced I'D on deck to ascertain the cause
of the disturbance.
! This was the only exciting incident Of a
day that seemed to be unending. Elsie.
worn out by the strain Of the preceding
| twenty-four hours, and. notwithstanding
her brief sleep in the morning thorough
| ly exhausted for want Of rest was per-
suaded to retire early to her cabin. She
| lay down almost fully dressed. Somehow
| unDreparedness for any emergency.
She was soon sound asleep. She awoke
with start. with all her nerves a-quiver
Joey was tearing along the deck, barking
| her door with ominous haste. Then, after
| a heartbreakng pause. there was some
shooting. Some one, she thought 1t was
| Courtenay, roared down the saloon COM
| panion:
"On deck. all hands to repel boardersv'
| With a confused rush men mounted the
stairs and raced forward. She knew that
| nearly all of those not on watch were
sleeping with the injured men in the
saloon, and now she understood the rea-
son. The ship was being attacked by
Indians, and not altogether unexpectedly
| The savages had stolen alongside in their
! canoes under the cloak Of night Per-
| haps they were already on board in over
whelming numbers. Poor girl, she muir
INJURED a prayer while she hurriedly drew
| on her boots and ulster.
There seemed to be no end to the evils
which assailed the Kansas. and she
dreaded this new terror more than the
mad fury of the seas But II the men
were fighting for their lives and hers.
| she must help, too. That was clear She
! had a weapon, a loaded revolver, which
! she had picked up from beneath boat s
| tarpaulin lying on the spar deck. She
| opened her door and peered out. She
| could not see any one, and the rattle of
| a hailstorm overhead effectually duiled
| any other noise. But several shots fired
again In the fore part O. the ship were
audible above the din of the pelting hail.
| So she ran that way, with the fine cour-
| age of one who fears yet goes on, and her
! eyes pierced the shadows with tense
| despair in them. For what could so few
men do against the unseen watchers who
sent up the thirty-four smoke columns
she had counted?
| All, trust a woman to read the un-
spoken thought! Courtenay and Christie
bal and Tollemache need not have striven
to couch their warnings in ambiguous