Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-28
THE CAPTAIN OF THE KANSAS
By LOUIS TRACY,
Autho. of "Th< Wings Of the Morning." Etc.
n avarL
Bv LOUIS TRACY,
CHAPTER xvLcontinued.
Author of 1.-THE Wings Of the Morning." Etc
tcopyrssAt. ises, ~ Eaw.rl J. oasde)

| 1t was a wan and broken-spirited 1sobe
whom Elsie led to her cabin, but not
| withstanding her wretched state, her eyer
| quickly took in the orderly condition Of
the room.
II left my clothes strewed all over the
floor" she said with nervousness which
Elsie attributed to the hardships she had
undergone. why did you trouble to pack
them away?'
Then Elsie told her of her hunt for the
| poudriere, and was 50 obviously uncon-
cerned about any incident other than the
adventures they had both experienced
since they parted that Isobel questioned
her no further. A bath and a change OF
clothing worked marvels. Though thin
and weak for want of proper food, neither
Isobel nor Mrs. Somerville had suffered in
health from the exposure and short fare
involved by life on the island. 1t was
broad daylight ere they could be per-
suaded to retire to rest, there was so
much to tell and to hear.
Meanwhile the meeting between Tolle-
mache and Gray was full of racial sub
tleties.
Tollemache. stepping forward to grasp
Gray's hand, felt it was incumbent on
him to utter the first word.
Had a pretty rotten time Of 1T, I ex-
pect?" said he.
Poisonous. And you?"
"oh, fair. Beastly close squeak when
you turned up
nay met him in the chartroon. where the
table had to be cleared Of debris before
some glasses and a couple OF bottles OF
champagne could be staged.
when those blackguards cast OF from
the ship" he said, I'VE scudded away IN a
S0rt of mill which Threatened
to upset us at any moment. In fact. we
gave up hope for q time, but, as the boat
kept af1oat, Mr.. Malcolm and 1 managed
to stir up the Chileans, and we got them
to steady her with the oars. Some time
before daybreak we ran into smooth
water, and made out land on the port
bow. In few minutes we were ashore
on pebbly beach. in place alive with
seals. When the sun rose we found we
were on a barren island. and what was
more. that one of the ships Nfeboats had
been upset on a reef which we just
missed, and had lost all her stores.
though the men had scrambled into
safety. with the aid of our boat and
boat and recovered some of her fittings.
The water casks and tins of food were
hauled up by chap who could dive we'll
We have been on that lump Of rock until
today, when 1 finally persuaded the
others that unless we made for the land
which we could see in the dim distance
the weather would break and our food
give out. The trouble with the Chileans
was that they were afraid of the natives
hereabouts, and preferred to wait on the
off chance Of a ship showing up. At last
they saw that Malcolm and / were right,
but we missed the full run Of the tide,
and were some miles from the mainland.
or whatever it is. when night fell. We
pushed along cautiously, found the en-
trance to the cove we had made out be-
fore the light failed, and were about to
lay to until dawn. when we saw a rocket
and heard the foghorn. That woke US up,
you bet. The Chileans pulled like mad,
but when we came near enough to dis
cover that the ship was being attacked
by Indians. had a fearful job to get my
heroes to butt in. That fellow Gomez is
a brick. He Grated like a politician, and
finally they got move ON. From what
have seen since / came aboard, I guess
you were hustling about that timer
Yes" said Courtenay, filling glass
with wine as he heard Boyle's step with |
out. He handed the glass to the chief
when he entered.
How many?" he asked
Huh! We've slung fifty-three Indians |
an six of the crew overheard. There |
fourteen wounded natives an FIVE OF our
men in the Doctors hands. Two Alacu- |
lofs died of funk when they set eyes on |
the niger who turned up in the 1ifeboat |
They thought-welly here's chin chin to |
everybody. I'm thirsty