Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-24
CHAPTER XIV.
The First Watch,

On his way back to the deck. the cap
tain encountered Suarez. The mans
gestures. and the satisfaction which lit up
his wrinkled face. would have told the
news he wished to convey If Courtenay
were not able to catch the words en-
dianos and wan" In his excitement
the Spaniard pulled the Englishman to-
ward one of the peep holes in the canvas
screen. Sure enough. the canoes were
making off toward Otter creek. In the
marvelously clear light it was easy to see
the threatening arms held out toward the
ship by few men who stood upright.
Even their raucous cries were yet audible.
Courtenay was glad he had not missed
this demonstration of hatred. 1t argued
the necessity of continued watchfulness.
The general attitude of the crew was
one of real annoyance that the fight had
They had heard good deal of noise and
yelling. the starboard squad had ex-
perienced the thrill of having man fall
dead In their midst. but. with the excep-
ton of Tollemache and the Chilean
marksman. the main body of the defend
ers took no part in the fray and saw but
little of it. And 1t is one of human ma
lures queer proclivties that 1t seeks
rather than shirks a combat when the
loins are girt for the shifting.
lathe, was no exception to the rule. He
looked a trifle discontinued when the cap
tain found him unscrewing the engine
room hatch.
THAT was a pwetty poo-aw scwap. sir"
said he. II did expect to have smack
at some of those magpies. If only for the
sake of washin' the paint an feath-ahs
OF 'em with a jet of steam"
"They came quite near, enough to be
pleasant. Walker. Their flank march was
nIv 90 Hyfnfa, 20
savages had succeeded in reaching the
decks-well, we might have beaten them
Off but it would have been touch and
CO.
"Mebbe you-aw wight. cap'n. Best look
at bull ov-ah fence as they say in
the canny toon. Eth. but I'll have fine
tale to tell when next l meet my butties
on the quay side. Did we evan see such
faces as yon. all daubed wi black an
white! Talk about Chirgwin-'
Courtenay smiled and passed on. He
was in no mood for testing: the death Of
the Chilean fireman had damped his high
spirits. The Kansas bore tokens in plenty
of the battle. Many bullets and arrows
had struck the ship; the canvas was torn
in several places: a number of port lights
were broken. and the open decks fore and
aft, as well as the spar deck. were lit
tered with stones. He picked up some of
these missiles mans earliest and latest
projectile. They were round and heavy:
iron: some appeared to be veritable Jumps
of ore, though the action of water had
made them smooth stones out Of the
brook He showed one to Tollemache.
who seemed to possess a good deal Of
.out-of-the-way knowledge. and the latter
instantly pronounced the specimen to be
almost pure copper veined with silver.
Queer thing!' he commented. You
find the worst rotters in any country
squatted over the richest minerals"
At the time Courtenay gave slight heed
to this bit Of crude philosophy. 1t was
not until he called to mind the kaff1r, the
Australian black. the Alaskan Indian. the
primeval nomads of California, Colorado
and northern Siberia that he saw how
extraordinarily true was his friends die
tum. Then he looked on the shores of
Good Hope inlet with a new interest.
Would city ever spring up in that DESC
late land, city builded of those pebbles
which had clattered against the solid
walls of the Kansas? Who could tell?
The long romance of gold contained
stranger chapters.
(To be Continued Tomorrow