Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-04
THE CAPTAIN OF THE KANSAS
Bv LOUIS TRACY,
CHAPTER xvIII-continued.
.Author Of ''The Winss Of the Morning," Etc


| CHAPTER XvIII-Continued.
coiled in ATS proper place. Soon she ex
perienced a steady pull on the rope. Hel
little fleet was in motion. Gray began t
help in the padding. Ere long they came
| under the influence Of the tide. and she
heard the ripple of the water against the
planks of the boat. Then Suarez called 6
| halt and a parley.
1t would be far better, he advised, tc
use the oars in the heavy boat than at
| tempt to tow it across the strong current
| from canoe. They would gain time and
be safer. So they climbed into the life
boat. but continued to tow the canoes.
And now they saw the masthead light
| Of the Kansas Boyle had also caused
the side lights to be slung to davits, and
the white, red and green lamps made q
triangle in the obscurity. though its base
seemed to be strangely near sea level
Even big vessel like the Kansas shrinks
to small proportions when she is a mile
or more distant at night. She becomes
indivisible, mere atom in the immensely
of the black waters; it demands an effort
Of the Imagination to credit her with wide
decks, streets Of cabins and cavernous
holds. In one respect the exhibition OF
the port and starboard lights served them
most excellently. Guanaco hill was d.
rectly astern o. the ship; they had abso-
lutely no trouble in maintaining straight
line for their destination, all that was
necessary being to keep the masthead
light in the exact center Of the green and
red points.
Suarez, somewhat weak from his knock
on the head over night, was not equal to
the strain Of continued exertion, so Elsie
and Gray took two oars each. and al
lowed their companion to rest. When,
judging by the surrounding hills, they
were half way across the inlet, Gray
stopped low in the boat, struck match
and looked at his watch. 1t was long
after 1 o'clock. There could be no doubt
whatever that the dawn would find them
far from the ship. no matter how fortu-
nate they might be in their further ad-
ventures.
1t was we'll for Elsie that she had
learnt how to scull when in her teens,
and that her muscles were in fair condi-
ton owing to her skill at tennis. Even
SO, she feared that she could never hold
out against the sustained stress Of that
tended to be rowed by six men, had the
added burthen Of four canoes. It was
work, but she neither fall
tered nor sighed until Suarez said:
Let me take your place now, senorita
In ten minutes we shall be at the mouth
Of the creek. though heaven only knows
how we shall find it,
He did not exaggerate in thus express
ing his fear. Time and again they neared
the shore. only to hear the tidal swell
of the Kansas. fully three miles away,
could only tell them that they were in the
neighborhood of the place where Courte
nay had last been seen in this identical
boat. The least divergence from the line
given by the position OF the ship meant
a dtffoYQnca Of hundreds nf wards at such
distance, and there was an ominous
Tightening of the gloom, accompanied by
dimming of the stars. when Gray hit on
the idea that the powerful current had
ward Of the point they were aiming at.
He suggested that they should boldly pull
a quarter OF mile or SO against the tide
and then try their luck. Their progress.
of course, became slower than ever. and
Elsie began to despair that they would
ran through the cleft in the hill. when
she suddenly saw the luminous crescents
which heralded the sunrise over the inner
mountain range. They could not be
visible unless there was break in the
cliffs in that locality.
Pull in now" she whispered, tenseIy.
and. with a little. further effort, they
found that the boat was travelling not
against but with the tide. which was
flooding a small offshoot of the main
estuary.
Precaution became not only useless Dut
impossible. They were all worn out.
Nothing but the most inflexible deter
mination on the part of Elsie and Gray,
eked out by certain Responding fear of
both of them felt by Suarez. had sus-
on; they swept rapidly into the jaws Of a
precipitous defile. the lofty crests on
either hand coming momentarily nearer
against the Frightening sky. 1t did not
seem credible that this sheer cut through
the heart of gigantic hill could continue
for more than a few yards. nor that any
thing save a bird could find foothold on
it's steep Sides Yet the current flowed
smoothly onward, through a wealth lof
vegetation. which chung precariousiy to
every ledge and natural escarpment.
Joey, embarrassed by his gag, neverthe-
less managed to emit warning growl.
Then the boat crashed into canoe, and
a hoarse yell of alarm came from beneath
the lowermost trees, whose dense foliage
flung a pail over the water. Gray was
seized with an inspiration. He grasped
the canoe as 1t bumped along the gun
vale, and held it down on one side until
1t filled and sank. He sent another, and
yet third, guzzling to the bottom before
banks showed there were Indians here in
some force.
Stones. too, began to hum around them;
some struck the boat, but the greater
number whiz3ed unpleaSantly close to the
heads of the two men and the girl, prov
ing conclusively that they were visible to
the unseen enemy: Gray whipped forth
the revolver and fired twice. The second
time a shrek of pain told that he had hit
one of their assailants. The two reports
made deafening din in that place OF
echoes. They appeared to stir the In
dams into perfect frenzy. and it was
evident, by the sounds. that the islanders
had not much liberty Of movement on the
narrow strips OF land they occupied on
both sides of the gorge.
Elsie caught some significant splashing
behind her.
"They are swimming toward the
Canoes" she screamed.
Telling Suarez to pull for all he was
worth. Gray clambered to the stern Of the
boat and emptied the revolver at what he
took to be the black heads OF the SWIM
mers.
Quick! Load it again." he said, and
Elsie obeyed with nimbleness and GER
tainty that were amazing.
The American fired three more shots