The Sauk Centre herald., 1908-05-14

( again and glanced over his shoulder at
the ships chronometer. 1t was a quar-
ter to 1. Two hours must pass before
he would discern the first faint streaks
of light. At any rate, If he were spared
to greet the dawn it would be right
ahead, and, as a few seconds might
then be Of utmost value that was a
small point in his favor. Yet, two
hours! Could he dare to hope for so
long respite? How could the ship
escape the unnumbered fangs which a
storm torn land thrust far out into the
Pacific for it's own protection?
He was quite sheltered from the
wind and spray in the chart house. and
all at once he became aware Of burn
| ing thirst. There was water in a de-
canter close at hand, SO he INDUCED In
long drink. That was wonderfully
vivifying. Then his mind turned long
ingly to tobacco For the first time in
his life he broke the strict rule of the
service in which he had been trained
and smoked cigar while on duty.
| Now and again he spoke cheerily to
the dog:
"Well. Joey, here we are: still got
| bark in usv' or "You and l must have
our names on the admiralty chart,
Joey-'Channel surveyed by Captain
Courtenay and pup; details uncertain
How does that sound, old chap?" And
again: 81 suppose your friend, Miss
Maxwell. is asleep by this time. If she
calls you Joey. do you call her Elsie?
rather fancy Elsie as name. What
do you Think" To all of which the
dog. who had found a dry cor ler,
would respond with a smile and tail
wag
The long wait in the darkness would
have broken many a mans nerve, but
Courtenay was not cast in a mold to be
either bent or broken by fear. When
his cigar was not in his mouth he
| whistled, he hummed snatches of
songs and delivered short lectures to
Joey on the absurdity of things in gen.
eral and the special Righteousness of
such a mighty combination Of circum-
stances centering on one poor ship as
had foregathered to crush the Kansas.
Ever since he was aroused from sleep
by the stopping Of the screw his mind
had dwelt on the unprecedented nature
of the breakdown. Even before he dis
covered its cause he was wondering
what evil chance had contrived to Grip
pie the engine at such a moment-in
the worst possible place on the map.
Joey," he said suddenly, his
thoughts reverting to chance remark
made to him in Valparaiso by Isobel's
father, what did Mr.. Barring mean by
saying there was a difficulty about the
insurance."
Joey gave it up, but he cooked his
ears and looked toward the door.
Christobal entered.
Boyle will recover" he said when
he had wiped the spray off his face.
"He had q narrow escape. The knife
just grazed the spinal cord. The shock
to the dorsal nerves induced temporary
paralysis, and that rather misled me.
He is much better now. Under ordinary
conditions he would be able to get
about in a few days. AS it is. he will
probably live as long as any Of u.s.
Christobal waved hand toward the
external void. He was not sailor
enough to realize the change in the
weather.
"That is good news" said Courtenay.
II thought you would like to know.
How are things up here?"
Better. The barometer has risen an
inch in less than two hours. Possibly
nearness to the land has some effect,
but wind and sea are subsiding"
''You surprise me. yet that is moth
ing. l have had several surprises to-
night. What is the position? Of
course we must hit the South Ameri-
can continent sooner or later. Can
you fix an approximate timer"
1--WE are making about six knots,
fancy. If we are lucky and avoid any
stray rocks we should see daylight be-
fore we reach the coast. That is our
sole hope The ship is in a powerful
tidal current. and it is high water at
$50 a. m. At rough estimate Han
over island is twenty knots distant.
Now you know all. The outcome is
mere guesswork."
"Why did the furnaces blow up?"
II was cross examining Joey on that
point when you came in. He reserved
his opinion. My own view is that. by
accident or design. some explosive sub
stance found it's way into the coal.'
"Shem, Ham and Japheth! Explosive
substance! Do you mean dynamite or
gunpowder or that sort of thing|
Something Of the kind. That is
only supposition, but when whisper
ed it to Walker he agreed"
walker! Is he the man who speaks
SO queerly?'
IF you ever go to Newcastle, don't
put it that way. told him to take
Miss Maxwell to her cabin. Did he do
so?''
Eyes. I have not seen her since, so
assume that the bromide plus the
wine was effective. Well, l must re-
turn to my patients. Can l get you
anything? am storekeeper, you
know"
"No, thanks"
Nothing to eat or drink?"
Nothing. shall be ready for a
square meal when I am able to come
below, not before"