Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-11

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am only sitting here because my back
Is stiff
Courtenay glanced at the soinber
shadow of Point Kansas. silhouetted
against the deep blue of the seward
arc.
"Suarez has retired to roost," he said.
He seems to be quite assured that the
Indians win never deliver night at
tack"
"Today's hammeriDg should teach
them to leave the Kansas alone in fu-
ture," said Christobal.
II hope SO. but Suarez and Tolle-
mache agree that they are most per-
sistent wretches. Now, Boyle. you
must obey the doctor. am going back
to the salon to give Miss Maxwell
some documents l wish her to see.
Then Tollemache and will relieve the
pair of you. All right, Christobal.
promise to take my share OF the blan-
kets i'm the morning. l shall be ready
for a nap at o'clock. At present /
feel particularly wide awake"
He went to the cabin. They heard
him unlock the door and enter. At
that instant startling hail came from
two sailors stationed on the poop.
"Indianosr' they yelled.
The three men We're on the spar deck
a second later. straining their eyes into
the black vagueness of the water
"Indianosr' shouted two other sail
ors on the forecastle, and from the
spar deck it seemed to be possible to
distinguish several black objects NOV
Ing. toward the ship.
1.-The siren. Boyler' cried Courtenay,
striking match. At once the swelling
note of the fog horn smote the air and
thpndered away in tremendous sound
waves. Soon n Kissing. fiery serpent
ran up the port wall of the chart house,
and a fine star rocket scared into the
sky. 1t illuminated wide area of the
bay and revealed number of crowded
canoes darting in on the ship from all
sides. Courtenay grasped the line con-
nected with the remaiIfing mines and
hauled for dear life Already the In
dian rifle fire was cracking with vivid
spurts of fame. and stones and arrows
were beginning to patter on the deck
and bang against the steel plates. Two
of the dynamite bombs exploded with
the usual din. but it was impossible TO
ascertain their effect owing to the yell
ing of the Indians.
The loud summons of the siren
brought all hands from below. Arms
were hastily secured. the fore and aft
awnings closed. and Walker made shift
to hammer the engine room door tight.
The increasing violence of the stone
! singing showed that the Alaculofs
meant to press home this time. What
ever their dread of the fiends who
roam the world in the dark, they had
conquered it. and this latest phase in
the stormy history of the ship threat
lened to be it's most trying one.
| Courtenay. who seemed to be every
where at once, lighted torches which
were fastened to the empty davits in
readiness for a night alarm. He had
used the last rocket on board. but the
/ flares would burn for fifteen minutes
at least. BY their light the defenders
were able to shoot or smash the skulls
Of several savages who climbed up
roughly contrived grapnels fashioned
! out OF bent sticks and thongs of hide.
But there were only thirteen men to
repel an attack which developed 1T
fifty points simultaneously. Ere the
torches 'fiickered in their sockets the
savages had swarmed over poop and
bows. They were tearing ut the can
vas shields and sweeping the hurrir
Ecane deck with showers of missiles.
Tollemache was injured. and Walker.
Courtenay had his forehead cut open.
SuareZ fell insensible while he was bel
lowing curses through megaphone In
the vain hope Of frightening the Ge-
termined enemy. Two Chileans were
down, one struck with stone and the
other shot through the lungs.
So at last the Kansas was in the
grip of a savage and implacab!e foe.
ICourtenay while hauling steam hose
to the weakest point. the after part of
the promenade deck. met Christobal.
He clutched the Spaniard in a way
there could be no mistaking.
Go belowr' he muttered in ter
rible voice. 81 cannot leave the deck.
You must go. And. for Gods sake.