Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-05-28

HAL, friend, she said. You at
least are not Jealous If | speak to your
master, wherein you show your OK.
cecding wisdom. Now, since YOU and
l are persons of leisure, tell me, Joey.
what VIC shall do to make ourselves
useful"
The dog was accustomed to being
spoken to. He awaited developments.
1T seems to me, Joey" she contin
ued, that Guglielmo Frascuelo is the
one person on board who claims our
attention. There is n mystery to be
solved. Bound up in it are my poor
1sobcl, that beast Ventana and n
drunken coal trlmmcr-an odd assort.
ment to rub shoulders, don't you
think
Joey stll reserved his opinion. When
the girl went to the forecastle by climb
ing down the sailors ladder to the low
er deck he thought she was making n
mistake. but she held her arms for his
spring. and oil was we'll. She had not
previously visited the quarters set
apart for the crew. Puzzled by the
large number Of small cabins with
names of subordinate officers painted
on thcn,, she paused and cried loudly:
Are Won there, Frascuclo! May |
speak to youT'
An exclamation Of surprise. a some.
what forcihle exclamation. too, answer
ed her from an inner berth. Fras-
cuclo had heard from the chilean who
brought his meals that there was an
Englishwoman on board. but he did
not know that she spoke Spanish flu
entity.
F~rascuelo was reclining on a lower
bunk. His injured leg was we'll on the
way toward recovery, but the wound
and its resultant confinement had
chastencd him. He had lost the brig
andish swagger which was his most
cherished asset.
After acknowledging inquiries as to
his progress he showed such eagerness
for ncws that Elsie told him briefly
what had caused the latest uproar.
She chcered him. too. with the an
nouncement made by the engineer and
then led him TO the topic on which she
sought Information.
In some ways | regard YOU as most
unfortunate she said. Il have been
told Won are here by accident: that YOU
never meant to take the voyage at all.
Is that true
Frascuelo. delighted TO have secured
a sympathetic listener. poured forth
his sorrows Volubly. He bore no III
will against the captain, he said. He
knew It vas wrong to draw n knife on
the chief officer. as his tale was an
unlikely one. and he ought To have
trusted to n more orderly recital Of the
facts TO obtain credence.
But I was that mad. senorita. | Just
saw red, and the drink was yet surg
ing up In me. I felt I must fight some
body. whatever the consequences"
Can you tell me why any one had
such a grievance against you that you
should he thrown into the hold and
nearly killed? That was n strange
thing to do. especially as you came
aboard too late for Your work"
"Ah. that Is the point. senorita. You
see, we trimmers work in gangs. and
the nan who flung me through the
hatch was the man who had taken my
place. I see no reason to doubt that 1t
was he who made me drunk the previ-
u evening, and l know who did
that"
What was his name:"
Jose AnacletO-'Jose the Winebag'
we call him on the plaza. | ought to
have smclled mischief when lose paid
Never before had I seen him do such
a thing. And a good liqvor too. Dios,
it must have cost him dollars"
What object had he in coming on
board instead Of you!"
"Ah. there YOU beat me, scnorita. I
have twisted my poor brain with think.
ing Of that, We only earned a dollar
a head, and numbering n ship from a
Nat is hard work while 1t lasts. where
as II would expect Jose to ride TWEEN
ty miles the. other way to escape such
a task. But he was In the plot. and he
shall tell me why Or
BY force Of habit Frascuelo put his
right hand 10 his bolt. hut his sheath
knife had been taken from him lie
smiled sheepishly, yet his black eyes
twlnkled.
plot. Why do you speak Of n plotf"
asked the girl. hoping tina. the word
betokened some more promising clcw
than she could discern thus far.
"Why did the furnaces blow up:
Tell me that and | can answer YOU.
Good, honest coal isn't made of gun
powder. Jose or some one behind him
meant to sink the ship, and MS
might have proved awkward they were
willing that | should 60 down with
her. Maybe | shall meet Jose If we
get out Of this rat trap, Then we shall
have a little talk"
Despite the mans shrewd guess as
to the cause Of the accident in the
stokehold Elsie was at n loss to con
meet the freak Of some Valparaiso loaf
err with the deep laid scheme which
contemplated the destruction of the
Kansas. She had followed the discus
sion in the chart room with full appre-
citation Of its significance. Valuable
as the ship and cargo were. there was
far more at stake In the effect Of the
loss on the copper markets Of the
world, The most important copper cX
porting firm In chile would practically
be ruined, while the Paris ring" OF
would have matters It's own way
Financial interests OF such magnitude
would hardly be bound up with the