The Sauk Centre herald., 1908-06-18

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
HE did more. He drove me away
Against your willr'
mo. Am not one Of the ships com.
pany3 Is he not the centurion? He
says to this woman, Co. and she 60
eth, nor does she stand upon the order
Of her going. Oh, please don't look at
me as If I were cracked! Surely one
may mingle the Bible and Shakespeare
in an emergency"
Zone may also tear linen sheets into
strips" said Christobal gravely. Ell.
sizes Quip had saved the situation. He
attributed her flushed cheeks and spar.
king eyes to the fever Of the threat
ened fight She applied herself eager.
ly to the task. Already the fume and
agony Of vain regret were striving to
conquer the ecstasy which had flooded
her whole being.
Courtenay meanwhile was examin-
ing the advancing f1otilla. His brain
was coming each detail Of the Alaculof
array, but his heart was whispering
gladly:
I'm another moment you would have
kissed her and told her you loved her.
You know you would, so don't deny it.
All, kissed her and held her to your
breastv'
So Suarez spoiled pretty bit Of ro-
nance by his rufi1ing agitation over
some bawl Of savage frenzy, for Cour-
tenay Of course would have laughed
away the girls protests that she was
usurping another woman's place.
II the confident demeanor Of the pad
ding warriors in the canoes were des-
tined to be justified, the Kansas was
in a parlous state. Her vast bluk and
sheer walls Of steel did not daunt
them. They came on steadily against
the rapid current and spread out into
q crescent when within few hundred
yards Of the ship. Then three men,
crouching in the bows Of different Ca
noes, produced rifles hitherto invisible
and began to shoot. The bullets rico
chetted across the ripples, and Cour-
tenay saw that the savages did not un-
derstand the sighting appliances. They
were aiming point blank at the YES
sel In so far as they could be said to
aim at anything, and the low trajec-
tory caused the first straight shot to
rebound from the surface of the water
and strike plate amidships. The loud
clang Of the metal was hailed by the
Alaculofs with shouts Of delight.
The long range firing was kept w
for several minutes, much to Courte-
nays relief, as Suarez was certain
that the Indians stock of cartridges
did not amount to more than 400 at
the utmost. The canoes crept gradual
ly nearer, and bullets began to strike
the ship frequently. One glanced of
. davit and shattered couple Of win
dows in the chart house. This Incl
dent aroused even greater enthusiasm
than the first blow of the attack.
There was renewed activity among
the paddle wielders. Two canoes were
not fifty yards from the most souther-
ly floating mine. Courtenay COM
menced to haul in the slack of one
among the half dozen thin cords. He
turned to tell Suarez to be ready for
the duty which had been intrusted to
him when his glance happened to trav-
ell toward the mouth of the bay.
Then he learned the significance Of
that column Of smoke on the northern
point A feet Of at least forty canoes
was advancing on the ship from the
sea. Tide and paddles were swinging
the small craft along at a spanking
pace. They were already much near
er the vessel than the first batch Of
Indians. who had very cleverly con-
trived to enlist the attention of the de-
tenders while the real attack was de-
veloping without let or hindrance. 1t
was a smart ruse worthy of a race Of
higher attainments than the tribe
which is ranked lowest in the human
scale. The newcomers abstained from
firing or stone singing. They were
gathering with the speed and silence
of vultures.
Two mines protected the front OF the
Kansas. and several canoes had passed
them. Indeed, Courtenay soon found
that some Of the assailants were al.
ready screened by the ships bows. but
the larger number were clustered
thickly round Tollemache's internal
machines. 1t was we'll that a cool
headed sailor was called on to deal
with this emergency. The captain OF
the Kansas even smiled as he appre.
ciated the full meaning of the trick
which his adversaries had tried to play
on him, and the man who smiles in the
face of danger is one to be depended
on.
The six cords were numbered. he
dropped No. 2, which he was holding,
and seized Nos. and g. He drew
them In, hand over hand, as rapidly as
possible, but was careful not to sacrifice
q smooth tension to undue hurry. In 8
few seconds two deafening reports
split the air, the glass front Of the
chart house shook, pieces Of the broken
panes ratified on the door, several
scraps of iron, bolts. nuts and heavy
nails fell OF the decks and hatches,
and tremendous hubbub Of yells
came from the main body Of Indians
A couple Of heavily charged dynamite
bombs had burst in their midst, deal.
Ing death and destruction over wide
area. Several canoes near the float.
ing platforms were torn asunder and
sank. while men were killed or wound