Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-16

We lad seep one OF tho boats water
casks in a canoe. What sort of neanJ
hound can he be?'
Z Suarez needed no translation to
grasp the pnrport of Courtenay's |
words. He bcsought the senior captain
to have patience with him. He had |
escaped from living tomb and felt |
that he would yield up his life rather |
than return. Therefore when he saw
how few in number and badly armed |
were they on board the ship he thought |
it best to remain silent as to the fate of |
the boats crew. In the first place, he |
fully expected that they had been kill |
ed by the Indians. who would be en-
ragged by his own disappearance; sec
ondiy. he alone knew how hopeless any
attempt at a rescue must prove; final
ly, he wished to spare the feelings of
those who had befIiended him. or
what avail were useless mind tortur
Fmgs regarding the hapIess beings In
| the hands of the savageS!
| There was a certain piausibleness in
| this reasoning which curbed Courte-
| nays wrath, though it in no way di-
Ihinished his disgust.
ASK him. to ascertain IL the Indians
| believe the white men are still living"
he said. A fresh series of grunts and
| clicks ELECTED tie fact that the smoke
column seen the previous day on Guam
i AGO BILL had net been created by the
tribe. Suafez begged the senior captain
to remember that be had spoken truly
when he declared that its meaning was
unknown to him. Probably from what
he now learned the girl who threw in
her lot with the sailors had built fire
there.
| Courtenay turned ON his heel and
| quilted the cabin. Christobal, well
| knowing how the demons of doubt and
despair We're affecting .Courtenay. fol-
lowed him to the upper deck. Boyle
was in the chart house, and Tolle-
| mache. Each man noted. the captains
troubled face.
| Courtenay obtained a telescope.
| With the tact which never failed him.
| even in such a desperate crisis as this,
he handed the doctor his binoculars.
Then both men looked at the summit
of Guanaco hill. Though it was high
noon and the landscape was simmer
ing in the heat mist created by the un-
usual power and brilliance of the sun,
4 they distinctly saw q thin pillar of
smoke rising above the trees. Courte-
nay closed his telescope. He made to
approach Boyle, evidently for the pur-
pose of giving some order, when Chris
tobal said quietly:
''Wait! 1 have something to say to
you. You ought to remain ON the ship.
Let me gov'
'You?"
yes, I. After all, it is only a matter
of taking command. One man cannot
go alone. He could not even pull the
lifeboat SO far; hence what you can
do can do. and have no objection to
dying in that way
why should either of US die?"
"You know better than / how little
chance there Is of saving those NEIL
You may deem me callous if l suggest
that the reasonable thing would be to
forget the miserable statement you
have just heard. oh. please hear me to
the end. am not talking for your sole
benefit, believe me. Greatly as l and
all on board are beholden to you. do
not propose giving my life in your
stead because of my Astounding admit
ration for your many virtues. Well.
then, since you are so impatient as to
be almost rude, come straight to the
point. If you take command of boats
crew and endeayor to save the men
Imprisoned over there, you will almost
certainly throw away your life and the
lives of those who help you. In that
event lady in whom we are both in
terested will suffer grievously. On the
other hand, if were killed she would
I'weep a little, because she has large
heart, but you would console her. And
the odd thing is that you and 1 are
fully aware that either you or must
go off on this FOOLS GRAND. There is
none other to take the vacant place.
Now, have / made myself clear?'
while I command the Kansas am
responsible for the well being of the
ship. her crew and her passengers. I
could never forgive myself if I left