Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-03-26


eyes and was straightway sound
Christobal had given her a strong dose
of bromide in the wine.
1t was better So If the ship were
dashed to pieces against the rocks
which unquestionably lay ahead, Elsie
would be whirled to the life eternal
before she quite knew what was hap
pening. If, on the other hand, some
construct a seaworthy raft In time or
the rising tide permitted the Kansas
to escape in so far to run ashore again
In q comparatively sheltered position,
she would be none the worse for an
hours sleep. And now that the ship
was afsoat there were things to be done
which only men could do. The salon,
the decks, The fore cabia.' were places
Of the dead. Fearing lest Elsie might
pass, Christobal before attending to
Boyle had thrown tablecloths over the
bodies of men slain in the salon, for
Gray and Tollemache had sternly but
vainly striyen to repress the second re-
volt. TolIemache and Walker bad
dragged out of the smothering spray
near the port davits three men who
seemed to lie merely stunned These,
with the chief officer and perhaps four
survivors of the explosion, made up the
list of living but noneffective usembers
of the ships company. There was one
other. Gugllelmo Frascuelo. who was
bawling for dear life in his bunk in
the forecastle, but in that dark hour no
one CHANGED to remember him, and 1t
needed more than a human voice to
pit itself against the hurricane which
roared over the vessel. The unhappy
wretch knew that something out of the
ordinary had taken place. and he was
scared half out of his wits by the con-
tinued absence of the crew. Luckily
for himself, he did not appreciate the
real predicament of the ship or he
would have raved himself into mad
ness.
Walker in his brief catalogue of oc-
equations had suppressed one. To
make sure Christobal closed n water
tight bulkhead door which cut off the
bldlcIOOAlS lIOlh lut
Then he and his two helpers carried
out a painful but necessary task. 1t
was his duty to certify whether or not
life was extinct There were very few
exceptions. The three men lifted the
bodies and threw them overheard.
When they reached the corpses of the
second officer and a Spanish engineer
who had been knitted In the defense of
the jolly boat-his comrade had scram-
bled into one of the lifeboats-Tolle-
mache took possession of such money,
documents and valuables as were in
their pockets, intending TO draw up an
inventory when an opportunity pre-
scented itself
Though they knew not the moment
when a sickening crash would herald
| the final dissolution of the ship. they
proceeded with their work methodic
ally. In half an hour they had reached
J the end. All the injured men-seven
| nondescript sailors and firemen-were
carried to the salon and placed under
to the engine room, where he had al
ready disconnected the rods broken OIL
bent by the fracture of a guard ring
which in turn was injured by the
blowing out Of junk ring. stout
ring of forged steel secured to one OF
the pistons. He could do nothing more
on deck. Whether he was destined tt
live fifty seconds or as many years, he
was i'll content to hear his beloved en-
gines knocking themselves to pieces
with each roll of the ship.
Tollemache, who undertook the fir
ing Of the donkey boiler, which wal
situated on the main deck aft of the
salon-for the Kansas was bull
Ichiefly to accommodate cargo-durin5
his wanderings round the world hat
picked up sufficient knowledge o.
steam power to shovel fuel into tn,
furnace and regulate the water leve
Iby the feed valve and pump. The small
engine, more reliable and quite as pow
erful as hundred men, was in perfec
order.
The Kansas rolled heavily. The rol
was caused by an experimental twis
of the wheel. Courtenay. peering int,
the darkness through the open windoV
of the chart house, saw that the wealth
er was clearing. He had evolved
theory, and, for want of better, b.
was determined to pursue it to q finish
The Kansas was being swiftly carrie,
along In strong and deep tidal cur
rent. Happily the wind followed tn
set OF. the sea, else there would be n
chance of success for his daring plan
His expedient was the desperate on
of keeping the vessel in the line of til
current, and If day broke before h
reached the coast he would steer 70
any opening which presented itself 4
the fringe of reefs which must assuI
edly guard the mainland.
With his hands grasping the tau
and In one sense irresponsible mechan
ism of a steering wheel governed b.
steam sailor can 'feel' the move
ment of his ship, a seaworthy vesse
being living thing, obedient as dot
lie horse to the least touch Of the reiI
But in the unlikely event of forum
favoring Courtenay to the extent O
giving him an opportunity to see th
coming danger it was essential thA
ktsr.r H. r. IL. 4.