The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-03-24
CHAPTER XIII

: he ate | fear to mention, having n,
wish to be classed with the un
veracious historian; but he ate 81
voraciously that | began to fee
nervous.
Never bite all this time" sale
he, "but few dried peas. which
discovered by accident in the hold.
And how do you feel now?"
; "A new man But | want a little
daylight and fresh air. Let us gel
out of this"
| He clamebered rather unsteadily
| to his feet. and then carefully
i stretched himself.
! Il believe I'm WHOLE said he
though most Internally sore. You
don't miss anything?"
| No"
That's right. But let us get up
above. I'm sick of the darkness
and the rats
Then as he turned from he he
saw the girl standing in the dis
lance, and he peered forward in q
peculiar, uncertain manner. Then
he put out his hand and felt for
me.
| "Of course Pm not dreaming, old
chap? But | have been seeing
something like this all through my
dreary confinement. That is our
! Lady of the Sea-"
Our other comrade."
! He staggered across to her and
held out his hand.
|
Waltham. did not dream you were
here"
II am glad to see you alive, Mr.
Hayling. They told us you had
fallen overheard"
Il nearly fell overboard-with
little friendly aid" he added. in his
dry way; "but such an end would
have been too sudden and too pleas
ant for me. There were other
hopes. But pardon me- my lungs
are positively shrieking for fresh
air"
So, first of all, up l went, and
opened the trap door. Miss Wal
than Immediately following me.
Then | descended again and this
time sent Hayling up before me.
keeping close to him lest he fall.
But he was regaining his strength
with almost every breath he drew.
and he seemed to mount the lad
der with as much firmness as I.
Once in the saloon, managed for
the first time to get a good look at
him, and truly woeful sight he
presented. His face, where it was
not thickly coated with dirt, was
almost CHASTITY in it's pallor; his
clothes were torn and defaced al
most beyond recognition, while his
hands were bruised and bloody. In
deed, both wrists, which looked
black and swollen, were still encir.
cled by the rings of the handouts
with which he had been secured,
the chain itself having been
broken.
Well" said he, fixing me with
keen look, whats to be done
now"
my dear Hayling, that's just
what | want to know.
"Um!"
He was silent for a while. Then
he said
"Of course you can guess what
you have to expect from our
friends?"
81 think So"
81 know what I have to expect.
They would listen to nothing but
an unconditional surrender. That's
out of the question:"
quite"
"Well, then, We had better get
hold of what arms we can and en-
trench ourselves in the storeroom.
We shall have plenty to eat and
drink and hold practically unas-
sailable position. Moreover, we
shall be able to starve Macshiel
into submission inside of two
days"
| didn't half like the thought of
being cooped up in the dark, though
instantly saw the advantage of a
varied and practically unlimited
cOmmissariat. | was not by nature
a fighting man, though | fancied
that If | had to fight should like
to do it in the open. Then there
vas the vital question of arms.
had but the one revolver, with a
small box of cartridges; Hayling
had nothing.
well" said he, eve must see
what the old mans got"
With that he strobe towards the
captains room, unlocked the door
and passed in. / after him.
Macshiel still lay upon the bed
in. 1t seemed, the same position l
had thrown him. At first | felt a
little anxious; out a closer inspec-
ton showed that he was breathing
soundly and regularly. like a man
in deep sleep. In the rack above his
bunk was rifle. which Hayling i'm
mediately took down.
"A Winchester magazine" said
he. 81 hope it's loaded"
Not alone was the hope fulfilled,
but the magazine itself was full,
and contained some eight or ten
cartridges. Hayling showed his
teeth as he grinned, and by the
way he handled the weapon | knew
he had been accustomed to fire.
arms.
|. in the meantime, opened the
drawer to which the captain had