Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-06-04


fectlve than n bullet.
The captain hoped to tcrrlfy the In
dams before they attempted TO scale
the ships sides If various ruses fail
ed and the attack was pressed, he had
decided not to split up his small force
In the effort 10 rcpcl bon rders. a scat
tered resistance would surely break
down at one point or another there
would be rush Of savages along the
decks, panic among the Chileans, and
all would be ended On the other hand,
when fighting collectively under Euro
pean leadership and we'll aware that
the Indians would Kill aud spare not,
the half breeds might be trusted to &C.
quit themselves like men.
The canvas awning constituted
fimsy citadel in the center of the yes
sci. Six men were stationed on the
starboard side of the promenade deck
and six on the port side. Tollemache
and n Chilean who said he could shoot
well were told to Illustrate any at
tempt to climb the after part of the
ship, while Courienay, with his fowl
ing piece, would have the lions share
of this work from the spar deck, as he
undertook to keep the rails clear for
ward and help the revolver practice II
necessary. With him was Suarez, who
knew what was expected Of him, 50
the language difficulty offered no ap-
parent hlndrancc once the fight began.
Finally, If the Indians made good their
footing. the defenders were to rally to-
ward the salon companion, where
steam Jets were ready to squirt with
ering blasts along the corridors.
1t was n good plan and might have
kept at bay an enemy of higher vaior
than the Alaculofs, provided they were
not armed with rifles. Against mod
ern weapons of long range nothing
could be done. If Suarez did not e1ag-
gcrate. therein lay the real danger.
Courtenay wished to make sure n the
outset Of the number Of guns carried
by the savages. 1t was also important
to know whether their marksnen were
distributed or crowded together in one
or two canoes. If the latter. he would
give those warriors his special atten-
ton.
His hlnocular glasses were not strong
enough. SO he walked back toward the
chart house to procure a telescope
Catching Joey under his left arm he
climbed the short ladder leading &c
the spar deck and pulled it up after
him, the bolts having been already re
moved to permit of that being done
Walker was screwing tight tho door
OF the engine room in order to safe
guard the fireman In attendance on the
donkey boiler. Now that the screw
driving was actually in operation i
very unpleasantly reminded Courtenay
of the fastening of a coffin lid. Nei
Their Walker nor the man inside coult
guess the grewsome notion which helt
The captain in its chilly grip for an in
, slant. Indeed, the engineer looked w
with grin.
II suppose It's twue, sir, the.aw'.
goin' to be fght!" he asked.
There's fair chance Of one, Wal
ger"
Walker winked suggestively.
THAT chap inside thinks he's out of
It." he said, 80 that's all wight" An
energetic turn of the screwdriver signi-
fed that the man from Newcastle held
the opposite view. Much us he loved
bis engines. he preferred to be Oh deck
when the trouble came.
1t happened that during this slight
delay Courtenay glanced at the north
ern headland, which Elsie had christ
ened Cape Tempar owing to the some
what remarkable profile of a knight in
armor offered by its seward crags
! Possibly had he gone raight TO the
chart house he might not have noticed
signal fire which was In full blast
on the summit Of the cliff. 1t had moi
been many minutes In existence, and
1t struck him at once that It was We
hicle Of communication between the
savages in the approaching canoes ana
Others yet invisible. who were expect
ed to share In the attack.
He was quick to perceive how seri
ously this new peril affected his calcu
lations. BY the time the nine canoes
he had counted were alongside the shiI
there might be dozens OF others ready
to help them. lie leaned over the rail
did you test those flexible pipes this
morning." he inquired.
yes, sir, they aw In fine condition.
said Walker
"Try them again. will you? / want
to make sure. Our lives may depend
on them very soon"
He saw Suarez watching the oncom
Ing canoes. BY touch on the shoulder
he called the mans attention to the
smoke signal on Cape Templar. A
voluble and perfervid explanation in
Spanish was useless Here arose the
unforeseen need of an Interpreter
| Without troubling to analyze his feel
ings Courtenay was glad Of the excuse
which presented itself of obtaining g
momentary glimpse OF Elsie,
Bring the senorita." he said, anG
Elsie. wondering why she had beer
summoned from the salon, ran up the
bridge companion. Her face was
aglow with excitement, her heart going
pltapat. She hoped thai Courtenay
meant to keep her near him during the
| fight. She almost doubted Christobars
statement that the captain had gIver
specific orders that she was to remain
in the salon. 1t was one thing tina
she should wish to avoid him, but why
should he wish to avoid her?
The Joy In her eyes died away wher
she found that the captain merely ie