The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-07-10

n
Joey Still reserved his opinion. When
the girl went to the forecastle by climb
ing down the sailors ladder to the low
er deck he thought she was making q
mistake, but she held her arms for his
spring, and all was well. She had not
previously visited the quarters set
apart for the crew. Puzzled by the
large number of small cabins with
names of subordinate officers painted
on them, she paused and cried loudly:
Are you there, Frascuelo? May
speak to youy"
An exclamation of surprise, some
what forcible exclamation, too, answer
ed her from an inner berth. Fras-
cuelo had heard from the Chilean who
brought his meals that there was an
Englishwoman on board, but he did
not know that she spoke Spanish flu
emily.
Frascuelo was reclining on lower
bunk. His injured leg was well on the
way toward recovery, but the wound
and its resultant confinement had
chastened him. He had lost the brig
andish swagger which was his most
cherished asset
After acknowledging inquiries as to
his progress he showed such eagerness
for news that Elsie told him briefly
what had caused the latest uproar.
She cheered him. too, with the an
nouncement made by the engineer and
then led him to the topic on which she
sought information.
''In some ways l regard you as most
unfortunate" she said. II have been
told you are here by accident; that you
never meant to take the voyage at all.
Is that trueY'
Frascuelo, delighted to have secured
sympathetic listener, poured forth
his sorrows volubly. He bore no i'll
will against the captain, he said. He
knew 1t was wrong to draw knife on
the chief officer, as his tale was an
unlikely one, and he ought to have
trusted to more orderly recital of the
facts to obtain credence.
But was that mad, senorita, Just
saw red, and the drink was yet surg
ing up in me. l felt / must fight some
body, whatever the consequences"
. "Can you tell me why any one had
such grievance against you that you
should be thrown into the hold and
nearly killed? That was a strange
thing to do, especially as you came
aboard too late for your work."
"Ah, that is the point, senorita. You
see, we trimmers work in gangs, and
the man who flung me through the
hatch was the man who had taken my
place. l see no reason to doubt that it
was he who made me drunk the previ-
Gus evening, and l know who did
that"
what was his name?"
Jose Anacleto-Jose the Winebag
we call him on the plaza. l ought to
have smelled mischief when Jose paid
Never before had seen him do such
a thing. And good liquor too Dios,
it must have cost him dollars"
What object had he in coming on
board instead of your?
"Ah, there you beat me- senorita.
have twisted my poor brain with think.
ing of that. We only earned dollar
a head, and bunkering a ship from a
fat is hard work while 1t lasts, where
as one would expect Jose to ride TWEEN
ty miles the other way to escape such
a task. But he was in the plot, and he
shall tell me why or
BY force of habit Frascuelo put his
right hand to his belt, but his sheath
knife had been taken from him. He
smiled sheepishly, yet his black eyes
twinkled.
plot! Why do you speak of plot?'
asked /the girl. hoping that the word
betokened some more promising clew
than she could discern thus far.
"Why did the furnaces blow up?
Tell me that and l can answer you
Good honest coal isn't made of gun
powder. Jose or some one behind him
meant to sink the ship, and as !
might have proved awkward they were
willing that 1 should go down with
her. Maybe shall meet Jose if we
get out of this rat trap. Then we shall
have a little talk"
Despite the mans shrewd guess as
to the cause of the accident in the
Btokehold Elsie was at loss to con-
meet the freak Of some Valparaiso loaf
er with the deep laid scheme which
contemplated the destruction of the
Kansas. She had followed the discus
sion in the chart room with full appre-
citation of its Significance. Valuable |
as the ship and cargo were, there was
far more at stake in the effect of the |
loss OH the copper markets Of the
world. The most important copper ex'
porting firm in Chile would practically |
be ruined, while the Paris ring" OF
which she had read in the newspapers |
would have matters its own way |
Financial interests of such magnitude |
would hardly be bound up with the
carousals and quarrels of Frascuelo |
and Jose the Winebag" Yet
"Have you ever heard of Senior Pc
dro Ventana." she asked suddenly.
HAS he to do with mines" inquired |
the Chilean tentatively.
yes"
81 know him by sight, senorita."
Would he be acquainted with this |
man Anacleto, do you think?"
Cant say. Jose would know any
body whom he could touch for n few