Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-11-07

l
seemed to be merely stunned. These,
with the chief officer and perhaps four
survivors OF the explosion, made up the
list OF living but noneffective members
OF the ships company. There was one
other, Gugllelmo Frascuelo who was
bawlIng for dear life in hI bunk in
the forecastle, but in that dark hour Nc
one Glanced TO remember him, and II
needed more than human voice to
pit Itself against the hurricane which
I roarcd 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
tlnued absence of the crew. Luckily
Tor himself, lie did not appreciate the
real predicament Of the ship or he
would HAYS raved himself Into mad
ness.
| Walker IN his brief catalogue Of or
cupatioas had suppressed one. 70
make sure Christobal closed a water
| tight bulkhead door which cut OF the
| principal stntcrooms from the salon
| Then-he and his two helpers carried
| Vut u out I''tSsuls ~
| 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 Spanish engineer
who had been knitted in the defense OF
| the jolly boat-hfs comradc had scram
bled into one of the lifcboats-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 sickening crash would herald
the final dissolution Of the ship. they
proceeded with their work metholic.
ally. In half IN hour they had reached
the end. All the injured men-seven
nondescript sailors and fremen-were
carried to the salon and placed under
Christobars care. Walker dived below
to the engine room, where he had nj.
ready disconnected the rods broken or
bent by the fracture of guard ring.
NHlNh III was lUt
blowing out of junk ring. stout
ring of forged steel secured TO one Of
the plstons. lie could do nothing more
on deck. Whether he was destined to
live fifty seconds or as many years. he
was III content TO hear his beloved en-.
gines knocking themselves to pieces
with each roll Of the ship.
T,II,p,n.t,, ,,.I., a.,
Ing Of the donkey boiler which was
situated on the main deck aft Of the
salon-for the Kansas was built
chiefly to accommodate cargo-durlng
his wanderlngs round the world had
picked UP sufficient knowledge Of
steam power to shovel fuel into the
furnace and regulate the water level
by the feed valve and pump. The small
engine. more reliable and quite as pow.
erful as Il hundred men, was In perfect
| order.
The Kansas rolled heavily. The roll
was caused by an experimental twist
Of the wheel. Courtenay, peering into
the darkness through the open window
Of the chart house, saw that the wealth,
er was clearing. He had evolved o
theory, and. for want of better, he
was determined TO pursue II to n finish.
The Kansas was being swiftly carried
along in a strong and deep tidal cur.
rent Happily the wind followed the
set % the sea, else there would be no
chance Of success for his daring plan.
His eXped!ent was the desperate one
u Keeping the vessel In the line of the
current and II day broke before he
reached the coast he would steer for
! any opening which presented itself in
the fringe Of reefs which must assur-
edly guard the mainland.
With his hands grasping the taut
and In one sense irresponsive mechan-
Ism OF steering wheel governed by
steam n sailor can "feel"l the move.
ment Of his ship. seaworthy vessel
being living thing, obedlent as n doc,
lie horse to the least touch OF the rein.
But In the unlikely event OF fortune
favoring Courtenay to the extent Of
giving him an opportunity to see the
coming danger 1t was essential That
the ship should have a certain radius
OF action apart from the direction and
force Of the ocean stream. The two.
sails were helpful. and 1t was to as
sure himself Of their efficiency that he
put the helm to starbonrd. The Kan
sas obeyed with an answering roll to
port, showing clearly that she was
travelling little faster than the in
rushing tide would take her unaided.
He brought her head back to nor'east
again and glanced over his shoulder at
the ships thermometer. 1t was u quar-.
ter to !. Two hours must pass before
he would discern the first faint streaks
| OF light At any rate, If he were spared
to greet the dawn 1t would be right
ahead, and, as n few seconds might
then be Of utmost value, that was
small point In his favor. Yet, two
hours! Could he dare to hope for so
long respite? How could the ship
escape the unnumbered fangs which n
storm torn land thrust far out into the
Pacific for Its own protection?
He was quite sheltered from the
wind and spray In the chart house, and
| all Mt once ha boco mo n wo ra Of an t,,,,