The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-07-17
THE CAPTAIN
OF the KANSAS
By LOUIS TRACY,
THE Pillar of Light Etc.
COPYRIGHT 1906 J
vvyyvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Elsie was sufficiently well acquail
BY LOUIS TRACY,

the strait. The Valparaiso newspa
pers would be full of surmises as t.
the vessels fate. They would publish
full details of the valuable cargo anG
would give list of the passengers anG
officers. All! Ventana would learr
then, If he had not heard it earlier
that she was on board. And he alone
would understand the true reason OF
her flight from Chile. Her cheeks
flushed, and she applied herself more
closely to the chart she was copying
She had left good deal unsaid In heI
brief statement that morning. How
strange, how utterly unexpected, Il
was that Ventana's name should fal
from Courtenay's lips-Courtenay OF
all men living! And what did Isobe
mean during that last dreadful scene
| ere she was carried away to the boat
by screaming in her frenzy that Ven.
tana had taken IAN ample vengeanceT
Vengeance for what? Had the half
breed dared to make the same pro-
posal to the rich and highly placed
Isobel Barring that he did not scruple
to put before the needy governess
Surely that was impossible. There
were limits even to his audacity-
"Well, how is my chief hydrogra.
pher progressingT"
Courtenay's CHEEKY voice banished
the unwelcome specter Of Ventana.
Elsie started.
81 do believe you were day dream.
ing" said the captain, with surpris-
ed smile. "a penny for your thoughts. -
II don't think you can pay me-" she
retorted, hoping to cover her confusion.
won't you accept Chilean curren-
cyl"
mot on the high seas"
"But you are on dry land. Please
make dot on your map at 81 degrees
IA minutes seconds south and "a de-
grees SO minutes seconds west. That
is the present position of the ship. Let
me pin this compass card on the ia
BILE. Use the parallel ruler, regard
each inch as a mile, and I'll do the rest
by guesswork."
Courtenay took his binoculars and
went on to the bridge. He called out
the apparent distance of each land
mark he could distinguish, described
1t and gave its true bearing. In the
result Elsie found she had prepared q
clear and fairly accurate chart of the
bay and its headlands, while the po-
sition Of the distant range of noun
tains was marked with tolerable preci-
sion. But Courtenay was far from
being satisfied.
IF had base line or even a fresh
set Of points taken higher up the inlet
could improve on my part of the sur
vey," he said. yours is admirable,
Miss Maxwell. OF course l know you
are an artist, but mapping is a thing
apart. That is first rate"
Perhaps you may be able to secure
fresh data when the Kansas puts to
sea again." said Christobal.
IF l am coming the wheel l must
leave the 'chartmaking entirely to my
assistant" replied the captain lightly.
But do mean to peep little farther
into our estuary. Before the ship
sails l may have another spare hour to
devote to it,
''In what way?" asked Elsie.
"By utilizing the canoe. A mile or
so higher up the channel | should be
clear of the bluff which hides Otter
creek. l imagine it will be possible
then to see the full extent of the bay.
1 must get you to sound Suarez as to
the lay of the land"
II hope you will do nothing of the
Sort" protested Elsie earnestly.
why? Do you think the canoe I'M
safeT'
mo, no; not that. But those waiting
Indians. They might see you"
''Oh. the Indians again! shall run
no risk of that sort. 1t would indeed
he the irony Of fate If the Kansas
slipped her cable and left the skipper
behind"
Huh mo fear. She'd follow you like
Joey. was tellin'' Miss Maxwell what
lucky fellow you are. Besides, If
you went I'd be in command, an you
know what would happen then. If all
else failed, the bloomn' tub would
turn turtle in the pool"
To emphasize his remarks Boyle
blew big smoke ring and shot sew.
eral smaller rings through it.
Elsie felt Christobafs critical eye on
her. She was shading the outlines of
the map and trusted that her head was
bent sufficiently to hide the telltale
color which leaped to her face. But
Courtenay wished to hear more of this.
II hope you do not credit everything
my chief officer says about me-" he
said. glancing over her shoulder at the
drawing. NOR about himself" he add
ed, as she was too busy to look up. "To
my knowledge he has refused the COM
mand of two ships since we both join
ed the Kansas
"IIomc ordersr' cried Boyle. who
was certainly beyond himself Proba-
bly, he missed his regular vocal exer-
ci-e owing to lack of crew. MY
missus says to me: You just stick 70
Captain Courtenay, young feller-me-
lad. He's one of the get-rich-quick
sort. P'raps you'll learn from him how
to dodge board Of trade inquiries
You stand on what told you, Miss
Maxwell. You remember-commodor
Huhw