The Sauk Centre herald., 1908-05-14

I would be whirled to the life eternal
before she quite knew what was hap
pening. If, on the other hand, some
miracle of the sea enabled the men to
construct a seaworthy raft in time or
the rising tide permitted the Kansas
to escape In so far to run ashore again
in a comparatively sheltered position.
she would be none the worse for an
hours sleep. And now that the ship
was afioat there were things to be done
which only men could do. The salon,
the decks, the fore cabin. were places
of the dead. Fearing lest Elsie might
pass, Christobal before attending to
Boyle had thrown tablecloths over the
bodies of men slain in the salon. for
Gray and Tollemache had sternly but
| vainly striven to repress the second re-
volt. Tollemache and Walker had
dragged out of the. smothering spray
near the port davits three men who
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
other, Guglielmo Frascuelo, who was
bawling for, dear life in his bunk in
the forecastle, but in that dark hour no
one CHANGED to remember him, and it
needed more than a human voice to
pit itself against the hurricane which
roared 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-
tinued absence of the crew. Luckily
for himself, he did not appreciate the
real predicament of the ship or he
would have raved himself into mad
ness.
Walker in his brief catalogue Of oc-
cupations had suppressed one. To
make sure Christobal closed a water
tight bulkhead door which cut off the
principal staterooms from the salon.
Then he and his two helpers carried
out painful but necessary task. 1t
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 a Spanish engineer
who had been knitted in the defense Of
the jolly boat-his comrade had scram-
bled into one of the lifeboats-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-
sented itself.
Though they knew not the moment
when a sickening crash would herald
the final dissolution Of the ship. they
proceeded with their work methodic-
ally. In half an hour they had reached
nondescript sailors and firemen-were
carried to the salon and placed under
Christobaps care. Walker dived below
to the engine room, where he had al
ready disconnected the rods broken or
bent by the fracture of guard ring
which in turn was injured by the
blowing out of junk ring, a stout
ring of forged steel secured to one of
the pistons. He could do nothing more
on deck. Whether he was destined to
live fifty seconds or as many years, he
was i'll content to hear his beloved en-
gines knocking themselves to pieces
with each roll of the ship.
Tollemache, who undertook the fir
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-during
his wanderings 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 a 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 a
theory, and, for want Of better. he
was determined to pursue it to finish.
The Kansas was being swiftly carried
along in strong and deep tidal cur
rent. Happily the wind followed the
set Of the sea, else there would be no
chance Of success for his daring plan.
His expedient was the desperate one
Of 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 irresponsible mechan-
ism Of steering wheel governed by
steam sailor can 'feel" the move
ment Of his ship, a seaworthy vessel
being living thing, obedient as 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 it 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 it was to as
sure himself of their efficiency that he
put the helm to starboard. The Kan
sas obeyed with an answering roll to
port, showing clearly that she was
travelling q little faster than the in