Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-06-11


alive, it was absurd to doubt her mo-
tives
So 1t came to pass that Diego Suarez,
lying asleep in his bunk, awoke with
q start to find shrouded figure bend
ing over him.
Is that you, Senior SuarezY' asked a
voice, which he recognized instantly as
belonging to the senorita Maxwell
Yes said he tlrowsily.
Have you the witch doctors clothes
you wore when you came on board the
ship?v
Eyes, senerIta."
A hand, slight. but strong, grasped
him by the shoulder He felt the rim
Of a revolver barrel pressed against his
forehead.
"Getup them Dress quickly in those
clothes and come out on deck. BY the
side of your bunk you VIII find tins of
black and white paint to smear your
face and hands At the slightest re-
fusal on your part to do as bid YOU
II you utter cry or make noise to
attract attention. shall kill you with
out another word .
The soft voice had a steely ring in it
which persuaded the man from Argen-
tina that he had better obey. In less
than five minutes he emerged from the
doorway. The corridor in which his
cabin was situated led into the salon.
Elsie awaited him. A lamp, dinnly light
ing the gangway, revealed her face
Suarez thought he had to deal with a
mad woman. The dog standing by her
side shifted at him gingerly, but a
muttered BE quiet. Joeyl' prevented
any outburst, every fox terrier being a
born conspirator.
What do you wish me to do, seno-
rita 7" began Suarez, thinking to pla-
cate her until he could obtain assist
ance.
You must obey me in silence" she
whispered tensely. You must not even
speak One syllable aloud on deck will
mean death. Walk In front of me up
the main companion and go straight to
the ships side
"But, senorita''-
Ihe hammer of the revolver began
to rise under the pressure of Elsie's
finger on the trigger. The mans hair
rose even more rapidly. His nerve
was broken He turned along the cor
ridor in front of her, not knowing the
instant bullet might crash into his
head The girl followed so closely
that she almost touched his heels. The
dog would have trotted in front, but
she recalled him.
When Suarez reached the port rail
Of the promenade deck Elsie breathed
sClimb quickly and go down into
the canoe by the rope ladder you VIII
find there
'sThe canoe!s gasped he.
"Quicki One, two
Up went suarez over the rail. He
found the topmost rungs of the lad
der. AS he descended the revolver fol-
lowed his eyes. When his head was
level with the deck the order came:
tsTake the dog and go down.
81 cannot, senorita.'
..You must try. You are going down,
dead or alive
He did try. Joey scuffied a little
but Suarez caught him by the neck
and made shift to descend. Elsie was
already on the swaying ladder when
Boyle's voice rang out sharply from
the spar deck:
Below therel Who is there?'
81, Mr.. Boyler' she answered.
'sYou, Miss Elsie? Where are you?
.'Here-not so far awayt'
She was descending all the time.
She had cast loose the rope which fas-
tened the canoe alongside, and her diff
ficulty was to hold the ladder and at
the same time by clinging to the mast
to prevent the canoe from slipping
away with the tide. The revolver she
gripped between her teeth by the butt.
Boyle, puzzled by the sound Of her
voice. ran from the side of the bridge
down the stairs and across the deck
He was a second too late to grasp the
top of the mast as it drifted out of
reach. He heard Elsie utter a low
voiced command in Spanish, and the
dip of a paddle told him that the ca
noe was in motion.
ssFor the Lords sake, what are you
doing?v he roared.
81 am going to save Captain Courte-
nay was the answer. You cannot
stop me now. Please hoist plenty of
lights. If succeed. look out for me
before daybreak. If / fail, goodbyF'
CHAPTER XVIII.