Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-04-09

The news that the Indians were adj
vancing ran through the ship like Wild
fire. Including Mr.. Boyle, Frascuelo
and those among the Chileans whose
wounds were not serious, there were
fourteen men available for the de-
tense. Unfortunately the supply OF
firearms was inadequate. A shotgun
and five revolyers constituted the ar
mory, and one of the pistols was in
Christobars pocket The supply of
ammunition was so small that the re-
yolvers could not be reloaded more
than three times. but Courtenay had
200 shot cartridges, and against naked
men an ounce of shot Is far more eff
fective than bullet.
The captain hoped to terrify the In
dams before they attempted to scale
the ships sides. If various ruses fail
ed and the attack was pressed, he had
decided not to split up his small force
in the effort to repel boarders. A scat
tered resistance would surely break
down at one point or another; there
would be a rush Of savages along the
decks, panic among the Chileans, and
all would be ended. On the other hand,
when fighting collectively under Euro
pean leadership and well aware that
the Indians would kill and spare not,
the half breeds might be trusted to ac-
quit themselves like men.
The canvas awning constituted a
flimsy citadel In the center of the YES
sci. Six men were stationed on the
starboard side of the promenade deck
and six on the port side. 1ollemache
and a Chilean who said be could shoot
well We're told to Illustrate any at
tempt to climb the after part Of the
ship, while Courtenay, with his fowl
ing piece, would have the lions share
of this work from the spar deck, as lie
undertook to keep the rails clear for
ward and help the revolver practice IL
necessary. With him was Suarez, who
knew what was expected of him, SO
the language difficulty offered no APP
parent hindrance once the fight began.
Finally, If the Indians made good their
footing, the defenders were to rally to-
ward the salon companion, where
olSQih JCto "ClC kCddJ W SPufl Will
ering blasts along the corridors.
1t was good plan and might have
kept at bay an enemy of higher valOr
than the Alaculofs, provided they were
not armed with rifles. Against mod
ern weapons of long range nothing
could be done. If Suarez did not exag-
gerate, therein lay the real danger
Courtenay wished to make sure at the
outset of the number of guns carried
by the savages. 1t was also important
to know whether their marksmen were
distributed or crowded together in one
or two canoes If the latter, he would
give those warriors his special atten.
ton.
His binocular glasses were not strong
enough, SO he walked back toward the
chart house to procure a telescope
Catching Joey under his left arm, he
climbed the short ladder leading tt
the spar deck and pulled it up after
him, the bolts having been already re
moved to permit of that being done
| Walker was screwing tight the dool
of the engine room in order to safe
guard the fireman In attendance on tn,
donkey boiler. Now that the screw
driving was actually in operation /
very unpleasantly reminded Courtena.
of the fastening of coffin lid. Nei
| Their Walker nor the man inside coult
guess the grewsome notion which he'll
the captain in its chilly grip for an in
slant. Indeed, the engineer looked vi
with a grin.
Il suppose it's twue. sir, the-aw'
goin' to be fght?" he asked.