Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-06-25
The Captain of |
the Kansas.
By LOUIS TRACY,
Author OF The Winss Of the Morn;r,"
The Pillar Of Light" Etc.
Copyright. 1906. by Edwnrd ]. Clndc.
CHAPTER XVIII CONTiNurn)

CHAPTER NVTIf CONTINUED
Precaution became not only useless,
but impossible They were all worn
put. Nothing but the most inncxibe
determination M the part of Elsie and
Gray, eked ont by n certain desponding
Tear Of both of them felt by Suarez,
had sustained them thus far They
went on and OH. They swept rapidly
into the jaws Of PERCEPTIONS tbfile
The lofty crests on either hand coming
nomentarlv nearer against the bright
ening sky, 1t did not seem credible
that this sheer cut through the heart
" gigantic hill could continue for
borc than few yards nor that any.
Thing save n bird could find foothold
IN its steep sides Yet the current
lowed smoothly onward through
wealth of vegetn ton which chung pre-.
.nrionsly to every ledge and natural
.scarpmont
Joey. embarrassed by his gag never
shelcss managed to emit a warning
Erovl. Then the boat crashed into
.anoc, and hoarsc yell of alarm came
whose dense foliage flung pail over
the water, Gray was seized with n
inspiration He graspcd the canoe as
II bumped slonC the gunwalc and held
ii down on ono side until it filed and
sank lie sent another and vet 4 thir0
gnzziing TO the bottom before the on;
burst OF reuCous cries from both banks
showed tllcr, were Indians here IN
tome force
stones, too. ler7n 10 hum around
them. Some s,rnci- the boat. hit the
greater numbcr whiz2cl unplcasanGy
close TO the heads 0c ,hn two men and
the girl. proving o10clusivoly that they
were visible To tho unseen enemy. Cray
whipped forth the revolver and fired
twice. The second time a Shrek OF
pain told that ho had hit one Of thcil
ASSISTANTS. The two reports made n
deafening dip in that place Of echoes.
They appeared to stir the Indians into
perfect frenzy, and il was evident
by the sounds tha- the islanders had
not much liberty Of movement on the
narrow strips If land they occupied on
both sides Of The gorge
Elsie caught some significant splash
ing behind her.
They are swimming toward the ca
noes she screamed
Telling Suercz to pull for all he was
worth Gray clamOered to the stern OF
the boat and emptied the revolver at
what lie took to be the black heads Of
the swimmers
quick. Load it again" he said,
md Elsie obeyed with nimbleness
and certainty that were amazing
The American fired three more shots
before he was satisfied that the canoes
were Untenanted and not cut ndrift
They were now leaving the paudemo-
mum behind, and Elsie. bethnking her.
self of the dog, freed him from that
most Objectionable muzzle. Joey forth
with awoke the welkn with his up
roar; but although the girl stra .ned
her ears for some answering hail, she
could detect nothing beyond the ba
ing of Indians at each other across the
narrow creek and the repeated echoes
of the dogs barking.
About this time Gray began to sus-
pect that the tide was bearing them
onward at remarkable rate. They
were being impalled toward an un-
known destination with the 81 arc, and
gathering speed Of mill rac;.
An expert engineer, though his wort
may have little to DO with seq or riv.
err, cannot fail to accumulate q store OF
theoretical knowledge as to the proper.
| ties and limitations OF water in mo-
ton. Gray knew that the uuickened
impulse Of the stream arose from the
tidal force eYerted in II channel which
gradually lcssened Its width The boat
was travelling. at sea level Therefore
there could be neither rapids nor cata.
ract in front, but the steady rush Of
the current, now plainly audible, could
not be accounted for simply by the eff
fort OF the tide TO gain passage
through nero b"way, as the boat
was now nearly half n mile from the
estuary, and the velocity OF the cur
rent was increasing each moment.
1--WE must endeavor to reach the
bank and hold on to the branches of II
tree he shouted In Spanish. Down
with your heads until tine boat strikes
and then try to lay hold Of sonlcthingr'
There was no time foC explanation
he seized en- oar A powerful stroke