Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-06-18

| maChe would consent to escape in the
| canoe and leave the others to their
fate, even IF such n thing were practi-
cable. oddly enough, tho one person
whose daring might reasonably he sus-
pected gave no signs Of the pangs OF
doubt. Suarcz pushed forward reso-
lutely. He knew what Elsie had for.
gotten--that in each canoe used by the
Indians there was carefully pre-
served fire. whose charcoal bers re.
talncd some heat aud glow all night.
The first intimation of this fact was
revealed by the pungent fumes which
cnvironed them. Elsie could not help
uttcring little gasp Of relief There
was a slight movement in front Gray
leaned back and touched her hand.
"Suarez says he whispered, that
you are to be ready with your tow
ropes. AS he secures each canoe he
will pass it along to me. You will be
Bile to see its outlines by the dim
gllmmer Of the fire. But how will you
manage about the dog? He may cause
an alarm"
Much to .1oey's disgust, he was forth.
with muzzled with piece OF rope NOT
that this device would stop him eff
| fcctualy from barking but Elsie
thought he would so resent the indlg-
nifty that he might pny less heed {,
| outer circumstances. She needed nc
warning that Indians were near The
Argentine miners description Of tn.
community which dwelt on otter creek
made her understand that there were
| hundreds within hail.
A great Joy leaped up in her when
the first canoe came under her hand
1t was quite easy to manipulate the
painter rope. The stem had a notched
knob provided for this very purpose,
and there was a sternpost against
| which steersman might press a pad
| die and thus Swerve the canoe in any
direction. But it was slow work The
craft We're moored without any sem.
blance of order. yet Suarez was forced
to secure them IN a definite sequence
or string of half dozen would be-
come unmana geable.
When the second canoe was made
fast Gray bent toward the girl once
| more.
II have been listening to the tick OF
my watch" he breathed against her
ear. II reckon 1t has taken ten min.
utes to collect two dugouts. Unless we
mean TO remain all night we must let
up on the cutting adrift proposition"
Il agree" she murmurcd But we
must have two more"
He told Suarcz of the new develop.
ment, which WIS essential though il
added TO the danger OF the enterprise
BY sheer good fortune. however. they
blundered against the lifchoat A dog
barked, and Elsie had a thrilling strug-
gle with joey. who was furious that
this unlocked for insocnce should go
unanswered The sleepless cur that
yelped ashore speedily subsidized, but 1t
appeared to be an age before Suarez
moved again. He knew better than his
companions how ready the Indians
were to note such sentinel challenges
Elsie found the painter of the life
boat coilcd In its proper place. Soon
she experienced a steady pull on the
rope. Her little fleet was In motion
Gray began to help in the padding
Ere long they came under the influence
of the tide. and she heard the ripple
of the water against the planks Of the
boat Then Suarez called halt pnd
parley.
1t would be better, ne adv Used, to
use the oars in the heavy boat than at
tempt to tow 1t across the strong cur
rent from canoe. They would gain
time and be safer. SO they climbed
into the lifcbOat. but continued to tow
the canoes
Suarez. somewhat weak from his
knock on the head overnight was not
equal to the strain Of continued exer-
ton. so Elsie and Gray took two oars
each and allowed their companion to
rest. When. judging by the surround
ing hills. they were half way across
the inlet. Gray stopped low in the boat.
struck match and looked at his
watch. 1t was long after O'Clock
There could he no doubt whatever that
the dawn would find them far from the
ship. no matter how fortunate they
might be in their further adventures.
1t was well for Elsie that she had
learned how to SOUL when In her
teens and that her muscles were in
fair condition owing to her skill n,
tennis Even SO, she feared that she
could never hold out against the sus
tanned stress of that pull across the
bay. The heavy boat, intended to be
rowed by six men. had the added bur
den of four canoes. 1t was back
breaking work. but she neither falter-
ed nor sighed until Suarez said.
LET me take your place now. senori-
Ia In ton minutes We shall be at the
mouth Of the creek, though heaven
only knows how we shall find it.
He did not exaggerate in thus ex-
pressing his fear. Time and again they
neared the shore only to hear the tidal
swell breaking heavily on the rocks.
The lights of the Kansas, fully three
miles away. could only tell them that
they were in the neighborhoOd Of the
place where Courtenay had last been
seen in this Identical boat The least
divergence from the line given by the
position of the ship meant a difference
Of hundreds Of yards at such dis
lance. and there was an omnous light
ening of the gloom, accompanied by
1imming Of the stars, when Gray hit on
the idea that the powerful current had
| nv. ~, 1,l rt.,J NH-v