, 1909-04-29

me wheelsmen; thought yoI wo.dd
nkeiy need him, so | brought him
along" am
very zoe Johnson, so on up
INTO the wheelhouse and see that all is
clear. III give you directions later.
Mr.. futile. we'll tow out until we get
me sweep of the sea fairly under ON;
Tore foot. Get the lines ont In the
poats at once, with full crew at the
oars. You are to take and
l snail have to trust you for the
course. as we can't risk signaling. |
presume you are acquainted with the
harbor 1ights?"
Been in here eight times in ten
years without a pilot"
Then You ought to know the
course. but take no chances: feel vour
way. only keep the ropes tau Have
you any man fit to take charge of the
second boat? | need De Nova below"
The boatswain. sir: thai big fellow
with the scar"
What his name?"
Bill Anderson"
All right; put him in the cutter.
Leave me three men on deck. and post
the best n of the lot at the stern
line ready to cast off. AS soon as Won
get the ropes out I'll slip the anchor.
chain, and leave the flukes in the mud
work lively now; we must be well out
at sea before daylight"
He stood leaning against the rail
peering cut over the water. his hands
shading his eyes.
Have o spotted any ~guardboats
with you glasses?" he questioned. un.
easily.
only hat one yonder; see, the yell
low light just rounding the stem of that
big brig. There was a steam-launch
out there to h west about 20 minutes
ago. but it seems to have disap-
peared."
swallowed up in the fog likely" he
admitted, snuffing the air like a
pointer dog. Wen find it banked
pretty heavy outside, or I'm a lubber.
Well, so much the better for our lob.
All right. Mr.. Stephens. I'm off. and
well have you in tow in a jiffy. I'll
put the niger at the stern line; he's
the best all-round hand on board"
However | may have disliked and
distrusted the whaleman he certainly
proved himself an able seaman and a
smart officer. He comprehended every
detail of his work, and held his men 70
1t finely. Within 20 minutes we were
in motion, moving slowly. yet steadily,
oward the black vacancy outlined bv
he harbor lights on either hand.
There was no disturbing sound to be-
tray progress, the yachts sharp cut
water cleaving its passage through
the liquid with the merest faint ripple.
scarcely leaving a CLEAN of white foam
behind, the oars dipping silently. the
two lines held taut to the strain. Ex-
uitant, | climbed once again to the
bridge, gave a few directions to the
observant Johnson standing motion
less at the wheel. and leaned anxious
ly over the rail, studying the water
front through leveled glasses.
1t was a barren, deserted waste. ex-
cept for a deeply laden schooner beat
ing slowly up along the north shore
under closely reefed topsails. and the
cleaning lights of a large steamer
jus p'SllhlhS " tIltTSt IHl0tlV
through h curtain Of fog a trife to
the left of our course. The towing
boats appeared as two insignificant
blots on the surface. but that they
were making excellent progress was
proved by the way we were steadily
drawing up toward the outer lights,
already shining round and yellow
through the increasing haze.
How dark, silent, uncanny the
gloom-enshrouded yacht appeared as I
leaned over he tarpaulin-protected
rail n gazed down on the deserted
decks, no movement. no CLEAN of light
anywhere visible. The two masts, for
the vessel was scbooner-rigged, rose ra-
kishly and with noble sweep into the
sky, yet | could trace little of the
cordage against the eXpanse OF cloud.
They appeared skeleton-like reeds to
be broken by a gust of wind. A slight
fringe of white water alone marked
our progress, while a misty vapor Of
escaping steam spoke of the chained
engine and kissing boilers below. AS
| rested thus. the watchful Johnson
grasping the spokes behind me. the
momentous events of the past few
hours swept through my mind like
fragments of a strange, disconnected
dream-my seemingly hopeless plight
in Valparaiso; my controversy with
Lieut.. Sanchez; my brief meeting
with the Englishman; the friendly
eyes of Doris; the throb of sudden in
terest aroused by her presence and
as quickly lost again; the sudden
| swinging of the pendulum of Fate; the
approach of De Castillo bringing uneX-
pected opportunity for action and es-
cape. and those later events which had
so rapidly followed. | struck my hand
hard against the iron rail to assure
myself | was awake. and to arous my
dormant faculties to action.
Hold her steady as she is, Johnson
III .... ,r,G,a trapnpIptC FROM crtd