, 1909-07-29
The Last VOGaGe
of the Donna Isabel

Uaca, snatcrlng the candle from Ue
Nova's tin~ars and throwing the fieE. /
ering light down level with the deck. T
IT'S a brass bound chest. men" /
cried. ~stra'ghtoni g up and facing !
them. "But II is going to REQUIRE T
some hard digging TO ee. it out. About /
all I can see is the handle Of It,"
I never comprehended before how
the passion and lust for gold can ex
press itself upon mems faces. Tens.
n~t:cnless, breathing heavily. their
f%"atures drawn. their eyes gleami-g
fH"e:ishly in the yellow flame. they
~tlred at me and ten at that ice-front.
d"ma"ted and sreechless. No one
thSu ht OF where we wsre--castaways.
gu" lives the snort CT wiHds AID waves
4 sodden wreck under us. our nearest
nrt a Thousand miles away across 4
) ormy sea: all we realized al tla'
,oment was hat there. lust be-cre Is.
H~de. that mantle OF zoo Law bur'ai
rec million pesos. Odd! the collar
70 MY Jacket seemed choking me: !
N-eathed as II a mans fingers clu'c',,i
my throat, and l saw McKnlg' :
only form shaking as IL he hal AZ
I re st. Three million pesos! TIE
~. blood rushed IT, nv head 4 'al
'tream. and De Ncva's lace. white as
a. beti--d lis little black mus
aches. seemed dancing before me
ghos like. Damn him. the fellow
aie me think Of ralvatore. the man
gho. just above, frozen and dead. hal
,uarded this treasure for 1926 yeas
I cast the suggestion aside with a
c'.rse and +" lau.Nt. as In lily BY
I've shoulder to steady myself-to :
'l:e ,he.c were -cal men this .asi
hcfore us real work. 1t was like IN
'ng forth from under an anaesthetic,
~'rn"'rg we w"ar rs a rhni. yet Win
hrain and faculties aroused to action.
Johnson thrust forward The cleaver.
Let me get in there, sir: I'm the
nan for a cuttia' job"
/ topped aside, and the broad biate
ell slashing against the front of The
ice.
only two of you men can work
here at once" | put In hastily. Held
n. Johnson. un Il we get this ship
itape. An axman, with a helper TO
'aul back the ice out of the way Is
all we need. Any more would only
Ne in the ray; besides. some OF Us
jught to be on deck. 1t is going to re
.uire hours. maybe days. to get that
chest out, and meanwhile we must sail
his vessel and keep her right side up
The thing to do is to arrange relays.
All keep at 1t steady. Johnson. You
ard Fe'ly go to work first. h rest
NJ us will climb up into the cabin. and
squire it OUT"
'hey went along with me up the
q ,er as though they were p%rison.'s
Fl... IT, as: li.-c".ng @'a.cai D
=. who'e he weird flame Of t"t
Inh,e f cIered yellcw, the blows Oh
h. rlnaver echoing sharply as the!
ared about the stove. welcomlns
y. = nth of it. 1t had been frisid
below decks, although We a been
s. arceiy conscious Of II in our excite
m II. But now We stood shiverlhs'
~ NJ into each others faces ana
actually afraid to talk lest the whole
recurrence SHOULD prove a dream from
which ii nance word might awakeh
rs Three million pesos-here. aclu'
ally here; almost within each of our
'7nds; they were digging for them
lust below; even then, in he silence
we c"E''d hear the faint echo OF blows
being ruck against the ice. Three
Million pesOs!-and 1t vas all ours
ar very own-to divide. to spend, 10
d. with exactly as we pleased. we
Nad dreamed abou all this before. on
''" G~.'s of the Inflated e Queen
but now we sought to grasp It as an
actual existing fact, and our minds
seemed paralyzed by the knowledge
| even FORGOT that Doris was present
until she touched NE gently on the
shoulder, and | looked down into her
questioning eyes.
ID you not know what We havs