The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1910-03-25
CHAPTER X.-Continued.

The change in the man speaking
held me breathless; his cant. his usu-
ally oily method Of utterance had
merged into an earnestncss full OF
fascination.
We'll, that was about al, sir his
voice sinking back into commonplace.
I'm two hours we were out O. sight.
an feelin' our way through a blindin'
snow sguall. But it was such a rum
thing, ~discoverin' them islands out
there all uncharted, with that queer
ghost ship perchin' on 'em, that /
wrote down the latitude an. longitude
an the hookar's name in my log-book.
We was about three weeks maxim the
West Falklands, where | shipped a
few more hands, an hen bore away
north for home
He drew a plug of tobacco from out
his coat-tail pocket. cut off what he
needed, anG slowed it away in his
cheek. He ran his fingers through his
thin hair, and resumed:
About Is months later | was back
with the OF Betsy in the South Pa
cifc. One night, with the moon shin
In. hardly a ripple anywhere, lily
mate run her nose onto a rock, a
couple O. hundred miles south O. Eas-
ter island. an in less thar 20 minutes
the bark had gone down like a stone.
We made Easter island in the boats
with IL much trouble, but it want so
easy to get away. / had six week of
1t before | got a chance, an then |
shipped afOre the mast on a sandal
wood trader. De Nova here was mate,
en- t..-ily. hnntin' goods to peddle
among the islanders, we sailed into
Valparaiso. an the most of us shipped
out. Well, by that time | wasn't
thinkin' very often about that ice
ship down in the Antar'tic; l was
hust'in' for some sort O. berth tt take
me back to the States. But one night,
down in Rodrigues' back room, where
hung out, | got to talkin' with a
gambler named Francisco--the same
smooth duck who introduced himself
as De Castillo TO you, sir. He was an
educated man., an seemed to like to
hear me talk, an among other sea
yarns l happened to tell him this one.
He seemed mighty interested, although
he wasn't v given to seafarin',
an asked me a whole pile O. fool ques-
lions. Finally he wanted to meet me
again alone the next day.
We'll, having nothin' better to do,
was there when he came, an he
showed up with a queer-lookin', big,
oil book, the cover half ripped off,
under his arm. Then he made me tell
him that yarn over again, and de-
scribe the ship jest exactly as l re-
membered 1t. Then, when I'd got
through, an told him everything /
could dig out O. my memory. he opened
up that book O. his on the table, an
damme, sir, II he didn't. show me a
picture of that same OIL hooker, plain
~ life, only everything was trim n
shipshape on board, with the masts up
an the sails drawin'. The name was
printed underneath. too-Donna Isa-
bel, Cadiz.
"That book he showed me was
printed In Spanish-not just like whaS
you zee to-day. sir. but the letterin' all
rough, AZ though 1t had been cut out
O. wood, but the fellow showed me the
date when It was printed, an it read
Seville. 1779,' plain enough. Francisco
wrote out In English what he said was
printed there about this Donna lisa.
bel: an there It IL. sir. in his W
handwritin'."
He took the paper out of his inner
coat pocket and spread II open on
the table before 10. De Nova and
Anderson leaned forward eagerly to
look 1t It. but futile showed 1t along
toward me.
Read It out loud. sir" he said, his
voice trembling. The writing was not
csear. And held 1t up to the light.
Galleon Donna Isabel, ship-rigged.
20 tons, Amador. Master. built 1880.
\ scne port Cadix. Sailed Guayaquil
sHs n Aeseneaa. June n, 1853; crew num-