Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1913-04-03

J0In00I, Nlu0T0U y 8OOu tim0 SouA
Ing. Wen have him out and washed
and dressed and sitting at table with
10 an hour after the old tub lets her
anchor drop. And ri wager you
tenner that there won't be q miss In
any part Of the programme"
When. at breakf-st. told Evelyn
the good news-omitting. Of course.
all reference to the coal-handling sug.
gestion-shs demanded that hunt up
Hartley, at once, and present him.
Discretion. however. seemed to me In
this instance. the better part Of obsdi-
ence. did hunt Hartley up and
did present him. but not until had al.
lowed time for the flrst flush OF Eve
lyn's fsrvor to cool.
He was q very good-looking young
chap; Evelyn was both grateful and
impulsive. and Twas In love.
Our landing at Port Said was made
on the morning Of Saturday, the NTH
Of December. and all that day and the
next. we waited In moro or less con-
slant expectancy and boiling temper
ature for udings Of the tardy Glamor-
ganshire.
Hartley. meanwhile, was a model Of
hospitality. but Port Said is primarily
q coaling station on the seaedge Of
the desert. and aside from the con-
crete docks. the ships. the light house.
and the nearly naked Nubians that
swarmed everywhere. II proved utter
ly lacking In objects Of interest.
Sunday night brought some small
relief from the intolerable heat. and
grateful for the respite. all four Of our
little party were early to bed. Grad.
ually we had come to believe that our
waiting was likely to be prolonged.
The earthquake at Malta having de-
layed one vessel would In all probabil-
ity delay others a. well. including that
which we had come 90 far to intercept.
So. utterly worn out by nervous ten.
sion and the fatigue Of tbs tropical eli.
mate. we found rest grateful. and slept
soundly. Just how soundly was dem
onstrated when, at an hour after mid.
night. three resounding knocks on my
hotel chamber door only reused me.
DULY. and left Evelyn and her maid
and DR.. Addison. who occupied ada
cent rooms. in deep slumber. totally
undisturbed.
With what seemed almost superhu.
man effort. I spurred myself to con-
sciousness and struggled up on elbow.
"Who's therei" I called.
Hartley" came the answer. open
the door. thought you'd died Of Port
Said ennui" And when had sleepily
risen and admitted him he went on
hurriedly. Make haste. now. old
chap! The bally frsighter has Just
come in. and l don't propose to lose
that tenner through dilatory methods
on your part"
But needed no urging Wide awake
at his first sentence. I was already
hinging on my clothes. He still chat
tered on In his chafling way. but I
scarcely heard him. Conscious only
Of the murmur Of his pleasant. CHEEKY
English voice. my thoughts were out
in the night. across the waters Of the
harbor down In the inferno Of rusty
ocean tramp. where sweating stoker
was giving battle to despair-a sweat.
ing stoker who. In far.away America.
owned a pleasure craft almost az big
az the ship whose fires he had been
feeding for forty days across two seas
How about the doctorf" Hartley
asked. 40 I slipped my arms into my
coat sleeves and snatched a cap from
. closet peg.
Its too late now" was my an
swer. You should have reminded me-
forgot all about him." And It was
true. had forgotten everything. ex.
cept the imminence Of the rescue and
the urgency Of haste. To one in Cam.
eron's plight every fretting minute
must count drop Of torture.
The heavens were splendid with
tropic stars. and a faint breeze from
the sea gently rutiied the spangled
black harbor waters. a. Hartleys
launch. guided by a pilot of expert
ence. headed for the twinkling lights
Of the recently anchored freighter.
Silently ! sat. with gaze straining,
watching the indicated sparks grow
larger and brighter. moment by mo-
ment. until at length their CLEANS re-
nected in the waves. and their back
ground emerged In great dark
shadow. which silhouetted itself
against the less Opaque sky.
There she Isl" Hartley cri4d In on.
thusiasm, AZ her funnel and masts
somberly defined themselves above
the black Of her hull wen be able
to hail her In another minute"
Then heard the voice Of our
helmsman ring out. and presently
there was an answering shout from
above. and an exchange Of greetings,
succeeded by directions: and the next