Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-12-07
Continued from Previous lssue.l
eleventh lNSTALLMENT
THE DREADFUL PIT
CHAPTER XVIII.
Dangerous Delay.


The ire of Hernandez was now thor
oughly aroused. quicksilver mine
on the Lost Isle of Cinnabar-proba
bly, unworked for a century or more
meant millions. many millions Her
nandez realized the fact. He was play
ing for high stakes--very high.
My ancestors" he told Ponto. had
a coat of arms-a motto. Ride
through'-that was what it said,
friend Ponto. shall follow it-that
injunction. l shall ride through
They were lounging, breathless,
painting, against tree trunk that had
fallen athwart one of the invisible
trails of a Central American Jungle
With them was Senorita Inez Castro.
What we want most OF all, he
continued, and what we must get
is the Lost Isle of Cinnabar. We have
the evidences of ownership-all save
the Spanish grant in the hands OF the
Fathers of the Santa Maria mission.
Let us seek at once the mission. Let
us get all evidences of ownership.
Then, as the crow flies. the four of us
will seek Lost Island-yes and find it
Once found possession may be nine.
tenths of the law-well have posses
sion. But to us possession will be
more than that. We know no law
At Chantillo some few miles away,
things were happening. Ensign Neal
Hardin with his squad of fifty men
from the cruiser Albany across the
neck, had arrived to board the battle
ship Missouri, waiting for them in
the waters off ChantilIo. These were
the fifty men who had so nearly lost
their lives on the dirt cars of Mon
trada
Annette was with them--and Neal
was at her side. They were grouped
on the wharf
Neal beckoned to the captain of the
little coast steamer that was tied up
to the wharf.
"Senor.' he said, behind me is the
long arm of the United States govern,
ment. My government protects ITS
citizens. Here is a citizen-Miss IL
ington. Here is another-my mother.
Here is a third-my friend Weicher
Dire things nave happened. senor
three desperadoes and woman They
have many methods-but one in par.
ticular. AT night they will come to
you and offer money to be taken
aboard He tossed stern glance al
the captain and tapped him on the
arm "Senor.' he continued. east
your eye over the Missouri there-ny
ship Think of the long arm or my
|. government Take these desp peradoes
aboard at your peril--at your peril,
senor. | have warned you. The rest
is up to you
The little captain shivered a bit.
Isl. senior" he returned, swiftly.
with bow, lit shall be as you say"
Meantime the third member of An,
nette's party. Mr.. Joseph Welcher.
had strolled behind q convenient shed
to find resting place for hfs weary
/ bones and to smoke his nftieth ciga-
| rette that day. He struck a match
started to light his cigarette. Then
something happened The match went
out-the cigarette was knocked un.
tremendously from mis- lips.
| What the" he began. Then he
stopped. A stone was lying at his
feet. It was this stone that had
! knocked the cigarette from between
his lips-and had almost knocked a
tooth or two as well. But there was
something else to wonder at. A bit
of crumpled paper had futtered to the
ground
Welcher picked the paper up and
| glanced warily about him. Suddenly,
he saw The jungle's edge came
down nearly to the water. Something
was stirring in this thicket. Joe
stared. And suddenly the face of a
woman-Inez Castro, peered out from
| behind the huge leaf of tropic plant.
Read" That was the message
flashed from the eyes of Tnez Castro
to the brain of Joe WeIcher. Joe
l read
The note was brief and to the point:
We do not beard this steamer.
But we must reach Santa Maria
first. II is up to you and you alone,
to create all possible delays. Do
| not fail US now.
mat nlSht al CNSk, Joe WelcHeF
iounging on the deck OF the small
steamer as it steamed north along the
coast-shambled over toward scut-
tie, and peered down to see what he
could see. What he did see was ma
chinery-the vessel machinery. work
ing smoothly. well oiled, well cared
for-for steamboat engineer is a
steamboat engineer the world over.
What he saw was that for the moment,
no one was in charge-momentari
the engineer had stepped outside. This
was the instant that Joe Welcher had
been waiting for. Furtively he drew
from his breast pocket a small bar OF
steel For one instant he held it sus-
pended over the machinery. Then he
let it drop and noiselessly tiptoed
away.
/ Almost Immediately there was ter
rife grinding noise below, followed by
a terrific jolt. Then the engines
stopped-and the steamer followed
suit. Passengers and crew rushed to
the captain-Annette included.
What has happened" she demand
| ed.