The evening world., 1915-03-12

nature granted . temporary respite.
The assmory Of the three million pesos
that might b slowed away below BE-
gan 70 haNnt our imasinAtions. and
the story Of II found uttsranos on our
lips. d"
The negro blurtsd II forth 6rst, his
eyes rolling. and De Nova cane direct
to me, askins In behalf OF the men the
privilege Of making search. Thsra
was no excuse for refusal. even had 1
desired 10 nnd one. ~ the decks were
cleared Of the debris iiefS BY tho
storm. and the Donna Isabel rode her
course easily to . lashed helm. Leav-
Ing Dade above to keep . ,watchfpl
eye on the weather, / willingly led tho
others Into the stewArds' pantry.
where We pried open ths door leading
down Into the lasAretts. " ~
That Same Intense cold OF the Ant
arctic smots " the moment the
creakink hinges ytelded. and We stood
peering down through the aperture.
We waited impAtientiy. for the nrst
frtgtd breath 70 esoape. huddisd about
various 80 tales OF treasure seeking.
which only served to Whst our appa-
lite for the coming adventure. often
think Of that soone-tha rough, hairy
faoas, the excited voices, the evidences
OF nervous expectAncy: some AitunS
on benches. others l0unging upon the
0scc In true democratic equality, With
Lpdy Darlington aad Celeste hovsrtnS
just. beyond our ring. their back
ground the cleaning arm-rack, their
faces exhibiting their Interest In our
astl 4
lifted my syAs. meeting Doris's auss-
u0ning glance. and assured that.
understood heS mood.
Al last, but well wrapped In our
mufasro and bearing . candle aloft
70 cast its nlcksring yellow light
through the pitchy darkness, We ven
tured below. scrambling down the
short ladder. Cole held the gllm, his
black face aiming. the whites Of bis
eyes conspicuous a. he stared eagerly
about. We found lnnumerabis boxes
and barrels. crates. bottles. and
wicker TASKS, some open. the packing
straw strewn about, others tigItly
nailed. piled everywhere, evidence
that the SAileon had boen amply pro-
visioned for Q long voyage. and thst
her crew had never perished OF starva-
tion. II had been tho cold, the lone
uness. the awful agony of their hOpe-
less condition that had left the Donna
Isabel . charnel ship. We handlsd
this collection rapidly. contenting
ourselves with merely testiag the
weight OF each package, quickly con-
vincod that none was heavy enough
to conceal precious metal.
This Job must have occupied more
than an hour. handicapped A. we were
by the poor light, and several dmes
! glanced through the open trap over
head to observe the faces Of the WON.
On framed thors ~ they watched us
silently. Once Dade stared down.
bringing word the sky was thicken-
serve our operations until I had 70
order him back upon deck.
A solid. nail studded. oaken door
appeared Ia the forward bulkhead,
and 20 soon a. We had succeeded In
handling every article stored within
the lazarette. ! had Q passage cleared
to II. the men working with feverish
Impatience. Indeed, outside Of our
enthusiasm. the cold remained 90 In
to keep the blood circulating. tho
mems breath forming In icicies about
their mouths. When finally reached,
the door was locked and seemingly
a. solid as the bulkhead itself. nor
did Q search OF the after state-rooms
reveal any KEYS.
No doubt they were In Saivstore's
pocket, many Q league aatern, hut
Kelly ana McKniRht brought down
the oieaver and an iron bar. and pro.
ceehed to burst II open. the rest of nc
crowding about. too cold and excited
TO keep stin hut verv confident the
treasure awaited us within. Ny own
heart beat herceIy with authorization,
and ! heard De Nova swearing. In
rrench. quite unable To control him
sslf u seemed 20 me that door never
would Z,eldi bot at last Jehnson !naa-