Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-12-27
CHAPTER Tx.
Quicksilver,

Out of the sea at sunset. bearing in
his arms burden, staggering up upon
the shore of the Lost Isle of CHINA
bar-there strobe a man. Behind him.
silhouetted against the horizon, was
a small sailboat, deserted and strand.
ed on a sandbar
The man was the Portuguese adven-
turer, Hernandez. The burden in his
arms was a woman, and the woman
was Inez Castro, his companion.
He dropped her gently to the
ground, and she lay there for an in.
slant. well spent, half exhausted.
Then she, too, staggered to her feet
This" cried Hernandez. lis Lost
island. We are in possession-and
possession is nire points of the law.
The god of chance has favored us
so far. little one, and so long as the
god of chance joins with Hernandez,
Hernandez wins"
They travelled inland The sun had
set, the moon was full For many min
utes they had travelled through a clear
ing and suddenly before them, rough,
ragged and forbidding in the moon
light, there doomed a ruined structure
built of stone.
It's the fort" whispered Herman
deg, the Moro castle of the Ilington
map"
In the far distance there was a red
glow against the sky and the duh,
faint clang of metal against metal.
I'VE are not alone" whispered Her
uardez. Someone works the mines.
So much the better. We shall have
allies. Let us seek them now"
Inez sank down at his feet leave
me alone-here," she whispered. you
can find me easily. I can go no far
Their and l am afraid-afraid."
Already Hernandez had bounded
across the clearing, turned q corner
of the crumbling ruin and was on his
way. Within the next few moments
he was standing on the edge of what
seemed to be a crater of a volcano
a huge pit that seemed to belch forth
fire
But it was not a volcano and it did
not belch forth fire. 1t was a CHINA
bar mine--or a series of cinnabar
mines-pits cut into the surface of
the earth ard illumined by brush fires
Hernandez orouched upon the edge
of this huge man-made crater and
watched the scene with interest. In
each pit half a dozen men or more
worked away like ants, their shadows
flung against the walls in fantastic
shapes.
Hernandez drew a deep breath of
satisfaction.
"This is the life," he said to him
self These men are my men or
my name is not Hernandez"
He drew forth brace of pistols and
examined them carefully in the moon
light. Satisfied that they were in
working order, he rose and skirted
the edge of the crater. creeping
stealthily around behind the furnace.
Then, with remarkable agility, he
hurled himself as from the skies into
a circle of bright light. lifted up his
voice and called aloud.
In an instant he was surrounded by
a motley crew of men-men strange,
weird-men whose faces were over.
grown with a rank, untrimmed crop
of hair and beard. They hailed his
advent with delight.
Out of this multitude a huge individ.
ual pushed his way through to Her
nandez and placed a grimy hand upon
the latter's shoulder.
Whence come you?" he queried in
Spanish.
Hernandez answered him. 81 was
set adrift in a small boat" he returned,
and / came ashore here not knowing
where l was. Who, sir, are you, my
countryman?"
Twelve years ago." said the pirate
chief, I'VE were wrecked-ground to
pieces on this shore And we found
what? Enough to eat? Yes. A place
TO sleep-a place to live. But this
is God forsaken island, senior. Only
the mines have kept US from going
mad We have worked for wealth
madly-hoping against hope
What do you miner" asked Her
nandez.
"Cinnabar," returned the chief.
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