The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1916-10-06

tain's orders, brought a can of oil
from the engine room and threw it
over the side in handfuls. The result
was magical. We lowered the boat
easily, placed NJ. dc Poincilit on board
because he was worse than the wom-
en-, and then Courtcnay, as you know,
brought 1sObcl, the minister's wife,
who refused to go without her hus-
band, and the maid. There was room
for you and another, so, at the cap
tain's request, Tollemachc and / toss
ed for the vacancy. Meanwhile Courte-
nay had turned to go for you when
we heard Il shout from Gray. Two
of the Chileans had cast off the ropes
which kept the boat alongside. Gray,
who was Tending her from the ship
with the boat hook, jabbed n fell
low in the face with it. but he was
too late. The boat raced off into the
darkness. And here we are"
That Christobal left several things
unsaid Elsie knew quite we'll. 1t
dawned on the girl that both her elder
ly friend and she herself were accept
ing an extraordinary situation with re-
markable nOnchalancc.
How many Of us remain on the
ship?"she asked.
VERY few-on the effective list. The
captain, an engineer whose name l do
not know, Mr.. Tollemache and our
selves make up the total"
"Where is Mr.. Boyle?"
Utb MIA Iloylni fcnr hn i. 1o.,o
for. He is very badly wounded. I
bandaged him as we'll as l could, but
the call on deck was Imperative"
SIS he in the salon? Should we not
go to him."
81 have only just left him. The hem
some brandy. Believe me, we can do
nothing more for him. l told Courte-
nay it was quite useless to place him
on board the boat. You may be sure
he was not forgotten"
II did not imagine that any one
would be forgotten" said Elsie, and
for some reason the light in her eyes
caused Christobal to go Oh rapidly:
1--WE have IA whole crowd of injured
men on board. Miss Maxwell. At pres
ent we can render them no aid. l
thought it wisest to obey orders. The
captain told me to bring you some
wine and remain with YOU here. 1t
will not be for long
"Why do you say that?'
"The ship appears to be lodged hard
and fast on a reef Or sand spit. l am
told the tide is rising. If that is so,
our only hope is in the raft which our
three allies are now constructing. With
a falling tide we might have a breath
ing space at low water. AS it is,
Well'--
He was interrupted by the opening
of the door and the consequent roar
of the gale. 1t was Walker. the engi-
neer, a lank. swarthy man. with a long
black mustache which dropped forlorn-
~ down the sides of his mouth. He
shouted with the inimitable accent Of
Tyneside:
"Yo' wanted, Docto' Chwistobal, The
captain thinks Mr.. Boyle is hettaw."
"May I come, too?" asked Elsie.
avg AAASSIN. " h1iC llC-t".
"Please tell me before you go if the
ship is full Of water"
shes dwy as a bone.' said Walker.
\ sea splashed over him and sen a
shower into the cabin, "a vewy wet
bone" he added, with a broad grin,
for the Northumbrian had a ready wit
though he had such a solemn jowl, and
he could not pronounce an "r'' to save
his life.
SO Elsie a left with Joey for COM
pany once more. \ chronometer show
ed that the hour was past midnight.
She knew sufficient of the sea to I'M
derstand that the clock was probably
accurate, as the course had practically
followed the same meridian since the
Kansas quilted Valparaiso. SO the
ship and those left on board had en-
tered on another day. How little she
had thought that to be possible when
the awful knowledge first came to her
that the Kansas was ashore! How
long ago was that? Then she remem-
bered that when Courtenay placed her
in his cabin with the promise to bring
1sobel to her she had noticed the time.
II o'clock. Was it conceivable that
only one hour had elapsed since she
and her four footed friend were flung
all of "A heap into a corner by the i'm
pact of the vessel against the sand
bank? One hour. Surely there was
some mistake. She puzzled over the
problem, recounting each event since
the conclusion of dinner, and finally
convinced herself that her recollection
was not at fault.
Joey was becoming restless. He
danced backward and forward on the
table, where he had taken refuge from
the invading flood. Indeed, the dog
knew long before Elsie that the Kan
sas was ntloat again. At last she no.
ticed that the water in the cabin was
gurgling to and fro, and in the same
instant she felt the regular swing of