, 1921-12-17

H1Ne hFONo OF coCoLut pains lEtto
their tufted crssts snvinngiy.
We VIII camp IN this grors.- SAID
the commodore "nnd keep guard over
thess green cocoLuta There must b
nearly a hundred Of them n ! no
uce Q little taro root here and there.
As those q are full Of milk.
that insures Us life for a week or two
II we 90 on 4 short ration. By bath
In several times a day we can keep
down u thirst some and perhaps
it1l rain"
What II It does7" snapped Captain
Seraggs bitterly. "we AMT got moth
In but our hats to catch It In"
We'll. then. scraggsy. old stiek-in.
the mud" replied the commodore
qu~izIically. 'it's a cinch you'l 20
thirsty. Your hat looks like a cul.
lender"
Captain scraggs choked with rage,
and Mr.. Gibney. springing at the near
est palm. Skinned TO the top Of It in
momen later. instead OF c~oconuts,
rich %unctuous curses began to de-
seend on McGurey and scragg4 z
"Gib, my dear boy" inquifsa
Scraggs, whatever is the matter OF
your
That hound Tabu-Tabu's been
strippln' our coeonut grove" roared
the commodore. He must have spent
half the night up In these trees"
Thank the Lord they didn't take
EN- all said McGuney piously.
Chuck ne down n nut. Glib" said
Captain scraggs. "rm famished."
In conformity with the commodore's
plans. the castaways made camp in
the grove. Fol a week they subslst-
ed on gooneys, taro root, coconuts
and coconut milk. n n sca.turtle
which Scrnggs found wandering on
the beach. This suggested turtle
eggs TO Mr.. Gibney. and a change Of
diet resulted. Nevertheless. the I'M
accustomed food, poorly cooked as II
was. and The lack OF water. told cru
ely on them. and their strength
thiled rapidly.
AT the end Of a week, all hands were
troubled with indigestion and McGuf.
fey developed a low fever. They had
lost much flesh and were a white, bag
gard-looking trio. On the afternoon
Of the tenth day on the island the sky
clouded up and Mr.. MeGuffey predict.
ed a wlllwaw. Captain Scraggs In.
CURED feebly II II was good to eat.
That night It rnlned. and to tho
great Joy OF the mnrooned mariners
Mr.. Gibney discovered. In the center Of
a big sandstone rock, a natural reser.
solr that held about ten gallons of wa
ter. They drank to repletion and felt
their strength return a thousand-fold.
Tabu-Tabu and the king came into
amp about this time, and pleaded for
a ration Of water. Mr.. Gibney. swear
ing horribly at them, granted their re-
quest. and the king, in his gratitude,
threw himself ut the commodore's feet
and kissed them. But Mr.. Gibney was
not to be deceived, and after furnish.
Ing them with a supply of water In
roconut c~alnbnshes. he ordered them
fo.their own side OF the island.
On the eighteenth day the last drop
of water was gone. and on the twenty,
second day the last OF the ~coconuts
disappeared. The prospects OF more
rain were not bright. The gooneys were
becoming shy and d~istrustfui and the
syndicate was experiencing more and
moro difficulty. not only In killing
them. but In eating them. McGuffey,
who had borne up uncomplnIningly.
was shaking with fever and hardly
able to stagger down the beach to look
for turtle eggs. The syndicate was
sick, weak and emaciated almost be-
yond recognition. and on the twenty.
fifth day Captain Scraggs tainted
twice. On the tw~enty-sixth day Nc
Guney crawled into the shadow OF a
sfunted mimosa bush and started to
prayi
1t was the finish. The commodore
knew 1t. and cat with bowed head In
his gaunt arms, wondering, wondering.
Slowly his body began to sway; he
muttered something. slid forward on
his face, and lay still. And as he lay
there on the threshold of the unknown
he dreamed that The Maggie II came
into view around the headland. a bone
In her teeth and every stitch Of canvas
flying. He saw her luff up into the
wind and hang there shivering; a mo-
ment later her sails came down by the
run. and he saw n little splash under
her port bow as her hook took bottom.
There was a commotion on decks, and
then to Mr.. Glbney's dying ears camc
family the shouts and songs Of the
black boys as q whaleboat shot into
the breakers and pulled swiftly toward
the beach. Mr.. Gibney dreamed that
a white man sat In the stern sheets Of
this whaleboat, and as the boat
touched the beach it seemed to Mr..
Gibney that this man sprang ashore
and ran swiftly toward him. And
Mr.. Gibney twisted his suffering lips
into a wry smile as he realized the
oddities OF this mirage-it seemed to
him that this visionary white man
bore'a striking resemblance to Neils
Hnlvorsen. Neils Halvorsen. OF all
meni Ole Neils. ''the squarehead"
deckhand Of the greer-pea tradel Dull,