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Show ' 77 TREASURE BOX ! Erlii i ItVe had Just got back to Manila after a three-weeks' cruise to the southward, and for the Jlrst time since wc had been trading around the islands had made a "broken trip;" that 1h, the net receipts had not covered the running i xpenses. Knapp & Bole?, who owned the pchooner, were fairly disgusted; but as far as r was concerned tho trip had been a great success. This was due to the fact that one evening, while becalmed, be-calmed, I had caught on my canvas a ertain effect of the short-lived tropic afterglow for which 1 had been striving in Vain for months. It was from these studies that my Academy picture, "'Moonrise in the Tropics," was developed. devel-oped. The morning after we got back Knapp and I had gone ashore on our usual tour of Inspection, which Included a visit to the Senate, a drive round Ma-late, Ma-late, tiffin at the Orlcnte and the usual Luneta promenade late in tho after-l'oon. after-l'oon. "We had worked our way along the line as far as the hotel, and were Just entering when Knapp gave a sharp tug to my sleeve. I looked around, and there Hwns a sight to be lingered on by one Just down from deep waters. An eaulpago such as one seldom sees In the Philippines Philip-pines -was drawing up to the curb. Harnessed to a. stylish but diminutive-cabriolet diminutive-cabriolet were two wicked, spirited Utile Ut-ile jot-black stallions, snapping and MM the box were a coachman and a groom, MM loth Tagals, and resplendent In llvcr- MM les of white duck, with scarlet facings MM and silver buttons. MM Reclining upon cushions of pongeo MM silk was a woman "of such audacious MM beauty that merely to glance at her MM was like a rebuke. She was. of the con- MM splcuous Irish type; the combination of MM blue-grey eyes, black lashes and a wavy MM mass of blue-black hair, with high, nnt- MM ural coloring, and one of those superbly MM c onspicuous figures which arc a menaco MM to society In any part of the world. MM I was the Tlrst to recover, and man- MM aged to rouse Knapp. MM "God all sufficiency;" said he, "ain't MM she a pippin?" MM Tho carriage drew up and the lady MM, descended and "brushed past us wlth- 1 out a glance. We followed her dazedly j Into tho hotel, breathing an atmosphere, MM of ambrosia. Judging such propinquity j to be unsettling to Knapp, I drew him 1 into the bllllard-room. MM "Wc had been playing but a few min- MM utcs when I heard a rustle behind me, MM and, looking around, I saw to my sur- MM prise that the woman was standing by MM the door, talking to the Spanish man- MM ager. As I glanced up I caught her MM eye, and felt In some way that they MM were talking about Knapp and me. MM When she saw that I had noticed her MM she turned away, and a few minutes MM later the Spaniard, whom we knew, MM t ame In and began to talk to us, telling 'the latest news and asking us about MM our last cruise. As we were about to MM 'leave he asked in Spanish: MM "Where are you lying now?' MM "Same old place," said I, "over be- MM hind the breakwater, near tho Dia- MM mante moorings." MM "Going to be there long?" he asked. "Couple of days," I answered. MM As we went out wc saw him putting MM Jhe "pippin" Into her carriage. She MM drove off and the manager came over MM lo where we stood. H "Mrs. Hunter asks If you will be so MM kind as to give this note to Capt. MM lioles when you go aboard," said he. MM "Certainly," I answered, in surprise MM "but who Is Mrs. Hunter?" MM "The lady who just drove away, MM Knapp looked at me and whistled. MM "The darn old fox!" ho said. MM "Conic on, Brownie, let's get out MM aboard." MM "You go If you're in such a hurry MM to play messenger boy for Boles. I am MM out for a time of my own!" That MM straightened him out. MM When wq got aboard that night I MM gave Boles the note and Knapp gave MM him the particulars, which were more MM 'nterestlng, ris, the note Blmply re- MM quested him to call on the sender at MM the hotel tho following afternoon. MM Holes looked puzzled; then so annoyed MM that Knapp kindly volunteered to take MM his place. Knowing something of Boles's MM past. I could understand his reluctance. MM fter a few minutes' thought, however, MM he thanked Knapp somewhat sarcastl- MM rally and said that lie would keep the MM engagement himself.' MM When he returned, two hours later, MM ho wore a peculiar smile which broad- MM cned when he caught, sight of Knapp' s MM expression of polite and sympathetic Ir. MM MM "Well, boys," he said, "I won'.t keep MM you in suspense. It's a business prop- MM oskion, and you can have it Just as,I MM sot MM "Several months ago there was a cer- MM tain volunteer regiment stationed at MM Mataborong in Mindanao. When they MM took the place a lieutenant man named MM Durand, In kicking out some loose ma- MM sonry from the edge of a loophole which MM had been knocked in the wall of the MM cathedral came upon a brass-bound MM box". He got rid of his men on some) MM ' pretext, and stowed the box away for MM 1 the time being. That night he got hold MM of a canoe -and paddled his loot over MM to an island about a mile off shore, MM where he buried it. making a careful MM chart of the surroundings. MM "Two days later the padre came to j him and, after some"prcamble, politely MMM accused him of having looted the trca- MMM fctire. Durand, with equal courtesv, MM politely denied the charge, but asked MM for a description of the treasure that MM he might make every effort to receiver MM It. A lengthy discussion brought out MM the facts that the box contained pearls. MM and gold to the value of many tnou- MM and pesos. The pearls, It seemn, hart MM como by a series of thefts. The gold 1j tho result of a Joint thievery of even more ancient and venerable dignity, carried on by the padre and the presi-dento, presi-dento, and ultimately acquired by the j former without his partner's knowledge and consent. "The irony of fate sent Xhirand on , a hike with his company the very next day, and before he got back his leg ' was broken by a Remington and he was sent up lo Manila, where he was In hospital three months. Durlug hia ' convalescence he got a month's f ur- Hl lougn and went up to Yokohama, where H; he met Mrs. Hunter, to whom, in a Hj moment of folly, he told the storj' of H- his loot of the box. They came back j' to Manila together on the Esmeralda from Hongkong, and must have had some little unpleasantness on the way, to judge from her manner in speaking HHJ of him. As soon as Durand reported Hj! 'he was ordered immediately to Calam- Hj ha, leaving the same day. o H' "Mrs, Hunter, it seems, has in some way got a copy of Durand's chavt. She istfMy claims that the game is a crooketl one all the way through; that Durand was the Jast one to steal the loot, and , she In turn proposes to steal it from Durand. She claims, with some ingenuity, inge-nuity, that her ethical point is- the strongest yet, as all Is fair in love and war, which gives' her a. double claim. However, since Durand is apt to go after the chest at almost any time, alio has got to do her part of the stealing pretty quick, If she Is going to do it at all, and as she seems to have heard of us in some way or other, she wants to charter the schooner to go after the loot. I told her that I'd give her an answer this afternoon. Now, what d'ye say?" We wore silent for fully live minutes, then suddenly Knapp hit the heavy skylight sky-light a blow-with his fist that made it rattle. The dull look went out of his eyes, and the dark lines at the corners of hla mouth deepened. "I don't like it!" he growled; "we've been mixed up in Nome fairly crooked deals, but so far we haven't done any onA dirt that didn't deserve It. This poor cuss of a lieutenant has stumbled on a pretty little piece of loot; then he had the hard luck to get winged before he could pack it off. This black-eyed lady works the Delilah racket on him, and learns the combination of the safe. She had a nerve, anyway!" He turned to Boles: "What right had Bhe Ho think that we mightn't get in line and hold her up for tho loot?" "She was frank enough about that," said Boles. "She had to take a chance unyway, and I fancy she's no fool. She just sized me up, and then gambled on my not belrtg quite low enough for that. Also she Intends to go with us." "What did she offer you. anyhow?" "An even half. Pretty clever what? And I greatly misdoubt the entire truth of her statements in regard lo locality and so forth." "Look here," I suggested, "that lieutenant lieu-tenant man will never get a chance to go down there after his loot, and even if he did, it would probably cost him as much as it Is worth. Let's make the lady agree to a division Into thirds one to her, one lo the boat and one to tho 'luff.' After we get the treasure, If we decide that he Is getting too much or too little out of it, wc can arrange it accordingly. He'll be in no position to kick." The3' thought this proposition over for a few minutes, and finally decided that it was fair enough, and as good as any other. Boles went ashore the following morning morn-ing and arranged It with Mrs. Hunter, and abdut 1 o'clock they came off aboard. Wo weighed anchor that night as soon as It grew dark and morning found us well out In the China Sea, as we were going around into the Sulu Sea through tho Apo West Passage. The weather was good, but the breezes light and fickle, and the third day out found us still beating back und forth off the Sultana Sul-tana Bank. Early in the afternoon of the fourth day we sighted Mataborong, and by S o'clock had dropped anchor off the cast end of the island, where, according to the chart, the treasure was hid. Our object was to get the box and get away undisturbed, so Boles. Mrs. Hunter and I went ashore at once, leaving Knapp Jn charge of the schooner. We had no difficulty whatever in following the directions di-rections of the chart, as It was very simple, consisting only of a rough sketch of the island, which showed three little promontories on the eastern east-ern e,nd. On ono of these there was a circle marked "tree," on the south side of which there ran a dotted line marked "f.O due S.;" at the end of the line there was an "X," which we took to indicate the location of the box. The tide was dropping, and our impatience im-patience had reached such a fever by tho time that we struck the beach that we simply hauled the dinghy high and dry on tho beach and left her. Boles whipped out his pocket compass and got a range due south from the tree, while I got out a tape and laid off fifty feet. Rather to my surprise it took me right into the middle of a little patch of thick bushes that looked like rhododendron. "This Isn't right," I called to Boles. "These bushes have never been disturbed dis-turbed in the last three months!" "Oh, you can't tell." answered Boles; "these tropical plants grow fast, and he might have sunk his loot in there on purpose. Let's try it, anyway." Wo probed the sandy soil here and there with a long iron rod which we had broughtT for the purpose, and wherever it struck a firm resistance for a couple of feet we dug. After about an hour's vain cfTort, in which wc had probed and rooted nil over an, area of about ten feet square, wc paused, and I for one had a cold, leaden weight of disappointment, dis-appointment, under my ribs. Mry. Hunter had worked as hard and as silently as we, and now sat on the sand with her arms clasped about her knees and her great dark eyes brooding brood-ing out over the sea. Suddenly she sprang lo her feet. "Oh. sillies! Sillies'1' she called to us mockingly, nnd flew back to the palm tree. The next moment she was pacing pac-ing toward us In long rhythmic strides, her eyes sparkling and a derlsh-e smile on her silently moving Hps. 1 For a moment we looked at her amazed with the vague idea that she had an attack of the sun. Then, together, to-gether, we caught the reason of It all, and with a wild whoop sprang to our feet. "We're a gallus team of treasure hunters," said Boles.. "I wonder how jolly long it would take us to find a lump of loot that was really hidden. Any ass might have known that the chart meant pacey. not feet aB if a man alone in tho dead of night was going go-ing lo get out his yardstick, and lay It off" , , A clear and triumphant call from the lady interrupted our count and we broke into a run. She was executing a Spanish dance around a small washed-out heap of sand and shells. We bawled at Emllio to bring the tools and In the meantime attacked the hummock hum-mock with hand and foot. Two minutes' hard digging and we had unearthed a brass-bound camphor-wood camphor-wood chest, about two feet by one by one. A sudden silence fell upon us all. "Let's open it," whispered our Pandora- "No," said Boles, "let's get it aboard and get out as quick as we can."" Staggering under the weight of the little chest, which was delightfully heavy, we hurried back to the beach-then beach-then paused In consternation. "Why, Where's the boat?" cried Mrs. Hunter. In silence wc made our way to where we had left the dinghy. Not a trace of her was visible. Jordan Knapp can tell the rest of the yarn better than I can. After the rest of the people had ahoved off to go ashore and look for the treasuro box, I got out the glass and watched them until they had landed and disappeared around the point. I was all alone aboard except for a little Tagal that we'd shipped aa cook, but all that he could cook was rice and fish, and he couldn't cook that without burning burn-ing it, so we'd Just put him at odd Jobs, scraping and painting and cleaning, and tho like. "Take this glass, you scrub," said I. "and shin up topside and keep your lamps glued on that beach, and If you see anything but sand and water sing out. If you drop that glass," Bald I, as I stood In the companlonway, "I'll hang ye by your feet from the crosstrees, and leave ye there till they drop ofT!" It's always a good plan to be firm with these natives. It was mighty tiresome for me, so T went down below and read a book called "Lured Away," but it didn't Interest In-terest me much, and pretty soon I closed my eyes and just rested a bit. The next thing I heard was the Filipino kid equalling out from the top. I got up and went. on deck. "What is It7" said I, sort of put out at being disturbed. He Jabbered away and pointed to the shore. I looked over there and saw that tho people had got in the boat and were pulling down the beach- A ways down they landed nnd began to haul the boat up into the bushes. I could pust make out threo of them, so I judged that Emilio was on lookout. That brought mo up all standing, for I guessed they'd run up against some thing they hadn't counted on, but I reckoned they were in no danger, aa otherwise they'd have pulled right off aboard: still I didn't like It for a cent. I waited and waited, but nothing came In sight, so after about an hour I went below again, telling the kid up aloft1 to keep his eyes peeled or I'd peel them for him with my jack-knife. In a llltre while he sings out again, and going go-ing on deck I saw that all four of them had come back to where they had landed first off. They walked around a bit and then went up and sat down in the shade of the bushes. That puzzled me some, but I reckoned that they were waiting for dark for some reason before they came off. The sun was setting then, and as I judged they'd be hungry when they came aboard I started to get snipper. The night came down dark and gloomy, and still they didn't come aboard. I hated to leave the schooner unprotected, so pretty soon I called the cub aft and told him to get in the gig and pull in and see what was up. We could see tho island shining in the starlight, star-light, nnd I had no fear 'of his clearing out, as he was too homesick for the Paslg. After he had gone I got the blues so bad that I began to set the supper table In the cabin, and while I wus doing it I heard the boat come up alongside. Although I waB naturally dying to know if they had got the loot all right, by that time I was too put out with them to let orr, so I Just kept on what I was doing in a dignified sort of way. I heard them walking around on deck and wondered why In thunder they didn't come below. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and started up to tell them what I thought of the whole business. I came up on the jump and then as I struck the deck stopped short. In the glimmer of the riding light three rifles were covering me; two shoved almost In my face and one pointed at my stomach. "Throw up your hands!" said a sharp voice. There wasn't anything else much to do, so up went my paws, and for a minute I stood paralyzed with surprise. "Who In are you?" said I, when I got my breath back. "Never you mind, my man," said the same voice, which I made out to come from a tall chap dressed in khakis, "you just keep your hands up and your mouth shut, and you'll save- us both trouble." Somehow I suspected who the fellow fel-low was, although where he came from beat mi, so I chirped out: "If you're Lieut. Durand, there's no call to get so peevish about it all we're calculating to give you your share " He Interrupted me wllh a short, snappj laugi. "Ho!" said he, "my share! That's damn good why, you bloomin' pirate, what's the matter with it -all being my share? What business have you got prowlln around my loot, anyway?" "Oh, I don't know," sajd I. "It's pretty much the same business with you and the padre and the presidente and the rest of tho crowd have been promoting." The little fellow who corded mo up knew his business all right, and when he got througlt with me I could hardly wiggle my shoulders. Pretty soon the little stout chap dropped over the side and handed a big bundle up lo one of the others. As they dropped It on the deck I saw that St was my Filipino brat, bagged and bound. The little man stayed in the boat and in a moment shoved off. and started to pull in toward the shore, and as he got clear of the slde' I noticed that he was towing a boat. That startled me, and I returned to Durand. "Look here, mIMcr," said T, "do you mind telling a fellow whether his mates are all right?" "Oh, no," said he, careless; "now that we've got all the trumps, I don't know as it does any harm for you to see -our hand got anything to smoke?" "A-plenly," said I, "Just take a look below and you'll Gnd all the comforts of a home table set and supper waiting, pancakes getting cold. I'll thank ye to bring me up a cigar when you come If you'll be so kind!" He laughed and went below, and in a minute came up with a bowl of rice and some canned things. From the way he and his mate sailed into tho chow I Judged that they must have been on short rations for a while. "Look here, Captain," said he, when finally he'd got tilled up chock-u-block, "you've entertained us so handsomely that I don't mind telling you a few-things. few-things. You seem to know all about the loot.' but you probably didn't know that I started after It myself from Zam-boanga Zam-boanga three days ago. I took this gentleman here Into partnership, and we got a little schooner and sailed around here, and ivould have got the box and cleared the day before yesterday, yester-day, but we were foolish enough to leave the boat with no one aboard but the crew, and they had quletly vamoosed." "That was a fool trick on your part," said I, mightily interested. "So you've put in the lastuwo days on that Island!" "Yes eating cocoanuts and tish." "But how. about tlie loot?" I asked. "Oh, that's , coming. I had the pleasure of watching your people klndly digglng up 'my shnre' for me this afternoon. after-noon. We didn't take the trouble, as thero seemed no way of getting it off." Then things began to clear up, al though that didn't make me feel any happier." "Then it was you. fellows that swiped the boat and hid It down the beuch?" said I. "Just so taking care to wipe out our tracks." f 1 "Look here." said I. turning to him, "do you think this darn box Is worth our murdering each other about? You dan't get It away without our schooner, and you get it without a light to start with. Why can't we come to a divvy on It? We've admitted your right to a third of it " He cut in with that sarcastic laugh of his. v . "You're- right, Captain the box Isn't worth killing any one over, but I'm counting -on getting it without any ucrap. My SpanUh friend here" (he 'nodded at the man beside him) "was for shooting your people down from the bushes this afternoon, but I wouldn't hear of It. I've sent their boat In, and they'll find it In the morning and come off aboard. Then there'll be another Utile surprise party. I don't think they'll be so foolish as to fight when they get alongside and find three rifles looking at "cm." 1 saw his plan then, and I must say it made me respect him a lot. Tho night wore along, and by and by I woke up from a little nap and saw a faint glimmer of light In the .skylight. A few minutes later Durand, who was on deck, stuck his head down through the hatch. 'T Hllnlr T hnp Ihnm oftmmf en?r7 he. It was mighty disagreeable for me, waiting ' there and seeing everything working dght into their hands, but there was no help for It, and I couldn't help grinning a little to myself when I thought of Boles's surprise. I agreed with Durand that they would never be so foolish as to try to put up a fight when they found that the people on the schooner had the drop. The glimihcr in tho skylight grew brighter, and then suddenly I heard a hail from close albngsldc. I recognized Brown's voice. "Schooner aho-o-oy! Oh, Jordan! Aho-o-oy!" Something scraped along the deck over my head, and I heard Durand say: "Lie down flat behind the bulwarks." Brown hollered a few times more, anil then I caught the chunk of rowlocks. They must have been very close, for presently I heard Boles say: "The addle-headed ass has finally decided to go In nnd look for us and taken the boy with him;" then I lost what he said, v but presently I heard him growling away again, "or else he's caulked off down below waiting for us to wake him up with the pleasing news that he's a man of independent means " Funny how a little thing like that will sometimes irritate a man, especially espe-cially when it's so unjust. That bit of lip almost reconciled me to the surprise they were going to get. There was a moment's silence and I heard the boat jar up alongside then came a piercing scream and a roar of voices all together. "Helll" roared Boles; then bang! bang! Two reports, came almost together. to-gether. ' There was another scream, and I heard Boles roar out: "Drop that gun! drop it, woman!" There was another report and I felt the cold sweat break out all over me. "Stop firing!" yelled Durand's voice. "Stop It, you damn greaser!" "Oh, Lord!" I groaned to myself. "That's rotten murder. Oh, it I were only loose!" I put out every ounce of strength that was In me, but the coir rope was too strong. The squat little cuss looked down Into the cabin. "Lie still!" he bawled; "no one's hurt That cat tried to shoot Durand and the greaser took a shot at her, but Durand knocked his rifle up. It's all right lie still, d'ye hear?" Durand stuck his head into the hatchway. hatch-way. "Come up, Captain!" he ordered, and as well as I was able I wriggled on to my feet and went up. Standing close together by the bulwarks bul-warks ware Durand and his two partners, part-ners, rifles in hand Just the heads of tho people in the boat were in sight, and I don't thlnlc I ever saw an uglier look than was. on Boles's fae'e. "Get in the boat." said Durand sharply to me. He was a tall, handsome hand-some man, as I saw him in broad daylight, day-light, but I wasn't admiring his beauty much just then. "Almighty,'' said I, "you ain't a-going to leave us on that island, are you, Lieutenant?" What I wanted was to gain time. "Yes. I am." says he; "and a damn good place for three cursed pirates and a " I think that it was the word he called the woman that settled it. Quick as a flash I leaped behind him and planted roy heel in the small of his back. At the same time I drove my head against the shoulder of the little man and bulled him over the side as clean as a whistle. What followed happened too quick for words. Durand landed across the gunwale of the boat and tore awuy the whole strip and the little fellow, when he found himself going, leaped clear of the boat and swashed overboard. The greaser whipped around at mo with his rifle and I ducked Just in time, for his bullet creased my scalp from front to rear. Before he could shoot again Boles was up over the side and jammed him in the jaw with his list, knocking him clean across the deck. His rifle went spinning out of his hands, and, quick as a flash, Boles had whipped it up and sent a bullet through his head. In the boat little Brown had jumped Durand and shoved his head back over the splintered gunwale until it was in the water, and Emilio was on his feet find stabbing at the swimming man with the boat-hook, but, fortunately, couldn't reach him. "Cut me loose damn ye, cut me loose!" I yelled; for a man with his hands tied behind his back is in poor, shape for a general knock-down and drag-out. f "Hump, 'you're so handy with your feet, as tho Irishman says, that there doesn't seem to be much need," says Boles, in that aggravating way of his; but before I could think up any curse strong enough for him that wouldn't shock the lady, she had yanked out a little knife nnd cut me loose. "Brown," said Boles, "let that poor devil up. Do you think that's a nice way to treat an officer and a gentleman?" gentle-man?" "He's trying to pull a gun," said Brown in a hurt tone. "Well, pull It for him, and if he gls frisky clip him over the hea,d with it," said Boles. ' I called out to Emillo lo come abourd and look after his mate, and. picking up a heavy line, chucked it to the man who i was overboard. He grabbed It and I hauled him In and yanked him up over the side. "Now. young man." said r, "if you think that you pun keep quiet and behave be-have yourself, why, all right Oh, but if you're still looking for troublc'-J rubbed my arms where his miserable ' rope had cut Into them "I'll just try and make you as comfortable on that locker down below as you did me." lie lay panting and dripping on the deck, too winded to get on hla feet and without as much light In him aB a pol-lywog. pol-lywog. Pretty soon ho hauled himself up. Ho wasn't a bad looking young fellow, nnd I misdoubted that he might bo a junior deck officer off some transport trans-port and misled by Durand, "I'm through,' says he: "but If there's no hard feeling, matey, I'd like a sip o' that liquor belo'w If yo can trust me," ho added, sort of shamefaced. "I've no - fear," said I. "If I can't look after you and your lieutenant man, now that I've cast off my warps, it's time I quit. Go on down and get your drink but Just chuck that misguided greaser overboard before you go," said I- Boles and Brown had got Durand up out of the boat, and he was sitting on the deck with his back against the bullark mighty white and weak-looking. I reckon the crack he got from my foot and the gunnle of the boat Jarred up his Inside some. I looked around for the lady, being- curious to see what she'd have to say to him, but she was down in her berth and didn't show up again as long as Durand was aboard. We made sail and got up our hook, and by 0 o'clock were heading for the westward with a fair fresh wind. Not until then did" we crack open the trca's-1 trca's-1 ure box. It was pretty well lined, although al-though the pearls didn't quite come up to my Idea of what they might have been, but altogether we valued the thing nt about 55000 American; 'not much, of course, but worth the trouble we'd been put to. We opened it up on the quarter-deok, and Boles divided It oft into three equal parts; that Is, as equal as he could reckon it. Brown and I were mighty interested, but Durand sat right where he was with a sort of palu, contemptuous contemptu-ous grin on his face. Boles tore up three little pieces of paper pa-per and held them out to me. "Knapp, you can draw for tho lady It's for choice," says he. I drew the middle size, "Second choice.' says Boles. He Held his fist out to the lieutenant. "What's this damn foolishness?" says Durand in an ugly voice. Bole's eyebrows eye-brows came together and ho gave Durand Du-rand a look that brought the blood into ills face. "It's for your share of tho loot, Mr. Olllcerman," said he, in that cold voice of his; "of course, If you dan't want it you're at perfect liberty to leave it." Durand's face got redder and redder : 1 rev and he tried to stare Boles out of coun- . ( mm tC"Ho!''Snidhe:''doyoumeanto.say , MM that I come in on this7 , mkM , "Of course, you do." said Boles In an , H impatient voice. "Go ahead and chaw mm nnd let's get through with it. mM Durand stared at him for a mhme and his jaw. dropped; then reached out and took one of the sni , KMi "First choice," says Boles third i mM goes to the ship not that It makes any mm difference that I can see." i MM Durand sort of hesitated, then sua- denly he reached out his hand to BoIch. mM "I've made a mistake and I want to ( mM apologize," says he. "Will you shako mM . hands?" mmU "With pleasure," says Boles. MM ' VJc shook hands all around then, and I' MM Durand told the little cuss that hed : mM see that he didn't lose anything by the V MM trip. Then wo all went down and had a MM a drink. We got ofC Zarnboonga about sun- U down, and there we put the lieutenant MM and his mate ashore. His company was mM there and not in Calamba, and I ox- MM peet he manufactured some sort of a yarn about his absence. On the way IH back to Manila the lady didn't have vMM much to say. She left us nB soon as wo MM got back, and that's the last I've ever mM seen of her. Hho really had nothing -JMM to complain of, but I'vo always had a MM sneaking notion that she would rather MM have had one of those shots of hers aL MM Durand find a bullseye than to collar mM a baker's dozen treasure boxes. |
