Show LA V ya OW 44 A ri I 1 V aill fit ay pa fac SYNOPSIS the story opens 3 with the introduction of 0 john stephens id td a massa chu man marooned by aut author hortes t es at valparaiso chile being interested in mining operations in bol via he was de no bounced need by ch ie le as an insurrect onist anu and a con consequence sequence was hiding at his hotel his attention attention was attracted by an en englishman g ishan ish an and a young woman st stephens eph resau rescued ed the young woman from a drunken officer he v was as tl ti anaed by her admiral of tl ti e peruvian navy con fronted stephens told him that war had been declared between cl ie Is and peru and offered him the office ot of captain he desired that that n the esmeralda a chilean vessel should be captured stephens stephen accepted the commiss on stephens met a motley crew to which he was assigned he lie gave them final in they boarded the vessel they successful success fu ly Y captured the vessel supposed to be the esmeralda tl ti rough strategy capt stephens gave d erections lons ions tor for the de facture of the craft he ile entered the cab I 1 and discovered tl ti e engi sh woman and her maid stepi ens qu akly learned the wrong vessel had been captured it was lord darl agton s private yacht the lord s u ife and n aid being aboard he ile explained the situation to her lady ship then first mate tuttle laid bare the plot saying that tl ti e sea queen had been taken in order to go to the anbarc tic circle tuttle explained that on a former voyage he had learned tl at the donna isabel was lost in 1753 he ile had found it frozen in a huge case of ice tee on an island and contained much gold stephens consented to be the captain of the tion he to told id lady darlington she was greatly alarmed but expressed con confided fIden e in him the sea queen encountered d a vessel in the fog stephens attempted attempt eq to comm licate this caused a fierce struggle and I 1 e was overcome tuttle final y squaring the s t bation then the sea queen headed beaded south again under tuttle s gu dance the ves yes sel bel made progress toward its goal de nova the mate tola told stepi ens that he bel eved eyed tuttle now acting as sk insane because of his queer actions stephens was awal ened by crashing of glass he ile saw tuttle in the grip of a spasm of us mania and overcame him the sailor pon regaining his senses be abe was taken ill tattle comm eted de by shooting upon vote of the crew stephens assumed the leadership and the men decided to continue ane treasure I 1 the islands being supposed to be only miles d stant tuttle was burled buried in the sea lady darlington pronouncing the service S epheus awaking from sleep saw the ghost supposed to have formed the basis tor for tuttle tuttles s rellious rell gous ous mania upon advice of lady darl agton S epheus started to probe the ghost he lie came upon sanchez the drunk en officer he had humbled in ration elle cl lie he ile found that at sanchez in inspiration pi en gin gincer e er mcl played ghost to scare the men into 9 ving up the quest steph ens announced that the sea queen was at the spot I 1 ere tuttle a quest was sup posed to be the tle crew vas anxious to go on in f artl e bearch de no a and steph ens conque ed them in a fist f fi ht lady D darl r anton thanked him the sea queen started northward sl SI e was wrecked in a tog fog Ste de nova lady darlington and her maid being among those to set out in a life boat ten were re cued steab stephens e n s saw aw only on one e chance in a thou sand and for tor I 1 tf fe lady darlington confessed her love to stepi ens an I 1 I 1 e did I 1 kew se be lady darlington told her I 1 1 fe story how bow she h had a d been bartered tor for a title he her r learning ng for absent love she revealed herself as the school chum of stephens sister liter she expressed a wish to d q in the sea rather than face her former friends and go back to the old life A sh p w was as sighted the craft proved to be a de derel r 1 ct they boarded her sl SI e was frozen tag tig t wit with h I 1 aundreas of years of ice the es sel bel v as the donna isabel lost in 1 53 16 1 6 i e ears rs previous the brozen bod es of the friner former crew were removed they the Y read th the e log of the isabel which told how th the spaniards had d ed from cold one by 0 one ne lady par darl agton sang to prey prevent ent the men from becoming moody the crew commenced the hun tor for treasure they found tl e iro tro i che it said to contain a part of 3 pesos firn ly imbedded in ice tee lady darlington expressed the belief that it would never benefit tl e men for s phe he said the donna isabel would neer never reach port the men got a lust tor for gold CHAPTER cont aued no sir but they 11 be there oh yes no doubt they 11 be there but the only way we could ever get hem them out would be to run this hooker ashore in some mild climate and let the ice fee melt its plain enough to see what has happened the donna isa bel sailed in ballast these chests be ing about the only cargo she carried they shifted in the heavy seas and the lord only knows where they are now anyway they are safe beyond the reach ot of 3 our ice cleaver they stared into each others faces the disagreeable truth slowly pene brating their minds kelly spoke his voice trembling then why the hell sir couldn coulden t we do just what you sa d da what run her simply be cause my iad lad that shore happens to be a thousand miles away and I 1 doubt it this wreck keeps afloat three days longer their excited faces told of lity of a suspicion that I 1 was playing with them and I 1 went on swiftly you fellows have been so cr y the last two daas da s you haven t thought ot of anything but gold I 1 tell you it is not the treasure tie asure but our lives weve we ve got to save the ice is peeling off the sides and the ship is taking water like a sieve we are going to be driven back to the long longboat boat and how much of this heavy stuff can we transport in hera I 1 know its mighty tough lads but we might as neli veli face things as they are I 1 expected opposition but not such a wild storm of curses and execrations as greeted these words all sense of sea discipline vanished even de nova joining in the outcry I 1 remained planted across the box waiting for the bedlam to cease uncertain how I 1 had best attempt to restore them to their senses cole decided the matter by rushing forward like an enraged bull throwing me aside with a heave at df his shoulder the next instant bury ng his hands in the coins that the ellow was out of his head was evi lent enough mad as a march haxe R 1 aej 4 J ad 14 y f V e e L 14 11 unless its a F you want asand and back the wl wi ole of you youl but I 1 could not hesitate because of that those others were on the verge all they needed for open revolt was wah leadership example and I 1 caught up a chair and laid the blubbering negro on the deck pieces of eight flying in every direction as he be fe I 1 unless its a fight you want stand hack back the whole of ou I 1 threatened the broken chair still in my hands we may be able to this chest or a part of it with us but there is going to be no more digging done down below de nova who are you with in this row the men or mea by gar it makes me mad to give up all zat monies well get mad I 1 you 11 have to give it up just the same don dont t be a fool man you can see thio tor for yourself you re a sailor it would require a year to tunnel through that ice with the tools we ve got and look at the hull under us why you can see the I 1 st of the deck even here in the cabin and the feel of her when he drops in to a hollow is enough to make a sea man sick which is worth most mate those yellow boys or the little girl he looked at celeste faced the tears staining her cheeks her eyes glowing like two coals and all the fierce passion of res stance seemed to desert his countenance his glance dropped to the deck returning to my face by gar it if you put it zat way mon zen I 1 choose the lady sure but ze sing I 1 want Is both of em no doubt but aou ou have sense enough to realize that you cant can t have both so I 1 count you with rith me now how about you Johnson 9 the big hairy seaman sober faced and grave eyed glanced about oni his mates and straightened up I 1 im in here to obey orders sir he said slowly I 1 ve allers been poor an I 1 reckon the lord don t mean me to ever git rich I 1 held out my hand deeply touched by the sterling honesty of the reply you ve got something worth more han than money bill and that s manhood you stand the ac d shake hands mate he responded awkwardly enough laving having received more cuffs than pra se during his rough sea life yet the ex ares slon in the mild blue eyes gave me confidence that I 1 had touched the right chord I 1 surveyed the others mcknight leaning on the cleaver red faced and scowling Aling sanchez kelly and dade back of him the negro still groaning on the deck dade come here the fellow shut fled oyei toward me as spineless as a jelly fish now kelly you and san chez lay cole ole out in a bunk and dress his head all he needs is a bandage and plenty of cold water when you get done with that job come on deck and ill find you another mcknight drop that cleaver and come along with us they did not like it but with de nova johnson and ard dade standing behind me they realized the uselessness useless nesa ae avolt their P hesitation and growl ing curses irritated me none the less jump you fellows unless you want the same medicine cole just took the two men lifted the negro in their arms and bore him hack back to one of the state rooms aft kelly came oat again and returned with a panni kin of water I 1 hent bent down and closed the lid of the chest the five of us tramped out on deck it was wits indeed a rare day for that season of the year and in that ocean the sky overhead pale blue and cloud less the wide sea stirred merely by the gentlest swell the slight breeze steady and barely firm enough to hold the rotten canvas stiff there was even sufficient lelent heat in the suns rays to moisten the ic along the decks where the chill of the wind did not strike and the sweep of the horizon extended farther than we had seen tor for weeks the beauty of the da would have put new heart and life into all of us but for the miserable wreck under foot the very glare of the sunlight seemed to reveal with new vividness how close the end was light as the u bea ran the ice laden bow of the don na isabel ploughed deeply under every crest bursting in white foam through the break in the port bul barks the list inthe in the deck so steep we made our way forward with difficulty along the slippery surface our rate of progress had become so slow as to leave only the barest ripple in the wake clambering over into the tore fore chains chalus I 1 poin pointed ed out to the men how the sea coaching Mo N was encroaching aching on the bulging side they stared at the evidence gravely each comprehending clearly the dread meaning jet et no one spoke for a min etc I 1 reckon you was right sir ad bitted johnson finally the old hook er is goin down de nova peered along the slippery deck gleaming in the sun moodily but said nothing until he looked up and caught my eyes wat W at 3 iou ou do monsieur 7 I 1 mean to hold on as long as it is safe I 1 replied because the cabin gives shelter to the w women men we all know what the open boat zak means and m r 11 II p it that off until the last possible moment we are not making much progress it s true but still every mile helps and if it this weather will only hold the wreck may keep afloat for several days yet but we il 11 get everything fixed tor for a quick depart ure kelly and sanchez appeared in the cabin door and I 1 called to them to join us now lads lets make use of what daylight we ve got left this weather is likely to change hange any minute three of you lower that j b and get out the canvas belonging to the longboat piece the jib up with any old stuff you can and that will stand a light wind de nova you take charge of I 1 hat that job dade you d better run back 0 the e tiller and bold hold her steady as the he jib cornea comes down johnson and I 1 will see that the longboat is sound stocked and ready tor for launching we made a thorough job of it over hauling bauling the boat from stem to stern tern and ending by rigging up block and tackle for hoisting her when loaded oner ov er the bulwarks we lashed the dunna donna isabel s helm again and dis latched dade into the cabin after sup plies the greater portion of the stores brought from the sea queen more especially the canned goods remained intact and we packed these away snugly in the stern lockers add ing whatever we could find that re eatable among the frozen 1 tores in the cazarette laz arette altogether we thus amassed a sufficient supply we rolled up all the extra blankets chov ing them under the seats and saw that serviceable spars and oars were safely stowed and lashed it w was a s growing dusk before these matt matters ers had all been attended to and I 1 finally stepped out of the boat the men were massed in a body on the deck and the moment I 1 saw them I 1 understood they had been discussing the situation de nova spoke monsieur he questioned how much in american money would be in ze chest I 1 don t know of course but just tor for a guess perhaps maybe more an zare be only ze ten of us to divide it up make maybe tent ten t busand I 1 dollar tor for each was it not so soa why yes or even more than that for I 1 will cheerfully waive my share and can pledge that lady darlington will do the same but what of it ltv ait fine lot monies tor for sailor man he said eagerly an wy w not have ra antho w wy y not try to save ita ae long boat is built to hoi hol 25 peoples an we only ten zen w y not take ze gol i it eat not ing it drink pot not ing an it it weight too much zen we t row it overboard but w Y not try carry it ze hundred t tousand dollar there wag was no good reason why we t besides the very pos possibly sibil ty of preserving even that share of tho the treasure would prove an inspire atlon to the men I 1 looked about into their anxious faces feeling myself some measure of their excitement that will be all right lads I 1 said gladly youve earned it fair enough and well start with it anyhow take the stuff out of the chest and tie it up in blankets then we can stow it away evenly so as to keep the boat bal alced but I 1 kidded added as the memory of what doris had said came to me I 1 think it only fair to tell you that I 1 im in sure there Is 1 bad luck in every I 1 eso of it the men gave my croaking prophecy no second thought but went trotting aft chattering together like a parcel of ut boys CHAPTER in n which the donna isabel goes down the following night and day passed quietly enough the weather holding clear but with a mist slowly gather ng in the south that seemed to threat n change I 1 observed just before sun set that this fog had so thickened and spread aa as to a third of he the sky and yet there was no veering it of the wind or noticeable increase in the he roll of the sea the hulk wag was sinking yet so slowly that we were aly only certain of the fact through con stant measurements and the sight of water seeping in through the numer ous us cracks revealed by the digap ice it was a situation to get apon the nerves yet I 1 do not kemem her er that it occasioned any great shange change in the routine of our life on oard board TO BE CONTINUED |