Part 17 (1/2)

Perhaps they were already on board in overwhelirl, she murmured a prayer while she hurriedly drew on her boots and ulster

There seemed to be no end to the evils which assailed the _Kansas_, and she dreaded this new terror hting for their lives and her's, she must help, too

That was clear She had a weapon, a loaded revolver, which she had picked up fro on the spar deck She opened her door and peered out She could not see any one, and the rattle of a hail-storm overhead effectually dulled any other noise

But several shots fired again in the fore part of the shi+p were audible above the din of the pelting hail So she ran that ith the fine courage of one who fears yet goes on, and her eyes pierced the shadoith a tense despair in theainst the unseen watchers who sent up the thirty-four smoke columns she had counted?

Ah, trust a woht! Courtenay and Christobal and Tolleuous words Elsie could have told theht her own enes she had saved ainst whom the shi+p was helpless

CHAPTER IX

A PROFESSOR OF WITCHCRAFT

Quickly as Elsie had reached the deck, the warlike sounds which disturbed her rest had ceased Save for the footsteps of men whom she could not see, the prevalent noises were caused only by wind and sleet

While she was hurrying forward as rapidly as the darkness perhts were switched on with a suddenness that ain, but it was easy to distinguish his sharp yelps of excitement and defiance from the earlier notes of alarmed suspicion

In fact, Joey himself was the first to discover the stealthy approach of the Indians Courtenay and Tolleht to 4 AM, had failed to note the presence of several canoes on the ink-black surface of the bay until the dog warned theht was pitch dark; the rising moon was not only hidden by the hills of the island, but frequent stored to see or hear beyond the distance of a few feet In all probability, as the canoes bore down frohly iht be expected Three ained the deck, but the prompt use of a revolver had caused them to retreat as silently and speedily as they had appeared That was all There was no actual fight The phantoms vanished as silently as they cahts on the shi+p were the hts, hoisted by Courtenay to reveal the steamer's whereabouts in case one of the boats chanced to be driven into the bay during the dark hours

There was an electric laine room, and another in thewithout; if the Indians hts on board would be more helpful to the assailants than to the assailed

When the captain and Tolleures, vaguely outlined by the ruddy glare of the port light, in the very act of cli the rails They fired instantly, and the naked for caused by the leaping or falling of the Indians into the sea By the same subdued radiance Courtenayup close to the shi+p's side He leaned over, fired a couple of shots doards at random, seized the pole, and lashed it to a stanchion with a loose rope end, a res A small craft, even an Indian canoe, would be ht tend to scare the attackers

Telling Tolleuard, he raced back to the saloon hatch and summoned assistance The others searched the shi+p in sone; it was manifest that none beyond those driven off at the first onset had secured a footing on deck Then, taking the risk of being shot at, Courtenay ordered the lights to be turned on, and the first person he saw clearly was Elsie

He was al here?” he de not to fear his brusque ways He was no carpet knight, and men who carry their lives in their hands do not pick and choose their words

”I thought you were in danger, so I cao back to your cabin at once”

”Why? Of what avail is the safety of ic is apt to be irritating when one expects a flight of arrows, or, it unshot, out of the blackness a few feet away

”For goodness' sake, stand here, then,” he cried, seizing her ar which carried the bridge

She did not object to his roughness In the midst of actual peril, impressions are apt to be cameo-cut in their preciseness, and she liked hihly Of course, the mere presence of a woman at such a time was a hindrance But she was determined not to return to her stateroo the condition of affairs on board the _Kansas_

The captain quitted her for a moment in order to dispatch a Chilean sailor for a lantern and a long cord He wished to investigate the captured canoe

Christobal, who had made the round of the promenade deck, ca the girl