Part 27 (2/2)
He knew sufficient Spanish, eked out by signs, to bid Suarez hold the siren cord taut for aforth her loud blare of defiance, he ran down the bridge coarrison of the port promenade deck received hi to their position, were able to witness the Indians' retreat
He raced across to starboard, and found that, by unfortunate mischance, a Chilean fireh the brain The poor felloas prone on the deck; it was only too evident that a doctor's skill could avail hiht, so Tollemache had decided that he should not be taken below The incident marred an easily won victory Courtenay was assured in his ownthat he and Suarez, who occupied the erous position, were untouched This fatality was a rieved him sorely
Even while he bent reverently over the unlucky Chilean's body, the deafening vibration of the fog-horn ceased, and he heard Elsie's glad cry from the saloon:
”Oh my, here coe”
The girl's joyous exclamation, her prelude to a paean of thanks that the dreadful necessary slaying of e commentary on the shattered for the small company on board, it had been decreed that one, at least, after surviving so ave orders that the dead man should be carried to the poop to await a sailor's burial; then he turned, and with less sprightly step descended the main co the stairs expectantly The girl had the dog in her arms, and Courtenay perceived, for the first tilass which littered the floor of the chart-house
”Then the attack has really failed?” was Elsie's greeting ”I saw soood sign And then Joey came”
”You saw the the question
”Yes I was looking through one of the ports Was that wrong?”
”Which one?”
She pointed ”That one,” said she, wondering that he had never a smile for her
”Then you must obey orders more faithfully next time A man was shot dead by a stray bullet not three feet above your head”
She paled, and her eyes fell before his stern gaze, which did not deceive her at all, for she read the unspoken agony of his thought
”I ah I shall be more careful in future, but because some one has suffered
Who is it? Not one of our own people, I hope?”
”A fireman; I think his naret his loss exceedingly It must have been the merest accident”
The captain of the _Kansas_ was certainly preoccupied, or he would never have failed to inquire the extent of Joey's injury Nor would either he or Elsie have forgotten that Christobal was not ”one of our own people,” though the girlof the phrase
The Spaniardof Courtenay's solicitude for Elsie's well-being, nor of her shy confusion By operation of the occult lahich governs static electricity, it was possible that thebetween those two coht be, Christobal was under no sort of doubt that, unless another ”accident” intervened, he had lost all chance of winning this woe and said:
”If you undertake to hold the dog, Miss Maxwell, I will bind his paw”
”Oh, et all about his dear wounded little foot? And he carand air Come, then, Joey dear! Let us see what has happened Yes, this is the doctor, but he won't hurt you
He is so good and kind to little dogs; he rap up the bleedy part until it is quite nice and comfy”
”Your only patient, doctor,” said the captain, cheerily, when Elsie had done fondling the dog ”Even crediting our poor fireman to the enemy's score, we have had the best of the first round”
”Is there any likelihood of a second attack?”