"I think," he suggested, with a real sympathy in his voice, "that it

would be better if you went to the saloon, or your cabin. Believe me,

I shall come to you with every scrap of news. Boyle will see all that

happens and we shall know the best, or the worst, within an hour."

"If you would help me," she answered dully, "please take the dog away.

He is tearing my heart-strings. Poor little fellow, he makes no

pretence."

So Joey was fastened up, much against his will, and his piteous

protests no longer added to the girl's agony. She clung to the after

rail, and watched the boat, now a tiny dot hard to discern amidst the

ripples caused by the inflowing tide. Her intimate acquaintance with

the daily happenings of life aboard told her that Courtenay had chosen

the last hour of flood for his effort, thus gaining the advantage of

the ebb in the event of the life-boat's being pursued by canoes on the

return journey. By degrees, a tender little sprig of hope peeped up in

her dulled consciousness. The boat was very near the distant rocks,

and there was neither sight nor sound of the Indians. Could it be that

they were afraid--altogether broken and demoralized by the slaughter of

the preceding night? How quickly the acts of this drama shifted their

scenes! Sixteen hours ago, she and Christobal were actually

participating in the defense of the ship's last stronghold; now, the

broad decks resembled the inner spaces of some impregnable fort, while

the war was being carried into the enemy's territory. Yet the mortal

peril which overshadowed them was threatening as ever. Life seemed to

be doled out grudgingly, by minutes.

Suddenly she had a breathless desire to know why Courtenay was so sure

that the men to whose help he had gone were really members of the crew.

Christobal, dreading her despairing questions, was standing in the

position he had occupied before Boyle dragged him into prominence. The

chief officer was bracing a telescope against the ensign staff, and

keeping the lifeboat in a full field. Gray, she noticed, was not

looking towards Guanaco Hill, but swept all parts of the coastline

constantly with his binoculars. The Spaniard's field-glasses were

slung around his neck. He was not using them. He appeared to be deep

in thought. More often than not, his glance rested on the eddy created

by the swirl of the current past the ship's quarter. With a species of

divination, she guessed somewhat the nature of his reverie. The notion

stung her into a sort of fury. To quell it, she must speak again.

"Will you tell me now what it was that Suarez found out?" she murmured.

The doctor quickly appreciated her need of material for further

thought. She wanted to appraise at their true value all things

affecting that daring enterprise, bringing the evidence to the bar of

her hopes, and nerving herself to hear the crudest testimony as to its

dangers. He was glad to be able to beguile the next half hour with his

recital. He suppressed no detail except his own willingness to take

Courtenay's place in the boat. Notwithstanding his slight

affectations, he was a man of finely-tempered judgment. He saw now

that Courtenay could not have accepted his offer, nor was it likely

that the men in the boat would follow any other leader than the

captain. He even smarted a little at the knowledge. A super-sensitive

honor led him to fear that his successful rival might suspect him of

vaingloriousness. Herein Christobal did himself an injustice, and

Courtenay a greater one, as he was fated soon to learn.




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