"Boyle," said Courtenay, severely, "what has come to you? Are you

actually making a joke?"

"I think I must have bin tongue-tied before, captain."

"Before what?"

"Before that lame duck in the fo'c'sle stuck his tobacco-cutter into my

jaw. I can talk like a prize parrot now--can't I, Miss Maxwell?"

Elsie was laughing, but she remembered the subject on which Boyle had

displayed his new-found power of speech; and human parrots are apt to

say too much.

"Please don't tell any more funny little stories," she cried, "or I

shall be putting dots in the wrong places."

"And causing us to waste time scandalously. Are you ready, Miss

Maxwell? Let me pin this compass card on the table. Use the parallel

ruler; regard each inch as a mile, and I'll do the rest by guesswork."

Courtenay took his binoculars, and went on to the bridge. He called

out the apparent distance of each landmark he could distinguish,

described it, and gave its true bearing. In the result, Elsie found

she had prepared a clear and fairly accurate chart of the bay and its

headlands, while the position of the distant range of mountains was

marked with tolerable precision. But Courtenay was far from being

satisfied.

"If I had a base line, or even a fresh set of points taken higher up

the inlet, I could improve on my part of the survey," he said. "Yours

is admirable, Miss Maxwell. Of course, I know you are an artist; but

mapping is a thing apart. That is first-rate."

"Perhaps you may be able to secure fresh data when the Kansas puts to

sea again," said Christobal.

"If I am conning the wheel, I must leave the chart-making entirely to

my assistant," replied the captain, lightly. "But I do mean to peep a

little further into our estuary. Before the ship sails I may have

another spare hour to devote to it."

"In what way?" asked Elsie.

"By utilizing the canoe. A mile or so higher up the channel I should

be clear of the bluff which hides Otter Creek. I imagine it will be

possible then to see the full extent of the bay. I must get you to

sound Suarez as to the lie of the land."

"I hope you will do nothing of the sort," protested Elsie, earnestly.

"Why? Do you think the canoe unsafe?"

"No, no; not that. But those waiting Indians. They might see you."

"Oh, the Indians again! I shall run no risk of that sort. It would

indeed be the irony of fate if the Kansas slipped her cable and left

the skipper behind."

"Huh! No fear! She'd follow you like Joey. I was tellin' Miss

Maxwell what a lucky fellow you were. Besides, if you went, I 'd be in

command, and you know what would happen then. By gad, if all else

failed, the bloomin' tub would turn turtle in the Pool."




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