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- Four pairs of eyes were turned on him blankly, then to have somet’ing more to do mit _refoludions.” L hat 2) ”
three pairs swerved to the. largest and heaviest man of
’ the lot, who appeared to be the leader.
“No sabe,” said this individual. - _ ,
Matt had picked up a little Spanish while he was in
Arizona, but he did not. feel that it was sufficient to
enable him to hold an extended conversation with the
rescued men. / oo
“Unlimber your Spanish, Glennie,” said he, “and trans-
late it as you go along. I know something of the lingo,
‘but not enough.” .
Thereupon the following passed between -the ensign
“and the spokesman for the five, all being translated-as
‘the conversation proceeded: ~ a
“Who are your?
“We come from Valparaiso, Chili, but have been at
Sandy Point (Punta Arenas) in the strait for a week.”
‘- “What is your business?” oo
-“We worked in the quicksilver mines, but Ieft the mines
to ship on a guano boat that was going to the Falk-
‘lands.” . Lo : :
“How did you happen to be ‘at Sandy Point?”
“The guano boat proved unseaworthy. Her seams
‘ opened in the strait, and while we were feeling our way
- along toward Sandy Point her boilers blew up. Some of
us got ashore and made our way to Sandy Point.”
“Then, after that, how ‘did you happen to get
wrecked ?” :
“There was no work for us in Sandy Point, so we hired
a small sailboat and were going to the River Plate. The
squall struck us, and our boat went over on her beam
ends. The owner of the boat was swept into the sea and
’. drowned, but we managed to get on the boat’s bottom,
and tied ourselves there. We had given ourselves up for
lost when you came to our aid. We are grateful to all
of you, sefiors.”
There was no reason why Matt and his friends should
_ not believe the Chilian’s story, and they accepted it ex-
actly as given,
' “Tell them, Glennie,” said Matt, “that we are not go-
ing into the Atlantic, but around into the Pacific.. Ask
them what they want to do.” oo
- Glennie gave the Cliilians the substance of this, and
their startled looks aroused Matt’s surprise.
“They say,” went on Glennie, repeating th spokes-
man’s words; “that. they do not want to go to Sandy
Point or to any port in Chili. They want to know how
far north we are. going along the Pacific coast. If we
- are going as far as Peru they would like to travel with
”
us
“Dowse me!” muttered Dick. “We haven’t room for
~ them aboard.. They’d only be under foot, say nothing
‘redoubled his groans.
of consuming our fresh air and making an inroad on the
stores.” - : :
“Why don’t they want to go to Punta Arenas?” asked
Matt. :
Glennie put the question, and all four of the Chilians
MOTOR STORIES. oo
enough oof dot cop in Cendral America.”
“We all did,” seconded Dick...” L
“We're not going to be caught in any more revolu-
tions,” declared Matt. “These Sons ofthe Rising Sun
are giving us plenty to think about. I hadn’t intended to
stop at Punta Arenas, but we'll have to put in there long
“enough.to leave these men.. If they ‘don’t want to take
chances in the town, we'll leave them outside. The,
injured man we'll take with us, and do our best to look
after him, Tell them, Glennie, that that is all we can
do.” . a
“And it’s right, too,” declared Dick. -“We can’t run
the risk of getting into trouble on account of the revolu-
tionists when.we've got so much at stake. Why didn’t
‘
began to expostulate excitedly, while the wounded man |
out, the spokesman answered as follows, his words being
faithfully translated by Glennie: — OO
“They say they were suspected of being mixed up in
a Chilian revolution, anc; that if they are landed at any
Chilian port they will be arrested and shot.” :
Finally, when the clamor died °
“Py shinks,” grunted Carl, “I hope dot ve ain’d going .
these Chilians .explain- about the revolution business at
the first?. It looks like they were ‘keeping. something
back.” ee :
Glennie’s announcement was received with black looks
and hearty objurgations in the Spanish tongue, but grad-
ually the four men settled down to a sulky attitude which
did not look promising. ~ \
“They're a. grateful lot, I must say!’ scowled Dick.
“Look at ’enj; mates. And to think that we risked our
lives to pull ’em in out of the wet!”
“It don’t make any difference who they are, Dick,”
returned Matt. “In rescuing them we did only our duty,
and that’s something we can chalk up-to our credit.
We've got to work through :the three hundred and sixty
miles of this strait just as quick.as we can. We've sent
that other, boat around the Horn, and if we don’t reach
Smyth Channel ahead of her, all our trouble will go for-
nothing. The fact that we shall have to:lay up nights*
makes it all-the more necessary for us to travel at top
speed by day. All these met will go'ashore at Punta
Arenas—the injured man into the bargain, There must’
be a hospital in the town, and he ¢an be better taken-
care of there than here.” *°-
Glennie repeated this-ultimatum, and the looks of the
spokesman underwent a change. The sullen expression
faded from his swarthy face ‘and he began speaking
yolubly. cs
» “He says,” reported Glennie, “that he is very sorry if
he and his companions have put us to any extra trouble.
They will go ashore at Punta Arenas—for they would
rather. be captured and shot, although they. are innocent
men, than to inconvenience us. If it hadn’t been for us,
he says, they would all have been dead men, anyway.”
“That’s the spirit,” approved Matt, “although I don’t
think, if they are really innocent, that-any harm. will
happen to them.” :
Just then Speake came in with tin plates heaped with
food, and with tin cups of steaming coffee. . He had to
make several trips below, but finally all were supplied
and fell to eating.
The Chilians devoured their food more like famished ‘
animals than human, beings, casting aside the knives and
forks and using their fingers, and gulping down the hot’
coffee as. though it had been ice water. ‘
“They eat like cannibals,” remarked Dick. .
“Vat a safeageness!” exclaimed Carl, “Dey act like ,
dey don’d haf nodding to eat for a mont’.”
Even the injured Chilidn used his left hand and went
at his food with the frantic haste shown by his com-
rades. ‘ “
‘\
= eR, enna ne