Foss Enterprise. (Foss, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, March 4, 1910 Page: 2 of 8
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She
LAST VOYAGE
of the
DONNA ISABEL
By Randall Parrlsh
A*th r mf
Mmmmton •/ Tlactr." He.
Illustration* by Dearborn Me I v ill
l oprrlrh* a. C. mct* nr * 'Jo um.
•SYN0PSI8.
Th.« story oprM with the Introduction
of John Kteplx-nii. adventurer, a Mannii-
• liunrtlw man marooned by authorities at
ValparmUo. «"hi l« •. Being Interested In
inliilnK opernllona In Bolivia, lie was de-
nounced by rhlle HK .ill Insurrectionist
and aa a conitrqunni't- wan IiIiIIiik At Ida
hotel lila Ntli-ntloii wan attracted by an
■ngllshnian unit a young woman.
titeDhena rescued the young woninn from
• drunken officer lie waa thanked by
ner. Admiral of the Peruvian navy con-
fronted Stephens, told him that war had
neen declared between Chile and Peru
and offered htm the office of captain !!•
that that nlKht the Ksmeralda. a
Milleaii vessel. should l>e captured.
Stephens accepted the commission.
Stephens met a motley crew, to which lie
waa aaalfiwil. Me Kave them flnal In-
structions. They hoarded the vessel. They
aucceaafiilty ih pUir.it the vessel supposed
, Ksitieralda. through strategy,
tapt. ntepliciis save directions for the de-
parture of the craft, lie entered the cab-
in and dlatovered the Rnallsh woman
and her iiimIiI. Htcphena quickly learned
Ins wrung \ easel ha<1 been captured.
was Ijord Partington'* private yacht,
the lord's wife anil nialil being aboard.
1? eiplalneil the situation to her lady-
, Then Klrst Mutu Tuttle laid hare
the plot, saying that the 8ea Qneert had
wwn taken In order to go to the Antarc-
tic circle. Tuttle explained that on a
former yoyuge he had learned that the
Donna Isabel was lost In 17M. He had
round It frogen In a huge case of lc«
on an Island and contained much gold
CHAPTER X.—Continued.
The chiiiinc in the inan speaking
held me breathless; his can!, his usu
ally oily melhod of utterance had
merged into aa earnestness full of
fascination.
"Well, that was about all, sir," his
voice sinking back Into commouplace.
iwo hours we were out o" sight,
an' fee I In' our way through a hlindin
snow squall. Hul it was such a rum
thing, dlscoverln' them Islands out
there all uncharted, with that queer
ghost ship perchln' on 'em, that 1
wrote dowu tho latitude an' longitude
an' the hooker s name In my log book.
Vie was about three weeks makin' the
West Falkland*, where I shipped a
few more hands, an' then bore away
north for home."
He drew a plug of tobacco from out
his coat tail pocket, cut off what he
needed, and stowed It away in his
cheek. lie ran his Angers through his
thin hair, and resumed:
'About 18 months later I was back
with the ol' Betsy in ihe South Pa-
cific. One night, with the moon shin-
In , hardly a ripple anywhere, my
mate run her note onto a rock, a
couple o' hundred miles south o' His
ter island, an' In less than 20 minutes
the hark had gone down like a stone.
We mnde Easter island In the boats
without much trouble, but It wa'n't so
easy to get away. I had six weeki of
}\ i efore I got a chance, an' then I
shipped afore the mast on a sandal-
wood trader. De Nova here was mate,
an finally, huntin' goods to peddle
among the islanders, we sailed Into
Valparaiso, an' the moat of us shipped
out. Well, by that time I wasn't
thlnkin' very often about that ice-
ahfp down in the Atitnr'tic; I was
hustlin' for some sort o' berth to take
me bark to the Slates. But one night,
down in Rodrigues' back room, whejp?
I hung out, 1 got to lalkln' with a
gambler named Francisco—the sams
smooth duck who introduced himself
us De Castillo to you, sir. He was an
educated man, an' seemed to like to
hear me talk, an' among other sea
yarns 1 happened to tell him this one.
He seenu'ii mighty Interested, although
he wasn't never given to seafarin',
an aski>d me a whole pile o' fool qucs
tions. Finally he wanted to meet me
again alone the next day.
"Well, having' nothin' better to do.
I was there when he came, an' he
showed up with a queer lookln', big
ol' book, the cover half ripped off.
under his arm. Then he made me tell
him that yarn over again, and de-
scribe the ship jest exactly as I re-
membered it. Then, when I'd got
through, an' told him everything 1
could dig out o' my memory, he opened
up that book o' his on the table, an'
damme, sir. If be didn't show me a
picture of that same ol' hooker, plain
as life, only everything was trim an'
shipshaiie on board, with the masts up
an' the sails drawin'. The name was
printed underneath, too—Donna lsa
bel, Cadiz.
"Teat book he showed me
printed In S|>aiiish—not just like what
you see ttvday. sir, but the letterln' all
rough, as though It had been cut out
o' wood, but the fellow showed me the
dale wheu It was printed, an' It read
'Seville, 1779,' plain euough. Francisco
wrote out in Kuglish what he said was
printed there about this Donna Isa
bel; an' there it Is, sir. In his own
handwritln'."
He took the paper out of his Inner
coat pocket and spread It open on
the table before us. De Nova and
Anderson leaned forward eagerly to
look at It, but Tuttle shoved It along
toward me.
"Read it out loud, sir," he said, his
voice trembling. The writing was not
clear, and I held it up to the light.
"Galleon Donna Isabel, ship rigged.
860 tons, Amador, Master, built 1730,
home port Cadis. Sailed Guayaquil
for Valencia, June 11. 1753; crew num
be red 32, passengers 17. Including five
women; carried treasure, in gold in
gots and pieces of eight, valued at
3,000.000 pesos, consigned by Canda-
mo, presidentc, to department of the
west, receipted for by Salvatore, gov-
ernment agent. Spoken by ship Con
qulstador, Sanchez, master. July 16.
1763, 80 degrees 20 inlnuteH west and
47 degrees 15 minutes south; air well,
l^ost at sea; no rejiort."
I put down the paper, and fttoked
across at Tuttle; he sat mof.'onlesu,
his head in his hands. I confess the
• ale had affected me strangely, and 1
could not doubt that the man honestly
believed every word he had uttered.
Vet it was far too marvelous ever to
He Drove His Sheath Knife Half to
the Hilt Into the Table.
be true; too impossible; too wildly
romantic. It must have been a hallu-
cination, an optical Illusion born from
a mirage of fog and sun In those
frozen seas. Over 3,000,000 i>esos,
locked within the eternal ice for 126
years! Over 3,000,000 pesos, guarded
by the dead for a century amid that
grim desolation of crested sea! God!
it was simply unthinkable, and I even
ventured to smile at the credulity of
the men about me; yet 1 did it with
set Jaws and lips parched and dry.
What If it was all true? I fe!t the
blood boiling up through my veins,
every extremity tingling with ihe
fever of It. Over 3,000,000 j>esos!
Merciful mother! it was the ransom of
a king; It was the temptation of bell!
I know not how 1 controlled my voice
so as to question calmly, for, even
as I first spoke, I noticed how my
hands trembled where they rested on
the outspread map.
"Is that all?"
Tuttle nodded his head, uplifting
his eyes questioniiigly to mine.
"That's the whole of It, sir. What
do you think?"
"That's more than 1 know, Mr. Tut-
tle. Perhaps you dreamed, |>erhups
Francisco lied. I should have liked to
jee that book."
I bent lower over the chart, staling
at the red cross.
"What was it you men wanted me
for?"
"To operate the steamer, sir; the
rest of us aboard only understand
sailln' vessels."
"Ye®, of course; but why did you
happen to choose a steamer for the
Job? There were plenty of sailing
craft lying in the harbor easier to
steal than this yacht."
"Very true, but it happened lo be
steam power we wanted. Here Is
about how we figured It, sir. First
place, we had to get away quickly
out of those portions of the sea where
they'd be most likely to hunt for us.
We're outlaws, an' every ship sailln'
under a flag is an enemy. Well, sir.
what chance would a sailln' vessel
have in such a chase? We needed
somethin' that would show 'em a
clean pair o' heels—somethin' that
would give 'em a run for their money.
That's what this yacht can do; she's
pokin' It now at sixteen."
"Ye ; you've got the advantage," I
confessed, "so long as your coal lasts.
Hut you can't put In anywhere for a
new supply—what then?"
He tu.ned partially about, and
winked at De Nova; the fellow
grinned back at him, but buret in
eagerly:
"Oh, we're not quite so green ae all
zat. Mods. Stephens, an' 1 t'ink wo got
sis ting plan' out Jus' 'bout right. We
steam so till we get maybe far 'rough
south w'ere zey quit look for us. How
II be 130 degrees west an' 40 decrees
south? Nobody t'ink we go «ere—
non, non. We got coal plenty for
sat, an' ten have bunch left. 1 know;
I try It. No more need push her eizer
after we leave ze Fcrdandez—we be
well ahead zen. Zen we rig up ze
schooner sails, an' make ze next
t'ousan' mile wlzout burn' a poun'.
You see how It do? Ze danjaite was
not, for in zat ocean we meet nossing
but maybe *e whale ship."
' You understand what he means,
sir?" went on Tuttle, as the Creole
paused for breath. "Once well ahead
we can fall back on canvas, and save
the coal. But we'll need the steam
power down there to hold her off an'
on by the island while we do the job.
U s a mighty nasty bit o' water, an' a
sailln' vessel Is apt to get pinched in
the ice. But with a steamer we can
hold her to It, however the wind
blows."
1 looked at the fellow with greater
respect. Fvidently he had considered
every angle of the desperate game he
was playing.
"Your scheme certainly sounds rea-
sonable enough." I admitted, almost
reluctantly. "And the chaises are
you will get there all right. But sup
pose you do; suppose you discover
this mysterious island; suppose you
find there the galleon as you say; sup-
pose you even succeed in getting
aboard, and into possession of the
treasure—what then? Don't you know
you're hound to he caught the minute
you come out of the Antarctic into
any ocean patrolled by the fleets of
the world? You have committed pi-
racy—a crime against the nations-^
and the civilized world will unite to
hunt you down."
"That's another reason why we had
to have a steamer," he explained,
calmly. "You just remarked that
they'd be lookln' for Ihe Sea Queen to
come back. Well, let 'em look; they
won t never see her, sir. Once we
get that gold under hatches, an' back
as far as that rock they call Dough
erty island—an' that's only a run o'
maybe 500 miles—I'll engage to make
over this here Sea Queen so that her
own captain wouldn't know her 60
feet away. How? I'd strip the en-
gines out o' her, h'lst the stack over-
board. tear down the bridge an' wheel-
house, rig her as a barkentine, change
every line o' paint fore an' aft, an'
then wreck her somewhere along the
east Patagonian coast, or maybe the
Falklands. It would be nothin' but a
bloomin' whaler gone ashore, an'
afore anybody flnds out different, we'll
be scattered to hell an' back."
I was obliged to acknowledge to
myself that It was not an Impossible
plan. Eliminating the chance of ac-
cident or some unusually bad luck,
success appeared not only possible,
but probable.
"Did you think all that out vourself,
Mr. Tuttle?"
"Well. Francisco suggested consid-
erable, but we did it together."
"Where is he? on board?"
The mate laughed, hlB eyes ex-
pressive of contempt.
'Not much, he hadn't tho nerve.
He's a schemer all right, but a blame'
i'oward."
"But suppose he gets to talking
back there In Valparaiso?"
It was big Bill Anderson who an-
swered me, disgusted with our long
controversy.
"Oh, (o hell wid Francisco!" he
broke in. gruffly, 'it's w'at you're
poln' to do we want to know. Fran-
cisco'll hold his gaff well enough. He
expects a bit of the swag, an', besides.
I let him know what was comin' to
him if he let his tongue wag. I had
him right, let me tell ye. An',
damme, Mr. Stephens," the bully in
him breaking all bounds, "If it ain't
com in' the Fame way to any other
duffer who goes back on us tills trip.
That's what talks!" He Jerked his
sheath-knlfe from his belt, and, with
one fierce lunge, drove ii ball to tbe
hilt into the table, his brute eyes
scowling threateningly into mine.
CHAPTER XI.
In Which I Explain to Her Ladyship.
I gazed directly Into his bullying
eyes with a depth of contempt I made
no slightest effort to disguise. Then
I arose deliberately to my feet.
"Anderson, pluck that knife out and
put it back in your belt."
"I'm damned If—"
"Do as I say quick, you surly brute,"
I interrupted, sternly. "Not another
word. I'm in command here yet, and
you'll obey orders, or I'll make you."
He understood 1 meant It, with his
innate cowardice plainly apparent, yet
did not yield until Tuttle interfered
with a sarcastic laugh.
"The captain isn't exactly tbe sort
to be handled in that kind o' way,
Bill," he said, smoothly. "He's a
deep-water sailor, not a land-shark,
but I guess he's likely ready enough
by this time to say what he's wlllln*
to do."
The entire situation seemed to un-
roll before me like a panorama as I
stood there, hastily making up my
mind for action. I was afloat on the
high seas, absolutely powerless to re-
sist the set purpose of these men sur-
rounding me, all rendered desperate
by greed. Much as I despised Anderson,
I comprehended that his threat was
no idle one; nor did I possess a single
comrade on board who would stand
at my back. I was utterly alone; nay,
worse even than alone—with two
women dependent upon me. If I out-
wardly agreed with these rascals, and
thus retained semblance of command
over them, I might poBsibly preserve
all our lives; I could, at least for the
the present, protect the women from
Insult, perhaps from danger.
"Well, Mr. Tuttle," I said, quietly,
"I may as well return you my an
Iron
Pure Iroa Is ouly a laboratory pre-
paration. Cast iron, the moat gener-
ally useful variety, contains about Ave
per cent, of Impurities, and the curV
ous thing Is that it owes its special
value to the presence of these. Pure
iron can be shaved with a pocket
knife; Impure iron can be made al-
most as hard as steel*
Back on the Job
Where are the undesirable habits
of the yesteryear?—Washington Her-
ald
Easy Information
If you would know just what people
■ay of you behind your back, listen
to what they say of others.
Happiness
Happiness is not that which you are
doing, but the motive at the back ol
the doing —Ell Wheeler Wilcox.
A Common Mistake
A good many people think they
have principles when they merely pos-
sess habits.—Chicago Record-Herald
j swer one time as another. I don't give
a tinker's damn for Anderson's
threats, and I don't altogether put
much faith in your yarn. But per-
haps It's worth taking a chance at.
What is to be my authority on board,
providing I agree to go with you?"
"You're the captain."
"Absolutely in command?"
He shifted about, appearing a trifle
disconcerted under my rapid ques-
tioning.
"Well, yes; In everything concernin'
ihe discipline an' sailin' of the yacht,"
he explained. "There won't be no
fuss about that job, sir. But we ain't
a regular articled crew, bein* that
we're all here on shares in the enter-
prise. an' so, as regards the purpose
of the voyage, it'll have to be decided
by majority vote. However, that don't
need make no trouble."
' W'bat Is to be my share If you find
the treasure?"
He thrust his head out of the win-
dow nearest him, looking up and down
the deck; then he leaned across the
table toward me, lowering his voice
until it was little more than whUper.
"You get one-flfth, sir; the four of
us here get one fifth each; the other
fifth is to be divided among the crew.
Ain't that fair enough, sir?"
"It would appear so; yet there Is
still another matter of some impor-
tance to be decided first. There are
two women on board; how about
them?"
"What!" The vibrant excitement
of his high-pitched nasal voice was
echoed by the others.
"This steam-yacht we have stolen
was the property of the earl of Dar-
lington." I explained. "Lady Darling
ton and her maid are still on board, In
tbe cabin aft."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Not a Dealer in Flattery
African Native Gave Straight Answer
to Straight Question.
The negroes of Africa are simple
and direct in speech. It never occurs
to them, writes Mr. R. H. Mllllgan in
"The Jungle Folk in Africa," that the
purpose of language is to conceal
thought, and to commiserate the Afri-
can for his color Is a waste of sym-
pathy. In illustration of this Mr. Mil-
ligan gives an amusing conversation
with one of his pupils.
One day. when I was talking to Bo-
Jedi, something In the course of the
conversation prompted be to ask him
whether he would like to be a white
man. He replied respectfully but em-
phatically In the negative. I wished to
know his reason. Ho hesitated to tell
me; but I was insistent, and at last he
replied:
"Well, we think we are better-look
Ing."
I gasped when I thought of the vast-
\T ill looking faces 1 bad seen In the
'•ingles, and In apology for myself, I
said:
"But you have not seeu us in our
own country, where there no ma-
laria. and where we are not yellow and
green."
He qigetly asked what color we were
In our own country, to which I prompt-
ly replied. "Pink and white."
Looking at me steadily for a mo-
ment, he remarked:
"Mr. Mill!..an, If I should see you
In your own country I don't believe 1
should know you."—Youth's Compan-
ion.
People who will not clean off their
sidewalks should contridbute to a fua«
to supply the public with arctics, gum
shoes atid hip boots.
Total resources of all the banks is
the United States reach $21,100,000,
000. industry and Bobriety are grand
little tools; are they not?
One of the fashion journals says the
ladies will not wear rats next year.
Pessimists will st once decide thai
something equally absurd will be
worn.
A new book is entitled "Short Talki
With Young Mothers." Don't spanfc
Is the best short talk for young
mothers that comes to mind at tbe
moment.
"The custom of waving the handker-
chief vigorously in the air is a dan-
gerous one," says Dr. Bad ing. Yet.
the handkerchief flirtation has led ta
serious results.
One of the professors says women's
senses are less acute than those of
man. He probably bases his decision
on the fact that a woman can get
along all winter with low shoes.
"In five years from now," says an
eminent physician, "it will not be re-
spectable to be ill." Does he think all
the vermiform apendlces will hare
been removed in the meantime?
Austria thinks it wants a navy to
protect its citizens working in ' the
undeveloped countries overseas." Mi*
what countries are those?
A man is soon to be released frota
tbe Connecticut penitentiary after
having been for 50 years a prisoner.
He will find that there are many more
things to be dodged than when he
went in.
Now the chief engineer of the Unit-
ed States geological survey estimates
the nation's loss from the smoke nuis-
ance at $500,000,000 « year. At this
rat we are rapidly nearing the point
where smoke will be as costly a lux-
ury as beef, and not half so nourish-
Ing.
Of the translator in the employ of
the government, who knows 20 odd
languages and as many dialects, It is
said that he knows more diplomatic*
secrets than any other man excepting
the president and the secretary of
state. It must be a great thing to be
able to keep still In 20 different lan-
guages.
A Roumanian physician has discov-
ered an anesthetic by which opera-
tions can be performed upon con-
scious patients without any feeling of
pain to them. It would be a fine test
to apply this remarkable discovery to
the operation due these shopping
times of operating upon the keenly
sensitive pocket nerve of the heads or
families.
A petition is in circulation in Penn-
sylvania asking the legislature to es-
tablish a closed season for muskrat.
The reason for this is found in the
fact that in Pennylvania and Mary-
land the flesh of the muskrat Is es-
teemed as highly by epicures as the
flesh of the 'possum Is esteemed In
the south. Instead of hunting for
rat hides, the marsh sportsmen are
now after food that bring a good
price In the markets.
International Peacs.
The nations can have perpetual
peace if they will, and without the cost
of eternally preparing for war. They
cau arrange for it by binding interna- 1
tlonal agreements, and that would bo I
the common sense way to proceed and
the eminently practical way —Victoria
(B. C.) Colonist.
OKLAHOMA DIRECTORY
FOR BEST RESULTS USE
0. K. SEEDS
ASK YOUR DEALER FOR THEM
BARTELDES SEED CO.
Oklahoma Seed Houae OKLAHOMA CITY
True and False Friendship.
False friendship |s like the Ivy,
which decaya and ruins tbe wall It
embraces; but true friendship gives
new life and animation to the object It
supports.—Burton.
MACHINERY H
f All Kiads for Sab
Repair Work carofullj
promptly douo.
W rite. call or plumo
Southwestern Manufacturing Co.
oklahoma city
fjiii."" DEERE IMPLEMENTS
and VELIE VEHICLES a«kyear dealer
OR JOHN DEERE PLOW CO., OKLAHOMA CITY
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Huddlestun, Fred M. & Jeter, A. Crofford. Foss Enterprise. (Foss, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, March 4, 1910, newspaper, March 4, 1910; Foss, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc270245/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.