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deal of faus, their plan afterward to reach and start " plan- "8 cry, wrpsg from his despera- that he would sink the schooner 'ep Aim the germ of an idea. wm any a well lated solution of the perils sur ding them? To wait, in fact, un- and then, sinking the vessel, 'Behwartz to take to the surf 'This was a fing, big, carve! built twenty-six feet long, and Matt 'tested it with his penknife to make it was sound, It would easily all bands, with ample provisions 'and water, and a trip of sixty or eighty in it would be no terrible hard- Compared tv the unknown dan- that grew daily nearer, the has- such an escape seemed small in- And once ashore, anywhere ore--they would be safe, for, how- ever primitive and loose the little na- "five governments are, they are strong "enough to protect the lives and per "80n8 of those within their rule. But to sink the Esmeraidal That 'yvas 80 easy to say! Of course a stick 'of dynamite would send her to the bot 4n short order, aud there was plen- fy of the deadly stuff in the trade oom, together with cags and fuses. But that was suicide That was to 0 ma barn door to the Pacific ocean. Hie: alteruative was to chisel a good hole in ber garboard streak and give it about twice tue bore of a blige jump, : 16 Esmeralda had an unusually | pump, worked by a couple of nd spikes, and throwing a five inch Matt squared the. circle in- doubled the re- was a leak that would force e and. aud perbaps bring it into fow before there would be any need 'take refuge in the whaler. On a fo one ratio of leak against pomp, doped the Esweralda might stay t for ten or twelve hours after over the horizon. To Alatt the it of the island was like a signal; de him acutely restless and un- table; be was possessed with 'suffocating sense of almost terror it precedes all desperate deeds. Tak- advantage of the commotion on . be ran below, watched bis op- , and entered the trade room. 'eracksman, on bis knees before a and thrillingly conscious that at moment be might be Interrupted. p's wide; the stream ran solid for six or seven feet. carved und birst Matt staggered up and regarded it with awe, dizelly trying to collect his bewildered sehses Good God, how would the pumps ever cope with it! The whole ocean was pouring in; it did not seem she could last an hour. By degrees he recovered some com- ! posure, eollectéd the tovls and flung them into the blackest recesses of the hold so that they might not rise in ~ \ There Was a Flash of Greenish Watén _- a Stupefying Roar, | self up the hatch, caught the coaming, and with g sailor's alertness sprang out on the trade room floor, where, trailing water like a spaniel, he bar ' riedly closed the cover, stamping it ! into place with his feet. Them with | unspeakable relief he went to the , door, listened, opened It a few. inches and peeped cautiously into tbe pas sageway. : He looked straight Into Chrig' eyes. She signaled him to burry scross.. He ' did so at a bound, closing the cabin door behind him, putting. his back to it like a hunted man. "Get we some dry clothes quick," he ! pauted. "The schooner's deme for-- ; ve put a bole in her you could shove your two fists through." The leak was not reported Hill sup- pec. time, when Krants broke im on the party like a whirlwind. The up- roar that ensued was as welcome to 'beaches, palms, people, luw, security. Yet they must stick like files on a sieve at the behest of that infernal . Brandeis. But no one paid any attention to him, though if he bad fallen behind of shirked he knew he would bave fared badly. So he kept at it till his arms seemed wrenched from their sockets, till his heart was ready to burst--in. a blind. dizzy agony to hold his own with his companions. At intervals the wireless clicked and buzzed; at once, at some message it caught from space, there was much congratulation and even a thin cheer. The ship was settilng fast; at every Turch Matt expected her to founder; she "The young blinking at them doorway. "Instructed by captain, ence is requested. please be so | he sald, addressing Matt rose also she was told to stay bell "Instructed by capnin; Bo, mo: please be so kind" exclafmied [the young officer, Imrring her Hiway. "In. structed by captain. The geutiemin only will follow me. Please be 80 nd." It was not without hesitation that Matt obeyed.: He felt a certain chill- ing of the confidence that bad ani | mated him before. The young officef's sickened fn the depths of the swell, | tone was masterful in spite of the quivered, and threatened to rise mo Punctilivusness of his words and. car more. Never was there a gladder soupd | fied with it a disquieting autbority, | than Brabdels' order to leave her be- | 'The young man led him through va pe fore she left them. rious passages und finally brought him * yy The whaler was drawn up to her to what was evidently the ship's | 3 quarter, and a hurried descent made | Wardroom. Here, 'seated about. the foto her, the first comers seizing the i oars and preparing to back away, in case the Esmeralda suddenly went down. Instead of making sail and setting | a course, Brandeis unshipped bis tiller and allowed tbe hoat to bob as she pleased. Matt became very perplexed and anxious. Why did they drift there and do nothing? He longed for the command to step the mast. The mate half stood up In the stern sheets as though at last to give it, but instead of an order it was a shout, with his | hand pointing joyfully to leeward. | Smoke on the lee horizon! A steamers | smoke, dimming the the azure with tiny stain. ; | | CHAPTER XV John Mert. HE was apparently coming up | at great speed; the smoks | swelled in volume; two smoke- stac 1 there were were four, in a towering, stupendous, black vomiting line--a giant of a ves. sel, with fighting tops to her squat masts and turrets, sponsons and guns ' showing above the glistening white of her bow. A man-of-war, a colossus of twelve or fourteen thousand tons, able ' at reduced speed to encircle the globe | and return whence she had started | with coal still to spare in her Brob- | dingnagian bunkers. Matt watched ber with parted lipd ' and straining, fascinated eyes. Was it | | head of the table, were Give oldish, grave looking officers in undress uni- |g form. One, white haired, dignified and somewhat bald, wore the insignia , of a rear admiral, 1 "Good day," be said curtly in fair English, motioning Matt to come nears er and dismissing his companion with ' a wave of the Aand. "We would like to talk with you, sir." "I'm at your service," Matt, advancing and drawing himself | up very straight, as no offer was made to give him a seat. "May 1 take the liberty of asking the name of this sbip 1 and her nativnality 7° . ¢ The old admiral stared at him fro-', zenly, hi "It 1s I who will ask the questions," | he rasped out, "and you will be good | phi enough to answer them. Let me say | directly that evasions will be useless and vat we want is the trath." He ut- tered the last words with a snarl, which ken "lI am an American citizen Matt, with spirit. "I've committed crime, and 1 warn you that the quences will be serious If you fere with me." "We are not discussing interna law," sneered the admiral. "Might right, as you say in English, Our tience with you Is exhausted.' will tell us vare Is a certaln indivi or else we make you." 3 John Mort! So it was he they wi after? This ship. these officers. rendezvous in midocean--all were and parcel of the same extraordi business. In spite of his bold Matt quailed inwardly. Beads sweat started on bis forehea felt like a man on the eve of e! "We're not here to waste time such breparication," returned | miral, accentuating every word 8 rap of his knuckles on the ta large, misshapen knuckles, & with gout. "You know very well it Is we want, though what. *You are proclaiming yourself a fi and outside the taw of nations. cannot frighten ive, sir. XY naval officer. and know us wi do the enormity of sneh threats that it will break you, adwiral o i Jou-sliould dure to luy a 6 hat ix beside the polit. o don returned ' gaps andqu