HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 UNTV. OP CAUT. TJWRAWY. I. OS
 
 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 BY 
 
 LOUIS TRACY 
 
 AUTHORIOF 
 
 THE WINGS OF THE MORNING, 
 FLOWER OF THE GORSE, ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT, IBIS, BT 
 EDWARD J. CLODB
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 SHAJXP WOBK 
 
 " TTJRISONES, attention! His excellency the 
 President has permitted Senor Stein- 
 baum to visit you." 
 
 The "prisoner" was lying on his back on a 
 plank bed, with his hands tucked beneath his 
 head to obtain some measure of protection from 
 the roll of rough fiber matting which formed a 
 pillow. He did not pay the slightest heed to the 
 half-caste Spanish jailer's gruff command. 
 But the visitor's name stirred him. He turned 
 his head, apparently to make sure that he was 
 not being deceived, and rose on an elbow. 
 
 "Hello, Steinbaum!" he said in English. 
 "What's the swindle? Excuse this terseness, 
 but I have to die in an hour, or even less, if a 
 sunbeam hasn 't misled me. ' ' 
 
 * * There 's no swindle this time, Mr. Maseden, ' ' 
 came the guttural answer. "I'm sorry I cannot 
 help you, but I want you to do a good turn for 
 a lady." 
 
 "A lady! What lady?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 "If you don't know the lady that is a recom- 
 mendation in itself. At any rate, what sort of 
 
 2133305
 
 2 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 good turn can a man condemned to death do 
 for any lady?" 
 
 ' * She wants to marry yon. ' ' 
 
 Then the man who, by his own showing, was 
 rapidly nearing the close of his earthly career, 
 sprang erect and looked so threatening that his 
 visitor shrank back a pace, while the half-caste 
 jailer's right hand clntched the butt of a re- 
 volver. 
 
 "Whatever else I may have thought you, I 
 never regarded you as a fool, Steinbaum," he 
 said sternly. "Go away, man! Have you no 
 sense of decency? You and that skunk Enrico 
 Suarez, have done your worst against me and 
 succeeded. When I am dead the 'state' will 
 collar my property and I am well aware that 
 in this instance the 'state' will be represented 
 by Senor Enrico Suarez and Mr. Fritz Stein- 
 baum. You are about to murder and rob me. 
 Can't you leave me in peace during the last few 
 minutes of my life? Be off, or you may find 
 that in coming here you have acted foolishly for 
 once." 
 
 "Ach, was!" sighed Steinbaum, nevertheless 
 retreating another step towards the door and 
 the watchful half-caste, who had been warned 
 to shoot straight and quickly if the prisoner at- 
 tacked the august person of the portly financier. 
 "I tell you the truth, and you will not listen. 
 It is as I say. A lady, a stranger, arrived in
 
 SHARP WORK 3 
 
 Cartagena last night. She heard of you this 
 morning. She asked: 'Is he married, this 
 American f ' They said, 'No.' Then she came 
 to me and begged me to use my influence with 
 the President. She said : 'If this American gen- 
 tleman is to be shot, I am sorry; but it cannot 
 matter to him if he is married, and it will oblige 
 me very much. ' I told her ' ' 
 
 The speaker's voice grew husky and he 
 paused to clear his throat. Maseden smiled 
 wanly at the mad absurdity of it, but he was be- 
 ginning to believe some part of Steinbaum's 
 story. 
 
 "And what did you tell her?" he broke in. 
 
 "I told her that you were Quixotic in some 
 things, and you might agree." 
 
 "But what on earth does the lady gain by it? 
 Suarez and you will take mighty good care she 
 doesn't get away with my ranch and money. 
 Does she want my name?" 
 
 "Perhaps." 
 
 Maseden took thought a moment. 
 
 "It has never been dishonored during my 
 life," he said quietly. "I would need to be as- 
 sured that it will not be smirched after my 
 death." 
 
 Steinbaum was stout. A certain anxiety to 
 succeed in an extraordinary mission, joined to 
 the warm, moist atmosphere of the cell, had in- 
 duced a copious perspiration.
 
 4 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "Ach, Gott!" he purred despairingly. "I 
 know nothing. She told me nothing. She of- 
 fered to pay me for the trouble " 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 ' ' Why not ? I run some risk in acting so. She 
 is American, like yourself. She came to me " 
 
 "American, you say! Is she young?" 
 
 "I think so. I have not seen her face. She 
 wears a thick veil. ' ' 
 
 Romance suddenly spread its fairy wings in 
 that squalid South American prison-house. 
 Maseden's spirit was fired to perform a last act 
 of chivalry, of mercy, it might be, in behalf of 
 some unhappy girl of his own race. The sheer 
 folly of this amazing marriage moved him to 
 grim mirth. 
 
 "Very well," he said with a half-hearted 
 laugh. "I'll do it! But, as you are mixing the 
 cards, Steinbaum, there must be a joker in the 
 pack somewhere. I'm a pretty quick thinker, 
 you know, and I shall probably see through your 
 proposition before I die, though I am damned 
 if I can size it up right off . ' ' 
 
 "Mr. Maseden, I assure you, on my 
 well, you and I never were friends and never 
 will be, but I have told you the real facts this 
 time." 
 
 "When is the wedding to take place?" 
 
 "Now." 
 
 * * Great Scott ! Did the lady come with you ? ' '
 
 SHARP WORK 5 
 
 "Yes. She is here with a priest and a no- 
 tary. ' ' 
 
 Maseden peered over the jailer's shoulder 
 into the whitewashed passage beyond the half- 
 open door, as though he expected to find a 
 shrouded figure standing there. Steinbaum in- 
 terpreted his glance. 
 
 "She is in the great hall," he said. "The 
 guard is waiting at the end of the corridor. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, it's to be a military wedding, then?" 
 
 "Yes, in a sense." 
 
 The younger man appreciated the nice dis- 
 tinction Steinbaum was drawing. The waiting 
 "guard" was the firing-party. 
 
 "What time is it?" he demanded, so sharply 
 that the fat man started. For a skilled intriguer 
 Steinbaum was ridiculously nervous. 
 
 "A quarter past seven." 
 
 "Allow me to put the question as delicately 
 as possible, but er is there any extension of 
 time beyond eight o'clock?" 
 
 " Seiior Suarez would not give one minute." 
 
 "He knows about the ceremony, of course?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What a skunk the man is! How he must 
 fear me ! Such Spartan inflexibility is foreign 
 to the Spanish nature. . . . By the way, Stein- 
 baum, did you ever, in your innocent youth, 
 hear the opera 'Maritana,' or see a play called 
 'Don Cesar de Bazan'?"
 
 6 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "Why waste time, Mr. Maseden?" cried the 
 other impatiently. He loathed the environment 
 of that dim cell, with its slightly fetid air, sug- 
 gestive of yellow jack and dysentery. He was 
 so obviously ill at ease, so fearful lest he should 
 fail in an extraordinary negotiation, that, given 
 less strenuous conditions, the younger man 
 must have read more into the proposal than ap- 
 peared on the face of it. 
 
 But the sands of life were running short for 
 Maseden. Outwardly cool and imperturbably 
 American, his soul was in revolt. For all that 
 he laughed cheerfully. 
 
 "Waste time, indeed!" he cried. "I, who 
 have less than forty-five minutes to live! . . . 
 Now, these are my terms." 
 
 "There are no terms," broke in Steinbaum 
 harshly. "You oblige the lady, or you don't. 
 Please yourself." 
 
 "Ah, that's better. That sounds more like the 
 hound that I know you are. Yet, I insist on my 
 terms. 
 
 "I was dragged out of bed in my pajamas at 
 four o'clock this morning, and not even per- 
 mitted to dress. They hardly waited to get me 
 a pair of boots. I haven't a red cent in my 
 pocket, which is a figure of speech, because I 
 haven't a pocket. If you think you can borrow 
 from an old comedy just so much of the situa- 
 tion as suits your purpose and disregard the
 
 SHARP WORK 1 
 
 costume and appearance of the star actor, 
 you're mistaken. 
 
 ' * I gather from your furious grunts that you 
 don't understand me. Very well. I'll come 
 straight to the point. If I am to marry the lady 
 of your choice, I demand the right to appear at 
 the altar decently clad and with enough good 
 money in my pocket to stand a few bottles of 
 wine to the gallant blackguards who are about 
 to shoot me. 
 
 ' ' Those are my terms, Steinbaum. Take them 
 or leave them ! But don't accuse me of wasting 
 time. It's up to you to arrange the stage set- 
 ting. I might have insisted on a shave, but I 
 won't. 
 
 "The lady will not expect me to kiss her, 
 I suppose? . . . By gad, she must be a person 
 of strange tastes. Why any young woman 
 should want to marry a man because he's going 
 to be shot half an hour later is one of those 
 mysteries which the feminine mind may compre- 
 hend, but it's beyond me. However, that's her 
 affair, not mine. 
 
 "Now, Steinbaum, hurry up! I'm talking 
 for the mere sake of hearing my own voice, but 
 you're keeping the lady in suspense." 
 
 Maseden had indeed correctly described 
 his own attitude. He was wholly indifferent 
 to the personal element . in the bizarre com- 
 pact proposed by his arch-enemy, on whom
 
 8 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 he had turned his back while speaking. 
 
 The sight of a bloated, angry, perplexed face 
 of the coarsest type was mentally disturbing. 
 He elected rather to watch the shaft of sunlight 
 coming through the long, narrow slit in a four- 
 foot wall which served as a window. He knew 
 that his cell was on the northeast side of the 
 prison, and the traveling sunbeam had already 
 marked the flight of time with sufficient accu- 
 racy since he was thrust into that dismal 
 place. 
 
 He had been sentenced to death just one hour 
 and a half after being arrested. The evidence, 
 like the trial, was a travesty of justice. His 
 excellency Don Enrico Suarez, elected president 
 of the Republic of San Juan at midnight, and 
 confirmed in power by the bullet which removed 
 his predecessor, wreaked vengeance speedily on 
 the American intruder who had helped to mar 
 his schemes twice in two years. 
 
 There would be a diplomatic squabble about 
 the judicial murder of a citizen of the United 
 States, of course. The American and British 
 consuls would protest, and both countries would 
 dispatch warships to Cartagena, which was at 
 once the capital of the republic and its chief 
 port. But of what avail such wrangling after 
 one was dead? 
 
 Dead, at twenty-eight, when the world was 
 bright and fortune was apparently smiling!
 
 SHARP WORK 9 
 
 Dead, because he supported dear old Domenico 
 Valdes, the murdered president, and one ot the 
 few honest, God-fearing men in a rotten little 
 South American state which would have been 
 swept out of putrid existence long ago were 
 it not for the policy of the Monroe Doctrine. 
 Maseden knew that no power on earth would 
 save him now, because Suarez and he could not 
 exist in the same community, and Suarez was 
 supreme in the Republic of San Juan supreme, 
 that is, until some other cut-throat climbed to 
 the presidency over a rival's corpse. Stein- 
 baum, a crafty person who played the game of 
 high politics with some ability and seldom failed 
 to advance his own and his allies ' interests, had 
 backed Suarez financially and would become his 
 jackal for the time. 
 
 It was rather surprising that such a master- 
 plotter should have admitted a fore-knowledge 
 of Maseden 's fate, and this element in the situa- 
 tion suddenly dawned on Maseden himself. The 
 arrest, the trial, and the condemnation were 
 alike kept secret. 
 
 The American consul, a Portuguese merchant, 
 possessed enough backbone to demand the post- 
 ponement of the execution until he had commu- 
 nicated with Washington, and in this action he 
 would have been supported by the representa- 
 tive of Great Britain. But he would know noth-
 
 10 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 ing about the judicial crime until it was an ac- 
 complished fact. 
 
 How, then, had some enterprising young 
 lady 
 
 1 'By the way, Steinbaum, you might ex- 
 plain " 
 
 Maseden swung on his heel ; the matrimonial 
 agent had vanished. 
 
 1 'The senor signified that he would return 
 soon," said the jailer. 
 
 * ' He 's gone for the clothes ! ' ' mused Maseden, 
 his thoughts promptly reverting to the fantastic 
 marriage project. "The sly old fox is devilish 
 anxious to get me spliced before my number 
 goes up. I wonder why? And where in the 
 world will he raise a suitable rig? Hang it all, 
 I wish I had a little longer to live. This busi- 
 ness becomes more interesting every minute!" 
 
 Though he was sure the attempt would be 
 hopeless, Maseden resolved to make one last 
 effort. He looked the half-caste squarely in the 
 face. 
 
 1 ' Get me out of this before Seiior Steinbaum 
 comes back and I'll give you twenty thousand 
 dollars gold," he said quietly. 
 
 The man met his glance without flinching. 
 
 "I could not help you, senor, if you paid me a 
 million dollars," he answered. "It is your life 
 or mine those are my orders. And it is use- 
 less to think of attacking me," he added, be-
 
 SHARP WORK 11 
 
 cause for one moment black despair scowled 
 menacingly from Maseden's strong features. 
 "There are ten men at each door of the corri- 
 dor ready to shoot you at the least sign of any 
 attempt to escape." 
 
 * * The preparations for the wedding are fairly 
 complete, then?" 
 
 Maseden spoke Spanish fluently, and the half- 
 caste grinned at the joke. 
 
 "It will soon be over, senor," was all he could 
 find to say. 
 
 The condemned man knew that the fellow was 
 not to be bribed at the cost of his own life. He 
 turned again and grew interested once more in 
 the shaft of sunlight. How quickly it moved! 
 He calculated that before it reached a certain 
 crack in the masonry he would have passed into 
 "yesterday's seven thousand years." 
 
 It was not a pleasing conceit. In self-defense, 
 as it were, he bent his wits on to the proposed 
 marriage. He was half inclined to regret the 
 chivalrous impulse which spurred him to agree 
 to it. Yet there was a spice of humor in the fact 
 that a man who was regarded as an inveterate 
 woman-hater by the dusky young ladies of San 
 Juan should be led to the altar literally at the 
 eleventh hour. 
 
 What manner of woman could this unknown 
 bride be? What motive swayed her? Perhaps 
 it was better not to ask. But if the knot were
 
 12 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 tied by a priest, a notary and a European finan- 
 cier, it was evidently intended to be a valid 
 undertaking. 
 
 And why was Steinbaum so interested T Was 
 the would-be Mrs. Maseden so well endowed 
 with this world's goods that she spared no ex- 
 pense in attaining her object? 
 
 The most contrary emotions surged through 
 Maseden 's conscience. He was by turns curious, 
 sympathetic, suspicious, absurdly eager to learn 
 more. 
 
 In this last mood he resolved to have one 
 straight look at the lady. Surely a man was 
 entitled to see his bride's face ! Yes, come what 
 might, he would insist that she must raise the 
 "thick, white veil" which had hitherto screened 
 her features from Steinbaum 's goggle eyes 
 supposing, that is, the rascal had told the truth. 
 
 A hinge creaked, and the half-caste announced 
 that the senor was returning. In a few seconds 
 Steinbaum panted in. He was carrying a gor- 
 geous uniform of sky-blue cloth with facings of 
 silver braid. As he dumped a pair of brilliant 
 patent-leather top-boots on the stone floor a glit- 
 tering helmet fell from among the clothes and 
 rolled to Maseden 's feet. 
 
 "See here, Steinbaum, what tomfoolery is 
 this f ' ' cried the American wrathfully. 
 
 "It is your tomfoolery, not mine," came the 
 heated retort. "Where am I to get a suit of
 
 SHARP WORK 13 
 
 clothes for you? These will fit, I think. I bor- 
 rowed them from the President's aide-de-camp, 
 Captain Ferdinando Gomez." 
 
 Maseden knew Captain Gomez a South 
 American dandy of the first water. For the 
 moment the ludicrous side of the business ban- 
 ished all other considerations. 
 
 "What!" he laughed, " am I to be married in 
 the giddy rig of the biggest ass in Cartagena? 
 Well, I give in. As I'm to be shot at eight, 
 Ferdinando 's fine feathers will be in a sad mess, 
 because I'll not take 'em off again unless I'm 
 undressed forcibly. Good Lord ! Does my un- 
 known bride realize what sort of rare bird she 's 
 going to espouse? . . . 
 
 "Yes, yes, we're losing time. Chuck over 
 those pants. Gomez is not quite my height, but 
 his togs may be 0. K." 
 
 As a matter of fact, Philip Alexander Mase- 
 den looked a very fine figure of a man when ar- 
 rayed in all the glory of the presidential aide-de- 
 camp. The only trouble was that the elegant 
 top-boots were confoundedly tight, being, in 
 truth, a size too small for their vain owner ; but 
 the bridegroom-elect put up with this incon- 
 venience. 
 
 He had not far to walk. A few steps to the 
 right lay the "great hall" in which, according 
 to Steinbaum, the ceremony would take place. 
 Very little farther to the left was the enclosed
 
 14 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 patio, or courtyard, in which he would be shot 
 within thirty minutes ! 
 
 "I'm dashed if I feel a bit like dying," he 
 said, as he strode by Steinbaum's side along the 
 outer corridor. ' * If the time was about fourteen 
 hours later I might imagine I was going to a 
 fancy dress ball, though I wouldn't be able to 
 dance much in these confounded boots." 
 
 The stout financier made no reply. He was 
 singularly ill at ease. Any critical onlooker, 
 not cognizant of the facts, would take him and 
 not Maseden to be the man condemned to 
 death. 
 
 A heavy, iron-clamped door leading to the 
 row of cells was wide open. Some soldiers, lined 
 up close to it in the hall, were craning their 
 necks to catch a first glimpse of the Americano 
 who was about to marry and die in the same 
 breath, so to speak. 
 
 Beyond, near a table in the center of the 
 spacious chamber, stood a group that arrested 
 the eye a Spanish priest, in vestments of semi- 
 state; an olive-skinned man whom Maseden 
 recognized as a legal practitioner of fair repute 
 in a community where chicanery flourished, and 
 a slenderly-built woman of middle height, 
 though taller than either of her companions, 
 whose stylish coat and skirt of thin, gray cloth, 
 and smart shoes tied with little bows of black 
 ribbon, were strangely incongruous with the
 
 SHARP WORK 15 
 
 black lace mantilla which draped her head and 
 shoulders, and held in position a double veil 
 tied firmly beneath her chin. 
 
 Maseden was so astonished at discovering the 
 identity of the lawyer that he momentarily lost 
 interest in the mysterious woman who would 
 soon be his wife. 
 
 "Senor Porilla!" he cried. "I am glad you 
 are here. Do you understand " 
 
 "It is forbidden!" hissed Steinbaum. "One 
 more word, and back you go to your cell ! ' ' 
 
 * * Oh, is that part of the compact ? ' ' said Mase- 
 den cheerfully. "Well, well! We must not 
 make matters unpleasant for a lady must we, 
 Steinbaum? . . . Now, madam, raise your veil, 
 and let me at least have the honor of knowing 
 what sort of person the future Mrs. Philip Alex- 
 ander Maseden will be ! ' ' 
 
 The only answer was a stifled but quite audi- 
 ble sob, and Maseden had an impression that 
 the lady might put a summary stop to the pro- 
 ceedings by fainting. 
 
 Steinbaum, however, had recovered his nerve 
 in the stronger light of the great hall, especially 
 since the soldiers had gathered around. 
 
 "The senora declines to unveil," he growled 
 in Spanish. "Begin, padre! There is not a 
 moment to spare." 
 
 The ecclesiastic opened a book and plunged 
 forthwith into the marriage service. Maseden
 
 16 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 was aware that the shrinking figure by his side 
 was trembling violently, and a wave of pity for 
 her surged through his heart. 
 
 ' ' Cheer up ! " he whispered. * * It 's only a mat- 
 ter of form, anyhow; and I'm glad to be able 
 to help you. I don't care a red cent what your 
 motive is." 
 
 Steinbaum gurgled ominously, and the 
 bridegroom said no more. Clearly, though 
 he had given no bond, he was imperiling the 
 fulfillment of this unhappy girl's desire if 
 he talked. 
 
 But he kept his wits alert. It was evident 
 that the lady understood little Latin and no 
 Spanish. She was quite unable to follow the 
 sonorous phrases. When the portly priest, who 
 seemed to have small relish for the part he was 
 compelled to play in this amazing marriage, 
 asked Maseden if he would have "this woman" 
 to be his wedded wife, the bridegroom answered 
 "Yes," in Spanish; but a similar question ad- 
 dressed to the bride found her dumb. 
 
 "Say 'I will,' " murmured Maseden in her 
 ear. 
 
 She turned slightly. At that instant their 
 heads came close together, and the long, unfa- 
 miliar fragrance of a woman's well-tended hair 
 reached him. 
 
 It had an extraordinary effect. Memories of 
 his mother, of a simple old-world dwelling in a
 
 SHARP WORK 17 
 
 Vermont village, rushed in on him with an al- 
 most overwhelming force. 
 
 His superb self-possession nearly gave way. 
 He felt that he might break down under the in- 
 tolerable strain. 
 
 He feared, during a few seconds of anguish, 
 that he might reveal his heartache to these men 
 of inferior races. 
 
 Then the pride of a regal birthright came to 
 his aid, and a species of most vivid and 
 poignant consciousness succeeded. He heard 
 Steinbaum's gruff sponsorship for the bride, 
 obeyed smilingly when told to take her right 
 hand in his right hand, and looked with singular 
 intentness at the long, straight, artistic fingers 
 which he held. 
 
 It was a beautifully modeled hand, well kept, 
 but cold and tremulous. The queer conceit 
 leaped up in him that though he might never 
 look on the face of his wedded wife he would 
 know that hand if they met again only at the 
 Judgment Seat! 
 
 Then, in a dazed way which impressed the 
 onlookers as the height of American noncha- 
 lance, he said, after the celebrant: "I, Philip 
 Alexander, take thee, Madeleine " 
 
 Madeleine ! So that was the Christian name 
 of the woman whom he was taking "till death 
 do us part," for the Spanish liturgy provided 
 almost an exact equivalent of the English serv-
 
 18 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 ice. Madeleine! He had never even known 
 any girl of the name. Somehow, he liked it. 
 Outwardly so calm, he was inwardly aflame 
 with a new longing for life and all that life 
 meant. 
 
 His jumbled wits were peremptorily recalled 
 to the demands of the moment by the would-be 
 bride's failure to repeat her share of the mar- 
 riage vow, when it became her turn to take 
 Maseden's hand. 
 
 The priest nodded, and Steinbaum, now car- 
 rying himself with a certain truculence, essayed 
 to lead the girl's faltering tongue through the 
 Spanish phrases. 
 
 ' ' The lady must understand what she is say- 
 ing," broke in Maseden, dominating the gruff 
 man by sheer force of will. 
 
 "Now," he said, and his voice grew gentle 
 as he turned to the woman he had just prom- 
 ised "to have and to hold," "to love and cher- 
 ish," and thereto plighted his troth "when 
 the priest pauses, I will translate, and you must 
 speak the words aloud." 
 
 He listened, in a waking trance, to the clear, 
 well-bred accents of a woman of his own people 
 uttering the binding pledge of matrimony. The 
 Spanish sentences recalled the English version, 
 which he supplied with singular accuracy, see- 
 ing that he had only attended two weddings pre- 
 viously, and those during his boyhood.
 
 SHARP WORK 19 
 
 " Madeleine" lie would learn her surname 
 when lie signed the register was obviously 
 hard pressed to retain her senses till the end. 
 She was sobbing pitifully, and the knowledge 
 that her distress was induced by the fate im- 
 mediately in store for the man whom she was 
 espousing "by God's holy ordinance" tested 
 Maseden's steel nerve to the very limit of en- 
 durance. 
 
 But he held on with that tenacious chivalry 
 which is the finest characteristic of his class, 
 and even smiled at Steinbaum's fumbling in a 
 waistcoat pocket for a ring. He was putting 
 the ring on the fourth finger of his wife's left 
 hand and pronouncing the last formula of the 
 ceremony, when he caught an agonized whis- 
 per: 
 
 "Please, please, forgive me! I cannot help 
 myself. I am more than sorry for you. I 
 shall pray for you and think of you always !" 
 
 And it was in that instant, while breathlessly 
 catching each syllable of a broken plea for sym- 
 pathy and gage of lasting remembrance, that 
 Maseden's bemused faculties saw a means of 
 saving his life. 
 
 Though a forlorn hope, at the best, with a 
 hundred chances of failure against one of suc- 
 cess, he would seize that hundredth chance. 
 "What matter if he were shot at quarter to eight 
 instead of at eight o'clock? Steel before, he
 
 20 
 
 was unemotional as marble now, a man of stone 
 with a brain of diamond clarity. 
 
 If events followed their normal and reason- 
 able course, he would be free of these accursed 
 walls within a few minutes. Come what might, 
 he would strike a lusty blow for freedom. If 
 he failed, and sank into eternal night, one or 
 more of the half-caste hirelings now so ready 
 to fulfill the murderous schemes of President 
 Suarez and his henchman Steinbaum would es- 
 cort an American's spirit to the realm beyond 
 the shadows. 
 
 He did not stop to think that an unknown 
 woman's strange whim should have made pos- 
 sible that which, without her presence in his 
 prison-house, was absolutely impossible; still 
 less did he trouble as to the future, immediate 
 or remote. His mind's eye was fixed on a sun- 
 beam creeping stealthily towards a crack in the 
 masonry of that detestable cell. 
 
 He meant to cheat that sunbeam, one way or 
 the other!
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 
 
 HENCEFOKTH Maseden concentrated all his 
 faculties on the successful performance of the 
 trick which might win him clear of the castle 
 of San Juan. Nothing in the wide world mat- 
 tered less to him than that the newly-made 
 bride should stoop to sign the register after he 
 had done so, or that by turning to address 
 Steinbaum he was deliberately throwing away 
 the opportunity thus afforded of learning her 
 surname. 
 
 When an avowed enemy first broached the 
 subject of this extraordinary marriage, he had 
 made a bitter jest on the use in real life of a 
 well-worn histrionic situation. And now, per- 
 force, he had become an actor of rare merit. 
 Each look, each word must lead up to the grand 
 climax. The penalty of failure was not the 
 boredom of an audience, but death ; such a "cur- 
 tain" would sharpen the dullest wits, and Mase- 
 den, if wholly innocent of stage experience 
 hitherto, was not dull. 
 
 He scored his first point while the bride was 
 signing her name. Beaming on Steinbaum, he 
 said cheerfully : 
 
 21
 
 22 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "I bargained for money, Shylock. You've 
 had your pound of flesh. "Where are my 
 ducats?" 
 
 Steinbaum produced a ten-dollar bill. He 
 even forced a smile. Seemingly he was anx- 
 ious to keep the prisoner in this devil-may-care , 
 mood. 
 
 "Not half enough!" cried Maseden, and he 
 broke into Spanish. 
 
 "Hi, my gallant caballeros, isn't there an- 
 other squad in the patio?" 
 
 Si, senor!" cried several voices. 
 
 Even these crude, half-caste soldiers revealed 
 the Latin sense of the dramatic and picturesque. 
 They appreciated the American's cavalier air. 
 That morning's doings would lose naught in the 
 telling when the story spread through the cafes 
 of Cartagena. 
 
 And what a story they would have to tell! 
 Little could they guess its scope, its sensations 
 yet to come. 
 
 "Very well, then! At least another ten-spot, 
 Steinbaum. . . . But, mind you, sergeant, not 
 a drop till the volley is fired ! You might miss, 
 you know ! ' ' 
 
 The man whom he addressed as sergeant eyed 
 the two notes with an amiable grin. 
 
 "You will feel nothing, senor we promise 
 you that," he said wondering, perhaps, why the 
 prisoner did not bestow the largesse at once.
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 23 
 
 "Excellent! Lead on, friend! I want my last 
 few minutes to myself." 
 
 "There are some documents to complete, " 
 put in Steinbaum hastily, with a quick hand- 
 flourish to the notary. 
 
 Senor Porilla spread two legal-looking parch- 
 ments on the table. 
 
 "These are conveyances of your property to 
 your wife," he explained. "I am instructed to 
 see that everything is done in accordance with 
 the laws of the Republic. By these deeds 
 you " 
 
 "Hand over everything to the lady. Is that 
 it? I understand. Where do I sign! Here? 
 Thank you. And here? Nothing else . . . Mrs. 
 Maseden, I have given you my name and all my 
 worldly goods. Pray make good use of both 
 endowments. . . . Now, I demand to be left 
 alone. ' ' 
 
 Without so much as a farewell glance at his 
 wife, who, to keep herself from falling, was 
 leaning on the table, he strode off in the direc- 
 tion of the corridor into which his cell opened. 
 It was a vital part of his scheme that he should 
 enter first. 
 
 The jailer would have left the door open. 
 Maseden was determined that it. should be 
 closed. 
 
 Captain Gomez's tight boots pinched his toes 
 cruelly as he walked, but he recked little of that
 
 24 
 
 minor inconvenience at the moment. In four 
 or five rapid paces he reached the doorway and 
 passed through it. There he turned with his 
 right hand on the door itself, and his left hand, 
 carrying the helmet, raised in a parting salute. 
 He smiled most affably, and, of set purpose, 
 spoke in Spanish. 
 
 "Good-by, sefiora!" he said. "Farewell, 
 gentlemen! I shall remember this pleasant 
 gathering as long as I live!" 
 
 The half-caste was at his prisoner's side, and 
 enjoying the episode thoroughly. He would 
 swill his share of the wine, of course, and the 
 hour of the siesta should find him comfortably 
 drunk. 
 
 Maseden flourished his left hand again, and 
 the plumed helmet temporarily obscured the 
 jailer's vision. The door swung on its hinges. 
 The lock clashed. In the same instant the Amer- 
 ican 's clenched right fist landed on the half- 
 caste's jaw, finding with scientific accuracy the 
 cluster of nerves which the world of pugilism 
 terms "the point." 
 
 It was a perfect blow, clean and hard, deliv- 
 ered by an athlete. Out of the tail of his eye, 
 Maseden had seen where to hit. He knew how 
 to hit already, and put every ounce of his 
 weight, each shred of his boxing knowledge, into 
 that one punch. 
 
 It had to be a complete "knock-out," or his
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 25^ 
 
 plan miscarried. A cry, a struggle, a revolver 
 shot, would have brought a score of assailants 
 thundering on each door. 
 
 As it happened, however, the hapless Span- 
 iard collapsed as though he were struck dead 
 by heart-failure or apoplexy. Maseden caught 
 the inert body before it reached the stone floor, 
 and carried it swiftly into the cell. Improvising 
 a gag out of his discarded pajamas, he bound 
 the half-caste's hands and feet together be- 
 hind his back, utilizing the man's own leather 
 belt for the purpose. 
 
 These things were done swiftly but without 
 nervous haste. The very essence of the plan 
 was the conviction that no forward step should 
 be taken without making sure that the prior 
 moves were complete and thorough. 
 
 He had detached from the jailer's belt a chain 
 carrying a bunch of keys and the revolver in 
 its leather holster. Before slipping this latter 
 over the belt he was wearing, he examined it. 
 Though somewhat old-fashioned, it seemed to 
 be thoroughly serviceable, and held six car- 
 tridges with bull-nose bullets of heavy caliber. 
 
 Then he searched the unconscious man's 
 pockets for cigarettes and matches. Here he 
 encountered an unforeseen delay. Every Span- 
 iard carries either cigarettes or the materials 
 for rolling them, but this fellow seemed to be 
 an exception.
 
 26 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Now, a cigarette formed an almost indispen- 
 sable item in Maseden's scheme; but time was 
 even more precious, and he was about to aban- 
 don the search when he noticed that one button- 
 hole of the jailer's tunic was far more frayed 
 than any other. He tore open the coat, and 
 found both cigarettes and matches in an inside 
 breast pocket. 
 
 Not one man in a million, in similar condi- 
 tions, would have been cool-headed enough to 
 observe such a trivial detail as a frayed button- 
 hole. 
 
 Next he examined the bunch of keys, and came 
 to the conclusion, rightly as it transpired, that 
 the same large key fitted the locks of both doors ; 
 which, however, were heavily barred by external 
 draw-bolts. 
 
 Jamming on the helmet like the glittering 
 boots, it was a size too small he lowered the 
 chin-strap, lighted a cigarette, and limped 
 quickly along the corridor towards the patio, 
 which filled a square equal in size to the area 
 of the great hall. 
 
 As he left the cell he heard the half-caste's 
 breathing become more regular. The man would 
 soon recover his senses. Would the gag prove 
 effective? Maseden dared not wait to make 
 sure. 
 
 He could have induced a more lasting silence, 
 but even life itself might be purchased too
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 27 
 
 dearly; he took the risk of a speedy uproar. 
 
 Unlocking the door, with a confident rattling 
 of keys and chain, he shouted: 
 
 * * Hi, guards ! Draw the bolts ! ' ' 
 
 The soldiers in the patio were ready for some 
 such summons, though the hour was slightly in 
 advance of the time fixed for the American's 
 execution, so the order was obeyed with alacrity. 
 Maseden appeared in the doorway, taking care 
 that the door did not swing far back. He blew 
 a great cloud of smoke ; growled over his shoul- 
 der: "I'll return in five minutes," pulled the 
 door to, and swaggered past the waiting troops, 
 not forgetting to salute as they shouldered their 
 rifles. 
 
 A long time afterwards he learned that he 
 actually owed his escape to Captain Ferdinando 
 Gomez's tight boots. One of the men was ob- 
 servant, and inclined to be skeptical. 
 
 "Who's that?" he said. "Not el Capitan 
 Ferdinando, I'll swear!" 
 
 "Idiot!" grinned another. "Look at his 
 limp! He pinches his toes till he can hardly 
 walk." 
 
 At the gateway, or porch, leading to the patio, 
 stood a sentry, who, luckily, was gazing sea- 
 ward. Maseden conserved the cigarette for an- 
 other volume of smoke, and pulled down the 
 chin-strap determinedly. 
 
 He got beyond this dragon without any
 
 28 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 difficulty. Indeed, the man was taken by sur- 
 prise, and only noticed him when he had gone 
 by. 
 
 Maseden was now in a graveled square. Be- 
 hind him, and to the left, stood the time-dark- 
 ened walls of the old Spanish fortress. In front, 
 broken only by a line of trees and the squat 
 humps of six antiquated cannons, sparkled the 
 blue expanse of the Pacific. To the right lay 
 the port, the new town, and such measure of 
 freedom as he might win. 
 
 He had yet to pass the main entrance to the 
 castle, where, in addition to a sentry, would 
 surely be stationed some sharp-eyed servants, 
 each and all on the qui vive at that early hour, 
 and stirred to unusual activity by the morning's 
 news, because Cartagena regarded a change of 
 president by means of a revolution as a sort of 
 movable holiday. 
 
 At this crisis, luck befriended him. In the 
 shade of the trees opposite the main gate was 
 an orderly holding a horse. The animal's trap- 
 pings showed that it did not belong to a private 
 soldier, and the fact that the man stood to at- 
 tention as Maseden approached seemed to indi- 
 cate that which was actually the fact the 
 charger belonged to none other than the presi- 
 dent's aide-de-camp. 
 
 Fortune seldom bestows her favors in what 
 the casino-jargon of Monte Carlo describes as
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 29 
 
 "intermittent sequences," or, in plain language, 
 alternate coups of red and black, successive 
 strokes of good and bad luck. The fickle god- 
 dess rather inclines to runs on a color. Having 
 brought Maseden to the very brink of the grave, 
 she had decided to help him now. 
 
 As it turned out, Gomez's soldier servant had 
 been injured during the overnight disturbance, 
 and the deputy was a newcomer. 
 
 He saluted, held bridle and stirrup while 
 Maseden mounted, and strolled casually across 
 the square to inquire whether he ought to wait 
 or go back to his quarters. He succeeded in puz- 
 zling the very sergeant who was mentally con- 
 triving the best means of securing the lion's, or 
 sergeant's, share of twenty dollars' worth of 
 wine. 
 
 1 'Captain Gomez has not gone out," snapped 
 the calculator. "Get out of the way! Don't 
 stand there like the ears of a donkey ! I have 
 occupation. The Senor Steinbaum is putting a 
 lady into his car, and she is very ill." 
 
 So the trooper was unceremoniously brushed 
 aside. A little later he might have reminded 
 the sergeant of the folly of counting chickens 
 before the eggs are hatched. 
 
 Maseden was a first-rate horseman, but, owing 
 to the discomfort of excruciatingly tight boots 
 and a wobbly helmet, he did not enjoy the first 
 half mile of a fast gallop down the winding road
 
 30 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 which he was obliged to follow before he could 
 strike into the country. Beneath, to the left, and 
 on a plateau in front, were respectively the an- 
 cient and modern sections of Cartagena. But, 
 having succeeded thus far, he had made up his 
 mind inflexibly as to the course he would pur- 
 sue. 
 
 He meant to reach his own ranch, twelve 
 miles inland, within the hour. He reckoned that, 
 in the easy-going South American way, it would 
 not be occupied as yet by an armed guard. An 
 officer had rummaged among his papers that 
 morning, but came away with the others. 
 
 In any event, in that direction, and there only, 
 lay any real chance of ultimate safety. 
 
 On his estate there were two men at least in 
 whom he might place trust; and even if he 
 could not enter the house, one of them might 
 obtain for him the clothes and money without 
 wjiich he had not the remotest prospect of 
 getting away alive from the Republic of San 
 Juan. 
 
 He had pocketed Steinbaum's twenty dollars 
 in order to hire a horse, but the unwitting hos- 
 pitality of Captain Gomez had provided him 
 with a better animal than was to be picked up 
 at the nearest posada. Indeed, with the excep- 
 tion of an automobile, a luxury that was few and 
 far between in Cartagena, he could not have 
 secured a swifter or more reliable conveyance
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 31 
 
 than this very steed, which would cover the 
 twelve miles in less than an hour, and had also 
 saved him a quarter of an hour's running walk, 
 an experience savoring of Chinese torture when 
 undertaken in tight boots. 
 
 The notion of possible pursuit by a party of 
 soldiers in a car had barely occurred to him 
 when he heard the rapid panting of an automo- 
 bile in the rear. 
 
 He slackened pace, took a shorter grip of the 
 reins, and loosened the revolver in its case. 
 Flight was ridiculous, unless he made across 
 country; a last resource, involving a fatal loss 
 of time. 
 
 He took nothing for granted. Steinbaum was 
 one of the half-dozen car-owners in Cartagena, 
 and this was surely he, escorting Senor Porilla 
 and the lady back to the town. 
 
 They might pass him without recognition. If 
 they didn't, he would shoot Steinbaum and put 
 a bullet into a tire. There would be no half 
 measures. Suarez and his ally had declared 
 war on him to the death, and war they would 
 have without stint or quarter. 
 
 It was a ticklish moment when the fast-run- 
 ning car drew near. Maseden affected to bend 
 over and examine the horse's fore action, as 
 though he suspected lameness or a loose shoe. 
 He gave one swift underlook into the limou- 
 sine as it sped by and fancied he saw Porilla,
 
 32 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 seated with his back to the engine, bending 
 forward. 
 
 That was all. The car raced on and was 
 speedily lost in a dust-cloud. 
 
 So far, so good. He was dodging peril in the 
 hairbreadth fashion popularly ascribed to war- 
 riors on a stricken field. Yet his mount was 
 hardly in a canter again before he was plunged 
 without warning into the most ticklish dilemma 
 of all. 
 
 Steinbaum's car had just turned to the left, 
 where the road bifurcated a few hundred yards 
 ahead, when another car came flying down the 
 other road that which the fugitive himself 
 must take for nearly half a mile ; and this sec- 
 ond menace harbored no less a personage than 
 Don Enrico Suarez, president of the Republic 
 of San Juan! 
 
 It was an open car, too, and the president was 
 seated alone in the tonneau. 
 
 Maseden jumped to the instant conclusion 
 that his enemy was hurrying to witness his exe- 
 cution, probably to jeer at him for having ven- 
 tured to cross the predestined path of a con- 
 queror. But, even though he passed, Suarez 
 would know that the gaily bedizened horseman 
 was not his glittering aide-de-camp. 
 
 To permit the president to reach the Castle 
 meant the beginning of an irresistible pursuit 
 within five minutes. However, that considera-
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 33 
 
 tion did not bother the Vennonter if for no bet- 
 ter reason than that he was determined it should 
 not come into play. 
 
 He smiled thoughtfully, adjusted the 
 helmet once more, and voiced his sentiments 
 aloud. 
 
 "Good!" he said. "This time, Enrico, you 
 and I square accounts ! ' ' 
 
 Pulling up, he took the middle of the road, 
 wheeling the horse "half left," and holding up 
 his right hand. The chauffeur saw him, slack- 
 ened speed, and finally halted within a distance 
 of a few feet. From first to last, the man re- 
 garded the newcomer as being Captain Gomez. 
 The wind-screen was up, and the roads were 
 dust-laden, so he could not see with absolute ac- 
 curacy. Moreover, events followed each other 
 so- rapidly that he was given no chance to cor- 
 rect an erroneous first impression. 
 
 The car being stopped, Maseden moved on, 
 passing by the left. Drawing the revolver, he 
 fired at the front right-hand tire at such close 
 range that it was impossible to miss. The re- 
 ports of the weapon and the bursting tube were 
 simultaneous. 
 
 The next shot would have lodged in the presi- 
 dent's heart if the startled horse had not 
 swerved. As it was, quite a nasty hole was torn 
 in the presidential anatomy; Suarez, himself 
 fumbling for an automatic pistol, sank back in
 
 34 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the tonneau a severely if not mortally wounded 
 man. 
 
 For one fateful instant, the eyes of the two 
 had met and clashed, and recognition was mu- 
 tual. 
 
 A third bullet plowed through the back right- 
 hand tire, and Maseden galloped off, the horse 
 being only too eager to get away from the 
 racket. 
 
 The American did not look behind to ascer- 
 tain what the chauffeur was doing. It really 
 did not matter a great deal. Speed and direc- 
 . tion were the paramount conditions during the 
 next fifty minutes. The die was cast now be- 
 yond all hope of revocation. He was at war 
 with the Republic, and, although he had ren- 
 dered its citizens a valuable service in shooting 
 their rascally president, they might not regard 
 the incident in its proper light until a period far 
 too late to benefit the philanthropist. 
 
 As a matter of fact, interesting historically 
 and otherwise, the chauffeur was convinced that 
 Captain Ferdinando Gomez had assassinated 
 his master, and said so, with many oaths, when 
 he summoned assistance from a neighboring 
 house. It may also be placed on record here that 
 about the same time the gallant aide-de-camp 
 had come to suspect that his beautiful uniform, 
 if not returned promptly, might be sadly 
 smirched by a score of bullets, with accessories ;
 
 TIME VEESUS ETERNITY 35 
 
 and was kicking up a fearful row because no one 
 could get at the jailer and rescue that gala cos- 
 tume before the prisoner was led forth to exe- 
 cution. 
 
 In a word, the Republic's presidential af- 
 fairs were greatly mixed, and remained in in- 
 extricable confusion until long after Maseden 
 drew rein on a blown horse at the gate of his 
 own estancia. 
 
 The ranch, known as Los Andes, and one of 
 the finest estates in San Juan, provided the 
 original bone of contention between Maseden 
 and Suarez. It had been built up, during thirty 
 lazy years, by a distant cousin of Suarez, an 
 elderly bachelor, who grew coffee and maize, 
 and reared stock in a hap-hazard way. 
 
 Seven years earlier he had met the young 
 American in New York, took a liking to him, 
 and offered to employ him as overseer while 
 teaching him the business. The pupil soon be- 
 came the instructor. Scientific methods were 
 introduced, direct markets were tapped, and 
 the produce of the estate was quadrupled 
 within a few seasons. 
 
 Then the older man died, and left the ranch 
 and its contents to his assistant. There was 
 not much money the capital was sunk in 
 stock and improvement so a number of free 
 and independent burghers of Cartagena re- 
 ceived smaller amounts than they expected.
 
 36 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Suarez was one of the beneficiaries, seven in 
 all. Six took the situation calmly. He alone 
 was irreconcilable, and blustered about legal 
 proceedings, only desisting when persuaded 
 that he had no case, even for the venal courts 
 of San Juan. 
 
 And now, on that sultry January morning, 
 the lawful owner of the Los Andes ranch, 
 while awaiting the appearance of a peon, who, 
 he knew, was tending some cattle in a byre be- 
 hind the lodge, was wondering whether or not 
 he might urge a tired charger into a final 
 canter to the door of his own house without 
 bringing about a pitched battle when he arrived 
 there. 
 
 At last came Pedro every second man in 
 South America is named after the chief of the 
 Apostles a brown, lithe, Indian-looking per- 
 son. But he was Spanish enough in the expres- 
 sion of his emotions. 
 
 1 1 By the eleven thousand virgins ! " he cried 
 joyously, after a first stare of incredulity, for 
 the eyes rolled in his head at sight of Mase- 
 den's garb, "it is not true, then, master, that 
 you are a prisoner!" 
 
 "Who says that I am?" inquired Maseden. 
 
 "They say it up there at the estancia, 
 senor," and Pedro jerked a thumb towards 
 an avenue of mahogany trees. 
 
 "They say? Who say?"
 
 TIME VERSUS ETERNITY 37 
 
 Pedro was scared, but Maseden had taught 
 his helpers to answer truthfully. 
 
 "Old Lopez said it, senor. He told me the 
 president's men had charged him to touch noth- 
 ing till they returned." 
 
 Maseden 's heart throbbed more furiously at 
 that reply than at aught which had befallen 
 Mm during the few pregnant hours since dawn. 
 
 "Those rascals have gone, then?" he said, 
 so placidly that the peon was bewildered. 
 
 ' ' Si, senor. Did they not go with you ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes. I was not sure of all. . . . Close 
 and lock the gate, Pedro. Leave other things. 
 Saddle your mustang and mount guard at the 
 bend in the avenue, from which you can watch 
 the Cartagena road. If you see horses, or an 
 automobile, coming this way, ride to the house 
 and tell me." 
 
 "Si, senor." 
 
 Pedro hurried off. Maseden rode on at the 
 best pace the spent horse was capable of. He 
 might lose a potential fortune though the 
 shooting of Suarez should remove the worst 
 of the hostile influences arrayed against him 
 but surely he could now save his life. 
 
 He had never realized how dear life was at 
 twenty-eight until that morning. Hitherto he 
 had given no thought to it. Now he wanted to 
 live till he was eighty !
 
 CHAPTER in 
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN" 
 
 SUAEEZ was not dead. He was not even dan- 
 gerously wounded. A two-ounce bullet had 
 dealt an upper left rib a blow like the 
 kick of a horse, but at such an angle that 
 the bone deflected its flight. Consequently, a 
 fractured sternal costa, loss of blood, and a 
 most painful flesh wound formed for Suarez 
 the collective outcome of Maseden's disturbed 
 aiming. 
 
 In effect, the president Tlgained conscious- 
 ness about the time Captain Gomez had suc- 
 ceeded in persuading several members of the 
 new government that it was not he, but an es- 
 caped prisoner, who had so grievously mal- 
 treated the head of the Eepublic. 
 
 A doctor announced that Senor Suarez must 
 be given complete rest and freedom from public 
 affairs during the ensuing week or ten days. 
 Even the wrathful president himself, after mak- 
 ing known the true identity of his assailant, felt 
 that he had no option other than placing the 
 affairs of the nation temporarily in the hands 
 of his associates. 
 
 88
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 39' 
 
 He made the best of an awkward situation, 
 therefore, and issued a vainglorious decree an- 
 nouncing the change. 
 
 Now, even San Juan could not provide a sec- 
 ond revolution within twelve hours. States, 
 like human beings, can experience a surfeit of 
 excitement; moreover, the next gang of office- 
 seekers had not yet emerged from the welter 
 of parties. Sometimes, too, in South America, 
 a disabled president is preferable to an active 
 one, because the heads of departments can do 
 a little pilfering on their own account. 
 
 So San Juan became virtuously indignant 
 over the "attempted assassination" of that re- 
 nowned "liberator," Enrico Suarez. A hue 
 and cry was raised for the scoundrelly Ameri- 
 can, several supporters of real law and order 
 in the State were arrested, and cavalry and 
 police rode forth on Maseden's trail. 
 
 This planning and scheming and explaining 
 consumed valuable time, however. It was high 
 noon when a party of horsemen, headed by a 
 well-informed guide, in the person of the ranch 
 superintendent, "old" Lopez, tore along the 
 avenue of mahogany trees at Los Andes. 
 
 Lopez, a wizened, shrewd, and sufficiently 
 trustworthy half-breed, was not betraying his 
 employer. He was merely carrying out explicit 
 instructions. Maseden had no desire to place 
 his faithful servants in the power of the
 
 40 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Cartagena harpies. He was literally fighting 
 for his life now. He meant to meet vio- 
 lence with greater violence, guile with deeper 
 guile. 
 
 When a Covenanter buckles on the sword, let 
 professional swashbucklers take heed ; when an 
 honest man plots, let rogues beware. A clear- 
 headed American, armed against oppression, 
 can be at once a most lusty warrior and the 
 astutest of strategists. 
 
 "It is the unexpected that happens," said 
 Disraeli in one of his happiest epigrams. A 
 few strenuous hours spent in the Republic of 
 San Juan in Maseden's plight would have 
 yielded the cynic material for a dozen like 
 quips, if he had survived the experience. 
 
 When Maseden reached the estancia he was 
 received by Lopez with even greater amazement 
 than was displayed by the peon. Being a privi- 
 leged person, the old fellow expressed himself 
 in absolutely untranslatable language. After 
 a lurid preamble, he went on : 
 
 "But, thanks to the heavenly ones, I see you 
 again, senor, safe and sound, though in a 
 strange livery. Is it true, then, that the presi- 
 dent is dead?" 
 
 "Yes. Both of them, I believe." 
 
 Maseden laughed wearily. He was tired, and 
 the day was only beginning. He knew, of course, 
 that Lopez meant Valdez, having probably, as
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 41 
 
 yet, not so much as heard of Suarez as chief of 
 the Republic. 
 
 "I'll explain matters," he said. "Stand by 
 to catch me if I fall when I dismount. The 
 devil take all dudes and their vanities ! These 
 boots have nearly killed me." 
 
 In a minute the offending jack boots were off 
 and flung into the veranda, the helmet after 
 them. The horse was given over to the care of 
 a peon, and Maseden went to his bedroom. 
 
 A glance at a big safe showed that the letter 
 lock had defied curiosity, and no serious at- 
 tempt had been made to force it. He saw that 
 the drawers in a bureau in the adjoining room 
 had been ransacked hastily. Probably, the new 
 president's emissaries were instructed to look 
 for a list of "conspirators" of well-affected 
 citizens, that is who meant to support the hon- 
 orable regime of Valdez. 
 
 "Now, listen while I talk," said Maseden, 
 tearing open the tight-fitting blue coat. "I can 
 put faith in you, I suppose ? ' ' 
 
 "Senor " 
 
 "Yes, I take it for granted. Besides, if you 
 stick to me you may come out on top yourself. 
 Valdez is dead. He was murdered last night, 
 and Enrico Suarez stepped into his shoes. . . . 
 Oh, I know Enrico's real name, but I haven't 
 a second to spare. I was sentenced to death 
 early this morning, and married about an hour
 
 42 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 ago, just before being taken out to be shot. . . . 
 Well, I got away; how is of no concern 
 to you. In fact, it is better that you shouldn't 
 know. 
 
 "A lady will come into possession here. She 
 will call herself the Senora Maseden. Seiior 
 Porilla will introduce her. She and the lawyer 
 are playing some game to suit Suarez and 
 Steinbaum, the German consul at Cartagena. 
 My escape may bother them a bit, but I 
 cannot guess just how things will work out. 
 What orders did Enrico's lieutenant give 
 you?" 
 
 The foreman's wits were rather mixed by 
 his master's extraordinary budget of news, but 
 he answered readily. 
 
 "He told me, senor, if I valued my life, to 
 see that nothing was disturbed in the estancia 
 till the president came or sent a representa- 
 tive." 
 
 "I thought so. That gives me a sporting 
 chance. ' ' 
 
 Maseden had changed rapidly into his own 
 clothes, an ordinary riding costume suitable to 
 a tropical climate. He opened the safe, stuffed 
 some papers into his pockets, also a quantity 
 of gold, silver, and notes. 
 
 Then he wrote a letter, and filled in a check. 
 Having addressed and stamped the envelope, 
 he handed it to his assistant.
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 43' 
 
 "In five minutes or less, yon will be riding 
 at a steady gallop towards Cartagena," he said. 
 "If possible, deliver that letter yourself to 
 Senor Peguero, the American consul. By 'pos- 
 sible' I mean if you are not held up by soldiers 
 or police on the way. Otherwise, keep it con- 
 cealed, and post it when the opportunity 
 serves." 
 
 Lopez knew the pleasant methods of his fel- 
 low-republicans. 
 
 "They may search me, senor," he said. 
 
 "Not if you do as I tell you. Curse me flu- 
 ently enough, and they'll look on you as their 
 best friend." 
 
 "Senor!" protested the old man. 
 
 "Yes. I mean it. Call me all the names you 
 can lay tongue to. When I leave this room 
 I'll follow you, revolver in hand. Be careful 
 to scowl and act unwillingly. I want some food 
 and a couple of bottles of wine, also a leather 
 bottle full of water and a tin cup. Saddle the 
 Cid, and see that three or four good measures 
 of corn are put in the saddle-bags with the 
 other things. 
 
 "When I vanish rush to the stables, pick out 
 a good mustang, and be in Cartagena within 
 the hour. If not interfered with, take the letter 
 to Senor Peguero. Don't wait for an answer, 
 but hurry at top speed to the Castle, where you 
 must tell some one that I came back to the ranch
 
 44 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 and ordered you about at the muzzle of a re- 
 volver. 
 
 "Lead the soldiers straight here. If Captain 
 Gomez is in command, assure him that you res- 
 cued his uniform, and he'll be your friend for- 
 ever. Should you meet them on the way, turn 
 back with them. You understand? You're for 
 the president and against me. ' ' 
 
 Lopez smiled till his face was a mass of 
 wrinkles. He was beginning to see through the 
 scheme, and was Spaniard enough to appreciate 
 the leaven of intrigue. 
 
 "But when and where shall I find you, senor, 
 if you are taking a long journey?" he said, still 
 grinning. 
 
 "Not a mile away, if all goes well. Soon 
 after dusk come to the Grove of the Doves at 
 sunset. I'll turn up. If you are delayed, and 
 it is dark, hoot like an owl, and I'll answer. If 
 you don't come at all I'll know it's too danger- 
 ous, and will be there again at dawn, at noon, 
 and at sunset to-morrow. Pick up some news 
 in Cartagena. You will be told, of course, that 
 I have shot Suarez. Be careful to show your 
 horrified surprise, and ask if the dear man is 
 really dead. If he is, try and find out who is 
 in power. Of course there 's a bare chance that 
 Porilla may be made president, in which case 
 I might be given a fair trial when an American 
 man-of-war is anchored in the roads. . . . Oh,
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 45 
 
 by the way, you might find out who the lady is 
 I married this morning." 
 
 "Seiior!" gasped Lopez, in sheer bewilder- 
 ment. 
 
 "I haven't the remotest notion who she is, 
 or even what she looks like," laughed Maseden. 
 "Now, there's no more time for talk," and he 
 raised his voice. "Obey me at once, you lazy 
 old hound, or I '11 blow your brains out ! Send 
 a peon for the Cid. Fail me in one single thing, 
 and I'll put a bullet through your head! . . . 
 Margarita! Some bread and meat, quick! I'll 
 soon show you who is master in this house. 
 Suarez may give orders in Cartagena, but I give 
 them here ! ' ' 
 
 Lopez hurried out, wringing his hands. Mase- 
 den followed, brandishing the revolver. Some 
 timid servants, who had gathered in the patio 
 at the news of their employer's return, made 
 as though they would run, but he stopped them 
 with a fierce threat, and, while munching the 
 food brought by an aged housekeeper, behaved 
 and spoke so outrageously that they thought he 
 was mad. 
 
 Poor creatures! They had served him well 
 in the past. Now he was trying to save their 
 lives by giving them something to say against 
 him when questioned by the president's hench- 
 men. 
 
 Meanwhile, he had a sharp ear for the hoof-
 
 46 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 beats of a galloping horse. Pedro, knowing 
 nothing of the scene in the estancia, was still 
 on guard at the bend in the avenue, and might 
 be trusted to give warning of the enemy's ap- 
 proach. But Maseden was allowed to eat his 
 fill. 
 
 A very terrified Lopez brought a hardy-look- 
 ing mustang to the gateway, and his master 
 saw a repeating rifle slung to the saddle. That 
 was a thoughtful thing. Such a weapon might 
 be exceedingly useful. 
 
 "Where are the cartridges?" he thundered, 
 
 "Here, most excellent one," stammered the 
 other, producing a bandolier. 
 
 The American swung into the saddle, swore 
 at his co-conspirator heartily, and was off. 
 
 So Lopez had a fine tale to tell when his mus- 
 tang loped up to the entrance of the Castle of 
 San Juan. He had a fine tale to hear, too, as 
 he rode back to the ranch with a body of horse 
 led by the fastidious and color-loving Ferdi- 
 nando Gomez. 
 
 The servants, of course, bore out the super- 
 intendent's story of Maseden 's extraordinary 
 behavior. Obviously, no one at the estancia 
 was to blame for this daring prisoner's second 
 escape. The officer who had arrested him at 
 daybreak should have left a guard in charge, 
 but the plain truth was that the Cartagena
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 47 
 
 men had been so anxious to take part in the 
 stirring doings anticipated at the capital that 
 no heed was given to this flaw in the pro- 
 cedure. 
 
 That night, however, when Maseden met Lo- 
 pez at the rendezvous, the Spaniard's account 
 of events was not reassuring. 
 
 Suarez was living, and not very badly hurt, 
 it was true; but every man's hand seemed to 
 be against the foreigner who had tried to kill 
 him. Maseden was puzzled, at first, by this ex- 
 cess of patriotism on the part of the citizens of 
 Cartagena and San Juan generally. 
 
 "What do they think has become of me?" he 
 inquired. 
 
 "They argue, senor, that you have ridden 
 into the interior, and telegrams have been sent 
 to all the inland towns ordering your instant 
 arrest. If you resist you are to be shot dead, 
 and a reward of one thousand dollars will be 
 paid when you are identified." 
 
 "Do they pay for me dead only?" 
 
 "They offer two thousand for you alive, 
 senor." 
 
 "Just to have the pleasure of potting me as 
 per schedule. . . . Any fear that you have been 
 followed to-night, old friend?" 
 
 "None, senor. The soldiers at the estancia 
 believe you are many miles away. Moreover, 
 I have put good wine on the table."
 
 48 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "Who is in charge there? Captain Gomez?" 
 
 "No, senor, a stranger. El capitan went back 
 to Cartagena. He nearly wept when he saw his 
 boots. You had split them.'* 
 
 "You gave the consul my letter?" 
 
 "I dropped it in his box, senor. I thought 
 that was wiser." 
 
 "So it was. I should have remembered that. 
 What of the lady?" 
 
 ' ' The lady you married, senor ? ' ' 
 
 "Of course. You wouldn't have me inter- 
 ested in some other lady on my wedding day, 
 you old reprobate?" 
 
 The half-breed laughed softly. 
 
 "Even that wouldn't be so strange a thing 
 as what has really happened, senor. No one 
 knows who the lady is. One man, a distant 
 cousin of mine, told me he heard she landed 
 from a ship only late last night. ' ' 
 
 "Great Scott!" muttered Maseden in En- 
 glish, "what a Sphinx-like person! She must 
 be descended from the Man in the Iron Mask." 
 Then he went on : 
 
 "Didn't your cousin know where she was 
 staying in Cartagena? Surely there must have 
 been a good deal of public curiosity about her. 
 Twenty people were present at the marriage. 
 It was no secret." 
 
 "I understand that she had gone to Senor 
 Steinbaum's house. She fainted after the cere-
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 49 
 
 mony, my cousin said, and had to be carried 
 into an automobile, but he knew nothing more." 
 
 The veiled Madeleine had felt the strain, 
 then ! Somehow the knowledge of her collapse 
 touched a chord of sentiment in Maseden's 
 heart, but his own desperate plight effectually 
 banished all other considerations at the mo- 
 ment. 
 
 True, he was safe for the night, and for 
 many days to come, if the foreman's fidelity re- 
 mained unshaken. The ranch was called Los 
 Andes because it contained a chain of little hills 
 all covered with valuable timber, among which 
 he could hide without real difficulty. 
 
 But of what avail this precarious lurking on 
 his own estate? He must take speedy and ef- 
 fectual steps to get clear of San Juan alto- 
 gether until such time as he could secure ade- 
 quate protection, and have his case thrashed 
 out by a tribunal to whose decision even Enrico 
 Suarez, the president of the Eepublic, must bow. 
 
 One thing was quite certain never again <. 
 could he settle down in unmolested possession 
 of his property. Though the shooting of Suarez 
 was an unfortunate necessity, its effect would 
 be enduring and disastrous. 
 
 He had thought out every phase of the prob- 
 lem during the long, hot hours beneath the 
 trees, and the half-breed's account of the trend 
 of public feeling decided his adoption of the
 
 50 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 boldest course of all. He would go to Carta- 
 gena, where he was hardly known, save to a 
 few merchants and shopkeepers, a banker and 
 one or two members of the Consular commu- 
 nity, and board some outward-bound vessel. 
 
 Fortunately, he had plenty of money, and, 
 glory be, could speak both Spanish and the San 
 Juan patois like a native. If his luck held, he 
 would cheat Suarez yet. 
 
 "Lopez," he said, after a long pause, "I must 
 leave the ranch for many a day, probably for- 
 ever. If I stay here I'll only plunge you into 
 trouble and get myself captured. Now, do me 
 one last service. Have you any clothes belong- 
 ing to that vaquero nephew of yours who broke 
 his neck in a race last Easter?" 
 
 "I have his overalls, a fiesta jacket, some 
 shirts and a sombrero, senor." 
 
 "Bring them, and speedily. I'll give you a 
 good price." 
 
 "They are yours for nothing, senor." 
 
 "I don't deal on those terms, Lopez. Off 
 with you. I'll wait here." 
 
 "Anything else, senor?" 
 
 "Yes. I was nearly forgetting. Bring his 
 saddle, too. My own saddle might be recog- 
 nized. I have a long ride before me, so hurry. ' ' 
 
 Within half an hour the good-hearted old 
 foreman was richer by five hundred dollars, 
 while Maseden, a dashing cowboy, though un-
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 51 
 
 kempt as to face and hands, was riding across 
 country by starlight. 
 
 He did not tell Lopez his real objective. 
 There was no need. The old fellow occasionally 
 indulged in a burst of dissipation, and if his 
 tongue wagged then he might blurt out some 
 boastful phrase which would bring down on 
 him the merciless wrath of the authorities. 
 
 At dawn the fugitive received another slice 
 of real luck. He had just entered a main road 
 leading from San Luis, a town thirty miles from 
 Cartagena, when he came upon a cowherd sit- 
 ting by the roadside and bemoaning his misfor- 
 tunes. The man was commissioned to drive 
 some cattle to a sale-ring in the city, and had 
 scratched an ankle rather badly while whack- 
 ing one of the steers out of a bed of thorns. 
 
 Such an incident was common enough in his 
 life, but on this occasion either the thorn was 
 poisonous or some foreign matter had lodged 
 in the wound, because the limb had swollen 
 greatly and was so painful that he could hardly 
 walk. 
 
 Maseden played the Good Samaritan. He 
 ascertained the drover's name, his master's, 
 and the address of the salesman; the rest was 
 easy. Helping the sufferer into a wayside 
 hovel, he promised to send back a messenger 
 later with an official receipt, took charge of the 
 animals himself, and reached Cartagena as
 
 52 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Ramon Aliones, the accredited representative 
 of a San Luis rancher. 
 
 The sale-ring was near the harbor, and he 
 mounted a man on his own broncho to deliver 
 the drover's voucher for the safe arrival of the 
 herd at its destination. He asked for, and ob- 
 tained, a duplicate, which he kept. This same 
 emissary readily disposed of the horse and sad- 
 dle at a ruinous price when told that the new- 
 comer was not only thirsty, but meant to see 
 the sights of the capital. 
 
 A cheap restaurant, some wineshops, and a 
 vile billiard saloon provided shelter for the 
 rest of the day. Before night fell, Maseden 
 had ascertained three things : He was supposed 
 to be riding hard into the interior ; the lady he 
 had married was really a stranger and was 
 Steinbaum's guest, and a large steamer, the 
 .Southern Cross, flying the Stars and Stripes, 
 was due to leave port at midnight. 
 
 She should have sailed some hours earlier, 
 but the drastic changes in the marine depart- 
 ment entailed by the day's happenings had de- 
 layed certain formalities connected with her 
 manifests. 
 
 "For a time, senor," explained the ship's 
 chandler who gave him this latter information, 
 "no one would sign anything. You see, a name 
 on a paper would prove conclusively which 
 president you favored. You understand?"
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 53 
 
 Maseden understood perfectly. 
 
 "It is well that you and I, senor, have no 
 truck with these presidents, or we might be in 
 trouble, ' ' he laughed. ' ' As it is, another bottle, 
 and to the devil with all politicians ! ' ' 
 
 Under cover of the darkness the American 
 slipped away from his boon companions, now 
 comfortably drunk at his expense. Having 
 no luggage, he bought a second-hand leather 
 trunk and some cheap underclothing, such as a 
 muleteer might reasonably possess. He also 
 secured the repeating rifle and cartridges which 
 he had left in a restaurant, and, thus reinforced, 
 made for the Plaza, where Cartagenians of both 
 sexes and all ages were gathered to enjoy the 
 cool breeze that comes from the Pacific with 
 sunset. 
 
 From that point he knew he could see the 
 Southern Cross lying at anchor in the road- 
 stead. She was there, sure enough, nearly a 
 mile out, and he was puzzling his wits for a pre- 
 text to hire a boat and board her without at- 
 tracting notice when chance solved the problem 
 for him. 
 
 Two men passed. They were talking English, 
 and he heard one addressing the other by name. 
 
 4 'Tell you what, Sturgess," the speaker was 
 saying, "I'd be hull down on Cartagena to- 
 night if the skipper would only bring up at Val- 
 paraiso. But his first port of call is Buenos
 
 54 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Ayres, and I've got to make Valparaiso before 
 I see good old New York again, so here I'm 
 fixed till a coasting steamer comes along. Great 
 Caesar's ghost, I wish I were going with you!" 
 
 The second man, Sturgess, was carrying a 
 suitcase, and the two were evidently making for 
 a short pier which supplied landing places for 
 small craft at various stages of the tide. 
 
 Maseden quickened his pace, overtook them, 
 and said in Spanish that he wished to book a 
 passage to Buenos Ayres on the Southern 
 Cross, and, if the Sefior Americano would per- 
 mit him to board the vessel in his boat, he 
 (Maseden) would gladly carry the bag to the 
 pier. 
 
 Sturgess evidently did not understand Span- 
 ish, and asked his companion to interpret. He 
 laughed on hearing the queer offer. 
 
 1 'Guess I can handle the grip myself, and the 
 gallant vaquero is pretty well loaded with his 
 own outfit," he said, "but he is welcome to a 
 trip on my catamaran, if it's of any service." 
 
 Maseden, however, insisted on giving some 
 return for the favor, and secured the suitcase. 
 Now, if any sharp-eyed watcher on the pier saw 
 him, he would pass as the traveler's servant. 
 
 Within half an hour he was aboard the ship, 
 and had bargained for a spare berth in the 
 forecastle with the crew. He would be com- 
 pelled to rough it, and remain as dirty and dis-
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 55 
 
 beveled as possible until tbe sbip reacbed 
 Buenos Ayres. Obviously, no matter what bis 
 personal wrongs migbt be, be could not make 
 tbe captain of tbe Southern Cross a party to the 
 escape from Cartagena of tbe man who had 
 nearly succeeded in ridding tbe republic of its 
 president. 
 
 But tbe prospect of bard fare and worse ac- 
 commodations did not trouble him at all. He 
 bad nearly ten thousand dollars in his pockets. 
 If the note sent through Lopez to the American 
 Consul was acted on promptly, a further sum 
 of fifteen thousand dollars lying to his credit 
 in a local bank was now in safe keeping. 
 
 Really, considering that he had been so near 
 death that morning, be had a good deal to be 
 thankful for if he never saw Cartagena or the 
 Los Andes ranch again. 
 
 As for the marriage, what of it? A knot 
 so easily tied could be untied with equal readi- 
 ness. He hadn't the least doubt but that an 
 American court of law would declare the cere- 
 mony illegal. 
 
 At any rate, be could jump that fence when 
 he reached it. At present, in sporting phrase, 
 be was going strong with a lot in hand. 
 
 He kept well out of sight when a government 
 launch came off, and a port official boarded the 
 vessel. 
 
 He never knew what a narrow escape he bad
 
 56 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 when the chief steward who acted as purser, 
 was asked if any new addition had been made 
 to the passenger list. The ship's officer was 
 not a good Spanish scholar. He thought the 
 question applied to the cargo, and answered 
 "no." 
 
 Then, after a wait that seemed interminable, 
 the snorting and growling of a steam winch 
 and the unwilling rasp of the anchor chain 
 chanted a symphonic chorus in Maseden's ears. 
 Those harsh sounds sang of freedom and life, 
 of golden years on a most excellent earth in- 
 stead of an eternity in the grave. He came on 
 deck to watch the Castle of San Juan dwindle 
 and vanish in the deep, blue glamour of a per- 
 fect tropical night. 
 
 He was standing on the open part of the 
 main deck, close to the fore hold, when he 
 heard English voices from the promenade deck 
 high above his head. 
 
 A man's somewhat querulous accents 
 reached him first. 
 
 "Well, at this time two days ago, I little 
 thought I'd be on a steamer going south to- 
 night," said the speaker. 
 
 There was no answer, though it was evident 
 that the petulant philosopher was not address- 
 ing the silent air. 
 
 "I suppose you girls are still mooning about 
 that fellow getting away from the Castle?"
 
 ADIOS, SAN JUAN 57 
 
 grumbled the same voice. "I tell you he has no 
 earthly chance of winning clear. Steinbaum 
 will see to that. His record is none too good, 
 and a question in the American Senate would 
 just about finish him, even in San Juan. So 
 Mr. Philip Alexander Maseden might just as 
 well have been shot yesterday morning as to- 
 day or to-morrow. They're hot on his track 
 now, Steinbaum told me 
 
 "Eh? Yes, I know he did me a good turn, 
 but, damn it all, that was merely because he 
 was going to die, not because he was a first- 
 rate life for an insurance office. It was no 
 business of mine that he and Suarez couldn't 
 agree. . . . Oh, let 's go to our cabins ! Tears 
 always put my nerves on a raw edge ! Anyone 
 would think you had lost a real husband on 
 your wedding day ! ' ' 
 
 There was a movement of shadowy forms. 
 Maseden thought he could distinguish a 
 ' woman's white hand rest for an instant on the 
 ship's rail. Was that the hand he thought he 
 would remember until the Day of Judgment? 
 He could not say. 
 
 The one fact that lifted itself out of the 
 welter of incoherent fancies whirling in his 
 mind was an almost incontrovertible one. If 
 his ears had not deceived him, he and his un- 
 known but lawful wife were fellow-passengers 
 on board the Southern Cross!
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 A SLIGHT mist hung over the sea sure out- 
 come of the tremendous range of the thermom- 
 eter between noon and midnight in a tropical 
 clime. The sky was cloudless, and the stars 
 clustered in myriads. 
 
 Though the Southern Hemisphere falls far 
 short of the glory of the north in constellations 
 of the first magnitude, the extraordinary clear- 
 ness of the upper air near the equator enhances 
 the stellar display. It would almost seem that 
 nature knows she may veil her ample splen- 
 dors in the north, but must make the most of 
 her scantier charms in the south. 
 
 Maseden, swinging on his heel in sheer be- 
 wilderment, suddenly found himself face to face 
 with the Southern Cross, hanging low above 
 the horizon. Had an impossible meteor flamed 
 forth from the familiar cluster of stars and 
 shot in awe-inspiring flight across the whole 
 arc of the heavens northward to the line, it 
 would not have surprised him more than the 
 discovery that his "wife" was on board the 
 ship. 
 
 That was a stupendous fact before which the 
 
 58
 
 "FIND THE LADY" 59 
 
 whirl of adventure of the long day now draw- 
 ing to a close subsided into calm remote- 
 ness. 
 
 "Madeleine," the woman he had married, 
 was his fellow-passenger! He would surely 
 see her many times during the voyage to 
 Buenos Ayres ! He would hear her voice, which 
 he could not fail to recognize. 
 
 She, on her part, would probably identify 
 him at the first glance. How would she handle 
 an extraordinary situation? Would she claim 
 him as her husband, repudiate him scornfully, 
 or utterly ignore him! He could not even 
 guess. 
 
 There was no telling what a woman would do 
 who had elected to marry a man whom she had 
 never met, whose very name, in all likelihood, 
 she had never heard, merely because he hap- 
 pened to be a prisoner condemned to speedy 
 death. 
 
 Yet she could not be a particularly cold- 
 blooded person. She had wept for him, had 
 whispered her heartfelt grief; had promised 
 to pray for and think of him always. Even the 
 man with the high-pitched voice of a hypo- 
 chondriac presumably, from the manner of his 
 address, her father had hinted that her suffer- 
 ing had already passed the bounds set for one 
 who, to serve her own ends, had gone through 
 that amazing ceremony.
 
 60 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Maseden did not actually marshal his 
 thoughts thus clearly. If compelled to bend his 
 wits to the task, he might have spoken or writ- 
 ten in such wise. But an active brain has its 
 own haphazard methods of weighing a new and 
 distracting problem; it will ask and answer a 
 dozen startling questions simultaneously. 
 
 In the midst of Maseden 's strange and form- 
 less imaginings the ship's course was changed 
 a couple of points to the southward, and the 
 Southern Cross was shut out of sight by the 
 forecastle head. Then, and not until then, did 
 the coincidence of the vessel's name with that 
 of the constellation occur to his bemused wits. 
 
 He laughed cheerfully. 
 
 "By gad!" he said, "all the signs of the 
 zodiac must have clustered about my horoscope 
 on this 15th of January. "When I get ashore 
 I must find an astrologer and ask him to ex- 
 pound." 
 
 The sound of his own voice brought a belated 
 warning to Maseden of the folly he had com- 
 mitted in speaking aloud. 
 
 There was no other occupant of the fore 
 deck at the moment. A lookout man in the 
 bows could not possibly have overheard, be- 
 cause of the whistling of the breeze created by 
 the ship's momentum and the plash of the 
 curved waves set up by the cut-water, and it
 
 "FIND THE LADY'' 61 
 
 "was highly improbable that words uttered in a 
 conversational tone would have reached the 
 bridge. 
 
 But behind him rose the three decks of the 
 superstructure, and there might be eavesdrop- 
 pers on the promenade deck or in one of the 
 two dark gangways running aft. 
 
 He glanced over his shoulder to right and 
 left. Apparently he had escaped this time. No 
 matter what developments took place in the 
 near future, he was by no means anxious as yet 
 to reveal his nationality. Each hour brought 
 home, more and more forcibly, the misfortune 
 of the chance which left him no alternative but 
 the shooting of Suarez that morning. 
 
 The act was absolutely essential to his own 
 safety, but it put him clearly out of court. At 
 any rate, the authorities of no South American 
 state would listen to a recital of his earlier 
 wrongs. If, as was highly probable, a sensa- 
 tional account of the attempted assassination 
 of the new president had been tacked on to the 
 telegrams announcing the coup d'etat in San 
 Juan, and he, Maseden, were painted as a des- 
 perado of mark, it might even be feared that 
 the settled and respectable Argentine Eepublic 
 would arrest him and endeavor to send him 
 back to San Juan for trial. 
 
 Of course, the United States Consul in Bue- 
 nos Ayres would have something to say about
 
 62 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 it, but there was a very real danger of consu- 
 lar efforts being overruled. No matter how 
 distasteful the role, Philip Alexander Maseden 
 must continue to masquerade as Ramon All ones, 
 vaquero, until he could leave the ship and as- 
 sume another alias. 
 
 It was soon borne in on him how narrow was 
 the margin which still separated him from dis- 
 aster. He had gone to his berth, an unsavory 
 hutch next to a larger cabin tenanted by deck- 
 hands, when the door was thrust wide (he had 
 left it half open while undressing, there being 
 no electric switch within) and a lamp flashed 
 in his eyes. 
 
 A short, stockily-built man, whom Maseden 
 rightly took for the captain, stood there, ac- 
 companied by another man, seemingly a Span- 
 ish steward. 
 
 "Now, then," came the gruff question, 
 "what's this I hear about your speaking Eng- 
 lish to yourself? Who are you? What's your 
 name ? ' ' 
 
 Luckily, Maseden was so surprised that he 
 did not answer. The swarthy steward, a thin, 
 lantern-jawed person, grinned. Maseden saw 
 that the man was wearing canvas shoes with 
 india-rubber soles, and guessed the truth in- 
 stantly. 
 
 His nerve had been tested many times that 
 day; nor did it fail him now. Gazing blankly
 
 "FIND THE LADY' 9 63 
 
 at the captain, he said, in Spanish, that he did 
 not understand. 
 
 "Tell him, Alfonso, that you heard him 
 speaking English a few minutes since. . . . 
 Hi, you! Stop that! No smoking in your 
 berth." 
 
 Maseden was rolling a cigarette in true Span- 
 ish style. The captain was obviously suspi- 
 cious, so the situation called for a touch of 
 stage artistry. 
 
 Alfonso translated, pricking his ears for 
 Maseden 's reply. But he hailed from the east 
 coast, whereas Maseden used the patois of San 
 Juan. 
 
 "You made a natural mistake, sefior," said 
 the American easily. "I was talking to the 
 stars, a habit of mine when alone on the pam- 
 pas, and their names would sound somewhat 
 like the words of a barbarous tongue." 
 
 "And a foolish habit, too!" commented the 
 captain when he heard the explanation. "Do 
 you know any of 'em?" and he glanced up at 
 the strip of sky visible from where he stood. 
 
 The smiling vaquero stepped out on to the 
 open deck. Oh, yes, all the chief stars were old 
 friends of his. He pointed to the "Sea-ser- 
 pent," the "Crow," and the "Great Dog," giv- 
 ing the Spanish equivalents. 
 
 The steward, of course, densely ignorant in 
 such things, and already half convinced that he
 
 64 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 had blundered, was only anxious now to avoid 
 being rated by the captain for having gone to 
 him with a cock-and-bull story. Somehow, 
 Maseden sensed this fact, and made smooth 
 the path. 
 
 "They are strange names," he said with a 
 laugh, "but we of the plains often have to find 
 the way on land as a sailor on the sea." 
 
 "Has he any papers?" demanded the cap- 
 tain, apparently satisfied that the passenger 
 was really acquainted with the chief star- 
 groups. 
 
 Maseden produced that thrice-fortunate du- 
 plicate of the receipt for cattle brought from the 
 San Luis ranch to Cartagena by Ramon Aliones 
 that very day. The captain examined it, and 
 turned wrathfully on the steward. 
 
 "Be off to the devil!" he growled. "Find 
 some other job than bothering me with your 
 fool's tales!" 
 
 When Alfonso had vanished, he added, seem- 
 ingly as an afterthought : 
 
 "If I was a vaquero with a dirty face, I 
 wouldn't worry about clean finger-nails or wear 
 silk underclothing, and I'd do my star-gazing 
 in dumb show ! ' ' 
 
 With that he, too, strode away. Undoubt- 
 edly, the captain of the Southern Cross was no 
 fool. 
 
 Five minutes later the silk vest and pants
 
 "FIND TEE LADY' 65 
 
 which Maseden had not troubled to change 
 while donning the gay attire of old Lopez's 
 nephew, went into the Pacific through the small 
 port-hole which redeemed the cabin's otherwise 
 stuffy atmosphere. Happily the bunk, though 
 crude, was clean, and long enough to hold a tall 
 man. 
 
 Maseden fancied he would lie awake for 
 hours. In reality, he was dead tired, and slept 
 the sleep of sheer exhaustion until wakened 
 by a loud-voiced intimation that all crim- 
 son-hued Dagoes must rouse themselves if 
 they didn't want to be stirred up by a hose- 
 pipe. 
 
 Now, if there was one thing more than an- 
 other that Maseden liked when on board ship, 
 it was a cold salt-water bath. But he dared 
 neither take a bath nor wash his face. Per- 
 sonal cleanliness is not a marked characteristic 
 of South American cowboys. That he should 
 display close-cropped hair instead of an abun- 
 dance of oiled and curly tresses was a fact sing- 
 ular enough in itself, without inviting attention 
 by the use of soap and water. 
 
 Perforce, he remained filthy. The captain's 
 hint was very much to the point. 
 
 The Southern Cross was not a regular pas- 
 senger boat. Primarily a trader, carrying ni- 
 trate or grain to home ports, and coal thence 
 to various points on the southern or western
 
 66 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 seaboard of South America, she was equipped 
 with a few cabins, about a dozen all told, on the 
 upper deck. 
 
 The so-called second-class accommodation 
 was several degrees worse than the steerage on 
 a crack Atlantic liner. That is to say, the hu- 
 man freight ranked a long way after cargo. 
 The food was plentiful, though rough. Even 
 for saloon passengers there was neither stew- 
 ardess nor doctor. 
 
 As a matter of course, a passenger list would 
 be an absurdity. The chief steward acted as 
 purser, and knew the names of all on board 
 after five minutes' study of his ledger. Pas- 
 sengers and ship's officers soon became ac- 
 quainted. Within twenty-four hours Maseden 
 had ascertained that a Mr. James Gray, with 
 his two daughters, occupied staterooms; but, 
 for the life of him, he could not learn the ladies' 
 Christian names. 
 
 He cudgeled his brains to try and remember 
 whether or not his "wife" had signed the reg- 
 ister as Madeleine Gray; but the effort failed 
 completely. He knew why, for the best of rea- 
 sons ; yet the knowledge did not render failure 
 less tantalizing. 
 
 It is one thing to be dazzled by the prospect 
 of escape from the seeming certainty of death 
 within a few minutes, but quite another to be 
 on the same ship as the lady you have married
 
 "FIND THE LADY" 67 
 
 two days earlier, yet neither know her name 
 nor be positive as to her identity. 
 
 This, however, was literally Maseden's pre- 
 dicament when chance favored him with a long, 
 steady look at the Misses Gray. He could not 
 be mistaken, because there were no other ladies 
 on board. 
 
 Thus when a very pretty girl, wearing a 
 muslin dress and hat of Leghorn straw, ap- 
 peared at the forward rail of the promenade 
 deck and gazed wistfully out over the sea, Mase- 
 den's heart fluttered more violently than he 
 would have thought possible as the effect of a 
 casual glance at any woman. 
 
 So, then, this fair, slim creature, whose un- 
 heeding eyes had dwelt on him for a fleeting 
 second ere they sought the horizon, was his 
 wife! It was an extraordinary notion; fan- 
 tastic, yet not wholly unpleasing. It would be 
 rather a joke, if opportunity offered, to flirt 
 with her. He had never flirted with any 
 girl, and hardly knew how to begin; but 
 much reading had taught him that the lady 
 herself might prove an admirable coach if so 
 minded. 
 
 Of course, there was room for error in one 
 respect. He might have married the sister, 
 who, thus far, nearly midday, had not been vis- 
 ible during daylight. He calculated the pros 
 and cons of the situation. If his "wife" was
 
 68 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 feeling the strain of that unnerving experience 
 in the great hall of the Castle of San Juan, she 
 might now be resting in her stateroom. But 
 why should the sister, on whose shoulders, one 
 would suppose, sat no such heavy load of care, 
 come on deck alone and scan the blue Pacific 
 with that dreamy air? 
 
 Yes, by Jove, this really must be his wife! 
 Somehow, poetic justice demanded that she, and 
 not her sister, should meet him thus uncon- 
 sciously. 
 
 In covet fashion he began to study her. The 
 deck on which she stood was fully twenty feet 
 above him, and she was still further separated 
 from him by some thirty feet of the fore hatch, 
 but he noted that her eyes were of the Parma 
 violet tint so frequently met with in the hero- 
 ines of fiction, yet all too seldom seen in real 
 life. Being a mere man, he was not aware that 
 blue eyes in shadow assume that exact tint. At 
 any rate, as eyes, they were more than satisfac- 
 tory. 
 
 Her nose was well modeled, with broad, flex- 
 ible nostrils, unfailing sign of good health and 
 an equable disposition. Her lips were prettily 
 curved, and the oval face, framed in a cluster 
 of brown hair, was poised on a perfectly 
 molded neck. She owned shapely arms; he 
 had already had occasion to admire her hands ; 
 a small, neatly-shod foot was visible under the
 
 "FIND THE LADY" 69 
 
 lowest rail as the girl leaned on her elbows in 
 an attitude of unstudied grace. 
 
 Altogether, Mr. Maseden liked the looks of 
 Mrs. Maseden! 
 
 He was beginning to revel in sentiment when 
 the edifice of seemingly substantial fact so 
 swiftly constructed by a fertile imagination was 
 dissipated into space by hearing a voice the 
 voice, he was sure coming from some unseen 
 part of the upper deck. 
 
 "Ah! There you are, Nina!" it said. "I've 
 been looking for you everywhere! How long 
 have you been. here?" 
 
 Nina! So this fairy was only the sister. 
 Maseden smiled grimly behind a cloud of ciga- 
 rette smoke because of the absurd shock which 
 the words administered. He was sharply aware 
 of a sense of disappointment, a feeling so far- 
 fetched as to be almost ludicrous. 
 
 What in the world did it matter to which of 
 these two he was married? In all probability 
 he would never exchange a word with either, 
 and his first serious business on reaching a civ- 
 ilized country would be to get rid of the incu- 
 bus with which a set of phenomenal circum- 
 stances alone had saddled him. 
 
 At last, however, he would really see his wife, 
 and thus end one phase of a curious entangle- 
 ment. Nina had half turned. Evidently she 
 realized that Madeleine meant to join her.
 
 70 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Maseden leaned back against the external pan- 
 eling of his cubby-hole and looked aloft now 
 with curiosity at once quickened and undis- 
 guised. 
 
 But he was fated to suffer many minor shocks 
 that day. Madeleine appeared, and presented 
 such an exact replica of Nina that, at first sight, 
 and in the strong shadows cast by the canvas 
 screen which alone rendered that portion of 
 the deck habitable while the sun was up, it was 
 practically impossible for a stranger to dif- 
 ferentiate between them. 
 
 Maseden discovered later that Madeleine was 
 twenty-two and Nina nearly twenty-four; but 
 the marked resemblance between the pair, ac- 
 centuated by their trick of dressing alike, led 
 people to take them for twins. Moreover, each 
 so admirably duplicated the other in voice and 
 mannerisms that only near relatives or inti- 
 mate friends could be certain which was speak- 
 ing if the owner of the voice remained invisible. 
 
 For a little while, too, Maseden 's mind was 
 reduced to chaos by hearing Nina address her 
 sister as "Madge." He was vouchsafed the 
 merest glimpse of Madge's face, because, after 
 a quick, heedless look at him and at a half-caste 
 sailor readjusting the hatches covering the 
 fore hold, she turned her back to the rail and 
 said something that Maseden could not over- 
 hear.
 
 "FIND THE LADY" 71 
 
 A man joined the two girls, whereupon Nina 
 also faced aft. The newcomer, standing well 
 away under the screen, could not be seen at all, 
 and Maseden thought it must be Mr. Gray, the 
 querulous person whose outspoken utterances 
 had first warned Maseden that his wife was on 
 board. 
 
 But he erred again. Some comment passed 
 by Nina raised a laugh, and Maseden recog- 
 nized the voice of Mr. Sturgess, whose baggage 
 he had carried overnight. 
 
 "I guess not!" he was saying, with a humor- 
 ous stress on each word. "As a summer re- 
 sort, San Juan disagreed with my complaint, 
 Miss Gray." 
 
 "Have you been ill, then?" came the natural 
 query. 
 
 "No, but I might have been had I remained 
 there too long," was the answer. "A change 
 of president in one of these small republics is 
 like a bad railroad smash you never know 
 who'll get hurt. I've a notion that Mr. Gray 
 must have felt sort of relieved when he brought 
 you two young ladies safe and sound aboard 
 this ship." 
 
 "We didn't see anything specially alarm- 
 ing," said Nina. "Madge went out twice dur- 
 ing the day with Mr. Steinbaum, a trader, and 
 the streets were very quiet, she thought." 
 
 Madge! Was "Madge" a family diminutive
 
 72 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 for Madeleine? Maseden neither knew nor 
 cared. Nina's harmless chatter had told him 
 the truth. Madge most certainly did find the 
 streets quiet, if the story brought by Lopez 
 from Cartagena was correct; namely, that she 
 had been carried out of the Castle in a dead 
 faint. 
 
 And now the heartless creature was actually 
 laughing ! 
 
 "One cannot take a South American revolu- 
 tion quite seriously it always has something 
 comical about it," she cried, and it was as- 
 tounding how closely the one sister's voice re- 
 sembled the other's. "I understand that some 
 poor people were shot the night before last, but 
 I saw a man who keeps a restaurant opposite 
 Mr. Steinbaum's house produce a device with 
 flags and a scroll. On the scroll was painted 
 'Long Live Valdez.' He drew some fresh let- 
 ters over the first part of the name, dabbed on 
 plenty of black and white paint, and the new 
 legend ran 'Long Live Suarez.' The whole 
 thing was done, and the flags were out, in less 
 than five minutes." 
 
 Sturgess evidently asked for and obtained 
 permission to smoke. He came to the rail. Both 
 girls faced forward again, and Maseden was 
 free to compare them. 
 
 Madge, or Madeleine, as he preferred to style 
 her, seemed to be a trifle paler than Nina.
 
 "FIND THE LADY" 73 
 
 Otherwise, her likeness to her sister was al- 
 most uncanny, if that ill-omened word might 
 be applied to two remarkably pretty girls. 
 Neither of the girls wore gloves, but Maseden 
 looked in vain for the heavy gold wedding-ring 
 which Steinbaum's thoroughness had supplied 
 when wanted. 
 
 At that moment an officer appeared on the 
 main deck. The fore hold had to be opened, it 
 seemed. A quartermaster, summoned from 
 the forecastle, hoisted a block and tackle to a 
 derrick. The noise effectually drowned the talk 
 of the trio on the upper deck until the tackle 
 was rigged, and a couple of hatches were re- 
 moved. The half-caste sailor was about to de- 
 scend into the hold just as Sturgess 's somewhat 
 staccato accents reached Maseden clearly again. 
 
 1 'Say, did you ladies hear of the American 
 who was to be shot early yesterday morning? 
 A most thrilling yarn was spun by a friend of 
 mine who knows Cartagena from A to Z. He 
 said " 
 
 Maseden was on the alert to detect the slight- 
 est variation of expression on Madeleine's face. 
 She bent forward, her hands tightly clutching 
 the rail, and darted a piteous under look at her 
 sister. Thus it happened that Maseden alone 
 was gazing upward, and he saw, out of the tail 
 of his eye, the heavy block detaching itself from 
 the derrick and falling straight on top of the
 
 74 
 
 sailor, who had a leg over the coaming of the 
 hatch and a foot on the first rung of the iron 
 ladder leading down into the hold. 
 
 With a quickness born of many a tussle with 
 a bucking broncho, Maseden leaped, caught the 
 rope held by the quartermaster, and jerked it 
 violently. The block missed the half-caste by a 
 few inches, and clanged in the hold far beneath. 
 
 The tenth part of a second decided whether 
 the sailor should be dashed headlong into the 
 depths or left wholly unscathed. As it was, he 
 and every onlooker realized that the rakish- 
 looking vaquero had saved his life. 
 
 In the impulsive way of his race, the man 
 darted forward, threw his arms around Mase- 
 den 's neck, and kissed him. To his very great 
 surprise, his rescuer thrust him off, and said 
 angrily : 
 
 "Don't be such a damn fool!" 
 
 An exclamation, almost a slight scream, came 
 from the upper deck. Maseden knew in an in- 
 stant that this time he had blundered beyond 
 repair. Madeleine had heard his voice, and had 
 recognized him. Moreover, the officer, the quar- 
 termaster, even the. grateful Spaniard, were 
 eyeing him with unmixed amazement. 
 
 The fat was in the fire this time ! In another 
 moment would come denunciation and arrest, 
 and then back to the firing squad! What 
 should he do?
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 BOMANCE KECEIVES A COLD DOUCHE 
 
 BUT none of these thoughts showed in Mase- 
 den's face. He laughed easily and explained 
 in voluble Spanish that he swore in English 
 occasionally, having picked up the correct for- 
 mula from an American senor with whom he 
 once took a hunting trip into the interior. 
 
 The sailor, hearing this flow of a language he 
 understood, and not able to measure the idio- 
 matic fluency of Maseden's English, accepted 
 the story without demur, but the fourth officer 
 and quartermaster, both Americans, were evi- 
 dently puzzled. 
 
 He soon got rid of the too-effusive half-caste, 
 and retired to his berth. Thank goodness, since 
 the one person on board mainly concerned was 
 perforce aware of his identity, he was free to 
 wash his face and take a bath ! To oblige a lady 
 he would have remained unwashed all the way 
 to Buenos Ayres; now, every other considera- 
 tion might go hang. 
 
 Finding a steward, he gave further cause, for 
 bewilderment by asking to be allowed to use a 
 bath-room. 
 
 75
 
 76 
 
 Greatly to Maseden's relief, his lapse into 
 the vernacular seemed to evoke little or no com- 
 ment subsequently. The captain heard of it, 
 but was far too irritated by the faulty behavior 
 of a ring-bolt (examination showed a bad flaw 
 in the metal) to pay any special heed. As for 
 the half-caste sailor, his gratitude to Maseden 
 took the form of describing him admiringly as 
 "the vaguer o who could swear like an A^eri- 
 cano," an equivocal compliment which actually 
 fostered the belief that Maseden was what he 
 represented himself to be a vagabond cowboy 
 migrating from one coast of the great South 
 American continent to the other. 
 
 His peculiar habits, therefore, shown in such 
 trivial details as a desire for personal cleanli- 
 ness and a certain fastidiousness at table, were 
 attributed to the same exotic tutelage. Of 
 course, when he spoke any intelligent Spaniard 
 could have detected faults in phrase or pronun- 
 ciation, but he had a ready resource in the 
 patois of San Juan, and no man on board was 
 competent to assess him accurately by both 
 standards. 
 
 He settled down quickly to the exigencies of 
 life at sea. Five days after leaving Cartagena 
 he was an expert in the matter of keeping his 
 feet when the vessel was rolling or pitching, or 
 performing a corkscrew movement which com- 
 bined the worst features of each.
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 71 
 
 When the Southern Cross entered more 
 southerly latitudes her passengers were given 
 ample opportunity to test their skill in this re- 
 spect. The weather grew colder each day, and 
 with the drop in the thermometer came gray 
 skies and rough seas. 
 
 There are two tracks for ocean-going steam- 
 ers bound down the west coast. The open Pa- 
 cific offers no hindrance to safe navigation, ex- 
 cept an occasional heavy gale. The inner 
 course, through Smyth's Channel, is sheltered 
 but tortuous, and the commander of the South- 
 ern Cross elected to save time by heading direct 
 for the Straits of Tierra del Fuego. The ship 
 was speedy and well-found. A stiff nor 'wester 
 tended rather to help her along, and she should 
 reach Buenos Ayres within fifteen days. 
 
 Maseden contrived to buy a heavy poncho, OE 
 cloak, from one of the crew. Wrapped in this 
 useful garment, he patrolled the small space 
 of deck at his disposal, and kept an unfailing 
 eye for the reappearance at the for'ard rail of 
 one or other of the Misses Gray; yet day after 
 day slipped by and they remained obstinately 
 hidden. 
 
 Once or twice, when the weather permitted, 
 he climbed to the fore deck, whence he could 
 scan a large part of the promenade deck on 
 both the port and starboard sides. On the port 
 side, however, a wind-screen intervened.
 
 78 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Twice he thought he saw Madeleine Gray 
 leaning on the port rail, talking to Sturgess 
 and wearing the very dress in which she was 
 married ! Either by accident or design she van- 
 ished almost instantly on each occasion. 
 
 It was nonsensical, of course, but he began 
 to harbor a sentiment of annoyance with Stur- 
 gess, who, by some queer contriving of fortune, 
 seemed to be drawn rather to the company of 
 Madeleine than of sister Nina. Any real feel- 
 ing of jealousy would have been absurd, almost 
 ludicrous, under the circumstances. 
 
 For all that, Maseden couldn't understand 
 why the fellow apparently devoted himself to 
 the company of one sister to the neglect, or in- 
 tentional exclusion, of the other; while the 
 lady's behavior, assuming that she knew of the 
 presence of her "husband" within a few yards, 
 was, to say the least, reprehensible if not provo- 
 cative. 
 
 By this time, Maseden was fully convinced 
 that his wife had recognized him. Oddly enough, 
 the somewhat bizarre costume he wore would 
 help in betraying him to her eyes. She had seen 
 him only when arrayed in even more startling 
 guise. Her memory of him, therefore, would 
 depend wholly on his features and physique, 
 and the incongruity of an unmistakably Ameri- 
 can voice coming from a vaquero could not fail 
 to be enhanced by the gala attire affected by
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 79 
 
 that erstwhile gay spark, old Lopez's nephew. 
 
 Moreover, Maseden had bribed the forecastle 
 steward to find out from one of the saloon at- 
 tendants what had happened to the two ladies 
 on the promenade deck when the pulley fell. 
 One of them, the man said, was so startled that 
 she nearly fainted, and the American senor had 
 carried her to a chair. 
 
 Obviously, on an American vessel, with 
 American officers, engineers, and quartermas- 
 ters, for one whose only tongue was Spanish 
 it was difficult to extract information. The 
 Spanish-speaking members of the crew knew 
 little or nothing of the passengers, while Mase- 
 den 's part of the ship was as completely shut 
 off from the saloon as are the dwellings of the 
 poor from the palaces of the rich. 
 
 Many times was he tempted to change his 
 quarters, and thus tacitly admit his identity; 
 but cold prudence as often forbade any such 
 folly. Even if the full extent of his adventures 
 in Cartagena were unknown on board, it was a 
 quite certain thing that the story must have 
 reached Buenos Ayres long ago. 
 
 Bad as was the odor of the republic in the 
 outer world, it still possessed the rights of a 
 sovereign state, and the last thing Maseden de- 
 sired was an enforced return to the Castle of 
 San Juan, there to stand his trial anew for con- 
 spiracy, plus an undoubted attempt to murder
 
 80 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the president! That would be a stiff price to 
 pay merely in order to sate his curiosity as to 
 the motive underlying a woman's strange whim. 
 
 On the sixth night of the voyage the opportu- 
 nity for which he was looking was offered as 
 unexpectedly as it had been persistently with- 
 held earlier. 
 
 After a very unpleasant day of wind and rain 
 the weather improved markedly. True, the sky 
 had not cleared, and the darkness which fell 
 swiftly over a leaden sea was of a quality al- 
 most palpable. 
 
 Had he troubled to recall the sealore gleaned 
 from many books of travel, Maseden would have 
 known that such a change was by no means in- 
 dicative of smoother seas and days of sunshine 
 in the near future. The ship was merely cross- 
 ing the center of a cyclonic area. Ere morning 
 she would probably meet a fiercer gale than 
 that through which she had just passed. 
 
 Such minor considerations as to the state 
 of the elements carried little weight, however, 
 when contrasted with the immediate and solid 
 fact that Maseden, giving an upward eye to the 
 promenade deck about nine o'clock, discerned 
 a solitary female figure leaning on the rail. 
 
 Since there were no other women on board, 
 this must be either Madeleine or Nina. As it 
 happened, the forecastle was deserted, in the
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 81 
 
 sense that its usual occupants were either asleep 
 or busied with the duties of the hour. Above 
 the girl's head paced the officer of the watch. 
 Up in the bows were two men on the look-out. 
 Otherwise, the fore part of the ship was un- 
 tenanted save for Maseden himself and the 
 slim, cloaked form which seemed to be peering 
 aimlessly into the impenetrable wall of dark- 
 ness ahead. 
 
 Apparently the wind had died down. There 
 were no sounds save the normal ones the on- 
 ward rush of the ship, the swish of an occa- 
 sional swell cleft by the cutwater, the steady 
 thud of the screw, and the equally regular creak- 
 ing of planks and panels swollen by heavy rain 
 after undergoing tropical heat. 
 
 It was a night rich with suggestion of mys- 
 tery and romance. Some new ichor stirred in 
 Maseden 's veins, firing his spirit to emprise. 
 Come what might, he resolved to have speech 
 with the lady, be she wife in name or merely 
 sister-in-law ! 
 
 But how contrive it? If he hailed her from 
 the main deck, the officer on the bridge would 
 overhear, and straightway play a domineering 
 hand in the game. If he went aft, through a 
 narrow gangway leading past the engine-room 
 and various officers' cabins, he could reach a 
 sliding door giving access to the saloon com- 
 panion, but his presence there would
 
 82 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 edly be noticed, evoking a stern order to betake 
 himself to his own quarters. 
 
 The third method was the direct one. A 
 series of iron rungs led vertically up the face 
 of the superstructure, and, as sailors occasion- 
 ally passed that way, the girl would not neces- 
 sarily be alarmed by seeing a man coming up. 
 
 The officer on duty might detect him, of 
 course; but even he was liable to mistake him 
 for one of the ship's company. 
 
 It has been seen already that Maseden was of 
 the rare order of mankind which, having once 
 made up its mind, acts unhesitatingly. No 
 sooner had he elected for the iron ladder than 
 he had crossed the deck and was mounting rap- 
 idly. It chanced that the officer did not see 
 him. 
 
 In a few seconds he was standing on the 
 promenade deck. Then he had an attack of 
 stage-fright. Many an actor has strode val- 
 iantly from wings to footlights only to find his 
 tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. This 
 was Maseden 's "star turn," and not a word 
 could he utter ! 
 
 By a singular coincidence, the lady was 
 equally nervous. She gave scant attention to 
 the commonplace occurrence that a member of 
 the crew should walk aft from the dim interior 
 of the forecastle and hurry up the ladder, but 
 the situation altered dramatically when a faint
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 83 
 
 gleam from a window of the smoking-room fell 
 on the tarnished silver braid and gilt buttons 
 of Maseden's jacket of black cloth and velvet. 
 
 The light, such as it was, fell directly on the 
 girl's face as she turned towards the intruder. 
 Her eyes, blue sapphires by day, were now 
 strangely dark. Maseden saw that her expres- 
 sion was one of panic if not of actual terror. 
 He was unpleasantly reminded of a bird fasci- 
 nated by a snake ; the displeasing simile stirred 
 his wits and unlocked his tongue. 
 
 "I'm sorry if I have frightened you," he 
 said quietly, "but the chance of securing a few 
 words of explanation seemed too good to be 
 lost. You owe me something of the kind, don't 
 you?" 
 
 "Why?" came the truly feminine reply. 
 
 "Because, unless I am greatly mistaken, you 
 are the lady whom I had the honor of marrying 
 in the Castle of San Juan at Cartagena. You 
 may be known as Miss Madge Gray on board 
 this ship, but your name in the register was 
 Madeleine." 
 
 "My name is Nina, not Madge." 
 
 Maseden was taken aback for a few seconds, 
 yet the fact could not be gainsaid that the 
 speaker, whether Madge or Nina, did not repu- 
 diate the general accuracy of his statement. 
 Moreover, he was almost sure of his ground 
 now. His "wife" was probably flirting with
 
 84 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Sturgess. Nina, as usual, was left to her own 
 devices, since the forecastle steward had re- 
 ported that Senor Gray was ill and confined 
 to his cabin. 
 
 "At any rate, you do not deny that either 
 your sister or yourself is legally entitled to 
 pose as Mrs. Philip Alexander Maseden?" he 
 said. 
 
 "I am not aware that either of us can fairly 
 be described as posing in that distinguished 
 capacity." 
 
 The retort was glib enough. It amused the 
 man. 
 
 "Perhaps I put the bald truth rather awk- 
 wardly," he said. "Let me, then, ask a plain 
 question. Did I marry you, or your sister, last 
 Tuesday morning?" 
 
 "You certainly err if you think that I 
 shall discuss the affairs of my family with 
 a complete stranger," was the unhesitating 
 answer. 
 
 "Yet you, or your sister, did not scruple to 
 marry one." 
 
 "Are you Mr. Maseden?" 
 
 "I am. Haven't I said so! I implied it, at 
 any rate." 
 
 "Then why are you in disguise, posing it 
 is your own word as a Spanish cowboy?" 
 
 "Because I'm trying to save my miserable 
 life. Don't think me ungrateful, madam. I owe
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 85 
 
 my escape to the phenomenal circumstances 
 brought about by the desire of a charming 
 young lady to become Mrs. Maseden, if only for 
 a brief half hour. I am not claiming any 
 privileges, shall I say! on that account. But 
 I can hardly credit that, having gone through 
 the ordeal of such a ceremony, you would re- 
 fuse to tell me your motive, so I reluctantly re- 
 vert to my first opinion, namely, that your sis- 
 ter is my wife." 
 
 < ' Eeluctantly ! Why reluctantly I ' ' 
 
 There was more than a touch of bewilder- 
 ment in the cry. Maseden interpreted it as a 
 fencer's trick to gain time. 
 
 "I don't mind being absolutely candid," he 
 laughed. "You see, time hangs heavy on my 
 hands here. I have nothing to do except watch 
 for a glimpse of an unknown wife. Queer, isn't 
 it! Anyhow, my fate doesn't seem to worry 
 sister Madge, who finds consolation elsewhere ; 
 so, of the two, if I must be wed to one of you, 
 I imagine I would prefer you." 
 
 ' ' I think you are intolerably rude, Mr. Mase- 
 den. Madge was right when she said " 
 
 She checked herself with a little gasp of dis- 
 may. Maseden laughed again. 
 
 "Please don't spare me," he cried. "What 
 did Madge say?" 
 
 "I decline to discuss the matter any further." 
 
 "But why should we quarrel over a minor
 
 86 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 point? You have tacitly admitted that your 
 sister married me. Give me some notion of her 
 motive. That is all I ask. It may help. ' ' 
 
 "How help?" 
 
 "When I take unto myself a wife I expect 
 to be allowed some freedom of choice in the 
 matter. I certainly refuse to have her picked 
 for me by a rascal like Steinbaum. If I win 
 clear of Buenos Ayres and reach New York 
 I shall take the speediest steps to undo the mat- 
 rimonial knot tied in Cartagena. There may 
 be legal complications, which will be attended, 
 I suppose, by a certain amount of publicity. It 
 will help some, as Mr. Sturgess would say, if I 
 know just why the lady wanted to wed in the 
 first instance. Surely there is reason behind 
 that simple request. Your sister begged to be 
 allowed to marry me because I was condemned 
 to death. At least, such was Steinbaum 's story. 
 Was that true, to begin with?" 
 
 No answer. Maseden felt that he had cor- 
 nered her. 
 
 * * There must have been some such ground for 
 an extraordinary action," he went on. ' ' To the 
 best of my knowledge she had never seen me. 
 I question if she even knew my name. I 
 
 A door opened, and a stream of light fell on 
 the deck some feet away. Sturgess 's voice 
 reached them clearly. 
 
 "Guess she's tucked up cozy in a deck chair,"
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 87 
 
 he was saying. "It's no time to retire to roost 
 yet, anyhow." 
 
 "Please go now," whispered Nina tremu- 
 lously. "You mustn't be seen talking to me. 
 I I'll discuss things with Madge, and if possi- 
 ble, come here about the same hour to-morrow, 
 or next day. I I'll do my best." 
 
 Without another word, Maseden swung him- 
 self over the rail. When below the level of the 
 deck he clung to the ladder and listened, not 
 meaning to act ungenerously, but because of 
 the other man's rapid approach. 
 
 "Ah, there you are, Miss Nina!" cried Stur- 
 gess. ' ' Sister Madge is bored stiff by my com- 
 pany, but was polite enough to pretend that she 
 was anxious about you. ' ' 
 
 "I've been star-gazing," said the girl, has- 
 tening towards him. 
 
 "So've I,'" grinned Sturgess. "You two 
 girls have the finest eyes I've ever " 
 
 His voice trailed away into silence. Mase- 
 den dropped to the deck. 
 
 "Hang it all!" he muttered, strangely dis- 
 consolate. "When Fate took me by the scruff 
 of the neck and married me to one of two sis- 
 ters, neither of whom I had ever seen, she might 
 have been kind enough, the jade, to tie me to 
 the right one ! ' ' 
 
 Yet, even to his thinking, Madge and Nina 
 were like as a couple of pins! Being an emi-
 
 88 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 nently sensible sort of fellow, he realized in the 
 next breath that Madge might be quite as nice 
 a girl as Nina. 
 
 Then the thought struck him that she was 
 purposely making things easier for him by cul- 
 tivating a friendship with Sturgess. In any 
 case, Sturgess was obviously destined to act as 
 a pawn in the game. Even he, Maseden, had 
 not scrupled to use that gentleman at sight when 
 anxious to board the Southern Cross without 
 attracting the attention of the news-mongering 
 boatmen of Cartagena. 
 
 That night he lay awake for hours. For one 
 thing, the ship was running into bad weather 
 again, and complained nosily of the buffeting 
 her stout frame was receiving. For another, 
 his own course was beset with difficulties. He 
 failed completely to understand the attitude of 
 sister Nina. 
 
 If Madeleine or Madge, as he had better 
 learned to distinguish her had sought mar- 
 riage with a man about to die as a means to 
 escape from some unbearable duress, was her 
 plight accentuated rather than bettered by the 
 fact that her husband still lived? If so, the 
 announcement that he meant to obtain a legal 
 dissolution of the bond at the earliest possible 
 moment would relieve the tension. 
 
 But what if her need demanded that she
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 89 
 
 should remain wed, a wife in name only? A 
 development of that sort foreshadowed com- 
 plexities of a rare order. Maseden knew him- 
 self as one capable of Quixotic action even the 
 scheming Steinbaum had paid him that tribute 
 but it was asking too much that he should go 
 through life burdened with a wife who treated 
 him as a benevolent stranger. 
 
 Common sense urged that they should meet 
 and discuss a most trying and equivocal situa- 
 tion as frankly and fully as might be. Why, 
 then, had Nina Gray been so disturbed, so anx- 
 ious to keep the married pair apart? Both girls 
 knew he was alive. What purpose could it serve 
 that the fact should be ignored? 
 
 He puzzled his brain to recall incidents Jie 
 had heard of Steinbaum 's history, but investi- 
 gation along that line drew a blank. Was 
 Suarez mixed up in the embroglio ? It was un- 
 likely. Though the man had spent some years 
 in the United States and in Europe, he had not 
 left San Juan since he, Maseden, came there, 
 and, before that period, both Madge and Nina 
 Gray must have been girls in short frocks and 
 long tresses. 
 
 Perhaps the father's record would provide a 
 clew. Somehow, though he had never set eyes 
 on Mr. Gray save as a shadowy form on a dark 
 night, Maseden sensed him as unsympathetic. 
 He was forced to form a judgment on the flim-
 
 90 
 
 siest of material, having none other; but Gray's 
 voice, his way of speaking to his daughters, 
 had grated. 
 
 First impressions are treacherous guides; 
 nevertheless the philosopher whom they cannot 
 mislead does not exist. 
 
 The following day was the longest in Mase- 
 den's experience. Monotony, in itself, is weary- 
 ing ; when, to a dull routine of meals and occa- 
 sional talk with men of an inferior type is 
 added the positive discomfort of confinement in 
 the most exposed and cramped part of a ship 
 during a stiff gale, monotony becomes akin to 
 torture. 
 
 At last, however, night fell. There was no 
 improvement in the weather, which, if any- 
 thing, grew worse; but a change in the ship's 
 course, or a shifting of the wind no one to 
 whom Maseden might speak could give him any 
 reliable data on the point brought the South- 
 ern Cross on a more even keel. 
 
 Here, at least, was some slight compensation 
 for the leaden-footed hours of waiting. Nina 
 Gray might be a good sailor, but it was hardly 
 reasonable to expect that she would keep her 
 tryst when the big steamer was trying alter- 
 nately to stand on end or roll bodily over to 
 port. 
 
 About nine o'clock Maseden made out a 
 shrouded figure in the position where his "sis-
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 91 
 
 ter-in-law" had stood the previous night. He 
 hastened from the shelter of the forecastle, and 
 was promptly drenched from head to foot by 
 a shower of spray. He was half-way up the 
 ladder when a voice reached him. 
 
 "Please go back," it said. "I'll come to the 
 gangway on the starboard side." 
 
 He regained the deck, made for the right- 
 hand gangway, and soon had the satisfaction of 
 seeing the girl walking swiftly along the dimly- 
 lighted corridor. 
 
 He hardly knew how to greet her. To bid her 
 "Good evening," or murmur some platitude 
 about her goodness in keeping the appointment 
 in such vile weather, would have sounded banal. 
 
 The lady, however, when they came face to 
 face, settled all doubts on the question of eti- 
 quette by saying breathlessly : 
 
 "I have had a long talk with my sister, Mr. 
 Maseden, and she bids me tell you that she can- 
 not meet you herself. You were so generous, 
 so kind to her, at a moment when your thoughts 
 might well have been centered in your own ter- 
 rible fate, that she cannot bear the ordeal of 
 asking you the last favor of forgetting her. 
 
 "Of course, every facility will be given for 
 the dissolution of the marriage. I have written 
 here the address of a firm of lawyers in Phila- 
 delphia who will act with your legal representa- 
 tives when the matter comes before the courts.
 
 92 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 For your own purposes, I understand, you wish 
 to remain unknown while on board this ship. 
 We have arranged to travel to New York by the 
 first American liner sailing from Buenos Ayres 
 after our arrival. Perhaps you will be good 
 enough to choose another vessel, or, if your af- 
 fairs are urgent, we would wait for a later one. 
 Can you let me know your wishes now in that 
 matter?" 
 
 Maseden was so astonished that he literally 
 caught the girl by the shoulder and turned her 
 partly round so that the light of a distant lamp 
 fell on her face. The buffeting of the gale, 
 aided, no doubt, by a feeling of excitement, had 
 lent her a fine color, but, if her utterance was a 
 trifle broken at first, it had soon become calm 
 and measured, nor did she seem to resent his 
 cavalier treatment. 
 
 "Are you joking?" he said, smiling in sheer 
 perplexity. 
 
 "I fail to find any humor in my words," 
 came the instant reply. 
 
 "Quite so. They might have been framed 
 by a lawyer. Isn't there a ghost of a joke in 
 that mere fact?" 
 
 "It appeared to my sister, and I fully agree 
 with her, that we are suggesting the best way, 
 the only way, out of an embarrassing 
 dilemma." 
 
 "Yes," agreed Maseden, drawing a long^
 
 A COLD DOUCHE 93 
 
 breath. "I agree to all the terms; I insist only 
 on priority of sailing from Buenos Ayres. I 
 don't see why I should risk my life just to save 
 you a trifling inconvenience. " 
 
 "Then here is the address I spoke of," and 
 she proffered an envelope. 
 
 "Good. We'll leave the rest to the law, Miss 
 Nina." 
 
 "Thank you. Good-by." 
 
 She would have passed him, but he was on the 
 after side of the gangway, and his outstretched 
 hand restrained her. 
 
 "One moment, please," he said. "I want 
 you to tell your sister that she has thoroughly 
 disillusioned me. ' ' 
 
 "I'll do that," she assured him, and he could 
 not help but regard her airy self-possession as 
 the most surprising factor in a remarkable sit- 
 uation. 
 
 "And you, too," he went on. "Something 
 has happened to you since last night. Some- 
 how you are harder. Forgive me if I choose 
 unpleasant adjectives." 
 
 She hesitated before replying. Perhaps she 
 felt the quiet scorn underlying the words. 
 
 "Where my unhappy family is concerned, the 
 forgiveness must come wholly from you," she 
 said at last. "May I go now, Mr. Maseden? 
 Once more, thank you for all that you have 
 done and will do. Eemember, when this miser-
 
 94 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 able affair reaches the newspapers, it is not 
 your reputation that will suffer, but the 
 woman 's ! " 
 
 She left him gazing blankly after her. There 
 was a tense vibrato in the tone of the girl's 
 voice that touched some responsive chord in 
 the man's breast. 
 
 Then he became aware that he was soaked to 
 the skin, and the wind was piercingly cold. 
 
 He murmured a phrase strongly reminiscent 
 of the Americano who took hunting trips into 
 the interior of Central America, and hurried to 
 his cabin, where he stripped and rubbed his 
 limbs to a glow before turning in.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 AN TJXFORESEEX DISASTER 
 
 DURING the night the storm developed into 
 that elemental chaos which the landsman exag- 
 gerates into a hurricane and the sailor logs as 
 a strong northwesterly gale. Passage along 
 the open decks of the Southern Cross became 
 a hazardous undertaking, an experiment just 
 practicable for a strong man clad in oilskins 
 and seaboots, but positively dangerous for one 
 unable to interpret the vagaries of a ship plung- 
 ing through a heavy sea. A broken limb or 
 ugly bruise was the certain penalty of an in- 
 cautious movement, if, indeed, one was not 
 swept overboard. 
 
 For a passenger a non-combatant, so to 
 speak the only certain way to insure physical 
 safety was to lie prone in a bunk, with a hand 
 ever ready to seize the nearest rail when an 
 unusually violent lurch tilted the vessel to an 
 angle of forty-five degrees and simultaneously 
 drove her nose into a veritable mountain of 
 water. 
 
 Maseden contrived to sleep fitfully until a 
 thin gray light, trickling through a tiny port 
 
 95
 
 96 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 when momentarily free of wave-wash, told him 
 that another day had dawned. The din was in- 
 cessant. Inanimate things may be inarticulate 
 to human ears, but they speak a language of 
 their own on such occasions an inchoate 
 tongue made up of banging and clattering, of 
 stunning vibrations, of wind-shrieks, of the 
 groaning of steel framework, riveted plates, and 
 seasoned timber. 
 
 The Southern Cross was tackling her work 
 with stubborn energy, but she complained of its 
 severity in every fibre. Ships, like men, pre- 
 fer easy conditions, and growl in their own pe- 
 culiar manner when compelled to wage a fierce 
 and continuous fight for mere existence. 
 
 Of course a sailor never permits himself to 
 think of his own craft in such wise. "Dirty 
 weather" is simply an unpleasant episode in 
 the routine of a voyage. He regards it much 
 as the average city man views wind and rain 
 displeasing additions to life's minor worries, 
 but not to be considered as affecting the daily 
 task. 
 
 In a modern, well-found steamship such nega- 
 tive faith is fully justified, and the ship's com- 
 pany of the Southern Cross went about their 
 several duties as methodically as though the 
 vessel were roped securely alongside a pier in 
 the North Eiver. 
 
 The center of the forecastle held a roomy
 
 AN UNFORESEEN DISASTER 97 
 
 compartment in which meals were served for 
 the crew, and Maseden took refuge there as 
 soon as he was dressed. He obtained an early 
 cup of coffee, and derived some comfort from 
 the fact, communicated by the half-caste sailor 
 he had saved from the falling pulley, that about 
 the same time next day they would sight the 
 Evangelistas light, and soon thereafter be in 
 the landlocked water of the Straits of Ma- 
 gellan. 
 
 He realized, of course, that sight or sound of 
 either Madge Gray or her sister was hardly to 
 be expected during the next twenty-four hours. 
 In fact, he might not see them again before 
 Buenos Ayres was reached. 
 
 On the whole, it would be better so, he de- 
 cided. A thrilling and most dramatic incident 
 in a life not otherwise noteworthy for its vicis- 
 situdes would close when he was safe on board 
 a homeward-bound mail steamer. After that 
 would come some small experience of a court of 
 law. 
 
 For the rest, if he contrived to cheat the 
 newspapers of the full details, he would act- 
 ually risk his repute as a veracious citizen if 
 he told the plain truth about one day's history 
 in the Republic of San Juan. 
 
 Once, in his teens, when in London during a 
 never-to-be-forgotten European tour, a friend 
 of his father's pointed out a small, alert man,
 
 98 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 dressed in gray tweeds, who was hailing a cab 
 in Pall Mall, and said : 
 
 "Look, Alec! That is Evans of the Guides. 
 I met him five years ago in Lucknow, and even 
 at that date he had killed his sixty-first tiger 
 on foot and alone. He never shoots stripes any 
 other way. He says it isn't quite sporting to 
 tackle the brute from the comparative safety 
 of a howdah or a machan a platform rigged in 
 a tree, you know." 
 
 Philip Alexander Maseden, aged sixteen, 
 neither knew nor cared what a machan was. 
 His faculties were absorbed in the difficult task 
 of reconciling a dapper little man in a gray suit, 
 skipping nimbly into a cab in Pall Mall, with a 
 redoubtable Nimrod who had bagged sixty-one 
 tigers after tracking them into their jungles. 
 
 And that was the record of five years earlier. 
 Perhaps in the meantime the bold shikari had 
 added dozens to the total. A mighty hunter, 
 Evans, but hard to reconcile with his environ- 
 ment. 
 
 Seated in the wet, creaking cabin, and watch- 
 ing through a window which opened aft the 
 turmoil of seas leaping venomously at and over 
 the stout bulk of the Southern Cross, Maseden 
 thought of Evans of the Guides, and his cohort 
 of tiger-ghosts. Yet not one tiger among the 
 lot had brought Evans so near death as he, 
 Maseden, was when Steinbaum entered his cell
 
 on that fateful morning, and, in the closest 
 shave Evans was ever favored with, a violent 
 end had not been averted by stranger means. 
 
 How would the story of " Madeleine, " 
 Suarez, and Captain Gomez's boots sound if 
 told in a cosy corner of a Fifth Avenue club? 
 
 By reason of his position in the fore part of 
 the vessel, Maseden could survey the bridge, 
 chart-house and some part of the promenade 
 deck. The head of the officer on watch was vis- 
 ible above the canvas screen which those who 
 go down to the sea in ships have christened 
 the " devil-dodger. " The officer's sou'wester 
 was tied on firmly, and the placid expression 
 of the strong, weather-stained face was clearly 
 discernible. For the most part, he looked 
 straight ahead, with an occasional glance back, 
 or over the side into the spume and froth 
 churned up by the ship's passage. Once in a 
 while he would draw away from the screen and 
 compare the course shown by the compass with 
 that steered by the quartermaster at the 
 wheel. 
 
 For lack of something better to occupy his 
 mind, Maseden followed each movement of the 
 man on the bridge. Thus, singularly enough, 
 next to the officer himself, and possibly a look- 
 out in the bows, he was the first person on 
 board to become aware of a peril which sud- 
 denly beset the Southern Cross.
 
 100 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 What that peril was he could not guess, but 
 he saw that the officer was shouting instructions 
 to the quartermaster, and in the same instant 
 the clang of a bell showed that the engine-room 
 telegraph was in use. 
 
 Almost immediately the ship's speed slack- 
 ened, and as she yielded to the pressure of wind 
 and wave the clamor of her struggle sank to 
 comparative silence. 
 
 A few seconds later the captain appeared on 
 the bridge. He, like the officer, gave particular 
 heed to something which lay straight ahead. 
 Evidently he approved of the action taken by 
 his subordinate, because, as well as Maseden 
 could judge, he stood beside the telegraph, with 
 a hand on the lever, but made no further altera- 
 tion in the ship's speed. 
 
 Naturally Maseden wondered what had hap- 
 pened and watched closely for developments. 
 In better weather he would have gone outside, 
 but it was positively dangerous now to stand 
 close to the ship's rail, or, indeed, remain on 
 any part of the open deck, while the shadow of 
 an attempt on his part to climb the forecastle 
 ladder would have evoked a gruff order to re- 
 turn. 
 
 Within a minute or less, however, he made 
 out that the Southern Cross was passing 
 through a quantity of wreckage, mostly rough- 
 hewn timber. Here and there a spar would
 
 'AN UNFORESEEN DISASTER 101 
 
 unexpectedly thrust its tapering point high 
 above the tawny vortex of the waves; at odd 
 times a portion of a bulkhead and fragments of 
 white-painted panels would be revealed for an 
 instant. Some unfortunate sailing ship had 
 been torn to shreds by the gale, and the steamer 
 was just passing through that section of the 
 sea-plain still cumbered by her fragments, 
 though the tragedy itself had probably occurred 
 many a mile away from that particular point 
 on the map. 
 
 By this time the stopping of the engines had 
 aroused every member of the crew not on watch. 
 Some of the men, bleary-eyed with sleep, gath- 
 ered in the cabin, and their comments were il- 
 luminating. 
 
 "Wind-jammer gone with all hands," said 
 one man, after a critical glance at the flotsam on 
 both sides of the ship. 
 
 ( 'What for have we slowed up?" inquired 
 another. "The old man ain't thinkin' of low- 
 erin' a boat, is he?" 
 
 * * Lower a boat, saphead, in a sea like this ! ' ' 
 scoffed the first speaker. 
 
 "Wouldn't he try to rescue any poor sailor- 
 men who may be clingin' to the wreck?" came 
 the retort. 
 
 "As though any sort of blisterin' wreck could 
 live in this weather! Try again, Jimmy. 
 We're dodgin' planks an' ropes; that's our
 
 102 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 special stunt just now. One o' them hefty 
 chunks q ' lumber would knock a hole in us below 
 the water-line before you could say 'knife'. 
 An' how about a sail an' cordage wrappin' 
 themselves lovin'ly around the screw I Where 
 'ud we be then? . . . There you are. What 
 did I tell you?" 
 
 A heavy thud, altogether different from the 
 blow delivered by a wave, shook the Southern 
 Cross from stem to stern. The captain looked 
 over the port side, and followed the movement 
 of some unseen object until it was swept well 
 clear of the ship. The engines, which had been 
 stopped completely, were rung on to "Slow 
 ahead" again. They remained at that speed 
 for half a minute, not longer. Then they were 
 stopped once more, and the officer of the watch 
 quitted the bridge hurriedly. 
 
 "What the devil's the matter noiv?" growled 
 the more experienced critic anxiously. "That 
 punch we got can't of started a plate, or all 
 hands would 'a ' bin piped on deck ! ' ' 
 
 Singularly enough, he either forgot or was 
 afraid to voice his own prediction as to a pos- 
 sible alternative. The big foremast which had 
 struck the ship's quarter was stout enough, 
 most unluckily, to support a thin wire rope, and 
 this unseen assailant had fouled the propeller. 
 In all likelihood, had the captain given the order 
 "Full speed ahead," the evil thing might
 
 AN UNFORESEEN DISASTER 103 
 
 have been thrown clear before mischief was 
 done. 
 
 As it was, the very care with which the South- 
 ern Cross was navigated led to her undoing. 
 With each slow turn of the screw the snake- 
 like rope which was destined to choke the life 
 out of a gallant ship had coiled itself into a 
 death grip. 
 
 Soon some of the strands were forced be- 
 tween propeller and shaft-casing. The solid 
 steel cylinder of the shaft became fixed as in a 
 vise. The engines were powerless. To apply 
 their force was only to increase the resistance. 
 They could not be driven either ahead or 
 astern. 
 
 The Southern Cross promptly fell away to 
 the southeast under the stress of wind and tide. 
 After her, forming a sort of sea-anchor, lolloped 
 the derelict foremast which, by its buoyancy, 
 was the first cause of all the mischief. 
 
 Mostly it was towed astern. Sometimes a 
 giant wave would snatch it up and drive it 
 like a battering ram against the ship's coun- 
 ter. 
 
 These blows were generally harmless, the 
 rounded butt of the spar glancing off from the 
 acute angle presented by the molded stern- 
 plates. Once or twice, however, the rudder was 
 struck squarely, so the chief officer, aided by 
 some of the men, quickly put an end to the ca-
 
 104 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 pacity of this novel battering-ram for inflcting 
 further damage by lassoing and hauling aboard 
 the whole mass of wreckage mast, yards and 
 tattered sails alike. 
 
 Then a gruesome discovery was made. Tied 
 to the mast was the corpse of a man, but so 
 bruised and battered as to be wholly unrecog- 
 nizable. The poor body, nearly naked, and 
 maimed and torn almost out of human sem- 
 blance, was stitched in a strip of wet canvas, 
 weighted with a few furnace bars, and commit- 
 ted to the deep again without a moment's loss 
 of time. 
 
 But its brief presence had not been helpful. 
 Singularly enough, sailors are not only fatalists, 
 which they may well be, but superstitious. No 
 man voiced his sentiments; nevertheless, each 
 felt in his heart the ship was doomed. 
 
 Collectively, they would try to save the ship. 
 As individuals, the paramount question now 
 was how and when might they endeavor to 
 save their own lives? 
 
 Of course there was neither any sign of panic 
 nor shirking of orders. The ship was stanch 
 and eminently sea-worthy. She was actually 
 far more comfortable while drifting thus help- 
 lessly before the gale than when battling 
 through it. 
 
 Yet every sailor on board, from the captain 
 down to the scullery-man, knew that some forty
 
 miles ahead lay a shore so forbidding and in- 
 hospitable that the United States government 
 charts than which there are none so detailed 
 and up-to-date give navigators the significant 
 warning to keep well out to sea, as the coast- 
 line has not been surveyed in detail. 
 
 Yet the case was not immediately desperate. 
 Forty miles of sea-room was better than none. 
 If the gale abated, and an anchor was dropped, 
 it was probable that the engineers' cold chisels 
 would soon cut away the wire octopus. 
 
 Moreover, there was a chance that some 
 other steamer might pick them up and earn 
 a magnificent salvage by a tow to Punta 
 Arenas. 
 
 So after breakfast the uncanny harbinger of 
 disaster provided by the body of the drowned 
 sailor was, if not forgotten, at least generally 
 ignored. Pipes were lighted. Men not other- 
 wise occupied gathered in groups, while every 
 eye strove to pierce the gray haze of the spin- 
 drift whipped off the waves by each furious 
 gust, each hoping to be the first to discover the 
 friendly smoke-pall of a passing ship. 
 
 Certain ominous preparations were made, 
 however. Boats were cleared of their wrap- 
 pings and stocked with water and provisions. 
 Life-belts were examined, and their straps ad- 
 justed. 
 
 As the day wore, and noon was reached, the
 
 106 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 chance of encountering another ship became in- 
 creasingly remote. Sea and wind showed no 
 signs of falling. Indeed, a slight rise in the 
 barometer was not an encouraging token. 
 " First rise after low foretells stronger blow" 
 is as true to-day as when Admiral Fitzroy wrote 
 his weather-lore doggerel, and the principles of 
 meteorology hold good equally north and south 
 of the equator. 
 
 For a time the captain tried to steady the 
 ship with the canvas fore-and-aft sails which 
 big steamships use occasionally in fine weather 
 to help the rudder. This devise certainly got 
 the Southern Cross under control again, and 
 the crew were vastly astonished when bid furl 
 the sails after half an hour. 
 
 Surprise ceased when some of them got an 
 opportunity to squint into a compass. The 
 wind had veered from northwest to a point 
 south of west. 
 
 Only a miracle could save the ship now. It 
 seemed as though the very forces of nature had 
 conspired to bring about her undoing. 
 
 From that moment a gloom fell on the little 
 community. Men muttered brief words, or 
 chatted in whispers. A few paid furtive visits 
 to their bunks, and rummaged in kit-bags for 
 some treasured curio or personal belonging 
 which could be stowed away in a pocket. It 
 was not a question now as to whether the South-
 
 AN UNFORESEEN DISASTER 107 
 
 ern Cross would survive, but when and where 
 she would strike, and what sort of fighting 
 chance would be given of reaching a bleak shore 
 alive. 
 
 Every one knew that it would be the wildest 
 folly to lower a boat in such a heavy sea. The 
 sole remaining hope was that the ship would 
 escape the outer fringe of reefs, and drive into 
 some rock-bound creek where the boats might 
 live. 
 
 By means of a properly constructed sea- 
 anchor the captain kept the vessel's head to- 
 ward the east. Thus, when land was sighted, if 
 any semblance of a channel offered, it might be 
 possible to steer in that direction. 
 
 Men were told off to be in readiness to hoist 
 the sails again at a moment's notice. The 
 anchors were cleared, both fore and aft. Noth- 
 ing else could be done but watch and wait, while 
 the great ship rolled into yawning gulfs or slid 
 down huge curves of yellow-gray water, rolled 
 and slid ever onward to sure destruction. 
 
 During those weary hours, so slow in pass- 
 ing, so swift in succession when sped, Maseden 
 had not once set eyes on his wife or her sister. 
 He had seen Sturgess talking to the captain and 
 first officer, but neither of the ladies appeared 
 on deck. 
 
 Still it was an easy thing to imagine just 
 what was going on. The two women were the 

 
 108 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 only persons on board left in ignorance of the 
 certain fate awaiting the Southern Cross. 
 They were told the half truth that the engines 
 were disabled, but that the vessel was in no im- 
 mediate danger. 
 
 It was better so. Of what avail to frighten 
 them needlessly? The ship would have been ab- 
 solutely safe if the gale blew from the east in- 
 stead of the west. Even now she might sur- 
 vive. Her chances were of the slenderest 
 nature, but there would be ample time to get the 
 women into an upper deck saloon or the chart- 
 room when the position became desperate. 
 Why embitter the few hours of life yet remain- 
 ing by knowledge of the dreadful fate which 
 threatened when the end came ? 
 
 About two o'clock an undulating blur on the 
 eastern horizon told of land. To the best of 
 the captain's judgment the Southern Cross was 
 off Hanover Island when the accident happened, 
 and her relative longitude had altered but very 
 slightly during the forty-mile drift. It was now 
 or never if anything was to be done to save her. 
 
 The forbidding and mountainous coast-line 
 straight ahead was broken up by all manner of 
 deep-water channels, each giving access, by 
 devious ways, to the sheltered Smyth's Chan- 
 nel; but so barricaded by sunken reefs and 
 steep islets as to present almost insuperable ob- 
 stacles to the free passage of a large vessel.
 
 AN UNFORESEEN DISASTER 109 
 
 Small whalers and guano-boats would not 
 dare any of these straits in fine weather. For 
 the Southern Cross to make the attempt, even 
 provided she ran the gantlet of the barrier 
 reef, was indeed the forlornest of forlorn 
 hopes. 
 
 The chief engineer had already assured the 
 captain many times that any further pressure 
 by the engines would inflict irreparable damage, 
 so, risking everything on the throw of the dice 
 and wishful to know the worst, at any rate, be- 
 fore daylight vanished, he ordered the sails to 
 be hoisted again. 
 
 All hands were brought on deck, life-belts 
 were adjusted, and boats' crews stood by. At 
 that moment Maseden caught a glimpse of the 
 two girls. They, with other passengers, were 
 summoned by the ship's officers and placed in 
 the smoke-room, which, by reason of its situa- 
 tion beneath the bridge, provided a convenient 
 gathering ground in case the boats were low- 
 ered. 
 
 He saw them only for a moment two cloaked 
 figures, wearing cloth caps tied tightly to their 
 heads with motor-veils. He could not distin- 
 guish Madge from Nina. 
 
 It was a strange and most bizarre notion that 
 when the gates of eternity were opening a sec- 
 ond time before his eyes the woman who was 
 his lawful wife should now be sharing his peril,.
 
 110 . HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 yet be separated from him far more effectually 
 than in the Castle of San Juan. 
 
 The incongruity of their position did not 
 trouble him greatly, however. Soon he ceased 
 thinking about it. He realized that he, as an 
 individual, could do nothing but obey orders 
 and abide by the decree of Providence. 
 
 He was not frightened. Some hours earlier, 
 knowing the physical features of the western 
 coast of South America, he had decided that the 
 odds were a thousand to one against the escape 
 of the ship and her seventy-four occupants. 
 He hoped that when the end came it might not 
 be a long drawn-out agony that was all. For 
 the rest, he looked forward with a certain spice 
 of curiosity to the fight which captain and 
 crew would make against the giant forces of 
 nature. 
 
 An awesome panorama of mighty cliffs, in- 
 accessible islands and isolated rocks over which 
 "the seas dashed with extraordinary fury, was 
 opening up with ever-increasing clearness. A 
 mist of driven froth and spindrift hung low 
 over the surface of the water, but the great hills 
 of the interior were distinctly visible. 
 
 Irregular white patches near their summits 
 marked the presence of huge glaciers. Lower 
 down the valleys were choked with black 
 masses of firs. Countless generations of trees 
 liad grown, and fallen, and rotted, ultimately
 
 AN UNFORESEEN DISASTER 111 
 
 forming a new, if unstable, basis for more re- 
 cent growths. 
 
 An occasional red scar down a hillside re- 
 vealed the latest landslide. A cascade would 
 leap out from the topmost part of a forest and 
 bury itself again in the depths. 
 
 These outstanding features were all on a huge 
 scale. It was a weird, monstrous land, a place 
 utterly unfitted for human habitation, a part of 
 creation quite out of keeping with the rest of 
 the world. Surveying it impartially, one might 
 wonder whether it had traveled far in advance 
 of the general scheme of things or lagged mil- 
 lions of years behind. 
 
 But its aspect was sinister and forbidding in 
 the extreme, and never have its depressing 
 characteristics been etched in darker shadows 
 than when viewed that January day from the 
 decks of the ill-fated Southern Cross.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE WEECK 
 
 UP to the last the ship 's path was dogged by 
 misfortune. She approached Hanover Island 
 at a point where the sea was comparatively 
 open; hence, the tremendous waves rolling in 
 from the Pacific were not only unchecked by 
 island breakwaters, but their volume and force 
 were actually increased by the gradual upward 
 trend of the rock floor. 
 
 Still, undaunted by conditions which sug- 
 gested the plight of a doomed craft being hur- 
 ried to the lip of a cataract, keen eyes searched 
 the frowing coast-line for one of the many 
 estuaries which pierced the land, some merely 
 the mouths of short-lived rivers, others again 
 carrying the ocean currents to the very base of 
 the Andes. 
 
 At last an opening did seem to present itself. 
 The great rock walls, springing sheer from sea 
 level to a height of a thousand feet or more, 
 fell apart, and, so far as might be judged, a 
 wide and deep channel flowed inland. 
 
 It was at this crisis, when life or death for 
 all on board might depend on the veriest trifle, 
 that the captain had to decide whether or not to 
 
 112
 
 THE WRECK 113 
 
 let go both anchors and endeavor to ride out 
 the gale. 
 
 He was an experienced and cool-headed 
 sailor. He knew quite well that the odds were 
 heavy against an anchor holding in such 
 ground, or, if it held, against any cable stand- 
 ing the strain of a six-thousand-ton ship in that 
 terrific sea. But, as Maseden learned subse- 
 quently, he sought advice. 
 
 The first and second officers were consulted 
 in turn, and each confirmed their chief's opin- 
 ion that the only practicable course was to run 
 into the passage which still offered a compara- 
 tively clear way ahead. 
 
 So the Southern Cross sped on. 
 
 The second officer came forward with some of 
 the crew to superintend the dropping of the 
 anchor. The fourth officer took charge of the 
 aft anchor. All other members of the crew 
 stood by the boats. 
 
 Maseden, feeling oddly remote and unclassed 
 among men of his own race, followed the sec- 
 ond officer to the forecastle deck. There, at 
 least, he could stare his fill at the inferno of 
 rock and broken water which the vessel was ap- 
 proaching, though even his landsman's eyes 
 saw that she was in a water-way of considera- 
 ble width, while each mile now traversed must 
 tend to diminish the seas and bring a secure 
 anchorage within the bounds of possibility.
 
 114 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 No one paid heed to him. Among these stolid 
 sailor-men he was a "Dago," a somewhat dan- 
 dified specimen of the swaggering vaqueros 
 they had met at times in the drinking dens of 
 South American ports. He was minded to have 
 speech with the second officer, and proclaim 
 once and for all that he was of the same kith 
 and kin ; but the impulse was stayed by a glance 
 at the set, resolute face, intent only on obeying 
 a signal from the captain. It was no time for 
 confidences. He questioned even if the sailor 
 would have answered. 
 
 A touch on a lever would set a winch spin- 
 ning as the anchor leaped to its task. The man 
 charged with carrying out that duty without 
 hitch or delay could spare thought for nothing 
 else. 
 
 One of the deck-hands, stationed near the 
 chocks, chanced to be the very Spaniard whose 
 life had been endangered by the falling block 
 on the day after the ship left Cartagena. The 
 ship's carpenter was ill, and the Spaniard was 
 carpenter's mate. 
 
 Maseden caught his eye, and the man smiled 
 wanly. 
 
 "You did me a good turn the other day, 
 serior," he said. "Let me repay you now." 
 
 "But how?" came the surprised inquiry. 
 
 "Underneath my bunk, the lowest one on the 
 left in number seven berth, you will find my kit-
 
 THE WRECK 115 
 
 bag. Beneath some clothes is a bottle of good 
 old brandy. Get it, and drink it quickly." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 ' ' You will put a pint of honest liquor to good 
 use, and in ten minutes you won't care what 
 happens." 
 
 "I have no desire to die drunk," said Mas- 
 eden quietly. 
 
 The Spaniard shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "You'll never have a better excuse for swal- 
 lowing excellent cognac," he grinned. 
 
 "Shut up, you two!" growled the officer. 
 
 He had not understood a word of their talk. 
 He simply voiced the eminently American no- 
 tion that anything said in the Spanish language 
 could not be of the least importance just then. 
 
 Oddly enough, Maseden was angered by be- 
 ing thus outcasted, as it were. He was tempted 
 to retort, but happily checked the words on his 
 lips. Nerves were apt to be on a raw edge in 
 such conditions, he remembered. Even the 
 stern-faced ship's officer, awaiting a command 
 which would settle the fate of the Southern 
 Cross once and for all, might well resent the 
 magpie chattering of a couple 'of Spaniards. 
 
 Maseden turned for an instant to look at the 
 bridge. The captain stood there, apparently 
 the most unmoved person on board. The sails, 
 tugging fiercely at their rings and bolts, still 
 kept the ship under control, notwithstanding
 
 116 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the ten-knot tidal current which carried her on- 
 ward irresistibly. The foresail was bellied out 
 to port, so the captain remained on the star- 
 board side of the bridge, whence he had an un- 
 interrupted view ahead. 
 
 Suddenly two cloaked figures emerged from 
 the obscurity of the smoking-room and hurried 
 to the transverse rail which guarded the fore 
 part of the promenade deck. With them came 
 some men, among whom Maseden recognized 
 Sturgess; while another man, who caught the 
 arm of one of the girls in a helpless sort of way, 
 was probably Mr. Gray. 
 
 Evidently there was no concealing the ship's 
 peril from the passengers now. Everyone wore 
 a life-belt, and was clothed to resist the cold. 
 A plausible explanation of this general flocking 
 out on to the deck was that they had discerned 
 the cleft in the rocky heights through a blurred 
 window, and refused to remain any longer in 
 the sheltered uncertainty of the smoking- 
 room. 
 
 At this period there was little or no difficulty 
 in keeping one's feet. The great hull of the 
 Southern Cross swung easily on an even keel 
 with the onrush of the sea-river. The ship was 
 not fighting now, but yielding a complacent 
 leviathan held captive by a most puissant and 
 ruthless enemy. 
 
 During the few seconds Maseden stared at
 
 THE WRECK 117 
 
 the veiled women. One of those two which one 
 he could not tell was his wife. It was the mad- 
 dest, most fantastic thing he had ever heard of. 
 In a spirit of sheer deviltry he waved a greet- 
 ing. One of the girls raised a hand to her face 
 perhaps to her lips. 
 
 What did it matter! In all human probabil- 
 ity that was their eternal farewell. He waved 
 again, and turned resolutely to scan the frown- 
 ing headlands now rapidly closing in on both 
 sides of the vessel's path. 
 
 About that time a new and disturbing sound 
 reached his ears. Hitherto there had been noth- 
 ing but the unceasing chant of the gale, the thud 
 and swish of the seas, the steady plaint of the 
 ship, and an occasional crash like a volley of 
 musketry when the crest was torn off some 
 giant roller and flung against poop or super- 
 structure. But now there came a crashing, 
 booming noise, irregular, yet almost continu- 
 ous, and ever growing louder and more in- 
 sistent; a noise almost exactly similar to distant 
 gun-fire and the snarling explosions of heavy 
 projectiles. 
 
 It was the noise of the bitterest and longest 
 war ever waged. Those old enemies, sea and 
 land, were engaged in deadly combat, and, as 
 ever, the sea was winning. 
 
 Even while the Southern Cross swung past 
 an overhanging fortress of rock, a mighty bas-
 
 118 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 tion crumbled into ruin. It was singular to 
 watch a cloud of dust mingle with the spindrift 
 to note how the next breaker climbed higher 
 in assault over the vantage ground provided by 
 the successful sap. 
 
 A disconcerting feature of the ship 's hurried 
 transit into this unchartered territory was the 
 clearness with which all things were visible 
 above a height of some twelve feet from the 
 surface of the sea; whereas, below that level, 
 the clouds of spray and flying scud formed an 
 almost impenetrable wall. 
 
 Taking his eyes from the everchanging pan- 
 orama, Maseden looked over the side. The 
 foam-flecked water was black but fairly trans- 
 parent. In its depths he was astounded by the 
 sight of writhing, sinister shapes like the arms 
 of innumerable devil-fish. 
 
 At first he experienced a shock of surprise so 
 close akin to horror that he felt the chill of it, 
 as though one of these fearsome tentacles were 
 already twined around his shrinking body. 
 Then he realized that he had been startled by 
 some gigantic species of seaweed. The ship 
 was crossing a submarine forest. Down there 
 in the depths on this January day in the south- 
 ern hemisphere some mysterious form of plant 
 life was enjoying its leafy June. 
 
 But science had no joys for him in that hour. 
 Better the outlook on crag and clearing sky than
 
 THE WRECK 119 
 
 a furtive glimpse of the limbs and foliage of 
 that monstrous growth. 
 
 All at once a cry from the look-out in the 
 bows sent a quiver through every hearer. 
 
 "Bock ahead!" 
 
 After a pause, measured by seconds, but 
 seeming like as many minutes, the same voice 
 shouted : 
 
 "Channel opens to starboard!" 
 
 The ship answered the helm. She swept past 
 a jagged little islet so closely that a sailor could 
 have cast a coil of rope ashore. 
 
 Forthwith another sound mingled with the 
 crash of the breakers. The rock had been bored 
 right through by the waves, and the gale set up 
 a note in the tunnel such as no organ-builder 
 ever dreamed of. 
 
 That mighty chord pursued the Southern 
 Cross for nearly half a mile. It was a melan- 
 choly and depressing wail. Maseden, whose 
 faculties were supernaturally alert, noticed that 
 the South American sailor's face had turned a 
 sickly green. The man was paralyzed with 
 fright. His right hand fumbled in a weak at- 
 tempt to cross himself. 
 
 Out of the tail of his eye the second officer 
 caught the gesture. 
 
 "Pull yourself together, you swab!" he said 
 bitingly. "What the hell good will you be if 
 you give way like that?"
 
 120 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 The Spaniard grasped the sense of command 
 in the words rather than their meaning. He 
 was no coward. He even contrived to grin. 
 It was a tonic to be cursed by an American, 
 even though the pierced rock howled like a lost 
 soul! 
 
 Still the Southern Cross drove on. The tidal 
 stream was, if anything, swifter than ever, but 
 the size of the waves had diminished sensibly. 
 The walls of the straits had closed in to within 
 a half-mile span. There could not be the slight- 
 est doubt that the vessel was actually passing 
 through one of the waterways which connect 
 the Pacific with Smyth's Channel. 
 
 Maseden, after scanning the interior high- 
 lands for the hundredth time, glanced again at 
 the second officer. The grimness of the clean- 
 cut, stern face had somewhat relaxed. Quite 
 unconsciously the sailor's expression showed 
 that hope had replaced calm-visaged despair. 
 Given an unhindered run of another mile, the 
 ship could at least drop anchor with some 
 prospect of success. 
 
 The strength of the tide would diminish in 
 less than an hour, and it might be possible to 
 maneuver in the slack water for a compar- 
 atively safe berth. Next day, if the weather 
 moderated as promised by the barometer, the 
 steam pinnace could spy out the land in front. 
 
 Smyth's Channel was not so far away per-
 
 THE WRECK 121 
 
 haps fifty miles. Once there, the Southern 
 Cross could repair damage and proceed under 
 her own steam to Punta Arenas. 
 
 A gleam of yellow light irradiated the sur- 
 face mist, which had grown markedly denser. 
 The clouds were parting, and the sun was 
 vouchsafing some thin rays from the northwest. 
 
 The mere sight was cheering. The blood ran 
 warmer in the veins. It was as though the 
 ship's company, after days and nights of cold 
 and starvation, had been miraculously supplied 
 with food and hot liquids. 
 
 Then the golden radiance died away, and sim- 
 ultaneously came the cry: 
 
 "Reef ahead !" 
 
 There was no need for further warning by 
 the men in the bows. The Southern Cross had 
 hardly traveled her own length before every 
 person in the fore part of the ship, together 
 with the occupants of bridge and promenade 
 deck, became aware that a seemingly impassa- 
 ble barrier lay right across the channel. At the 
 same time the line of cliffs fell away to the 
 southward. 
 
 Beyond the reef, then, lay a wide stretch of 
 land-locked water; its unexpected existence ex- 
 plained the frantic haste of the tidal current. 
 It was cruel luck that nature should have 
 thrown one of her defensive works across that 
 bottle-neck entrance. A few cables' lengths
 
 122 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 away was safety; here, unavoidable sullen 
 and rigid as death himself were the rock 
 fangs. 
 
 At the supreme moment the second officer 
 never turned his head. His eyes were riveted 
 on the motionless figure standing on the star- 
 board side of the bridge. 
 
 The captain raised his hand; the sails 
 flapped loudly in the wind; both anchors 
 splashed overboard with hoarse rattling of 
 chains. The after anchor failed, but the for- 
 ward one held at a depth of ten fathoms. 
 
 The second officer was quick to note the sud- 
 den strain, and eased it once, twice, three 
 times. But it was now or never. The ship was 
 swinging in the stream, and her stern-post 
 would just clear the fringe of the reef if the 
 anchor made good its grip. 
 
 The Southern Cross had gone round, with a 
 heavy lurch to port, caused by the tremendous 
 pressure of wind and wave, and was almost sta- 
 tionary when the cable parted. The thick chain 
 flew back with all the impetus of six thousand 
 tons in motion behind it. 
 
 Missing Maseden by a hair's breadth, it 
 struck the f oretop, and the spar snapped like a 
 carrot. It fell forward, and the identical block 
 which had nearly brought about the death of 
 the South American sailor now caught his res- 
 cuer on the side of the head.
 
 THE WRECK 123 
 
 In the same instant a heavy stay dragged 
 Maseden bodily over the fore-rail and he 
 pitched headlong to the deck, where, however, 
 the actual fall was broken by the stout canvas 
 of the sail. 
 
 A woman screamed, but he could not hear, 
 being knocked insensible. 
 
 ' * All hands amidships ! ' ' shouted the captain, 
 and there was a race for the ladders. One man, 
 however, the Spaniard, stooped over the young 
 American's body. His eyes were streaming 
 with tears. 
 
 "Good-by, friend!'* he sobbed. " Maybe 
 this is a better way than that opened by my 
 bottle of brandy ! ' ' 
 
 He was sure that the vaquero who swore like 
 an Americano had been killed, because blood 
 was flowing freely from a scalp wound ; but he 
 lifted Maseden 's inert form, and, without any 
 valid reason behind the action, placed him in 
 his bunk, as the cabin door stood open. 
 
 Then he ran after the others. 
 
 Poor fellow ! He little dreamed that he was 
 repaying a thousand-fold the few extra days of 
 life the good-looking vaquero had given him. 
 
 Almost immediately the ship struck. There 
 was a fearsome crash of rending plates and 
 torn ribs, the great vessel reeled over, struck 
 again and bumped clear of the outer reef. 
 
 Now, too late, the after anchor lodged in a
 
 124 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 sunken crevice ; the cable did not yield, because 
 the vessel was sucked into a sort of backwash 
 and driven, bow on, close to an apparently un- 
 scalable cliff. 
 
 She settled rapidly. As it happened a sub- 
 merged rock smashed her keel-plate beneath the 
 engine-room, and the engines, together with the 
 stout frame-work to which the superstructure 
 was bolted amidships, became anchored there, 
 offering a new obstacle to the onward race of 
 the seas pouring over the reef. 
 
 Every boat was either smashed instantane- 
 ously or wrenched bodily from its davits. Two- 
 thirds of the hull fell away almost at once, the 
 forecastle tilting towards the cliff, and the poop 
 being swept into deep water. 
 
 With the after part went at least half the 
 ship's company, their last cries of despair be- 
 ing smothered by the continuous roar of the 
 wind and the thunder of the waves. The bridge, 
 with the rooms immediately below, remained 
 fairly upright, but the smoking-room, and offi- 
 cers' quarters close to it, were swept by water 
 breast high. 
 
 Some one who it was will never be known 
 had ordered the passengers to run into the 
 smoking-room when the forward cable parted. 
 Now, with the magnificent courage invariably 
 shown by American sailors even when the gates 
 of death gape wide before their eyes, the first
 
 THE WRECK 125 
 
 and second officers contrived to hoist the two 
 girls to the chart-room behind the bridge. 
 
 Sturgess, behaving with great gallantry, 
 helped the women first, and then their father, 
 who was floating in the room, to reach the only 
 available gangway. Others followed, but the 
 difficulty of rescue if such a sorrowful transi- 
 tion might be called a rescue was enhanced by 
 the noise and sudden darkness. 
 
 Ever the central citadel of the Southern 
 Cross was sinking lower. Ever the leaping 
 waves and their clouds of spray tended more 
 and more to shut out the light. 
 
 Seven people were plucked from immediate 
 death in this fashion. All told, officers, crew 
 and passengers, the survivors of seventy-four 
 souls numbered twelve. 
 
 There was a thirteenth, because Maseden was 
 lying high and dry in his bunk. But of him they 
 took no count. 
 
 They gathered in the chart-room. Those who 
 still retained their senses tried to revive the 
 more fortunate ones to whom was vouchsafed 
 a merciful oblivion of their common plight. 
 Even in the temporary haven of the chart-room 
 the conditions quickly savored of utter misery. 
 The windows were blown away. The doors 
 were jammed open by the warping of the deck. 
 "Wind, waves and sheets of spray seemed to vie 
 with demoniac energy as to which could be most
 
 126 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 cruel and deadly. The ceaseless warping and 
 working of what was left of the ship presaged 
 complete collapse at any moment, and the din 
 of the reef was stupefying. 
 
 Still, the captain did not abate one jot of his 
 cool demeanor. He eyed the sea, the rocks, the 
 remains of his ship and the beetling crags from 
 which he was cut off by sixty feet of raging 
 water. 
 
 Then he deliberately turned his back on it all. 
 Going to a locker, he produced a screwdriver 
 and began methodically drawing the screws of 
 the door-hinges. 
 
 The chief officer thought that the other man's 
 brain had yielded to the stress. 
 
 "What are you doing, sir?" he said, placing 
 a hand gently on his friend's shoulder. 
 
 "We haven't a ten-million to one chance of 
 remaining here till the gale gives out, ' ' was the 
 calm answer, "but we may as well rig up 
 some sort of protection from the weather. 
 There are four lockers and four doors. Let's 
 block up those broken windows as well as 
 we can." 
 
 A curiously admiring light shone in the chief 
 officer's eyes. He said nothing, but helped. 
 Soon a corner was completely walled. They 
 decided it was better to have one section 
 thoroughly shielded than the whole only 
 partially.
 
 THE WRECK 127 
 
 They made a quick job of it. The girls, Mr. 
 Gray, and two men recovering consciousness 
 were allotted to the angle. 
 
 Then the captain opened one of the three bot- 
 tles of claret stored in a locker, and portioned 
 out the contents among the survivors. 
 
 There was no need to measure the share of 
 a heavily-built Spaniard who was reputed to be 
 a wealthy rancher from the Argentine. His 
 spine was broken when the ship lurched over 
 the reef. He was found dead when they tried 
 to move him to the sheltered corner. 
 
 And now a pall of darkness spread swiftly 
 over the face of the waters. The tide fell, but 
 the ship sank with it. She no longer rocked and 
 shook under the blows of the waves. It seemed 
 as though she knew herself crippled beyond all 
 hope of succor, and only awaited another tide 
 to meet annihilation. 
 
 Wind and sea were more furious than ever. 
 In all likelihood, the gale would blow itself out 
 next day. But long before dawn the rising tide 
 would have made short work of what was left 
 of the Southern Cross. 
 
 Never was a small company of Christian peo- 
 ple in a more hopeless position. Every boat 
 was gone. They had no food. They were wet 
 to the skin, and pierced with bitter cold. Even 
 the hardy captain's teeth chattered as he took 
 a pipe from his pocket, rolled some tobacco be-
 
 128 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 tweeH the palms of his hands, and said smil- 
 ingly to those near him : 
 
 "This is one of the occasions when a water- 
 tight pipe-lighter is a real treasure. Who'd 
 like a smoke? You must find your own pipes. 
 I can supply some 'baccy and a light!"
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 
 
 MASEDEN was badly hurt and quite stunned. 
 Of that there could be no manner of doubt. He 
 was blissfully unaware of the destruction of the 
 ship, and did not regain his senses until long 
 after the captain and some few of the men gath- 
 ered in the dismantled chart-room had in- 
 dulged in what was to prove their last pipeful 
 of tobacco. 
 
 Even when a species of ordered perception 
 was restored he was wholly unable during an 
 hour or more to collect his wits sufficiently to 
 understand just what had happened. 
 
 Certain phenomena were vaguely disturbing ; 
 that was all. He knew, for instance, that the 
 Southern Cross was wrecked, because the deck 
 was tilted permanently at an alarming angle. 
 As the downward slope was forward, however, 
 and his bunk lay across it and on the forward 
 side of the door the physical outcome was by 
 no means unpleasant, since his body was 
 wedged comfortably between the mattress and 
 the bulkhead. 
 
 He was dry and warm. The weather-proof 
 
 129
 
 130 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 garments of the pampas were admirably 
 adapted to resist exposure, while the pitch of 
 the deck, aided by the conformation of the 
 bows, diminished the striking power of the 
 waves and carried the spray and broken water 
 clean over the remains of the forecastle. 
 
 Maseden's position resembled that of a man 
 ensconced in a dry niche of a cave behind a 
 waterfall. So long as he did not move and the 
 cavern held intact he was safe and comfortable. 
 Happily, a long time elapsed between the first 
 glimmer of consciousness and the moment when 
 the knowledge was borne in on him that he was 
 actually beset by immediate and most deadly 
 peril. 
 
 He imagined that the ship had been cast 
 ashore after he met with some rather serious 
 accident, that some kind Samaritan had tucked 
 him into his own berth, and that, in due course, 
 some one would look in on him with a cheery in- 
 quiry as to how he was faring. His answer 
 would have been that his head ached abomina- 
 bly, that his mouth and throat were on fire, and 
 that a long drink of cold water was the one 
 thing needed to send him to sleep and speedy 
 recovery. 
 
 He did not realize that when he dropped face 
 downward into the folds of the sail he had swal- 
 lowed a quantity of salt water lodged there in- 
 stantly by the pelting seas. It was not until he
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 131 
 
 moved, and yielded to a fit of vomiting, which 
 relieved the pain in his head and cleared his 
 faculties, that the dreadful truth began to dawn 
 in his mind. 
 
 Once, however, the process of clear reason- 
 ing set in, it developed rapidly. He noticed, in 
 the first instance, that the angle of the deck was 
 becoming steeper. It was strange, he thought, 
 that although the light was failing, no one came 
 near. His ears, too, told him that seas were 
 still hammering furiously on every side. 
 
 Finally, a marked movement of the forecastle 
 as it slipped over a smooth rock race, owing to 
 the increase of dead weight brought about by 
 the falling tide, induced a species of alarmed 
 curiosity which proved a most potent tonic. At 
 one moment feeling hardly able to move, the 
 next he was scrambling out of the bunk and 
 climbing crab-like through the doorway. 
 
 Then he saw that the forecastle deck had been 
 torn away in line with the forward bulkhead of 
 the fore hold. With some difficulty, being still 
 physically weak and shaken, he raised head and 
 shoulders above this jagged edge and peered 
 over. 
 
 Then he understood. The ship was in pieces 
 on the reef. Two bits of her still remained ; the 
 forecastle, a stubborn wedge nearly always the 
 last part of a steel-built vessel to collapse, and 
 the bridge, with its backing of the chart house.
 
 132 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 All else had gone the funnels had fallen an 
 hour earlier. 
 
 Even the steel plates and stout wood work of 
 the superstructure had melted away from the 
 six strong ribs to which the sunken engines were 
 bolted, leaving the bridge and chart house in 
 air. 
 
 Already, too, one of the six pillars which had 
 proved the salvation of that forlorn aerie had 
 yielded to the strain and snapped. In the half- 
 light it was difficult to discern just what sup- 
 port was given to the squat rectangle of the 
 chart-house; Maseden had to look long and 
 steadily through the flying scud before he gath- 
 ered the exact facts. 
 
 The upper deck of the forecastle shut off any 
 glimpse of the cliffs. All he could see was the 
 reef, much more visible now, but still partially 
 submerged by every sea; beyond it, a howling 
 wilderness of broken water, and in the midst of 
 this depressing picture, the ghost-like chart- 
 house and bridge. 
 
 But he recalled vividly enough the sight of 
 an awesome precipice close at hand before 
 something had hit him and robbed him of 
 senses. If the ship, or what was left of her, was 
 lodged on the reef towards which she was being 
 driven at the time of his mishap, the shore could 
 not be far distant. 
 
 Within a foot of where he lay on the deck,
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 133 
 
 clinging to it as a man might save himself from 
 falling off the steeply-pitched roof of a house, 
 was the big bole of the foremast, on which the 
 rings of the sails formed a sort of ladder. He 
 pulled himself up, stretched his body along the 
 mast in the opposite direction, and made out 
 the uneven summit of the cliff above the 
 straight line of the upper deck. 
 
 He was exposed to the weather here, but the 
 waves were not breaking across the forecastle 
 now, and the spray and biting wind tended 
 rather to dissipate the feeling of lassitude 
 which had proved quite overpowering while he 
 remained in the bunk. He raised himself cau- 
 tiously another foot or so, and the rugged wall 
 of the precipice loomed so close that at first 
 he fancied the wreck was touching it. 
 
 The broken topmast, however, swaying in the 
 wind, and still held to its more solid support by 
 a couple of wire stays, pointed drunkenly at the 
 cliff, and the pulley dangling from it was oc- 
 casionally dashed by the gale against an over- 
 hanging ledge. 
 
 Even while Maseden was arriving at a pretty 
 accurate estimate of the way in which he had 
 been injured because he now recalled the part- 
 ing of the anchor cable the forecastle moved 
 again, the wet and frowning wall became even, 
 more visible, and although an awesome gap in- 
 tervened, the swaying, pointed spar seemed to
 
 134 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 offer a fantastic glimpse of a means of escape. 
 
 As yet, the truck, or top of the mast, was 
 fully sixteen feet distant from the face of the 
 cliff. But it had been twenty feet or more dis- 
 tant a moment ago, and that last movement of 
 the hull had lessened the width of the chasm. 
 
 What if the spar jammed? Could a man ob- 
 tain foothold on that slimy rock surface? 
 
 He thought it possible. A deep crevice 
 seemed to promise some vague prospect of up- 
 ward progress to one who could climb, and to 
 whom any risk was preferable to the certain 
 fate which must attend remaining on the wreck 
 during the coming tide. 
 
 But, notwithstanding his partial recovery, he 
 still felt very feeble and quite unequal to more 
 exertion. As nothing in the way of an attempt 
 to save his life was possible until the broken 
 topmast was lodged firmly against the cliff, he 
 wondered whether he would find some sort of 
 food in the forecastle. 
 
 It was improbable, of course. Meals were 
 brought from the cook's galley amidships, and 
 utensils only were stored in the lockers of the 
 dingy saloon in which he and many of the sail- 
 ors used to eat. 
 
 Still, spurred by the necessity of doing some- 
 thing to take his mind off the fearsome alter- 
 native should the forecastle topple over side- 
 ways, or even remain in its present position, he
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 135 
 
 turned his back on the cliff. With never a 
 glance at the bridge, he regained the sloping 
 deck, lowered himself to the doorway of his own 
 cabin, and peered into the gloom in the effort 
 to determine how best and where to begin his 
 search. 
 
 At first his heart sank, because the saloon was 
 awash. Then he remembered the Spanish sail- 
 or 's queer offer of a bottle of brandy, stored in 
 a kit-bag in number seven berth, "the lowest 
 bunk on the left. ' ' 
 
 Number seven ! Had he not seen the man at 
 odd times entering or leaving the second cabin 
 on the port side? At any rate, there was no 
 harm in trying. 
 
 Crawling farther into the darkness, he 
 walked on what was normally the cross bulk- 
 head of the saloon, groped to a doorway, fo.und 
 a kit-bag in the stated position, opened it, and 
 came upon a bottle of brandy ! 
 
 He drank a little. Luckily it was not the raw 
 spirit beloved of such men as its late owner, but 
 sound, mellow liquor, which the Spaniard had 
 probably bought as a medicine. 
 
 Be that as it may, the brandy exercised the 
 magical effect which good cognac always pro- 
 duces in those wise enough not to vitiate the 
 blood with alcohol when in robust health. 
 For the first time since he was struck down, 
 Maseden felt himself capable of putting forth
 
 136 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 physical effort involving sustained muscular 
 exertion. 
 
 He returned to his own cabin, secured the 
 poncho, or cloak, and wrapped the bottle in it. 
 Eummaging round in the dark, he laid hands on 
 a strap, with which he buckled the folded 
 poncho tightly to his shoulders. Then review- 
 ing the prospects which awaited an unfortunate 
 castaway on that inhospitable coast, he en- 
 deavored to get at his own trunk. 
 
 Therein, however, he failed. The iron frame 
 of the bunk had buckled, and the trunk was held 
 as in a vise. 
 
 Realizing that he had very little time before 
 the light in the interior of the forecastle would 
 vanish altogether, he hurried back to the Span- 
 iard's berth and hauled out the kit-bag. He had 
 an uncomfortable feeling that he was robbing 
 the dead, but if it were practicable to land any 
 sort of stores the effort should be made. 
 
 He had not a moment to spare for further 
 search. The forecastle slipped again, and he 
 experienced no little difficulty in regaining his 
 perch on the solid stump of the foremast, on 
 which, so nearly had it approached the hori- 
 zontal, he could sit quite easily. 
 
 The dangling spar, he estimated, was now 
 about eight feet from the cliff. Would it catch 
 the rock wall while any glimmer of light re- 
 mained, or would some new movement of the
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 137 
 
 wreck divert its progress ? He could only hope 
 for the best and be ready to seize the oppor- 
 tunity when, if ever, it presented itself. 
 
 To his thinking, the gale was moderating; 
 but he dared not indulge in the smallest hope 
 that the forecastle would live through the next 
 tide. The heavy swell of the Pacific after a 
 westerly storm would create a worse sea on the 
 reef than that already experienced. Probably 
 the breakers would be more destructive im- 
 mediately after than during the gale. 
 
 It was at that moment, when in a plight sel- 
 dom equaled and never surpassed by any man 
 destined to survive a disastrous shipwreck, that 
 Maseden's thoughts reverted to his fellow pas- 
 sengers. There was no need to watch the spar, 
 since he could not fail to become aware of any 
 further movement of the forecastle, so he 
 lashed the kit-bag to a sail ring, again turned 
 his back on the cliff, and gave close attention to 
 the chart-house. 
 
 Despite the increasing darkness it was a good 
 deal more visible now than when he had looked 
 that way earlier. No dense clouds of spray or 
 spindrift intervened; hence he noticed for the 
 first time the improvised shutters which had re- 
 placed the glass front of the structure on the 
 seaward side. 
 
 He was wondering whether or not it was pos- 
 sible that some one might still be living on the
 
 138 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 only other part of the ship still intact, when he 
 became aware of a figure silhouetted against the 
 sky above the canvas screen of the bridge. 
 
 It was, in fact, the captain, who crept out of 
 the chart-house every now and then to examine 
 the state of the iron uprights and the condition 
 of the reef. The gallant old sailor had aban- 
 doned, or never formed, any notion of escape, 
 because nothing could live for an instant on the 
 reef itself, and he could not possibly detect the 
 chance of salvation offered by the broken mast. 
 But the nature of the man demanded that he 
 should keep watch and ward over those com- 
 mitted to his care. In all likelihood he experi- 
 enced a vague sense of relief in being able to 
 discharge even the melancholy duty of noting 
 the gradual breaking-up of the supports. 
 
 Three had gone, two on the port side and one 
 on the starboard. When the third stanchion 
 yielded on the port side, bridge and chart-room 
 would fall with a crash and there would be an 
 end. He said nothing of this to the unhappy 
 company within. 
 
 "The weather is improving," he told them 
 cheerfully, as Maseden heard later. "I can't 
 honestly give you any prospect of escape, but 
 while there's life there's hope !" 
 
 And all the time he was listening for the 
 ominous crack which would be the precursor of 
 that final sinking into the depths ! The marvel
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 139 
 
 was that the middle of the ship had held to- 
 gether so long, but by no miracle known to man 
 could what was left of her survive the next tide. 
 
 Yet why should he add to misery already 
 abyssmal? Death would be a blessed relief; 
 waiting for certain death was the worst of tor- 
 tures. 
 
 No one answered. The survivors of the 
 twelve four were dead now were perishing 
 with cold and dumbly resigned to their 
 wretched fate. Had it not been for the protec- 
 tion afforded by the improvised screen, none 
 would have been alive even then. 
 
 The wind still swirled and eddied into every 
 nook and cranny. Though huddled together, 
 the little group of men and women were con- 
 scious of no warmth. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty that those not clad in oilskins kept any 
 garments on their bodies. 
 
 So merciless is the havoc of the sea that its 
 victims are stripped naked even while clinging 
 to the battered hulk of a ship, though this last 
 device of a seemingly demoniac savagery is 
 easily accounted for. No product of loom or 
 spinning machine can withstand the disin- 
 tegrating effects of breaking, waves helped by a 
 fierce gale. The seams and fastenings of ordi- 
 nary garments cannot resist the combined as- 
 sault. In such circumstances, a woman 's flimsy 
 attire will be torn off her in a few minutes,
 
 140 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 while the strongest of boots have been known to 
 collapse after some hours of this kind of expo- 
 sure. 
 
 Luckily a number of oilskins were kept in the 
 chart-room of the Southern Cross,- these were 
 quickly served out to the shivering girls, whose 
 clothing had practically melted away as though 
 made of thin paper. 
 
 Soon after the captain had tried to hearten 
 them with that scrap of proverbial philosophy, 
 one of the girls, Nina, screamed in an elfin note 
 that dominated even the roaring of the reef for 
 an instant. Her father had collapsed. It was 
 useless to pretend that he might only have 
 fainted. They who fell now were doomed. In 
 Mr. Gray's case, he was dead ere he sank down. 
 
 The chief officer put a consoling hand on the 
 girl's shoulder. He was a Bostonian, and had 
 daughters of his own. In that hour of tribula- 
 tion his speech reverted to the homely accents 
 of New England. 
 
 "It comes hard to see your father drop like 
 that," he said. "But it's better so. He's just 
 spared a bit of the trouble we may have to 
 face." 
 
 "It is not that," wailed the girl brokenly, 
 "I'm thinking of my mother. She will never 
 know. Oh, if I could only make her understand, 
 I would not care ! ' ' 
 
 A strange answer, the sailor deemed it, most
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 141 
 
 probably. At that instant he caught the cap- 
 tain's eye. Both men had the same thought. 
 The dead should be thrown overboard and thus 
 lessen the weight supported by the one stan- 
 chion on the port side. 
 
 But of what avail were such precautions? 
 They might as well all go together, the quick 
 and the dead. Why should any of them wish 
 to live on until the sea rose again in the small 
 hours of the morning? 
 
 The girls were crying in each other's arms. 
 Two of the men lifted Gray's body and placed 
 it with four others. Five gone out of twelve! 
 
 The captain, speaking in the most matter-of- 
 fact way, suggested that they should open and 
 drink the last bottle of claret before the light 
 failed. 
 
 "It's a poor substitute for a meal," he said, 
 "but it's the only thing we can lay hands on." 
 
 The chief officer nodded his head towards the 
 grief-stricken sisters. 
 
 "Maybe we can wait a bit longer," he said. 
 "You couldn't persuade them to touch it just 
 now. . . . What's that, sir? Did you hear 
 anything?" 
 
 "No. What could we possibly hear?" 
 
 "It sounded like a voice, some one hailing." 
 
 "I think I know whose voice it is," said the 
 captain. He himself had almost yielded to the 
 delusion. It was distressing to find the same
 
 142 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 eery symptom of speedy breakdown in his old 
 friend, the chief officer. 
 
 Both men listened, nevertheless, and were 
 convinced. In silence they went out into the 
 open, walking stealthily. Each knew that any 
 undue movement might send the remains of the 
 ship headlong to the reef. They strained their 
 eyes in the only possible direction from which 
 a voice might have come the scrap of forecas- 
 tle, sixty feet nearer the headland, or, incredi- 
 ble as it seemed, the headland itself. They 
 could see nothing. Maseden's body was not 
 only in line with the receding angle of the fore- 
 mast, but that piece of the wreck was merged 
 in the gloom of the towering rock. 
 
 Maseden saw them, however, and shouted 
 again, striving his uttermost now that he had 
 attracted attention. 
 
 With each effort at speech his voice was be- 
 coming stronger. Though it was useless to 
 think of conveying an intelligible message 
 through the uproar of wind and water, he fan- 
 cied he could get into communication with the 
 inmates of the chart-room, provided they were 
 on the alert. In effect, he had a knife, and was 
 surrounded by an abundance of tangled cor- 
 dage, and it would be a strange thing if after 
 so many years of active life on a South Ameri- 
 can ranch he could not cast a weighted lasso as 
 far as the bridge.
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 143 
 
 He began fashioning the necessary coil at 
 once, working with feverish haste, because his 
 refuge was on the move again, and ever towards 
 the land. A trial cast fell short, as he had not 
 allowed enough lee-way for the wind. He was 
 gathering up the rope preparatory to another 
 effort when a great voice boomed at him frx>m 
 the shadows: 
 
 "You have no chance here. You are as well 
 off where you are. If you hear me, hail three 
 times!" 
 
 The captain was using a megaphone. 
 
 Maseden yelled "Hi!" three times, think- 
 ing the short, sharp syllable would carry 
 best. Then, with splendid judgment, he threw 
 the lasso in a lateral parabola that landed its 
 end across the rail of the bridge, where it wai 
 promptly made fast by the first officer. 
 
 Again came that mighty voice : 
 
 "Is there any hope of escape on your side? 
 If so, hail three times." 
 
 He replied. After a short delay he heard the 
 order : 
 
 "Haul in!" 
 
 Attached to the noose of his rope was another 
 rope, and a second thinner one, rigged as a 
 "whip," or communicating cord. Tied at the 
 junction was the megaphone. The intent of the 
 senders was plain. He was to bawl directions, 
 and they would obey.
 
 144 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 He fancied that by this time the topmast 
 must be near the rock, if not quite touching it, 
 but he had decided already that he would 
 either save those hapless people in the chart- 
 room or die in the attempt. 
 
 Perhaps his "wife" was there yet. Unless 
 those American sailors had broken the first law 
 of their order of chivalry, the women commit- 
 ted to their care had been safeguarded. 
 
 Well, he owed her a life. Now he might be 
 able to repay the debt in full. 
 
 He had never before handled a speaking 
 trumpet, so his initial essay was brief : 
 
 "Can you hear?" 
 
 He could just catch three faint sounds in an- 
 swer. 
 
 "As soon as a sailor can cross by the rope, 
 send one," he shouted, "I shall need help at 
 this end. I have made fast the heavy rope. 
 Shall I haul in the whip?" 
 
 There was a pause of a few seconds, but he 
 counted on that. Then he felt three tugs on 
 the thinner cord, and began to haul steadily. 
 Soon, by the sagging of the main rope and the 
 weight at the end of the whip, he realized that 
 some one was making the transit. 
 
 Before long he discerned a figure coming 
 towards him hand over hand along the rope. 
 The man's feet were caught midway by the seas 
 boiling over the reef, but Maseden knew that
 
 ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION 145 
 
 the gallant fellow's forward movement was 
 never checked, and in a very little while the 
 breathless chief officer was seated astride the 
 mast beneath him. 
 
 "Who in the world are you!" demanded the 
 newcomer; at any rate, he used words to that 
 effect. 
 
 Maseden answered in kind, and explained his 
 project; whereupon the chief officer seized the 
 megaphone and bellowed the necessary instruc- 
 tions. On a given signal the two men hauled on 
 the whip. 
 
 This time a figure lashed to a life-buoy, which, 
 in turn, was tied to a pulley traveling on the 
 guide-rope, came to them out of the darkness. 
 It was a woman, hardly in her senses, yet able 
 to obey when told to sit astride the mast and 
 hold fast to a ring. 
 
 ' * We can hardly find room for five more peo- 
 ple here," shouted the chief officer. "Are you 
 game to shin along the mast and see if that 
 loose spar is practicable yet?" 
 
 "Yes," said Maseden. 
 
 He vanished in the darkness. He was absent 
 fully five minutes, a period which, to the wait- 
 ing chief officer, who alone knew what was act- 
 ually happening, must have seemed like as many 
 hours. Then Maseden returned. By this time 
 there were two more astride the foremast, four
 
 146 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 in all. He tied the nearest one to his back with 
 a rope. 
 
 "Can you steady yourself by placing your 
 hands on my shoulders, but not around my 
 neck?" he said. 
 
 For answer two slim hands caught his shoul- 
 ders. He began working his way forward into 
 the gloom.
 
 THE LOTTEEY 
 
 MASEDEN'S prolonged absence on the first oc- 
 casion was readily accounted for by what he 
 had done. When he reached the end of the fore- 
 mast at the junction of spars known to the 
 sailor as the couplings he found that the top- 
 mast was, in fact, thrust tightly against the 
 rock wall. 
 
 Thus far, his most sanguine calculations had 
 been justified to the letter. 
 
 It was impossible to determine how the other 
 end of that precarious bridge was secured. He 
 saw at once, however, that a great strain was 
 being placed already on the stays which at- 
 tached it, by chance and loosely at first, but 
 now with ever-increasing rigidity, to the lower 
 mast. He thought that a vigorous kick would 
 ease the pressure by partly freeing one of the 
 wire ropes which had become entangled in the 
 splintered wood. 
 
 Of course, he was only choosing the lesser of 
 two evils. If the spar snapped a second time, 
 the last hope of rescue was absolutely de- 
 stroyed. On the other hand, by reducing the 
 
 147
 
 148 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 thrust on the retaining spar, the forecastle 
 might slip. 
 
 He kicked, and the stay was released! To 
 the best of his belief the wreck did not move. 
 
 Fastening the seaward end of the topmast 
 in a rough and ready fashion, in such wise that 
 it was held in position, yet allowed some play 
 if subjected to irresistible weight, he tested it 
 with one hand. It remained taut. Then, mur- 
 muring something which had the semblance of- 
 a prayer, he committed himself to the cross- 
 ing. 
 
 The wind carried his body out at an aston- 
 ishing angle, but he held on. Of course, he had 
 not far to travel, because a steamer's topmast 
 is of no great length, but, if he lives to become 
 a centenarian, Maseden will never forget the 
 extraordinary thrill of thankfulness and jubi- 
 lation which ran through every fibre when his 
 right foot rested on a projecting knob of 
 rock. 
 
 A ghostly light coming from the white mael- 
 strom beneath enabled him to make sure that 
 the crevice in which the spar had stuck ex- 
 tended some distance into the face of the cliff. 
 He scrambled ashore, and found that a narrow 
 ledge ran inward about the height of his breast. 
 It was practicable as far as a hand could reach ; 
 so, well knowing how precious was every sec- 
 ond, he commenced the return journey.
 
 THE LOTTERY 149 
 
 He simply did not allow himself to think. The 
 slightest hesitation might have been fatal. He 
 could form no sort of estimate of his own nerv- 
 ous strength. He knew that any man's will- 
 power may carry him to a certain point and 
 then desert him. He realized that he was leav- 
 ing a sort of safety for a no mean chance of 
 speedy death; but there is safety that is dis- 
 honor, and death that is everlastingly honor- 
 able. 
 
 Without any semblance of hesitation, this 
 gallant young American swung forth to the 
 desolation and chaos he had just quitted. 
 
 Nor did his spirit quail when he had deposited 
 a helpless woman on the ledge. But his hands 
 fumbled in untying the rope which had bound 
 her to him, and he became conscious of an af- 
 frighting lassitude which brought with it a 
 grimmer menace than the howling furies of the 
 reef. 
 
 He tried to persuade himself that the poncho 
 strapped to his back had made the burden of 
 another body almost unbearable. Hurriedly 
 unfastening it, he said to his collapsed com- 
 panion or, rather shouted, because the din 
 created by the breakers was almost stupefy- 
 ing: 
 
 "Are you able to hold this?" 
 
 Probably she replied, but her utterance was 
 swept away by the wind ere the words had
 
 150 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 crossed her lips. She took the folded cloak in 
 her hands, and the action sufficed. 
 
 Then Maseden left her. During this second 
 crossing to the forecastle he knew beyond range 
 of doubt that he had reached the limit of physi- 
 cal endurance. He had eaten nothing during 
 many hours, he had been knocked insensible and 
 had lost a good deal of blood. It was not in 
 human nature that any man, howsoever fit and 
 active he might be, could survive these heavy 
 drains on his energies and yet put forth the 
 sustained effort now called for. 
 
 It tasked his grit to the uttermost to go on 
 this time. He knew in his heart that a third 
 double passage was not to be thought of. 
 
 So, during the brief respite while a wholly 
 insensible woman was being tied to him, he 
 contrived to shout to the nearest man on the 
 spar: 
 
 "I'm all in ! You fellows must follow as best 
 you can. It's not so bad for a man crossing 
 alone. Turn your back to the wind." 
 
 He had adopted that method while carrying 
 the girl already on the rock, and the force of 
 the gale had seemed to exert less drag on his 
 arms. 
 
 It needed a real life-and-death struggle to 
 gain the ledge this time. During a minute or 
 longer ho could not even endeavor to undo the 
 rope. He merely lurched forward on to the
 
 TEE LOTTERY 151 
 
 tiny platform and sank in a heap with the inert 
 body of a girl bound to his back. Then he felt 
 dizzily that someone was gaming a foothold 
 on the rock behind. With a mighty effort he 
 bundled his own body and the girl 's out of the 
 way. 
 
 He fancied he heard a shout and a scream, 
 but was beyond knowing or caring what had 
 happened. Had he slipped down into the rag- 
 ing vortex beneath and been whirled to almost 
 instant death he would have felt a sense of re- 
 lief that the long drawn-out and unequal fight 
 was ended. 
 
 He revived under the stress of a new horror. 
 He found himself gazing blankly into a dim ob- 
 scurity in which there was neither broken top- 
 mast nor unheaved forecastle. The tons of 
 metal piled on a slippery rock had vanished 
 completely, and the hapless few who had sur- 
 vived the slow agony of those hours of waiting 
 in the chart-room were hurled to death at the 
 very moment when fate tantalized them with 
 the prospect of rescue ! 
 
 Someone bawled huskily in his ear : 
 
 ' ' They Ve gone ! My God ! What rotten luck ! 
 I could almost have touched the man crossing 
 behind me ! ... Can we get these girls out of 
 this? . . . Which way did you come?'* 
 
 It was the young American passenger, Stur- 
 gess. He imagined that the man who had
 
 152 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 brought hope and life to the doomed survivors 
 of the Southern Cross had reached the vessel 
 from the land and could now pilot the three 
 who alone were saved to some place where food 
 and repose would be attainable. 
 
 "I'm tied to someone," Maseden contrived 
 to say. * i Try and unfasten the rope, and shove 
 me up on to the ledge. ... I'm all in, but I'll 
 soon be better. . . . Mind you hold fast your- 
 self!" 
 
 Sturgess, though only a degree less ex- 
 hausted, did as he was asked. Sprawling 
 weakly over the prostrate body of the second of 
 the two girls, Maseden felt in the darkness for 
 the other one. 
 
 He discovered that she had collapsed side- 
 ways in a faint, but, by some marvel, the folded 
 cloak had not rolled down the side of the preci- 
 pice. His hands were feeble and numb, but he 
 contrived to unfasten the strap. The bottle of 
 brandy was uninjured, and, so unnerved was he 
 by knowing that the spirit probably meant all 
 the difference between life and death for four 
 people at any rate till dawn that he actually 
 dropped it. 
 
 Again Providence intervened. It fell on the 
 thick poncho, and did not break. 
 
 Filled with savage resolve to conquer this 
 weakness, he grasped the bottle more firmly, 
 drew the cork with his teeth, and, resisting the
 
 THE LOTTERY 153 
 
 impulse to swallow the contents in great gulps, 
 sipped some of the liquor slowly. 
 
 He did not offer any to the others at that mo- 
 ment. His mind was clearing now, and he saw 
 that the one vital thing needed was that he 
 should recover control of his mental and bodily 
 powers. A few minutes more or less of collapse 
 mattered not so much to his companions as that 
 he should lead or carry them to a less exposed 
 position. Then the brandy would be really ef- 
 fective. At present, to hand it around in the 
 darkness, while wind and spindrift were whip- 
 ping them with scorpions, was merely courting 
 the disaster which he himself had so narrowly 
 averted. 
 
 The other man had gained the ledge. He 
 could not see Maseden, because each inch of 
 space increased an obscurity already akin to 
 that of a tomb, but he leaned forward and 
 caught his arm. 
 
 "Say!" he yelled. "Isn't there some way 
 out ? We '11 die quick if we stop here ! ' ' 
 
 "You must wait a little," said Maseden. "I, 
 like yourself, was on board the ship. I'm 
 going to stand up now and prospect a bit by 
 feeling my way. Take care that neither of 
 the women falls off. They are women, aren't 
 they?" 
 
 "Yes. D'ye think we'd send men ashore 
 first?"
 
 154 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "I was not certain that both girls were still 
 living. ' ' 
 
 "What a time and place for a discussion on 
 the etiquette of life-saving at sea ! It was typi- 
 cal of their race and type. 
 
 Placing the bottle in a breast pocket Maseden 
 rose cautiously to his feet. Gripping the rock 
 with his hands, he stepped over the unconscious 
 form of the first girl he brought ashore. Evi- 
 dently she had collapsed when the forecastle 
 was swept away before her eyes. 
 
 The ledge led straight into the crevice he had 
 entered during daylight, and though very un- 
 even, trended generally upward. He had to 
 depend, of course, wholly on the sense of touch, 
 since the darkness here was that of a deep 
 mine. 
 
 Some thirty feet inland he was halted ab- 
 ruptly. The ledge seemed to widen out and 
 then end against an overhanging rock. But 
 the place was dry, and the wind hardly pene- 
 trated, while the deafening thunder of the reef 
 had died down to a harsh growl. By compari- 
 son with the sea face this secluded nook was a 
 niche in Paradise. At any rate, here it was pos- 
 sible to await daylight without necessarily dy- 
 ing from exposure. 
 
 He hurried back, having memorized each in- 
 equality of floor and wall on the journey of ex- 
 ploration.
 
 THE LOTTERY 155 
 
 "Are you able to carry one of those girls?" 
 he shouted to Sturgess when he was once more 
 in the midst of the external uproar. 
 
 "How far!" 
 
 "Not more than fifteen short strides. Take 
 her in your left arm, and feel the rock face on 
 the right. Keep close in. I'm not certain about 
 the width of this ledge. It rises a little, but is 
 fairly straight." 
 
 "Go right ahead!" 
 
 Soon the two men were in the haven of shel- 
 ter at the further end. Each was clasping an 
 inanimate woman, but happily, speech no longer 
 demanded a straining of vocal chords. 
 
 "Is this the limit of the accommodation?" 
 inquired Sturgess, obeying his guide's restrain- 
 ing hand. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Do we sit right down and hope that the sun 
 will rise sometime!" 
 
 "Not yet. . . . Here! Grope this way. I 
 am giving you a bottle of brandy. Drink some, 
 not much, because we must hoard it. Then we '11 
 try and get a few drops between these girls' 
 teeth. After that we must rub their hands and 
 ankles till the friction hurts. It may revive 
 them. I don't know. It is the only plan I can 
 think of. When they recover, if ever, we'll seat 
 them side by side with their backs to the rock, 
 you and I will squeeze close, one on each side,
 
 156 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 and I have a poncho which will cover the lot, 
 By that means we may obtain some degree of 
 warmth in common." 
 
 1 * Old man, you said a page full ! ' ' 
 
 There was silence for a few seconds. Then 
 Sturgess said gratefully: 
 
 "Gee! That's some tonic! Now, how about 
 those girls I ' ' 
 
 ' * Give me the bottle. This lady was conscious 
 when I brought her ashore. She may recover 
 quickly. ' ' 
 
 The almost tangible blackness in which the 
 little group of people was wrapped greatly en- 
 hanced the difficulties attending restorative 
 measures. Maseden discovered that the abund- 
 ant hair of the girl he was hugging so closely 
 to his heart had become loose, and was in a wet 
 tangle about her throat and mouth. 
 
 The clinging strands were troublesome, but, 
 by prizing her lips open between a finger and 
 thumb, he contrived to make her swallow a few 
 drops of the brandy. In fact, while he was yet 
 doubting the efficacy of the dose, some slight 
 convulsive movements showed that conscious- 
 ness was returning. 
 
 He laid her carefully down, and told the 
 American to do likewise with the sister. Stur- 
 gess seemed to be curiously slow to obey, and 
 Maseden admonished him sharply, thinking the 
 other might be dazed.
 
 THE LOTTERY 157 
 
 "Now, rub hard!" he said. "First her left 
 hand then her left ankle." 
 
 Both set to work with a will. Maseden could 
 not understand why the unhappy girl should 
 be nearly naked. The stockings had fallen 
 about her shoes. For the rest, her chief gar- 
 ment was an oilskin coat. 
 
 He, be it remembered, had been spared the 
 hard usage of the waves, and his clothing was 
 better adapted to existing conditions. He was 
 shocked to find how cold she was, how icy and 
 lifeless her flesh. He urged Sturgess not to 
 spare her. 
 
 Their rough and ready massage soon proved 
 effective. The girl gasped something incoher- 
 ent, and strove to withdraw her limbs from a 
 distinctly strenuous handling. 
 
 "She's nearly all right, now," announced 
 Maseden briskly. "Sharp's the word with the 
 other one." 
 
 The second patient offered a longer task. 
 By the time she gave any sign of life her sister 
 was frantically asking what had become of her, 
 and was only quieted by Maseden saying 
 sternly : 
 
 "You will help most by not bothering us. We 
 are doing our best for your sister. She is here, 
 and may recover. That is all I can tell you. ' ' 
 
 "We? Who ^are we?" came the broken 
 cry.
 
 158 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "Mr. Sturgess, yourself, your sister and I. 
 My name is Maseden." 
 
 He caught a strangled gasp of astonishment, 
 but Sturgess broke in breathlessly, for the ex- 
 ertion was warming him : 
 
 "Great Scott ! You've got my name pat, Mr. 
 Maseden. D'ye mean to tell me you were 
 on board that poor old ship?" 
 
 "Rub! And don't talk! ... She moved a 
 little then." 
 
 His judgment was well founded. Within a 
 few minutes he heard the second girl address 
 her sister as Nina. 
 
 So this one was Madge, his wife ! He had lit- 
 erally brought her back from the very gates of 
 death. He could not even see her. What a 
 curious coincidence that when she saved his 
 life, and he saved hers, she was equally hidden 
 from him; then by a veil, now by the pall of 
 the darkest night he had ever experienced ! 
 
 The girls began exchanging broken confi- 
 dences. Madge, who had fainted while being 
 towed across the fearsome chasm between 
 bridge and forecastle, did not know of the loss 
 of the captain and chief and second officers, 
 with a passenger, until told by Nina. She wept 
 bitterly, and Maseden could not help noticing 
 that Sturgess tried to console her in a very 
 lover-like manner. 
 
 He actually smiled at the tragic humor of it
 
 THE LOTTERY 159 
 
 all, especially when Nina seemed to sense his 
 thought, and valiantly interfered by bidding 
 Madge not to add to their misery by useless 
 grief. He refrained purposely from giving 
 them any more brandy until some time had 
 elapsed. Now that their faculties were re- 
 stored, he knew, from his own experiences, that 
 their tongues and palates were on fire with the 
 salt-laden atmosphere they had perforce in- 
 haled during so many hours. 
 
 But each minute of quiet in this sheltered 
 nook, and in breathable air, would do much to 
 alleviate their suffering, and he trusted to the 
 brandy to put them to sleep. 
 
 In effect, that was what actually happened. 
 When each of the four had swallowed a small 
 quantity of the spirit Maseden and Sturgess 
 nestled in beside the two girls and tucked the 
 poncho over knees and feet. The bodies of the 
 men served as excellent shields. In the physi- 
 cal and mental reaction which set in with the 
 consciousness of assured safety because that 
 was what both girls thought, and neither man 
 cared to weaken their faith they were sound 
 asleep within half an hour of the time they left 
 the wreck. 
 
 Sturgess, too, was worn out, and slept fit- 
 fully, but it was long before Maseden 's over- 
 taxed nerves would yield. He could not help 
 speculating as to what wretched hap the com-
 
 160 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 ing day might bring. There was a gnawing 
 dread in his mind that they might be lodged in 
 a fissure of an unscalable cliff. If that were 
 so, what a fearsome prospect lay before them ! 
 The mere notion was unendurable, and he reso- 
 lutely refused to dwell on it. 
 
 Then he mused on the queer chance which, 
 even in this small company, divorced him from 
 his wife. He had rescued Nina first. By the 
 accident of situation he was nearest the rock 
 which closed the ledge, and she next. It was 
 her body, not his wife's, to which he was close 
 pressed, and in which his more vigorous frame 
 had already induced a certain comfortable 
 warmth. 
 
 Her head had fallen on his shoulder. An 
 unconscious movement revealed that some 
 roughness in the rock wall was hurtful, so he 
 put his left arm around her neck and pillowed 
 her gently. 
 
 Try as he might, he found himself still brood- 
 ing on the chances of the coming day. Fortune 
 favoring, they might find a way to the summit 
 of the cliff. Would they be much better off? 
 "Water they would surely obtain but what of 
 food? 
 
 Somehow, in such woful plight, a man's mind 
 iurns instinctively to a pipe. He actually had 
 a cherished briar between his teeth and a to- 
 bacco pouch in his hand, when his heart sank
 
 THE LOTTERY 161 
 
 at the remembrance that he had struck the last 
 match in the only box of matches in his pocket 
 after breakfast that morning. He recollected 
 tossing the empty box into the sea. Subse- 
 quently, in lighting a cigar, he had borrowed a 
 match. 
 
 Searching his pockets without disturbing the 
 exhausted girl by his side, he made sure of the 
 unhappy truth. He had no match. Even if 
 they reached the interior of the island they 
 could not possibly start a fire. 
 
 He knew at once that Sturgess, who had been 
 soaked in salt water for many hours, was in a 
 worse predicament than himself, because his 
 own clothing was dry inside, whereas the other 
 was wet to the skin, and any matches he might 
 have carried must be in a pulp. 
 
 Tucked away in a money belt, Maseden car- 
 ried ten thousand dollars in American bills, yet 
 one small box of matches would be of far 
 greater practical value in that hour than all the 
 money. Slight wonder, then, if his stout heart 
 failed him at last and the darkness closed in 
 on his soul as on his eyes. 
 
 The sleeping girl, conscious only of warmth 
 and protection, snuggled her head a little 
 nearer. 
 
 "Mother, darling," she murmured, "we had 
 to do it! We had no choice. It was for your 
 dear sake!"
 
 162 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 That was all some troubled confidence of a 
 dream but it sufficed to set Maseden musing 
 on the strange vortex into which fate had sucked 
 him from the peace and seclusion of Los Andes 
 ranch. 
 
 His mind wandered. He saw again the mag- 
 nificent groves of mahogany trees and coyal 
 palms, with their golden flowers fully three feet 
 in height, and the chicka sap oozing from the 
 bark. He sauntered through the well-cultivated 
 plantations of bananas, yams, arrow-root, 
 guavas, and all the fruit and cereals which that 
 favored region of Central America produces in 
 such abundance that men grow lazy and are 
 content to plot and thieve rather than toil. He 
 particularly recalled a number of "chocolate" 
 trees, the marvelous growth which yields a 
 more delicately flavored beverage than the 
 cocoa-tree. 
 
 The original owner of the ranch prided him- 
 self on these trees botanically, the Herrania 
 purpurea because they were not indigenous 
 to San Juan, but had been brought from Guate- 
 mala. Los Andes ranch was indeed a veritable 
 Garden of Eden. 
 
 While roaming through it in spirit Maseden 
 dropped off to sleep. 
 
 And that was a kindly act on the part of a 
 Providence which marks even the fall of a spar- 
 row from a house-top. A full day lay before
 
 THE LOTTERY 163 
 
 this man and those others committed to his 
 care. Even a couple of hours* fitful repose 
 served as a splendid restorative. Without some 
 such respite he could never have faced and car- 
 ried through the almost Sisyphean task which 
 awaited him at daylight. 
 
 He awoke with a shiver. He was chilled to 
 the bone. Not knowing what he was doing, he 
 had drawn the poncho closely over Nina Gray, 
 leaving his own limbs almost uncovered. Star- 
 tled lest the others might be stiff in death, since 
 his clothes were dry, while theirs, such as they 
 possessed, were wet, he touched the girl's cheek. 
 It was quite warm and soft. 
 
 The oilskins she and her sister wore and the 
 huddling together of the four under the heavy 
 poncho had generated a moist heat which prob- 
 ably helped to preserve the two delicate women 
 from some type of deadly pneumonia. 
 
 At first it did not strike Maseden as strange 
 that he should be able to see her face. As the 
 initial feeling of panic passed, and he glanced 
 around, he understood what had happened. The 
 sky was clear, and the moon, late risen, was 
 spreading a mild radiance over rocks and 
 sea. 
 
 By raising himself a little, so as not to dis- 
 turb the sleeper still trustfully tucked under 
 his arm, he peered sidewise down on the reef. 
 The tide was high, and great rollers were
 
 164 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 smashing over the barrier which had broken the 
 Southern Cross. 
 
 So far as he could tell, not a vestige of the 
 ship remained. Bridge and chart-house had 
 vanished. He fancied that some part of the 
 framework accounted for a particularly vexed 
 boiling of the surges on a spot where the en- 
 gines and stoke-hold had lodged. But that was 
 only guesswork. 
 
 The morning tide had done its work with 
 thoroughness. The Southern Cross had be- 
 come a memory. 
 
 Then he surveyed the ledge and the cleft. Ap- 
 parently, at this point, he was some twenty feet 
 above high-water mark. To the left was the 
 sea. To the right, the rock overhung the ledge 
 in such wise that the place was almost a cave. 
 This fact, combined with the elevation of the 
 opposite wall, explained the shelter the cast- 
 aways had been vouchsafed from the bitter gale 
 now blowing itself out. But it was affrighting 
 to realize that the very physical feature which 
 provided a refuge might also immure them in a 
 living tomb. 
 
 He shuddered, and moved involuntarily, and 
 the girl awoke with a start. 
 
 She lifted her head, and gazed at him with 
 uncomprehending eyes. 
 
 " Where am I?" she said, rather in wonder- 
 ment than alarm.
 
 THE LOTTERY 165 
 
 "Somewhere on the coast of Chile, " he 
 said. 
 
 She extricated a hand from the folds of the 
 poncho and swept the errant hair from her face. 
 Turning partly, she looked at her sister and 
 Sturgess. 
 
 "I remember now," she said slowly. Then 
 she discovered that Maseden's arm was sup- 
 porting her shoulders. 
 
 ' ' Have you held me like that all night I ' ' she 
 inquired. 
 
 " 'All night' is a figure of speech. It is not 
 yet daybreak. This is moonlight." 
 
 * ' The moon ! Does the moon still shine ? But 
 your arm must be weary. ' ' 
 
 Maseden was just beginning to realize that 
 he owned a left arm. Circulation was being re- 
 stored, and he knew it. 
 
 "Now that you mention it," he said quietly, 
 "I believe it is." 
 
 She spoke again, but he was in such agony 
 that he broke out in a perspiration, a most for- 
 tunate circumstance, since he was perished with 
 cold. The spasm did not last long, however, 
 and he found his voice again. 
 
 "Are you Miss Nina Gray?" he asked, and, 
 in the same breath, was conscious of the absurd 
 formality of the question in the conditions. 
 
 She did not answer. 
 
 "We may as well become acquainted," he
 
 166 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 went on, smiling at the queer turn their first 
 words had taken. 
 
 "Now I remember everything," she said, 
 burying her face in her hands. 
 
 "I can't have you crying," he muttered with 
 a certain roughness. "Tears won't help. We're 
 in a pretty bad fix, and must meet developments 
 calmly. ' ' 
 
 "I'm not crying," she said, dropping her 
 hands, and looking at him as though to offer 
 proof. 
 
 "Then you can at least tell me your name, 
 though I'm almost sure that you are Nina. 
 Even here, your sister, who is also my wife, 
 keeps away from me." 
 
 "That is unjust. You saved both of us, but 
 I kept my senses, and she did not. You asked 
 me if I was Nina Gray. I am not. My name 
 is Nina Forbes." 
 
 Maseden was stung into a revolt as fantastic 
 as it was sudden. 
 
 "Good Lord!" he cried. "Are you mar- 
 ried?" 
 
 "Please let me explain. Mr. Gray was not 
 my father, but my stepfather. My mother mar- 
 ried again. I wanted to tell you. But does it 
 really matter? Why are we discussing such 
 trivial things ? Are we four the only survivors 
 of the wreck?" 
 
 "I suppose so."
 
 THE LOTTERY 167 
 
 "Mr. Gray died while we were in the chart- 
 room. He was an invalid a neurotic. He 
 could not withstand hardship of any sort. But 
 the captain and chief officer were behind me on 
 that mast. . . . Ah! I had forgotten that. I 
 fainted, didn't I? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Madge stirred uneasily. Their voices had 
 aroused her. 
 
 "Don't be unkind to Madge," said the girl 
 hurriedly. * * Neither of us could help what hap- 
 pened in San Juan. We thought we were act- 
 ing for the best. Our lives are still in jeopardy, 
 I imagine. Won't you be good and forget that 
 unfortunate marriage?" 
 
 "I won't talk of it, if that is what you mean. 
 But I can hardly regard it as unfortunate. It 
 undoubtedly saved my life." 
 
 Madge awoke with a cry. 
 
 "Nina!" she screamed. "Oh, Nina, is that 
 you? Are we really alive?"
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE VIGIL 
 
 STUEGESS awoke, too. Soon they were talking 
 freely, and Maseden not only learned the heart- 
 breaking story Of the dozen refugees pent in the 
 chart-house, but was told how he himself came 
 by the blow on the head which took away his 
 senses. 
 
 Madge Gray, or Forbes, as he must now call 
 her, was moved to thank Providence for the 
 intervention of the Spanish sailor. 
 
 "If that man hadn't picked you up, Mr. Mase- 
 den," she said, "you would have been washed 
 overboard a few seconds later. Then nothing 
 could have saved any of us." 
 
 She seemed to be completely unaware of the 
 sensation she created by addressing her res- 
 cuer by name. Maseden felt Nina's nervous 
 little start, but Sturgess put his astonishment 
 into words. 
 
 "Maseden!" he cried. "You know our 
 friend, then?" 
 
 "I I heard his name before on the ship," 
 came the faltered answer. 
 
 "Well, you heard more than 7 did. . . . Are 
 
 168
 
 THE VIGIL 169 
 
 you the mysterious English-speaking vaquero 
 who lived in the forecastle?" and the ques- 
 tioner bent a puzzled face sideways to try and 
 discern the other man's features. 
 
 "Yes," said Maseden promptly. "There 
 need be no mystery about it now. I got into 
 trouble in Cartagena, shot the president-elect, 
 and escaped in the disguise of a Spanish cow- 
 boy." 
 
 "Gee!" exclaimed Sturgess. 
 
 For some reason best known to himself he 
 displayed no further curiosity in the matter, 
 though he might well have wondered how Madge 
 Forbes had come to identify that picturesque- 
 looking person, Kamon Aliones, with the Amer- 
 ican whose exploits had set all Cartagena agog 
 the day before the Southern Cross sailed. 
 
 There was an uncomfortable pause, which 
 Maseden broke by a laugh. 
 
 "So you see, Mr. Sturgess, I owed you a good 
 turn, though you never guessed it. By your 
 kindness in letting me carry your bag and share 
 your boat I got away from my pursuers with- 
 out attracting attention." 
 
 "Gee!" said Sturgess again. 
 
 His comment probably denoted bewilderment. 
 It may also have shown that the speaker had 
 just ascertained something which supplied food 
 for thought. In the half light Maseden allowed 
 himself to smile, because the conceit instantly
 
 170 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 leaped into his mind that his fellow-countryman 
 might have been told of that amazing marriage, 
 and was now engaged in fitting together certain 
 pieces of the puzzle. 
 
 If, for instance, Sturgess suspected that 
 Madge Forbes was the lady who figured in that 
 extraordinary episode, he must realize that in 
 paying her such marked attention during the 
 voyage he had placed himself, if not her, in a 
 somewhat equivocal position. 
 
 "I had reason to believe that the captain 
 recognized me," went on Maseden. "Probably 
 that is how Miss Forbes came to hear my 
 name." 
 
 "Miss Forbes!" 
 
 There was no mistaking the new note of sur- 
 prise, even of annoyance, in Sturgess 's voice. 
 He was gathering information at a rapid rate, 
 and evidently found some difficulty in assimi- 
 lating it. 
 
 "Yes," broke in Nina Forbes. "That is my 
 sister's name, and my own. Mr. Gray was our 
 stepfather. We passed as his daughters while 
 traveling. The arrangement prevented all sorts 
 of misunderstandings. In any event, it con- 
 cerned none but ourselves. I only mentioned 
 the fact casually to Mr. Maseden a few minutes 
 ago." 
 
 Some men might have caught a rebuke in the 
 girl's words. Not so Sturgess.
 
 THE VIGIL 171 
 
 "I'm tickled to death at hearing it, anyhow," 
 he said cheerfully. "The one thing I couldn't 
 understand was how you two girls could be that 
 poor chap's daughters. . . . "Well, now we're 
 all properly introduced, let's talk as though 
 we really knew one another. Has any one 
 the beginning of a notion as to the time." 
 
 Then Maseden remembered that he was wear- 
 ing a watch which he had wound that morning. 
 He produced it, and was able to discern the 
 hands. 
 
 "A quarter past two," he announced. 
 
 A silence fell on them. Somehow the inti- 
 mate and homely fact that one of the little com- 
 pany possessed a watch which had not stopped 
 served rather to enhance than allay the sense 
 of peril and abandonment which their brief talk 
 had dispelled for the moment. A soldier who 
 took part in that glorious but terrible retreat 
 from Mons confessed afterwards that his 
 spirit quailed once, and that was when he 
 read the route names on a London suburban 
 omnibus lying disabled and abandoned by the 
 roadside. 
 
 The Marble Arch, Edgware Road, Maida 
 Vale and Cricklewood what had these familiar 
 localities to do with the crash of shell-fire and 
 the spattering of bullets on the pave ? Simi- 
 larly, the forlorn castaways on Hanover Island 
 felt that a watch was an absurdly civilized thing
 
 172 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 among the loud-voiced savageries of wind and 
 wave. 
 
 The moonlight died away, too, with a sud- 
 denness that was almost unnerving. True, the 
 moon had only vanished behind a cloud-bank. 
 But her face was veiled effectually, and the 
 growing darkness soon showed that she would 
 not be visible again that night. 
 
 They tried to sleep, but the effort failed. Lack 
 of food was a more serious matter now than 
 mere physical exhaustion. All four were young 
 and vigorous enough to withstand fatigue, and 
 to wake up refreshed after the brief repose they 
 had already enjoyed. 
 
 But they were stiff and cramped, and their 
 blood was beginning to yield to a deadly chill. 
 Though they huddled together as closely as 
 possible, there was no resisting the steady en- 
 croachment of the bitter cold. 
 
 At last Maseden counseled that they all stand 
 up, and, despite the urgent need of conserving 
 their energies, obtain some measure of warmth 
 by stretching their limbs and breathing 
 deeply. 
 
 He even suggested that they should sing, but 
 the effort to start a popular chorus was such 
 a lamentable failure that they laughed dis- 
 mally. 
 
 Then he tried story telling. He judged, and 
 quite rightly, that the majority of his hearers
 
 THE VIGIL 173 
 
 would be deeply interested in a recital of his 
 own recent adventures. 
 
 Greatly daring, he left out no detail, and, in 
 a darkness which was almost tangible because 
 of its density, he was well aware how alert was 
 every ear to catch the true version of an ex- 
 traordinary marriage. 
 
 No one interrupted. They just listened in- 
 tently. Once, when he asked if he was weary- 
 ing them by a too exact description of events at 
 the ranch after his escape, Nina Forbes said 
 quietly : 
 
 "Please tell us everything, Mr. Maseden. I 
 have never heard anything half so interesting. 
 You have caused me to forget where I am, and 
 I can give you no higher praise." 
 
 At last he made an end, dwelling purposely 
 on the light note of his troubles with the Span- 
 ish sailor who claimed a vested right in him 
 after the incident of the falling block. 
 
 Sturgess put a direct question or two. 
 
 "You don't seem to have any sort of a notion 
 as to who the lady was!" he began. 
 
 "I only know that her Christian name was 
 Madeleine," answered Maseden readily. "She 
 was about to sign the register when the idea 
 of getting out of the Castle dawned on me, and, 
 from that instant, I thought of nothing else. I 
 hadn't much time, you know. The plan had to 
 be concocted and carried out almost in the same
 
 174 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 breath. And there was no room for failure. 
 The least slip, either in time or method, and I 
 was a dead man." 
 
 "Madeleine!" mused Sturgess aloud. "She 
 was English, or American, I suppose?" 
 
 "American, I imagine. Undoubtedly one or 
 the other." 
 
 "And that fat Steinbaum was the marriage 
 broker! I know Steinbaum a thug, if ever 
 there was one. . . . What are you going to do 
 about it, Mr. Maseden ? ' ' 
 
 "Do about what?" 
 
 "Well, if you win clear from this present 
 rather doubtful proposition and we 're backing 
 you in that for all we're worth, ain't we, girls? 
 you're tied up to a wife whom you don't 
 know, and I guess the one place in which you're 
 likely to find her is off the map for you for 
 keeps." 
 
 "I'm not versed in the law," laughed Mase- 
 den, "but it will be a queer thing if I should 
 be compelled to regard myself as married to a 
 lady whom I have seen, certainly, but do not 
 want. ' ' 
 
 "How do you know you don't want her?" 
 
 ' ' I know nothing whatsoever about her. ' ' 
 
 "That's just it. That's where you may be 
 hipped. She may be a peach, the finest ever. 
 Suppose, for the sake of argument, one of these 
 two, Miss Madge or Miss Nina "
 
 TEE VIGIL 175 
 
 "The lady's name happened to be Made- 
 leine," put in Madge instantly. "If the cere- 
 mony was meant to be valid she would undoubt- 
 edly sign her right name." 
 
 * ' Just so. You missed my point. ' ' 
 
 Maseden thought it advisable to come to the 
 rescue. He had conveyed to the one vitally in- 
 terested listener that her secret was safe for the 
 time, and this should suffice. 
 
 "I am inclined to think that I shall be proof 
 against my nominal wife's charms, no matter 
 how great they may be," he said emphatically. 
 "There is a romantic side to the affair, I ad- 
 mit, but I cannot blind myself to the fact that 
 it possesses a prosaic one as well. Association 
 with a skunk like Steinbaum is hardly the best 
 of credentials, in the first place. Secondly, one 
 asks what motive any woman could have in 
 wishing to marry a man condemned to die. I'm 
 not flattering myself that my personal quali- 
 fications carried much weight. 
 
 "Admittedly, the lady wanted to wed because 
 I was about to disappear. I give her the credit 
 of believing that she would never have gone 
 through with the farce if she had the least rea- 
 son to think that I would not be dead within the 
 next half hour. But the fact remains that she 
 was callous and calculating whether to serve 
 her own ends or some other person's is imma- 
 terial. . . . No, Mr. Sturgess ; when, if ever, I
 
 176 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 choose a wife, it is long odds against her name 
 being Madeleine." 
 
 Nina Forbes laughed, though her teeth chat- 
 tered with the cold. 
 
 * ' The calm way in which men speak of ' choos- 
 ing' a wife always amuses me/' she said. "If 
 any man told me he had 'chosen' me I should 
 feel inclined to box his ears." 
 
 "It isn't the best of words," put in Sturgess 
 promptly, "but it conveys a real compliment. 
 A fellow meets a girl, the girl, and some electri- 
 cal arrangement jangles at the back of his head. 
 'This is it/ says a voice. 'Go to it, good and 
 hard,' and he goes. That's the only sort of 
 choice he's given. The girl can always turn 
 him down, you know. Still, she can 't help feel- 
 ing flattered. She says to herself, 'That poor 
 fellow, Charles K. Sturgess, is only a mutt, but 
 he did think me the best ever, so he had good 
 taste.' What do you think, Miss Madge?" 
 
 Then he and the others discovered that 
 Madge was crying. The frivolous chatter in- 
 tended to hide a dread reality had failed in its 
 object. They were shivering with cold again, 
 and ever more conscious of gnawing hunger. 
 The prospect of escape was more than doubt- 
 ful. Fate seemed to be playing a pitiless game 
 with every soul on board the Southern Cross, 
 having swept some to instant death, while re- 
 taining others for destruction by idle whim.
 
 THE VIGIL 177 
 
 The renewed darkness, the continuous uproar 
 of the reef, had broken the girl's nerve. 
 
 Maseden fancied that he had placed too great 
 a strain on her by detailing with such precision 
 the sequence of events during those crowded 
 hours at Cartagena. 
 
 "I think," he said gravely, "that we ought 
 to lie down again, and await patiently the com- 
 ing of daylight. The sun rises, no matter what 
 else may happen, and dawn cannot be long de- 
 layed now." 
 
 They obeyed him. They looked to him for 
 guidance, but they were glad he did not call for 
 any effort. Even the light-hearted, apparently 
 irresponsible Sturgess, who, if he had to die, 
 would depart this life with a jest on his lips, 
 was stilled by the sheer hopelessness of their 
 condition. 
 
 After one of those hours which seem to be- 
 long to eternity rather than to time, a quality 
 of grayness made itself felt in the overwhelm- 
 ing gloom. Soon the serrated edge of the oppo- 
 site wall of rock became a fixed and rigid thing 
 against a background of cloud. In this new 
 world of horror and suffering the break of day, 
 to all appearances, came from the west ! 
 
 This phenomenon was easily explained. Near 
 by, on the east, rose the tremendous peaks of 
 the Andes, so the plain of the sea on the western 
 horizon caught the first shafts of light long be-
 
 178 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 fore they filtered into the fiords and gorges of 
 the coast-line tucked in at the base of those 
 great hills. 
 
 Not that it mattered a jot to those desolate 
 ones where the snn rose that day. They would 
 have given little heed had the earth rolled over 
 on a new axis, and dawn come from the South 
 Pole! 
 
 As soon as daylight was sufficiently advanced 
 to render the rock fissures clearly visible, 
 Maseden roused his tiny flock from the stupor 
 of sheer exhaustion. He was a man born to 
 lead, and the necessity to spur on and exhort 
 others proved his own salvation. He was stiff 
 and sore, and his head still ached abominably, 
 but he rose to his feet with an energetic 
 shout that quickened the blood in his hearers* 
 veins. 
 
 "Now, folk," he said, "the first order of the 
 day is breakfast, and then strike camp ! ' ' 
 
 Breakfast ! They thought he was crazy. But 
 he took the bottle of brandy from a crevice in 
 which he had lodged it securely overnight, and 
 Sturgess uttered a cackling laugh. 
 
 "I'm doing pretty well for a life-long tee- 
 totaller," he wheezed. "When a fellow like me 
 falls off the water-wagon, he generally drops 
 with a dull thud, but 7 must have set up a rec- 
 ord. After lunching and dining yesterday on 
 claret, I supped on brandy last night and am
 
 THE VIGIL 179 
 
 about to breakfast on the same. . . . Girls, 
 help yourself and pass the decanter!" 
 
 Maseden held up the bottle to the light. It 
 had never contained more than a pint, and 
 nearly half had gone. A small coin served as 
 a measure to divide the contents into five por- 
 tions. 
 
 "Each of us drinks a peseta-worth," he said. 
 "There must be neither half measures nor ex- 
 tra ones. The last peseta-worth remains in the 
 bottle. Is that agreed ! ' ' 
 
 "I want very little, please," said Nina 
 Forbes. "Just enough to moisten my lips and 
 tongue " 
 
 "You're going to do as you're bid," was the 
 gruff answer. "I advise you to sip your por- 
 tion, by all means, but you must take it. As a 
 penalty for disobedience, you'll start." 
 
 She made no further protest, but swallowed 
 her dose meekly. Sister Madge followed. Stur- 
 gess was minded to argue, but met Maseden 's 
 dour glance, and took his share. The first 
 mouthful of the spirit acted on him like an elixir 
 of life. He drank down to the allotted mark, 
 and handed the bottle to Maseden. 
 
 "Now, girls," he chortled, "this is the guy 
 who really needs watching. If he doesn't play 
 fair let's heave him into the sea." 
 
 So three pairs of eyes saw to it that their 
 rescuer had his full allowance. Then the bottle
 
 180 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 was put away, and the castaways took stock 
 of their surroundings. 
 
 At first sight the position was grotesquely 
 disheartening. Beneath, to the left, was the 
 sea. Behind them rose an overhanging wall of 
 rock, which swung round to the right and cut 
 off the ledge. The cleft itself was some twelve 
 feet wide, and the opposite wall rose fully ten 
 feet. In a word, no chamois or mountain goat 
 could have made the transit. 
 
 They all surveyed the situation from every 
 point of view afforded by the fifteen feet of 
 ledge. There was no reason to express opin- 
 ions. Escape, in any direction, looked frankly 
 impossible. 
 
 Then Maseden examined the cleft beneath. 
 
 "We cannot go up," he said quietly. "In 
 that case, as we certainly don't mean to stay 
 here, I'm going down." 
 
 It was feasible, with care, to climb down to 
 sea level, but the huge rollers breaking over 
 the reef sent a heavy back-wash against the 
 cliff. The swirl of water rose and fell three feet 
 at a time, with enough force to throw the 
 strongest man off his balance. 
 
 "Do you mean that you intend jumping into 
 the sea, Mr. Maseden?" said Madge Forbes. 
 
 She was quite calm now. She put that vital 
 question as coolly as though it implied nothing 
 more than a swimmer's pastime. Their eyes
 
 TEE VIGIL 181 
 
 clashed, and, for the first time, the man saw 
 that Madge possessed no small share, of Nina's 
 self-control. Her earlier collapse was of the 
 body, not of the soul. 
 
 "It doesn't mean that I shall willingly com- 
 mit suicide," he answered. "If it comes to 
 that, I suggest that we all go together. I'm 
 merely taking a prospecting trip. There's no 
 way out above. I must see what offers below.' 7 
 
 Without another word he sat on the lip of the 
 rock on which they stood, and lowered himself 
 to a tiny ledge which gave foothold. They 
 watched him making his way down. It was no 
 easy climb, but he did not hurry. Twice he ad- 
 vanced, and climbed a little higher to a point 
 whence descent was more practicable. At last 
 he vanished. 
 
 Sturgess, craning his neck over the seaward 
 side of their narrow perch, could not see him, 
 while the growl of the reef shut out all minor 
 sounds. 
 
 Maseden was not long absent, but the three 
 people whom he had left confessed afterwards 
 that of all the nerve-racking experiences they 
 had undergone since the ship struck, that silent 
 waiting was the worst. 
 
 At last he reappeared. Nina, farthest up the 
 cleft, was the first to see him, and she cried 
 shrilly : 
 
 "Oh, thank God! He's got a rope!"
 
 182 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 A rope! Of what avail was a rope? Yet 
 three hearts thrilled with great expectation. 
 Why should Maseden bring a rope? It meant 
 something, some plan, some definite means to- 
 wards the one great object. They had an 
 abounding faith in him. 
 
 The rope was slung around his shoulders in 
 a noose, and he seemed to be tugging at some 
 heavy weight which yielded but slowly to the 
 strain. When he was still below the level of 
 the ledge he undid the noose and passed it to 
 Sturgess. 
 
 "Hold tight!" he shouted. "I've picked up 
 the broken foremast. I'm going down to clear 
 it off the rocks. When I yell, haul away 
 steadily. ' ' 
 
 They asked no questions. Maseden simply 
 must be right. They listened eagerly for the 
 signal, and put all their strength to the task 
 when it came. 
 
 Soon the truck of the foremast appeared. 
 Then the full length of the spar could be seen, 
 with Maseden guiding it. He had tied the rope 
 at a point about one-third of the length from 
 the truck. When it was poised so that lifting 
 alone was required he shouted to them to stop, 
 and rejoined them, breathless, but bright- 
 eyed. 
 
 "There's no means of escape by the sea," 
 he explained, "so we must try the cliff. This
 
 THE VIGIL 183 
 
 is our bridge. I think it will span the gully. 
 Anyhow, it is worth trying." 
 
 Then they understood, and measuring glances 
 were cast from spar to opposing crest. It would 
 be a close thing, but, as Maseden said, it was 
 certainly worth trying. 
 
 In a minute, or less, the broken mast was 
 standing up-ended on the ledge. Then, with its 
 base jammed into a crevice, it was lowered by 
 the rope across the chasm. It just touched the 
 top of the rock wall. 
 
 They actually cheered, but the women's 
 hearts missed a couple of beats when Maseden 
 began to climb again. He worked his way up- 
 ward without haste, found a toe-grip on the 
 rock, raised himself carefully, and again dis- 
 appeared from sight. 
 
 This time he was not so long away. He 
 looked down on them with a confident smile. 
 
 "There's a chance," he said. "A ghost of 
 a chance. Now I'm coming back!"
 
 CHAPTEE XI 
 
 PROGRESS 
 
 WHEN he stood beside them once more on 
 the ledge he told them what he had seen. 
 
 1 'It's a fortress of rock up there, and noth- 
 ing else," he said. "We may have to climb 
 at least a couple of hundred feet. Have any of 
 you ever done any Alpine work?" 
 
 No; they knew nothing of the perils or de- 
 lights of mountaineering. 
 
 "I'm in the same boat," he confessed, "but 
 I've read a lot about it, and I've noticed one 
 thing in our favor the pitch of the strata is 
 downward towards the land, and that kind of 
 rock face gives the best and safest foothold. 
 Moreover, this cleft, or fault, seems to continue 
 a long way up. 
 
 "Now, we haven't a minute to spare. Each 
 hour will find us weaker. The weather, too, is 
 clear, and the rock fairly dry, but wind and 
 rain, or fog, would prove our worst enemies. 
 There is plenty of cordage down below. I'll 
 gather all within reach. It may prove useful." 
 
 He seemed to have no more to say, and was 
 stooping to begin the descent when Sturgess 
 grabbed him by the shoulder. 
 
 184
 
 PROGRESS 185 
 
 "Wait a second, commodore!" he cried. 
 "You've got your job cut out, and I'll obey or- 
 ders and keep a close tongue, you bet ; but when 
 it comes to collecting rope lengths, that is my 
 particular stunt, as I sell hemp, among other 
 things. You just rest up a while. ' ' 
 
 Maseden nodded, and made way for a willing 
 deputy. It was only fit and proper that he, too > 
 should conserve his energies. 
 
 " 'Bound the corner to the left," he said, 
 "you'll find a sloping rock. Some wreckage 
 is lodged in an eddy alongside it. Secure the 
 cordage, and any other odds and ends you think 
 useful. Shin up here with a few rope lengths 
 at once. I want them straight away. Have 
 you a strong knife?" 
 
 Yes, Sturgess luckily did possess a service- 
 able knife. By the time he had handed over a 
 number of rope strands Maseden, helped by the 
 girls, had hauled back the mast, to which he 
 began attaching short loops, or stirrups, about 
 two feet apart. He did not expect that either 
 Madge Forbes or her sister would be able to 
 climb the mast, and it was almost a sheer im- 
 possibility that he and Sturgess should carry 
 them time and again. So the mast, after serv- 
 ing twice as a bridge, was now to become a lad- 
 der. 
 
 Sturgess returned with a curiously mixed 
 spoil a good deal of rope, a sou'wester, a long,
 
 186 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 thin line probably the whip used to establish 
 the connection between bridge and forecas- 
 tle while parts of the Southern Cross still held 
 together and the ship's flag, the ensign 
 which was flying at the poop when the ship 
 struck. 
 
 Water was dripping off him. Evidently he 
 had either been caught by a sea or had slipped 
 off a rock. 
 
 "Accident?" inquired Maseden. 
 
 "Not quite. I had to risk something to get 
 these," and he produced from his pockets a 
 dozen large oysters. 
 
 No party of gourmets ever sat down to a 
 feast with greater zest than those four hungry 
 people. Probably, in view of the labors and 
 hardships they were yet fated to undergo, the 
 oysters saved their lives. There is no knowing. 
 Human endurance can be stretched to surpris- 
 ing limits, but, seeing that they were destined 
 to taste no other food during twelve long hours 
 of arduous exertion, the value of Sturgess's , 
 find can hardly be overrated. 
 
 The oysters were of a really excellent species, 
 though under the circumstances they were sure 
 to be palatable, no matter what their actual 
 qualities. 
 
 "I suppose I need hardly ask if there are 
 any more to be had?" inquired Maseden, when 
 the meal was dispatched.
 
 PROGRESS 187 
 
 "No, sir," grinned Sturgess. 
 
 He left it at that, but the others realized that 
 he had probably risked his life more than once 
 in the effort to secure even that modest sup- 
 ply. 
 
 The meal, slight though it was, not only gave 
 
 them a new strength it brought hope. If only 
 they could win a way to the interior, and reach 
 the land-locked waters of the bay which opened 
 up behind the frowning barrier they must yet 
 scale, in all likelihood they would at least ob- 
 tain a plentiful store of shell-fish. 
 
 Nina Forbes uttered a quaint little laugh as 
 she threw the last empty shell on to the rocks 
 beneath. 
 
 "Now," she said, "I am quite ready for the 
 soup and a joint." 
 
 "Oh, don't be horrid!" cried Madge. 
 "You've gone and made me feel ravenous 
 again. ' ' 
 
 "He, or she, who would eat must first labor," 
 said Maseden. "Thanks to friend Sturgess, 
 we've enjoyed a first-rate snack. I've never 
 sampled manna, but I'll back the proteids in 
 three fat oysters against those in a pound of 
 manna any day. Now, let's get to business. 
 If I'm not mistaken we're going to tackle a 
 stiff proposition." 
 
 He knotted some stout cord around his own 
 waist and that of each of the others, and slung
 
 188 HIS UNKNdWN WIFE 
 
 the longest available coil over his shoulders. 
 Then the mast was fixed in its place across 
 the ravine, and he climbed to the opposite 
 crest by straddling the pole, putting his feet 
 in the loops, and pulling himself up by both 
 hands. 
 
 Throwing back the rope, he told Sturgess to 
 see that it was fastened securely to one of the 
 girls on the belt already in position. He pur- 
 posely refrained from specifying which one. 
 By chance, Madge Forbes stood nearest, and it 
 was she who came. 
 
 The crossing was awkward rather than dan- 
 gerous, and rendered far more difficult by the 
 fact that the unwilling acrobat was compelled 
 to expose her naked limbs. But after the first 
 shock common sense came to her aid, and she 
 straightway abandoned any useless effort to ob- 
 serve the conventions. 
 
 Still, she blushed furiously, and was trem- 
 bling when Maseden caught her hands and 
 helped her to land. 
 
 "Thank Heaven we've kept our boots," he 
 said, unfastening the rope. "Just look at the 
 ground we have to cover, and think what it 
 would mean if our feet were bare. ' ' 
 
 The comment was merely one of those mat- 
 ter-of-fact bits of philosophy which are most 
 effective in the major crises of life. It was so 
 true that a display of leg or ankle mattered
 
 PROGRESS 189 
 
 little afterwards. Nevertheless, a similar or- 
 deal caused Nina to blush, too, but she laughed 
 when Madge cried ruefully : 
 
 "What in the world has happened to my 
 ankles f They are scrubbed and bruised dread- 
 fully." 
 
 4 'That was last night's treatment, my dear," 
 said her sister. "I escaped more lightly than 
 you." 
 
 "But what do you mean? I felt some sore- 
 ness, but imagined I knocked myself in coming- 
 from the wreck." 
 
 "You were in a dead faint, so Mr. Maseden 
 and Mr. Sturgess massaged you unmercifully." 
 
 Madge surveyed damages again. 
 
 "I must have been very bad if I stood that,.'* 
 she said. 
 
 "You'll be worse before we see the other side 
 of this cliff," murmured Nina, casting a criti- 
 cal eye over the precipitous ground in front. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at if the girls ' hearts 
 quailed at the sight. They were standing on a 
 sloping terrace, of no great depth, which ended 
 abruptly at the foot of a towering cliff. A 
 little to the right ran the line of the cleft, but 
 so forbidding was its appearance, and so ap- 
 parently unscalable its broken ledges, that the 
 same thought occurred to each what if they 
 had but left a narrow, sheltered prison for a 
 wider and more exposed one?
 
 190 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Maseden, however, allowed no time for reflec- 
 tion. He and Sturgess had already dragged 
 the foremast after them, and were shouldering 
 it in the direction of the first hump of rock 
 which seemed to offer a way into the cleft. Any 
 other route was absolutely impossible. 
 
 After one last glance at the reef which had 
 slain a gallant ship and so many lives, they 
 quitted the ledge which had proved their salva- 
 tion. It was then five o'clock in the morning. 
 At four o'clock that afternoon they flung them- 
 selves, utterly spent, on a carpet of thick moss 
 which coated the landward slope of the most 
 westerly point of Hanover Island. 
 
 Their hands and knees were torn and bleed- 
 ing, their fingernails broken, their bones ach- 
 ing and their eyes bloodshot. But they had 
 triumphed, though many a time it had seemed 
 that if Providence meant to be kind, an ava- 
 lanche of loose stones or a slip on treacherous 
 shale would have hurled them to speedy death 
 on the rocks beneath. 
 
 On five separate occasions they had found 
 themselves strung out on a narrow ledge which 
 merged to nothingness in the sheer wall of a 
 precipice. Five times had they to go back and 
 essay a different path, often beginning again 
 fifty or even a hundred feet below the point 
 they had reached. They were obliged to drag 
 or carry the heavy topmast every inch of the
 
 PROGRESS 191 
 
 way, because, without its aid, either as a bridge 
 or a ladder, they could never have surmounted 
 a tithe of the obstacles encountered. 
 
 In those eleven awful hours they had climbed 
 
 .not two, but five hundred feet, a distance which, 
 
 on the level, a good runner would traverse in 
 
 about twenty seconds, whereas it took them an 
 
 average of a minute to climb one foot. 
 
 The marvel was that the women could have 
 done it at all, even with the help which both 
 men gave unstintedly. During the last weary 
 hours no one uttered an unnecessary word. 
 Each of the four was determined to go on, not 
 for his or her own sake, but for the sake of the 
 others. They were roped together. If one fell, 
 it meant disaster to all. So, with splendid grit, 
 each resolved not to fall so long as hand would 
 hold or foot lodge on the tiniest projection. 
 
 But, with final success, came utter collapse. 
 Even Maseden, far stronger physically than 
 Sturgess, fell like a log. True, he had borne 
 far more than his share of the day's toil. No 
 matter what his inmost thoughts, he had never, 
 to outward seeming, lost heart. It was he who 
 always found the new line, he who earliest de- 
 cided to turn back and try again. 
 
 It was he, too, who called now for renewed 
 exertion after some minutes of complete and 
 blissful repose. 
 
 ''Sorry to disturb your siesta," he cried, with
 
 192 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 a woful assumption of cheery confidence, "but 
 we must reach the shore, if possible, before 
 night falls. Oysters and Chablis await us there. 
 En avant, messieurs et 'dames!" 
 
 Nina Forbes sat up and brushed the hair from, 
 her eyes. 
 
 "I don't think I can walk another yard. 
 Won't you leave me here?" she demanded. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Are we to carry that mast with us?" 
 
 "Why not? We may need it." 
 
 Her eyes followed Maseden's down the slope. 
 Compared with the sullen, frowning realm of 
 rock they had quitted, this eastern side of the 
 island resembled a Paradise. The moss on 
 which they were resting was thick and wiry. 
 A hundred feet beneath were fir-trees, sparse 
 and stunted at first, but soon growing luxu- 
 riantly, yet promising, to Maseden's weighing 
 eye, a barrier nearly as formidable as the fear- 
 some wall of rock they had just surmounted. 
 
 He knew that which was happily hidden from 
 the others. In this wild land, seldom, if ever, 
 trodden by the foot of man, the forests throve 
 on the bones of their own dead progenitors. 
 Aged trees fell and rotted where they lay, and 
 the roots of newcomers found substance among 
 the heaped-up logs. Gales and landslides 
 helped to swell the mad jumble of decaying 
 trunks, which formed an impassable layer
 
 PROGRESS 193 
 
 hardly ever less than fifteen feet in depth and 
 often going beyond thirty feet. 
 
 Of the two, Maseden believed he would sooner 
 tackle another wall of rock rather than essay 
 to cross that belt of fantastic growths. 
 
 But, down there was water perhaps food 
 certainly shelter. He guessed that at an alti- 
 tude where hardy Alpine mosses alone flour- 
 ished the cold would be intense at night. Al- 
 ready there was a shrewd nip in the breeze. 
 They must not dawdle another instant. 
 
 He made up his mind to head for a gap in 
 the trees which seemed to mark a recent land- 
 slip, and trust to fortune that the gradient 
 might not be too steep. Better any open risk 
 than the fall of perhaps the whole party into a 
 pit of dead wood choked with foetid and noi- 
 some fungus growths. Once caught in such a 
 trap, they might never emerge. 
 
 And now they met with their greatest among 
 many pieces of luck that day. The opening 
 Maseden had noticed was not the track of an 
 avalanche, but a rough water-course, through 
 which the torrential rain-storms of the coast 
 tumbled headlong to the sea. 
 
 Notwithstanding the long-continued gale, the 
 descent was so steep that only a vestige of a 
 stream trickled down the main gully. Here and 
 there lay a pool. Though the water was brack- 
 ish, it was strongly pigmented with iron, and
 
 194 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the roots of vigorous yonng trees seemed to 
 find sustenance in it. 
 
 At any rate, they must drink or die, so they 
 drank, though Maseden warned them to be mod- 
 erate. They laved their wounds, which were 
 intensely sore at first, owing to the encrusta- 
 tion of salt on their skins. But here, again, 
 nature's surgery, if painful, was effective. Salt 
 is a rough and ready antiseptic. None of them 
 owned any real medical knowledge. In their 
 hard case ignorance was surely bliss, because 
 they must have had the narrowest of escapes 
 from tetanus. 
 
 The descent, though trying, was not specially 
 perilous. Three times did the mast bring them 
 down small cataracts, and many times across 
 extraordinarily ingenious log barriers, set up 
 against the stress of falling water by nature's 
 own engineering methods. 
 
 Once, indeed, a heavy boulder, poised in un- 
 expected balance, toppled over just as they 
 had reached the base of a waterfall. It would 
 have crushed Nina Forbes to a pulp had not 
 Maseden seen the stone move. As it was, he 
 snatched her aside, and a ton of rock crashed 
 harmlessly on to the very spot where she had 
 been standing the fifth part of a second earlier. 
 
 Such an incident, happening in civilized sur- 
 roundings, would have been regarded as phe- 
 nomenal, something akin to an escape from a
 
 PROGRESS 195 
 
 train wreck. Here it passed as a mere item in 
 the day's trials. It did not even shake the 
 girl's nerve. 
 
 "I suppose I ought to say 'thank you,' but 
 I'm not quite sure you have done me a service," 
 she murmured wearily. 
 
 Hitherto both she and her sister had been so 
 brave, so uncomplaining, that Maseden took 
 warning from the words. The two girls were 
 at the extreme limit of their powers of endur- 
 ance, mentally and physically. It was five 
 o 'clock in the evening. After a day and a night 
 of passive misery they had been subjected to 
 every sort of muscular strain during nearly 
 twelve hours, and might collapse at any moment 
 now. 
 
 "Courage!" he said, with a gentleness curi- 
 ously in contrast with the rather gruff: and hec- 
 toring manner he had adopted all day. "You 
 haven't noticed how near the sea is. We shall 
 be on shore in a few minutes." 
 
 The girl's lips parted in a wan smile. 
 
 "You are wonderful," was all she said, but 
 the pathos underlying the tribute wrung his 
 heart. 
 
 Somehow, anyhow, they slithered and 
 dropped down the remaining steps of their Cal- 
 vary. During the last few feet they were able 
 to leave behind the friendly topmast, but the 
 shadows were falling when they stood, for-
 
 196 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 lornly triumphant, on the flat rocks which 
 served as the beach of the estuary. 
 
 The two girls sank at once to a moss-covered 
 Moulder. They looked so deathly white beneath 
 the tan of exposure and the crust of dirt and 
 blood not altogether removed when they bathed 
 their faces in the pool, that Maseden unstrapped 
 the poncho which he carried slung to his shoul- 
 ders and produced from its folds that thrice- 
 precious bottle of brandy. 
 
 The patients weakly resisted his demand that 
 they should share nearly the whole of the 
 mouthful of spirit which remained ; but he was 
 firm, and they drank. Sturgess, who staggered 
 and nearly fell when he tried to move after the 
 brief halt, was given a few drops; Maseden 
 himself had what was left. Then he filled 
 the bottle with water, and each took a long 
 drink. 
 
 There is this supreme virtue in water, that, 
 while slaking thirst, it stays the worst pangs of 
 hunger, and Maseden had enough strength in 
 reserve to hurry off in search of oysters, or any 
 sort of shell-fish, before daylight failed wholly. 
 He was fortunate in finding a well-stocked bed 
 almost at once. 
 
 He alone knew what agony he endured when 
 his bruised and torn fingers were plunged into 
 ice-cold salt water. But he persevered, and 
 gathered such a quantity that in ten minutes he
 
 PROGRESS 197 
 
 and his companions were enjoying a really sat- 
 isfying meal. 
 
 While they ate, they examined their sur- 
 roundings. It was half tide. A bleak, rocky 
 foreshore provided at least an ideal breeding- 
 ground for oysters. Behind them rose the sol- 
 emn bank of pine-trees through which they had 
 come. On the right, only half a mile away, 
 stood the great shoulder of rock which shut 
 out the Pacific on that northern side of the 
 estuary. In front, two miles or more distant, 
 lay a jumble of forests and wild hills, and a 
 similar vista spread far to the left, because the 
 estuary widened to a span of several miles. 
 
 It was, indeed, a wild, desolate, awe-inspiring 
 land, a territory abandoned of mankind! In 
 such regions old-time sailors found fearsome 
 monsters, amphibious reptiles larger than 
 ships, and gnomes of demoniac aspect. 
 
 Such visions were easy to conjure up. Nina 
 Forbes saw one now in the dusk. 
 
 "Oh, what is that?'* she cried, in genuine 
 alarm, gazing seaward with terror-laden eyes. 
 
 It took some time to unmask the strange deni- 
 zen of the deep which she had discovered. Three 
 seals, lying in a row on a flat rock, looked re- 
 markably like the accepted pictures of a sea- 
 serpent, but the illusion was destroyed when 
 one of the creatures dived, followed, in turn, 
 by each of the others, in one, two, three order.
 
 198 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "We must rise before dawn to-morrow," said 
 Maseden. ' ' Seals are good to eat. You and I, 
 Sturgess, can cut one off when the pack comes 
 on shore." 
 
 "Seals may be good to eat, but they will also 
 be hard to eat if we are unable to cook them," 
 put in Madge. 
 
 ' * There were times to-day when I could have 
 eaten seal cooked or uncooked," admitted Nina. 
 
 "Probably such times will recur to-morrow," 
 said Maseden. "You will soon grow tired of 
 oysters for every meal. Did you ever hear of 
 the sailing ship which took a cargo of bottled 
 porter from Dublin to Cape Town? After 
 crossing the line she was caught in a gale, dis- 
 abled, and carried hundreds of miles out of her 
 course. She ran short of water, so, during three 
 wretched weeks, officers and crew drank stout 
 for breakfast, dinner and supper. When, at 
 last, the vessel reached Table Bay, if porter 
 was suggested as a beverage to any member 
 of the ship's company there was instant trou- 
 ble." 
 
 "Still," said Madge thoughfully, "I don't 
 think I shall like raw seal. \ . . You are very 
 clever, Mr. Maseden. You must find some 
 means of making a fire. ' ' 
 
 Maseden glanced up at the darkening sky. 
 
 "At present the pressing problem is where 
 are we to sleep," he said.
 
 PROGRESS 199 
 
 "Under the deodars," suggested Sturgess 
 promptly. 
 
 ''Yes, I suppose so. But we must make 
 haste." 
 
 * * If you ask me to put up any sort of hustle, 
 I'll crack into small fragments," said Sturgess, 
 rising to his feet slowly and stiffly. 
 
 But this young American a typical New 
 Yorker in every inch was blessed with a 
 valiant heart. He helped Maseden to break and 
 cut small branches of the fragrant pines, and 
 pile them beneath the largest tree they could 
 find on a comparatively level piece of ground 
 above high-water mark. The two girls were 
 half carried to this soft couch, which invited 
 sharp comparison with the wet, slimy rock of 
 the previous night. 
 
 Despite their protests, they were wrapped in 
 the now dry ship's flag and the poncho, while 
 the men covered themselves with the oilskins, 
 the coat which Sturgess had found on the reef 
 coming in very useful for Maseden. 
 
 Then they slept. And how they slept ! The 
 mere fact that they had eaten a quantity of good 
 food induced utter weariness and exhaustion. 
 
 During the night it rained heavily, and the 
 tide pounded fiercely on the boulders only a 
 few feet below tjieir resting-place. But they 
 hardly moved, and certainly paid no heed. 
 
 Maseden was awakened by a veritable cascade
 
 200 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 of water on his face; the tree, after the man- 
 ner of its kind, though shooting the rain gen- 
 erally off its layers of branches, now in full 
 summer foliage, provided occasional channels 
 through which the torrent poured as from a 
 spout, and he was stretched beneath one. He 
 swore softly, saw that the others were undis- 
 turbed, moved his position slightly, and fell 
 sound asleep again. 
 
 As for rising betimes to catch a seal, it was 
 broad daylight when he shook off the almost 
 overpowering desire to go on sleeping. 
 
 Nina and Madge were lying in each other's 
 arms, breathing easily, and looking extraordi- 
 narily well. Beyond them, Sturgess lay like a 
 log, his clean-cut, somewhat cynical features 
 relaxed in a smile. It was a pity to rouse him, 
 but Maseden saw by his watch that they had 
 enjoyed nine hours of real repose, and, as the 
 weather was fine again and there was a prom- 
 ise of sunshine, it behooved them to be up and 
 doing. 
 
 So he shook his compatriot gently by the 
 shoulder, and Sturgess was awake instantly. 
 
 "Gosh!" he said, gazing at a patch of blue 
 sky overhead. "I was just ordering clams on 
 ice in Louis Martin's. It must have been a 
 memory of those oysters." 
 
 Maseden, by a gesture, warned him not to 
 speak loudly, whereupon Sturgess sat up, saw
 
 PROGRESS 201" 
 
 the two girls, grinned, and stole quietly after 
 his companion. 
 
 "Say," he confided, when at a safe distance, 
 "they're the limit, aren't they!" 
 
 ' ' They 're all right, so far as girls go, ' ' agreed 
 Maseden. 
 
 ' ' Oh, come off your perch ! Who ever loved 
 that loved not at first sight I If we win through 
 I'm going to marry Madge, or I'll know the 
 reason why, and if you have half the gumption 
 we credit you with you'll tack on to sister Nina 
 as soon as you've shunted that sporty young 
 person who grabbed you at the cannon's mouth 
 in Cartagena." 
 
 "Will you oblige me by not talking such 
 damn nonsense!" growled Maseden, blazing 
 into sudden and incomprehensible wrath. 
 
 "Calm yourself, hidalgo!" came the quiet 
 answer. "Sorry if I've butted in on your pri- 
 vate affairs. Having fixed things for myself, I 
 . thought I 'd do you a good turn, too. That 's all. ' ' 
 , "Don't you realize that you are hardly play- 
 ing the game by even hinting at such possibili- 
 ties in present conditions ? ' ' 
 
 Maseden regretted the words the instant they 
 were uttered. Sturgess stopped as though he 
 had been struck, and his somewhat sallow face 
 flushed darkly. 
 
 "It will be a pretty mean business if you and 
 I manage to quarrel, won't it?" he said thickly.
 
 CHAPTER XH 
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTTJBE 
 
 "On, forget it!" cried Maseden, more angry 
 now with himself than with the youngster whose 
 candor had provoked this outburst. "I didn't 
 intend to be offensive. My mind was running 
 on the day's worries. We're in a deuce of a 
 fix, and I can see no way out of it. If I an- 
 noyed you by a careless expression, I apolo- 
 gize." 
 
 "Rub it off the slate, friend. I only want to 
 put in a first bid for Madge, so to speak." 
 
 ' ' But, for all you know, she may be engaged 
 to some other man," Maseden could not help 
 retorting. 
 
 "Nix on the other fellow. He's not on in 
 this film. I'll have him beaten to a frazzle long 
 before I see good old New York again." 
 
 Then Maseden did contrive to choke back the 
 very obvious comment that Madge Forbes 
 might even be married already. Sufficient for 
 the day was the problem thereof. It was not 
 matrimony that was bothering him, though the 
 queer marriage tie contracted in San Juan 
 seemed fated to make its fetters felt even in 
 
 202
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 203 
 
 the wilderness. He was wondering what would 
 happen if, as was highly probable, they were 
 marooned on an island rarely if ever visited 
 by man. 
 
 He laughed grimly. 
 
 "New York is away below the horizon this 
 morning," he said. " Let's go and hunt more 
 oysters!" 
 
 Still, for the life of him he could not alto- 
 gether get rid of the spectre raised by Stur- 
 gess's almost banal candor. The New Yorker 
 was unmistakably a good fellow. He had be- 
 haved like a man during twenty-four hours 
 which tested one's moral fibre as pure metal 
 is separated from dross in a furnace. Was it 
 quite fair that he should be kept in ignorance 
 of the astounding fact that Madge Forbes, and 
 none other, was the heroine of that extraordi- 
 nary ceremony in the Castle of San Juan I 
 
 Why not tell him? There was every reason 
 to believe that he had indulged in no overt love- 
 making as yet. Why not emulate his outspoken- 
 ness, and thus spare him the certain shock of 
 discovery? 
 
 Moreover, when the truth came out, would 
 he not feel with justice that he had been very 
 badly treated both by Maseden and the woman 
 whom he professed to love? 
 
 Maseden squirmed under the thought. Such 
 a discussion, at such a moment, savored of rank
 
 204 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 lunacy, but it was better to act crazily than dis- 
 honorably. 
 
 Then came a reflection that hurt like a cut 
 from a jagged knife. Sturgess was an impres- 
 sionable youngster. He might easily transfer 
 his wooing from Madge to Nina. 
 
 Maseden could not help asking himself why 
 a torturing question of that kind should come 
 to plague him at a time when their lives were 
 in dire jeopardy. They might, by chance, exist 
 a week, a month several months in that dread- 
 ful fastness of rock, forest and sea, but the 
 briefest glance towards the interior showed 
 how desperate was their case, and he knew only 
 too well that the absence of proper food, of 
 fire, of clothing, of everything that renders life 
 tolerable and joyous, would soon bring mortal 
 sickness in its train, even though they ran the 
 gantlet of other perils like unto those of yes- 
 terday. 
 
 Why, he wondered, in addition to ending 
 these present evils, should he be called on to 
 solve a fine point in ethics? 
 
 He did not realize how clearly the torment 
 in his soul was revealed in his face until Stur- 
 gess demanded cheerfully: 
 
 ' ' What 's worrying you now, boss ? You ain 't 
 chewing on that little misunderstanding of a 
 minute ago, are you 1 ?" 
 
 Maseden smiled dourly. Here was an open-
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 205 
 
 ing, and he would take it, no matter what the 
 personal cost. 
 
 ' * No. That is not my way, ' ' he said. ' ' I was 
 merely turning over in my mind a somewhat 
 ticklish problem. Sometimes, when a man does 
 not know how to act for the best, it is not a bad 
 plan to run counter to one's own inclinations. 
 Then, at any rate, there is no fear of selfish- 
 ness warping one's judgment. In this in- 
 stance " 
 
 "Is the tide rising or falling?" interrupted 
 Sturgess excitedly. 
 
 "Falling." 
 
 "Good. . . . What's that?" 
 
 They were walking in the direction of the 
 oyster bed which Maseden had found overnight. 
 The beach was strewn with boulders, the sur- 
 face of each a mosaic of myriads of tiny mus- 
 sels. The rock floor was not quite flat, but 
 dipped slightly eastward, and the outcrop of 
 every stratum, worn smooth by countless tides, 
 offered a number of irregular paths by which 
 it was possible to walk dry-shod a mile or 
 more towards mid-channel. 
 
 Between these tracks, so to speak, the water 
 lodged in pools, and here, too, as might be ex- 
 pected, the smaller rocks gathered, mostly in 
 groups. 
 
 Among one such pile Sturgess 's sharp eyes 
 had detected some wreckage.
 
 206 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Now, any sort of flotsam or jetsam might be 
 peculiarly useful to folk whose belongings had 
 been reduced to a cloak, a ship's flag, a few oil- 
 skins, and, in the case of the women, little else. 
 The sight of a cabin trunk, upended among a 
 litter of woodwork and tangled iron, drove into 
 the special Limbo provided for all vain and fool- 
 ish things the personal difficulty which was per- 
 plexing Maseden. 
 
 He hurried on, and soon was aware of an 
 oddly familiar aspect about the trunk, battered 
 though it was, and discolored by long immer- 
 sion in salt water. 
 
 "Well, if this isn't something like a mira- 
 cle!" he cried when he could believe his senses. 
 "Here is my own trunk! The last time I saw 
 it, it was wedged between the forecastle deck 
 and the iron frame of a bunk." 
 
 "The court accepts the evidence," chortled 
 Sturgess. "We find in close conjunction the 
 remains of a bunk and a deck. If you pro- 
 duce a key, and unlock the aforesaid trunk, 
 it will be declared yours without further in- 
 quiry." 
 
 "There is no key. It is only strapped." 
 
 "What's inside?" 
 
 "Some underclothing, socks and shirts. . . . 
 By Jove ! When dried, they will be invaluable 
 to those two girls. . . . How in the world did 
 they contrive to lose most of their clothing?
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 207 
 
 You were all fully dressed when the ship struck, 
 I suppose?'* 
 
 "I guess your college class didn't include a 
 course of heavy seas washing through a deck- 
 house every half minute during a whole day. 
 What sort of feminine rig would stand the tear- 
 ing rush of tons of water hour after hour <? Man 
 alive, I had the devil's own job to keep any of 
 my own clothes on, and would never have suc- 
 ceeded if I wasn't well buttoned up in an oil- 
 skin. As for the girls' skirts and things, they 
 simply fell off 'em. At first they made frantic 
 efforts to save a few rags, but they had to give 
 up. I saw Madge's skirt washed overboard in 
 strips. All the seams parted. I'm in pretty 
 bad shape myself. Look here." 
 
 Sturgess opened his oilskin coat, and showed 
 how the lining had fallen out of his coat and 
 the back had parted from the front of his waist- 
 coat. 
 
 "If it hadn't been for the oilskins we would 
 all have been stripped stark naked," he went 
 on. "Gee! It's marvelous what one can with- 
 stand in the shape of exposure when one is 
 pushed to it good and hard. I should have said 
 that those two girls would have died fourteen 
 times on the wreck, let alone the hour before 
 dawn yesterday." 
 
 Maseden, meanwhile, was pulling the trunk 
 free from the twisted frame of the bunk, which,
 
 208 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 screwed to the deck, had carried a precious 
 argosy nearly a mile from the reef ; then, most 
 luckily, it had caught in a clump of seaweed, 
 and remained anchored during two ebbs. 
 
 ' 'We needn't bother to open it here," he said. 
 "I know exactly what is inside rough stuff, 
 bought to maintain my disguise as a vaquero, 
 but all the better for present purposes." 
 
 He paused dramatically, and said something 
 which might, perhaps, sound better in Spanish. 
 When a man who has not been perturbed in the 
 least degree by grave and imminent danger 
 shows signs of real excitement, his emotion is 
 apt to be contagious, and his companion's eyes 
 sparkled. 
 
 "Holy gee! What is it?" he almost yelped. 
 ' ' Spit it out ! Don 't mind me ! " 
 
 "This trunk contains a gun and car- 
 tridges ! ' ' 
 
 "Gosh! I thought it must be either a steam 
 launch or an aeroplane ! What is there to shoot, 
 anyhow I ' ' 
 
 "Don't you understand? Waterproof car- 
 tridges mean fire. We'll have a roaring fire 
 within five minutes." 
 
 "Put it there!" shouted Sturgess, holding 
 out his right hand. "There's millions of tons 
 of iron-stone in that hill above the wood. Let's 
 start a ship-yard!" 
 
 They were so elated that they forgot to gather
 
 A PEEP INTO TEE FUTURE 209 
 
 any oysters, and even neglected to take away 
 the iron and wires of the bunk, scraps of metal 
 which might prove of inestimable worth in the 
 days to come. Luckily, however, they had 
 plenty of time, because the tide would fall dur- 
 ing another couple of hours. 
 
 Maseden's hands almost trembled as he undid 
 the straps. Now that fortune had proved so 
 kind he feared lest the cartridges might be 
 spoiled. But a bullet torn from a brass case 
 was followed by grains of dry, black powder. 
 
 Soon he had manufactured a squib. Dead 
 branches off the pines always the best of fire- 
 wood, and far preferable to dead wood lying 
 on the ground were heaped in a suitable place, 
 and, in less than the specified five minutes, a 
 good fire was crackling merrily. 
 
 There were logs in plenty. Had they chosen, 
 the two men could have built a furnace fierce 
 enough to roast an ox whole. 
 
 It was good to see the wonderment on the 
 faces of Madge and Nina when they awoke to 
 find an array of coarse flax and woolen gar- 
 ments steaming in front of the blaze, and a 
 dozen big oysters, cooked in the shells, awaiting 
 each of them. About that time, too, the sun ap- 
 peared, and his first rays changed the tempera- 
 ture of the landlocked estuary from biting cold 
 to an agreeable warmth. 
 
 So the four breakfasted, and, at the close of
 
 210 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the meal, held a council of war. With a charred 
 stick, Maseden drew on a rock a rough map of 
 Hanover Island. 
 
 1 'I overheard from one of the crew of the 
 Southern Cross/' he said, "that the ship was 
 supposed to be drifting towards Nelson Straits, 
 which is the only opening into Smyth's Chan- 
 nel ever attempted hereabouts, even in fine 
 weather, by small sealers and guano-boats. 
 Now, it happens," he went on reflectively, "that 
 this coast has always had a strange fascination 
 for me." 
 
 "It was a treat to see you clinging to it lov- 
 ingly for hours at a time yesterday," put in 
 Sturgess. 
 
 "We want to hear what Mr. Maseden has to 
 say," cried Madge sharply. 
 
 "Sorry. I shan't interrupt again. But, be- 
 fore the court resumes may I throw in a small 
 suggestion f How about dropping these formal 
 Misters and Misses? My front names are 
 Charles Knight, usually shorted by my friends 
 and admirers into C. K. What's yours, Mase- 
 den?" 
 
 "Philip Alexander, otherwise 'Alec.' " 
 
 "Got you. Now, girls, what do Nina and 
 Madge stand for?" 
 
 He little guessed the explosive quality of that 
 harmless question, but he did wonder why both 
 Nina and Madge should blush furiously, and
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 211 
 
 why their eyes should flash a species of appeal 
 to Maseden. 
 
 Nina was the first to recover her composure. 
 
 "Nina and Madge should serve all ordinary 
 purposes, C. K.," she said with a rather nerv- 
 ous laugh. 
 
 "They'll do fine," agreed Sturgess. But he 
 did not forget his own surprise and the cause 
 of it. 
 
 Maseden, quite unprepared for this verbal 
 bombshell, plunged into generalities somewhat 
 hurriedly. 
 
 "Barring the polar regions, the southern part 
 of Chile is the wildest and least known part of 
 the world," he said. "It is extraordinary in 
 the fact that every ship which sails to the west 
 coast of both the Americas from Europe, and 
 vice versa, either passes it in the Pacific or 
 winds among its islands for hundreds of miles 
 along Smyth's Channel; yet it remains, for the 
 greater part, unexplored and almost uncharted. 
 Darwin came here in the Beagle, and the sailor 
 to-day depends on observations made during 
 that voyage, taken nearly three-quarters of a 
 century ago. Darwin's Journal, and other of 
 his works containing references to South Amer- 
 ica, shortened many an evening for me on the 
 ranch. ' * 
 
 He paused a moment, before adding, in an 
 explanatory way :
 
 212 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "My place, Los Andes, was a good twelve 
 miles from Cartagena, and I had no English- 
 speaking neighbors. I told you last night, if 
 you remember, how I came to settle down 
 there?" 
 
 Sturgess, though evidently burning to ask a 
 question, merely nodded, grinning cheerfully 
 when he caught Nina 's eye. 
 
 "I only want you to understand why I claim 
 some knowledge, such as it is, of this locality," 
 continued Maseden. ".At the southwest corner 
 of Hanover Island is a ten-mile patch called 
 Cambridge Island, and the two form the north- 
 ern boundary of Nelson Straits. But in the 
 channel between them are two smaller islands, 
 and, unless I am greatly mistaken, there they 
 are." 
 
 He pointed across the estuary, and indicated 
 a break in the coast-line, beyond which other 
 more distant hills were visible. 
 
 "It follows," he went on, "that when we sail 
 up this channel to the left, we shall find our- 
 selves in Nelson Straits, and, after covering 
 fifty or sixty miles of fairly open water open, 
 that is, in the sense that there is plenty of it 
 we shall be in Smyth's Channel, and in the track 
 of passing ships." 
 
 He paused, but did not try to ignore the plain 
 demand legible on three intent faces. 
 
 "Yes; that is the only way," he said quietly.
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 213 
 
 "We are here. We are alive. There is plenty 
 of wood, and we have brains, hands, and fire. 
 We must construct some sort of a raft, some- 
 thing in the style of the lumber-rafts built on 
 big rivers, and take advantage of the tides. 
 Our present position is quite inaccessible by 
 land, and, I fear, equally unapproachable by 
 water. 
 
 "And I'll tell you why I think so. Within 
 quarter of a mile of us are some splendid oys- 
 ter-beds. The coastal aborigines live mainly on 
 shell-fish, and this store would have been visited 
 by them times out of number if they could get 
 at it. But I have seen no heaps of shells, such 
 as must have remained if the savages came here. 
 
 "What has stopped them? Impassable for- 
 ests, glaciers, and precipices on land, dangerous 
 reefs and fierce tidal currents by sea. The geo- 
 logical feature which helped our climb yester- 
 day must create reef after reef across the track 
 of the channel. 
 
 "You see those pathways there?" and he 
 stretched a hand towards the series of rock out- 
 crops lining the shore like groins. ' ' They have 
 been almost leveled by the storms of centuries. 
 But the Southern Cross was lost on one of them, 
 and there must be scores of others between here 
 and Smyth's Channel. There may be passages 
 between many if not all, but it is self -evident 
 that navigation is far too risky for the small
 
 214 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 coracles of the natives. We must go slowly and 
 safely, if possible. If our raft will not cross a 
 reef, we must abandon it, and build another on 
 the far side. We may have to do that six times, 
 a dozen times, even in sixty miles. There is no 
 other means of escape. We may be weeks, 
 months, in winning through, but that is our only 
 practicable plan." 
 
 "Gee!" murmured Sturgess. "And I'm due 
 in New York on February 10 !" 
 
 The sheer absurdity of naming a date relaxed 
 the tension. They all laughed, though not with 
 the light-hearted mirth which four young peo- 
 ple might reasonably display after dodging 
 death continuously during twenty-four hours. 
 
 ' ' By the way, what day is it I " inquired Nina 
 Forbes wistfully. 
 
 "Sunday, January 23," said Sturgess. "I 
 know, because it was my birthday yesterday. 
 Somewhere about eleven o'clock a. m., I was 
 twenty-seven. I didn't make a fuss about it. 
 Just at that time, wise Alec here was holding 
 on to a rock by his teeth and one toe, and telling 
 us we had to go back carefully after a beastly 
 difficult climb." 
 
 "Sunday!" repeated the girl. 
 
 Her thoughts traveled many a thousand miles 
 to the quiet little New Jersey township where 
 her mother was living during the absence of 
 husband and daughters in South America. It
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 215 
 
 was winter in the North, and there might be 
 snow on the fields and ice on the streams, but 
 snow and ice conforming to New Jersey notions 
 of order and seemliness. 
 
 What a contrast between the white mantle 
 marked out in rectangles by the country roads 
 and ditches, with here and there a group of 
 trees, a trim shrubbery, a red-roofed farm or 
 dwelling house, and this chaos of rock, forest, 
 cliff and ocean! 
 
 "Will the loss of the Southern Cross be re- 
 ported?" she asked suddenly. The query was 
 addressed to no one in particular, but Maseden 
 answered. 
 
 ' ' Her non-arrival will be noted at Punta Are- 
 nas," he said. "After a time the insurance 
 people will post her as 'missing.' Then she will 
 be assumed to be lost. Possibly some of the 
 wreckage may be picked up. Or a boat. What 
 became of all the boats ? ' ' 
 
 "Some of 'em were stove in, others washed 
 clean off their davits," said Sturgess. "It was 
 absolutely impossible to lower one. No one who 
 did not witness it would have believed that a 
 fine ship could break to pieces so quickly. Gee 
 whiz ! One minute I was standing near the fore 
 rail, looking at the narrowing entrance in full 
 confidence that we should win through, and the 
 next I was fighting for my life in the smoking- 
 room, up to my waist in water. ' '
 
 216 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "You are not quite doing yourself justice, C. 
 K., ' ' said Madge. l ' You were fighting for other 
 people's lives as well. I have the clearest recol- 
 lection of being hauled up the companion ladder 
 to the bridge by you and one of the ship's offi- 
 cers. Then you went back and helped Nina and 
 Mr. Gray." 
 
 "That is what I was there for," was the 
 prompt reply. 
 
 "This being Sunday, do we labor or rest, 
 Alec f ' ' inquired Nina. 
 
 It was the first time either girl had used 
 Maseden's Christian name, and the sound on 
 a woman's lips was like a caress. He reddened, 
 and smiled. Nina's eyes met his, and dropped 
 confusedly. 
 
 "We rest," he said. "We need rest. At 
 least, I am free to confess that 7 do. You ener- 
 getic people are inclined to forget that I began 
 a really strenuous life by receiving a rap on the 
 head that put me out of commission during sev- 
 eral hours. . . . Now, Mr. Sturgess sorry, C. 
 K. and I are going on a little tour along the 
 coast. We shall be away an hour or more. I 
 advise you two to rig yourselves as best you 
 can in my superfluous garments. Make sure 
 they are quite dry. It may seem rather absurd, 
 but putting on damp clothing is an altogether 
 different thing from allowing wet clothes to dry 
 on your body. Keep a good fire. There is noth-
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 217 
 
 ing to be afraid of. In this strange land there 
 are neither animals nor reptiles." 
 
 "Nor birds," said Nina. 
 
 "Yes, plenty of birds, but the nesting season 
 is long over, and many of the sea-birds have 
 gone south. As we progress further inland we 
 shall come across great colonies of puffins, ducks 
 and swans. Curiously enough, there are plenty 
 of humming-birds, whieh is about the last 
 species one would expect off-hand to find in 
 these wastes. . . . Come along, C. K. Let us 
 try and circumvent the wily seal." 
 
 "Why not shoot one?" said Sturgess. 
 
 "Because I have only twenty-four cartridges, 
 and each one may yet be worth its weight in 
 diamonds. Remember, everybody! we only 
 use the rifle in the last extremity, either for 
 food, or fire, or actual self-preservation. Once 
 lighted, on no account must the fire be allowed 
 to die out. Even when we build a raft, we can 
 imitate the natives, and carry a fire with us. 
 To save us men from temptation to-day, should 
 we find a seal, we'll leave the gun with the 
 ladies. 
 
 "A couple of cudgels, with ends sharpened 
 and hardened in the fire, should serve our needs, 
 and do the seal's business as well. If not, we 
 must try again, and exist on oysters until we 
 become more expert. ... I'll put five cartridges 
 in the magazine, and show you girls how it
 
 218 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 works. If you regard each shell as worth, say, 
 five thousand dollars, you'll appreciate the net 
 value of the whole twenty-four." 
 
 Within a few minutes Maseden and Sturgess 
 set off. The tide was now at its lowest point, 
 so they had no difficulty in walking in almost 
 any direction. Their first act was to drag ashore 
 the remains of the bunk. Given a quantity of 
 malleable iron and a fire, it would not be an im- 
 possible task to construct some rough tools. 
 
 While placing this treasure-trove above high- 
 water mark they saw the two girls examin- 
 ing the stock of underclothes which Providence 
 had literally provided for their needs. 
 
 "Gosh!" said Sturgess, almost reverently. 
 "It beats me to know how a couple of delicate 
 women could endure the hardships we have gone 
 through. ' ' 
 
 "But women are not delicate. I don't under- 
 stand why men invariably harbor that delusion. 
 In passive resistance women are more stead- 
 fast, even hardier, than men. That is an essen- 
 tial, don 't you see ? The continuance of the race 
 depends far more on the female than on the 
 male. Civilization tries to upset the great prin- 
 ciples of life, but fails, luckily. Savage tribes 
 are aware of that elementary fact. Low down 
 in the social scale the women do all the work, 
 while the men loaf around, and only get busy 
 when hunting or fighting."
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 219 
 
 "Tell you what, Alec," said Sturgess admir- 
 ingly, "once fairly started, you talk like a 
 book." 
 
 Such a remark could hardly fail to act as a 
 gag on one of Maseden 's temperament. By 
 habit a silent man, he shrank from even the sem- 
 blance of loquacity. Sturgess could extract no 
 further information from him. He in his turn 
 soon learned to guard his tongue when the Ver- 
 monter was in the talking vein, and uncon- 
 sciously pouring out the stock of knowledge and 
 philosophy garnered during those peaceful 
 years on the ranch. 
 
 * ' We had better go this way, ' ' said Maseden, 
 pointing towards the w^est. "Don't you think it 
 advisable to search the coast seaward? There 
 have been three tides since the ship struck, and 
 anything likely to come ashore should have 
 shown up by this time." 
 
 ' * Go right ahead, Alec. "What you say goes. ' ' 
 
 Their search was fruitless. Indeed, the posi- 
 tion in which the leather trunk was found 
 proved that the set of the current on a rising 
 tide was in the direction of the channel between 
 the two small islands. 
 
 Maseden had little or no experience of the 
 sea and its vagaries, or he would have noticed 
 this highly significant fact, and thus saved him- 
 self and his companions much hardship and a 
 good deal of needless risk.
 
 220 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Of course, he saw quickly that there was a 
 remarkable absence of wreckage on the north 
 side of the estuary, but he attributed it to the 
 fury of the gale, which must have driven a 
 great body of water far into the network of 
 channels which stretched inland, with a resul- 
 tant outpouring when the wind pressure was 
 relaxed. 
 
 The only satisfactory outcome of a close visit 
 to the bar was the complete vindication of their 
 means of escape from the ledge. It would have 
 been a sheer impossibility to round the point 
 at or slightly above sea-level. The tides of un- 
 told ages had literally scooped a chasm out of 
 the cliff, and perversely chosen to batter a pas- 
 sage through the rock rather than take the 
 open path farther south. 
 
 They could not see the reef which had de- 
 stroyed the Southern Cross. But they could 
 hear it. Ever above the clatter of the rollers 
 on the nearer rocks they caught the sullen roar 
 of the outer fury. 
 
 "Let's clear out of this," said Sturgess sud- 
 denly. ' * That noise sends a chill right down my 
 backbone." 
 
 Maseden turned at once. In any case, they 
 could not have remained there much longer, 
 because the tide was on the flow, and they had 
 yet to discover how swiftly it covered the rock- 
 paved fore-shore.
 
 A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE 221 
 
 They did not hurry, but kept a sharp lookout 
 for seals, seeing several, but at a great distance. 
 While they were yet nearly a quarter of a mile 
 from the camping ground, from which came a 
 pillar of smoke, showing that the fire was not 
 being neglected, they were startled by a gunshot. 
 
 It smote the air with a sound that was all the 
 more insistent in that it was wholly unexpected. 
 It drove into the sea, with a loud splash, a seal 
 close at hand which had been hidden by a rock, 
 and even brought a pair of circling bustards 
 from some eyrie high up on the hills. 
 
 With never a word to one another, both men 
 began to run.
 
 CHAPTEE XIII 
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 
 
 A SERIES of reefs does not supply the best of 
 surfaces for a sprint. Maseden slipped on a bed 
 of seaweed and fell headlong, fortunately es- 
 caping injury. Sturgess, lighter, perhaps more 
 adroit on his feet it came out subsequently 
 that he was an accomplished skater stumbled 
 several times, but contrived to keep going. 
 
 Thus he was the first to reach Madge Forbes, 
 who hurried to meet them, followed by Nina, 
 the latter walking more leisurely and carrying 
 the rifle. 
 
 "What has happened?" gasped Sturgess. 
 He saw that the girl was pale and frightened. 
 She and her sister were continually looking 
 backward, as though expecting to find they were 
 being pursued. 
 
 "I think it is all right now," she said 
 brokenly. "Nina shot at it the most awful 
 monster I have ever seen." 
 
 * ' Had it two legs, or four ? ' ' 
 
 Sturgess was incorrigible. Notwithstanding 
 the start caused by the sound of the gun, he 
 
 grinned. The girl turned to Nina. 
 
 222
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 223 
 
 "Please tell them, Nina, that we are not ro- 
 mancing," she cried indignantly. 
 
 Nina handed the rifle to Maseden. 
 
 "Put this thing right," she said coolly. "It 
 won't work, but I'm sure I hit the beast with 
 the first bullet." 
 
 Maseden pressed down the lever, and saw 
 that a cartridge had jammed, as the extractor 
 lever had not been jerked downward with suf- 
 ficient force. He began adjusting matters with 
 the blade of his knife. 
 
 "Were you attacked by an animal?" he in- 
 quired. 
 
 "We don't know exactly what it was," said 
 Madge. "When you left us we decided to have 
 a bath before putting on dry clothes. As our 
 only towel was the ship 's flag, we arranged that 
 each should rub the other dry with her hands. 
 We had just finished dressing, and Nina had 
 gone to pile fresh logs on the fire, when I heard 
 a splash in the water of the creek. I looked 
 around and saw a fearful creature, bigger than 
 a horse, which barked at me. I shrieked, and 
 Nina ran with the rifle. The thing barked again 
 it was only a few feet away so she fired. 
 Then we both made off." 
 
 ' ' You disturbed a seal, I expect. ' ' 
 
 "No. If those were seals we saw last night, 
 this was no seal," said Nina decisively. "It 
 had small, fiery eyes and long tusks. I think it
 
 224 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 had flappers, though, in place of feet, but it was 
 enormous. 7 ' 
 
 "Sounds like a walrus," put in Sturgess. 
 
 1 ' There are no walruses in the South Pacific, ' ' 
 said Maseden. "Anyhow, now that the maga- 
 zine works all right, let's go and have a 
 look." 
 
 Ample corroboration of the girl's story was 
 soon forthcoming. The splashing of water be- 
 hind the group of big rocks sheltering the pool 
 in which they had taken their bath showed that 
 something unusual was going on. 
 
 They all reached the spot in time to witness 
 the last struggles of a gigantic sea-lion, one of 
 the most fearsome-looking of the ocean's many 
 strange denizens. The shot fired by Nina 
 Forbes had struck it fairly in the throat, in- 
 flicting a wound which speedily proved mortal. 
 
 The animal was a full-grown male, fully ten 
 feet in length, with a neck and shoulders of 
 huge proportions. Its tusks and bristles gave 
 it a most menacing aspect. The wonder was 
 not that the bathers ran, but that Nina had the 
 courage to face such a monster. 
 
 Maseden was delighted, and patted her on the 
 shoulder. 
 
 "Well done!" he cried. "You've supplied 
 the larder with fresh meat for days. We must 
 even try our 'prentice hands at curing what we 
 can't eat to-day or to-morrow* "
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 225 
 
 The girl herself was not elated by her tri- 
 umph. The water in which the sea-lion lay was 
 deeply tinged with its blood, which had also be- 
 spattered the rocks. 
 
 "I have never before killed any living crea- 
 ture," she said in a rather miserable tone. 
 ' ' Why did the stupid thing attack us I We were 
 doing it no harm." 
 
 Maseden laughed. 
 
 "Off you go, both of you!" he said. "C. K. 
 and I have the job of our lives now. It will be 
 no joke disjointing this fellow with a couple of 
 pocket-knives. But if the fact brings any con- 
 solation, I may tell you that a sea-lion when irri- 
 tated can be a very ugly customer. Probably 
 this one was sleeping in the sun under the lee 
 of a rock, and you may have come unpleasantly 
 near him without knowing it. When he awoke 
 and saw you he was curious. Instead of slink- 
 ing off, he roared at you, and might easily have 
 killed the pair of you ! ' ' 
 
 "Can't we help?" inquired Nina, seeing that 
 Maseden meant to lose no time. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "But we ought to," she persisted. "We 
 must get used to such work. ' ' 
 
 "You can do something quite as serviceable 
 by rigging a few lines on stout poles, where 
 there is plenty of sun and air, and seeing that 
 a big fire is kept up. . . . And, by the way, don't
 
 226 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 come this way till we call you. We shan't be 
 presentable." 
 
 The two disappeared without further ques- 
 tion. 
 
 4 ' This will be a messy undertaking, ' ' Maseden 
 explained to his assistant. ' ' The best thing we 
 can do is strip, or our clothes will be in an awful 
 state." 
 
 At the outset they abandoned any thought of 
 actually dismembering the colossal carcass. 
 They skinned it with difficulty, and then cut off 
 the flesh in layers. After an hour's hard en- 
 deavor they had gathered a fine store of meat, 
 while the pelt, after being well washed in salt 
 water, was stretched on a flat rock to dry. 
 
 They were dressing again when a new trouble 
 arose. From out of the void had gathered a 
 flock of vultures. These fierce, evil-looking 
 birds were so daring in their efforts to raid the 
 pile of meat that two actually allowed them- 
 selves to be knocked over by the staves the men 
 carried. 
 
 Sturgess remained on guard, therefore, while 
 Maseden took the strips and hung them on the 
 lines the girls had already prepared. 
 
 Madge volunteered to do the cooking. She 
 had found two flat, thin stones, somewhat re- 
 sembling hard slate, and she fancied that by 
 placing some steaks between these and covering 
 them with glowing charcoal the trick would be
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 227 
 
 achieved. As a matter of fact, she succeeded 
 wonderfully well. Even Nina, sniffing her por- 
 tion, vowed that the shooting of a sea-lion had 
 its compensations. 
 
 More vultures arrived. The sea-lion's bones 
 were rapidly picked clean, but one of the men 
 had to keep close watch all day over the curing 
 operations. 
 
 An amusing argument arose as to the correct 
 method of drying meat. Maseden held that he 
 distinctly remembered reading that biltong, or 
 South African antelope steak, was prepared by 
 hanging the strips in the sun. The girls were 
 positive that this would cause putrefaction, and 
 that the meat should be placed in the shade. 
 
 As Maseden was not quite sure of his facts, 
 he compromised as to a quarter of the supply, 
 with the result that this smaller quantity was 
 rendered uneatable. 
 
 The story of Alexander Selkirk has been told 
 so often, and in so many forms, that it will not 
 bear repeating here. During a whole fortnight 
 these four young people devoted their wits and 
 their muscles to the all-important task of feed- 
 ing themselves and securing some means of 
 escape into the interior. The men soon learned 
 how to circumvent the wily seal, and thus store 
 plenty of meat and skins, which latter, with 
 sinews and a knife, were converted first into
 
 228 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 garments for the women and, as supplies in- 
 creased, into a tent. 
 
 Maseden noticed that the high-water mark 
 fell daily, so he reasoned that the Southern 
 Cross struck during a high spring tide, and that 
 the neap would occur in fourteen days. He 
 laid his plans on that assumption, which was 
 justified almost to a day. 
 
 Another gale blew up, but despite its discom- 
 fort it helped them materially, because the men 
 loosened a barrier of logs which had formed 
 high up the wooded cliff, and the rain freshet 
 brought down far more timber than was needed 
 for the biggest raft they could hope to con- 
 struct. 
 
 After some experiments they decided to make 
 it a three-tier one, and flexible in the center. 
 Hence it was fully thirty feet in length, the 
 average length of a thick log being fifteen feet 
 after its roots and thin section had been burnt 
 off. For the same reason the raft was fifteen 
 feet wide. It had a step in the forepart for their 
 old friend, the broken topmast. They dispensed 
 with a rudder, believing they could guide their 
 ark with poles. 
 
 Observation showed that the tide flowed 
 swiftly in midstream, and their well-matured 
 project was to push out to a prearranged point 
 at high-water, anchor while the tide fell, and 
 travel as far as practicable on the next tide.
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 229 
 
 They tried to avoid all risks that could be fore- 
 seen. 
 
 The raft was built in the waterway which 
 Madge had termed the " creek" the gulley 
 cleared for itself by the torrent whose dry bed 
 had offered them a road through the otherwise 
 impenetrable forest. Every test of stability 
 their inventiveness could devise proved that an 
 area of thirty feet by fifteen of logs arranged 
 in three rows would support four or five times 
 the weight they were likely to place on it. By 
 manipulating the poles Maseden and Sturgess 
 found that they could control the movements of 
 even such an unwieldy bulk, while if the wind 
 suited they might rig a sail of skins. 
 
 They were able to build quickly and well be- 
 cause of three essentials. The timber was at 
 hand, they had a fire, and in the pieces of rope 
 and strips of iron and wire they had invaluable 
 means of making the structure secure. 
 
 At last, on the fifteenth day after the wreck, 
 Maseden poled out the raft during the slack 
 tide at high-water, and fastened it to ropes al- 
 ready fixed and buoyed nearly a quarter of a 
 mile from the shore. He would allow none of 
 the others to accompany him, nor did he carry 
 any of the few stores they possessed. He could 
 not be absolutely certain that the cables would 
 withstand the strain, and if the raft were swept 
 seaward by the falling tide only one life was in
 
 230 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 jeopardy, while Sturgess might be able to help 
 him from the shore. 
 
 His vigil was watched by anxious eyes, espe- 
 cially when he thought fit to ease the stress on 
 the ropes by planting a long pole against a big 
 rock which he knew rested a few feet astern and 
 below the surface. The two hours of half-tide 
 were the worst, but the anchors held. Three 
 hours later the raft was aground and he came 
 ashore. 
 
 It was then nearly dark, as their first voyage 
 would naturally be taken in broad daylight. 
 Nothing was said at the time, but he was told 
 afterwards, that for no conceivable guerdon 
 would any of the three again go through the 
 agony of suspense they endured while the raft 
 swung and lurched in the fierce current. 
 
 Meat, fresh and dried, a quantity of oysters, 
 the leather trunk, and a charcoal fire cunningly 
 packed in oyster shells kept in position by wire 
 this cooking brazier being the invention of 
 Nina Forbes formed the cargo. Most fortu- 
 nately Maseden carried the poncho and the rifle 
 slung across his back with rope, and the car- 
 tridges were in his pockets. 
 
 They slept on board. Soon after daybreak 
 the raft was afloat, but was not allowed to move 
 until there was a fair depth of water, owing to 
 the very great probability of the whole structure 
 being dashed to pieces against some awkwardly
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 231 
 
 placed boulder. At last, however, Maseden 
 thought the channel was practicable, and the 
 ropes were cast loose, being sacrificed, of course, 
 but that could not be helped. 
 
 They were off ! The first of flfe sixty miles 
 was already slipping away. They were so ex- 
 cited, so bent on the adventure ahead, that none 
 of them thought of looking back until Provi- 
 dence Beach, which was the name they gave 
 their refuge, was nearly out of sight. 
 
 Suddenly Madge Forbes remembered, and 
 turned her eyes in that direction. She waved 
 a hand and cried : 
 
 "Good-by, trees and rocks! You were kind 
 to me and to all of us ! I have not had two such 
 happy weeks since I came to South America ! ' ' 
 
 Maseden heard, but paid no particular heed. 
 For one thing, he had decided now not to re- 
 open the question of the extraordinary relations 
 between his wife and himself until, if ever, they 
 reached civilization again. For another, he was 
 busily conning the channel and noting the be- 
 havior of their clumsy but quite buoyant craft. 
 
 He estimated the pace of the current at fully 
 six miles an hour. The raft was traveling about 
 half that rate, which was quite fast enough for 
 his liking, so, although there was a strong breeze 
 from the west, he did not hoist the * ' sail. ' ' He 
 stood on the port side and Sturgess on the star- 
 board. The two girls were seated on a pile of
 
 232 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 fir branches behind the mast, which was stayed 
 by ropes in such wise that all four had some- 
 thing to cling to if the raft struck a sunken rock 
 and lurched suddenly. 
 
 The projecjwas to drift as far inland as the 
 day's tide would take them, pole ashore at the 
 nearest suitable place, and repeat the over- 
 night anchoring until they reached smooth 
 water, when they might perhaps make longer 
 voyages. If they ran six miles that day they 
 would have done admirably. Providing Mase- 
 den's calculations as to their precise locality 
 were reasonably accurate, the next day would 
 bring them into a much wider arm of the sea. 
 
 Here the conditions might vary, but they 
 would adapt themselves to circumstances, al- 
 ways bearing in mind the exceeding wisdom of 
 the Italian proverb: Che va piano va sano 
 "He goes safely who goes cautiously." 
 
 But there are other proverbs which are 
 equally applicable to human affairs, and espe- 
 cially to the hazards awaiting rafts floating on 
 unknown waters. For an hour they ran on 
 gaily, with little or no trouble, because the men 
 could see broken water a long way ahead and 
 promptly piloted their argosy towards the open 
 channel. 
 
 Then came the unexpected, or, to be exact, 
 the crisis arose which Maseden had foreseen 
 many days earlier, but forgotten as the raft
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 233 
 
 grew strong and seaworthy under their 
 hands. 
 About four miles from Providence Beach the 
 
 
 5 which shut 
 rly neighbor 
 
 came into full view. Maseden anticipated a 
 little difficulty at this point, but he was quite 
 unprepared for that which really took place. 
 
 He had every reason to believe that the main 
 stream would flow straight ahead until the sec- 
 ond island was passed; he meant to land on 
 Hanover Island again, just short of the easterly 
 end of Island Number Two. Therefore he was 
 annoyed, but not alarmed at first, at finding 
 that the current carried the raft into the straits 
 between the islets. 
 
 The others, of course, noticed the change of 
 direction, and being well aware of his hopes and 
 plans, asked him in chorus if this deviation mat- 
 tered. 
 
 "I don't see that it does," he said. "In any 
 case, we must follow the tide, and if this is the 
 short cut so much the better. ' ' 
 
 He told them that which he actually believed. 
 Still, at the back of his head lay an uneasiness 
 hard to account for. The raft was traveling 
 south now, not east, having swept round the 
 bend in magnificent style. The pecipitous 
 heights were closing in, but the channel was 
 fully a quarter of a mile in width. He would
 
 234 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 vastly have preferred skirting the wooded 
 slopes of Hanover Island, because these smaller 
 islets were absolutely barren in this hitherto 
 invisible sedfti, but, having no choice in the 
 matter, silenPd his doubts by recalling his first 
 and quite correct theory that the real deep- 
 water passage lay beyond, the Southern Cross 
 having in fact struck several miles north of Nel- 
 son Straits. 
 
 Owing to the steady narrowing of the water- 
 way the rate at which they traveled was increas- 
 ing momentarily, though progress was delight- 
 fully smooth and easy. The simile did not 
 occur to any of the four until complete disaster 
 had befallen them, but the silent, resistless on- 
 rush of the current was ominously suggestive 
 of the course of some great river during the 
 last few miles before it hurls itself over a cat- 
 aract. 
 
 Hanover Island soon vanished from sight al- 
 together, and the towering cliffs on either hand 
 seemed to merge into an unbroken barrier 
 ahead. But the tidal race hurried on, so there 
 must be an outlet, and this presented itself, after 
 a sharp turn to eastward again, when they had 
 covered a couple of miles on the new course. 
 
 They were only given the briefest warning of 
 the peril into which they were being carried. 
 The stream flung itself against a great mass of 
 rock, which had been undermined until the
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 235 
 
 upper edge of the precipice hung out fifty feet 
 or more over the rushing waters beneath. A 
 most uncanny maelstrom was thus created. 
 
 No sooner had the two men seen the danger 
 than they labored with might and'main to slew 
 the raft away to the opposite shore. 
 
 They succeeded in avoiding the first jumble 
 of black rocks which lay at the base of the cliff, 
 but the whole character of the stream changed 
 instantly. It became a furious turmoil of 
 broken water. The raft was hurled hither and 
 thither as though by some titanic force, and a 
 few yards farther on was dashed against a sec- 
 ond and even more terrifying reef. 
 
 The violence of the impact smashed the whole 
 structure to pieces. Had not the logs been ar- 
 ranged in tiers crosswise they must have split 
 up instantly, but the method in which they were 
 put together held them for one precious moment 
 while the men each clutched one of the girls and 
 leaped for the nearest rock. 
 
 By rare good luck they kept their feet, and 
 reached a great flat mass which, judged by ap- 
 pearances, had only recently fallen. 
 
 Further advance or retreat was alike impos- 
 sible. On three sides roared the cheated tor- 
 rent; behind and above, canopy-wise, towered 
 the cliff. If the evidence of ominous fissures 
 and lateral cracks were to be read aright, there 
 was no telling the moment when they might be
 
 236 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 buried under another avalanche of thousands of 
 tons of stone. 
 
 Every tide deepened the sap. They were im- 
 prisoned in one of nature's own quarries, where 
 work was relentless and unceasing. 
 
 Once again idle chance had decided that 
 Maseden should save Nina and Sturgess Madge. 
 Not that it mattered a jot. If ever four people 
 were in hapless case, it was they. For a time 
 even to Maseden, who had never lost faith in 
 his star, it seemed that the best fortune that 
 could now befall would be for the trembling 
 rock overhead to crash down on them. 
 
 The din was terrific, and the water level was 
 rising so rapidly that five minutes after they 
 had gained their present position the boulders 
 to which they had sprung from the sundering 
 platform of logs were a foot deep in the swirl- 
 ing current. Each of the girls, wholly uncon- 
 scious of her attitude, clung despairingly to the 
 man at her side and watched the climbing surge 
 with somber eyes. 
 
 They were too stunned to yield to fear, and 
 the life of the past fortnight had so steeled their 
 nerves and strengthened their bodies that faint- 
 ing was no longer the readiest means of obtain- 
 ing a merciful respite from present horrors. 
 Rather did a bitter rage possess them, for it 
 was a harsh and monstrous decree of fate which 
 had not only robbed them of a hard- won means
 
 THE SECOND SHIPWRECK 237 
 
 of escape, but immersed them in a veritable con- 
 demned cell. 
 
 Maseden, like the others, was watching the 
 encroaching water-line in a benumbed way when 
 he became aware that Nina was speaking. He 
 looked into her drawn face and tried to smile, 
 though a sort of mist clouded his eyes. 
 
 "What is it, girlie?" he said, putting his 
 mouth close to her ear and addressing her as 
 though she were a timid child. 
 
 "Is this the end?" she cried, imitating him. 
 
 "Not yet, anyhow," and he gave her a reas- 
 suring hug. 
 
 "Tell me if you think we have only a few 
 more minutes," she said. 
 
 He read nothing into the request save a nat- 
 ural desire that she should be prepared for the 
 worst and try to cross the Great Divide with a 
 prayer on her lips. The pitiful words helped to 
 dispel the cloud which had befogged his wits, 
 and he began to weigh the pros and cons of the 
 forlornest of forlorn hopes. 
 
 The water was lapping their feet. The rock 
 arched outward over their heads. Between the 
 spot where they stood and the actual wall of 
 rock there was already a flowing stream. 
 
 He looked at his watch. The hour was seven 
 o'clock, and he estimated the time of high-water 
 at about half -past seven. Then, as when he was 
 lying along the foremast of the Southern Cross
 
 238 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 amid the thnnders of the reef, a tiny seed of 
 hope sprang into life in his brain. If they could 
 outlast the tide there was still a chance ! 
 
 The very fact that this chaos of fallen cliff 
 created a fearsome rapid in the tideway showed 
 that the passage must be fairly open during 
 low water. If promptness in decision could en- 
 able a man to conquer a difficulty, Maseden was 
 certainly not lacking in that attitude. 
 
 "Come!" he said. "Not for the first time, 
 we must put our backs to the wall. We may 
 find a good grip for our feet before the water 
 mounts too high. The four of us must lace arms 
 and cling together. I believe the tide will not 
 rise above our knees. At any rate, we cannot 
 be swept away easily. It is worth trying." 
 
 She nodded. Turning to her sister, she ex- 
 plained Maseden 's scheme. Soon they were 
 braced against the rock and facing valiantly 
 their new ordeal. 
 
 In the Middle Ages, when a lust for inflicting 
 torture infected some men like a cancerous 
 growth, a favorite method of at once punishing 
 and destroying an unfortunate enemy was to 
 chain him in a dungeon to which a tidal river 
 had access, and leave him there until the slow- 
 rising flood drowned him. 
 
 They were in some such plight, self-chained 
 to a rock, though not knowing when a sudden 
 swirl of water might sweep them to speedy death.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE TUBN OF THE TIDE 
 
 The change, when it came, came swiftly. It 
 was as though the Ail-Powerful bade the waters 
 cease their snarling and stilled the fury of the 
 reef. During nearly an hour the sea lapped the 
 very thighs of the four castaways, but the roar 
 of battle between rocks and current had died 
 down and it was possible to hear the spoken, 
 word. 
 
 Sturgess was the first to break the spell cast 
 on the whole party by the seeming imminence 
 of death. 
 
 "If ever I set foot in New York again I'll be 
 good and go to church Sundays," he said. 
 "This is Sunday, February 6, an' I guess I've 
 been as near Kingdom Come to-day as I'm 
 likely to get on a round trip ticket." 
 
 For a little while no one passed any comment. 
 Sunday! The mere name of the day had a 
 bizarre sound. What had God-given Sunday 
 and its peaceful associations to do with this 
 grim and savage wilderness? 
 
 Suddenly Nina Forbes began to recite the 
 Lord's Prayer. One by one the others joined 
 in. The concluding petition had a peculiar ap- 
 
 239
 
 240 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 propriateness. If ever four Christian people 
 might appeal to be delivered from evil, surely 
 these four were in great need of heavenly suc- 
 cor. 
 
 ' 'That's fine!" said Sturgess, almost cheer- 
 fully, when a hearty "Amen" had relieved their 
 surcharged feelings. "Me for the pine pew and 
 the right sort of preacher when next I stroll 
 out of West Fifty-seventh Street into Broad- 
 way of a Sabbath morning. Anyhow, to-day 
 being Sunday, and the hour rather early, which 
 way do we head for the nearest church when the 
 tide falls, commodore?" 
 
 Maseden had already weighed that very ques- 
 tion, but the utter collapse of the voyage on 
 which he had founded such high hopes had chas- 
 tened his pride. 
 
 "I think we had better put it to the vote," 
 he said. "I've led you into such a death- 
 trap already that I don't feel equal to a 
 decision." 
 
 He had been watching a big rock on the op- 
 posite shore. A little while ago it was awash; 
 now it was submerged, yet the water was appre- 
 ciably lower where they were standing. 
 
 The seeming contradiction was puzzling. He 
 had yet to learn that the laws governing water 
 in motion are extraordinarily complex take to 
 witness the varying levels of the whirlpool in 
 the Niagara River and the almost phenomenal
 
 THE TURN OF TEE TIDE 241 
 
 height of the central stream in the Niagara 
 rapids. 
 
 "Guess we're satisfied with your control so 
 far," said Sturgess. "What are you making a 
 kick about? You prophesied just what would 
 occur, and that's more than the average wizard 
 can do." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "Didn't you tell us we might strike a score 
 of reefs between Providence Beach and Smyth's 
 Channel, and that we should be lucky if we 
 didn't have to build 'steen rafts?" 
 
 Maseden smiled. The rock he had marked as 
 an index was reappearing, and the water had 
 sunk another inch below his knees. The tide 
 had unquestionably turned; the water banked 
 up on the opposite shore was also yielding to 
 the new force. 
 
 "I never anticipated another complete ship- 
 wreck," he said. "We have lost everything, 
 ropes, skins, food our chief supporter, the 
 broken foremast even our flag." 
 
 "But we still have the rifle and cartridges, 
 and we're plus a fortnight's experience. If 
 we don't start life again better fixed than when 
 we climbed to the ledge in the dark from the 
 forecastle of the Southern Cross, call me a 
 Dutchman. ' ' 
 
 "I agree with C. K." Nina chimed in. "Even 
 here there must be some sort of a passage at
 
 242 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 low water. Which way shall we go back or 
 forward ? ' ' 
 
 " We gain nothing by going back," said Mase- 
 den slowly. "For one thing, we are on the 
 wrong side of the channel. For another, I have 
 been taking stock of the peculiar vagaries of 
 the tide during the past fifteen minutes, and I 
 imagine that there is a slight difference in the 
 water level between this point and that which 
 we left this morning. Still water attains a dead 
 level, of course, but strong tides have rules of 
 their own. 
 
 "Now, supposing the tide from the Pacific 
 runs into Providence Beach a few minutes ear- 
 lier than it reaches Nelson Straits, that would 
 account for the terrific rush in which we were 
 caught. For the same cause, the falling tide 
 should be far less strenuous here, but stronger 
 there, and I do really believe that opposite our 
 camp the ebb tide always developed a swifter 
 current than the flood." 
 
 "I'm sure of it," agreed Sturgess. "They 
 were both pretty hefty, but this morning's flood 
 didn't begin to compare with last night's ebb. 
 You ought to know. You went through it alone 
 on board the raft." 
 
 ' ' Then the answer is, ' Go forward, ' : ' said 
 Madge. 
 
 "I think so. Let us be guided by events. We 
 have the best part of the day before us. Surely
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 243 
 
 we can find some safer lodgment than this be- 
 fore night falls." 
 
 The others knew that Maseden's voice had 
 lost its confident ring, but the fact that they had 
 so narrowly dodged death barred all other con- 
 siderations. 
 
 In his heart of hearts he was deadly afraid 
 that they might indeed be compelled to return 
 to Hanover Island. The sheer barrenness of 
 the islet on which they were now stranded was 
 its vital defect. Probably they would still find 
 shell-fish, still knock an occasional seal on the 
 head, but wood they must have, both for fire 
 and raft building, and it seemed to him that 
 there were no trees nearer than the slopes fac- 
 ing Providence Beach. 
 
 However, having come so far, they might at 
 least have a look at the conditions on the south 
 side, where lay yet another island; and there 
 was also the unalterable fact that if they must 
 escape by using the tides, their first day's ex- 
 periences, though resulting in disaster, had 
 brought them many miles in the right direction. 
 
 Perhaps they had met and conquered their 
 greatest danger. They had paid a dear price 
 for victory, but that was nothing new in war. 
 
 Of course there was a long and wearisome 
 wait before they could do other than sit on the 
 slowly emerging rocks. But it was something 
 gained when they were free to climb out into
 
 244 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the open and see the sky over their heads. The 
 silent, nerve-racking menace of the canopied 
 rock was quite as unbearable as the loud- 
 mouthed threats of sea and reef. 
 
 Madge, slightly less self-contained than her 
 sister, promptly voiced her relief. 
 
 * ' If I live to be older than I want to be I shall 
 never forget one awful crack in the roof just 
 above us," she said. "I couldn't keep my eyes 
 off it. It seemed to be opening and shutting all 
 the time with a horrible slowness." 
 
 "How old do you want to be?" demanded 
 Sturgess, readily seizing the chance to divert 
 her thoughts from a nightmare memory. 
 
 "Forty-five," she answered without any hesi- 
 tation. 
 
 "Gee! That leaves me less than eighteen 
 years to live!" 
 
 "I wasn't thinking of you, C. K." 
 
 "But your limit rouses one's curiosity. Why 
 forty-five, any more than fifty or sixty? 
 Granted good health, heaps of people enjoy life 
 at sixty." 
 
 "At forty-five a woman begins to fade and 
 men grow horrid," she announced calmly, as 
 though stating an incontrovertible thesis. 
 
 "Please don't talk rubbish, either of you," 
 interrupted Nina sharply. "Alec, can't we 
 dodge along from rock to rock? It seems to be 
 ever so much more open half a mile ahead."
 
 245 
 
 " Let's try," said Maseden. 
 
 He wondered vaguely why Nina broke in on 
 her sister's quaint theorizing. Any nonsense 
 which took their minds off the troubles of the 
 hour was a good thing in itself. 
 
 They scrambled and slithered through the 
 passage, which resembled the moraine of a gla- 
 cier, save that the rocks were on the same plane, 
 and the central stream was clear and greenish 
 instead of being nearly milk white. Once they 
 were held up fully fifteen minutes because the 
 channel ran close to an overhanging rock which 
 really looked as though it might be brought 
 down by the disturbance of a pebble. 
 
 Then Maseden was moved to make investiga- 
 tions, and discovered that the main waterway 
 was extraordinarily deep. In other words, the 
 sea had preferred to scoop out a ditch rather 
 than flow through the ample space bordering 
 Hanover Island. Even at low tide there was 
 deep water here. 
 
 "We must go on, one at a time," he said, and 
 led the way. 
 
 He found that Nina Forbes was close 
 behind. 
 
 "Remain where you are!" he said gruffly. 
 "I'll tell you when to follow and indicate the 
 best track." 
 
 She frowned, and her eyes sparkled, but she 
 obeyed. Sturgess, too, growled a protest.
 
 246 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "He ought to give me that kind of try-out," 
 he said. "If there's trouble, and I go under, it 
 won't matter so much. But you girls can't 
 spare Alec. He's worth twenty of me when it 
 comes to a showdown." 
 
 However, they all crossed the danger point 
 safely, and each in turn noticed that which 
 Maseden alone had been able to see at first 
 that a huge buttress had fallen quite recently, 
 probably during the preceding tide, so the whole 
 mass might crumble into ruin at any moment. 
 As was their way, once a danger had passed 
 they did not discuss it again. Sturgess, of 
 course, had something to say, though it only 
 bore inf erentially on this latest risk. 
 
 "I always had a notion that the New York 
 Fire Department was a pretty nervy proposi- 
 tion, ' ' he informed all and sundry during a halt 
 on the only strip of open beach yet encountered 
 in their new exploration, "but I guess I can 
 show the chief a few fresh stunts first time I 
 blow into headquarters on East Sixty-seventh 
 Street." 
 
 Sturgess 's airy references to New York were 
 excellent tonics. He refused to regard that 
 great city and its ordered life as dreamlike fig- 
 ments of the imagination. To him the flaring 
 lights of Broadway ever glimmered above the 
 horizon. Had he sighted the Statue of Liberty 
 around the next bend that would mean reality;
 
 this, the dreary expanse of dead hills, water and 
 black rock, would have been the dream. 
 
 Maseden, recovering his poise, had resumed 
 his every-day air of well-grounded optimism. 
 At any rate, he argued, the four of them were 
 living and uninjured. They still owned those 
 thrice-precious cartridges, the rifle and the 
 poncho. They had many hours of daylight be- 
 fore them, and would surely find drinkable 
 water and food before dark. 
 
 Happily the weather was fine, though clouds 
 banking up in the west told of a possible gale, 
 which might blow itself out in a few hours, or 
 last as many days, or weeks. In that climate 
 there was no knowing. The almanac declared 
 that it was high summer, yet it would be no un- 
 common event if a snowstorm came from the 
 southwest and mantled all the land a foot deep. 
 
 As for their clothes being wet, these young 
 people thought little of such a trifle. Their skins 
 were becoming, in the expressive Indian phrase, 
 "all face." 
 
 So they trudged on, heading for the mouth of 
 the defile. In the far distance they discerned 
 the broken line of another mountainous island, 
 the lower slopes black with forests. 
 
 "That's a good sign, folk," said Maseden, 
 smiling cheerfully once more. "We're making 
 for a timber belt. When you come to think of 
 it, trees simply couldn't grow on these rocks,
 
 248 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 and the watershed seems to fall away on both 
 sides of the gorge, which must have been cut 
 by an earthquake." 
 
 His eyes had been searching constantly for 
 signs of the raft's wreckage, but never so much 
 as a splintered log could he see. Nina, not so 
 preoccupied, was gazing farther afield. 
 
 Suddenly she stopped, and something in her 
 manner arrested the others. 
 
 "I don't think I'm mistaken," she said, "but 
 are not those two points the flanks of these 
 islands ? ' ' 
 
 11 There can be little doubt of that," agreed 
 Maseden, following her glance towards the gap 
 some three or four miles in front. It was diffi- 
 cult to estimate distance accurately in that re- 
 gion of vast solitudes. 
 
 "Then, if that is so," she went on in a puzzled 
 tone, "where does the remainder of the 
 land go to? The cliffs end not so very far 
 away. Why don't we see other bits sticking 
 out!" 
 
 The underlying sense of the question was 
 clearer than its form. For some undetermined 
 cause the passage between the islands evidently 
 widened considerably before it closed in at the 
 ultimate southern exit. Hopefulness is often 
 a close blend of curiosity and expectation. 
 They pressed on more rapidly, eager as children 
 to see what lay around the corner.
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 249 
 
 They were soon enlightened, and most agree- 
 ably so. They entered a spacious amphitheatre 
 in its way, almost a place of beauty. Not only 
 were the hillsides clothed with pines and other 
 trees, but, rarest sight of all along that stark 
 coast, strips of white sand bordered the fore- 
 shore. 
 
 The tidal water, now near the lowest ebb, was 
 placid as a lake, and on its surface disported 
 flocks of many varieties of wild fowl. More- 
 over, wreckage began to line the beach at high- 
 water mark. They found the planks and spars 
 of many ships, some quite fresh, and evidently 
 the remains of the Southern Cross; others 
 weather-beaten, even crumbling with age. 
 
 Eemains of the raft were discovered, and 
 Nina shrieked with joy at sight of the ship's 
 flag, hardly damaged, lying on its hilliard along- 
 side the broken topmast. 
 
 Madge claimed the most remarkable bit of 
 flotsam nothing less than the brandy bottle, 
 unbroken, but nearly full of salt water, half 
 buried in sand. 
 
 It was their only drinking utensil, and there- 
 fore prized very highly. How it had passed 
 through the turmoil of the rapids was one of 
 those mysteries which voyaging bottles alone 
 can solve; and they, if sometimes eloquent of 
 humanity's adventures, are invariably silent as 
 to their own.
 
 250 E18 UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 The skins of the sea-lion and seals had van- 
 ished. Indeed, a very close search of a three- 
 mile semi-circular beach, conducted for reasons 
 which shall presently appear, yielded no trace 
 of them. 
 
 There was a dramatic fitness in thus reaching 
 a land of plenty after enduring the horrors of 
 the pass. 
 
 "It's like a fairy tale," cried Nina joyously. 
 "This is the enchanted realm, guarded by 
 dragons which must be slain ere the prince can 
 enter. ' ' 
 
 "Gosh!" grinned Sturgess, "she's calling 
 you a prince now, Alec. Say, Madge, can't you 
 invent a name for me ! ' ' 
 
 "Yes, you're the Ugly Duckling which grew 
 into a Swan." 
 
 "Huh! I'll think that over. Far be it from 
 me, fair maid, to dispute your views as to my 
 future plumage. Now, Alec, your turn. It's 
 up to you to christen Nina." 
 
 "Cinderella, maid of all work," said Mase- 
 den promptly. "So, let's get busy, the lot of 
 us. Girls, you'll probably find an oyster-bed on 
 that reef over there. Sturgess and I will hunt 
 for water, and bring you a bottleful. Then we 
 must set to work and build a shack above high- 
 water mark before night. We're going to stop 
 here and launch a more navigable craft next 
 time."
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 251 
 
 "Your highness has forgotten one thing," 
 said Nina, with sudden gravity. 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 "It is still Sunday." 
 
 "With one accord they dropped to their knees 
 and thanked Providence for the mercy which 
 had been shown them. Such prayers are the 
 spontaneous tribute of the overflowing heart. 
 They are not to be uttered aloud or recorded in 
 the written word. 
 
 The men had no difficulty in locating a stream, 
 owing to the "creek," as Madge had phrased 
 it, which marked the approach of each torrent 
 to the sea. Here, too, were oysters in abun- 
 dance. Whether or not the bivalves liked a cer- 
 tain admixture of fresh water and brine, their 
 enthusiastic admirers did not know; but cer- 
 tainly the best-stocked beds were invariably 
 situated near the mouth of a mountain stream. 
 
 With a plentiful supply of shaped planks, 
 cordage, even rusty nails, they soon knocked 
 together a low hut, not more than breast high, 
 and closed at one end. The ship's flag curtained 
 off the inner section, which was allotted to the 
 two girls, while the men could sleep, on guard, 
 as it were, in the outer part. 
 
 As night came on they started a fire and 
 cooked two birds of the penguin type, which 
 allowed themselves to be chased and captured. 
 The flesh was tough and none too well flavored,
 
 252 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 but the feasters were not hard to please. When 
 the repast was ended, and they sat on piles of 
 soft sand looking out over the darkening ex- 
 panse of waters, for the tide was high again, 
 Maseden electrified Sturgess by saying: 
 
 1 'Do you smoke, C. K!" 
 
 "Does a duck swim?" was the prompt reply. 
 
 Maseden produced from his coat pocket a 
 pipe and tin of tobacco. 
 
 The other eyed them with downright amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 "Well, can you beat it?" he cried. "What 
 else have you got in your pocket, old scout ? A 
 bottle of rye whisky and a box of chocolates for 
 the girls, or what?" 
 
 "I've reached the end of my resources now," 
 laughed Maseden. "I resolved to keep this 
 small stock of tobacco till the time came when 
 we might regard half our troubles as ended. I 
 think we've reached that stage to-night. After 
 this morning's escape I shall never again lose 
 hope until the light goes out forever." 
 
 "Oh, please, don't put it that way, "said Nina. 
 
 "I mean it as an optimist," he exclaimed. 
 "If I have to swim in the open sea, or am buried 
 under a landslide, I shall still believe, while my 
 senses last, that Providence will see me through. 
 Do you know why? You might supply many 
 good reasons, but not the reason. Ten minutes 
 after we climbed under that overhanging rock,
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 253 
 
 it fell. I happened to look back, and saw it 
 collapse. None of us heard the crash, because 
 we were close to a rather noisy rapid at the 
 moment. But I actually saw the thing happen. ' ' 
 
 "Why didn't you tell us at the time?" in- 
 quired Madge. 
 
 "I thought our nervous systems, collectively, 
 had borne enough strain just then. . . . Here 
 you are, C. K. I give you first turn with the 
 pipe." 
 
 "Not on your life!" vowed Sturgess, flaming 
 into volcanic energy. "If I never smoke again, 
 I'll not touch that pipe until you've gone right 
 through a packed bowl-full." 
 
 Maseden knew that his friend meant what he 
 said, so filled and lighted the pipe immediately. 
 
 "It's a moot point," he commented philo- 
 sophically, "whether you don't enjoy smoking- 
 more in anticipation than I in actuality. I 
 haven't smoked now during sixteen days, and 
 I believe I could give it up for sixteen years if 
 need be." 
 
 "Good gracious!" tittered Madge. "Poor 
 C. K. will have only two years of his beloved 
 New York." 
 
 It was a subtle thrust. Sturgess himself was 
 the first to see its point. 
 
 "Gosh!" he said. "S'pose we four had to 
 live here straight on for sixteen years!" 
 
 Nina Forbes seemed to have a keener sense
 
 254 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 of the dangerous trend of such careless talk 
 than her sister. 
 
 1 'I do wish you two wouldn't babble," she 
 broke in sharply. "Alec is simply chock full 
 of information. I can see it in his calculating 
 eye. For instance " 
 
 Maseden took the cue readily. 
 
 "For instance," he said. "This inland la- 
 goon explains the rush of the tide this morning. 
 The greater part of the water which runs 
 through the pass never goes back. It floods this 
 immense area, is held up by the tide from the 
 south, but goes out that way, because, by some 
 irregular tidal action, the ebb begins in that 
 direction. Therefore, an ideal backwash is set 
 up, which accounts for all the wreckage strewed 
 on the beach. Parts of ships which were lost a 
 century ago will be stored here. The place is a 
 maritime museum." 
 
 "We may find a whole ship," exclaimed 
 Madge. 
 
 ' ' What ? After coming through the hell-gate 
 we have left behind?" 
 
 "The bottle came through," she persisted. 
 
 * ' Though it 's a black bottle it must have been 
 white with fear many a score of times. Have 
 you noticed the way in which the logs of our 
 own raft were battered and bruised? . . . No, 
 the way in was vile, and, I had better warn you 
 now, the way out may be worse."
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 255 
 
 "Oh, why?" cried both girls. 
 
 "Because of the absence of Indians. Consider 
 what an ideal site this would be for a colony of 
 savages. Plenty of fish, birds and oysters 
 sand even a few level strips which might be 
 cultivated if the South American Indian ever 
 does till the land. The logic of the situation is 
 clear. Our refuge is inaccessible. That is just 
 the difference between romance and reality. In 
 the fairy tale, once you slay the dragons guard- 
 ing the enchanted palace-the remainder is a com- 
 pound of nectar and kisses. In real life, having 
 stormed the fortress, you find yourself be- 
 sieged. ' ' 
 
 None disputed his conclusions. They were 
 learning to think like him, and each had been 
 struck by the virgin solitude of this land-locked 
 sea-lake, which must compare favorably with 
 the most fertile and exceedingly scarce localities 
 of the kind in an area of many scores of thou- 
 sands of square miles. 
 
 "Anyhow, while you finish your pipe, it's up 
 to me to fix the fire," said Sturgess blithely, 
 leaping to his feet, and beginning to arrange a 
 number of big flat stones around and above a 
 pile of glowing charcoal in such wise that rain 
 could not extinguish it, and a few twigs placed 
 among the embers next morning would quickly 
 burst into a blaze. 
 
 They had taught themselves these minor aids
 
 256 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 to comfort. Madge had constructed a very cred- 
 itable field oven, and Nina, with a bit of sharp- 
 ened wire and a supply of dried sinews, could 
 sew a skin as a cobbler stitches the sole on to a 
 boot. Physically all four were in splendid con- 
 dition, so it was a sheer impossibility that they 
 should remain downcast in spirit. Maseden 
 knew that quite well when he recited the trials 
 they must yet face and conquer. He addressed 
 them as co-workers, not as pampered young peo- 
 ple who must be humored into putting forth the 
 necessary efforts if they would win through 
 finally. 
 
 They slept that night as soundly as though 
 the morning's tribulation was something they 
 had read in a book. Bain pounded on their 
 shelter, but it was roofed with pine branches 
 above the planks, and not a drop entered. They 
 awoke into a world of blue sky and sunshine, 
 and, after breakfasting on oysters, cold fowl, 
 and good water, spent an idle hour in watching 
 the tidal race from the north. 
 
 Then, after tending the fire, they set off on a 
 tour of the shore, meaning tp note every scrap 
 of wreckage which might be of value. More- 
 over, Maseden was specially anxious to have a 
 peep at the southern exit. 
 
 And thus they made the great discovery.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 
 
 WHO found the boat? The question has not 
 been answered to this day. Four people held 
 and vehemently expressed different opinions; 
 if they had not agreed ultimately to pool the 
 credit, the foundations of six very firm friend- 
 ships might have been endangered, because even 
 the sisters were at logger-heads on the point. 
 
 No one could dispute the fact that it was Nina 
 Forbes who, with outstretched hand and point- 
 ing finger, exclaimed dramatically: 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 But the other three yielded her no prior right 
 on that account. Were they not all looking at 
 it, and thinking that which Nina said? 
 
 Each could establish a most reasonable claim 
 if the matter were adjudicated by a prize court. 
 Firstly, Maseden had ordered a close survey of 
 the coast, and, if this very proper precaution 
 had not been taken, the boat would be rotting 1 
 yet on an uncharted beach. Secondly, if Stur- 
 gess had not slipped on a rock and scarified his 
 chin rather badly there would, thirdly, have 
 been no need for Madge to suggest that he 
 should wash the wound in fresh water, and even 
 insist that this should be done. 
 
 257
 
 258 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Lastly, there was Nina, who literally de- 
 manded an explanation of a long, low strip of 
 taut canvas visible above a small sand hill on 
 which tufts of coarse grass were struggling for 
 life. 
 
 The simplest way out of the difficulty was to 
 admit that sheer, unadulterated good luck 
 brought about an incident which probably 
 changed the whole course of events, though a 
 white and shining patch of skin on Sturgess's 
 left leg testifies to this day that his accident was 
 primarily responsible for it. 
 
 Two fair-sized streams ran from the hills into 
 the straits on that side. Near the first was 
 pitched the camp. Well hidden near the second 
 was the boat. 
 
 Now, these rivulets, though fairly deep and 
 swift, were not torrents; that is to say, they 
 drained a watershed by no means so steep as 
 Hanover Island. Their volume was more regu- 
 lar, inasmuch as they were not wholly the out- 
 come of the latest downpour of rain. To avoid 
 the necessity of fording them, one had to walk 
 a long way seaward until their waters began to 
 spread over the reef in a hundred little runnels, 
 and one could leap from rock to rock. 
 
 Indeed, it was while Sturgess was so doing 
 that he barked his shin, a most painful if not 
 dangerous operation ; in this instance, it evoked 
 language which the girls pretended not to hear.
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 259 
 
 Having crossed the stream, however, Madge 
 examined the damage, and would have it that 
 the sufferer take off his boot and sock, and 
 forthwith lave the wound in fresh water. 
 
 What he really wanted to do was to wander 
 away out of earshot and relieve his feelings by 
 the spoken word. He obeyed, however, and all 
 four went up the right bank (which, as Sturgess 
 and Madge jointly cited in their contention, they 
 certainly would not have done otherwise) to a 
 point where the river was free of salt-water. 
 
 In the result, curiously enough, Sturgess 's 
 excoriated wound was left absolutely to its own 
 devices. Both he and Madge, not to mention 
 the other two, were startled out of any further 
 thought of such a minor casualty by coming full 
 tilt on to a ship's boat, trimly sheeted in gray 
 canvas, dry-docked, one might say, behind a 
 sandhill. 
 
 After an incredulous stare, Maseden an- 
 swered Nina's eager question. 
 
 "It is one of the life-boats of the Southern 
 Cross," he said, and his voice was hushed, al- 
 most reverent. * ' There is her number, with the 
 ship's name. She was carried on the starboard 
 side, just behind the forward rail on the prome- 
 nade deck. I used to look up at her and admire 
 her lines." 
 
 By this time they had raced up alongside the 
 craft. She appeared to be undamaged. Mase-
 
 260 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 den unlaced a portion of the canvas cover. She 
 was dry as a bone inside. 
 
 "Say, Alec, d'you know that every boat was 
 stocked with provisions and water for twenty 
 people for fourteen days ? I heard the captain 
 .give the order." 
 
 Sturgess was so excited that he almost yelped 
 the words. 
 
 "I saw the 'stewards putting the stuff on 
 faoard," said Maseden. 
 
 1 'There's tea, and coffee, and condensed milk, 
 and butter, and tins of meat and jam," cried 
 Nina. 
 
 "And ship's biscuits, and a spirit stove, and 
 matches, and barrels of water," chimed in 
 Madge. 
 
 Maseden was tapping the planks and peering 
 at so much of the keel as was visible, but he 
 could find no sign of injury. The smart white 
 paint had been badly scraped amidships and in 
 the bows, but the wood was not splintered. To 
 the best of his belief the craft was thoroughly 
 seaworthy. She carried her full complement of 
 oars, a mast, and lugsail. In fact, she was al- 
 most in the exact condition in which she had left 
 the ship. 
 
 Two pulleys and a part of a broken davit 
 showed how she had been wrenched bodily from 
 her berth and flung into the sea by the first 
 great wave that crashed over the Southern
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 261 
 
 Cross when the steamship swung broadside on 
 to the reef under the pull of the aft anchor. 
 
 ' ' Come along, everybody ! ' ' shouted Maseden, 
 and the ring of triumph in his voice revealed 
 the depth of his feelings. "We start building 
 a new camp at once. Within less than a fort- 
 night the spring tides which brought her here 
 will be with us again, and we must be ready for 
 them." 
 
 "Can't we launch her on rollers?" demanded 
 Sturgess. 
 
 * ' I doubt it. She was docked here by a back- 
 wash which does not occur very often, judging 
 by the herbage growing among the sand. She 
 is a heavy craft, too. I don't think the four of 
 us could move her. We'll have rollers in readi- 
 ness, of course, but we must cut a channel for 
 the tide, and so make sure of floating her. . . . 
 By Jove! What a piece of luck ! " 
 
 It took them an hour or more to sober down. 
 For once, Maseden 's orders were tacitly ig- 
 nored, even by himself. Instead of helping in 
 the construction of another hut the girls were 
 busy with the lashings of the canvas cover. 
 Every true woman has the instinct of the good 
 housewife, and these two could not rest content 
 until they had examined and classified the stores. 
 
 None of them could resist the temptation of a 
 bottle of coffee extract, some condensed milk 
 and a tin of biscuits. The spirit-stove was
 
 262 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 lighted, some water boiled and they drank hot 
 coffee and ate wheat for the first time in seven- 
 teen days. 
 
 Their greatest surprise was the quantity and 
 variety of stores on board. There were knives 
 and forks, enameled plates and cups, even such 
 minor requisites as salt, pepper and mustard. 
 
 Of course, the chief steward of the Southern 
 Cross had been given many hours in which to 
 make preparations. Being a resourceful man, 
 when the lockers were packed with their regula- 
 tion supplies he stuffed "extras" into odd cor- 
 ners. 
 
 Poor fellow ! The pity was that an adverse 
 fate had denied him any benefit from his own 
 foresight. 
 
 Although the castaways entered with good 
 heart upon their second campaign against the 
 forces of nature, the immense advantages now 
 enjoyed as compared with their condition on 
 Hanover Island did not blind them to the diffi- 
 culties yet to be faced and conquered ere the 
 haunts of civilized man might be reached. 
 There was no gainsaying the cogency of Mase- 
 den's logic; the absence of aborigines from a 
 spot so favored as Rotunda Bay (the name al- 
 lotted to their new location), supplied positive 
 proof of the impracticable nature of all ap- 
 proaches by sea.
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 263 
 
 How far the barriers might extend they had 
 no means of knowing. They could guess how 
 forbidding they were from the character of the 
 northerly channel, and it was easy to believe 
 that one such dangerous passage alone would 
 not have deterred tribesmen accustomed to navi- 
 gate these perilous waters. 
 
 So, in the intervals of labor, they gave close 
 heed to the tides and their action. For instance, 
 Maseden would knock together a small raft, 
 launch it at high water and watch its subsequent 
 course. He found, at first, that it stranded in- 
 variably. Then he took it to the tiny estuary 
 of the second river, waited until the ebb was 
 well established, and let it swing out with the 
 current. 
 
 This time, as he anticipated, it was carried 
 swiftly southward, and was seen no more, thus 
 confirming his belief that the rise and fall of 
 the tide set up a circular movement of an im- 
 mense body of water always tending in the same 
 southerly direction, retarded during the flow, 
 with resultant acceleration during the ebb. 
 
 One day, when observation farther afield was 
 desired, they all four set off soon after dawn, 
 and were close to the southern narrows at high 
 water. Then, as the shore gradually became 
 practicable, they followed the receding tide un- 
 til farther advance became dangerous. Seen 
 from a distance, one of the cliffs offered a not
 
 264 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 impossible climb, and closer inspection showed 
 that, by hard work, and some roping, they could 
 reach the summit. 
 
 The girls, who had positively refused to be 
 left "at home," were now equally determined 
 to make the ascent. The soles of their light 
 boots had long since given out, but each and all 
 now wore moccasins of sealskin, and very serv- 
 iceable and comfortable footgear these proved, 
 being impervious to the jars of the roughest 
 rock surface, and most excellent for climbing. 
 
 After an hour's hard work they stood on a 
 narrow saddle overlooking a seaward precipice, 
 and the vista before their eyes was at once awe- 
 inspiring and disheartening. Mile after mile, 
 nothing but broken water met the eye. The 
 reefs were countless. In fact, the resistence 
 they offered to the incoming tide direct from 
 the Pacific was such that, in all likelihood, it 
 accounted for the delay which set up the ex- 
 traordinary race past Hell Gate. 
 
 Even Sturgess was upset by the far-flung 
 chaos. A strong wind was blowing up there, 
 and he sank his voice in the hope that his words 
 would reach Maseden only. 
 
 "Rotten!" he said. "It would knock the 
 stuffing out of a brass dog." 
 
 "No secrets, please," cried Madge promptly. 
 "What did you say, C. K.? Are you telling 
 Alec that there is no way out?"
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 265 
 
 "Yep," was the disconsolate reply. 
 
 "We have not quite determined that fact 
 yet," said Maseden coolly. "Having done a 
 stiff climb, suppose we get our money's worth, 
 and sit down? Never mind the unpleasant 
 prospect in front. Let's keep a sharp look-out 
 for a log traveling in mid-stream, and watch it 
 as long as possible." 
 
 Nina, who was endowed with excellent good 
 sight, was the first to detect a nearly submerged 
 tree-trunk bobbing about in the channel, nearly 
 a mile distant. The atmosphere happened, how- 
 ever, to be unusually clear that day, so they 
 could follow the progress of the derelict for an- 
 other mile or more. As soon as it emerged 
 from the actual channel between the two head- 
 lands, it swung away to the left, or eastward, 
 and kept on that course until lost in the waste 
 of waters. 
 
 Maseden whistled in sheer vexation when he 
 gave up the attempt to follow this floating in- 
 dex any longer. 
 
 "What is it now, son?" inquired Sturgess. 
 
 "The worst," snapped the other vindictively. 
 
 "Great Scott! Didn't you like the look of 
 that log. I thought it lolloped along in a devil- 
 may-care style that was rather attractive." 
 
 "But it turned towards the land, and not 
 towards the sea." 
 
 "I guess that's so."
 
 266 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "And doesn't that convey any meaning to 
 you?" 
 
 1 ' Sure. The tides hereabouts go all ways for 
 Sundays. Before that thing reaches Nelson 
 Straits it has to round the eastern end of the 
 island opposite. . . . Yes, yes, Alec. You've 
 wised me up on heaps of things I didn't give 
 a hooraw in Hades for at one time. I can tell 
 the time by the sun, skin an eel, or a seal, or a 
 teal, open oysters like a bar-keep, and read an 
 eddy like a Mississippi pilot. And, to my reck- 
 oning, our boat, or any boat, has as much 
 chance of winning through that proposition out 
 there as a lump of butter in a fiery furnace. I 
 never did hold very strongly by that story 
 about Shadrack, Mesack and Abednego. I've a 
 notion we haven't got the complete facts. One 
 day in Pittsburg " 
 
 "Silence, please, for the passing of the next 
 log, which happens to be a boat ! ' ' 
 
 Nina 's voice rang out clearly. She well knew 
 the astounding significance of the words, but 
 the daily round of hardship and adventure were 
 molding her character on new and stronger 
 lines. She was not, nor ever could be again, the 
 somewhat conventional young lady who had 
 sailed from San Juan little more than a month 
 ago. She could face now, with an unflinching 
 and critical eye, perils which then would have
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 267 
 
 blanched her cheek and set the blood pulsing 
 in her veins. 
 
 Even her sister, who had not made out the 
 object to which Nina had called attention, put 
 an alarming question quite calmly. 
 
 "A boat!" she cried. "Oh, Nina, not our 
 boat!" 
 
 So many seemingly impossible things had oc- 
 curred that the stout life-boat they left tide se- 
 curely in a small dock which w T as flooded by each 
 tide might conceivably have broken loose. 
 
 "No," came the reassuring answer. "Not 
 our boat. It looks like one of the native cora- 
 cles Alec has told us of. But it is empty. At 
 any rate, there is no one sitting upright in it." 
 
 By this time the others had seen the craft, 
 which she was the first to detect. In their anx- 
 iety and excitement they stood up, one by one, 
 as though the couple of feet thus gained would 
 give a better view-point. There could not be the 
 least doubt that they were looking at a roughly- 
 fashioned but distinctly seaworthy boat, which 
 danced along on the crest of a rapid current, 
 and whirled around, as though in sport, when 
 some black rock thrust its obstructing fangs 
 into the tide-way. Apparently, it was travel- 
 ing quite safely. 
 
 Then, as if to give them a really useful ob- 
 ject lesson, it was caught between two rocks 
 and turned clean over. A second somersault
 
 268 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 righted it, and, like the log, it sped away to the 
 east. 
 
 Maseden brought back the dazed and troubled 
 wits of his companions to the particular busi- 
 ness in hand. 
 
 "See that you are properly roped," he said. 
 "We're heading for camp, as quickly as we can 
 get there. Don't hurry over the first part of 
 the descent, however. There are two bad places 
 on the rock face. ' ' 
 
 They reached the shore safely, unroped, and 
 set off to walk three hard miles in record time. 
 As they neared their refuge they saw the boat, 
 now aground in its tiny canal. Near at hand 
 were the white embers of their fire, which would 
 soon be ablaze when fresh logs were added. 
 Some washing, stretched on a line, lent a 
 strangely domestic touch to the encamp- 
 ment. 
 
 But the one profoundly relieving fact was 
 self-evident. No party of marauding Indians 
 had swooped down on their ark and its stores. 
 Wherever the derelict boat had come from, its. 
 occupants were not to be seen in any part of 
 Rotunda Bay. As Maseden put it tersely : 
 
 "We found it hard enough to get here. Oth- 
 ers seemed to have tried and failed." 
 
 Still he and Sturgess decided to mount guard 
 that night. The girls were not supposed to 
 know of this new arrangement, until Maseden.
 
 TEE SIMPLE LIFE 269 
 
 was about to awaken Sturgess for his second 
 spell of sentry-go. Then Nina emerged from 
 the rear portion of the shack. 
 
 "Lend me your watch, Alec," she said pleas- 
 antly. "I'll take these two hours. . . . No, 
 you mustn't argue, there's a dear fellow " 
 the concluding word was added rather hur- 
 riedly, being an obvious afterthought. "I'll 
 call Madge next, and it will be broad daylight 
 by the time her spell is ended." 
 
 "I'm not sleepy," he murmured, sinking his 
 voice so as not to disturb the others. "I was 
 only going to rouse C. K. because he will be an- 
 noyed if I don't stick to schedule." 
 
 "I haven't slept at all," the girl confessed. 
 "If you're not going to rest, let us talk. Or, 
 perhaps, that is not quite the right thing to 
 do." 
 
 "Not if there was any real fear of an attack," 
 said Maseden, leading her to the small sand 
 hillock near the boat. "I am convinced we are 
 safe enough, but I should never forgive myself 
 if the camp were rushed owing to our negli- 
 gence. . . . Sit here. The tide is rising. We 
 can distinguish the water-line, and remain un- 
 seen ourselves. Of course, we should speak 
 hardly above a whisper." 
 
 Some inequality in the sloping surface 
 brought them rather close together when they 
 sat down. Nina moved, with a little laugh of
 
 270 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 apology. Her action was quite involuntary, 
 but it nettled Maseden. 
 
 "I don't want to flirt with you, if that is 
 what you are afraid of, ' ' he grunted. ' i In pres- 
 ent conditions spooning would be rather absurd. 
 Not that my particular sort of marriage tie 
 would restrain me. Don't think it. Enforced 
 obedience of that sort is foreign to my 
 nature. ' ' 
 
 "I gather that you really want to quarrel 
 with me, ' ' was the glib answer. 
 
 Of course, any woman of average wit could 
 have put a man in the wrong at once with equal 
 readiness though given a far less vulnerable 
 opening, but Maseden realized his blunder and 
 drew back. 
 
 "A too strenuous life seems to have spoiled 
 my temper," he said. "I used to be regarded 
 as a somewhat easy-going person." 
 
 "Probably that was because you had things 
 all your own way." 
 
 "You may be right. A man is the poorest 
 judge of his own virtues or faults. For in- 
 stance, I have always prided myself on a cer- 
 tain quality of quick decision, once my mind 
 was made up. But of late I find myself lacking 
 even in that respect." 
 
 "Isn't it possible you are not actually sure 
 of your own mind?" 
 
 "Shall I submit the case to you?"
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 271 
 
 "Would that be wise? I would remind 
 you of your own phrase in present condi- 
 tions." 
 
 "But I think you ought to know," he per- 
 sisted. "Weeks ago, on the day you shot the 
 sea-lion, in fact, C. K. told me he meant to 
 marry Madge, if the lady is willing, that is. The 
 statement startled me, to put it mildly. I rather 
 scoffed at it, which nettled him, naturally. I 
 was on the point of acquainting him with the 
 facts, but was stopped by the gun-shot. Since 
 then he has never mentioned the matter again, 
 and I have been averse from pulling it in by the 
 scruff of the neck " 
 
 "Why do so now?" put in the girl quickly. 
 
 He could not see her face, but the note of 
 alarm in her voice was not even disguised. 
 
 "Because, day by day, I see more and more 
 clearly that our friend's love of your sister is 
 a very real thing. I see, too, or think that I see, 
 a response on her part. From a common sense 
 point of view, what else could one expect ? Two 
 young people, each eminently agreeable, are 
 thrown together by fate in circumstances of 
 great and continuous personal danger. The 
 artificial intercourse of civilized life is impossi- 
 ble from the outset. They see each other as they 
 really are. Each has to depend on real charac- 
 teristics, not on shams. Can one imagine a more 
 ideal method of choosing one's future partner
 
 272 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 than those in which we have lived during the 
 past month?" 
 
 This was what lawyers call a leading ques- 
 tion, and Nina shied at it instantly. 
 
 "Everything you have said may be true, 
 Alec," she said, "but you have advanced no 
 reason whatever for disturbing our pleasant 
 relations. Surely all these problems may be 
 allowed to settle themselves when, if ever, we 
 re-enter the everyday world?" 
 
 "That is just my difficulty," continued Mase- 
 den doggedly; he was resolved now to have an 
 irritating hindrance to pleasant relations set- 
 tled once and for all. "Is it fair to Sturgess 
 to let him believe there is no bar to his wooing? 
 Of course, my marriage was a farce, and can be 
 dismissed as such. But what will C. K. think, 
 what will he say, when he hears of it? Won't 
 our silence yes, our silence you cannot shirk 
 a part of the responsibility be open to misin- 
 terpretation? May it not bring about the very 
 catastrophe we want to avoid?" 
 
 "I really don't understand," said the girl in 
 a frightened way. 
 
 "Then I must make my meaning clear, even 
 though it hurts," he said determinedly. "If I 
 tell Sturgess now about the Cartagena cere- 
 mony, though rather late in the day, it is not 
 too late; whereas, if I wait till we reach New 
 York, how astounded and mystified he will be
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 273 
 
 by the legal process which I must set on foot 
 to secure your sister's freedom and my own! 
 Why, the result might be tragic. If C. K. 
 knows now, he can, if he chooses, seek from 
 Madge an explanation of the whole mad busi- 
 ness. She may give or withhold it that is for 
 her to decide. But at least we shall all be act- 
 ing squarely and above-board. I put it to yon 
 strongly, for the sake of each one of us, that 
 Sturgess should be told the whole truth." 
 
 For a little while there was silence. Nina 
 seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of the 
 matter with much care. 
 
 "I think you are right," she said at last. "I 
 differ from you only in a small but to a woman 
 very important particular. Madge, not you, 
 should tell C. K. what happened in Cartagena. 
 It is her privilege. It will come better from her. 
 In the morning, when opportunity offers, she 
 and I will talk things over. I am sure I can 
 persuade her as to the course she should adopt. 
 
 "Leave it to me, Alec. Before to-morrow 
 evening C. K. shall have heard the full story 
 of that unfortunate marriage. He will tell you 
 so himself. After that, I suppose, your trou- 
 bled conscience will be at rest, and the matter 
 need not be discussed further until it comes be- 
 fore the courts." 
 
 "I seem to have annoyed you pretty badly 
 by raising the point now," said Maseden.
 
 274 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 " No, indeed! It is not so. In a sense, I am 
 glad. My sister and I are very dear to one an- 
 other, Alec, and no one likes to parade the fam- 
 ily skeleton, even in such a remote place as Bo- 
 tunda Bay." 
 
 Maseden felt that he had bungled the whole 
 business rather badly, but he saw no ad- 
 vantage in leaving anything unsaid. 
 
 "What I cannot make out," he muttered 
 savagely, "is how I ever came to regard you and 
 Madge as being so much alike. Of course, you 
 resemble each other physically, but in tempera- 
 ment you are wide apart as the poles." 
 
 "Dear me! This is really interesting. In 
 what respects do we differ?" 
 
 "Madge is emotional, you are self-contained. 
 She would have cried had I spoken to her about 
 you as I have spoken of her to you, but you sur- 
 vey the problem coolly, and solve it, probably 
 on the best lines. Sometimes, you puzzle, at 
 others, vex me. You are ready and willing to 
 confide in Sturgess, but refuse me your confi- 
 dence. I find Madge easy to read ; you remain 
 an enigma. I believe you would almost die 
 rather than enlighten me as to the true history 
 of my marriage." 
 
 "Oh, bother your marriage! Can't you talk 
 of something else?" 
 
 1 1 1 am prepared to talk about you during the 
 next hour."
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 275 
 
 "How boring for both of us.*' 
 
 ' ' Only a minute ago you welcomed my efforts 
 as an analyst." 
 
 "I was mistook, as the children say. These 
 personal matters seem ineffably stupid when 
 one sees the dawn appearing over the walls of 
 our prison. We may never get away from here, 
 or lose our lives in the attempt. It will be of 
 very small significance then as to why a sorely- 
 tried girl agreed to marry a man she had never 
 seen, and who was under sentence to die before 
 the ink was dry in the register. . . . Still, Alec, 
 I'm pleased we have had such a candid discus- 
 sion. I have come round to your point of view, 
 too. It is not fair to C. K. to keep him in the 
 dark. To-morrow, as ever is, if you don't work 
 us so hard that we have no time for chatter, I 
 promise you that Madge shall tell him every- 
 thing." 
 
 "And me nothing?" 
 
 "That is implied in the bargain, is it not? 
 Does it really concern you? You were speak- 
 ing for C. K., not for yourself. . . . Oh, no, 
 we're not going to re-open the argument. Just 
 let matters remain where they are, please. I 
 want you to satisfy a woman's curiosity on a 
 matter of more immediate importance. When 
 do you purpose leaving here? Shouldn't we 
 start soon? At this season we have fine weather
 
 276 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 of a sort. Don't we incur a good deal of risk by 
 each week of delay?" 
 
 "Hullo, you two !" came a cherry voice. "A 
 nice bunco game you've played on me! There 
 was I, snoring like a hog, while you were spoon- 
 ing under the stars. Wise Alec and Naughty 
 Nina ! But wait till I tell your poor deluded sis- 
 ter. A whole tribe of Indians could have crept 
 up and tomahawked you where you sat. ' ' 
 
 They started apart, almost guiltily. Each 
 shared the same thought. How much, or how 
 little, had Sturgess heard?
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE DOWRY 
 
 BOTH Maseden and Nina looked and felt like 
 tongued-tied children, and Sturgess was not 
 slow to note their confusion. 
 
 "Gee, if there was an orchard anywhere 
 around, I'd think you two had been stealing ap- 
 ples," he cried. "Sorry, Nina, if I've butted 
 in on a heart-to-heart talk, but it's not often I 
 can josh our wise Alec, so I'm bound to take the 
 few chances that come along." 
 
 He little knew evidently how closely their 
 talk had concerned him, and the fact that he 
 had not overheard anything which would sup- 
 ply a clue to the topic under discussion was, in 
 itself, a great relief. 
 
 "Nina appeared when I was about to call 
 you," said Maseden quietly. "She demanded 
 her share of the watch, and as I was not in- 
 clined for sleep I remained on duty. Of course 
 that is no excuse for an inattentive sentry. I 
 propose that you shoot me straight off and im- 
 prison Nina for the remainder of her natural 
 life." 
 
 "I sentence the pair of you to rest until break- 
 
 277
 
 278 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 fast is ready. There 's no appeal from the court. 
 About, turn ! Quick, march ! ' ' 
 
 Nina hurried away. Maseden, thinking he 
 would not be able to close an eye, followed her 
 slowly, lay down, and was soon asleep. 
 
 The boat's stores had revealed neither soap 
 nor towels, so the early morning wash remained 
 a primitive affair. A pool in the stream was 
 set apart for the girls, while the men scrubbed 
 among the rocks. Sturgess aroused Maseden a 
 few minutes before breakfast was ready. 
 
 "Come this way," he said, nodding in the 
 direction of the boat. "I want to show you 
 something. ' ' 
 
 Maseden noticed that the other man's hands 
 and moccasins were soiled with the whitish- 
 brown deposit through which a channel for the 
 boat had been delved. Then he saw that no 
 small part of the said channel was blocked by 
 the debris of a fresh excavation. 
 
 Now, among the treasures on the boat were 
 a couple of axes. Given an ax, some spice of 
 ingenuity and a fair stock of patience, and any 
 man can fashion an astonishing variety of use- 
 ful articles. Singularly enough, Sturgess, who 
 was gifted with the artist's sense of proportion, 
 could hew a spade out of a plank more skillfully 
 than Maseden, and he was inordinately proud of 
 the achievement. 
 
 "What the deuce have you been up to?" de-
 
 THE DOWRY 279 
 
 manded Maseden at sight of so muck misdi- 
 rected industry. 
 
 "You wouldn't guess in a week," was the 
 complacent answer. "This morning I was 
 standing around doing nothing, when, as the 
 tide fell, I spotted a bulge in the right bank of 
 our canal. I wondered what had caused it, after 
 our trouble in lining the walls with stakes, so 
 I nosed around with a shovel. Then I got all 
 fussed up, and didn't care where I threw the 
 dirt. . . . See what I've found, old scout!" 
 
 By this time they were in the trench, from 
 which the tide had only recently receded. Stur- 
 gess's zeal had cleared away some two cubic 
 yards of silt, and Maseden saw at once that a 
 part of the hull of a small vessel of some sort 
 had been laid bare. Moreover, a few blows with 
 an ax had removed sufficient of the rotting tim- 
 bers to give access to the hulk's interior. 
 
 It was a most interesting find. An old-time 
 craft had been brought to her last resting-place 
 within a few feet of the spot where the Southern 
 Cross's lifeboat was embedded. Evidently in 
 the course of years she had sunk in the soft 
 deposit, and probably formed a nucleus for a 
 new sand-bank. At any rate, she was com- 
 pletely covered, and lay there keel uppermost. 
 
 4 ' Have you been inside ? ' ' said Maseden, eye- 
 ing the doorway broken by the ax. 
 
 "You bet your life," said Sturgess.
 
 280 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 11 Was the air foul? " 
 
 "Fine. I guess the lime hereabouts attended 
 to that. Anyhow, I carried in a blazing stick, 
 and it burned all right." 
 
 " Skeletons on board?" 
 
 "Not a bone that I could see." 
 
 "What are you keeping back, then? You 
 can't humbug me, C. K. There's something on 
 your chest. Get it off ! " 
 
 Sturgess craned his neck over the edge of the 
 channel to make sure that neither of the girls 
 was near. 
 
 "From hints I've picked up now and then, 
 when Madge felt she must either talk or bust, 
 I've come to the conclusion that old man Gray's 
 death means poverty to that small bunch," he 
 said. "Now, I'm pretty well fixed, and I guess 
 you'll never be hard pushed to buy a food ticket, 
 so I want your brainy assistance to arrange 
 things for the girls' benefit. See? It should 
 kind of make matters easy when it comes to 
 a show-down." 
 
 "What have you come across ! Spanish treas- 
 ure?" 
 
 Maseden peered into the dimly lighted in- 
 terior of the wreck. Apparently the inverted 
 deck was about four feet below the level of the 
 opening, and Sturgess had broken into the after 
 part of the hull. 
 
 "Let me go ahead and pass out the boodle,"
 
 THE DOWRY 281 
 
 said Sturgess. "I found it in a wooden box, 
 which is clamped with iron, but it has nearly 
 fallen to pieces." 
 
 He lowered himself to what had been the ceil- 
 ing of a cabin, and moved cautiously among a 
 litter of rotting wood, evidently the furniture 
 which had once rendered the tiny apartment 
 habitable. He came back with laden hands, and 
 passed out a curiously shaped jug, or flagon. 
 
 Maseden examined it critically. 
 
 "By Jove!" he cried; "this is Aztec work, 
 and hammered out of solid gold ! ' ' 
 
 "There's five more of the same sort," said 
 Sturgess, in a voice cracked with excitement. 
 "And this strikes me as something worth 
 while." 
 
 He produced a crudely modeled figure of a 
 puma, the body in silver and the head, feet, and 
 tail in gold. The eyes and claws were of pol- 
 ished quartz, and were bright as when the orna- 
 ' ment left the hands of the Mexican lapidary 
 who fashioned it. The metals, of course, were 
 tarnished, the silver being black with age, but 
 both men realized that they were gazing at a 
 splendid specimen of a long-forgotten art. 
 
 "How much of this sort of stuff is there?" 
 said Maseden, his imagination running riot as 
 to the possible history of this unrecorded ar- 
 gosy. 
 
 "Twelve pieces altogether," chuckled Stur-
 
 282 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 gess. * * Six gold pitchers, four animals and two 
 carved dishes, each of gold. I've rummaged 
 around carefully, and that's the lot. For'ard 
 of this section is a hold, and, from what I can 
 make out, it was loaded with furs and cloth, but 
 the cargo is all mussed up with salt and lime." 
 
 "Show me one of the dishes." 
 
 Sturgess brought forth an oval-shaped dish, 
 made, like the vessels, of solid gold. On its 
 broad rim were chased twelve weird-looking 
 creatures which reminded Maseden of the signs 
 of the Zodiac ; in the sunken center appeared a 
 very elaborate design consisting of four trees, 
 a bird perched on the topmost branches of each. 
 Long afterwards he learned that this car- 
 toon represented, in Aztec picture-writing, the 
 four famous chiefs who founded the Aztec dy- 
 nasty. 
 
 At any rate, he knew at the time that the 
 hoard which Sturgess had discovered was of 
 great archaeological interest, apart from the in- 
 trinsic value of the precious metals, itself no 
 small sum. 
 
 "We ought to devote the necessary time to a 
 thorough survey of the wreck, ' ' he said thought- 
 fully. "Meanwhile what have you at the back 
 of your head about Nina and Madge? What 
 did you mean by saying it would make matters 
 easier?" 
 
 "Well, suppose you and I agree to give 'em
 
 THE DOWRY 283 
 
 the proceeds of the sale," and Sturgess han- 
 dled one of the jugs lovingly. " There's sixty 
 ounces of pure specie in this pretty thing alone, 
 I'll bet. Then, if it dates away back, the price 
 goes up like a rocket." 
 
 Maseden knew that the really important part 
 of his question had been avoided. 
 
 ''We must think it over," he said. 
 
 1 'Think what over?" 
 
 Sturgess, whose face was on a level with 
 Maseden 's knees, scowled up at his friend with 
 such an air of indignant surprise that the other 
 man laughed. 
 
 "I am not planning a daylight robbery of 
 two fatherless orphans," explained Maseden. 
 "Our difficulty will be to persuade these two 
 to accept their legitimate half share, let alone 
 the whole of the plunder. Shan't we give them 
 a hail, and let them see the pirate 's cache before 
 breakfast? Because that is what it is. These 
 things were stolen from some Aztec shrine. ' ' 
 
 "Why Aztec?" 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Peru is a far more likely place." 
 
 "Yes, if these utensils were not of Mexican 
 origin. The signs on the dishes are the animal- 
 names used in the Aztec calendar." 
 
 "Crushed again!" said Sturgess, clambering 
 out of the wreck. "But say, professor, how did 
 you ever manage to stow away those odds and
 
 284 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 ends of information? I'm your age, and not 
 exactly a fool, but I never had time to read. ' ' 
 
 "You never made time, you mean. If you 
 had lived seven years on a solitary ranch you 
 would be forced to buy books and read them. 
 My inclination turned naturally to the records 
 of the country I lived in. The stories of the 
 Spanish invaders in Mexico to the north and 
 Peru to the south were more romantic than any 
 novel. You've heard of Captain Kidd, the buc- 
 caneer, of course, but I suppose you know noth- 
 ing of the Welshman Henry Morgan, and his 
 exploits on the Spanish Main ? ' ' 
 
 "Not as much as would go on a dime in big 
 type." 
 
 "Well, Morgan would have made Kidd shine 
 his boots if they had ever met. ' ' 
 
 "Gee whiz! Hennery must have been some 
 Thug. . . . Hi, Madge. Where 's Nina ?" 
 
 "You two ought to have been washed quar- 
 ter of an hour ago," came Madge's wrathful 
 cry. "I've been looking for you everywhere. 
 Breakfast will be spoiled!" 
 
 "Madge is quite right," said Maseden. 
 "Breakfast is more important than loot. Eat 
 first, and discuss the pile afterwards." 
 
 This sound advice availed him or Sturgess 
 little afterwards. Both girls were vexed that 
 the discovery was kept from them even during 
 that short space of half an hour. They were
 
 THE DOWRY 285 
 
 placated, however, by being allowed to share in 
 the labor of clearing a sufficient area around 
 and above the wreck to permit of its exact size 
 being ascertained. It was only a small craft, 
 the keel measuring some fifty feet in length, 
 yet, as Maseden was careful to point out, the 
 early navigators deemed such vessels large 
 enough to cross the mighty Atlantic. 
 
 When the tide rose, and the wreck was 
 flooded again, it floated. This was foreseen, 
 and the expectant watchers had a number of 
 stout poles in readiness, with which they under- 
 pinned the hull on one side. Thus it was ren- 
 dered much easier of access later. 
 
 Beyond a couple of beautifully carved and 
 chased rapiers, the blades of which were largely 
 protected by leather scabbards hardened by salt 
 water, and a number of copper cooking utensils, 
 they found nothing more of value. The cargo, 
 which appeared to have been furs and mats of 
 painted reeds, was wholly destroyed. The ves- 
 sel had carried two masts, whose stumps, broken 
 off short near the deck, seemed to indicate the 
 mischance which had befallen her in the Pacific. 
 There were no cannon or other arms of any sort 
 in or under the wreck, but as she had surely 
 come there by way of Providence Beach and 
 .Hell Gate, she had probably rolled over count- 
 less times during the journey. 
 
 She was built of oak. The bluff bows and
 
 286 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 high-pitched forecastle and poop dated her as 
 a product of the early seventeenth century. No 
 trace of a name was discernible, but the bul- 
 warks had been torn off. The absence of an 
 elaborate figurehead was significant. She was 
 a strongly constructed, but not highly finished 
 little ship. 
 
 As to her history or nationality, the only 
 reliable tokens were the swords, which were 
 Spanish, with Toledo blades. The copper cook- 
 ing-pots were Mexican. In a word, she was 
 ostensibly a trader, and Maseden believed that 
 the iron-clamped box containing the treasure 
 had been hidden beneath the floor of the cabin, 
 because the planks were broken where the heavy 
 package had apparently fallen through. 
 
 One thing was certain. The similarity of the 
 six flagons, the two dishes and the four animal 
 figures showed that they came from an Aztec 
 teocalli, or temple, of great wealth and impor- 
 tance. It was highly improbable that any town 
 on the west coast of Mexico contained any such 
 fame. If, therefore, they had been looted from 
 the interior of the country, a reasonable as- 
 sumption was that some band of Spanish adven- 
 turers, finding the way hopelessly blocked to 
 the east, fought their Way westward, and act- 
 ually built the vessel which should convey them 
 to far-off Cadiz. 
 
 It was a strange hap that laid bare their
 
 THE DOWRY 287 
 
 plunder to the eyes of four descendants of the 
 race which was destined to sweep them and their 
 barbarous methods off the high seas. 
 
 After a day of hard work and many thrills, 
 Maseden was moved to accept the discovery as 
 a good omen. 
 
 "I had in my mind to suggest that we should 
 renew our voyage by to-morrow's first tide/* 
 he said, as they sat near the camp-fire after the 
 evening meal. "Just as the Romans consulted 
 the oracle before starting on any great under- 
 taking, so have we been given a happy augury 
 by having thrust into our hands, so to speak, 
 a notable treasure. Friends, I propose that 
 we accept the decision of the gods, and weigh 
 anchor in the morning." 
 
 For no assignable reason, the suddenness of 
 this resolve seemed to startle the others. 
 
 "Have you made up your mind, then, that 
 the channel is practicable?" inquired Sturgess 
 after a marked pause. 
 
 "The only channel we know is practicable," 
 said Maseden. 
 
 "Do you mean that we should return the way 
 we came f ' ' put in Nina in an awed tone. 
 
 "It offers our only means of escape," was 
 the grave answer. "To my mind, if we attempt 
 the southern exit we go to certain death. We 
 have a roomy boat, a sail, and oars. By putting 
 off slightly before high water we can reach the
 
 288 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 mouth of the gorge just on the turn of the tide. 
 I think we can get through without any real 
 difficulty, and even beach our boat in the open 
 and shallow channel of Hanover Island which 
 we were making for when the raft was swept out 
 of its course. We have discussed the tides many 
 times, and we all believe that we shall find our- 
 selves in the main tidal stream again on the 
 other side of that island opposite," and he 
 pointed to the mass of black hills outlined 
 against the eastern sky. "It is only the 'lesser 
 of two evils,' I admit, but it yields a possibility; 
 whereas I regard any attempt to navigate the 
 southern avenue as absolutely fatal." 
 
 "Why the rush for the morning tide?" quer- 
 ied Sturgess. 
 
 Then Maseden laughed. 
 
 "You have fallen a victim to the prospecting 
 mania," he said cheerfully. "Having made a 
 good strike, you want to follow it up. I don't 
 blame you. I believe this beach would pay well 
 for digging. Before you were through with the 
 search you would have a fine collection of odds 
 and ends. But I'm minded to be superstitious 
 for once. That puma with the glistening eyes 
 lias seemed to wink at me all day and say 'Get 
 me and yourself out of this quick!' I don't 
 want to impose my wishes on you others, but 
 my advice is : Start to-morrow ! ' ' 
 
 Madge, listening intently, nodded.
 
 THE DOWRY 289 
 
 "You are always right," she said emphati- 
 cally. " 'Whither thou goest, I will go; and 
 where thou lodgest ' 
 
 She hesitated, as though conscious that her 
 tongue was running away with her. The quo- 
 tation, though apt, was peculiarly infelicitous. 
 It did not please Sturgess ; it reminded Maseden 
 of an extraordinary relationship which he had 
 tried in vain to ignore; it jarred on Nina 
 Forbes 's sensitiveness, because it recalled the 
 promise she had made at dawn but had not had 
 any opportunity of fulfilling. 
 
 She it was who broke up the conclave 
 abruptly by springing to her feet. 
 
 "If we're going sailing the angry seas to- 
 morrow, it's high time we were trying to sleep," 
 she said. * * Come, Madge. . . . By the way, is 
 there to be any more guard-mounting to- 
 night?" 
 
 "Yes, and you have no concern therein," said 
 Maseden firmly. 
 
 "Who's keeping guard?" inquired Madge. 
 "This is the first I've heard of it." 
 
 "Alec has had an attack of the fidgets ever 
 since he saw that empty coracle," said Nina. 
 "But I'm the worst sort of sentry, anyhow, and 
 you would be no better, dear, so let us snooze 
 selfishly, and be ready to help the men in to- 
 morrow's hard work." 
 
 "I've never before known a verse from the
 
 290 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Bible break up a meeting like that," commented 
 Sturgess thoughtfully when the girls had gone. 
 " Somebody might have heaved a tin of kero- 
 sene into the fire, the way Nina jumped up." 
 
 "The words may have evoked distressing 
 memories," said Maseden incautiously. 
 
 "As how?" 
 
 Sturgess 's alert brain was very wide awake 
 at that moment, but Maseden contrived to extri- 
 cate himself. 
 
 "That famous phrase of Ruth's contains the 
 essence of an otherwise uninteresting Biblical 
 story," he said. "If Ruth had not been so 
 faithful to her mother-in-law we might never 
 have heard of her." 
 
 "Was Naomi her mother-in-law?" 
 
 "Yes. Ruth, herself a widow, married 
 Boaz." 
 
 "I guess I was sort of mixed up about it." 
 
 "Lots of people are," said Maseden dryly, 
 and the subject dropped. 
 
 They were astir early and, when the tide 
 served, put off with as little ceremony as 
 though they were going on a river picnic. 
 
 The boat, of course, was far more easily man- 
 aged than the raft. By keeping in the slack 
 water inshore they contrived to reach the mouth 
 of the gorge about the beginning of the ebb, and 
 their calculations were completely verified by
 
 THE DOWRY 291 
 
 the smoothness and safety of their subsequent 
 passage. 
 
 Maseden stood in the bows with an oar in 
 readiness to sheer away from any obstruction 
 in mid-stream. The two girls each took an oar, 
 and Sturgess steered, also with an oar, as the 
 broad-bladed rudder ran a foot deeper than the 
 keel, being intended to act as a center-board 
 when the sail was in use. 
 
 So preoccupied were they with their task that 
 they hardly noticed the spot where the cliff had 
 fallen away soon after they had passed be- 
 neath. Even the canopied rock on which they 
 found sanctuary after the loss of the raft 
 merely attracted a momentary glance. Madge, 
 eyeing the fissure which had so terrified her, 
 was about to say something when a warning 
 shout from Maseden caused her to pull a few 
 vigorous strokes. 
 
 They sheered past a flat boulder. A couple 
 of vultures, scared by the unwonted apparition 
 of a boat, flapped aloft, and they all saw, 
 stretched on the rock, some portions of a human 
 skeleton which most certainly had not been there 
 when they came that way little more than a fort- 
 night earlier. 
 
 The uncanny sight vanished as swiftly as it 
 came. None spoke. The pace of the stream 
 was quickening, and each had to be in instant 
 readiness to obey orders.
 
 292 Hlti UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 At this stage Maseden asked the girls to re- 
 verse their positions and pull steadily. In con- 
 sequence they were backing water, and thus 
 checking the boat's way appreciably. By this 
 means they rounded an awkward corner with- 
 out any trouble, and again their eyes dwelt on 
 the towering hills and wooded slopes of Han- 
 over Island. 
 
 Maseden and Sturgess now began to press lat- 
 erally towards the eastern channel. Two possi- 
 ble openings were abandoned because of the 
 ugly reefs sighted only a couple of hundred 
 yards away. At last, when practically in the 
 center of a two-mile-wide passage between the 
 three islands, Maseden saw a long stretch of 
 open water. 
 
 Shipping a pair of oars, and leaving the steer- 
 ing and general look-out to Sturgess, he called 
 on the girls to pull in the orthodox way. The 
 three bent to the task. After ten minutes of 
 really strenuous effort they were sensible of a 
 greatly diminished drag in the current. Five 
 minutes later they were in slack water, and 
 speedily thereafter the boat ran aground. 
 
 "Hooray!" yelled Sturgess, who alone had 
 any breath left to celebrate their victory. Some- 
 how, little as they had gained in actual distance, 
 since Providence Beach was only three miles 
 away, they all felt that their chief enemy was 
 conquered. They had profited by the initial
 
 THE DOWRY 293 
 
 mistake of keeping in mid-channel; they had 
 learned a great deal about the tricks and 
 changes of the Pacific tides ; they had secured a 
 first-rate boat, and, lodged in skins as a portion 
 of the ballast, was a treasure of no mean pro- 
 portions. 
 
 Small wonder that they were elated, or that 
 Maseden's strong face softened into a smile 
 of satisfaction as he drove the boat's anchor 
 securely into a crevice in the rocky beach. 
 
 But he neither forgot the skeleton on the rock 
 in Hell Gate nor failed to interpret correctly 
 its sinister message, so it was his careful scru- 
 tiny that first revealed a figure lying on the 
 shore at high-water mark about a quarter of a 
 mile to the east. He surveyed it steadily for a 
 while until the others, too, saw it. Then he 
 made up his mind as to the only practicable 
 course of action. He unhooked the anchor. 
 
 1 ' All hands overboard, ' ' he said quietly. ' ' We 
 must get the boat afloat." 
 
 They obeyed instantly. The girls returned on 
 board, their task being to steady the boat with 
 the oars. Maseden took a cudgel, which he pre- 
 ferred to a sword, and hurried towards the 
 prone figure. Sturgess followed, some fifty 
 yards behind, with the rifle, his mission being to 
 cover the retreat, if need be. 
 
 Neither Nina nor Madge uttered a word. 
 They were becoming hardened to danger. They
 
 294 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 knew full well that, for some unimaginable rea- 
 son, a territory hitherto closed to Indians was 
 now open to them, and Maseden had left his 
 companions under no delusions as to the char- 
 acteristics of the wretched tribes which infest 
 the lower coast and islands of Chile. 
 
 But the particular business of the women at 
 the moment was to keep the boat in such a posi- 
 tion that the men could jump in and shove off 
 into deep water without delay, and they at- 
 tended to that and nothing else. 
 
 War makes soldiers, and the struggle for life 
 had assuredly made these two girls brave 
 women.
 
 CHAPTEE XVII 
 
 BUNKING THE GANTLET 
 
 MASEDEN was not greatly concerned about the 
 dead Indian lying on the shore. What he really 
 expected was a sudden rush of savages from an 
 ambuscade, since it was now certain that a party 
 of natives had descended on Hanover Island. 
 Some might have escaped, but others had come 
 to grief. 
 
 The mere presence of a body showed that one, 
 at least, must have died quite recently, while 
 the bleaching bones passed in Hell Gate had 
 probably been alive two days earlier. Some 
 vultures were already circling high overhead, 
 and he wondered why the birds had not begun 
 their ghoulish task. 
 
 He could not recollect what manner of sepul- 
 ture the aborigines adopted, but, from every 
 point of view, it was more than strange to find 
 a corpse abandoned on the beach in such condi- 
 tions, unless, indeed, some drowned man had 
 just been cast up there by the receding tide. 
 
 If that were so, why did the vultures wait I 
 
 He was on the alert, therefore, for any sus- 
 picious movement among the nearest trees and 
 
 . 295
 
 296 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 tall grasses, and warned Sturgess to keep a 
 sharp lookout in the same direction. 
 
 11 These natives are treacherous brutes," he 
 said. * * They may have seen that our boat was 
 heading this way, and be simply waiting an 
 opportunity to stick harpoons into us. Don't 
 shoot actually on sight, but be ready to put a 
 stopper on anything like an attack." 
 
 The words had hardly left his lips when the 
 body on the beach moved! Slowly and, as it 
 seemed, painfully, the Indian raised head and 
 shoulders, and turned in the direction of the 
 voice, finally sitting up sideways and using the 
 right arm as a support. 
 
 Then, as Maseden drew near, he saw that this 
 was not a man, but a woman, a woman so ema- 
 ciated and feeble that the first astonished glance 
 he took her to be middle-aged, whereas, in 
 reality, she was not yet eighteen. She was 
 stark naked, and he soon discovered that her left 
 leg was broken. 
 
 The unfortunate wretch had dragged herself 
 to an oyster bed, as an array of freshly opened 
 shells testified; but there was no great supply 
 in that place; the water was too shallow. At 
 any rate, Maseden had no other means of esti- 
 mating how long she had been there; indeed, 
 he gave little thought to that consideration, be- 
 cause the problem of what to do with her arose 
 instantly.
 
 RUNNING TEE GANTLET 297 
 
 He argued, however, that the members of her 
 tribe could not be close at hand, since the merest 
 instinct of self-preservation would lead them to 
 assist one of their number rendered helpless 
 by an accident, though, among these wild folk, 
 an old woman might be regarded as of no ac- 
 count. 
 
 He spoke to her in Spanish, asking what had 
 happened, and she appeared -to have a vague 
 sense of his meaning; but her eyes were glis- 
 tening with terror and fever, and he could make 
 nothing of a mumbled reply except a word that 
 sounded like liumo, " smoke." She showed ex- 
 treme fear at sight of the gun carried by Stur- 
 gess. Holding out her left hand as if pleading 
 for mercy, she collapsed with a groan. 
 
 Sturgess, of course, was as fully aware as his 
 companion of the difficulties raised by the dis- 
 covery of this maimed creature. 
 
 "Well, by way of a change, Alec, I guess 
 we're up against a mighty tough proposition," 
 he said, scratching his head in sheer perplexity. 
 
 "We have only one course open, I take it," 
 said Maseden, though he, like Sturgess, felt that 
 they might well have been spared this addi- 
 tional burden. 
 
 "That's so. But are broken legs in your 
 line?" 
 
 "I have a notion that the bone-setter has to 
 straighten and adjust the fracture by main
 
 298 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 force, and then bind the limb tightly, leaving 
 the rest to nature. We have a spare oar. Chop 
 the blade into two lengths of about fifteen 
 inches, and get the girls to cut narrow strips 
 out of the canvas cover. Bring me my oilskin, 
 and what is left of the cover. We can carry her 
 in that. Leave the rifle with me and hurry! 
 On no account must either Nina or Madge come 
 away from the boat. Be sure and impress that 
 on them. We may have to run for our lives any 
 second." 
 
 Sturgess soon returned with the improvised 
 splints and bandages. He also brought a tin 
 of beef essence which Madge had found among 
 the boat's stores and was hoarding carefully 
 for such Lucullian feast when soup would ap- 
 pear on the menu. 
 
 When Maseden spoke of the remains of the 
 canvas cover he had in mind the fact that the 
 girls had fashioned the greater part of the 
 coarse material into divided skirts. Seals were 
 not plentiful in Rotunda Bay, and the devising 
 of garments had become a sheer necessity. 
 
 They persuaded the Indian girl to swallow 
 some of the beef extract. After tasting the 
 first mouthful she would have emptied the tin, 
 but this Maseden would not permit, because he 
 knew the ordeal that was coming. 
 
 It was a tough job, too. In a sense, it almost 
 proved more trying for the amateur surgeons
 
 RUNNING THE GANTLET 299 
 
 than for their unfortunate patient. Luckily, 
 she fainted at the first wrench. Then they set 
 their teeth and pulled the broken bones into 
 their correct positions as well as they could 
 adjudge them. When the girl revived she was 
 already clothed in the oilskin and slung in the 
 canvas sheet as in a hammock, while the limb 
 was bound immovably between two .roughly 
 fashioned splints. 
 
 Maseden imagined that this creature of the 
 wild was, in all probability, as hardy as a cor- 
 morant, and equally voracious. At any rate, 
 when laid in the boat, she gobbled up the 
 remaining contents of the tin, ate ravenously 
 of ship's biscuits and salt beef, and drank a 
 mug of coffee in a gulp. When she discovered 
 that no more food would be supplied she 
 yielded to an evidently overwhelming desire to 
 sleep. 
 
 Before closing her eyes, however, she had 
 something to say. She was afraid of the men, 
 but obviously placed trust in the two girls, 
 neither of whom knew a syllable of Spanish be- 
 yond the few phrases which all travelers in 
 South America must perforce acquire. 
 
 Madge, having the gift of music, contrived to 
 mimic certain words with tolerable accuracy, 
 and "smoke," "boats," "bad men," seemed, to 
 Maseden 's ear, to emerge from the guttural In- 
 dian accents. In one important respect, the
 
 300 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 wishes of the new addition to the party were 
 quite understandable. She pointed to Provi- 
 dence Beach, indicated the boat, and made it 
 clear that she counselled a prompt move east- 
 ward. 
 
 At last Maseden evolved a fairly intelligible 
 notion of what she was endeavoring to convey. 
 He believed, and rightly so, that she was telling 
 her rescuers how a number of Indians had been 
 attracted to Hanover Island by the smoke of 
 the castaways ' fire. They assumed a wreck, 
 with its prospect of loot, and, egged on by greed, 
 had ultimately dared a passage hitherto re- 
 garded as impracticable. Some had been killed ; 
 others had escaped, and were now on the camp- 
 ing-ground at Providence Beach. 
 
 Apparently the girl was warning these 
 strangers against her own people and recom- 
 mending a speedy flight to safer quarters. 
 Oddly enoughj her advice coincided with Mase- 
 den 's own views. By landing on that part of 
 the coast, and lighting a fire, they would be 
 incurring a grave risk if there were Indians 
 about, since the few miles * strip of shore, diffi- 
 cult though it was, would be negotiated easily 
 by natives. 
 
 The abandonment of the injured girl he could 
 not acount for, nor was he sure the boat had 
 been observed, granted even that Providence 
 Beach was not actually occupied by savages.
 
 RUNNING THE GANTLET 301 
 
 But he was not inclined to take any chances. 
 Deep water flowed yet in the main channel, and 
 the day was not far advanced. 
 
 So he and Sturgess shipped the oars and 
 pulled until they were weary; before night fell 
 they had met the rising tide, and made a good 
 landing, not on Hanover Island, but on the east- 
 ern end of Island Number Two. 
 
 They slept in the boat as best they could, the 
 men taking turns at mounting guard, as in ad- 
 dition to the now somewhat improbable chance 
 of being attacked, their craft had to be maneu- 
 vered into slack water as the tide rose and fell. 
 They were all heartily glad to see the dawn and 
 eat a good meal. 
 
 The very smell of food awakened the Indian 
 girl. Like a healthy animal recovering from 
 hardship, she was growing plumper and come- 
 lier under their very eyes. With each hour she 
 shed a year in appearance, and her confidence 
 increased in about the same ration. 
 
 When she discovered that Maseden alone 
 spoke Spanish she tried to explain matters to 
 him. But her own knowledge of the language 
 was of the slightest, and he was only able to 
 confirm his over-night belief as to the danger 
 of remaining in the vicinity of their first land- 
 ing-place. 
 
 Singularly his close acquaintance with the 
 San Juan patois proved most helpful. It oc-
 
 302 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 curred to him that this might be so, as the root 
 words of Indian tribes throughout the South 
 American continent have undergone fewer 
 changes than would have been the case among 
 civilized peoples. Many were in use among the 
 Spanish half-castes on the ranch, and this ab- 
 origine grasped their meaning at once. Good 
 linguist though he was, however, Maseden failed 
 to extract more than a glimmering of sense from 
 her uncouth accents. 
 
 But none could fail to be impressed by her re- 
 lief when the boat was afloat and traveling 
 east. They soon quitted the channel between 
 the islands and entered the wide expanse of 
 Nelson Straits. The weather was fine, and a 
 steady wind from the southwest encouraged 
 Maseden to rig the sail. 
 
 Having a wholesome respect for the Pacific 
 tides, he meant to hug the coast of Hanover 
 Island. But after studying the clouds intently 
 for an hour, the Indian girl signified that she 
 wished to be lifted in her hammock. She then 
 pointed to some small islands just distinguish- 
 able on the horizon, and apparently situated in 
 the middle of the straits. 
 
 She saw the hesitancy in Maseden 's face, and 
 by this time had evidently singled him out as 
 the leader of the party. Then she turned to 
 Nina Forbes, and her gestures said as plainly, 
 no doubt, as her words :
 
 RUNNING TEE GANTLET 303 
 
 "If / can't persuade him, perhaps you can. 
 Tell him to take the course I recommend. ' ' 
 
 For some reason Nina's cheeks grew scarlet 
 under the brown tan of constant exposure to the 
 whether, nor did a pronounced wink by Stur- 
 gess at Madge tend to restore her composure. 
 But she met the Indian girl's appeal with seem- 
 ing nonchalance and bravely ignored the ob- 
 vious inference. 
 
 "I suppose she thinks that I may exercise 
 some influence in the matter, Alec," she said, 
 striving in vain to suppress a nervous little 
 laugh. "I do honestly believe she means well. 
 She is extraordinarily grateful to us. I have 
 been watching her, and there is a dog-like de- 
 votion in her eyes when we render any little 
 service that is reassuring." 
 
 "Those islets out there may be bare rocks," 
 protested Maseden. He had little knowledge of 
 sailing boats, and hesitated at a long trip in 
 these fickle waters. 
 
 "Perhaps that is why she wishes us to go that 
 way. They lie due east, and that is something 
 in their favor." 
 
 Still was he dubious, largely owing to the 
 intervening stretch of open sea, but again he 
 essayed to question their would-be pilot. 
 
 The girl was quite emphatic in her direction 
 as to the course, and equally opposed to the 
 more cautious method he favored. A good deal
 
 304 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 of this was expressed in pantomime, but it was 
 none the less understandable. 
 
 Finally, finding that the others had faith in 
 her, Maseden nodded to Madge, who was at the 
 tiller, as the rudder had been shipped when the 
 sail was hoisted; and the boat was put across 
 the wind. The Indian girl smiled, and was sat- 
 isfied. They lifted her down to her place amid- 
 ships, where her head rested on the package of 
 treasure, and she remained there contentedly 
 many hours. 
 
 Long before the violet-hued blurs in front 
 took definite shape as a group of two fair-sized 
 islands, with trees, lying among a great many 
 stark rocks, sticking straight up out of the sea, 
 the voyagers became aware of at least one good 
 reason for their guide's choice of direction. 
 The coast of Hanover Island began to fall away 
 sharply to the northeast, and a wide gap opened 
 up between it and the nearest land, a gap which 
 must have been crossed in any event. 
 
 Maseden himself was the first to admit that 
 they had been given sound advice. 
 
 Luckily the wind remained steady, and 
 brought their craft on at a fair pace against a 
 falling tide. Nevertheless it was a long sail, 
 far longer than any of them had anticipated, 
 and the shadows were deepening when the men 
 again lifted the Indian girl level with the gun- 
 wale to find out if she could recommend the
 
 RUNNING TEE GANTLET 305 
 
 safest way of approaching a particularly for- 
 bidding shore. 
 
 She understood at once what they wanted, 
 and indicated a narrow channel between two 
 gigantic outlying rocks. Though it was pre- 
 cisely the one of three possible waterways which 
 no stranger would have chosen, they did not 
 dream now of disputing her judgment. The 
 passage was made more easily than they had 
 counted on, and a second time was their faith 
 justified, because a strip of white beach soon 
 showed on the line where trees and sea met. 
 
 The boat was run ashore, and a fire was 
 lighted. The weather had become much colder, 
 probably owing to the absence of shelter from 
 the hills under which they had camped during 
 the past month. The Indian girl offered no ob- 
 jection to the fire. In fact, when laid near it in 
 a sand hollow, she fell asleep long before any 
 of them. 
 
 The boat, of course, had to be safeguarded, 
 as they landed at low water. Were it not for 
 a fissure in the rock which permitted them to 
 row fully a quarter of a mile nearer high-water 
 mark than would have been possible otherwise, 
 they must have devoted a wearisome time to 
 the task of hauling her in as the tide rose. For- 
 tunately, there was no heavy surf. The reefs 
 they had seen some fifteen miles to the west- 
 ward had broken up the long Pacific rollers, and
 
 306 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the breeze was not strong enough to disturb 
 this inland sea. 
 
 Nina and Madge elected to sleep on the sand. 
 
 "You can have too much of a good thing," 
 explained Madge laughingly, ' * and, greatly as I 
 prize our ark, I am tired of it to-day. Every 
 bone in my body is aching. ' ' 
 
 They had, of course, given up each skin and 
 strip of canvas they possessed in order to ren- 
 der the Indian girl more domfortable during 
 the voyage, and a ship's boat can be a most irk- 
 some conveyance in such circumstances. 
 
 When the tide was high Sturgess and Mase- 
 den, before they, too, turned in, rose to make 
 sure that the anchor could not drag during the 
 night, and Sturgess electrified his friend by 
 choosing that odd moment to allude to the Carta- 
 gena marriage. 
 
 "Say, Alec," he said, "you sure have had the 
 time of your life ever since you were hauled off 
 to San Juan and sentenced to be shot. ' ' 
 
 Maseden imagined that the New Yorker was 
 merely referring to the incidents following the 
 shipwreck. 
 
 "I don't see exactly how life has been more 
 of a sizzle for me than for you and the girls," 
 he said. 
 
 "Ah, come off it, Alec!" laughed the other. 
 "You know better than that. But I guess I'll 
 have to hand the explanation on a tray. Madge
 
 RUNNING THE GANTLET 307 
 
 and Nina have told the facts about your wed- 
 ding. Gosh ! What a jolt it must have given 
 you to find your wife on board the Southern 
 Cross!" 
 
 "You know?" gasped Maseden. 
 
 "Yep. They up and told me while you were 
 gathering fire-wood. Nina said she had prom- 
 ised you to put the full hand on the table at the 
 first opportunity. She 's done it. ' ' 
 
 "Nina! Didn't Madge say anything V 9 
 
 "You bet your life. She was tickled to death. 
 It's been worrying her no end." 
 
 "May I ask" 
 
 ' * No, you mayn't. It was square of you, Alec, 
 to insist that I should come in on the inside 
 track. Of course, I wasn't born and bred in 
 little old New York for nothing, and I had my 
 doubts a while back. One day, too, you were 
 within an ace of blurting out the whole yarn. 
 I remember it well. I'm glad now you didn't. 
 It would have made things kind of difficult 
 for me. But both girls are a bit shy where 
 you're concerned. You don't blame 'em, do 
 you?" 
 
 Maseden was absolutely bewildered. Stur- 
 gess was an irresponsible, devil-may-care fel- 
 low in many respects, but these effervescent 
 qualities cloaked a fine sensibility, and it was 
 astounding to find him treating the matter so 
 lightly.
 
 308 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "I I hardly know what to say," he stam- 
 mered. 
 
 "Say nothing. The tangle will straighten 
 out in time. We're going to win through all 
 right, so let us forget the San Juan affair till 
 it overtakes us. You ain't going to switch off 
 from Nina on to Madge, I guess, so you and I 
 won't quarrel, and the other kinks in the chain 
 will sort themselves if we all go easy." 
 
 "Tell me this. What was the cause of the 
 marriage ? ' ' 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 "You don't know?" Each word was a cre- 
 scendo of astonishment. 
 
 ' ' No. What business is it of mine, anyhow ? ' ' 
 
 "But you yourself have told me that you 
 mean to marry Madge." 
 
 "Sure as death." 
 
 "Yet" 
 
 "Sorry, Alec. I've promised to keep mum. 
 Suppose we leave it at that." 
 
 "What is there to keep mum about?" 
 
 "Hanged if / can tell you, though you your- 
 self haven't been what you might call bursting 
 with information during the past month." 
 
 "It was a woman's secret, C. K." 
 
 "And that's just how I size it up at this sit- 
 ting." 
 
 Sturgess 's logic was unanswerable, but Mase- 
 den was in high dudgeon as he strode back to
 
 RUNNING THE GANTLET 309 
 
 the camp-fire. He was far more angry with 
 Nina than with Madge. He suspected that 
 Madge simply followed her sister's instructions, 
 and the injustice of this steady refusal of confi- 
 dence was aggravated by the fact that Sturgess 
 seemed to know more about the ins and outs of 
 the affair now than he did. 
 
 True, the New Yorker said he was still in ig- 
 norance of the motive which led up to the mar- 
 riage, yet he had hinted at the possession of 
 knowledge withheld from the man who had 
 saved their lives not once but a dozen times. 
 Nina was to blame. Maseden was certain of 
 that. He would have liked to shake her. 
 
 As it happened, she was either sound asleep 
 or pretending it, so he, too, curled up in the 
 sand and slept till long after dawn. 
 
 The new day began with an unexpected diffi- 
 culty. The Indian girl was cheerful as a grig 
 during breakfast. She ascertained their names, 
 which she pronounced fairly well. "Nina" she 
 had no trouble with. "Madge" she made into 
 "Mad-je." Maseden was "Ah-lek," and Stur- 
 gess "See-ke." Her own name had a barbar- 
 ous sound, if, indeed, it was a name at all; so 
 Madge christened her "Topsy," which seemed 
 to please her. But her light-heartedness van- 
 ished when she saw preparations being made to 
 renew the voyage. She protested volubly, 
 pointed to a colony of seals and well-filled beds
 
 310 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 of oysters, and generally implied an earnest de- 
 sire to remain on the island. 
 
 Eastward, it would appear, were other "bad 
 men" and "much smoke," but, whatsoever her 
 motive, Maseden sternly overruled her. She 
 was greatly distressed when placed on board 
 the boat, and sulked for a couple of hours. As 
 the coast drew near, however, she evinced re- 
 newed anxiety, and signified that she would act 
 as pilot again. 
 
 The land seemed to be a replica of seaward 
 islands ; a fast-running tidal stream passed due 
 east between two gaunt promontories. Accord- 
 ing to Maseden 's reckoning the straits they 
 were now entering should open into Smyth's 
 Channel, and he bent his wits to the task of 
 getting Topsy to understand that he wanted to 
 meet one of the big ships which follow that 
 route. 
 
 He believed she understood, but there could 
 be no doubting she was so deeply concerned as 
 to the probable whereabouts of the inhabitants 
 of the coast region that she gave little heed to 
 the wishes of her rescuers. 
 
 Oblivious of the pain she must be enduring, 
 she contrived to perch herself in the bows, and 
 scanned each bay and inlet of the ever-narrow- 
 ing passage, though this was no subsidiary chan- 
 nel, but a deep and swift tide-way. The wind 
 was strong and favorable and the boat was
 
 RUNNING THE GANTLET 311 
 
 traveling fully eight knots an hour, a speed 
 which no native craft could hope to rival. Still, 
 Topsy's marked uneasiness led Maseden to ex- 
 amine the rifle and make sure that its mechan- 
 ism was in good order and the magazine 
 charged. 
 
 He had no definite notion as to the type of 
 weapons used by the Indians. Nearly all sav- 
 ages are armed with spears and clubs, but he 
 believed that a people so low in the social scale 
 as these South American nomads would not pos- 
 sess firearms. At any rate, he bade all hands 
 keep a sharp lookout, and specifically ordered 
 Sturgess and the girls to take cover in the event 
 of an attack, unless an actual attempt was made 
 to board the boat, in which case the girls could 
 thrust with the rapiers and Sturgess might do 
 good work with an ax. 
 
 They ran on several miles without incident, 
 and were beginning to think that their gnide 
 was, perhaps, swayed more by recollection of 
 earlier sufferings than by any active peril of 
 the hour, when Topsy, whose piercing black eyes 
 were ever and anon turned to the bluffs on 
 either hand, uttered a sharp cry and pointed to 
 a low cliff overhanging a bay they had just 
 passed on the left. 
 
 Three thin columns of smoke were ascending 
 from its summit. 
 
 Maseden could make nothing of her excited
 
 312 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 speech, but he understood her gestures readily, 
 and took it that the smoke was a signal, while 
 the danger, whatever it may be, lay ahead. 
 
 And, indeed, they had not long to wait for an 
 explanation. From around a point not a mile 
 distant, and directly in front, appeared a num- 
 ber of coracles, eight all told, and each con- 
 taining two men, or a man and a woman. It 
 was clear that this flotilla meant to waylay 
 them, and the terror exhibited by the Indian 
 girl was only too eloquent as to the fate of the 
 boat's occupants if they allowed themselves to 
 be overpowered. 
 
 Maseden disposed his forces promptly. Stur- 
 gess was given the tiller. Topsy was put back 
 on her couch in the bottom of the boat, and Nina 
 and Madge were told to crouch by her side until 
 their help was called for. From the outset the 
 Americans did not dream of attempting to par- 
 ley. Topsy 's unfeigned dread was sufficient to 
 ban any such quixotic notion. 
 
 The coracles were strung out in an irregular 
 line, covering a width of about four hundred 
 yards, and, in laying his plans, Maseden re- 
 called the strategy of a certain great admiral. 
 
 "Head slap for their center," he told Stur- 
 gess confidently. "That was Nelson's favorite 
 way of attack. If possible, he always broke the 
 enemy's line in two, and I suppose it paid him. 
 I think these heavy-caliber bullets will rip a
 
 RUNNING THE GANTLET 313 
 
 tive craft as though it were made of brown pa- 
 per, and I should be able to sink at least four 
 before the others can close in." 
 
 Sturgess nodded. 
 
 ''What Nelson says goes," he grinned. 
 
 The battle opened at a range of one hundred 
 yards, and Maseden's first shot buckled the 
 framework of the nearest coracle, so that it 
 sank like a stone. There was a spurt of steam 
 as the fire which every Indian boat carries 
 reached the water, and two men swam away 
 like otters. 
 
 The second shot struck a little too high. It 
 whizzed through the craft's hide cover and 
 lodged in an Indian's body, because the man 
 yelled frantically. Maseden fired again, and 
 damaged another coracle. 
 
 But by this time he had made the unpleasing 
 discovery that these light skiffs could be pro- 
 pelled very rapidly for a short distance. In 
 each a man or woman was paddling with furi- 
 ous energy, while their companions were using 
 slings. Small, heavy stones rattled against and 
 into the boat. 
 
 Sturgess was struck twice on the breast and 
 left shoulder, and was only saved from serious 
 injury by the stout oilskin coat he was wearing. 
 Even so, he went white with pain, but he neither 
 utter a word nor neglected his task, which was 
 to keep the sail filled and the boat traveling.
 
 314 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Maseden had two objects in mind to beat off 
 their assailants and yet keep sufficient ammuni- 
 tion in stock lest other Indians were encoun- 
 tered later. He sank two more coracles, and 
 had killed or wounded three men, when a flint 
 pebble struck him on the head, finding the exact 
 spot where he was injured during the wreck. 
 
 He sank to his knees, and tried to say some- 
 thing. He believed he heard a crash and some 
 shouting. Then the sky and hills and swift- 
 running waters whirled in a mad dance before 
 his eyes, and he lost consciousness.
 
 CHAPTER XVTEI 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 
 
 JUST as before, when he awoke on board the 
 Southern Cross in surroundings so bewildering 
 that he gave up the effort to localize them, his 
 puzzled eyes now surveyed white-painted pan- 
 elled walls, a brass-bound port-light, and some 
 tapestry curtains. At any other time he would 
 have realized at once that he was in a ship's 
 cabin, but now an uncomprehending stare soon 
 yielded to a torpor of pain. 
 
 He believed that a gentle hand adjusted a 
 bandage on his head, and was aware of a grate- 
 ful coldness where before there had been heat 
 and a throbbing ache. Afterwards he thought 
 it was immediately, though the interval was a 
 full half hour he looked again at the walls and 
 ceiling with something of real recognition in 
 his glance. 
 
 4 'Glad to see you're regaining your wits, Mr. 
 Alexander," said a man's voice, a strange but 
 very pleasant voice. "Lucky for you you've 
 got the right sort of thick head, or, from what 
 I hear, it would certainly have been cracked 
 twice." 
 
 815
 
 316 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Mr. Alexander! Who was he? And where 
 was he ? Where were 
 
 1 ' May he talk a little now, doctor ! ' ' and Mase- 
 den would have had to be very dead if he did 
 not know that Nina Forbes was sitting by his 
 side. He turned, and even remembered to re- 
 press a groan lest some one in authority might 
 not grant her request. 
 
 Even so the doctor was dubious. 
 1 'He must not be allowed to get excited," he 
 said. 
 
 "Then may he listen to me a minute?" 
 "Yes, if you really keep to schedule." 
 "Don't move, Alec!" whispered Nina, and 
 there seemed to be a note in her voice that Mase- 
 den had heard only once before, though he could 
 not recall the occasion. "We're on board a 
 mail steamer bound for England, but she 
 touches at Punta Arenas and Buenos Ayres, so 
 you must be 'Mr. Alexander,' not 'Mr Mase- 
 den,' until we reach home. Don't ask why just 
 now. I'll tell you to-morrow, or next day, when 
 you are stronger. You will trust me, won't 
 you?" 
 
 "Trust you, Nina! Yes, forever!" 
 
 He looked at her, as though to make sure that 
 
 his senses were not deceiving him and that it 
 
 was really Nina Forbes who sat there, a Nina 
 
 with her hair nicely combed and coiled and
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 317 
 
 wearing a particularly attractive pink jersey 
 and white serge skirt. 
 
 He thought that her eyes those frank blue 
 eyes he had gazed into so often were suffused 
 with tears. 
 
 1 'Why are you crying!" he demanded, with 
 just a hint of that domineering way of his. 
 
 "Not for grief," she said quietly. "But you 
 must drink this now, and go to sleep. When 
 you awaken again, perhaps the doctor will let 
 C. K. come and chat with you." 
 
 "O.K.? Is he all right?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And Madge?" 
 
 "Yes. Not another word. Drink to please 
 me." 
 
 "I'll do anything to please you." 
 
 He swallowed some milk and soda-water; 
 took a whole tumbler-full, in fact. 
 
 1 ' That 's fine, " he said. ' ' Now I '11 hold your 
 hand and you'll tell me " 
 
 "You're going to close your eyes and lie 
 still," she said firmly. "If you don't I'll leave 
 you. If you do, I'll stay here." 
 
 "I'm bribed," he said, smiling. Soon he 
 slept, but this was nature's healing sleep, not 
 the coma of insensibility. When next he en- 
 tered a world of reality he found Sturgess sit- 
 ting where Nina had been. 
 
 * ' Going strong now, Alec 1 ' ' inquired his friend.
 
 318 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 Maseden did not answer at once. He wanted 
 to be quite sure that the wretched throbbing in 
 his head had ceased. Yes; there was a great 
 soreness, but it was of the scalp, not of the in- 
 ternal mechanism. He sat bolt upright. 
 
 "Hi!" shouted Sturgess, "you mustn't do 
 that! Gosh! The doctor man will raise Cain 
 with me if he knows I let you move." 
 
 "I'm all right, C. K." 
 
 "You're going to flatten out straight away, 
 or I'll shriek for help." 
 
 Maseden lay down. The dominant emotion of 
 the moment was curiosity. Perhaps, if he kept 
 quiet, Sturgess would talk. 
 
 At any rate, the New Yorker was much re- 
 lieved, and said so. 
 
 "You've nearly hopped it," he explained anx- 
 iously. "It was a case of touch and go with 
 you for two days, and " 
 
 "Two days!" gasped Maseden. "Have I 
 been stretched here two days!" 
 
 "And more. We were picked up by the Va- 
 lentia on Thursday evening, and now it is Sun- 
 day morning. ' ' 
 
 "Everything seems to happen on a Sunday," 
 said Maseden inconsequently ; but Sturgess un- 
 derstood. 
 
 "Sunday is our day," he agreed. "Now, if 
 you don't butt into the soliloquy, but show an 
 intelligent interest by an occasional nod, I'll
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 319 
 
 switch you on to the Information Bureau. The 
 doc said I might, just to stop you from worry- 
 ing. 
 
 1 ' When an Indian with a spit lip got you with 
 a stone at about five yards there were two cora- 
 cles on each side of us. I suspicioned that the 
 Thugs in them meant to spring aboard at the 
 same time, which would have meant trouble, so 
 it was up to me to spoil the combination. I 
 shoved the helm hard over and drove into the 
 two on the port side. Our heavy boat went 
 through them as though they were jelly-fish, 
 and the sudden rise of our starboard gunwale 
 upset the calculations of the other crowd. 
 
 "Everybody, including you, rolled over with 
 the sudden lurch, but Nina gathered herself to- 
 gether, grabbed your gun, stood straight on her 
 feet, and said to me: 'Do you know which of 
 these men hit Alec?' 'Yes,' I said, 'that joker 
 with the criss-cross mouth. But you lie down. 
 We're clear now.' Without another word she 
 drew a steady bead on the stone-slinger and got 
 him with the first shot. 
 
 1 1 Then she attended to you. It seemed almost 
 as though we had reached the limit, with you 
 lying like dead, and me weak and sick, because 
 the slingers gave me a couple to begin with, and 
 the Indian girl screaming for all she was worth. 
 Nina was just crooning over you like a mother 
 nursing an ailing baby, so Madge came and took
 
 320 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 the tiller not before time, as I didn't know 
 enough to run with the wind again. 
 
 "We missed a howling reef by a hair's 
 breadth missed it only because the new course 
 had taken us close inshore towards the north. 
 Half an hour later we were in Smyth's Channel, 
 and didn't know it, so we would have been 
 sailing yet into the middle of the Andes if the 
 Valentia hadn't bumped around a corner. Since 
 then we three have been setting the scene for 
 you when you come on deck. The passengers 
 are the right sort, every man and woman among 
 'em all wool and a yard wide. Tell you what, 
 Alec I'd better warn you Nina and Madge 
 have fixed up a star turn for you on your first 
 appearance." 
 
 Sturgess paused to grin largely, so Maseden 
 broke in with a question. 
 
 "Are we at sea now?" he inquired. 
 
 "No. We're anchored at Punta Arenas. The 
 girls have gone ashore to see that Topsy is well 
 fixed in a mission-house. The man who runs it 
 came aboard for mail. He talks Topsy 's lingo, 
 so now we know why we happened on her. She 
 broke her leg when one of half a dozen coracles 
 was upset, and the brutes simply left her there 
 to die, as they were in such a dashed hurry to 
 go for the supposed loot of a wrecked ship. She 
 will be all right here. I've attended to the 
 financial side of it. They tell me that a
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 321 
 
 hundred dollars will make her a great heiress." 
 
 * * What about my name Alexander 1 ' ' 
 
 "Gee whiz! I was nearly forgetting. That 
 was Nina's notion. She's real cute, that girl. 
 She sized up the position in San Juan, and in 
 case there might be any difficulty while the ship 
 is in South American waters gave your name as 
 Philip Alexander. She remembered that there 
 was a Mr. Alexander on board the Southern 
 Cross, and it would be just silly to try and pass 
 you off as a broncho-buster. No one gave any 
 heed to your clothes. Our collective rig was so 
 cubist or futurist, in general effect, that your 
 vaquero outfit passed with the rest. 
 
 "The skipper is about your size, and he has 
 sent you a suit. The girls are buying linen and 
 underclothes for all of us in Punta Arenas. I 
 had no money, so instead of borrowing from 
 the other people I went through your pants for 
 five hundred dollars. You'll find a note with 
 your wad, so that you can collect if I peg out 
 before we find a bank." 
 
 Then Maseden laughed, and was heard by the 
 doctor, who was coming along the gangway. 
 
 "Halloa!" he said. "Was it you who 
 laughed, Mr. Alexander?" 
 
 "Yes, doctor." 
 
 "Any pain in your head?" 
 
 "Outside, yes; inside, no." 
 
 "Feeling sick?"
 
 322 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "Sick. I could eat a pound of grilled steak." 
 
 "You'll do! Wonderful health resort, that 
 wild land you've been wandering through. You 
 have survived the nastiest concussion, short of 
 absolutely fatal injuries, I've come across. I 
 can't prescribe steak just yet, but if you get 
 through the night without a temperature I'll 
 allow you on deck to-morrow for a couple of 
 hours." 
 
 Maseden chafed against the enforced rest, and 
 rebelled against a diet of milk and beef tea, but 
 the doctor was wiser than he, and the patient 
 acknowledged it when really strong again. 
 
 On the day the ship left Buenos Ayres he was 
 able to dress unaided and reach a chair on 
 deck without a helping arm. The boat which 
 had proved the salvation of the castaways had 
 been hoisted on board, and that particular part 
 of the deck was allotted to the party of four. 
 The other passengers were never tired of hear- 
 ing them recount their adventures, and Mase- 
 den, to his secret amazement, discovered that 
 Nina Forbes seemed to find delight in attracting 
 an audience. 
 
 Madge and Sturgess could, and did, stroll 
 off together for many an uninterrupted chat, 
 but Nina was always surrounded by a coterie of 
 strangers, some of them men, young men, 
 frankly admiring young men. 
 
 Maseden endured this state of affairs until the
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 323 
 
 ship had signalled her name and destination at 
 Fernando Noronha, whence there was a straight 
 run home. Then, disobeying the doctor, and 
 coming on deck for the first time after dinner, 
 he found Nina ensconced in her corner alone. 
 
 He took her by surprise. She would have 
 sprung up, but he stopped her with a firm hand. 
 
 "No, you don't," he said, pulling a chair 
 around and seating himself so that his broad 
 back offered a barrier to any would-be intruder. 
 "You and I are going to have a heart-to-heart 
 talk, Nina. I've been waiting many days for 
 the chance of it, and now is the time." 
 
 She tried to laugh carelessly. 
 
 "What an alarming announcement," she tit- 
 tered. "Wherein have I erred that I am to be 
 catechised? Or is it only a lecture on general 
 behavior 1 ' ' 
 
 "I'll tell you. While we were trying to dodge 
 the worries of existence round about Hanover 
 Island I gave little real thought to my own af- 
 fairs. But the calm of the past few days has 
 enabled me to sort out events in what I may 
 term their natural sequence, and the second rap 
 on the head may have restored my wits to their 
 average working capacity. Perhaps it will sim- 
 plify matters if I begin at the beginning. The 
 woman I married " 
 
 "Are you still harping on that unfortunate 
 marriage?"
 
 324 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 The tone was flippant enough, but its studied 
 nonchalance was a trifle overdone. 
 
 * * Yes, ' ' he said quietly. ' ' I promise that you 
 will not be bored by the facts I intend to put 
 before you now to-night unless you resolve 
 not to listen.'* 
 
 There was no answer. Somehow, every 
 woman knows just how far she may play with 
 a man. Had Nina Forbes chosen, she might 
 have sent her true lover out of her life that in- 
 stant. She did not so choose. Indeed, nothing 
 was further from her mind. She did not com- 
 mit the error of imagining that Maseden would 
 pester her with his wooing and wait her good 
 pleasure to yield. His temperament did not in- 
 cline to gusts of passion. She must hear him 
 now or lose him forever. 
 
 "Of course I'll listen," she said timidly. 
 
 "Thank you. Well, then, my wife signed the 
 register as Madeleine. That is not your sister's 
 name." 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Nor yours?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Yet you led me to believe that I had married 
 your sister?" 
 
 "No. You assumed it." 
 
 "What really happened was that you as- 
 sumed the name of Madeleine. Nina, you are 
 my wife!"
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 325 
 
 "In a sense, yes." 
 
 Though the promenade deck was lighted by a 
 few lamps, there was a certain gloom in that 
 corner. Nina's face was discernable, but not 
 its expression, and a curious hardening in her 
 voice brought to Maseden a whiff of surprise, 
 almost of anxiety. Happily he had mapped out 
 the line he meant to follow, and adhered to it 
 inflexibly. 
 
 "In the sense that you are legally Mrs. Philip 
 Alexander Maseden," he persisted. 
 
 "I may or may not be. I am not sure. I 
 used a name not my own. It was the first that 
 come into my head a frightened woman's at- 
 tempt to leave herself some loophole of escape 
 in the future." 
 
 4 'You are mistaken, Nina. I know enough 
 about the law to say definitely that it is the cere- 
 mony which counts, not the name. You will see 
 at once that this must be so. If you married an- 
 other man to-morrow, and signed yourself 
 'Mary Smith,' you would still be committing 
 bigamy." 
 
 At that she laughed. 
 
 "I must really be careful," she said. 
 
 "I only want to fix in your mind the absolute 
 finality of that early morning wedding in the 
 Castle of San Juan. It makes matters easier." 
 
 "To my thinking it makes them most com- 
 plex."
 
 326 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 "Not at all. You and I have only reversed 
 the usual procedure. Common-place folk meet, 
 fall in love, go through a more or less frenzied 
 period of being engaged, and, finally, get mar- 
 ried. We began by getting married. Circum- 
 stances beyond our control stopped the natural 
 progression of the affair, but I suggest that the 
 frenzied part of the business might well start 
 now. ' ' 
 
 He caught her left hand and held it. She did 
 not endeavor to withdraw it, but he was star- 
 tled by her seeming indifference. Still, being 
 a determined person, even in such a delicate 
 matter as love-making, he pursued his theme. 
 
 "You well know that I mean to marry you, 
 Nina, though I have regarded myself as bound 
 to your sister until freed by process of law," he 
 went on. "But I ought to have guessed sooner 
 that Madge would never have allowed Sturgess 
 to become so openly her slave if she had con- 
 tracted to love, honor and obey me. She might, 
 indeed, have shared my view that the marriage 
 was a make-believe affair as between her and 
 me, but she would have held it as binding until 
 the law declared her free. Then, that day in 
 Hell Gate, when the hazard of a few minutes 
 would decide whether we lived or died, you 
 meant to tell me the truth before the end came. 
 Is that so?" 
 
 "Yes."
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 327 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "You have no right to ask." Her voice was 
 very low. 
 
 ' * I can answer my own question. You wanted 
 to die in my arms, Nina, with our first and last 
 kiss on our lips. Fool that I was, I was so con- 
 cerned about the height of a tide-mark on a rock 
 that I gave no heed to the faltering speech of 
 the woman I loved. The next time I heard 
 those same accents from you was when I came 
 to my senses on board this ship. For a few 
 seconds you bared your heart again, Nina, and 
 again I was deaf. 
 
 "You must forgive me, sweetheart, though 
 such grievous lack of perception was really the 
 highest compliment I could pay you. The no- 
 tion that I was married to Madge was firmly 
 established in my mind, and I literally dared 
 not tell you that you were the one woman in 
 the world for me till the other obstacle was re- 
 moved. Seldom, if ever, I suppose, has any 
 man been in such a position. Of course, there 
 would have been no difficulty at all if I had 
 happened to guess the truth " 
 
 "That is just where you are mistaken, Alec," 
 and the words came with a sorrowful earnest- 
 ness that Maseden found vastly disconcerting. 
 "What woman with a shred of self-respect 
 would agree to regard such a union as ours 
 binding? Now, you have had your say; let me
 
 328 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 have mine," and she snatched her hand away 
 vehemently. "I married you as part of an in- 
 famous compact between that trader, Stein- 
 baum, and Mr. Gray. 
 
 "My family is not wealthy, Alec. When my 
 mother married a second time she did so largely 
 on account of Madge and myself. She lacked 
 money to educate us, or give us the social posi- 
 tion every good mother desires for her daugh- 
 ters. But Mr. Gray, though a man of means, 
 frittered away a good income in foolish specu- 
 lations. He was worth half a million dollars, 
 and believed himself such a financial genius that 
 he could soon be a multi-millionaire. Instead 
 of making money, he lost it, and the latest of 
 his follies was to finance Enrico Suarez in a 
 scheme to seize the presidency. The attempt 
 was to have, been made two years ago, but 
 was postponed, or defeated, I don't know 
 which " 
 
 "Defeated," put in Maseden. "I know, be- 
 cause I helped to put a stopper on it." 
 
 "Well, the collapse of that undertaking and 
 its golden promise frightened my stepfather. 
 After a lot of correspondence between Stein- 
 baum and himself he came to South America, 
 bringing with him practically the remnants of 
 his fortune. My mother was too ill to accom- 
 pany him, and he refused to travel alone, so we 
 two girls were given the trip. Naturally, we
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 329 
 
 were quite ignorant of the facts, and believed 
 he was merely visiting a little republic in which 
 he had financial interests. 
 
 "By chance we arrived in Cartagena on the 
 very day Suarez had planned for the presi- 
 dent's murder and yours, too, for that mat- 
 ter. Your arrest and condemnation gave the 
 conspirators a chance of repaying Mr. Gray 
 the money he had advanced. They were afraid 
 he would lodge an official complaint, and get the 
 State Department to interfere. But they had 
 not the means in hard cash, and it occurred to 
 one of them Suarez, I believe that if one of 
 Mr. Gray's daughters married you, and in- 
 herited your estate, the property could be sold 
 for a sum sufficient to clear his claim and leave 
 a balance for the other thieves. 
 
 "That is the precious project in which I, the 
 elder of the two, became a pawn. Mr. Gray 
 terrified me into compliance by telling me that 
 we would be paupers on our return home. For 
 myself I cared little, but when I thought of my 
 mother I yielded. I am not excusing myself, 
 Alec, though I little guessed the true nature of 
 the bargain. I see now that Suarez and Stein- 
 baum wished to avoid the actual semblance of 
 having committed daylight murder and robbery. 
 They might justify your death as a rebel against 
 the state, but they could not explain away the 
 seizure of your property, whereas its sale by
 
 330 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 your widow would be a most reasonable pro- 
 ceeding. 
 
 "Please understand that I believed I was only 
 carrying out a formal undertaking meant to 
 enable my stepfather to recover money honestly 
 lent. Even so, my resolution faltered at the last 
 moment, and I signed the register in my 
 mother's name. And now I have bared my 
 heart to you, and you see how utterly impos- 
 sible it is Oh, Alec, don't be cruel! Don't 
 torture me! I can never, never be your wife, 
 because I can never forgive myself!" 
 
 Alec, the wise, as Sturgess had often styled 
 him, showed exceeding wisdom now by letting 
 her cry her fill. Never a word did he say until 
 the tempest subsided. Then he took her hand 
 again and drew her to him. 
 
 "Tell me one thing, Nina," he said gently. 
 "What became of the ring our ring?" 
 
 "It is tied around my neck on a bit of rib- 
 bon," she sobbed. 
 
 "Then it shall remain there until we reach 
 New York," he said. 
 
 "But I want to keep it as a souvenir 
 of all that has passed," she said brokenly. 
 
 "So you shall, dear one. You would never 
 feel satisfied, anyhow, with a Spanish marriage, 
 so we'll try an American one." 
 
 * ' Alec, I cue cue can 't marry you. I 'm too 
 ashamed."
 
 THE SETTLEMENT 331 
 
 He laughed happily, and drew her to him. 
 
 "You can't wriggle out of the knot now, 
 girlie, ' ' he said. ' ' But, just to behave like other 
 folk, we'll begin again at the beginning, and not 
 at the end. Nina, do you think you can learn 
 to love me quick enough to permit of a real wed- 
 ding when we arrive in New York? You and I 
 have gone through so many experiences since 
 we met that we can dispense with some of the 
 preliminaries to courtship. Shall we fix a date 
 now? Say three weeks after we land, or sooner, 
 if matters can be arranged." 
 
 She lifted her tear-stained face, and her soul 
 went out to his in their first kiss. 
 
 Sturgess, when he heard of the latest devel- 
 opment, "got busy," as he put it, on his own 
 account. He, of course, had been told the exact 
 facts by Nina on that night passed on the island 
 in Nelson Straits. The upshot of the general 
 agreement speedily arrived at was a noteworthy 
 double wedding, at which, as a topic of conver- 
 sation, the beauty of the brides rivaled, if it did 
 not eclipse, their extraordinary adventures. 
 
 It should be said, as a fitting rounding off of 
 a record of singular events, that Maseden not 
 only obtained the money held in trust for him 
 by the consul at Cartagena, but the proceeds of 
 the sale of the ranch as well. Enrico Suarez 
 was stabbed to the heart by a maniac with a
 
 332 HIS UNKNOWN WIFE 
 
 grievance. Senor Porilla, an honest man, ac- 
 cording to South American standards, became 
 president, and saw to it that Maseden's rights 
 were safeguarded. Even the wily Steinbaum 
 was compelled to disgorge to Gray's executors. 
 
 The Aztec treasure was sold for a mint of 
 money to a millionaire collector, and this sum 
 was settled on Mrs. Gray for life, with rever- 
 sion to her daughters in equal shares. 
 
 If any one is really curious to ascertain the 
 identity and whereabouts of Mr. and Mrs. Philip 
 Alexander Maseden or Mr. and Mrs. C. K. 
 Sturgess, all that is necessary is to visit a town 
 on the coast of Maine any August, and keep an 
 eye peeled for a ship's lifeboat converted into 
 a yawl and named "The Ark." Therein will be 
 found some very pleasant people, and, with the 
 help of the foregoing history, the rest of the 
 task should be simplicity itself. 
 
 THE END.
 
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