"
Christobal raised his hand.
"All in good time," he said. "Never halloo for the prairie until you
are clear of the forest. If the wind remains in its present quarter,
we are fortunate. Should it happen to veer round to the eastward, and
you see the rocks of Tierra del Fuego lashed by the choppy sea that can
run even through a land-locked channel, you will be ready to open two
bottles as a thanks-offering. Is this your first trip round by the
south?"
"Yes, I crossed by way of Panama. Guess a mule-track over the Sierras
is a heap better than the Pacific in a gale. Jee-whizz!"
A spiteful sea sprang at the _Kansas_ and shook her from stem to stern.
The ship groaned and creaked as though she were in pain; she staggered
an instant, and then swung irresistibly forward with a fierce plunge
that made the plates dance and cutlery rattle in the fiddles.
"I suppose we must endure five hours of this," said Elsie, bravely.
"I don't like it. Why does not Captain Courtenay, or even Mr. Boyle,
put in an appearance? I have hardly seen either of them since the day
I came aboard."
Isobel was petulant, and perhaps a little frightened.
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