"I am afraid some poor fellows have been injured, and that is why
Captain Courtenay sent for Dr. Christobal," said Elsie.
"Oh, of course, I meant that. I was not thinking of the mere delay,
though it is annoying that a breakdown should occur here."
"It would be equally bad anywhere else," put in the missionary's wife,
timidly.
"By no means," was the sharp response. "If we were in the Straits, for
instance, we could signal to San Isidro or Sandy Point; and there would
be other vessels passing. Here, we are in the worst possible place."
Miss Baring's acquaintance with the chief features of the South
American coast-line had seemingly improved. To all appearance, she
alone among the passengers, now that Christobal was gone, realized
vaguely the perilous plight of the _Kansas_. The fact was that even a
girl of her apparently frivolous disposition could not avoid the
influences of environment.
In a maritime community like that of Valparaiso there was every reason
to know and dread the rock-bound coast which fringed the southern path
towards civilization. Strange, half-forgotten stories of the terrors
which await a disabled ship caught in a southwesterly gale on the
Pacific side of Tierra del Fuego rose dimly in her mind.
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