Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 78: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE CAPTIVES OF THE TEMPLE. ‘He whipped out a knife, and once more I had the free use of my arms, cramped and sore though they were. ‘““ Now, Pedro,” I said, “ you try to lift one end off the deck and I will roll it off my legs.” The powerful negro bent to the work, and in less than two minutes my legs were free of the load. He then cut away the cords that bound them and helped me to my feet. “Have you seen the doctor?” I asked. “ No, senor. I no hab any time tur tink of no doctormans. I saw you, senor, an’ jes’ kim where you was. Now we go look fur dat doctormans an’ I know we fin’ him some place. Fur w’y, if you no git t’rowed furder dan dis, den how he goin’ to git much furder? ”’ “ But the spar stopped me. He may have gone overboard and sunk.” “ Das so, but we kin look, senor.”’ We began our search, and found Desklit wedged in a narrow crevice of the rock where he had been thrown by the awful power of the pororoca. He was unconscious, and had been se- verely cut by the jagged points and edges. We extricated him, freed his arms and legs of the cords, and found a lit- tle level shelf of rock where we laid him down. ‘* He seems to be badly hurt, Pedro,” I said. “ We have nothing to succor him with. I wonder if we could get to his stateroom. He has plenty of rem- edies there.” | ‘““ Dat might be jes’ possible, senor,” replied the negro. “ De port side git smashed in, but de doctormans room on de sta’boa’d an’ maybe dat ain’t hited.” “ Well, you stay here and see that he doesn’t fall off this ledge, and I will try to get to his room.” “But dat’s dangerous job, Senor Keybu’n. You stay here wid him an’ Igo. I no let you git hu’ted any more now. I ain’t sailorman no more, 69 ‘cause dey no more ship. I jes’ your servant now, only you don’ pay not’in’.”” I was touched by the gratitude of the powerful black, and gave him a friendly grasp of the hand. “I thank you, Pedro,” I said. “It does a man good to find a bit of grati- tude in the world.” ‘I don’ hab no such t’ing like dat, Senor Keybu’n, but I do feel mos’ tankful fur you w’en you took my pat. Wait now, I see what I kin do.” He scrambled aboard the wreck again and I saw his great kinky head going down, down, as he slowly made his way through the misshapen and broken companionway. After a time I saw him reappearing with his arms full of things he had found. ‘“ I don’ know jes’ what you want, so ] bring all I kin carry. Dat room jes’ knocked upside down.- How I put dese?” “ Put them down here. This is what I want. Let me have this bag.” I found Desklit’s medicine case, and also a bottle of cognac. I poured a little of this down his throat, and felt a slight increase of pulse. I had but little knowledge of drugs, but recog- nized the names of several simple and well known remedies in the leather case. I gave Desklit a dose and after a time had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes open and assume an intelli- gent expression. ‘“ Why—where—am I?” he asked, his glance roving from my face to that of the negro, and then to the stcep rocks. “ Don’t you remember the crash, old chap?” I asked him. “Oh, yes. They said the bore was coming. Well, it evidently came, Key- burn.” “T should say it did. mind, it left us both alive. walk?” We lifted him to his feet, but with his face twisted with an expression of pain he sank back. But never Can you ECORRIC OO© Ss eco