THE SAN BLAS PEOPLE 



Hyatt cursed eloquently. 



" Somebody has shot an Indian," he declared. 

 "That means we're in a mighty bad fix." 



But it was not an Indian. One of our 

 sailors, in cleaning an automatic pistol, had 

 sent a steel- jacketed "forty-five" through 

 his knee. It was a bad wound; we were a 

 hundred miles from a hospital, so away went 

 our fine plans, temporarily, at least, and we 

 hoisted anchor and pushed the Wisdom at top 

 speed out to the governor's residence. 



The doctor, after an examination, declared 

 positively that our man must have the best 

 surgical attention, so Hyatt, the operator, and 

 I took the cameras ashore, and Salisbury, 

 blaspheming sulphurously, turned the Wisdom 

 seaward and bore the sufferer away. 



Knowing that the Indians were as timid as 

 deer, it was with some apprehensions that I 

 returned to Cardi on the following morning to 

 advise the villagers that our regatta was only 

 postponed and to assure them that we would 

 permit no further carelessness in the use of 

 firearms while we were their guests. They 

 responded more readily than I had dared 

 hope, and when the Wisdom hove in sight, two 

 days later, we were again persona grates. 



121 



