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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6015-0.txt b/6015-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2012b7a --- /dev/null +++ b/6015-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7866 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Captain Macklin, by Richard Harding Davis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Captain Macklin + +Author: Richard Harding Davis + + +Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6015] +This file was first posted on October 17, 2002 +Last Updated: March 4, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MACKLIN *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + +CAPTAIN MACKLIN + +HIS MEMOIRS + +By Richard Harding Davis + +Illustrated By Walter Appleton Clark + + +{Illustration: “Go, Royal!” he cried, “and--God bless you!”} + + +To MY MOTHER + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS (not available in this file) + +“Go, Royal!” he cried, “and--God bless you!” FRONTISPIECE + +He made our meeting something of a ceremony + +We walked out to the woods + +I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit me + +The moon rose over the camp ... but still we sat + +And the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack yard + +I sprang back against the cabin + + + + +I + + +UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT + +It may seem presumptuous that so young a man as myself should propose +to write his life and memoirs, for, as a rule, one waits until he has +accomplished something in the world, or until he has reached old age, +before he ventures to tell of the times in which he has lived, and of +his part in them. But the profession to which I belong, which is that +of a soldier, and which is the noblest profession a man can follow, is a +hazardous one, and were I to delay until to-morrow to write down what +I have seen and done, these memoirs might never be written, for, such +being the fortune of war, to-morrow might not come. + +So I propose to tell now of the little I have accomplished in the first +twenty-three years of my life, and, from month to month, to add to these +memoirs in order that, should I be suddenly taken off, my debit and +credit pages may be found carefully written up to date and carried +forward. On the other hand, should I live to be an old man, this +record of my career will furnish me with material for a more complete +autobiography, and will serve as a safeguard against a failing memory. + +In writing a personal narrative I take it that the most important events +to be chronicled in the life of a man are his choice of a wife and his +choice of a profession. As I am unmarried, the chief event in my life +is my choice of a profession, and as to that, as a matter of fact, I +was given no choice, but from my earliest childhood was destined to be +a soldier. My education and my daily environment each pointed to that +career, and even if I had shown a remarkable aptitude for any other +calling, which I did not, I doubt if I would have pursued it. I am +confident that had my education been directed in an entirely different +channel, I should have followed my destiny, and come out a soldier in +the end. For by inheritance as well as by instinct I was foreordained +to follow the fortunes of war, to delight in the clash of arms and the +smoke of battle; and I expect that when I do hear the clash of arms and +smell the smoke of battle, the last of the Macklins will prove himself +worthy of his ancestors. + +I call myself the last of the Macklins for the reason that last year, +on my twenty-second birthday, I determined I should never marry. Women I +respect and admire, several of them, especially two of the young ladies +at Miss Butler’s Academy I have deeply loved, but a soldier cannot +devote himself both to a woman and to his country. As one of our young +professors said, “The flag is a jealous mistress.” + +The one who, in my earliest childhood, arranged that I should follow +the profession of arms, was my mother’s father, and my only surviving +grandparent. He was no less a personage than Major-General John M. +Hamilton. I am not a writer; my sword, I fear and hope, will always be +easier in my hand than my pen, but I wish for a brief moment I could +hold it with such skill, that I might tell of my grandfather properly +and gratefully, and describe him as the gentle and brave man he was. I +know he was gentle, for though I never had a woman to care for me as a +mother cares for a son, I never missed that care; and I know how brave +he was, for that is part of the history of my country. During many years +he was my only parent or friend or companion; he taught me my lessons by +day and my prayers by night, and, when I passed through all the absurd +ailments to which a child is heir, he sat beside my cot and lulled me to +sleep, or told me stories of the war. There was a childlike and simple +quality in his own nature, which made me reach out to him and confide in +him as I would have done to one of my own age. Later, I scoffed at this +virtue in him as something old-fashioned and credulous. That was when +I had reached the age when I was older, I hope, than I shall ever be +again. There is no such certainty of knowledge on all subjects as one +holds at eighteen and at eighty, and at eighteen I found his care and +solicitude irritating and irksome. With the intolerance of youth, I +could not see the love that was back of his anxiety, and which should +have softened it for me with a halo and made me considerate and +grateful. Now I see it--I see it now that it is too late. But surely he +understood, he knew how I looked up to him, how I loved him, and how I +tried to copy him, and, because I could not, consoled myself inwardly by +thinking that the reason I had failed was because his way was the wrong +one, and that my way was the better. If he did not understand then, +he understands now; I cannot bear to think he does not understand and +forgive me. + +Those were the best days of my life, the days I spent with him as a +child in his own home on the Hudson. It stands at Dobbs Ferry, set in +a grove of pines, with a garden about it, and a box hedge that shuts it +from the road. The room I best remember is the one that overlooks the +Hudson and the Palisades. From its windows you can watch the great +vessels passing up and down the river, and the excursion steamers flying +many flags, and tiny pleasure-boats and great barges. There is an open +fireplace in this room, and in a corner formed by the book-case, and +next to the wood-box, was my favorite seat. My grandfather’s place was +in a great leather chair beside the centre-table, and I used to sit +cross-legged on a cushion at his feet, with my back against his knees +and my face to the open hearth. I can still see the pages of “Charles +O’Malley” and “Midshipman Easy,” as I read them by the lifting light +of that wood fire, and I can hear the wind roaring down the chimney and +among the trees outside, and the steamers signalling to each other as +they pushed through the ice and fog to the great city that lay below us. +I can feel the fire burning my face, and the cold shivers that ran down +my back, as my grandfather told me of the Indians who had once hunted in +the very woods back of our house, and of those he had fought with on the +plains. With the imagination of a child, I could hear, mingled with the +shrieks of the wind as it dashed the branches against the roof, their +hideous war-cries as they rushed to some night attack, or the howling of +the wolves in the snow. When I think of myself as I was then I am very +fond of that little boy who sat shivering with excitement, and staring +with open eyes at the pictures he saw in the firelight, a little boy who +had made no enemies, no failures, who had harmed no one, and who knew +nothing of the world outside the walls that sheltered him, save the +brave old soldier who was his law and his example, his friend in +trouble, and his playmate. + +I knew nothing then, and I know very little now, either of my father +or my mother. Whenever I asked my grandfather concerning them he always +answered vaguely that he would tell me some day, “when you are of age,” + but whether he meant when I was twenty-one or of an age when I was best +fitted to hear the truth, I shall never know. But I guessed the truth +from what he let fall, and from what I have since heard from others, +although that is but little, for I could not ask strangers to tell me of +my own people. For some reason, soon after they were married my mother +and father separated and she brought me to live with her father, and he +entered the Southern army. + +I like to think that I can remember my mother, and it seems I must, +for very dimly I recollect a young girl who used to sit by the window +looking out at the passing vessels. There is a daguerreotype of my +mother, and it may be that my recollection of her is builded upon that +portrait. She died soon after we came to live with my grandfather, when +I was only three years old, but I am sure I remember her, for no other +woman was ever in the house, and the figure of the young girl looking +out across at the Palisades is very clear to me. + +My father was an Irish officer and gentleman, who came to the States +to better his fortunes. This was just before the war; and as soon as it +began, although he lived in the North, in New York City, he joined the +Southern army and was killed. I believe, from what little I have learned +of him, that he was both wild and reckless, but the few who remember +him all say that he had many noble qualities, and was much loved by men, +and, I am afraid, by women. I do not know more than that, except the one +story of him, which my grandfather often told me. + +“Whatever a man may say of your father,” he would tell me, “you need not +believe; for they may not have understood him, and all that you need to +remember, until when you are of age I shall tell you the whole truth, +is how he died.” It is a brief story. My father was occupying a trench +which for some hours his company had held under a heavy fire. When the +Yankees charged with the bayonet he rose to meet them, but at the same +moment the bugle sounded the retreat, and half of his company broke and +ran. My father sprang to the top of the trench and called, “Come back, +boys, we’ll give them one more volley.” It may have been that he had +misunderstood the call of the bugle, and disobeyed through ignorance, +or it may have been that in his education the signal to retreat had been +omitted, for he did not heed it, and stood outlined against the sky, +looking back and waving his hand to his men. But they did not come to +him, and the advancing troop fired, and he fell upon the trench with his +body stretched along its length. The Union officer was far in advance of +his own company, and when he leaped upon the trench he found that it was +empty and that the Confederate troops were in retreat. He turned, and +shouted, laughing: “Come on! there’s only one man here--and he’s dead!” + +But my father reached up his hand, to where the officer stood above him, +and pulled at his scabbard. + +“Not dead, but dying, Captain,” my father said. “And that’s better than +retreating, isn’t it?” + +“And that is the story,” my grandfather used to say to me, “you must +remember of your father, and whatever else he did does not count.” + +At the age of ten my grandfather sent me to a military academy near +Dobbs Ferry, where boys were prepared for college and for West Point and +Annapolis. I was a very poor scholar, and, with the exception of what +I learned in the drill-hall and the gymnasium, the academy did me very +little good, and I certainly did not, at that time at least, reflect any +credit on the academy. Had I been able to take half the interest in my +studies my grandfather showed in them, I would have won prizes in every +branch; but even my desire to please him could not make me understand +the simplest problems in long division; and later here at the Point, the +higher branches of mathematics, combined with other causes, have nearly +deprived the United States Army of a gallant officer. I believe I have +it in me to take a piece of field artillery by assault, but I know I +shall never be able to work out the formula necessary to adjust its +elevation. + +With the exception, perhaps, of Caesar’s “Commentaries,” I hated all of +my studies, not only on their own account, but because they cut me out +of the talks with which in the past my grandfather and I had been wont +to close each day. These talks, which were made up on my part of demands +for more stories, or for repetitions of those I already knew by heart, +did more than any other thing to inspire me with a desire for military +glory. My grandfather had served through the Mexican War, in the Indian +campaigns on the plains, and during the War of the Rebellion, and his +memory recalled the most wonderful and exciting of adventures. He was +singularly modest, which is a virtue I never could consider as a high +one, for I find that the world takes you at your own valuation, and +unless “the terrible trumpet of Fame” is sounded by yourself no one else +will blow your trumpet for you. Of that you may be sure. But I can’t +recall ever having heard my grandfather relate to people of his own +age any of the adventures which he told me, and once I even caught him +recounting a personal experience which redounded greatly to his credit +as having happened to “a man in his regiment.” When with childish +delight I at once accused him of this he was visibly annoyed, and +blushed like a girl, and afterward corrected me for being so forward in +the presence of my elders. His modesty went even to the length of his +keeping hidden in his bedroom the three presentation swords which had +been given him at different times for distinguished action on the field. +One came from the men of his regiment, one from his townspeople after +his return from the City of Mexico, and one from the people of the State +of New York; and nothing I could say would induce him to bring +them downstairs to our sitting room, where visitors might see them. +Personally, I cannot understand what a presentation sword is for except +to show to your friends; for, as a rule, they are very badly balanced +and of no use for fighting. + +Had it not been for the colored prints of the different battles in +Mexico which hung in our sitting room, and some Indian war-bonnets +and bows and arrows, and a box of duelling pistols, no one would have +supposed that our house belonged to one of the most distinguished +generals of his day. You may be sure I always pointed these out to +our visitors, and one of my chief pleasures was to dress one of my +schoolmates in the Indian war bonnet, and then scalp him with a carving +knife. The duelling pistols were even a greater delight to me. They were +equipped with rifle barrels and hair triggers, and were inlaid richly +with silver, and more than once had been used on the field of honor. +Whenever my grandfather went out for a walk, or to play whist at the +house of a neighbor, I would get down these pistols and fight duels with +myself in front of the looking-glass. With my left hand I would hold the +handkerchief above my head, and with the other clutch the pistol at my +side, and then, at the word, and as the handkerchief fluttered to the +floor, I would take careful aim and pull the trigger. Sometimes I died +and made speeches before I expired, and sometimes I killed my adversary +and stood smiling down at him. + +My grandfather was a member of the Aztec Club, which was organized +during the occupation of the City of Mexico by the American officers +who had stormed the capital; and on the occasion of one of its annual +meetings, which that year was held in Philadelphia, I was permitted to +accompany him to that city. It was the longest journey from home I had +ever taken, and each incident of it is still clearly fixed in my mind. +The event of the reunion was a dinner given at the house of General +Patterson, and on the morning before the dinner the members of the club +were invited to assemble in the garden which surrounded his house. To +this meeting my grandfather conducted me, and I found myself surrounded +by the very men of whom he had so often spoken. I was very frightened, +and I confess I was surprised and greatly disappointed also to find +that they were old and gray-haired men, and not the young and dashing +warriors he had described. General Patterson alone did not disappoint +me, for even at that late day he wore a blue coat with brass buttons and +a buff waistcoat and high black stock. He had a strong, fine profile and +was smooth shaven. I remember I found him exactly my ideal of the Duke +of Wellington; for though I was only then ten or twelve years of age, +I had my own ideas about every soldier from Alexander and Von Moltke to +our own Captain Custer. + +It was in the garden behind the Patterson house that we met the General, +and he alarmed me very much by pulling my shoulders back and asking me +my age, and whether or not I expected to be as brave a soldier as my +grandfather, to which latter question I said, “Yes, General,” and then +could have cried with mortification, for all of the great soldiers +laughed at me. One of them turned, and said to the only one who was +seated, “That is Hamilton’s grandson.” The man who was seated did not +impress me very much. He was younger than the others. He wore a black +suit and a black tie, and the three upper buttons of his waistcoat were +unfastened. His beard was close-cropped, like a blacking-brush, and +he was chewing on a cigar that had burned so far down that I remember +wondering why it did not scorch his mustache. And then, as I stood +staring up at him and he down at me, it came over me who he was, and +I can recall even now how my heart seemed to jump, and I felt terribly +frightened and as though I were going to cry. My grandfather bowed +to the younger man in the courteous, old-fashioned manner he always +observed, and said: “General, this is my grandchild, Captain Macklin’s +boy. When he grows up I want him to be able to say he has met you. I am +going to send him to West Point.” + +The man in the chair nodded his head at my grandfather, and took his +cigar from his mouth and said, “When he’s ready to enter, remind me, +let me know,” and closed his lips again on his cigar, as though he had +missed it even during that short space if time. But had he made a long +oration neither my grandfather nor I could have been more deeply moved. +My grandfather said: “Thank you, General. It is very kind of you,” and +led me away smiling so proudly that it was beautiful to see him. When +he had entered the house he stopped, and bending over me, asked. “Do you +know who that was, Roy?” But with the awe of the moment still heavy upon +me I could only nod and gasp at him. + +“That was General Grant,” my grandfather said. + +“Yes, I know,” I whispered. + +I am not particularly proud of the years that preceded my entrance to +West Point, and of the years I have spent here I have still less reason +to be content. I was an active boy, and behaved as other young cubs +of that age, no better and no worse. Dobbs Ferry was not a place where +temptations beset one, and, though we were near New York, we were not of +it, and we seldom visited it. When we did, it was to go to a matinee +at some theatre, returning the same afternoon in time for supper. My +grandfather was very fond of the drama, and had been acquainted since he +was a young man with some of the most distinguished actors. With him I +saw Edwin Booth in “Macbeth,” and Lester Wallack in “Rosedale,” and John +McCullough in “Virginius,” a tragedy which was to me so real and moving +that I wept all the way home in the train. Sometimes I was allowed to +visit the theatre alone, and on these afternoons I selected performances +of a lighter variety, such as that given by Harrigan & Hart in their +theatre on Broadway. Every Thanksgiving Day I was allowed, after +witnessing the annual football match between the students from Princeton +and Yale universities, to remain in town all that night. On these great +occasions I used to visit Koster & Bial’s on Twenty-third Street, a +long, low building, very dark and very smoky, and which on those nights +was blocked with excited mobs of students, wearing different colored +ribbons and shouting the cries of their different colleges. I envied +and admired these young gentlemen, and thought them very fine fellows +indeed. They wore in those days long green coats, which made them look +like coachmen, and high, bell-shaped hats, both of which, as I now can +see, were a queer survival of the fashions of 1830, and which now for +the second time have disappeared. + +To me, with my country clothes and manners and scanty spending money, +the way these young collegians wagered their money at the football match +and drank from their silver flasks, and smoked and swaggered in the +hotel corridors, was something to be admired and copied. And although +I knew none of them, and would have been ashamed had they seen me in +company with any of my boy friends from Dobbs Ferry, I followed +them from one hotel to another, pretending I was with them, and even +penetrated at their heels into the cafe of Delmonico. I felt then for a +brief moment that I was “seeing life,” the life of a great metropolis, +and in company with the young swells who made it the rushing, delightful +whirlpool it appeared to be. + +It seemed to me, then, that to wear a green coachman’s coat, to rush the +doorkeeper at the Haymarket dance-hall, and to eat supper at the “Silver +Grill” was to be “a man about town,” and each year I returned to our +fireside at Dobbs Ferry with some discontent. The excursions made me +look restlessly forward to the day when I would return from my Western +post, a dashing young cavalry officer on leave, and would wake up the +cafes and clubs of New York, and throw my money about as carelessly as +these older boys were doing then. + +My appointment to West Point did not, after all, come from General +Grant, but from President Arthur, who was in office when I reached my +nineteenth year. Had I depended upon my Congressman for the appointment, +and had it been made after a competitive examination of candidates, I +doubt if I would have been chosen. + +Perhaps my grandfather feared this and had it in his mind when he asked +the President to appoint me. It was the first favor he had ever asked +of the Government he had served so well, and I felt more grateful to him +for having asked the favor, knowing what it cost him to do so, than I +did to the President for granting it. + +I was accordingly entered upon the rolls of the Military Academy, and my +career as a soldier began. I wish I could say it began brilliantly, but +the records of the Academy would not bear me out. Had it not been that +I was forced to study books I would not have been a bad student; for in +everything but books, in everything that bore directly on the training +of a soldier and which depended upon myself, as, for example, drill, +riding, marksmanship, and a knowledge of the manual, I did as well, or +far better, than any of my classmates. But I could not, or would not, +study, and instead of passing high in my class at the end of the plebe +year, as my natural talents seemed to promise I would do, I barely +scraped through, and the outlook for the second year was not +encouraging. The campaign in Mexico had given my grandfather a knowledge +of Spanish, and as a boy he had drilled this language into me, for it +was a fixed belief of his, that if the United States ever went to war, +it would be with some of her Spanish-American neighbors, with Mexico, +or Central America, or with Spain on account of Cuba. In consequence +he considered it most essential that every United States officer should +speak Spanish. He also argued that a knowledge of French was of even +greater importance to an officer and a gentleman, as it was, as I have +since found it to be, the most widely spoken of all languages. I +was accordingly well drilled in these two tongues, and I have never +regretted time I spent on them, for my facility in them has often served +me well, has pulled me out of tight places, put money into my pocket, +and gained me friends when but for them I might have remained and +departed a stranger among strangers. My French accordingly helped me +much as a “yearling,” and in camp I threw myself so earnestly into the +skirmish, artillery, and cavalry drills that in spite of my low marks +I still stood high in the opinion of the cadet officers and of my +instructors. With my classmates, for some reason, although in all +out-of-door exercises I was the superior of most of them, I was not +popular. I would not see this at first, for I try to keep on friendly +terms with those around me, and I want to be liked even by people of +whom I have no very high opinion and from whom I do not want anything +besides. But I was not popular. There was no disguising that, and in the +gymnasium or the riding-hall other men would win applause for performing +a feat of horsemanship or a difficult trick on the parallel bars, which +same feat, when I repeated it immediately after them, and even a little +better than they had done it, would be received in silence. I could +not see the reason for this, and the fact itself hurt me much more than +anyone guessed. Then as they would not signify by their approbation that +I was the best athlete in the class, I took to telling them that I was, +which did not help matters. I find it is the same in the world as it is +at the Academy--that if one wants recognition, he must pretend not to +see that he deserves it. If he shows he does see it, everyone else will +grow blind, holding, I suppose, that a conceited man carries his own +comfort with him, and is his own reward. I soon saw that the cadet who +was modest received more praise than the cadet who was his superior, +but who, through repeated success, had acquired a self-confident, or, as +some people call it, a conceited manner; and so, for a time, I pretended +to be modest, too, and I never spoke of my athletic successes. But I was +never very good at pretending, and soon gave it up. Then I grew morbid +over my inability to make friends, and moped by myself, having as little +to do with my classmates as possible. In my loneliness I began to think +that I was a much misunderstood individual. My solitary state bred in me +a most unhealthy disgust for myself, and, as it always is with those +who are at times exuberantly light-hearted and self-assertive, I had +terrible fits of depression and lack of self-confidence, during which +spells I hated myself and all of those about me. Once, during one of +these moods, a First-Class man, who had been a sneak in his plebe year +and a bully ever since, asked me, sneeringly, how “Napoleon on the Isle +of St. Helena” was feeling that morning, and I told him promptly to go +to the devil, and added that if he addressed me again, except in the +line of his duty, I would thrash him until he could not stand or see. Of +course he sent me his second, and one of my classmates acted for me. +We went out that same evening after supper behind Fort Clinton, and I +thrashed him so badly that he was laid up in the hospital for several +days. After that I took a much more cheerful view of life, and as +it seemed hardly fair to make one cadet bear the whole brunt of my +displeasure toward the entire battalion, I began picking quarrels with +anyone who made pretensions of being a fighter, and who chanced to be +bigger than myself. + +Sometimes I got badly beaten, and sometimes I thrashed the other man, +but whichever way it went, those battles in the soft twilight evenings +behind the grass-grown ramparts of the old fort, in the shadow of +the Kosciusko Monument, will always be the brightest and pleasantest +memories of my life at this place. + +My grandfather had one other daughter besides my mother, my Aunt Mary, +who had married a Harvard professor, Dr. Endicott, and who had lived in +Cambridge ever since they married. + +In my second year here, Dr. Endicott died and my grandfather at once +went to Cambridge to bring Aunt Mary and her daughter Beatrice back +with him, installing them in our little home, which thereafter was to +be theirs as well. He wrote me saying he knew I would not disapprove of +this invasion of my place by my young cousin and assured me that no one, +girl or boy, could ever take the place in his heart that I had held. As +a matter of fact I was secretly pleased to hear of this addition to our +little household. I knew that as soon as I was graduated I would be sent +to some army post in the West, and that the occasional visit I was now +able to pay to Dobbs Ferry would be discontinued. I hated to think that +in his old age my grandfather would be quite alone. On the other hand, +when, after the arrival of my cousin, I received his first letter +and found it filled with enthusiastic descriptions of her, and of how +anxious she was to make him happy, I felt a little thrill of jealousy. +It gave me some sharp pangs of remorse, and I asked myself searchingly +if I had always done my utmost to please my grandfather and to give him +pride and pleasure in me. I determined for the future I would think only +of how to make him happy. + +A few weeks later I was able to obtain a few hours’ leave, and I wasted +no time in running down from the Point to make the acquaintance of my +cousin, and to see how the home looked under the new regime. I found it +changed, and, except that I felt then and afterward that I was a guest, +it was changed for the better. + +I found that my grandfather was much more comfortable in every way. The +newcomers were both eager and loving, although no one could help but +love my grandfather, and they invented wants he had never felt before, +and satisfied them, while at the same time they did not interfere with +the life he had formerly led. Aunt Mary is an unselfish soul, and most +content when she is by herself engaged in the affairs of the house and +in doing something for those who live in it. Besides her unselfishness, +which is to me the highest as it is the rarest of virtues, hers is a +sweet and noble character, and she is one of the gentlest souls that I +have ever known. + +I may say the same of my cousin Beatrice. When she came into the room, +my first thought was how like she was to a statuette of a Dresden +shepherdess which had always stood at one end of our mantel-piece, +coquetting with the shepherd lad on the other side of the clock. As a +boy, the shepherdess had been my ideal of feminine loveliness. Since +then my ideals had changed rapidly and often, but Beatrice reminded me +that the shepherdess had once been my ideal. She wore a broad straw hat, +with artificial roses which made it hang down on one side, and, as +she had been working in our garden, she wore huge gloves and carried a +trowel in one hand. As she entered, my grandfather rose hastily from his +chair and presented us with impressive courtesy. “Royal,” he said, “this +is your cousin, Beatrice Endicott.” If he had not been present, I think +we would have shaken hands without restraint. But he made our meeting +something of a ceremony. I brought my heels together and bowed as I +have been taught to do at the Academy, and seeing this she made a low +courtesy. She did this apparently with great gravity, but as she kept +her eyes on mine I saw that she was mocking me. If I am afraid of +anything it has certainly never proved to be a girl, but I confess I was +strangely embarrassed. My cousin seemed somehow different from any of +the other girls I had met. She was not at all like those with whom I +had danced at the hotel hops, and to whom I gave my brass buttons +in Flirtation Walk. She was more fine, more illusive, and yet most +fascinating, with a quaint old-fashioned manner that at times made her +seem quite a child, and the next moment changed her into a worldly and +charming young woman. She made you feel she was much older than yourself +in years and in experience and in knowledge. That is the way my cousin +appeared to me the first time I saw her, when she stood in the middle +of the room courtesying mockingly at me and looking like a picture on +an old French fan. That is how she has since always seemed to me--one +moment a woman, and the next a child; one moment tender and kind and +merry, and the next disapproving, distant, and unapproachable. + +{Illustration: He made our meeting something of a ceremony.} + +Up to the time I met Beatrice I had never thought it possible to +consider a girl as a friend. For the matter of that, I had no friends +even among men, and I made love to girls. My attitude toward girls, if +one can say that a man of eighteen has an attitude, was always that of +the devoted admirer. If they did not want me as a devoted admirer, I put +them down as being proud and haughty or “stuck up.” It never occurred to +me then that there might be a class of girl who, on meeting you, did not +desire that you should at once tell her exactly how you loved her, and +why. The girls who came to Cranston’s certainly seemed to expect you to +set their minds at rest on that subject, and my point of view of girls +was taken entirely from them. I can remember very well my pause of +dawning doubt and surprise when a girl first informed me she thought +a man who told her she was pretty was impertinent. What bewildered +me still more on that occasion was that this particular girl was so +extremely beautiful that to talk about anything else but her beauty was +a waste of time. It made all other topics trivial, and yet she seemed +quite sincere in what she said, and refused to allow me to bring our +talk to the personal basis of “what I am to you” and “what you are to +me.” It was in discussing that question that I considered myself an +artist and a master. My classmates agreed with me in thinking as I did, +and from the first moment I came here called me “Masher” Macklin, a +sobriquet of which I fear for a time I was rather proud. Certainly, I +strove to live up to it. I believe I dignified my conduct to myself by +calling it “flirtation.” Flirtation, as I understood it, was a sort of +game in which I honestly believed the entire world of men and women, of +every class and age, were eagerly engaged. Indeed, I would have thought +it rather ungallant, and conduct unworthy of an officer and a gentleman, +had I not at once pretended to hold an ardent interest in every girl I +met. This seems strange now, but from the age of fourteen up to the age +of twenty that was my way of regarding the girls I met, and even today I +fear my attitude toward them has altered but slightly, for now, although +I no longer tend to care when I do not, nor make love as a matter of +course, I find it is the easiest attitude to assume toward most women. +It is the simplest to slip into, just as I have certainly found it +the one from which it is most difficult to escape, But I never seem to +remember that until it is too late. A classmate of mine once said to me: +“Royal, you remind me of a man walking along a road with garden gates +opening on each side of it. Instead of keeping to the road, you stop at +every gate, and say: ‘Oh! what a pretty garden! I’ll just slip in there, +and find out where that path will take me.’ And then--you’re either +thrown out, and the gate slammed after you, or you lose yourself in +a maze and you can’t get out--until you break out. But does that ever +teach you a lesson? No! Instead of going ahead along the straight and +narrow way, and keeping out of temptation, you halt at the very next +gate you come to, just as though you had never seen a gate before, and +exclaim: ‘Now, this _is_ a pretty garden, and _what_ a neat white fence! +I really must vault in and take a look round.’ And so the whole thing is +gone over again.” + +I confess there may be some truth in what he said, but the trouble I +find with the straight and narrow way is that there’s not room enough +in it for two. And, then, it is only fair to me to say that some of the +gardens were really most beautiful, and the shade very deep and sweet +there, and the memories of the minutes I passed in them were very +refreshing when I went back to the dust of the empty road. And no one, +man or woman, can say that Royal Macklin ever trampled on the flowers, +or broke the branches, or trespassed in another man’s private grounds. + +It was my cousin Beatrice who was responsible for the change of heart +in me toward womankind. For very soon after she came to live with us, I +noticed that in regard to all other young women I was growing daily more +exacting. I did not admit this to myself, and still less to Beatrice, +because she was most scornful of the girls I knew, and mocked at them. +This was quite unfair of her, because she had no real acquaintance with +them, and knew them only from photographs and tintypes, of which I had a +most remarkable collection, and of what I chose to tell her about them. +I was a good deal annoyed to find that the stories which appealed to me +as best illustrating the character of each of my friends, only seemed to +furnish Beatrice with fresh material for ridicule, and the girls of whom +I said the least were the ones of whom she approved. The only girls +of my acquaintance who also were friends of hers, were two sisters who +lived at Dobbs Ferry, and whose father owned the greater part of it, and +a yacht, in which he went down to his office every morning. But Beatrice +held that my manner even to them was much too free and familiar, and +that she could not understand why I did not see that it was annoying to +them as well. I could not tell her in my own defence that their manner +to me, when she was with us and when she was not, varied in a remarkable +degree. It was not only girls who carried themselves differently before +Beatrice: every man who met her seemed to try and show her the best in +him, or at least to suppress any thought or act which might displease +her. It was not that she was a prig, or an angel, but she herself was +so fine and sincere, and treated all with such an impersonal and yet +gracious manner that it became contagious, and everybody who met her +imitated the model she unconsciously furnished. I was very much struck +with this when she visited the Academy. Men who before her coming had +seemed bold enough for any game, became dumb and embarrassed in her +presence, and eventually it was the officers and instructors who +escorted her over the grounds, while I and my acquaintances among the +cadets formed a straggling rear-guard at her heels. On account of my +grandfather, both she and my aunt were made much of by the Commandant +and all the older officers, and when they continued to visit the Academy +they were honored and welcomed for themselves, and I found that on such +occasions my own popularity was enormously increased. I have always been +susceptible to the opinion of others. Even when the reigning belle or +the popular man of the class was not to me personally attractive, the +fact that she was the reigning belle and that he was the man of the +hour made me seek out the society of each. This was even so, when, as +a matter of fact, I should have much preferred to dance with some less +conspicuous beauty or talk with a more congenial companion. Consequently +I began to value my cousin, whom I already regarded with the most +tremendous admiration, for those lighter qualities which are common +to all attractive girls, but which in my awe of her I had failed to +recognize. There were many times, even, when I took myself by the +shoulders and faced the question if I were not in love with Beatrice. I +mean truly in love, with that sort of love that one does not talk about, +even to one’s self, certainly not to the girl. As the young man of the +family, I had assumed the position of the heir of the house, and treated +Beatrice like a younger sister, but secretly I considered her in no such +light. + +Many nights when on post I would halt to think of her, and of her +loveliness and high sincerity, and forget my duty while I stood with +my arms crossed on the muzzle of my gun. In such moments the night, +the silence, the moonlight piercing the summer leaves and falling at my +feet, made me forget my promise to myself that I would never marry. +I used to imagine then it was not the unlicked cubs under the distant +tents I was protecting, but that I was awake to watch over and guard +Beatrice, or that I was a knight, standing his vigil so that he might +be worthy to wear the Red Cross and enter her service. In those lonely +watches I saw littlenesses and meannesses in myself, which I could not +see in the brisk light of day, and my self-confidence slipped from me +and left me naked and abashed. I saw myself as a vain, swaggering boy, +who, if he ever hoped to be a man among men, such as Beatrice was a +woman above all other women, must change his nature at once and forever. + +I was glad that I owed these good resolutions to her. I was glad that +it was she who inspired them. Those nights, as I leaned on my gun, I +dreamed even that it might end happily and beautifully in our marriage. +I wondered if I could make her care, if I could ever be worthy of her, +and I vowed hotly that I would love her as no other woman was ever +loved. + +And then I would feel the cold barrel of my musket pressing against the +palm of my hand, or the bayonet would touch my cheek, and at the touch +something would tighten in my throat, and I would shake the thoughts +from me and remember that I was sworn to love only my country and my +country’s flag. + +In my third year here my grandfather died. As the winter closed in +he had daily grown more feeble, and sat hour after hour in his great +armchair, dozing and dreaming, before the open fire. And one morning +when he was alone in the room, Death, which had so often taken the man +at his side, and stood at salute to let him live until his work was +done, came to him and touched him gently. A few days later when his body +passed through the streets of our little village, all the townspeople +left their houses and shops, and stood in silent rows along the +sidewalks, with their heads uncovered to the falling snow. Soldiers of +his old regiments, now busy men of affairs in the great city below +us, came to march behind him for the last time. Officers of the Loyal +Legion, veterans of the Mexican War, regulars from Governor’s Island, +with their guns reversed, societies, political clubs, and strangers who +knew him only by what he had done for his country, followed in the long +procession as it wound its way through the cold, gray winter day to the +side of the open grave. Until then I had not fully understood what it +meant to me, for my head had been numbed and dulled; but as the body +disappeared into the grave, and the slow notes of the bugle rose in +the final call of “Lights out,” I put my head on my aunt’s shoulder and +cried like a child. And I felt as though I were a child again, as I did +when he came and sat beside my bed, and heard me say my prayers, and +then closed the door behind him, leaving me in the darkness and alone. + +But I was not entirely alone, for Beatrice was true and understanding; +putting her own grief out of sight, caring for mine, and giving it the +first place in her thoughts. For the next two days we walked for hours +through the autumn woods where the dead leaves rustled beneath our feet, +thinking and talking of him. Or for hours we would sit in silence, until +the sun sank a golden red behind the wall of the Palisades, and we went +back through the cold night to the open fireside and his empty chair. + + + +ST. CHARLES HOTEL, NEW ORLEANS + + +Six months ago had anyone told me that the day would come when I would +feel thankful for the loss of my grandfather, I would have struck him. +But for the last week I have been almost thankful that he is dead. The +worst that could occur has happened. I am in bitter disgrace, and I +am grateful that grandfather died before it came upon me. I have been +dismissed from the Academy. The last of the “Fighting” Macklins has +been declared unfit to hold the President’s commission. I am cast out +irrevocably; there is no appeal against the decision. I shall never +change the gray for the blue. I shall never see the U. S. on my +saddle-cloth, nor salute my country’s flag as it comes fluttering down +at sunset. + +That I am on my way to try and redeem myself is only an attempt to patch +up the broken pieces. The fact remains that the army has no use for me. +I have been dismissed from West Point, in disgrace. It was a girl who +brought it about, or rather my own foolishness over a girl. And before +that there was much that led up to it. It is hard to write about it, but +in these memoirs I mean to tell everything--the good, with the bad. And +as I deserve no excuse, I make none. + +During that winter, after the death of my grandfather, and the spring +which had followed, I tried hard to do well at the Point. I wanted +to show them that though my grandfather was gone, his example and his +wishes still inspired me. And though I was not a studious cadet, I was +a smart soldier, and my demerits, when they came, were for smoking in my +room or for breaking some other such silly rule, and never for slouching +through the manual or coming on parade with my belts twisted. And at the +end of the second year I had been promoted from corporal to be a cadet +first sergeant, so that I was fourth in command over a company of +seventy. Although this gave me the advantage of a light after “taps” + until eleven o’clock, my day was so taken up with roll-calls, riding and +evening drills and parade, that I never seemed to find time to cram my +mechanics and chemistry, of which latter I could never see any possible +benefit. How a knowledge of what acid will turn blue litmus-paper red is +going to help an officer to find fodder for his troop horses, or inspire +him to lead a forlorn hope, was then, and still is, beyond my youthful +comprehension. + +But these studies were down on the roster, and whether I thought well +of them or not I was marked on them and judged accordingly. But I cannot +claim that it was owing to them or my failure to understand them that my +dismissal came, for, in spite of the absence of 3’s in my markings and +the abundance of 2’s, I was still a soldierly cadet, and in spite of the +fact that I was a stupid student, I made an excellent drill-master. + +The trouble, when it came, was all my own making, and my dismissal was +entirely due to an act of silly recklessness and my own idiocy. I had +taken chances before and had not been caught; several times I ran the +sentries at night for the sake of a noisy, drunken spree at a road-side +tavern, and several times I had risked my chevrons because I did not +choose to respect the arbitrary rules of the Academy which chafed my +spirit and invited me to rebellion. It was not so much that I enjoyed +those short hours of freedom, which I snatched in the face of such +serious penalties, but it was the risk of the thing itself which +attracted me, and which stirred the spirit of adventure that at times +sways us all. + +It was a girl who brought about my dismissal. I do not mean that she was +in any way to blame, but she was the indirect cause of my leaving +the Academy. It was a piece of fool’s fortune, and I had not even the +knowledge that I cared in the least for the girl to console me. She was +only one of the several “piazza girls,” as we called certain ones of +those who were staying at Cranston’s, with whom I had danced, to whom +I had made pretty speeches, and had given the bell button that was sewn +just over my heart. She certainly was not the best of them, for I can +see now that she was vain and shallow, with a pert boldness, which I +mistook for vivacity and wit. Three years ago, at the age of twenty, my +knowledge of women was so complete that I divided them into six classes, +and as soon as I met a new one I placed her in one of these classes and +created her according to the line of campaign I had laid down as proper +for that class. Now, at twenty-three, I believe that there are as many +different kinds of women as there are women, but that all kinds are +good. Some women are better than others, but all are good, and all are +different. This particular one unknowingly did me a great harm, but +others have given me so much that is for good, that the balance side +is in their favor. If a man is going to make a fool of himself, I +personally would rather see him do it on account of a woman than for any +other cause. For centuries Antony has been held up to the scorn of the +world because he deserted his troops and his fleet, and sacrificed the +Roman Empire for the sake of Cleopatra. Of course, that is the one thing +a man cannot do, desert his men and betray his flag; but, if he is going +to make a bad break in life, I rather like his doing it for the love +of a woman. And, after all, it is rather fine to have for once felt +something in you so great that you placed it higher than the Roman +Empire. + +I haven’t the excuse of any great feeling in my case. She, the girl at +Cranston’s, was leaving the Point on the morrow, and she said if all I +had sworn to her was true I would run the sentries that night to +dance with her at the hop. Of course, love does not set tests nor ask +sacrifices, but I had sworn that I had loved her, as I understood the +world, and I told her I would come. I came, and I was recognized as +I crossed the piazza to the ball-room. On the morning following I was +called to the office of the Commandant and was told to pack my trunk. I +was out of uniform in an hour, and that night at parade the order of the +War Department dismissing me from the service was read to the assembled +battalion. + +{Illustration: We walked out to the woods.} + +I cannot write about that day. It was a very bright, beautiful day, full +of life and sunshine, and I remember that I wondered how the world could +be so cruel and unfeeling. The other second classmen came in while I was +packing my things to say that they were sorry. They were kind enough; +and some of them wanted me to go off to New York to friends of theirs +and help upset it and get drunk. Their idea was, I suppose, to show the +authorities how mistaken they had been in not making me an officer. But +I could not be civil to any of them. I hated them all, and the place, +and everyone in it. When I was dismissed my first thought was one of +utter thankfulness that my grandfather died before the disgrace came +upon me, and after that I did not much care. I was desperate and +bitterly miserable. I knew, as the authorities could not know, that no +one in my class felt more loyal to the service than myself; that I would +have died twenty deaths for my country; that there was no one company +post in the West, however distant from civilization, that would not have +been a paradise to me; that there was no soldier in the army who would +have served more devotedly than myself. And now I was found wanting +and thrown out to herd with civilians, as unfit to hold the President’s +commission. After my first outbreak of impotent rage--for I blamed +everyone but myself--remorse set in, and I thought of grandfather and +of how much he had done for our country, and how we had talked so +confidently together of the days when I would follow in his footsteps, +as his grandchild, and as the son of “Fighting Macklin.” + +All my life I had talked and thought of nothing else, and now, just as +I was within a year of it, I was shown the door which I never can enter +again. + +That it might be easier for us when I arrived, I telegraphed Beatrice +what had happened, and when I reached the house the same afternoon +she was waiting for me at the door, as though I was coming home for +a holiday and it was all as it might have been. But neither of us was +deceived, and without a word we walked out of the garden and up the hill +to the woods where we had last been together six months before, Since +then all had changed. Summer had come, the trees were heavy with leaves, +and a warm haze hung over the river and the Palisades beyond We seated +ourselves on a fallen tree at the top of the hill and sat in silence, +looking down into the warm, beautiful valley. It was Beatrice who was +the first to speak. + +“I have been thinking of what you can do,” she began, gently, “and it +seems to me, Royal, that what you need now is a good rest. It has been a +hard winter for you. You have had to meet the two greatest trials that I +hope will ever come to you. You took the first one well, as you should, +and you will take this lesser one well also; I know you will. But you +must give yourself time to get over this--this disappointment, and to +look about you. You must try to content yourself at home with mother and +with me. I am so selfish that I am almost glad it has happened, for now +for a time we shall have you with us, all to ourselves, and we can take +care of you and see that you are not gloomy and morbid. And then when +the fall comes you will have decided what is best to do, and you will +have a rest and a quiet summer with those who understand you and love +you. And then you can go out into the world to do your work, whatever +your work is to be.” + +I turned toward her and stared at her curiously. + +“Whatever my work is to be,” I repeated. “That was decided for me, +Beatrice, when I was a little boy.” + +She returned my look for a moment in some doubt, and then leaned eagerly +forward. “You mean to enlist?” she asked. + +“To enlist? Not I!” I answered hotly. “If I’m not fit to be an officer +now, I never shall be, at least not by that road. Do you know what it +means? It’s the bitterest life a man can follow. He is neither the one +thing nor the other. The enlisted men suspect him, and the officers may +not speak with him. I know one officer who got his commission that way. +He swears now he would rather have served the time in jail. The officers +at the post pointed him out to visitors, as the man who had failed at +West Point, and who was working his way up from the ranks, and the men +of his company thought that _he_ thought, God help him, that he was too +good for them, and made his life hell. Do you suppose I’d show my +musket to men of my old mess, and have the girls I’ve danced with see me +marching up and down a board walk with a gun on my shoulder? Do you see +me going on errands for the men I’ve hazed, and showing them my socks +and shirts at inspection so they can give me a good mark for being a +clean and tidy soldier? No! I’ll not enlist. If I’m not good enough to +carry a sword I’m not good enough to carry a gun, and the United States +Army can struggle along without me.” + +Beatrice shook her head. + +“Don’t say anything you’ll be sorry for, Royal,” she warned me. + +“You don’t understand,” I interrupted. “I’m not saying anything against +my own country or our army--how can I? I’ve proved clearly enough that +I’m not fit for it. I’m only too grateful, I’ve had three years in the +best military school in the world, at my country’s expense, and I’m +grateful. Yes, and I’m miserable, too, that I have failed to deserve +it.” + +I stood up and straightened my shoulders. “But perhaps there are other +countries less difficult to please,” I said, “where I can lose myself +and be forgotten, and where I can see service. After all, a soldier’s +business is to fight, not to sit at a post all day or to do a clerk’s +work at Washington.” + +Even as I spoke these chance words I seemed to feel the cloud of failure +and disgrace passing from me. I saw vaguely a way to redeem myself, and, +though I had spoken with bravado and at random, the words stuck in my +mind, and my despondency fell from me like a heavy knapsack. + +“Come,” I said, cheerfully, “there can be no talk of a holiday for me +until I have earned it. You know I would love to stay here now with you +and Aunt in the old house, but I have no time to mope and be petted. If +you fall down, you must not lie in the road and cry over your bruised +shins; you must pick yourself up and go on again, even if you are a bit +sore and dirty.” + +We said nothing more, but my mind was made up, and when we reached +the house I went at once to my room and repacked my trunk for a long +journey. It was a leather trunk in which my grandfather used to carry +his sword and uniform, and in it I now proudly placed the presentation +sword he had bequeathed to me in his will, and my scanty wardrobe and +$500 of the money he had left to me. All the rest of his fortune, with +the exception of the $2,000 a year he had settled upon me, he had, I am +glad to say, bequeathed with the house to Aunt Mary and Beatrice. When I +had finished my packing I joined them at supper, and such was my elation +at the prospect of at once setting forth to redeem myself, and to seek +my fortune, that to me the meal passed most cheerfully. When it was +finished, I found the paper of that morning, and spreading it out upon +the table began a careful search in the foreign news for what tidings +there might be of war. + +I told Beatrice what I was doing, and without a word she brought out my +old school atlas, and together under the light of the student-lamp we +sought out the places mentioned in the foreign despatches, and discussed +them, and the chances they might offer me. + +There were, I remember, at the time that paper was printed, strained +relations existing between France and China over the copper mines in +Tonkin; there was a tribal war in Upper Burmah with native troops; there +was a threat of complications in the Balkans, but the Balkans, as I have +since learned, are always with us and always threatening. Nothing in +the paper seemed to offer me the chance I sought, and apparently peace +smiled on every other portion of the globe. + +“There is always the mounted police in Canada,” I said, tentatively. + +“No,” Beatrice answered, quietly, and without asking her reasons I +accepted her decision and turned again to the paper. And then my eyes +fell on a paragraph which at first I had overlooked--a modest, brief +despatch tucked away in a corner, and unremarkable, except for its +strange date-line. It was headed, “The Revolt in Honduras.” I pointed +to it with my finger, and Beatrice leaned forward with her head close to +mine, and we read it together. “Tegucigalpa, June 17th,” it read. “The +revolution here has assumed serious proportions. President Alvarez has +proclaimed martial law over all provinces, and leaves tomorrow for Santa +Barbara, where the Liberal forces under the rebel leader, ex-President +Louis Garcia, were last in camp. General Laguerre is coming from +Nicaragua to assist Garcia with his foreign legion of 200 men. He has +seized the Nancy Miller, belonging to the Isthmian Line, and has fitted +her with two Gatling guns. He is reported to be bombarding the towns +on his way along the coast, and a detachment of Government troops is +marching to Porto Cortez to prevent his landing. His force is chiefly +composed of American and other aliens, who believe the overthrow of the +present government will be beneficial to foreign residents.” + +“General Laguerre!” I cried, eagerly, “that is not a Spanish name. +General Laguerre must be a Frenchman. And it says that the men with +him are Americans, and that the present government is against all +foreigners.” + +I drew back from the table with a laugh, and stood smiling at Beatrice, +but she shook her head, even though she smiled, too. + +“Oh, not that,” she said. + +“My dear Beatrice,” I expostulated, “it certainly isn’t right that +American interests in--what’s the name of the place--in Honduras, should +be jeopardized, is it? And by an ignorant half-breed like this President +What’s-his-name? Certainly not. It must be stopped, even if we have to +requisition every steamer the Isthmian Line has afloat.” + +“Oh, Royal,” Beatrice cried, “you are not serious. No, you wouldn’t, +you couldn’t be so foolish. That’s no affair of yours. That’s not +your country. Besides, that is not war; it is speculation. You are a +gentleman, not a pirate and a filibuster.” + +“William Walker was a filibuster,” I answered. “He took Nicaragua +with 200 men and held it for two years against 20,000. I must begin +somewhere,” I cried, “why not there? A girl can’t understand these +things--at least, some girls can’t--but I would have thought you would. +What does it matter what I do or where I go?” I broke out, bitterly. “I +have made a failure of my life at the very start. I am sick and sore and +desperate. I don’t care where I go or what---” + +I would have ranted on for some time, no doubt, but that a look from +Beatrice stopped me in mid-air, and I stood silent, feeling somewhat +foolish. + +“I can understand this much,” she said, “that you are a foolish boy. How +dare you talk of having made a failure of your life? Your life has not +yet begun. You have yet to make it, and to show yourself something +more than a boy.” She paused, and then her manner changed, and she came +toward me, looking up at me with eyes that were moist and softened with +a sweet and troubled tenderness, and she took my hand and held it close +in both of hers. + +I had never seen her look more beautiful than she did at that moment. +If it had been any other woman in the world but her, I would have caught +her in my arms and kissed her again and again, but because it was she +I could not touch her, but drew back and looked down into her eyes with +the sudden great feeling I had for her. And so we stood for a moment, +seeing each other as we had never seen each other before. And then she +caught her breath quickly and drew away. But she turned her face toward +me at once, and looked up at me steadily. + +“I am so fond of you, Royal,” she said, bravely, “you know, that--that +I cannot bear to think of you doing anything in this world that is not +fine and for the best. But if you will be a knight errant, and seek out +dangers and fight windmills, promise me to be a true knight and that +you will fight only when you must and only on the side that is just, and +then you will come back bringing your sheaves with you.” + +I did not dare to look at her, but I raised her hand and held the +tips of her fingers against my lips, and I promised, but I would have +promised anything at that moment. + +“If I am to be a knight,” I said, and my voice sounded very hoarse and +boyish, so that I hardly recognized it as my own, “you must give me your +colors to wear on my lance, and if any other knight thinks his colors +fairer, or the lady who gave them more lovely than you, I shall kill +him.” + +She laughed softly and moved away. + +“Of course,” she said, “of course, you must kill him.” She stepped a few +feet from me, and, raising her hands to her throat, unfastened a little +gold chain which she wore around her neck. She took it off and held it +toward me. “Would you like this?” she said. I did not answer, nor +did she wait for me to do so, but wound the chain around my wrist and +fastened it, and I raised it and kissed it, and neither of us spoke. +She went out to the veranda to warn her mother of my departure, and I to +tell the servants to bring the carriage to the door. + +A few minutes later, the suburban train drew out of the station at +Dobbs Ferry, and I waved my hand to Beatrice as she sat in the carriage +looking after me. The night was warm and she wore a white dress and +her head was uncovered. In the smoky glare of the station lamps I could +still see the soft tints of her hair; and as the train bumped itself +together and pulled forward, I felt a sudden panic of doubt, a piercing +stab at my heart, and something called on me to leap off the car that +was bearing me away, and go back to the white figure sitting motionless +in the carriage. As I gripped the iron railing to restrain myself, I +felt the cold sweat springing to the palm of my hand. For a moment I +forgot the end of my long journey. I saw it as something foolish, mad, +fantastic. I was snatching at a flash of powder, when I could warm my +hands at an open fire. I was deserting the one thing which counted and +of which I was certain; the one thing I loved. And then the train turned +a curve, the lamps of the station and the white ghostly figure were shut +from me, and I entered the glaring car filled with close air and smoke +and smelling lamps. I seated myself beside a window and leaned far out +into the night, so that the wind of the rushing train beat in my face. + +And in a little time the clanking car-wheels seemed to speak to me, +beating out the words brazenly so that I thought everyone in the car +must hear them. + +“Turn again, turn again, Royal Macklin,” they seemed to say to me. “She +loves you, Royal Macklin, she loves you, she loves you.” + +And I thought of Dick Whittington when the Bow bells called to him, as +he paused in the country lane to look lack at the smoky roof of London, +and they had offered him so little, while for me the words seemed to +promise the proudest place a man could hold. And I imagined myself still +at home, working by day in some New York office and coming back by night +to find Beatrice at the station waiting for me, always in a white +dress, and with her brown hair glowing in the light of the lamps. And +I pictured us taking long walks together above the Hudson, and quiet, +happy evenings by the fire-side. But the rhythm of the car-wheels +altered, and from “She loves you, she loves you,” the refrain now came +brokenly and fiercely, like the reports of muskets fired in hate and +fear, and mixed with their roar and rattle I seemed to distinguish words +of command in a foreign tongue, and the groans of men wounded and +dying. And I saw, rising above great jungles and noisome swamps, a +long mountain-range piercing a burning, naked sky; and in a pass in the +mountains a group of my own countrymen, ragged and worn and with eyes +lit with fever, waving a strange flag, and beset on every side by +dark-faced soldiers, and I saw my own face among them, hollow-cheeked +and tanned, with my head bandaged in a scarf; I felt the hot barrel of +a rifle burning my palm, I smelt the pungent odor of spent powder, my +throat and nostrils were assailed with smoke. I suffered all the fierce +joy and agony of battle, and the picture of the white figure of Beatrice +grew dim and receded from me, and as it faded the eyes regarded me +wistfully and reproached me, but I would not heed them, but turned my +own eyes away. And again I saw the menacing negro faces and the burning +sunlight and the strange flag that tossed and whimpered in the air above +my head, the strange flag of unknown, tawdry colors, like the painted +face of a woman in the street, but a flag at which I cheered and shouted +as though it were my own, as though I loved it; a flag for which I would +fight and die. + +The train twisted its length into the great station, the men about me +rose and crowded down the aisle, and I heard the cries of newsboys and +hackmen and jangling car-bells, and all the roar and tumult of a great +city at night. + +But I had already made my choice. Within an hour I had crossed to the +Jersey side, and was speeding south, south toward New Orleans, toward +the Gulf of Mexico, toward Honduras, to Colonel Laguerre and his foreign +legion. + + + + +II + + +S.S. PANAMA, OFF COAST OF HONDURAS + +To one who never before had travelled farther than is Dobbs Ferry from +Philadelphia, my journey south to New Orleans was something in the +way of an expedition, and I found it rich in incident and adventure. +Everything was new and strange, but nothing was so strange as my own +freedom. After three years of discipline, of going to bed by drum-call, +of waking by drum-call, and obeying the orders of others, this new +independence added a supreme flavor to all my pleasures. I took my +journey very seriously, and I determined to make every little incident +contribute to my better knowledge of the world. I rated the chance +acquaintances of the smoking-car as aids to a clear understanding of +mankind, and when at Washington I saw above the house-tops the marble +dome of the Capitol I was thrilled to think that I was already so much +richer in experience. + +To me the country through which we passed spoke with but one meaning. +I saw it as the chess-board of the War of the Rebellion. I imagined +the towns fortified and besieged, the hills topped with artillery, the +forests alive with troops in ambush, and in my mind, on account of their +strategic value to the enemy, I destroyed the bridges over which we +passed. The passengers were only too willing to instruct a stranger in +the historical values of their country. They pointed out to me where +certain regiments had camped, where homesteads had been burned, and +where real battles, not of my own imagining, but which had cost the +lives of many men, had been lost and won. I found that to these chance +acquaintances the events of which they spoke were as fresh after twenty +years as though they had occurred but yesterday, and they accepted my +curiosity as only a natural interest in a still vital subject. I judged +it advisable not to mention that General Hamilton was my grandfather. +Instead I told them that I was the son of an officer who had died for +the cause of secession. This was the first time I had ever missed +an opportunity of boasting of my relationship to my distinguished +grandparent, and I felt meanly conscious that I was in a way disloyal. +But they were so genuinely pleased when they learned that my father had +fought for the South, that I lacked the courage to tell them that while +he was so engaged another relative of mine had driven one of their best +generals through three States. + +I am one who makes the most of what he sees, and even the simplest +things filled me with delight; my first sight of cotton-fields, of +tobacco growing in the leaf, were great moments to me; and that the men +who guarded the negro convicts at work in the fields still clung to the +uniform of gray, struck me as a fact of pathetic interest. + +I was delayed in New Orleans for only one day. At the end of that time +I secured passage on the steamer Panama. She was listed to sail for +Aspinwall at nine o’clock the next morning, and to touch at ports along +the Central American coast. While waiting for my steamer I mobilized +my transport and supplies, and purchased such articles as I considered +necessary for a rough campaign in a tropical climate. My purchases +consisted of a revolver, a money-belt, in which to carry my small +fortune, which I had exchanged into gold double-eagles, a pair +of field-glasses, a rubber blanket, a canteen, riding boots, and +saddle-bags. I decided that my uniform and saddle would be furnished +me from the quartermaster’s department of Garcia’s army, for in my +ignorance I supposed I was entering on a campaign conducted after the +methods of European armies. + +We left the levees of New Orleans early in the morning, and for the +remainder of the day steamed slowly down the Mississippi River. I sat +alone upon the deck watching the low, swampy banks slipping past us +on either side, the gloomy cypress-trees heavy with gray moss, the +abandoned cotton-gins and disused negro quarters. As I did so a feeling +of homesickness and depression came upon me, and my disgraceful failure +at the Point, the loss of my grandfather, and my desertion of Beatrice, +for so it began to seem to me, filled me with a bitter melancholy. + +The sun set the first day over great wastes of swamp, swamp-land, and +pools of inky black, which stretched as far as the eye could reach; +gloomy, silent, and barren of any form of life. It was a picture which +held neither the freedom of the open sea nor the human element of the +solid earth. It seemed to me as though the world must have looked so +when darkness brooded over the face of the waters, and as I went to +my berth that night I felt as though I were saying good-by forever to +allthat was dear to me--my country, my home, and the girl I loved. + +I was awakened in the morning by a motion which I had never before +experienced. I was being gently lifted and lowered and rolled to and +fro as a hammock is rocked by the breeze. For some minutes I lay between +sleep and waking, struggling back to consciousness, until with a sudden +gasp of delight it came to me that at last I was at sea. I scrambled +from my berth and pulled back the curtains of the air port. It was as +though over night the ocean had crept up to my window. It stretched +below me in great distances of a deep, beautiful blue. Tumbling waves +were chasing each other over it, and millions of white caps glanced and +flashed as they raced by me in the sun. It was my first real view of the +ocean, and the restlessness of it and the freedom of it stirred me with +a great happiness. I drank in its beauty as eagerly as I filled my lungs +with the keen salt air, and thanked God for both. + +The three short days which followed were full of new and delightful +surprises, some because it was all so strange and others because it was +so exactly what I had hoped it would be. I had read many tales of the +sea, but ships I knew only as they moved along the Hudson at the end of +the towing-line. I had never felt one rise and fall beneath me, nor +from the deck of one watched the sun sink into the water. I had never at +night looked up at the great masts, and seen them swing, like a pendulum +reversed, between me and the stars. + +There was so much to learn that was new and so many things to see on +the waters, and in the skies, that it seemed wicked to sleep. So, during +nearly the whole of every night, I stood with Captain Leeds on his +bridge, or asked ignorant questions of the man at the wheel. The steward +of the Panama was purser, supercargo, and bar-keeper in one, and a most +interesting man. He apparently never slept, but at any hour was willing +to sit and chat with me. It was he who first introduced me to the +wonderful mysteries of the alligator pear as a salad, and taught me to +prefer, in a hot country, Jamaica rum with half a lime squeezed into the +glass to all other spirits. It was a most educational trip. + +I had much entertainment on board the Panama by pretending that I was +her captain, and that she was sailing under my orders. Sometimes +I pretended that she was an American man-of-war, and sometimes a +filibuster escaping from an American man-of-war. This may seem an absurd +and childish game, but I had always wanted to hold authority, and as I +had never done so, except as a drill sergeant at the Academy, it was +my habit to imagine myself in whatever position of responsibility +my surroundings suggested. For this purpose the Panama served me +excellently, and in scanning the horizon for hostile fleets or a pirate +flag I was as conscientious as was the lookout in the bow. At the +Academy I had often sat in my room with maps spread out before me +planning attacks on the enemy, considering my lines of communication, +telegraphing wildly for reinforcements, and despatching my aides with +a clearly written, comprehensive order to where my advance column was +engaged. I believe this “play-acting,” as my room-mate used to call +it, helped me to think quickly, to give an intelligent command +intelligently, and made me rich in resources. + +For the first few days I was so enchanted with my new surroundings that +the sinister purpose of my journey South lost its full value. And when, +as we approached Honduras, it was recalled to me, I was surprised to +find that I had heard no one on board discuss the war, nor refer to it +in any way. When I considered this, I was the more surprised because +Porto Cortez was one of the chief ports at which we touched, and I was +annoyed to find that I had travelled so far for the sake of a cause in +which those directly interested felt so little concern. I set about +with great caution to discover the reason for this lack of interest. +The passengers of the Panama came from widely different parts of Central +America. They were coffee planters and mining engineers, concession +hunters, and promoters of mining companies. I sounded each of them +separately as to the condition of affairs in Honduras, and gave as my +reason for inquiring the fact that I had thoughts of investing my +money there. I talked rather largely of my money. But this information, +instead of inducing them to speak of Honduras, only made each of them +more eloquent in praising the particular republic in which his own money +was invested, and each begged me to place mine with his. In the course +of one day I was offered a part ownership in four coffee plantations, a +rubber forest, a machine for turning the sea-turtles into fat and shell, +and the good-will and fixtures of a dentist’s office. Except that I +obtained some reputation on board as a young man of property, which +reputation I endeavored to maintain by treating everyone to drinks in +the social hall, my inquiries led to no result. No one apparently knew, +nor cared to know, of the revolution in Honduras, and passed it over as +a joke. This hurt me, but lest they should grow suspicious, I did not +continue my inquiries. + + + +THE CAFE SANTOS, SAGUA LA GRANDE, HONDURAS + + +We sighted land at seven in the morning, and as the ship made in toward +the shore I ran to the bow and stood alone peering over the rail. Before +me lay the scene set for my coming adventures, and as the ship threaded +the coral reefs, my excitement ran so high that my throat choked, and +my eyes suddenly dimmed with tears. It seemed too good to be real. It +seemed impossible that it could be true; that at last I should be about +to act the life I had so long only rehearsed and pretended. But the +pretence had changed to something living and actual. In front of me, +under a flashing sun, I saw the palm-fringed harbor of my dreams, a +white village of thatched mud houses, a row of ugly huts above which +drooped limply the flags of foreign consuls, and, far beyond, a deep +blue range of mountains, forbidding and mysterious, rising out of a +steaming swamp into a burning sky, and on the harbor’s only pier, +in blue drill uniforms and gay red caps, a group of dark-skinned, +swaggering soldiers. This hot, volcano-looking land was the one I had +come to free from its fetters. These swarthy barefooted brigands were +the men with whom I was to fight. + +My trunk had been packed and strapped since sunrise, and before the +ship reached the pier, I had said “good-by” to everyone on board and was +waiting impatiently at the gang-way. I was the only passenger to leave, +and no cargo was unloaded nor taken on. She was waiting only for the +agent of the company to confer with Captain Leeds, and while these men +were conversing on the bridge, and the hawser was being drawn on board, +the custom-house officers, much to my disquiet, began to search my +trunk. I had nothing with me which was dutiable, but my grandfather’s +presentation sword was hidden in the trunk and its presence there and +prospective use would be difficult to explain. It was accordingly with +a feeling of satisfaction that I noticed on a building on the end of the +pier the sign of our consulate and the American flag, and that a young +man, evidently an American, was hurrying from it toward the ship. But +as it turned out I had no need of his services, for I had concealed the +sword so cleverly by burying each end of it in one of my long cavalry +boots, that the official failed to find it. + +I had locked my trunk again and was waving final farewells to those on +the Panama, when the young man from the consulate began suddenly to race +down the pier, shouting as he came. + +The gang-way had been drawn up, and the steamer was under way, churning +the water as she swung slowly seaward, but she was still within easy +speaking distance of the pierhead. + +The young man rushed through the crowd, jostling the native Indians and +negro soldiers, and shrieked at the departing vessel. + +“Stop!” he screamed, “stop! stop her!” + +He recognized Captain Leeds on the bridge, and, running along the +pierhead until he was just below it, waved wildly at him. + +“Where’s my freight?” he cried. “My freight! You haven’t put off my +freight.” + +Captain Leeds folded his arms comfortably upon the rail, and regarded +the young man calmly and with an expression of amusement. + +“Where are my sewing-machines?” the young man demanded. “Where are the +sewing-machines invoiced me by this steamer?” + +“Sewing-machines, Mr. Aiken?” the Captain answered. “I left your +sewing-machines in New Orleans.” + +“You what?” shrieked the young man. “You left them?” + +“I left them sitting on the company’s levee,” the Captain continued, +calmly. “The revenue officers have ‘em by now, Mr. Aiken. Some parties +said they weren’t sewing-machines at all. They said you were acting for +Laguerre.” + +The ship was slowly drawing away. The young man stretched out one arm as +though to detain her, and danced frantically along the stringhead. + +“How dare you!” he cried. “I’m a commission merchant. I deal in whatever +I please--and I’m the American Consul!” + +The Captain laughed, and with a wave of his hand in farewell backed away +from the rail. + +“That may be,” he shouted, “but this line isn’t carrying freight for +General Laguerre, nor for you, neither.” He returned and made a speaking +trumpet of his hands. “Tell him from me,” he shouted, mockingly, “that +if he wants his sewing-machines he’d better go North and steal ‘em. Same +as he stole our Nancy Miller.” + +The young man shook both his fists in helpless anger. + +“You damned banana trader,” he shrieked, “you’ll lose your license for +this. I’ll fix you for this. I’ll dirty your card for you, you pirate!” + +The Captain flung himself far over the rail. He did not need a speaking +trumpet now--his voice would have carried above the tumult of a +hurricane. + +“You’ll what?” he roared. “You’ll dirty my card, you thieving +filibuster? Do you know what I’ll do to you? I’ll have your tin +sign taken away from you, before I touch this port again. You’ll +see--you--you--” he ended impotently for lack of epithets, but continued +in eloquent pantomime to wave his arms. + +With an oath the young man recognized defeat, and shrugged his +shoulders. + +“Oh, you go to the devil,” he shouted, and turned away. He saw me +observing him, and as I was the only person present who looked as though +he understood English, he grinned at me sheepishly, and nodded. + +“I don’t care for him,” he said. “He can’t frighten me.” + +I considered this as equivalent to an introduction. + +“You are the United States Consul?” I asked. The young man nodded +briskly. + +“Yes; I am. Where do you come from?” + +“Dobbs Ferry, near New York,” I answered. “I’d---I’d like to have a talk +with you, when you are not busy.” + +“That’s all right,” he said. “I’m not busy now. That bumboat pirate +queered the only business I had. Where are you going to stop? There is +only one place,” he explained; “that’s Pulido’s. He’ll knife you if +he thinks you have five dollars in your belt, and the bar-room is half +under water anyway. Or you can take a cot in my shack, if you like, and +I’ll board and lodge you for two pesos a day--that’s one dollar in our +money. And if you are going up country,” he went on, “I can fit you out +with mules and mozos and everything you want, from canned meats to +an escort of soldiers. You’re sure to be robbed anyway,” he urged, +pleasantly, “and you might as well give the job to a fellow-countryman. +I’d hate to have one of these greasers get it.” + +“You’re welcome to try,” I said, laughing. + +In spite of his manner, which was much too familiar and patronizing, the +young man amused me, and I must confess moreover that at that moment I +felt very far from home and was glad to meet an American, and one not so +much older than myself. The fact that he was our consul struck me as a +most fortunate circumstance. + +He clapped his hands and directed one of the negroes to carry my trunk +to the consulate, and I walked with him up the pier, the native soldiers +saluting him awkwardly as he passed. He returned their salute with a +flourish, and more to impress me I guessed than from any regard for +them. + +“That’s because I’m Consul,” he said, with satisfaction. “There’s only +eight white men in Porto Cortez,” he explained, “and we’re all consular +agents. The Italian consular agent is a Frenchman, and an Italian, +Guessippi--the Banana King, they call him--is consular agent for both +Germany and England, and the only German here is consular agent for +France and Holland. You see, each of ‘em has to represent some other +country than his own, because his country knows why he left it.” He +threw back his head and laughed at this with great delight. Apparently +he had already forgotten the rebuff from Captain Leeds. But it had made +a deep impression upon me. I had heard Leeds virtually accuse the consul +of being an agent of General Laguerre, and I suspected that the articles +he had refused to deliver were more likely to be machine guns than +sewing-machines. If this were true, Mr. Aiken was a person in whom I +could confide with safety. + +The consulate was a one-story building of corrugated iron, hot, +unpainted, and unlovely. It was set on wooden logs to lift it from the +reach of “sand jiggers” and the surf, which at high tide ran up the +beach, under and beyond it. Inside it was rude and bare, and the heat +and the smell of the harbor, and of the swamp on which the town was +built, passed freely through the open doors. + +Aiken proceeded to play the host in a most cordial manner. He placed my +trunk in the room I was to occupy, and set out some very strong Honduran +cigars and a bottle of Jamaica rum. While he did this he began to +grumble over the loss of his sewing-machines, and to swear picturesquely +at Captain Leeds, bragging of the awful things he meant to do to him. +But when he had tasted his drink and lighted a cigar, his good-humor +returned, and he gave his attention to me. + +“Now then, young one,” he asked, in a tone of the utmost familiarity, +“what’s your trouble?” + +I explained that I could not help but hear what the Captain shouted +at him from the Panama, and I asked if it was contrary to the law of +Honduras for one to communicate with the officer Captain Leeds had +mentioned--General Laguerre. + +“The old man, hey?” Aiken exclaimed and stared at me apparently with +increased interest. “Well, there are some people who might prevent your +getting to him,” he answered, diplomatically. For a moment he sipped his +rum and water, while he examined me from over the top of the cup. Then +he winked and smiled. + +“Come now,” he said, encouragingly. “Speak up. What’s the game? You can +trust me. You’re an agent for Collins, or the Winchester Arms people, +aren’t you?” + +“On the contrary,” I said, with some haughtiness, “I am serving no one’s +interest but my own. I read in the papers of General Laguerre and his +foreign legion, and I came here to join him and to fight with him. +That’s all. I am a soldier of fortune, I said.” I repeated this with +some emphasis, for I liked the sound of it. “I am a soldier of fortune, +and my name is Macklin. I hope in time to make it better known.” + +“A soldier of fortune, hey?” exclaimed Aiken, observing me with a grin. +“What soldiering have you done?” + +I replied, with a little embarrassment, that as yet I had seen no active +service, but that for three years I had been trained for it at West +Point. + +“At West Point, the deuce you have!” said Aiken. His tone was now one +of respect, and he regarded me with marked interest. He was not a +gentleman, but he was sharp-witted enough to recognize one in me, and +my words and bearing had impressed him. Still his next remark was +disconcerting. + +“But if you’re a West Point soldier,” he asked, “why the devil do you +want to mix up in a shooting-match like this?” + +I was annoyed, but I answered, civilly: “It’s in a good cause,” I said. +“As I understand the situation, this President Alvarez is a tyrant. He’s +opposed to all progress. It’s a fight for liberty.” + +Aiken interrupted me with a laugh, and placed his feet on the table. + +“Oh, come,” he said, in a most offensive tone. “Play fair, play fair.” + +“Play fair? What do you mean?” I demanded. + +“You don’t expect me to believe,” he said, jeeringly, “that you came all +the way down here, just to fight for the sacred cause of liberty.” + +I may occasionally exaggerate a bit in representing myself to be a more +important person than I really am, but if I were taught nothing else at +the Point, I was taught to tell the truth, and when Aiken questioned my +word I felt the honor of the whole army rising within me and stiffening +my back-bone. + +“You had better believe what I tell you, sir,” I answered him, sharply. +“You may not know it, but you are impertinent!” + +I have seldom seen a man so surprised as was Aiken when I made this +speech. His mouth opened and remained open while he slowly removed +his feet from the table and allowed the legs of his chair to touch the +floor. + +“Great Scott,” he said at last, “but you have got a nasty temper. I’d +forgotten that folks are so particular.” + +“Particular--because I object to having my word doubted,” I asked. “I +must request you to send my trunk to Pulido’s. I fancy you and I won’t +hit it off together.” I rose and started to leave the room, but he held +out his hands to prevent me, and exclaimed, in consternation: + +“Oh, that’s no way to treat me,” he protested. “I didn’t say anything +for you to get on your ear about. If I did, I’m sorry.” He stepped +forward, offering to shake my hand, and as I took his doubtfully, he +pushed me back into my chair. + +“You mustn’t mind me,” he went on. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen a +man from God’s country that I’ve forgotten how to do the polite. Here, +have another drink and start even.” He was so eager and so suddenly +humble that I felt ashamed of my display of offended honor, and we began +again with a better understanding. + +I told him once more why I had come, and this time he accepted my story +as though he considered my wishing to join Laguerre the most natural +thing in the world, nodding his head and muttering approvingly. When I +had finished he said, “You may not think so now, but I guess you’ve come +to the only person who can help you. If you’d gone to anyone else you’d +probably have landed in jail.” He glanced over his shoulder at the open +door, and then, after a mysterious wink at me, tiptoed out upon the +veranda, and ran rapidly around and through the house. This precaution +on his part gave me a thrill of satisfaction. I felt that at last I +was a real conspirator that I was concerned in something dangerous and +weighty. I sipped at my glass with an air of indifference, but as a +matter of fact I was rather nervous. + +“You can’t be too careful,” Aiken said as he reseated himself. “Of +course, the whole thing is a comic opera, but if they suspect you +are working against them, they’re just as likely as not to make it a +tragedy, with you in the star part. Now I’ll explain how I got into +this, and I can assure you it wasn’t through any love of liberty with +me. The consular agent here is a man named Quay, and he and I have +been in the commission business together. About three months ago, when +Laguerre was organizing his command at Bluefields, Garcia, who is the +leader of the revolutionary party, sent word down here to Quay to go +North for him and buy two machine guns and invoice ‘em to me at the +consulate. Quay left on the next steamer and appointed me acting consul, +but except for his saying so I’ve no more real authority to act as +consul than you have. The plan was that when Laguerre captured this port +he would pick up the guns and carry them on to Garcia. Laguerre was at +Bluefields, but couldn’t get into the game for lack of a boat. So when +the Nancy Miller touched there he and his crowd boarded her just like a +lot of old-fashioned pirates and turned the passengers out on the wharf. +Then they put a gun at the head of the engineer and ordered him to take +them back to Porto Cortez. But when they reached here the guns hadn’t +arrived from New Orleans. And so, after a bit of a fight on landing, +Laguerre pushed on without them to join Garcia. He left instructions +with me to bring him word when they arrived. He’s in hiding up there in +the mountains, waiting to hear from me now. They ought to have come this +steamer day on the Panama along with you, but, as you know, they didn’t. +I never thought they would. I knew the Isthmian Line people wouldn’t +carry ‘em. They’ve got to beat Garcia, and until this row is over they +won’t even carry a mail-bag for fear he might capture it.” + +“Is that because General Laguerre seized one of their steamers?” I +asked. + +“No, it’s an old fight,” said Aiken, “and Laguerre’s stealing the Nancy +Miller was only a part of it. The fight began between Garcia and the +Isthmian Line when Garcia became president. He tried to collect some +money from the Isthmian Line, and old man Fiske threw him out of the +palace and made Alvarez president.” + +I was beginning to find the politics of the revolution into which I had +precipitated myself somewhat involved, and I suppose I looked puzzled, +for Aiken laughed. + +“You can laugh,” I said, “but it is rather confusing. Who is Fiske? Is +he another revolutionist?” + +“Fiske!” exclaimed Aiken. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who Fiske is? +I mean old man Fiske, the Wall Street banker--Joseph Fiske, the one who +owns the steam yacht and all the railroads.” + +I had of course heard of that Joseph Fiske, but his name to me was only +a word meaning money. I had never thought of Joseph Fiske as a human +being. At school and at the Point when we wanted to give the idea of +wealth that could not be counted we used to say, “As rich as Joe Fiske.” + But I answered, in a tone that suggested that I knew him intimately: + +“Oh, that Fiske,” I said. “But what has he to do with Honduras?” + +“He owns it,” Aiken answered. “It’s like this,” he began. “You must +understand that almost every republic in Central America is under +the thumb of a big trading firm or a banking house or a railroad. For +instance, all these revolutions you read about in the papers--it’s +seldom they start with the people. The _puebleo_ don’t often elect +a president or turn one out. That’s generally the work of a New York +business firm that wants a concession. If the president in office won’t +give it a concession the company starts out to find one who will. It +hunts up a rival politician or a general of the army who wants to be +president, and all of them do, and makes a deal with him. It promises +him if he’ll start a revolution it will back him with the money and the +guns. Of course, the understanding is that if the leader of the fake +revolution gets in he’ll give his New York backers whatever they’re +after. Sometimes they want a concession for a railroad, and sometimes +it’s a nitrate bed or a rubber forest, but you can take my word for +it that there’s very few revolutions down here that haven’t got a +money-making scheme at the bottom of them. + +“Now this present revolution was started by the Isthmian Steamship Line, +of which Joe Fiske is president. It runs its steamers from New Orleans +to the Isthmus of Panama. In its original charter this republic gave it +the monopoly of the fruit-carrying trade from all Hondurian ports. In +return for this the company agreed to pay the government $10,000 a year +and ten per cent, on its annual receipts, if the receipts ever exceeded +a certain amount. Well, curiously enough, although the line has been +able to build seven new steamers, its receipts have never exceeded that +fixed amount. And if you know these people the reason for that is very +simple. The company has always given each succeeding president a lump +sum for himself, on the condition that he won’t ask any impertinent +questions about the company’s earnings. Its people tell him that it is +running at a loss, and he always takes their word for it. But Garcia, +when he came in, either was too honest, or they didn’t pay him enough to +keep quiet. I don’t know which it was, but, anyway, he sent an agent +to New Orleans to examine the company’s books. The agent discovered the +earnings have been so enormous that by rights the Isthmian Line owed the +government of Honduras $500,000. This was a great chance for Garcia, and +he told them to put up the back pay or lose their charter. They refused +and he got back at them by preventing their ships from taking on any +cargo in Honduras, and by seizing their plant here and at Truxillo. +Well, the company didn’t dare to go to law about it, nor appeal to the +State Department, so it started a revolution. It picked out a thief +named Alvarez as a figure-head and helped him to bribe the army and +capture the capital. Then he bought a decision from the local courts in +favor of the company. After that there was no more talk about collecting +back pay. Garcia was an exile in Nicaragua. There he met Laguerre, who +is a professional soldier of fortune, and together they cooked up this +present revolution. They hope to put Garcia back into power again. How +he’ll act if he gets in I don’t know. The common people believe he’s a +patriot, that he’ll keep all the promises he makes them--and he makes a +good many--and some white people believe in him, too. Laguerre believes +in him, for instance. Laguerre told me that Garcia was a second Bolivar +and Washington. But he might be both of them, and he couldn’t beat the +Isthmian Line. You see, while he has prevented the Isthmian Line from +carrying bananas, he’s cut off his own nose by shutting off his only +source of supply. For these big corporations hang together at times, +and on the Pacific side the Pacific Mail Company has got the word from +Fiske, and they won’t carry supplies, either. That’s what I meant by +saying that Joe Fiske owns Honduras. He’s cut it off from the world, and +only _his_ arms and _his_ friends can get into it. And the joke of it is +he can’t get out.” + +“Can’t get out?” I exclaimed. “What do you mean?” + +“Why, he’s up there at Tegucigalpa himself,” said Aiken. “Didn’t you +know that? He’s up at the capital, visiting Alvarez. He came in through +this port about two weeks ago.” + +“Joseph Fiske is fighting in a Hondurian revolution?” I exclaimed. + +“Certainly not!” cried Aiken. “He’s here on a pleasure trip; partly +pleasure, partly business. He came here on his yacht. You can see her +from the window, lying to the left of the buoy. Fiske has nothing to do +with this row. I don’t suppose he knows there’s a revolution going on.” + +I resented this pretended lack of interest on the part of the Wall +Street banker. I condemned it as a piece of absurd affectation. + +“Don’t you believe it!” I said. “No matter how many millions a man has, +he doesn’t stand to lose $500,000 without taking an interest in it.” + +“Oh, but he doesn’t know about _that_,” said Aiken. “He doesn’t know +the ins and outs of the story--what I’ve been telling you. That’s on the +inside--that’s cafe scandal. That side of it would never reach him. I +suppose Joe Fiske is president of a _dozen_ steamship lines, and all he +does is to lend his name to this one, and preside at board meetings. The +company’s lawyers tell him whatever they think he ought to know. They +probably say they’re having trouble down here owing to one of the local +revolutions, and that Garcia is trying to blackmail them.” + +“Then you don’t think Fiske came down here about this?” I asked. + +“About this?” repeated Aiken, in a tone of such contempt that I disliked +him intensely. For the last half hour Aiken had been jumping unfeelingly +on all my ideals and illusions. + +“No,” he went on. “He came here on his yacht on a pleasure trip around +the West India Islands, and he rode in from here to look over the Copan +Silver Mines. Alvarez is terribly keen to get rid of him. He’s afraid +the revolutionists will catch him and hold him for ransom. He’d bring a +good price,” Aiken added, reflectively. “It’s enough to make a man turn +brigand. And his daughter, too. She’d bring a good price.” + +“His daughter!” I exclaimed. + +Aiken squeezed the tips of his fingers together, and kissed them, +tossing the imaginary kiss up toward the roof. Then he drank what was +left of his rum and water at a gulp and lifted the empty glass high in +the air. “To the daughter,” he said. + +It was no concern of mine, but I resented his actions exceedingly. I +think I was annoyed that he should have seen the young lady while I had +not. I also resented his toasting her before a stranger. I knew he could +not have met her, and his pretence of enthusiasm made him appear quite +ridiculous. He looked at me mournfully, shaking his head as though it +were impossible for him to give me an idea of her. + +“Why they say,” he exclaimed, “that when she rides along the trail, the +native women kneel beside it. + +“She’s the best looking girl I ever saw,” he declared, “and she’s a +thoroughbred too!” he added, “or she wouldn’t have stuck it out in this +country when she had a clean yacht to fall back on. She’s been riding +around on a mule, so they tell me, along with her father and the +engineering experts, and just as though she enjoyed it. The men up at +the mines say she tired them all out.” + +I had no desire to discuss the young lady with Aiken, so I pretended not +to be interested, and he ceased speaking, and we smoked in silence. But +my mind was nevertheless wide awake to what he had told me. I could not +help but see the dramatic values which had been given to the situation +by the presence of this young lady. The possibilities were tremendous. +Here was I, fighting against her father, and here was she, beautiful and +an heiress to many millions. In the short space of a few seconds I had +pictured myself rescuing her from brigands, denouncing her father +for not paying his honest debt to Honduras, had been shot down by his +escort, Miss Fiske had bandaged my wounds, and I was returning North as +her prospective husband on my prospective father-in-law’s yacht. +Aiken aroused me from this by rising to his feet. “Now then,” he said, +briskly, “if you want to go to Laguerre you can come with me. I’ve got +to see him to explain why his guns haven’t arrived, and I’ll take you +with me.” He made a wry face and laughed. “A nice welcome he’ll give +me,” he said. I jumped to my feet. “There’s my trunk,” I said; “it’s +ready, and so am I. When do we start?” + +“As soon as it is moonlight,” Aiken answered. + +The remainder of the day was spent in preparing for our journey. I was +first taken to the commandante and presented to him as a commercial +traveller. Aiken asked him for a passport permitting me to proceed to +the capital “for purposes of trade.” As consular agent Aiken needed no +passport for himself, but to avoid suspicion he informed the commandante +that his object in visiting Tegucigalpa was to persuade Joseph Fiske, +as president of the Isthmian Line, to place buoys in the harbor of Porto +Cortez and give the commission for their purchase to the commandante. +Aiken then and always was the most graceful liar I have ever met. His +fictions were never for his own advantage, at least not obviously so. +Instead, they always held out some pleasing hope for the person to whom +they were addressed. His plans and promises as to what he would do were +so alluring that even when I knew he was lying I liked to pretend that +he was not. This particular fiction so interested the commandante that +he even offered us an escort of soldiers, which honor we naturally +declined. + +That night when the moon had risen we started inland, each mounted on a +stout little mule, and followed by a third, on which was swung my trunk, +balanced on the other side by Aiken’s saddle bags. A Carib Indian whom +Aiken had selected because of his sympathies for the revolution walked +beside the third mule and directed its progress by the most startling +shrieks and howls. To me it was a most memorable and marvellous night, +and although for the greater part of it Aiken dozed in his saddle and +woke only to abuse his mule, I was never more wakeful nor more happy. At +the very setting forth I was pleasantly stirred when at the limit of the +town a squad of soldiers halted us and demanded our passports. This was +my first encounter with the government troops. They were barefooted +and most slovenly looking soldiers, mere boys in age and armed with +old-fashioned Remingtons. But their officer, the captain of the guard, +was more smartly dressed, and I was delighted to find that my knowledge +of Spanish, in which my grandfather had so persistently drilled me, +enabled me to understand all that passed between him and Aiken. The +captain warned us that the revolutionists were camped along the +trail, and that if challenged we had best answer quickly that we were +Americanos. He also told us that General Laguerre and his legion of +“gringoes” were in hiding in the highlands some two days’ ride from the +coast. Aiken expressed the greatest concern at this, and was for at +once turning back. His agitation was so convincing, he was apparently +so frightened, that, until he threw a quick wink at me, I confess I was +completely taken in. For some time he refused to be calmed, and it +was only when the captain assured him that his official position would +protect him from any personal danger that he consented to ride on. +Before we crossed the town limits he had made it quite evident that +the officer himself was solely responsible for his continuing on +his journey, and he denounced Laguerre and all his works with a +picturesqueness of language and a sincerity that filled me with +confusion. I even began to doubt if after all Aiken was not playing a +game for both sides, and might not end my career by leading me into +a trap. After we rode on I considered the possibility of this quite +seriously, and I was not reassured until I heard the _mozo_, with many +chuckles and shrugs of the shoulder, congratulate Aiken on the way he +had made a fool of the captain. + +“That’s called diplomacy, Jose,” Aiken told him. “That’s my statecraft. +It’s because I have so much statecraft that I am a consul. You keep +your eye on this American consul, Jose, and you’ll learn a lot of +statecraft.” + +Jose showed his teeth and grinned, and after he had dropped into a line +behind us we could hear him still chuckling. + +“You would be a great success in secret service work, Aiken,” I said, +“or on the stage.” + +We were riding in single file, and in order to see my face in the +moonlight he had to turn in his saddle. + +“And yet I didn’t,” he laughed. + +“What do you mean,” I asked, “were you ever a spy or an actor?” + +“I was both,” he said. “I was a failure at both, too. I got put in jail +for being a spy, and I ought to have been hung for my acting.” I kicked +my mule forward in order to hear better. + +“Tell me about it,” I asked, eagerly. “About when you were a spy.” + +But Aiken only laughed, and rode on without turning his head. + +“You wouldn’t understand,” he said after a pause. Then he looked at me +over his shoulder. “It needs a big black background of experience and +hard luck to get the perspective on that story,” he explained. “It +wouldn’t appeal to you; you’re too young. They’re some things they don’t +teach at West Point.” + +“They teach us,” I answered, hotly, “that if we’re detailed to secret +service work we are to carry out our orders. It’s not dishonorable to +obey orders. I’m not so young as you think. Go on, tell me, in what war +were you a spy?” + +“It wasn’t in any war,” Aiken said, again turning away from me. “It was +in Haskell’s Private Detective Agency.” + +I could not prevent an exclamation, but the instant it had escaped me +I could have kicked myself for having made it. “I beg your pardon,” I +murmured, awkwardly. + +“I said you wouldn’t understand,” Aiken answered. Then, to show he did +not wish to speak with me further, he spurred his mule into a trot and +kept a distance between us. + +Our trail ran over soft, spongy ground and was shut in on either hand +by a wet jungle of tangled vines and creepers. They interlaced like the +strands of a hammock, choking and strangling and clinging to each other +in a great web. From the jungle we came to ill-smelling pools of mud and +water, over which hung a white mist which rose as high as our heads. +It was so heavy with moisture that our clothing dripped with it, and +we were chilled until our teeth chattered. But by five o’clock in the +morning we had escaped the coast swamps, and reached higher ground and +the village of Sagua la Grande, and the sun was drying our clothes and +taking the stiffness out of our bones. + + + +CANAL COMPANY’S FEVER HOSPITAL, PANAMA + + +The nurse brought me my diary this morning. She found it in the inside +pocket of my tunic. All of its back pages were scribbled over with +orders of the day, countersigns, and the memoranda I made after Laguerre +appointed me adjutant to the Legion. But in the first half of it was +what I see I was pleased to call my “memoirs,” in which I had written +the last chapter the day Aiken and I halted at Sagua la Grande. When I +read it over I felt that I was somehow much older than when I made that +last entry. And yet it was only two months ago. It seems like two years. +I don’t feel much like writing about it, nor thinking about it, but I +suppose, if I mean to keep my “memoirs” up to date, I shall never have +more leisure in which to write than I have now. For Dr. Ezequiel says it +will be another two weeks before I can leave this cot. Sagua seems very +unimportant now. But I must not write of it as I see it now, from this +distance, but as it appealed to me then, when everything about me was +new and strange and wonderful. + +It was my first sight of a Honduranian town, and I thought it most +charming and curious. As I learned later it was like any other +Honduranian town and indeed like every other town in Central America. +They are all built around a plaza, which sometimes is a park with +fountains and tessellated marble pavements and electric lights, and +sometimes only an open place of dusty grass. There is always a church +at one end, and the cafe or club, and the alcalde’s house, or the +governor’s palace, at another. In the richer plazas there must always +be the statue of some Liberator, and in the poorer a great wooden cross. +Sagua la Grande was bright and warm and foreign looking. It reminded +me of the colored prints of Mexico which I had seen in my grandfather’s +library. The houses were thatched clay huts with gardens around them +crowded with banana palms, and trees hung with long beans, which broke +into masses of crimson flowers. The church opposite the inn was old and +yellow, and at the edge of the plaza were great palms that rustled and +courtesied. We led our mules straight through the one big room of the +inn out into the yard behind it, and while doing it I committed the +grave discourtesy of not first removing my spurs. Aiken told me about it +at once, and I apologized to everyone--to the alcalde, and the priest, +and the village school-master who had crossed the plaza to welcome +us--and I asked them all to drink with me. I do not know that I ever +enjoyed a breakfast more than I did the one we ate in the big cool inn +with the striped awning outside, and the naked brown children watching +us from the street, and the palms whispering overhead. The breakfast +was good in itself, but it was my surroundings which made the meal so +remarkable and the fact that I was no longer at home and responsible to +someone, but that I was talking as one man to another, and in a foreign +language to people who knew no other tongue. The inn-keeper was a fat +little person in white drill and a red sash, in which he carried two +silver-mounted pistols. He looked like a ring-master in a circus, but he +cooked us a most wonderful omelette with tomatoes and onions and olives +chopped up in it with oil. And an Indian woman made us tortillas, which +are like our buckwheat cakes. It was fascinating to see her toss them +up in the air, and slap them into shape with her hands. Outside the sun +blazed upon the white rim of huts, and the great wooden cross in the +plaza threw its shadow upon the yellow facade of the church. Beside the +church there was a chime of four bells swinging from a low ridge-pole. +The dews and the sun had turned their copper a brilliant green, but had +not hurt their music, and while we sat at breakfast a little Indian boy +in crumpled vestments beat upon them with a stick, making a sweet and +swinging melody. It did not seem to me a scene set for revolution, but I +liked it all so much that that one breakfast alone repaid me for my long +journey south. I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit +me, and that I would never ask for better company than the comic-opera +landlord and the jolly young priest and the yellow-skinned, fever-ridden +schoolmaster with his throat wrapped in a great woollen shawl. But very +soon, what with having had no sleep the night before and the heat, I +grew terribly drowsy and turned in on a canvas cot in the corner, where +I slept until long after mid-day. For some time I could hear Aiken and +the others conversing together and caught the names of Laguerre and +Garcia, but I was too sleepy to try to listen, and, as I said, Sagua did +not seem to me to be the place for conspiracies and revolutions. I left +it with real regret, and as though I were parting with friends of long +acquaintanceship. + +From the time we left Sagua the path began to ascend, and we rode in +single file along the edges of deep precipices. From the depths below +giant ferns sent up cool, damp odors, and we could hear the splash and +ripple of running water, and at times, by looking into the valley, I +could see waterfalls and broad streams filled with rocks, which churned +the water into a white foam. We passed under tall trees covered with +white and purple flowers, and in the branches of others were perched +macaws, giant parrots of the most wonderful red and blue and yellow, and +just at sunset we startled hundreds of parroquets which flew screaming +and chattering about our heads, like so many balls of colored worsted. + +When the moon rose, we rode out upon a table-land and passed between +thick forests of enormous trees, the like of which I had never imagined. +Their branches began at a great distance from the ground and were +covered thick with orchids, which I mistook for large birds roosting for +the night. Each tree was bound to the next by vines like tangled ropes, +some drawn as taut as the halyards of a ship, and others, as thick as +one’s leg; they were twisted and wrapped around the branches, so that +they looked like boa-constrictors hanging ready to drop upon one’s +shoulders. The moonlight gave to this forest of great trees a weird, +fantastic look. I felt like a knight entering an enchanted wood. But +nothing disturbed our silence except the sudden awakening of a great +bird or the stealthy rustle of an animal in the underbrush. Near +midnight we rode into a grove of manacca palms as delicate as ferns, and +each as high as a three-story house, and with fronds so long that those +drooping across the trail hid it completely. To push our way through +these we had to use both arms as one lifts the curtains in a doorway. + +{Illustration: I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit me.} + +Aiken himself seemed to feel the awe and beauty of the place, and called +the direction to me in a whisper. Even that murmur was enough to carry +above the rustling of the palms, and startled hundreds of monkeys into +wakefulness. We could hear their barks and cries echoing from every part +of the forest, and as they sprang from one branch to another the palms +bent like trout-rods, and then swept back into place again with a +strange swishing sound, like the rush of a great fish through water. + +After midnight we were too stiff and sore to ride farther, and we +bivouacked on the trail beside a stream. I had no desire for further +sleep, and I sat at the foot of a tree smoking and thinking. I had often +“camped out” as a boy, and at West Point with the battalion, but I had +never before felt so far away from civilization and my own people. For +company I made a little fire and sat before it, going over in my mind +what I had learned since I had set forth on my travels. I concluded that +so far I had gained much and lost much. What I had experienced of the +ocean while on the ship and what little I had seen of this country +delighted me entirely, and I would not have parted with a single one of +my new impressions. But all I had learned of the cause for which I had +come to fight disappointed and disheartened me. Of course I had left +home partly to seek adventure, but not only for that. I had set out on +this expedition with the idea that I was serving some good cause--that +old-fashioned principles were forcing these men to fight for their +independence. But I had been early undeceived. At the same time that +I was enjoying my first sight of new and beautiful things I was being +robbed of my illusions and my ideals. And nothing could make up to me +for that. By merely travelling on around the globe I would always be +sure to find some new things of interest. But what would that count if I +lost my faith in men! If I ceased to believe in their unselfishness +and honesty. Even though I were young and credulous, and lived in +a make-believe world of my own imagining, I was happier so than in +thinking that everyone worked for his own advantage, and without justice +to others, or private honor. It harmed no one that I believed better +of others than they deserved, but it was going to hurt me terribly if I +learned that their aims were even lower than my own. I knew it was Aiken +who had so discouraged me. It was he who had laughed at me for believing +that Laguerre and his men were fighting for liberty. If I were going +to credit him, there was not one honest man in Honduras, and no one on +either side of this revolution was fighting for anything but money. He +had made it all seem commercial, sordid, and underhand. I blamed him +for having so shaken my faith and poisoned my mind. I scowled at his +unconscious figure as he lay sleeping peacefully on his blanket, and I +wished heartily that I had never set eyes on him. Then I argued that his +word, after all, was not final. He made no pretence of being a saint, +and it was not unnatural that a man who held no high motives should +fail to credit them to others. I had partially consoled myself with +this reflection, when I remembered suddenly that Beatrice herself had +foretold the exact condition which Aiken had described. + +“That is not war,” she had said to me, “that is speculation!” She surely +had said that to me, but how could she have known, or was hers only a +random guess? And if she had guessed correctly what would she wish me to +do now? Would she wish me to turn back, or, if my own motives were good, +would she tell me to go on? She had called me her knight-errant, and I +owed it to her to do nothing of which she would disapprove. As I thought +of her I felt a great loneliness and a longing to see her once again. +I thought of how greatly she would have delighted in those days at sea, +and how wonderful it would have been if I could have seen this hot, +feverish country with her at my side. I pictured her at the inn at Sagua +smiling on the priest and the fat little landlord; and their admiration +of her. I imagined us riding together in the brilliant sunshine with the +crimson flowers meeting overhead, and the palms bowing to her and paying +her homage. I lifted the locket she had wound around my wrist, and +kissed it. As I did so, my doubts and questionings seemed to fall away. +I stood up confident and determined. It was not my business to worry +over the motives of other men, but to look to my own. I would go ahead +and fight Alvarez, who Aiken himself declared was a thief and a tyrant. +If anyone asked me my politics I would tell him I was for the side that +would obtain the money the Isthmian Line had stolen, and give it to +the people; that I was for Garcia and Liberty, Laguerre and the Foreign +Legion. This platform of principles seemed to me so satisfactory that I +stretched my feet to the fire and went to sleep. + +I was awakened by the most delicious odor of coffee, and when I rolled +out of my blanket I found Jose standing over me with a cup of it in his +hand, and Aiken buckling the straps of my saddle-girth. We took a +plunge in the stream, and after a breakfast of coffee and cold tortillas +climbed into the saddle and again picked up the trail. + +After riding for an hour Aiken warned me that at any moment we were +likely to come upon either Laguerre or the soldiers of Alvarez. “So you +keep your eyes and ears open,” he said, “and when they challenge throw +up your hands quick. The challenge is ‘Halt, who lives,’” he explained. +“If it is a government soldier you must answer, ‘The government.’ But if +it’s one of Laguerre’s or Garcia’s pickets you must say ‘The revolution +lives.’ And whatever else you do, _hold up your hands._” + +I rehearsed this at once, challenging myself several times, and giving +the appropriate answers. The performance seemed to afford Aiken much +amusement. + +“Isn’t that right?” I asked. + +“Yes,” he said, “but the joke is that you won’t be able to tell which is +the government soldier and which is the revolutionist, and you’ll give +the wrong answer, and we’ll both get shot.” + +“I can tell by our uniform,” I answered. + +“Uniform!” exclaimed Aiken, and burst into the most uproarious laughter. +“Rags and tatters,” he said. + +I was considerably annoyed to learn by this that the revolutionary party +had no distinctive uniform. The one worn by the government troops which +I had seen at the coast I had thought bad enough, but it was a great +disappointment to hear that we had none at all. Ever since I had started +from Dobbs Ferry I had been wondering what was the Honduranian +uniform. I had promised myself to have my photograph taken in it. I +had anticipated the pride I should have in sending the picture back to +Beatrice. So I was considerably chagrined, until I decided to invent +a uniform of my own, which I would wear whether anyone else wore it or +not. This was even better than having to accept one which someone else +had selected. As I had thought much on the subject of uniforms, I began +at once to design a becoming one. + +We had reached a most difficult pass in the mountain, where the trail +stumbled over broken masses of rock and through a thick tangle of +laurel. The walls of the pass were high and the trees at the top shut +out the sunlight. It was damp and cold and dark. + +“We’re sure to strike something here,” Aiken whispered over his +shoulder. It did not seem at all unlikely. The place was the most +excellent man-trap, but as to that, the whole length of the trail had +lain through what nature had obviously arranged for a succession of +ambushes. + +Aiken turned in his saddle and said, in an anxious tone: “Do you know, +the nearer I get to the old man, the more I think I was a fool to come. +As long as I’ve got nothing but bad news, I’d better have stayed away. +Do you remember Pharaoh and the messengers of ill tidings?” + +I nodded, but I kept my eyes busy with the rocks and motionless laurel. +My mule was slipping and kicking down pebbles, and making as much noise +as a gun battery. I knew, if there were any pickets about, they could +hear us coming for a quarter of a mile. + +“Garcia may think he’s Pharaoh,” Aiken went on, “and take it into his +head it’s my fault the guns didn’t come. Laguerre may say I sold the +secret to the Isthmian Line.” + +“Oh, he couldn’t think you’d do that!” I protested. + +“Well, I’ve known it done,” Aiken said. “Quay certainly sold us out at +New Orleans. And Laguerre may think I went shares with him.” + +I began to wonder if Aiken was not probably the very worst person I +could have selected to introduce me to General Laguerre. It seemed as +though it certainly would have been better had I found my way to him +alone. I grew so uneasy concerning my possible reception that I said, +irritably: “Doesn’t the General know you well enough to trust you?” + +“No, he doesn’t!” Aiken snapped back, quite as irritably. “And he’s dead +right, too. You take it from me, that the fewer people in this country +you trust, the better for you. Why, the rottenness of this country is a +proverb. ‘It’s a place where the birds have no song, where the flowers +have no odor, where the women are without virtue, and the men without +honor.’ That’s what a gringo said of Honduras many years ago, and he +knew the country and the people in it.” + +It was not a comforting picture, but in my discouragement I remembered +Laguerre. + +“General Laguerre does not belong to this country,” I said, hopefully. + +“No,” Aiken answered, with a laugh. “He’s an Irish-Frenchman and belongs +to a dozen countries. He’s fought for every flag that floats, and he’s +no better off to-day than when he began.” + +He turned toward me and stared with an amused and tolerant grin. “He’s a +bit like you,” he said. + +I saw he did not consider what he said as a compliment, but I was vain +enough to want to know what he did think of me, so I asked: “And in what +way am I like General Laguerre?” + +The idea of our similarity seemed to amuse Aiken, for he continued to +grin. + +“Oh, you’ll see when we meet him,” he said. “I can’t explain it. You +two are just different from other people--that’s all. He’s old-fashioned +like you, if you know what I mean, and young--” + +“Why, he’s an old man,” I corrected. + +“He’s old enough to be your grandfather,” Aiken laughed, “but I say he’s +young--like you, the way you are.” + +Aiken knew that it annoyed me when he pretended I was so much younger +than himself, and I had started on some angry reply, when I was abruptly +interrupted. + +A tall, ragged man rose suddenly from behind a rock, and presented a +rifle. He was so close to Aiken that the rifle almost struck him in the +face. Aiken threw up his hands, and fell back with such a jerk that he +lost his balance, and would have fallen had he not pitched forward and +clasped the mule around the neck. I pulled my mule to a halt, and held +my hands as high as I could raise them. The man moved his rifle from +side to side so as to cover each of us in turn, and cried in English, +“Halt! Who goes there?” + +Aiken had not told me the answer to that challenge, so I kept silent. I +could hear Jose behind me interrupting his prayers with little sobs of +fright. + +Aiken scrambled back into an upright position, held up his hands, +and cried: “Confound you, we are travellers, going to the capital on +business. Who the devil are you?” + +“Qui vive?” the man demanded over the barrel of his gun. + +“What does that mean?” Aiken cried, petulantly. “Talk English, can’t +you, and put down that gun.” + +The man ceased moving the rifle between us, and settled it on Aiken. + +“Cry ‘Long live the government,’” he commanded, sharply. + +Aiken gave a sudden start of surprise, and I saw his eyelids drop and +rise again. Later when I grew to know him intimately, I could always +tell when he was lying, or making the winning move in some bit of +knavery, by that nervous trick of the eyelids. He knew that I knew about +it, and he once confided to me that, had he been able to overcome it, he +would have saved himself some thousands of dollars which it had cost him +at cards. + +But except for this drooping of the eyelids he gave no sign. + +“No, I won’t cry ‘Long live the government,’” he answered. “That is,” he +added hastily, “I won’t cry long live anything. I’m the American Consul, +and I’m up here on business. So’s my friend.” + +The man did not move his gun by so much as a straw’s breadth. + +“You will cry ‘Long live Alvarez’ or I will shoot you,” said the man. + +I had more leisure to observe the man than had Aiken, for it is +difficult to study the features of anyone when he is looking at you down +a gun-barrel, and it seemed to me that the muscles of the man’s mouth as +he pressed it against the stock were twitching with a smile. As the side +of his face toward me was the one farther from the gun, I was able to +see this, but Aiken could not, and he answered, still more angrily: “I +tell you, I’m the American Consul. Anyway, it’s not going to do you any +good to shoot me. You take me to your colonel alive, and I’ll give you +two hundred dollars. You shoot me and you won’t get a cent.” + +The moment was serious enough, and I was thoroughly concerned both for +Aiken and myself, but when he made this offer, my nervousness, or my +sense of humor, got the upper hand of me, and I laughed. + +Having laughed I made the best of it, and said: + +“Offer him five hundred for the two of us. Hang the expense.” + +The rifle wavered in the man’s hands, he steadied it, scowled at me, bit +his lips, and then burst into shouts of laughter. He sank back against +one of the rocks, and pointed at Aiken mockingly. + +“I knew it was you all the time,” he cried, “for certain I did. I knew +it was you all the time.” + +I was greatly relieved, but naturally deeply indignant. I felt as though +someone had jumped from behind a door, and shouted “Boo!” at me. I hoped +in my heart that the colonel would give the fellow eight hours’ pack +drill. “What a remarkable sentry,” I said. + +Aiken shoved his hands into his breeches pockets, and surveyed the man +with an expression of the most violent disgust. + +“You’ve got a damned queer idea of a joke,” he said finally. “I might +have shot you!” + +The man seemed to consider this the very acme of humor, for he fairly +hooted at us. He was so much amused that it was some moments before he +could control himself. + +“I saw you at Porto Cortez,” he said, “I knew you was the American +Consul all the time. You came to our camp after the fight, and the +General gave you a long talk in his tent. Don’t you remember me? I was +standing guard outside.” + +Aiken snorted indignantly. + +“No, I don’t remember you,” he said. “But I’ll remember you next time. +Are you standing guard now, or just doing a little highway robbery on +your own account?” + +“Oh, I’m standing guard for keeps,” said the sentry, earnestly. “Our +camp’s only two hundred yards back of me. And our Captain told me to let +all parties pass except the enemy, but I thought I’d have to jump you +just for fun. I’m an American myself, you see, from Kansas. An’ being +an American I had to give the American Consul a scare. But say,” + he exclaimed, advancing enthusiastically on Aiken, with his hand +outstretched, “you didn’t scare for a cent.” He shook hands violently +with each of us in turn. “My name’s Pete MacGraw,” he added, +expectantly. + +“Well, now, Mr. MacGraw,” said Aiken, “if you’ll kindly guide us to +General Laguerre we’ll use our influence to have you promoted. You need +more room. I imagine a soldier with your original ideas must find sentry +duty go very dull.” + +MacGraw grinned appreciatively and winked. + +“If I take you to my General alive, do I get that two hundred dollars?” + he asked. He rounded off his question with another yell of laughter. + +He was such a harmless idiot that we laughed with him. But we were +silenced at once by a shout from above us, and a command to “Stop +that noise.” I looked up and saw a man in semi-uniform and wearing an +officer’s sash and sword stepping from one rock to another and breaking +his way through the laurel. He greeted Aiken with a curt wave of the +hand. “Glad to see you, Consul,” he called. “You will dismount, please, +and lead your horses this way.” He looked at me suspiciously and then +turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. + +“The General is expecting you, Aiken,” his voice called back to us. “I +hope everything is all right?” + +Aiken and I had started to draw the mules up the hill. Already both the +officer and the trail had been completely hidden by the laurel. + +“No, nothing is all right,” Aiken growled. + +There was the sound of an oath, the laurels parted, and the officer’s +face reappeared, glaring at us angrily. + +“What do you mean?” he demanded. “My information is for General +Laguerre,” Aiken answered, sulkily. + +The man sprang away again muttering to himself, and we scrambled and +stumbled after him, guided by the sounds of breaking branches and +rolling stones. + +From a glance I caught of Aiken’s face I knew he was regretting now, +with even more reason than before, that he had not remained at the +coast, and I felt very sorry for him. Now that he was in trouble and not +patronizing me and poking fun at me, I experienced a strong change of +feeling toward him. He was the only friend I had in Honduras, and as +between him and these strangers who had received us so oddly, I felt +that, although it would be to my advantage to be friends with the +greater number, my loyalty was owing to Aiken. So I scrambled up beside +him and panted out with some difficulty, for the ascent was a steep one: +“If there is any row, I’m with _you_, Aiken.” + +“Oh, there won’t be any row,” he growled. + +“Well, if there is,” I repeated, “you can count me in.” + +“That’s all right,” he said. + +At that moment we reached the top of the incline, and I looked down into +the hollow below. To my surprise I found that this side of the hill was +quite barren of laurel or of any undergrowth, and that it sloped to a +little open space carpeted with high, waving grass, and cut in half by +a narrow stream. On one side of the stream a great herd of mules and +horses were tethered, and on the side nearer us were many smoking +camp-fires and rough shelters made from the branches of trees. Men were +sleeping in the grass or sitting in the shade of the shelters, cleaning +accoutrements, and some were washing clothes in the stream. At the foot +of the hill was a tent, and ranged before it two Gatling guns +strapped in their canvas jackets. I saw that I had at last reached +my destination. This was the camp of the filibusters. These were the +soldiers of Laguerre’s Foreign Legion. + + + + +III + + +Although I had reached my journey’s end, although I had accomplished +what I had set out to do, I felt no sense of elation nor relief. I +was, instead, disenchanted, discouraged, bitterly depressed. It was +so unutterably and miserably unlike what I had hoped to find, what I +believed I had the right to expect, that my disappointment and anger +choked me. The picture I had carried in my mind was one of shining +tent-walls, soldierly men in gay and gaudy uniforms, fluttering guidons, +blue ammunition-boxes in orderly array, smart sentries pacing their +posts, and a head-quarters tent where busy officers bent over maps and +reports. + +The scene I had set was one painted in martial colors, in scarlet +and gold lace; it moved to martial music, to bugle-calls, to words of +command, to the ringing challenge of the sentry, and what I had found +was this camp of gypsies, this nest of tramps, without authority, +discipline, or self-respect. It was not even picturesque. My indignation +stirred me so intensely that, as I walked down the hill, I prayed for a +rude reception, that I might try to express my disgust. + +The officer who had first approached us stopped at the opening of the +solitary tent, and began talking excitedly to someone inside. And as we +reached the level ground, the occupant of the tent stepped from it. He +was a stout, heavy man, with a long, twisted mustache, at which he was +tugging fiercely. He wore a red sash and a bandman’s tunic, with two +stars sewn on the collar. I could not make out his rank, but his first +words explained him. + +“I am glad to see you at last, Mr. Aiken,” he said. “I’m Major Reeder, +in temporary command. You have come to report, sir?” + +Aiken took so long to reply that I stopped studying the remarkable +costume of the Major and turned to Aiken. I was surprised to see that he +was unquestionably frightened. His eyes were shifting and blinking, and +he wet his lips with his tongue. All his self-assurance had deserted +him. The officer who had led us to the camp was also aware of Aiken’s +uneasiness, and was regarding him with a sneer. For some reason the +spectacle of Aiken’s distress seemed to afford him satisfaction. + +“I should prefer to report to General Laguerre,” Aiken said, at last. + +“I am in command here,” Reeder answered, sharply. “General Laguerre is +absent--reconnoitering. I represent him. I know all about Mr. Quay’s +mission. It was I who recommended him to the General. Where are the +guns?” + +For a moment Aiken stared at him helplessly, and then drew in a quick +breath. + +“I don’t know where they are,” he said. “The Panama arrived two days +ago, but when I went to unload the guns Captain Leeds told me they had +been seized in New Orleans by the Treasury Department. Someone must +have--” + +Both Major Reeder and the officer interrupted with a shout of anger. + +“Then it’s true!” Reeder cried. “It’s true, and--and--you dare to tell +us so!” + +Aiken raised his head and for a moment looked almost defiant. + +“Why shouldn’t I tell you?” he demanded, indignantly. “Who else was +there to tell you? I’ve travelled two days to let you know. I can’t help +it if the news isn’t good. I’m just as sorry as you are.” + +The other officer was a stout, yellow-haired German. He advanced a step +and shook a soiled finger in Aiken’s face. “You can’t help it, can’t +you?” he cried. “You’re sorry, are you? You won’t be sorry when you’re +paid your money, will you? How much did you get for us, hey! How much +did Joe Fiske--” + +Reeder threw out his arm and motioned the officer back. “Silence, +Captain Heinze,” he commanded. + +The men of the Legion who had happened to be standing near the tent when +we appeared had come up to look at the new arrivals, and when they heard +two of their officers attacking Aiken they crowded still closer in +front of us, forming a big half-circle. Each of them apparently was on a +footing with his officers of perfect comradeship, and listened openly to +what was going forward as though it were a personal concern of his own. +They had even begun to discuss it among themselves, and made so much +noise in doing so that Captain Heinze passed on Reeder’s rebuke as +though it had been intended for them, commanding, “Silence in the +ranks.” + +They were not in ranks, and should not have been allowed where they +were in any formation, but that did not seem to occur to either of the +officers. + +“Silence,” Reeder repeated. “Now, Mr. Aiken, I am waiting. What have you +to say?” + +“What is there for me to say?” Aiken protested. “I have done all I +could. I told you as soon as I could get here.” Major Reeder drew close +to Aiken and pointed his outstretched hand at him. + +“Mr. Aiken,” he said. “Only four people knew that those guns were +ordered--Quay, who went to fetch them, General Laguerre, myself, and +you. Some one of us must have sold out the others; no one else could +have done it. It was not Quay. The General and I have been here in the +mountains--we did not do it; and that--that leaves you.” + +“It does not leave me,” Aiken cried. He shouted it out with such spirit +that I wondered at him. It was the same sort of spirit which makes a rat +fight because he can’t get away, but I didn’t think so then. + +“It was Quay sold you out!” Aiken cried. “Quay told the Isthmian people +as soon as the guns reached New Orleans. I suspected him when he cabled +me he wasn’t coming back. I know him. I know just what he is. He’s been +on both sides before.” + +“Silence, you--you,” Reeder interrupted. He was white with anger. “Mr. +Quay is my friend,” he cried. “I trust him. I trust him as I would trust +my own brother. How dare you accuse him!” + +He ceased and stood gasping with indignation, but his show of anger +encouraged Captain Heinze to make a fresh attack on Aiken. + +“Quay took you off the beach,” he shouted. + +“He gave you food and clothes, and a bed to lie on. It’s like you, to +bite the hand that fed you. When have you ever stuck to any side or +anybody if you could get a dollar more by selling him out?” + +The whole thing had become intolerable. It was abject and degrading, +like a falling-out among thieves. They reminded me of a group of drunken +women I had once seen, shameless and foul-mouthed, fighting in the +street, with grinning night-birds urging them on. I felt in some way +horribly responsible, as though they had dragged me into it--as though +the flying handfuls of mud had splattered me. And yet the thing which +inflamed me the most against them was their unfairness to Aiken. They +would not let him speak, and they would not see that they were so many, +and that he was alone. I did not then know that he was telling the +truth. Indeed, I thought otherwise. I did not then know that on those +occasions when he appeared to the worst advantage, he generally was +trying to tell the truth. + +Captain Heinze pushed nearer, and shoved his fist close to Aiken’s face. + +“We know what you are,” he jeered. “We know you’re no more on our side +than you’re the American Consul. You lied to us about that, and you’ve +lied to us about everything else. And now we’ve caught you, and we’ll +make you pay for it.” + +One of the men in the rear of the crowd shouted, “Ah, shoot the beggar!” + and others began to push forward and to jeer. Aiken heard them and +turned quite white. + +“You’ve caught me?” Aiken stammered. “Why, I came here of my own will. +Is it likely I’d have done that if I had sold you out?” + +“I tell you you did sell us out,” Heinze roared. “And you’re a coward +besides, and I tell you so to your face!” He sprang at Aiken, and Aiken +shrank back. It made me sick to see him do it. I had such a contempt for +the men against him that I hated his not standing up to them. It was to +hide the fact that he had stepped back, that I jumped in front of him +and pretended to restrain him. I tried to make it look as though had I +not interfered, he would have struck at Heinze. + +The German had swung around toward the men behind him, as though he were +subpoenaing them as witnesses. + +“I call him a coward to his face!” he shouted. But when he turned again +I was standing in front of Aiken, and he halted in surprise, glaring at +me. I don’t know what made me do it, except that I had heard enough of +their recriminations, and was sick with disappointment. I hated Heinze +and all of them, and myself for being there. + +“Yes, you can call him a coward,” I said, as offensively as I could, +“with fifty men behind you. How big a crowd do you want before you +dare insult a man?” Then I turned on the others. “Aren’t you ashamed of +yourselves,” I cried, “to all of you set on one man in your own camp? I +don’t know anything about this row and I don’t want to know, but there’s +fifty men here against one, and I’m on the side of that one. You’re +a lot of cheap bullies,” I cried, “and this German drill-sergeant,” + I shouted, pointing at Heinze, “who calls himself an officer, is the +cheapest bully of the lot.” I jerked open the buckle which held my belt +and revolver, and flung them on the ground. Then I slipped off my coat, +and shoved it back of me to Aiken, for I wanted to keep him out of it. +It was the luck of Royal Macklin himself that led me to take off my coat +instead of drawing my revolver. At the Point I had been accustomed to +settle things with my fists, and it had been only since I started from +the coast that I had carried a gun. A year later, in the same situation, +I would have reached for it. Had I done so that morning, as a dozen of +them assured me later, they would have shot me before I could have got +my hand on it. But, as it was, when I rolled up my sleeves the men began +to laugh, and some shouted: “Give him room,” “Make a ring,” “Fair play, +now,” “Make a ring.” The semi-circle spread out and lengthened until it +formed a ring, with Heinze and Reeder, and Aiken holding my coat, and +myself in the centre of it. + +I squared off in front of the German and tapped him lightly on the chest +with the back of my hand. + +“Now, then,” I cried, taunting him, “I call _you_ a coward to _your_ +face. What are you going to do about it?” + +For an instant he seemed too enraged and astonished to move, and the +next he exploded with a wonderful German oath and rushed at me, tugging +at his sword. At the same moment the men gave a shout and the ring +broke. I thought they had cried out in protest when they saw Heinze put +his hand on his sword, but as they scattered and fell back I saw that +they were looking neither at Heinze nor at me, but at someone behind me. +Heinze, too, halted as suddenly as though he had been pulled back by a +curbed bit, and, bringing his heels together, stood stiffly at salute. +I turned and saw that everyone was falling out of the way of a tall +man who came striding toward us, and I knew on the instant that he +was General Laguerre. At the first glance I disassociated him from +his followers. He was entirely apart. In any surroundings I would have +picked him out as a leader of men. Even a civilian would have known +he was a soldier, for the signs of his calling were stamped on him +as plainly as the sterling mark on silver, and although he was not in +uniform his carriage and countenance told you that he was a personage. + +He was very tall and gaunt, with broad shoulders and a waist as small as +a girl’s, and although he must then have been about fifty years of age +he stood as stiffly erect as though his spine had grown up into the back +of his head. + +At the first glance he reminded me of Van Dyke’s portrait of Charles I. +He had the same high-bred features, the same wistful eyes, and hewore +his beard and mustache in what was called the Van Dyke fashion, before +Louis Napoleon gave it a new vogue as the “imperial.” + +It must have been that I read the wistful look in his eyes later, for +at the moment of our first meeting it was a very stern Charles I. who +confronted us, with the delicate features stiffened in anger, and the +eyes set and burning. Since then I have seen both the wistful look and +the angry look many times, and even now I would rather face the muzzle +of a gun than the eyes of General Laguerre when you have offended him. + +His first words were addressed to Reeder. + +“What does this mean, sir?” he demanded. “If you cannot keep order in +this camp when my back is turned I shall find an officer who can. Who is +this?” he added, pointing at me. I became suddenly conscious of the fact +that I was without my hat or coat, and that my sleeves were pulled up to +the shoulders. Aiken was just behind me, and as I turned to him for my +coat I disclosed his presence to the General. He gave an exclamation of +delight. + +“Mr. Aiken!” he cried, “at last!” He lowered his voice to an eager +whisper. “Where are the guns?” he asked. + +Apparently Aiken felt more confidence in General Laguerre than in his +officers, for at this second questioning he answered promptly. + +“I regret to say, sir,” he began, “that the guns were seized at New +Orleans. Someone informed the Honduranian Consul there, and he--” + +“Seized!” cried Laguerre. “By whom? Do you mean we have lost them?” + +Aiken lowered his eyes and nodded. + +“But how do you know?” Laguerre demanded, eagerly. “You are not sure? +Who seized them?” + +“The Treasury officers,” Aiken answered + +“The captain of the Panama told me he saw the guns taken on the +company’s wharf.” + +For some moments Laguerre regarded him sternly, but I do not think he +saw him. He turned and walked a few steps from us and back again. +Then he gave an upward toss of his head as though he had accepted his +sentence. “The fortunes of war,” he kept repeating to himself, “the +fortunes of war.” He looked up and saw us regarding him with expressions +of the deepest concern. + +“I thought I had had my share of them,” he said, simply. He straightened +his shoulders and frowned, and then looked at us and tried to smile. But +the bad news had cut deeply. During the few minutes since he had come +pushing his way through the crowd, he seemed to have grown ten years +older. He walked to the door of his tent and then halted and turned +toward Reeder. + +“I think my fever is coming on again,” he said. “I believe I had better +rest. Do not let them disturb me.” + +“Yes, General,” Reeder answered. Then he pointed at Aiken and myself. +“And what are we to do with these?” he asked. + +“Do with these?” Laguerre repeated. “Why, what did you mean to do with +them?” + +Reeder swelled out his chest importantly, “If you had not arrived when +you did, General,” he said, “I would have had them shot!” + +The General stopped at the entrance to the tent and leaned heavily +against the pole. He raised his eyes and looked at us wearily and with +no show of interest. + +“Shoot them?” he asked. “Why were you going to shoot them?” + +“Because, General,” Reeder declared, theatrically, pointing an accusing +finger at Aiken, “I believe this man sold our secret to the Isthmian +Line. No one knew of the guns but our three selves and Quay. And Quay +is not a man to betray his friends. I wish I could say as much for Mr. +Aiken.” + +At that moment Aiken, being quite innocent, said even less for himself, +and because he was innocent looked the trapped and convicted criminal. + +Laguerre’s eyes glowed like two branding-irons. As he fixed them on +Aiken’s face one expected to see them leave a mark. + +“If the General will only listen,” Aiken stammered. “If you will only +give me a hearing, sir. Why should I come to your camp if I had sold you +out? Why didn’t I get away on the first steamer, and stay away--as Quay +did?” + +The General gave an exclamation of disgust, and shrugged his shoulders. +He sank back slowly against one of the Gatling guns. + +“What does it matter?” he said, bitterly. “Why lock the stable door now? +I will give you a hearing,” he said, turning to Aiken, “but it would +be better for you if I listened to you later. Bring him to me to-morrow +morning after roll-call. And the other?” he asked. He pointed at me, but +his eyes, which were heavy with disappointment, were staring moodily at +the ground. + +Heinze interposed himself quickly. + +“Aiken brought him here!” he said. “I believe he’s an agent of the +Isthmian people, or,” he urged, “why did he come here? He came to spy +out your camp, General, and to report on our condition.” + +“A spy!” said Laguerre, raising his head and regarding me sharply. + +“Yes,” Heinze declared, with conviction. “A spy, General. A Government +spy, and he has found out our hiding-place and counted our men.” + +Aiken turned on him with a snarl. + +“Oh, you ass!” he cried. “He came as a volunteer. He wanted to fight +with you,--for the sacred cause of liberty!” + +“Yes, he wanted to fight with us,” shouted Heinze, indignantly. “As soon +as he got into the camp, he wanted to fight with us.” + +Laguerre made an exclamation of impatience, and rose unsteadily from the +gun-carriage. + +“Silence!” he commanded. “I tell you I cannot listen to you now. I will +give these men a hearing after roll-call. In the meantime if they are +spies, they have seen too much. Place them under guard; and if they try +to escape, shoot them.” + +I gave a short laugh and turned to Aiken. + +“That’s the first intelligent military order I’ve heard yet,” I said. + +Aiken scowled at me fearfully, and Reeder and Heinze gasped. General +Laguerre had caught the words, and turned his eyes on me. Like the real +princess who could feel the crumpled rose-leaf under a dozen mattresses, +I can feel it in my bones when I am in the presence of a real soldier. +My spinal column stiffens, and my fingers twitch to be at my visor. In +spite of their borrowed titles, I had smelt out the civilian in Reeder +and had detected the non-commissioned man in Heinze, and just as surely +I recognized the general officer in Laguerre. + +So when he looked at me my heels clicked together, my arm bent to my hat +and fell again to my trouser seam, and I stood at attention. It was as +instinctive as though I were back at the Academy, and he had confronted +me in the uniform and yellow sash of a major-general. + +“And what do you know of military orders, sir,” he demanded, in a low +voice, “that you feel competent to pass upon mine?” + +Still standing at attention, I said: “For the last three years I have +been at West Point, sir, and have listened to nothing else.” + +“You have been at West Point?” he said, slowly, looking at me in +surprise and with evident doubt. “When did you leave the Academy?” + +“Two weeks ago,” I answered. At this, he looked even more incredulous. + +“How does it happen,” he asked, “if you are preparing for the army at +West Point, that you are now travelling in Honduras?” + +“I was dismissed from the Academy two weeks ago,” I answered. “This was +the only place where there was any fighting, so I came here. I read that +you had formed a Foreign Legion, and thought that maybe you would let me +join it.” + +General Laguerre now stared at me in genuine amazement. In his interest +in the supposed spy, he had forgotten the loss of his guns. + +“You came from West Point,” he repeated, incredulously, “all the way to +Honduras--to join me!” He turned to the two officers. “Did he tell you +this?” he demanded. + +They answered, “No,” promptly, and truthfully as well, for they had not +given me time to tell them anything. + +“Have you any credentials, passports, or papers?” he said. + +When he asked this I saw Reeder whisper eagerly to Heinze, and then walk +away. He had gone to search my trunk for evidence that I was a spy, and +had I suspected this I would have protested violently, but it did not +occur to me then that he would do such a thing. + +“I have only the passport I got from the commandante at Porto Cortez,” I +said. + +At the words Aiken gave a quick shake of the head, as a man does when he +sees another move the wrong piece on the chess-board. But when I +stared at him inquiringly his expression changed instantly to one of +interrogation and complete unconcern. + +“Ah!” exclaimed Heinze, triumphantly, “he has a permit from the +Government.” + +“Let me see it,” said the General. + +I handed it to him, and he drew a camp-chair from the tent, and, seating +himself, began to compare me with the passport. + +“In this,” he said at last, “you state that you are a commercial +traveller; that you are going to the capital on business, and that you +are a friend of the Government.” + +I was going to tell him that until it had been handed me by Aiken, I had +known nothing of the passport, but I considered that in some way this +might involve Aiken, and so I answered: + +“It was necessary to tell them any story, sir, in order to get into +the interior. I could not tell them that I was _not_ a friend of the +Government, nor that I was trying to join you.” + +“Your stories are somewhat conflicting,” said the General. “You are led +to our hiding-place by a man who is himself under suspicion, and the +only credentials you can show are from the enemy. Why should I believe +you are what you say you are? Why should I believe you are not a spy?” + +I could not submit to having my word doubted, so I bowed stiffly and did +not speak. + +“Answer me,” the General commanded, “what proofs have I?” + +“You have nothing but my word for it,” I said. + +General Laguerre seemed pleased with that, and I believe he was really +interested in helping me to clear myself. But he had raised my temper by +questioning my word. + +“Surely you must have something to identify you,” he urged. + +“If I had I’d refuse to show it,” I answered. “I told you why I came +here. If you think I am a spy, you can go ahead and shoot me as a spy, +and find out whether I told you the truth afterward.” + +The General smiled indulgently. + +“There would be very little satisfaction in that for me, or for you,” he +said. + +“I’m an officer and a gentleman,” I protested, “and I have a right to be +treated as one. If you serve every gentleman who volunteers to join +you in the way I have been served, I’m not surprised that your force is +composed of the sort you have around you.” + +The General raised his head and looked at me with such a savage +expression that during the pause which ensued I was most uncomfortable. + +“If your proofs you are an officer are no stronger than those you offer +that you are a gentleman,” he said, “perhaps you are wise not to show +them. What right have you to claim you are an officer?” + +His words cut and mortified me deeply, chiefly because I felt I deserved +them. + +“Every cadet ranks a non-commissioned man,” I answered. + +“But you are no longer a cadet,” he replied. “You have been dismissed. +You told me so yourself. Were you dismissed honorably, or dishonorably?” + +“Dishonorably,” I answered. I saw that this was not the answer he had +expected. He looked both mortified and puzzled, and glanced at Heinze +and Aiken as though he wished that they were out of hearing. + +“What was it for--what was the cause of your dismissal?” he asked. He +now spoke in a much lower tone. “Of course, you need not tell me,” he +added. + +“I was dismissed for being outside the limits of the Academy without a +permit,” I answered. “I went to a dance at a hotel in uniform.” + +“Was that all?” he demanded, smiling. + +“That was the crime for which I was dismissed,” I said, sulkily. The +General looked at me for some moments, evidently in much doubt. I +believe he suspected that I had led him on to asking me the reason for +my dismissal, in order that I could make so satisfactory an answer. As +he sat regarding me, Heinze bent over him and said something to him in +a low tone, to which he replied: “But that would prove nothing. He might +have a most accurate knowledge of military affairs, and still be an +agent of the Government.” + +“That is so, General,” Heinze answered, aloud. “But it would prove +whether he is telling the truth about his having been at West Point. If +his story is false in part, it is probably entirely false, as I believe +it to be.” + +“Captain Heinze suggests that I allow him to test you with some +questions,” the General said, doubtfully; “questions on military +matters. Would you answer them?” + +I did not want them to see how eager I was to be put to such a test, so +I tried to look as though I were frightened, and said, cautiously, +“I will try, sir.” I saw that the proposition to put me through an +examination had filled Aiken with the greatest concern. To reassure him, +I winked covertly. + +Captain Heinze glanced about him as though looking for a text. + +“Let us suppose,” he said, importantly, “that you are an +inspector-general come to inspect this camp. It is one that I myself +selected; as adjutant it is under my direction. What would you report as +to its position, its advantages and disadvantages?” + +I did not have to look about me. Without moving from where I stood, +I could see all that was necessary of that camp. But I first asked, +timidly: “Is this camp a temporary one, made during a halt on the march, +or has it been occupied for some days?” + +“We have been here for two weeks,” said Heinze. + +“Is it supposed that a war is going on?” I asked, politely; “I mean, are +we in the presence of an enemy?” + +“Of course,” answered Heinze. “Certainly we are at war.” + +“Then,” I said, triumphantly, “in my report I should recommend that the +officer who selected this camp should be court-martialled.” + +Heinze gave a shout of indignant laughter, and Aiken glared at me as +though he thought I had flown suddenly mad, but Laguerre only frowned +and waved his hand impatiently. + +“You are bold, sir,” he said, grimly; “I trust you can explain +yourself.” + +I pointed from the basin in which we stood, to the thickly wooded hills +around us. + +“This camp has the advantage of water and grass,” I said. I spoke +formally, as though I were really making a report. “Those are its only +advantages. Captain Heinze has pitched it in a hollow. In case of an +attack, he has given the advantage of position to the enemy. Fifty +men could conceal themselves on those ridges and fire upon you as +effectively as though they had you at the bottom of a well. There are no +pickets out, except along the trail, which is the one approach the enemy +would not take. So far as this position counts, then,” I summed up, “the +camp is an invitation to a massacre.” + +I did not dare look at the General, but I pointed at the guns at his +side. “Your two field-pieces are in their covers, and the covers are +strapped on them. It would take three minutes to get them into action. +Instead of being here in front of the tent, they should be up there on +those two highest points. There are no racks for the men’s rifles or +ammunition belts. The rifles are lying on the ground and scattered +everywhere--in case of an attack the men would not know where to lay +their hands on them. It takes only two forked sticks and a ridge-pole +with nicks in it, to make an excellent gun-rack, but there is none of +any sort. As for the sanitary arrangements of the camp, they are _nil_. +The refuse from the troop kitchen is scattered all over the place, and +so are the branches on which the men have been lying. There is no way +for them to cross that stream without their getting their feet wet; and +every officer knows that wet feet are worse than wet powder. The place +does not look as though it had been policed since you came here. It’s a +fever swamp. If you have been here two weeks, it’s a wonder your whole +force isn’t as rotten as sheep. And there!” I cried, pointing at the +stream which cut the camp in two--“there are men bathing and washing +their clothes up-stream, and those men below them are filling buckets +with water for cooking and drinking. Why have you no water-guards? +You ought to have a sentry there, and there. The water above the first +sentry should be reserved for drinking, below him should be the place +for watering your horses, and below the second sentry would be the water +for washing clothes. Why, these things are the A, B, C, of camp life.” + For the first time since I had begun to speak, I turned on Heinze and +grinned at him. + +“How do you like my report on your camp?” I asked. “Now, don’t you agree +with me that you should be court-martialled?” Heinze’s anger exploded +like a shell. + +“You should be court-martialled yourself!” he shouted. “You are +insulting our good General. For me, I do not care. But you shall not +reflect upon my commanding officer, for him I--” + +“That will do, Captain Heinze,” Laguerre said, quietly. “That will do, +thank you.” He did not look up at either of us, but for some time sat +with his elbow on his knee and with his chin resting in the palm of his +hand, staring at the camp. There was a long, and, for me, an awkward +silence. The General turned his head and stared at me. His expression +was exceedingly grave, but without resentment. + +“You are quite right,” he said, finally. Heinze and Aiken moved +expectantly forward, anxious to hear him pass sentence upon me. Seeing +this he raised his voice and repeated: “You are quite right in what you +say about the camp. All you say is quite true.” + +He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and, as he continued +speaking with his face averted, it was as though he were talking to +himself. + +“We grow careless as we grow older,” he said, “One grows less difficult +to please.” His tone was that of a man excusing himself to himself. “The +old standards, the old models, pass away and--and failures, failures +come and dull the energy.” His voice dropped into a monotone; he seemed +to have forgotten us entirely. + +It must have been then that for the first time I saw the wistful look +come into his eyes, and suddenly felt deeply sorry for him and wished +that I might dare to tell him so. I was not sorry for any act or speech +of mine. They had attacked me, and I had only defended myself. I was not +repentant for anything I had said; my sorrow was for what I read in the +General’s eyes as he sat staring out into the valley. It was the saddest +and loneliest look that I had ever seen. There was no bitterness in +it, but great sadness and weariness and disappointment, and above all, +loneliness, utter and complete loneliness. + +He glanced up and saw me watching him, and for a moment regarded me +curiously, and then, as though I had tried to force my way into his +solitude, turned his eyes quickly away. + +I had forgotten that I was a suspected spy until the fact was recalled +to me at that moment by the reappearance of Major Reeder. He came +bustling past me, carrying as I saw, to my great indignation, the sword +which had been presented to my grandfather, and which my grandfather had +given to me. I sprang after him and twisted it out of his hand. + +“How dare you!” I cried. “You have opened my trunk! How dare you pry +into my affairs? General Laguerre!” I protested. “I appeal to you, sir.” + +“Major Reeder,” the General demanded, sharply, “what does this mean?” + +“I was merely seeking evidence, General,” said Reeder. “You asked for +his papers, and I went to look for them.” + +“I gave you no orders to pry into this gentleman’s trunk,” said the +General. “You have exceeded your authority. You have done very ill, sir. +You have done very ill.” + +While the General was reproving Reeder, his eyes, instead of looking at +the officer, were fixed upon my sword. It was sufficiently magnificent +to attract the attention of anyone, certainly of any soldier. The +scabbard was of steel, wonderfully engraved, the hilt was of ivory, and +the hilt-guard and belt fastenings were all of heavy gold. The General’s +face was filled with appreciation. + +“You have a remarkably handsome sword there,” he said, and hesitated, +courteously, “--I beg your pardon, I have not heard your name?” + +I was advancing to show the sword to him, when my eye fell upon the +plate my grandfather had placed upon it, and which bore the inscription: +“To Royal Macklin, on his appointment to the United States Military +Academy, from his Grandfather, John M. Hamilton, Maj. Gen. U.S.A.” + +“My name is Macklin, sir,” I said, “Royal Macklin.” I laid the sword +lengthwise in his hands, and then pointed at the inscription. “You will +find it there,” I said. The General bowed and bent his head over the +inscription and then read the one beside it. This stated that the sword +had been presented by the citizens of New York to Major-General John +M. Hamilton in recognition of his distinguished services during the war +with Mexico. The General glanced up at me in astonishment. + +“General Hamilton!” he exclaimed. “General John Hamilton! Is that--was +he your grandfather?” + +I bowed my head, and the General stared at me as though I had +contradicted him. + +“But, let me tell you, sir,” he protested, “that he was my friend. +General Hamilton was my friend for many years. Let me tell you, sir,” + he went on, excitedly, “that your grandfather was a brave and courteous +gentleman, a true friend and--and a great soldier, sir, a great soldier. +I knew your grandfather well. I knew him well.” He rose suddenly, and, +while still holding the sword close to him, shook my hand. + +“Captain Heinze,” he said, “bring out a chair for Mr. Macklin.” He did +not notice the look of injury with which Heinze obeyed this request. +But I did, and I enjoyed the spectacle, and as Heinze handed me the +camp-chair I thanked him politely. I could afford to be generous. + +The General was drawing the sword a few inches from its scabbard and +shoving it back, again, turning it over in his hands. + +“And to think that this is John Hamilton’s sword,” he said, “and that +you are John Hamilton’s grandson!” As the sword lay across his knees he +kept stroking it and touching it as one might caress a child, glancing +up at me from time to time with a smile. It seemed to have carried him +back again into days and scenes to which we all were strangers, and +we watched him without speaking. He became suddenly conscious of our +silence, and, on looking up, seemed to become uncomfortably aware of the +presence of Aiken and the two officers. + +“That will do, gentlemen,” he said. “You will return with Mr. Aiken +after roll-call.” The officers saluted as they moved away, with Aiken +between them. He raised his eyebrows and tapped himself on the chest. I +understood that he meant by this that I was to say a good word for +him, and I nodded. When they had left us the General leaned forward and +placed his hand upon my shoulder. + +“Now tell me,” he said. “Tell me everything. Tell me what you are doing +here, and why you ran away from home. Trust me entirely, and do not be +afraid to speak the whole truth.” + +I saw that he thought I had left home because I had been guilty of some +wildness, if not of some crime, and I feared that my story would prove +so inoffensive that he would think I was holding something back. But his +manner was so gentle and generous that I plunged in boldly. I told +him everything; of my life with my grandfather, of my disgrace at the +Academy, of my desire, in spite of my first failure, to still make +myself a soldier. And then I told him of how I had been disappointed and +disillusioned, and how it had hurt me to find that this fight seemed so +sordid and the motives of all engaged only mercenary and selfish. But +once did he interrupt me, and then by an exclamation which I mistook for +an exclamation of disbelief, and which I challenged quickly. “But it +is true, sir,” I said. “I joined the revolutionists for just that +reason--because they were fighting for their liberty and because they +had been wronged and were the under-dogs in the fight, and because +Alvarez is a tyrant. I had no other motive. Indeed, you must believe me, +sir,” I protested, “or I cannot talk to you. It is the truth.” + +“The truth!” exclaimed Laguerre, fiercely; and as he raised his eyes I +saw that they had suddenly filled with tears. “It is the first time I +have heard the truth in many years. It is what I have preached myself +for half a lifetime; what I have lived for and fought for. Why, here, +now,” he cried, “while I have been sitting listening to you, it was as +though the boy I used to be had come back to talk to me, bringing my old +ideals, the old enthusiasm.” His manner and his tone suddenly altered, +and he shook his head and placed his hand almost tenderly upon my own. +“But I warn you,” he said, “I warn you that you are wrong. You have +begun young, and there is yet time for you to turn back; but if you hope +for money, or place, or public favor, you have taken the wrong road. You +will be a rolling-stone among milestones, and the way is all down +hill. I began to fight when I was even younger than you. I fought for +whichever party seemed to me to have the right on its side. Sometimes I +have fought for rebels and patriots, sometimes for kings, sometimes for +pretenders. I was out with Garibaldi, because I believed he would give a +republic to Italy; but I fought against the republic of Mexico, because +its people were rotten and corrupt, and I believed that the emperor +would rule them honestly and well. I have always chosen my own side, +the one which seemed to me promised the most good; and yet, after +thirty years, I am where you see me to-night. I am an old man without +a country, I belong to no political party, I have no family, I have no +home. I have travelled over all the world looking for that country which +was governed for the greater good of the greater number, and I have +fought only for those men who promised to govern unselfishly and as the +servants of the people. But when the fighting was over, and they were +safe in power, they had no use for me nor my advice. They laughed, and +called me a visionary and a dreamer. ‘You are no statesman, General,’ +they would say to me. ‘Your line is the fighting-line. Go back to it.’ +And yet, when I think of how the others have used their power, I believe +that I could have ruled the people as well, and yet given them more +freedom, and made more of them more happy.” + +The moon rose over the camp, and the night grew chill; but still we +sat, he talking and I listening as I had used to listen when I sat at +my grandfather’s knee and he told me tales of war and warriors. They +brought us coffee and food, and we ate with an ammunition-box for a +table, he still talking and I eager to ask questions, and yet fearful of +interrupting him. He told of great battles which had changed the history +of Europe, of secret expeditions which had never been recorded even +in his own diary, of revolutions which after months of preparation +had burst forth and had been crushed between sunset and sunrise; of +emperors, kings, patriots, and charlatans. There was nothing that I +had wished to do, and that I had imagined myself doing, that he had not +accomplished in reality--the acquaintances he had made among the leaders +of men, the adventures he had suffered, the honors he had won, were +those which to me were the most to be desired. + +{Illustration: The moon rose over the camp ... but still we sat.} + +The scene around us added color to his words. The moonlight fell on +ghostly groups of men seated before the camp-fires, their faces glowing +in the red light of the ashes; on the irregular rows of thatched +shelters and on the shadowy figures of the ponies grazing at the +picket-line. All the odors of a camp, which to me are more grateful than +those of a garden, were borne to us on the damp night-air; the clean +pungent smell of burning wood, the scent of running water, the smell of +many horses crowded together and of wet saddles and accoutrements. And +above the swift rush of the stream, we could hear the ceaseless pounding +of the horses’ hoofs on the turf, the murmurs of the men’s voices, and +the lonely cry of the night-birds. + +It was past midnight when the General rose, and my brain rioted with the +pictures he had drawn for me. Surely, if I had ever considered turning +back, I now no longer tolerated the thought of it. If he had wished to +convince me that the life of a soldier of fortune was an ungrateful one +he had set about proving it in the worst possible way. At that moment I +saw no career so worthy to be imitated as his own, no success to be so +envied as his failures. And in the glow and inspiration of his talk, and +with the courage of a boy, I told him so. I think he was not ill pleased +at what I said, nor with me. He seemed to approve of what I had related +of myself, and of the comments I had made upon his reminiscences. He had +said, again and again: “That is an intelligent question,” “You have put +your finger on the real weakness of the attack,” “That was exactly the +error in his strategy.” + +When he turned to enter his tent he shook my hand. “I do not know when I +have talked so much,” he laughed, “nor,” he added, with grave courtesy, +“when I have had so intelligent a listener. Good-night.” + +Throughout the evening he had been holding my sword, and as he entered +the tent he handed it to me. + +“Oh, I forgot,” he said. “Here is your sword, Captain.” + +The flaps of the tent fell behind him, and I was left outside of them, +incredulous and trembling. + +I could not restrain myself, and I pushed the flaps aside. + +“I beg your pardon, General,” I stammered. + +He had already thrown himself upon his cot, but he rose on his elbow and +stared at me. + +“What is it?” he demanded. + +“I beg your pardon, sir,” I gasped, “but what did you call me then--just +now?” + +“Call you,” he said. “Oh, I called you ‘captain.’ You are a captain. I +will assign you your troop to-morrow.” + +He turned and buried his face in his arm, and unable to thank him I +stepped outside of the tent and stood looking up at the stars, with my +grandfather’s sword clasped close in my hands. And I was so proud and +happy that I believe I almost prayed that he could look down and see me. + +That was how I received my first commission--in a swamp in Honduras, +from General Laguerre, of the Foreign Legion, as he lay half-asleep +upon his cot. It may be, if I continue as I have begun, I shall receive +higher titles, from ministers of war, from queens, presidents, and +sultans. I shall have a trunk filled, like that of General Laguerre’s, +with commissions, brevets, and patents of nobility, picked up in many +queer courts, in many queer corners of the globe. But to myself I shall +always be Captain Macklin, and no other rank nor title will ever count +with me as did that first one, which came without my earning it, which +fell from the lips of an old man without authority to give it, but which +seemed to touch me like a benediction. + + . . . . . . . . . . + +The officer from whom I took over my troop was a German, Baron Herbert +von Ritter. He had served as an aide-de-camp to the King of Bavaria, +and his face was a patchwork of sword-cuts which he had received in the +students’ duels. No one knew why he had left the German army. He had +been in command of the troop with the rank of captain, but when the next +morning Laguerre called him up and told him that I was now his captain +he seemed rather relieved than otherwise. + +“They’re a hard lot,” he said to me, as we left the General. “I’m glad +to get rid of them.” + +The Legion was divided into four troops of about fifty men each. Only +half of the men were mounted, but the difficulties of the trail were so +great that the men on foot were able to move quite as rapidly as those +on mule-back. Under Laguerre there were Major Webster, an old man, who +as a boy had invaded Central America with William Walker’s expedition, +and who ever since had lived in Honduras; Major Reeder and five +captains, Miller, who was in charge of a dozen native Indians and +who acted as a scout; Captain Heinze, two Americans named Porter and +Russell, and about a dozen lieutenants of every nationality. Heinze had +been adjutant of the force, but the morning after my arrival the General +appointed me to that position, and at roll-call announced the change to +the battalion. + +“We have been waiting here for two weeks for a shipment of machine +guns,” he said to them. “They have not arrived and I cannot wait for +them any longer. The battalion will start at once for Santa Barbara, +where I expect to get you by to-morrow night. There we will join General +Garcia, and continue with him until we enter the capital.” + +The men, who were properly weary of lying idle in the swamp, interrupted +him with an enthusiastic cheer and continued shouting until he lifted +his hand. + +“Since we have been lying here,” he said, “I have allowed you certain +liberties, and discipline has relaxed. But now that we are on the march +again you will conduct yourselves like soldiers, and discipline will be +as strictly enforced as in any army in Europe. Since last night we have +received an addition to our force in the person of Captain Macklin, who +has volunteered his services. Captain Macklin comes of a distinguished +family of soldiers, and he has himself been educated at West Point. I +have appointed him Captain of D Troop and Adjutant of the Legion. As +adjutant you will recognize his authority as you would my own. You will +now break camp, and be prepared to march in half an hour.” + +Soon after we had started we reached a clearing, and Laguerre halted +us and formed the column into marching order. Captain Miller, who was +thoroughly acquainted with the trail, and his natives, were sent on two +hundred yards ahead of us as a point. They were followed by Heinze with +his Gatling guns. Then came Laguerre and another troop, then Reeder with +the two remaining troops and our “transport” between them. Our transport +consisted of a dozen mules carrying bags of coffee, beans, and flour, +our reserve ammunition, the General’s tent, and whatever few private +effects the officers possessed over and above the clothes they stood in. +I brought up the rear with D Troop. We moved at a walk in single file +and without flankers, as the jungle on either side of the trail was +impenetrable. Our departure from camp had been so prompt that I had +been given no time to become acquainted with my men, but as we tramped +forward I rode along with them or drew to one side to watch them pass +and took a good look at them. Carrying their rifles, and with their +blanket-rolls and cartridge-belts slung across their shoulders, they +made a better appearance than when they were sleeping around the camp. +As the day grew on I became more and more proud of my command. The baron +pointed out those of the men who could be relied upon, and I could pick +out for myself those who had received some military training. When I +asked these where they had served before, they seemed pleased at +my having distinguished the difference between them and the other +volunteers, and saluted properly and answered briefly and respectfully. + +If I was proud of the men, I was just as pleased with myself, or, I +should say, with my luck. Only two weeks before I had been read out to +the battalion at West Point, as one unfit to hold a commission, and here +I was riding at the head of my own troop. I was no second lieutenant +either, with a servitude of five years hanging over me before I could +receive my first bar, but a full-fledged captain, with fifty men under +him to care for and discipline and lead into battle. There was not a man +in my troop who was not at least a few years older than myself, and as +I rode in advance of them and heard the creak of the saddles and the +jingle of the picket-pins and water-bottles, or turned and saw the long +line stretching out behind me, I was as proud as Napoleon returning +in triumph to Paris. I had brought with me from the Academy my scarlet +sash, and wore it around my waist under my sword-belt. I also had my +regulation gauntlets, and a campaign sombrero, and as I rode along +I remembered the line about General Stonewall Jackson, in “Barbara +Frietchie.” + +“The leader glancing left and right.” + +I repeated it to myself, and scowled up at the trees and into the +jungle. It was a tremendous feeling to be a “leader.” + +At noon the heat was very great, and Laguerre halted the column at +a little village and ordered the men to eat their luncheon. I posted +pickets, appointed a detail to water the mules, and asked two of the +inhabitants for the use of their clay ovens. In the other troops each +man, or each group of men, were building separate fires and eating alone +or in messes of five or six but by detailing four of my men to act +as cooks for the whole troop, and six others to tend the fires in the +ovens, and six more to carry water for the coffee, all of my men were +comfortably fed before those in the other troops had their fires going. + +Von Ritter had said to me that during the two weeks in camp the men had +used up all their tobacco, and that their nerves were on edge for lack +of something to smoke. So I hunted up a native who owned a tobacco +patch, and from him, for three dollars in silver, I bought three hundred +cigars. I told Von Ritter to serve out six of them to each of the men of +D Troop. It did me good to see how much they enjoyed them. For the next +five minutes every man I met had a big cigar in his mouth, which he +would remove with a grin, and say, “Thank you, Captain.” I did not give +them the tobacco to gain popularity, for in active service I consider +that tobacco is as necessary for the man as food, and I also believe +that any officer who tries to buy the good-will of his men is taking the +quickest way to gain their contempt. + +Soldiers know the difference between the officer who bribes and pets +them, and the one who, before his own tent is set up, looks to his +men and his horses, who distributes the unpleasant duties of the camp +evenly, and who knows what he wants done the first time he gives an +order, and does not make unnecessary work for others because he cannot +make up his mind. + +After I had seen the mules watered and picketed in the public corral, +I went to look for the General, whom I found with the other officers at +the house of the Alcalde. They had learned news of the greatest moment. +Two nights previous, General Garcia had been attacked in force at Santa +Barbara, and had abandoned the town without a fight. Nothing more was +known, except that he was either falling back along the trail to join +us, or was waiting outside the city for us to come up and join him. + +Laguerre at once ordered the bugles to sound “Boots and saddles,” and +within five minutes we were on the trail again with instructions to +press the men forward as rapidly as possible. The loss of Santa Barbara +was a serious calamity. It was the town third in importance in Honduras, +and it had been the stronghold of the revolutionists. The moral effect +of the fact that Garcia held it, had been of the greatest possible +benefit. As Garcia’s force consisted of 2,000 men and six pieces of +artillery, it was inexplicable to Laguerre how without a fight he had +abandoned so valuable a position. + +The country through which we now passed was virtually uninhabited, and +wild and rough, but grandly beautiful. At no time, except when we passed +through one of the dusty little villages, of a dozen sun-baked huts set +around a sun-baked plaza, was the trail sufficiently wide to permit +us to advance unless in single file. And yet this was the highway of +Honduras from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and the only road +to Tegucigalpa, the objective point of our expedition. The capital lay +only one hundred miles from Porto Cortez, but owing to the nature of +this trail it could not be reached from the east coast, either on foot +or by mule, in less than from six to nine days. No wheeled vehicle could +have possibly attempted the trip without shaking to pieces, and it was +only by dragging and lifting our Gatling guns by hand that we were able +to bring them with us. + +At sunset we halted at a little village, where, as usual, the people +yelled “Vivas!” at us, and protested that they were good revolutionists. +The moon had just risen, and, as the men rode forward, kicking up the +white dust and with the Gatlings clanking and rumbling behind them, +they gave a most war-like impression. Miller, who had reconnoitered the +village before we entered it, stood watching us as we came in. He said +that we reminded him of troops of United States cavalry as he had seen +them on the alkali plains of New Mexico and Arizona. It was again my +duty to station our pickets and out-posts, and as I came back after +placing the sentries, the fires were twinkling all over the plaza and +throwing grotesque shadows of the men and the mules against the white +walls of the houses. It was a most weird and impressive picture. + +The troopers were exhausted with the forced march, and fell instantly +to sleep, but for a long time I sat outside the Town Hall talking with +General Laguerre and two of the Americans, Miller and old man Webster. +Their talk was about Aiken, who so far had accompanied us as an untried +prisoner. From what he had said to me on the march, and from what I +remembered of his manner when Captain Leeds informed him of the loss of +the guns, I was convinced that he was innocent of any treachery. + +I related to the others just what had occurred at the coast, and after +some talk with Aiken himself, Laguerre finally agreed that he was +innocent of any evil against him, and that Quay was the man who had sold +the secret. Laguerre then offered Aiken his choice of continuing on with +us, or of returning to the coast, and Aiken said that he would prefer to +go on with our column. Now that the Isthmian Line knew that he had tried +to assist Laguerre, his usefulness at the coast was at an end. He added +frankly that his only other reason for staying with us was because he +thought we were going to win. General Laguerre gave him charge of our +transport and commissary, that is of our twelve pack-mules and of +the disposition of the coffee, flour, and beans. Aiken possessed real +executive ability, and it is only fair to him to say that as commissary +sergeant he served us well. By the time we had reached Tegucigalpa the +twelve mules had increased to twenty, and our stock of rations, instead +of diminishing as we consumed them, increased daily. We never asked how +he managed it. Possibly, knowing Aiken, it was wiser not to inquire. + +We broke camp at four in the morning, but in spite of our early start +the next day’s advance was marked by the most cruel heat. We had left +the shade of the high lands and now pushed on over a plain of dry, +burning sand, where nothing grew but naked bushes bristling with thorns, +and tall grayish-green cacti with disjointed branching arms. They +stretched out before us against the blazing sky, like a succession of +fantastic telegraph-poles. We were marching over what had once been the +bed of a great lake. Layers of tiny round pebbles rolled under our feet, +and the rocks which rose out of the sand had been worn and polished by +the water until they were as smooth as the steps of a cathedral. A mile +away on each flank were dark green ridges, but ahead of us there was +only a great stretch of glaring white sand. No wind was stirring, and +not a drop of moisture. The air was like a breath from a brick oven, +and the heat of the sun so fierce that if you touched your fingers to a +gun-barrel it burned the flesh. + +We did not escape out of this lime-kiln until three in the afternoon, +when the trail again led us into the protecting shade of the jungle. The +men plunged into it as eagerly as though they were diving into water. + +About four o’clock we heard great cheering ahead of us, and word was +passed to the rear that Miller had come in touch with Garcia’s scouts. A +half hour later, we marched into the camp of the revolutionists. It was +situated about three miles outside of Santa Barbara, on the banks of the +river where the trail crossed it at a ford. Our fellows made a rather +fine appearance as they rode out of the jungle among the revolutionists; +and, considering the fact that we had come to fight for them, I thought +the little beggars might have given us a cheer, but they only stared +at us, and nodded stupidly. They were a mixed assortment, all of them +under-size and either broad or swarthy, with the straight hair and wide +cheek-bones of the Carib Indian, or slight and nervous looking, with the +soft eyes and sharp profile of the Spaniard. The greater part of +them had deserted in companies from the army, and they still wore +the blue-jean uniform and carried the rifle and accoutrements of the +Government. To distinguish themselves from those soldiers who had +remained with Alvarez, they had torn off the red braid with which their +tunics were embroidered. + +All the officers of the Foreign Legion rode up the stream with Laguerre +to meet General Garcia, whom we found sitting in the shade of his +tent surrounded by his staff. He gave us a most enthusiastic greeting, +embracing the General, and shaking hands with each of us in turn. He +seemed to be in the highest state of excitement, and bustled about +ordering us things to drink, and chattering, gesticulating, and +laughing. He reminded me of a little, fat French poodle trying to +express his delight by bounds and barks. They brought us out a great +many bottles of rum and limes, and we all had a long, deep drink. After +the fatigue and dust of the day, it was the best I ever tasted. Garcia’s +officers seemed just as much excited over nothing as he was, but were +exceedingly friendly, treating us with an exaggerated “comrades-in-arms” + and “brother-officers” sort of manner. The young man who entertained me +was quite a swell, with a tortoise-shell visor to his cap and a Malacca +sword-cane which swung from a gold cord. He was as much pleased over it +as a boy with his first watch, and informed me that it had been used to +assassinate his uncle, ex-President Rojas. As he seemed to consider it a +very valuable heirloom, I moved my legs so that, as though by accident, +my sword fell forward where he could see it. When he did he exclaimed +upon its magnificence, and I showed him my name on the scabbard. He +thought it had been presented to me for bravery. He was very much +impressed. + +Garcia and Laguerre talked together for a long time and then shook hands +warmly, and we all saluted and returned to the ford. + +As soon as we had reached it Laguerre seated himself under a tree and +sent for all of his officers. + +“We are to attack at daybreak to-morrow morning,” he said. “Garcia is +to return along the trail and make a demonstration on this side of the +town, while we are here to attack from the other. The plaza is about +three hundred yards from where we will enter. On the corner of the plaza +and the main street there is a large warehouse. The warehouse looks +across the plaza to the barracks, which are on the other side of the +square. General Garcia’s plan is that our objective point shall be this +warehouse. It has two stories, and men on its roof will have a great +advantage over those in the barracks and in the streets. He believes +that when he begins his attack from this side, the Government troops +will rush from the barracks and hasten toward the sound of the firing. +At the same signal we are to hurry in from the opposite side of the +town, seize the warehouse, and throw up barricades across the plaza. +Should this plan succeed, the Government troops will find themselves +shut in between two fires. It seems to be a good plan, and I have agreed +to it. The cattle-path to the town is much too rough for our guns, so +Captain Heinze and the gun detail will remain here and co-operate with +General Garcia. Let your men get all the sleep they can now. They must +march again at midnight. They will carry nothing but their guns and +ammunition and rations for one meal. If everything goes as we expect, we +will breakfast in Santa Barbara.” + +I like to remember the happiness I got out of the excitement of that +moment. I lived at the rate of an hour a minute, and I was as upset from +pure delight as though I had been in a funk of abject terror. And I was +scared in a way, too, for whenever I remembered I knew nothing of actual +fighting, and of what chances there were to make mistakes, I shivered +down to my heels. But I would not let myself think of the chances to +make a failure, but rather of the opportunities of doing something +distinguished and of making myself conspicuous. I laughed when I thought +of my classmates at the Point with their eyes bent on a book of tactics, +while here was I, within three hours of a real battle, of the most +exciting of all engagements, an attack upon a city. A full year, perhaps +many years, would pass before they would get the chance to hear a +hostile shot, the shot fired in anger, which every soldier must first +hear before he can enter upon his inheritance, and hold his own in the +talk of the mess-table. I felt almost sorry for them when I thought +how they would envy me when they read of the fight in the newspapers. I +decided it would be called the battle of Santa Barbara, and I imagined +how it would look in the head-lines. I was even generous enough to wish +that three or four of the cadets were with me; that is, of course, under +me, so that they could tell afterward how well I had led them. + +At midnight we filed silently out of camp, and felt our way in the dark +through the worst stretch of country we had yet encountered. The +ferns rose above our hips, and the rocks and fallen logs over which we +stumbled were slippery with moss. Every minute a man was thrown by a +trailing vine or would plunge over a fallen tree-trunk, and there would +be a yell of disgust and an oath and a rattle of accoutrements. The men +would certainly have been lost if they had not kept in touch by calling +to one another, and the noise we made hissing at them for silence only +added to the uproar. + +At the end of three hours our guides informed us that for the last +half-mile they had been guessing at the trail, and that they had now +completely lost themselves. So Laguerre sent out Miller and the +native scouts to buskey about and find out where we were, and almost +immediately we heard the welcome barking of a dog, and one of the men +returned to report that we had walked right into the town. We found that +the first huts were not a hundred yards distant. Laguerre accordingly +ordered the men to conceal themselves and sent Miller, one of Garcia’s +officers, and myself to reconnoitre. + +The moonlight had given way to the faint gray light which comes just +before dawn, and by it we could distinguish lumps of blackness which as +we approached turned into the thatched huts of the villagers. Until we +found the main trail into the town we kept close to the bamboo fences +of these huts, and then, still keeping in the shadows, we followed the +trail until it turned into a broad and well-paved street. + +Except for many mongrel dogs that attacked us, and the roosters that +began to challenge us from every garden, we had not been observed, and, +so far as we could distinguish, the approach to the town was totally +unprotected. By this time the light had increased sufficiently for us +to see the white fronts of the houses, and the long empty street, where +rows of oil-lamps were sputtering and flickering, and as they went out, +filling the clean, morning air with the fumes of the dying wicks. It +had been only two weeks since I had seen paved streets, and shops, and +lamp-posts, but I had been sleeping long enough in the open to make +the little town of Santa Barbara appear to me like a modern and +well-appointed city. Viewed as I now saw it, our purpose to seize +it appeared credulous and grotesque. I could not believe that we +contemplated such a piece of folly. But the native officer pointed down +the street toward a square building with overhanging balconies. In the +morning mist the warehouse loomed up above its fellows of one story like +an impregnable fortress. + +Miller purred with satisfaction. + +“That’s the place,” he whispered; “I remember it now. If we can get into +it, they can never get us out.” It seemed to me somewhat like burglary, +but I nodded in assent, and we ran back through the outskirts to +where Laguerre was awaiting us. We reported that there were no pickets +guarding our side of the town, and the building Garcia had designated +for defence seemed to us most admirably selected. + +It was now near to the time set for the attack to begin, and Laguerre +called the men together, and, as was his custom, explained to them what +he was going to do. He ordered that when we reached the warehouse I was +to spread out my men over the plaza and along the two streets on which +the warehouse stood. Porter was to mount at once to the roof and open +fire on the barracks, and the men of B and C Troops were to fortify the +warehouse and erect the barricades. + +It was still dark, but through the chinks of a few of the mud huts +we could see the red glow of a fire, and were warned by this to move +forward and take up our position at the head of the main street. Before +we advanced, skirmishers were sent out to restrain any of the people in +the huts who might attempt to arouse the garrison. But we need not have +concerned ourselves, for those of the natives who came to their doors, +yawning and shivering in the cool morning air, shrank back at the sight +of us, and held up their hands. I suppose, as we crept out of the mist, +we were a somewhat terrifying spectacle, but I know that I personally +felt none of the pride of a conquering hero. The glimpse I had caught of +the sleeping town, peaceful and unconscious, and the stealth and silence +of our movements, depressed me greatly, and I was convinced that I had +either perpetrated or was about to perpetrate some hideous crime. I had +anticipated excitement and the joy of danger, instead of which, as I +tiptoed between the poor gardens, I suffered all the quaking terrors of +a chicken thief. + +We had halted behind a long adobe wall to the right of the main street, +and as we crouched there the sun rose like a great searchlight and +pointed us out, and exposed us, and seemed to hold up each one of us to +the derision of Santa Barbara. As the light flooded us we all ducked our +heads simultaneously, and looked wildly about us as though seeking +for some place to hide. I felt as though I had been caught in the open +street in my night-gown. It was impossible to justify our presence. As I +lay, straining my ears for Garcia’s signal, I wondered what we would do +if the worthy citizen who owned the garden wall, against which we lay +huddled, should open the gate and ask us what we wanted. Could we reply +that we, a hundred and fifty men, proposed to seize and occupy his city? +I felt sure he would tell us to go away at once or he would call the +police. I looked at the men near me, and saw that each was as disturbed +as myself. A full quarter of an hour had passed since the time set for +the attack, and still there was no signal from Garcia. The strain was +becoming intolerable. At any moment some servant, rising earlier than +his fellows, might stumble upon us, and in his surprise sound the alarm. +Already in the trail behind us a number of natives, on their way to +market, had been halted by our men, who were silently waving them back +into the forest. The town was beginning to stir, wooden shutters banged +against stone walls, and from but just around the corner of the main +street came the clatter of iron bars as they fell from the door of a +shop. We could hear the man who was taking them down whistling cheerily. + +And then from the barracks came, sharply and clearly, the ringing notes +of the reveille. I jumped to my feet and ran to where Laguerre was +sitting with his back to the wall. + +“General, can’t I begin now?” I begged. “You said D Troop was to go in +first.” + +He shook his head impatiently. “Listen!” he commanded. + +We heard a single report, but so faintly and from such a distance +that had it not instantly been followed by two more we could not have +distinguished it. Even then we were not certain. Then as we crouched +listening, each reading the face of the others and no one venturing +to breathe, there came the sharp, broken roll of musketry. It was +unmistakable. The men gave a great gasp of relief, and without orders +sprang to “attention.” A ripple of rifle-fire, wild and scattered, +answered the first volley. + +“They have engaged the pickets,” said Laguerre. + +The volleys were followed by others, and volleys, more uneven, answered +them still more wildly. + +“They are driving the pickets back,” explained Laguerre. We all stood +looking at him as though he were describing something which he actually +saw. Suddenly from the barracks came the discordant calls of many +bugles, warning, commanding, beseeching. + +Laguerre tossed back his head, like a horse that has been too tightly +curbed. + +“They are leaving the barracks,” he said. He pulled out his watch and +stood looking down at it in his hand. + +“I will give them three minutes to get under way,” he said. “Then we +will start for the warehouse. When they come back again, they will find +us waiting for them.” + +It seemed an hour that we stood there, and during every second of that +hour the rifle-fire increased in fierceness and came nearer, and seemed +to make another instant of inaction a crime. The men were listening with +their mouths wide apart, their heads cocked on one side, and their eyes +staring. They tightened their cartridge-belts nervously, and opened and +shot back the breech-bolts of their rifles. I took out my revolver, and +spun the cylinder to reassure myself for the hundredth time that it +was ready. But Laguerre stood quite motionless, with his eyes fixed +impassively upon his watch as though he were a physician at a sick-bed. +Only once did he raise his eyes. It was when the human savageness of the +rifle-fire was broken by a low mechanical rattle, like the whirr of a +mowing-machine as one hears it across the hay-fields. It spanked the air +with sharp hot reports. + +“Heinze has turned the Gatlings on them,” he said. “They will be coming +back soon.” He closed the lid of his watch with a click and nodded +gravely at me. “You can go ahead now, Captain,” he said. His tone was +the same as though he had asked me to announce dinner. + + + + +IV + + +I jumped toward the street at the double, and the men followed me +crowded in a bunch. I shouted back at them to spread out, and they fell +apart. As I turned into the street I heard a shout from the plaza end of +it and found a dozen soldiers running forward to meet us. When they saw +the troops swing around the corner, they halted and some took cover in +the doorways, and others dropped on one knee in the open street, and +fired carefully. I heard soft, whispering sounds stealing by my head +with incredible slowness, and I knew that at last I was under fire. I no +longer felt like a boy robbing an orchard, nor a burglar. I was instead +grandly excited and happy, and yet I was quite calm too. I am sure +of this, for I remember I calculated the distance between us and the +warehouse, and compared it with the two hundred and twenty-yard stretch +in an athletic park at home. As I ran I noted also everything on either +side of me: two girls standing behind the iron bars of a window with +their hands pressed to their cheeks, and a negro with a broom in his +hand crouching in a doorway. Some of the men stopped running and halted +to fire, but I shouted to them to come on. I was sure if we continued +to charge we could frighten off the men at the end of the street, and I +guessed rightly, for as we kept on they scattered and ran. I could hear +shouts and screams rising from many different houses, and men and women +scuttled from one side of the street to the other like frightened hens. + +As we passed an open shop some men inside opened a fusillade on me, and +over my shoulder I just caught a glimpse of one of them as he dropped +back behind the counter. I shouted to Von Ritter, who was racing with +me, to look after them, and saw him and a half-dozen others swerve +suddenly and sweep into the shop. Porter’s men were just behind mine +and the noise our boots made pounding on the cobblestones sounded like a +stampede of cattle. + +The plaza was an unshaded square of dusty grass. In the centre was a +circular fountain, choked with dirt and dead leaves, and down the paths +which led to it were solid stone benches. I told the men to take cover +inside the fountain, and about a dozen of them dropped behind the rim of +it, facing toward the barracks. I heard Porter give a loud “hurrah!” at +finding the doors of the warehouse open, and it seemed almost instantly +that the men of his troop began to fire over our heads from its roof. +At the first glance it was difficult to tell from where the enemy’s fire +came, but I soon saw smoke floating from the cupola of the church on +the corner and drifting through the barred windows of the barracks. I +shouted at the men behind the benches to aim at the cupola, and directed +those with me around the fountain to let loose at the barrack windows. +As they rose to fire and exposed themselves above the rim of the +fountain three of them were hit, and fell back swearing. The men behind +the benches shouted at me to take cover, and one of the wounded men in +the fountain reached up and pulled at my tunic, telling me to lie down. +The men of B and C Troops were rolling casks out of the warehouse and +building a barricade, and I saw that we were drawing all of the fire +from them. We were now in a cross-fire between the church and the +barracks, and were getting very much the worst of the fight. The men in +the barracks were only seventy yards away. They seemed to be the ones +chiefly responsible. They had piled canvas cots against the bars of the +windows, and though these afforded them no protection, they prevented +our seeing anything at which to shoot. + +One of my men gave a grunt, and whirled over, holding his hand to his +shoulder. “I’ve got it, Captain,” he said. I heard another man shriek +from behind one of the benches. Our position was becoming impossible. It +was true we were drawing the fire from the men who were working on +the barricade, which was what we had been sent out to do, but in three +minutes I had lost five men. + +I remembered a professor at the Point telling us the proportion of +bullets that went home was one to every three hundred, and I wished I +had him behind that fountain. Miller was lying at my feet pumping +away with a Winchester. As he was reloading it he looked up at me, and +shouted, “And they say these Central Americans can’t shoot!” I saw white +figures appearing and disappearing at the windows of almost every house +on the plaza. The entire population seemed to have taken up arms against +us. The bullets splashed on the combing of the fountain and tore up the +grass at our feet, and whistled and whispered about our ears. It seemed +utter idiocy to remain, but I could not bring myself to run back to the +barricade. + +In the confusion which had ensued in the barracks when Garcia opened the +attack the men who ran out to meet him had left the gates of the barrack +yard open, and as I stood, uncertain what to do, I saw a soldier pushing +them together. He had just closed one when I caught sight of him. I +fired with my revolver, and shouted to the men. “We must get inside +those gates,” I cried. “We can’t stay here. Charge those gates!” I +pointed, and they all jumped from every part of the plaza, and we raced +for the barrack wall, each of us yelling as we ran. A half dozen of us +reached there in time to throw ourselves against the gate that was just +closing, and the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack yard. + +{Illustration: And the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack +yard} + +We ran straight for the long room which faced the street, and as we came +in at one end of it the men behind the cots fired a frightened volley at +us and fled out at the other. In less than two minutes the barracks were +empty, and we had changed our base from that cock-pit of a fountain to a +regular fortress with walls two feet thick, with rifles stacked in every +corner, and, what at that moment seemed of greatest importance, with a +breakfast for two hundred men bubbling and boiling in great iron pots in +the kitchen. I had never felt such elation and relief as I did over that +bloodless victory. It had come when things looked so bad; it had come +so suddenly and easily that while some of the men cheered, others only +laughed, shaking each other’s hands or slapping each other on the back, +and some danced about like children. We tore the cots away from the +windows and waved at the men behind the barricade, and they stood up and +cheered us, and the men on the roof, looking very tall against the blue +sky, stood up and waved their hats and cheered too. They had silenced +the men in the cupola, and a sudden hush fell upon the plaza. It was +easy to see that many sympathizers with the government had been shooting +at us from the private houses. When they saw us take the barracks +they had probably decided that the time had come to wipe off the +powder-stains, and reappear as friends of the revolution. The only +firing now was from where Garcia was engaged. Judging from the loudness +of these volleys he had reached the outskirts of the town. I set half +of my force to work piling up bags of meal behind the iron bars, and, +in the event of fire, filling pails with water, and breaking what little +glass still remained in the windows. Others I sent to bring in the +wounded, and still others to serving out the coffee and soup we had +found in the kitchen. After giving these orders I ran to the barricade +to report. When I reached it the men behind it began to rap on the +stones with the butts of their rifles as people pound with their +billiard-cues when someone has made a difficult shot, and those on the +roof leaned over and clapped their hands. It was most unmilitary, but +I must say I was pleased by it, though I pretended I did not know what +they meant. + +Laguerre came to the door of the warehouse, and smiled at me. + +“I’m glad you’re still alive, sir,” he said. “After this, when you get +within seventy yards of the enemy, I hope you will be able to see him +without standing up.” + +The men above us laughed, and I felt rather foolish, and muttered +something about “setting an example.” + +“If you get yourself shot,” he said, “you will be setting a very bad +example, indeed. We can’t spare anybody, Captain, and certainly not +you.” I tried to look as modest as possible, but I could not refrain +from glancing around to see if the men had heard him, and I observed +with satisfaction that they had. + +Laguerre asked me if I could hold the barracks, and I told him that I +thought I could. He then ordered me to remain there. + +“Would you like a cup of coffee, General?” I asked. The General’s +expression changed swiftly. It became that of a very human and a very +hungry man. + +“Have you got any?” he demanded anxiously. + +“If you can lend me some men,” I said, “I can send you back eight +gallons.” At this the men behind the barricades gave a great cheer of +delight, and the General smiled and patted me on the shoulder. + +“That is right,” he said. “The best kind of courage often comes from a +full stomach. Run along now,” he added, as though he were talking to a +child, “run along, and don’t fire until we do, and send us that coffee +before we get to work again.” + +I called in all of my men from the side streets, and led them across +to the barracks. I placed some of them on the roof and some of them on +tables set against the inside of the wall in the yard. + +As I did so, I saw Porter run across the plaza with about fifty of +his men, and almost immediately after they had disappeared we heard +cheering, and he returned with Captain Heinze. They both ran toward +General Laguerre, and Porter then came across to me, and told me that +the government troops were in full flight, and escaping down the side +streets into the jungle. They were panic-stricken and were scattering in +every direction, each man looking after his own safety. For the next two +hours I chased terrified little soldiers all over the side of the +town which had been assigned me, either losing them at the edge of the +jungle, or dragging them out of shops and private houses. No one was +hurt. It was only necessary to fire a shot after them to see them throw +up their hands. By nine o’clock I had cleaned up my side of the town, +and returned to the plaza. It was now so choked with men and mules that +I was five minutes in forcing my way across. Garcia’s troops had marched +in, and were raising a great hullabaloo, cheering and shouting, and +embracing the townspeople, whom they had known during their former +occupation, and many of whom were the same people who had been firing +at us. I found Laguerre in counsel with Garcia, who was in high spirits, +and feeling exceedingly pleased with himself. He entirely ignored +our part in taking the town, and talked as though he had captured it +single-handed. The fact that the government troops had held him back +until we threatened them in the rear he did not consider as important. I +resented his swagger and the way he patronized Laguerre, but the General +did not seem to notice it, or was too well satisfied with the day’s work +to care. While I was at head-quarters our scouts came in to report that +the enemy was escaping along the trail to Comyagua, and that two of +their guns had stalled in the mud, not one mile out from Santa Barbara. +This was great news, and to my delight I was among those who hurried out +to the place where the guns were supposed to be. We found them abandoned +and stuck in the mud, and captured them without firing a shot. A half +hour later we paraded our prizes in a triumphal procession through the +streets of Santa Barbara, and were given a grand welcome by the allies +and the townspeople. I had never witnessed such enthusiasm, but it was +not long before I found out the cause of it. In our absence everybody +had been celebrating the victory with aguardiente, and half of Garcia’s +warriors had become so hopelessly drunk that they were lying all over +the plaza, and their comrades were dancing and tramping upon them. + +I found that this orgy had put Laguerre in a fine rage, and I heard him +send out the provost guard with orders to throw all the drunken men into +the public corral for lost mules. + +When he learned of this Garcia was equally indignant. The matter ended +with Laguerre’s locking up Garcia’s soldiers with our prisoners-of-war +in the yard barracks, where they sang and shouted and fought until they +were exhausted and went to sleep. + +There was still much drink left on requisition, but the conquering +heroes had taken everything there was to eat, and for some time I +wandered around seeking for food before I finally discovered Miller, +Von Ritter, and Aiken in the garden of a private house enjoying a most +magnificent luncheon. I begged a share on the ground that I had just +overcome two helpless brass cannon, and they gave me a noisy welcome, +and made a place for me. I was just as happy as I was hungry, and I was +delighted to find someone with whom I could discuss the fight. For an +hour we sat laughing and drinking, and each talking at the top of his +voice and all at the same time. We were as elated as though we had +captured the city of London. + +Of course Aiken had taken no part in the fight, and of course he made +light of it, which was just the sort of thing he would do, and he +especially poked fun at me and at my charge on the barracks. He called +it a “grand-stand play,” and said I was a “gallery fighter.” He said the +reason I ran out into the centre of the plaza was because I knew there +was a number of women looking out of the windows, and he pretended to +believe that when we entered the barracks they were empty, and that I +knew they were when I ordered the charge. + +“It was the coffee they were after,” he declared. “As soon as Macklin +smelt the coffee he drew his big gilt sword and cried, ‘Up, my men, +inside yon fortress a free breakfast awaits us. Follow your gallant +leader!’ and they never stopped following until they reached the +kitchen. They’re going to make Macklin a bugler,” he said, “so that +after this he can blow his own trumpet without anyone being allowed to +interrupt him.” + +I was glad to find that I could take what Aiken said of me as lightly as +did the others. Since the fight his power to annoy me had passed. I knew +better than anyone else that at one time during the morning I had been +in a very tight place, but I had stuck to it and won out. The knowledge +that I had done so gave me confidence in myself--not that I have ever +greatly lacked it, but it was a new kind of confidence. It made me +feel older, and less inclined to boast. In this it also helped out my +favorite theory that it must be easy for the man who has done something +to be modest. After he has proved himself capable in the eyes of his +comrades he doesn’t have to go about telling them how good he is. It is +a saying that heroes are always modest, but they are not really modest. +They just keep quiet, because they know their deeds are better talkers +than they are. + +Miller and I had despatched an orderly to inform Laguerre of our +whereabouts, and at three o’clock in the afternoon the man returned to +tell us that we were to join the General in the plaza. On arriving there +we found the column already drawn up in the order of march, and an hour +later we filed out of the town down the same street by which we had +entered it that morning, and were cheered by the same people who eight +hours before had been firing upon us. We left five hundred of Garcia’s +men to garrison the place and prevent the townspeople from again +changing their sympathies, and continued on toward Tegucigalpa with +Garcia and the remainder of his force as our main body, and with the +Legion in the van. We were a week in reaching Comyagua, which was the +only place that we expected would offer any resistance until we arrived +outside of the capital. During that week our march was exactly similar +to the one we had made from the camp to Santa Barbara. There was the +same rough trail, the jungle crowding close on either flank, the same +dusty villages, the same fierce heat. At the villages of Tabla Ve and +at Seguatepec our scouts surprised the rear guard of the enemy and +stampeded it without much difficulty, and with only twenty men wounded. +As usual we had no one to thank for our success in these skirmishes but +ourselves, as Garcia’s men never appeared until just as the fight was +over, when they would come running up in great excitement. Laguerre +remarked that they needed a better knowledge of the bugle calls, as they +evidently mistook our “Cease firing” for “Advance.” + +The best part of that week’s march lay in the many opportunities it gave +me to become acquainted with my General. The more I was permitted to +be with him the longer I wanted to be always with him, and with no one +else. After listening to Laguerre you felt that a talk with the other +men was a waste of time. There was nothing apparently that he did not +know of men and events, and his knowledge did not come from books, but +at first hand, from contact with the men, and from having taken part in +the events. + +After we had pitched camp for the night the others would elect me to go +to his tent, and ask if we could come over and pay our respects. They +always selected me for this errand, because they said it was easy to see +that I was his favorite. + +When we were seated about him on the rocks, or on ammunition boxes, +or on the ground, I would say, “Please, General, we want to hear some +stories,” and he would smile and ask, “What sort of stories?” and each +of us would ask for something different. Some would want to hear about +the Franco-Prussian war, and others of the Fall of Plevna or Don Carlos +or Garibaldi, or of the Confederate generals with whom Laguerre had +fought in Egypt. + +When the others had said good-night he would sometimes call me back on +the pretence of giving me instructions for the morrow, and then would +come the really wonderful stories--the stories that no historian has +ever told. His talk was more educational than a library of histories, +and it filled me with a desire to mix with great people--to be their +companion as he had been, to have kings and pretenders for my intimates. +When one listened it sounded easy of accomplishment. It never seemed +strange to him that great rulers should have made a friend of a stray +soldier of fortune, an Irish adventurer--for Laguerre’s mother was +Irish; his father had been Colonel Laguerre, and once Military Governor +of Algiers--and given him their confidence. And yet I could see why they +should do so, for just the very reason that he took their confidence +as a matter of course, knowing that his loyalty would always be above +suspicion. He had a great capacity for loyalty. There was no taint in it +of self-interest, nor of snobbishness. He believed, for instance, in the +divine right of kings; and from what he let fall we could see that he +had given the most remarkable devotion not only to every cause for which +he had fought, but to the individual who represented it. That in time +each of these individuals had disappointed him had in no way shaken +his faith in the one to whom he next offered his sword. His was a most +beautiful example of modesty and of faith in one’s fellowman. It was +during this week, and because of these midnight talks with him around +the campfire, that I came to look up to him, and love him like a son. + +But during that same week I was annoyed to find that many of our men +believed the version which Aiken had given of my conduct at Santa +Barbara. There were all sorts of stories circulating through the +Legion about me. They made me out a braggart, a bully, and a conceited +ass--indeed, almost everything unpleasant was said of me except that +I was a coward. Aiken, of course, kindly retold these stories to me, +either with the preface that he thought I ought to know what was being +said of me, or that he thought the stories would amuse me. I thanked him +and pretended to laugh, but I felt more like punching his head. People +who say that women are gossips, and that they delight in tearing each +other to pieces, ought to hear the talk of big, broad-shouldered men +around camp-fires. If you believe what they say, you would think that +every officer had either bungled or had funked the fight. And when a +man really has performed some act which cannot be denied they call him a +“swipe,” and say he did it to gain promotion, or to curry favor with +the General. Of course, it may be different in armies officered by +gentlemen; but men are pretty much alike all the world over, and I know +that those in our Legion were as given to gossip and slander as the +inmates of any Old Woman’s Home. I used to say to myself that so long as +I had the approval of Laguerre and of my own men and of my conscience I +could afford not to mind what the little souls said; but as a matter of +fact I did mind it, and it angered me exceedingly. Just as it hurt me at +the Point to see that I was not popular, it distressed me to find that +the same unpopularity had followed me into the Legion. The truth is that +the officers were jealous of me. They envied me my place as Adjutant, +and they were angry because Laguerre assigned one so much younger than +themselves to all the most important duties. They said that by showing +favoritism he was weakening his influence with the men and that he made +a “pet” of me. If he did I know that he also worked me five times as +hard as anyone else, and that he sent me into places where no one but +himself would go. The other officers had really no reason to object to +me personally. I gave them very little of my company, and though I spoke +pleasantly when we met I did not associate with them. Miller and Von +Ritter were always abusing me for not trying to make friends; but I told +them that, since the other officers spoke of me behind my back as a cad, +braggart, and snob, the least I could do was to keep out of their way. + +I was even more unpopular with the men, but there was a reason for that; +for I was rather severe with them, and imposed as strict a discipline on +them as that to which I had been accustomed at West Point. The greater +part of them were ne’er-do-wells and adventurers picked up off the beach +at Greytown, and they were a thoroughly independent lot, reckless and +courageous; but I doubt if they had ever known authority or restraint, +unless it was the restraint of a jail. With the men of my own troop I +got on well enough, for they saw I understood how to take care of them, +and that things went on more smoothly when they were carried out as I +had directed, so they obeyed me without sulking. But with the men of the +troops not directly under my command I frequently met with trouble; +and on several occasions different men refused to obey my orders as +Adjutant, and swore and even struck at me, so that I had to knock them +down. I regretted this exceedingly, but I was forced to support my +authority in some way. After learning the circumstances Laguerre +exonerated me, and punished the men. Naturally, this did not help me +with the volunteers, and for the first ten days after I had joined the +Legion I was the most generally disliked man in it. This lasted until we +reached Comyagua, when something happened which brought the men over to +my side. Indeed, I believe I became a sort of a hero with them, and was +nearly as popular as Laguerre himself. So in the end it came out all +right, but it was near to being the death of me; and, next to hanging, +the meanest kind of a death a man could suffer. + +When this incident occurred, which came so near to ending tragically +for me, we had been trying to drive the government troops out of the +cathedral of Comyagua. It was really a church and not a cathedral, but +it was so much larger than any other building we had seen in Honduras +that the men called it “The Cathedral.” It occupied one whole side of +the plaza. There were four open towers at each corner, and the front +entrance was as large as a barn. Their cannon, behind a barricade of +paving stones, were on the steps which led to this door. + +I carried a message from Laguerre along the end of the plaza opposite +the cathedral, and as I was returning, the fire grew so hot that I +dropped on my face. There was a wooden watering-trough at the edge of +the sidewalk, and I crawled over and lay behind it. Directly back of me +was a restaurant into which a lot of Heinze’s men had broken their +way from the rear. They were firing up at the men in the towers of the +cathedral. My position was not a pleasant one, for every time I raised +my head the soldiers in the belfry would cut loose at me; and, though +they failed to hit me, I did not dare to get up and run. Already the +trough was leaking like a sieve. There was no officer with the men in +the cafe, so they were taking the word from one of their own number, and +were firing regularly in volleys. They fired three times after I took +shelter. They were so near me that at each volley I could hear the sweep +of the bullets passing about two yards above my head. + +But at the fourth volley a bullet just grazed my cheek and drove itself +into the wood of the trough. It was so near that the splinters flew +in my eyes. I looked back over my shoulder and shouted, “Look out! You +nearly hit me then. Fire higher.” + +One of the men in the cafe called back, “We can’t hear you,” and I +repeated, “Fire higher! You nearly hit me,” and pointed with my finger +to where the big 44-calibre ball had left a black hole in the green +paint of the trough. When they saw this there were excited exclamations +from the men, and I heard the one who was giving the orders repeating my +warning. And then came the shock of another volley. Simultaneously with +the shock a bullet cut through the wide brim of my sombrero and passed +into the box about two inches below my chin. + +It was only then that I understood that this was no accident, but that +someone in the restaurant was trying to murder me. The thought was +hideous and sickening. I could bear the fire of the enemy from the +belfry--that was part of the day’s work; the danger of it only excited +me; but the idea that one of my own side was lying within twenty feet +of me, deliberately aiming with intent to kill, was outrageous and +revolting. + +I scrambled to my feet and faced the open front of the restaurant, and +as I stood up there was, on the instant, a sharp fusillade from the +belfry tower. But I was now far too angry to consider that. The men were +kneeling just inside the restaurant, and as I halted a few feet from +them I stuck my finger through the bullet hole and held up my hat for +them to see. + +“Look!” I shouted at them. “You did that, you cowards. You want to +murder me, do you?” I straightened myself and threw out my arms, “Well, +here’s your chance,” I cried. “Don’t shoot me in the back. Shoot me +now.” + +The men gaped at me in utter amazement. Their lips hung apart. Their +faces were drawn in lines of anger, confusion, and dislike. + +“Go on!” I shouted. “Fire a volley at that belfry, and let the man who +wants me have another chance at me. I’ll give the word. Make ready!” I +commanded. + +There was a pause and a chorus of protests, and then mechanically each +man jerked out the empty shell and drove the next cartridge in place. +“Aim!” I shouted. They hesitated and then raised their pieces in a +wavering line, and I looked into the muzzles of a dozen rifles. + +“Now then--damn you,” I cried. “Fire!” + +They fired, and my eyes and nostrils were filled with burning smoke, but +not a bullet had passed near me. + +“Again!” I shouted, stamping my foot. I was so angry that I suppose I +was really hardly accountable for what I did. + +“I told you you were cowards,” I cried. “You can only shoot men in the +back. You don’t like me, don’t you?” I cried, taunting them. “I’m a +braggart, am I? Yes. I’m a bully, am I? Well, here’s your chance. Get +rid of me! Once again now. Make ready,” I commanded. “Aim! Fire!” + +Again the smoke swept up, and again I had escaped. I remember that +I laughed at them and that the sound was crazy and hysterical, and +I remember that as I laughed I shook out my arms to show them I was +unhurt. And as I did that someone in the cafe cried, “Thank God!” And +another shouted, “That’s enough of this damn nonsense,” and a big man +with a bushy red beard sprang up and pulled off his hat. + +“Now then,” he cried. “All together, boys. Three cheers for the little +one!” and they all jumped and shouted like mad people. + +They cheered me again and again, although all the time the bullets from +the belfry were striking about them, ringing on the iron tables and on +the sidewalk, and tearing great gashes in the awnings overhead. + +And then it seemed as though the sunlight on the yellow buildings and on +the yellow earth of the plaza had been suddenly shut off, and I dropped +into a well of blackness and sank deeper and deeper. + +When I looked up the big man was sitting on the floor holding me as +comfortably as though I were a baby, and my face was resting against +his red beard, and my clothes and everything about me smelt terribly of +brandy. + +But the most curious thing about it was that though they told everyone +in the Legion that I had stood up and made them shoot at me, they never +let anyone find out that I had been so weak as to faint. + +I do not know whether it was the brandy they gave me that later led me +to charge those guns, but I appreciate now that my conduct was certainly +silly and mad enough to be excused only in that way. According to the +doctrine of chances I should have lost nine lives, and according to +the rules governing an army in the field I should have been +court-martialled. Instead of which, the men caught me up on their +shoulders and carried me around the plaza, and Laguerre and Garcia +looked on from the steps of the Cathedral and laughed and waved to us. + +For five hours we had been lying in the blazing sun on the flat +house-tops, or hidden in the shops around the plaza, and the government +troops were still holding us off with one hand and spanking us with the +other. Their guns were so good that, when Heinze attempted to take up a +position against them with his old-style Gatlings, they swept him out +of the street, as a fire-hose flushes a gutter. For five hours they had +kept the plaza empty, and peppered the three sides of it so warmly that +no one of us should have shown his head. + +But at every shot from the Cathedral our men grew more unmanageable, +and the longer the enemy held us back the more arrogant and defiant they +became. Ostensibly to obtain a better shot, but in reality from pure +deviltry, they would make individual sallies into the plaza, and, facing +the embrasure, would empty their Winchesters at one of its openings as +coolly as though they were firing at a painted bull’s-eye. The man who +first did this, the moment his rifle was empty, ran for cover and was +tumultuously cheered by his hidden audience. But in order to surpass +him, the next man, after he had emptied his gun, walked back very +deliberately, and the third man remained to refill his magazine. And +so a spirit of the most senseless rivalry sprang up, and one man after +another darted out into the plaza to cap the recklessness of those who +had gone before him. + +It was not until five men were shot dead and lay sprawling and uncovered +in the sun that the madness seemed to pass. But my charging the +embrasure was always supposed to be a part of it, and to have +been inspired entirely by vanity and a desire to do something more +extravagantly reckless than any of the others. As a matter of fact I +acted on what has always seemed to me excellent reasoning, and if I went +alone, it was only because, having started, it seemed safer to go ahead +than to run all the way back again. I never blamed the men for running +back, and so I cannot see why they should blame me for having gone +ahead. + +The enemy had ceased firing shrapnel and were using solid shot. When +their Gatlings also ceased, I guessed that it might be that the guns +were jammed. If I were right and if one avoided the solid shot by +approaching the barricade obliquely, there was no danger in charging the +barricade. I told my troop that I thought the guns were out of order, +and that if we rushed the barricade we could take it. When I asked for +volunteers, ten men came forward and at once, without asking permission, +which I knew I could not get, we charged across the plaza. + +Both sides saw us at the same instant, and the firing was so fierce that +the men with me thought the Gatlings had reopened on us, and ran for +cover. + +That left me about fifty feet from the barricade, and as it seemed a +toss-up whichever way I went I kept going forward. I caught the combing +of the embrasure with my hands, stuck my toes between the stones, and +scrambled to the top. The scene inside was horrible. The place looked +like a slaughter-yard. Only three men were still on their legs; the +rest were heaped around the guns. I threatened the three men with my +revolver, but they shrieked for mercy and I did not fire. The men in the +belfries, however, were showing no mercy to me, so I dropped inside the +wall and crawled for shelter beneath a caisson. But, I recognized on the +instant that I could not remain there. It was the fear of the Gatlings +only which was holding back our men, and I felt that before I was shot +they must know that the guns were jammed. So I again scrambled up to +the barricade, and waved my hat to them to come on. At the same moment +a bullet passed through my shoulder, and another burned my neck, and +one of the men who had begged for mercy beat me over the head with his +sword. I went down like a bag of flour, but before my eyes closed I saw +our fellows pouring out of the houses and sweeping toward me. + +About an hour later, when Von Ritter had cleaned the hole in my shoulder +and plastered my skull, I sallied out again, and at sight of me the men +gave a shout, and picked me up, and, cheering, bore me around the plaza. +From that day we were the best of friends, and I think in time they grew +to like me. + +Two days later we pitched camp outside of Tegucigalpa, the promised +city, the capital of the Republic. + +Our points of attack were two: a stone bridge which joins the city +proper with the suburbs, and a great hill of rock called El Pecachua. +This hill either guards or betrays the capital. The houses reach almost +to its base and from its crest one can drop a shell through the roof of +any one of them. Consequently, when we arrived, we found its approaches +strongly entrenched and the hill occupied in force by the government +artillery. There is a saying in Honduras, which has been justified by +countless revolutions, and which dates back to the days of Morazan the +Liberator, that “He who takes Pecachua sleeps in the Palace.” + +Garcia’s plan was for two days to bombard the city, and if, in that +time, Alvarez had not surrendered, to attack El Pecachua by night. As +usual, the work was so divided that the more dangerous and difficult +part of it fell to the Foreign Legion, for in his plan Garcia so ordered +it that Laguerre should storm Pecachua, while he advanced from the plain +and attacked the city at the stone bridge. + +But this plan was never carried out, and after our first day in front +of the Capital, General Garcia never again gave an order to General +Laguerre. + +After midnight on the evening of that first day Aiken came to the hut +where we had made our head-quarters and demanded to see the General on +a matter of life and death. With him, looking very uncertain as to the +propriety of the visit, were all the officers of the Legion. + +The General was somewhat surprised and somewhat amused, but he invited +us to enter. When the officers had lined up against the walls he said, +“As a rule, I call my own councils of war, but no doubt Mr. Aiken has +some very good reason for affording me the pleasure of your company. +What is it, Mr. Aiken?” + +Instead of answering him, Aiken said, with as much manner as that of +General Garcia himself, “I want a guard put outside this house, and I +want the men placed far enough from it to prevent their hearing what +I say.” The General nodded at me, and I ordered the sentries to +move farther from the hut. I still remember the tableau I saw when I +re-entered it, the row of officers leaning against the mud walls, the +candles stuck in their own grease on the table, the maps spread over +it, and the General and Aiken facing each other from its either end. It +looked like a drumhead court-martial. + +When I had shut the door of the hut Aiken spoke. His tone was one of +calm unconcern. + +“I have just come from the Palace,” he said, “where I have been having a +talk with President Alvarez.” + +No one made a sound, nor no one spoke, but like one man everyone in the +room reached for his revolver. It was a most enlightening revelation of +our confidence in Aiken. Laguerre did not move. He was looking steadily +at Aiken and his eyes were shining like two arc lamps. + +“By whose authority?” he asked. + +We, who knew every tone of his voice, almost felt sorry for Aiken. + +“By whose authority,” Laguerre repeated, “did you communicate with the +enemy?” + +“It was an idea of my own,” Aiken answered simply. “I was afraid if +I told you you would interfere. Oh! I’m no soldier,” he said. He was +replying to the look in Laguerre’s face. “And I can tell you that there +are other ways of doing things than ‘according to Hardie.’ Alvarez’s +officers came to me after the battle of Comyagua. They expected to beat +you there, and when you chased them out of the city and started for +the Capital they thought it was all up with them, and decided to make +terms.” + +“With you?” said Laguerre. + +Aiken laughed without the least trace of resentment, and nodded. + +“Well, you give a dog a bad name,” he said, “and it sticks to him. So, +they came to me. I’m no grand-stand fighter; I’m not a fighter at all. +I think fighting is silly. You’ve got all the young men you want to stop +bullets for you, without me. They like it. They like to catch ‘em in +their teeth. I don’t. But that’s not saying that I’m no good. You know +the old gag of the lion and the little mousie, and how the mouse came +along and chewed the lion out of the net. Well, that’s me. I’m no lion +going ‘round seeking whom I may devour.’ I’m just a sewer rat. But I can +tell you all,” he cried, slapping the table with his hand, “that, if it +hadn’t been for little mousie, every one of you lions would have been +shot against a stone wall. And if I can’t prove it, you can take a shot +at me. I’ve been the traitor. I’ve been the go-between from the first. I +arranged the whole thing. The Alvarez crowd told me to tell Garcia that +even if he did succeed in getting into the Palace the Isthmian Line +would drive him out of it in a week. But that if he’d go away from the +country, they’d pay him fifty thousand pesos and a pension. He’s got the +Isthmian Line’s promise in writing. + +“This joint attack he’s planned for Wednesday night is a fake. He +doesn’t mean to fight. Nobody means to fight except against you. Every +soldier and every gun in the city is to be sent out to Pecachua to trap +you into an ambush. Natives who pretend to have deserted from Alvarez +are to lead you into it. That was an idea of mine. They thought it was +very clever. Garcia is to make a pretence of attacking the bridge and +a pretence of being driven back. Then messengers are to bring word that +the Foreign Legion has been cut to pieces at Pecachua, and he is to +disband his army, and tell every man to look out for himself. + +“If you want proofs of this, I’ll furnish them to any man here that +you’ll pick out. I told Alvarez that one of your officers was working +against you with me, and that at the proper time I’d produce him. Now, +you choose which officer that shall be. He can learn for himself that +all I’m telling you is true. But that will take time!” Aiken cried, as +Laguerre made a movement to interrupt him. “And if you want to get out +of this fix alive, you’d better believe me, and start for the coast at +once--now--to-night!” + +Laguerre laughed and sprang to his feet. His eyes were shining and the +color had rushed to his cheeks. He looked like a young man masquerading +in a white wig. He waved his hand at Aiken with a gesture that was part +benediction and part salute. + +“I do believe you,” he cried, “and thank you, sir.” He glanced sharply +at the officers around him as though he were weighing the value of each. + +“Gentlemen,” he cried, “often in my life I have been prejudiced, and +often I have been deceived, and I think that it is time now that I +acted for myself. From the first, the burden of this expedition has been +carried by the Foreign Legion. I know that; you, who fought the battles, +certainly know it. We invaded Honduras with a purpose. We came to obtain +for the peons the debt that is due them and to give them liberty and +free government. And whether our allies run away or betray us, that +purpose is still the same.” + +He paused as though for the first time it had occurred to him that the +motives of the others might not be as his own. + +“Am I right?” he asked, eagerly. “Are you willing to carry out that +purpose?” he demanded. “Are you ready to follow me now, to-night--not to +the coast”--he shouted--“but to the Capital--to the top of Pecachua?” + +Old man Webster jumped in front of us, and shot his arm into the air as +though it held a standard. + +“We’ll follow you to hell and back again,” he cried. + +I would not have believed that so few men could have made so much noise. +We yelled and cheered so wildly that we woke the camp. We could hear the +men running down the road, and the sentries calling upon them to halt. +The whole Legion was awake and wondering. Webster beat us into silence +by pounding the table with his fist. + +“I have lived in this country for forty years,” he cried, with his eyes +fixed upon Laguerre, “and you are the first white man I have known who +has not come into it, either flying from the law, or to rob and despoil +it. I know this country. I know all of Central America, and it is a +wonderful country. There is not a fruit nor a grain nor a plant that you +cannot dig out of it with your bare fingers. It has great forests, great +pasture-lands, and buried treasures of silver and iron and gold. But it +is cursed with the laziest of God’s creatures, and the men who rule +them are the most corrupt and the most vicious. They are the dogs in +the manger among rulers. They will do nothing to help their own country; +they will not permit others to help it. They are a menace and an insult +to civilization, and it is time that they stepped down and out, and made +way for their betters, or that they were kicked out. One strong man, +if he is an honest man, can conquer and hold Central America. William +Walker was such a man. I was with him when he ruled the best part of +this country for two years. He governed all Nicaragua with two hundred +white men, and never before or since have the pueblo known such peace +and justice and prosperity as Walker gave them.” + +Webster threw himself across the table and pointed his hand at Laguerre. + +“And you, General Laguerre!” he cried, “and you? Do you see your duty? +You say it calls you to-night to El Pecachua. Then if it does, it calls +you farther--to the Capital! There can be no stopping half-way now, no +turning back. If we follow you to-night to Pecachua, we follow you to +the Palace.” + +Webster’s voice rose until it seemed to shake the palm-leaf roof. He +was like a man possessed. He sprang up on the table, and from the height +above us hurled his words at Laguerre. + +“We are not fighting for any half-breed now,” he cried; “we are fighting +for you. We know you. We believe in you. We mean to make you President, +and we will not stop there. Our motto shall be Walker’s motto, ‘Five +or none,’ and when we have taken this Republic we shall take the +other four, and you will be President of the United States of Central +America.” + +We had been standing open-eyed, open-mouthed, every nerve trembling, and +at these words we shrieked and cheered, but Webster waved at us with an +angry gesture and leaned toward Laguerre. + +“You will open this land,” he cried, “with roads and railways. You will +feed the world with its coffee. You will cut the Nicaragua Canal. And +you will found an empire--not the empire of slaves that Walker planned, +but an empire of freed men, freed by you from their tyrants and from +themselves. They tell me, General,” he cried, “that you have fought +under thirteen flags. To-night, sir, you shall fight under your own!” + +We all cheered and cheered again, the oldest as well as myself, and I +cheered louder than any, until I looked at Laguerre. Then I felt how +terribly real it was to him. Until I looked at him it had seemed quite +sane and feasible. But when I saw how deeply he was moved, and that +his eyes were brimming with pride and resolve, I felt that it was a mad +dream, and that we were wicked not to wake him. For I, who loved him +like a son, understood what it meant to him. In his talk along the trail +and by the camp-fire he had always dreamed of an impossible republic, +an Utopia ruled by love and justice, and I now saw he believed that the +dreams had at last come true. I knew that the offer these men had made +to follow him, filled him with a great happiness and gratitude. And that +he, who all his life had striven so earnestly and so loyally for others, +would give his very soul for men who fought for him. I was not glad that +they had offered to make him their leader. I could only look ahead with +miserable forebodings and feel bitterly sorry that one so fine and good +was again to be disillusioned and disappointed and cast down. + +But there was no time that night to look ahead. The men were outside the +hut, a black, growling mob crying for revenge upon Garcia. Had we not +at once surrounded them they would have broken for his camp and murdered +him in his hammock, and with him his ignorant, deceived followers. + +But when Webster spoke to them as he had spoken to us, and told them +what we planned to do, and Laguerre stepped out into the moon-light, +they forgot their anger in their pride for him, and at his first word +they fell into the ranks as obediently as so many fond and devoted +children. + +In Honduras a night attack is a discredited manoeuvre. It is considered +an affront to the Blessed Virgin, who first invented sleep. And those +officers who that night guarded Pecachua being acquainted with Garcia’s +plot, were not expecting us until two nights later, when we were to walk +into their parlor, and be torn to pieces. Consequently, when Miller, +who knew Pecachua well, having served without political prejudice in +six revolutions, led us up a by-path to its top, we found the government +troops sleeping sweetly. Before their only sentry had discovered that +someone was kneeling on his chest, our men were in possession of their +batteries. + +That morning when the sun rose gloriously, as from a bath, all pink and +shining and dripping with radiance, and the church bells began to clang +for early mass, and the bugles at the barracks sounded the jaunty call +of the reveille, two puffs of white smoke rose from thecrest of El +Pecachua and drifted lazily away. At the same instant a shell sang over +the roofs of Tegucigalpa, howling jeeringly, and smashed into the pots +and pans of the President’s kitchen; another, falling two miles farther +to the right, burst through the white tent of General Garcia, and the +people in the streets, as they crossed themselves in fear, knew that El +Pecachua had again been taken, and that that night a new President would +sleep in the Palace. + +All through the hot hours of the morning the captured guns roared and +echoed, until at last we saw Garcia’s force crawling away in a crowd +of dust toward the hills, and an hour later Alvarez, with the household +troops, abandoning the Capital and hastening after him. + +We were too few to follow, but we whipped them forward with our shells. + +A half-hour later a timid group of merchants and foreign consuls, led by +the Bishop and bearing a great white flag, rode out to the foot of the +rock and surrendered the city. + +I am sure no government was ever established more quickly than ours. +We held our first cabinet meeting twenty minutes after we entered the +capital, and ten minutes later Webster, from the balcony of the Palace, +proclaimed Laguerre President and Military Dictator of Honduras. +Laguerre in turn nominated Webster, on account of his knowledge of +the country, Minister of the Interior, and made me Vice-President and +Minister of War. No one knew what were the duties of a Vice-President, +so I asked if I might not also be Provost-Marshal of the city, and I was +accordingly appointed to that position and sent out into the street to +keep order. + +Aiken, as a reward for his late services, was made head of the detective +department and Chief of Police. His first official act was to promote +two bare-footed policemen who on his last visit to the Capital had put +him under arrest. + +The General, or the President, as we now called him, at once issued a +ringing proclamation in which he promised every liberty that the people +of a free republic should enjoy, and announced that in three months he +would call a general election, when the people could either reelect +him, or a candidate of their own choice. He announced also that he would +force the Isthmian Line to pay the people the half million of dollars it +owed them, and he suggested that this money be placed to the credit of +the people, and that they should pay no taxes until the sum was consumed +in public improvements. Up to that time every new President had imposed +new taxes; none had ever suggested remitting them altogether, and this +offer made a tremendous sensation in our favor. + +There were other departures from the usual procedure of victorious +presidents which helped much to make us popular. One was the fact that +Laguerre did not shoot anybody against the barrack wall, nor levy +forced “loans” upon the foreign merchants. Indeed, the only persons who +suffered on the day he came into power were two of our own men, whom I +caught looting. I put them to sweeping the streets, each with a ball and +chain to his ankle, as an example of the sort of order we meant to keep +among ourselves. + +Before mid-day Aiken sent a list, which his spies had compiled, of +sympathizers with Alvarez. He guaranteed to have them all in jail before +night. But Laguerre sent for them and promised them, if they remained +neutral, they should not be molested. Personally, I have always been of +the opinion that most of the persons on Aiken’s list of suspects were +most worthy merchants, to whom he owed money. + +Laguerre gave a long audience to the cashier of the Manchester and +Central American Bank, Limited, which finances Honduras, and assured him +that the new administration would not force the bank to accept the paper +money issued by Alvarez, but would accept the paper money issued by the +bank, which was based on gold. As a result, the cashier came down the +stair-case of the Palace three steps at a time, and later our censor +read his cable to the Home Bank in England, in which he said that +Honduras at last had an honest man for President. What was more to the +purpose, he reopened his bank at three o’clock, and quoted Honduranian +money on his blackboard at a rise of three per cent. over that of the +day before. This was a great compliment to our government, and it must +have impressed the other business men, for by six o’clock that night a +delegation of American, German, and English shopkeepers called on the +President and offered him a vote of confidence. They volunteered also to +form a home-guard for the defence of the city, and to help keep him in +office. + +So, by dinner-time, we had won over the foreign element entirely, and +the consuls had cabled their several ministers, advising them to advise +their governments to recognize ours. + +It was a great triumph for fair promises backed by fair dealing. + +Although I was a cabinet minister and had a right to have my say I did +not concern myself much with these graver problems of the Palace. + +Instead, my first act was to cable to Beatrice that we were safe in +the Capital and that I was second in command. I did not tell her I was +Vice-President of a country of 300,000 people, because at Dobbs Ferry +such a fact would seem hardly probable. After that I spent the day very +happily galloping around the town with the Provost Guard at my heels, +making friends with the inhabitants, and arranging for their defence. I +posted a gun at the entrance to each of the three principal streets, and +ordered mounted scouts to patrol the plains outside the Capital. I also +remembered Heinze and the artillerymen who were protecting us on the +heights of Pecachua, and sent them a moderate amount of rum, and an +immoderate amount of canned goods and cigars. I also found time to +design a wonderful uniform for the officers of our Legion--a dark-green +blouse with silver facings and scarlet riding breeches--and on the +plea of military necessity I ordered six tailors to sit up all night to +finish them. + +Uniforms for the men I requisitioned from the stores of the Government, +and ordered the red facings changed to yellow. + +The next day when we paraded in full dress the President noticed this, +and remarked, “No one but Macklin could have converted a battery of +artillery, without the loss of a single gun or the addition of a single +horse, into a battalion of cavalry.” + +We had escorted the President back to the Palace, and I was returning +to the barracks at the head of the Legion, with the local band playing +grandly before me, and the people bowing from the sidewalks, when a girl +on a gray pony turned into the plaza and rode toward us. + +She was followed by a group of white men, but I saw only the girl. When +I recognized even at a distance that she was a girl from the States my +satisfaction was unbounded. It had needed only the presence of such an +audience to give the final touch of pleasure to my triumphant progress. +My new uniform had been finished only just in time. + +When I first saw the girl I was startled merely because any white woman +in Honduras is an unusual spectacle, but as she rode nearer I knew that, +had I seen this girl at home among a thousand women, I would have looked +only at her. + +She wore a white riding-habit, and a high-peaked Mexican sombrero, and +when her pony shied at the sound of the music she raised her head, and +the sun struck on the burnished braid around the brim, and framed her +face with a rim of silver. I had never seen such a face. It was so +beautiful that I drew a great breath of wonder, and my throat tightened +with the deep delight that rose in me. + +I stared at her as she rode forward, because I could not help myself. If +an earthquake had opened a crevasse at my feet I would not have lowered +my eyes. I had time to guess who she was, for I knew there could be +no other woman so beautiful in Honduras, except the daughter of Joseph +Fiske. Had not Aiken said of her, “When she passes, the native women +kneel by the trail and cross themselves?” + +I rode toward her fearfully, conscious only of a sudden deep flood of +gratitude for anything so nobly beautiful. I was as humbly thankful as +the crusader who is rewarded by his first sight of the Holy City, and I +was glad, too, that I came into her presence worthily, riding in advance +of a regiment. I was proud of our triumphant music, of our captured +flags and guns, and the men behind me, who had taken them. + +I still watched her as our column drew nearer, and she pulled her pony +to one side to let it pass. I felt as though I were marching in review +before an empress, and I all but lifted my sword-blade in salute. + +But as we passed I saw that the look on her face was that of a superior +and critical adversary. It was a glance of amused disdain, softened only +by a smile of contempt. As it fell upon me I blushed to the rim of my +sombrero. I felt as meanly as though I had been caught in a lie. +With her eyes, I saw the bare feet of our negro band, our ill-fitting +uniforms with their flannel facings, the swagger of our officers, +glancing pompously from their half-starved, unkempt ponies upon the +native Indians, who fawned at us from the sidewalks. + +I saw that to her we were so many red-shirted firemen, dragging a wooden +hose-cart; a company of burnt-cork minstrels, kicking up the dust of +a village street; that we were ridiculous, lawless, absurd, and it was +like a blow over my heart that one so noble-looking should be so blind +and so unjust. I was swept with bitter indignation. I wanted to turn in +my saddle and cry to her that beneath the flannel facings at which she +laughed these men wore deep, uncared-for, festering wounds; that to +march thus through the streets of this tiny Capital they had waded +waist-high through rivers, had starved in fever camps, and at any hour +when I had called on them had run forward to throw cold hands with +death. + +The group of gentlemen who were riding with the girl had halted their +ponies by the sidewalk, and as I drew near I noted that one of them wore +the uniform of an ensign in our navy. This puzzled me for an instant, +until I remembered I had heard that the cruiser Raleigh was lying at +Amapala. I was just passing the group when one of them, with the evident +intent that I should hear him, raised his voice. + +“Well, here’s the army,” he said, “but where’s Falstaff? I don’t see +Laguerre.” + +My face was still burning with the blush the girl had brought to it, and +the moment was not the one that any man should have chosen to ridicule +my general. Because the girl had laughed at us I felt indignant with +her, but for the same offence I was grateful to the man, for the reason +that he was a man, and could be punished. I whirled my pony around and +rode it close against his. + +“You must apologize for that,” I said, speaking in a low voice, “or I’ll +thrash you with this riding-whip.” + +He was a young man, exceedingly well-looking, slim and tall, and with +a fine air of good breeding. He looked straight into my eyes without +moving. His hands remained closed upon the pommel of his saddle. + +“If you raise that whip,” he said, “I’ll take your tin sword away from +you, and spank you with it.” + +Never in my life had anyone hurt me so terribly. And the insult had come +before my men and his friends and the people in the street. It turned +me perfectly cold, and all the blood seemed to run to my eyes, so that +I saw everything in a red haze. When I answered him my voice sounded +hoarse and shaky. + +“Get down,” I said. “Get down, or I’ll pull you down. I’m going to +thrash you until you can’t stand or see.” + +He struck at me with his riding-crop, but I caught him by the collar and +with an old trick of the West Point riding-hall threw him off into the +street, and landed on my feet above him. At the same moment Miller and +Von Ritter drove their ponies in between us, and three of the man’s +friends pushed in from the other side. But in spite of them we reached +each other, and I struck up under his guard and beat him savagely on the +face and head, until I found his chin, and he went down. There was an +awful row. The whole street was in an uproar, women screamed, the ponies +were rearing and kicking, the natives jabbering, and my own men swearing +and struggling in a ring around us. + +“My God, Macklin!” I heard Von Ritter cry, “stop it! Behave yourself!” + +He rode at our men with his sword and drove them back into ranks. I +heard him shout, “Fall in there. Forward. March!” + +“This is your idea of keeping order, is it?” Miller shouted at me. + +“He insulted Laguerre,” I shouted back, and scrambled into the saddle. +But I was far from satisfied. I, Vice-President, Minister of War, +Provost-Marshal of the city, had been fighting with my fists in the open +street before half the population. I knew what Laguerre would say, and I +wondered hotly if the girl had seen me, and I swore at myself for having +justified her contempt for us. Then I swore at myself again for giving +a moment’s consideration to what she thought. I was recalled to the +present by the apparition of my adversary riding his pony toward me, +partly supported and partly restrained by two of his friends. He was +trembling with anger and pain and mortification. + +“You shall fight me for this,” he cried. + +I was about to retort that he looked as though I had been fighting him, +but it is not easy to laugh at a man when he is covered with dust and +blood, and this one was so sorry a spectacle that I felt ashamed for +him, and said nothing. + +“I am not a street fighter,” he raged. “I wasn’t taught to fight in +a lot. But I’ll fight you like a gentleman, just as though you were a +gentleman. You needn’t think you’ve heard the last of me. My friends +will act for me, and, unless you’re a coward, you will name your +seconds.” + +Before I could answer, Von Ritter had removed his hat and was bowing +violently from his saddle. + +“I am Baron Herbert Von Ritter,” he said “late Aide-de-Camp to his +Majesty, the King of Bavaria. If you are not satisfied, Captain Miller +and myself will do ourselves the honor of calling on your friends.” + +His manner was so grand that it quite calmed me to hear him. + +One of the men who was supporting my adversary, a big, sun-burned man, +in a pith helmet, shook his head violently. + +“Here, none of that, Miller,” he said; “drop it. Can’t you see the boy +isn’t himself? This isn’t the time to take advantage of him.” + +“We are only trying to oblige the gentleman,” said Miller. “The duel is +the only means of defence we’ve left you people. But I tell you, if +any of you insult our government again, we won’t even give you that +satisfaction--we’ll ride you out of town.” + +The man in the pith helmet listened to Miller without any trace of +emotion. When Miller had finished he laughed. + +“We’ve every means of defence that an American citizen needs when he +runs up against a crowd like yours,” he said. He picked up his reins and +turned his horse’s head down the street. “You will find us at the Hotel +Continental,” he added. “And as for running us out of town,” he shouted +over his shoulder, “there’s an American man-of-war at Amapala that is +going to chase you people out of it as soon as we give the word.” + +When I saw that Miller and Von Ritter were arranging a duel, I felt no +further interest in what the man said, until he threatened us with the +warship. At that I turned toward the naval ensign to see how he received +it. + +He was a young man, some years older than myself, with a smooth face and +fair, yellow hair and blue eyes. I found that the blue eyes were fixed +upon me steadily and kindly. When he saw that I had caught him watching +me he raised his hand smartly to the visor. + +I do not know why, but it made the tears come to my eyes. It was so +different from the salute of our own men; it was like being back again +under the flag at the Point. It was the recognition of the “regular” + that touched me, of a bona-fide, commissioned officer. + +But I returned his salute just as stiffly as though I were a +commissioned officer myself. And then a strange thing happened. The +sailor-boy jerked his head toward the retreating form of my late +adversary, and slowly stuck his tongue into his cheek, and winked. +Before I could recover myself, he had caught up my hand and given it a +sharp shake, and galloped after his friends. + +Miller and I fell in at the rear of the column. + +“Who were those men?” I asked. + +“The Isthmian Line people, of course,” he answered, shortly. “The man +in the helmet is Graham, the manager of the Copan Silver Mines. They’ve +just unloaded them on Fiske. That’s why they’re so thick with him.” + +“And who was the chap who insulted Laguerre?” I asked. “The one whose +face I slapped?” + +“Face you slapped? Ha!” Miller snorted. “I hope you’ll never slap my +face. Why, don’t you know who he is?” he exclaimed, with a grin. “I +thought, of course, you did. I thought that’s why you hit him. He’s +young Fiske, the old man’s son. That was his sister riding ahead of +them. Didn’t you see that girl?” + + + + +V + + +The day we attacked the capital Joseph Fiske and his party were absent +from it, visiting Graham, the manager of the Copan Mines, at his country +place, and when word was received there that we had taken the city, +Graham urged Mr. Fiske not to return to it, but to ride at once to the +coast and go on board the yacht. They told him that the capital was in +the hands of a mob. + +But what really made Graham, and the rest of the Copan people, and the +Isthmian crowd, who now were all working together against us, so anxious +to get Fiske out of Honduras, was that part of Laguerre’s proclamation +in which he said he would force the Isthmian Line to pay its just debts. +They were most anxious that Fiske should not learn from us the true +version of that claim for back pay. They had told him we were a lot of +professional filibusters, that the demand we made for the half-million +of dollars was a gigantic attempt at blackmail. They pointed out to him +that the judges of the highest courts of Honduras had decided against +the validity of our claim, but they did not tell him that Alvarez had +ordered the judges to decide in favor of the company, nor how much money +they had paid Alvarez and the judges for that decision. Instead they +urged that Garcia, a native of the country, had submitted to the decree +of the courts and had joined Alvarez, and that now the only people +fighting against the Isthmian Line were foreign adventurers. They asked, +Was it likely such men would risk their lives to benefit the natives? +Was it not evident that they were fighting only for their own pockets? +And they warned Fiske that while Laguerre was still urging his claim +against this company, it would be unwise for the president of that +company to show himself in Tegucigalpa. + +But Fiske laughed at the idea of danger to himself. He said a +revolution, like cock-fighting, was a national pastime, and no more +serious, and that should anyone attempt to molest the property of +the company, he would demand the protection of his own country as +represented by the Raleigh. + +He accordingly rode back to the capital, and with his son and daughter +and the company’s representatives and the Copan people, returned to the +same rooms in the Hotel Continental he had occupied three days before, +when Alvarez was president. This made it embarrassing for us, as the +Continental was the only hotel in the city, and as it was there we had +organized our officers’ mess. In consequence, while there was no open +war, the dining-room of the hotel was twice daily the meeting-place of +the two opposing factions, and Von Ritter told me that until matters had +been arranged with the seconds of young Fiske I could not appear there, +as it would be “contrary to the code.” + +But our officers were not going to allow the Copan and Isthmian people +to drive them out of their head-quarters, so at the table d’hote +luncheon that day our fellows sat at one end of the room, and Fiske and +Miss Fiske, Graham and his followers at the other. They entirely ignored +each other. After the row I had raised in the street, each side was +anxious to avoid further friction. + +As I sat in the barracks over my solitary luncheon my thoughts were +entirely on the duel. + +It had been forced on me, so I accepted it; but it struck me as a most +silly proceeding. Young Fiske had insulted my General and my comrades. +He had done so publicly and with intent. I had thrashed him as I said I +would, and as far as I could see the incident was closed. But Miller and +Von Ritter, who knew Honduras from Fonseca Bay to Truxillo, assured me +that, unless I met the man, who had insulted me before the people, our +prestige would be entirely destroyed. To the Honduranian mind, the fact +that I had thrashed him for so doing, would not serve as a substitute +for a duel, it only made a duel absolutely necessary. As I had +determined, if we did meet, that I would not shoot at him, I knew I +would receive no credit from such an encounter, and, so far as I could +see, I was being made ridiculous, and stood a very fair chance of being +killed. + +I sincerely hoped that young Fiske would apologize. I assured myself +that my reluctance to meet him was due to the fact that I scorned to +fight a civilian. I always classed civilians, with women and children, +as non-combatants. But in my heart I knew that it was not this prejudice +which made me hesitate. The sister was the real reason. That he was her +brother was the only fact of importance. Had his name been Robinson or +Brown, I would have gone out and shot at the calves of his legs most +cheerfully, and taken considerable satisfaction in the notoriety that +would have followed my having done so. + +But I could never let his sister know that I had only fired in the air, +and I knew that if I fought her brother she would always look upon me as +one who had attempted to murder him. I could never speak to her, or even +look at her again. And at that moment I felt that if I did not meet her, +I could go without meeting any other women for many years to come. She +was the most wonderful creature I had ever seen. She was not beautiful, +as Beatrice was beautiful, in a womanly, gracious way, but she had the +beauty of something unattainable. Instead of inspiring you, she filled +you with disquiet. She seemed to me a regal, goddess-like woman, one +that a man might worship with that tribute of fear and adoration that +savages pay to the fire and the sun. + +I had ceased to blush because she had laughed at us. I had begun to +think that it was quite right that she should do so. To her we were +lawless adventurers, exiles, expatriates, fugitives. She did not +know that most of us were unselfish, and that our cause was just. +She thought, if she thought of us at all, that we were trying to levy +blackmail on her father. I did not blame her for despising us. I only +wished I could tell her how she had been deceived, and assure her that +among us there was one, at least, who thought of her gratefully and +devotedly, and who would suffer much before he would hurt her or hers. I +knew that this was so, and I hoped her brother would not be such an ass +as to insist upon a duel, and make me pretend to fight him, that her +father would be honest enough to pay his debts, and that some day she +and I might be friends. + +But these hopes were killed by the entrance of Miller and Von Ritter. +They looked very grave. + +“He won’t apologize,” Miller said. “We arranged that you are to meet +behind the graveyard at sunrise to-morrow morning.” I was bitterly +disappointed, but of course I could not let them see that. + +“Does Laguerre know?” I asked. + +“No,” Miller said, “neither does old man Fiske. We had the deuce of +a time. Graham and Lowell--that young Middy from the Raleigh--are his +seconds, and we found we were all agreed that he had better apologize. +Lowell, especially, was very keen that you two should shake hands, but +when they went out to talk it over with Fiske, he came back with them +in a terrible rage, and swore he’d not apologize, and that he’d either +shoot you or see you hung. Lowell told him it was all rot that two +Americans should be fighting duels, but Fiske said that when he was +in Rome, he did as Romans did; that he had been brought up in Paris to +believe in duels, and that a duel he would have. Then the sister came +in, and there was a hell of a row!” + +“The sister!” I exclaimed. + +Miller nodded, and Von Ritter and he shook their heads sadly at each +other, as though the recollection of the interview weighed heavily. + +“Yes, his sister,” said Miller. “You know how these Honduranian places +are built, if a parrot scratches his feathers in the patio you can hear +it in every room in the house. Well, she was reading on the balcony, and +when her brother began to rage around and swear he’d have your blood, +she heard him, and opened the shutters and came in. She didn’t stay +long, and she didn’t say much, but she talked to us as though we were so +many bad children. I never felt so mean in my life.” + +“She should not have been there,” said Von Ritter, stolidly. “It was +most irregular.” + +“Fiske tried the high and mighty, brotherly act with her,” Miller +continued, “but she shook him up like a charge of rack-a-rock. She told +him that a duel was unmanly and un-American, and that he would be a +murderer. She said his honor didn’t require him to risk his life for +every cad who went about armed, insulting unarmed people--” + +“What did she say?” I cried. “Say that again.” + +Von Ritter tossed up his arms and groaned, but Miller shook his fist at +me. + +“Now, don’t you go and get wrathy,” he roared. “We’ll not stand it. +We’ve been abused by everybody else on your account to-day, and we won’t +take it from you. It doesn’t matter what the girl said. They probably +told her you began the fight, and--” + +“She said I was a cad,” I repeated, “and that I struck an unarmed man. +Didn’t her brother tell her that he first insulted me, and struck me +with his whip, and that I only used my fists. Didn’t any of you tell +her?” + +“No!” roared Miller; “what the devil has that got to do with it? She was +trying to prevent the duel. We were trying to prevent the duel. That’s +all that’s important. And if she hadn’t made the mistake of thinking you +might back out of it, we could have prevented it. Now we can’t.” + +I began to wonder if the opinion the Fiske family had formed of me, on +so slight an acquaintance, was not more severe than I deserved, but I +did not let the men see how sorely the news had hurt me. I only asked: +“What other mistake did the young lady make?” + +“She meant it all right,” said Miller, “but it was a woman’s idea of a +bluff, and it didn’t go. She told us that before we urged her brother on +to fight, we should have found out that he has spent the last five +years in Paris, and that he’s the gilt-edged pistol-shot of the _salle +d’armes_ in the Rue Scribe, that he can hit a scarf-pin at twenty paces. +Of course that ended it. The Baron spoke up in his best style and said +that in the face of this information it would be now quite impossible +for our man to accept an apology without being considered a coward, and +that a meeting must take place. Then the girl ran to her brother and +said, ‘What have I done?’ and he put his arm around her and walked +her out of the room. Then we arranged the details in peace and came on +here.” + +“Good,” I said, “you did exactly right. I’ll meet you at dinner at the +hotel.” + +But at this Von Ritter protested that I must not dine there, that it was +against the code. + +“The code be hanged,” I said. “If I don’t turn up at dinner they’ll +say I’m afraid to show myself out of doors. Besides, if I must be shot +through the scarf-pin before breakfast to-morrow morning, I mean to have +a good dinner to-night.” + +They left me, and I rode to the palace to make my daily report to the +president. I was relieved to find that both he and Webster were so deep +in affairs of state that they had heard nothing of my row in the Plaza, +nor of the duel to follow. They were happy as two children building +forts of sand on the sea-shore. They had rescinded taxes, altered the +tariffs, reorganized the law-courts, taken over the custom-houses +by telegraph, and every five minutes were receiving addresses from +delegations of prominent Honduranians. Nicaragua and Salvador had both +recognized their government, and concession hunters were already cooling +their heels in the ante-room. In every town and seaport the adherents of +Garcia had swung over to Laguerre and our government, and our flag was +now flying in every part of Honduras. It was the flag of Walker, with +the five-pointed blood-red star. We did not explain the significance of +the five points. + +I reported that my scouts had located Alvarez and Garcia in the hills +some five miles distant from the capital, that they were preparing a +permanent camp there, and that they gave no evidence of any immediate +intention of attacking the city. General Laguerre was already informed +of the arrival of Mr. Fiske, and had arranged to give him an audience +the following morning. He hoped in this interview to make clear to him +how just was the people’s claim for the half million due them, and to +obtain his guaranty that the money should be paid. + +As I was leaving the palace I met Aiken. He was in his most cynical +mood. He said that the air was filled with plots and counter-plots, and +that treachery stalked abroad. He had been unsuccessful in trying to +persuade the president to relieve Heinze of his command on Pecachua. He +wanted Von Ritter or myself put in his place. + +“It is the key to the position,” Aiken said, “and if Heinze should sell +us out, we would have to run for our lives. These people are all smiles +and ‘vivas’ to-day because we are on top. But if we lost Pecachua, every +man of them would turn against us.” + +I laughed and said: “We can trust Heinze. If I had your opinion of my +fellow-man, I’d blow my brains out.” + +“If I hadn’t had such a low opinion of my fellow-man,” Aiken retorted, +“he’d have blown your brains out. Don’t forget that.” + +“No one listens to me,” he said. “I consider that I am very hardly used. +For a consideration a friend of Alvarez told me where Alvarez had buried +most of the government money. I went to the cellar and dug it up and +turned it over to Laguerre. And what do you think he’s doing with it!” + Aiken exclaimed with indignation. “He’s going to give the government +troops their back pay, and the post-office clerks, and the peons who +worked on the public roads.” + +I said I considered that that was a most excellent use to make of the +money; that from what I had seen of the native troops, it would turn our +prisoners of war into our most loyal adherents. + +“Of course it will!” Aiken agreed. “Why, if the government troops out +there in the hills with Alvarez knew we were paying sixty pesos for +soldiers, they’d run to join us so quick that they’d die on the way of +sunstroke. But that’s not it. Where do we come in? What do we get out of +this? Have we been fighting for three months just to pay the troops who +have been fighting against us? Charity begins at home, I think.” + +“You get your own salary, don’t you?” I asked. + +“Oh, I’m not starving,” Aiken said, with a grin. “There’s a lot of loot +in being chief-of-police. This is going to be a wide-open town if I can +run it.” + +“Well, you can’t,” I laughed. “Not as long as I’m its provost marshal.” + +“Yes, and how long will that be?” Aiken retorted. “You take my advice +and make money now, while you’ve got the club to get it with you. Why, +if I had your job I could scare ten thousand sols out of these merchants +before sunrise. Instead of which you walk around nights to see their +front doors are locked. Let them do the walking. We’ve won, and let’s +enjoy the spoil. Eat, live, and be merry, my boy, for to-morrow you +die.” + +“I hope not,” I exclaimed, and I ran down the steps of the palace and +turned toward the barracks. + +“To-morrow you die,” I repeated, but I could not arouse a single +emotion. Portents and premonitions may frighten some people, but the +only superstition I hold to is to believe in the luck of Royal Macklin. + +“What if Fiske can hit a scarf-pin at twenty paces!” I said to myself, +“he can’t hit me.” I was just as sure of it as I was of the fact that +when I met him I was going to fire in the air. I cannot tell why. I was +just sure of it. + +The dining-room at the Continental held three long tables. That night +our officers sat at one. Mr. Fiske and his party were at the one +farthest away, and a dining-club of consular agents, merchants, and the +Telegraph Company’s people occupied the one in between. I could see her +whenever the German consul bent over his food. She was very pale and +tired-looking, but in the white evening frock she wore, all soft and +shining with lace, she was as beautiful as the moonlit night outside. +She never once looked in our direction. But I could not keep my eyes +away from her. The merchants, no doubt, enjoyed their dinner. They +laughed and argued boisterously, but at the two other tables there was +very little said. + +The waiters, pattering over the stone floor in their bare feet, made +more noise than our entire mess. + +When the brandy came, Russell nodded at the others, and they filled +their glasses and drank to me in silence. At the other table I saw the +same pantomime, only on account of old man Fiske they had to act even +more covertly. It struck me as being vastly absurd and wicked. What +right had young Fiske to put his life in jeopardy to me? It was not in +my keeping. I had no claim upon it. It was not in his own keeping. At +least not to throw away. + +When they had gone and our officers had shaken hands with me and ridden +off to their different posts, I went out upon the balcony by myself and +sat down in the shadow of the vines. The stream which cuts Tegucigalpa +in two ran directly below the hotel, splashing against the rocks and +sweeping under the stone bridge with a ceaseless murmur. Beyond it +stretched the red-tiled roofs, glowing pink in the moonlight, and beyond +them the camp-fires of Alvarez twinkling like glow-worms against the +dark background of the hills. The town had gone to sleep, and the hotel +was as silent as a church. There was no sound except the whistle of a +policeman calling the hour, the bark of the street-dogs in answer, and +the voice of one of our sentries, arguing with some jovial gentleman who +was abroad without a pass. After the fever and anxieties of the last few +days the peace of the moment was sweet and grateful to me, and I sank +deeper into the long wicker chair and sighed with content. The previous +night I had spent on provost duty in the saddle, and it must have been +that I dropped asleep, for when I next raised my head Miss Fiske was +standing not twenty feet from me. She was leaning against one of the +pillars, a cold and stately statue in the moonlight. + +She did not know anyone was near her, and when I moved and my spurs +clanked on the stones, she started, and turned her eyes slowly toward +the shadow in which I sat. + +During dinner they must have told her which one of us was to fight the +duel, for when she recognized me she moved sharply away. I did not wish +her to think I would intrude on her against her will, so I rose and +walked toward the door, but before I had reached it she again turned and +approached me. + +“You are Captain Macklin?” she said. + +I was so excited at the thought that she was about to speak to me, and +so happy to hear her voice, that for an instant I could only whip off my +hat and gaze at her stupidly. + +“Captain Macklin,” she repeated. “This afternoon I tried to stop the +duel you are to fight with my brother, and I am told that I made a very +serious blunder. I should like to try and correct it. When I spoke of +my brother’s skill, I mean his skill with the pistol, I knew you were +ignorant of it and I thought if you did know of it you would see the +utter folly, the wickedness of this duel. But instead I am told that I +only made it difficult for you not to meet him. I cannot in the least +see that that follows. I wish to make it clear to you that it does not.” + +She paused, and I, as though I had been speaking, drew a long breath. +Had she been reading from a book her tone could not have been more +impersonal. I might have been one of a class of school-boys to whom she +was expounding a problem. At the Point I have heard officers’ wives use +the same tone to the enlisted men. Its effect on them was to drive them +into a surly silence. + +But Miss Fiske did not seem conscious of her tone. + +“After I had spoken,” she went on evenly, “they told me of your +reputation in this country, that you are known to be quite fearless. +They told me of your ordering your own men to shoot you, and of how you +took a cannon with your hands. Well, I cannot see--since your reputation +for bravery is so well established--that you need to prove it further, +certainly not by engaging in a silly duel. You cannot add to it by +fighting my brother, and if you should injure him, you would bring cruel +distress to--to others.” + +“I assure you---” I began. + +“Pardon me,” she said, raising her hand, but still speaking in the same +even tone. “Let me explain myself fully. Your own friends said in my +hearing,” she went on, “that they did not desire a fight. It is then my +remark only which apparently makes it inevitable.” + +She drew herself up and her tone grew even more distant and disdainful. + +“Now, it is not possible,” she exclaimed, “that you and your friends are +going to take advantage of my mistake, and make it the excuse for this +meeting. Suppose any harm should come to my brother.” For the first time +her voice carried a touch of feeling. “It would be my fault. I would +always have myself to blame. And I want to ask you not to fight him. I +want to ask you to withdraw from this altogether.” + +I was completely confused. Never before had a young lady of a class +which I had so seldom met, spoken to me even in the words of everyday +civility, and now this one, who was the most wonderful and beautiful +woman I had ever seen, was asking me to grant an impossible favor, was +speaking of my reputation for bravery as though it were a fact which +everyone accepted, and was begging me not to make her suffer. What added +to my perplexity was that she asked me to act only as I desired to act, +but she asked it in such a manner that every nerve in me rebelled. + +I could not understand how she could ask so great a favor of one she +held in such evident contempt. It seemed to me that she should not have +addressed me at all, or if she did ask me to stultify my honor and spare +the life of her precious brother she should not have done so in the same +tone with which she would have asked a tradesman for his bill. The +fact that I knew, since I meant to fire in the air, that the duel was a +farce, made it still more difficult for me to speak. + +But I managed to say that what she asked was impossible. + +“I do not know,” I stammered, “that I ought to talk about it to you at +all. But you don’t understand that your brother did not only insult me. +He insulted my regiment, and my general. It was that I resented, and +that is why I am fighting.” + +“Then you refuse?” she said. + +“I have no choice,” I replied; “he has left me no choice.” + +She drew back, but still stood looking at me coldly. The dislike in her +eyes wounded me inexpressively. + +Before she spoke I had longed only for the chance to assure her of my +regard, and had she appealed to me generously, in a manner suited to +one so noble-looking, I was in a state of mind to swim rivers and climb +mountains to serve her. I still would have fought the duel, but sooner +than harm her brother I would have put my hand in the fire. Now, since +she had spoken, I was filled only with pity and disappointment. It +seemed so wrong that one so finely bred and wonderfully fair should feel +so little consideration. No matter how greatly she had been prejudiced +against me she had no cause to ignore my rights in the matter. To speak +to me as though I had no honor of my own, no worthy motive, to treat me +like a common brawler who, because his vanity was wounded, was trying to +force an unoffending stranger to a fight. + +My vanity was wounded, but I felt more sorry for her than for myself, +and when she spoke again I listened eagerly, hoping she would say +something which would soften what had gone before. But she did not make +it easier for either of us. + +“If I persuade my brother to apologize for what he said of your +regiment,” she continued, “will you accept his apology?” Her tone was +one partly of interrogation, partly of command. “I do not think he is +likely to do so,” she added, “but if you will let that suffice, I shall +see him at once, and ask him.” + +“You need not do that!” I replied, quickly. “As I have said, it is not +my affair. It concerns my--a great many people. I am sorry, but the +meeting must take place.” + +For the first time Miss Fiske smiled, but it was the same smile of +amusement with which she had regarded us when she first saw us in the +plaza. + +“I quite understand,” she said, still smiling. “You need not assure me +that it concerns a great many people.” She turned away as though the +interview was at an end, and then halted. She had stepped into the +circle of the moonlight so that her beauty shone full upon me. + +“I know that it concerns a great many people,” she cried. “I know that +it is all a part of the plot against my father!” + +I gave a gasp of consternation which she misconstrued, for she +continued, bitterly. + +“Oh, I know everything,” she said. “Mr. Graham has told me all that you +mean to do. I was foolish to appeal to any one of you. You have set out +to fight my father, and your friends will use any means to win. But I +should have thought,” she cried, her voice rising and ringing like an +alarm, “that they would have stopped at assassinating his son.” + +I stepped back from her as though she had struck at me. + +“Miss Fiske,” I cried. What she had charged was so monstrous, so absurd +that I could answer nothing in defence. My brain refused to believe +that she had said it. I could not conceive that any creature so utterly +lovely could be so unseeing, so bitter, and so unfair. + +Her charge was ridiculous, but my disappointment in her was so keen that +the tears came to my eyes. + +I put my hat back on my head, saluted her and passed her quickly. + +“Captain Macklin,” she cried. “What is it? What have I said?” She +stretched out her hand toward me, but I did not stop. + +“Captain Macklin!” she called after me in such a voice that I was forced +to halt and turn. + +“What are you going to do?” she demanded. “Oh, yes, I see,” she +exclaimed. “I see how it sounded to you. And you?” she cried. Her voice +was trembling with concern. “Because I said that, you mean to punish me +for it--through my brother? You mean to make him suffer. You will kill +him!” Her voice rose to an accent of terror. “But I only said it because +he is my brother, my own brother. Cannot you understand what that means +to me? Cannot you understand why I said it?” + +We stood facing each other, I, staring at her miserably, and she +breathing quickly, and holding her hand to her side as though she had +been running a long distance. + +“No,” I said in a low voice. It was very hard for me to speak at all. +“No, I cannot understand.” + +I pulled off my hat again, and stood before her crushing it in my hands. + +“Why didn’t you trust me?” I said, bitterly. “How could you doubt what +I would do? I trusted you. From the moment you came riding toward me, +I thanked God for the sight of such a woman. For making anything so +beautiful.” + +I stopped, for I saw I had again offended. At the words she drew back +quickly, and her eyes shone with indignation. She looked at me as though +I had tried to touch her with my hand. But I spoke on without heeding +her. I repeated the words with which I had offended. + +“Yes,” I said, “I thanked God for anything so noble and so beautiful. To +me, you could do no wrong. But you! You judged me before you even knew +my name. You said I was a cad who went about armed to fight unarmed +men. To you I was a coward who could be frightened off by a tale of +bulls-eyes, and broken pipe-stems at a Paris fair. What do I care for +your brother’s tricks. Let him see my score cards at West Point. He’ll +find them framed on the walls. I was first a coward and a cad, and now +I am a bully and a hired assassin. From the first, you and your brother +have laughed at me and mine while all I asked of you was to be what you +seemed to be, what I was happy to think you were. I wanted to believe +in you. Why did you show me that you can be selfish and unfeeling? It is +you who do not understand. You understand so little,” I cried, “that I +pity you from the bottom of my heart. I give you my word, I pity you.” + +“Stop,” she commanded. I drew back and bowed, and we stood confronting +each other in silence. + +“And they call you a brave man,” she said at last, speaking slowly and +steadily, as though she were picking each word. “It is like a brave man +to insult a woman, because she wants to save her brother’s life.” + +When I raised my face it was burning, as though she had thrown vitriol. + +“If I have insulted you, Miss Fiske,” I said, “if I have ever insulted +any woman, I hope to God that to-morrow morning your brother will kill +me.” + +When I turned and looked back at her from the door, she was leaning +against one of the pillars with her face bent in her hands, and weeping +bitterly. + +I rode to the barracks and spent several hours in writing a long letter +to Beatrice. I felt a great need to draw near to her. I was confused and +sore and unhappy, and although nothing of this, nor of the duel appeared +in my letter, I was comforted to think that I was writing it to her. It +was good to remember that there was such a woman in the world, and when +I compared her with the girl from whom I had just parted, I laughed out +loud. + +And yet I knew that had I put the case to Beatrice, she would have +discovered something to present in favor of Miss Fiske. + +“She was pleading for her brother, and she did not understand,” Beatrice +would have said. But in my own heart I could find no excuse. Her family +had brought me nothing but evil. Because her father would not pay his +debts, I had been twice wounded and many times had risked death; the +son had struck me with a whip in the public streets, and the sister +had called me everything that is contemptible, from a cad to a hired +cut-throat. So, I was done with the house of Fiske. My hand was against +it. I owed it nothing. + +But with all my indignation against them, for which there was reason +enough, I knew in my heart that I had looked up to them, and stood in +awe of them, for reasons that made me the cad they called me. Ever since +my arrival in Honduras I had been carried away by the talk of the Fiske +millions, and later by the beauty of the girl, and by the boy’s insolent +air, of what I accepted as good breeding. I had been impressed with his +five years in Paris, by the cut of his riding-clothes even, by the fact +that he owned a yacht. I had looked up to them, because they belonged to +a class who formed society, as I knew society through the Sunday papers. +And now these superior beings had rewarded my snobbishness by acting +toward me in a way that was contrary to every ideal I held of what +was right and decent. For such as these, I had felt ashamed of my old +comrades. It was humiliating, but it was true; and as I admitted this +to myself, my cheeks burned in the darkness, and I buried my face in +the pillow. For some time I lay awake debating fiercely in my mind as to +whether, when I faced young Fiske, I should shoot the pistol out of his +hand, or fire into the ground. And it was not until I had decided that +the latter act would better show our contempt for him and his insult, +that I fell asleep. + +Von Ritter and Miller woke me at four o’clock. They were painfully +correct and formal. Miller had even borrowed something of the Baron’s +manner, which sat upon him as awkwardly as would a wig and patches. I +laughed at them both, but, for the time being, they had lost their sense +of humor; and we drank our coffee in a constrained and sleepy silence. + +At the graveyard we found that Fiske, his two seconds, Graham and +Lowell, the young Middy, and a local surgeon had already arrived. We +exchanged bows and salutes gloomily and the seconds gathered together, +and began to talk in hoarse whispers. It was still very dark. The moon +hung empty and pallid above the cold outline of the hills, and although +the roosters were crowing cheerfully, the sun had not yet risen. In the +hollows the mists lay like lakes, and every stone and rock was wet and +shining as though it had been washed in readiness for the coming day. +The gravestones shone upon us like freshly scrubbed doorsteps. It was +a most dismal spot, and I was so cold that I was afraid I would shiver, +and Fiske might think I was nervous. So I moved briskly about among +the graves, reading the inscriptions on the tombstones. Under the +circumstances the occupation, to a less healthy mind, would have been +depressing. My adversary, so it seemed to me, carried himself with a +little too much unconcern. It struck me that he overdid it. He laughed +with the local surgeon, and pointed out the moon and the lakes of mist +as though we had driven out to observe the view. I could not think of +anything to do which would show that I was unconcerned too, so I got +back into the carriage and stretched my feet out to the seat opposite, +and continued to smoke my cigar. + +Incidentally, by speaking to Lowell, I hurt Von Ritter’s feelings. It +seems that as one of the other man’s seconds I should have been more +haughty with him. But when he passed me, pacing out the ground, he +saluted stiffly, and as I saluted back, I called out: “I suppose you +know you’ll catch it if they find out about this at Washington?” And he +answered, with a grin: “Yes, I know, but I couldn’t get out of it.” + +“Neither could I,” I replied, cheerfully, and in so loud a tone that +everyone heard me. Von Ritter was terribly annoyed. + +At last all was arranged and we took our places. We were to use pistols. +They were double-barrelled affairs, with very fine hair-triggers. Graham +was to give the word by asking if we were ready, and was then to count +“One, two, three.” + +After the word “one” we could fire when we pleased. When each of us had +emptied both barrels, our honor was supposed to be satisfied. + +Young Fiske wore a blue yachting suit with the collar turned up, and no +white showing except his face, and that in the gray light of the dawn +was a sickly white, like the belly of a fish. After he had walked to his +mark he never took his eyes from me. They seemed to be probing around +under my uniform for the vulnerable spot. I had never before had anyone +look at me, who seemed to so frankly dislike me. + +Curiously enough, I kept thinking of the story of the man who boasted he +was so good a shot that he could break the stem of a wine-glass, and how +someone said: “Yes, but the wine-glass isn’t holding a pistol.” Then, +while I was smiling at the application I had made of this story to +my scowling adversary, there came up a picture, not of home and of +Beatrice, nor of my past sins, but of the fellow’s sister as I last saw +her in the moonlight, leaning against the pillar of the balcony with +her head bowed in her hands. And at once it all seemed contemptible and +cruel. No quarrel in the world, so it appeared to me then, was worth +while if it were going to make a woman suffer. And for an instant I was +so indignant with Fiske for having dragged me into this one, to feed his +silly vanity, that for a moment I felt like walking over and giving him +a sound thrashing. But at the instant I heard Graham demand, “Are you +ready?” and I saw Fiske fasten his eyes on mine, and nod his head. The +moment had come. + +“One,” Graham counted, and at the word Fiske threw up his gun and fired, +and the ball whistled past my ear. My pistol was still hanging at my +side, so I merely pulled the trigger, and the ball went into the ground. +But instantly I saw my mistake. Shame and consternation were written +on the faces of my two seconds, and to the face of Fiske there came a +contemptuous smile. I at once understood my error. I read what was in +the mind of each. They dared to think I had pulled the trigger through +nervousness, that I had fired before I was ready, that I was frightened +and afraid. I am sure I never was so angry in my life, and I would have +cried out to them, if a movement on the part of Fiske had not sobered +me. Still smiling, he lifted his pistol slightly and aimed for, so it +seemed to me, some seconds, and then fired. + +I felt the bullet cut the lining of my tunic and burn the flesh over +my ribs, and the warm blood tickling my side, but I was determined he +should not know he had hit me, and not even my lips moved. + +Then a change, so sudden and so remarkable, came over the face of +young Fiske, that its very agony fascinated me. At first it was +incomprehensible, and then I understood. He had fired his last shot, he +thought he had missed, and he was waiting for me, at my leisure, to kill +him with my second bullet. + +I raised the pistol, and it was as though you could hear the silence. +Every waking thing about us seemed to suddenly grow still. I brought the +barrel slowly to a level with his knee, raised it to his heart, passed +it over his head, and, aiming in the air, fired at the moon, and then +tossed the gun away. The waking world seemed to breathe again, and +from every side there came a chorus of quick exclamations; but without +turning to note who made them, nor what they signified, I walked back to +the carriage, and picked up my cigar. It was still burning. + +Von Ritter ran to the side of the carriage. + +“You must wait,” he protested. “Mr. Fiske wishes to shake hands with +you. It is not finished yet.” + +“Yes, it is finished,” I replied, savagely. “I have humored you two long +enough. A pest on both your houses. I’m going back to breakfast.” + +Poor Von Ritter drew away, deeply hurt and scandalized, but my offence +was nothing to the shock he received when young Lowell ran to the +carriage and caught up my hand. He looked at me with a smile that would +have softened a Spanish duenna. + +“See here!” he cried. “Whether you like it or not, you’ve got to shake +hands with me. I want to tell you that was one of the finest things I +ever saw.” He squeezed my fingers until the bones crunched together. +“I’ve heard a lot about you, and now I believe all I’ve heard. To stand +up there,” he ran on, breathlessly, “knowing you didn’t mean to +fire, and knowing he was a dead shot, and make a canvas target of +yourself--that was bully. You were an ass to do it, but it was great. +You going back to breakfast?” he demanded, suddenly, with the same +winning, eager smile. “So am I. I speak to go with you.” + +Before I could reply he had vaulted into the carriage, and was shouting +at the driver. + +“Cochero, to the Barracks. Full speed ahead. Vamoose. Give way. Allez +vite!” + +“But my seconds,” I protested. + +“They can walk,” he said. + +Already the horses were at a gallop, and as we swung around the wall +of the graveyard and were hidden from the sight of the others, Lowell +sprang into the seat beside me. With the quick fingers of the sailor, he +cast off my sword-belt and tore open my blouse. + +“I wanted to get you away,” he muttered, “before he found out he had hit +you.” + +“I’m not hit,” I protested. + +“Just as you like,” he said. “Still, it looks rather damp to the left +here.” + +But, as I knew, the bullet had only grazed me, and the laugh of relief +Lowell gave when he raised his head, and said, “Why, it’s only a +scratch,” meant as much to me as though he had rendered me some great +service. For it seemed to prove a genuine, friendly concern, and no +one, except Laguerre, had shown that for me since I had left home. I had +taken a fancy to Lowell from the moment he had saluted me like a brother +officer in the Plaza, and I had wished he would like me. I liked him +better than any other young man I had ever met. I had never had a man +for a friend, but before we had finished breakfast I believe we were +better friends than many boys who had lived next door to each other from +the day they were babies. + +As a rule, I do not hit it off with men, so I felt that his liking me +was a great piece of good fortune, and a great honor. He was only three +years older than myself, but he knew much more about everything than +I did, and his views of things were as fine and honorable as they were +amusing. + +Since then we have grown to be very close friends indeed, and we have +ventured together into many queer corners, but I have never ceased to +admire him, and I have always found him the same--unconscious of himself +and sufficient to himself. I mean that if he were presented to an +Empress he would not be impressed, nor if he chatted with a bar-maid +would he be familiar. He would just look at each of them with his grave +blue eyes and think only of what she was saying, and not at all of what +sort of an impression he was making, or what she thought of him. Aiken +helped me a lot by making me try not to be like Aiken; Lowell helped me +by making me wish to be like Lowell. + +We had a very merry breakfast, and the fact that it was seven in the +morning did not in the least interfere with our drinking each other’s +health in a quart of champagne. Nearly all of our officers came in while +we were at breakfast to learn if I were still alive, and Lowell gave +them most marvellous accounts of the affair, sometimes representing me +as an idiot and sometimes as an heroic martyr. + +They all asked him if he thought Fiske had sufficient influence at +Washington to cause the Government to give him the use of the Raleigh +against us, but he would only laugh and shake his head. + +Later, to Laguerre, he talked earnestly on the same subject, and much to +the point. + +The news of the duel had reached the palace at eight o’clock, and the +president at once started for the barracks. + +We knew he was coming when we heard the people in the cafes shouting +“Viva,” as they always did when he appeared in public, and, though I was +badly frightened as to what he would say to me, I ran to the door and +turned out the guard to receive him. + +He had put on one of the foreign uniforms he was entitled to wear--he +did not seem to fancy the one I had designed--and as he rode across the +Plaza I thought I had never seen a finer soldier. Lowell said he looked +like a field marshal of the Second Empire. I was glad Lowell had come +to the door with me, as he could now see for himself that my general was +one for whom a man might be proud to fight a dozen duels. + +The president gave his reins to an orderly and mounted the steps, +touching his chapeau to the salute of guard and the shouting citizens, +but his eyes were fixed sternly on me. I saw that he was deeply moved, +and I wished fervently, now that it was too late, that I had told him +of the street fight at the time, and not allowed him to hear of it +from others. I feared the worst. I was prepared for any reproof, any +punishment, even the loss of my commission, and I braced myself for his +condemnation. + +But when he reached the top step where I stood at salute, although I was +inwardly quaking, he halted and his lips suddenly twisted, and the tears +rushed to his eyes. + +He tried to speak, but made only a choking, inarticulate sound, and +then, with a quick gesture, before all the soldiers and all the people, +he caught me in his arms. + +“My boy,” he whispered, “my boy! For you were lost,” he murmured, “and +have returned to me.” + +I heard Lowell running away, and the door of the guard-room banging +behind him, I heard the cheers of the people who, it seems, already knew +of the duel and understood the tableau on the barrack steps, but +the thought that Laguerre cared for me even as a son made me deaf to +everything, and my heart choked with happiness. + +It passed in a moment, and in manner he was once more my superior +officer, but the door he had opened was never again wholly shut to me. + +In the guard-room I presented Lowell to the president, and I was proud +to see the respect with which Lowell addressed him. At the first glance +they seemed to understand each other, and they talked together as simply +as would friends of long acquaintance. + +After they had spoken of many things, Laguerre said: “Would it be fair +for me to ask you, Mr. Lowell, what instructions the United States has +given your commanding officer in regard to our government?” + +To this Lowell answered: “All I know, sir, is that when we arrived at +Amapala, Captain Miller telegraphed the late president, Doctor Alvarez, +that we were here to protect American interests. But you probably know,” + he added, “as everyone else does, that we came here because the Isthmian +Line demanded protection.” + +“Yes, so I supposed,” Laguerre replied. “But I understand Mr. Graham has +said that when Mr. Fiske gives the word Captain Miller will land your +marines and drive us out of the country.” + +Lowell shrugged his shoulders and frowned. + +“Mr. Graham--” he began, “is Mr. Graham.” He added: “Captain Miller is +not taking orders from civilians, and he depends on his own sources +for information. I am here because he sent me to ‘Go, look, see,’ and +report. I have been wiring him ever since you started from the coast, +and since you became president. Your censor has very kindly allowed me +to use our cipher.” + +I laughed, and said: “We court investigation.” + +“Pardon me, sir,” Lowell answered, earnestly, addressing himself to +Laguerre, “but I should think you would. Why,” he exclaimed, “every +merchant in the city has told me he considers his interests have never +been so secure as since you became president. It is only the Isthmian +Line that wants the protection of our ship. The foreign merchants are +not afraid. I hate it!” he cried, “I hate to think that a billionaire, +with a pull at Washington, can turn our Jackies into Janissaries. +Protect American interests!” he exclaimed, indignantly, “protect +American sharpers! The Isthmian Line has no more right to the protection +of our Navy than have the debtors in Ludlow Street Jail.” + +Laguerre sat for a long time without replying, and then rose and bowed +to Lowell with great courtesy. + +“I must be returning,” he said. “I thank you, sir, for your good +opinion. At my earliest convenience I shall pay my respects to your +commanding officer. At ten o’clock,” he continued turning to me, “I am +to have my talk with Mr. Fiske. I have not the least doubt but that +he will see the justice of our claim against his company, and before +evening I am sure I shall be able to announce throughout the republic +that I have his guaranty for the money. Mr. Fiske is an able, upright +business man, as well as a gentleman, and he will not see this country +robbed.” + +He shook hands with us and we escorted him to his horse. + +I always like to remember him as I saw him then, in that gorgeous +uniform, riding away under the great palms of the Plaza, with the +tropical sunshine touching his white hair, and flashing upon the sabres +of the body-guard, and the people running from every side of the square +to cheer him. + +Two hours later, when I had finished my “paper” work and was setting +forth on my daily round, Miller came galloping up to the barracks and +flung himself out of the saddle. He nodded to Lowell, and pulled me +roughly to one side. + +“The talk with Fiske,” he whispered, “ended in the deuce of a row. Fiske +behaved like a mule. He told Laguerre that the original charter of the +company had been tampered with, and that the one Laguerre submitted to +him was a fake copy. And he ended by asking Laguerre to name his price +to leave them alone.” + +“And Laguerre?” + +“Well, what do you suppose,” Miller returned, scornfully. “The General +just looked at him, and then picked up a pen, and began to write, and +said to the orderly, ‘Show him out.’ + +“‘What’s that?’ Fiske said. And Laguerre answered: ‘Merely a figure of +speech; what I really meant was “Put him out,” or “throw him out!” You +are an offensive and foolish old man. I, the President of this country, +received you and conferred with you as one gentleman with another, and +you tried to insult me. You are either extremely ignorant, or extremely +dishonest, and I shall treat with you no longer. Instead, I shall at +once seize every piece of property belonging to your company, and hold +it until you pay your debts. Now you go, and congratulate yourself that +when you tried to insult me, you did so when you were under my roof, at +my invitation.’ Then Laguerre wired the commandantes at all the seaports +to seize the warehouses and officers of the Isthmian Line, and even +its ships, and to occupy the buildings with troops. He means business,” + Miller cried, jubilantly. “This time it’s a fight to a finish.” + +Lowell had already sent for his horse, and altogether we started at a +gallop for the palace. At the office of the Isthmian Line we were +halted by a crowd so great that it blocked the street. The doors of the +building were barred, and two sentries were standing guard in front +of it. A proclamation on the wall announced that, by order of the +President, the entire plant of the Isthmian Line had been confiscated, +and that unless within two weeks the company paid its debts to the +government, the government would sell the property of the company until +it had obtained the money due it. + +At the entrance to the palace the sergeant in charge of the native +guard, who was one of our men, told us that two ships of the Isthmian +Line had been caught in port; one at Cortez on her way to Aspinwall, and +one at Truxillo, bound north. The passengers had been landed, and were +to remain on shore as guests of the government until they could be +transferred to another line. + +Lowell’s face as he heard this was very grave, and he shook his head. + +“A perfectly just reprisal, if you ask me,” he said, “but what one +lonely ensign tells you in confidence, and what Fiske will tell the +State Department at Washington, is a very different matter. It’s a good +thing,” he exclaimed, with a laugh, “that the Raleigh’s on the wrong +side of the Isthmus. If we were in the Caribbean, they might order us to +make you give back those ships. As it is, we can’t get marines here +from the Pacific under three days. So I’d better start them at once,” he +added, suddenly. “Good-by, I must wire the Captain.” + +“Don’t let the United States Navy do anything reckless,” I said. “I’m +not so sure you could take those ships, and I’m not so sure your marines +can get here in three days, either, or that they ever could get here.” + +Lowell gave a shout of derision. + +“What,” he cried, “you’d fight against your country’s flag?” + +I told him he must not forget that at West Point they had decided I was +not good enough to fight for my country’s flag. + +“We’ve three ships of our own now,” I added, with a grin. “How would you +like to be Rear Admiral of the naval forces of Honduras?” + +Lowell caught up his reins in mock terror. + +“What!” he cried. “You’d dare to bribe an American officer? And with +such a fat bribe, too?” he exclaimed. “A Rear-Admiral at my age! That’s +dangerously near my price. I’m afraid to listen to you. Good-by.” He +waved his hand and started down the street. “Good-by, Satan,” he called +back to me, and I laughed, and he rode away. + +That was the end of the laughter, of the jests, of the play-acting. + +After that it was grim, grim, bitter and miserable. We dogs had had our +day. We soldiers of either fortune had tasted our cup of triumph, and +though it was only a taste, it had flown to our brains like heavy wine, +and the headaches and the heartaches followed fast. For some it was more +than a heartache; to them it brought the deep, drugged sleep of Nirvana. + +The storm broke at the moment I turned from Lowell on the steps of the +palace, and it did not cease, for even one brief breathing space, until +we were cast forth, and scattered, and beaten. + +As Lowell left me, General Laguerre, with Aiken at his side, came +hurrying down the hall of the palace. The President was walking with +his head bowed, listening to Aiken, who was whispering and gesticulating +vehemently. I had never seen him so greatly excited. When he caught +sight of me he ran forward. + +“Here he is,” he cried. “Have you heard from Heinze?” he demanded. “Has +he asked you to send him a native regiment to Pecachua?” + +“Yes,” I answered, “he wanted natives to dig trenches. I sent five +hundred at eight this morning.” + +Aiken clenched his fingers. It was like the quick, desperate clutch of a +drowning man. + +“I’m right,” he cried. He turned upon Laguerre. “Macklin has sent them. +By this time our men are prisoners.” + +Laguerre glanced sharply at the native guard drawn up at attention on +either side of us. “Hush,” he said. He ran past us down the steps, and +halting when he reached the street, turned and looked up at the +great bulk of El Pecachua that rose in the fierce sunlight, calm and +inscrutable, against the white, glaring masses of the clouds. + +“What is it?” I whispered. + +“Heinze!” Aiken answered, savagely. “Heinze has sold them Pecachua.” + +I cried out, but again Laguerre commanded silence. “You do not know +that,” he said; but his voice trembled, and his face was drawn in lines +of deep concern. + +“I warned you!” Aiken cried, roughly. “I warned you yesterday; I told +you to send Macklin to Pecachua.” + +He turned on me and held me by the sleeve, but like Laguerre he still +continued to look fearfully toward the mountain. + +“They came to me last night, Graham came to me,” he whispered. “He +offered me ten thousand dollars gold, and I did not take it.” In his +wonder at his own integrity, in spite of the excitement which shook +him, Aiken’s face for an instant lit with a weak, gratified smile. “I +pretended to consider it,” he went on, “and sent another of my men to +Pecachua. He came back an hour ago. He tells me Graham offered Heinze +twenty thousand dollars to buy off himself and the other officers and +the men. But Heinze was afraid of the others, and so he planned to ask +Laguerre for a native regiment, to pretend that he wanted them to work +on the trenches. And then, when our men were lying about, suspecting +nothing, the natives should fall on them and tie them, or shoot them, +and then turn the guns on the city. And he _has_ sent for the niggars!” + Aiken cried. “And there’s not one of them that wouldn’t sell you out. +They’re there now!” he cried, shaking his hand at the mountain. “I +warned you! I warned you!” + +Incredible as it seemed, difficult as it was to believe such baseness, I +felt convinced that Aiken spoke the truth. The thought sickened me, but +I stepped over to Laguerre and saluted. + +“I can assemble the men in half an hour,” I said. “We can reach the base +of the rock an hour later.” + +“But if it should not be true,” Laguerre protested. “The insult to +Heinze--” + +“Heinze!” Aiken shouted, and broke into a volley of curses. But the +oaths died in his throat. We heard a whirr of galloping hoofs; a man’s +voice shrieking to his horse; the sounds of many people running, and one +of my scouts swept into the street, and raced toward us. He fell off at +our feet, and the pony rolled upon its head, its flanks heaving horribly +and the blood spurting from its nostrils. + +“Garcia and Alvarez!” the man panted. “They’re making for the city. +They tried to fool us. They left their tents up, and fires burning, and +started at night, but I smelt ‘em the moment they struck the trail. We +fellows have been on their flanks since sun-up, picking ‘em off at long +range, but we can’t hold them. They’ll be here in two hours.” + +“Now, will you believe me?” Aiken shouted. “That’s their plot. They’re +working together. They mean to trap us on every side. Ah!” he cried. +“Look!” + +I knew the thing at which he wished me to look. His voice and my dread +told me at what his arm was pointing. + +I raised my eyes fearfully to El Pecachua. From its green crest a puff +of smoke was swelling into a white cloud, the cloud was split with a +flash of flame, and the dull echo of the report drifted toward us on +the hot, motionless air. At the same instant our flag on the crest of +Pecachua, the flag with the five-pointed, blood-red star, came twitching +down; and a shell screeched and broke above us. + +Now that he knew the worst, the doubt and concern on the face of General +Laguerre fell from it like a mask. + +“We have no guns that will reach the mountain, have we?” he asked. He +spoke as calmly as though we were changing guard. + +“No, not one,” I answered. “All our heavy pieces are on Pecachua.” + +“Then we must take it by assault,” he said. “We will first drive Garcia +back, and then we will storm the hill, or starve them out. Assemble all +the men at the palace at once. Trust to no one but yourself. Ride to +every outpost and order them here. Send Von Ritter and the gatlings to +meet Alvarez. This man will act as his guide.” + +He turned to the scout. “You will find my horse in the court-yard of the +palace,” he said to him. “Take it, and accompany Captain Macklin. Tell +Von Ritter,” he continued, turning to me, “not to expose his men, but +to harass the enemy, and hold him until I come.” His tone was easy, +confident, and assured. Even as I listened to his command I marvelled +at the rapidity with which his mind worked, how he rose to an unexpected +situation, and met unforeseen difficulties. + +“That is all,” he said. “I will expect the men here in half an hour.” + +He turned from me calmly. As he re-entered the palace between the lines +of the guard he saluted as punctiliously as though he were on his way to +luncheon. + +But no one else shared in his calmness. The bursting shells had driven +the people from their houses, and they were screaming through the +streets, as though an earthquake had shaken the city. Even the palace +was in an uproar. + +The scout, as he entered it, shouting for the President’s horse, had +told the story to our men, and they came running to the great doors, +fastening their accoutrements as they ran. Outside, even as Laguerre had +been speaking, the people had gathered in a great circle, whispering and +gesticulating, pointing at us, at the dying horse, at the shells that +swung above us, at the flag of Alvarez which floated from Pecachua. +When I spurred my horse forward, with the scout at my side, there was +a sullen silence. The smiles, the raised hats, the cheers were missing, +and I had but turned my back on them when a voice shouted, “Viva +Alvarez!” + +I swung in my saddle, and pulled out my sword. I thought it was only the +bravado of some impudent fellow who needed a lesson. + +But it was a signal, for as I turned I saw the native guard spring like +one man upon our sergeant and drive their bayonets into his throat. He +went down with a dozen of the dwarf-like negroes stabbing and kicking at +him, and the mob ran shrieking upon the door of the palace. + +On the instant I forgot everything except Laguerre. I had only one +thought, to get to him, to place myself at his side. + +I pushed my horse among the people, beating at the little beasts with my +sword. But the voice I knew best of all called my name from just above +my head, and I looked up and saw Laguerre with Aiken and Webster on the +iron balcony of the palace. + +Laguerre’s face was white and set. + +“Captain Macklin!” he cried. “What does this mean? Obey your orders. You +have my orders. Obey my orders.” + +“I can’t,” I cried. “This is an attack upon you! They will kill you!” + +At the moment I spoke our men fired a scattering volley at the mob, and +swung to the great gates. The mob answered their volley with a dozen +pistol-shots, and threw itself forward. Still looking up, I saw Laguerre +clasp his hands to his throat, and fall back upon Webster’s shoulder, +but he again instantly stood upright and motioned me fiercely with his +arm. “Go,” he cried. “Bring the gatlings here, and all the men. If you +delay we lose the palace. Obey my orders,” he again commanded, with a +second fierce gesture. + +The movement was all but fatal. The wound in his throat tore apart, his +head fell forward and his eyes closed. I saw the blood spreading and +dyeing the gold braid. But he straightened himself and leaned forward. +His eyes opened, and, holding himself erect with one hand on the +railing of the balcony, he stretched the other over me, as though in +benediction. + +“Go, Royal!” he cried, “and--God bless you!” + + + + +VI + + +I bent my head and drove my spurs into my horse. I did not know where +he was carrying me. My eyes were shut with tears, and with the horror +of what I had witnessed. I was reckless, mad, for the first time in my +life, filled with hate against my fellow-men. I rode a hundred yards +before I heard the scout at my side shouting, “To the right, Captain, to +the right.” + +At the word I pulled on my rein, and we turned into the Plaza. + +The scout was McGraw, the Kansas cowboy, who had halted Aiken and myself +the day we first met with the filibusters. He was shooting from the +saddle as steadily as other men would shoot with a rest, and each time +he fired, he laughed. The laugh brought me back to the desperate need +of our mission. I tricked myself into believing that Laguerre was not +seriously wounded. I persuaded myself that by bringing him aid quickly +I was rendering him as good service as I might have given had I remained +at his side. I shut out the picture of him, faint and bleeding, and +opened my eyes to the work before us. + +We were like the lost dogs on a race-course that run between lines of +hooting men. On every side we were assailed with cries. Even the voices +of women mocked at us. Men sprang at my bridle, and my horse rode +them down. They shot at us from the doors of the cafes, from either +curbstone. As we passed the barracks even the men of my own native +regiment raised their rifles and fired. + +The nearest gun was at the end of the Calle Bogran, and we raced down +it, each with his revolver cocked, and held in front of him. + +But before we reached the outpost I saw the men who formed it, pushing +their way toward us, bunched about their gatling with their clubbed +rifles warding off the blows of a mob that struck at them from every +side. They were ignorant of what had transpired; they did not know who +was, or who was not their official enemy, and they were unwilling to +fire upon the people, who a moment before, before the flag of Alvarez +had risen on Pecachua, had been their friends and comrades. These +friends now beset them like a pack of wolves. They hung upon their +flanks and stabbed at them from the front and rear. The air was filled +with broken tiles from the roofs, and with flying paving-stones. + +When the men saw us they raised a broken cheer. + +“Open that gun on them!” I shouted. “Clear the street, and push your gun +to the palace. Laguerre is there. Kill every man in this street if you +have to, but get to the palace.” + +The officer in charge fought his way to my side. He was covered with +sweat and blood. He made a path for himself with his bare arms. + +“What in hell does this mean, Macklin?” he shouted. “Who are we +fighting?” + +“You are fighting every native you see,” I ordered. “Let loose up this +street. Get to the palace!” + +I rode on to the rear of the gun, and as McGraw and I raced on toward +the next post, we heard it stabbing the air with short, vicious blows. + +At the same instant the heavens shook with a clap of thunder, the sky +turned black, and with the sudden fierceness of the tropics, heavy drops +of rain began to beat upon us, and to splash in the dust like hail. + +A moment later and the storm burst upon the city. The streets were swept +with great sheets of water, torrents flowed from the housetop, the +skies darkened to ink, or were ripped asunder by vivid flashes, and +the thunder rolled unceasingly. We were half drowned, as though we were +dragged through a pond, and our ponies bowed and staggered before the +double onslaught of wind and water. We bent our bodies to theirs, and +lashed them forward. + +The outpost to which we were now riding was stationed at the edge of +the city where the Calle Morizan joins the trail to San Lorenzo on +the Pacific coast. As we approached it I saw a number of mounted men, +surrounding a closed carriage. They were evidently travellers starting +forth on the three days’ ride to San Lorenzo, to cross to Amapala, where +the Pacific Mail takes on her passengers. They had been halted by our +sentries. As I came nearer I recognized, through the mist of rain, +Joseph Fiske, young Fiske, and a group of the Isthmian men. The storm, +or the bursting shells, had stampeded their pack-train, and a dozen +frantic Mozos were rounding up the mules and adding their shrieks and +the sound of their falling whips to the tumult of the storm. + +I galloped past them to where our main guard were lashing the +canvas-cover to their gun, and ordered them to unstrap it, and fight +their way to the palace. + +As I turned again the sentry called: “Am I to let these people go? They +have no passes.” + +I halted, and Joseph Fiske raised his heavy eyelids, and blinked at me +like a huge crocodile. I put a restraint upon myself and moved toward +him with a confident smile. I could not bear to have him depart, +thinking he went in triumph. I looked the group over carefully and said: +“Certainly, let them pass,” and Fiske and some of the Isthmian men, who +appeared ashamed, nodded at me sheepishly. + +But one of them, who was hidden by the carriage, called out: “You’d +better come, too; your ship of state is getting water-logged.” + +I made no sign that I heard him, but McGraw instantly answered, “Yes, it +looks so. The rats are leaving it!” + +At that the man called back tauntingly the old Spanish proverb: “He +who takes Pecachua, sleeps in the palace.” McGraw did not understand +Spanish, and looked at me appealingly, and I retorted, “We’ve altered +that, sir. The man who sleeps in the palace will take Pecachua tonight.” + +And McGraw added: “Yes, and he won’t take it with thirty pieces of +silver, either.” + +I started away, beckoning to McGraw, but, as we moved, Mr. Fiske pushed +his pony forward. + +“Can you give me a pass, sir?” he asked. He shouted the words, for the +roaring of the storm drowned all ordinary sounds. “In case I meet with +more of your men, can you give me a written pass?” + +I knew that the only men of ours still outside of the city were a few +scouts, but I could not let Fiske suspect that, so I whipped out my +notebook and wrote: + +“To commanders of all military posts: Pass bearer, Joseph Fiske, his +family, servants, and baggage-train. + +“ROYAL MACKLIN, + + “Vice-President of Honduras” + +I tore out the page and gave it him, and he read it carefully and bowed. + +“Does this include my friends?” he asked, nodding toward the Isthmian +men. + +“You can pass them off as your servants,” I answered, and he smiled +grimly. + +The men had formed around the gun, and it was being pushed toward me, +but as I turned to meet it I was again halted, this time by young Fiske, +who rode his horse in front of mine, and held out his hand. + +“You must shake hands with me!” he cried, “I acted like a cad.” He bent +forward, raising his other arm to shield his face from the storm. “I +say, I acted like a cad,” he shouted, “and I ask your pardon.” + +I took his hand and nodded. At the same moment as we held each other’s +hands the window of the carriage was pushed down and his sister leaned +out and beckoned to me. Her face, beaten by the rain, and with her hair +blown across it, was filled with distress. + +“I want to thank you,” she cried. “Thank you,” she repeated, “for my +brother. I thank you. I wanted you to know.” + +She stretched out her hand and I took it, and released it instantly, and +as she withdrew her face from the window of the carriage, I dug my spurs +into my pony and galloped on with the gun. + +What followed is all confused. + +I remember that we reached the third and last post just after the men +had abandoned it, but that we overtook them, and with them fought our +way through the streets. But through what streets, or how long it took +us to reach the palace I do not know. No one thing is very clear to me. +Even the day after, I remembered it only as a bad dream, in which I saw +innumerable, dark-skinned faces pressing upon me with open mouths, and +white eyeballs; lit by gleams of lightning and flashes of powder. I +remember going down under my pony and thinking how cool and pleasant it +was in the wet mud, and of being thrown back on him again as though I +were a pack-saddle, and I remember wiping the rain out of my eyes with a +wet sleeve, and finding the sleeve warm with blood. And then there was a +pitchy blackness through which I kept striking at faces that sprang out +of the storm, faces that when they were beaten down were replaced by +other faces; drunken, savage, exulting. I remember the ceaseless booming +of the thunder that shook the houseslike an earthquake, the futile +popping of revolvers, the whining shells overhead, the cries and groans, +the Spanish oaths, and the heavy breathing of my men about me, and +always just in front of us, the breathless whir of the gatling. + +After that the next I remember I was inside the palace, and breaking +holes in the wall with an axe. Some of my men took the axe from me, and +said: “He’s crazy, clean crazy,” and Van Ritter and Miller fought with +me, and held me down upon a cot. From the cot I watched the others +making more holes in the wall, through which they shoved their rifles +and then there was a great cheer outside, and a man came running in +crying, “Alvarez and Heinze are at the corner with the twelve-pounders!” + Then our men cursed like fiends, and swept out of the room, and as +no one remained to hold me down, I stumbled after them into the big +reception-hall, and came upon Laguerre, lying rigid and still upon a +red-silk sofa. I thought he was dead, and screamed, and at that they +seized me again and hustled me back to the cot, telling me that he was +not dead, but that at any moment he might die, and that if I did not +rest, I would die also. + +When I came to, it was early morning, and through the holes in the +plaster wall I could see the stars fading before the dawn. The gatlings +were gone and the men were gone, and I was wondering if they had +deserted me, when Von Ritter came back and asked if I were strong enough +to ride, and I stood up feeling dizzy and very weak. But my head was +clear and I could understand what he said to me. Of the whole of the +Foreign Legion only thirty were left. Miller was killed, Russell was +killed and old man Webster was killed. They told me how they had caught +him when he made a dash to the barracks for ammunition, and how, from +the roof, our men had seen them place him against the iron railings of +the University Gardens. There he died, as his hero, William Walker, had +died, on the soil of the country he had tried to save from itself, +with his arms behind him, and his blindfolded eyes turned upon a +firing-squad. + +McGraw had been killed as he rode beside me, holding me in the saddle. +That hurt me worse than all. They told me a blow from behind had knocked +me over, and though, of that, I could remember nothing, I could still +feel McGraw’s arm pressing my ribs, and hear his great foolish laugh in +my ears. + +They helped me out into the court-yard, where the men stood in a hollow +square, with Laguerre on a litter in the centre, and with the four +gatlings at each corner. The wound was in his throat, so he could not +speak, but when they led me down into the Patio he raised his eyes and +smiled. I tried to smile back, but his face was so white and drawn that +I had to turn away, that he might not see me crying. + +There was much besides to make one weep. We were running away. We were +abandoning the country to which some of us had come to better their +fortunes, to which others had come that they might set the people free. +We were being driven out of it by the very men for whom we had risked +our lives. Some among us, the reckless, the mercenary, the adventurers, +had played like gamblers for a stake, and had lost. Others, as they +thought, had planned wisely for the people’s good, had asked nothing in +return but that they might teach them to rule themselves. But they, too, +had lost, and because they had lost, they were to pay the penalty. + +Within the week the natives had turned from us to the painted idols of +their jungle, and the new gods toward whom they had wavered were to be +sacrificed on the altars of the old. They were waiting only until the +sun rose to fall upon our little garrison and set us up against the +barrack wall, as a peace offering to their former masters. Only one +chance remained to us. If, while it were still night, we could escape +from the city to the hills, we might be able to fight our way to the +Pacific side, and there claim the protection of our war-ship. + +It was a forlorn hope, but we trusted to the gatlings to clear a road +for us, and there was no other way. + +So just before the dawn, silently and stealthily the President and the +Cabinet, and all that was left of the Government and Army of General +Laguerre, stole out of his palace through a hole in the courtyard-wall. + +We were only a shadowy blot in the darkness, but the instant we reached +the open street they saw us and gave cry. + +From behind the barriers they had raised to shut off our escape, from +the house-tops, and from the darkened windows, they opened fire with +rifle and artillery. But our men had seen the dead faces of their +leaders and comrades, and they were frantic, desperate. They charged +like madmen. Nothing could hold them. Our wedge swept steadily forward, +and the guns sputtered from the front and rear and sides, flashing and +illuminating the night like a war-ship in action. + +They drove our enemies from behind the barricades, and cleaned the +street beyond it to the bridge, and then swept the bridge itself. We +could hear the splashes when the men who held it leaped out of range of +the whirling bullets into the stream below. + +In a quarter of an hour we were running swiftly through the sleeping +suburbs, with only one of our guns barking an occasional warning at the +ghostly figures in our rear. + +We made desperate progress during the dark hours of the morning, but +when daylight came we were afraid to remain longer on the trail, and +turned off into the forest. And then, as the sun grew stronger, our +endurance reached its limit, and when they called a halt our fellows +dropped where they stood, and slept like dead men. But they could not +sleep for long. We all knew that our only chance lay in reaching San +Lorenzo, on the Pacific Ocean. Once there, we were confident that the +war-ship would protect us, and her surgeons save our wounded. By the +trail and unmolested, we could have reached it in three days, but in the +jungle we were forced to cut our way painfully and slowly, and at times +we did not know whether we were moving toward the ocean or had turned +back upon the capital. + +I do not believe that slaves hunted through a swamp by blood-hounds have +ever suffered more keenly than did the survivors of the Foreign Legion. +Of our thirty men, only five were unwounded. Even those who carried +Laguerre wore blood-stained bandages. All were starving, and after the +second day of hiding in swamps and fording mountain-streams, half of our +little band was sick with fever. We lived on what we found in the woods, +or stole from the clearing, on plants, and roots, and fruit. We were no +longer a military body. We had ceased to be either officers or privates. +We were now only so many wretched fellow-beings, dependent upon each +other, like sailors cast adrift upon some desert island, and each worked +for the good of all, and the ties which bound us together were stronger +than those of authority and discipline. Men scarcely able to drag +themselves on, begged for the privilege of helping to carry Laguerre, +and he in turn besought and commanded that we leave him by the trail, +and hasten to the safety of the coast. In one of his conscious moments +he protested: “I cannot live, and I am only hindering your escape. It +is not right, nor human, that one man should risk the lives of all the +rest. For God’s sake, obey my orders and put me down.” + +Hour after hour, by night as well as by day, we struggled forward, +staggering, stumbling, some raving with fever, others with set faces, +biting their yellow lips to choke back the pain. + +Three times when we endeavored to gain ground by venturing on the level +trail, the mounted scouts of Alvarez overtook us, or attacked us from +ambush, and when we beat them off, they rode ahead and warned the +villages that we were coming; so, that, when we reached them, we were +driven forth like lepers. Even the village dogs snapped and bit at the +gaunt figures, trembling for lack of food, and loss of sleep and blood. + +But on the sixth day, just at sunset, as we had dragged ourselves to +the top of a wooded hill we saw below us, beyond a league of unbroken +jungle, a great, shining sheet of water, like a cloud on the horizon, +and someone cried: “The Pacific!” and we all stumbled forward, and some +dropped on their knees, and some wept, and some swung their hats and +tried to cheer. + +And then one of them, I never knew which, started singing, “Praise God, +from whom all blessings flow,” and we stood up, the last of the Legion, +shaken with fever, starving, wounded, and hunted by our fellow-men, and +gave praise to God, as we had never praised Him before. + +That night the fever took hold of me, and in my tossings and turnings +I burst open the sword-wound at the back of my head. I remember someone +exclaiming “He’s bled to death!” and a torch held to my eyes, and then +darkness, and the sense that I was being carried and bumped about on +men’s shoulders. + +The next thing I knew I was lying in a hammock, a lot of naked, brown +children were playing in the dirt beside me, the sun was shining, great +palms were bending in the wind above me, and the strong, sweet air of +the salt sea was blowing in my face. + +I lay for a long time trying to guess where I was, and how I had come +there. But I found no explanation for it, so I gave up guessing, and +gazed contentedly at the bending palms until one of the children found +my eyes upon him, and gave a scream, and they all pattered off like +frightened partridges. + +That brought a native woman from behind me, smiling, and murmuring +prayers in Spanish. She handed me a gourd filled with water. + +I asked where I was, and she said, “San Lorenzo.” + +I could have jumped out of the hammock at that, but when I tried to do +so I found I could hardly raise my body. But I had gained the coast. I +knew I would find strength enough to leave it. + +“Where are my friends?” I asked. “Where are the Gringoes?” + +But she raised her hands, and threw them wide apart. + +“They have gone,” she said, “three, four days from now, they sailed away +in the white ship. There was a great fighting,” she said, raising her +eyes and shaking her head, “and they carried you here, and told me to +hide you. You have been very ill, and you are still very ill.” She gave +a little exclamation and disappeared, and returned at once with a piece +of folded paper. “For you,” she said. + +On the outside of the paper was written in Spanish: “This paper will +be found on the body of Royal Macklin. Let the priest bury him and send +word to the Military Academy, West Point, U. S. A., asking that his +family be informed of his place of burial. They will reward you well.” + +Inside, in English, was the following letter in Aiken’s handwriting: + +“DEAR OLD MAN--We had to drop you here, as we were too sick to carry +you any farther. They jumped us at San Lorenzo, and when we found we +couldn’t get to Amapala from here, we decided to scatter, and let each +man take care of himself. Von Ritter and I, and two of the boys, are +taking Laguerre with us. He is still alive, but very bad. We hope to +pick up a fishing-boat outside of town, and make for the Raleigh. We +tried to carry you, too, but it wasn’t possible. We had to desert one +of you, so we stuck by the old man. We hid your revolver and money-belt +under the seventh palm, on the beach to the right of this shack. If +I’d known you had twenty double eagles on you all this time, I’d have +cracked your skull myself. The crack you’ve got is healing, and if you +pull through the fever you’ll be all right. If you do, give this woman +twenty pesos I borrowed from her. Get her to hire a boat, and men, +and row it to Amapala. This island is only fifteen miles out, and the +Pacific Mail boat touches there Thursdays and Sundays. If you leave here +the night before, you can make it. Whatever you do, don’t go into the +village here or land at Amapala. If they catch you on shore they will +surely shoot you. So board the steamer in the offing. Hoping you will +live to read this, and that we may meet again under more agreeable +circumstances, I am, + +“Yours truly, + +“HERBERT AIKEN.” + +“P.S. I have your gilt sword, and I’m going to turn it over to the +officers of the Raleigh, to take back to your folks. Good luck to you, +old man.” + +After reading this letter, which I have preserved carefully as a +characteristic souvenir of Aiken, I had but two anxieties. The first +was to learn if Laguerre and the others had reached the Raleigh, and the +second was how could I escape to the steamer--the first question was at +once answered by the woman. She told me it was known in San Lorenzo that +the late “Presidente Generale,” with three Gringoes, had reached the +American war-ship and had been received on board. The Commandante of +Amapala had demanded their surrender to him, but the captain of the +ship had declared that as political refugees, they were entitled to the +protection they claimed, and when three days later he had been ordered +to return to San Francisco, he had taken them with him. + +When I heard that, I gave a cheer all by myself, and I felt so much +better for the news that I at once began to plot for my own departure. +The day was Wednesday, the day before the steamer left Amapala, and I +determined to start for the island the following evening. When I told +the woman this, she protested I was much too weak to move, but the risk +that my hiding-place might be discovered before another steamer-day +arrived was much too great, and I insisted on making a try for the first +one. + +The woman accordingly procured a fishing-boat and a crew of three men, +and I dug up my money-belt, and my revolver, and thanked her and paid +her, for Aiken and for myself, as well as one can pay a person for +saving one’s life. The next night, as soon as the sun set, I seated +myself in the stern of the boat, and we pushed out from the shore of +Honduras, and were soon rising and falling on the broad swell of the +Pacific. + +My crew were simple fishermen, unconcerned with politics, and as I +had no fear of harm from them, I curled up on a mat at their feet and +instantly fell asleep. + +When I again awoke the sun was well up, and when I raised my head the +boatman pointed to a fringe of palms that hung above the water, and +which he told me rose from the Island of Amapala. Two hours later we +made out the wharves and the custom-house of the port itself, and, lying +well toward us in the harbor, a big steamer with the smoke issuing from +her stacks, and the American flag hanging at the stern. I was still weak +and shaky, and I must confess that I choked a bit at the sight of the +flag, and at the thought that, in spite of all, I was going safely back +to life, and Beatrice and Aunt Mary. The name I made out on the stern of +the steamer was Barracouta, and I considered it the prettiest name I +had ever known, and the steamer the handsomest ship that ever sailed the +sea. I loved her from her keel to her topmast. I loved her every line +and curve, her every rope and bolt. But specially did I love the flag +at her stern and the blue Peter at the fore. They meant home. They meant +peace, friends, and my own countrymen. + +I gave the boatmen a double eagle, and we all shook hands with great +glee, and then with new strength and unassisted I pulled myself up the +companion-ladder, and stood upon the deck. + +When I reached it I wanted to embrace the first man I saw. I somehow +expected that he would want to embrace me, too, and say how glad he was +I had escaped. But he happened to be the ship’s purser, and, instead of +embracing me, he told me coldly that steerage passengers are not allowed +aft. But I did not mind, I knew that I was a disreputable object, but +I also knew that I had gold in my money-belt, and that clothes could be +bought from the slop-chest. + +So I said in great good-humor, that I wanted a first-class cabin, the +immediate use of the bathroom, and the services of the ship’s barber. + +My head was bound in a dirty bandage. My uniform, which I still wore +as I had nothing else, was in rags from the briers, and the mud of the +swamps and the sweat of the fever had caked it with dirt. I had an eight +days’ beard, and my bare feet were in native sandals. So my feelings +were not greatly hurt because the purser was not as genuinely glad to +see me as I was to see him. + +“A first-class passage costs forty dollars gold--in advance,” he said. + +“That’s all right,” I answered, and I laughed from sheer, foolish +happiness, “I’ll take six.” + +We had been standing at the head of the companion-ladder, and as the +purser moved rather reluctantly toward his cabin, a group of men came +down the deck toward us. + +One of them was a fat, red-faced American, the others wore the uniform +of Alvarez. When they saw me they gave little squeals of excitement, and +fell upon the fat man gesticulating violently, and pointing angrily at +me. + +The purser halted, and if it were possible, regarded me with even +greater unfriendliness. As for myself, the sight of the brown, impish +faces, and the familiar uniforms filled me with disgust. I had thought +I was done with brawling and fighting, of being hated and hunted. I +had had my fill of it. I wanted to be let alone, I wanted to feel that +everybody about me was a friend. I was not in the least alarmed, for now +that I was under the Stars and Stripes, I knew that I was immune from +capture, but the mere possibility of a row was intolerable. + +One of the Honduranians wore the uniform of a colonel, and was, as +I guessed, the Commandante of the port. He spoke to the fat man in +English, but in the same breath turned to one of his lieutenants, and +gave an order in Spanish. + +The lieutenant started in my direction, and then hesitated and beckoned +to some one behind me. + +I heard a patter of bare feet on the deck, and a dozen soldiers ran past +me, and surrounded us. I noticed that they and their officers belonged +to the Eleventh Infantry. It was the regiment I had driven out of the +barracks at Santa Barbara. + +The fat American in his shirt-sleeves was listening to what the +Commandante was saying, and apparently with great dissatisfaction. As +he listened he scowled at me, chewing savagely on an unlit cigar, and +rocking himself to and fro on his heels and toes. His thumbs were stuck +in his suspenders, so that it looked as though, with great indecision he +was pulling himself forward and back. + +I turned to the purser and said, as carelessly as I could: “Well, what +are we waiting for?” + +But he only shook his head. + +With a gesture of impatience the fat man turned suddenly from the +Commandante and came toward me. + +He spoke abruptly and with the tone of a man holding authority. + +“Have you got your police-permit to leave Amapala?” he demanded. + +“No,” I answered. + +“Well, why haven’t you?” he snapped. + +“I didn’t know I had to have one,” I said. “Why do you ask?” I added. +“Are you the captain of this ship?” + +“I think I am,” he suddenly roared, as though I had questioned his +word. “Anyway, I’ve got enough say on her to put you ashore if you don’t +answer my questions.” + +I shut my lips together and looked away from him. His tone stirred what +little blood there was still left in me to rebellion; but when I saw the +shore with its swamps and ragged palms, I felt how perilously near it +was, and Panama became suddenly a distant mirage. I was as helpless as a +sailor clinging to a plank. I felt I was in no position to take offence, +so I bit my lips and tried to smile. + +The Captain shook his head at me, as though I were a prisoner in the +dock. + +“Do you mean to say,” he shouted, “that our agent sold you a ticket +without you showing a police-permit?” + +“I haven’t got a ticket,” I said. “I was just going to buy one now.” + +The Commandante thrust himself between us. + +“Ah, what did I tell you?” he cried. “You see? He is escaping. This is +the man. He answers all the descriptions. He was dressed just so; green +coat, red trousers, very torn and dirty--head in bandage. This is the +description. Is it not so?” he demanded of his lieutenants. They nodded +vigorously. + +“Why--a-yes, that is the man,” the Commandante cried in triumph. “Last +night he stabbed Jose Mendez in the Libertad Billiard Hall. He has +wanted to murder him. If Jose, he die, this man he is murderer. He +cannot go. He must come to land with me.” + +He gave an order in Spanish, and the soldiers closed in around us. + +I saw that I was in great peril, in danger more real than any I had +faced in open fight since I had entered Honduras. For the men who had +met me then had fought with fair weapons. These men were trying to take +away my life with a trick, with cunning lies and false witnesses. + +They knew the Captain might not surrender a passenger who was only a +political offender, but that he could not harbor a criminal. And at the +first glance at my uniform, and when he knew nothing more of me than +that I wore it, the Commandante had trumped up this charge of crime, and +had fitted to my appearance the imaginary description of an imaginary +murderer. And I knew that he did this that he might send me, bound hand +and foot, as a gift to Alvarez, or that he might, for his own vengeance, +shoot me against a wall. + +I knew how little I would receive of either justice or mercy. I had +heard of Dr. Rojas killed between decks on a steamer of this same line; +of Bonilla taken from the Ariadne and murdered on this very wharf at +this very port of Amapala; of General Pulido strangled in the launch +of the Commandante of Corinto and thrown overboard, while still in the +sight of his fellow-passengers on the Southern Cross. + +It was a degraded, horrible, inglorious end--to be caught by the heels +after the real battle was lost; to die of fever in a cell; to be stabbed +with bayonets on the wharf, and thrown to the carrion harbor-sharks. + +I swung around upon the Captain, and fought for my life as desperately +as though I had a rope around my neck. + +“That man is a liar,” I cried. “I was not in Amapala last night. I came +from San Lorenzo--this morning. The boat is alongside now; you can ask +the men who brought me. I’m no murderer. That man knows I’m no murderer. +He wants me because I belonged to the opposition government. It’s +because I wear this uniform he wants me. I’m no criminal. He has no more +right to touch me here, than he would if I were on Broadway.” + +The Commandante seized the Captain’s arm. + +“As Commandante of this port,” he screamed, “I tell you if you do not +surrender the murderer to me, your ship shall not sail. I will take back +your clearance-papers.” + +The Captain turned on me, shaking his red fists, and tossing his head +like a bull. “You see that!” he cried. “You see what you get me into, +coming on board my ship without a permit! That’s what I get at every +banana-patch along this coast, a lot of damned beach-combers and +stowaways stealing on board, and the Commandante chasing ‘em all over my +ship and holding up my papers. You go ashore!” he ordered. He swept his +arm toward the gangway. “You go to Kessler, our consul. If you haven’t +done nothing wrong, he’ll take care of you. You haven’t got a ticket, +and you haven’t got a permit, and you’re no passenger of mine! Over you +go; do you hear me? Quick now, over you go.” + +I could not believe that I heard the man aright. He seemed to be talking +a language I did not know. + +“Do you mean to tell me,” I cried, speaking very slowly, for I was +incredulous, and I was so weak besides that it was difficult for me to +find the words, “that you refuse to protect me from these half-breeds, +that you are going to turn me over to them--to be shot! And you call +yourself an American?” I cried, “and this an American ship!” + +As I turned from him I found that the passengers had come forward and +now surrounded us; big, tall men in cool, clean linen, and beautiful +women, shading their eyes with their fans, and little children crowding +in between them and clinging to their skirts. To my famished eyes they +looked like angels out of Paradise. They were my own people, and they +brought back to me how I loved the life these men were plotting to take +from me. The sight of them drove me into a sort of frenzy. + +“Are you going to take that man’s word against mine?” I cried at the +Captain. “Are you going to let him murder me in sight of that flag? You +know he’ll do it. You know what they did to Rojas on one of your own +ships. Do you want another man butchered in sight of your passengers?” + +The Commandante crowded in front of the ship’s captain. + +“That man is my prisoner,” he cried. “He is going to jail, to be tried +by law. He shall see his consul every day. And so, if you try to leave +this harbor with him, I will sink your ship from the fort!” + +The Captain turned with an oath and looked up to the second officer, who +was leaning over the rail of the bridge above us. + +“Up anchor,” the Captain shouted. “Get her under weigh! There is your +answer,” he cried, turning upon me. “I’m not going to have this ship +held up any longer, and I’m not going to risk the lives of these ladies +and gentlemen by any bombardment, either. You’re only going to jail. +I’ll report the matter to our consul at Corinto, and he’ll tell our +minister.” + +“Corinto!” I replied. “I’ll be dead before you’ve passed that +lighthouse.” + +The Captain roared with anger. + +“Can’t you hear what he says,” he shouted. “He says he’ll fire on my +ship. They’ve fired on our ships before! I’m not here to protect every +damned scalawag that tries to stowaway on my ship. I’m here to protect +the owners, and I mean to do it. Now you get down that ladder, before we +throw you down.” + +I knew his words were final. From the bow I heard the creak of the +anchor-chains as they were drawn on board, and from the engine-room the +tinkle of bells. + +The ship was abandoning me. My last appeal had failed. My condition was +desperate. + +“Protect your owners, and yourself, damn you!” I cried. “You’re no +American. You’re no white man. No American would let a conch-nigger run +his ship. To hell with your protection!” + +All the misery of the last two months, the bitterness of my dismissal +from the Point, the ignominy of our defeat and flight, rose in me and +drove me on. “And I don’t want the protection of that flag either,” I +cried. “I wasn’t good enough to serve it once, and I don’t need it now.” + +It should be remembered that when I spoke these words I thought my death +was inevitable and immediate, that it had been brought upon me by one of +my own countrymen, while others of my countrymen stood indifferently by, +and I hope that for what I said in that moment of fever and despair I +may be forgiven. + +“I can protect myself!” I cried. + +Before anyone could move I whipped out my gun and held it over the +Commandante’s heart, and at the same instant without turning my eyes +from his face I waved my other hand at the passengers. “Take those +children away,” I shouted. + +“Don’t move!” I yelled in Spanish at the soldiers. “If one of you raises +his musket I’ll kill him.” I pressed the cocked revolver against the +Commandante’s chest. “Now, then, take me ashore,” I called to his men. +“You know me, I’m Captain Macklin. Captain Macklin, of the Foreign +Legion, and you know that six of you will die before you get me. Come +on,” I taunted. “Which six is it to be?” + +Out of the corners of my eyes I could see the bayonets lifting +cautiously and forming a ring of points about me, and the sight, and my +own words lashed me into a frenzy of bravado. + +“Oh, you don’t remember me, don’t you?” I cried. “You ought to remember +the Foreign Legion! We drove you out of Santa Barbara and Tabla Ve +and Comyagua, and I’m your Vice-President! Take off your hats to your +Vice-President! To Captain Macklin, Vice-President of Honduras!” + +{Illustration: I sprang back against the cabin} + +I sprang back against the cabin and swung the gun in swift half-circles. +The men shrank from it as though I had lashed them with a whip. “Come +on,” I cried, “which six is it to be? Come on, you cowards, why don’t +you take me!” + +The only answer came from a voice that was suddenly uplifted at my side. +I recognized it as the voice of the ship’s captain. + +“Put down that gun!” he shouted. + +But I only swung it the further until it covered him also. The man stood +in terror of his ship’s owners, he had a seaman’s dread of international +law, but he certainly was not afraid of a gun. He regarded it no more +than a pointed finger, and leaned eagerly toward me. To my amazement I +saw that his face was beaming with excitement and delight. + +“Are you Captain Macklin?” he cried. + +I was so amazed that for a moment I could only gape at him while I still +covered him with the revolver. + +“Yes,” I answered. + +“Then why in hell didn’t you say so!” he roared, and with a bellow +like a bull he threw himself upon the Commandante. He seized him by +his epaulettes and pushed him backward. With the strength of a bull he +butted and shoved him across the deck. + +“Off my ship you!” he roared. “Every one of you; you’re a gang of +murdering cutthroats.” + +The deck-hands and the ship-stewards, who had gathered at the gangway to +assist in throwing me down it, sprang to the Captain’s aid. + +“Over with him, boys,” he roared. “Clear the ship of them. Throw them +overboard.” The crew fell upon the astonished soldiers, and drove +them to the side. Their curses and shrieks filled the air, the women +retreated screaming, and I was left alone, leaning limply against the +cabin with my revolver hanging from my fingers. + +It began and ended in an instant, and as the ship moved forward and +the last red-breeched soldier disappeared headforemost down the +companion-ladder, the Captain rushed back to me and clutched me by both +shoulders. Had it not been for the genial grin on his fat face, I would +have thought that he meant to hurl me after the others. + +“Now then, Captain Macklin,” he cried, “you come with me. You come to my +cabin, and that’s where you stay as long as you are on my ship. You’re +no passenger, you’re my guest, and there’s nothing on board too good for +you.” + +“But I don’t--understand,” I protested faintly. “What does it mean?” + +“What does it mean?” he shouted. “It means you’re the right sort for me! +I haven’t heard of nothing but your goings-on for the last three trips. +Vice-President of Honduras!” he exclaimed, shaking me as though I were a +carpet. “A kid like you! You come to my cabin and tell me the whole +yarn from start to finish. I’d rather carry you than old man Huntington +himself!” + +The passengers had returned, and stood listening to his exclamations, in +a wondering circle. The stewards and deck-hands, panting with their late +exertions, were grinning at me with unmistakable interest. + +“Bring Captain Macklin’s breakfast to my cabin, you,” he shouted to +them. “And, Mr. Owen,” he continued, addressing the Purser, with great +impressiveness, “this is Captain Macklin, himself. He’s going with us as +my guest.” + +With a wink, he cautiously removed my revolver from my fingers, and +slapped me jovially on the shoulder. “Son!” he exclaimed, “I wouldn’t +have missed the sight of you holding your gun on that gang for a cargo +of bullion. I suspicioned it was you, the moment you did it. That will +be something for me to tell them in ‘Frisco, that will. Now, you come +along,” he added, suddenly, with parental solicitude, “and take a cup of +coffee, and a dose of quinine, or you’ll be ailing.” + +He pushed a way for me through the crowd of passengers, who fell back in +two long lines. As we moved between them, I heard a woman’s voice ask, +in a loud whisper: + +“Who did you say?” + +A man’s voice answered, “Why, Captain Macklin,” and then protested, in a +rising accent, “Now, for Heaven’s sake, Jennie, don’t tell me you don’t +know who he is?” + +That was my first taste of fame. It was a short-lived, limited sort of +fame, but at that time it stretched throughout all Central America. I +doubt if it is sufficiently robust to live in the cold latitudes of +the North. It is just an exotic of the tropics. I am sure it will never +weather Cape Hatteras. But although I won’t amount to much in Dobbs +Ferry, down here in Central America I am pretty well known, and during +these last two months that I have been lying, very near to death, in the +Canal Company’s hospital, my poor little fame stuck by me, and turned +strangers into kind and generous friends. + + + +DOBBS FERRY, September, 1882 + + +September passed before I was a convalescent, and it was the first of +October when the Port of Sydney passed Sandy Hook, and I stood at the +bow, trembling with cold and happiness, and saw the autumn leaves on the +hills of Staten Island and the thousands of columns of circling, white +smoke rising over the three cities. I had not let Beatrice and Aunt Mary +know that I was in a hospital, but had told them that I was making my +way home slowly, which was true enough, and that they need not expect to +hear from me until I had arrived in New York City. So, there was no one +at the dock to meet me. + +But, as we came up the harbor, I waved at the people on the passing +ferry-boats, and they, shivering, no doubt, at the sight of our canvas +awnings and the stewards’ white jackets, waved back, and gave me my +first welcome home. + +It was worth all the disappointments, and the weeks in hospital, to +stick my head in the ticket-window of the Grand Central Station, and +hear myself say, “Dobbs Ferry, please.” I remember the fascination with +which I watched the man (he was talking over his shoulder to another man +at the time) punch the precious ticket, and toss it to me. I suppose +in his life he has many times sold tickets to Dobbs Ferry, but he never +sold them as often as I had rehearsed asking him for that one. + +I had wired them not to meet me at the station, but to be waiting at the +house, and when I came up the old walk, with the box-hedges on either +side, they were at the door, and Aunt Mary ran to meet me, and hugged +and scolded me, and cried on my shoulder, and Beatrice smiled at me, +just as though she were very proud of me, and I kissed her once. After +ten minutes, it did not seem as though I had ever been away from home. +And, when I looked at Beatrice, and I could not keep my eyes from her, I +was filled with wonder that I had ever had the courage to go from where +she was. We were very happy. + +I am afraid that for the next two weeks I traded upon their affection +scandalously. But it was their own fault. It was their wish that I +should constantly pose in the dual roles of the returned prodigal and +Othello, and, as I told them, if I were an obnoxious prig ever after, +they alone were responsible. + +I had the ravenous hunger of the fever-convalescent, and I had an +audience that would have turned General Grant into a braggart. So, every +day wonderful dishes of Aunt Mary’s contriving were set before me, and +Beatrice would not open a book so long as there was one adventure I had +left untold. + +And this, as I soon learned, was the more flattering, as she had already +heard most of them at second-hand. + +I can remember my bewilderment that first evening as I was relating the +story of the duel, and she corrected me. + +“Weren’t you much nearer?” she asked. “You fired at twenty paces.” + +“So we did,” I cried, “but how could you know that?” + +“Mr. Lowell told us,” she said. + +“Lowell!” I shouted. “Has Lowell been here?” + +“Yes, he brought us your sword,” Beatrice answered. “Didn’t you see +where we placed it?” and she rose rather quickly, and stood with her +face toward the fireplace, where, sure enough, my sword was hanging +above the mantel. + +“Oh yes,” said Aunt Mary, “Mr. Lowell has been very kind. He has come +out often to ask for news of you. He is at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We +like him so much,” she added. + +“Like him!” I echoed. “I should think you would! Isn’t that bully,” + I cried, “to think of his being so near me, and that he’s a friend of +yours already. We must have him out to-morrow. Isn’t he fine, Beatrice?” + +She had taken down the sword, and was standing holding it out to me. + +“Yes, he is,” she said, “and he is very fond of you, too, Royal. I don’t +believe you’ve got a better friend.” + +Attractive as the prodigal son may seem at first, he soon becomes a +nuisance. Even Othello when he began to tell over his stories for the +second time must have been something of a bore. And when Aunt Mary gave +me roast beef for dinner two nights in succession, and after dinner +Beatrice picked up “Lorna Doone” and retired to a corner, I knew that I +had had my day. + +The next morning at breakfast, in a tone of gentle reproach, I announced +that I was going out into the cold world, as represented by New York +City, to look for a job. I had no idea of doing anything of the sort. +I only threw out the suggestion tentatively, and I was exceedingly +disgusted when they caught up my plan with such enthusiasm and alacrity, +that I was forced to go on with it. I could not see why it was necessary +for me to work. I had two thousand dollars a year my grandfather had +left me, and my idea of seeking for a job, was to look for it leisurely, +and with caution. But the family seemed to think that, before the winter +set in, I should take any chance that offered, and, as they expressed +it, settle down. + +None of us had any very definite ideas as to what I ought to do, or even +that there was anything I could do. Lowell, who is so much with us now, +that I treat him like one of the family, argued that to business men my +strongest recommendation would be my knowledge of languages. He said +I ought to try for a clerkship in some firm where I could handle +the foreign correspondence. His even suggesting such work annoyed me +extremely. I told him that, on the contrary, my strongest card was +my experience in active campaigning, backed by my thorough military +education, and my ability to command men. He said unfeelingly, that +you must first catch your men, and that in down-town business circles +a military education counted for no more than a college-course in +football. + +“You good people don’t seem to understand,” I explained (we were holding +a family council on my case at the time); “I have no desire to move in +down-town business circles. I hate business circles.” + +“Well, you must live, Royal,” Aunt Mary said. “You have not enough money +to be a gentleman of leisure.” + +“Royal wouldn’t be content without some kind of work,” said Beatrice. + +“No, he can’t persuade us he’s not ambitious!” Lowell added. “You mean +to make something of yourself, you know you do, and you can’t begin too +early.” + +Since Lowell has been promoted to the ward-room, he talks just like a +grandfather. + +“Young man,” I said, “I’ve seen the day when you were an ensign, and +I was a Minister of War, and you had to click your heels if you came +within thirty feet of my distinguished person. Of course, I’m ambitious, +and the best proof of it is, that I don’t want to sit in a bird-cage all +my life, counting other people’s money.” + +Aunt Mary looked troubled, and shook her head at me. + +“Well, Royal,” she remonstrated, “you’ve got very little of your own to +count, and some day you’ll want to marry, and then you’ll be sorry.” + +I don’t know why Aunt Mary’s remark should have affected anyone except +myself, but it seemed to take all the life out of the discussion, and +Beatrice remembered she had some letters to write, and Lowell said he +must go back to the Navy Yard, although when he arrived he told us +he had fixed it with another man to stand his watch. The reason I was +disturbed was because, when Aunt Mary spoke, it made me wonder if she +were not thinking of Beatrice. One day just after I arrived from Panama, +when we were alone, she said that while I was gone she had been in fear +she might die before I came back, and that Beatrice would be left alone. +I laughed at her and told her she would live a hundred years, and added, +not meaning anything in particular, “And she’ll not be alone. I’ll be +here.” + +Then Aunt Mary looked at me very sadly, and said: “Royal, I could die so +contentedly if I thought you two were happy.” She waited, as though she +expected me to make some reply, but I couldn’t think of anything to +say, and so just looked solemn, then she changed the subject by asking: +“Royal, have you noticed that Lieutenant Lowell admires Beatrice very +much?” And I said, “Of course he does. If he didn’t, I’d punch his +head.” At which she again looked at me in such a wistful, pained way, +smiling so sadly, as though for some reason she were sorry for me. + +They all seemed to agree that I had had my fling, and should, as they +persisted in calling it, “settle down.” A most odious phrase. They were +two to one against me, and when one finished another took it up. So that +at last I ceased arguing and allowed myself to be bullied into looking +for a position. + +But before surrendering myself to the downtown business circles I made +one last effort to remain free. + +In Honduras, Laguerre had told me that a letter to the Credit Lyonnais +in Paris would always find him. I knew that since his arrival at San +Francisco he had had plenty of time to reach Paris, and that if he +were there now he must know whether there is anything in this talk of a +French expedition against the Chinese in Tonkin. Also whether the Mahdi +really means to make trouble for the Khedive in the Soudan. Laguerre was +in the Egyptian army for three years, and knows Baker Pasha well. I was +sure that if there was going to be trouble, either in China or Egypt, he +could not keep out of it. + +So I cabled him to the Credit Lyonnais, “Are you well? If going any more +campaigns, please take me.” I waited three restless weeks for an answer, +and then, as no answer came, I put it all behind me, and hung my old, +torn uniform where I would not see it, and hid the presentation-sword +behind the eight-day clock in the library. + +Beatrice raised her eyes from her book and watched me. + +“Why?” she asked. + +“It hurts me,” I said. + +She put down her book, and for a long time looked at me without +speaking. + +“I did not know you disliked it as much as that,” she said. “I wonder +if we are wrong. And yet,” she added, smiling, “it does not seem a great +sacrifice; to have work to do, to live at home, and in such a dear, +old home as this, near a big city, and with the river in front and the +country all about you. It seems better than dying of wounds in a swamp, +or of fever in a hospital.” + +“I haven’t complained. I’m taking my medicine,” I answered. “I know you +all wouldn’t ask it of me, if you didn’t think it was for my good.” + I had seated myself in front of the wood fire opposite her, and was +turning the chain she gave me round and round my wrist. I slipped it +off, and showed it to her as it hung from my fingers, shining in the +firelight. + +“And yet,” I said, “it was fine being your Knight-Errant, and taking +risks for your sake, and having only this to keep me straight.” I cannot +see why saying just that should have disturbed her, but certainly my +words, or the sight of the chain, had a most curious effect. It is +absurd, but I could almost swear that she looked frightened. She +flushed, and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. I was greatly +embarrassed. Why should she be afraid of me? I was too much upset to ask +her what was wrong, so I went on hastily: “But now I’ll have you always +with me, to keep me straight,” I said. + +She laughed at that, a tremulous little laugh, and said: “And so you +won’t want it any more, will you?” + +“Won’t want it,” I protested gallantly. “I’d like to see anyone make me +give it up.” + +“You’d give it up to me, wouldn’t you?” she asked gently. “It looks--” + she added, and stopped. + +“I see,” I exclaimed. “Looks like a pose, sort of effeminate, a man’s +wearing a bracelet. Is that what you think?” + +She laughed again, but this time quite differently. She seemed greatly +relieved. + +“Perhaps that’s it,” she said. “Give it me, Royal. You’ll never need any +woman’s trinkets to keep you straight.” + +I weighed the gold links in the hollow of my palm. + +“Do you really want it?” I asked. She raised her eyes eagerly. “If you +don’t mind,” she said. + +I dropped the chain into her hand, but as I turned toward the fire, I +could not help a little sigh. She heard me, and leaned forward. I could +just see her sweet, troubled face in the firelight. “But I mean to +return it you, Royal,” she said, “some day, when--when you go out again +to fight wind-mills.” + +“That’s safe!” I returned, roughly. “You know that time will never +come. The three of you together have fixed that. I’m no longer a +knight-errant. I’m a business-man now. I’m not to remember I ever was a +knight-errant. I must even give up my Order of the Golden Chain, because +it’s too romantic, because it might remind me that somewhere in this +world there is romance, and adventure, and fighting. And it wouldn’t do. +You can’t have romance around a business office. Some day, when I was +trying to add up my sums, I might see it on my wrist, and forget where +I was. I might remember the days when it shone in the light of a +camp-fire, when I used to sleep on the ground with my arm under my head, +and it was the last thing I saw, when it seemed like your fingers on my +wrist holding me back, or urging me forward. Business circles would not +allow that. They’d put up a sign, ‘Canvassers, pedlers, and Romance not +admitted.’” + +The first time I applied for a job I was unsuccessful. The man I went to +see had been an instructor at Harvard when my uncle was professor there, +and Aunt Mary said he had been a great friend of Professor Endicott’s. +One day in the laboratory the man discovered something, and had it +patented. It brought him a fortune, and he was now president of a +company which manufactured it, and with branches all over the world. + +Aunt Mary wrote him a personal letter about me, in the hope that he +might put me in charge of the foreign correspondence. + +He kept me waiting outside his office-door for one full hour. During +the first half-hour I was angry, but the second half-hour I enjoyed +exceedingly. By that time the situation appealed to my sense of humor. +When the great man finally said he would see me, I found him tilting +back in a swivel-chair in front of a mahogany table. He picked out Aunt +Mary’s letter from a heap in front of him, and said: “Are you the Mr. +Macklin mentioned in this letter? What can I do for you?” + +I said very deliberately: “You can do nothing for me. I have waited one +hour to tell you so. When my aunt, Mrs. Endicott, does anyone the honor +to write him a letter, there is no other business in New York City +more important than attending promptly to that letter. I _had_ intended +becoming a partner in your firm; now, I shall not. You are a rude, fat, +and absurd, little person. Good-morning.” + +I crossed over to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and told Lowell and the other +watch-officers in the ward-room of my first attempt to obtain a job. +They laughed until I hoped they would strangle. + +“Who the devil do you think you are, anyway,” they cried, “going around, +insulting millionnaires like that?” + +After leaving the cruiser that afternoon, I was so miserable that I +could have jumped into the East River. It was the sight of the +big, brown guns did it, and the cutlasses in their racks, and the +clean-limbed, bare-throated Jackies, and the watch-officer stamping the +deck just as though he were at sea, with his glass and side-arms. And +when the marine at the gate of the yard shifted his gun and challenged +me, it was so like old times that I could have fallen on his neck and +hugged him. + +Over the wharves, all along my way to the ferry, the names of strange +and beautiful ports mocked at me from the sheds of the steam-ship lines; +“Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and the River Plata,” “Guayaquil, Callao, and +Santiago,” “Cape Town, Durban, and Lorenzo Marquez.” It was past six +o’clock and very dark. The ice was pushing and grinding against the +pier-heads, and through the falling snow the tall buildings in New York +twinkled with thousands of electric lights, like great Christmas-trees. +At one wharf a steamer of the Red D line, just in from La Guayra, was +making fast, and I guiltily crept on board. Without, she was coated in +a shearing of ice, but within she reeked of Spanish-America--of coffee, +rubber, and raw sugar. Pineapples were still swinging in a net from +the awning-rail, a two-necked water-bottle hung at the hot mouth of the +engine-room. I found her captain and told him I only wanted to smell a +ship again, and to find out, if where he came from, the bands were still +playing in the plazas. He seemed to understand, and gave me a drink +of Jamaica rum with fresh limes in it, and a black cigar; and when his +steward brought them, I talked to him in Spanish just for the sound of +it. For half an hour I was under the Southern Cross, and New York was +3,000 miles astern. + +When I left him, the captain gave me a bag of alligator-pears to take +home with me, and I promised to come the next day, and bring him a new +library of old, paper novels. + +But, as it turned out, I sent them instead, for that night when I +reached the New York side, I saw how weakly and meanly I was acting, and +I threw the alligator-pears over the rail of the ferry-boat and watched +them fall into the dirty, grinding ice. I saw that I had been in rank +mutiny. My bed had been made for me and I must lie in it. I was to be a +business-man. I was to “settle down,” and it is only slaves who rebel. + +The next day, humble and chastened in spirit, I kissed the rod, and +went into the city to search for a situation. I determined to start at +Forty-second Street, and work my way down town until I found a place +that looked as though it could afford a foreign correspondent. But I had +reached Twenty-eighth Street, without seeing any place that appealed to +me, when a little groom, in a warm fur collar and chilly white breeches, +ran up beside me and touched his hat. I was so surprised that I saluted +him in return, and then felt uneasily conscious that that was not the +proper thing to do, and that forever I had lost his respect. + +“Miss Fiske would like to speak with you, sir,” he said. He ran back to +a brougham that was drawn up beside the curb behind me, and opened the +door. When I reached it, Miss Fiske leaned from it, smiling. + +“I couldn’t help calling you back, Captain Macklin,” she said, and held +out her hand. + +When I took it she laughed again. “Isn’t this like our last meeting?” + she asked. “Don’t you remember my reaching out of the carriage, and +our shaking hands? Only now,” she went on, in a most frank and friendly +manner, “instead of a tropical thunder-storm, it’s a snow-storm, and +instead of my running away from your shells, I’m out shopping. At least, +mother’s out shopping,” she added. “She’s in there. I’m waiting for +her.” She seemed to think that the situation required a chaperon. + +“You mustn’t say they were my shells, Miss Fiske,” I protested. “I +may insult a woman for protecting her brother’s life, but I never fire +shells at her.” + +It did not surprise me to hear myself laughing at the words which, when +she spoke them, had seemed so terrible. It was as though none of it had +ever occurred. It was part of a romantic play, and we had seen the play +together. Who could believe that the young man, tramping the streets on +the lookout for a job, had ever signed his name, as vice-president of +Honduras, to a passport for Joseph Fiske; that the beautiful girl in +the sables, with her card-case in her hand, had ever heard the shriek of +shrapnel? + +And she exclaimed, just as though we had both been thinking aloud: “No, +it’s not possible, is it?” + +“It never happened,” I said. + +“But I tell you what has happened,” she went on, eagerly, “or perhaps +you know. Have you heard what my father did?” + +I said I had not. I refrained from adding that I believed her father +capable of doing almost anything. + +“Then I’m the first to tell you the news,” she exclaimed. She nodded at +me energetically. “Well, he’s paid that money. He owed it all the time.’ + +“That’s not news,” I said. + +She flushed a little, and laughed. + +“But, indeed, father was not to blame,” she exclaimed. “They deceived +him dreadfully. But when we got home, he looked it up, and found you +were right about that money, and so he’s paid it back, not to that +odious Alvarez man, but in some way, I don’t quite understand how, but +so the poor people will get it.” + +“Good!” I cried. + +“And he’s discharged all that Isthmian crowd,” she went on. + +“Better,” I said. + +“And made my brother president of the new company,” she continued, and +then raised her eyebrows, and waited, smiling. + +“Oh, well,” I said, “since he’s your brother--‘best.’” + +“That’s right,” she cried. “That’s very nice of you. Here comes mother. +I want you to meet her.” + +Mother came toward us, out of a French dress-maker’s. It was one of the +places I had decided against, when I had passed it a few minutes before. +It seemed one of the few business houses where a French linguist would +be superfluous. + +I was presented as “Captain Macklin--who, you know, mother--who fought +the duel with Arthur--that is, who didn’t shoot at him.” + +Mrs. Fiske looked somewhat startled. Even to a trained social leader it +must be trying to have a man presented to you on a sidewalk as the one +who did not shoot your son. + +Mrs. Fiske had a toy dog under one arm, and was holding up her train, +but she slipped the dog to the groom, and gave me her hand. + +“How do you do, Mr.--Captain Macklin,” she said. “My son has told me a +great deal about you. Have you asked Captain Macklin to come to see us, +Helen?” she said, and stepped into the brougham. + +“Come in any day after five,” said Miss Fiske, “and we’ll have tortillas +and frijoles, and build a camp-fire in the library. What’s your +address?” + +“Dobbs Ferry,” I said. + +“Just Dobbs Ferry?” she asked. “But you’re such a well-known person, +Captain Macklin.” + +“I’m Mr. Macklin now,” I answered, and I tried to shut the door on them, +but the groom seemed to think that was his privilege, and so I bowed, +and they drove away. Then I went at once to a drug-store and borrowed +the directory, to find out where they lived, and I walked all the way up +the avenue to have a look at their house. Somehow I felt that for that +day I could not go on asking for a job. I saw a picture of myself on +a high stool in the French dressmaker’s writing to the Paris house for +more sable cloaks for Mrs. Fiske. + +The Fiske mansion overlooks Central Park, and it is as big as the +Academy of Music. I found that I knew it well by sight. I at once made +up my mind that I never would have the courage to ring that +door-bell, and I mounted a Fifth Avenue stage, and took up my work of +reconnoitering for a job where Miss Fiske had interrupted it. + +The next day I got the job. I am to begin work on Monday. It is at +Schwartz & Carboy’s. They manufacture locks and hinges and agricultural +things. I saw a lot of their machetes in Honduras with their paper stamp +on the blade. They have almost a monopoly of the trade in South America. +Fortunately, or unfortunately, one of their Spanish clerks had left +them, and when I said I had been in Central America and could write +Spanish easily, Schwartz, or, it may have been Carboy--I didn’t ask him +which was his silly name--dictated a letter and I wrote it in Spanish. +One of the other clerks admitted it was faultless. So, I regret to say, +I got the job. I’m to begin with fifteen dollars, and Schwartz or Carboy +added, as though it were a sort of a perquisite: “If our young men act +gentlemanly, and are good dressers, we often send them to take our South +American customers to lunch. The house pays the expenses. And in the +evenings you can show them around the town. Our young men find that an +easy way of seeing the theatres for nothing.” + +Knowing the tastes of South Americans visiting New York, I replied +severely that my connection with Schwartz & Carboy would end daily at +four in the afternoon, but that a cross-town car passed Koster & +Bial’s every hour. I half hoped he would take offence at that, and in +consequence my connection, with Schwartz & Carboy might end instantly +and forever; but whichever one he was, only laughed and said: “Yes, +those Brazilians are a queer lot. We eat up most of our profits bailing +them out of police courts the next morning. Well--you turn up Monday.” + + + +DOBBS FERRY, Sunday, Midnight + + +It’s all over. It will be a long time before I add another chapter to +my “Memoirs.” When I have written this one they are to be sealed, and +to-morrow they are to be packed away in Aunt Mary’s cedar chest. I am +now writing these lines after everyone else has gone to bed. + +It happened after dinner. Aunt Mary was upstairs, and Beatrice was at +the piano. We were waiting for Lowell, who had promised to come up and +spend the evening. I was sitting at the centre-table, pretending to +read, but watching Beatrice. Her back was turned toward me, so I could +stare at her as long as I pleased. The light of the candles on each side +of the music-rack fell upon her hair, and made it flash and burn. She +had twisted it high, in a coil, and there never was anything more +lovely than the burnished copper against the white glow of her skin, +nor anything so noble as the way her head rose upon her neck and sloping +shoulders. It was like a flower on a white stem. + +She was not looking at the music before her, but up at nothing, while +her hands ran over the keyboard, playing an old sailor’s “chantey” which +Lowell has taught us. It carries with it all the sweep and murmur of the +sea at night. + +She could not see me, she had forgotten that I was even in the room, +and I was at liberty to gaze at her and dream of her undisturbed. I felt +that, without that slight, white figure always at my side, the life I +was to begin on the morrow, or any other life, would be intolerable. +Without the thought of Beatrice to carry me through the day I could not +bear it. Except for her, what promise was there before me of reward or +honor? I was no longer “an officer and a gentleman,” I was a copying +clerk, “a model letter-writer.” I could foresee the end. I would become +a nervous, knowing, smug-faced civilian. Instead of clean liquors, I +would poison myself with cocktails and “quick-order” luncheons. I would +carry a commuter’s ticket. In time I might rise to the importance of +calling the local conductors by their familiar names. “Bill, what was +the matter with the 8.13 this morning?” From to-morrow forward I would +be “our” Mr. Macklin, “Yours of even date received. Our Mr. Macklin will +submit samples of goods desired.” “Mr.” Macklin! “Our” Mr. Macklin! Ye +Gods! Schwartz any servitude, I would struggle to rise above the most +hateful surroundings. + +I had just registered this mental vow, my eyes were still fixed +appealingly on the woman who was all unconscious of the sacrifice I was +about to make for her, when the servant came into the room and handed +me a telegram. I signed for it, and she went out. Beatrice had not heard +her enter, and was still playing. I guessed the telegram was from Lowell +to say he could not get away, and I was sorry. But as I tore open the +envelope, I noticed that it was not the usual one of yellow paper, but +of a pinkish white. I had never received a cablegram. I did not know +that this was one. I read the message, and as I read it the blood in +every part of my body came to a sudden stop. There was a strange buzzing +in my ears, the drums seemed to have burst with a tiny report. The shock +was so tremendous that it seemed Beatrice must have felt it too, and I +looked up at her stupidly. She was still playing. + +The cablegram had been sent that morning from Marseilles. The message +read, “Commanding Battalion French Zouaves, Tonkin Expedition, holding +position of Adjutant open for you, rank of Captain, if accept join +Marseilles. Laguerre.” + +I laid the paper on my knee, and sat staring, scarcely breathing, as +though I were afraid if I moved I would wake. I was trembling and cold, +for I was at the parting of the ways, and I knew it. Beyond the light +of the candles, beyond the dull red curtains jealously drawn against the +winter landscape, beyond even the slight, white figure with its crown +of burnished copper, I saw the swarming harbor of Marseilles. I saw the +swaggering turcos in their scarlet breeches, the crowded troop-ships, +and from every ship’s mast the glorious tri-color of France; the flag +that in ten short years had again risen, that was flying over advancing +columns in China, in Africa, in Madagascar; over armies that for Alsace +Lorraine were giving France new and great colonies on every seaboard +of the world. The thoughts that flew through my brain made my fingers +clench until the nails bit into my palms. Even to dream of such +happiness was actual pain. That this might come to me! To serve under +the tri-color, to be a captain of the Grand Armee, to be one of the army +reared and trained by Napoleon Bonaparte. + +I heard a cheery voice, and Lowell passed me, and advanced bowing toward +Beatrice, and she turned and smiled at him. But as she rose, she saw my +face. + +“Roy!” she cried. “What is it? What has happened?” + +I watched her coming toward me, as someone projected from another life, +a wonderful, beautiful memory, from a life already far in the past. I +handed her the cablegram and stood up stiffly. My joints were rigid and +the blood was still cold in my veins. She read the message, and gave a +little cry, and stood silent, gazing at me. I motioned her to give it to +Lowell, who was looking at us anxiously, his eyes filled with concern. + +He kept his head lowered over the message for so long, that I thought +he was reading it several times. When he again raised his face it was +filled with surprise and disapproval. But beneath, I saw a dawning look +which he could not keep down, of a great hope. It was as though he had +been condemned to death, and the paper Beatrice had handed him to read +had been his own reprieve. + +“Tell me,” said Beatrice. Her tone was as gentle and as solemn as the +stroke of a bell, and as impersonal. It neither commended nor reproved. +I saw that instantly she had determined to conceal her own wishes, to +obliterate herself entirely, to let me know that, so far as she could +affect my choice, I was a free agent. I looked appealingly from her to +Lowell, and from Lowell back to Beatrice. I still was trembling with the +fever the message had lit in me. When I tried to answer, my voice was +hoarse and shaking. + +“It’s like drink!” I said. + +Lowell raised his eyes as though he meant to speak, and then lowered +them and stepped back, leaving Beatrice and myself together. + +“I only want you to see,” Beatrice began bravely, “how--how serious it +is. Every one of us in his life must have a moment like this, and, if +he could only know that the moment had come, he might decide wisely. You +know the moment has come. You must see that this is the crisis. It +means choosing not for a year, but for always.” She held out her hands, +entwining the fingers closely. “Oh, don’t think I’m trying to stop you, +Royal,” she cried. “I only want you to see that it’s final. I know that +it’s like strong drink to you, but the more you give way to it--. Don’t +you think, if you gave your life here a fairer trial, if you bore with +it a little longer--” + +She stopped sharply as though she recognized that, in urging me to a +choice, she was acting as she had determined she would not. I did not +answer, but stood in silence with my head bent, for I could not look at +her. I knew now how much dearer to me, even than her voice, was the one +which gave the call to arms. I did indeed understand that the crisis had +come. In that same room, five minutes before the message arrived, I had +sworn for her sake alone to submit to the life I hated. And yet in an +instant, without a moment’s pause, at the first sound of “Boots and +Saddles,” I had sprung to my first love, and had forgotten Beatrice +and my sworn allegiance. Knowing how greatly I loved her, I now could +understand, since it made me turn from her, how much greater must be my +love for this, her only rival, the old life that was again inviting me. + +I was no longer to be deceived; the one and only thing I really +loved, the one thing I understood and craved, was the free, homeless, +untrammelled life of the soldier of fortune. I wanted to see the shells +splash up the earth again, I wanted to throw my leg across a saddle, +I wanted to sleep on a blanket by a camp-fire, I wanted the kiss and +caress of danger, the joy which comes when the sword wins honor and +victory together, and I wanted the clear, clean view of right and wrong, +that is given only to those who hourly walk with death. + +I raised my head, and spoke very softly: + +“It is too late. I am sorry. But I have decided. I must go.” + +Lowell stepped out of the shadow, and faced me with the same strange +look, partly of wonder, and partly of indignation. + +“Nonsense, Royal,” he said, “let _me_ talk to you. We’ve been shipmates, +or comrades, and all that sort of thing, and you’ve got to listen to me. +Think, man, think what you’re losing. Think of all the things you are +giving up. Don’t be a weak child. This will affect your whole life. You +have no right to decide it in a minute.” + +I stepped to its hiding-place, and took out the sword my grandfather had +carried in the Civil War; the sword I had worn in Honduras. I had hidden +it away, that it might not remind me that once I, too, was a soldier. It +acted on me like a potion. The instant my fingers touched its hilt, the +blood, which had grown chilled, leaped through my body. In answer I held +the sword toward Lowell. It was very hard to speak. They did not know +how hard. They did not know how cruelly it hurt me to differ from +them, and to part from them. The very thought of it turned me sick and +miserable. But it was written. It had to be. + +“You ask me to think of what I am giving up,” I said, gently. “I gave up +this. I shall never surrender it again. I am not deciding in a minute. +It was decided for me long ago. It’s a tradition. It’s handed down to +me. My grandfather was Hamilton, of Cerro Gordo, of the City of Mexico, +of Gettysburg. My father was ‘Fighting’ Macklin. He was killed at the +head of his soldiers. All my people have been soldiers. One fought at +the battle of Princeton, one died fighting the king at Culloden. It’s +bred in me. It’s in the blood. It’s the blood of the Macklins that has +decided this. And I--I am the last of the Macklins, and I must live and +die like one.” + +The house is quiet now. They have all left me to my packing, and are +asleep. Lowell went early and bade me good-by at the gate. He was very +sad and solemn. “God bless you, Royal,” he said, “and keep you safe, +and bring you back to us.” And I watched him swinging down the silent, +moon-lit road, knocking the icicles from the hedges with his stick. I +stood there some time looking after him, for I love him very dearly, and +then a strange thing happened. After he had walked quite a distance from +the house, he suddenly raised his head and began to whistle a jolly, +rollicking sea-song. I could hear him for some minutes. I was glad to +think he took it so light-heartedly. It is good to know that he is not +jealous of my great fortune. + +To-night we spared each other the parting words. But to-morrow they must +be spoken, when Aunt Mary and Beatrice come to see me sail away on the +French liner. The ship leaves at noon, and ten days later I shall be in +Havre. Ye gods, to think that in ten days I shall see Paris! And then, +the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean, Singapore, and, at +last, the yellow flags and black dragons of the enemy. It cannot last +long, this row. I shall be coming home again in six months, unless the +Mahdi makes trouble. Laguerre was three years in the Khedive’s service, +and with his influence an ex-captain of the French army should have +little difficulty in getting a commission in Egypt. + +Then, after that, I really will come home. But not as an ex-soldier. +This time I shall come home on furlough. I shall come home a real +officer, and play the prodigal again to the two noblest and sweetest and +best women in God’s world. All women are good, but they are the best. +All women are so good, that when one of them thinks one of us is worthy +to marry her, she pays a compliment to our entire sex. But as they are +all good and all beautiful, Beatrice being the best and most beautiful, +I was right not to think of marrying only one of them. With the world +full of good women, and with a fight always going on somewhere, I am +very wise not to “settle down.” I know I shall be very happy. + +In a year I certainly must come back, a foreign officer on leave, and +I shall go to West Point and pay my respects to the Commandant. The men +who saw me turned out will have to present arms to me, and the older +men will say to the plebs, “That distinguished-looking officer with the +French mustache, and the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor, is Captain +Macklin. He was turned out of here. Now he’s only a soldier of fortune. +He belongs to no country.” + +But when the battalion is drawn up at retreat and the shadows stretch +across the grass, I shall take up my stand once more on the old parade +ground, with all the future Grants and Lees around me, and when the flag +comes down, I shall raise my hand with theirs, and show them that I have +a country, too, and that the flag we salute together is my flag still. + +THE END + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s Captain Macklin, by Richard Harding Davis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MACKLIN *** + +***** This file should be named 6015-0.txt or 6015-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/1/6015/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Captain Macklin + +Author: Richard Harding Davis + + +Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6015] +This file was first posted on October 17, 2002 +Last Updated: March 4, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MACKLIN *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + CAPTAIN MACKLIN + </h1> + <h2> + HIS MEMOIRS + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Richard Harding Davis + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + Illustrated By Walter Appleton Clark + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + To MY MOTHER + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI </a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_ILL" id="link2H_ILL"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Illustrations (not available in this file) + </p> + <p> + <br />"Go, Royal!” he cried, “and—God bless you!” FRONTISPIECE <br /> + <br />He made our meeting something of a ceremony <br /> <br />We walked out + to the woods <br /> <br />I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always + suit me <br /> <br />The moon rose over the camp ... but still we sat <br /> + <br />And the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack yard <br /> + <br />I sprang back against the cabin <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I + </h2> + <h3> + UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT + </h3> + <p> + It may seem presumptuous that so young a man as myself should propose to + write his life and memoirs, for, as a rule, one waits until he has + accomplished something in the world, or until he has reached old age, + before he ventures to tell of the times in which he has lived, and of his + part in them. But the profession to which I belong, which is that of a + soldier, and which is the noblest profession a man can follow, is a + hazardous one, and were I to delay until to-morrow to write down what I + have seen and done, these memoirs might never be written, for, such being + the fortune of war, to-morrow might not come. + </p> + <p> + So I propose to tell now of the little I have accomplished in the first + twenty-three years of my life, and, from month to month, to add to these + memoirs in order that, should I be suddenly taken off, my debit and credit + pages may be found carefully written up to date and carried forward. On + the other hand, should I live to be an old man, this record of my career + will furnish me with material for a more complete autobiography, and will + serve as a safeguard against a failing memory. + </p> + <p> + In writing a personal narrative I take it that the most important events + to be chronicled in the life of a man are his choice of a wife and his + choice of a profession. As I am unmarried, the chief event in my life is + my choice of a profession, and as to that, as a matter of fact, I was + given no choice, but from my earliest childhood was destined to be a + soldier. My education and my daily environment each pointed to that + career, and even if I had shown a remarkable aptitude for any other + calling, which I did not, I doubt if I would have pursued it. I am + confident that had my education been directed in an entirely different + channel, I should have followed my destiny, and come out a soldier in the + end. For by inheritance as well as by instinct I was foreordained to + follow the fortunes of war, to delight in the clash of arms and the smoke + of battle; and I expect that when I do hear the clash of arms and smell + the smoke of battle, the last of the Macklins will prove himself worthy of + his ancestors. + </p> + <p> + I call myself the last of the Macklins for the reason that last year, on + my twenty-second birthday, I determined I should never marry. Women I + respect and admire, several of them, especially two of the young ladies at + Miss Butler’s Academy I have deeply loved, but a soldier cannot devote + himself both to a woman and to his country. As one of our young professors + said, “The flag is a jealous mistress.” + </p> + <p> + The one who, in my earliest childhood, arranged that I should follow the + profession of arms, was my mother’s father, and my only surviving + grandparent. He was no less a personage than Major-General John M. + Hamilton. I am not a writer; my sword, I fear and hope, will always be + easier in my hand than my pen, but I wish for a brief moment I could hold + it with such skill, that I might tell of my grandfather properly and + gratefully, and describe him as the gentle and brave man he was. I know he + was gentle, for though I never had a woman to care for me as a mother + cares for a son, I never missed that care; and I know how brave he was, + for that is part of the history of my country. During many years he was my + only parent or friend or companion; he taught me my lessons by day and my + prayers by night, and, when I passed through all the absurd ailments to + which a child is heir, he sat beside my cot and lulled me to sleep, or + told me stories of the war. There was a childlike and simple quality in + his own nature, which made me reach out to him and confide in him as I + would have done to one of my own age. Later, I scoffed at this virtue in + him as something old-fashioned and credulous. That was when I had reached + the age when I was older, I hope, than I shall ever be again. There is no + such certainty of knowledge on all subjects as one holds at eighteen and + at eighty, and at eighteen I found his care and solicitude irritating and + irksome. With the intolerance of youth, I could not see the love that was + back of his anxiety, and which should have softened it for me with a halo + and made me considerate and grateful. Now I see it—I see it now that + it is too late. But surely he understood, he knew how I looked up to him, + how I loved him, and how I tried to copy him, and, because I could not, + consoled myself inwardly by thinking that the reason I had failed was + because his way was the wrong one, and that my way was the better. If he + did not understand then, he understands now; I cannot bear to think he + does not understand and forgive me. + </p> + <p> + Those were the best days of my life, the days I spent with him as a child + in his own home on the Hudson. It stands at Dobbs Ferry, set in a grove of + pines, with a garden about it, and a box hedge that shuts it from the + road. The room I best remember is the one that overlooks the Hudson and + the Palisades. From its windows you can watch the great vessels passing up + and down the river, and the excursion steamers flying many flags, and tiny + pleasure-boats and great barges. There is an open fireplace in this room, + and in a corner formed by the book-case, and next to the wood-box, was my + favorite seat. My grandfather’s place was in a great leather chair beside + the centre-table, and I used to sit cross-legged on a cushion at his feet, + with my back against his knees and my face to the open hearth. I can still + see the pages of “Charles O’Malley” and “Midshipman Easy,” as I read them + by the lifting light of that wood fire, and I can hear the wind roaring + down the chimney and among the trees outside, and the steamers signalling + to each other as they pushed through the ice and fog to the great city + that lay below us. I can feel the fire burning my face, and the cold + shivers that ran down my back, as my grandfather told me of the Indians + who had once hunted in the very woods back of our house, and of those he + had fought with on the plains. With the imagination of a child, I could + hear, mingled with the shrieks of the wind as it dashed the branches + against the roof, their hideous war-cries as they rushed to some night + attack, or the howling of the wolves in the snow. When I think of myself + as I was then I am very fond of that little boy who sat shivering with + excitement, and staring with open eyes at the pictures he saw in the + firelight, a little boy who had made no enemies, no failures, who had + harmed no one, and who knew nothing of the world outside the walls that + sheltered him, save the brave old soldier who was his law and his example, + his friend in trouble, and his playmate. + </p> + <p> + I knew nothing then, and I know very little now, either of my father or my + mother. Whenever I asked my grandfather concerning them he always answered + vaguely that he would tell me some day, “when you are of age,” but whether + he meant when I was twenty-one or of an age when I was best fitted to hear + the truth, I shall never know. But I guessed the truth from what he let + fall, and from what I have since heard from others, although that is but + little, for I could not ask strangers to tell me of my own people. For + some reason, soon after they were married my mother and father separated + and she brought me to live with her father, and he entered the Southern + army. + </p> + <p> + I like to think that I can remember my mother, and it seems I must, for + very dimly I recollect a young girl who used to sit by the window looking + out at the passing vessels. There is a daguerreotype of my mother, and it + may be that my recollection of her is builded upon that portrait. She died + soon after we came to live with my grandfather, when I was only three + years old, but I am sure I remember her, for no other woman was ever in + the house, and the figure of the young girl looking out across at the + Palisades is very clear to me. + </p> + <p> + My father was an Irish officer and gentleman, who came to the States to + better his fortunes. This was just before the war; and as soon as it + began, although he lived in the North, in New York City, he joined the + Southern army and was killed. I believe, from what little I have learned + of him, that he was both wild and reckless, but the few who remember him + all say that he had many noble qualities, and was much loved by men, and, + I am afraid, by women. I do not know more than that, except the one story + of him, which my grandfather often told me. + </p> + <p> + “Whatever a man may say of your father,” he would tell me, “you need not + believe; for they may not have understood him, and all that you need to + remember, until when you are of age I shall tell you the whole truth, is + how he died.” It is a brief story. My father was occupying a trench which + for some hours his company had held under a heavy fire. When the Yankees + charged with the bayonet he rose to meet them, but at the same moment the + bugle sounded the retreat, and half of his company broke and ran. My + father sprang to the top of the trench and called, “Come back, boys, we’ll + give them one more volley.” It may have been that he had misunderstood the + call of the bugle, and disobeyed through ignorance, or it may have been + that in his education the signal to retreat had been omitted, for he did + not heed it, and stood outlined against the sky, looking back and waving + his hand to his men. But they did not come to him, and the advancing troop + fired, and he fell upon the trench with his body stretched along its + length. The Union officer was far in advance of his own company, and when + he leaped upon the trench he found that it was empty and that the + Confederate troops were in retreat. He turned, and shouted, laughing: + “Come on! there’s only one man here—and he’s dead!” + </p> + <p> + But my father reached up his hand, to where the officer stood above him, + and pulled at his scabbard. + </p> + <p> + “Not dead, but dying, Captain,” my father said. “And that’s better than + retreating, isn’t it?” + </p> + <p> + “And that is the story,” my grandfather used to say to me, “you must + remember of your father, and whatever else he did does not count.” + </p> + <p> + At the age of ten my grandfather sent me to a military academy near Dobbs + Ferry, where boys were prepared for college and for West Point and + Annapolis. I was a very poor scholar, and, with the exception of what I + learned in the drill-hall and the gymnasium, the academy did me very + little good, and I certainly did not, at that time at least, reflect any + credit on the academy. Had I been able to take half the interest in my + studies my grandfather showed in them, I would have won prizes in every + branch; but even my desire to please him could not make me understand the + simplest problems in long division; and later here at the Point, the + higher branches of mathematics, combined with other causes, have nearly + deprived the United States Army of a gallant officer. I believe I have it + in me to take a piece of field artillery by assault, but I know I shall + never be able to work out the formula necessary to adjust its elevation. + </p> + <p> + With the exception, perhaps, of Caesar’s “Commentaries,” I hated all of my + studies, not only on their own account, but because they cut me out of the + talks with which in the past my grandfather and I had been wont to close + each day. These talks, which were made up on my part of demands for more + stories, or for repetitions of those I already knew by heart, did more + than any other thing to inspire me with a desire for military glory. My + grandfather had served through the Mexican War, in the Indian campaigns on + the plains, and during the War of the Rebellion, and his memory recalled + the most wonderful and exciting of adventures. He was singularly modest, + which is a virtue I never could consider as a high one, for I find that + the world takes you at your own valuation, and unless “the terrible + trumpet of Fame” is sounded by yourself no one else will blow your trumpet + for you. Of that you may be sure. But I can’t recall ever having heard my + grandfather relate to people of his own age any of the adventures which he + told me, and once I even caught him recounting a personal experience which + redounded greatly to his credit as having happened to “a man in his + regiment.” When with childish delight I at once accused him of this he was + visibly annoyed, and blushed like a girl, and afterward corrected me for + being so forward in the presence of my elders. His modesty went even to + the length of his keeping hidden in his bedroom the three presentation + swords which had been given him at different times for distinguished + action on the field. One came from the men of his regiment, one from his + townspeople after his return from the City of Mexico, and one from the + people of the State of New York; and nothing I could say would induce him + to bring them downstairs to our sitting room, where visitors might see + them. Personally, I cannot understand what a presentation sword is for + except to show to your friends; for, as a rule, they are very badly + balanced and of no use for fighting. + </p> + <p> + Had it not been for the colored prints of the different battles in Mexico + which hung in our sitting room, and some Indian war-bonnets and bows and + arrows, and a box of duelling pistols, no one would have supposed that our + house belonged to one of the most distinguished generals of his day. You + may be sure I always pointed these out to our visitors, and one of my + chief pleasures was to dress one of my schoolmates in the Indian war + bonnet, and then scalp him with a carving knife. The duelling pistols were + even a greater delight to me. They were equipped with rifle barrels and + hair triggers, and were inlaid richly with silver, and more than once had + been used on the field of honor. Whenever my grandfather went out for a + walk, or to play whist at the house of a neighbor, I would get down these + pistols and fight duels with myself in front of the looking-glass. With my + left hand I would hold the handkerchief above my head, and with the other + clutch the pistol at my side, and then, at the word, and as the + handkerchief fluttered to the floor, I would take careful aim and pull the + trigger. Sometimes I died and made speeches before I expired, and + sometimes I killed my adversary and stood smiling down at him. + </p> + <p> + My grandfather was a member of the Aztec Club, which was organized during + the occupation of the City of Mexico by the American officers who had + stormed the capital; and on the occasion of one of its annual meetings, + which that year was held in Philadelphia, I was permitted to accompany him + to that city. It was the longest journey from home I had ever taken, and + each incident of it is still clearly fixed in my mind. The event of the + reunion was a dinner given at the house of General Patterson, and on the + morning before the dinner the members of the club were invited to assemble + in the garden which surrounded his house. To this meeting my grandfather + conducted me, and I found myself surrounded by the very men of whom he had + so often spoken. I was very frightened, and I confess I was surprised and + greatly disappointed also to find that they were old and gray-haired men, + and not the young and dashing warriors he had described. General Patterson + alone did not disappoint me, for even at that late day he wore a blue coat + with brass buttons and a buff waistcoat and high black stock. He had a + strong, fine profile and was smooth shaven. I remember I found him exactly + my ideal of the Duke of Wellington; for though I was only then ten or + twelve years of age, I had my own ideas about every soldier from Alexander + and Von Moltke to our own Captain Custer. + </p> + <p> + It was in the garden behind the Patterson house that we met the General, + and he alarmed me very much by pulling my shoulders back and asking me my + age, and whether or not I expected to be as brave a soldier as my + grandfather, to which latter question I said, “Yes, General,” and then + could have cried with mortification, for all of the great soldiers laughed + at me. One of them turned, and said to the only one who was seated, “That + is Hamilton’s grandson.” The man who was seated did not impress me very + much. He was younger than the others. He wore a black suit and a black + tie, and the three upper buttons of his waistcoat were unfastened. His + beard was close-cropped, like a blacking-brush, and he was chewing on a + cigar that had burned so far down that I remember wondering why it did not + scorch his mustache. And then, as I stood staring up at him and he down at + me, it came over me who he was, and I can recall even now how my heart + seemed to jump, and I felt terribly frightened and as though I were going + to cry. My grandfather bowed to the younger man in the courteous, + old-fashioned manner he always observed, and said: “General, this is my + grandchild, Captain Macklin’s boy. When he grows up I want him to be able + to say he has met you. I am going to send him to West Point.” + </p> + <p> + The man in the chair nodded his head at my grandfather, and took his cigar + from his mouth and said, “When he’s ready to enter, remind me, let me + know,” and closed his lips again on his cigar, as though he had missed it + even during that short space if time. But had he made a long oration + neither my grandfather nor I could have been more deeply moved. My + grandfather said: “Thank you, General. It is very kind of you,” and led me + away smiling so proudly that it was beautiful to see him. When he had + entered the house he stopped, and bending over me, asked. “Do you know who + that was, Roy?” But with the awe of the moment still heavy upon me I could + only nod and gasp at him. + </p> + <p> + “That was General Grant,” my grandfather said. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I know,” I whispered. + </p> + <p> + I am not particularly proud of the years that preceded my entrance to West + Point, and of the years I have spent here I have still less reason to be + content. I was an active boy, and behaved as other young cubs of that age, + no better and no worse. Dobbs Ferry was not a place where temptations + beset one, and, though we were near New York, we were not of it, and we + seldom visited it. When we did, it was to go to a matinee at some theatre, + returning the same afternoon in time for supper. My grandfather was very + fond of the drama, and had been acquainted since he was a young man with + some of the most distinguished actors. With him I saw Edwin Booth in + “Macbeth,” and Lester Wallack in “Rosedale,” and John McCullough in + “Virginius,” a tragedy which was to me so real and moving that I wept all + the way home in the train. Sometimes I was allowed to visit the theatre + alone, and on these afternoons I selected performances of a lighter + variety, such as that given by Harrigan & Hart in their theatre on + Broadway. Every Thanksgiving Day I was allowed, after witnessing the + annual football match between the students from Princeton and Yale + universities, to remain in town all that night. On these great occasions I + used to visit Koster & Bial’s on Twenty-third Street, a long, low + building, very dark and very smoky, and which on those nights was blocked + with excited mobs of students, wearing different colored ribbons and + shouting the cries of their different colleges. I envied and admired these + young gentlemen, and thought them very fine fellows indeed. They wore in + those days long green coats, which made them look like coachmen, and high, + bell-shaped hats, both of which, as I now can see, were a queer survival + of the fashions of 1830, and which now for the second time have + disappeared. + </p> + <p> + To me, with my country clothes and manners and scanty spending money, the + way these young collegians wagered their money at the football match and + drank from their silver flasks, and smoked and swaggered in the hotel + corridors, was something to be admired and copied. And although I knew + none of them, and would have been ashamed had they seen me in company with + any of my boy friends from Dobbs Ferry, I followed them from one hotel to + another, pretending I was with them, and even penetrated at their heels + into the cafe of Delmonico. I felt then for a brief moment that I was + “seeing life,” the life of a great metropolis, and in company with the + young swells who made it the rushing, delightful whirlpool it appeared to + be. + </p> + <p> + It seemed to me, then, that to wear a green coachman’s coat, to rush the + doorkeeper at the Haymarket dance-hall, and to eat supper at the “Silver + Grill” was to be “a man about town,” and each year I returned to our + fireside at Dobbs Ferry with some discontent. The excursions made me look + restlessly forward to the day when I would return from my Western post, a + dashing young cavalry officer on leave, and would wake up the cafes and + clubs of New York, and throw my money about as carelessly as these older + boys were doing then. + </p> + <p> + My appointment to West Point did not, after all, come from General Grant, + but from President Arthur, who was in office when I reached my nineteenth + year. Had I depended upon my Congressman for the appointment, and had it + been made after a competitive examination of candidates, I doubt if I + would have been chosen. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps my grandfather feared this and had it in his mind when he asked + the President to appoint me. It was the first favor he had ever asked of + the Government he had served so well, and I felt more grateful to him for + having asked the favor, knowing what it cost him to do so, than I did to + the President for granting it. + </p> + <p> + I was accordingly entered upon the rolls of the Military Academy, and my + career as a soldier began. I wish I could say it began brilliantly, but + the records of the Academy would not bear me out. Had it not been that I + was forced to study books I would not have been a bad student; for in + everything but books, in everything that bore directly on the training of + a soldier and which depended upon myself, as, for example, drill, riding, + marksmanship, and a knowledge of the manual, I did as well, or far better, + than any of my classmates. But I could not, or would not, study, and + instead of passing high in my class at the end of the plebe year, as my + natural talents seemed to promise I would do, I barely scraped through, + and the outlook for the second year was not encouraging. The campaign in + Mexico had given my grandfather a knowledge of Spanish, and as a boy he + had drilled this language into me, for it was a fixed belief of his, that + if the United States ever went to war, it would be with some of her + Spanish-American neighbors, with Mexico, or Central America, or with Spain + on account of Cuba. In consequence he considered it most essential that + every United States officer should speak Spanish. He also argued that a + knowledge of French was of even greater importance to an officer and a + gentleman, as it was, as I have since found it to be, the most widely + spoken of all languages. I was accordingly well drilled in these two + tongues, and I have never regretted time I spent on them, for my facility + in them has often served me well, has pulled me out of tight places, put + money into my pocket, and gained me friends when but for them I might have + remained and departed a stranger among strangers. My French accordingly + helped me much as a “yearling,” and in camp I threw myself so earnestly + into the skirmish, artillery, and cavalry drills that in spite of my low + marks I still stood high in the opinion of the cadet officers and of my + instructors. With my classmates, for some reason, although in all + out-of-door exercises I was the superior of most of them, I was not + popular. I would not see this at first, for I try to keep on friendly + terms with those around me, and I want to be liked even by people of whom + I have no very high opinion and from whom I do not want anything besides. + But I was not popular. There was no disguising that, and in the gymnasium + or the riding-hall other men would win applause for performing a feat of + horsemanship or a difficult trick on the parallel bars, which same feat, + when I repeated it immediately after them, and even a little better than + they had done it, would be received in silence. I could not see the reason + for this, and the fact itself hurt me much more than anyone guessed. Then + as they would not signify by their approbation that I was the best athlete + in the class, I took to telling them that I was, which did not help + matters. I find it is the same in the world as it is at the Academy—that + if one wants recognition, he must pretend not to see that he deserves it. + If he shows he does see it, everyone else will grow blind, holding, I + suppose, that a conceited man carries his own comfort with him, and is his + own reward. I soon saw that the cadet who was modest received more praise + than the cadet who was his superior, but who, through repeated success, + had acquired a self-confident, or, as some people call it, a conceited + manner; and so, for a time, I pretended to be modest, too, and I never + spoke of my athletic successes. But I was never very good at pretending, + and soon gave it up. Then I grew morbid over my inability to make friends, + and moped by myself, having as little to do with my classmates as + possible. In my loneliness I began to think that I was a much + misunderstood individual. My solitary state bred in me a most unhealthy + disgust for myself, and, as it always is with those who are at times + exuberantly light-hearted and self-assertive, I had terrible fits of + depression and lack of self-confidence, during which spells I hated myself + and all of those about me. Once, during one of these moods, a First-Class + man, who had been a sneak in his plebe year and a bully ever since, asked + me, sneeringly, how “Napoleon on the Isle of St. Helena” was feeling that + morning, and I told him promptly to go to the devil, and added that if he + addressed me again, except in the line of his duty, I would thrash him + until he could not stand or see. Of course he sent me his second, and one + of my classmates acted for me. We went out that same evening after supper + behind Fort Clinton, and I thrashed him so badly that he was laid up in + the hospital for several days. After that I took a much more cheerful view + of life, and as it seemed hardly fair to make one cadet bear the whole + brunt of my displeasure toward the entire battalion, I began picking + quarrels with anyone who made pretensions of being a fighter, and who + chanced to be bigger than myself. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes I got badly beaten, and sometimes I thrashed the other man, but + whichever way it went, those battles in the soft twilight evenings behind + the grass-grown ramparts of the old fort, in the shadow of the Kosciusko + Monument, will always be the brightest and pleasantest memories of my life + at this place. + </p> + <p> + My grandfather had one other daughter besides my mother, my Aunt Mary, who + had married a Harvard professor, Dr. Endicott, and who had lived in + Cambridge ever since they married. + </p> + <p> + In my second year here, Dr. Endicott died and my grandfather at once went + to Cambridge to bring Aunt Mary and her daughter Beatrice back with him, + installing them in our little home, which thereafter was to be theirs as + well. He wrote me saying he knew I would not disapprove of this invasion + of my place by my young cousin and assured me that no one, girl or boy, + could ever take the place in his heart that I had held. As a matter of + fact I was secretly pleased to hear of this addition to our little + household. I knew that as soon as I was graduated I would be sent to some + army post in the West, and that the occasional visit I was now able to pay + to Dobbs Ferry would be discontinued. I hated to think that in his old age + my grandfather would be quite alone. On the other hand, when, after the + arrival of my cousin, I received his first letter and found it filled with + enthusiastic descriptions of her, and of how anxious she was to make him + happy, I felt a little thrill of jealousy. It gave me some sharp pangs of + remorse, and I asked myself searchingly if I had always done my utmost to + please my grandfather and to give him pride and pleasure in me. I + determined for the future I would think only of how to make him happy. + </p> + <p> + A few weeks later I was able to obtain a few hours’ leave, and I wasted no + time in running down from the Point to make the acquaintance of my cousin, + and to see how the home looked under the new regime. I found it changed, + and, except that I felt then and afterward that I was a guest, it was + changed for the better. + </p> + <p> + I found that my grandfather was much more comfortable in every way. The + newcomers were both eager and loving, although no one could help but love + my grandfather, and they invented wants he had never felt before, and + satisfied them, while at the same time they did not interfere with the + life he had formerly led. Aunt Mary is an unselfish soul, and most content + when she is by herself engaged in the affairs of the house and in doing + something for those who live in it. Besides her unselfishness, which is to + me the highest as it is the rarest of virtues, hers is a sweet and noble + character, and she is one of the gentlest souls that I have ever known. + </p> + <p> + I may say the same of my cousin Beatrice. When she came into the room, my + first thought was how like she was to a statuette of a Dresden shepherdess + which had always stood at one end of our mantel-piece, coquetting with the + shepherd lad on the other side of the clock. As a boy, the shepherdess had + been my ideal of feminine loveliness. Since then my ideals had changed + rapidly and often, but Beatrice reminded me that the shepherdess had once + been my ideal. She wore a broad straw hat, with artificial roses which + made it hang down on one side, and, as she had been working in our garden, + she wore huge gloves and carried a trowel in one hand. As she entered, my + grandfather rose hastily from his chair and presented us with impressive + courtesy. “Royal,” he said, “this is your cousin, Beatrice Endicott.” If + he had not been present, I think we would have shaken hands without + restraint. But he made our meeting something of a ceremony. I brought my + heels together and bowed as I have been taught to do at the Academy, and + seeing this she made a low courtesy. She did this apparently with great + gravity, but as she kept her eyes on mine I saw that she was mocking me. + If I am afraid of anything it has certainly never proved to be a girl, but + I confess I was strangely embarrassed. My cousin seemed somehow different + from any of the other girls I had met. She was not at all like those with + whom I had danced at the hotel hops, and to whom I gave my brass buttons + in Flirtation Walk. She was more fine, more illusive, and yet most + fascinating, with a quaint old-fashioned manner that at times made her + seem quite a child, and the next moment changed her into a worldly and + charming young woman. She made you feel she was much older than yourself + in years and in experience and in knowledge. That is the way my cousin + appeared to me the first time I saw her, when she stood in the middle of + the room courtesying mockingly at me and looking like a picture on an old + French fan. That is how she has since always seemed to me—one moment + a woman, and the next a child; one moment tender and kind and merry, and + the next disapproving, distant, and unapproachable. + </p> + <p> + {Illustration: He made our meeting something of a ceremony.} + </p> + <p> + Up to the time I met Beatrice I had never thought it possible to consider + a girl as a friend. For the matter of that, I had no friends even among + men, and I made love to girls. My attitude toward girls, if one can say + that a man of eighteen has an attitude, was always that of the devoted + admirer. If they did not want me as a devoted admirer, I put them down as + being proud and haughty or “stuck up.” It never occurred to me then that + there might be a class of girl who, on meeting you, did not desire that + you should at once tell her exactly how you loved her, and why. The girls + who came to Cranston’s certainly seemed to expect you to set their minds + at rest on that subject, and my point of view of girls was taken entirely + from them. I can remember very well my pause of dawning doubt and surprise + when a girl first informed me she thought a man who told her she was + pretty was impertinent. What bewildered me still more on that occasion was + that this particular girl was so extremely beautiful that to talk about + anything else but her beauty was a waste of time. It made all other topics + trivial, and yet she seemed quite sincere in what she said, and refused to + allow me to bring our talk to the personal basis of “what I am to you” and + “what you are to me.” It was in discussing that question that I considered + myself an artist and a master. My classmates agreed with me in thinking as + I did, and from the first moment I came here called me “Masher” Macklin, a + sobriquet of which I fear for a time I was rather proud. Certainly, I + strove to live up to it. I believe I dignified my conduct to myself by + calling it “flirtation.” Flirtation, as I understood it, was a sort of + game in which I honestly believed the entire world of men and women, of + every class and age, were eagerly engaged. Indeed, I would have thought it + rather ungallant, and conduct unworthy of an officer and a gentleman, had + I not at once pretended to hold an ardent interest in every girl I met. + This seems strange now, but from the age of fourteen up to the age of + twenty that was my way of regarding the girls I met, and even today I fear + my attitude toward them has altered but slightly, for now, although I no + longer tend to care when I do not, nor make love as a matter of course, I + find it is the easiest attitude to assume toward most women. It is the + simplest to slip into, just as I have certainly found it the one from + which it is most difficult to escape, But I never seem to remember that + until it is too late. A classmate of mine once said to me: “Royal, you + remind me of a man walking along a road with garden gates opening on each + side of it. Instead of keeping to the road, you stop at every gate, and + say: ‘Oh! what a pretty garden! I’ll just slip in there, and find out + where that path will take me.’ And then—you’re either thrown out, + and the gate slammed after you, or you lose yourself in a maze and you + can’t get out—until you break out. But does that ever teach you a + lesson? No! Instead of going ahead along the straight and narrow way, and + keeping out of temptation, you halt at the very next gate you come to, + just as though you had never seen a gate before, and exclaim: ‘Now, this + <i>is</i> a pretty garden, and <i>what</i> a neat white fence! I really + must vault in and take a look round.’ And so the whole thing is gone over + again.” + </p> + <p> + I confess there may be some truth in what he said, but the trouble I find + with the straight and narrow way is that there’s not room enough in it for + two. And, then, it is only fair to me to say that some of the gardens were + really most beautiful, and the shade very deep and sweet there, and the + memories of the minutes I passed in them were very refreshing when I went + back to the dust of the empty road. And no one, man or woman, can say that + Royal Macklin ever trampled on the flowers, or broke the branches, or + trespassed in another man’s private grounds. + </p> + <p> + It was my cousin Beatrice who was responsible for the change of heart in + me toward womankind. For very soon after she came to live with us, I + noticed that in regard to all other young women I was growing daily more + exacting. I did not admit this to myself, and still less to Beatrice, + because she was most scornful of the girls I knew, and mocked at them. + This was quite unfair of her, because she had no real acquaintance with + them, and knew them only from photographs and tintypes, of which I had a + most remarkable collection, and of what I chose to tell her about them. I + was a good deal annoyed to find that the stories which appealed to me as + best illustrating the character of each of my friends, only seemed to + furnish Beatrice with fresh material for ridicule, and the girls of whom I + said the least were the ones of whom she approved. The only girls of my + acquaintance who also were friends of hers, were two sisters who lived at + Dobbs Ferry, and whose father owned the greater part of it, and a yacht, + in which he went down to his office every morning. But Beatrice held that + my manner even to them was much too free and familiar, and that she could + not understand why I did not see that it was annoying to them as well. I + could not tell her in my own defence that their manner to me, when she was + with us and when she was not, varied in a remarkable degree. It was not + only girls who carried themselves differently before Beatrice: every man + who met her seemed to try and show her the best in him, or at least to + suppress any thought or act which might displease her. It was not that she + was a prig, or an angel, but she herself was so fine and sincere, and + treated all with such an impersonal and yet gracious manner that it became + contagious, and everybody who met her imitated the model she unconsciously + furnished. I was very much struck with this when she visited the Academy. + Men who before her coming had seemed bold enough for any game, became dumb + and embarrassed in her presence, and eventually it was the officers and + instructors who escorted her over the grounds, while I and my + acquaintances among the cadets formed a straggling rear-guard at her + heels. On account of my grandfather, both she and my aunt were made much + of by the Commandant and all the older officers, and when they continued + to visit the Academy they were honored and welcomed for themselves, and I + found that on such occasions my own popularity was enormously increased. I + have always been susceptible to the opinion of others. Even when the + reigning belle or the popular man of the class was not to me personally + attractive, the fact that she was the reigning belle and that he was the + man of the hour made me seek out the society of each. This was even so, + when, as a matter of fact, I should have much preferred to dance with some + less conspicuous beauty or talk with a more congenial companion. + Consequently I began to value my cousin, whom I already regarded with the + most tremendous admiration, for those lighter qualities which are common + to all attractive girls, but which in my awe of her I had failed to + recognize. There were many times, even, when I took myself by the + shoulders and faced the question if I were not in love with Beatrice. I + mean truly in love, with that sort of love that one does not talk about, + even to one’s self, certainly not to the girl. As the young man of the + family, I had assumed the position of the heir of the house, and treated + Beatrice like a younger sister, but secretly I considered her in no such + light. + </p> + <p> + Many nights when on post I would halt to think of her, and of her + loveliness and high sincerity, and forget my duty while I stood with my + arms crossed on the muzzle of my gun. In such moments the night, the + silence, the moonlight piercing the summer leaves and falling at my feet, + made me forget my promise to myself that I would never marry. I used to + imagine then it was not the unlicked cubs under the distant tents I was + protecting, but that I was awake to watch over and guard Beatrice, or that + I was a knight, standing his vigil so that he might be worthy to wear the + Red Cross and enter her service. In those lonely watches I saw + littlenesses and meannesses in myself, which I could not see in the brisk + light of day, and my self-confidence slipped from me and left me naked and + abashed. I saw myself as a vain, swaggering boy, who, if he ever hoped to + be a man among men, such as Beatrice was a woman above all other women, + must change his nature at once and forever. + </p> + <p> + I was glad that I owed these good resolutions to her. I was glad that it + was she who inspired them. Those nights, as I leaned on my gun, I dreamed + even that it might end happily and beautifully in our marriage. I wondered + if I could make her care, if I could ever be worthy of her, and I vowed + hotly that I would love her as no other woman was ever loved. + </p> + <p> + And then I would feel the cold barrel of my musket pressing against the + palm of my hand, or the bayonet would touch my cheek, and at the touch + something would tighten in my throat, and I would shake the thoughts from + me and remember that I was sworn to love only my country and my country’s + flag. + </p> + <p> + In my third year here my grandfather died. As the winter closed in he had + daily grown more feeble, and sat hour after hour in his great armchair, + dozing and dreaming, before the open fire. And one morning when he was + alone in the room, Death, which had so often taken the man at his side, + and stood at salute to let him live until his work was done, came to him + and touched him gently. A few days later when his body passed through the + streets of our little village, all the townspeople left their houses and + shops, and stood in silent rows along the sidewalks, with their heads + uncovered to the falling snow. Soldiers of his old regiments, now busy men + of affairs in the great city below us, came to march behind him for the + last time. Officers of the Loyal Legion, veterans of the Mexican War, + regulars from Governor’s Island, with their guns reversed, societies, + political clubs, and strangers who knew him only by what he had done for + his country, followed in the long procession as it wound its way through + the cold, gray winter day to the side of the open grave. Until then I had + not fully understood what it meant to me, for my head had been numbed and + dulled; but as the body disappeared into the grave, and the slow notes of + the bugle rose in the final call of “Lights out,” I put my head on my + aunt’s shoulder and cried like a child. And I felt as though I were a + child again, as I did when he came and sat beside my bed, and heard me say + my prayers, and then closed the door behind him, leaving me in the + darkness and alone. + </p> + <p> + But I was not entirely alone, for Beatrice was true and understanding; + putting her own grief out of sight, caring for mine, and giving it the + first place in her thoughts. For the next two days we walked for hours + through the autumn woods where the dead leaves rustled beneath our feet, + thinking and talking of him. Or for hours we would sit in silence, until + the sun sank a golden red behind the wall of the Palisades, and we went + back through the cold night to the open fireside and his empty chair. + </p> + <h3> + ST. CHARLES HOTEL, NEW ORLEANS + </h3> + <p> + Six months ago had anyone told me that the day would come when I would + feel thankful for the loss of my grandfather, I would have struck him. But + for the last week I have been almost thankful that he is dead. The worst + that could occur has happened. I am in bitter disgrace, and I am grateful + that grandfather died before it came upon me. I have been dismissed from + the Academy. The last of the “Fighting” Macklins has been declared unfit + to hold the President’s commission. I am cast out irrevocably; there is no + appeal against the decision. I shall never change the gray for the blue. I + shall never see the U. S. on my saddle-cloth, nor salute my country’s flag + as it comes fluttering down at sunset. + </p> + <p> + That I am on my way to try and redeem myself is only an attempt to patch + up the broken pieces. The fact remains that the army has no use for me. I + have been dismissed from West Point, in disgrace. It was a girl who + brought it about, or rather my own foolishness over a girl. And before + that there was much that led up to it. It is hard to write about it, but + in these memoirs I mean to tell everything—the good, with the bad. + And as I deserve no excuse, I make none. + </p> + <p> + During that winter, after the death of my grandfather, and the spring + which had followed, I tried hard to do well at the Point. I wanted to show + them that though my grandfather was gone, his example and his wishes still + inspired me. And though I was not a studious cadet, I was a smart soldier, + and my demerits, when they came, were for smoking in my room or for + breaking some other such silly rule, and never for slouching through the + manual or coming on parade with my belts twisted. And at the end of the + second year I had been promoted from corporal to be a cadet first + sergeant, so that I was fourth in command over a company of seventy. + Although this gave me the advantage of a light after “taps” until eleven + o’clock, my day was so taken up with roll-calls, riding and evening drills + and parade, that I never seemed to find time to cram my mechanics and + chemistry, of which latter I could never see any possible benefit. How a + knowledge of what acid will turn blue litmus-paper red is going to help an + officer to find fodder for his troop horses, or inspire him to lead a + forlorn hope, was then, and still is, beyond my youthful comprehension. + </p> + <p> + But these studies were down on the roster, and whether I thought well of + them or not I was marked on them and judged accordingly. But I cannot + claim that it was owing to them or my failure to understand them that my + dismissal came, for, in spite of the absence of 3’s in my markings and the + abundance of 2’s, I was still a soldierly cadet, and in spite of the fact + that I was a stupid student, I made an excellent drill-master. + </p> + <p> + The trouble, when it came, was all my own making, and my dismissal was + entirely due to an act of silly recklessness and my own idiocy. I had + taken chances before and had not been caught; several times I ran the + sentries at night for the sake of a noisy, drunken spree at a road-side + tavern, and several times I had risked my chevrons because I did not + choose to respect the arbitrary rules of the Academy which chafed my + spirit and invited me to rebellion. It was not so much that I enjoyed + those short hours of freedom, which I snatched in the face of such serious + penalties, but it was the risk of the thing itself which attracted me, and + which stirred the spirit of adventure that at times sways us all. + </p> + <p> + It was a girl who brought about my dismissal. I do not mean that she was + in any way to blame, but she was the indirect cause of my leaving the + Academy. It was a piece of fool’s fortune, and I had not even the + knowledge that I cared in the least for the girl to console me. She was + only one of the several “piazza girls,” as we called certain ones of those + who were staying at Cranston’s, with whom I had danced, to whom I had made + pretty speeches, and had given the bell button that was sewn just over my + heart. She certainly was not the best of them, for I can see now that she + was vain and shallow, with a pert boldness, which I mistook for vivacity + and wit. Three years ago, at the age of twenty, my knowledge of women was + so complete that I divided them into six classes, and as soon as I met a + new one I placed her in one of these classes and created her according to + the line of campaign I had laid down as proper for that class. Now, at + twenty-three, I believe that there are as many different kinds of women as + there are women, but that all kinds are good. Some women are better than + others, but all are good, and all are different. This particular one + unknowingly did me a great harm, but others have given me so much that is + for good, that the balance side is in their favor. If a man is going to + make a fool of himself, I personally would rather see him do it on account + of a woman than for any other cause. For centuries Antony has been held up + to the scorn of the world because he deserted his troops and his fleet, + and sacrificed the Roman Empire for the sake of Cleopatra. Of course, that + is the one thing a man cannot do, desert his men and betray his flag; but, + if he is going to make a bad break in life, I rather like his doing it for + the love of a woman. And, after all, it is rather fine to have for once + felt something in you so great that you placed it higher than the Roman + Empire. + </p> + <p> + I haven’t the excuse of any great feeling in my case. She, the girl at + Cranston’s, was leaving the Point on the morrow, and she said if all I had + sworn to her was true I would run the sentries that night to dance with + her at the hop. Of course, love does not set tests nor ask sacrifices, but + I had sworn that I had loved her, as I understood the world, and I told + her I would come. I came, and I was recognized as I crossed the piazza to + the ball-room. On the morning following I was called to the office of the + Commandant and was told to pack my trunk. I was out of uniform in an hour, + and that night at parade the order of the War Department dismissing me + from the service was read to the assembled battalion. + </p> + <p> + {Illustration: We walked out to the woods.} + </p> + <p> + I cannot write about that day. It was a very bright, beautiful day, full + of life and sunshine, and I remember that I wondered how the world could + be so cruel and unfeeling. The other second classmen came in while I was + packing my things to say that they were sorry. They were kind enough; and + some of them wanted me to go off to New York to friends of theirs and help + upset it and get drunk. Their idea was, I suppose, to show the authorities + how mistaken they had been in not making me an officer. But I could not be + civil to any of them. I hated them all, and the place, and everyone in it. + When I was dismissed my first thought was one of utter thankfulness that + my grandfather died before the disgrace came upon me, and after that I did + not much care. I was desperate and bitterly miserable. I knew, as the + authorities could not know, that no one in my class felt more loyal to the + service than myself; that I would have died twenty deaths for my country; + that there was no one company post in the West, however distant from + civilization, that would not have been a paradise to me; that there was no + soldier in the army who would have served more devotedly than myself. And + now I was found wanting and thrown out to herd with civilians, as unfit to + hold the President’s commission. After my first outbreak of impotent rage—for + I blamed everyone but myself—remorse set in, and I thought of + grandfather and of how much he had done for our country, and how we had + talked so confidently together of the days when I would follow in his + footsteps, as his grandchild, and as the son of “Fighting Macklin.” + </p> + <p> + All my life I had talked and thought of nothing else, and now, just as I + was within a year of it, I was shown the door which I never can enter + again. + </p> + <p> + That it might be easier for us when I arrived, I telegraphed Beatrice what + had happened, and when I reached the house the same afternoon she was + waiting for me at the door, as though I was coming home for a holiday and + it was all as it might have been. But neither of us was deceived, and + without a word we walked out of the garden and up the hill to the woods + where we had last been together six months before, Since then all had + changed. Summer had come, the trees were heavy with leaves, and a warm + haze hung over the river and the Palisades beyond We seated ourselves on a + fallen tree at the top of the hill and sat in silence, looking down into + the warm, beautiful valley. It was Beatrice who was the first to speak. + </p> + <p> + “I have been thinking of what you can do,” she began, gently, “and it + seems to me, Royal, that what you need now is a good rest. It has been a + hard winter for you. You have had to meet the two greatest trials that I + hope will ever come to you. You took the first one well, as you should, + and you will take this lesser one well also; I know you will. But you must + give yourself time to get over this—this disappointment, and to look + about you. You must try to content yourself at home with mother and with + me. I am so selfish that I am almost glad it has happened, for now for a + time we shall have you with us, all to ourselves, and we can take care of + you and see that you are not gloomy and morbid. And then when the fall + comes you will have decided what is best to do, and you will have a rest + and a quiet summer with those who understand you and love you. And then + you can go out into the world to do your work, whatever your work is to + be.” + </p> + <p> + I turned toward her and stared at her curiously. + </p> + <p> + “Whatever my work is to be,” I repeated. “That was decided for me, + Beatrice, when I was a little boy.” + </p> + <p> + She returned my look for a moment in some doubt, and then leaned eagerly + forward. “You mean to enlist?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “To enlist? Not I!” I answered hotly. “If I’m not fit to be an officer + now, I never shall be, at least not by that road. Do you know what it + means? It’s the bitterest life a man can follow. He is neither the one + thing nor the other. The enlisted men suspect him, and the officers may + not speak with him. I know one officer who got his commission that way. He + swears now he would rather have served the time in jail. The officers at + the post pointed him out to visitors, as the man who had failed at West + Point, and who was working his way up from the ranks, and the men of his + company thought that <i>he</i> thought, God help him, that he was too good + for them, and made his life hell. Do you suppose I’d show my musket to men + of my old mess, and have the girls I’ve danced with see me marching up and + down a board walk with a gun on my shoulder? Do you see me going on + errands for the men I’ve hazed, and showing them my socks and shirts at + inspection so they can give me a good mark for being a clean and tidy + soldier? No! I’ll not enlist. If I’m not good enough to carry a sword I’m + not good enough to carry a gun, and the United States Army can struggle + along without me.” + </p> + <p> + Beatrice shook her head. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t say anything you’ll be sorry for, Royal,” she warned me. + </p> + <p> + “You don’t understand,” I interrupted. “I’m not saying anything against my + own country or our army—how can I? I’ve proved clearly enough that + I’m not fit for it. I’m only too grateful, I’ve had three years in the + best military school in the world, at my country’s expense, and I’m + grateful. Yes, and I’m miserable, too, that I have failed to deserve it.” + </p> + <p> + I stood up and straightened my shoulders. “But perhaps there are other + countries less difficult to please,” I said, “where I can lose myself and + be forgotten, and where I can see service. After all, a soldier’s business + is to fight, not to sit at a post all day or to do a clerk’s work at + Washington.” + </p> + <p> + Even as I spoke these chance words I seemed to feel the cloud of failure + and disgrace passing from me. I saw vaguely a way to redeem myself, and, + though I had spoken with bravado and at random, the words stuck in my + mind, and my despondency fell from me like a heavy knapsack. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” I said, cheerfully, “there can be no talk of a holiday for me + until I have earned it. You know I would love to stay here now with you + and Aunt in the old house, but I have no time to mope and be petted. If + you fall down, you must not lie in the road and cry over your bruised + shins; you must pick yourself up and go on again, even if you are a bit + sore and dirty.” + </p> + <p> + We said nothing more, but my mind was made up, and when we reached the + house I went at once to my room and repacked my trunk for a long journey. + It was a leather trunk in which my grandfather used to carry his sword and + uniform, and in it I now proudly placed the presentation sword he had + bequeathed to me in his will, and my scanty wardrobe and $500 of the money + he had left to me. All the rest of his fortune, with the exception of the + $2,000 a year he had settled upon me, he had, I am glad to say, bequeathed + with the house to Aunt Mary and Beatrice. When I had finished my packing I + joined them at supper, and such was my elation at the prospect of at once + setting forth to redeem myself, and to seek my fortune, that to me the + meal passed most cheerfully. When it was finished, I found the paper of + that morning, and spreading it out upon the table began a careful search + in the foreign news for what tidings there might be of war. + </p> + <p> + I told Beatrice what I was doing, and without a word she brought out my + old school atlas, and together under the light of the student-lamp we + sought out the places mentioned in the foreign despatches, and discussed + them, and the chances they might offer me. + </p> + <p> + There were, I remember, at the time that paper was printed, strained + relations existing between France and China over the copper mines in + Tonkin; there was a tribal war in Upper Burmah with native troops; there + was a threat of complications in the Balkans, but the Balkans, as I have + since learned, are always with us and always threatening. Nothing in the + paper seemed to offer me the chance I sought, and apparently peace smiled + on every other portion of the globe. + </p> + <p> + “There is always the mounted police in Canada,” I said, tentatively. + </p> + <p> + “No,” Beatrice answered, quietly, and without asking her reasons I + accepted her decision and turned again to the paper. And then my eyes fell + on a paragraph which at first I had overlooked—a modest, brief + despatch tucked away in a corner, and unremarkable, except for its strange + date-line. It was headed, “The Revolt in Honduras.” I pointed to it with + my finger, and Beatrice leaned forward with her head close to mine, and we + read it together. “Tegucigalpa, June 17th,” it read. “The revolution here + has assumed serious proportions. President Alvarez has proclaimed martial + law over all provinces, and leaves tomorrow for Santa Barbara, where the + Liberal forces under the rebel leader, ex-President Louis Garcia, were + last in camp. General Laguerre is coming from Nicaragua to assist Garcia + with his foreign legion of 200 men. He has seized the Nancy Miller, + belonging to the Isthmian Line, and has fitted her with two Gatling guns. + He is reported to be bombarding the towns on his way along the coast, and + a detachment of Government troops is marching to Porto Cortez to prevent + his landing. His force is chiefly composed of American and other aliens, + who believe the overthrow of the present government will be beneficial to + foreign residents.” + </p> + <p> + “General Laguerre!” I cried, eagerly, “that is not a Spanish name. General + Laguerre must be a Frenchman. And it says that the men with him are + Americans, and that the present government is against all foreigners.” + </p> + <p> + I drew back from the table with a laugh, and stood smiling at Beatrice, + but she shook her head, even though she smiled, too. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, not that,” she said. + </p> + <p> + “My dear Beatrice,” I expostulated, “it certainly isn’t right that + American interests in—what’s the name of the place—in + Honduras, should be jeopardized, is it? And by an ignorant half-breed like + this President What’s-his-name? Certainly not. It must be stopped, even if + we have to requisition every steamer the Isthmian Line has afloat.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Royal,” Beatrice cried, “you are not serious. No, you wouldn’t, you + couldn’t be so foolish. That’s no affair of yours. That’s not your + country. Besides, that is not war; it is speculation. You are a gentleman, + not a pirate and a filibuster.” + </p> + <p> + “William Walker was a filibuster,” I answered. “He took Nicaragua with 200 + men and held it for two years against 20,000. I must begin somewhere,” I + cried, “why not there? A girl can’t understand these things—at + least, some girls can’t—but I would have thought you would. What + does it matter what I do or where I go?” I broke out, bitterly. “I have + made a failure of my life at the very start. I am sick and sore and + desperate. I don’t care where I go or what—-” + </p> + <p> + I would have ranted on for some time, no doubt, but that a look from + Beatrice stopped me in mid-air, and I stood silent, feeling somewhat + foolish. + </p> + <p> + “I can understand this much,” she said, “that you are a foolish boy. How + dare you talk of having made a failure of your life? Your life has not yet + begun. You have yet to make it, and to show yourself something more than a + boy.” She paused, and then her manner changed, and she came toward me, + looking up at me with eyes that were moist and softened with a sweet and + troubled tenderness, and she took my hand and held it close in both of + hers. + </p> + <p> + I had never seen her look more beautiful than she did at that moment. If + it had been any other woman in the world but her, I would have caught her + in my arms and kissed her again and again, but because it was she I could + not touch her, but drew back and looked down into her eyes with the sudden + great feeling I had for her. And so we stood for a moment, seeing each + other as we had never seen each other before. And then she caught her + breath quickly and drew away. But she turned her face toward me at once, + and looked up at me steadily. + </p> + <p> + “I am so fond of you, Royal,” she said, bravely, “you know, that—that + I cannot bear to think of you doing anything in this world that is not + fine and for the best. But if you will be a knight errant, and seek out + dangers and fight windmills, promise me to be a true knight and that you + will fight only when you must and only on the side that is just, and then + you will come back bringing your sheaves with you.” + </p> + <p> + I did not dare to look at her, but I raised her hand and held the tips of + her fingers against my lips, and I promised, but I would have promised + anything at that moment. + </p> + <p> + “If I am to be a knight,” I said, and my voice sounded very hoarse and + boyish, so that I hardly recognized it as my own, “you must give me your + colors to wear on my lance, and if any other knight thinks his colors + fairer, or the lady who gave them more lovely than you, I shall kill him.” + </p> + <p> + She laughed softly and moved away. + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” she said, “of course, you must kill him.” She stepped a few + feet from me, and, raising her hands to her throat, unfastened a little + gold chain which she wore around her neck. She took it off and held it + toward me. “Would you like this?” she said. I did not answer, nor did she + wait for me to do so, but wound the chain around my wrist and fastened it, + and I raised it and kissed it, and neither of us spoke. She went out to + the veranda to warn her mother of my departure, and I to tell the servants + to bring the carriage to the door. + </p> + <p> + A few minutes later, the suburban train drew out of the station at Dobbs + Ferry, and I waved my hand to Beatrice as she sat in the carriage looking + after me. The night was warm and she wore a white dress and her head was + uncovered. In the smoky glare of the station lamps I could still see the + soft tints of her hair; and as the train bumped itself together and pulled + forward, I felt a sudden panic of doubt, a piercing stab at my heart, and + something called on me to leap off the car that was bearing me away, and + go back to the white figure sitting motionless in the carriage. As I + gripped the iron railing to restrain myself, I felt the cold sweat + springing to the palm of my hand. For a moment I forgot the end of my long + journey. I saw it as something foolish, mad, fantastic. I was snatching at + a flash of powder, when I could warm my hands at an open fire. I was + deserting the one thing which counted and of which I was certain; the one + thing I loved. And then the train turned a curve, the lamps of the station + and the white ghostly figure were shut from me, and I entered the glaring + car filled with close air and smoke and smelling lamps. I seated myself + beside a window and leaned far out into the night, so that the wind of the + rushing train beat in my face. + </p> + <p> + And in a little time the clanking car-wheels seemed to speak to me, + beating out the words brazenly so that I thought everyone in the car must + hear them. + </p> + <p> + “Turn again, turn again, Royal Macklin,” they seemed to say to me. “She + loves you, Royal Macklin, she loves you, she loves you.” + </p> + <p> + And I thought of Dick Whittington when the Bow bells called to him, as he + paused in the country lane to look lack at the smoky roof of London, and + they had offered him so little, while for me the words seemed to promise + the proudest place a man could hold. And I imagined myself still at home, + working by day in some New York office and coming back by night to find + Beatrice at the station waiting for me, always in a white dress, and with + her brown hair glowing in the light of the lamps. And I pictured us taking + long walks together above the Hudson, and quiet, happy evenings by the + fire-side. But the rhythm of the car-wheels altered, and from “She loves + you, she loves you,” the refrain now came brokenly and fiercely, like the + reports of muskets fired in hate and fear, and mixed with their roar and + rattle I seemed to distinguish words of command in a foreign tongue, and + the groans of men wounded and dying. And I saw, rising above great jungles + and noisome swamps, a long mountain-range piercing a burning, naked sky; + and in a pass in the mountains a group of my own countrymen, ragged and + worn and with eyes lit with fever, waving a strange flag, and beset on + every side by dark-faced soldiers, and I saw my own face among them, + hollow-cheeked and tanned, with my head bandaged in a scarf; I felt the + hot barrel of a rifle burning my palm, I smelt the pungent odor of spent + powder, my throat and nostrils were assailed with smoke. I suffered all + the fierce joy and agony of battle, and the picture of the white figure of + Beatrice grew dim and receded from me, and as it faded the eyes regarded + me wistfully and reproached me, but I would not heed them, but turned my + own eyes away. And again I saw the menacing negro faces and the burning + sunlight and the strange flag that tossed and whimpered in the air above + my head, the strange flag of unknown, tawdry colors, like the painted face + of a woman in the street, but a flag at which I cheered and shouted as + though it were my own, as though I loved it; a flag for which I would + fight and die. + </p> + <p> + The train twisted its length into the great station, the men about me rose + and crowded down the aisle, and I heard the cries of newsboys and hackmen + and jangling car-bells, and all the roar and tumult of a great city at + night. + </p> + <p> + But I had already made my choice. Within an hour I had crossed to the + Jersey side, and was speeding south, south toward New Orleans, toward the + Gulf of Mexico, toward Honduras, to Colonel Laguerre and his foreign + legion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II + </h2> + <h3> + S.S. PANAMA, OFF COAST OF HONDURAS + </h3> + <p> + To one who never before had travelled farther than is Dobbs Ferry from + Philadelphia, my journey south to New Orleans was something in the way of + an expedition, and I found it rich in incident and adventure. Everything + was new and strange, but nothing was so strange as my own freedom. After + three years of discipline, of going to bed by drum-call, of waking by + drum-call, and obeying the orders of others, this new independence added a + supreme flavor to all my pleasures. I took my journey very seriously, and + I determined to make every little incident contribute to my better + knowledge of the world. I rated the chance acquaintances of the + smoking-car as aids to a clear understanding of mankind, and when at + Washington I saw above the house-tops the marble dome of the Capitol I was + thrilled to think that I was already so much richer in experience. + </p> + <p> + To me the country through which we passed spoke with but one meaning. I + saw it as the chess-board of the War of the Rebellion. I imagined the + towns fortified and besieged, the hills topped with artillery, the forests + alive with troops in ambush, and in my mind, on account of their strategic + value to the enemy, I destroyed the bridges over which we passed. The + passengers were only too willing to instruct a stranger in the historical + values of their country. They pointed out to me where certain regiments + had camped, where homesteads had been burned, and where real battles, not + of my own imagining, but which had cost the lives of many men, had been + lost and won. I found that to these chance acquaintances the events of + which they spoke were as fresh after twenty years as though they had + occurred but yesterday, and they accepted my curiosity as only a natural + interest in a still vital subject. I judged it advisable not to mention + that General Hamilton was my grandfather. Instead I told them that I was + the son of an officer who had died for the cause of secession. This was + the first time I had ever missed an opportunity of boasting of my + relationship to my distinguished grandparent, and I felt meanly conscious + that I was in a way disloyal. But they were so genuinely pleased when they + learned that my father had fought for the South, that I lacked the courage + to tell them that while he was so engaged another relative of mine had + driven one of their best generals through three States. + </p> + <p> + I am one who makes the most of what he sees, and even the simplest things + filled me with delight; my first sight of cotton-fields, of tobacco + growing in the leaf, were great moments to me; and that the men who + guarded the negro convicts at work in the fields still clung to the + uniform of gray, struck me as a fact of pathetic interest. + </p> + <p> + I was delayed in New Orleans for only one day. At the end of that time I + secured passage on the steamer Panama. She was listed to sail for + Aspinwall at nine o’clock the next morning, and to touch at ports along + the Central American coast. While waiting for my steamer I mobilized my + transport and supplies, and purchased such articles as I considered + necessary for a rough campaign in a tropical climate. My purchases + consisted of a revolver, a money-belt, in which to carry my small fortune, + which I had exchanged into gold double-eagles, a pair of field-glasses, a + rubber blanket, a canteen, riding boots, and saddle-bags. I decided that + my uniform and saddle would be furnished me from the quartermaster’s + department of Garcia’s army, for in my ignorance I supposed I was entering + on a campaign conducted after the methods of European armies. + </p> + <p> + We left the levees of New Orleans early in the morning, and for the + remainder of the day steamed slowly down the Mississippi River. I sat + alone upon the deck watching the low, swampy banks slipping past us on + either side, the gloomy cypress-trees heavy with gray moss, the abandoned + cotton-gins and disused negro quarters. As I did so a feeling of + homesickness and depression came upon me, and my disgraceful failure at + the Point, the loss of my grandfather, and my desertion of Beatrice, for + so it began to seem to me, filled me with a bitter melancholy. + </p> + <p> + The sun set the first day over great wastes of swamp, swamp-land, and + pools of inky black, which stretched as far as the eye could reach; + gloomy, silent, and barren of any form of life. It was a picture which + held neither the freedom of the open sea nor the human element of the + solid earth. It seemed to me as though the world must have looked so when + darkness brooded over the face of the waters, and as I went to my berth + that night I felt as though I were saying good-by forever to allthat was + dear to me—my country, my home, and the girl I loved. + </p> + <p> + I was awakened in the morning by a motion which I had never before + experienced. I was being gently lifted and lowered and rolled to and fro + as a hammock is rocked by the breeze. For some minutes I lay between sleep + and waking, struggling back to consciousness, until with a sudden gasp of + delight it came to me that at last I was at sea. I scrambled from my berth + and pulled back the curtains of the air port. It was as though over night + the ocean had crept up to my window. It stretched below me in great + distances of a deep, beautiful blue. Tumbling waves were chasing each + other over it, and millions of white caps glanced and flashed as they + raced by me in the sun. It was my first real view of the ocean, and the + restlessness of it and the freedom of it stirred me with a great + happiness. I drank in its beauty as eagerly as I filled my lungs with the + keen salt air, and thanked God for both. + </p> + <p> + The three short days which followed were full of new and delightful + surprises, some because it was all so strange and others because it was so + exactly what I had hoped it would be. I had read many tales of the sea, + but ships I knew only as they moved along the Hudson at the end of the + towing-line. I had never felt one rise and fall beneath me, nor from the + deck of one watched the sun sink into the water. I had never at night + looked up at the great masts, and seen them swing, like a pendulum + reversed, between me and the stars. + </p> + <p> + There was so much to learn that was new and so many things to see on the + waters, and in the skies, that it seemed wicked to sleep. So, during + nearly the whole of every night, I stood with Captain Leeds on his bridge, + or asked ignorant questions of the man at the wheel. The steward of the + Panama was purser, supercargo, and bar-keeper in one, and a most + interesting man. He apparently never slept, but at any hour was willing to + sit and chat with me. It was he who first introduced me to the wonderful + mysteries of the alligator pear as a salad, and taught me to prefer, in a + hot country, Jamaica rum with half a lime squeezed into the glass to all + other spirits. It was a most educational trip. + </p> + <p> + I had much entertainment on board the Panama by pretending that I was her + captain, and that she was sailing under my orders. Sometimes I pretended + that she was an American man-of-war, and sometimes a filibuster escaping + from an American man-of-war. This may seem an absurd and childish game, + but I had always wanted to hold authority, and as I had never done so, + except as a drill sergeant at the Academy, it was my habit to imagine + myself in whatever position of responsibility my surroundings suggested. + For this purpose the Panama served me excellently, and in scanning the + horizon for hostile fleets or a pirate flag I was as conscientious as was + the lookout in the bow. At the Academy I had often sat in my room with + maps spread out before me planning attacks on the enemy, considering my + lines of communication, telegraphing wildly for reinforcements, and + despatching my aides with a clearly written, comprehensive order to where + my advance column was engaged. I believe this “play-acting,” as my + room-mate used to call it, helped me to think quickly, to give an + intelligent command intelligently, and made me rich in resources. + </p> + <p> + For the first few days I was so enchanted with my new surroundings that + the sinister purpose of my journey South lost its full value. And when, as + we approached Honduras, it was recalled to me, I was surprised to find + that I had heard no one on board discuss the war, nor refer to it in any + way. When I considered this, I was the more surprised because Porto Cortez + was one of the chief ports at which we touched, and I was annoyed to find + that I had travelled so far for the sake of a cause in which those + directly interested felt so little concern. I set about with great caution + to discover the reason for this lack of interest. The passengers of the + Panama came from widely different parts of Central America. They were + coffee planters and mining engineers, concession hunters, and promoters of + mining companies. I sounded each of them separately as to the condition of + affairs in Honduras, and gave as my reason for inquiring the fact that I + had thoughts of investing my money there. I talked rather largely of my + money. But this information, instead of inducing them to speak of + Honduras, only made each of them more eloquent in praising the particular + republic in which his own money was invested, and each begged me to place + mine with his. In the course of one day I was offered a part ownership in + four coffee plantations, a rubber forest, a machine for turning the + sea-turtles into fat and shell, and the good-will and fixtures of a + dentist’s office. Except that I obtained some reputation on board as a + young man of property, which reputation I endeavored to maintain by + treating everyone to drinks in the social hall, my inquiries led to no + result. No one apparently knew, nor cared to know, of the revolution in + Honduras, and passed it over as a joke. This hurt me, but lest they should + grow suspicious, I did not continue my inquiries. + </p> + <h3> + THE CAFE SANTOS, SAGUA LA GRANDE, HONDURAS + </h3> + <p> + We sighted land at seven in the morning, and as the ship made in toward + the shore I ran to the bow and stood alone peering over the rail. Before + me lay the scene set for my coming adventures, and as the ship threaded + the coral reefs, my excitement ran so high that my throat choked, and my + eyes suddenly dimmed with tears. It seemed too good to be real. It seemed + impossible that it could be true; that at last I should be about to act + the life I had so long only rehearsed and pretended. But the pretence had + changed to something living and actual. In front of me, under a flashing + sun, I saw the palm-fringed harbor of my dreams, a white village of + thatched mud houses, a row of ugly huts above which drooped limply the + flags of foreign consuls, and, far beyond, a deep blue range of mountains, + forbidding and mysterious, rising out of a steaming swamp into a burning + sky, and on the harbor’s only pier, in blue drill uniforms and gay red + caps, a group of dark-skinned, swaggering soldiers. This hot, + volcano-looking land was the one I had come to free from its fetters. + These swarthy barefooted brigands were the men with whom I was to fight. + </p> + <p> + My trunk had been packed and strapped since sunrise, and before the ship + reached the pier, I had said “good-by” to everyone on board and was + waiting impatiently at the gang-way. I was the only passenger to leave, + and no cargo was unloaded nor taken on. She was waiting only for the agent + of the company to confer with Captain Leeds, and while these men were + conversing on the bridge, and the hawser was being drawn on board, the + custom-house officers, much to my disquiet, began to search my trunk. I + had nothing with me which was dutiable, but my grandfather’s presentation + sword was hidden in the trunk and its presence there and prospective use + would be difficult to explain. It was accordingly with a feeling of + satisfaction that I noticed on a building on the end of the pier the sign + of our consulate and the American flag, and that a young man, evidently an + American, was hurrying from it toward the ship. But as it turned out I had + no need of his services, for I had concealed the sword so cleverly by + burying each end of it in one of my long cavalry boots, that the official + failed to find it. + </p> + <p> + I had locked my trunk again and was waving final farewells to those on the + Panama, when the young man from the consulate began suddenly to race down + the pier, shouting as he came. + </p> + <p> + The gang-way had been drawn up, and the steamer was under way, churning + the water as she swung slowly seaward, but she was still within easy + speaking distance of the pierhead. + </p> + <p> + The young man rushed through the crowd, jostling the native Indians and + negro soldiers, and shrieked at the departing vessel. + </p> + <p> + “Stop!” he screamed, “stop! stop her!” + </p> + <p> + He recognized Captain Leeds on the bridge, and, running along the pierhead + until he was just below it, waved wildly at him. + </p> + <p> + “Where’s my freight?” he cried. “My freight! You haven’t put off my + freight.” + </p> + <p> + Captain Leeds folded his arms comfortably upon the rail, and regarded the + young man calmly and with an expression of amusement. + </p> + <p> + “Where are my sewing-machines?” the young man demanded. “Where are the + sewing-machines invoiced me by this steamer?” + </p> + <p> + “Sewing-machines, Mr. Aiken?” the Captain answered. “I left your + sewing-machines in New Orleans.” + </p> + <p> + “You what?” shrieked the young man. “You left them?” + </p> + <p> + “I left them sitting on the company’s levee,” the Captain continued, + calmly. “The revenue officers have ‘em by now, Mr. Aiken. Some parties + said they weren’t sewing-machines at all. They said you were acting for + Laguerre.” + </p> + <p> + The ship was slowly drawing away. The young man stretched out one arm as + though to detain her, and danced frantically along the stringhead. + </p> + <p> + “How dare you!” he cried. “I’m a commission merchant. I deal in whatever I + please—and I’m the American Consul!” + </p> + <p> + The Captain laughed, and with a wave of his hand in farewell backed away + from the rail. + </p> + <p> + “That may be,” he shouted, “but this line isn’t carrying freight for + General Laguerre, nor for you, neither.” He returned and made a speaking + trumpet of his hands. “Tell him from me,” he shouted, mockingly, “that if + he wants his sewing-machines he’d better go North and steal ‘em. Same as + he stole our Nancy Miller.” + </p> + <p> + The young man shook both his fists in helpless anger. + </p> + <p> + “You damned banana trader,” he shrieked, “you’ll lose your license for + this. I’ll fix you for this. I’ll dirty your card for you, you pirate!” + </p> + <p> + The Captain flung himself far over the rail. He did not need a speaking + trumpet now—his voice would have carried above the tumult of a + hurricane. + </p> + <p> + “You’ll what?” he roared. “You’ll dirty my card, you thieving filibuster? + Do you know what I’ll do to you? I’ll have your tin sign taken away from + you, before I touch this port again. You’ll see—you—you—” + he ended impotently for lack of epithets, but continued in eloquent + pantomime to wave his arms. + </p> + <p> + With an oath the young man recognized defeat, and shrugged his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you go to the devil,” he shouted, and turned away. He saw me + observing him, and as I was the only person present who looked as though + he understood English, he grinned at me sheepishly, and nodded. + </p> + <p> + “I don’t care for him,” he said. “He can’t frighten me.” + </p> + <p> + I considered this as equivalent to an introduction. + </p> + <p> + “You are the United States Consul?” I asked. The young man nodded briskly. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; I am. Where do you come from?” + </p> + <p> + “Dobbs Ferry, near New York,” I answered. “I’d—-I’d like to have a + talk with you, when you are not busy.” + </p> + <p> + “That’s all right,” he said. “I’m not busy now. That bumboat pirate + queered the only business I had. Where are you going to stop? There is + only one place,” he explained; “that’s Pulido’s. He’ll knife you if he + thinks you have five dollars in your belt, and the bar-room is half under + water anyway. Or you can take a cot in my shack, if you like, and I’ll + board and lodge you for two pesos a day—that’s one dollar in our + money. And if you are going up country,” he went on, “I can fit you out + with mules and mozos and everything you want, from canned meats to an + escort of soldiers. You’re sure to be robbed anyway,” he urged, + pleasantly, “and you might as well give the job to a fellow-countryman. + I’d hate to have one of these greasers get it.” + </p> + <p> + “You’re welcome to try,” I said, laughing. + </p> + <p> + In spite of his manner, which was much too familiar and patronizing, the + young man amused me, and I must confess moreover that at that moment I + felt very far from home and was glad to meet an American, and one not so + much older than myself. The fact that he was our consul struck me as a + most fortunate circumstance. + </p> + <p> + He clapped his hands and directed one of the negroes to carry my trunk to + the consulate, and I walked with him up the pier, the native soldiers + saluting him awkwardly as he passed. He returned their salute with a + flourish, and more to impress me I guessed than from any regard for them. + </p> + <p> + “That’s because I’m Consul,” he said, with satisfaction. “There’s only + eight white men in Porto Cortez,” he explained, “and we’re all consular + agents. The Italian consular agent is a Frenchman, and an Italian, + Guessippi—the Banana King, they call him—is consular agent for + both Germany and England, and the only German here is consular agent for + France and Holland. You see, each of ‘em has to represent some other + country than his own, because his country knows why he left it.” He threw + back his head and laughed at this with great delight. Apparently he had + already forgotten the rebuff from Captain Leeds. But it had made a deep + impression upon me. I had heard Leeds virtually accuse the consul of being + an agent of General Laguerre, and I suspected that the articles he had + refused to deliver were more likely to be machine guns than + sewing-machines. If this were true, Mr. Aiken was a person in whom I could + confide with safety. + </p> + <p> + The consulate was a one-story building of corrugated iron, hot, unpainted, + and unlovely. It was set on wooden logs to lift it from the reach of “sand + jiggers” and the surf, which at high tide ran up the beach, under and + beyond it. Inside it was rude and bare, and the heat and the smell of the + harbor, and of the swamp on which the town was built, passed freely + through the open doors. + </p> + <p> + Aiken proceeded to play the host in a most cordial manner. He placed my + trunk in the room I was to occupy, and set out some very strong Honduran + cigars and a bottle of Jamaica rum. While he did this he began to grumble + over the loss of his sewing-machines, and to swear picturesquely at + Captain Leeds, bragging of the awful things he meant to do to him. But + when he had tasted his drink and lighted a cigar, his good-humor returned, + and he gave his attention to me. + </p> + <p> + “Now then, young one,” he asked, in a tone of the utmost familiarity, + “what’s your trouble?” + </p> + <p> + I explained that I could not help but hear what the Captain shouted at him + from the Panama, and I asked if it was contrary to the law of Honduras for + one to communicate with the officer Captain Leeds had mentioned—General + Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + “The old man, hey?” Aiken exclaimed and stared at me apparently with + increased interest. “Well, there are some people who might prevent your + getting to him,” he answered, diplomatically. For a moment he sipped his + rum and water, while he examined me from over the top of the cup. Then he + winked and smiled. + </p> + <p> + “Come now,” he said, encouragingly. “Speak up. What’s the game? You can + trust me. You’re an agent for Collins, or the Winchester Arms people, + aren’t you?” + </p> + <p> + “On the contrary,” I said, with some haughtiness, “I am serving no one’s + interest but my own. I read in the papers of General Laguerre and his + foreign legion, and I came here to join him and to fight with him. That’s + all. I am a soldier of fortune, I said.” I repeated this with some + emphasis, for I liked the sound of it. “I am a soldier of fortune, and my + name is Macklin. I hope in time to make it better known.” + </p> + <p> + “A soldier of fortune, hey?” exclaimed Aiken, observing me with a grin. + “What soldiering have you done?” + </p> + <p> + I replied, with a little embarrassment, that as yet I had seen no active + service, but that for three years I had been trained for it at West Point. + </p> + <p> + “At West Point, the deuce you have!” said Aiken. His tone was now one of + respect, and he regarded me with marked interest. He was not a gentleman, + but he was sharp-witted enough to recognize one in me, and my words and + bearing had impressed him. Still his next remark was disconcerting. + </p> + <p> + “But if you’re a West Point soldier,” he asked, “why the devil do you want + to mix up in a shooting-match like this?” + </p> + <p> + I was annoyed, but I answered, civilly: “It’s in a good cause,” I said. + “As I understand the situation, this President Alvarez is a tyrant. He’s + opposed to all progress. It’s a fight for liberty.” + </p> + <p> + Aiken interrupted me with a laugh, and placed his feet on the table. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, come,” he said, in a most offensive tone. “Play fair, play fair.” + </p> + <p> + “Play fair? What do you mean?” I demanded. + </p> + <p> + “You don’t expect me to believe,” he said, jeeringly, “that you came all + the way down here, just to fight for the sacred cause of liberty.” + </p> + <p> + I may occasionally exaggerate a bit in representing myself to be a more + important person than I really am, but if I were taught nothing else at + the Point, I was taught to tell the truth, and when Aiken questioned my + word I felt the honor of the whole army rising within me and stiffening my + back-bone. + </p> + <p> + “You had better believe what I tell you, sir,” I answered him, sharply. + “You may not know it, but you are impertinent!” + </p> + <p> + I have seldom seen a man so surprised as was Aiken when I made this + speech. His mouth opened and remained open while he slowly removed his + feet from the table and allowed the legs of his chair to touch the floor. + </p> + <p> + “Great Scott,” he said at last, “but you have got a nasty temper. I’d + forgotten that folks are so particular.” + </p> + <p> + “Particular—because I object to having my word doubted,” I asked. “I + must request you to send my trunk to Pulido’s. I fancy you and I won’t hit + it off together.” I rose and started to leave the room, but he held out + his hands to prevent me, and exclaimed, in consternation: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that’s no way to treat me,” he protested. “I didn’t say anything for + you to get on your ear about. If I did, I’m sorry.” He stepped forward, + offering to shake my hand, and as I took his doubtfully, he pushed me back + into my chair. + </p> + <p> + “You mustn’t mind me,” he went on. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen a + man from God’s country that I’ve forgotten how to do the polite. Here, + have another drink and start even.” He was so eager and so suddenly humble + that I felt ashamed of my display of offended honor, and we began again + with a better understanding. + </p> + <p> + I told him once more why I had come, and this time he accepted my story as + though he considered my wishing to join Laguerre the most natural thing in + the world, nodding his head and muttering approvingly. When I had finished + he said, “You may not think so now, but I guess you’ve come to the only + person who can help you. If you’d gone to anyone else you’d probably have + landed in jail.” He glanced over his shoulder at the open door, and then, + after a mysterious wink at me, tiptoed out upon the veranda, and ran + rapidly around and through the house. This precaution on his part gave me + a thrill of satisfaction. I felt that at last I was a real conspirator + that I was concerned in something dangerous and weighty. I sipped at my + glass with an air of indifference, but as a matter of fact I was rather + nervous. + </p> + <p> + “You can’t be too careful,” Aiken said as he reseated himself. “Of course, + the whole thing is a comic opera, but if they suspect you are working + against them, they’re just as likely as not to make it a tragedy, with you + in the star part. Now I’ll explain how I got into this, and I can assure + you it wasn’t through any love of liberty with me. The consular agent here + is a man named Quay, and he and I have been in the commission business + together. About three months ago, when Laguerre was organizing his command + at Bluefields, Garcia, who is the leader of the revolutionary party, sent + word down here to Quay to go North for him and buy two machine guns and + invoice ‘em to me at the consulate. Quay left on the next steamer and + appointed me acting consul, but except for his saying so I’ve no more real + authority to act as consul than you have. The plan was that when Laguerre + captured this port he would pick up the guns and carry them on to Garcia. + Laguerre was at Bluefields, but couldn’t get into the game for lack of a + boat. So when the Nancy Miller touched there he and his crowd boarded her + just like a lot of old-fashioned pirates and turned the passengers out on + the wharf. Then they put a gun at the head of the engineer and ordered him + to take them back to Porto Cortez. But when they reached here the guns + hadn’t arrived from New Orleans. And so, after a bit of a fight on + landing, Laguerre pushed on without them to join Garcia. He left + instructions with me to bring him word when they arrived. He’s in hiding + up there in the mountains, waiting to hear from me now. They ought to have + come this steamer day on the Panama along with you, but, as you know, they + didn’t. I never thought they would. I knew the Isthmian Line people + wouldn’t carry ‘em. They’ve got to beat Garcia, and until this row is over + they won’t even carry a mail-bag for fear he might capture it.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that because General Laguerre seized one of their steamers?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “No, it’s an old fight,” said Aiken, “and Laguerre’s stealing the Nancy + Miller was only a part of it. The fight began between Garcia and the + Isthmian Line when Garcia became president. He tried to collect some money + from the Isthmian Line, and old man Fiske threw him out of the palace and + made Alvarez president.” + </p> + <p> + I was beginning to find the politics of the revolution into which I had + precipitated myself somewhat involved, and I suppose I looked puzzled, for + Aiken laughed. + </p> + <p> + “You can laugh,” I said, “but it is rather confusing. Who is Fiske? Is he + another revolutionist?” + </p> + <p> + “Fiske!” exclaimed Aiken. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who Fiske is? I + mean old man Fiske, the Wall Street banker—Joseph Fiske, the one who + owns the steam yacht and all the railroads.” + </p> + <p> + I had of course heard of that Joseph Fiske, but his name to me was only a + word meaning money. I had never thought of Joseph Fiske as a human being. + At school and at the Point when we wanted to give the idea of wealth that + could not be counted we used to say, “As rich as Joe Fiske.” But I + answered, in a tone that suggested that I knew him intimately: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that Fiske,” I said. “But what has he to do with Honduras?” + </p> + <p> + “He owns it,” Aiken answered. “It’s like this,” he began. “You must + understand that almost every republic in Central America is under the + thumb of a big trading firm or a banking house or a railroad. For + instance, all these revolutions you read about in the papers—it’s + seldom they start with the people. The <i>puebleo</i> don’t often elect a + president or turn one out. That’s generally the work of a New York + business firm that wants a concession. If the president in office won’t + give it a concession the company starts out to find one who will. It hunts + up a rival politician or a general of the army who wants to be president, + and all of them do, and makes a deal with him. It promises him if he’ll + start a revolution it will back him with the money and the guns. Of + course, the understanding is that if the leader of the fake revolution + gets in he’ll give his New York backers whatever they’re after. Sometimes + they want a concession for a railroad, and sometimes it’s a nitrate bed or + a rubber forest, but you can take my word for it that there’s very few + revolutions down here that haven’t got a money-making scheme at the bottom + of them. + </p> + <p> + “Now this present revolution was started by the Isthmian Steamship Line, + of which Joe Fiske is president. It runs its steamers from New Orleans to + the Isthmus of Panama. In its original charter this republic gave it the + monopoly of the fruit-carrying trade from all Hondurian ports. In return + for this the company agreed to pay the government $10,000 a year and ten + per cent, on its annual receipts, if the receipts ever exceeded a certain + amount. Well, curiously enough, although the line has been able to build + seven new steamers, its receipts have never exceeded that fixed amount. + And if you know these people the reason for that is very simple. The + company has always given each succeeding president a lump sum for himself, + on the condition that he won’t ask any impertinent questions about the + company’s earnings. Its people tell him that it is running at a loss, and + he always takes their word for it. But Garcia, when he came in, either was + too honest, or they didn’t pay him enough to keep quiet. I don’t know + which it was, but, anyway, he sent an agent to New Orleans to examine the + company’s books. The agent discovered the earnings have been so enormous + that by rights the Isthmian Line owed the government of Honduras $500,000. + This was a great chance for Garcia, and he told them to put up the back + pay or lose their charter. They refused and he got back at them by + preventing their ships from taking on any cargo in Honduras, and by + seizing their plant here and at Truxillo. Well, the company didn’t dare to + go to law about it, nor appeal to the State Department, so it started a + revolution. It picked out a thief named Alvarez as a figure-head and + helped him to bribe the army and capture the capital. Then he bought a + decision from the local courts in favor of the company. After that there + was no more talk about collecting back pay. Garcia was an exile in + Nicaragua. There he met Laguerre, who is a professional soldier of + fortune, and together they cooked up this present revolution. They hope to + put Garcia back into power again. How he’ll act if he gets in I don’t + know. The common people believe he’s a patriot, that he’ll keep all the + promises he makes them—and he makes a good many—and some white + people believe in him, too. Laguerre believes in him, for instance. + Laguerre told me that Garcia was a second Bolivar and Washington. But he + might be both of them, and he couldn’t beat the Isthmian Line. You see, + while he has prevented the Isthmian Line from carrying bananas, he’s cut + off his own nose by shutting off his only source of supply. For these big + corporations hang together at times, and on the Pacific side the Pacific + Mail Company has got the word from Fiske, and they won’t carry supplies, + either. That’s what I meant by saying that Joe Fiske owns Honduras. He’s + cut it off from the world, and only <i>his</i> arms and <i>his</i> friends + can get into it. And the joke of it is he can’t get out.” + </p> + <p> + “Can’t get out?” I exclaimed. “What do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, he’s up there at Tegucigalpa himself,” said Aiken. “Didn’t you know + that? He’s up at the capital, visiting Alvarez. He came in through this + port about two weeks ago.” + </p> + <p> + “Joseph Fiske is fighting in a Hondurian revolution?” I exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + “Certainly not!” cried Aiken. “He’s here on a pleasure trip; partly + pleasure, partly business. He came here on his yacht. You can see her from + the window, lying to the left of the buoy. Fiske has nothing to do with + this row. I don’t suppose he knows there’s a revolution going on.” + </p> + <p> + I resented this pretended lack of interest on the part of the Wall Street + banker. I condemned it as a piece of absurd affectation. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t you believe it!” I said. “No matter how many millions a man has, he + doesn’t stand to lose $500,000 without taking an interest in it.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, but he doesn’t know about <i>that</i>,” said Aiken. “He doesn’t know + the ins and outs of the story—what I’ve been telling you. That’s on + the inside—that’s cafe scandal. That side of it would never reach + him. I suppose Joe Fiske is president of a <i>dozen</i> steamship lines, + and all he does is to lend his name to this one, and preside at board + meetings. The company’s lawyers tell him whatever they think he ought to + know. They probably say they’re having trouble down here owing to one of + the local revolutions, and that Garcia is trying to blackmail them.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you don’t think Fiske came down here about this?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “About this?” repeated Aiken, in a tone of such contempt that I disliked + him intensely. For the last half hour Aiken had been jumping unfeelingly + on all my ideals and illusions. + </p> + <p> + “No,” he went on. “He came here on his yacht on a pleasure trip around the + West India Islands, and he rode in from here to look over the Copan Silver + Mines. Alvarez is terribly keen to get rid of him. He’s afraid the + revolutionists will catch him and hold him for ransom. He’d bring a good + price,” Aiken added, reflectively. “It’s enough to make a man turn + brigand. And his daughter, too. She’d bring a good price.” + </p> + <p> + “His daughter!” I exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + Aiken squeezed the tips of his fingers together, and kissed them, tossing + the imaginary kiss up toward the roof. Then he drank what was left of his + rum and water at a gulp and lifted the empty glass high in the air. “To + the daughter,” he said. + </p> + <p> + It was no concern of mine, but I resented his actions exceedingly. I think + I was annoyed that he should have seen the young lady while I had not. I + also resented his toasting her before a stranger. I knew he could not have + met her, and his pretence of enthusiasm made him appear quite ridiculous. + He looked at me mournfully, shaking his head as though it were impossible + for him to give me an idea of her. + </p> + <p> + “Why they say,” he exclaimed, “that when she rides along the trail, the + native women kneel beside it. + </p> + <p> + “She’s the best looking girl I ever saw,” he declared, “and she’s a + thoroughbred too!” he added, “or she wouldn’t have stuck it out in this + country when she had a clean yacht to fall back on. She’s been riding + around on a mule, so they tell me, along with her father and the + engineering experts, and just as though she enjoyed it. The men up at the + mines say she tired them all out.” + </p> + <p> + I had no desire to discuss the young lady with Aiken, so I pretended not + to be interested, and he ceased speaking, and we smoked in silence. But my + mind was nevertheless wide awake to what he had told me. I could not help + but see the dramatic values which had been given to the situation by the + presence of this young lady. The possibilities were tremendous. Here was + I, fighting against her father, and here was she, beautiful and an heiress + to many millions. In the short space of a few seconds I had pictured + myself rescuing her from brigands, denouncing her father for not paying + his honest debt to Honduras, had been shot down by his escort, Miss Fiske + had bandaged my wounds, and I was returning North as her prospective + husband on my prospective father-in-law’s yacht. Aiken aroused me from + this by rising to his feet. “Now then,” he said, briskly, “if you want to + go to Laguerre you can come with me. I’ve got to see him to explain why + his guns haven’t arrived, and I’ll take you with me.” He made a wry face + and laughed. “A nice welcome he’ll give me,” he said. I jumped to my feet. + “There’s my trunk,” I said; “it’s ready, and so am I. When do we start?” + </p> + <p> + “As soon as it is moonlight,” Aiken answered. + </p> + <p> + The remainder of the day was spent in preparing for our journey. I was + first taken to the commandante and presented to him as a commercial + traveller. Aiken asked him for a passport permitting me to proceed to the + capital “for purposes of trade.” As consular agent Aiken needed no + passport for himself, but to avoid suspicion he informed the commandante + that his object in visiting Tegucigalpa was to persuade Joseph Fiske, as + president of the Isthmian Line, to place buoys in the harbor of Porto + Cortez and give the commission for their purchase to the commandante. + Aiken then and always was the most graceful liar I have ever met. His + fictions were never for his own advantage, at least not obviously so. + Instead, they always held out some pleasing hope for the person to whom + they were addressed. His plans and promises as to what he would do were so + alluring that even when I knew he was lying I liked to pretend that he was + not. This particular fiction so interested the commandante that he even + offered us an escort of soldiers, which honor we naturally declined. + </p> + <p> + That night when the moon had risen we started inland, each mounted on a + stout little mule, and followed by a third, on which was swung my trunk, + balanced on the other side by Aiken’s saddle bags. A Carib Indian whom + Aiken had selected because of his sympathies for the revolution walked + beside the third mule and directed its progress by the most startling + shrieks and howls. To me it was a most memorable and marvellous night, and + although for the greater part of it Aiken dozed in his saddle and woke + only to abuse his mule, I was never more wakeful nor more happy. At the + very setting forth I was pleasantly stirred when at the limit of the town + a squad of soldiers halted us and demanded our passports. This was my + first encounter with the government troops. They were barefooted and most + slovenly looking soldiers, mere boys in age and armed with old-fashioned + Remingtons. But their officer, the captain of the guard, was more smartly + dressed, and I was delighted to find that my knowledge of Spanish, in + which my grandfather had so persistently drilled me, enabled me to + understand all that passed between him and Aiken. The captain warned us + that the revolutionists were camped along the trail, and that if + challenged we had best answer quickly that we were Americanos. He also + told us that General Laguerre and his legion of “gringoes” were in hiding + in the highlands some two days’ ride from the coast. Aiken expressed the + greatest concern at this, and was for at once turning back. His agitation + was so convincing, he was apparently so frightened, that, until he threw a + quick wink at me, I confess I was completely taken in. For some time he + refused to be calmed, and it was only when the captain assured him that + his official position would protect him from any personal danger that he + consented to ride on. Before we crossed the town limits he had made it + quite evident that the officer himself was solely responsible for his + continuing on his journey, and he denounced Laguerre and all his works + with a picturesqueness of language and a sincerity that filled me with + confusion. I even began to doubt if after all Aiken was not playing a game + for both sides, and might not end my career by leading me into a trap. + After we rode on I considered the possibility of this quite seriously, and + I was not reassured until I heard the <i>mozo</i>, with many chuckles and + shrugs of the shoulder, congratulate Aiken on the way he had made a fool + of the captain. + </p> + <p> + “That’s called diplomacy, Jose,” Aiken told him. “That’s my statecraft. + It’s because I have so much statecraft that I am a consul. You keep your + eye on this American consul, Jose, and you’ll learn a lot of statecraft.” + </p> + <p> + Jose showed his teeth and grinned, and after he had dropped into a line + behind us we could hear him still chuckling. + </p> + <p> + “You would be a great success in secret service work, Aiken,” I said, “or + on the stage.” + </p> + <p> + We were riding in single file, and in order to see my face in the + moonlight he had to turn in his saddle. + </p> + <p> + “And yet I didn’t,” he laughed. + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean,” I asked, “were you ever a spy or an actor?” + </p> + <p> + “I was both,” he said. “I was a failure at both, too. I got put in jail + for being a spy, and I ought to have been hung for my acting.” I kicked my + mule forward in order to hear better. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about it,” I asked, eagerly. “About when you were a spy.” + </p> + <p> + But Aiken only laughed, and rode on without turning his head. + </p> + <p> + “You wouldn’t understand,” he said after a pause. Then he looked at me + over his shoulder. “It needs a big black background of experience and hard + luck to get the perspective on that story,” he explained. “It wouldn’t + appeal to you; you’re too young. They’re some things they don’t teach at + West Point.” + </p> + <p> + “They teach us,” I answered, hotly, “that if we’re detailed to secret + service work we are to carry out our orders. It’s not dishonorable to obey + orders. I’m not so young as you think. Go on, tell me, in what war were + you a spy?” + </p> + <p> + “It wasn’t in any war,” Aiken said, again turning away from me. “It was in + Haskell’s Private Detective Agency.” + </p> + <p> + I could not prevent an exclamation, but the instant it had escaped me I + could have kicked myself for having made it. “I beg your pardon,” I + murmured, awkwardly. + </p> + <p> + “I said you wouldn’t understand,” Aiken answered. Then, to show he did not + wish to speak with me further, he spurred his mule into a trot and kept a + distance between us. + </p> + <p> + Our trail ran over soft, spongy ground and was shut in on either hand by a + wet jungle of tangled vines and creepers. They interlaced like the strands + of a hammock, choking and strangling and clinging to each other in a great + web. From the jungle we came to ill-smelling pools of mud and water, over + which hung a white mist which rose as high as our heads. It was so heavy + with moisture that our clothing dripped with it, and we were chilled until + our teeth chattered. But by five o’clock in the morning we had escaped the + coast swamps, and reached higher ground and the village of Sagua la + Grande, and the sun was drying our clothes and taking the stiffness out of + our bones. + </p> + <h3> + CANAL COMPANY’S FEVER HOSPITAL, PANAMA + </h3> + <p> + The nurse brought me my diary this morning. She found it in the inside + pocket of my tunic. All of its back pages were scribbled over with orders + of the day, countersigns, and the memoranda I made after Laguerre + appointed me adjutant to the Legion. But in the first half of it was what + I see I was pleased to call my “memoirs,” in which I had written the last + chapter the day Aiken and I halted at Sagua la Grande. When I read it over + I felt that I was somehow much older than when I made that last entry. And + yet it was only two months ago. It seems like two years. I don’t feel much + like writing about it, nor thinking about it, but I suppose, if I mean to + keep my “memoirs” up to date, I shall never have more leisure in which to + write than I have now. For Dr. Ezequiel says it will be another two weeks + before I can leave this cot. Sagua seems very unimportant now. But I must + not write of it as I see it now, from this distance, but as it appealed to + me then, when everything about me was new and strange and wonderful. + </p> + <p> + It was my first sight of a Honduranian town, and I thought it most + charming and curious. As I learned later it was like any other Honduranian + town and indeed like every other town in Central America. They are all + built around a plaza, which sometimes is a park with fountains and + tessellated marble pavements and electric lights, and sometimes only an + open place of dusty grass. There is always a church at one end, and the + cafe or club, and the alcalde’s house, or the governor’s palace, at + another. In the richer plazas there must always be the statue of some + Liberator, and in the poorer a great wooden cross. Sagua la Grande was + bright and warm and foreign looking. It reminded me of the colored prints + of Mexico which I had seen in my grandfather’s library. The houses were + thatched clay huts with gardens around them crowded with banana palms, and + trees hung with long beans, which broke into masses of crimson flowers. + The church opposite the inn was old and yellow, and at the edge of the + plaza were great palms that rustled and courtesied. We led our mules + straight through the one big room of the inn out into the yard behind it, + and while doing it I committed the grave discourtesy of not first removing + my spurs. Aiken told me about it at once, and I apologized to everyone—to + the alcalde, and the priest, and the village school-master who had crossed + the plaza to welcome us—and I asked them all to drink with me. I do + not know that I ever enjoyed a breakfast more than I did the one we ate in + the big cool inn with the striped awning outside, and the naked brown + children watching us from the street, and the palms whispering overhead. + The breakfast was good in itself, but it was my surroundings which made + the meal so remarkable and the fact that I was no longer at home and + responsible to someone, but that I was talking as one man to another, and + in a foreign language to people who knew no other tongue. The inn-keeper + was a fat little person in white drill and a red sash, in which he carried + two silver-mounted pistols. He looked like a ring-master in a circus, but + he cooked us a most wonderful omelette with tomatoes and onions and olives + chopped up in it with oil. And an Indian woman made us tortillas, which + are like our buckwheat cakes. It was fascinating to see her toss them up + in the air, and slap them into shape with her hands. Outside the sun + blazed upon the white rim of huts, and the great wooden cross in the plaza + threw its shadow upon the yellow facade of the church. Beside the church + there was a chime of four bells swinging from a low ridge-pole. The dews + and the sun had turned their copper a brilliant green, but had not hurt + their music, and while we sat at breakfast a little Indian boy in crumpled + vestments beat upon them with a stick, making a sweet and swinging melody. + It did not seem to me a scene set for revolution, but I liked it all so + much that that one breakfast alone repaid me for my long journey south. I + was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit me, and that I would + never ask for better company than the comic-opera landlord and the jolly + young priest and the yellow-skinned, fever-ridden schoolmaster with his + throat wrapped in a great woollen shawl. But very soon, what with having + had no sleep the night before and the heat, I grew terribly drowsy and + turned in on a canvas cot in the corner, where I slept until long after + mid-day. For some time I could hear Aiken and the others conversing + together and caught the names of Laguerre and Garcia, but I was too sleepy + to try to listen, and, as I said, Sagua did not seem to me to be the place + for conspiracies and revolutions. I left it with real regret, and as + though I were parting with friends of long acquaintanceship. + </p> + <p> + From the time we left Sagua the path began to ascend, and we rode in + single file along the edges of deep precipices. From the depths below + giant ferns sent up cool, damp odors, and we could hear the splash and + ripple of running water, and at times, by looking into the valley, I could + see waterfalls and broad streams filled with rocks, which churned the + water into a white foam. We passed under tall trees covered with white and + purple flowers, and in the branches of others were perched macaws, giant + parrots of the most wonderful red and blue and yellow, and just at sunset + we startled hundreds of parroquets which flew screaming and chattering + about our heads, like so many balls of colored worsted. + </p> + <p> + When the moon rose, we rode out upon a table-land and passed between thick + forests of enormous trees, the like of which I had never imagined. Their + branches began at a great distance from the ground and were covered thick + with orchids, which I mistook for large birds roosting for the night. Each + tree was bound to the next by vines like tangled ropes, some drawn as taut + as the halyards of a ship, and others, as thick as one’s leg; they were + twisted and wrapped around the branches, so that they looked like + boa-constrictors hanging ready to drop upon one’s shoulders. The moonlight + gave to this forest of great trees a weird, fantastic look. I felt like a + knight entering an enchanted wood. But nothing disturbed our silence + except the sudden awakening of a great bird or the stealthy rustle of an + animal in the underbrush. Near midnight we rode into a grove of manacca + palms as delicate as ferns, and each as high as a three-story house, and + with fronds so long that those drooping across the trail hid it + completely. To push our way through these we had to use both arms as one + lifts the curtains in a doorway. + </p> + <p> + {Illustration: I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit me.} + </p> + <p> + Aiken himself seemed to feel the awe and beauty of the place, and called + the direction to me in a whisper. Even that murmur was enough to carry + above the rustling of the palms, and startled hundreds of monkeys into + wakefulness. We could hear their barks and cries echoing from every part + of the forest, and as they sprang from one branch to another the palms + bent like trout-rods, and then swept back into place again with a strange + swishing sound, like the rush of a great fish through water. + </p> + <p> + After midnight we were too stiff and sore to ride farther, and we + bivouacked on the trail beside a stream. I had no desire for further + sleep, and I sat at the foot of a tree smoking and thinking. I had often + “camped out” as a boy, and at West Point with the battalion, but I had + never before felt so far away from civilization and my own people. For + company I made a little fire and sat before it, going over in my mind what + I had learned since I had set forth on my travels. I concluded that so far + I had gained much and lost much. What I had experienced of the ocean while + on the ship and what little I had seen of this country delighted me + entirely, and I would not have parted with a single one of my new + impressions. But all I had learned of the cause for which I had come to + fight disappointed and disheartened me. Of course I had left home partly + to seek adventure, but not only for that. I had set out on this expedition + with the idea that I was serving some good cause—that old-fashioned + principles were forcing these men to fight for their independence. But I + had been early undeceived. At the same time that I was enjoying my first + sight of new and beautiful things I was being robbed of my illusions and + my ideals. And nothing could make up to me for that. By merely travelling + on around the globe I would always be sure to find some new things of + interest. But what would that count if I lost my faith in men! If I ceased + to believe in their unselfishness and honesty. Even though I were young + and credulous, and lived in a make-believe world of my own imagining, I + was happier so than in thinking that everyone worked for his own + advantage, and without justice to others, or private honor. It harmed no + one that I believed better of others than they deserved, but it was going + to hurt me terribly if I learned that their aims were even lower than my + own. I knew it was Aiken who had so discouraged me. It was he who had + laughed at me for believing that Laguerre and his men were fighting for + liberty. If I were going to credit him, there was not one honest man in + Honduras, and no one on either side of this revolution was fighting for + anything but money. He had made it all seem commercial, sordid, and + underhand. I blamed him for having so shaken my faith and poisoned my + mind. I scowled at his unconscious figure as he lay sleeping peacefully on + his blanket, and I wished heartily that I had never set eyes on him. Then + I argued that his word, after all, was not final. He made no pretence of + being a saint, and it was not unnatural that a man who held no high + motives should fail to credit them to others. I had partially consoled + myself with this reflection, when I remembered suddenly that Beatrice + herself had foretold the exact condition which Aiken had described. + </p> + <p> + “That is not war,” she had said to me, “that is speculation!” She surely + had said that to me, but how could she have known, or was hers only a + random guess? And if she had guessed correctly what would she wish me to + do now? Would she wish me to turn back, or, if my own motives were good, + would she tell me to go on? She had called me her knight-errant, and I + owed it to her to do nothing of which she would disapprove. As I thought + of her I felt a great loneliness and a longing to see her once again. I + thought of how greatly she would have delighted in those days at sea, and + how wonderful it would have been if I could have seen this hot, feverish + country with her at my side. I pictured her at the inn at Sagua smiling on + the priest and the fat little landlord; and their admiration of her. I + imagined us riding together in the brilliant sunshine with the crimson + flowers meeting overhead, and the palms bowing to her and paying her + homage. I lifted the locket she had wound around my wrist, and kissed it. + As I did so, my doubts and questionings seemed to fall away. I stood up + confident and determined. It was not my business to worry over the motives + of other men, but to look to my own. I would go ahead and fight Alvarez, + who Aiken himself declared was a thief and a tyrant. If anyone asked me my + politics I would tell him I was for the side that would obtain the money + the Isthmian Line had stolen, and give it to the people; that I was for + Garcia and Liberty, Laguerre and the Foreign Legion. This platform of + principles seemed to me so satisfactory that I stretched my feet to the + fire and went to sleep. + </p> + <p> + I was awakened by the most delicious odor of coffee, and when I rolled out + of my blanket I found Jose standing over me with a cup of it in his hand, + and Aiken buckling the straps of my saddle-girth. We took a plunge in the + stream, and after a breakfast of coffee and cold tortillas climbed into + the saddle and again picked up the trail. + </p> + <p> + After riding for an hour Aiken warned me that at any moment we were likely + to come upon either Laguerre or the soldiers of Alvarez. “So you keep your + eyes and ears open,” he said, “and when they challenge throw up your hands + quick. The challenge is ‘Halt, who lives,’” he explained. “If it is a + government soldier you must answer, ‘The government.’ But if it’s one of + Laguerre’s or Garcia’s pickets you must say ‘The revolution lives.’ And + whatever else you do, <i>hold up your hands.</i>” + </p> + <p> + I rehearsed this at once, challenging myself several times, and giving the + appropriate answers. The performance seemed to afford Aiken much + amusement. + </p> + <p> + “Isn’t that right?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” he said, “but the joke is that you won’t be able to tell which is + the government soldier and which is the revolutionist, and you’ll give the + wrong answer, and we’ll both get shot.” + </p> + <p> + “I can tell by our uniform,” I answered. + </p> + <p> + “Uniform!” exclaimed Aiken, and burst into the most uproarious laughter. + “Rags and tatters,” he said. + </p> + <p> + I was considerably annoyed to learn by this that the revolutionary party + had no distinctive uniform. The one worn by the government troops which I + had seen at the coast I had thought bad enough, but it was a great + disappointment to hear that we had none at all. Ever since I had started + from Dobbs Ferry I had been wondering what was the Honduranian uniform. I + had promised myself to have my photograph taken in it. I had anticipated + the pride I should have in sending the picture back to Beatrice. So I was + considerably chagrined, until I decided to invent a uniform of my own, + which I would wear whether anyone else wore it or not. This was even + better than having to accept one which someone else had selected. As I had + thought much on the subject of uniforms, I began at once to design a + becoming one. + </p> + <p> + We had reached a most difficult pass in the mountain, where the trail + stumbled over broken masses of rock and through a thick tangle of laurel. + The walls of the pass were high and the trees at the top shut out the + sunlight. It was damp and cold and dark. + </p> + <p> + “We’re sure to strike something here,” Aiken whispered over his shoulder. + It did not seem at all unlikely. The place was the most excellent + man-trap, but as to that, the whole length of the trail had lain through + what nature had obviously arranged for a succession of ambushes. + </p> + <p> + Aiken turned in his saddle and said, in an anxious tone: “Do you know, the + nearer I get to the old man, the more I think I was a fool to come. As + long as I’ve got nothing but bad news, I’d better have stayed away. Do you + remember Pharaoh and the messengers of ill tidings?” + </p> + <p> + I nodded, but I kept my eyes busy with the rocks and motionless laurel. My + mule was slipping and kicking down pebbles, and making as much noise as a + gun battery. I knew, if there were any pickets about, they could hear us + coming for a quarter of a mile. + </p> + <p> + “Garcia may think he’s Pharaoh,” Aiken went on, “and take it into his head + it’s my fault the guns didn’t come. Laguerre may say I sold the secret to + the Isthmian Line.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, he couldn’t think you’d do that!” I protested. + </p> + <p> + “Well, I’ve known it done,” Aiken said. “Quay certainly sold us out at New + Orleans. And Laguerre may think I went shares with him.” + </p> + <p> + I began to wonder if Aiken was not probably the very worst person I could + have selected to introduce me to General Laguerre. It seemed as though it + certainly would have been better had I found my way to him alone. I grew + so uneasy concerning my possible reception that I said, irritably: + “Doesn’t the General know you well enough to trust you?” + </p> + <p> + “No, he doesn’t!” Aiken snapped back, quite as irritably. “And he’s dead + right, too. You take it from me, that the fewer people in this country you + trust, the better for you. Why, the rottenness of this country is a + proverb. ‘It’s a place where the birds have no song, where the flowers + have no odor, where the women are without virtue, and the men without + honor.’ That’s what a gringo said of Honduras many years ago, and he knew + the country and the people in it.” + </p> + <p> + It was not a comforting picture, but in my discouragement I remembered + Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + “General Laguerre does not belong to this country,” I said, hopefully. + </p> + <p> + “No,” Aiken answered, with a laugh. “He’s an Irish-Frenchman and belongs + to a dozen countries. He’s fought for every flag that floats, and he’s no + better off to-day than when he began.” + </p> + <p> + He turned toward me and stared with an amused and tolerant grin. “He’s a + bit like you,” he said. + </p> + <p> + I saw he did not consider what he said as a compliment, but I was vain + enough to want to know what he did think of me, so I asked: “And in what + way am I like General Laguerre?” + </p> + <p> + The idea of our similarity seemed to amuse Aiken, for he continued to + grin. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you’ll see when we meet him,” he said. “I can’t explain it. You two + are just different from other people—that’s all. He’s old-fashioned + like you, if you know what I mean, and young—” + </p> + <p> + “Why, he’s an old man,” I corrected. + </p> + <p> + “He’s old enough to be your grandfather,” Aiken laughed, “but I say he’s + young—like you, the way you are.” + </p> + <p> + Aiken knew that it annoyed me when he pretended I was so much younger than + himself, and I had started on some angry reply, when I was abruptly + interrupted. + </p> + <p> + A tall, ragged man rose suddenly from behind a rock, and presented a + rifle. He was so close to Aiken that the rifle almost struck him in the + face. Aiken threw up his hands, and fell back with such a jerk that he + lost his balance, and would have fallen had he not pitched forward and + clasped the mule around the neck. I pulled my mule to a halt, and held my + hands as high as I could raise them. The man moved his rifle from side to + side so as to cover each of us in turn, and cried in English, “Halt! Who + goes there?” + </p> + <p> + Aiken had not told me the answer to that challenge, so I kept silent. I + could hear Jose behind me interrupting his prayers with little sobs of + fright. + </p> + <p> + Aiken scrambled back into an upright position, held up his hands, and + cried: “Confound you, we are travellers, going to the capital on business. + Who the devil are you?” + </p> + <p> + “Qui vive?” the man demanded over the barrel of his gun. + </p> + <p> + “What does that mean?” Aiken cried, petulantly. “Talk English, can’t you, + and put down that gun.” + </p> + <p> + The man ceased moving the rifle between us, and settled it on Aiken. + </p> + <p> + “Cry ‘Long live the government,’” he commanded, sharply. + </p> + <p> + Aiken gave a sudden start of surprise, and I saw his eyelids drop and rise + again. Later when I grew to know him intimately, I could always tell when + he was lying, or making the winning move in some bit of knavery, by that + nervous trick of the eyelids. He knew that I knew about it, and he once + confided to me that, had he been able to overcome it, he would have saved + himself some thousands of dollars which it had cost him at cards. + </p> + <p> + But except for this drooping of the eyelids he gave no sign. + </p> + <p> + “No, I won’t cry ‘Long live the government,’” he answered. “That is,” he + added hastily, “I won’t cry long live anything. I’m the American Consul, + and I’m up here on business. So’s my friend.” + </p> + <p> + The man did not move his gun by so much as a straw’s breadth. + </p> + <p> + “You will cry ‘Long live Alvarez’ or I will shoot you,” said the man. + </p> + <p> + I had more leisure to observe the man than had Aiken, for it is difficult + to study the features of anyone when he is looking at you down a + gun-barrel, and it seemed to me that the muscles of the man’s mouth as he + pressed it against the stock were twitching with a smile. As the side of + his face toward me was the one farther from the gun, I was able to see + this, but Aiken could not, and he answered, still more angrily: “I tell + you, I’m the American Consul. Anyway, it’s not going to do you any good to + shoot me. You take me to your colonel alive, and I’ll give you two hundred + dollars. You shoot me and you won’t get a cent.” + </p> + <p> + The moment was serious enough, and I was thoroughly concerned both for + Aiken and myself, but when he made this offer, my nervousness, or my sense + of humor, got the upper hand of me, and I laughed. + </p> + <p> + Having laughed I made the best of it, and said: + </p> + <p> + “Offer him five hundred for the two of us. Hang the expense.” + </p> + <p> + The rifle wavered in the man’s hands, he steadied it, scowled at me, bit + his lips, and then burst into shouts of laughter. He sank back against one + of the rocks, and pointed at Aiken mockingly. + </p> + <p> + “I knew it was you all the time,” he cried, “for certain I did. I knew it + was you all the time.” + </p> + <p> + I was greatly relieved, but naturally deeply indignant. I felt as though + someone had jumped from behind a door, and shouted “Boo!” at me. I hoped + in my heart that the colonel would give the fellow eight hours’ pack + drill. “What a remarkable sentry,” I said. + </p> + <p> + Aiken shoved his hands into his breeches pockets, and surveyed the man + with an expression of the most violent disgust. + </p> + <p> + “You’ve got a damned queer idea of a joke,” he said finally. “I might have + shot you!” + </p> + <p> + The man seemed to consider this the very acme of humor, for he fairly + hooted at us. He was so much amused that it was some moments before he + could control himself. + </p> + <p> + “I saw you at Porto Cortez,” he said, “I knew you was the American Consul + all the time. You came to our camp after the fight, and the General gave + you a long talk in his tent. Don’t you remember me? I was standing guard + outside.” + </p> + <p> + Aiken snorted indignantly. + </p> + <p> + “No, I don’t remember you,” he said. “But I’ll remember you next time. Are + you standing guard now, or just doing a little highway robbery on your own + account?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I’m standing guard for keeps,” said the sentry, earnestly. “Our + camp’s only two hundred yards back of me. And our Captain told me to let + all parties pass except the enemy, but I thought I’d have to jump you just + for fun. I’m an American myself, you see, from Kansas. An’ being an + American I had to give the American Consul a scare. But say,” he + exclaimed, advancing enthusiastically on Aiken, with his hand + outstretched, “you didn’t scare for a cent.” He shook hands violently with + each of us in turn. “My name’s Pete MacGraw,” he added, expectantly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, now, Mr. MacGraw,” said Aiken, “if you’ll kindly guide us to + General Laguerre we’ll use our influence to have you promoted. You need + more room. I imagine a soldier with your original ideas must find sentry + duty go very dull.” + </p> + <p> + MacGraw grinned appreciatively and winked. + </p> + <p> + “If I take you to my General alive, do I get that two hundred dollars?” he + asked. He rounded off his question with another yell of laughter. + </p> + <p> + He was such a harmless idiot that we laughed with him. But we were + silenced at once by a shout from above us, and a command to “Stop that + noise.” I looked up and saw a man in semi-uniform and wearing an officer’s + sash and sword stepping from one rock to another and breaking his way + through the laurel. He greeted Aiken with a curt wave of the hand. “Glad + to see you, Consul,” he called. “You will dismount, please, and lead your + horses this way.” He looked at me suspiciously and then turned and + disappeared into the undergrowth. + </p> + <p> + “The General is expecting you, Aiken,” his voice called back to us. “I + hope everything is all right?” + </p> + <p> + Aiken and I had started to draw the mules up the hill. Already both the + officer and the trail had been completely hidden by the laurel. + </p> + <p> + “No, nothing is all right,” Aiken growled. + </p> + <p> + There was the sound of an oath, the laurels parted, and the officer’s face + reappeared, glaring at us angrily. + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean?” he demanded. “My information is for General Laguerre,” + Aiken answered, sulkily. + </p> + <p> + The man sprang away again muttering to himself, and we scrambled and + stumbled after him, guided by the sounds of breaking branches and rolling + stones. + </p> + <p> + From a glance I caught of Aiken’s face I knew he was regretting now, with + even more reason than before, that he had not remained at the coast, and I + felt very sorry for him. Now that he was in trouble and not patronizing me + and poking fun at me, I experienced a strong change of feeling toward him. + He was the only friend I had in Honduras, and as between him and these + strangers who had received us so oddly, I felt that, although it would be + to my advantage to be friends with the greater number, my loyalty was + owing to Aiken. So I scrambled up beside him and panted out with some + difficulty, for the ascent was a steep one: “If there is any row, I’m with + <i>you</i>, Aiken.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, there won’t be any row,” he growled. + </p> + <p> + “Well, if there is,” I repeated, “you can count me in.” + </p> + <p> + “That’s all right,” he said. + </p> + <p> + At that moment we reached the top of the incline, and I looked down into + the hollow below. To my surprise I found that this side of the hill was + quite barren of laurel or of any undergrowth, and that it sloped to a + little open space carpeted with high, waving grass, and cut in half by a + narrow stream. On one side of the stream a great herd of mules and horses + were tethered, and on the side nearer us were many smoking camp-fires and + rough shelters made from the branches of trees. Men were sleeping in the + grass or sitting in the shade of the shelters, cleaning accoutrements, and + some were washing clothes in the stream. At the foot of the hill was a + tent, and ranged before it two Gatling guns strapped in their canvas + jackets. I saw that I had at last reached my destination. This was the + camp of the filibusters. These were the soldiers of Laguerre’s Foreign + Legion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III + </h2> + <p> + Although I had reached my journey’s end, although I had accomplished what + I had set out to do, I felt no sense of elation nor relief. I was, + instead, disenchanted, discouraged, bitterly depressed. It was so + unutterably and miserably unlike what I had hoped to find, what I believed + I had the right to expect, that my disappointment and anger choked me. The + picture I had carried in my mind was one of shining tent-walls, soldierly + men in gay and gaudy uniforms, fluttering guidons, blue ammunition-boxes + in orderly array, smart sentries pacing their posts, and a head-quarters + tent where busy officers bent over maps and reports. + </p> + <p> + The scene I had set was one painted in martial colors, in scarlet and gold + lace; it moved to martial music, to bugle-calls, to words of command, to + the ringing challenge of the sentry, and what I had found was this camp of + gypsies, this nest of tramps, without authority, discipline, or + self-respect. It was not even picturesque. My indignation stirred me so + intensely that, as I walked down the hill, I prayed for a rude reception, + that I might try to express my disgust. + </p> + <p> + The officer who had first approached us stopped at the opening of the + solitary tent, and began talking excitedly to someone inside. And as we + reached the level ground, the occupant of the tent stepped from it. He was + a stout, heavy man, with a long, twisted mustache, at which he was tugging + fiercely. He wore a red sash and a bandman’s tunic, with two stars sewn on + the collar. I could not make out his rank, but his first words explained + him. + </p> + <p> + “I am glad to see you at last, Mr. Aiken,” he said. “I’m Major Reeder, in + temporary command. You have come to report, sir?” + </p> + <p> + Aiken took so long to reply that I stopped studying the remarkable costume + of the Major and turned to Aiken. I was surprised to see that he was + unquestionably frightened. His eyes were shifting and blinking, and he wet + his lips with his tongue. All his self-assurance had deserted him. The + officer who had led us to the camp was also aware of Aiken’s uneasiness, + and was regarding him with a sneer. For some reason the spectacle of + Aiken’s distress seemed to afford him satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + “I should prefer to report to General Laguerre,” Aiken said, at last. + </p> + <p> + “I am in command here,” Reeder answered, sharply. “General Laguerre is + absent—reconnoitering. I represent him. I know all about Mr. Quay’s + mission. It was I who recommended him to the General. Where are the guns?” + </p> + <p> + For a moment Aiken stared at him helplessly, and then drew in a quick + breath. + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know where they are,” he said. “The Panama arrived two days ago, + but when I went to unload the guns Captain Leeds told me they had been + seized in New Orleans by the Treasury Department. Someone must have—” + </p> + <p> + Both Major Reeder and the officer interrupted with a shout of anger. + </p> + <p> + “Then it’s true!” Reeder cried. “It’s true, and—and—you dare + to tell us so!” + </p> + <p> + Aiken raised his head and for a moment looked almost defiant. + </p> + <p> + “Why shouldn’t I tell you?” he demanded, indignantly. “Who else was there + to tell you? I’ve travelled two days to let you know. I can’t help it if + the news isn’t good. I’m just as sorry as you are.” + </p> + <p> + The other officer was a stout, yellow-haired German. He advanced a step + and shook a soiled finger in Aiken’s face. “You can’t help it, can’t you?” + he cried. “You’re sorry, are you? You won’t be sorry when you’re paid your + money, will you? How much did you get for us, hey! How much did Joe Fiske—” + </p> + <p> + Reeder threw out his arm and motioned the officer back. “Silence, Captain + Heinze,” he commanded. + </p> + <p> + The men of the Legion who had happened to be standing near the tent when + we appeared had come up to look at the new arrivals, and when they heard + two of their officers attacking Aiken they crowded still closer in front + of us, forming a big half-circle. Each of them apparently was on a footing + with his officers of perfect comradeship, and listened openly to what was + going forward as though it were a personal concern of his own. They had + even begun to discuss it among themselves, and made so much noise in doing + so that Captain Heinze passed on Reeder’s rebuke as though it had been + intended for them, commanding, “Silence in the ranks.” + </p> + <p> + They were not in ranks, and should not have been allowed where they were + in any formation, but that did not seem to occur to either of the + officers. + </p> + <p> + “Silence,” Reeder repeated. “Now, Mr. Aiken, I am waiting. What have you + to say?” + </p> + <p> + “What is there for me to say?” Aiken protested. “I have done all I could. + I told you as soon as I could get here.” Major Reeder drew close to Aiken + and pointed his outstretched hand at him. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Aiken,” he said. “Only four people knew that those guns were ordered—Quay, + who went to fetch them, General Laguerre, myself, and you. Some one of us + must have sold out the others; no one else could have done it. It was not + Quay. The General and I have been here in the mountains—we did not + do it; and that—that leaves you.” + </p> + <p> + “It does not leave me,” Aiken cried. He shouted it out with such spirit + that I wondered at him. It was the same sort of spirit which makes a rat + fight because he can’t get away, but I didn’t think so then. + </p> + <p> + “It was Quay sold you out!” Aiken cried. “Quay told the Isthmian people as + soon as the guns reached New Orleans. I suspected him when he cabled me he + wasn’t coming back. I know him. I know just what he is. He’s been on both + sides before.” + </p> + <p> + “Silence, you—you,” Reeder interrupted. He was white with anger. + “Mr. Quay is my friend,” he cried. “I trust him. I trust him as I would + trust my own brother. How dare you accuse him!” + </p> + <p> + He ceased and stood gasping with indignation, but his show of anger + encouraged Captain Heinze to make a fresh attack on Aiken. + </p> + <p> + “Quay took you off the beach,” he shouted. + </p> + <p> + “He gave you food and clothes, and a bed to lie on. It’s like you, to bite + the hand that fed you. When have you ever stuck to any side or anybody if + you could get a dollar more by selling him out?” + </p> + <p> + The whole thing had become intolerable. It was abject and degrading, like + a falling-out among thieves. They reminded me of a group of drunken women + I had once seen, shameless and foul-mouthed, fighting in the street, with + grinning night-birds urging them on. I felt in some way horribly + responsible, as though they had dragged me into it—as though the + flying handfuls of mud had splattered me. And yet the thing which inflamed + me the most against them was their unfairness to Aiken. They would not let + him speak, and they would not see that they were so many, and that he was + alone. I did not then know that he was telling the truth. Indeed, I + thought otherwise. I did not then know that on those occasions when he + appeared to the worst advantage, he generally was trying to tell the + truth. + </p> + <p> + Captain Heinze pushed nearer, and shoved his fist close to Aiken’s face. + </p> + <p> + “We know what you are,” he jeered. “We know you’re no more on our side + than you’re the American Consul. You lied to us about that, and you’ve + lied to us about everything else. And now we’ve caught you, and we’ll make + you pay for it.” + </p> + <p> + One of the men in the rear of the crowd shouted, “Ah, shoot the beggar!” + and others began to push forward and to jeer. Aiken heard them and turned + quite white. + </p> + <p> + “You’ve caught me?” Aiken stammered. “Why, I came here of my own will. Is + it likely I’d have done that if I had sold you out?” + </p> + <p> + “I tell you you did sell us out,” Heinze roared. “And you’re a coward + besides, and I tell you so to your face!” He sprang at Aiken, and Aiken + shrank back. It made me sick to see him do it. I had such a contempt for + the men against him that I hated his not standing up to them. It was to + hide the fact that he had stepped back, that I jumped in front of him and + pretended to restrain him. I tried to make it look as though had I not + interfered, he would have struck at Heinze. + </p> + <p> + The German had swung around toward the men behind him, as though he were + subpoenaing them as witnesses. + </p> + <p> + “I call him a coward to his face!” he shouted. But when he turned again I + was standing in front of Aiken, and he halted in surprise, glaring at me. + I don’t know what made me do it, except that I had heard enough of their + recriminations, and was sick with disappointment. I hated Heinze and all + of them, and myself for being there. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, you can call him a coward,” I said, as offensively as I could, “with + fifty men behind you. How big a crowd do you want before you dare insult a + man?” Then I turned on the others. “Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves,” I + cried, “to all of you set on one man in your own camp? I don’t know + anything about this row and I don’t want to know, but there’s fifty men + here against one, and I’m on the side of that one. You’re a lot of cheap + bullies,” I cried, “and this German drill-sergeant,” I shouted, pointing + at Heinze, “who calls himself an officer, is the cheapest bully of the + lot.” I jerked open the buckle which held my belt and revolver, and flung + them on the ground. Then I slipped off my coat, and shoved it back of me + to Aiken, for I wanted to keep him out of it. It was the luck of Royal + Macklin himself that led me to take off my coat instead of drawing my + revolver. At the Point I had been accustomed to settle things with my + fists, and it had been only since I started from the coast that I had + carried a gun. A year later, in the same situation, I would have reached + for it. Had I done so that morning, as a dozen of them assured me later, + they would have shot me before I could have got my hand on it. But, as it + was, when I rolled up my sleeves the men began to laugh, and some shouted: + “Give him room,” “Make a ring,” “Fair play, now,” “Make a ring.” The + semi-circle spread out and lengthened until it formed a ring, with Heinze + and Reeder, and Aiken holding my coat, and myself in the centre of it. + </p> + <p> + I squared off in front of the German and tapped him lightly on the chest + with the back of my hand. + </p> + <p> + “Now, then,” I cried, taunting him, “I call <i>you</i> a coward to <i>your</i> + face. What are you going to do about it?” + </p> + <p> + For an instant he seemed too enraged and astonished to move, and the next + he exploded with a wonderful German oath and rushed at me, tugging at his + sword. At the same moment the men gave a shout and the ring broke. I + thought they had cried out in protest when they saw Heinze put his hand on + his sword, but as they scattered and fell back I saw that they were + looking neither at Heinze nor at me, but at someone behind me. Heinze, + too, halted as suddenly as though he had been pulled back by a curbed bit, + and, bringing his heels together, stood stiffly at salute. I turned and + saw that everyone was falling out of the way of a tall man who came + striding toward us, and I knew on the instant that he was General + Laguerre. At the first glance I disassociated him from his followers. He + was entirely apart. In any surroundings I would have picked him out as a + leader of men. Even a civilian would have known he was a soldier, for the + signs of his calling were stamped on him as plainly as the sterling mark + on silver, and although he was not in uniform his carriage and countenance + told you that he was a personage. + </p> + <p> + He was very tall and gaunt, with broad shoulders and a waist as small as a + girl’s, and although he must then have been about fifty years of age he + stood as stiffly erect as though his spine had grown up into the back of + his head. + </p> + <p> + At the first glance he reminded me of Van Dyke’s portrait of Charles I. He + had the same high-bred features, the same wistful eyes, and hewore his + beard and mustache in what was called the Van Dyke fashion, before Louis + Napoleon gave it a new vogue as the “imperial.” + </p> + <p> + It must have been that I read the wistful look in his eyes later, for at + the moment of our first meeting it was a very stern Charles I. who + confronted us, with the delicate features stiffened in anger, and the eyes + set and burning. Since then I have seen both the wistful look and the + angry look many times, and even now I would rather face the muzzle of a + gun than the eyes of General Laguerre when you have offended him. + </p> + <p> + His first words were addressed to Reeder. + </p> + <p> + “What does this mean, sir?” he demanded. “If you cannot keep order in this + camp when my back is turned I shall find an officer who can. Who is this?” + he added, pointing at me. I became suddenly conscious of the fact that I + was without my hat or coat, and that my sleeves were pulled up to the + shoulders. Aiken was just behind me, and as I turned to him for my coat I + disclosed his presence to the General. He gave an exclamation of delight. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Aiken!” he cried, “at last!” He lowered his voice to an eager + whisper. “Where are the guns?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + Apparently Aiken felt more confidence in General Laguerre than in his + officers, for at this second questioning he answered promptly. + </p> + <p> + “I regret to say, sir,” he began, “that the guns were seized at New + Orleans. Someone informed the Honduranian Consul there, and he—” + </p> + <p> + “Seized!” cried Laguerre. “By whom? Do you mean we have lost them?” + </p> + <p> + Aiken lowered his eyes and nodded. + </p> + <p> + “But how do you know?” Laguerre demanded, eagerly. “You are not sure? Who + seized them?” + </p> + <p> + “The Treasury officers,” Aiken answered + </p> + <p> + “The captain of the Panama told me he saw the guns taken on the company’s + wharf.” + </p> + <p> + For some moments Laguerre regarded him sternly, but I do not think he saw + him. He turned and walked a few steps from us and back again. Then he gave + an upward toss of his head as though he had accepted his sentence. “The + fortunes of war,” he kept repeating to himself, “the fortunes of war.” He + looked up and saw us regarding him with expressions of the deepest + concern. + </p> + <p> + “I thought I had had my share of them,” he said, simply. He straightened + his shoulders and frowned, and then looked at us and tried to smile. But + the bad news had cut deeply. During the few minutes since he had come + pushing his way through the crowd, he seemed to have grown ten years + older. He walked to the door of his tent and then halted and turned toward + Reeder. + </p> + <p> + “I think my fever is coming on again,” he said. “I believe I had better + rest. Do not let them disturb me.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, General,” Reeder answered. Then he pointed at Aiken and myself. “And + what are we to do with these?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Do with these?” Laguerre repeated. “Why, what did you mean to do with + them?” + </p> + <p> + Reeder swelled out his chest importantly, “If you had not arrived when you + did, General,” he said, “I would have had them shot!” + </p> + <p> + The General stopped at the entrance to the tent and leaned heavily against + the pole. He raised his eyes and looked at us wearily and with no show of + interest. + </p> + <p> + “Shoot them?” he asked. “Why were you going to shoot them?” + </p> + <p> + “Because, General,” Reeder declared, theatrically, pointing an accusing + finger at Aiken, “I believe this man sold our secret to the Isthmian Line. + No one knew of the guns but our three selves and Quay. And Quay is not a + man to betray his friends. I wish I could say as much for Mr. Aiken.” + </p> + <p> + At that moment Aiken, being quite innocent, said even less for himself, + and because he was innocent looked the trapped and convicted criminal. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre’s eyes glowed like two branding-irons. As he fixed them on + Aiken’s face one expected to see them leave a mark. + </p> + <p> + “If the General will only listen,” Aiken stammered. “If you will only give + me a hearing, sir. Why should I come to your camp if I had sold you out? + Why didn’t I get away on the first steamer, and stay away—as Quay + did?” + </p> + <p> + The General gave an exclamation of disgust, and shrugged his shoulders. He + sank back slowly against one of the Gatling guns. + </p> + <p> + “What does it matter?” he said, bitterly. “Why lock the stable door now? I + will give you a hearing,” he said, turning to Aiken, “but it would be + better for you if I listened to you later. Bring him to me to-morrow + morning after roll-call. And the other?” he asked. He pointed at me, but + his eyes, which were heavy with disappointment, were staring moodily at + the ground. + </p> + <p> + Heinze interposed himself quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Aiken brought him here!” he said. “I believe he’s an agent of the + Isthmian people, or,” he urged, “why did he come here? He came to spy out + your camp, General, and to report on our condition.” + </p> + <p> + “A spy!” said Laguerre, raising his head and regarding me sharply. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” Heinze declared, with conviction. “A spy, General. A Government + spy, and he has found out our hiding-place and counted our men.” + </p> + <p> + Aiken turned on him with a snarl. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you ass!” he cried. “He came as a volunteer. He wanted to fight with + you,—for the sacred cause of liberty!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he wanted to fight with us,” shouted Heinze, indignantly. “As soon + as he got into the camp, he wanted to fight with us.” + </p> + <p> + Laguerre made an exclamation of impatience, and rose unsteadily from the + gun-carriage. + </p> + <p> + “Silence!” he commanded. “I tell you I cannot listen to you now. I will + give these men a hearing after roll-call. In the meantime if they are + spies, they have seen too much. Place them under guard; and if they try to + escape, shoot them.” + </p> + <p> + I gave a short laugh and turned to Aiken. + </p> + <p> + “That’s the first intelligent military order I’ve heard yet,” I said. + </p> + <p> + Aiken scowled at me fearfully, and Reeder and Heinze gasped. General + Laguerre had caught the words, and turned his eyes on me. Like the real + princess who could feel the crumpled rose-leaf under a dozen mattresses, I + can feel it in my bones when I am in the presence of a real soldier. My + spinal column stiffens, and my fingers twitch to be at my visor. In spite + of their borrowed titles, I had smelt out the civilian in Reeder and had + detected the non-commissioned man in Heinze, and just as surely I + recognized the general officer in Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + So when he looked at me my heels clicked together, my arm bent to my hat + and fell again to my trouser seam, and I stood at attention. It was as + instinctive as though I were back at the Academy, and he had confronted me + in the uniform and yellow sash of a major-general. + </p> + <p> + “And what do you know of military orders, sir,” he demanded, in a low + voice, “that you feel competent to pass upon mine?” + </p> + <p> + Still standing at attention, I said: “For the last three years I have been + at West Point, sir, and have listened to nothing else.” + </p> + <p> + “You have been at West Point?” he said, slowly, looking at me in surprise + and with evident doubt. “When did you leave the Academy?” + </p> + <p> + “Two weeks ago,” I answered. At this, he looked even more incredulous. + </p> + <p> + “How does it happen,” he asked, “if you are preparing for the army at West + Point, that you are now travelling in Honduras?” + </p> + <p> + “I was dismissed from the Academy two weeks ago,” I answered. “This was + the only place where there was any fighting, so I came here. I read that + you had formed a Foreign Legion, and thought that maybe you would let me + join it.” + </p> + <p> + General Laguerre now stared at me in genuine amazement. In his interest in + the supposed spy, he had forgotten the loss of his guns. + </p> + <p> + “You came from West Point,” he repeated, incredulously, “all the way to + Honduras—to join me!” He turned to the two officers. “Did he tell + you this?” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + They answered, “No,” promptly, and truthfully as well, for they had not + given me time to tell them anything. + </p> + <p> + “Have you any credentials, passports, or papers?” he said. + </p> + <p> + When he asked this I saw Reeder whisper eagerly to Heinze, and then walk + away. He had gone to search my trunk for evidence that I was a spy, and + had I suspected this I would have protested violently, but it did not + occur to me then that he would do such a thing. + </p> + <p> + “I have only the passport I got from the commandante at Porto Cortez,” I + said. + </p> + <p> + At the words Aiken gave a quick shake of the head, as a man does when he + sees another move the wrong piece on the chess-board. But when I stared at + him inquiringly his expression changed instantly to one of interrogation + and complete unconcern. + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” exclaimed Heinze, triumphantly, “he has a permit from the + Government.” + </p> + <p> + “Let me see it,” said the General. + </p> + <p> + I handed it to him, and he drew a camp-chair from the tent, and, seating + himself, began to compare me with the passport. + </p> + <p> + “In this,” he said at last, “you state that you are a commercial + traveller; that you are going to the capital on business, and that you are + a friend of the Government.” + </p> + <p> + I was going to tell him that until it had been handed me by Aiken, I had + known nothing of the passport, but I considered that in some way this + might involve Aiken, and so I answered: + </p> + <p> + “It was necessary to tell them any story, sir, in order to get into the + interior. I could not tell them that I was <i>not</i> a friend of the + Government, nor that I was trying to join you.” + </p> + <p> + “Your stories are somewhat conflicting,” said the General. “You are led to + our hiding-place by a man who is himself under suspicion, and the only + credentials you can show are from the enemy. Why should I believe you are + what you say you are? Why should I believe you are not a spy?” + </p> + <p> + I could not submit to having my word doubted, so I bowed stiffly and did + not speak. + </p> + <p> + “Answer me,” the General commanded, “what proofs have I?” + </p> + <p> + “You have nothing but my word for it,” I said. + </p> + <p> + General Laguerre seemed pleased with that, and I believe he was really + interested in helping me to clear myself. But he had raised my temper by + questioning my word. + </p> + <p> + “Surely you must have something to identify you,” he urged. + </p> + <p> + “If I had I’d refuse to show it,” I answered. “I told you why I came here. + If you think I am a spy, you can go ahead and shoot me as a spy, and find + out whether I told you the truth afterward.” + </p> + <p> + The General smiled indulgently. + </p> + <p> + “There would be very little satisfaction in that for me, or for you,” he + said. + </p> + <p> + “I’m an officer and a gentleman,” I protested, “and I have a right to be + treated as one. If you serve every gentleman who volunteers to join you in + the way I have been served, I’m not surprised that your force is composed + of the sort you have around you.” + </p> + <p> + The General raised his head and looked at me with such a savage expression + that during the pause which ensued I was most uncomfortable. + </p> + <p> + “If your proofs you are an officer are no stronger than those you offer + that you are a gentleman,” he said, “perhaps you are wise not to show + them. What right have you to claim you are an officer?” + </p> + <p> + His words cut and mortified me deeply, chiefly because I felt I deserved + them. + </p> + <p> + “Every cadet ranks a non-commissioned man,” I answered. + </p> + <p> + “But you are no longer a cadet,” he replied. “You have been dismissed. You + told me so yourself. Were you dismissed honorably, or dishonorably?” + </p> + <p> + “Dishonorably,” I answered. I saw that this was not the answer he had + expected. He looked both mortified and puzzled, and glanced at Heinze and + Aiken as though he wished that they were out of hearing. + </p> + <p> + “What was it for—what was the cause of your dismissal?” he asked. He + now spoke in a much lower tone. “Of course, you need not tell me,” he + added. + </p> + <p> + “I was dismissed for being outside the limits of the Academy without a + permit,” I answered. “I went to a dance at a hotel in uniform.” + </p> + <p> + “Was that all?” he demanded, smiling. + </p> + <p> + “That was the crime for which I was dismissed,” I said, sulkily. The + General looked at me for some moments, evidently in much doubt. I believe + he suspected that I had led him on to asking me the reason for my + dismissal, in order that I could make so satisfactory an answer. As he sat + regarding me, Heinze bent over him and said something to him in a low + tone, to which he replied: “But that would prove nothing. He might have a + most accurate knowledge of military affairs, and still be an agent of the + Government.” + </p> + <p> + “That is so, General,” Heinze answered, aloud. “But it would prove whether + he is telling the truth about his having been at West Point. If his story + is false in part, it is probably entirely false, as I believe it to be.” + </p> + <p> + “Captain Heinze suggests that I allow him to test you with some + questions,” the General said, doubtfully; “questions on military matters. + Would you answer them?” + </p> + <p> + I did not want them to see how eager I was to be put to such a test, so I + tried to look as though I were frightened, and said, cautiously, “I will + try, sir.” I saw that the proposition to put me through an examination had + filled Aiken with the greatest concern. To reassure him, I winked + covertly. + </p> + <p> + Captain Heinze glanced about him as though looking for a text. + </p> + <p> + “Let us suppose,” he said, importantly, “that you are an inspector-general + come to inspect this camp. It is one that I myself selected; as adjutant + it is under my direction. What would you report as to its position, its + advantages and disadvantages?” + </p> + <p> + I did not have to look about me. Without moving from where I stood, I + could see all that was necessary of that camp. But I first asked, timidly: + “Is this camp a temporary one, made during a halt on the march, or has it + been occupied for some days?” + </p> + <p> + “We have been here for two weeks,” said Heinze. + </p> + <p> + “Is it supposed that a war is going on?” I asked, politely; “I mean, are + we in the presence of an enemy?” + </p> + <p> + “Of course,” answered Heinze. “Certainly we are at war.” + </p> + <p> + “Then,” I said, triumphantly, “in my report I should recommend that the + officer who selected this camp should be court-martialled.” + </p> + <p> + Heinze gave a shout of indignant laughter, and Aiken glared at me as + though he thought I had flown suddenly mad, but Laguerre only frowned and + waved his hand impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “You are bold, sir,” he said, grimly; “I trust you can explain yourself.” + </p> + <p> + I pointed from the basin in which we stood, to the thickly wooded hills + around us. + </p> + <p> + “This camp has the advantage of water and grass,” I said. I spoke + formally, as though I were really making a report. “Those are its only + advantages. Captain Heinze has pitched it in a hollow. In case of an + attack, he has given the advantage of position to the enemy. Fifty men + could conceal themselves on those ridges and fire upon you as effectively + as though they had you at the bottom of a well. There are no pickets out, + except along the trail, which is the one approach the enemy would not + take. So far as this position counts, then,” I summed up, “the camp is an + invitation to a massacre.” + </p> + <p> + I did not dare look at the General, but I pointed at the guns at his side. + “Your two field-pieces are in their covers, and the covers are strapped on + them. It would take three minutes to get them into action. Instead of + being here in front of the tent, they should be up there on those two + highest points. There are no racks for the men’s rifles or ammunition + belts. The rifles are lying on the ground and scattered everywhere—in + case of an attack the men would not know where to lay their hands on them. + It takes only two forked sticks and a ridge-pole with nicks in it, to make + an excellent gun-rack, but there is none of any sort. As for the sanitary + arrangements of the camp, they are <i>nil</i>. The refuse from the troop + kitchen is scattered all over the place, and so are the branches on which + the men have been lying. There is no way for them to cross that stream + without their getting their feet wet; and every officer knows that wet + feet are worse than wet powder. The place does not look as though it had + been policed since you came here. It’s a fever swamp. If you have been + here two weeks, it’s a wonder your whole force isn’t as rotten as sheep. + And there!” I cried, pointing at the stream which cut the camp in two—“there + are men bathing and washing their clothes up-stream, and those men below + them are filling buckets with water for cooking and drinking. Why have you + no water-guards? You ought to have a sentry there, and there. The water + above the first sentry should be reserved for drinking, below him should + be the place for watering your horses, and below the second sentry would + be the water for washing clothes. Why, these things are the A, B, C, of + camp life.” For the first time since I had begun to speak, I turned on + Heinze and grinned at him. + </p> + <p> + “How do you like my report on your camp?” I asked. “Now, don’t you agree + with me that you should be court-martialled?” Heinze’s anger exploded like + a shell. + </p> + <p> + “You should be court-martialled yourself!” he shouted. “You are insulting + our good General. For me, I do not care. But you shall not reflect upon my + commanding officer, for him I—” + </p> + <p> + “That will do, Captain Heinze,” Laguerre said, quietly. “That will do, + thank you.” He did not look up at either of us, but for some time sat with + his elbow on his knee and with his chin resting in the palm of his hand, + staring at the camp. There was a long, and, for me, an awkward silence. + The General turned his head and stared at me. His expression was + exceedingly grave, but without resentment. + </p> + <p> + “You are quite right,” he said, finally. Heinze and Aiken moved + expectantly forward, anxious to hear him pass sentence upon me. Seeing + this he raised his voice and repeated: “You are quite right in what you + say about the camp. All you say is quite true.” + </p> + <p> + He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and, as he continued + speaking with his face averted, it was as though he were talking to + himself. + </p> + <p> + “We grow careless as we grow older,” he said, “One grows less difficult to + please.” His tone was that of a man excusing himself to himself. “The old + standards, the old models, pass away and—and failures, failures come + and dull the energy.” His voice dropped into a monotone; he seemed to have + forgotten us entirely. + </p> + <p> + It must have been then that for the first time I saw the wistful look come + into his eyes, and suddenly felt deeply sorry for him and wished that I + might dare to tell him so. I was not sorry for any act or speech of mine. + They had attacked me, and I had only defended myself. I was not repentant + for anything I had said; my sorrow was for what I read in the General’s + eyes as he sat staring out into the valley. It was the saddest and + loneliest look that I had ever seen. There was no bitterness in it, but + great sadness and weariness and disappointment, and above all, loneliness, + utter and complete loneliness. + </p> + <p> + He glanced up and saw me watching him, and for a moment regarded me + curiously, and then, as though I had tried to force my way into his + solitude, turned his eyes quickly away. + </p> + <p> + I had forgotten that I was a suspected spy until the fact was recalled to + me at that moment by the reappearance of Major Reeder. He came bustling + past me, carrying as I saw, to my great indignation, the sword which had + been presented to my grandfather, and which my grandfather had given to + me. I sprang after him and twisted it out of his hand. + </p> + <p> + “How dare you!” I cried. “You have opened my trunk! How dare you pry into + my affairs? General Laguerre!” I protested. “I appeal to you, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Major Reeder,” the General demanded, sharply, “what does this mean?” + </p> + <p> + “I was merely seeking evidence, General,” said Reeder. “You asked for his + papers, and I went to look for them.” + </p> + <p> + “I gave you no orders to pry into this gentleman’s trunk,” said the + General. “You have exceeded your authority. You have done very ill, sir. + You have done very ill.” + </p> + <p> + While the General was reproving Reeder, his eyes, instead of looking at + the officer, were fixed upon my sword. It was sufficiently magnificent to + attract the attention of anyone, certainly of any soldier. The scabbard + was of steel, wonderfully engraved, the hilt was of ivory, and the + hilt-guard and belt fastenings were all of heavy gold. The General’s face + was filled with appreciation. + </p> + <p> + “You have a remarkably handsome sword there,” he said, and hesitated, + courteously, “—I beg your pardon, I have not heard your name?” + </p> + <p> + I was advancing to show the sword to him, when my eye fell upon the plate + my grandfather had placed upon it, and which bore the inscription: “To + Royal Macklin, on his appointment to the United States Military Academy, + from his Grandfather, John M. Hamilton, Maj. Gen. U.S.A.” + </p> + <p> + “My name is Macklin, sir,” I said, “Royal Macklin.” I laid the sword + lengthwise in his hands, and then pointed at the inscription. “You will + find it there,” I said. The General bowed and bent his head over the + inscription and then read the one beside it. This stated that the sword + had been presented by the citizens of New York to Major-General John M. + Hamilton in recognition of his distinguished services during the war with + Mexico. The General glanced up at me in astonishment. + </p> + <p> + “General Hamilton!” he exclaimed. “General John Hamilton! Is that—was + he your grandfather?” + </p> + <p> + I bowed my head, and the General stared at me as though I had contradicted + him. + </p> + <p> + “But, let me tell you, sir,” he protested, “that he was my friend. General + Hamilton was my friend for many years. Let me tell you, sir,” he went on, + excitedly, “that your grandfather was a brave and courteous gentleman, a + true friend and—and a great soldier, sir, a great soldier. I knew + your grandfather well. I knew him well.” He rose suddenly, and, while + still holding the sword close to him, shook my hand. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Heinze,” he said, “bring out a chair for Mr. Macklin.” He did not + notice the look of injury with which Heinze obeyed this request. But I + did, and I enjoyed the spectacle, and as Heinze handed me the camp-chair I + thanked him politely. I could afford to be generous. + </p> + <p> + The General was drawing the sword a few inches from its scabbard and + shoving it back, again, turning it over in his hands. + </p> + <p> + “And to think that this is John Hamilton’s sword,” he said, “and that you + are John Hamilton’s grandson!” As the sword lay across his knees he kept + stroking it and touching it as one might caress a child, glancing up at me + from time to time with a smile. It seemed to have carried him back again + into days and scenes to which we all were strangers, and we watched him + without speaking. He became suddenly conscious of our silence, and, on + looking up, seemed to become uncomfortably aware of the presence of Aiken + and the two officers. + </p> + <p> + “That will do, gentlemen,” he said. “You will return with Mr. Aiken after + roll-call.” The officers saluted as they moved away, with Aiken between + them. He raised his eyebrows and tapped himself on the chest. I understood + that he meant by this that I was to say a good word for him, and I nodded. + When they had left us the General leaned forward and placed his hand upon + my shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “Now tell me,” he said. “Tell me everything. Tell me what you are doing + here, and why you ran away from home. Trust me entirely, and do not be + afraid to speak the whole truth.” + </p> + <p> + I saw that he thought I had left home because I had been guilty of some + wildness, if not of some crime, and I feared that my story would prove so + inoffensive that he would think I was holding something back. But his + manner was so gentle and generous that I plunged in boldly. I told him + everything; of my life with my grandfather, of my disgrace at the Academy, + of my desire, in spite of my first failure, to still make myself a + soldier. And then I told him of how I had been disappointed and + disillusioned, and how it had hurt me to find that this fight seemed so + sordid and the motives of all engaged only mercenary and selfish. But once + did he interrupt me, and then by an exclamation which I mistook for an + exclamation of disbelief, and which I challenged quickly. “But it is true, + sir,” I said. “I joined the revolutionists for just that reason—because + they were fighting for their liberty and because they had been wronged and + were the under-dogs in the fight, and because Alvarez is a tyrant. I had + no other motive. Indeed, you must believe me, sir,” I protested, “or I + cannot talk to you. It is the truth.” + </p> + <p> + “The truth!” exclaimed Laguerre, fiercely; and as he raised his eyes I saw + that they had suddenly filled with tears. “It is the first time I have + heard the truth in many years. It is what I have preached myself for half + a lifetime; what I have lived for and fought for. Why, here, now,” he + cried, “while I have been sitting listening to you, it was as though the + boy I used to be had come back to talk to me, bringing my old ideals, the + old enthusiasm.” His manner and his tone suddenly altered, and he shook + his head and placed his hand almost tenderly upon my own. “But I warn + you,” he said, “I warn you that you are wrong. You have begun young, and + there is yet time for you to turn back; but if you hope for money, or + place, or public favor, you have taken the wrong road. You will be a + rolling-stone among milestones, and the way is all down hill. I began to + fight when I was even younger than you. I fought for whichever party + seemed to me to have the right on its side. Sometimes I have fought for + rebels and patriots, sometimes for kings, sometimes for pretenders. I was + out with Garibaldi, because I believed he would give a republic to Italy; + but I fought against the republic of Mexico, because its people were + rotten and corrupt, and I believed that the emperor would rule them + honestly and well. I have always chosen my own side, the one which seemed + to me promised the most good; and yet, after thirty years, I am where you + see me to-night. I am an old man without a country, I belong to no + political party, I have no family, I have no home. I have travelled over + all the world looking for that country which was governed for the greater + good of the greater number, and I have fought only for those men who + promised to govern unselfishly and as the servants of the people. But when + the fighting was over, and they were safe in power, they had no use for me + nor my advice. They laughed, and called me a visionary and a dreamer. ‘You + are no statesman, General,’ they would say to me. ‘Your line is the + fighting-line. Go back to it.’ And yet, when I think of how the others + have used their power, I believe that I could have ruled the people as + well, and yet given them more freedom, and made more of them more happy.” + </p> + <p> + The moon rose over the camp, and the night grew chill; but still we sat, + he talking and I listening as I had used to listen when I sat at my + grandfather’s knee and he told me tales of war and warriors. They brought + us coffee and food, and we ate with an ammunition-box for a table, he + still talking and I eager to ask questions, and yet fearful of + interrupting him. He told of great battles which had changed the history + of Europe, of secret expeditions which had never been recorded even in his + own diary, of revolutions which after months of preparation had burst + forth and had been crushed between sunset and sunrise; of emperors, kings, + patriots, and charlatans. There was nothing that I had wished to do, and + that I had imagined myself doing, that he had not accomplished in reality—the + acquaintances he had made among the leaders of men, the adventures he had + suffered, the honors he had won, were those which to me were the most to + be desired. + </p> + <p> + {Illustration: The moon rose over the camp ... but still we sat.} + </p> + <p> + The scene around us added color to his words. The moonlight fell on + ghostly groups of men seated before the camp-fires, their faces glowing in + the red light of the ashes; on the irregular rows of thatched shelters and + on the shadowy figures of the ponies grazing at the picket-line. All the + odors of a camp, which to me are more grateful than those of a garden, + were borne to us on the damp night-air; the clean pungent smell of burning + wood, the scent of running water, the smell of many horses crowded + together and of wet saddles and accoutrements. And above the swift rush of + the stream, we could hear the ceaseless pounding of the horses’ hoofs on + the turf, the murmurs of the men’s voices, and the lonely cry of the + night-birds. + </p> + <p> + It was past midnight when the General rose, and my brain rioted with the + pictures he had drawn for me. Surely, if I had ever considered turning + back, I now no longer tolerated the thought of it. If he had wished to + convince me that the life of a soldier of fortune was an ungrateful one he + had set about proving it in the worst possible way. At that moment I saw + no career so worthy to be imitated as his own, no success to be so envied + as his failures. And in the glow and inspiration of his talk, and with the + courage of a boy, I told him so. I think he was not ill pleased at what I + said, nor with me. He seemed to approve of what I had related of myself, + and of the comments I had made upon his reminiscences. He had said, again + and again: “That is an intelligent question,” “You have put your finger on + the real weakness of the attack,” “That was exactly the error in his + strategy.” + </p> + <p> + When he turned to enter his tent he shook my hand. “I do not know when I + have talked so much,” he laughed, “nor,” he added, with grave courtesy, + “when I have had so intelligent a listener. Good-night.” + </p> + <p> + Throughout the evening he had been holding my sword, and as he entered the + tent he handed it to me. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I forgot,” he said. “Here is your sword, Captain.” + </p> + <p> + The flaps of the tent fell behind him, and I was left outside of them, + incredulous and trembling. + </p> + <p> + I could not restrain myself, and I pushed the flaps aside. + </p> + <p> + “I beg your pardon, General,” I stammered. + </p> + <p> + He had already thrown himself upon his cot, but he rose on his elbow and + stared at me. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + “I beg your pardon, sir,” I gasped, “but what did you call me then—just + now?” + </p> + <p> + “Call you,” he said. “Oh, I called you ‘captain.’ You are a captain. I + will assign you your troop to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + He turned and buried his face in his arm, and unable to thank him I + stepped outside of the tent and stood looking up at the stars, with my + grandfather’s sword clasped close in my hands. And I was so proud and + happy that I believe I almost prayed that he could look down and see me. + </p> + <p> + That was how I received my first commission—in a swamp in Honduras, + from General Laguerre, of the Foreign Legion, as he lay half-asleep upon + his cot. It may be, if I continue as I have begun, I shall receive higher + titles, from ministers of war, from queens, presidents, and sultans. I + shall have a trunk filled, like that of General Laguerre’s, with + commissions, brevets, and patents of nobility, picked up in many queer + courts, in many queer corners of the globe. But to myself I shall always + be Captain Macklin, and no other rank nor title will ever count with me as + did that first one, which came without my earning it, which fell from the + lips of an old man without authority to give it, but which seemed to touch + me like a benediction. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + . . . . . . . . . . +</pre> + <p> + The officer from whom I took over my troop was a German, Baron Herbert von + Ritter. He had served as an aide-de-camp to the King of Bavaria, and his + face was a patchwork of sword-cuts which he had received in the students’ + duels. No one knew why he had left the German army. He had been in command + of the troop with the rank of captain, but when the next morning Laguerre + called him up and told him that I was now his captain he seemed rather + relieved than otherwise. + </p> + <p> + “They’re a hard lot,” he said to me, as we left the General. “I’m glad to + get rid of them.” + </p> + <p> + The Legion was divided into four troops of about fifty men each. Only half + of the men were mounted, but the difficulties of the trail were so great + that the men on foot were able to move quite as rapidly as those on + mule-back. Under Laguerre there were Major Webster, an old man, who as a + boy had invaded Central America with William Walker’s expedition, and who + ever since had lived in Honduras; Major Reeder and five captains, Miller, + who was in charge of a dozen native Indians and who acted as a scout; + Captain Heinze, two Americans named Porter and Russell, and about a dozen + lieutenants of every nationality. Heinze had been adjutant of the force, + but the morning after my arrival the General appointed me to that + position, and at roll-call announced the change to the battalion. + </p> + <p> + “We have been waiting here for two weeks for a shipment of machine guns,” + he said to them. “They have not arrived and I cannot wait for them any + longer. The battalion will start at once for Santa Barbara, where I expect + to get you by to-morrow night. There we will join General Garcia, and + continue with him until we enter the capital.” + </p> + <p> + The men, who were properly weary of lying idle in the swamp, interrupted + him with an enthusiastic cheer and continued shouting until he lifted his + hand. + </p> + <p> + “Since we have been lying here,” he said, “I have allowed you certain + liberties, and discipline has relaxed. But now that we are on the march + again you will conduct yourselves like soldiers, and discipline will be as + strictly enforced as in any army in Europe. Since last night we have + received an addition to our force in the person of Captain Macklin, who + has volunteered his services. Captain Macklin comes of a distinguished + family of soldiers, and he has himself been educated at West Point. I have + appointed him Captain of D Troop and Adjutant of the Legion. As adjutant + you will recognize his authority as you would my own. You will now break + camp, and be prepared to march in half an hour.” + </p> + <p> + Soon after we had started we reached a clearing, and Laguerre halted us + and formed the column into marching order. Captain Miller, who was + thoroughly acquainted with the trail, and his natives, were sent on two + hundred yards ahead of us as a point. They were followed by Heinze with + his Gatling guns. Then came Laguerre and another troop, then Reeder with + the two remaining troops and our “transport” between them. Our transport + consisted of a dozen mules carrying bags of coffee, beans, and flour, our + reserve ammunition, the General’s tent, and whatever few private effects + the officers possessed over and above the clothes they stood in. I brought + up the rear with D Troop. We moved at a walk in single file and without + flankers, as the jungle on either side of the trail was impenetrable. Our + departure from camp had been so prompt that I had been given no time to + become acquainted with my men, but as we tramped forward I rode along with + them or drew to one side to watch them pass and took a good look at them. + Carrying their rifles, and with their blanket-rolls and cartridge-belts + slung across their shoulders, they made a better appearance than when they + were sleeping around the camp. As the day grew on I became more and more + proud of my command. The baron pointed out those of the men who could be + relied upon, and I could pick out for myself those who had received some + military training. When I asked these where they had served before, they + seemed pleased at my having distinguished the difference between them and + the other volunteers, and saluted properly and answered briefly and + respectfully. + </p> + <p> + If I was proud of the men, I was just as pleased with myself, or, I should + say, with my luck. Only two weeks before I had been read out to the + battalion at West Point, as one unfit to hold a commission, and here I was + riding at the head of my own troop. I was no second lieutenant either, + with a servitude of five years hanging over me before I could receive my + first bar, but a full-fledged captain, with fifty men under him to care + for and discipline and lead into battle. There was not a man in my troop + who was not at least a few years older than myself, and as I rode in + advance of them and heard the creak of the saddles and the jingle of the + picket-pins and water-bottles, or turned and saw the long line stretching + out behind me, I was as proud as Napoleon returning in triumph to Paris. I + had brought with me from the Academy my scarlet sash, and wore it around + my waist under my sword-belt. I also had my regulation gauntlets, and a + campaign sombrero, and as I rode along I remembered the line about General + Stonewall Jackson, in “Barbara Frietchie.” + </p> + <p> + “The leader glancing left and right.” + </p> + <p> + I repeated it to myself, and scowled up at the trees and into the jungle. + It was a tremendous feeling to be a “leader.” + </p> + <p> + At noon the heat was very great, and Laguerre halted the column at a + little village and ordered the men to eat their luncheon. I posted + pickets, appointed a detail to water the mules, and asked two of the + inhabitants for the use of their clay ovens. In the other troops each man, + or each group of men, were building separate fires and eating alone or in + messes of five or six but by detailing four of my men to act as cooks for + the whole troop, and six others to tend the fires in the ovens, and six + more to carry water for the coffee, all of my men were comfortably fed + before those in the other troops had their fires going. + </p> + <p> + Von Ritter had said to me that during the two weeks in camp the men had + used up all their tobacco, and that their nerves were on edge for lack of + something to smoke. So I hunted up a native who owned a tobacco patch, and + from him, for three dollars in silver, I bought three hundred cigars. I + told Von Ritter to serve out six of them to each of the men of D Troop. It + did me good to see how much they enjoyed them. For the next five minutes + every man I met had a big cigar in his mouth, which he would remove with a + grin, and say, “Thank you, Captain.” I did not give them the tobacco to + gain popularity, for in active service I consider that tobacco is as + necessary for the man as food, and I also believe that any officer who + tries to buy the good-will of his men is taking the quickest way to gain + their contempt. + </p> + <p> + Soldiers know the difference between the officer who bribes and pets them, + and the one who, before his own tent is set up, looks to his men and his + horses, who distributes the unpleasant duties of the camp evenly, and who + knows what he wants done the first time he gives an order, and does not + make unnecessary work for others because he cannot make up his mind. + </p> + <p> + After I had seen the mules watered and picketed in the public corral, I + went to look for the General, whom I found with the other officers at the + house of the Alcalde. They had learned news of the greatest moment. Two + nights previous, General Garcia had been attacked in force at Santa + Barbara, and had abandoned the town without a fight. Nothing more was + known, except that he was either falling back along the trail to join us, + or was waiting outside the city for us to come up and join him. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre at once ordered the bugles to sound “Boots and saddles,” and + within five minutes we were on the trail again with instructions to press + the men forward as rapidly as possible. The loss of Santa Barbara was a + serious calamity. It was the town third in importance in Honduras, and it + had been the stronghold of the revolutionists. The moral effect of the + fact that Garcia held it, had been of the greatest possible benefit. As + Garcia’s force consisted of 2,000 men and six pieces of artillery, it was + inexplicable to Laguerre how without a fight he had abandoned so valuable + a position. + </p> + <p> + The country through which we now passed was virtually uninhabited, and + wild and rough, but grandly beautiful. At no time, except when we passed + through one of the dusty little villages, of a dozen sun-baked huts set + around a sun-baked plaza, was the trail sufficiently wide to permit us to + advance unless in single file. And yet this was the highway of Honduras + from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and the only road to + Tegucigalpa, the objective point of our expedition. The capital lay only + one hundred miles from Porto Cortez, but owing to the nature of this trail + it could not be reached from the east coast, either on foot or by mule, in + less than from six to nine days. No wheeled vehicle could have possibly + attempted the trip without shaking to pieces, and it was only by dragging + and lifting our Gatling guns by hand that we were able to bring them with + us. + </p> + <p> + At sunset we halted at a little village, where, as usual, the people + yelled “Vivas!” at us, and protested that they were good revolutionists. + The moon had just risen, and, as the men rode forward, kicking up the + white dust and with the Gatlings clanking and rumbling behind them, they + gave a most war-like impression. Miller, who had reconnoitered the village + before we entered it, stood watching us as we came in. He said that we + reminded him of troops of United States cavalry as he had seen them on the + alkali plains of New Mexico and Arizona. It was again my duty to station + our pickets and out-posts, and as I came back after placing the sentries, + the fires were twinkling all over the plaza and throwing grotesque shadows + of the men and the mules against the white walls of the houses. It was a + most weird and impressive picture. + </p> + <p> + The troopers were exhausted with the forced march, and fell instantly to + sleep, but for a long time I sat outside the Town Hall talking with + General Laguerre and two of the Americans, Miller and old man Webster. + Their talk was about Aiken, who so far had accompanied us as an untried + prisoner. From what he had said to me on the march, and from what I + remembered of his manner when Captain Leeds informed him of the loss of + the guns, I was convinced that he was innocent of any treachery. + </p> + <p> + I related to the others just what had occurred at the coast, and after + some talk with Aiken himself, Laguerre finally agreed that he was innocent + of any evil against him, and that Quay was the man who had sold the + secret. Laguerre then offered Aiken his choice of continuing on with us, + or of returning to the coast, and Aiken said that he would prefer to go on + with our column. Now that the Isthmian Line knew that he had tried to + assist Laguerre, his usefulness at the coast was at an end. He added + frankly that his only other reason for staying with us was because he + thought we were going to win. General Laguerre gave him charge of our + transport and commissary, that is of our twelve pack-mules and of the + disposition of the coffee, flour, and beans. Aiken possessed real + executive ability, and it is only fair to him to say that as commissary + sergeant he served us well. By the time we had reached Tegucigalpa the + twelve mules had increased to twenty, and our stock of rations, instead of + diminishing as we consumed them, increased daily. We never asked how he + managed it. Possibly, knowing Aiken, it was wiser not to inquire. + </p> + <p> + We broke camp at four in the morning, but in spite of our early start the + next day’s advance was marked by the most cruel heat. We had left the + shade of the high lands and now pushed on over a plain of dry, burning + sand, where nothing grew but naked bushes bristling with thorns, and tall + grayish-green cacti with disjointed branching arms. They stretched out + before us against the blazing sky, like a succession of fantastic + telegraph-poles. We were marching over what had once been the bed of a + great lake. Layers of tiny round pebbles rolled under our feet, and the + rocks which rose out of the sand had been worn and polished by the water + until they were as smooth as the steps of a cathedral. A mile away on each + flank were dark green ridges, but ahead of us there was only a great + stretch of glaring white sand. No wind was stirring, and not a drop of + moisture. The air was like a breath from a brick oven, and the heat of the + sun so fierce that if you touched your fingers to a gun-barrel it burned + the flesh. + </p> + <p> + We did not escape out of this lime-kiln until three in the afternoon, when + the trail again led us into the protecting shade of the jungle. The men + plunged into it as eagerly as though they were diving into water. + </p> + <p> + About four o’clock we heard great cheering ahead of us, and word was + passed to the rear that Miller had come in touch with Garcia’s scouts. A + half hour later, we marched into the camp of the revolutionists. It was + situated about three miles outside of Santa Barbara, on the banks of the + river where the trail crossed it at a ford. Our fellows made a rather fine + appearance as they rode out of the jungle among the revolutionists; and, + considering the fact that we had come to fight for them, I thought the + little beggars might have given us a cheer, but they only stared at us, + and nodded stupidly. They were a mixed assortment, all of them under-size + and either broad or swarthy, with the straight hair and wide cheek-bones + of the Carib Indian, or slight and nervous looking, with the soft eyes and + sharp profile of the Spaniard. The greater part of them had deserted in + companies from the army, and they still wore the blue-jean uniform and + carried the rifle and accoutrements of the Government. To distinguish + themselves from those soldiers who had remained with Alvarez, they had + torn off the red braid with which their tunics were embroidered. + </p> + <p> + All the officers of the Foreign Legion rode up the stream with Laguerre to + meet General Garcia, whom we found sitting in the shade of his tent + surrounded by his staff. He gave us a most enthusiastic greeting, + embracing the General, and shaking hands with each of us in turn. He + seemed to be in the highest state of excitement, and bustled about + ordering us things to drink, and chattering, gesticulating, and laughing. + He reminded me of a little, fat French poodle trying to express his + delight by bounds and barks. They brought us out a great many bottles of + rum and limes, and we all had a long, deep drink. After the fatigue and + dust of the day, it was the best I ever tasted. Garcia’s officers seemed + just as much excited over nothing as he was, but were exceedingly + friendly, treating us with an exaggerated “comrades-in-arms” and + “brother-officers” sort of manner. The young man who entertained me was + quite a swell, with a tortoise-shell visor to his cap and a Malacca + sword-cane which swung from a gold cord. He was as much pleased over it as + a boy with his first watch, and informed me that it had been used to + assassinate his uncle, ex-President Rojas. As he seemed to consider it a + very valuable heirloom, I moved my legs so that, as though by accident, my + sword fell forward where he could see it. When he did he exclaimed upon + its magnificence, and I showed him my name on the scabbard. He thought it + had been presented to me for bravery. He was very much impressed. + </p> + <p> + Garcia and Laguerre talked together for a long time and then shook hands + warmly, and we all saluted and returned to the ford. + </p> + <p> + As soon as we had reached it Laguerre seated himself under a tree and sent + for all of his officers. + </p> + <p> + “We are to attack at daybreak to-morrow morning,” he said. “Garcia is to + return along the trail and make a demonstration on this side of the town, + while we are here to attack from the other. The plaza is about three + hundred yards from where we will enter. On the corner of the plaza and the + main street there is a large warehouse. The warehouse looks across the + plaza to the barracks, which are on the other side of the square. General + Garcia’s plan is that our objective point shall be this warehouse. It has + two stories, and men on its roof will have a great advantage over those in + the barracks and in the streets. He believes that when he begins his + attack from this side, the Government troops will rush from the barracks + and hasten toward the sound of the firing. At the same signal we are to + hurry in from the opposite side of the town, seize the warehouse, and + throw up barricades across the plaza. Should this plan succeed, the + Government troops will find themselves shut in between two fires. It seems + to be a good plan, and I have agreed to it. The cattle-path to the town is + much too rough for our guns, so Captain Heinze and the gun detail will + remain here and co-operate with General Garcia. Let your men get all the + sleep they can now. They must march again at midnight. They will carry + nothing but their guns and ammunition and rations for one meal. If + everything goes as we expect, we will breakfast in Santa Barbara.” + </p> + <p> + I like to remember the happiness I got out of the excitement of that + moment. I lived at the rate of an hour a minute, and I was as upset from + pure delight as though I had been in a funk of abject terror. And I was + scared in a way, too, for whenever I remembered I knew nothing of actual + fighting, and of what chances there were to make mistakes, I shivered down + to my heels. But I would not let myself think of the chances to make a + failure, but rather of the opportunities of doing something distinguished + and of making myself conspicuous. I laughed when I thought of my + classmates at the Point with their eyes bent on a book of tactics, while + here was I, within three hours of a real battle, of the most exciting of + all engagements, an attack upon a city. A full year, perhaps many years, + would pass before they would get the chance to hear a hostile shot, the + shot fired in anger, which every soldier must first hear before he can + enter upon his inheritance, and hold his own in the talk of the + mess-table. I felt almost sorry for them when I thought how they would + envy me when they read of the fight in the newspapers. I decided it would + be called the battle of Santa Barbara, and I imagined how it would look in + the head-lines. I was even generous enough to wish that three or four of + the cadets were with me; that is, of course, under me, so that they could + tell afterward how well I had led them. + </p> + <p> + At midnight we filed silently out of camp, and felt our way in the dark + through the worst stretch of country we had yet encountered. The ferns + rose above our hips, and the rocks and fallen logs over which we stumbled + were slippery with moss. Every minute a man was thrown by a trailing vine + or would plunge over a fallen tree-trunk, and there would be a yell of + disgust and an oath and a rattle of accoutrements. The men would certainly + have been lost if they had not kept in touch by calling to one another, + and the noise we made hissing at them for silence only added to the + uproar. + </p> + <p> + At the end of three hours our guides informed us that for the last + half-mile they had been guessing at the trail, and that they had now + completely lost themselves. So Laguerre sent out Miller and the native + scouts to buskey about and find out where we were, and almost immediately + we heard the welcome barking of a dog, and one of the men returned to + report that we had walked right into the town. We found that the first + huts were not a hundred yards distant. Laguerre accordingly ordered the + men to conceal themselves and sent Miller, one of Garcia’s officers, and + myself to reconnoitre. + </p> + <p> + The moonlight had given way to the faint gray light which comes just + before dawn, and by it we could distinguish lumps of blackness which as we + approached turned into the thatched huts of the villagers. Until we found + the main trail into the town we kept close to the bamboo fences of these + huts, and then, still keeping in the shadows, we followed the trail until + it turned into a broad and well-paved street. + </p> + <p> + Except for many mongrel dogs that attacked us, and the roosters that began + to challenge us from every garden, we had not been observed, and, so far + as we could distinguish, the approach to the town was totally unprotected. + By this time the light had increased sufficiently for us to see the white + fronts of the houses, and the long empty street, where rows of oil-lamps + were sputtering and flickering, and as they went out, filling the clean, + morning air with the fumes of the dying wicks. It had been only two weeks + since I had seen paved streets, and shops, and lamp-posts, but I had been + sleeping long enough in the open to make the little town of Santa Barbara + appear to me like a modern and well-appointed city. Viewed as I now saw + it, our purpose to seize it appeared credulous and grotesque. I could not + believe that we contemplated such a piece of folly. But the native officer + pointed down the street toward a square building with overhanging + balconies. In the morning mist the warehouse loomed up above its fellows + of one story like an impregnable fortress. + </p> + <p> + Miller purred with satisfaction. + </p> + <p> + “That’s the place,” he whispered; “I remember it now. If we can get into + it, they can never get us out.” It seemed to me somewhat like burglary, + but I nodded in assent, and we ran back through the outskirts to where + Laguerre was awaiting us. We reported that there were no pickets guarding + our side of the town, and the building Garcia had designated for defence + seemed to us most admirably selected. + </p> + <p> + It was now near to the time set for the attack to begin, and Laguerre + called the men together, and, as was his custom, explained to them what he + was going to do. He ordered that when we reached the warehouse I was to + spread out my men over the plaza and along the two streets on which the + warehouse stood. Porter was to mount at once to the roof and open fire on + the barracks, and the men of B and C Troops were to fortify the warehouse + and erect the barricades. + </p> + <p> + It was still dark, but through the chinks of a few of the mud huts we + could see the red glow of a fire, and were warned by this to move forward + and take up our position at the head of the main street. Before we + advanced, skirmishers were sent out to restrain any of the people in the + huts who might attempt to arouse the garrison. But we need not have + concerned ourselves, for those of the natives who came to their doors, + yawning and shivering in the cool morning air, shrank back at the sight of + us, and held up their hands. I suppose, as we crept out of the mist, we + were a somewhat terrifying spectacle, but I know that I personally felt + none of the pride of a conquering hero. The glimpse I had caught of the + sleeping town, peaceful and unconscious, and the stealth and silence of + our movements, depressed me greatly, and I was convinced that I had either + perpetrated or was about to perpetrate some hideous crime. I had + anticipated excitement and the joy of danger, instead of which, as I + tiptoed between the poor gardens, I suffered all the quaking terrors of a + chicken thief. + </p> + <p> + We had halted behind a long adobe wall to the right of the main street, + and as we crouched there the sun rose like a great searchlight and pointed + us out, and exposed us, and seemed to hold up each one of us to the + derision of Santa Barbara. As the light flooded us we all ducked our heads + simultaneously, and looked wildly about us as though seeking for some + place to hide. I felt as though I had been caught in the open street in my + night-gown. It was impossible to justify our presence. As I lay, straining + my ears for Garcia’s signal, I wondered what we would do if the worthy + citizen who owned the garden wall, against which we lay huddled, should + open the gate and ask us what we wanted. Could we reply that we, a hundred + and fifty men, proposed to seize and occupy his city? I felt sure he would + tell us to go away at once or he would call the police. I looked at the + men near me, and saw that each was as disturbed as myself. A full quarter + of an hour had passed since the time set for the attack, and still there + was no signal from Garcia. The strain was becoming intolerable. At any + moment some servant, rising earlier than his fellows, might stumble upon + us, and in his surprise sound the alarm. Already in the trail behind us a + number of natives, on their way to market, had been halted by our men, who + were silently waving them back into the forest. The town was beginning to + stir, wooden shutters banged against stone walls, and from but just around + the corner of the main street came the clatter of iron bars as they fell + from the door of a shop. We could hear the man who was taking them down + whistling cheerily. + </p> + <p> + And then from the barracks came, sharply and clearly, the ringing notes of + the reveille. I jumped to my feet and ran to where Laguerre was sitting + with his back to the wall. + </p> + <p> + “General, can’t I begin now?” I begged. “You said D Troop was to go in + first.” + </p> + <p> + He shook his head impatiently. “Listen!” he commanded. + </p> + <p> + We heard a single report, but so faintly and from such a distance that had + it not instantly been followed by two more we could not have distinguished + it. Even then we were not certain. Then as we crouched listening, each + reading the face of the others and no one venturing to breathe, there came + the sharp, broken roll of musketry. It was unmistakable. The men gave a + great gasp of relief, and without orders sprang to “attention.” A ripple + of rifle-fire, wild and scattered, answered the first volley. + </p> + <p> + “They have engaged the pickets,” said Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + The volleys were followed by others, and volleys, more uneven, answered + them still more wildly. + </p> + <p> + “They are driving the pickets back,” explained Laguerre. We all stood + looking at him as though he were describing something which he actually + saw. Suddenly from the barracks came the discordant calls of many bugles, + warning, commanding, beseeching. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre tossed back his head, like a horse that has been too tightly + curbed. + </p> + <p> + “They are leaving the barracks,” he said. He pulled out his watch and + stood looking down at it in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “I will give them three minutes to get under way,” he said. “Then we will + start for the warehouse. When they come back again, they will find us + waiting for them.” + </p> + <p> + It seemed an hour that we stood there, and during every second of that + hour the rifle-fire increased in fierceness and came nearer, and seemed to + make another instant of inaction a crime. The men were listening with + their mouths wide apart, their heads cocked on one side, and their eyes + staring. They tightened their cartridge-belts nervously, and opened and + shot back the breech-bolts of their rifles. I took out my revolver, and + spun the cylinder to reassure myself for the hundredth time that it was + ready. But Laguerre stood quite motionless, with his eyes fixed + impassively upon his watch as though he were a physician at a sick-bed. + Only once did he raise his eyes. It was when the human savageness of the + rifle-fire was broken by a low mechanical rattle, like the whirr of a + mowing-machine as one hears it across the hay-fields. It spanked the air + with sharp hot reports. + </p> + <p> + “Heinze has turned the Gatlings on them,” he said. “They will be coming + back soon.” He closed the lid of his watch with a click and nodded gravely + at me. “You can go ahead now, Captain,” he said. His tone was the same as + though he had asked me to announce dinner. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV + </h2> + <p> + I jumped toward the street at the double, and the men followed me crowded + in a bunch. I shouted back at them to spread out, and they fell apart. As + I turned into the street I heard a shout from the plaza end of it and + found a dozen soldiers running forward to meet us. When they saw the + troops swing around the corner, they halted and some took cover in the + doorways, and others dropped on one knee in the open street, and fired + carefully. I heard soft, whispering sounds stealing by my head with + incredible slowness, and I knew that at last I was under fire. I no longer + felt like a boy robbing an orchard, nor a burglar. I was instead grandly + excited and happy, and yet I was quite calm too. I am sure of this, for I + remember I calculated the distance between us and the warehouse, and + compared it with the two hundred and twenty-yard stretch in an athletic + park at home. As I ran I noted also everything on either side of me: two + girls standing behind the iron bars of a window with their hands pressed + to their cheeks, and a negro with a broom in his hand crouching in a + doorway. Some of the men stopped running and halted to fire, but I shouted + to them to come on. I was sure if we continued to charge we could frighten + off the men at the end of the street, and I guessed rightly, for as we + kept on they scattered and ran. I could hear shouts and screams rising + from many different houses, and men and women scuttled from one side of + the street to the other like frightened hens. + </p> + <p> + As we passed an open shop some men inside opened a fusillade on me, and + over my shoulder I just caught a glimpse of one of them as he dropped back + behind the counter. I shouted to Von Ritter, who was racing with me, to + look after them, and saw him and a half-dozen others swerve suddenly and + sweep into the shop. Porter’s men were just behind mine and the noise our + boots made pounding on the cobblestones sounded like a stampede of cattle. + </p> + <p> + The plaza was an unshaded square of dusty grass. In the centre was a + circular fountain, choked with dirt and dead leaves, and down the paths + which led to it were solid stone benches. I told the men to take cover + inside the fountain, and about a dozen of them dropped behind the rim of + it, facing toward the barracks. I heard Porter give a loud “hurrah!” at + finding the doors of the warehouse open, and it seemed almost instantly + that the men of his troop began to fire over our heads from its roof. At + the first glance it was difficult to tell from where the enemy’s fire + came, but I soon saw smoke floating from the cupola of the church on the + corner and drifting through the barred windows of the barracks. I shouted + at the men behind the benches to aim at the cupola, and directed those + with me around the fountain to let loose at the barrack windows. As they + rose to fire and exposed themselves above the rim of the fountain three of + them were hit, and fell back swearing. The men behind the benches shouted + at me to take cover, and one of the wounded men in the fountain reached up + and pulled at my tunic, telling me to lie down. The men of B and C Troops + were rolling casks out of the warehouse and building a barricade, and I + saw that we were drawing all of the fire from them. We were now in a + cross-fire between the church and the barracks, and were getting very much + the worst of the fight. The men in the barracks were only seventy yards + away. They seemed to be the ones chiefly responsible. They had piled + canvas cots against the bars of the windows, and though these afforded + them no protection, they prevented our seeing anything at which to shoot. + </p> + <p> + One of my men gave a grunt, and whirled over, holding his hand to his + shoulder. “I’ve got it, Captain,” he said. I heard another man shriek from + behind one of the benches. Our position was becoming impossible. It was + true we were drawing the fire from the men who were working on the + barricade, which was what we had been sent out to do, but in three minutes + I had lost five men. + </p> + <p> + I remembered a professor at the Point telling us the proportion of bullets + that went home was one to every three hundred, and I wished I had him + behind that fountain. Miller was lying at my feet pumping away with a + Winchester. As he was reloading it he looked up at me, and shouted, “And + they say these Central Americans can’t shoot!” I saw white figures + appearing and disappearing at the windows of almost every house on the + plaza. The entire population seemed to have taken up arms against us. The + bullets splashed on the combing of the fountain and tore up the grass at + our feet, and whistled and whispered about our ears. It seemed utter + idiocy to remain, but I could not bring myself to run back to the + barricade. + </p> + <p> + In the confusion which had ensued in the barracks when Garcia opened the + attack the men who ran out to meet him had left the gates of the barrack + yard open, and as I stood, uncertain what to do, I saw a soldier pushing + them together. He had just closed one when I caught sight of him. I fired + with my revolver, and shouted to the men. “We must get inside those + gates,” I cried. “We can’t stay here. Charge those gates!” I pointed, and + they all jumped from every part of the plaza, and we raced for the barrack + wall, each of us yelling as we ran. A half dozen of us reached there in + time to throw ourselves against the gate that was just closing, and the + next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack yard. + </p> + <p> + {Illustration: And the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack + yard} + </p> + <p> + We ran straight for the long room which faced the street, and as we came + in at one end of it the men behind the cots fired a frightened volley at + us and fled out at the other. In less than two minutes the barracks were + empty, and we had changed our base from that cock-pit of a fountain to a + regular fortress with walls two feet thick, with rifles stacked in every + corner, and, what at that moment seemed of greatest importance, with a + breakfast for two hundred men bubbling and boiling in great iron pots in + the kitchen. I had never felt such elation and relief as I did over that + bloodless victory. It had come when things looked so bad; it had come so + suddenly and easily that while some of the men cheered, others only + laughed, shaking each other’s hands or slapping each other on the back, + and some danced about like children. We tore the cots away from the + windows and waved at the men behind the barricade, and they stood up and + cheered us, and the men on the roof, looking very tall against the blue + sky, stood up and waved their hats and cheered too. They had silenced the + men in the cupola, and a sudden hush fell upon the plaza. It was easy to + see that many sympathizers with the government had been shooting at us + from the private houses. When they saw us take the barracks they had + probably decided that the time had come to wipe off the powder-stains, and + reappear as friends of the revolution. The only firing now was from where + Garcia was engaged. Judging from the loudness of these volleys he had + reached the outskirts of the town. I set half of my force to work piling + up bags of meal behind the iron bars, and, in the event of fire, filling + pails with water, and breaking what little glass still remained in the + windows. Others I sent to bring in the wounded, and still others to + serving out the coffee and soup we had found in the kitchen. After giving + these orders I ran to the barricade to report. When I reached it the men + behind it began to rap on the stones with the butts of their rifles as + people pound with their billiard-cues when someone has made a difficult + shot, and those on the roof leaned over and clapped their hands. It was + most unmilitary, but I must say I was pleased by it, though I pretended I + did not know what they meant. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre came to the door of the warehouse, and smiled at me. + </p> + <p> + “I’m glad you’re still alive, sir,” he said. “After this, when you get + within seventy yards of the enemy, I hope you will be able to see him + without standing up.” + </p> + <p> + The men above us laughed, and I felt rather foolish, and muttered + something about “setting an example.” + </p> + <p> + “If you get yourself shot,” he said, “you will be setting a very bad + example, indeed. We can’t spare anybody, Captain, and certainly not you.” + I tried to look as modest as possible, but I could not refrain from + glancing around to see if the men had heard him, and I observed with + satisfaction that they had. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre asked me if I could hold the barracks, and I told him that I + thought I could. He then ordered me to remain there. + </p> + <p> + “Would you like a cup of coffee, General?” I asked. The General’s + expression changed swiftly. It became that of a very human and a very + hungry man. + </p> + <p> + “Have you got any?” he demanded anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “If you can lend me some men,” I said, “I can send you back eight + gallons.” At this the men behind the barricades gave a great cheer of + delight, and the General smiled and patted me on the shoulder. + </p> + <p> + “That is right,” he said. “The best kind of courage often comes from a + full stomach. Run along now,” he added, as though he were talking to a + child, “run along, and don’t fire until we do, and send us that coffee + before we get to work again.” + </p> + <p> + I called in all of my men from the side streets, and led them across to + the barracks. I placed some of them on the roof and some of them on tables + set against the inside of the wall in the yard. + </p> + <p> + As I did so, I saw Porter run across the plaza with about fifty of his + men, and almost immediately after they had disappeared we heard cheering, + and he returned with Captain Heinze. They both ran toward General + Laguerre, and Porter then came across to me, and told me that the + government troops were in full flight, and escaping down the side streets + into the jungle. They were panic-stricken and were scattering in every + direction, each man looking after his own safety. For the next two hours I + chased terrified little soldiers all over the side of the town which had + been assigned me, either losing them at the edge of the jungle, or + dragging them out of shops and private houses. No one was hurt. It was + only necessary to fire a shot after them to see them throw up their hands. + By nine o’clock I had cleaned up my side of the town, and returned to the + plaza. It was now so choked with men and mules that I was five minutes in + forcing my way across. Garcia’s troops had marched in, and were raising a + great hullabaloo, cheering and shouting, and embracing the townspeople, + whom they had known during their former occupation, and many of whom were + the same people who had been firing at us. I found Laguerre in counsel + with Garcia, who was in high spirits, and feeling exceedingly pleased with + himself. He entirely ignored our part in taking the town, and talked as + though he had captured it single-handed. The fact that the government + troops had held him back until we threatened them in the rear he did not + consider as important. I resented his swagger and the way he patronized + Laguerre, but the General did not seem to notice it, or was too well + satisfied with the day’s work to care. While I was at head-quarters our + scouts came in to report that the enemy was escaping along the trail to + Comyagua, and that two of their guns had stalled in the mud, not one mile + out from Santa Barbara. This was great news, and to my delight I was among + those who hurried out to the place where the guns were supposed to be. We + found them abandoned and stuck in the mud, and captured them without + firing a shot. A half hour later we paraded our prizes in a triumphal + procession through the streets of Santa Barbara, and were given a grand + welcome by the allies and the townspeople. I had never witnessed such + enthusiasm, but it was not long before I found out the cause of it. In our + absence everybody had been celebrating the victory with aguardiente, and + half of Garcia’s warriors had become so hopelessly drunk that they were + lying all over the plaza, and their comrades were dancing and tramping + upon them. + </p> + <p> + I found that this orgy had put Laguerre in a fine rage, and I heard him + send out the provost guard with orders to throw all the drunken men into + the public corral for lost mules. + </p> + <p> + When he learned of this Garcia was equally indignant. The matter ended + with Laguerre’s locking up Garcia’s soldiers with our prisoners-of-war in + the yard barracks, where they sang and shouted and fought until they were + exhausted and went to sleep. + </p> + <p> + There was still much drink left on requisition, but the conquering heroes + had taken everything there was to eat, and for some time I wandered around + seeking for food before I finally discovered Miller, Von Ritter, and Aiken + in the garden of a private house enjoying a most magnificent luncheon. I + begged a share on the ground that I had just overcome two helpless brass + cannon, and they gave me a noisy welcome, and made a place for me. I was + just as happy as I was hungry, and I was delighted to find someone with + whom I could discuss the fight. For an hour we sat laughing and drinking, + and each talking at the top of his voice and all at the same time. We were + as elated as though we had captured the city of London. + </p> + <p> + Of course Aiken had taken no part in the fight, and of course he made + light of it, which was just the sort of thing he would do, and he + especially poked fun at me and at my charge on the barracks. He called it + a “grand-stand play,” and said I was a “gallery fighter.” He said the + reason I ran out into the centre of the plaza was because I knew there was + a number of women looking out of the windows, and he pretended to believe + that when we entered the barracks they were empty, and that I knew they + were when I ordered the charge. + </p> + <p> + “It was the coffee they were after,” he declared. “As soon as Macklin + smelt the coffee he drew his big gilt sword and cried, ‘Up, my men, inside + yon fortress a free breakfast awaits us. Follow your gallant leader!’ and + they never stopped following until they reached the kitchen. They’re going + to make Macklin a bugler,” he said, “so that after this he can blow his + own trumpet without anyone being allowed to interrupt him.” + </p> + <p> + I was glad to find that I could take what Aiken said of me as lightly as + did the others. Since the fight his power to annoy me had passed. I knew + better than anyone else that at one time during the morning I had been in + a very tight place, but I had stuck to it and won out. The knowledge that + I had done so gave me confidence in myself—not that I have ever + greatly lacked it, but it was a new kind of confidence. It made me feel + older, and less inclined to boast. In this it also helped out my favorite + theory that it must be easy for the man who has done something to be + modest. After he has proved himself capable in the eyes of his comrades he + doesn’t have to go about telling them how good he is. It is a saying that + heroes are always modest, but they are not really modest. They just keep + quiet, because they know their deeds are better talkers than they are. + </p> + <p> + Miller and I had despatched an orderly to inform Laguerre of our + whereabouts, and at three o’clock in the afternoon the man returned to + tell us that we were to join the General in the plaza. On arriving there + we found the column already drawn up in the order of march, and an hour + later we filed out of the town down the same street by which we had + entered it that morning, and were cheered by the same people who eight + hours before had been firing upon us. We left five hundred of Garcia’s men + to garrison the place and prevent the townspeople from again changing + their sympathies, and continued on toward Tegucigalpa with Garcia and the + remainder of his force as our main body, and with the Legion in the van. + We were a week in reaching Comyagua, which was the only place that we + expected would offer any resistance until we arrived outside of the + capital. During that week our march was exactly similar to the one we had + made from the camp to Santa Barbara. There was the same rough trail, the + jungle crowding close on either flank, the same dusty villages, the same + fierce heat. At the villages of Tabla Ve and at Seguatepec our scouts + surprised the rear guard of the enemy and stampeded it without much + difficulty, and with only twenty men wounded. As usual we had no one to + thank for our success in these skirmishes but ourselves, as Garcia’s men + never appeared until just as the fight was over, when they would come + running up in great excitement. Laguerre remarked that they needed a + better knowledge of the bugle calls, as they evidently mistook our “Cease + firing” for “Advance.” + </p> + <p> + The best part of that week’s march lay in the many opportunities it gave + me to become acquainted with my General. The more I was permitted to be + with him the longer I wanted to be always with him, and with no one else. + After listening to Laguerre you felt that a talk with the other men was a + waste of time. There was nothing apparently that he did not know of men + and events, and his knowledge did not come from books, but at first hand, + from contact with the men, and from having taken part in the events. + </p> + <p> + After we had pitched camp for the night the others would elect me to go to + his tent, and ask if we could come over and pay our respects. They always + selected me for this errand, because they said it was easy to see that I + was his favorite. + </p> + <p> + When we were seated about him on the rocks, or on ammunition boxes, or on + the ground, I would say, “Please, General, we want to hear some stories,” + and he would smile and ask, “What sort of stories?” and each of us would + ask for something different. Some would want to hear about the + Franco-Prussian war, and others of the Fall of Plevna or Don Carlos or + Garibaldi, or of the Confederate generals with whom Laguerre had fought in + Egypt. + </p> + <p> + When the others had said good-night he would sometimes call me back on the + pretence of giving me instructions for the morrow, and then would come the + really wonderful stories—the stories that no historian has ever + told. His talk was more educational than a library of histories, and it + filled me with a desire to mix with great people—to be their + companion as he had been, to have kings and pretenders for my intimates. + When one listened it sounded easy of accomplishment. It never seemed + strange to him that great rulers should have made a friend of a stray + soldier of fortune, an Irish adventurer—for Laguerre’s mother was + Irish; his father had been Colonel Laguerre, and once Military Governor of + Algiers—and given him their confidence. And yet I could see why they + should do so, for just the very reason that he took their confidence as a + matter of course, knowing that his loyalty would always be above + suspicion. He had a great capacity for loyalty. There was no taint in it + of self-interest, nor of snobbishness. He believed, for instance, in the + divine right of kings; and from what he let fall we could see that he had + given the most remarkable devotion not only to every cause for which he + had fought, but to the individual who represented it. That in time each of + these individuals had disappointed him had in no way shaken his faith in + the one to whom he next offered his sword. His was a most beautiful + example of modesty and of faith in one’s fellowman. It was during this + week, and because of these midnight talks with him around the campfire, + that I came to look up to him, and love him like a son. + </p> + <p> + But during that same week I was annoyed to find that many of our men + believed the version which Aiken had given of my conduct at Santa Barbara. + There were all sorts of stories circulating through the Legion about me. + They made me out a braggart, a bully, and a conceited ass—indeed, + almost everything unpleasant was said of me except that I was a coward. + Aiken, of course, kindly retold these stories to me, either with the + preface that he thought I ought to know what was being said of me, or that + he thought the stories would amuse me. I thanked him and pretended to + laugh, but I felt more like punching his head. People who say that women + are gossips, and that they delight in tearing each other to pieces, ought + to hear the talk of big, broad-shouldered men around camp-fires. If you + believe what they say, you would think that every officer had either + bungled or had funked the fight. And when a man really has performed some + act which cannot be denied they call him a “swipe,” and say he did it to + gain promotion, or to curry favor with the General. Of course, it may be + different in armies officered by gentlemen; but men are pretty much alike + all the world over, and I know that those in our Legion were as given to + gossip and slander as the inmates of any Old Woman’s Home. I used to say + to myself that so long as I had the approval of Laguerre and of my own men + and of my conscience I could afford not to mind what the little souls + said; but as a matter of fact I did mind it, and it angered me + exceedingly. Just as it hurt me at the Point to see that I was not + popular, it distressed me to find that the same unpopularity had followed + me into the Legion. The truth is that the officers were jealous of me. + They envied me my place as Adjutant, and they were angry because Laguerre + assigned one so much younger than themselves to all the most important + duties. They said that by showing favoritism he was weakening his + influence with the men and that he made a “pet” of me. If he did I know + that he also worked me five times as hard as anyone else, and that he sent + me into places where no one but himself would go. The other officers had + really no reason to object to me personally. I gave them very little of my + company, and though I spoke pleasantly when we met I did not associate + with them. Miller and Von Ritter were always abusing me for not trying to + make friends; but I told them that, since the other officers spoke of me + behind my back as a cad, braggart, and snob, the least I could do was to + keep out of their way. + </p> + <p> + I was even more unpopular with the men, but there was a reason for that; + for I was rather severe with them, and imposed as strict a discipline on + them as that to which I had been accustomed at West Point. The greater + part of them were ne’er-do-wells and adventurers picked up off the beach + at Greytown, and they were a thoroughly independent lot, reckless and + courageous; but I doubt if they had ever known authority or restraint, + unless it was the restraint of a jail. With the men of my own troop I got + on well enough, for they saw I understood how to take care of them, and + that things went on more smoothly when they were carried out as I had + directed, so they obeyed me without sulking. But with the men of the + troops not directly under my command I frequently met with trouble; and on + several occasions different men refused to obey my orders as Adjutant, and + swore and even struck at me, so that I had to knock them down. I regretted + this exceedingly, but I was forced to support my authority in some way. + After learning the circumstances Laguerre exonerated me, and punished the + men. Naturally, this did not help me with the volunteers, and for the + first ten days after I had joined the Legion I was the most generally + disliked man in it. This lasted until we reached Comyagua, when something + happened which brought the men over to my side. Indeed, I believe I became + a sort of a hero with them, and was nearly as popular as Laguerre himself. + So in the end it came out all right, but it was near to being the death of + me; and, next to hanging, the meanest kind of a death a man could suffer. + </p> + <p> + When this incident occurred, which came so near to ending tragically for + me, we had been trying to drive the government troops out of the cathedral + of Comyagua. It was really a church and not a cathedral, but it was so + much larger than any other building we had seen in Honduras that the men + called it “The Cathedral.” It occupied one whole side of the plaza. There + were four open towers at each corner, and the front entrance was as large + as a barn. Their cannon, behind a barricade of paving stones, were on the + steps which led to this door. + </p> + <p> + I carried a message from Laguerre along the end of the plaza opposite the + cathedral, and as I was returning, the fire grew so hot that I dropped on + my face. There was a wooden watering-trough at the edge of the sidewalk, + and I crawled over and lay behind it. Directly back of me was a restaurant + into which a lot of Heinze’s men had broken their way from the rear. They + were firing up at the men in the towers of the cathedral. My position was + not a pleasant one, for every time I raised my head the soldiers in the + belfry would cut loose at me; and, though they failed to hit me, I did not + dare to get up and run. Already the trough was leaking like a sieve. There + was no officer with the men in the cafe, so they were taking the word from + one of their own number, and were firing regularly in volleys. They fired + three times after I took shelter. They were so near me that at each volley + I could hear the sweep of the bullets passing about two yards above my + head. + </p> + <p> + But at the fourth volley a bullet just grazed my cheek and drove itself + into the wood of the trough. It was so near that the splinters flew in my + eyes. I looked back over my shoulder and shouted, “Look out! You nearly + hit me then. Fire higher.” + </p> + <p> + One of the men in the cafe called back, “We can’t hear you,” and I + repeated, “Fire higher! You nearly hit me,” and pointed with my finger to + where the big 44-calibre ball had left a black hole in the green paint of + the trough. When they saw this there were excited exclamations from the + men, and I heard the one who was giving the orders repeating my warning. + And then came the shock of another volley. Simultaneously with the shock a + bullet cut through the wide brim of my sombrero and passed into the box + about two inches below my chin. + </p> + <p> + It was only then that I understood that this was no accident, but that + someone in the restaurant was trying to murder me. The thought was hideous + and sickening. I could bear the fire of the enemy from the belfry—that + was part of the day’s work; the danger of it only excited me; but the idea + that one of my own side was lying within twenty feet of me, deliberately + aiming with intent to kill, was outrageous and revolting. + </p> + <p> + I scrambled to my feet and faced the open front of the restaurant, and as + I stood up there was, on the instant, a sharp fusillade from the belfry + tower. But I was now far too angry to consider that. The men were kneeling + just inside the restaurant, and as I halted a few feet from them I stuck + my finger through the bullet hole and held up my hat for them to see. + </p> + <p> + “Look!” I shouted at them. “You did that, you cowards. You want to murder + me, do you?” I straightened myself and threw out my arms, “Well, here’s + your chance,” I cried. “Don’t shoot me in the back. Shoot me now.” + </p> + <p> + The men gaped at me in utter amazement. Their lips hung apart. Their faces + were drawn in lines of anger, confusion, and dislike. + </p> + <p> + “Go on!” I shouted. “Fire a volley at that belfry, and let the man who + wants me have another chance at me. I’ll give the word. Make ready!” I + commanded. + </p> + <p> + There was a pause and a chorus of protests, and then mechanically each man + jerked out the empty shell and drove the next cartridge in place. “Aim!” I + shouted. They hesitated and then raised their pieces in a wavering line, + and I looked into the muzzles of a dozen rifles. + </p> + <p> + “Now then—damn you,” I cried. “Fire!” + </p> + <p> + They fired, and my eyes and nostrils were filled with burning smoke, but + not a bullet had passed near me. + </p> + <p> + “Again!” I shouted, stamping my foot. I was so angry that I suppose I was + really hardly accountable for what I did. + </p> + <p> + “I told you you were cowards,” I cried. “You can only shoot men in the + back. You don’t like me, don’t you?” I cried, taunting them. “I’m a + braggart, am I? Yes. I’m a bully, am I? Well, here’s your chance. Get rid + of me! Once again now. Make ready,” I commanded. “Aim! Fire!” + </p> + <p> + Again the smoke swept up, and again I had escaped. I remember that I + laughed at them and that the sound was crazy and hysterical, and I + remember that as I laughed I shook out my arms to show them I was unhurt. + And as I did that someone in the cafe cried, “Thank God!” And another + shouted, “That’s enough of this damn nonsense,” and a big man with a bushy + red beard sprang up and pulled off his hat. + </p> + <p> + “Now then,” he cried. “All together, boys. Three cheers for the little + one!” and they all jumped and shouted like mad people. + </p> + <p> + They cheered me again and again, although all the time the bullets from + the belfry were striking about them, ringing on the iron tables and on the + sidewalk, and tearing great gashes in the awnings overhead. + </p> + <p> + And then it seemed as though the sunlight on the yellow buildings and on + the yellow earth of the plaza had been suddenly shut off, and I dropped + into a well of blackness and sank deeper and deeper. + </p> + <p> + When I looked up the big man was sitting on the floor holding me as + comfortably as though I were a baby, and my face was resting against his + red beard, and my clothes and everything about me smelt terribly of + brandy. + </p> + <p> + But the most curious thing about it was that though they told everyone in + the Legion that I had stood up and made them shoot at me, they never let + anyone find out that I had been so weak as to faint. + </p> + <p> + I do not know whether it was the brandy they gave me that later led me to + charge those guns, but I appreciate now that my conduct was certainly + silly and mad enough to be excused only in that way. According to the + doctrine of chances I should have lost nine lives, and according to the + rules governing an army in the field I should have been court-martialled. + Instead of which, the men caught me up on their shoulders and carried me + around the plaza, and Laguerre and Garcia looked on from the steps of the + Cathedral and laughed and waved to us. + </p> + <p> + For five hours we had been lying in the blazing sun on the flat + house-tops, or hidden in the shops around the plaza, and the government + troops were still holding us off with one hand and spanking us with the + other. Their guns were so good that, when Heinze attempted to take up a + position against them with his old-style Gatlings, they swept him out of + the street, as a fire-hose flushes a gutter. For five hours they had kept + the plaza empty, and peppered the three sides of it so warmly that no one + of us should have shown his head. + </p> + <p> + But at every shot from the Cathedral our men grew more unmanageable, and + the longer the enemy held us back the more arrogant and defiant they + became. Ostensibly to obtain a better shot, but in reality from pure + deviltry, they would make individual sallies into the plaza, and, facing + the embrasure, would empty their Winchesters at one of its openings as + coolly as though they were firing at a painted bull’s-eye. The man who + first did this, the moment his rifle was empty, ran for cover and was + tumultuously cheered by his hidden audience. But in order to surpass him, + the next man, after he had emptied his gun, walked back very deliberately, + and the third man remained to refill his magazine. And so a spirit of the + most senseless rivalry sprang up, and one man after another darted out + into the plaza to cap the recklessness of those who had gone before him. + </p> + <p> + It was not until five men were shot dead and lay sprawling and uncovered + in the sun that the madness seemed to pass. But my charging the embrasure + was always supposed to be a part of it, and to have been inspired entirely + by vanity and a desire to do something more extravagantly reckless than + any of the others. As a matter of fact I acted on what has always seemed + to me excellent reasoning, and if I went alone, it was only because, + having started, it seemed safer to go ahead than to run all the way back + again. I never blamed the men for running back, and so I cannot see why + they should blame me for having gone ahead. + </p> + <p> + The enemy had ceased firing shrapnel and were using solid shot. When their + Gatlings also ceased, I guessed that it might be that the guns were + jammed. If I were right and if one avoided the solid shot by approaching + the barricade obliquely, there was no danger in charging the barricade. I + told my troop that I thought the guns were out of order, and that if we + rushed the barricade we could take it. When I asked for volunteers, ten + men came forward and at once, without asking permission, which I knew I + could not get, we charged across the plaza. + </p> + <p> + Both sides saw us at the same instant, and the firing was so fierce that + the men with me thought the Gatlings had reopened on us, and ran for + cover. + </p> + <p> + That left me about fifty feet from the barricade, and as it seemed a + toss-up whichever way I went I kept going forward. I caught the combing of + the embrasure with my hands, stuck my toes between the stones, and + scrambled to the top. The scene inside was horrible. The place looked like + a slaughter-yard. Only three men were still on their legs; the rest were + heaped around the guns. I threatened the three men with my revolver, but + they shrieked for mercy and I did not fire. The men in the belfries, + however, were showing no mercy to me, so I dropped inside the wall and + crawled for shelter beneath a caisson. But, I recognized on the instant + that I could not remain there. It was the fear of the Gatlings only which + was holding back our men, and I felt that before I was shot they must know + that the guns were jammed. So I again scrambled up to the barricade, and + waved my hat to them to come on. At the same moment a bullet passed + through my shoulder, and another burned my neck, and one of the men who + had begged for mercy beat me over the head with his sword. I went down + like a bag of flour, but before my eyes closed I saw our fellows pouring + out of the houses and sweeping toward me. + </p> + <p> + About an hour later, when Von Ritter had cleaned the hole in my shoulder + and plastered my skull, I sallied out again, and at sight of me the men + gave a shout, and picked me up, and, cheering, bore me around the plaza. + From that day we were the best of friends, and I think in time they grew + to like me. + </p> + <p> + Two days later we pitched camp outside of Tegucigalpa, the promised city, + the capital of the Republic. + </p> + <p> + Our points of attack were two: a stone bridge which joins the city proper + with the suburbs, and a great hill of rock called El Pecachua. This hill + either guards or betrays the capital. The houses reach almost to its base + and from its crest one can drop a shell through the roof of any one of + them. Consequently, when we arrived, we found its approaches strongly + entrenched and the hill occupied in force by the government artillery. + There is a saying in Honduras, which has been justified by countless + revolutions, and which dates back to the days of Morazan the Liberator, + that “He who takes Pecachua sleeps in the Palace.” + </p> + <p> + Garcia’s plan was for two days to bombard the city, and if, in that time, + Alvarez had not surrendered, to attack El Pecachua by night. As usual, the + work was so divided that the more dangerous and difficult part of it fell + to the Foreign Legion, for in his plan Garcia so ordered it that Laguerre + should storm Pecachua, while he advanced from the plain and attacked the + city at the stone bridge. + </p> + <p> + But this plan was never carried out, and after our first day in front of + the Capital, General Garcia never again gave an order to General Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + After midnight on the evening of that first day Aiken came to the hut + where we had made our head-quarters and demanded to see the General on a + matter of life and death. With him, looking very uncertain as to the + propriety of the visit, were all the officers of the Legion. + </p> + <p> + The General was somewhat surprised and somewhat amused, but he invited us + to enter. When the officers had lined up against the walls he said, “As a + rule, I call my own councils of war, but no doubt Mr. Aiken has some very + good reason for affording me the pleasure of your company. What is it, Mr. + Aiken?” + </p> + <p> + Instead of answering him, Aiken said, with as much manner as that of + General Garcia himself, “I want a guard put outside this house, and I want + the men placed far enough from it to prevent their hearing what I say.” + The General nodded at me, and I ordered the sentries to move farther from + the hut. I still remember the tableau I saw when I re-entered it, the row + of officers leaning against the mud walls, the candles stuck in their own + grease on the table, the maps spread over it, and the General and Aiken + facing each other from its either end. It looked like a drumhead + court-martial. + </p> + <p> + When I had shut the door of the hut Aiken spoke. His tone was one of calm + unconcern. + </p> + <p> + “I have just come from the Palace,” he said, “where I have been having a + talk with President Alvarez.” + </p> + <p> + No one made a sound, nor no one spoke, but like one man everyone in the + room reached for his revolver. It was a most enlightening revelation of + our confidence in Aiken. Laguerre did not move. He was looking steadily at + Aiken and his eyes were shining like two arc lamps. + </p> + <p> + “By whose authority?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + We, who knew every tone of his voice, almost felt sorry for Aiken. + </p> + <p> + “By whose authority,” Laguerre repeated, “did you communicate with the + enemy?” + </p> + <p> + “It was an idea of my own,” Aiken answered simply. “I was afraid if I told + you you would interfere. Oh! I’m no soldier,” he said. He was replying to + the look in Laguerre’s face. “And I can tell you that there are other ways + of doing things than ‘according to Hardie.’ Alvarez’s officers came to me + after the battle of Comyagua. They expected to beat you there, and when + you chased them out of the city and started for the Capital they thought + it was all up with them, and decided to make terms.” + </p> + <p> + “With you?” said Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + Aiken laughed without the least trace of resentment, and nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you give a dog a bad name,” he said, “and it sticks to him. So, + they came to me. I’m no grand-stand fighter; I’m not a fighter at all. I + think fighting is silly. You’ve got all the young men you want to stop + bullets for you, without me. They like it. They like to catch ‘em in their + teeth. I don’t. But that’s not saying that I’m no good. You know the old + gag of the lion and the little mousie, and how the mouse came along and + chewed the lion out of the net. Well, that’s me. I’m no lion going ‘round + seeking whom I may devour.’ I’m just a sewer rat. But I can tell you all,” + he cried, slapping the table with his hand, “that, if it hadn’t been for + little mousie, every one of you lions would have been shot against a stone + wall. And if I can’t prove it, you can take a shot at me. I’ve been the + traitor. I’ve been the go-between from the first. I arranged the whole + thing. The Alvarez crowd told me to tell Garcia that even if he did + succeed in getting into the Palace the Isthmian Line would drive him out + of it in a week. But that if he’d go away from the country, they’d pay him + fifty thousand pesos and a pension. He’s got the Isthmian Line’s promise + in writing. + </p> + <p> + “This joint attack he’s planned for Wednesday night is a fake. He doesn’t + mean to fight. Nobody means to fight except against you. Every soldier and + every gun in the city is to be sent out to Pecachua to trap you into an + ambush. Natives who pretend to have deserted from Alvarez are to lead you + into it. That was an idea of mine. They thought it was very clever. Garcia + is to make a pretence of attacking the bridge and a pretence of being + driven back. Then messengers are to bring word that the Foreign Legion has + been cut to pieces at Pecachua, and he is to disband his army, and tell + every man to look out for himself. + </p> + <p> + “If you want proofs of this, I’ll furnish them to any man here that you’ll + pick out. I told Alvarez that one of your officers was working against you + with me, and that at the proper time I’d produce him. Now, you choose + which officer that shall be. He can learn for himself that all I’m telling + you is true. But that will take time!” Aiken cried, as Laguerre made a + movement to interrupt him. “And if you want to get out of this fix alive, + you’d better believe me, and start for the coast at once—now—to-night!” + </p> + <p> + Laguerre laughed and sprang to his feet. His eyes were shining and the + color had rushed to his cheeks. He looked like a young man masquerading in + a white wig. He waved his hand at Aiken with a gesture that was part + benediction and part salute. + </p> + <p> + “I do believe you,” he cried, “and thank you, sir.” He glanced sharply at + the officers around him as though he were weighing the value of each. + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen,” he cried, “often in my life I have been prejudiced, and often + I have been deceived, and I think that it is time now that I acted for + myself. From the first, the burden of this expedition has been carried by + the Foreign Legion. I know that; you, who fought the battles, certainly + know it. We invaded Honduras with a purpose. We came to obtain for the + peons the debt that is due them and to give them liberty and free + government. And whether our allies run away or betray us, that purpose is + still the same.” + </p> + <p> + He paused as though for the first time it had occurred to him that the + motives of the others might not be as his own. + </p> + <p> + “Am I right?” he asked, eagerly. “Are you willing to carry out that + purpose?” he demanded. “Are you ready to follow me now, to-night—not + to the coast”—he shouted—“but to the Capital—to the top + of Pecachua?” + </p> + <p> + Old man Webster jumped in front of us, and shot his arm into the air as + though it held a standard. + </p> + <p> + “We’ll follow you to hell and back again,” he cried. + </p> + <p> + I would not have believed that so few men could have made so much noise. + We yelled and cheered so wildly that we woke the camp. We could hear the + men running down the road, and the sentries calling upon them to halt. The + whole Legion was awake and wondering. Webster beat us into silence by + pounding the table with his fist. + </p> + <p> + “I have lived in this country for forty years,” he cried, with his eyes + fixed upon Laguerre, “and you are the first white man I have known who has + not come into it, either flying from the law, or to rob and despoil it. I + know this country. I know all of Central America, and it is a wonderful + country. There is not a fruit nor a grain nor a plant that you cannot dig + out of it with your bare fingers. It has great forests, great + pasture-lands, and buried treasures of silver and iron and gold. But it is + cursed with the laziest of God’s creatures, and the men who rule them are + the most corrupt and the most vicious. They are the dogs in the manger + among rulers. They will do nothing to help their own country; they will + not permit others to help it. They are a menace and an insult to + civilization, and it is time that they stepped down and out, and made way + for their betters, or that they were kicked out. One strong man, if he is + an honest man, can conquer and hold Central America. William Walker was + such a man. I was with him when he ruled the best part of this country for + two years. He governed all Nicaragua with two hundred white men, and never + before or since have the pueblo known such peace and justice and + prosperity as Walker gave them.” + </p> + <p> + Webster threw himself across the table and pointed his hand at Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + “And you, General Laguerre!” he cried, “and you? Do you see your duty? You + say it calls you to-night to El Pecachua. Then if it does, it calls you + farther—to the Capital! There can be no stopping half-way now, no + turning back. If we follow you to-night to Pecachua, we follow you to the + Palace.” + </p> + <p> + Webster’s voice rose until it seemed to shake the palm-leaf roof. He was + like a man possessed. He sprang up on the table, and from the height above + us hurled his words at Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + “We are not fighting for any half-breed now,” he cried; “we are fighting + for you. We know you. We believe in you. We mean to make you President, + and we will not stop there. Our motto shall be Walker’s motto, ‘Five or + none,’ and when we have taken this Republic we shall take the other four, + and you will be President of the United States of Central America.” + </p> + <p> + We had been standing open-eyed, open-mouthed, every nerve trembling, and + at these words we shrieked and cheered, but Webster waved at us with an + angry gesture and leaned toward Laguerre. + </p> + <p> + “You will open this land,” he cried, “with roads and railways. You will + feed the world with its coffee. You will cut the Nicaragua Canal. And you + will found an empire—not the empire of slaves that Walker planned, + but an empire of freed men, freed by you from their tyrants and from + themselves. They tell me, General,” he cried, “that you have fought under + thirteen flags. To-night, sir, you shall fight under your own!” + </p> + <p> + We all cheered and cheered again, the oldest as well as myself, and I + cheered louder than any, until I looked at Laguerre. Then I felt how + terribly real it was to him. Until I looked at him it had seemed quite + sane and feasible. But when I saw how deeply he was moved, and that his + eyes were brimming with pride and resolve, I felt that it was a mad dream, + and that we were wicked not to wake him. For I, who loved him like a son, + understood what it meant to him. In his talk along the trail and by the + camp-fire he had always dreamed of an impossible republic, an Utopia ruled + by love and justice, and I now saw he believed that the dreams had at last + come true. I knew that the offer these men had made to follow him, filled + him with a great happiness and gratitude. And that he, who all his life + had striven so earnestly and so loyally for others, would give his very + soul for men who fought for him. I was not glad that they had offered to + make him their leader. I could only look ahead with miserable forebodings + and feel bitterly sorry that one so fine and good was again to be + disillusioned and disappointed and cast down. + </p> + <p> + But there was no time that night to look ahead. The men were outside the + hut, a black, growling mob crying for revenge upon Garcia. Had we not at + once surrounded them they would have broken for his camp and murdered him + in his hammock, and with him his ignorant, deceived followers. + </p> + <p> + But when Webster spoke to them as he had spoken to us, and told them what + we planned to do, and Laguerre stepped out into the moon-light, they + forgot their anger in their pride for him, and at his first word they fell + into the ranks as obediently as so many fond and devoted children. + </p> + <p> + In Honduras a night attack is a discredited manoeuvre. It is considered an + affront to the Blessed Virgin, who first invented sleep. And those + officers who that night guarded Pecachua being acquainted with Garcia’s + plot, were not expecting us until two nights later, when we were to walk + into their parlor, and be torn to pieces. Consequently, when Miller, who + knew Pecachua well, having served without political prejudice in six + revolutions, led us up a by-path to its top, we found the government + troops sleeping sweetly. Before their only sentry had discovered that + someone was kneeling on his chest, our men were in possession of their + batteries. + </p> + <p> + That morning when the sun rose gloriously, as from a bath, all pink and + shining and dripping with radiance, and the church bells began to clang + for early mass, and the bugles at the barracks sounded the jaunty call of + the reveille, two puffs of white smoke rose from thecrest of El Pecachua + and drifted lazily away. At the same instant a shell sang over the roofs + of Tegucigalpa, howling jeeringly, and smashed into the pots and pans of + the President’s kitchen; another, falling two miles farther to the right, + burst through the white tent of General Garcia, and the people in the + streets, as they crossed themselves in fear, knew that El Pecachua had + again been taken, and that that night a new President would sleep in the + Palace. + </p> + <p> + All through the hot hours of the morning the captured guns roared and + echoed, until at last we saw Garcia’s force crawling away in a crowd of + dust toward the hills, and an hour later Alvarez, with the household + troops, abandoning the Capital and hastening after him. + </p> + <p> + We were too few to follow, but we whipped them forward with our shells. + </p> + <p> + A half-hour later a timid group of merchants and foreign consuls, led by + the Bishop and bearing a great white flag, rode out to the foot of the + rock and surrendered the city. + </p> + <p> + I am sure no government was ever established more quickly than ours. We + held our first cabinet meeting twenty minutes after we entered the + capital, and ten minutes later Webster, from the balcony of the Palace, + proclaimed Laguerre President and Military Dictator of Honduras. Laguerre + in turn nominated Webster, on account of his knowledge of the country, + Minister of the Interior, and made me Vice-President and Minister of War. + No one knew what were the duties of a Vice-President, so I asked if I + might not also be Provost-Marshal of the city, and I was accordingly + appointed to that position and sent out into the street to keep order. + </p> + <p> + Aiken, as a reward for his late services, was made head of the detective + department and Chief of Police. His first official act was to promote two + bare-footed policemen who on his last visit to the Capital had put him + under arrest. + </p> + <p> + The General, or the President, as we now called him, at once issued a + ringing proclamation in which he promised every liberty that the people of + a free republic should enjoy, and announced that in three months he would + call a general election, when the people could either reelect him, or a + candidate of their own choice. He announced also that he would force the + Isthmian Line to pay the people the half million of dollars it owed them, + and he suggested that this money be placed to the credit of the people, + and that they should pay no taxes until the sum was consumed in public + improvements. Up to that time every new President had imposed new taxes; + none had ever suggested remitting them altogether, and this offer made a + tremendous sensation in our favor. + </p> + <p> + There were other departures from the usual procedure of victorious + presidents which helped much to make us popular. One was the fact that + Laguerre did not shoot anybody against the barrack wall, nor levy forced + “loans” upon the foreign merchants. Indeed, the only persons who suffered + on the day he came into power were two of our own men, whom I caught + looting. I put them to sweeping the streets, each with a ball and chain to + his ankle, as an example of the sort of order we meant to keep among + ourselves. + </p> + <p> + Before mid-day Aiken sent a list, which his spies had compiled, of + sympathizers with Alvarez. He guaranteed to have them all in jail before + night. But Laguerre sent for them and promised them, if they remained + neutral, they should not be molested. Personally, I have always been of + the opinion that most of the persons on Aiken’s list of suspects were most + worthy merchants, to whom he owed money. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre gave a long audience to the cashier of the Manchester and Central + American Bank, Limited, which finances Honduras, and assured him that the + new administration would not force the bank to accept the paper money + issued by Alvarez, but would accept the paper money issued by the bank, + which was based on gold. As a result, the cashier came down the stair-case + of the Palace three steps at a time, and later our censor read his cable + to the Home Bank in England, in which he said that Honduras at last had an + honest man for President. What was more to the purpose, he reopened his + bank at three o’clock, and quoted Honduranian money on his blackboard at a + rise of three per cent. over that of the day before. This was a great + compliment to our government, and it must have impressed the other + business men, for by six o’clock that night a delegation of American, + German, and English shopkeepers called on the President and offered him a + vote of confidence. They volunteered also to form a home-guard for the + defence of the city, and to help keep him in office. + </p> + <p> + So, by dinner-time, we had won over the foreign element entirely, and the + consuls had cabled their several ministers, advising them to advise their + governments to recognize ours. + </p> + <p> + It was a great triumph for fair promises backed by fair dealing. + </p> + <p> + Although I was a cabinet minister and had a right to have my say I did not + concern myself much with these graver problems of the Palace. + </p> + <p> + Instead, my first act was to cable to Beatrice that we were safe in the + Capital and that I was second in command. I did not tell her I was + Vice-President of a country of 300,000 people, because at Dobbs Ferry such + a fact would seem hardly probable. After that I spent the day very happily + galloping around the town with the Provost Guard at my heels, making + friends with the inhabitants, and arranging for their defence. I posted a + gun at the entrance to each of the three principal streets, and ordered + mounted scouts to patrol the plains outside the Capital. I also remembered + Heinze and the artillerymen who were protecting us on the heights of + Pecachua, and sent them a moderate amount of rum, and an immoderate amount + of canned goods and cigars. I also found time to design a wonderful + uniform for the officers of our Legion—a dark-green blouse with + silver facings and scarlet riding breeches—and on the plea of + military necessity I ordered six tailors to sit up all night to finish + them. + </p> + <p> + Uniforms for the men I requisitioned from the stores of the Government, + and ordered the red facings changed to yellow. + </p> + <p> + The next day when we paraded in full dress the President noticed this, and + remarked, “No one but Macklin could have converted a battery of artillery, + without the loss of a single gun or the addition of a single horse, into a + battalion of cavalry.” + </p> + <p> + We had escorted the President back to the Palace, and I was returning to + the barracks at the head of the Legion, with the local band playing + grandly before me, and the people bowing from the sidewalks, when a girl + on a gray pony turned into the plaza and rode toward us. + </p> + <p> + She was followed by a group of white men, but I saw only the girl. When I + recognized even at a distance that she was a girl from the States my + satisfaction was unbounded. It had needed only the presence of such an + audience to give the final touch of pleasure to my triumphant progress. My + new uniform had been finished only just in time. + </p> + <p> + When I first saw the girl I was startled merely because any white woman in + Honduras is an unusual spectacle, but as she rode nearer I knew that, had + I seen this girl at home among a thousand women, I would have looked only + at her. + </p> + <p> + She wore a white riding-habit, and a high-peaked Mexican sombrero, and + when her pony shied at the sound of the music she raised her head, and the + sun struck on the burnished braid around the brim, and framed her face + with a rim of silver. I had never seen such a face. It was so beautiful + that I drew a great breath of wonder, and my throat tightened with the + deep delight that rose in me. + </p> + <p> + I stared at her as she rode forward, because I could not help myself. If + an earthquake had opened a crevasse at my feet I would not have lowered my + eyes. I had time to guess who she was, for I knew there could be no other + woman so beautiful in Honduras, except the daughter of Joseph Fiske. Had + not Aiken said of her, “When she passes, the native women kneel by the + trail and cross themselves?” + </p> + <p> + I rode toward her fearfully, conscious only of a sudden deep flood of + gratitude for anything so nobly beautiful. I was as humbly thankful as the + crusader who is rewarded by his first sight of the Holy City, and I was + glad, too, that I came into her presence worthily, riding in advance of a + regiment. I was proud of our triumphant music, of our captured flags and + guns, and the men behind me, who had taken them. + </p> + <p> + I still watched her as our column drew nearer, and she pulled her pony to + one side to let it pass. I felt as though I were marching in review before + an empress, and I all but lifted my sword-blade in salute. + </p> + <p> + But as we passed I saw that the look on her face was that of a superior + and critical adversary. It was a glance of amused disdain, softened only + by a smile of contempt. As it fell upon me I blushed to the rim of my + sombrero. I felt as meanly as though I had been caught in a lie. With her + eyes, I saw the bare feet of our negro band, our ill-fitting uniforms with + their flannel facings, the swagger of our officers, glancing pompously + from their half-starved, unkempt ponies upon the native Indians, who + fawned at us from the sidewalks. + </p> + <p> + I saw that to her we were so many red-shirted firemen, dragging a wooden + hose-cart; a company of burnt-cork minstrels, kicking up the dust of a + village street; that we were ridiculous, lawless, absurd, and it was like + a blow over my heart that one so noble-looking should be so blind and so + unjust. I was swept with bitter indignation. I wanted to turn in my saddle + and cry to her that beneath the flannel facings at which she laughed these + men wore deep, uncared-for, festering wounds; that to march thus through + the streets of this tiny Capital they had waded waist-high through rivers, + had starved in fever camps, and at any hour when I had called on them had + run forward to throw cold hands with death. + </p> + <p> + The group of gentlemen who were riding with the girl had halted their + ponies by the sidewalk, and as I drew near I noted that one of them wore + the uniform of an ensign in our navy. This puzzled me for an instant, + until I remembered I had heard that the cruiser Raleigh was lying at + Amapala. I was just passing the group when one of them, with the evident + intent that I should hear him, raised his voice. + </p> + <p> + “Well, here’s the army,” he said, “but where’s Falstaff? I don’t see + Laguerre.” + </p> + <p> + My face was still burning with the blush the girl had brought to it, and + the moment was not the one that any man should have chosen to ridicule my + general. Because the girl had laughed at us I felt indignant with her, but + for the same offence I was grateful to the man, for the reason that he was + a man, and could be punished. I whirled my pony around and rode it close + against his. + </p> + <p> + “You must apologize for that,” I said, speaking in a low voice, “or I’ll + thrash you with this riding-whip.” + </p> + <p> + He was a young man, exceedingly well-looking, slim and tall, and with a + fine air of good breeding. He looked straight into my eyes without moving. + His hands remained closed upon the pommel of his saddle. + </p> + <p> + “If you raise that whip,” he said, “I’ll take your tin sword away from + you, and spank you with it.” + </p> + <p> + Never in my life had anyone hurt me so terribly. And the insult had come + before my men and his friends and the people in the street. It turned me + perfectly cold, and all the blood seemed to run to my eyes, so that I saw + everything in a red haze. When I answered him my voice sounded hoarse and + shaky. + </p> + <p> + “Get down,” I said. “Get down, or I’ll pull you down. I’m going to thrash + you until you can’t stand or see.” + </p> + <p> + He struck at me with his riding-crop, but I caught him by the collar and + with an old trick of the West Point riding-hall threw him off into the + street, and landed on my feet above him. At the same moment Miller and Von + Ritter drove their ponies in between us, and three of the man’s friends + pushed in from the other side. But in spite of them we reached each other, + and I struck up under his guard and beat him savagely on the face and + head, until I found his chin, and he went down. There was an awful row. + The whole street was in an uproar, women screamed, the ponies were rearing + and kicking, the natives jabbering, and my own men swearing and struggling + in a ring around us. + </p> + <p> + “My God, Macklin!” I heard Von Ritter cry, “stop it! Behave yourself!” + </p> + <p> + He rode at our men with his sword and drove them back into ranks. I heard + him shout, “Fall in there. Forward. March!” + </p> + <p> + “This is your idea of keeping order, is it?” Miller shouted at me. + </p> + <p> + “He insulted Laguerre,” I shouted back, and scrambled into the saddle. But + I was far from satisfied. I, Vice-President, Minister of War, + Provost-Marshal of the city, had been fighting with my fists in the open + street before half the population. I knew what Laguerre would say, and I + wondered hotly if the girl had seen me, and I swore at myself for having + justified her contempt for us. Then I swore at myself again for giving a + moment’s consideration to what she thought. I was recalled to the present + by the apparition of my adversary riding his pony toward me, partly + supported and partly restrained by two of his friends. He was trembling + with anger and pain and mortification. + </p> + <p> + “You shall fight me for this,” he cried. + </p> + <p> + I was about to retort that he looked as though I had been fighting him, + but it is not easy to laugh at a man when he is covered with dust and + blood, and this one was so sorry a spectacle that I felt ashamed for him, + and said nothing. + </p> + <p> + “I am not a street fighter,” he raged. “I wasn’t taught to fight in a lot. + But I’ll fight you like a gentleman, just as though you were a gentleman. + You needn’t think you’ve heard the last of me. My friends will act for me, + and, unless you’re a coward, you will name your seconds.” + </p> + <p> + Before I could answer, Von Ritter had removed his hat and was bowing + violently from his saddle. + </p> + <p> + “I am Baron Herbert Von Ritter,” he said “late Aide-de-Camp to his + Majesty, the King of Bavaria. If you are not satisfied, Captain Miller and + myself will do ourselves the honor of calling on your friends.” + </p> + <p> + His manner was so grand that it quite calmed me to hear him. + </p> + <p> + One of the men who was supporting my adversary, a big, sun-burned man, in + a pith helmet, shook his head violently. + </p> + <p> + “Here, none of that, Miller,” he said; “drop it. Can’t you see the boy + isn’t himself? This isn’t the time to take advantage of him.” + </p> + <p> + “We are only trying to oblige the gentleman,” said Miller. “The duel is + the only means of defence we’ve left you people. But I tell you, if any of + you insult our government again, we won’t even give you that satisfaction—we’ll + ride you out of town.” + </p> + <p> + The man in the pith helmet listened to Miller without any trace of + emotion. When Miller had finished he laughed. + </p> + <p> + “We’ve every means of defence that an American citizen needs when he runs + up against a crowd like yours,” he said. He picked up his reins and turned + his horse’s head down the street. “You will find us at the Hotel + Continental,” he added. “And as for running us out of town,” he shouted + over his shoulder, “there’s an American man-of-war at Amapala that is + going to chase you people out of it as soon as we give the word.” + </p> + <p> + When I saw that Miller and Von Ritter were arranging a duel, I felt no + further interest in what the man said, until he threatened us with the + warship. At that I turned toward the naval ensign to see how he received + it. + </p> + <p> + He was a young man, some years older than myself, with a smooth face and + fair, yellow hair and blue eyes. I found that the blue eyes were fixed + upon me steadily and kindly. When he saw that I had caught him watching me + he raised his hand smartly to the visor. + </p> + <p> + I do not know why, but it made the tears come to my eyes. It was so + different from the salute of our own men; it was like being back again + under the flag at the Point. It was the recognition of the “regular” that + touched me, of a bona-fide, commissioned officer. + </p> + <p> + But I returned his salute just as stiffly as though I were a commissioned + officer myself. And then a strange thing happened. The sailor-boy jerked + his head toward the retreating form of my late adversary, and slowly stuck + his tongue into his cheek, and winked. Before I could recover myself, he + had caught up my hand and given it a sharp shake, and galloped after his + friends. + </p> + <p> + Miller and I fell in at the rear of the column. + </p> + <p> + “Who were those men?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “The Isthmian Line people, of course,” he answered, shortly. “The man in + the helmet is Graham, the manager of the Copan Silver Mines. They’ve just + unloaded them on Fiske. That’s why they’re so thick with him.” + </p> + <p> + “And who was the chap who insulted Laguerre?” I asked. “The one whose face + I slapped?” + </p> + <p> + “Face you slapped? Ha!” Miller snorted. “I hope you’ll never slap my face. + Why, don’t you know who he is?” he exclaimed, with a grin. “I thought, of + course, you did. I thought that’s why you hit him. He’s young Fiske, the + old man’s son. That was his sister riding ahead of them. Didn’t you see + that girl?” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V + </h2> + <p> + The day we attacked the capital Joseph Fiske and his party were absent + from it, visiting Graham, the manager of the Copan Mines, at his country + place, and when word was received there that we had taken the city, Graham + urged Mr. Fiske not to return to it, but to ride at once to the coast and + go on board the yacht. They told him that the capital was in the hands of + a mob. + </p> + <p> + But what really made Graham, and the rest of the Copan people, and the + Isthmian crowd, who now were all working together against us, so anxious + to get Fiske out of Honduras, was that part of Laguerre’s proclamation in + which he said he would force the Isthmian Line to pay its just debts. They + were most anxious that Fiske should not learn from us the true version of + that claim for back pay. They had told him we were a lot of professional + filibusters, that the demand we made for the half-million of dollars was a + gigantic attempt at blackmail. They pointed out to him that the judges of + the highest courts of Honduras had decided against the validity of our + claim, but they did not tell him that Alvarez had ordered the judges to + decide in favor of the company, nor how much money they had paid Alvarez + and the judges for that decision. Instead they urged that Garcia, a native + of the country, had submitted to the decree of the courts and had joined + Alvarez, and that now the only people fighting against the Isthmian Line + were foreign adventurers. They asked, Was it likely such men would risk + their lives to benefit the natives? Was it not evident that they were + fighting only for their own pockets? And they warned Fiske that while + Laguerre was still urging his claim against this company, it would be + unwise for the president of that company to show himself in Tegucigalpa. + </p> + <p> + But Fiske laughed at the idea of danger to himself. He said a revolution, + like cock-fighting, was a national pastime, and no more serious, and that + should anyone attempt to molest the property of the company, he would + demand the protection of his own country as represented by the Raleigh. + </p> + <p> + He accordingly rode back to the capital, and with his son and daughter and + the company’s representatives and the Copan people, returned to the same + rooms in the Hotel Continental he had occupied three days before, when + Alvarez was president. This made it embarrassing for us, as the + Continental was the only hotel in the city, and as it was there we had + organized our officers’ mess. In consequence, while there was no open war, + the dining-room of the hotel was twice daily the meeting-place of the two + opposing factions, and Von Ritter told me that until matters had been + arranged with the seconds of young Fiske I could not appear there, as it + would be “contrary to the code.” + </p> + <p> + But our officers were not going to allow the Copan and Isthmian people to + drive them out of their head-quarters, so at the table d’hote luncheon + that day our fellows sat at one end of the room, and Fiske and Miss Fiske, + Graham and his followers at the other. They entirely ignored each other. + After the row I had raised in the street, each side was anxious to avoid + further friction. + </p> + <p> + As I sat in the barracks over my solitary luncheon my thoughts were + entirely on the duel. + </p> + <p> + It had been forced on me, so I accepted it; but it struck me as a most + silly proceeding. Young Fiske had insulted my General and my comrades. He + had done so publicly and with intent. I had thrashed him as I said I + would, and as far as I could see the incident was closed. But Miller and + Von Ritter, who knew Honduras from Fonseca Bay to Truxillo, assured me + that, unless I met the man, who had insulted me before the people, our + prestige would be entirely destroyed. To the Honduranian mind, the fact + that I had thrashed him for so doing, would not serve as a substitute for + a duel, it only made a duel absolutely necessary. As I had determined, if + we did meet, that I would not shoot at him, I knew I would receive no + credit from such an encounter, and, so far as I could see, I was being + made ridiculous, and stood a very fair chance of being killed. + </p> + <p> + I sincerely hoped that young Fiske would apologize. I assured myself that + my reluctance to meet him was due to the fact that I scorned to fight a + civilian. I always classed civilians, with women and children, as + non-combatants. But in my heart I knew that it was not this prejudice + which made me hesitate. The sister was the real reason. That he was her + brother was the only fact of importance. Had his name been Robinson or + Brown, I would have gone out and shot at the calves of his legs most + cheerfully, and taken considerable satisfaction in the notoriety that + would have followed my having done so. + </p> + <p> + But I could never let his sister know that I had only fired in the air, + and I knew that if I fought her brother she would always look upon me as + one who had attempted to murder him. I could never speak to her, or even + look at her again. And at that moment I felt that if I did not meet her, I + could go without meeting any other women for many years to come. She was + the most wonderful creature I had ever seen. She was not beautiful, as + Beatrice was beautiful, in a womanly, gracious way, but she had the beauty + of something unattainable. Instead of inspiring you, she filled you with + disquiet. She seemed to me a regal, goddess-like woman, one that a man + might worship with that tribute of fear and adoration that savages pay to + the fire and the sun. + </p> + <p> + I had ceased to blush because she had laughed at us. I had begun to think + that it was quite right that she should do so. To her we were lawless + adventurers, exiles, expatriates, fugitives. She did not know that most of + us were unselfish, and that our cause was just. She thought, if she + thought of us at all, that we were trying to levy blackmail on her father. + I did not blame her for despising us. I only wished I could tell her how + she had been deceived, and assure her that among us there was one, at + least, who thought of her gratefully and devotedly, and who would suffer + much before he would hurt her or hers. I knew that this was so, and I + hoped her brother would not be such an ass as to insist upon a duel, and + make me pretend to fight him, that her father would be honest enough to + pay his debts, and that some day she and I might be friends. + </p> + <p> + But these hopes were killed by the entrance of Miller and Von Ritter. They + looked very grave. + </p> + <p> + “He won’t apologize,” Miller said. “We arranged that you are to meet + behind the graveyard at sunrise to-morrow morning.” I was bitterly + disappointed, but of course I could not let them see that. + </p> + <p> + “Does Laguerre know?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “No,” Miller said, “neither does old man Fiske. We had the deuce of a + time. Graham and Lowell—that young Middy from the Raleigh—are + his seconds, and we found we were all agreed that he had better apologize. + Lowell, especially, was very keen that you two should shake hands, but + when they went out to talk it over with Fiske, he came back with them in a + terrible rage, and swore he’d not apologize, and that he’d either shoot + you or see you hung. Lowell told him it was all rot that two Americans + should be fighting duels, but Fiske said that when he was in Rome, he did + as Romans did; that he had been brought up in Paris to believe in duels, + and that a duel he would have. Then the sister came in, and there was a + hell of a row!” + </p> + <p> + “The sister!” I exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + Miller nodded, and Von Ritter and he shook their heads sadly at each + other, as though the recollection of the interview weighed heavily. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, his sister,” said Miller. “You know how these Honduranian places are + built, if a parrot scratches his feathers in the patio you can hear it in + every room in the house. Well, she was reading on the balcony, and when + her brother began to rage around and swear he’d have your blood, she heard + him, and opened the shutters and came in. She didn’t stay long, and she + didn’t say much, but she talked to us as though we were so many bad + children. I never felt so mean in my life.” + </p> + <p> + “She should not have been there,” said Von Ritter, stolidly. “It was most + irregular.” + </p> + <p> + “Fiske tried the high and mighty, brotherly act with her,” Miller + continued, “but she shook him up like a charge of rack-a-rock. She told + him that a duel was unmanly and un-American, and that he would be a + murderer. She said his honor didn’t require him to risk his life for every + cad who went about armed, insulting unarmed people—” + </p> + <p> + “What did she say?” I cried. “Say that again.” + </p> + <p> + Von Ritter tossed up his arms and groaned, but Miller shook his fist at + me. + </p> + <p> + “Now, don’t you go and get wrathy,” he roared. “We’ll not stand it. We’ve + been abused by everybody else on your account to-day, and we won’t take it + from you. It doesn’t matter what the girl said. They probably told her you + began the fight, and—” + </p> + <p> + “She said I was a cad,” I repeated, “and that I struck an unarmed man. + Didn’t her brother tell her that he first insulted me, and struck me with + his whip, and that I only used my fists. Didn’t any of you tell her?” + </p> + <p> + “No!” roared Miller; “what the devil has that got to do with it? She was + trying to prevent the duel. We were trying to prevent the duel. That’s all + that’s important. And if she hadn’t made the mistake of thinking you might + back out of it, we could have prevented it. Now we can’t.” + </p> + <p> + I began to wonder if the opinion the Fiske family had formed of me, on so + slight an acquaintance, was not more severe than I deserved, but I did not + let the men see how sorely the news had hurt me. I only asked: “What other + mistake did the young lady make?” + </p> + <p> + “She meant it all right,” said Miller, “but it was a woman’s idea of a + bluff, and it didn’t go. She told us that before we urged her brother on + to fight, we should have found out that he has spent the last five years + in Paris, and that he’s the gilt-edged pistol-shot of the <i>salle d’armes</i> + in the Rue Scribe, that he can hit a scarf-pin at twenty paces. Of course + that ended it. The Baron spoke up in his best style and said that in the + face of this information it would be now quite impossible for our man to + accept an apology without being considered a coward, and that a meeting + must take place. Then the girl ran to her brother and said, ‘What have I + done?’ and he put his arm around her and walked her out of the room. Then + we arranged the details in peace and came on here.” + </p> + <p> + “Good,” I said, “you did exactly right. I’ll meet you at dinner at the + hotel.” + </p> + <p> + But at this Von Ritter protested that I must not dine there, that it was + against the code. + </p> + <p> + “The code be hanged,” I said. “If I don’t turn up at dinner they’ll say + I’m afraid to show myself out of doors. Besides, if I must be shot through + the scarf-pin before breakfast to-morrow morning, I mean to have a good + dinner to-night.” + </p> + <p> + They left me, and I rode to the palace to make my daily report to the + president. I was relieved to find that both he and Webster were so deep in + affairs of state that they had heard nothing of my row in the Plaza, nor + of the duel to follow. They were happy as two children building forts of + sand on the sea-shore. They had rescinded taxes, altered the tariffs, + reorganized the law-courts, taken over the custom-houses by telegraph, and + every five minutes were receiving addresses from delegations of prominent + Honduranians. Nicaragua and Salvador had both recognized their government, + and concession hunters were already cooling their heels in the ante-room. + In every town and seaport the adherents of Garcia had swung over to + Laguerre and our government, and our flag was now flying in every part of + Honduras. It was the flag of Walker, with the five-pointed blood-red star. + We did not explain the significance of the five points. + </p> + <p> + I reported that my scouts had located Alvarez and Garcia in the hills some + five miles distant from the capital, that they were preparing a permanent + camp there, and that they gave no evidence of any immediate intention of + attacking the city. General Laguerre was already informed of the arrival + of Mr. Fiske, and had arranged to give him an audience the following + morning. He hoped in this interview to make clear to him how just was the + people’s claim for the half million due them, and to obtain his guaranty + that the money should be paid. + </p> + <p> + As I was leaving the palace I met Aiken. He was in his most cynical mood. + He said that the air was filled with plots and counter-plots, and that + treachery stalked abroad. He had been unsuccessful in trying to persuade + the president to relieve Heinze of his command on Pecachua. He wanted Von + Ritter or myself put in his place. + </p> + <p> + “It is the key to the position,” Aiken said, “and if Heinze should sell us + out, we would have to run for our lives. These people are all smiles and + ‘vivas’ to-day because we are on top. But if we lost Pecachua, every man + of them would turn against us.” + </p> + <p> + I laughed and said: “We can trust Heinze. If I had your opinion of my + fellow-man, I’d blow my brains out.” + </p> + <p> + “If I hadn’t had such a low opinion of my fellow-man,” Aiken retorted, + “he’d have blown your brains out. Don’t forget that.” + </p> + <p> + “No one listens to me,” he said. “I consider that I am very hardly used. + For a consideration a friend of Alvarez told me where Alvarez had buried + most of the government money. I went to the cellar and dug it up and + turned it over to Laguerre. And what do you think he’s doing with it!” + Aiken exclaimed with indignation. “He’s going to give the government + troops their back pay, and the post-office clerks, and the peons who + worked on the public roads.” + </p> + <p> + I said I considered that that was a most excellent use to make of the + money; that from what I had seen of the native troops, it would turn our + prisoners of war into our most loyal adherents. + </p> + <p> + “Of course it will!” Aiken agreed. “Why, if the government troops out + there in the hills with Alvarez knew we were paying sixty pesos for + soldiers, they’d run to join us so quick that they’d die on the way of + sunstroke. But that’s not it. Where do we come in? What do we get out of + this? Have we been fighting for three months just to pay the troops who + have been fighting against us? Charity begins at home, I think.” + </p> + <p> + “You get your own salary, don’t you?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I’m not starving,” Aiken said, with a grin. “There’s a lot of loot in + being chief-of-police. This is going to be a wide-open town if I can run + it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you can’t,” I laughed. “Not as long as I’m its provost marshal.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and how long will that be?” Aiken retorted. “You take my advice and + make money now, while you’ve got the club to get it with you. Why, if I + had your job I could scare ten thousand sols out of these merchants before + sunrise. Instead of which you walk around nights to see their front doors + are locked. Let them do the walking. We’ve won, and let’s enjoy the spoil. + Eat, live, and be merry, my boy, for to-morrow you die.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope not,” I exclaimed, and I ran down the steps of the palace and + turned toward the barracks. + </p> + <p> + “To-morrow you die,” I repeated, but I could not arouse a single emotion. + Portents and premonitions may frighten some people, but the only + superstition I hold to is to believe in the luck of Royal Macklin. + </p> + <p> + “What if Fiske can hit a scarf-pin at twenty paces!” I said to myself, “he + can’t hit me.” I was just as sure of it as I was of the fact that when I + met him I was going to fire in the air. I cannot tell why. I was just sure + of it. + </p> + <p> + The dining-room at the Continental held three long tables. That night our + officers sat at one. Mr. Fiske and his party were at the one farthest + away, and a dining-club of consular agents, merchants, and the Telegraph + Company’s people occupied the one in between. I could see her whenever the + German consul bent over his food. She was very pale and tired-looking, but + in the white evening frock she wore, all soft and shining with lace, she + was as beautiful as the moonlit night outside. She never once looked in + our direction. But I could not keep my eyes away from her. The merchants, + no doubt, enjoyed their dinner. They laughed and argued boisterously, but + at the two other tables there was very little said. + </p> + <p> + The waiters, pattering over the stone floor in their bare feet, made more + noise than our entire mess. + </p> + <p> + When the brandy came, Russell nodded at the others, and they filled their + glasses and drank to me in silence. At the other table I saw the same + pantomime, only on account of old man Fiske they had to act even more + covertly. It struck me as being vastly absurd and wicked. What right had + young Fiske to put his life in jeopardy to me? It was not in my keeping. I + had no claim upon it. It was not in his own keeping. At least not to throw + away. + </p> + <p> + When they had gone and our officers had shaken hands with me and ridden + off to their different posts, I went out upon the balcony by myself and + sat down in the shadow of the vines. The stream which cuts Tegucigalpa in + two ran directly below the hotel, splashing against the rocks and sweeping + under the stone bridge with a ceaseless murmur. Beyond it stretched the + red-tiled roofs, glowing pink in the moonlight, and beyond them the + camp-fires of Alvarez twinkling like glow-worms against the dark + background of the hills. The town had gone to sleep, and the hotel was as + silent as a church. There was no sound except the whistle of a policeman + calling the hour, the bark of the street-dogs in answer, and the voice of + one of our sentries, arguing with some jovial gentleman who was abroad + without a pass. After the fever and anxieties of the last few days the + peace of the moment was sweet and grateful to me, and I sank deeper into + the long wicker chair and sighed with content. The previous night I had + spent on provost duty in the saddle, and it must have been that I dropped + asleep, for when I next raised my head Miss Fiske was standing not twenty + feet from me. She was leaning against one of the pillars, a cold and + stately statue in the moonlight. + </p> + <p> + She did not know anyone was near her, and when I moved and my spurs + clanked on the stones, she started, and turned her eyes slowly toward the + shadow in which I sat. + </p> + <p> + During dinner they must have told her which one of us was to fight the + duel, for when she recognized me she moved sharply away. I did not wish + her to think I would intrude on her against her will, so I rose and walked + toward the door, but before I had reached it she again turned and + approached me. + </p> + <p> + “You are Captain Macklin?” she said. + </p> + <p> + I was so excited at the thought that she was about to speak to me, and so + happy to hear her voice, that for an instant I could only whip off my hat + and gaze at her stupidly. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Macklin,” she repeated. “This afternoon I tried to stop the duel + you are to fight with my brother, and I am told that I made a very serious + blunder. I should like to try and correct it. When I spoke of my brother’s + skill, I mean his skill with the pistol, I knew you were ignorant of it + and I thought if you did know of it you would see the utter folly, the + wickedness of this duel. But instead I am told that I only made it + difficult for you not to meet him. I cannot in the least see that that + follows. I wish to make it clear to you that it does not.” + </p> + <p> + She paused, and I, as though I had been speaking, drew a long breath. Had + she been reading from a book her tone could not have been more impersonal. + I might have been one of a class of school-boys to whom she was expounding + a problem. At the Point I have heard officers’ wives use the same tone to + the enlisted men. Its effect on them was to drive them into a surly + silence. + </p> + <p> + But Miss Fiske did not seem conscious of her tone. + </p> + <p> + “After I had spoken,” she went on evenly, “they told me of your reputation + in this country, that you are known to be quite fearless. They told me of + your ordering your own men to shoot you, and of how you took a cannon with + your hands. Well, I cannot see—since your reputation for bravery is + so well established—that you need to prove it further, certainly not + by engaging in a silly duel. You cannot add to it by fighting my brother, + and if you should injure him, you would bring cruel distress to—to + others.” + </p> + <p> + “I assure you—-” I began. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me,” she said, raising her hand, but still speaking in the same + even tone. “Let me explain myself fully. Your own friends said in my + hearing,” she went on, “that they did not desire a fight. It is then my + remark only which apparently makes it inevitable.” + </p> + <p> + She drew herself up and her tone grew even more distant and disdainful. + </p> + <p> + “Now, it is not possible,” she exclaimed, “that you and your friends are + going to take advantage of my mistake, and make it the excuse for this + meeting. Suppose any harm should come to my brother.” For the first time + her voice carried a touch of feeling. “It would be my fault. I would + always have myself to blame. And I want to ask you not to fight him. I + want to ask you to withdraw from this altogether.” + </p> + <p> + I was completely confused. Never before had a young lady of a class which + I had so seldom met, spoken to me even in the words of everyday civility, + and now this one, who was the most wonderful and beautiful woman I had + ever seen, was asking me to grant an impossible favor, was speaking of my + reputation for bravery as though it were a fact which everyone accepted, + and was begging me not to make her suffer. What added to my perplexity was + that she asked me to act only as I desired to act, but she asked it in + such a manner that every nerve in me rebelled. + </p> + <p> + I could not understand how she could ask so great a favor of one she held + in such evident contempt. It seemed to me that she should not have + addressed me at all, or if she did ask me to stultify my honor and spare + the life of her precious brother she should not have done so in the same + tone with which she would have asked a tradesman for his bill. The fact + that I knew, since I meant to fire in the air, that the duel was a farce, + made it still more difficult for me to speak. + </p> + <p> + But I managed to say that what she asked was impossible. + </p> + <p> + “I do not know,” I stammered, “that I ought to talk about it to you at + all. But you don’t understand that your brother did not only insult me. He + insulted my regiment, and my general. It was that I resented, and that is + why I am fighting.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you refuse?” she said. + </p> + <p> + “I have no choice,” I replied; “he has left me no choice.” + </p> + <p> + She drew back, but still stood looking at me coldly. The dislike in her + eyes wounded me inexpressively. + </p> + <p> + Before she spoke I had longed only for the chance to assure her of my + regard, and had she appealed to me generously, in a manner suited to one + so noble-looking, I was in a state of mind to swim rivers and climb + mountains to serve her. I still would have fought the duel, but sooner + than harm her brother I would have put my hand in the fire. Now, since she + had spoken, I was filled only with pity and disappointment. It seemed so + wrong that one so finely bred and wonderfully fair should feel so little + consideration. No matter how greatly she had been prejudiced against me + she had no cause to ignore my rights in the matter. To speak to me as + though I had no honor of my own, no worthy motive, to treat me like a + common brawler who, because his vanity was wounded, was trying to force an + unoffending stranger to a fight. + </p> + <p> + My vanity was wounded, but I felt more sorry for her than for myself, and + when she spoke again I listened eagerly, hoping she would say something + which would soften what had gone before. But she did not make it easier + for either of us. + </p> + <p> + “If I persuade my brother to apologize for what he said of your regiment,” + she continued, “will you accept his apology?” Her tone was one partly of + interrogation, partly of command. “I do not think he is likely to do so,” + she added, “but if you will let that suffice, I shall see him at once, and + ask him.” + </p> + <p> + “You need not do that!” I replied, quickly. “As I have said, it is not my + affair. It concerns my—a great many people. I am sorry, but the + meeting must take place.” + </p> + <p> + For the first time Miss Fiske smiled, but it was the same smile of + amusement with which she had regarded us when she first saw us in the + plaza. + </p> + <p> + “I quite understand,” she said, still smiling. “You need not assure me + that it concerns a great many people.” She turned away as though the + interview was at an end, and then halted. She had stepped into the circle + of the moonlight so that her beauty shone full upon me. + </p> + <p> + “I know that it concerns a great many people,” she cried. “I know that it + is all a part of the plot against my father!” + </p> + <p> + I gave a gasp of consternation which she misconstrued, for she continued, + bitterly. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I know everything,” she said. “Mr. Graham has told me all that you + mean to do. I was foolish to appeal to any one of you. You have set out to + fight my father, and your friends will use any means to win. But I should + have thought,” she cried, her voice rising and ringing like an alarm, + “that they would have stopped at assassinating his son.” + </p> + <p> + I stepped back from her as though she had struck at me. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Fiske,” I cried. What she had charged was so monstrous, so absurd + that I could answer nothing in defence. My brain refused to believe that + she had said it. I could not conceive that any creature so utterly lovely + could be so unseeing, so bitter, and so unfair. + </p> + <p> + Her charge was ridiculous, but my disappointment in her was so keen that + the tears came to my eyes. + </p> + <p> + I put my hat back on my head, saluted her and passed her quickly. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Macklin,” she cried. “What is it? What have I said?” She + stretched out her hand toward me, but I did not stop. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Macklin!” she called after me in such a voice that I was forced + to halt and turn. + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do?” she demanded. “Oh, yes, I see,” she exclaimed. + “I see how it sounded to you. And you?” she cried. Her voice was trembling + with concern. “Because I said that, you mean to punish me for it—through + my brother? You mean to make him suffer. You will kill him!” Her voice + rose to an accent of terror. “But I only said it because he is my brother, + my own brother. Cannot you understand what that means to me? Cannot you + understand why I said it?” + </p> + <p> + We stood facing each other, I, staring at her miserably, and she breathing + quickly, and holding her hand to her side as though she had been running a + long distance. + </p> + <p> + “No,” I said in a low voice. It was very hard for me to speak at all. “No, + I cannot understand.” + </p> + <p> + I pulled off my hat again, and stood before her crushing it in my hands. + </p> + <p> + “Why didn’t you trust me?” I said, bitterly. “How could you doubt what I + would do? I trusted you. From the moment you came riding toward me, I + thanked God for the sight of such a woman. For making anything so + beautiful.” + </p> + <p> + I stopped, for I saw I had again offended. At the words she drew back + quickly, and her eyes shone with indignation. She looked at me as though I + had tried to touch her with my hand. But I spoke on without heeding her. I + repeated the words with which I had offended. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” I said, “I thanked God for anything so noble and so beautiful. To + me, you could do no wrong. But you! You judged me before you even knew my + name. You said I was a cad who went about armed to fight unarmed men. To + you I was a coward who could be frightened off by a tale of bulls-eyes, + and broken pipe-stems at a Paris fair. What do I care for your brother’s + tricks. Let him see my score cards at West Point. He’ll find them framed + on the walls. I was first a coward and a cad, and now I am a bully and a + hired assassin. From the first, you and your brother have laughed at me + and mine while all I asked of you was to be what you seemed to be, what I + was happy to think you were. I wanted to believe in you. Why did you show + me that you can be selfish and unfeeling? It is you who do not understand. + You understand so little,” I cried, “that I pity you from the bottom of my + heart. I give you my word, I pity you.” + </p> + <p> + “Stop,” she commanded. I drew back and bowed, and we stood confronting + each other in silence. + </p> + <p> + “And they call you a brave man,” she said at last, speaking slowly and + steadily, as though she were picking each word. “It is like a brave man to + insult a woman, because she wants to save her brother’s life.” + </p> + <p> + When I raised my face it was burning, as though she had thrown vitriol. + </p> + <p> + “If I have insulted you, Miss Fiske,” I said, “if I have ever insulted any + woman, I hope to God that to-morrow morning your brother will kill me.” + </p> + <p> + When I turned and looked back at her from the door, she was leaning + against one of the pillars with her face bent in her hands, and weeping + bitterly. + </p> + <p> + I rode to the barracks and spent several hours in writing a long letter to + Beatrice. I felt a great need to draw near to her. I was confused and sore + and unhappy, and although nothing of this, nor of the duel appeared in my + letter, I was comforted to think that I was writing it to her. It was good + to remember that there was such a woman in the world, and when I compared + her with the girl from whom I had just parted, I laughed out loud. + </p> + <p> + And yet I knew that had I put the case to Beatrice, she would have + discovered something to present in favor of Miss Fiske. + </p> + <p> + “She was pleading for her brother, and she did not understand,” Beatrice + would have said. But in my own heart I could find no excuse. Her family + had brought me nothing but evil. Because her father would not pay his + debts, I had been twice wounded and many times had risked death; the son + had struck me with a whip in the public streets, and the sister had called + me everything that is contemptible, from a cad to a hired cut-throat. So, + I was done with the house of Fiske. My hand was against it. I owed it + nothing. + </p> + <p> + But with all my indignation against them, for which there was reason + enough, I knew in my heart that I had looked up to them, and stood in awe + of them, for reasons that made me the cad they called me. Ever since my + arrival in Honduras I had been carried away by the talk of the Fiske + millions, and later by the beauty of the girl, and by the boy’s insolent + air, of what I accepted as good breeding. I had been impressed with his + five years in Paris, by the cut of his riding-clothes even, by the fact + that he owned a yacht. I had looked up to them, because they belonged to a + class who formed society, as I knew society through the Sunday papers. And + now these superior beings had rewarded my snobbishness by acting toward me + in a way that was contrary to every ideal I held of what was right and + decent. For such as these, I had felt ashamed of my old comrades. It was + humiliating, but it was true; and as I admitted this to myself, my cheeks + burned in the darkness, and I buried my face in the pillow. For some time + I lay awake debating fiercely in my mind as to whether, when I faced young + Fiske, I should shoot the pistol out of his hand, or fire into the ground. + And it was not until I had decided that the latter act would better show + our contempt for him and his insult, that I fell asleep. + </p> + <p> + Von Ritter and Miller woke me at four o’clock. They were painfully correct + and formal. Miller had even borrowed something of the Baron’s manner, + which sat upon him as awkwardly as would a wig and patches. I laughed at + them both, but, for the time being, they had lost their sense of humor; + and we drank our coffee in a constrained and sleepy silence. + </p> + <p> + At the graveyard we found that Fiske, his two seconds, Graham and Lowell, + the young Middy, and a local surgeon had already arrived. We exchanged + bows and salutes gloomily and the seconds gathered together, and began to + talk in hoarse whispers. It was still very dark. The moon hung empty and + pallid above the cold outline of the hills, and although the roosters were + crowing cheerfully, the sun had not yet risen. In the hollows the mists + lay like lakes, and every stone and rock was wet and shining as though it + had been washed in readiness for the coming day. The gravestones shone + upon us like freshly scrubbed doorsteps. It was a most dismal spot, and I + was so cold that I was afraid I would shiver, and Fiske might think I was + nervous. So I moved briskly about among the graves, reading the + inscriptions on the tombstones. Under the circumstances the occupation, to + a less healthy mind, would have been depressing. My adversary, so it + seemed to me, carried himself with a little too much unconcern. It struck + me that he overdid it. He laughed with the local surgeon, and pointed out + the moon and the lakes of mist as though we had driven out to observe the + view. I could not think of anything to do which would show that I was + unconcerned too, so I got back into the carriage and stretched my feet out + to the seat opposite, and continued to smoke my cigar. + </p> + <p> + Incidentally, by speaking to Lowell, I hurt Von Ritter’s feelings. It + seems that as one of the other man’s seconds I should have been more + haughty with him. But when he passed me, pacing out the ground, he saluted + stiffly, and as I saluted back, I called out: “I suppose you know you’ll + catch it if they find out about this at Washington?” And he answered, with + a grin: “Yes, I know, but I couldn’t get out of it.” + </p> + <p> + “Neither could I,” I replied, cheerfully, and in so loud a tone that + everyone heard me. Von Ritter was terribly annoyed. + </p> + <p> + At last all was arranged and we took our places. We were to use pistols. + They were double-barrelled affairs, with very fine hair-triggers. Graham + was to give the word by asking if we were ready, and was then to count + “One, two, three.” + </p> + <p> + After the word “one” we could fire when we pleased. When each of us had + emptied both barrels, our honor was supposed to be satisfied. + </p> + <p> + Young Fiske wore a blue yachting suit with the collar turned up, and no + white showing except his face, and that in the gray light of the dawn was + a sickly white, like the belly of a fish. After he had walked to his mark + he never took his eyes from me. They seemed to be probing around under my + uniform for the vulnerable spot. I had never before had anyone look at me, + who seemed to so frankly dislike me. + </p> + <p> + Curiously enough, I kept thinking of the story of the man who boasted he + was so good a shot that he could break the stem of a wine-glass, and how + someone said: “Yes, but the wine-glass isn’t holding a pistol.” Then, + while I was smiling at the application I had made of this story to my + scowling adversary, there came up a picture, not of home and of Beatrice, + nor of my past sins, but of the fellow’s sister as I last saw her in the + moonlight, leaning against the pillar of the balcony with her head bowed + in her hands. And at once it all seemed contemptible and cruel. No quarrel + in the world, so it appeared to me then, was worth while if it were going + to make a woman suffer. And for an instant I was so indignant with Fiske + for having dragged me into this one, to feed his silly vanity, that for a + moment I felt like walking over and giving him a sound thrashing. But at + the instant I heard Graham demand, “Are you ready?” and I saw Fiske fasten + his eyes on mine, and nod his head. The moment had come. + </p> + <p> + “One,” Graham counted, and at the word Fiske threw up his gun and fired, + and the ball whistled past my ear. My pistol was still hanging at my side, + so I merely pulled the trigger, and the ball went into the ground. But + instantly I saw my mistake. Shame and consternation were written on the + faces of my two seconds, and to the face of Fiske there came a + contemptuous smile. I at once understood my error. I read what was in the + mind of each. They dared to think I had pulled the trigger through + nervousness, that I had fired before I was ready, that I was frightened + and afraid. I am sure I never was so angry in my life, and I would have + cried out to them, if a movement on the part of Fiske had not sobered me. + Still smiling, he lifted his pistol slightly and aimed for, so it seemed + to me, some seconds, and then fired. + </p> + <p> + I felt the bullet cut the lining of my tunic and burn the flesh over my + ribs, and the warm blood tickling my side, but I was determined he should + not know he had hit me, and not even my lips moved. + </p> + <p> + Then a change, so sudden and so remarkable, came over the face of young + Fiske, that its very agony fascinated me. At first it was + incomprehensible, and then I understood. He had fired his last shot, he + thought he had missed, and he was waiting for me, at my leisure, to kill + him with my second bullet. + </p> + <p> + I raised the pistol, and it was as though you could hear the silence. + Every waking thing about us seemed to suddenly grow still. I brought the + barrel slowly to a level with his knee, raised it to his heart, passed it + over his head, and, aiming in the air, fired at the moon, and then tossed + the gun away. The waking world seemed to breathe again, and from every + side there came a chorus of quick exclamations; but without turning to + note who made them, nor what they signified, I walked back to the + carriage, and picked up my cigar. It was still burning. + </p> + <p> + Von Ritter ran to the side of the carriage. + </p> + <p> + “You must wait,” he protested. “Mr. Fiske wishes to shake hands with you. + It is not finished yet.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, it is finished,” I replied, savagely. “I have humored you two long + enough. A pest on both your houses. I’m going back to breakfast.” + </p> + <p> + Poor Von Ritter drew away, deeply hurt and scandalized, but my offence was + nothing to the shock he received when young Lowell ran to the carriage and + caught up my hand. He looked at me with a smile that would have softened a + Spanish duenna. + </p> + <p> + “See here!” he cried. “Whether you like it or not, you’ve got to shake + hands with me. I want to tell you that was one of the finest things I ever + saw.” He squeezed my fingers until the bones crunched together. “I’ve + heard a lot about you, and now I believe all I’ve heard. To stand up + there,” he ran on, breathlessly, “knowing you didn’t mean to fire, and + knowing he was a dead shot, and make a canvas target of yourself—that + was bully. You were an ass to do it, but it was great. You going back to + breakfast?” he demanded, suddenly, with the same winning, eager smile. “So + am I. I speak to go with you.” + </p> + <p> + Before I could reply he had vaulted into the carriage, and was shouting at + the driver. + </p> + <p> + “Cochero, to the Barracks. Full speed ahead. Vamoose. Give way. Allez + vite!” + </p> + <p> + “But my seconds,” I protested. + </p> + <p> + “They can walk,” he said. + </p> + <p> + Already the horses were at a gallop, and as we swung around the wall of + the graveyard and were hidden from the sight of the others, Lowell sprang + into the seat beside me. With the quick fingers of the sailor, he cast off + my sword-belt and tore open my blouse. + </p> + <p> + “I wanted to get you away,” he muttered, “before he found out he had hit + you.” + </p> + <p> + “I’m not hit,” I protested. + </p> + <p> + “Just as you like,” he said. “Still, it looks rather damp to the left + here.” + </p> + <p> + But, as I knew, the bullet had only grazed me, and the laugh of relief + Lowell gave when he raised his head, and said, “Why, it’s only a scratch,” + meant as much to me as though he had rendered me some great service. For + it seemed to prove a genuine, friendly concern, and no one, except + Laguerre, had shown that for me since I had left home. I had taken a fancy + to Lowell from the moment he had saluted me like a brother officer in the + Plaza, and I had wished he would like me. I liked him better than any + other young man I had ever met. I had never had a man for a friend, but + before we had finished breakfast I believe we were better friends than + many boys who had lived next door to each other from the day they were + babies. + </p> + <p> + As a rule, I do not hit it off with men, so I felt that his liking me was + a great piece of good fortune, and a great honor. He was only three years + older than myself, but he knew much more about everything than I did, and + his views of things were as fine and honorable as they were amusing. + </p> + <p> + Since then we have grown to be very close friends indeed, and we have + ventured together into many queer corners, but I have never ceased to + admire him, and I have always found him the same—unconscious of + himself and sufficient to himself. I mean that if he were presented to an + Empress he would not be impressed, nor if he chatted with a bar-maid would + he be familiar. He would just look at each of them with his grave blue + eyes and think only of what she was saying, and not at all of what sort of + an impression he was making, or what she thought of him. Aiken helped me a + lot by making me try not to be like Aiken; Lowell helped me by making me + wish to be like Lowell. + </p> + <p> + We had a very merry breakfast, and the fact that it was seven in the + morning did not in the least interfere with our drinking each other’s + health in a quart of champagne. Nearly all of our officers came in while + we were at breakfast to learn if I were still alive, and Lowell gave them + most marvellous accounts of the affair, sometimes representing me as an + idiot and sometimes as an heroic martyr. + </p> + <p> + They all asked him if he thought Fiske had sufficient influence at + Washington to cause the Government to give him the use of the Raleigh + against us, but he would only laugh and shake his head. + </p> + <p> + Later, to Laguerre, he talked earnestly on the same subject, and much to + the point. + </p> + <p> + The news of the duel had reached the palace at eight o’clock, and the + president at once started for the barracks. + </p> + <p> + We knew he was coming when we heard the people in the cafes shouting + “Viva,” as they always did when he appeared in public, and, though I was + badly frightened as to what he would say to me, I ran to the door and + turned out the guard to receive him. + </p> + <p> + He had put on one of the foreign uniforms he was entitled to wear—he + did not seem to fancy the one I had designed—and as he rode across + the Plaza I thought I had never seen a finer soldier. Lowell said he + looked like a field marshal of the Second Empire. I was glad Lowell had + come to the door with me, as he could now see for himself that my general + was one for whom a man might be proud to fight a dozen duels. + </p> + <p> + The president gave his reins to an orderly and mounted the steps, touching + his chapeau to the salute of guard and the shouting citizens, but his eyes + were fixed sternly on me. I saw that he was deeply moved, and I wished + fervently, now that it was too late, that I had told him of the street + fight at the time, and not allowed him to hear of it from others. I feared + the worst. I was prepared for any reproof, any punishment, even the loss + of my commission, and I braced myself for his condemnation. + </p> + <p> + But when he reached the top step where I stood at salute, although I was + inwardly quaking, he halted and his lips suddenly twisted, and the tears + rushed to his eyes. + </p> + <p> + He tried to speak, but made only a choking, inarticulate sound, and then, + with a quick gesture, before all the soldiers and all the people, he + caught me in his arms. + </p> + <p> + “My boy,” he whispered, “my boy! For you were lost,” he murmured, “and + have returned to me.” + </p> + <p> + I heard Lowell running away, and the door of the guard-room banging behind + him, I heard the cheers of the people who, it seems, already knew of the + duel and understood the tableau on the barrack steps, but the thought that + Laguerre cared for me even as a son made me deaf to everything, and my + heart choked with happiness. + </p> + <p> + It passed in a moment, and in manner he was once more my superior officer, + but the door he had opened was never again wholly shut to me. + </p> + <p> + In the guard-room I presented Lowell to the president, and I was proud to + see the respect with which Lowell addressed him. At the first glance they + seemed to understand each other, and they talked together as simply as + would friends of long acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + After they had spoken of many things, Laguerre said: “Would it be fair for + me to ask you, Mr. Lowell, what instructions the United States has given + your commanding officer in regard to our government?” + </p> + <p> + To this Lowell answered: “All I know, sir, is that when we arrived at + Amapala, Captain Miller telegraphed the late president, Doctor Alvarez, + that we were here to protect American interests. But you probably know,” + he added, “as everyone else does, that we came here because the Isthmian + Line demanded protection.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, so I supposed,” Laguerre replied. “But I understand Mr. Graham has + said that when Mr. Fiske gives the word Captain Miller will land your + marines and drive us out of the country.” + </p> + <p> + Lowell shrugged his shoulders and frowned. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Graham—” he began, “is Mr. Graham.” He added: “Captain Miller + is not taking orders from civilians, and he depends on his own sources for + information. I am here because he sent me to ‘Go, look, see,’ and report. + I have been wiring him ever since you started from the coast, and since + you became president. Your censor has very kindly allowed me to use our + cipher.” + </p> + <p> + I laughed, and said: “We court investigation.” + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, sir,” Lowell answered, earnestly, addressing himself to + Laguerre, “but I should think you would. Why,” he exclaimed, “every + merchant in the city has told me he considers his interests have never + been so secure as since you became president. It is only the Isthmian Line + that wants the protection of our ship. The foreign merchants are not + afraid. I hate it!” he cried, “I hate to think that a billionaire, with a + pull at Washington, can turn our Jackies into Janissaries. Protect + American interests!” he exclaimed, indignantly, “protect American + sharpers! The Isthmian Line has no more right to the protection of our + Navy than have the debtors in Ludlow Street Jail.” + </p> + <p> + Laguerre sat for a long time without replying, and then rose and bowed to + Lowell with great courtesy. + </p> + <p> + “I must be returning,” he said. “I thank you, sir, for your good opinion. + At my earliest convenience I shall pay my respects to your commanding + officer. At ten o’clock,” he continued turning to me, “I am to have my + talk with Mr. Fiske. I have not the least doubt but that he will see the + justice of our claim against his company, and before evening I am sure I + shall be able to announce throughout the republic that I have his guaranty + for the money. Mr. Fiske is an able, upright business man, as well as a + gentleman, and he will not see this country robbed.” + </p> + <p> + He shook hands with us and we escorted him to his horse. + </p> + <p> + I always like to remember him as I saw him then, in that gorgeous uniform, + riding away under the great palms of the Plaza, with the tropical sunshine + touching his white hair, and flashing upon the sabres of the body-guard, + and the people running from every side of the square to cheer him. + </p> + <p> + Two hours later, when I had finished my “paper” work and was setting forth + on my daily round, Miller came galloping up to the barracks and flung + himself out of the saddle. He nodded to Lowell, and pulled me roughly to + one side. + </p> + <p> + “The talk with Fiske,” he whispered, “ended in the deuce of a row. Fiske + behaved like a mule. He told Laguerre that the original charter of the + company had been tampered with, and that the one Laguerre submitted to him + was a fake copy. And he ended by asking Laguerre to name his price to + leave them alone.” + </p> + <p> + “And Laguerre?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, what do you suppose,” Miller returned, scornfully. “The General + just looked at him, and then picked up a pen, and began to write, and said + to the orderly, ‘Show him out.’ + </p> + <p> + “‘What’s that?’ Fiske said. And Laguerre answered: ‘Merely a figure of + speech; what I really meant was “Put him out,” or “throw him out!” You are + an offensive and foolish old man. I, the President of this country, + received you and conferred with you as one gentleman with another, and you + tried to insult me. You are either extremely ignorant, or extremely + dishonest, and I shall treat with you no longer. Instead, I shall at once + seize every piece of property belonging to your company, and hold it until + you pay your debts. Now you go, and congratulate yourself that when you + tried to insult me, you did so when you were under my roof, at my + invitation.’ Then Laguerre wired the commandantes at all the seaports to + seize the warehouses and officers of the Isthmian Line, and even its + ships, and to occupy the buildings with troops. He means business,” Miller + cried, jubilantly. “This time it’s a fight to a finish.” + </p> + <p> + Lowell had already sent for his horse, and altogether we started at a + gallop for the palace. At the office of the Isthmian Line we were halted + by a crowd so great that it blocked the street. The doors of the building + were barred, and two sentries were standing guard in front of it. A + proclamation on the wall announced that, by order of the President, the + entire plant of the Isthmian Line had been confiscated, and that unless + within two weeks the company paid its debts to the government, the + government would sell the property of the company until it had obtained + the money due it. + </p> + <p> + At the entrance to the palace the sergeant in charge of the native guard, + who was one of our men, told us that two ships of the Isthmian Line had + been caught in port; one at Cortez on her way to Aspinwall, and one at + Truxillo, bound north. The passengers had been landed, and were to remain + on shore as guests of the government until they could be transferred to + another line. + </p> + <p> + Lowell’s face as he heard this was very grave, and he shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “A perfectly just reprisal, if you ask me,” he said, “but what one lonely + ensign tells you in confidence, and what Fiske will tell the State + Department at Washington, is a very different matter. It’s a good thing,” + he exclaimed, with a laugh, “that the Raleigh’s on the wrong side of the + Isthmus. If we were in the Caribbean, they might order us to make you give + back those ships. As it is, we can’t get marines here from the Pacific + under three days. So I’d better start them at once,” he added, suddenly. + “Good-by, I must wire the Captain.” + </p> + <p> + “Don’t let the United States Navy do anything reckless,” I said. “I’m not + so sure you could take those ships, and I’m not so sure your marines can + get here in three days, either, or that they ever could get here.” + </p> + <p> + Lowell gave a shout of derision. + </p> + <p> + “What,” he cried, “you’d fight against your country’s flag?” + </p> + <p> + I told him he must not forget that at West Point they had decided I was + not good enough to fight for my country’s flag. + </p> + <p> + “We’ve three ships of our own now,” I added, with a grin. “How would you + like to be Rear Admiral of the naval forces of Honduras?” + </p> + <p> + Lowell caught up his reins in mock terror. + </p> + <p> + “What!” he cried. “You’d dare to bribe an American officer? And with such + a fat bribe, too?” he exclaimed. “A Rear-Admiral at my age! That’s + dangerously near my price. I’m afraid to listen to you. Good-by.” He waved + his hand and started down the street. “Good-by, Satan,” he called back to + me, and I laughed, and he rode away. + </p> + <p> + That was the end of the laughter, of the jests, of the play-acting. + </p> + <p> + After that it was grim, grim, bitter and miserable. We dogs had had our + day. We soldiers of either fortune had tasted our cup of triumph, and + though it was only a taste, it had flown to our brains like heavy wine, + and the headaches and the heartaches followed fast. For some it was more + than a heartache; to them it brought the deep, drugged sleep of Nirvana. + </p> + <p> + The storm broke at the moment I turned from Lowell on the steps of the + palace, and it did not cease, for even one brief breathing space, until we + were cast forth, and scattered, and beaten. + </p> + <p> + As Lowell left me, General Laguerre, with Aiken at his side, came hurrying + down the hall of the palace. The President was walking with his head + bowed, listening to Aiken, who was whispering and gesticulating + vehemently. I had never seen him so greatly excited. When he caught sight + of me he ran forward. + </p> + <p> + “Here he is,” he cried. “Have you heard from Heinze?” he demanded. “Has he + asked you to send him a native regiment to Pecachua?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” I answered, “he wanted natives to dig trenches. I sent five hundred + at eight this morning.” + </p> + <p> + Aiken clenched his fingers. It was like the quick, desperate clutch of a + drowning man. + </p> + <p> + “I’m right,” he cried. He turned upon Laguerre. “Macklin has sent them. By + this time our men are prisoners.” + </p> + <p> + Laguerre glanced sharply at the native guard drawn up at attention on + either side of us. “Hush,” he said. He ran past us down the steps, and + halting when he reached the street, turned and looked up at the great bulk + of El Pecachua that rose in the fierce sunlight, calm and inscrutable, + against the white, glaring masses of the clouds. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” I whispered. + </p> + <p> + “Heinze!” Aiken answered, savagely. “Heinze has sold them Pecachua.” + </p> + <p> + I cried out, but again Laguerre commanded silence. “You do not know that,” + he said; but his voice trembled, and his face was drawn in lines of deep + concern. + </p> + <p> + “I warned you!” Aiken cried, roughly. “I warned you yesterday; I told you + to send Macklin to Pecachua.” + </p> + <p> + He turned on me and held me by the sleeve, but like Laguerre he still + continued to look fearfully toward the mountain. + </p> + <p> + “They came to me last night, Graham came to me,” he whispered. “He offered + me ten thousand dollars gold, and I did not take it.” In his wonder at his + own integrity, in spite of the excitement which shook him, Aiken’s face + for an instant lit with a weak, gratified smile. “I pretended to consider + it,” he went on, “and sent another of my men to Pecachua. He came back an + hour ago. He tells me Graham offered Heinze twenty thousand dollars to buy + off himself and the other officers and the men. But Heinze was afraid of + the others, and so he planned to ask Laguerre for a native regiment, to + pretend that he wanted them to work on the trenches. And then, when our + men were lying about, suspecting nothing, the natives should fall on them + and tie them, or shoot them, and then turn the guns on the city. And he <i>has</i> + sent for the niggars!” Aiken cried. “And there’s not one of them that + wouldn’t sell you out. They’re there now!” he cried, shaking his hand at + the mountain. “I warned you! I warned you!” + </p> + <p> + Incredible as it seemed, difficult as it was to believe such baseness, I + felt convinced that Aiken spoke the truth. The thought sickened me, but I + stepped over to Laguerre and saluted. + </p> + <p> + “I can assemble the men in half an hour,” I said. “We can reach the base + of the rock an hour later.” + </p> + <p> + “But if it should not be true,” Laguerre protested. “The insult to Heinze—” + </p> + <p> + “Heinze!” Aiken shouted, and broke into a volley of curses. But the oaths + died in his throat. We heard a whirr of galloping hoofs; a man’s voice + shrieking to his horse; the sounds of many people running, and one of my + scouts swept into the street, and raced toward us. He fell off at our + feet, and the pony rolled upon its head, its flanks heaving horribly and + the blood spurting from its nostrils. + </p> + <p> + “Garcia and Alvarez!” the man panted. “They’re making for the city. They + tried to fool us. They left their tents up, and fires burning, and started + at night, but I smelt ‘em the moment they struck the trail. We fellows + have been on their flanks since sun-up, picking ‘em off at long range, but + we can’t hold them. They’ll be here in two hours.” + </p> + <p> + “Now, will you believe me?” Aiken shouted. “That’s their plot. They’re + working together. They mean to trap us on every side. Ah!” he cried. + “Look!” + </p> + <p> + I knew the thing at which he wished me to look. His voice and my dread + told me at what his arm was pointing. + </p> + <p> + I raised my eyes fearfully to El Pecachua. From its green crest a puff of + smoke was swelling into a white cloud, the cloud was split with a flash of + flame, and the dull echo of the report drifted toward us on the hot, + motionless air. At the same instant our flag on the crest of Pecachua, the + flag with the five-pointed, blood-red star, came twitching down; and a + shell screeched and broke above us. + </p> + <p> + Now that he knew the worst, the doubt and concern on the face of General + Laguerre fell from it like a mask. + </p> + <p> + “We have no guns that will reach the mountain, have we?” he asked. He + spoke as calmly as though we were changing guard. + </p> + <p> + “No, not one,” I answered. “All our heavy pieces are on Pecachua.” + </p> + <p> + “Then we must take it by assault,” he said. “We will first drive Garcia + back, and then we will storm the hill, or starve them out. Assemble all + the men at the palace at once. Trust to no one but yourself. Ride to every + outpost and order them here. Send Von Ritter and the gatlings to meet + Alvarez. This man will act as his guide.” + </p> + <p> + He turned to the scout. “You will find my horse in the court-yard of the + palace,” he said to him. “Take it, and accompany Captain Macklin. Tell Von + Ritter,” he continued, turning to me, “not to expose his men, but to + harass the enemy, and hold him until I come.” His tone was easy, + confident, and assured. Even as I listened to his command I marvelled at + the rapidity with which his mind worked, how he rose to an unexpected + situation, and met unforeseen difficulties. + </p> + <p> + “That is all,” he said. “I will expect the men here in half an hour.” + </p> + <p> + He turned from me calmly. As he re-entered the palace between the lines of + the guard he saluted as punctiliously as though he were on his way to + luncheon. + </p> + <p> + But no one else shared in his calmness. The bursting shells had driven the + people from their houses, and they were screaming through the streets, as + though an earthquake had shaken the city. Even the palace was in an + uproar. + </p> + <p> + The scout, as he entered it, shouting for the President’s horse, had told + the story to our men, and they came running to the great doors, fastening + their accoutrements as they ran. Outside, even as Laguerre had been + speaking, the people had gathered in a great circle, whispering and + gesticulating, pointing at us, at the dying horse, at the shells that + swung above us, at the flag of Alvarez which floated from Pecachua. When I + spurred my horse forward, with the scout at my side, there was a sullen + silence. The smiles, the raised hats, the cheers were missing, and I had + but turned my back on them when a voice shouted, “Viva Alvarez!” + </p> + <p> + I swung in my saddle, and pulled out my sword. I thought it was only the + bravado of some impudent fellow who needed a lesson. + </p> + <p> + But it was a signal, for as I turned I saw the native guard spring like + one man upon our sergeant and drive their bayonets into his throat. He + went down with a dozen of the dwarf-like negroes stabbing and kicking at + him, and the mob ran shrieking upon the door of the palace. + </p> + <p> + On the instant I forgot everything except Laguerre. I had only one + thought, to get to him, to place myself at his side. + </p> + <p> + I pushed my horse among the people, beating at the little beasts with my + sword. But the voice I knew best of all called my name from just above my + head, and I looked up and saw Laguerre with Aiken and Webster on the iron + balcony of the palace. + </p> + <p> + Laguerre’s face was white and set. + </p> + <p> + “Captain Macklin!” he cried. “What does this mean? Obey your orders. You + have my orders. Obey my orders.” + </p> + <p> + “I can’t,” I cried. “This is an attack upon you! They will kill you!” + </p> + <p> + At the moment I spoke our men fired a scattering volley at the mob, and + swung to the great gates. The mob answered their volley with a dozen + pistol-shots, and threw itself forward. Still looking up, I saw Laguerre + clasp his hands to his throat, and fall back upon Webster’s shoulder, but + he again instantly stood upright and motioned me fiercely with his arm. + “Go,” he cried. “Bring the gatlings here, and all the men. If you delay we + lose the palace. Obey my orders,” he again commanded, with a second fierce + gesture. + </p> + <p> + The movement was all but fatal. The wound in his throat tore apart, his + head fell forward and his eyes closed. I saw the blood spreading and + dyeing the gold braid. But he straightened himself and leaned forward. His + eyes opened, and, holding himself erect with one hand on the railing of + the balcony, he stretched the other over me, as though in benediction. + </p> + <p> + “Go, Royal!” he cried, “and—God bless you!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI + </h2> + <p> + I bent my head and drove my spurs into my horse. I did not know where he + was carrying me. My eyes were shut with tears, and with the horror of what + I had witnessed. I was reckless, mad, for the first time in my life, + filled with hate against my fellow-men. I rode a hundred yards before I + heard the scout at my side shouting, “To the right, Captain, to the + right.” + </p> + <p> + At the word I pulled on my rein, and we turned into the Plaza. + </p> + <p> + The scout was McGraw, the Kansas cowboy, who had halted Aiken and myself + the day we first met with the filibusters. He was shooting from the saddle + as steadily as other men would shoot with a rest, and each time he fired, + he laughed. The laugh brought me back to the desperate need of our + mission. I tricked myself into believing that Laguerre was not seriously + wounded. I persuaded myself that by bringing him aid quickly I was + rendering him as good service as I might have given had I remained at his + side. I shut out the picture of him, faint and bleeding, and opened my + eyes to the work before us. + </p> + <p> + We were like the lost dogs on a race-course that run between lines of + hooting men. On every side we were assailed with cries. Even the voices of + women mocked at us. Men sprang at my bridle, and my horse rode them down. + They shot at us from the doors of the cafes, from either curbstone. As we + passed the barracks even the men of my own native regiment raised their + rifles and fired. + </p> + <p> + The nearest gun was at the end of the Calle Bogran, and we raced down it, + each with his revolver cocked, and held in front of him. + </p> + <p> + But before we reached the outpost I saw the men who formed it, pushing + their way toward us, bunched about their gatling with their clubbed rifles + warding off the blows of a mob that struck at them from every side. They + were ignorant of what had transpired; they did not know who was, or who + was not their official enemy, and they were unwilling to fire upon the + people, who a moment before, before the flag of Alvarez had risen on + Pecachua, had been their friends and comrades. These friends now beset + them like a pack of wolves. They hung upon their flanks and stabbed at + them from the front and rear. The air was filled with broken tiles from + the roofs, and with flying paving-stones. + </p> + <p> + When the men saw us they raised a broken cheer. + </p> + <p> + “Open that gun on them!” I shouted. “Clear the street, and push your gun + to the palace. Laguerre is there. Kill every man in this street if you + have to, but get to the palace.” + </p> + <p> + The officer in charge fought his way to my side. He was covered with sweat + and blood. He made a path for himself with his bare arms. + </p> + <p> + “What in hell does this mean, Macklin?” he shouted. “Who are we fighting?” + </p> + <p> + “You are fighting every native you see,” I ordered. “Let loose up this + street. Get to the palace!” + </p> + <p> + I rode on to the rear of the gun, and as McGraw and I raced on toward the + next post, we heard it stabbing the air with short, vicious blows. + </p> + <p> + At the same instant the heavens shook with a clap of thunder, the sky + turned black, and with the sudden fierceness of the tropics, heavy drops + of rain began to beat upon us, and to splash in the dust like hail. + </p> + <p> + A moment later and the storm burst upon the city. The streets were swept + with great sheets of water, torrents flowed from the housetop, the skies + darkened to ink, or were ripped asunder by vivid flashes, and the thunder + rolled unceasingly. We were half drowned, as though we were dragged + through a pond, and our ponies bowed and staggered before the double + onslaught of wind and water. We bent our bodies to theirs, and lashed them + forward. + </p> + <p> + The outpost to which we were now riding was stationed at the edge of the + city where the Calle Morizan joins the trail to San Lorenzo on the Pacific + coast. As we approached it I saw a number of mounted men, surrounding a + closed carriage. They were evidently travellers starting forth on the + three days’ ride to San Lorenzo, to cross to Amapala, where the Pacific + Mail takes on her passengers. They had been halted by our sentries. As I + came nearer I recognized, through the mist of rain, Joseph Fiske, young + Fiske, and a group of the Isthmian men. The storm, or the bursting shells, + had stampeded their pack-train, and a dozen frantic Mozos were rounding up + the mules and adding their shrieks and the sound of their falling whips to + the tumult of the storm. + </p> + <p> + I galloped past them to where our main guard were lashing the canvas-cover + to their gun, and ordered them to unstrap it, and fight their way to the + palace. + </p> + <p> + As I turned again the sentry called: “Am I to let these people go? They + have no passes.” + </p> + <p> + I halted, and Joseph Fiske raised his heavy eyelids, and blinked at me + like a huge crocodile. I put a restraint upon myself and moved toward him + with a confident smile. I could not bear to have him depart, thinking he + went in triumph. I looked the group over carefully and said: “Certainly, + let them pass,” and Fiske and some of the Isthmian men, who appeared + ashamed, nodded at me sheepishly. + </p> + <p> + But one of them, who was hidden by the carriage, called out: “You’d better + come, too; your ship of state is getting water-logged.” + </p> + <p> + I made no sign that I heard him, but McGraw instantly answered, “Yes, it + looks so. The rats are leaving it!” + </p> + <p> + At that the man called back tauntingly the old Spanish proverb: “He who + takes Pecachua, sleeps in the palace.” McGraw did not understand Spanish, + and looked at me appealingly, and I retorted, “We’ve altered that, sir. + The man who sleeps in the palace will take Pecachua tonight.” + </p> + <p> + And McGraw added: “Yes, and he won’t take it with thirty pieces of silver, + either.” + </p> + <p> + I started away, beckoning to McGraw, but, as we moved, Mr. Fiske pushed + his pony forward. + </p> + <p> + “Can you give me a pass, sir?” he asked. He shouted the words, for the + roaring of the storm drowned all ordinary sounds. “In case I meet with + more of your men, can you give me a written pass?” + </p> + <p> + I knew that the only men of ours still outside of the city were a few + scouts, but I could not let Fiske suspect that, so I whipped out my + notebook and wrote: + </p> + <p> + “To commanders of all military posts: Pass bearer, Joseph Fiske, his + family, servants, and baggage-train. + </p> + <h3> + “ROYAL MACKLIN, + </h3> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Vice-President of Honduras” + </pre> + <p> + I tore out the page and gave it him, and he read it carefully and bowed. + </p> + <p> + “Does this include my friends?” he asked, nodding toward the Isthmian men. + </p> + <p> + “You can pass them off as your servants,” I answered, and he smiled + grimly. + </p> + <p> + The men had formed around the gun, and it was being pushed toward me, but + as I turned to meet it I was again halted, this time by young Fiske, who + rode his horse in front of mine, and held out his hand. + </p> + <p> + “You must shake hands with me!” he cried, “I acted like a cad.” He bent + forward, raising his other arm to shield his face from the storm. “I say, + I acted like a cad,” he shouted, “and I ask your pardon.” + </p> + <p> + I took his hand and nodded. At the same moment as we held each other’s + hands the window of the carriage was pushed down and his sister leaned out + and beckoned to me. Her face, beaten by the rain, and with her hair blown + across it, was filled with distress. + </p> + <p> + “I want to thank you,” she cried. “Thank you,” she repeated, “for my + brother. I thank you. I wanted you to know.” + </p> + <p> + She stretched out her hand and I took it, and released it instantly, and + as she withdrew her face from the window of the carriage, I dug my spurs + into my pony and galloped on with the gun. + </p> + <p> + What followed is all confused. + </p> + <p> + I remember that we reached the third and last post just after the men had + abandoned it, but that we overtook them, and with them fought our way + through the streets. But through what streets, or how long it took us to + reach the palace I do not know. No one thing is very clear to me. Even the + day after, I remembered it only as a bad dream, in which I saw + innumerable, dark-skinned faces pressing upon me with open mouths, and + white eyeballs; lit by gleams of lightning and flashes of powder. I + remember going down under my pony and thinking how cool and pleasant it + was in the wet mud, and of being thrown back on him again as though I were + a pack-saddle, and I remember wiping the rain out of my eyes with a wet + sleeve, and finding the sleeve warm with blood. And then there was a + pitchy blackness through which I kept striking at faces that sprang out of + the storm, faces that when they were beaten down were replaced by other + faces; drunken, savage, exulting. I remember the ceaseless booming of the + thunder that shook the houseslike an earthquake, the futile popping of + revolvers, the whining shells overhead, the cries and groans, the Spanish + oaths, and the heavy breathing of my men about me, and always just in + front of us, the breathless whir of the gatling. + </p> + <p> + After that the next I remember I was inside the palace, and breaking holes + in the wall with an axe. Some of my men took the axe from me, and said: + “He’s crazy, clean crazy,” and Van Ritter and Miller fought with me, and + held me down upon a cot. From the cot I watched the others making more + holes in the wall, through which they shoved their rifles and then there + was a great cheer outside, and a man came running in crying, “Alvarez and + Heinze are at the corner with the twelve-pounders!” Then our men cursed + like fiends, and swept out of the room, and as no one remained to hold me + down, I stumbled after them into the big reception-hall, and came upon + Laguerre, lying rigid and still upon a red-silk sofa. I thought he was + dead, and screamed, and at that they seized me again and hustled me back + to the cot, telling me that he was not dead, but that at any moment he + might die, and that if I did not rest, I would die also. + </p> + <p> + When I came to, it was early morning, and through the holes in the plaster + wall I could see the stars fading before the dawn. The gatlings were gone + and the men were gone, and I was wondering if they had deserted me, when + Von Ritter came back and asked if I were strong enough to ride, and I + stood up feeling dizzy and very weak. But my head was clear and I could + understand what he said to me. Of the whole of the Foreign Legion only + thirty were left. Miller was killed, Russell was killed and old man + Webster was killed. They told me how they had caught him when he made a + dash to the barracks for ammunition, and how, from the roof, our men had + seen them place him against the iron railings of the University Gardens. + There he died, as his hero, William Walker, had died, on the soil of the + country he had tried to save from itself, with his arms behind him, and + his blindfolded eyes turned upon a firing-squad. + </p> + <p> + McGraw had been killed as he rode beside me, holding me in the saddle. + That hurt me worse than all. They told me a blow from behind had knocked + me over, and though, of that, I could remember nothing, I could still feel + McGraw’s arm pressing my ribs, and hear his great foolish laugh in my + ears. + </p> + <p> + They helped me out into the court-yard, where the men stood in a hollow + square, with Laguerre on a litter in the centre, and with the four + gatlings at each corner. The wound was in his throat, so he could not + speak, but when they led me down into the Patio he raised his eyes and + smiled. I tried to smile back, but his face was so white and drawn that I + had to turn away, that he might not see me crying. + </p> + <p> + There was much besides to make one weep. We were running away. We were + abandoning the country to which some of us had come to better their + fortunes, to which others had come that they might set the people free. We + were being driven out of it by the very men for whom we had risked our + lives. Some among us, the reckless, the mercenary, the adventurers, had + played like gamblers for a stake, and had lost. Others, as they thought, + had planned wisely for the people’s good, had asked nothing in return but + that they might teach them to rule themselves. But they, too, had lost, + and because they had lost, they were to pay the penalty. + </p> + <p> + Within the week the natives had turned from us to the painted idols of + their jungle, and the new gods toward whom they had wavered were to be + sacrificed on the altars of the old. They were waiting only until the sun + rose to fall upon our little garrison and set us up against the barrack + wall, as a peace offering to their former masters. Only one chance + remained to us. If, while it were still night, we could escape from the + city to the hills, we might be able to fight our way to the Pacific side, + and there claim the protection of our war-ship. + </p> + <p> + It was a forlorn hope, but we trusted to the gatlings to clear a road for + us, and there was no other way. + </p> + <p> + So just before the dawn, silently and stealthily the President and the + Cabinet, and all that was left of the Government and Army of General + Laguerre, stole out of his palace through a hole in the courtyard-wall. + </p> + <p> + We were only a shadowy blot in the darkness, but the instant we reached + the open street they saw us and gave cry. + </p> + <p> + From behind the barriers they had raised to shut off our escape, from the + house-tops, and from the darkened windows, they opened fire with rifle and + artillery. But our men had seen the dead faces of their leaders and + comrades, and they were frantic, desperate. They charged like madmen. + Nothing could hold them. Our wedge swept steadily forward, and the guns + sputtered from the front and rear and sides, flashing and illuminating the + night like a war-ship in action. + </p> + <p> + They drove our enemies from behind the barricades, and cleaned the street + beyond it to the bridge, and then swept the bridge itself. We could hear + the splashes when the men who held it leaped out of range of the whirling + bullets into the stream below. + </p> + <p> + In a quarter of an hour we were running swiftly through the sleeping + suburbs, with only one of our guns barking an occasional warning at the + ghostly figures in our rear. + </p> + <p> + We made desperate progress during the dark hours of the morning, but when + daylight came we were afraid to remain longer on the trail, and turned off + into the forest. And then, as the sun grew stronger, our endurance reached + its limit, and when they called a halt our fellows dropped where they + stood, and slept like dead men. But they could not sleep for long. We all + knew that our only chance lay in reaching San Lorenzo, on the Pacific + Ocean. Once there, we were confident that the war-ship would protect us, + and her surgeons save our wounded. By the trail and unmolested, we could + have reached it in three days, but in the jungle we were forced to cut our + way painfully and slowly, and at times we did not know whether we were + moving toward the ocean or had turned back upon the capital. + </p> + <p> + I do not believe that slaves hunted through a swamp by blood-hounds have + ever suffered more keenly than did the survivors of the Foreign Legion. Of + our thirty men, only five were unwounded. Even those who carried Laguerre + wore blood-stained bandages. All were starving, and after the second day + of hiding in swamps and fording mountain-streams, half of our little band + was sick with fever. We lived on what we found in the woods, or stole from + the clearing, on plants, and roots, and fruit. We were no longer a + military body. We had ceased to be either officers or privates. We were + now only so many wretched fellow-beings, dependent upon each other, like + sailors cast adrift upon some desert island, and each worked for the good + of all, and the ties which bound us together were stronger than those of + authority and discipline. Men scarcely able to drag themselves on, begged + for the privilege of helping to carry Laguerre, and he in turn besought + and commanded that we leave him by the trail, and hasten to the safety of + the coast. In one of his conscious moments he protested: “I cannot live, + and I am only hindering your escape. It is not right, nor human, that one + man should risk the lives of all the rest. For God’s sake, obey my orders + and put me down.” + </p> + <p> + Hour after hour, by night as well as by day, we struggled forward, + staggering, stumbling, some raving with fever, others with set faces, + biting their yellow lips to choke back the pain. + </p> + <p> + Three times when we endeavored to gain ground by venturing on the level + trail, the mounted scouts of Alvarez overtook us, or attacked us from + ambush, and when we beat them off, they rode ahead and warned the villages + that we were coming; so, that, when we reached them, we were driven forth + like lepers. Even the village dogs snapped and bit at the gaunt figures, + trembling for lack of food, and loss of sleep and blood. + </p> + <p> + But on the sixth day, just at sunset, as we had dragged ourselves to the + top of a wooded hill we saw below us, beyond a league of unbroken jungle, + a great, shining sheet of water, like a cloud on the horizon, and someone + cried: “The Pacific!” and we all stumbled forward, and some dropped on + their knees, and some wept, and some swung their hats and tried to cheer. + </p> + <p> + And then one of them, I never knew which, started singing, “Praise God, + from whom all blessings flow,” and we stood up, the last of the Legion, + shaken with fever, starving, wounded, and hunted by our fellow-men, and + gave praise to God, as we had never praised Him before. + </p> + <p> + That night the fever took hold of me, and in my tossings and turnings I + burst open the sword-wound at the back of my head. I remember someone + exclaiming “He’s bled to death!” and a torch held to my eyes, and then + darkness, and the sense that I was being carried and bumped about on men’s + shoulders. + </p> + <p> + The next thing I knew I was lying in a hammock, a lot of naked, brown + children were playing in the dirt beside me, the sun was shining, great + palms were bending in the wind above me, and the strong, sweet air of the + salt sea was blowing in my face. + </p> + <p> + I lay for a long time trying to guess where I was, and how I had come + there. But I found no explanation for it, so I gave up guessing, and gazed + contentedly at the bending palms until one of the children found my eyes + upon him, and gave a scream, and they all pattered off like frightened + partridges. + </p> + <p> + That brought a native woman from behind me, smiling, and murmuring prayers + in Spanish. She handed me a gourd filled with water. + </p> + <p> + I asked where I was, and she said, “San Lorenzo.” + </p> + <p> + I could have jumped out of the hammock at that, but when I tried to do so + I found I could hardly raise my body. But I had gained the coast. I knew I + would find strength enough to leave it. + </p> + <p> + “Where are my friends?” I asked. “Where are the Gringoes?” + </p> + <p> + But she raised her hands, and threw them wide apart. + </p> + <p> + “They have gone,” she said, “three, four days from now, they sailed away + in the white ship. There was a great fighting,” she said, raising her eyes + and shaking her head, “and they carried you here, and told me to hide you. + You have been very ill, and you are still very ill.” She gave a little + exclamation and disappeared, and returned at once with a piece of folded + paper. “For you,” she said. + </p> + <p> + On the outside of the paper was written in Spanish: “This paper will be + found on the body of Royal Macklin. Let the priest bury him and send word + to the Military Academy, West Point, U. S. A., asking that his family be + informed of his place of burial. They will reward you well.” + </p> + <p> + Inside, in English, was the following letter in Aiken’s handwriting: + </p> + <p> + “DEAR OLD MAN—We had to drop you here, as we were too sick to carry + you any farther. They jumped us at San Lorenzo, and when we found we + couldn’t get to Amapala from here, we decided to scatter, and let each man + take care of himself. Von Ritter and I, and two of the boys, are taking + Laguerre with us. He is still alive, but very bad. We hope to pick up a + fishing-boat outside of town, and make for the Raleigh. We tried to carry + you, too, but it wasn’t possible. We had to desert one of you, so we stuck + by the old man. We hid your revolver and money-belt under the seventh + palm, on the beach to the right of this shack. If I’d known you had twenty + double eagles on you all this time, I’d have cracked your skull myself. + The crack you’ve got is healing, and if you pull through the fever you’ll + be all right. If you do, give this woman twenty pesos I borrowed from her. + Get her to hire a boat, and men, and row it to Amapala. This island is + only fifteen miles out, and the Pacific Mail boat touches there Thursdays + and Sundays. If you leave here the night before, you can make it. Whatever + you do, don’t go into the village here or land at Amapala. If they catch + you on shore they will surely shoot you. So board the steamer in the + offing. Hoping you will live to read this, and that we may meet again + under more agreeable circumstances, I am, + </p> + <p> + “Yours truly, + </p> + <h3> + “HERBERT AIKEN.” + </h3> + <p> + “P.S. I have your gilt sword, and I’m going to turn it over to the + officers of the Raleigh, to take back to your folks. Good luck to you, old + man.” + </p> + <p> + After reading this letter, which I have preserved carefully as a + characteristic souvenir of Aiken, I had but two anxieties. The first was + to learn if Laguerre and the others had reached the Raleigh, and the + second was how could I escape to the steamer—the first question was + at once answered by the woman. She told me it was known in San Lorenzo + that the late “Presidente Generale,” with three Gringoes, had reached the + American war-ship and had been received on board. The Commandante of + Amapala had demanded their surrender to him, but the captain of the ship + had declared that as political refugees, they were entitled to the + protection they claimed, and when three days later he had been ordered to + return to San Francisco, he had taken them with him. + </p> + <p> + When I heard that, I gave a cheer all by myself, and I felt so much better + for the news that I at once began to plot for my own departure. The day + was Wednesday, the day before the steamer left Amapala, and I determined + to start for the island the following evening. When I told the woman this, + she protested I was much too weak to move, but the risk that my + hiding-place might be discovered before another steamer-day arrived was + much too great, and I insisted on making a try for the first one. + </p> + <p> + The woman accordingly procured a fishing-boat and a crew of three men, and + I dug up my money-belt, and my revolver, and thanked her and paid her, for + Aiken and for myself, as well as one can pay a person for saving one’s + life. The next night, as soon as the sun set, I seated myself in the stern + of the boat, and we pushed out from the shore of Honduras, and were soon + rising and falling on the broad swell of the Pacific. + </p> + <p> + My crew were simple fishermen, unconcerned with politics, and as I had no + fear of harm from them, I curled up on a mat at their feet and instantly + fell asleep. + </p> + <p> + When I again awoke the sun was well up, and when I raised my head the + boatman pointed to a fringe of palms that hung above the water, and which + he told me rose from the Island of Amapala. Two hours later we made out + the wharves and the custom-house of the port itself, and, lying well + toward us in the harbor, a big steamer with the smoke issuing from her + stacks, and the American flag hanging at the stern. I was still weak and + shaky, and I must confess that I choked a bit at the sight of the flag, + and at the thought that, in spite of all, I was going safely back to life, + and Beatrice and Aunt Mary. The name I made out on the stern of the + steamer was Barracouta, and I considered it the prettiest name I had ever + known, and the steamer the handsomest ship that ever sailed the sea. I + loved her from her keel to her topmast. I loved her every line and curve, + her every rope and bolt. But specially did I love the flag at her stern + and the blue Peter at the fore. They meant home. They meant peace, + friends, and my own countrymen. + </p> + <p> + I gave the boatmen a double eagle, and we all shook hands with great glee, + and then with new strength and unassisted I pulled myself up the + companion-ladder, and stood upon the deck. + </p> + <p> + When I reached it I wanted to embrace the first man I saw. I somehow + expected that he would want to embrace me, too, and say how glad he was I + had escaped. But he happened to be the ship’s purser, and, instead of + embracing me, he told me coldly that steerage passengers are not allowed + aft. But I did not mind, I knew that I was a disreputable object, but I + also knew that I had gold in my money-belt, and that clothes could be + bought from the slop-chest. + </p> + <p> + So I said in great good-humor, that I wanted a first-class cabin, the + immediate use of the bathroom, and the services of the ship’s barber. + </p> + <p> + My head was bound in a dirty bandage. My uniform, which I still wore as I + had nothing else, was in rags from the briers, and the mud of the swamps + and the sweat of the fever had caked it with dirt. I had an eight days’ + beard, and my bare feet were in native sandals. So my feelings were not + greatly hurt because the purser was not as genuinely glad to see me as I + was to see him. + </p> + <p> + “A first-class passage costs forty dollars gold—in advance,” he + said. + </p> + <p> + “That’s all right,” I answered, and I laughed from sheer, foolish + happiness, “I’ll take six.” + </p> + <p> + We had been standing at the head of the companion-ladder, and as the + purser moved rather reluctantly toward his cabin, a group of men came down + the deck toward us. + </p> + <p> + One of them was a fat, red-faced American, the others wore the uniform of + Alvarez. When they saw me they gave little squeals of excitement, and fell + upon the fat man gesticulating violently, and pointing angrily at me. + </p> + <p> + The purser halted, and if it were possible, regarded me with even greater + unfriendliness. As for myself, the sight of the brown, impish faces, and + the familiar uniforms filled me with disgust. I had thought I was done + with brawling and fighting, of being hated and hunted. I had had my fill + of it. I wanted to be let alone, I wanted to feel that everybody about me + was a friend. I was not in the least alarmed, for now that I was under the + Stars and Stripes, I knew that I was immune from capture, but the mere + possibility of a row was intolerable. + </p> + <p> + One of the Honduranians wore the uniform of a colonel, and was, as I + guessed, the Commandante of the port. He spoke to the fat man in English, + but in the same breath turned to one of his lieutenants, and gave an order + in Spanish. + </p> + <p> + The lieutenant started in my direction, and then hesitated and beckoned to + some one behind me. + </p> + <p> + I heard a patter of bare feet on the deck, and a dozen soldiers ran past + me, and surrounded us. I noticed that they and their officers belonged to + the Eleventh Infantry. It was the regiment I had driven out of the + barracks at Santa Barbara. + </p> + <p> + The fat American in his shirt-sleeves was listening to what the + Commandante was saying, and apparently with great dissatisfaction. As he + listened he scowled at me, chewing savagely on an unlit cigar, and rocking + himself to and fro on his heels and toes. His thumbs were stuck in his + suspenders, so that it looked as though, with great indecision he was + pulling himself forward and back. + </p> + <p> + I turned to the purser and said, as carelessly as I could: “Well, what are + we waiting for?” + </p> + <p> + But he only shook his head. + </p> + <p> + With a gesture of impatience the fat man turned suddenly from the + Commandante and came toward me. + </p> + <p> + He spoke abruptly and with the tone of a man holding authority. + </p> + <p> + “Have you got your police-permit to leave Amapala?” he demanded. + </p> + <p> + “No,” I answered. + </p> + <p> + “Well, why haven’t you?” he snapped. + </p> + <p> + “I didn’t know I had to have one,” I said. “Why do you ask?” I added. “Are + you the captain of this ship?” + </p> + <p> + “I think I am,” he suddenly roared, as though I had questioned his word. + “Anyway, I’ve got enough say on her to put you ashore if you don’t answer + my questions.” + </p> + <p> + I shut my lips together and looked away from him. His tone stirred what + little blood there was still left in me to rebellion; but when I saw the + shore with its swamps and ragged palms, I felt how perilously near it was, + and Panama became suddenly a distant mirage. I was as helpless as a sailor + clinging to a plank. I felt I was in no position to take offence, so I bit + my lips and tried to smile. + </p> + <p> + The Captain shook his head at me, as though I were a prisoner in the dock. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to say,” he shouted, “that our agent sold you a ticket + without you showing a police-permit?” + </p> + <p> + “I haven’t got a ticket,” I said. “I was just going to buy one now.” + </p> + <p> + The Commandante thrust himself between us. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, what did I tell you?” he cried. “You see? He is escaping. This is the + man. He answers all the descriptions. He was dressed just so; green coat, + red trousers, very torn and dirty—head in bandage. This is the + description. Is it not so?” he demanded of his lieutenants. They nodded + vigorously. + </p> + <p> + “Why—a-yes, that is the man,” the Commandante cried in triumph. + “Last night he stabbed Jose Mendez in the Libertad Billiard Hall. He has + wanted to murder him. If Jose, he die, this man he is murderer. He cannot + go. He must come to land with me.” + </p> + <p> + He gave an order in Spanish, and the soldiers closed in around us. + </p> + <p> + I saw that I was in great peril, in danger more real than any I had faced + in open fight since I had entered Honduras. For the men who had met me + then had fought with fair weapons. These men were trying to take away my + life with a trick, with cunning lies and false witnesses. + </p> + <p> + They knew the Captain might not surrender a passenger who was only a + political offender, but that he could not harbor a criminal. And at the + first glance at my uniform, and when he knew nothing more of me than that + I wore it, the Commandante had trumped up this charge of crime, and had + fitted to my appearance the imaginary description of an imaginary + murderer. And I knew that he did this that he might send me, bound hand + and foot, as a gift to Alvarez, or that he might, for his own vengeance, + shoot me against a wall. + </p> + <p> + I knew how little I would receive of either justice or mercy. I had heard + of Dr. Rojas killed between decks on a steamer of this same line; of + Bonilla taken from the Ariadne and murdered on this very wharf at this + very port of Amapala; of General Pulido strangled in the launch of the + Commandante of Corinto and thrown overboard, while still in the sight of + his fellow-passengers on the Southern Cross. + </p> + <p> + It was a degraded, horrible, inglorious end—to be caught by the + heels after the real battle was lost; to die of fever in a cell; to be + stabbed with bayonets on the wharf, and thrown to the carrion + harbor-sharks. + </p> + <p> + I swung around upon the Captain, and fought for my life as desperately as + though I had a rope around my neck. + </p> + <p> + “That man is a liar,” I cried. “I was not in Amapala last night. I came + from San Lorenzo—this morning. The boat is alongside now; you can + ask the men who brought me. I’m no murderer. That man knows I’m no + murderer. He wants me because I belonged to the opposition government. + It’s because I wear this uniform he wants me. I’m no criminal. He has no + more right to touch me here, than he would if I were on Broadway.” + </p> + <p> + The Commandante seized the Captain’s arm. + </p> + <p> + “As Commandante of this port,” he screamed, “I tell you if you do not + surrender the murderer to me, your ship shall not sail. I will take back + your clearance-papers.” + </p> + <p> + The Captain turned on me, shaking his red fists, and tossing his head like + a bull. “You see that!” he cried. “You see what you get me into, coming on + board my ship without a permit! That’s what I get at every banana-patch + along this coast, a lot of damned beach-combers and stowaways stealing on + board, and the Commandante chasing ‘em all over my ship and holding up my + papers. You go ashore!” he ordered. He swept his arm toward the gangway. + “You go to Kessler, our consul. If you haven’t done nothing wrong, he’ll + take care of you. You haven’t got a ticket, and you haven’t got a permit, + and you’re no passenger of mine! Over you go; do you hear me? Quick now, + over you go.” + </p> + <p> + I could not believe that I heard the man aright. He seemed to be talking a + language I did not know. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to tell me,” I cried, speaking very slowly, for I was + incredulous, and I was so weak besides that it was difficult for me to + find the words, “that you refuse to protect me from these half-breeds, + that you are going to turn me over to them—to be shot! And you call + yourself an American?” I cried, “and this an American ship!” + </p> + <p> + As I turned from him I found that the passengers had come forward and now + surrounded us; big, tall men in cool, clean linen, and beautiful women, + shading their eyes with their fans, and little children crowding in + between them and clinging to their skirts. To my famished eyes they looked + like angels out of Paradise. They were my own people, and they brought + back to me how I loved the life these men were plotting to take from me. + The sight of them drove me into a sort of frenzy. + </p> + <p> + “Are you going to take that man’s word against mine?” I cried at the + Captain. “Are you going to let him murder me in sight of that flag? You + know he’ll do it. You know what they did to Rojas on one of your own + ships. Do you want another man butchered in sight of your passengers?” + </p> + <p> + The Commandante crowded in front of the ship’s captain. + </p> + <p> + “That man is my prisoner,” he cried. “He is going to jail, to be tried by + law. He shall see his consul every day. And so, if you try to leave this + harbor with him, I will sink your ship from the fort!” + </p> + <p> + The Captain turned with an oath and looked up to the second officer, who + was leaning over the rail of the bridge above us. + </p> + <p> + “Up anchor,” the Captain shouted. “Get her under weigh! There is your + answer,” he cried, turning upon me. “I’m not going to have this ship held + up any longer, and I’m not going to risk the lives of these ladies and + gentlemen by any bombardment, either. You’re only going to jail. I’ll + report the matter to our consul at Corinto, and he’ll tell our minister.” + </p> + <p> + “Corinto!” I replied. “I’ll be dead before you’ve passed that lighthouse.” + </p> + <p> + The Captain roared with anger. + </p> + <p> + “Can’t you hear what he says,” he shouted. “He says he’ll fire on my ship. + They’ve fired on our ships before! I’m not here to protect every damned + scalawag that tries to stowaway on my ship. I’m here to protect the + owners, and I mean to do it. Now you get down that ladder, before we throw + you down.” + </p> + <p> + I knew his words were final. From the bow I heard the creak of the + anchor-chains as they were drawn on board, and from the engine-room the + tinkle of bells. + </p> + <p> + The ship was abandoning me. My last appeal had failed. My condition was + desperate. + </p> + <p> + “Protect your owners, and yourself, damn you!” I cried. “You’re no + American. You’re no white man. No American would let a conch-nigger run + his ship. To hell with your protection!” + </p> + <p> + All the misery of the last two months, the bitterness of my dismissal from + the Point, the ignominy of our defeat and flight, rose in me and drove me + on. “And I don’t want the protection of that flag either,” I cried. “I + wasn’t good enough to serve it once, and I don’t need it now.” + </p> + <p> + It should be remembered that when I spoke these words I thought my death + was inevitable and immediate, that it had been brought upon me by one of + my own countrymen, while others of my countrymen stood indifferently by, + and I hope that for what I said in that moment of fever and despair I may + be forgiven. + </p> + <p> + “I can protect myself!” I cried. + </p> + <p> + Before anyone could move I whipped out my gun and held it over the + Commandante’s heart, and at the same instant without turning my eyes from + his face I waved my other hand at the passengers. “Take those children + away,” I shouted. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t move!” I yelled in Spanish at the soldiers. “If one of you raises + his musket I’ll kill him.” I pressed the cocked revolver against the + Commandante’s chest. “Now, then, take me ashore,” I called to his men. + “You know me, I’m Captain Macklin. Captain Macklin, of the Foreign Legion, + and you know that six of you will die before you get me. Come on,” I + taunted. “Which six is it to be?” + </p> + <p> + Out of the corners of my eyes I could see the bayonets lifting cautiously + and forming a ring of points about me, and the sight, and my own words + lashed me into a frenzy of bravado. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you don’t remember me, don’t you?” I cried. “You ought to remember + the Foreign Legion! We drove you out of Santa Barbara and Tabla Ve and + Comyagua, and I’m your Vice-President! Take off your hats to your + Vice-President! To Captain Macklin, Vice-President of Honduras!” + </p> + <p> + {Illustration: I sprang back against the cabin} + </p> + <p> + I sprang back against the cabin and swung the gun in swift half-circles. + The men shrank from it as though I had lashed them with a whip. “Come on,” + I cried, “which six is it to be? Come on, you cowards, why don’t you take + me!” + </p> + <p> + The only answer came from a voice that was suddenly uplifted at my side. I + recognized it as the voice of the ship’s captain. + </p> + <p> + “Put down that gun!” he shouted. + </p> + <p> + But I only swung it the further until it covered him also. The man stood + in terror of his ship’s owners, he had a seaman’s dread of international + law, but he certainly was not afraid of a gun. He regarded it no more than + a pointed finger, and leaned eagerly toward me. To my amazement I saw that + his face was beaming with excitement and delight. + </p> + <p> + “Are you Captain Macklin?” he cried. + </p> + <p> + I was so amazed that for a moment I could only gape at him while I still + covered him with the revolver. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” I answered. + </p> + <p> + “Then why in hell didn’t you say so!” he roared, and with a bellow like a + bull he threw himself upon the Commandante. He seized him by his + epaulettes and pushed him backward. With the strength of a bull he butted + and shoved him across the deck. + </p> + <p> + “Off my ship you!” he roared. “Every one of you; you’re a gang of + murdering cutthroats.” + </p> + <p> + The deck-hands and the ship-stewards, who had gathered at the gangway to + assist in throwing me down it, sprang to the Captain’s aid. + </p> + <p> + “Over with him, boys,” he roared. “Clear the ship of them. Throw them + overboard.” The crew fell upon the astonished soldiers, and drove them to + the side. Their curses and shrieks filled the air, the women retreated + screaming, and I was left alone, leaning limply against the cabin with my + revolver hanging from my fingers. + </p> + <p> + It began and ended in an instant, and as the ship moved forward and the + last red-breeched soldier disappeared headforemost down the + companion-ladder, the Captain rushed back to me and clutched me by both + shoulders. Had it not been for the genial grin on his fat face, I would + have thought that he meant to hurl me after the others. + </p> + <p> + “Now then, Captain Macklin,” he cried, “you come with me. You come to my + cabin, and that’s where you stay as long as you are on my ship. You’re no + passenger, you’re my guest, and there’s nothing on board too good for + you.” + </p> + <p> + “But I don’t—understand,” I protested faintly. “What does it mean?” + </p> + <p> + “What does it mean?” he shouted. “It means you’re the right sort for me! I + haven’t heard of nothing but your goings-on for the last three trips. + Vice-President of Honduras!” he exclaimed, shaking me as though I were a + carpet. “A kid like you! You come to my cabin and tell me the whole yarn + from start to finish. I’d rather carry you than old man Huntington + himself!” + </p> + <p> + The passengers had returned, and stood listening to his exclamations, in a + wondering circle. The stewards and deck-hands, panting with their late + exertions, were grinning at me with unmistakable interest. + </p> + <p> + “Bring Captain Macklin’s breakfast to my cabin, you,” he shouted to them. + “And, Mr. Owen,” he continued, addressing the Purser, with great + impressiveness, “this is Captain Macklin, himself. He’s going with us as + my guest.” + </p> + <p> + With a wink, he cautiously removed my revolver from my fingers, and + slapped me jovially on the shoulder. “Son!” he exclaimed, “I wouldn’t have + missed the sight of you holding your gun on that gang for a cargo of + bullion. I suspicioned it was you, the moment you did it. That will be + something for me to tell them in ‘Frisco, that will. Now, you come along,” + he added, suddenly, with parental solicitude, “and take a cup of coffee, + and a dose of quinine, or you’ll be ailing.” + </p> + <p> + He pushed a way for me through the crowd of passengers, who fell back in + two long lines. As we moved between them, I heard a woman’s voice ask, in + a loud whisper: + </p> + <p> + “Who did you say?” + </p> + <p> + A man’s voice answered, “Why, Captain Macklin,” and then protested, in a + rising accent, “Now, for Heaven’s sake, Jennie, don’t tell me you don’t + know who he is?” + </p> + <p> + That was my first taste of fame. It was a short-lived, limited sort of + fame, but at that time it stretched throughout all Central America. I + doubt if it is sufficiently robust to live in the cold latitudes of the + North. It is just an exotic of the tropics. I am sure it will never + weather Cape Hatteras. But although I won’t amount to much in Dobbs Ferry, + down here in Central America I am pretty well known, and during these last + two months that I have been lying, very near to death, in the Canal + Company’s hospital, my poor little fame stuck by me, and turned strangers + into kind and generous friends. + </p> + <p> + DOBBS FERRY, September, 1882 + </p> + <p> + September passed before I was a convalescent, and it was the first of + October when the Port of Sydney passed Sandy Hook, and I stood at the bow, + trembling with cold and happiness, and saw the autumn leaves on the hills + of Staten Island and the thousands of columns of circling, white smoke + rising over the three cities. I had not let Beatrice and Aunt Mary know + that I was in a hospital, but had told them that I was making my way home + slowly, which was true enough, and that they need not expect to hear from + me until I had arrived in New York City. So, there was no one at the dock + to meet me. + </p> + <p> + But, as we came up the harbor, I waved at the people on the passing + ferry-boats, and they, shivering, no doubt, at the sight of our canvas + awnings and the stewards’ white jackets, waved back, and gave me my first + welcome home. + </p> + <p> + It was worth all the disappointments, and the weeks in hospital, to stick + my head in the ticket-window of the Grand Central Station, and hear myself + say, “Dobbs Ferry, please.” I remember the fascination with which I + watched the man (he was talking over his shoulder to another man at the + time) punch the precious ticket, and toss it to me. I suppose in his life + he has many times sold tickets to Dobbs Ferry, but he never sold them as + often as I had rehearsed asking him for that one. + </p> + <p> + I had wired them not to meet me at the station, but to be waiting at the + house, and when I came up the old walk, with the box-hedges on either + side, they were at the door, and Aunt Mary ran to meet me, and hugged and + scolded me, and cried on my shoulder, and Beatrice smiled at me, just as + though she were very proud of me, and I kissed her once. After ten + minutes, it did not seem as though I had ever been away from home. And, + when I looked at Beatrice, and I could not keep my eyes from her, I was + filled with wonder that I had ever had the courage to go from where she + was. We were very happy. + </p> + <p> + I am afraid that for the next two weeks I traded upon their affection + scandalously. But it was their own fault. It was their wish that I should + constantly pose in the dual roles of the returned prodigal and Othello, + and, as I told them, if I were an obnoxious prig ever after, they alone + were responsible. + </p> + <p> + I had the ravenous hunger of the fever-convalescent, and I had an audience + that would have turned General Grant into a braggart. So, every day + wonderful dishes of Aunt Mary’s contriving were set before me, and + Beatrice would not open a book so long as there was one adventure I had + left untold. + </p> + <p> + And this, as I soon learned, was the more flattering, as she had already + heard most of them at second-hand. + </p> + <p> + I can remember my bewilderment that first evening as I was relating the + story of the duel, and she corrected me. + </p> + <p> + “Weren’t you much nearer?” she asked. “You fired at twenty paces.” + </p> + <p> + “So we did,” I cried, “but how could you know that?” + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Lowell told us,” she said. + </p> + <p> + “Lowell!” I shouted. “Has Lowell been here?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he brought us your sword,” Beatrice answered. “Didn’t you see where + we placed it?” and she rose rather quickly, and stood with her face toward + the fireplace, where, sure enough, my sword was hanging above the mantel. + </p> + <p> + “Oh yes,” said Aunt Mary, “Mr. Lowell has been very kind. He has come out + often to ask for news of you. He is at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We like him + so much,” she added. + </p> + <p> + “Like him!” I echoed. “I should think you would! Isn’t that bully,” I + cried, “to think of his being so near me, and that he’s a friend of yours + already. We must have him out to-morrow. Isn’t he fine, Beatrice?” + </p> + <p> + She had taken down the sword, and was standing holding it out to me. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he is,” she said, “and he is very fond of you, too, Royal. I don’t + believe you’ve got a better friend.” + </p> + <p> + Attractive as the prodigal son may seem at first, he soon becomes a + nuisance. Even Othello when he began to tell over his stories for the + second time must have been something of a bore. And when Aunt Mary gave me + roast beef for dinner two nights in succession, and after dinner Beatrice + picked up “Lorna Doone” and retired to a corner, I knew that I had had my + day. + </p> + <p> + The next morning at breakfast, in a tone of gentle reproach, I announced + that I was going out into the cold world, as represented by New York City, + to look for a job. I had no idea of doing anything of the sort. I only + threw out the suggestion tentatively, and I was exceedingly disgusted when + they caught up my plan with such enthusiasm and alacrity, that I was + forced to go on with it. I could not see why it was necessary for me to + work. I had two thousand dollars a year my grandfather had left me, and my + idea of seeking for a job, was to look for it leisurely, and with caution. + But the family seemed to think that, before the winter set in, I should + take any chance that offered, and, as they expressed it, settle down. + </p> + <p> + None of us had any very definite ideas as to what I ought to do, or even + that there was anything I could do. Lowell, who is so much with us now, + that I treat him like one of the family, argued that to business men my + strongest recommendation would be my knowledge of languages. He said I + ought to try for a clerkship in some firm where I could handle the foreign + correspondence. His even suggesting such work annoyed me extremely. I told + him that, on the contrary, my strongest card was my experience in active + campaigning, backed by my thorough military education, and my ability to + command men. He said unfeelingly, that you must first catch your men, and + that in down-town business circles a military education counted for no + more than a college-course in football. + </p> + <p> + “You good people don’t seem to understand,” I explained (we were holding a + family council on my case at the time); “I have no desire to move in + down-town business circles. I hate business circles.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you must live, Royal,” Aunt Mary said. “You have not enough money + to be a gentleman of leisure.” + </p> + <p> + “Royal wouldn’t be content without some kind of work,” said Beatrice. + </p> + <p> + “No, he can’t persuade us he’s not ambitious!” Lowell added. “You mean to + make something of yourself, you know you do, and you can’t begin too + early.” + </p> + <p> + Since Lowell has been promoted to the ward-room, he talks just like a + grandfather. + </p> + <p> + “Young man,” I said, “I’ve seen the day when you were an ensign, and I was + a Minister of War, and you had to click your heels if you came within + thirty feet of my distinguished person. Of course, I’m ambitious, and the + best proof of it is, that I don’t want to sit in a bird-cage all my life, + counting other people’s money.” + </p> + <p> + Aunt Mary looked troubled, and shook her head at me. + </p> + <p> + “Well, Royal,” she remonstrated, “you’ve got very little of your own to + count, and some day you’ll want to marry, and then you’ll be sorry.” + </p> + <p> + I don’t know why Aunt Mary’s remark should have affected anyone except + myself, but it seemed to take all the life out of the discussion, and + Beatrice remembered she had some letters to write, and Lowell said he must + go back to the Navy Yard, although when he arrived he told us he had fixed + it with another man to stand his watch. The reason I was disturbed was + because, when Aunt Mary spoke, it made me wonder if she were not thinking + of Beatrice. One day just after I arrived from Panama, when we were alone, + she said that while I was gone she had been in fear she might die before I + came back, and that Beatrice would be left alone. I laughed at her and + told her she would live a hundred years, and added, not meaning anything + in particular, “And she’ll not be alone. I’ll be here.” + </p> + <p> + Then Aunt Mary looked at me very sadly, and said: “Royal, I could die so + contentedly if I thought you two were happy.” She waited, as though she + expected me to make some reply, but I couldn’t think of anything to say, + and so just looked solemn, then she changed the subject by asking: “Royal, + have you noticed that Lieutenant Lowell admires Beatrice very much?” And I + said, “Of course he does. If he didn’t, I’d punch his head.” At which she + again looked at me in such a wistful, pained way, smiling so sadly, as + though for some reason she were sorry for me. + </p> + <p> + They all seemed to agree that I had had my fling, and should, as they + persisted in calling it, “settle down.” A most odious phrase. They were + two to one against me, and when one finished another took it up. So that + at last I ceased arguing and allowed myself to be bullied into looking for + a position. + </p> + <p> + But before surrendering myself to the downtown business circles I made one + last effort to remain free. + </p> + <p> + In Honduras, Laguerre had told me that a letter to the Credit Lyonnais in + Paris would always find him. I knew that since his arrival at San + Francisco he had had plenty of time to reach Paris, and that if he were + there now he must know whether there is anything in this talk of a French + expedition against the Chinese in Tonkin. Also whether the Mahdi really + means to make trouble for the Khedive in the Soudan. Laguerre was in the + Egyptian army for three years, and knows Baker Pasha well. I was sure that + if there was going to be trouble, either in China or Egypt, he could not + keep out of it. + </p> + <p> + So I cabled him to the Credit Lyonnais, “Are you well? If going any more + campaigns, please take me.” I waited three restless weeks for an answer, + and then, as no answer came, I put it all behind me, and hung my old, torn + uniform where I would not see it, and hid the presentation-sword behind + the eight-day clock in the library. + </p> + <p> + Beatrice raised her eyes from her book and watched me. + </p> + <p> + “Why?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + “It hurts me,” I said. + </p> + <p> + She put down her book, and for a long time looked at me without speaking. + </p> + <p> + “I did not know you disliked it as much as that,” she said. “I wonder if + we are wrong. And yet,” she added, smiling, “it does not seem a great + sacrifice; to have work to do, to live at home, and in such a dear, old + home as this, near a big city, and with the river in front and the country + all about you. It seems better than dying of wounds in a swamp, or of + fever in a hospital.” + </p> + <p> + “I haven’t complained. I’m taking my medicine,” I answered. “I know you + all wouldn’t ask it of me, if you didn’t think it was for my good.” I had + seated myself in front of the wood fire opposite her, and was turning the + chain she gave me round and round my wrist. I slipped it off, and showed + it to her as it hung from my fingers, shining in the firelight. + </p> + <p> + “And yet,” I said, “it was fine being your Knight-Errant, and taking risks + for your sake, and having only this to keep me straight.” I cannot see why + saying just that should have disturbed her, but certainly my words, or the + sight of the chain, had a most curious effect. It is absurd, but I could + almost swear that she looked frightened. She flushed, and her eyes were + suddenly filled with tears. I was greatly embarrassed. Why should she be + afraid of me? I was too much upset to ask her what was wrong, so I went on + hastily: “But now I’ll have you always with me, to keep me straight,” I + said. + </p> + <p> + She laughed at that, a tremulous little laugh, and said: “And so you won’t + want it any more, will you?” + </p> + <p> + “Won’t want it,” I protested gallantly. “I’d like to see anyone make me + give it up.” + </p> + <p> + “You’d give it up to me, wouldn’t you?” she asked gently. “It looks—” + she added, and stopped. + </p> + <p> + “I see,” I exclaimed. “Looks like a pose, sort of effeminate, a man’s + wearing a bracelet. Is that what you think?” + </p> + <p> + She laughed again, but this time quite differently. She seemed greatly + relieved. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps that’s it,” she said. “Give it me, Royal. You’ll never need any + woman’s trinkets to keep you straight.” + </p> + <p> + I weighed the gold links in the hollow of my palm. + </p> + <p> + “Do you really want it?” I asked. She raised her eyes eagerly. “If you + don’t mind,” she said. + </p> + <p> + I dropped the chain into her hand, but as I turned toward the fire, I + could not help a little sigh. She heard me, and leaned forward. I could + just see her sweet, troubled face in the firelight. “But I mean to return + it you, Royal,” she said, “some day, when—when you go out again to + fight wind-mills.” + </p> + <p> + “That’s safe!” I returned, roughly. “You know that time will never come. + The three of you together have fixed that. I’m no longer a knight-errant. + I’m a business-man now. I’m not to remember I ever was a knight-errant. I + must even give up my Order of the Golden Chain, because it’s too romantic, + because it might remind me that somewhere in this world there is romance, + and adventure, and fighting. And it wouldn’t do. You can’t have romance + around a business office. Some day, when I was trying to add up my sums, I + might see it on my wrist, and forget where I was. I might remember the + days when it shone in the light of a camp-fire, when I used to sleep on + the ground with my arm under my head, and it was the last thing I saw, + when it seemed like your fingers on my wrist holding me back, or urging me + forward. Business circles would not allow that. They’d put up a sign, + ‘Canvassers, pedlers, and Romance not admitted.’” + </p> + <p> + The first time I applied for a job I was unsuccessful. The man I went to + see had been an instructor at Harvard when my uncle was professor there, + and Aunt Mary said he had been a great friend of Professor Endicott’s. One + day in the laboratory the man discovered something, and had it patented. + It brought him a fortune, and he was now president of a company which + manufactured it, and with branches all over the world. + </p> + <p> + Aunt Mary wrote him a personal letter about me, in the hope that he might + put me in charge of the foreign correspondence. + </p> + <p> + He kept me waiting outside his office-door for one full hour. During the + first half-hour I was angry, but the second half-hour I enjoyed + exceedingly. By that time the situation appealed to my sense of humor. + When the great man finally said he would see me, I found him tilting back + in a swivel-chair in front of a mahogany table. He picked out Aunt Mary’s + letter from a heap in front of him, and said: “Are you the Mr. Macklin + mentioned in this letter? What can I do for you?” + </p> + <p> + I said very deliberately: “You can do nothing for me. I have waited one + hour to tell you so. When my aunt, Mrs. Endicott, does anyone the honor to + write him a letter, there is no other business in New York City more + important than attending promptly to that letter. I <i>had</i> intended + becoming a partner in your firm; now, I shall not. You are a rude, fat, + and absurd, little person. Good-morning.” + </p> + <p> + I crossed over to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and told Lowell and the other + watch-officers in the ward-room of my first attempt to obtain a job. They + laughed until I hoped they would strangle. + </p> + <p> + “Who the devil do you think you are, anyway,” they cried, “going around, + insulting millionnaires like that?” + </p> + <p> + After leaving the cruiser that afternoon, I was so miserable that I could + have jumped into the East River. It was the sight of the big, brown guns + did it, and the cutlasses in their racks, and the clean-limbed, + bare-throated Jackies, and the watch-officer stamping the deck just as + though he were at sea, with his glass and side-arms. And when the marine + at the gate of the yard shifted his gun and challenged me, it was so like + old times that I could have fallen on his neck and hugged him. + </p> + <p> + Over the wharves, all along my way to the ferry, the names of strange and + beautiful ports mocked at me from the sheds of the steam-ship lines; + “Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and the River Plata,” “Guayaquil, Callao, and + Santiago,” “Cape Town, Durban, and Lorenzo Marquez.” It was past six + o’clock and very dark. The ice was pushing and grinding against the + pier-heads, and through the falling snow the tall buildings in New York + twinkled with thousands of electric lights, like great Christmas-trees. At + one wharf a steamer of the Red D line, just in from La Guayra, was making + fast, and I guiltily crept on board. Without, she was coated in a shearing + of ice, but within she reeked of Spanish-America—of coffee, rubber, + and raw sugar. Pineapples were still swinging in a net from the + awning-rail, a two-necked water-bottle hung at the hot mouth of the + engine-room. I found her captain and told him I only wanted to smell a + ship again, and to find out, if where he came from, the bands were still + playing in the plazas. He seemed to understand, and gave me a drink of + Jamaica rum with fresh limes in it, and a black cigar; and when his + steward brought them, I talked to him in Spanish just for the sound of it. + For half an hour I was under the Southern Cross, and New York was 3,000 + miles astern. + </p> + <p> + When I left him, the captain gave me a bag of alligator-pears to take home + with me, and I promised to come the next day, and bring him a new library + of old, paper novels. + </p> + <p> + But, as it turned out, I sent them instead, for that night when I reached + the New York side, I saw how weakly and meanly I was acting, and I threw + the alligator-pears over the rail of the ferry-boat and watched them fall + into the dirty, grinding ice. I saw that I had been in rank mutiny. My bed + had been made for me and I must lie in it. I was to be a business-man. I + was to “settle down,” and it is only slaves who rebel. + </p> + <p> + The next day, humble and chastened in spirit, I kissed the rod, and went + into the city to search for a situation. I determined to start at + Forty-second Street, and work my way down town until I found a place that + looked as though it could afford a foreign correspondent. But I had + reached Twenty-eighth Street, without seeing any place that appealed to + me, when a little groom, in a warm fur collar and chilly white breeches, + ran up beside me and touched his hat. I was so surprised that I saluted + him in return, and then felt uneasily conscious that that was not the + proper thing to do, and that forever I had lost his respect. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Fiske would like to speak with you, sir,” he said. He ran back to a + brougham that was drawn up beside the curb behind me, and opened the door. + When I reached it, Miss Fiske leaned from it, smiling. + </p> + <p> + “I couldn’t help calling you back, Captain Macklin,” she said, and held + out her hand. + </p> + <p> + When I took it she laughed again. “Isn’t this like our last meeting?” she + asked. “Don’t you remember my reaching out of the carriage, and our + shaking hands? Only now,” she went on, in a most frank and friendly + manner, “instead of a tropical thunder-storm, it’s a snow-storm, and + instead of my running away from your shells, I’m out shopping. At least, + mother’s out shopping,” she added. “She’s in there. I’m waiting for her.” + She seemed to think that the situation required a chaperon. + </p> + <p> + “You mustn’t say they were my shells, Miss Fiske,” I protested. “I may + insult a woman for protecting her brother’s life, but I never fire shells + at her.” + </p> + <p> + It did not surprise me to hear myself laughing at the words which, when + she spoke them, had seemed so terrible. It was as though none of it had + ever occurred. It was part of a romantic play, and we had seen the play + together. Who could believe that the young man, tramping the streets on + the lookout for a job, had ever signed his name, as vice-president of + Honduras, to a passport for Joseph Fiske; that the beautiful girl in the + sables, with her card-case in her hand, had ever heard the shriek of + shrapnel? + </p> + <p> + And she exclaimed, just as though we had both been thinking aloud: “No, + it’s not possible, is it?” + </p> + <p> + “It never happened,” I said. + </p> + <p> + “But I tell you what has happened,” she went on, eagerly, “or perhaps you + know. Have you heard what my father did?” + </p> + <p> + I said I had not. I refrained from adding that I believed her father + capable of doing almost anything. + </p> + <p> + “Then I’m the first to tell you the news,” she exclaimed. She nodded at me + energetically. “Well, he’s paid that money. He owed it all the time.’ + </p> + <p> + “That’s not news,” I said. + </p> + <p> + She flushed a little, and laughed. + </p> + <p> + “But, indeed, father was not to blame,” she exclaimed. “They deceived him + dreadfully. But when we got home, he looked it up, and found you were + right about that money, and so he’s paid it back, not to that odious + Alvarez man, but in some way, I don’t quite understand how, but so the + poor people will get it.” + </p> + <p> + “Good!” I cried. + </p> + <p> + “And he’s discharged all that Isthmian crowd,” she went on. + </p> + <p> + “Better,” I said. + </p> + <p> + “And made my brother president of the new company,” she continued, and + then raised her eyebrows, and waited, smiling. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, well,” I said, “since he’s your brother—‘best.’” + </p> + <p> + “That’s right,” she cried. “That’s very nice of you. Here comes mother. I + want you to meet her.” + </p> + <p> + Mother came toward us, out of a French dress-maker’s. It was one of the + places I had decided against, when I had passed it a few minutes before. + It seemed one of the few business houses where a French linguist would be + superfluous. + </p> + <p> + I was presented as “Captain Macklin—who, you know, mother—who + fought the duel with Arthur—that is, who didn’t shoot at him.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Fiske looked somewhat startled. Even to a trained social leader it + must be trying to have a man presented to you on a sidewalk as the one who + did not shoot your son. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Fiske had a toy dog under one arm, and was holding up her train, but + she slipped the dog to the groom, and gave me her hand. + </p> + <p> + “How do you do, Mr.—Captain Macklin,” she said. “My son has told me + a great deal about you. Have you asked Captain Macklin to come to see us, + Helen?” she said, and stepped into the brougham. + </p> + <p> + “Come in any day after five,” said Miss Fiske, “and we’ll have tortillas + and frijoles, and build a camp-fire in the library. What’s your address?” + </p> + <p> + “Dobbs Ferry,” I said. + </p> + <p> + “Just Dobbs Ferry?” she asked. “But you’re such a well-known person, + Captain Macklin.” + </p> + <p> + “I’m Mr. Macklin now,” I answered, and I tried to shut the door on them, + but the groom seemed to think that was his privilege, and so I bowed, and + they drove away. Then I went at once to a drug-store and borrowed the + directory, to find out where they lived, and I walked all the way up the + avenue to have a look at their house. Somehow I felt that for that day I + could not go on asking for a job. I saw a picture of myself on a high + stool in the French dressmaker’s writing to the Paris house for more sable + cloaks for Mrs. Fiske. + </p> + <p> + The Fiske mansion overlooks Central Park, and it is as big as the Academy + of Music. I found that I knew it well by sight. I at once made up my mind + that I never would have the courage to ring that door-bell, and I mounted + a Fifth Avenue stage, and took up my work of reconnoitering for a job + where Miss Fiske had interrupted it. + </p> + <p> + The next day I got the job. I am to begin work on Monday. It is at + Schwartz & Carboy’s. They manufacture locks and hinges and + agricultural things. I saw a lot of their machetes in Honduras with their + paper stamp on the blade. They have almost a monopoly of the trade in + South America. Fortunately, or unfortunately, one of their Spanish clerks + had left them, and when I said I had been in Central America and could + write Spanish easily, Schwartz, or, it may have been Carboy—I didn’t + ask him which was his silly name—dictated a letter and I wrote it in + Spanish. One of the other clerks admitted it was faultless. So, I regret + to say, I got the job. I’m to begin with fifteen dollars, and Schwartz or + Carboy added, as though it were a sort of a perquisite: “If our young men + act gentlemanly, and are good dressers, we often send them to take our + South American customers to lunch. The house pays the expenses. And in the + evenings you can show them around the town. Our young men find that an + easy way of seeing the theatres for nothing.” + </p> + <p> + Knowing the tastes of South Americans visiting New York, I replied + severely that my connection with Schwartz & Carboy would end daily at + four in the afternoon, but that a cross-town car passed Koster & + Bial’s every hour. I half hoped he would take offence at that, and in + consequence my connection, with Schwartz & Carboy might end instantly + and forever; but whichever one he was, only laughed and said: “Yes, those + Brazilians are a queer lot. We eat up most of our profits bailing them out + of police courts the next morning. Well—you turn up Monday.” + </p> + <p> + DOBBS FERRY, Sunday, Midnight + </p> + <p> + It’s all over. It will be a long time before I add another chapter to my + “Memoirs.” When I have written this one they are to be sealed, and + to-morrow they are to be packed away in Aunt Mary’s cedar chest. I am now + writing these lines after everyone else has gone to bed. + </p> + <p> + It happened after dinner. Aunt Mary was upstairs, and Beatrice was at the + piano. We were waiting for Lowell, who had promised to come up and spend + the evening. I was sitting at the centre-table, pretending to read, but + watching Beatrice. Her back was turned toward me, so I could stare at her + as long as I pleased. The light of the candles on each side of the + music-rack fell upon her hair, and made it flash and burn. She had twisted + it high, in a coil, and there never was anything more lovely than the + burnished copper against the white glow of her skin, nor anything so noble + as the way her head rose upon her neck and sloping shoulders. It was like + a flower on a white stem. + </p> + <p> + She was not looking at the music before her, but up at nothing, while her + hands ran over the keyboard, playing an old sailor’s “chantey” which + Lowell has taught us. It carries with it all the sweep and murmur of the + sea at night. + </p> + <p> + She could not see me, she had forgotten that I was even in the room, and I + was at liberty to gaze at her and dream of her undisturbed. I felt that, + without that slight, white figure always at my side, the life I was to + begin on the morrow, or any other life, would be intolerable. Without the + thought of Beatrice to carry me through the day I could not bear it. + Except for her, what promise was there before me of reward or honor? I was + no longer “an officer and a gentleman,” I was a copying clerk, “a model + letter-writer.” I could foresee the end. I would become a nervous, + knowing, smug-faced civilian. Instead of clean liquors, I would poison + myself with cocktails and “quick-order” luncheons. I would carry a + commuter’s ticket. In time I might rise to the importance of calling the + local conductors by their familiar names. “Bill, what was the matter with + the 8.13 this morning?” From to-morrow forward I would be “our” Mr. + Macklin, “Yours of even date received. Our Mr. Macklin will submit samples + of goods desired.” “Mr.” Macklin! “Our” Mr. Macklin! Ye Gods! Schwartz any + servitude, I would struggle to rise above the most hateful surroundings. + </p> + <p> + I had just registered this mental vow, my eyes were still fixed + appealingly on the woman who was all unconscious of the sacrifice I was + about to make for her, when the servant came into the room and handed me a + telegram. I signed for it, and she went out. Beatrice had not heard her + enter, and was still playing. I guessed the telegram was from Lowell to + say he could not get away, and I was sorry. But as I tore open the + envelope, I noticed that it was not the usual one of yellow paper, but of + a pinkish white. I had never received a cablegram. I did not know that + this was one. I read the message, and as I read it the blood in every part + of my body came to a sudden stop. There was a strange buzzing in my ears, + the drums seemed to have burst with a tiny report. The shock was so + tremendous that it seemed Beatrice must have felt it too, and I looked up + at her stupidly. She was still playing. + </p> + <p> + The cablegram had been sent that morning from Marseilles. The message + read, “Commanding Battalion French Zouaves, Tonkin Expedition, holding + position of Adjutant open for you, rank of Captain, if accept join + Marseilles. Laguerre.” + </p> + <p> + I laid the paper on my knee, and sat staring, scarcely breathing, as + though I were afraid if I moved I would wake. I was trembling and cold, + for I was at the parting of the ways, and I knew it. Beyond the light of + the candles, beyond the dull red curtains jealously drawn against the + winter landscape, beyond even the slight, white figure with its crown of + burnished copper, I saw the swarming harbor of Marseilles. I saw the + swaggering turcos in their scarlet breeches, the crowded troop-ships, and + from every ship’s mast the glorious tri-color of France; the flag that in + ten short years had again risen, that was flying over advancing columns in + China, in Africa, in Madagascar; over armies that for Alsace Lorraine were + giving France new and great colonies on every seaboard of the world. The + thoughts that flew through my brain made my fingers clench until the nails + bit into my palms. Even to dream of such happiness was actual pain. That + this might come to me! To serve under the tri-color, to be a captain of + the Grand Armee, to be one of the army reared and trained by Napoleon + Bonaparte. + </p> + <p> + I heard a cheery voice, and Lowell passed me, and advanced bowing toward + Beatrice, and she turned and smiled at him. But as she rose, she saw my + face. + </p> + <p> + “Roy!” she cried. “What is it? What has happened?” + </p> + <p> + I watched her coming toward me, as someone projected from another life, a + wonderful, beautiful memory, from a life already far in the past. I handed + her the cablegram and stood up stiffly. My joints were rigid and the blood + was still cold in my veins. She read the message, and gave a little cry, + and stood silent, gazing at me. I motioned her to give it to Lowell, who + was looking at us anxiously, his eyes filled with concern. + </p> + <p> + He kept his head lowered over the message for so long, that I thought he + was reading it several times. When he again raised his face it was filled + with surprise and disapproval. But beneath, I saw a dawning look which he + could not keep down, of a great hope. It was as though he had been + condemned to death, and the paper Beatrice had handed him to read had been + his own reprieve. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me,” said Beatrice. Her tone was as gentle and as solemn as the + stroke of a bell, and as impersonal. It neither commended nor reproved. I + saw that instantly she had determined to conceal her own wishes, to + obliterate herself entirely, to let me know that, so far as she could + affect my choice, I was a free agent. I looked appealingly from her to + Lowell, and from Lowell back to Beatrice. I still was trembling with the + fever the message had lit in me. When I tried to answer, my voice was + hoarse and shaking. + </p> + <p> + “It’s like drink!” I said. + </p> + <p> + Lowell raised his eyes as though he meant to speak, and then lowered them + and stepped back, leaving Beatrice and myself together. + </p> + <p> + “I only want you to see,” Beatrice began bravely, “how—how serious + it is. Every one of us in his life must have a moment like this, and, if + he could only know that the moment had come, he might decide wisely. You + know the moment has come. You must see that this is the crisis. It means + choosing not for a year, but for always.” She held out her hands, + entwining the fingers closely. “Oh, don’t think I’m trying to stop you, + Royal,” she cried. “I only want you to see that it’s final. I know that + it’s like strong drink to you, but the more you give way to it—. + Don’t you think, if you gave your life here a fairer trial, if you bore + with it a little longer—” + </p> + <p> + She stopped sharply as though she recognized that, in urging me to a + choice, she was acting as she had determined she would not. I did not + answer, but stood in silence with my head bent, for I could not look at + her. I knew now how much dearer to me, even than her voice, was the one + which gave the call to arms. I did indeed understand that the crisis had + come. In that same room, five minutes before the message arrived, I had + sworn for her sake alone to submit to the life I hated. And yet in an + instant, without a moment’s pause, at the first sound of “Boots and + Saddles,” I had sprung to my first love, and had forgotten Beatrice and my + sworn allegiance. Knowing how greatly I loved her, I now could understand, + since it made me turn from her, how much greater must be my love for this, + her only rival, the old life that was again inviting me. + </p> + <p> + I was no longer to be deceived; the one and only thing I really loved, the + one thing I understood and craved, was the free, homeless, untrammelled + life of the soldier of fortune. I wanted to see the shells splash up the + earth again, I wanted to throw my leg across a saddle, I wanted to sleep + on a blanket by a camp-fire, I wanted the kiss and caress of danger, the + joy which comes when the sword wins honor and victory together, and I + wanted the clear, clean view of right and wrong, that is given only to + those who hourly walk with death. + </p> + <p> + I raised my head, and spoke very softly: + </p> + <p> + “It is too late. I am sorry. But I have decided. I must go.” + </p> + <p> + Lowell stepped out of the shadow, and faced me with the same strange look, + partly of wonder, and partly of indignation. + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense, Royal,” he said, “let <i>me</i> talk to you. We’ve been + shipmates, or comrades, and all that sort of thing, and you’ve got to + listen to me. Think, man, think what you’re losing. Think of all the + things you are giving up. Don’t be a weak child. This will affect your + whole life. You have no right to decide it in a minute.” + </p> + <p> + I stepped to its hiding-place, and took out the sword my grandfather had + carried in the Civil War; the sword I had worn in Honduras. I had hidden + it away, that it might not remind me that once I, too, was a soldier. It + acted on me like a potion. The instant my fingers touched its hilt, the + blood, which had grown chilled, leaped through my body. In answer I held + the sword toward Lowell. It was very hard to speak. They did not know how + hard. They did not know how cruelly it hurt me to differ from them, and to + part from them. The very thought of it turned me sick and miserable. But + it was written. It had to be. + </p> + <p> + “You ask me to think of what I am giving up,” I said, gently. “I gave up + this. I shall never surrender it again. I am not deciding in a minute. It + was decided for me long ago. It’s a tradition. It’s handed down to me. My + grandfather was Hamilton, of Cerro Gordo, of the City of Mexico, of + Gettysburg. My father was ‘Fighting’ Macklin. He was killed at the head of + his soldiers. All my people have been soldiers. One fought at the battle + of Princeton, one died fighting the king at Culloden. It’s bred in me. + It’s in the blood. It’s the blood of the Macklins that has decided this. + And I—I am the last of the Macklins, and I must live and die like + one.” + </p> + <p> + The house is quiet now. They have all left me to my packing, and are + asleep. Lowell went early and bade me good-by at the gate. He was very sad + and solemn. “God bless you, Royal,” he said, “and keep you safe, and bring + you back to us.” And I watched him swinging down the silent, moon-lit + road, knocking the icicles from the hedges with his stick. I stood there + some time looking after him, for I love him very dearly, and then a + strange thing happened. After he had walked quite a distance from the + house, he suddenly raised his head and began to whistle a jolly, + rollicking sea-song. I could hear him for some minutes. I was glad to + think he took it so light-heartedly. It is good to know that he is not + jealous of my great fortune. + </p> + <p> + To-night we spared each other the parting words. But to-morrow they must + be spoken, when Aunt Mary and Beatrice come to see me sail away on the + French liner. The ship leaves at noon, and ten days later I shall be in + Havre. Ye gods, to think that in ten days I shall see Paris! And then, the + Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean, Singapore, and, at last, + the yellow flags and black dragons of the enemy. It cannot last long, this + row. I shall be coming home again in six months, unless the Mahdi makes + trouble. Laguerre was three years in the Khedive’s service, and with his + influence an ex-captain of the French army should have little difficulty + in getting a commission in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + Then, after that, I really will come home. But not as an ex-soldier. This + time I shall come home on furlough. I shall come home a real officer, and + play the prodigal again to the two noblest and sweetest and best women in + God’s world. All women are good, but they are the best. All women are so + good, that when one of them thinks one of us is worthy to marry her, she + pays a compliment to our entire sex. But as they are all good and all + beautiful, Beatrice being the best and most beautiful, I was right not to + think of marrying only one of them. With the world full of good women, and + with a fight always going on somewhere, I am very wise not to “settle + down.” I know I shall be very happy. + </p> + <p> + In a year I certainly must come back, a foreign officer on leave, and I + shall go to West Point and pay my respects to the Commandant. The men who + saw me turned out will have to present arms to me, and the older men will + say to the plebs, “That distinguished-looking officer with the French + mustache, and the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor, is Captain Macklin. + He was turned out of here. Now he’s only a soldier of fortune. He belongs + to no country.” + </p> + <p> + But when the battalion is drawn up at retreat and the shadows stretch + across the grass, I shall take up my stand once more on the old parade + ground, with all the future Grants and Lees around me, and when the flag + comes down, I shall raise my hand with theirs, and show them that I have a + country, too, and that the flag we salute together is my flag still. + </p> + <h3> + THE END + </h3> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s Captain Macklin, by Richard Harding Davis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MACKLIN *** + +***** This file should be named 6015-h.htm or 6015-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/1/6015/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Captain Macklin + +Author: Richard Harding Davis + + +Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6015] +This file was first posted on October 17, 2002 +Last Updated: April 10, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MACKLIN *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + +CAPTAIN MACKLIN + +HIS MEMOIRS + +By Richard Harding Davis + +Illustrated By Walter Appleton Clark + + +{Illustration: "Go, Royal!" he cried, "and--God bless you!"} + + +To MY MOTHER + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS (not available in this file) + +"Go, Royal!" he cried, "and--God bless you!" FRONTISPIECE + +He made our meeting something of a ceremony + +We walked out to the woods + +I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit me + +The moon rose over the camp ... but still we sat + +And the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack yard + +I sprang back against the cabin + + + + +I + + +UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT + +It may seem presumptuous that so young a man as myself should propose +to write his life and memoirs, for, as a rule, one waits until he has +accomplished something in the world, or until he has reached old age, +before he ventures to tell of the times in which he has lived, and of +his part in them. But the profession to which I belong, which is that +of a soldier, and which is the noblest profession a man can follow, is a +hazardous one, and were I to delay until to-morrow to write down what +I have seen and done, these memoirs might never be written, for, such +being the fortune of war, to-morrow might not come. + +So I propose to tell now of the little I have accomplished in the first +twenty-three years of my life, and, from month to month, to add to these +memoirs in order that, should I be suddenly taken off, my debit and +credit pages may be found carefully written up to date and carried +forward. On the other hand, should I live to be an old man, this +record of my career will furnish me with material for a more complete +autobiography, and will serve as a safeguard against a failing memory. + +In writing a personal narrative I take it that the most important events +to be chronicled in the life of a man are his choice of a wife and his +choice of a profession. As I am unmarried, the chief event in my life +is my choice of a profession, and as to that, as a matter of fact, I +was given no choice, but from my earliest childhood was destined to be +a soldier. My education and my daily environment each pointed to that +career, and even if I had shown a remarkable aptitude for any other +calling, which I did not, I doubt if I would have pursued it. I am +confident that had my education been directed in an entirely different +channel, I should have followed my destiny, and come out a soldier in +the end. For by inheritance as well as by instinct I was foreordained +to follow the fortunes of war, to delight in the clash of arms and the +smoke of battle; and I expect that when I do hear the clash of arms and +smell the smoke of battle, the last of the Macklins will prove himself +worthy of his ancestors. + +I call myself the last of the Macklins for the reason that last year, +on my twenty-second birthday, I determined I should never marry. Women I +respect and admire, several of them, especially two of the young ladies +at Miss Butler's Academy I have deeply loved, but a soldier cannot +devote himself both to a woman and to his country. As one of our young +professors said, "The flag is a jealous mistress." + +The one who, in my earliest childhood, arranged that I should follow +the profession of arms, was my mother's father, and my only surviving +grandparent. He was no less a personage than Major-General John M. +Hamilton. I am not a writer; my sword, I fear and hope, will always be +easier in my hand than my pen, but I wish for a brief moment I could +hold it with such skill, that I might tell of my grandfather properly +and gratefully, and describe him as the gentle and brave man he was. I +know he was gentle, for though I never had a woman to care for me as a +mother cares for a son, I never missed that care; and I know how brave +he was, for that is part of the history of my country. During many years +he was my only parent or friend or companion; he taught me my lessons by +day and my prayers by night, and, when I passed through all the absurd +ailments to which a child is heir, he sat beside my cot and lulled me to +sleep, or told me stories of the war. There was a childlike and simple +quality in his own nature, which made me reach out to him and confide in +him as I would have done to one of my own age. Later, I scoffed at this +virtue in him as something old-fashioned and credulous. That was when +I had reached the age when I was older, I hope, than I shall ever be +again. There is no such certainty of knowledge on all subjects as one +holds at eighteen and at eighty, and at eighteen I found his care and +solicitude irritating and irksome. With the intolerance of youth, I +could not see the love that was back of his anxiety, and which should +have softened it for me with a halo and made me considerate and +grateful. Now I see it--I see it now that it is too late. But surely he +understood, he knew how I looked up to him, how I loved him, and how I +tried to copy him, and, because I could not, consoled myself inwardly by +thinking that the reason I had failed was because his way was the wrong +one, and that my way was the better. If he did not understand then, +he understands now; I cannot bear to think he does not understand and +forgive me. + +Those were the best days of my life, the days I spent with him as a +child in his own home on the Hudson. It stands at Dobbs Ferry, set in +a grove of pines, with a garden about it, and a box hedge that shuts it +from the road. The room I best remember is the one that overlooks the +Hudson and the Palisades. From its windows you can watch the great +vessels passing up and down the river, and the excursion steamers flying +many flags, and tiny pleasure-boats and great barges. There is an open +fireplace in this room, and in a corner formed by the book-case, and +next to the wood-box, was my favorite seat. My grandfather's place was +in a great leather chair beside the centre-table, and I used to sit +cross-legged on a cushion at his feet, with my back against his knees +and my face to the open hearth. I can still see the pages of "Charles +O'Malley" and "Midshipman Easy," as I read them by the lifting light +of that wood fire, and I can hear the wind roaring down the chimney and +among the trees outside, and the steamers signalling to each other as +they pushed through the ice and fog to the great city that lay below us. +I can feel the fire burning my face, and the cold shivers that ran down +my back, as my grandfather told me of the Indians who had once hunted in +the very woods back of our house, and of those he had fought with on the +plains. With the imagination of a child, I could hear, mingled with the +shrieks of the wind as it dashed the branches against the roof, their +hideous war-cries as they rushed to some night attack, or the howling of +the wolves in the snow. When I think of myself as I was then I am very +fond of that little boy who sat shivering with excitement, and staring +with open eyes at the pictures he saw in the firelight, a little boy who +had made no enemies, no failures, who had harmed no one, and who knew +nothing of the world outside the walls that sheltered him, save the +brave old soldier who was his law and his example, his friend in +trouble, and his playmate. + +I knew nothing then, and I know very little now, either of my father +or my mother. Whenever I asked my grandfather concerning them he always +answered vaguely that he would tell me some day, "when you are of age," +but whether he meant when I was twenty-one or of an age when I was best +fitted to hear the truth, I shall never know. But I guessed the truth +from what he let fall, and from what I have since heard from others, +although that is but little, for I could not ask strangers to tell me of +my own people. For some reason, soon after they were married my mother +and father separated and she brought me to live with her father, and he +entered the Southern army. + +I like to think that I can remember my mother, and it seems I must, +for very dimly I recollect a young girl who used to sit by the window +looking out at the passing vessels. There is a daguerreotype of my +mother, and it may be that my recollection of her is builded upon that +portrait. She died soon after we came to live with my grandfather, when +I was only three years old, but I am sure I remember her, for no other +woman was ever in the house, and the figure of the young girl looking +out across at the Palisades is very clear to me. + +My father was an Irish officer and gentleman, who came to the States +to better his fortunes. This was just before the war; and as soon as it +began, although he lived in the North, in New York City, he joined the +Southern army and was killed. I believe, from what little I have learned +of him, that he was both wild and reckless, but the few who remember +him all say that he had many noble qualities, and was much loved by men, +and, I am afraid, by women. I do not know more than that, except the one +story of him, which my grandfather often told me. + +"Whatever a man may say of your father," he would tell me, "you need not +believe; for they may not have understood him, and all that you need to +remember, until when you are of age I shall tell you the whole truth, +is how he died." It is a brief story. My father was occupying a trench +which for some hours his company had held under a heavy fire. When the +Yankees charged with the bayonet he rose to meet them, but at the same +moment the bugle sounded the retreat, and half of his company broke and +ran. My father sprang to the top of the trench and called, "Come back, +boys, we'll give them one more volley." It may have been that he had +misunderstood the call of the bugle, and disobeyed through ignorance, +or it may have been that in his education the signal to retreat had been +omitted, for he did not heed it, and stood outlined against the sky, +looking back and waving his hand to his men. But they did not come to +him, and the advancing troop fired, and he fell upon the trench with his +body stretched along its length. The Union officer was far in advance of +his own company, and when he leaped upon the trench he found that it was +empty and that the Confederate troops were in retreat. He turned, and +shouted, laughing: "Come on! there's only one man here--and he's dead!" + +But my father reached up his hand, to where the officer stood above him, +and pulled at his scabbard. + +"Not dead, but dying, Captain," my father said. "And that's better than +retreating, isn't it?" + +"And that is the story," my grandfather used to say to me, "you must +remember of your father, and whatever else he did does not count." + +At the age of ten my grandfather sent me to a military academy near +Dobbs Ferry, where boys were prepared for college and for West Point and +Annapolis. I was a very poor scholar, and, with the exception of what +I learned in the drill-hall and the gymnasium, the academy did me very +little good, and I certainly did not, at that time at least, reflect any +credit on the academy. Had I been able to take half the interest in my +studies my grandfather showed in them, I would have won prizes in every +branch; but even my desire to please him could not make me understand +the simplest problems in long division; and later here at the Point, the +higher branches of mathematics, combined with other causes, have nearly +deprived the United States Army of a gallant officer. I believe I have +it in me to take a piece of field artillery by assault, but I know I +shall never be able to work out the formula necessary to adjust its +elevation. + +With the exception, perhaps, of Caesar's "Commentaries," I hated all of +my studies, not only on their own account, but because they cut me out +of the talks with which in the past my grandfather and I had been wont +to close each day. These talks, which were made up on my part of demands +for more stories, or for repetitions of those I already knew by heart, +did more than any other thing to inspire me with a desire for military +glory. My grandfather had served through the Mexican War, in the Indian +campaigns on the plains, and during the War of the Rebellion, and his +memory recalled the most wonderful and exciting of adventures. He was +singularly modest, which is a virtue I never could consider as a high +one, for I find that the world takes you at your own valuation, and +unless "the terrible trumpet of Fame" is sounded by yourself no one else +will blow your trumpet for you. Of that you may be sure. But I can't +recall ever having heard my grandfather relate to people of his own +age any of the adventures which he told me, and once I even caught him +recounting a personal experience which redounded greatly to his credit +as having happened to "a man in his regiment." When with childish +delight I at once accused him of this he was visibly annoyed, and +blushed like a girl, and afterward corrected me for being so forward in +the presence of my elders. His modesty went even to the length of his +keeping hidden in his bedroom the three presentation swords which had +been given him at different times for distinguished action on the field. +One came from the men of his regiment, one from his townspeople after +his return from the City of Mexico, and one from the people of the State +of New York; and nothing I could say would induce him to bring +them downstairs to our sitting room, where visitors might see them. +Personally, I cannot understand what a presentation sword is for except +to show to your friends; for, as a rule, they are very badly balanced +and of no use for fighting. + +Had it not been for the colored prints of the different battles in +Mexico which hung in our sitting room, and some Indian war-bonnets +and bows and arrows, and a box of duelling pistols, no one would have +supposed that our house belonged to one of the most distinguished +generals of his day. You may be sure I always pointed these out to +our visitors, and one of my chief pleasures was to dress one of my +schoolmates in the Indian war bonnet, and then scalp him with a carving +knife. The duelling pistols were even a greater delight to me. They were +equipped with rifle barrels and hair triggers, and were inlaid richly +with silver, and more than once had been used on the field of honor. +Whenever my grandfather went out for a walk, or to play whist at the +house of a neighbor, I would get down these pistols and fight duels with +myself in front of the looking-glass. With my left hand I would hold the +handkerchief above my head, and with the other clutch the pistol at my +side, and then, at the word, and as the handkerchief fluttered to the +floor, I would take careful aim and pull the trigger. Sometimes I died +and made speeches before I expired, and sometimes I killed my adversary +and stood smiling down at him. + +My grandfather was a member of the Aztec Club, which was organized +during the occupation of the City of Mexico by the American officers +who had stormed the capital; and on the occasion of one of its annual +meetings, which that year was held in Philadelphia, I was permitted to +accompany him to that city. It was the longest journey from home I had +ever taken, and each incident of it is still clearly fixed in my mind. +The event of the reunion was a dinner given at the house of General +Patterson, and on the morning before the dinner the members of the club +were invited to assemble in the garden which surrounded his house. To +this meeting my grandfather conducted me, and I found myself surrounded +by the very men of whom he had so often spoken. I was very frightened, +and I confess I was surprised and greatly disappointed also to find +that they were old and gray-haired men, and not the young and dashing +warriors he had described. General Patterson alone did not disappoint +me, for even at that late day he wore a blue coat with brass buttons and +a buff waistcoat and high black stock. He had a strong, fine profile and +was smooth shaven. I remember I found him exactly my ideal of the Duke +of Wellington; for though I was only then ten or twelve years of age, +I had my own ideas about every soldier from Alexander and Von Moltke to +our own Captain Custer. + +It was in the garden behind the Patterson house that we met the General, +and he alarmed me very much by pulling my shoulders back and asking me +my age, and whether or not I expected to be as brave a soldier as my +grandfather, to which latter question I said, "Yes, General," and then +could have cried with mortification, for all of the great soldiers +laughed at me. One of them turned, and said to the only one who was +seated, "That is Hamilton's grandson." The man who was seated did not +impress me very much. He was younger than the others. He wore a black +suit and a black tie, and the three upper buttons of his waistcoat were +unfastened. His beard was close-cropped, like a blacking-brush, and +he was chewing on a cigar that had burned so far down that I remember +wondering why it did not scorch his mustache. And then, as I stood +staring up at him and he down at me, it came over me who he was, and +I can recall even now how my heart seemed to jump, and I felt terribly +frightened and as though I were going to cry. My grandfather bowed +to the younger man in the courteous, old-fashioned manner he always +observed, and said: "General, this is my grandchild, Captain Macklin's +boy. When he grows up I want him to be able to say he has met you. I am +going to send him to West Point." + +The man in the chair nodded his head at my grandfather, and took his +cigar from his mouth and said, "When he's ready to enter, remind me, +let me know," and closed his lips again on his cigar, as though he had +missed it even during that short space if time. But had he made a long +oration neither my grandfather nor I could have been more deeply moved. +My grandfather said: "Thank you, General. It is very kind of you," and +led me away smiling so proudly that it was beautiful to see him. When +he had entered the house he stopped, and bending over me, asked. "Do you +know who that was, Roy?" But with the awe of the moment still heavy upon +me I could only nod and gasp at him. + +"That was General Grant," my grandfather said. + +"Yes, I know," I whispered. + +I am not particularly proud of the years that preceded my entrance to +West Point, and of the years I have spent here I have still less reason +to be content. I was an active boy, and behaved as other young cubs +of that age, no better and no worse. Dobbs Ferry was not a place where +temptations beset one, and, though we were near New York, we were not of +it, and we seldom visited it. When we did, it was to go to a matinee +at some theatre, returning the same afternoon in time for supper. My +grandfather was very fond of the drama, and had been acquainted since he +was a young man with some of the most distinguished actors. With him I +saw Edwin Booth in "Macbeth," and Lester Wallack in "Rosedale," and John +McCullough in "Virginius," a tragedy which was to me so real and moving +that I wept all the way home in the train. Sometimes I was allowed to +visit the theatre alone, and on these afternoons I selected performances +of a lighter variety, such as that given by Harrigan & Hart in their +theatre on Broadway. Every Thanksgiving Day I was allowed, after +witnessing the annual football match between the students from Princeton +and Yale universities, to remain in town all that night. On these great +occasions I used to visit Koster & Bial's on Twenty-third Street, a +long, low building, very dark and very smoky, and which on those nights +was blocked with excited mobs of students, wearing different colored +ribbons and shouting the cries of their different colleges. I envied +and admired these young gentlemen, and thought them very fine fellows +indeed. They wore in those days long green coats, which made them look +like coachmen, and high, bell-shaped hats, both of which, as I now can +see, were a queer survival of the fashions of 1830, and which now for +the second time have disappeared. + +To me, with my country clothes and manners and scanty spending money, +the way these young collegians wagered their money at the football match +and drank from their silver flasks, and smoked and swaggered in the +hotel corridors, was something to be admired and copied. And although +I knew none of them, and would have been ashamed had they seen me in +company with any of my boy friends from Dobbs Ferry, I followed +them from one hotel to another, pretending I was with them, and even +penetrated at their heels into the cafe of Delmonico. I felt then for a +brief moment that I was "seeing life," the life of a great metropolis, +and in company with the young swells who made it the rushing, delightful +whirlpool it appeared to be. + +It seemed to me, then, that to wear a green coachman's coat, to rush the +doorkeeper at the Haymarket dance-hall, and to eat supper at the "Silver +Grill" was to be "a man about town," and each year I returned to our +fireside at Dobbs Ferry with some discontent. The excursions made me +look restlessly forward to the day when I would return from my Western +post, a dashing young cavalry officer on leave, and would wake up the +cafes and clubs of New York, and throw my money about as carelessly as +these older boys were doing then. + +My appointment to West Point did not, after all, come from General +Grant, but from President Arthur, who was in office when I reached my +nineteenth year. Had I depended upon my Congressman for the appointment, +and had it been made after a competitive examination of candidates, I +doubt if I would have been chosen. + +Perhaps my grandfather feared this and had it in his mind when he asked +the President to appoint me. It was the first favor he had ever asked +of the Government he had served so well, and I felt more grateful to him +for having asked the favor, knowing what it cost him to do so, than I +did to the President for granting it. + +I was accordingly entered upon the rolls of the Military Academy, and my +career as a soldier began. I wish I could say it began brilliantly, but +the records of the Academy would not bear me out. Had it not been that +I was forced to study books I would not have been a bad student; for in +everything but books, in everything that bore directly on the training +of a soldier and which depended upon myself, as, for example, drill, +riding, marksmanship, and a knowledge of the manual, I did as well, or +far better, than any of my classmates. But I could not, or would not, +study, and instead of passing high in my class at the end of the plebe +year, as my natural talents seemed to promise I would do, I barely +scraped through, and the outlook for the second year was not +encouraging. The campaign in Mexico had given my grandfather a knowledge +of Spanish, and as a boy he had drilled this language into me, for it +was a fixed belief of his, that if the United States ever went to war, +it would be with some of her Spanish-American neighbors, with Mexico, +or Central America, or with Spain on account of Cuba. In consequence +he considered it most essential that every United States officer should +speak Spanish. He also argued that a knowledge of French was of even +greater importance to an officer and a gentleman, as it was, as I have +since found it to be, the most widely spoken of all languages. I +was accordingly well drilled in these two tongues, and I have never +regretted time I spent on them, for my facility in them has often served +me well, has pulled me out of tight places, put money into my pocket, +and gained me friends when but for them I might have remained and +departed a stranger among strangers. My French accordingly helped me +much as a "yearling," and in camp I threw myself so earnestly into the +skirmish, artillery, and cavalry drills that in spite of my low marks +I still stood high in the opinion of the cadet officers and of my +instructors. With my classmates, for some reason, although in all +out-of-door exercises I was the superior of most of them, I was not +popular. I would not see this at first, for I try to keep on friendly +terms with those around me, and I want to be liked even by people of +whom I have no very high opinion and from whom I do not want anything +besides. But I was not popular. There was no disguising that, and in the +gymnasium or the riding-hall other men would win applause for performing +a feat of horsemanship or a difficult trick on the parallel bars, which +same feat, when I repeated it immediately after them, and even a little +better than they had done it, would be received in silence. I could +not see the reason for this, and the fact itself hurt me much more than +anyone guessed. Then as they would not signify by their approbation that +I was the best athlete in the class, I took to telling them that I was, +which did not help matters. I find it is the same in the world as it is +at the Academy--that if one wants recognition, he must pretend not to +see that he deserves it. If he shows he does see it, everyone else will +grow blind, holding, I suppose, that a conceited man carries his own +comfort with him, and is his own reward. I soon saw that the cadet who +was modest received more praise than the cadet who was his superior, +but who, through repeated success, had acquired a self-confident, or, as +some people call it, a conceited manner; and so, for a time, I pretended +to be modest, too, and I never spoke of my athletic successes. But I was +never very good at pretending, and soon gave it up. Then I grew morbid +over my inability to make friends, and moped by myself, having as little +to do with my classmates as possible. In my loneliness I began to think +that I was a much misunderstood individual. My solitary state bred in me +a most unhealthy disgust for myself, and, as it always is with those +who are at times exuberantly light-hearted and self-assertive, I had +terrible fits of depression and lack of self-confidence, during which +spells I hated myself and all of those about me. Once, during one of +these moods, a First-Class man, who had been a sneak in his plebe year +and a bully ever since, asked me, sneeringly, how "Napoleon on the Isle +of St. Helena" was feeling that morning, and I told him promptly to go +to the devil, and added that if he addressed me again, except in the +line of his duty, I would thrash him until he could not stand or see. Of +course he sent me his second, and one of my classmates acted for me. +We went out that same evening after supper behind Fort Clinton, and I +thrashed him so badly that he was laid up in the hospital for several +days. After that I took a much more cheerful view of life, and as +it seemed hardly fair to make one cadet bear the whole brunt of my +displeasure toward the entire battalion, I began picking quarrels with +anyone who made pretensions of being a fighter, and who chanced to be +bigger than myself. + +Sometimes I got badly beaten, and sometimes I thrashed the other man, +but whichever way it went, those battles in the soft twilight evenings +behind the grass-grown ramparts of the old fort, in the shadow of +the Kosciusko Monument, will always be the brightest and pleasantest +memories of my life at this place. + +My grandfather had one other daughter besides my mother, my Aunt Mary, +who had married a Harvard professor, Dr. Endicott, and who had lived in +Cambridge ever since they married. + +In my second year here, Dr. Endicott died and my grandfather at once +went to Cambridge to bring Aunt Mary and her daughter Beatrice back +with him, installing them in our little home, which thereafter was to +be theirs as well. He wrote me saying he knew I would not disapprove of +this invasion of my place by my young cousin and assured me that no one, +girl or boy, could ever take the place in his heart that I had held. As +a matter of fact I was secretly pleased to hear of this addition to our +little household. I knew that as soon as I was graduated I would be sent +to some army post in the West, and that the occasional visit I was now +able to pay to Dobbs Ferry would be discontinued. I hated to think that +in his old age my grandfather would be quite alone. On the other hand, +when, after the arrival of my cousin, I received his first letter +and found it filled with enthusiastic descriptions of her, and of how +anxious she was to make him happy, I felt a little thrill of jealousy. +It gave me some sharp pangs of remorse, and I asked myself searchingly +if I had always done my utmost to please my grandfather and to give him +pride and pleasure in me. I determined for the future I would think only +of how to make him happy. + +A few weeks later I was able to obtain a few hours' leave, and I wasted +no time in running down from the Point to make the acquaintance of my +cousin, and to see how the home looked under the new regime. I found it +changed, and, except that I felt then and afterward that I was a guest, +it was changed for the better. + +I found that my grandfather was much more comfortable in every way. The +newcomers were both eager and loving, although no one could help but +love my grandfather, and they invented wants he had never felt before, +and satisfied them, while at the same time they did not interfere with +the life he had formerly led. Aunt Mary is an unselfish soul, and most +content when she is by herself engaged in the affairs of the house and +in doing something for those who live in it. Besides her unselfishness, +which is to me the highest as it is the rarest of virtues, hers is a +sweet and noble character, and she is one of the gentlest souls that I +have ever known. + +I may say the same of my cousin Beatrice. When she came into the room, +my first thought was how like she was to a statuette of a Dresden +shepherdess which had always stood at one end of our mantel-piece, +coquetting with the shepherd lad on the other side of the clock. As a +boy, the shepherdess had been my ideal of feminine loveliness. Since +then my ideals had changed rapidly and often, but Beatrice reminded me +that the shepherdess had once been my ideal. She wore a broad straw hat, +with artificial roses which made it hang down on one side, and, as +she had been working in our garden, she wore huge gloves and carried a +trowel in one hand. As she entered, my grandfather rose hastily from his +chair and presented us with impressive courtesy. "Royal," he said, "this +is your cousin, Beatrice Endicott." If he had not been present, I think +we would have shaken hands without restraint. But he made our meeting +something of a ceremony. I brought my heels together and bowed as I +have been taught to do at the Academy, and seeing this she made a low +courtesy. She did this apparently with great gravity, but as she kept +her eyes on mine I saw that she was mocking me. If I am afraid of +anything it has certainly never proved to be a girl, but I confess I was +strangely embarrassed. My cousin seemed somehow different from any of +the other girls I had met. She was not at all like those with whom I +had danced at the hotel hops, and to whom I gave my brass buttons +in Flirtation Walk. She was more fine, more illusive, and yet most +fascinating, with a quaint old-fashioned manner that at times made her +seem quite a child, and the next moment changed her into a worldly and +charming young woman. She made you feel she was much older than yourself +in years and in experience and in knowledge. That is the way my cousin +appeared to me the first time I saw her, when she stood in the middle +of the room courtesying mockingly at me and looking like a picture on +an old French fan. That is how she has since always seemed to me--one +moment a woman, and the next a child; one moment tender and kind and +merry, and the next disapproving, distant, and unapproachable. + +{Illustration: He made our meeting something of a ceremony.} + +Up to the time I met Beatrice I had never thought it possible to +consider a girl as a friend. For the matter of that, I had no friends +even among men, and I made love to girls. My attitude toward girls, if +one can say that a man of eighteen has an attitude, was always that of +the devoted admirer. If they did not want me as a devoted admirer, I put +them down as being proud and haughty or "stuck up." It never occurred to +me then that there might be a class of girl who, on meeting you, did not +desire that you should at once tell her exactly how you loved her, and +why. The girls who came to Cranston's certainly seemed to expect you to +set their minds at rest on that subject, and my point of view of girls +was taken entirely from them. I can remember very well my pause of +dawning doubt and surprise when a girl first informed me she thought +a man who told her she was pretty was impertinent. What bewildered +me still more on that occasion was that this particular girl was so +extremely beautiful that to talk about anything else but her beauty was +a waste of time. It made all other topics trivial, and yet she seemed +quite sincere in what she said, and refused to allow me to bring our +talk to the personal basis of "what I am to you" and "what you are to +me." It was in discussing that question that I considered myself an +artist and a master. My classmates agreed with me in thinking as I did, +and from the first moment I came here called me "Masher" Macklin, a +sobriquet of which I fear for a time I was rather proud. Certainly, I +strove to live up to it. I believe I dignified my conduct to myself by +calling it "flirtation." Flirtation, as I understood it, was a sort of +game in which I honestly believed the entire world of men and women, of +every class and age, were eagerly engaged. Indeed, I would have thought +it rather ungallant, and conduct unworthy of an officer and a gentleman, +had I not at once pretended to hold an ardent interest in every girl I +met. This seems strange now, but from the age of fourteen up to the age +of twenty that was my way of regarding the girls I met, and even today I +fear my attitude toward them has altered but slightly, for now, although +I no longer tend to care when I do not, nor make love as a matter of +course, I find it is the easiest attitude to assume toward most women. +It is the simplest to slip into, just as I have certainly found it +the one from which it is most difficult to escape, But I never seem to +remember that until it is too late. A classmate of mine once said to me: +"Royal, you remind me of a man walking along a road with garden gates +opening on each side of it. Instead of keeping to the road, you stop at +every gate, and say: 'Oh! what a pretty garden! I'll just slip in there, +and find out where that path will take me.' And then--you're either +thrown out, and the gate slammed after you, or you lose yourself in +a maze and you can't get out--until you break out. But does that ever +teach you a lesson? No! Instead of going ahead along the straight and +narrow way, and keeping out of temptation, you halt at the very next +gate you come to, just as though you had never seen a gate before, and +exclaim: 'Now, this _is_ a pretty garden, and _what_ a neat white fence! +I really must vault in and take a look round.' And so the whole thing is +gone over again." + +I confess there may be some truth in what he said, but the trouble I +find with the straight and narrow way is that there's not room enough +in it for two. And, then, it is only fair to me to say that some of the +gardens were really most beautiful, and the shade very deep and sweet +there, and the memories of the minutes I passed in them were very +refreshing when I went back to the dust of the empty road. And no one, +man or woman, can say that Royal Macklin ever trampled on the flowers, +or broke the branches, or trespassed in another man's private grounds. + +It was my cousin Beatrice who was responsible for the change of heart +in me toward womankind. For very soon after she came to live with us, I +noticed that in regard to all other young women I was growing daily more +exacting. I did not admit this to myself, and still less to Beatrice, +because she was most scornful of the girls I knew, and mocked at them. +This was quite unfair of her, because she had no real acquaintance with +them, and knew them only from photographs and tintypes, of which I had a +most remarkable collection, and of what I chose to tell her about them. +I was a good deal annoyed to find that the stories which appealed to me +as best illustrating the character of each of my friends, only seemed to +furnish Beatrice with fresh material for ridicule, and the girls of whom +I said the least were the ones of whom she approved. The only girls +of my acquaintance who also were friends of hers, were two sisters who +lived at Dobbs Ferry, and whose father owned the greater part of it, and +a yacht, in which he went down to his office every morning. But Beatrice +held that my manner even to them was much too free and familiar, and +that she could not understand why I did not see that it was annoying to +them as well. I could not tell her in my own defence that their manner +to me, when she was with us and when she was not, varied in a remarkable +degree. It was not only girls who carried themselves differently before +Beatrice: every man who met her seemed to try and show her the best in +him, or at least to suppress any thought or act which might displease +her. It was not that she was a prig, or an angel, but she herself was +so fine and sincere, and treated all with such an impersonal and yet +gracious manner that it became contagious, and everybody who met her +imitated the model she unconsciously furnished. I was very much struck +with this when she visited the Academy. Men who before her coming had +seemed bold enough for any game, became dumb and embarrassed in her +presence, and eventually it was the officers and instructors who +escorted her over the grounds, while I and my acquaintances among the +cadets formed a straggling rear-guard at her heels. On account of my +grandfather, both she and my aunt were made much of by the Commandant +and all the older officers, and when they continued to visit the Academy +they were honored and welcomed for themselves, and I found that on such +occasions my own popularity was enormously increased. I have always been +susceptible to the opinion of others. Even when the reigning belle or +the popular man of the class was not to me personally attractive, the +fact that she was the reigning belle and that he was the man of the +hour made me seek out the society of each. This was even so, when, as +a matter of fact, I should have much preferred to dance with some less +conspicuous beauty or talk with a more congenial companion. Consequently +I began to value my cousin, whom I already regarded with the most +tremendous admiration, for those lighter qualities which are common +to all attractive girls, but which in my awe of her I had failed to +recognize. There were many times, even, when I took myself by the +shoulders and faced the question if I were not in love with Beatrice. I +mean truly in love, with that sort of love that one does not talk about, +even to one's self, certainly not to the girl. As the young man of the +family, I had assumed the position of the heir of the house, and treated +Beatrice like a younger sister, but secretly I considered her in no such +light. + +Many nights when on post I would halt to think of her, and of her +loveliness and high sincerity, and forget my duty while I stood with +my arms crossed on the muzzle of my gun. In such moments the night, +the silence, the moonlight piercing the summer leaves and falling at my +feet, made me forget my promise to myself that I would never marry. +I used to imagine then it was not the unlicked cubs under the distant +tents I was protecting, but that I was awake to watch over and guard +Beatrice, or that I was a knight, standing his vigil so that he might +be worthy to wear the Red Cross and enter her service. In those lonely +watches I saw littlenesses and meannesses in myself, which I could not +see in the brisk light of day, and my self-confidence slipped from me +and left me naked and abashed. I saw myself as a vain, swaggering boy, +who, if he ever hoped to be a man among men, such as Beatrice was a +woman above all other women, must change his nature at once and forever. + +I was glad that I owed these good resolutions to her. I was glad that +it was she who inspired them. Those nights, as I leaned on my gun, I +dreamed even that it might end happily and beautifully in our marriage. +I wondered if I could make her care, if I could ever be worthy of her, +and I vowed hotly that I would love her as no other woman was ever +loved. + +And then I would feel the cold barrel of my musket pressing against the +palm of my hand, or the bayonet would touch my cheek, and at the touch +something would tighten in my throat, and I would shake the thoughts +from me and remember that I was sworn to love only my country and my +country's flag. + +In my third year here my grandfather died. As the winter closed in +he had daily grown more feeble, and sat hour after hour in his great +armchair, dozing and dreaming, before the open fire. And one morning +when he was alone in the room, Death, which had so often taken the man +at his side, and stood at salute to let him live until his work was +done, came to him and touched him gently. A few days later when his body +passed through the streets of our little village, all the townspeople +left their houses and shops, and stood in silent rows along the +sidewalks, with their heads uncovered to the falling snow. Soldiers of +his old regiments, now busy men of affairs in the great city below +us, came to march behind him for the last time. Officers of the Loyal +Legion, veterans of the Mexican War, regulars from Governor's Island, +with their guns reversed, societies, political clubs, and strangers who +knew him only by what he had done for his country, followed in the long +procession as it wound its way through the cold, gray winter day to the +side of the open grave. Until then I had not fully understood what it +meant to me, for my head had been numbed and dulled; but as the body +disappeared into the grave, and the slow notes of the bugle rose in +the final call of "Lights out," I put my head on my aunt's shoulder and +cried like a child. And I felt as though I were a child again, as I did +when he came and sat beside my bed, and heard me say my prayers, and +then closed the door behind him, leaving me in the darkness and alone. + +But I was not entirely alone, for Beatrice was true and understanding; +putting her own grief out of sight, caring for mine, and giving it the +first place in her thoughts. For the next two days we walked for hours +through the autumn woods where the dead leaves rustled beneath our feet, +thinking and talking of him. Or for hours we would sit in silence, until +the sun sank a golden red behind the wall of the Palisades, and we went +back through the cold night to the open fireside and his empty chair. + + + +ST. CHARLES HOTEL, NEW ORLEANS + + +Six months ago had anyone told me that the day would come when I would +feel thankful for the loss of my grandfather, I would have struck him. +But for the last week I have been almost thankful that he is dead. The +worst that could occur has happened. I am in bitter disgrace, and I +am grateful that grandfather died before it came upon me. I have been +dismissed from the Academy. The last of the "Fighting" Macklins has +been declared unfit to hold the President's commission. I am cast out +irrevocably; there is no appeal against the decision. I shall never +change the gray for the blue. I shall never see the U. S. on my +saddle-cloth, nor salute my country's flag as it comes fluttering down +at sunset. + +That I am on my way to try and redeem myself is only an attempt to patch +up the broken pieces. The fact remains that the army has no use for me. +I have been dismissed from West Point, in disgrace. It was a girl who +brought it about, or rather my own foolishness over a girl. And before +that there was much that led up to it. It is hard to write about it, but +in these memoirs I mean to tell everything--the good, with the bad. And +as I deserve no excuse, I make none. + +During that winter, after the death of my grandfather, and the spring +which had followed, I tried hard to do well at the Point. I wanted +to show them that though my grandfather was gone, his example and his +wishes still inspired me. And though I was not a studious cadet, I was +a smart soldier, and my demerits, when they came, were for smoking in my +room or for breaking some other such silly rule, and never for slouching +through the manual or coming on parade with my belts twisted. And at the +end of the second year I had been promoted from corporal to be a cadet +first sergeant, so that I was fourth in command over a company of +seventy. Although this gave me the advantage of a light after "taps" +until eleven o'clock, my day was so taken up with roll-calls, riding and +evening drills and parade, that I never seemed to find time to cram my +mechanics and chemistry, of which latter I could never see any possible +benefit. How a knowledge of what acid will turn blue litmus-paper red is +going to help an officer to find fodder for his troop horses, or inspire +him to lead a forlorn hope, was then, and still is, beyond my youthful +comprehension. + +But these studies were down on the roster, and whether I thought well +of them or not I was marked on them and judged accordingly. But I cannot +claim that it was owing to them or my failure to understand them that my +dismissal came, for, in spite of the absence of 3's in my markings and +the abundance of 2's, I was still a soldierly cadet, and in spite of the +fact that I was a stupid student, I made an excellent drill-master. + +The trouble, when it came, was all my own making, and my dismissal was +entirely due to an act of silly recklessness and my own idiocy. I had +taken chances before and had not been caught; several times I ran the +sentries at night for the sake of a noisy, drunken spree at a road-side +tavern, and several times I had risked my chevrons because I did not +choose to respect the arbitrary rules of the Academy which chafed my +spirit and invited me to rebellion. It was not so much that I enjoyed +those short hours of freedom, which I snatched in the face of such +serious penalties, but it was the risk of the thing itself which +attracted me, and which stirred the spirit of adventure that at times +sways us all. + +It was a girl who brought about my dismissal. I do not mean that she was +in any way to blame, but she was the indirect cause of my leaving +the Academy. It was a piece of fool's fortune, and I had not even the +knowledge that I cared in the least for the girl to console me. She was +only one of the several "piazza girls," as we called certain ones of +those who were staying at Cranston's, with whom I had danced, to whom +I had made pretty speeches, and had given the bell button that was sewn +just over my heart. She certainly was not the best of them, for I can +see now that she was vain and shallow, with a pert boldness, which I +mistook for vivacity and wit. Three years ago, at the age of twenty, my +knowledge of women was so complete that I divided them into six classes, +and as soon as I met a new one I placed her in one of these classes and +created her according to the line of campaign I had laid down as proper +for that class. Now, at twenty-three, I believe that there are as many +different kinds of women as there are women, but that all kinds are +good. Some women are better than others, but all are good, and all are +different. This particular one unknowingly did me a great harm, but +others have given me so much that is for good, that the balance side +is in their favor. If a man is going to make a fool of himself, I +personally would rather see him do it on account of a woman than for any +other cause. For centuries Antony has been held up to the scorn of the +world because he deserted his troops and his fleet, and sacrificed the +Roman Empire for the sake of Cleopatra. Of course, that is the one thing +a man cannot do, desert his men and betray his flag; but, if he is going +to make a bad break in life, I rather like his doing it for the love +of a woman. And, after all, it is rather fine to have for once felt +something in you so great that you placed it higher than the Roman +Empire. + +I haven't the excuse of any great feeling in my case. She, the girl at +Cranston's, was leaving the Point on the morrow, and she said if all I +had sworn to her was true I would run the sentries that night to +dance with her at the hop. Of course, love does not set tests nor ask +sacrifices, but I had sworn that I had loved her, as I understood the +world, and I told her I would come. I came, and I was recognized as +I crossed the piazza to the ball-room. On the morning following I was +called to the office of the Commandant and was told to pack my trunk. I +was out of uniform in an hour, and that night at parade the order of the +War Department dismissing me from the service was read to the assembled +battalion. + +{Illustration: We walked out to the woods.} + +I cannot write about that day. It was a very bright, beautiful day, full +of life and sunshine, and I remember that I wondered how the world could +be so cruel and unfeeling. The other second classmen came in while I was +packing my things to say that they were sorry. They were kind enough; +and some of them wanted me to go off to New York to friends of theirs +and help upset it and get drunk. Their idea was, I suppose, to show the +authorities how mistaken they had been in not making me an officer. But +I could not be civil to any of them. I hated them all, and the place, +and everyone in it. When I was dismissed my first thought was one of +utter thankfulness that my grandfather died before the disgrace came +upon me, and after that I did not much care. I was desperate and +bitterly miserable. I knew, as the authorities could not know, that no +one in my class felt more loyal to the service than myself; that I would +have died twenty deaths for my country; that there was no one company +post in the West, however distant from civilization, that would not have +been a paradise to me; that there was no soldier in the army who would +have served more devotedly than myself. And now I was found wanting +and thrown out to herd with civilians, as unfit to hold the President's +commission. After my first outbreak of impotent rage--for I blamed +everyone but myself--remorse set in, and I thought of grandfather and +of how much he had done for our country, and how we had talked so +confidently together of the days when I would follow in his footsteps, +as his grandchild, and as the son of "Fighting Macklin." + +All my life I had talked and thought of nothing else, and now, just as +I was within a year of it, I was shown the door which I never can enter +again. + +That it might be easier for us when I arrived, I telegraphed Beatrice +what had happened, and when I reached the house the same afternoon +she was waiting for me at the door, as though I was coming home for +a holiday and it was all as it might have been. But neither of us was +deceived, and without a word we walked out of the garden and up the hill +to the woods where we had last been together six months before, Since +then all had changed. Summer had come, the trees were heavy with leaves, +and a warm haze hung over the river and the Palisades beyond We seated +ourselves on a fallen tree at the top of the hill and sat in silence, +looking down into the warm, beautiful valley. It was Beatrice who was +the first to speak. + +"I have been thinking of what you can do," she began, gently, "and it +seems to me, Royal, that what you need now is a good rest. It has been a +hard winter for you. You have had to meet the two greatest trials that I +hope will ever come to you. You took the first one well, as you should, +and you will take this lesser one well also; I know you will. But you +must give yourself time to get over this--this disappointment, and to +look about you. You must try to content yourself at home with mother and +with me. I am so selfish that I am almost glad it has happened, for now +for a time we shall have you with us, all to ourselves, and we can take +care of you and see that you are not gloomy and morbid. And then when +the fall comes you will have decided what is best to do, and you will +have a rest and a quiet summer with those who understand you and love +you. And then you can go out into the world to do your work, whatever +your work is to be." + +I turned toward her and stared at her curiously. + +"Whatever my work is to be," I repeated. "That was decided for me, +Beatrice, when I was a little boy." + +She returned my look for a moment in some doubt, and then leaned eagerly +forward. "You mean to enlist?" she asked. + +"To enlist? Not I!" I answered hotly. "If I'm not fit to be an officer +now, I never shall be, at least not by that road. Do you know what it +means? It's the bitterest life a man can follow. He is neither the one +thing nor the other. The enlisted men suspect him, and the officers may +not speak with him. I know one officer who got his commission that way. +He swears now he would rather have served the time in jail. The officers +at the post pointed him out to visitors, as the man who had failed at +West Point, and who was working his way up from the ranks, and the men +of his company thought that _he_ thought, God help him, that he was too +good for them, and made his life hell. Do you suppose I'd show my +musket to men of my old mess, and have the girls I've danced with see me +marching up and down a board walk with a gun on my shoulder? Do you see +me going on errands for the men I've hazed, and showing them my socks +and shirts at inspection so they can give me a good mark for being a +clean and tidy soldier? No! I'll not enlist. If I'm not good enough to +carry a sword I'm not good enough to carry a gun, and the United States +Army can struggle along without me." + +Beatrice shook her head. + +"Don't say anything you'll be sorry for, Royal," she warned me. + +"You don't understand," I interrupted. "I'm not saying anything against +my own country or our army--how can I? I've proved clearly enough that +I'm not fit for it. I'm only too grateful, I've had three years in the +best military school in the world, at my country's expense, and I'm +grateful. Yes, and I'm miserable, too, that I have failed to deserve +it." + +I stood up and straightened my shoulders. "But perhaps there are other +countries less difficult to please," I said, "where I can lose myself +and be forgotten, and where I can see service. After all, a soldier's +business is to fight, not to sit at a post all day or to do a clerk's +work at Washington." + +Even as I spoke these chance words I seemed to feel the cloud of failure +and disgrace passing from me. I saw vaguely a way to redeem myself, and, +though I had spoken with bravado and at random, the words stuck in my +mind, and my despondency fell from me like a heavy knapsack. + +"Come," I said, cheerfully, "there can be no talk of a holiday for me +until I have earned it. You know I would love to stay here now with you +and Aunt in the old house, but I have no time to mope and be petted. If +you fall down, you must not lie in the road and cry over your bruised +shins; you must pick yourself up and go on again, even if you are a bit +sore and dirty." + +We said nothing more, but my mind was made up, and when we reached +the house I went at once to my room and repacked my trunk for a long +journey. It was a leather trunk in which my grandfather used to carry +his sword and uniform, and in it I now proudly placed the presentation +sword he had bequeathed to me in his will, and my scanty wardrobe and +$500 of the money he had left to me. All the rest of his fortune, with +the exception of the $2,000 a year he had settled upon me, he had, I am +glad to say, bequeathed with the house to Aunt Mary and Beatrice. When I +had finished my packing I joined them at supper, and such was my elation +at the prospect of at once setting forth to redeem myself, and to seek +my fortune, that to me the meal passed most cheerfully. When it was +finished, I found the paper of that morning, and spreading it out upon +the table began a careful search in the foreign news for what tidings +there might be of war. + +I told Beatrice what I was doing, and without a word she brought out my +old school atlas, and together under the light of the student-lamp we +sought out the places mentioned in the foreign despatches, and discussed +them, and the chances they might offer me. + +There were, I remember, at the time that paper was printed, strained +relations existing between France and China over the copper mines in +Tonkin; there was a tribal war in Upper Burmah with native troops; there +was a threat of complications in the Balkans, but the Balkans, as I have +since learned, are always with us and always threatening. Nothing in +the paper seemed to offer me the chance I sought, and apparently peace +smiled on every other portion of the globe. + +"There is always the mounted police in Canada," I said, tentatively. + +"No," Beatrice answered, quietly, and without asking her reasons I +accepted her decision and turned again to the paper. And then my eyes +fell on a paragraph which at first I had overlooked--a modest, brief +despatch tucked away in a corner, and unremarkable, except for its +strange date-line. It was headed, "The Revolt in Honduras." I pointed +to it with my finger, and Beatrice leaned forward with her head close to +mine, and we read it together. "Tegucigalpa, June 17th," it read. "The +revolution here has assumed serious proportions. President Alvarez has +proclaimed martial law over all provinces, and leaves tomorrow for Santa +Barbara, where the Liberal forces under the rebel leader, ex-President +Louis Garcia, were last in camp. General Laguerre is coming from +Nicaragua to assist Garcia with his foreign legion of 200 men. He has +seized the Nancy Miller, belonging to the Isthmian Line, and has fitted +her with two Gatling guns. He is reported to be bombarding the towns +on his way along the coast, and a detachment of Government troops is +marching to Porto Cortez to prevent his landing. His force is chiefly +composed of American and other aliens, who believe the overthrow of the +present government will be beneficial to foreign residents." + +"General Laguerre!" I cried, eagerly, "that is not a Spanish name. +General Laguerre must be a Frenchman. And it says that the men with +him are Americans, and that the present government is against all +foreigners." + +I drew back from the table with a laugh, and stood smiling at Beatrice, +but she shook her head, even though she smiled, too. + +"Oh, not that," she said. + +"My dear Beatrice," I expostulated, "it certainly isn't right that +American interests in--what's the name of the place--in Honduras, should +be jeopardized, is it? And by an ignorant half-breed like this President +What's-his-name? Certainly not. It must be stopped, even if we have to +requisition every steamer the Isthmian Line has afloat." + +"Oh, Royal," Beatrice cried, "you are not serious. No, you wouldn't, +you couldn't be so foolish. That's no affair of yours. That's not +your country. Besides, that is not war; it is speculation. You are a +gentleman, not a pirate and a filibuster." + +"William Walker was a filibuster," I answered. "He took Nicaragua +with 200 men and held it for two years against 20,000. I must begin +somewhere," I cried, "why not there? A girl can't understand these +things--at least, some girls can't--but I would have thought you would. +What does it matter what I do or where I go?" I broke out, bitterly. "I +have made a failure of my life at the very start. I am sick and sore and +desperate. I don't care where I go or what---" + +I would have ranted on for some time, no doubt, but that a look from +Beatrice stopped me in mid-air, and I stood silent, feeling somewhat +foolish. + +"I can understand this much," she said, "that you are a foolish boy. How +dare you talk of having made a failure of your life? Your life has not +yet begun. You have yet to make it, and to show yourself something +more than a boy." She paused, and then her manner changed, and she came +toward me, looking up at me with eyes that were moist and softened with +a sweet and troubled tenderness, and she took my hand and held it close +in both of hers. + +I had never seen her look more beautiful than she did at that moment. +If it had been any other woman in the world but her, I would have caught +her in my arms and kissed her again and again, but because it was she +I could not touch her, but drew back and looked down into her eyes with +the sudden great feeling I had for her. And so we stood for a moment, +seeing each other as we had never seen each other before. And then she +caught her breath quickly and drew away. But she turned her face toward +me at once, and looked up at me steadily. + +"I am so fond of you, Royal," she said, bravely, "you know, that--that +I cannot bear to think of you doing anything in this world that is not +fine and for the best. But if you will be a knight errant, and seek out +dangers and fight windmills, promise me to be a true knight and that +you will fight only when you must and only on the side that is just, and +then you will come back bringing your sheaves with you." + +I did not dare to look at her, but I raised her hand and held the +tips of her fingers against my lips, and I promised, but I would have +promised anything at that moment. + +"If I am to be a knight," I said, and my voice sounded very hoarse and +boyish, so that I hardly recognized it as my own, "you must give me your +colors to wear on my lance, and if any other knight thinks his colors +fairer, or the lady who gave them more lovely than you, I shall kill +him." + +She laughed softly and moved away. + +"Of course," she said, "of course, you must kill him." She stepped a few +feet from me, and, raising her hands to her throat, unfastened a little +gold chain which she wore around her neck. She took it off and held it +toward me. "Would you like this?" she said. I did not answer, nor +did she wait for me to do so, but wound the chain around my wrist and +fastened it, and I raised it and kissed it, and neither of us spoke. +She went out to the veranda to warn her mother of my departure, and I to +tell the servants to bring the carriage to the door. + +A few minutes later, the suburban train drew out of the station at +Dobbs Ferry, and I waved my hand to Beatrice as she sat in the carriage +looking after me. The night was warm and she wore a white dress and +her head was uncovered. In the smoky glare of the station lamps I could +still see the soft tints of her hair; and as the train bumped itself +together and pulled forward, I felt a sudden panic of doubt, a piercing +stab at my heart, and something called on me to leap off the car that +was bearing me away, and go back to the white figure sitting motionless +in the carriage. As I gripped the iron railing to restrain myself, I +felt the cold sweat springing to the palm of my hand. For a moment I +forgot the end of my long journey. I saw it as something foolish, mad, +fantastic. I was snatching at a flash of powder, when I could warm my +hands at an open fire. I was deserting the one thing which counted and +of which I was certain; the one thing I loved. And then the train turned +a curve, the lamps of the station and the white ghostly figure were shut +from me, and I entered the glaring car filled with close air and smoke +and smelling lamps. I seated myself beside a window and leaned far out +into the night, so that the wind of the rushing train beat in my face. + +And in a little time the clanking car-wheels seemed to speak to me, +beating out the words brazenly so that I thought everyone in the car +must hear them. + +"Turn again, turn again, Royal Macklin," they seemed to say to me. "She +loves you, Royal Macklin, she loves you, she loves you." + +And I thought of Dick Whittington when the Bow bells called to him, as +he paused in the country lane to look lack at the smoky roof of London, +and they had offered him so little, while for me the words seemed to +promise the proudest place a man could hold. And I imagined myself still +at home, working by day in some New York office and coming back by night +to find Beatrice at the station waiting for me, always in a white +dress, and with her brown hair glowing in the light of the lamps. And +I pictured us taking long walks together above the Hudson, and quiet, +happy evenings by the fire-side. But the rhythm of the car-wheels +altered, and from "She loves you, she loves you," the refrain now came +brokenly and fiercely, like the reports of muskets fired in hate and +fear, and mixed with their roar and rattle I seemed to distinguish words +of command in a foreign tongue, and the groans of men wounded and +dying. And I saw, rising above great jungles and noisome swamps, a +long mountain-range piercing a burning, naked sky; and in a pass in the +mountains a group of my own countrymen, ragged and worn and with eyes +lit with fever, waving a strange flag, and beset on every side by +dark-faced soldiers, and I saw my own face among them, hollow-cheeked +and tanned, with my head bandaged in a scarf; I felt the hot barrel of +a rifle burning my palm, I smelt the pungent odor of spent powder, my +throat and nostrils were assailed with smoke. I suffered all the fierce +joy and agony of battle, and the picture of the white figure of Beatrice +grew dim and receded from me, and as it faded the eyes regarded me +wistfully and reproached me, but I would not heed them, but turned my +own eyes away. And again I saw the menacing negro faces and the burning +sunlight and the strange flag that tossed and whimpered in the air above +my head, the strange flag of unknown, tawdry colors, like the painted +face of a woman in the street, but a flag at which I cheered and shouted +as though it were my own, as though I loved it; a flag for which I would +fight and die. + +The train twisted its length into the great station, the men about me +rose and crowded down the aisle, and I heard the cries of newsboys and +hackmen and jangling car-bells, and all the roar and tumult of a great +city at night. + +But I had already made my choice. Within an hour I had crossed to the +Jersey side, and was speeding south, south toward New Orleans, toward +the Gulf of Mexico, toward Honduras, to Colonel Laguerre and his foreign +legion. + + + + +II + + +S.S. PANAMA, OFF COAST OF HONDURAS + +To one who never before had travelled farther than is Dobbs Ferry from +Philadelphia, my journey south to New Orleans was something in the +way of an expedition, and I found it rich in incident and adventure. +Everything was new and strange, but nothing was so strange as my own +freedom. After three years of discipline, of going to bed by drum-call, +of waking by drum-call, and obeying the orders of others, this new +independence added a supreme flavor to all my pleasures. I took my +journey very seriously, and I determined to make every little incident +contribute to my better knowledge of the world. I rated the chance +acquaintances of the smoking-car as aids to a clear understanding of +mankind, and when at Washington I saw above the house-tops the marble +dome of the Capitol I was thrilled to think that I was already so much +richer in experience. + +To me the country through which we passed spoke with but one meaning. +I saw it as the chess-board of the War of the Rebellion. I imagined +the towns fortified and besieged, the hills topped with artillery, the +forests alive with troops in ambush, and in my mind, on account of their +strategic value to the enemy, I destroyed the bridges over which we +passed. The passengers were only too willing to instruct a stranger in +the historical values of their country. They pointed out to me where +certain regiments had camped, where homesteads had been burned, and +where real battles, not of my own imagining, but which had cost the +lives of many men, had been lost and won. I found that to these chance +acquaintances the events of which they spoke were as fresh after twenty +years as though they had occurred but yesterday, and they accepted my +curiosity as only a natural interest in a still vital subject. I judged +it advisable not to mention that General Hamilton was my grandfather. +Instead I told them that I was the son of an officer who had died for +the cause of secession. This was the first time I had ever missed +an opportunity of boasting of my relationship to my distinguished +grandparent, and I felt meanly conscious that I was in a way disloyal. +But they were so genuinely pleased when they learned that my father had +fought for the South, that I lacked the courage to tell them that while +he was so engaged another relative of mine had driven one of their best +generals through three States. + +I am one who makes the most of what he sees, and even the simplest +things filled me with delight; my first sight of cotton-fields, of +tobacco growing in the leaf, were great moments to me; and that the men +who guarded the negro convicts at work in the fields still clung to the +uniform of gray, struck me as a fact of pathetic interest. + +I was delayed in New Orleans for only one day. At the end of that time +I secured passage on the steamer Panama. She was listed to sail for +Aspinwall at nine o'clock the next morning, and to touch at ports along +the Central American coast. While waiting for my steamer I mobilized +my transport and supplies, and purchased such articles as I considered +necessary for a rough campaign in a tropical climate. My purchases +consisted of a revolver, a money-belt, in which to carry my small +fortune, which I had exchanged into gold double-eagles, a pair +of field-glasses, a rubber blanket, a canteen, riding boots, and +saddle-bags. I decided that my uniform and saddle would be furnished +me from the quartermaster's department of Garcia's army, for in my +ignorance I supposed I was entering on a campaign conducted after the +methods of European armies. + +We left the levees of New Orleans early in the morning, and for the +remainder of the day steamed slowly down the Mississippi River. I sat +alone upon the deck watching the low, swampy banks slipping past us +on either side, the gloomy cypress-trees heavy with gray moss, the +abandoned cotton-gins and disused negro quarters. As I did so a feeling +of homesickness and depression came upon me, and my disgraceful failure +at the Point, the loss of my grandfather, and my desertion of Beatrice, +for so it began to seem to me, filled me with a bitter melancholy. + +The sun set the first day over great wastes of swamp, swamp-land, and +pools of inky black, which stretched as far as the eye could reach; +gloomy, silent, and barren of any form of life. It was a picture which +held neither the freedom of the open sea nor the human element of the +solid earth. It seemed to me as though the world must have looked so +when darkness brooded over the face of the waters, and as I went to +my berth that night I felt as though I were saying good-by forever to +allthat was dear to me--my country, my home, and the girl I loved. + +I was awakened in the morning by a motion which I had never before +experienced. I was being gently lifted and lowered and rolled to and +fro as a hammock is rocked by the breeze. For some minutes I lay between +sleep and waking, struggling back to consciousness, until with a sudden +gasp of delight it came to me that at last I was at sea. I scrambled +from my berth and pulled back the curtains of the air port. It was as +though over night the ocean had crept up to my window. It stretched +below me in great distances of a deep, beautiful blue. Tumbling waves +were chasing each other over it, and millions of white caps glanced and +flashed as they raced by me in the sun. It was my first real view of the +ocean, and the restlessness of it and the freedom of it stirred me with +a great happiness. I drank in its beauty as eagerly as I filled my lungs +with the keen salt air, and thanked God for both. + +The three short days which followed were full of new and delightful +surprises, some because it was all so strange and others because it was +so exactly what I had hoped it would be. I had read many tales of the +sea, but ships I knew only as they moved along the Hudson at the end of +the towing-line. I had never felt one rise and fall beneath me, nor +from the deck of one watched the sun sink into the water. I had never at +night looked up at the great masts, and seen them swing, like a pendulum +reversed, between me and the stars. + +There was so much to learn that was new and so many things to see on +the waters, and in the skies, that it seemed wicked to sleep. So, during +nearly the whole of every night, I stood with Captain Leeds on his +bridge, or asked ignorant questions of the man at the wheel. The steward +of the Panama was purser, supercargo, and bar-keeper in one, and a most +interesting man. He apparently never slept, but at any hour was willing +to sit and chat with me. It was he who first introduced me to the +wonderful mysteries of the alligator pear as a salad, and taught me to +prefer, in a hot country, Jamaica rum with half a lime squeezed into the +glass to all other spirits. It was a most educational trip. + +I had much entertainment on board the Panama by pretending that I was +her captain, and that she was sailing under my orders. Sometimes +I pretended that she was an American man-of-war, and sometimes a +filibuster escaping from an American man-of-war. This may seem an absurd +and childish game, but I had always wanted to hold authority, and as I +had never done so, except as a drill sergeant at the Academy, it was +my habit to imagine myself in whatever position of responsibility +my surroundings suggested. For this purpose the Panama served me +excellently, and in scanning the horizon for hostile fleets or a pirate +flag I was as conscientious as was the lookout in the bow. At the +Academy I had often sat in my room with maps spread out before me +planning attacks on the enemy, considering my lines of communication, +telegraphing wildly for reinforcements, and despatching my aides with +a clearly written, comprehensive order to where my advance column was +engaged. I believe this "play-acting," as my room-mate used to call +it, helped me to think quickly, to give an intelligent command +intelligently, and made me rich in resources. + +For the first few days I was so enchanted with my new surroundings that +the sinister purpose of my journey South lost its full value. And when, +as we approached Honduras, it was recalled to me, I was surprised to +find that I had heard no one on board discuss the war, nor refer to it +in any way. When I considered this, I was the more surprised because +Porto Cortez was one of the chief ports at which we touched, and I was +annoyed to find that I had travelled so far for the sake of a cause in +which those directly interested felt so little concern. I set about +with great caution to discover the reason for this lack of interest. +The passengers of the Panama came from widely different parts of Central +America. They were coffee planters and mining engineers, concession +hunters, and promoters of mining companies. I sounded each of them +separately as to the condition of affairs in Honduras, and gave as my +reason for inquiring the fact that I had thoughts of investing my +money there. I talked rather largely of my money. But this information, +instead of inducing them to speak of Honduras, only made each of them +more eloquent in praising the particular republic in which his own money +was invested, and each begged me to place mine with his. In the course +of one day I was offered a part ownership in four coffee plantations, a +rubber forest, a machine for turning the sea-turtles into fat and shell, +and the good-will and fixtures of a dentist's office. Except that I +obtained some reputation on board as a young man of property, which +reputation I endeavored to maintain by treating everyone to drinks in +the social hall, my inquiries led to no result. No one apparently knew, +nor cared to know, of the revolution in Honduras, and passed it over as +a joke. This hurt me, but lest they should grow suspicious, I did not +continue my inquiries. + + + +THE CAFE SANTOS, SAGUA LA GRANDE, HONDURAS + + +We sighted land at seven in the morning, and as the ship made in toward +the shore I ran to the bow and stood alone peering over the rail. Before +me lay the scene set for my coming adventures, and as the ship threaded +the coral reefs, my excitement ran so high that my throat choked, and +my eyes suddenly dimmed with tears. It seemed too good to be real. It +seemed impossible that it could be true; that at last I should be about +to act the life I had so long only rehearsed and pretended. But the +pretence had changed to something living and actual. In front of me, +under a flashing sun, I saw the palm-fringed harbor of my dreams, a +white village of thatched mud houses, a row of ugly huts above which +drooped limply the flags of foreign consuls, and, far beyond, a deep +blue range of mountains, forbidding and mysterious, rising out of a +steaming swamp into a burning sky, and on the harbor's only pier, +in blue drill uniforms and gay red caps, a group of dark-skinned, +swaggering soldiers. This hot, volcano-looking land was the one I had +come to free from its fetters. These swarthy barefooted brigands were +the men with whom I was to fight. + +My trunk had been packed and strapped since sunrise, and before the +ship reached the pier, I had said "good-by" to everyone on board and was +waiting impatiently at the gang-way. I was the only passenger to leave, +and no cargo was unloaded nor taken on. She was waiting only for the +agent of the company to confer with Captain Leeds, and while these men +were conversing on the bridge, and the hawser was being drawn on board, +the custom-house officers, much to my disquiet, began to search my +trunk. I had nothing with me which was dutiable, but my grandfather's +presentation sword was hidden in the trunk and its presence there and +prospective use would be difficult to explain. It was accordingly with +a feeling of satisfaction that I noticed on a building on the end of the +pier the sign of our consulate and the American flag, and that a young +man, evidently an American, was hurrying from it toward the ship. But +as it turned out I had no need of his services, for I had concealed the +sword so cleverly by burying each end of it in one of my long cavalry +boots, that the official failed to find it. + +I had locked my trunk again and was waving final farewells to those on +the Panama, when the young man from the consulate began suddenly to race +down the pier, shouting as he came. + +The gang-way had been drawn up, and the steamer was under way, churning +the water as she swung slowly seaward, but she was still within easy +speaking distance of the pierhead. + +The young man rushed through the crowd, jostling the native Indians and +negro soldiers, and shrieked at the departing vessel. + +"Stop!" he screamed, "stop! stop her!" + +He recognized Captain Leeds on the bridge, and, running along the +pierhead until he was just below it, waved wildly at him. + +"Where's my freight?" he cried. "My freight! You haven't put off my +freight." + +Captain Leeds folded his arms comfortably upon the rail, and regarded +the young man calmly and with an expression of amusement. + +"Where are my sewing-machines?" the young man demanded. "Where are the +sewing-machines invoiced me by this steamer?" + +"Sewing-machines, Mr. Aiken?" the Captain answered. "I left your +sewing-machines in New Orleans." + +"You what?" shrieked the young man. "You left them?" + +"I left them sitting on the company's levee," the Captain continued, +calmly. "The revenue officers have 'em by now, Mr. Aiken. Some parties +said they weren't sewing-machines at all. They said you were acting for +Laguerre." + +The ship was slowly drawing away. The young man stretched out one arm as +though to detain her, and danced frantically along the stringhead. + +"How dare you!" he cried. "I'm a commission merchant. I deal in whatever +I please--and I'm the American Consul!" + +The Captain laughed, and with a wave of his hand in farewell backed away +from the rail. + +"That may be," he shouted, "but this line isn't carrying freight for +General Laguerre, nor for you, neither." He returned and made a speaking +trumpet of his hands. "Tell him from me," he shouted, mockingly, "that +if he wants his sewing-machines he'd better go North and steal 'em. Same +as he stole our Nancy Miller." + +The young man shook both his fists in helpless anger. + +"You damned banana trader," he shrieked, "you'll lose your license for +this. I'll fix you for this. I'll dirty your card for you, you pirate!" + +The Captain flung himself far over the rail. He did not need a speaking +trumpet now--his voice would have carried above the tumult of a +hurricane. + +"You'll what?" he roared. "You'll dirty my card, you thieving +filibuster? Do you know what I'll do to you? I'll have your tin +sign taken away from you, before I touch this port again. You'll +see--you--you--" he ended impotently for lack of epithets, but continued +in eloquent pantomime to wave his arms. + +With an oath the young man recognized defeat, and shrugged his +shoulders. + +"Oh, you go to the devil," he shouted, and turned away. He saw me +observing him, and as I was the only person present who looked as though +he understood English, he grinned at me sheepishly, and nodded. + +"I don't care for him," he said. "He can't frighten me." + +I considered this as equivalent to an introduction. + +"You are the United States Consul?" I asked. The young man nodded +briskly. + +"Yes; I am. Where do you come from?" + +"Dobbs Ferry, near New York," I answered. "I'd---I'd like to have a talk +with you, when you are not busy." + +"That's all right," he said. "I'm not busy now. That bumboat pirate +queered the only business I had. Where are you going to stop? There is +only one place," he explained; "that's Pulido's. He'll knife you if +he thinks you have five dollars in your belt, and the bar-room is half +under water anyway. Or you can take a cot in my shack, if you like, and +I'll board and lodge you for two pesos a day--that's one dollar in our +money. And if you are going up country," he went on, "I can fit you out +with mules and mozos and everything you want, from canned meats to +an escort of soldiers. You're sure to be robbed anyway," he urged, +pleasantly, "and you might as well give the job to a fellow-countryman. +I'd hate to have one of these greasers get it." + +"You're welcome to try," I said, laughing. + +In spite of his manner, which was much too familiar and patronizing, the +young man amused me, and I must confess moreover that at that moment I +felt very far from home and was glad to meet an American, and one not so +much older than myself. The fact that he was our consul struck me as a +most fortunate circumstance. + +He clapped his hands and directed one of the negroes to carry my trunk +to the consulate, and I walked with him up the pier, the native soldiers +saluting him awkwardly as he passed. He returned their salute with a +flourish, and more to impress me I guessed than from any regard for +them. + +"That's because I'm Consul," he said, with satisfaction. "There's only +eight white men in Porto Cortez," he explained, "and we're all consular +agents. The Italian consular agent is a Frenchman, and an Italian, +Guessippi--the Banana King, they call him--is consular agent for both +Germany and England, and the only German here is consular agent for +France and Holland. You see, each of 'em has to represent some other +country than his own, because his country knows why he left it." He +threw back his head and laughed at this with great delight. Apparently +he had already forgotten the rebuff from Captain Leeds. But it had made +a deep impression upon me. I had heard Leeds virtually accuse the consul +of being an agent of General Laguerre, and I suspected that the articles +he had refused to deliver were more likely to be machine guns than +sewing-machines. If this were true, Mr. Aiken was a person in whom I +could confide with safety. + +The consulate was a one-story building of corrugated iron, hot, +unpainted, and unlovely. It was set on wooden logs to lift it from the +reach of "sand jiggers" and the surf, which at high tide ran up the +beach, under and beyond it. Inside it was rude and bare, and the heat +and the smell of the harbor, and of the swamp on which the town was +built, passed freely through the open doors. + +Aiken proceeded to play the host in a most cordial manner. He placed my +trunk in the room I was to occupy, and set out some very strong Honduran +cigars and a bottle of Jamaica rum. While he did this he began to +grumble over the loss of his sewing-machines, and to swear picturesquely +at Captain Leeds, bragging of the awful things he meant to do to him. +But when he had tasted his drink and lighted a cigar, his good-humor +returned, and he gave his attention to me. + +"Now then, young one," he asked, in a tone of the utmost familiarity, +"what's your trouble?" + +I explained that I could not help but hear what the Captain shouted +at him from the Panama, and I asked if it was contrary to the law of +Honduras for one to communicate with the officer Captain Leeds had +mentioned--General Laguerre. + +"The old man, hey?" Aiken exclaimed and stared at me apparently with +increased interest. "Well, there are some people who might prevent your +getting to him," he answered, diplomatically. For a moment he sipped his +rum and water, while he examined me from over the top of the cup. Then +he winked and smiled. + +"Come now," he said, encouragingly. "Speak up. What's the game? You can +trust me. You're an agent for Collins, or the Winchester Arms people, +aren't you?" + +"On the contrary," I said, with some haughtiness, "I am serving no one's +interest but my own. I read in the papers of General Laguerre and his +foreign legion, and I came here to join him and to fight with him. +That's all. I am a soldier of fortune, I said." I repeated this with +some emphasis, for I liked the sound of it. "I am a soldier of fortune, +and my name is Macklin. I hope in time to make it better known." + +"A soldier of fortune, hey?" exclaimed Aiken, observing me with a grin. +"What soldiering have you done?" + +I replied, with a little embarrassment, that as yet I had seen no active +service, but that for three years I had been trained for it at West +Point. + +"At West Point, the deuce you have!" said Aiken. His tone was now one +of respect, and he regarded me with marked interest. He was not a +gentleman, but he was sharp-witted enough to recognize one in me, and +my words and bearing had impressed him. Still his next remark was +disconcerting. + +"But if you're a West Point soldier," he asked, "why the devil do you +want to mix up in a shooting-match like this?" + +I was annoyed, but I answered, civilly: "It's in a good cause," I said. +"As I understand the situation, this President Alvarez is a tyrant. He's +opposed to all progress. It's a fight for liberty." + +Aiken interrupted me with a laugh, and placed his feet on the table. + +"Oh, come," he said, in a most offensive tone. "Play fair, play fair." + +"Play fair? What do you mean?" I demanded. + +"You don't expect me to believe," he said, jeeringly, "that you came all +the way down here, just to fight for the sacred cause of liberty." + +I may occasionally exaggerate a bit in representing myself to be a more +important person than I really am, but if I were taught nothing else at +the Point, I was taught to tell the truth, and when Aiken questioned my +word I felt the honor of the whole army rising within me and stiffening +my back-bone. + +"You had better believe what I tell you, sir," I answered him, sharply. +"You may not know it, but you are impertinent!" + +I have seldom seen a man so surprised as was Aiken when I made this +speech. His mouth opened and remained open while he slowly removed +his feet from the table and allowed the legs of his chair to touch the +floor. + +"Great Scott," he said at last, "but you have got a nasty temper. I'd +forgotten that folks are so particular." + +"Particular--because I object to having my word doubted," I asked. "I +must request you to send my trunk to Pulido's. I fancy you and I won't +hit it off together." I rose and started to leave the room, but he held +out his hands to prevent me, and exclaimed, in consternation: + +"Oh, that's no way to treat me," he protested. "I didn't say anything +for you to get on your ear about. If I did, I'm sorry." He stepped +forward, offering to shake my hand, and as I took his doubtfully, he +pushed me back into my chair. + +"You mustn't mind me," he went on. "It's been so long since I've seen a +man from God's country that I've forgotten how to do the polite. Here, +have another drink and start even." He was so eager and so suddenly +humble that I felt ashamed of my display of offended honor, and we began +again with a better understanding. + +I told him once more why I had come, and this time he accepted my story +as though he considered my wishing to join Laguerre the most natural +thing in the world, nodding his head and muttering approvingly. When I +had finished he said, "You may not think so now, but I guess you've come +to the only person who can help you. If you'd gone to anyone else you'd +probably have landed in jail." He glanced over his shoulder at the open +door, and then, after a mysterious wink at me, tiptoed out upon the +veranda, and ran rapidly around and through the house. This precaution +on his part gave me a thrill of satisfaction. I felt that at last I +was a real conspirator that I was concerned in something dangerous and +weighty. I sipped at my glass with an air of indifference, but as a +matter of fact I was rather nervous. + +"You can't be too careful," Aiken said as he reseated himself. "Of +course, the whole thing is a comic opera, but if they suspect you +are working against them, they're just as likely as not to make it a +tragedy, with you in the star part. Now I'll explain how I got into +this, and I can assure you it wasn't through any love of liberty with +me. The consular agent here is a man named Quay, and he and I have +been in the commission business together. About three months ago, when +Laguerre was organizing his command at Bluefields, Garcia, who is the +leader of the revolutionary party, sent word down here to Quay to go +North for him and buy two machine guns and invoice 'em to me at the +consulate. Quay left on the next steamer and appointed me acting consul, +but except for his saying so I've no more real authority to act as +consul than you have. The plan was that when Laguerre captured this port +he would pick up the guns and carry them on to Garcia. Laguerre was at +Bluefields, but couldn't get into the game for lack of a boat. So when +the Nancy Miller touched there he and his crowd boarded her just like a +lot of old-fashioned pirates and turned the passengers out on the wharf. +Then they put a gun at the head of the engineer and ordered him to take +them back to Porto Cortez. But when they reached here the guns hadn't +arrived from New Orleans. And so, after a bit of a fight on landing, +Laguerre pushed on without them to join Garcia. He left instructions +with me to bring him word when they arrived. He's in hiding up there in +the mountains, waiting to hear from me now. They ought to have come this +steamer day on the Panama along with you, but, as you know, they didn't. +I never thought they would. I knew the Isthmian Line people wouldn't +carry 'em. They've got to beat Garcia, and until this row is over they +won't even carry a mail-bag for fear he might capture it." + +"Is that because General Laguerre seized one of their steamers?" I +asked. + +"No, it's an old fight," said Aiken, "and Laguerre's stealing the Nancy +Miller was only a part of it. The fight began between Garcia and the +Isthmian Line when Garcia became president. He tried to collect some +money from the Isthmian Line, and old man Fiske threw him out of the +palace and made Alvarez president." + +I was beginning to find the politics of the revolution into which I had +precipitated myself somewhat involved, and I suppose I looked puzzled, +for Aiken laughed. + +"You can laugh," I said, "but it is rather confusing. Who is Fiske? Is +he another revolutionist?" + +"Fiske!" exclaimed Aiken. "Don't tell me you don't know who Fiske is? +I mean old man Fiske, the Wall Street banker--Joseph Fiske, the one who +owns the steam yacht and all the railroads." + +I had of course heard of that Joseph Fiske, but his name to me was only +a word meaning money. I had never thought of Joseph Fiske as a human +being. At school and at the Point when we wanted to give the idea of +wealth that could not be counted we used to say, "As rich as Joe Fiske." +But I answered, in a tone that suggested that I knew him intimately: + +"Oh, that Fiske," I said. "But what has he to do with Honduras?" + +"He owns it," Aiken answered. "It's like this," he began. "You must +understand that almost every republic in Central America is under +the thumb of a big trading firm or a banking house or a railroad. For +instance, all these revolutions you read about in the papers--it's +seldom they start with the people. The _puebleo_ don't often elect +a president or turn one out. That's generally the work of a New York +business firm that wants a concession. If the president in office won't +give it a concession the company starts out to find one who will. It +hunts up a rival politician or a general of the army who wants to be +president, and all of them do, and makes a deal with him. It promises +him if he'll start a revolution it will back him with the money and the +guns. Of course, the understanding is that if the leader of the fake +revolution gets in he'll give his New York backers whatever they're +after. Sometimes they want a concession for a railroad, and sometimes +it's a nitrate bed or a rubber forest, but you can take my word for +it that there's very few revolutions down here that haven't got a +money-making scheme at the bottom of them. + +"Now this present revolution was started by the Isthmian Steamship Line, +of which Joe Fiske is president. It runs its steamers from New Orleans +to the Isthmus of Panama. In its original charter this republic gave it +the monopoly of the fruit-carrying trade from all Hondurian ports. In +return for this the company agreed to pay the government $10,000 a year +and ten per cent, on its annual receipts, if the receipts ever exceeded +a certain amount. Well, curiously enough, although the line has been +able to build seven new steamers, its receipts have never exceeded that +fixed amount. And if you know these people the reason for that is very +simple. The company has always given each succeeding president a lump +sum for himself, on the condition that he won't ask any impertinent +questions about the company's earnings. Its people tell him that it is +running at a loss, and he always takes their word for it. But Garcia, +when he came in, either was too honest, or they didn't pay him enough to +keep quiet. I don't know which it was, but, anyway, he sent an agent +to New Orleans to examine the company's books. The agent discovered the +earnings have been so enormous that by rights the Isthmian Line owed the +government of Honduras $500,000. This was a great chance for Garcia, and +he told them to put up the back pay or lose their charter. They refused +and he got back at them by preventing their ships from taking on any +cargo in Honduras, and by seizing their plant here and at Truxillo. +Well, the company didn't dare to go to law about it, nor appeal to the +State Department, so it started a revolution. It picked out a thief +named Alvarez as a figure-head and helped him to bribe the army and +capture the capital. Then he bought a decision from the local courts in +favor of the company. After that there was no more talk about collecting +back pay. Garcia was an exile in Nicaragua. There he met Laguerre, who +is a professional soldier of fortune, and together they cooked up this +present revolution. They hope to put Garcia back into power again. How +he'll act if he gets in I don't know. The common people believe he's a +patriot, that he'll keep all the promises he makes them--and he makes a +good many--and some white people believe in him, too. Laguerre believes +in him, for instance. Laguerre told me that Garcia was a second Bolivar +and Washington. But he might be both of them, and he couldn't beat the +Isthmian Line. You see, while he has prevented the Isthmian Line from +carrying bananas, he's cut off his own nose by shutting off his only +source of supply. For these big corporations hang together at times, +and on the Pacific side the Pacific Mail Company has got the word from +Fiske, and they won't carry supplies, either. That's what I meant by +saying that Joe Fiske owns Honduras. He's cut it off from the world, and +only _his_ arms and _his_ friends can get into it. And the joke of it is +he can't get out." + +"Can't get out?" I exclaimed. "What do you mean?" + +"Why, he's up there at Tegucigalpa himself," said Aiken. "Didn't you +know that? He's up at the capital, visiting Alvarez. He came in through +this port about two weeks ago." + +"Joseph Fiske is fighting in a Hondurian revolution?" I exclaimed. + +"Certainly not!" cried Aiken. "He's here on a pleasure trip; partly +pleasure, partly business. He came here on his yacht. You can see her +from the window, lying to the left of the buoy. Fiske has nothing to do +with this row. I don't suppose he knows there's a revolution going on." + +I resented this pretended lack of interest on the part of the Wall +Street banker. I condemned it as a piece of absurd affectation. + +"Don't you believe it!" I said. "No matter how many millions a man has, +he doesn't stand to lose $500,000 without taking an interest in it." + +"Oh, but he doesn't know about _that_," said Aiken. "He doesn't know +the ins and outs of the story--what I've been telling you. That's on the +inside--that's cafe scandal. That side of it would never reach him. I +suppose Joe Fiske is president of a _dozen_ steamship lines, and all he +does is to lend his name to this one, and preside at board meetings. The +company's lawyers tell him whatever they think he ought to know. They +probably say they're having trouble down here owing to one of the local +revolutions, and that Garcia is trying to blackmail them." + +"Then you don't think Fiske came down here about this?" I asked. + +"About this?" repeated Aiken, in a tone of such contempt that I disliked +him intensely. For the last half hour Aiken had been jumping unfeelingly +on all my ideals and illusions. + +"No," he went on. "He came here on his yacht on a pleasure trip around +the West India Islands, and he rode in from here to look over the Copan +Silver Mines. Alvarez is terribly keen to get rid of him. He's afraid +the revolutionists will catch him and hold him for ransom. He'd bring a +good price," Aiken added, reflectively. "It's enough to make a man turn +brigand. And his daughter, too. She'd bring a good price." + +"His daughter!" I exclaimed. + +Aiken squeezed the tips of his fingers together, and kissed them, +tossing the imaginary kiss up toward the roof. Then he drank what was +left of his rum and water at a gulp and lifted the empty glass high in +the air. "To the daughter," he said. + +It was no concern of mine, but I resented his actions exceedingly. I +think I was annoyed that he should have seen the young lady while I had +not. I also resented his toasting her before a stranger. I knew he could +not have met her, and his pretence of enthusiasm made him appear quite +ridiculous. He looked at me mournfully, shaking his head as though it +were impossible for him to give me an idea of her. + +"Why they say," he exclaimed, "that when she rides along the trail, the +native women kneel beside it. + +"She's the best looking girl I ever saw," he declared, "and she's a +thoroughbred too!" he added, "or she wouldn't have stuck it out in this +country when she had a clean yacht to fall back on. She's been riding +around on a mule, so they tell me, along with her father and the +engineering experts, and just as though she enjoyed it. The men up at +the mines say she tired them all out." + +I had no desire to discuss the young lady with Aiken, so I pretended not +to be interested, and he ceased speaking, and we smoked in silence. But +my mind was nevertheless wide awake to what he had told me. I could not +help but see the dramatic values which had been given to the situation +by the presence of this young lady. The possibilities were tremendous. +Here was I, fighting against her father, and here was she, beautiful and +an heiress to many millions. In the short space of a few seconds I had +pictured myself rescuing her from brigands, denouncing her father +for not paying his honest debt to Honduras, had been shot down by his +escort, Miss Fiske had bandaged my wounds, and I was returning North as +her prospective husband on my prospective father-in-law's yacht. +Aiken aroused me from this by rising to his feet. "Now then," he said, +briskly, "if you want to go to Laguerre you can come with me. I've got +to see him to explain why his guns haven't arrived, and I'll take you +with me." He made a wry face and laughed. "A nice welcome he'll give +me," he said. I jumped to my feet. "There's my trunk," I said; "it's +ready, and so am I. When do we start?" + +"As soon as it is moonlight," Aiken answered. + +The remainder of the day was spent in preparing for our journey. I was +first taken to the commandante and presented to him as a commercial +traveller. Aiken asked him for a passport permitting me to proceed to +the capital "for purposes of trade." As consular agent Aiken needed no +passport for himself, but to avoid suspicion he informed the commandante +that his object in visiting Tegucigalpa was to persuade Joseph Fiske, +as president of the Isthmian Line, to place buoys in the harbor of Porto +Cortez and give the commission for their purchase to the commandante. +Aiken then and always was the most graceful liar I have ever met. His +fictions were never for his own advantage, at least not obviously so. +Instead, they always held out some pleasing hope for the person to whom +they were addressed. His plans and promises as to what he would do were +so alluring that even when I knew he was lying I liked to pretend that +he was not. This particular fiction so interested the commandante that +he even offered us an escort of soldiers, which honor we naturally +declined. + +That night when the moon had risen we started inland, each mounted on a +stout little mule, and followed by a third, on which was swung my trunk, +balanced on the other side by Aiken's saddle bags. A Carib Indian whom +Aiken had selected because of his sympathies for the revolution walked +beside the third mule and directed its progress by the most startling +shrieks and howls. To me it was a most memorable and marvellous night, +and although for the greater part of it Aiken dozed in his saddle and +woke only to abuse his mule, I was never more wakeful nor more happy. At +the very setting forth I was pleasantly stirred when at the limit of the +town a squad of soldiers halted us and demanded our passports. This was +my first encounter with the government troops. They were barefooted +and most slovenly looking soldiers, mere boys in age and armed with +old-fashioned Remingtons. But their officer, the captain of the guard, +was more smartly dressed, and I was delighted to find that my knowledge +of Spanish, in which my grandfather had so persistently drilled me, +enabled me to understand all that passed between him and Aiken. The +captain warned us that the revolutionists were camped along the +trail, and that if challenged we had best answer quickly that we were +Americanos. He also told us that General Laguerre and his legion of +"gringoes" were in hiding in the highlands some two days' ride from the +coast. Aiken expressed the greatest concern at this, and was for at +once turning back. His agitation was so convincing, he was apparently +so frightened, that, until he threw a quick wink at me, I confess I was +completely taken in. For some time he refused to be calmed, and it +was only when the captain assured him that his official position would +protect him from any personal danger that he consented to ride on. +Before we crossed the town limits he had made it quite evident that +the officer himself was solely responsible for his continuing on +his journey, and he denounced Laguerre and all his works with a +picturesqueness of language and a sincerity that filled me with +confusion. I even began to doubt if after all Aiken was not playing a +game for both sides, and might not end my career by leading me into +a trap. After we rode on I considered the possibility of this quite +seriously, and I was not reassured until I heard the _mozo_, with many +chuckles and shrugs of the shoulder, congratulate Aiken on the way he +had made a fool of the captain. + +"That's called diplomacy, Jose," Aiken told him. "That's my statecraft. +It's because I have so much statecraft that I am a consul. You keep +your eye on this American consul, Jose, and you'll learn a lot of +statecraft." + +Jose showed his teeth and grinned, and after he had dropped into a line +behind us we could hear him still chuckling. + +"You would be a great success in secret service work, Aiken," I said, +"or on the stage." + +We were riding in single file, and in order to see my face in the +moonlight he had to turn in his saddle. + +"And yet I didn't," he laughed. + +"What do you mean," I asked, "were you ever a spy or an actor?" + +"I was both," he said. "I was a failure at both, too. I got put in jail +for being a spy, and I ought to have been hung for my acting." I kicked +my mule forward in order to hear better. + +"Tell me about it," I asked, eagerly. "About when you were a spy." + +But Aiken only laughed, and rode on without turning his head. + +"You wouldn't understand," he said after a pause. Then he looked at me +over his shoulder. "It needs a big black background of experience and +hard luck to get the perspective on that story," he explained. "It +wouldn't appeal to you; you're too young. They're some things they don't +teach at West Point." + +"They teach us," I answered, hotly, "that if we're detailed to secret +service work we are to carry out our orders. It's not dishonorable to +obey orders. I'm not so young as you think. Go on, tell me, in what war +were you a spy?" + +"It wasn't in any war," Aiken said, again turning away from me. "It was +in Haskell's Private Detective Agency." + +I could not prevent an exclamation, but the instant it had escaped me +I could have kicked myself for having made it. "I beg your pardon," I +murmured, awkwardly. + +"I said you wouldn't understand," Aiken answered. Then, to show he did +not wish to speak with me further, he spurred his mule into a trot and +kept a distance between us. + +Our trail ran over soft, spongy ground and was shut in on either hand +by a wet jungle of tangled vines and creepers. They interlaced like the +strands of a hammock, choking and strangling and clinging to each other +in a great web. From the jungle we came to ill-smelling pools of mud and +water, over which hung a white mist which rose as high as our heads. +It was so heavy with moisture that our clothing dripped with it, and +we were chilled until our teeth chattered. But by five o'clock in the +morning we had escaped the coast swamps, and reached higher ground and +the village of Sagua la Grande, and the sun was drying our clothes and +taking the stiffness out of our bones. + + + +CANAL COMPANY'S FEVER HOSPITAL, PANAMA + + +The nurse brought me my diary this morning. She found it in the inside +pocket of my tunic. All of its back pages were scribbled over with +orders of the day, countersigns, and the memoranda I made after Laguerre +appointed me adjutant to the Legion. But in the first half of it was +what I see I was pleased to call my "memoirs," in which I had written +the last chapter the day Aiken and I halted at Sagua la Grande. When I +read it over I felt that I was somehow much older than when I made that +last entry. And yet it was only two months ago. It seems like two years. +I don't feel much like writing about it, nor thinking about it, but I +suppose, if I mean to keep my "memoirs" up to date, I shall never have +more leisure in which to write than I have now. For Dr. Ezequiel says it +will be another two weeks before I can leave this cot. Sagua seems very +unimportant now. But I must not write of it as I see it now, from this +distance, but as it appealed to me then, when everything about me was +new and strange and wonderful. + +It was my first sight of a Honduranian town, and I thought it most +charming and curious. As I learned later it was like any other +Honduranian town and indeed like every other town in Central America. +They are all built around a plaza, which sometimes is a park with +fountains and tessellated marble pavements and electric lights, and +sometimes only an open place of dusty grass. There is always a church +at one end, and the cafe or club, and the alcalde's house, or the +governor's palace, at another. In the richer plazas there must always +be the statue of some Liberator, and in the poorer a great wooden cross. +Sagua la Grande was bright and warm and foreign looking. It reminded +me of the colored prints of Mexico which I had seen in my grandfather's +library. The houses were thatched clay huts with gardens around them +crowded with banana palms, and trees hung with long beans, which broke +into masses of crimson flowers. The church opposite the inn was old and +yellow, and at the edge of the plaza were great palms that rustled and +courtesied. We led our mules straight through the one big room of the +inn out into the yard behind it, and while doing it I committed the +grave discourtesy of not first removing my spurs. Aiken told me about it +at once, and I apologized to everyone--to the alcalde, and the priest, +and the village school-master who had crossed the plaza to welcome +us--and I asked them all to drink with me. I do not know that I ever +enjoyed a breakfast more than I did the one we ate in the big cool inn +with the striped awning outside, and the naked brown children watching +us from the street, and the palms whispering overhead. The breakfast +was good in itself, but it was my surroundings which made the meal so +remarkable and the fact that I was no longer at home and responsible to +someone, but that I was talking as one man to another, and in a foreign +language to people who knew no other tongue. The inn-keeper was a fat +little person in white drill and a red sash, in which he carried two +silver-mounted pistols. He looked like a ring-master in a circus, but he +cooked us a most wonderful omelette with tomatoes and onions and olives +chopped up in it with oil. And an Indian woman made us tortillas, which +are like our buckwheat cakes. It was fascinating to see her toss them +up in the air, and slap them into shape with her hands. Outside the sun +blazed upon the white rim of huts, and the great wooden cross in the +plaza threw its shadow upon the yellow facade of the church. Beside the +church there was a chime of four bells swinging from a low ridge-pole. +The dews and the sun had turned their copper a brilliant green, but had +not hurt their music, and while we sat at breakfast a little Indian boy +in crumpled vestments beat upon them with a stick, making a sweet and +swinging melody. It did not seem to me a scene set for revolution, but I +liked it all so much that that one breakfast alone repaid me for my long +journey south. I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit +me, and that I would never ask for better company than the comic-opera +landlord and the jolly young priest and the yellow-skinned, fever-ridden +schoolmaster with his throat wrapped in a great woollen shawl. But very +soon, what with having had no sleep the night before and the heat, I +grew terribly drowsy and turned in on a canvas cot in the corner, where +I slept until long after mid-day. For some time I could hear Aiken and +the others conversing together and caught the names of Laguerre and +Garcia, but I was too sleepy to try to listen, and, as I said, Sagua did +not seem to me to be the place for conspiracies and revolutions. I left +it with real regret, and as though I were parting with friends of long +acquaintanceship. + +From the time we left Sagua the path began to ascend, and we rode in +single file along the edges of deep precipices. From the depths below +giant ferns sent up cool, damp odors, and we could hear the splash and +ripple of running water, and at times, by looking into the valley, I +could see waterfalls and broad streams filled with rocks, which churned +the water into a white foam. We passed under tall trees covered with +white and purple flowers, and in the branches of others were perched +macaws, giant parrots of the most wonderful red and blue and yellow, and +just at sunset we startled hundreds of parroquets which flew screaming +and chattering about our heads, like so many balls of colored worsted. + +When the moon rose, we rode out upon a table-land and passed between +thick forests of enormous trees, the like of which I had never imagined. +Their branches began at a great distance from the ground and were +covered thick with orchids, which I mistook for large birds roosting for +the night. Each tree was bound to the next by vines like tangled ropes, +some drawn as taut as the halyards of a ship, and others, as thick as +one's leg; they were twisted and wrapped around the branches, so that +they looked like boa-constrictors hanging ready to drop upon one's +shoulders. The moonlight gave to this forest of great trees a weird, +fantastic look. I felt like a knight entering an enchanted wood. But +nothing disturbed our silence except the sudden awakening of a great +bird or the stealthy rustle of an animal in the underbrush. Near +midnight we rode into a grove of manacca palms as delicate as ferns, and +each as high as a three-story house, and with fronds so long that those +drooping across the trail hid it completely. To push our way through +these we had to use both arms as one lifts the curtains in a doorway. + +{Illustration: I was sure life in Sagua la Grande would always suit me.} + +Aiken himself seemed to feel the awe and beauty of the place, and called +the direction to me in a whisper. Even that murmur was enough to carry +above the rustling of the palms, and startled hundreds of monkeys into +wakefulness. We could hear their barks and cries echoing from every part +of the forest, and as they sprang from one branch to another the palms +bent like trout-rods, and then swept back into place again with a +strange swishing sound, like the rush of a great fish through water. + +After midnight we were too stiff and sore to ride farther, and we +bivouacked on the trail beside a stream. I had no desire for further +sleep, and I sat at the foot of a tree smoking and thinking. I had often +"camped out" as a boy, and at West Point with the battalion, but I had +never before felt so far away from civilization and my own people. For +company I made a little fire and sat before it, going over in my mind +what I had learned since I had set forth on my travels. I concluded that +so far I had gained much and lost much. What I had experienced of the +ocean while on the ship and what little I had seen of this country +delighted me entirely, and I would not have parted with a single one of +my new impressions. But all I had learned of the cause for which I had +come to fight disappointed and disheartened me. Of course I had left +home partly to seek adventure, but not only for that. I had set out on +this expedition with the idea that I was serving some good cause--that +old-fashioned principles were forcing these men to fight for their +independence. But I had been early undeceived. At the same time that +I was enjoying my first sight of new and beautiful things I was being +robbed of my illusions and my ideals. And nothing could make up to me +for that. By merely travelling on around the globe I would always be +sure to find some new things of interest. But what would that count if I +lost my faith in men! If I ceased to believe in their unselfishness +and honesty. Even though I were young and credulous, and lived in +a make-believe world of my own imagining, I was happier so than in +thinking that everyone worked for his own advantage, and without justice +to others, or private honor. It harmed no one that I believed better +of others than they deserved, but it was going to hurt me terribly if I +learned that their aims were even lower than my own. I knew it was Aiken +who had so discouraged me. It was he who had laughed at me for believing +that Laguerre and his men were fighting for liberty. If I were going +to credit him, there was not one honest man in Honduras, and no one on +either side of this revolution was fighting for anything but money. He +had made it all seem commercial, sordid, and underhand. I blamed him +for having so shaken my faith and poisoned my mind. I scowled at his +unconscious figure as he lay sleeping peacefully on his blanket, and I +wished heartily that I had never set eyes on him. Then I argued that his +word, after all, was not final. He made no pretence of being a saint, +and it was not unnatural that a man who held no high motives should +fail to credit them to others. I had partially consoled myself with +this reflection, when I remembered suddenly that Beatrice herself had +foretold the exact condition which Aiken had described. + +"That is not war," she had said to me, "that is speculation!" She surely +had said that to me, but how could she have known, or was hers only a +random guess? And if she had guessed correctly what would she wish me to +do now? Would she wish me to turn back, or, if my own motives were good, +would she tell me to go on? She had called me her knight-errant, and I +owed it to her to do nothing of which she would disapprove. As I thought +of her I felt a great loneliness and a longing to see her once again. +I thought of how greatly she would have delighted in those days at sea, +and how wonderful it would have been if I could have seen this hot, +feverish country with her at my side. I pictured her at the inn at Sagua +smiling on the priest and the fat little landlord; and their admiration +of her. I imagined us riding together in the brilliant sunshine with the +crimson flowers meeting overhead, and the palms bowing to her and paying +her homage. I lifted the locket she had wound around my wrist, and +kissed it. As I did so, my doubts and questionings seemed to fall away. +I stood up confident and determined. It was not my business to worry +over the motives of other men, but to look to my own. I would go ahead +and fight Alvarez, who Aiken himself declared was a thief and a tyrant. +If anyone asked me my politics I would tell him I was for the side that +would obtain the money the Isthmian Line had stolen, and give it to +the people; that I was for Garcia and Liberty, Laguerre and the Foreign +Legion. This platform of principles seemed to me so satisfactory that I +stretched my feet to the fire and went to sleep. + +I was awakened by the most delicious odor of coffee, and when I rolled +out of my blanket I found Jose standing over me with a cup of it in his +hand, and Aiken buckling the straps of my saddle-girth. We took a +plunge in the stream, and after a breakfast of coffee and cold tortillas +climbed into the saddle and again picked up the trail. + +After riding for an hour Aiken warned me that at any moment we were +likely to come upon either Laguerre or the soldiers of Alvarez. "So you +keep your eyes and ears open," he said, "and when they challenge throw +up your hands quick. The challenge is 'Halt, who lives,'" he explained. +"If it is a government soldier you must answer, 'The government.' But if +it's one of Laguerre's or Garcia's pickets you must say 'The revolution +lives.' And whatever else you do, _hold up your hands._" + +I rehearsed this at once, challenging myself several times, and giving +the appropriate answers. The performance seemed to afford Aiken much +amusement. + +"Isn't that right?" I asked. + +"Yes," he said, "but the joke is that you won't be able to tell which is +the government soldier and which is the revolutionist, and you'll give +the wrong answer, and we'll both get shot." + +"I can tell by our uniform," I answered. + +"Uniform!" exclaimed Aiken, and burst into the most uproarious laughter. +"Rags and tatters," he said. + +I was considerably annoyed to learn by this that the revolutionary party +had no distinctive uniform. The one worn by the government troops which +I had seen at the coast I had thought bad enough, but it was a great +disappointment to hear that we had none at all. Ever since I had started +from Dobbs Ferry I had been wondering what was the Honduranian +uniform. I had promised myself to have my photograph taken in it. I +had anticipated the pride I should have in sending the picture back to +Beatrice. So I was considerably chagrined, until I decided to invent +a uniform of my own, which I would wear whether anyone else wore it or +not. This was even better than having to accept one which someone else +had selected. As I had thought much on the subject of uniforms, I began +at once to design a becoming one. + +We had reached a most difficult pass in the mountain, where the trail +stumbled over broken masses of rock and through a thick tangle of +laurel. The walls of the pass were high and the trees at the top shut +out the sunlight. It was damp and cold and dark. + +"We're sure to strike something here," Aiken whispered over his +shoulder. It did not seem at all unlikely. The place was the most +excellent man-trap, but as to that, the whole length of the trail had +lain through what nature had obviously arranged for a succession of +ambushes. + +Aiken turned in his saddle and said, in an anxious tone: "Do you know, +the nearer I get to the old man, the more I think I was a fool to come. +As long as I've got nothing but bad news, I'd better have stayed away. +Do you remember Pharaoh and the messengers of ill tidings?" + +I nodded, but I kept my eyes busy with the rocks and motionless laurel. +My mule was slipping and kicking down pebbles, and making as much noise +as a gun battery. I knew, if there were any pickets about, they could +hear us coming for a quarter of a mile. + +"Garcia may think he's Pharaoh," Aiken went on, "and take it into his +head it's my fault the guns didn't come. Laguerre may say I sold the +secret to the Isthmian Line." + +"Oh, he couldn't think you'd do that!" I protested. + +"Well, I've known it done," Aiken said. "Quay certainly sold us out at +New Orleans. And Laguerre may think I went shares with him." + +I began to wonder if Aiken was not probably the very worst person I +could have selected to introduce me to General Laguerre. It seemed as +though it certainly would have been better had I found my way to him +alone. I grew so uneasy concerning my possible reception that I said, +irritably: "Doesn't the General know you well enough to trust you?" + +"No, he doesn't!" Aiken snapped back, quite as irritably. "And he's dead +right, too. You take it from me, that the fewer people in this country +you trust, the better for you. Why, the rottenness of this country is a +proverb. 'It's a place where the birds have no song, where the flowers +have no odor, where the women are without virtue, and the men without +honor.' That's what a gringo said of Honduras many years ago, and he +knew the country and the people in it." + +It was not a comforting picture, but in my discouragement I remembered +Laguerre. + +"General Laguerre does not belong to this country," I said, hopefully. + +"No," Aiken answered, with a laugh. "He's an Irish-Frenchman and belongs +to a dozen countries. He's fought for every flag that floats, and he's +no better off to-day than when he began." + +He turned toward me and stared with an amused and tolerant grin. "He's a +bit like you," he said. + +I saw he did not consider what he said as a compliment, but I was vain +enough to want to know what he did think of me, so I asked: "And in what +way am I like General Laguerre?" + +The idea of our similarity seemed to amuse Aiken, for he continued to +grin. + +"Oh, you'll see when we meet him," he said. "I can't explain it. You +two are just different from other people--that's all. He's old-fashioned +like you, if you know what I mean, and young--" + +"Why, he's an old man," I corrected. + +"He's old enough to be your grandfather," Aiken laughed, "but I say he's +young--like you, the way you are." + +Aiken knew that it annoyed me when he pretended I was so much younger +than himself, and I had started on some angry reply, when I was abruptly +interrupted. + +A tall, ragged man rose suddenly from behind a rock, and presented a +rifle. He was so close to Aiken that the rifle almost struck him in the +face. Aiken threw up his hands, and fell back with such a jerk that he +lost his balance, and would have fallen had he not pitched forward and +clasped the mule around the neck. I pulled my mule to a halt, and held +my hands as high as I could raise them. The man moved his rifle from +side to side so as to cover each of us in turn, and cried in English, +"Halt! Who goes there?" + +Aiken had not told me the answer to that challenge, so I kept silent. I +could hear Jose behind me interrupting his prayers with little sobs of +fright. + +Aiken scrambled back into an upright position, held up his hands, +and cried: "Confound you, we are travellers, going to the capital on +business. Who the devil are you?" + +"Qui vive?" the man demanded over the barrel of his gun. + +"What does that mean?" Aiken cried, petulantly. "Talk English, can't +you, and put down that gun." + +The man ceased moving the rifle between us, and settled it on Aiken. + +"Cry 'Long live the government,'" he commanded, sharply. + +Aiken gave a sudden start of surprise, and I saw his eyelids drop and +rise again. Later when I grew to know him intimately, I could always +tell when he was lying, or making the winning move in some bit of +knavery, by that nervous trick of the eyelids. He knew that I knew about +it, and he once confided to me that, had he been able to overcome it, he +would have saved himself some thousands of dollars which it had cost him +at cards. + +But except for this drooping of the eyelids he gave no sign. + +"No, I won't cry 'Long live the government,'" he answered. "That is," he +added hastily, "I won't cry long live anything. I'm the American Consul, +and I'm up here on business. So's my friend." + +The man did not move his gun by so much as a straw's breadth. + +"You will cry 'Long live Alvarez' or I will shoot you," said the man. + +I had more leisure to observe the man than had Aiken, for it is +difficult to study the features of anyone when he is looking at you down +a gun-barrel, and it seemed to me that the muscles of the man's mouth as +he pressed it against the stock were twitching with a smile. As the side +of his face toward me was the one farther from the gun, I was able to +see this, but Aiken could not, and he answered, still more angrily: "I +tell you, I'm the American Consul. Anyway, it's not going to do you any +good to shoot me. You take me to your colonel alive, and I'll give you +two hundred dollars. You shoot me and you won't get a cent." + +The moment was serious enough, and I was thoroughly concerned both for +Aiken and myself, but when he made this offer, my nervousness, or my +sense of humor, got the upper hand of me, and I laughed. + +Having laughed I made the best of it, and said: + +"Offer him five hundred for the two of us. Hang the expense." + +The rifle wavered in the man's hands, he steadied it, scowled at me, bit +his lips, and then burst into shouts of laughter. He sank back against +one of the rocks, and pointed at Aiken mockingly. + +"I knew it was you all the time," he cried, "for certain I did. I knew +it was you all the time." + +I was greatly relieved, but naturally deeply indignant. I felt as though +someone had jumped from behind a door, and shouted "Boo!" at me. I hoped +in my heart that the colonel would give the fellow eight hours' pack +drill. "What a remarkable sentry," I said. + +Aiken shoved his hands into his breeches pockets, and surveyed the man +with an expression of the most violent disgust. + +"You've got a damned queer idea of a joke," he said finally. "I might +have shot you!" + +The man seemed to consider this the very acme of humor, for he fairly +hooted at us. He was so much amused that it was some moments before he +could control himself. + +"I saw you at Porto Cortez," he said, "I knew you was the American +Consul all the time. You came to our camp after the fight, and the +General gave you a long talk in his tent. Don't you remember me? I was +standing guard outside." + +Aiken snorted indignantly. + +"No, I don't remember you," he said. "But I'll remember you next time. +Are you standing guard now, or just doing a little highway robbery on +your own account?" + +"Oh, I'm standing guard for keeps," said the sentry, earnestly. "Our +camp's only two hundred yards back of me. And our Captain told me to let +all parties pass except the enemy, but I thought I'd have to jump you +just for fun. I'm an American myself, you see, from Kansas. An' being +an American I had to give the American Consul a scare. But say," +he exclaimed, advancing enthusiastically on Aiken, with his hand +outstretched, "you didn't scare for a cent." He shook hands violently +with each of us in turn. "My name's Pete MacGraw," he added, +expectantly. + +"Well, now, Mr. MacGraw," said Aiken, "if you'll kindly guide us to +General Laguerre we'll use our influence to have you promoted. You need +more room. I imagine a soldier with your original ideas must find sentry +duty go very dull." + +MacGraw grinned appreciatively and winked. + +"If I take you to my General alive, do I get that two hundred dollars?" +he asked. He rounded off his question with another yell of laughter. + +He was such a harmless idiot that we laughed with him. But we were +silenced at once by a shout from above us, and a command to "Stop +that noise." I looked up and saw a man in semi-uniform and wearing an +officer's sash and sword stepping from one rock to another and breaking +his way through the laurel. He greeted Aiken with a curt wave of the +hand. "Glad to see you, Consul," he called. "You will dismount, please, +and lead your horses this way." He looked at me suspiciously and then +turned and disappeared into the undergrowth. + +"The General is expecting you, Aiken," his voice called back to us. "I +hope everything is all right?" + +Aiken and I had started to draw the mules up the hill. Already both the +officer and the trail had been completely hidden by the laurel. + +"No, nothing is all right," Aiken growled. + +There was the sound of an oath, the laurels parted, and the officer's +face reappeared, glaring at us angrily. + +"What do you mean?" he demanded. "My information is for General +Laguerre," Aiken answered, sulkily. + +The man sprang away again muttering to himself, and we scrambled and +stumbled after him, guided by the sounds of breaking branches and +rolling stones. + +From a glance I caught of Aiken's face I knew he was regretting now, +with even more reason than before, that he had not remained at the +coast, and I felt very sorry for him. Now that he was in trouble and not +patronizing me and poking fun at me, I experienced a strong change of +feeling toward him. He was the only friend I had in Honduras, and as +between him and these strangers who had received us so oddly, I felt +that, although it would be to my advantage to be friends with the +greater number, my loyalty was owing to Aiken. So I scrambled up beside +him and panted out with some difficulty, for the ascent was a steep one: +"If there is any row, I'm with _you_, Aiken." + +"Oh, there won't be any row," he growled. + +"Well, if there is," I repeated, "you can count me in." + +"That's all right," he said. + +At that moment we reached the top of the incline, and I looked down into +the hollow below. To my surprise I found that this side of the hill was +quite barren of laurel or of any undergrowth, and that it sloped to a +little open space carpeted with high, waving grass, and cut in half by +a narrow stream. On one side of the stream a great herd of mules and +horses were tethered, and on the side nearer us were many smoking +camp-fires and rough shelters made from the branches of trees. Men were +sleeping in the grass or sitting in the shade of the shelters, cleaning +accoutrements, and some were washing clothes in the stream. At the foot +of the hill was a tent, and ranged before it two Gatling guns +strapped in their canvas jackets. I saw that I had at last reached +my destination. This was the camp of the filibusters. These were the +soldiers of Laguerre's Foreign Legion. + + + + +III + + +Although I had reached my journey's end, although I had accomplished +what I had set out to do, I felt no sense of elation nor relief. I +was, instead, disenchanted, discouraged, bitterly depressed. It was +so unutterably and miserably unlike what I had hoped to find, what I +believed I had the right to expect, that my disappointment and anger +choked me. The picture I had carried in my mind was one of shining +tent-walls, soldierly men in gay and gaudy uniforms, fluttering guidons, +blue ammunition-boxes in orderly array, smart sentries pacing their +posts, and a head-quarters tent where busy officers bent over maps and +reports. + +The scene I had set was one painted in martial colors, in scarlet +and gold lace; it moved to martial music, to bugle-calls, to words of +command, to the ringing challenge of the sentry, and what I had found +was this camp of gypsies, this nest of tramps, without authority, +discipline, or self-respect. It was not even picturesque. My indignation +stirred me so intensely that, as I walked down the hill, I prayed for a +rude reception, that I might try to express my disgust. + +The officer who had first approached us stopped at the opening of the +solitary tent, and began talking excitedly to someone inside. And as we +reached the level ground, the occupant of the tent stepped from it. He +was a stout, heavy man, with a long, twisted mustache, at which he was +tugging fiercely. He wore a red sash and a bandman's tunic, with two +stars sewn on the collar. I could not make out his rank, but his first +words explained him. + +"I am glad to see you at last, Mr. Aiken," he said. "I'm Major Reeder, +in temporary command. You have come to report, sir?" + +Aiken took so long to reply that I stopped studying the remarkable +costume of the Major and turned to Aiken. I was surprised to see that he +was unquestionably frightened. His eyes were shifting and blinking, and +he wet his lips with his tongue. All his self-assurance had deserted +him. The officer who had led us to the camp was also aware of Aiken's +uneasiness, and was regarding him with a sneer. For some reason the +spectacle of Aiken's distress seemed to afford him satisfaction. + +"I should prefer to report to General Laguerre," Aiken said, at last. + +"I am in command here," Reeder answered, sharply. "General Laguerre is +absent--reconnoitering. I represent him. I know all about Mr. Quay's +mission. It was I who recommended him to the General. Where are the +guns?" + +For a moment Aiken stared at him helplessly, and then drew in a quick +breath. + +"I don't know where they are," he said. "The Panama arrived two days +ago, but when I went to unload the guns Captain Leeds told me they had +been seized in New Orleans by the Treasury Department. Someone must +have--" + +Both Major Reeder and the officer interrupted with a shout of anger. + +"Then it's true!" Reeder cried. "It's true, and--and--you dare to tell +us so!" + +Aiken raised his head and for a moment looked almost defiant. + +"Why shouldn't I tell you?" he demanded, indignantly. "Who else was +there to tell you? I've travelled two days to let you know. I can't help +it if the news isn't good. I'm just as sorry as you are." + +The other officer was a stout, yellow-haired German. He advanced a step +and shook a soiled finger in Aiken's face. "You can't help it, can't +you?" he cried. "You're sorry, are you? You won't be sorry when you're +paid your money, will you? How much did you get for us, hey! How much +did Joe Fiske--" + +Reeder threw out his arm and motioned the officer back. "Silence, +Captain Heinze," he commanded. + +The men of the Legion who had happened to be standing near the tent when +we appeared had come up to look at the new arrivals, and when they heard +two of their officers attacking Aiken they crowded still closer in +front of us, forming a big half-circle. Each of them apparently was on a +footing with his officers of perfect comradeship, and listened openly to +what was going forward as though it were a personal concern of his own. +They had even begun to discuss it among themselves, and made so much +noise in doing so that Captain Heinze passed on Reeder's rebuke as +though it had been intended for them, commanding, "Silence in the +ranks." + +They were not in ranks, and should not have been allowed where they +were in any formation, but that did not seem to occur to either of the +officers. + +"Silence," Reeder repeated. "Now, Mr. Aiken, I am waiting. What have you +to say?" + +"What is there for me to say?" Aiken protested. "I have done all I +could. I told you as soon as I could get here." Major Reeder drew close +to Aiken and pointed his outstretched hand at him. + +"Mr. Aiken," he said. "Only four people knew that those guns were +ordered--Quay, who went to fetch them, General Laguerre, myself, and +you. Some one of us must have sold out the others; no one else could +have done it. It was not Quay. The General and I have been here in the +mountains--we did not do it; and that--that leaves you." + +"It does not leave me," Aiken cried. He shouted it out with such spirit +that I wondered at him. It was the same sort of spirit which makes a rat +fight because he can't get away, but I didn't think so then. + +"It was Quay sold you out!" Aiken cried. "Quay told the Isthmian people +as soon as the guns reached New Orleans. I suspected him when he cabled +me he wasn't coming back. I know him. I know just what he is. He's been +on both sides before." + +"Silence, you--you," Reeder interrupted. He was white with anger. "Mr. +Quay is my friend," he cried. "I trust him. I trust him as I would trust +my own brother. How dare you accuse him!" + +He ceased and stood gasping with indignation, but his show of anger +encouraged Captain Heinze to make a fresh attack on Aiken. + +"Quay took you off the beach," he shouted. + +"He gave you food and clothes, and a bed to lie on. It's like you, to +bite the hand that fed you. When have you ever stuck to any side or +anybody if you could get a dollar more by selling him out?" + +The whole thing had become intolerable. It was abject and degrading, +like a falling-out among thieves. They reminded me of a group of drunken +women I had once seen, shameless and foul-mouthed, fighting in the +street, with grinning night-birds urging them on. I felt in some way +horribly responsible, as though they had dragged me into it--as though +the flying handfuls of mud had splattered me. And yet the thing which +inflamed me the most against them was their unfairness to Aiken. They +would not let him speak, and they would not see that they were so many, +and that he was alone. I did not then know that he was telling the +truth. Indeed, I thought otherwise. I did not then know that on those +occasions when he appeared to the worst advantage, he generally was +trying to tell the truth. + +Captain Heinze pushed nearer, and shoved his fist close to Aiken's face. + +"We know what you are," he jeered. "We know you're no more on our side +than you're the American Consul. You lied to us about that, and you've +lied to us about everything else. And now we've caught you, and we'll +make you pay for it." + +One of the men in the rear of the crowd shouted, "Ah, shoot the beggar!" +and others began to push forward and to jeer. Aiken heard them and +turned quite white. + +"You've caught me?" Aiken stammered. "Why, I came here of my own will. +Is it likely I'd have done that if I had sold you out?" + +"I tell you you did sell us out," Heinze roared. "And you're a coward +besides, and I tell you so to your face!" He sprang at Aiken, and Aiken +shrank back. It made me sick to see him do it. I had such a contempt for +the men against him that I hated his not standing up to them. It was to +hide the fact that he had stepped back, that I jumped in front of him +and pretended to restrain him. I tried to make it look as though had I +not interfered, he would have struck at Heinze. + +The German had swung around toward the men behind him, as though he were +subpoenaing them as witnesses. + +"I call him a coward to his face!" he shouted. But when he turned again +I was standing in front of Aiken, and he halted in surprise, glaring at +me. I don't know what made me do it, except that I had heard enough of +their recriminations, and was sick with disappointment. I hated Heinze +and all of them, and myself for being there. + +"Yes, you can call him a coward," I said, as offensively as I could, +"with fifty men behind you. How big a crowd do you want before you +dare insult a man?" Then I turned on the others. "Aren't you ashamed of +yourselves," I cried, "to all of you set on one man in your own camp? I +don't know anything about this row and I don't want to know, but there's +fifty men here against one, and I'm on the side of that one. You're +a lot of cheap bullies," I cried, "and this German drill-sergeant," +I shouted, pointing at Heinze, "who calls himself an officer, is the +cheapest bully of the lot." I jerked open the buckle which held my belt +and revolver, and flung them on the ground. Then I slipped off my coat, +and shoved it back of me to Aiken, for I wanted to keep him out of it. +It was the luck of Royal Macklin himself that led me to take off my coat +instead of drawing my revolver. At the Point I had been accustomed to +settle things with my fists, and it had been only since I started from +the coast that I had carried a gun. A year later, in the same situation, +I would have reached for it. Had I done so that morning, as a dozen of +them assured me later, they would have shot me before I could have got +my hand on it. But, as it was, when I rolled up my sleeves the men began +to laugh, and some shouted: "Give him room," "Make a ring," "Fair play, +now," "Make a ring." The semi-circle spread out and lengthened until it +formed a ring, with Heinze and Reeder, and Aiken holding my coat, and +myself in the centre of it. + +I squared off in front of the German and tapped him lightly on the chest +with the back of my hand. + +"Now, then," I cried, taunting him, "I call _you_ a coward to _your_ +face. What are you going to do about it?" + +For an instant he seemed too enraged and astonished to move, and the +next he exploded with a wonderful German oath and rushed at me, tugging +at his sword. At the same moment the men gave a shout and the ring +broke. I thought they had cried out in protest when they saw Heinze put +his hand on his sword, but as they scattered and fell back I saw that +they were looking neither at Heinze nor at me, but at someone behind me. +Heinze, too, halted as suddenly as though he had been pulled back by a +curbed bit, and, bringing his heels together, stood stiffly at salute. +I turned and saw that everyone was falling out of the way of a tall +man who came striding toward us, and I knew on the instant that he +was General Laguerre. At the first glance I disassociated him from +his followers. He was entirely apart. In any surroundings I would have +picked him out as a leader of men. Even a civilian would have known +he was a soldier, for the signs of his calling were stamped on him +as plainly as the sterling mark on silver, and although he was not in +uniform his carriage and countenance told you that he was a personage. + +He was very tall and gaunt, with broad shoulders and a waist as small as +a girl's, and although he must then have been about fifty years of age +he stood as stiffly erect as though his spine had grown up into the back +of his head. + +At the first glance he reminded me of Van Dyke's portrait of Charles I. +He had the same high-bred features, the same wistful eyes, and hewore +his beard and mustache in what was called the Van Dyke fashion, before +Louis Napoleon gave it a new vogue as the "imperial." + +It must have been that I read the wistful look in his eyes later, for +at the moment of our first meeting it was a very stern Charles I. who +confronted us, with the delicate features stiffened in anger, and the +eyes set and burning. Since then I have seen both the wistful look and +the angry look many times, and even now I would rather face the muzzle +of a gun than the eyes of General Laguerre when you have offended him. + +His first words were addressed to Reeder. + +"What does this mean, sir?" he demanded. "If you cannot keep order in +this camp when my back is turned I shall find an officer who can. Who is +this?" he added, pointing at me. I became suddenly conscious of the fact +that I was without my hat or coat, and that my sleeves were pulled up to +the shoulders. Aiken was just behind me, and as I turned to him for my +coat I disclosed his presence to the General. He gave an exclamation of +delight. + +"Mr. Aiken!" he cried, "at last!" He lowered his voice to an eager +whisper. "Where are the guns?" he asked. + +Apparently Aiken felt more confidence in General Laguerre than in his +officers, for at this second questioning he answered promptly. + +"I regret to say, sir," he began, "that the guns were seized at New +Orleans. Someone informed the Honduranian Consul there, and he--" + +"Seized!" cried Laguerre. "By whom? Do you mean we have lost them?" + +Aiken lowered his eyes and nodded. + +"But how do you know?" Laguerre demanded, eagerly. "You are not sure? +Who seized them?" + +"The Treasury officers," Aiken answered + +"The captain of the Panama told me he saw the guns taken on the +company's wharf." + +For some moments Laguerre regarded him sternly, but I do not think he +saw him. He turned and walked a few steps from us and back again. +Then he gave an upward toss of his head as though he had accepted his +sentence. "The fortunes of war," he kept repeating to himself, "the +fortunes of war." He looked up and saw us regarding him with expressions +of the deepest concern. + +"I thought I had had my share of them," he said, simply. He straightened +his shoulders and frowned, and then looked at us and tried to smile. But +the bad news had cut deeply. During the few minutes since he had come +pushing his way through the crowd, he seemed to have grown ten years +older. He walked to the door of his tent and then halted and turned +toward Reeder. + +"I think my fever is coming on again," he said. "I believe I had better +rest. Do not let them disturb me." + +"Yes, General," Reeder answered. Then he pointed at Aiken and myself. +"And what are we to do with these?" he asked. + +"Do with these?" Laguerre repeated. "Why, what did you mean to do with +them?" + +Reeder swelled out his chest importantly, "If you had not arrived when +you did, General," he said, "I would have had them shot!" + +The General stopped at the entrance to the tent and leaned heavily +against the pole. He raised his eyes and looked at us wearily and with +no show of interest. + +"Shoot them?" he asked. "Why were you going to shoot them?" + +"Because, General," Reeder declared, theatrically, pointing an accusing +finger at Aiken, "I believe this man sold our secret to the Isthmian +Line. No one knew of the guns but our three selves and Quay. And Quay +is not a man to betray his friends. I wish I could say as much for Mr. +Aiken." + +At that moment Aiken, being quite innocent, said even less for himself, +and because he was innocent looked the trapped and convicted criminal. + +Laguerre's eyes glowed like two branding-irons. As he fixed them on +Aiken's face one expected to see them leave a mark. + +"If the General will only listen," Aiken stammered. "If you will only +give me a hearing, sir. Why should I come to your camp if I had sold you +out? Why didn't I get away on the first steamer, and stay away--as Quay +did?" + +The General gave an exclamation of disgust, and shrugged his shoulders. +He sank back slowly against one of the Gatling guns. + +"What does it matter?" he said, bitterly. "Why lock the stable door now? +I will give you a hearing," he said, turning to Aiken, "but it would +be better for you if I listened to you later. Bring him to me to-morrow +morning after roll-call. And the other?" he asked. He pointed at me, but +his eyes, which were heavy with disappointment, were staring moodily at +the ground. + +Heinze interposed himself quickly. + +"Aiken brought him here!" he said. "I believe he's an agent of the +Isthmian people, or," he urged, "why did he come here? He came to spy +out your camp, General, and to report on our condition." + +"A spy!" said Laguerre, raising his head and regarding me sharply. + +"Yes," Heinze declared, with conviction. "A spy, General. A Government +spy, and he has found out our hiding-place and counted our men." + +Aiken turned on him with a snarl. + +"Oh, you ass!" he cried. "He came as a volunteer. He wanted to fight +with you,--for the sacred cause of liberty!" + +"Yes, he wanted to fight with us," shouted Heinze, indignantly. "As soon +as he got into the camp, he wanted to fight with us." + +Laguerre made an exclamation of impatience, and rose unsteadily from the +gun-carriage. + +"Silence!" he commanded. "I tell you I cannot listen to you now. I will +give these men a hearing after roll-call. In the meantime if they are +spies, they have seen too much. Place them under guard; and if they try +to escape, shoot them." + +I gave a short laugh and turned to Aiken. + +"That's the first intelligent military order I've heard yet," I said. + +Aiken scowled at me fearfully, and Reeder and Heinze gasped. General +Laguerre had caught the words, and turned his eyes on me. Like the real +princess who could feel the crumpled rose-leaf under a dozen mattresses, +I can feel it in my bones when I am in the presence of a real soldier. +My spinal column stiffens, and my fingers twitch to be at my visor. In +spite of their borrowed titles, I had smelt out the civilian in Reeder +and had detected the non-commissioned man in Heinze, and just as surely +I recognized the general officer in Laguerre. + +So when he looked at me my heels clicked together, my arm bent to my hat +and fell again to my trouser seam, and I stood at attention. It was as +instinctive as though I were back at the Academy, and he had confronted +me in the uniform and yellow sash of a major-general. + +"And what do you know of military orders, sir," he demanded, in a low +voice, "that you feel competent to pass upon mine?" + +Still standing at attention, I said: "For the last three years I have +been at West Point, sir, and have listened to nothing else." + +"You have been at West Point?" he said, slowly, looking at me in +surprise and with evident doubt. "When did you leave the Academy?" + +"Two weeks ago," I answered. At this, he looked even more incredulous. + +"How does it happen," he asked, "if you are preparing for the army at +West Point, that you are now travelling in Honduras?" + +"I was dismissed from the Academy two weeks ago," I answered. "This was +the only place where there was any fighting, so I came here. I read that +you had formed a Foreign Legion, and thought that maybe you would let me +join it." + +General Laguerre now stared at me in genuine amazement. In his interest +in the supposed spy, he had forgotten the loss of his guns. + +"You came from West Point," he repeated, incredulously, "all the way to +Honduras--to join me!" He turned to the two officers. "Did he tell you +this?" he demanded. + +They answered, "No," promptly, and truthfully as well, for they had not +given me time to tell them anything. + +"Have you any credentials, passports, or papers?" he said. + +When he asked this I saw Reeder whisper eagerly to Heinze, and then walk +away. He had gone to search my trunk for evidence that I was a spy, and +had I suspected this I would have protested violently, but it did not +occur to me then that he would do such a thing. + +"I have only the passport I got from the commandante at Porto Cortez," I +said. + +At the words Aiken gave a quick shake of the head, as a man does when he +sees another move the wrong piece on the chess-board. But when I +stared at him inquiringly his expression changed instantly to one of +interrogation and complete unconcern. + +"Ah!" exclaimed Heinze, triumphantly, "he has a permit from the +Government." + +"Let me see it," said the General. + +I handed it to him, and he drew a camp-chair from the tent, and, seating +himself, began to compare me with the passport. + +"In this," he said at last, "you state that you are a commercial +traveller; that you are going to the capital on business, and that you +are a friend of the Government." + +I was going to tell him that until it had been handed me by Aiken, I had +known nothing of the passport, but I considered that in some way this +might involve Aiken, and so I answered: + +"It was necessary to tell them any story, sir, in order to get into +the interior. I could not tell them that I was _not_ a friend of the +Government, nor that I was trying to join you." + +"Your stories are somewhat conflicting," said the General. "You are led +to our hiding-place by a man who is himself under suspicion, and the +only credentials you can show are from the enemy. Why should I believe +you are what you say you are? Why should I believe you are not a spy?" + +I could not submit to having my word doubted, so I bowed stiffly and did +not speak. + +"Answer me," the General commanded, "what proofs have I?" + +"You have nothing but my word for it," I said. + +General Laguerre seemed pleased with that, and I believe he was really +interested in helping me to clear myself. But he had raised my temper by +questioning my word. + +"Surely you must have something to identify you," he urged. + +"If I had I'd refuse to show it," I answered. "I told you why I came +here. If you think I am a spy, you can go ahead and shoot me as a spy, +and find out whether I told you the truth afterward." + +The General smiled indulgently. + +"There would be very little satisfaction in that for me, or for you," he +said. + +"I'm an officer and a gentleman," I protested, "and I have a right to be +treated as one. If you serve every gentleman who volunteers to join +you in the way I have been served, I'm not surprised that your force is +composed of the sort you have around you." + +The General raised his head and looked at me with such a savage +expression that during the pause which ensued I was most uncomfortable. + +"If your proofs you are an officer are no stronger than those you offer +that you are a gentleman," he said, "perhaps you are wise not to show +them. What right have you to claim you are an officer?" + +His words cut and mortified me deeply, chiefly because I felt I deserved +them. + +"Every cadet ranks a non-commissioned man," I answered. + +"But you are no longer a cadet," he replied. "You have been dismissed. +You told me so yourself. Were you dismissed honorably, or dishonorably?" + +"Dishonorably," I answered. I saw that this was not the answer he had +expected. He looked both mortified and puzzled, and glanced at Heinze +and Aiken as though he wished that they were out of hearing. + +"What was it for--what was the cause of your dismissal?" he asked. He +now spoke in a much lower tone. "Of course, you need not tell me," he +added. + +"I was dismissed for being outside the limits of the Academy without a +permit," I answered. "I went to a dance at a hotel in uniform." + +"Was that all?" he demanded, smiling. + +"That was the crime for which I was dismissed," I said, sulkily. The +General looked at me for some moments, evidently in much doubt. I +believe he suspected that I had led him on to asking me the reason for +my dismissal, in order that I could make so satisfactory an answer. As +he sat regarding me, Heinze bent over him and said something to him in +a low tone, to which he replied: "But that would prove nothing. He might +have a most accurate knowledge of military affairs, and still be an +agent of the Government." + +"That is so, General," Heinze answered, aloud. "But it would prove +whether he is telling the truth about his having been at West Point. If +his story is false in part, it is probably entirely false, as I believe +it to be." + +"Captain Heinze suggests that I allow him to test you with some +questions," the General said, doubtfully; "questions on military +matters. Would you answer them?" + +I did not want them to see how eager I was to be put to such a test, so +I tried to look as though I were frightened, and said, cautiously, +"I will try, sir." I saw that the proposition to put me through an +examination had filled Aiken with the greatest concern. To reassure him, +I winked covertly. + +Captain Heinze glanced about him as though looking for a text. + +"Let us suppose," he said, importantly, "that you are an +inspector-general come to inspect this camp. It is one that I myself +selected; as adjutant it is under my direction. What would you report as +to its position, its advantages and disadvantages?" + +I did not have to look about me. Without moving from where I stood, +I could see all that was necessary of that camp. But I first asked, +timidly: "Is this camp a temporary one, made during a halt on the march, +or has it been occupied for some days?" + +"We have been here for two weeks," said Heinze. + +"Is it supposed that a war is going on?" I asked, politely; "I mean, are +we in the presence of an enemy?" + +"Of course," answered Heinze. "Certainly we are at war." + +"Then," I said, triumphantly, "in my report I should recommend that the +officer who selected this camp should be court-martialled." + +Heinze gave a shout of indignant laughter, and Aiken glared at me as +though he thought I had flown suddenly mad, but Laguerre only frowned +and waved his hand impatiently. + +"You are bold, sir," he said, grimly; "I trust you can explain +yourself." + +I pointed from the basin in which we stood, to the thickly wooded hills +around us. + +"This camp has the advantage of water and grass," I said. I spoke +formally, as though I were really making a report. "Those are its only +advantages. Captain Heinze has pitched it in a hollow. In case of an +attack, he has given the advantage of position to the enemy. Fifty +men could conceal themselves on those ridges and fire upon you as +effectively as though they had you at the bottom of a well. There are no +pickets out, except along the trail, which is the one approach the enemy +would not take. So far as this position counts, then," I summed up, "the +camp is an invitation to a massacre." + +I did not dare look at the General, but I pointed at the guns at his +side. "Your two field-pieces are in their covers, and the covers are +strapped on them. It would take three minutes to get them into action. +Instead of being here in front of the tent, they should be up there on +those two highest points. There are no racks for the men's rifles or +ammunition belts. The rifles are lying on the ground and scattered +everywhere--in case of an attack the men would not know where to lay +their hands on them. It takes only two forked sticks and a ridge-pole +with nicks in it, to make an excellent gun-rack, but there is none of +any sort. As for the sanitary arrangements of the camp, they are _nil_. +The refuse from the troop kitchen is scattered all over the place, and +so are the branches on which the men have been lying. There is no way +for them to cross that stream without their getting their feet wet; and +every officer knows that wet feet are worse than wet powder. The place +does not look as though it had been policed since you came here. It's a +fever swamp. If you have been here two weeks, it's a wonder your whole +force isn't as rotten as sheep. And there!" I cried, pointing at the +stream which cut the camp in two--"there are men bathing and washing +their clothes up-stream, and those men below them are filling buckets +with water for cooking and drinking. Why have you no water-guards? +You ought to have a sentry there, and there. The water above the first +sentry should be reserved for drinking, below him should be the place +for watering your horses, and below the second sentry would be the water +for washing clothes. Why, these things are the A, B, C, of camp life." +For the first time since I had begun to speak, I turned on Heinze and +grinned at him. + +"How do you like my report on your camp?" I asked. "Now, don't you agree +with me that you should be court-martialled?" Heinze's anger exploded +like a shell. + +"You should be court-martialled yourself!" he shouted. "You are +insulting our good General. For me, I do not care. But you shall not +reflect upon my commanding officer, for him I--" + +"That will do, Captain Heinze," Laguerre said, quietly. "That will do, +thank you." He did not look up at either of us, but for some time sat +with his elbow on his knee and with his chin resting in the palm of his +hand, staring at the camp. There was a long, and, for me, an awkward +silence. The General turned his head and stared at me. His expression +was exceedingly grave, but without resentment. + +"You are quite right," he said, finally. Heinze and Aiken moved +expectantly forward, anxious to hear him pass sentence upon me. Seeing +this he raised his voice and repeated: "You are quite right in what you +say about the camp. All you say is quite true." + +He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, and, as he continued +speaking with his face averted, it was as though he were talking to +himself. + +"We grow careless as we grow older," he said, "One grows less difficult +to please." His tone was that of a man excusing himself to himself. "The +old standards, the old models, pass away and--and failures, failures +come and dull the energy." His voice dropped into a monotone; he seemed +to have forgotten us entirely. + +It must have been then that for the first time I saw the wistful look +come into his eyes, and suddenly felt deeply sorry for him and wished +that I might dare to tell him so. I was not sorry for any act or speech +of mine. They had attacked me, and I had only defended myself. I was not +repentant for anything I had said; my sorrow was for what I read in the +General's eyes as he sat staring out into the valley. It was the saddest +and loneliest look that I had ever seen. There was no bitterness in +it, but great sadness and weariness and disappointment, and above all, +loneliness, utter and complete loneliness. + +He glanced up and saw me watching him, and for a moment regarded me +curiously, and then, as though I had tried to force my way into his +solitude, turned his eyes quickly away. + +I had forgotten that I was a suspected spy until the fact was recalled +to me at that moment by the reappearance of Major Reeder. He came +bustling past me, carrying as I saw, to my great indignation, the sword +which had been presented to my grandfather, and which my grandfather had +given to me. I sprang after him and twisted it out of his hand. + +"How dare you!" I cried. "You have opened my trunk! How dare you pry +into my affairs? General Laguerre!" I protested. "I appeal to you, sir." + +"Major Reeder," the General demanded, sharply, "what does this mean?" + +"I was merely seeking evidence, General," said Reeder. "You asked for +his papers, and I went to look for them." + +"I gave you no orders to pry into this gentleman's trunk," said the +General. "You have exceeded your authority. You have done very ill, sir. +You have done very ill." + +While the General was reproving Reeder, his eyes, instead of looking at +the officer, were fixed upon my sword. It was sufficiently magnificent +to attract the attention of anyone, certainly of any soldier. The +scabbard was of steel, wonderfully engraved, the hilt was of ivory, and +the hilt-guard and belt fastenings were all of heavy gold. The General's +face was filled with appreciation. + +"You have a remarkably handsome sword there," he said, and hesitated, +courteously, "--I beg your pardon, I have not heard your name?" + +I was advancing to show the sword to him, when my eye fell upon the +plate my grandfather had placed upon it, and which bore the inscription: +"To Royal Macklin, on his appointment to the United States Military +Academy, from his Grandfather, John M. Hamilton, Maj. Gen. U.S.A." + +"My name is Macklin, sir," I said, "Royal Macklin." I laid the sword +lengthwise in his hands, and then pointed at the inscription. "You will +find it there," I said. The General bowed and bent his head over the +inscription and then read the one beside it. This stated that the sword +had been presented by the citizens of New York to Major-General John +M. Hamilton in recognition of his distinguished services during the war +with Mexico. The General glanced up at me in astonishment. + +"General Hamilton!" he exclaimed. "General John Hamilton! Is that--was +he your grandfather?" + +I bowed my head, and the General stared at me as though I had +contradicted him. + +"But, let me tell you, sir," he protested, "that he was my friend. +General Hamilton was my friend for many years. Let me tell you, sir," +he went on, excitedly, "that your grandfather was a brave and courteous +gentleman, a true friend and--and a great soldier, sir, a great soldier. +I knew your grandfather well. I knew him well." He rose suddenly, and, +while still holding the sword close to him, shook my hand. + +"Captain Heinze," he said, "bring out a chair for Mr. Macklin." He did +not notice the look of injury with which Heinze obeyed this request. +But I did, and I enjoyed the spectacle, and as Heinze handed me the +camp-chair I thanked him politely. I could afford to be generous. + +The General was drawing the sword a few inches from its scabbard and +shoving it back, again, turning it over in his hands. + +"And to think that this is John Hamilton's sword," he said, "and that +you are John Hamilton's grandson!" As the sword lay across his knees he +kept stroking it and touching it as one might caress a child, glancing +up at me from time to time with a smile. It seemed to have carried him +back again into days and scenes to which we all were strangers, and +we watched him without speaking. He became suddenly conscious of our +silence, and, on looking up, seemed to become uncomfortably aware of the +presence of Aiken and the two officers. + +"That will do, gentlemen," he said. "You will return with Mr. Aiken +after roll-call." The officers saluted as they moved away, with Aiken +between them. He raised his eyebrows and tapped himself on the chest. I +understood that he meant by this that I was to say a good word for +him, and I nodded. When they had left us the General leaned forward and +placed his hand upon my shoulder. + +"Now tell me," he said. "Tell me everything. Tell me what you are doing +here, and why you ran away from home. Trust me entirely, and do not be +afraid to speak the whole truth." + +I saw that he thought I had left home because I had been guilty of some +wildness, if not of some crime, and I feared that my story would prove +so inoffensive that he would think I was holding something back. But his +manner was so gentle and generous that I plunged in boldly. I told +him everything; of my life with my grandfather, of my disgrace at the +Academy, of my desire, in spite of my first failure, to still make +myself a soldier. And then I told him of how I had been disappointed and +disillusioned, and how it had hurt me to find that this fight seemed so +sordid and the motives of all engaged only mercenary and selfish. But +once did he interrupt me, and then by an exclamation which I mistook for +an exclamation of disbelief, and which I challenged quickly. "But it +is true, sir," I said. "I joined the revolutionists for just that +reason--because they were fighting for their liberty and because they +had been wronged and were the under-dogs in the fight, and because +Alvarez is a tyrant. I had no other motive. Indeed, you must believe me, +sir," I protested, "or I cannot talk to you. It is the truth." + +"The truth!" exclaimed Laguerre, fiercely; and as he raised his eyes I +saw that they had suddenly filled with tears. "It is the first time I +have heard the truth in many years. It is what I have preached myself +for half a lifetime; what I have lived for and fought for. Why, here, +now," he cried, "while I have been sitting listening to you, it was as +though the boy I used to be had come back to talk to me, bringing my old +ideals, the old enthusiasm." His manner and his tone suddenly altered, +and he shook his head and placed his hand almost tenderly upon my own. +"But I warn you," he said, "I warn you that you are wrong. You have +begun young, and there is yet time for you to turn back; but if you hope +for money, or place, or public favor, you have taken the wrong road. You +will be a rolling-stone among milestones, and the way is all down +hill. I began to fight when I was even younger than you. I fought for +whichever party seemed to me to have the right on its side. Sometimes I +have fought for rebels and patriots, sometimes for kings, sometimes for +pretenders. I was out with Garibaldi, because I believed he would give a +republic to Italy; but I fought against the republic of Mexico, because +its people were rotten and corrupt, and I believed that the emperor +would rule them honestly and well. I have always chosen my own side, +the one which seemed to me promised the most good; and yet, after +thirty years, I am where you see me to-night. I am an old man without +a country, I belong to no political party, I have no family, I have no +home. I have travelled over all the world looking for that country which +was governed for the greater good of the greater number, and I have +fought only for those men who promised to govern unselfishly and as the +servants of the people. But when the fighting was over, and they were +safe in power, they had no use for me nor my advice. They laughed, and +called me a visionary and a dreamer. 'You are no statesman, General,' +they would say to me. 'Your line is the fighting-line. Go back to it.' +And yet, when I think of how the others have used their power, I believe +that I could have ruled the people as well, and yet given them more +freedom, and made more of them more happy." + +The moon rose over the camp, and the night grew chill; but still we +sat, he talking and I listening as I had used to listen when I sat at +my grandfather's knee and he told me tales of war and warriors. They +brought us coffee and food, and we ate with an ammunition-box for a +table, he still talking and I eager to ask questions, and yet fearful of +interrupting him. He told of great battles which had changed the history +of Europe, of secret expeditions which had never been recorded even +in his own diary, of revolutions which after months of preparation +had burst forth and had been crushed between sunset and sunrise; of +emperors, kings, patriots, and charlatans. There was nothing that I +had wished to do, and that I had imagined myself doing, that he had not +accomplished in reality--the acquaintances he had made among the leaders +of men, the adventures he had suffered, the honors he had won, were +those which to me were the most to be desired. + +{Illustration: The moon rose over the camp ... but still we sat.} + +The scene around us added color to his words. The moonlight fell on +ghostly groups of men seated before the camp-fires, their faces glowing +in the red light of the ashes; on the irregular rows of thatched +shelters and on the shadowy figures of the ponies grazing at the +picket-line. All the odors of a camp, which to me are more grateful than +those of a garden, were borne to us on the damp night-air; the clean +pungent smell of burning wood, the scent of running water, the smell of +many horses crowded together and of wet saddles and accoutrements. And +above the swift rush of the stream, we could hear the ceaseless pounding +of the horses' hoofs on the turf, the murmurs of the men's voices, and +the lonely cry of the night-birds. + +It was past midnight when the General rose, and my brain rioted with the +pictures he had drawn for me. Surely, if I had ever considered turning +back, I now no longer tolerated the thought of it. If he had wished to +convince me that the life of a soldier of fortune was an ungrateful one +he had set about proving it in the worst possible way. At that moment I +saw no career so worthy to be imitated as his own, no success to be so +envied as his failures. And in the glow and inspiration of his talk, and +with the courage of a boy, I told him so. I think he was not ill pleased +at what I said, nor with me. He seemed to approve of what I had related +of myself, and of the comments I had made upon his reminiscences. He had +said, again and again: "That is an intelligent question," "You have put +your finger on the real weakness of the attack," "That was exactly the +error in his strategy." + +When he turned to enter his tent he shook my hand. "I do not know when I +have talked so much," he laughed, "nor," he added, with grave courtesy, +"when I have had so intelligent a listener. Good-night." + +Throughout the evening he had been holding my sword, and as he entered +the tent he handed it to me. + +"Oh, I forgot," he said. "Here is your sword, Captain." + +The flaps of the tent fell behind him, and I was left outside of them, +incredulous and trembling. + +I could not restrain myself, and I pushed the flaps aside. + +"I beg your pardon, General," I stammered. + +He had already thrown himself upon his cot, but he rose on his elbow and +stared at me. + +"What is it?" he demanded. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," I gasped, "but what did you call me then--just +now?" + +"Call you," he said. "Oh, I called you 'captain.' You are a captain. I +will assign you your troop to-morrow." + +He turned and buried his face in his arm, and unable to thank him I +stepped outside of the tent and stood looking up at the stars, with my +grandfather's sword clasped close in my hands. And I was so proud and +happy that I believe I almost prayed that he could look down and see me. + +That was how I received my first commission--in a swamp in Honduras, +from General Laguerre, of the Foreign Legion, as he lay half-asleep +upon his cot. It may be, if I continue as I have begun, I shall receive +higher titles, from ministers of war, from queens, presidents, and +sultans. I shall have a trunk filled, like that of General Laguerre's, +with commissions, brevets, and patents of nobility, picked up in many +queer courts, in many queer corners of the globe. But to myself I shall +always be Captain Macklin, and no other rank nor title will ever count +with me as did that first one, which came without my earning it, which +fell from the lips of an old man without authority to give it, but which +seemed to touch me like a benediction. + + . . . . . . . . . . + +The officer from whom I took over my troop was a German, Baron Herbert +von Ritter. He had served as an aide-de-camp to the King of Bavaria, +and his face was a patchwork of sword-cuts which he had received in the +students' duels. No one knew why he had left the German army. He had +been in command of the troop with the rank of captain, but when the next +morning Laguerre called him up and told him that I was now his captain +he seemed rather relieved than otherwise. + +"They're a hard lot," he said to me, as we left the General. "I'm glad +to get rid of them." + +The Legion was divided into four troops of about fifty men each. Only +half of the men were mounted, but the difficulties of the trail were so +great that the men on foot were able to move quite as rapidly as those +on mule-back. Under Laguerre there were Major Webster, an old man, who +as a boy had invaded Central America with William Walker's expedition, +and who ever since had lived in Honduras; Major Reeder and five +captains, Miller, who was in charge of a dozen native Indians and +who acted as a scout; Captain Heinze, two Americans named Porter and +Russell, and about a dozen lieutenants of every nationality. Heinze had +been adjutant of the force, but the morning after my arrival the General +appointed me to that position, and at roll-call announced the change to +the battalion. + +"We have been waiting here for two weeks for a shipment of machine +guns," he said to them. "They have not arrived and I cannot wait for +them any longer. The battalion will start at once for Santa Barbara, +where I expect to get you by to-morrow night. There we will join General +Garcia, and continue with him until we enter the capital." + +The men, who were properly weary of lying idle in the swamp, interrupted +him with an enthusiastic cheer and continued shouting until he lifted +his hand. + +"Since we have been lying here," he said, "I have allowed you certain +liberties, and discipline has relaxed. But now that we are on the march +again you will conduct yourselves like soldiers, and discipline will be +as strictly enforced as in any army in Europe. Since last night we have +received an addition to our force in the person of Captain Macklin, who +has volunteered his services. Captain Macklin comes of a distinguished +family of soldiers, and he has himself been educated at West Point. I +have appointed him Captain of D Troop and Adjutant of the Legion. As +adjutant you will recognize his authority as you would my own. You will +now break camp, and be prepared to march in half an hour." + +Soon after we had started we reached a clearing, and Laguerre halted +us and formed the column into marching order. Captain Miller, who was +thoroughly acquainted with the trail, and his natives, were sent on two +hundred yards ahead of us as a point. They were followed by Heinze with +his Gatling guns. Then came Laguerre and another troop, then Reeder with +the two remaining troops and our "transport" between them. Our transport +consisted of a dozen mules carrying bags of coffee, beans, and flour, +our reserve ammunition, the General's tent, and whatever few private +effects the officers possessed over and above the clothes they stood in. +I brought up the rear with D Troop. We moved at a walk in single file +and without flankers, as the jungle on either side of the trail was +impenetrable. Our departure from camp had been so prompt that I had +been given no time to become acquainted with my men, but as we tramped +forward I rode along with them or drew to one side to watch them pass +and took a good look at them. Carrying their rifles, and with their +blanket-rolls and cartridge-belts slung across their shoulders, they +made a better appearance than when they were sleeping around the camp. +As the day grew on I became more and more proud of my command. The baron +pointed out those of the men who could be relied upon, and I could pick +out for myself those who had received some military training. When I +asked these where they had served before, they seemed pleased at +my having distinguished the difference between them and the other +volunteers, and saluted properly and answered briefly and respectfully. + +If I was proud of the men, I was just as pleased with myself, or, I +should say, with my luck. Only two weeks before I had been read out to +the battalion at West Point, as one unfit to hold a commission, and here +I was riding at the head of my own troop. I was no second lieutenant +either, with a servitude of five years hanging over me before I could +receive my first bar, but a full-fledged captain, with fifty men under +him to care for and discipline and lead into battle. There was not a man +in my troop who was not at least a few years older than myself, and as +I rode in advance of them and heard the creak of the saddles and the +jingle of the picket-pins and water-bottles, or turned and saw the long +line stretching out behind me, I was as proud as Napoleon returning +in triumph to Paris. I had brought with me from the Academy my scarlet +sash, and wore it around my waist under my sword-belt. I also had my +regulation gauntlets, and a campaign sombrero, and as I rode along +I remembered the line about General Stonewall Jackson, in "Barbara +Frietchie." + +"The leader glancing left and right." + +I repeated it to myself, and scowled up at the trees and into the +jungle. It was a tremendous feeling to be a "leader." + +At noon the heat was very great, and Laguerre halted the column at +a little village and ordered the men to eat their luncheon. I posted +pickets, appointed a detail to water the mules, and asked two of the +inhabitants for the use of their clay ovens. In the other troops each +man, or each group of men, were building separate fires and eating alone +or in messes of five or six but by detailing four of my men to act +as cooks for the whole troop, and six others to tend the fires in the +ovens, and six more to carry water for the coffee, all of my men were +comfortably fed before those in the other troops had their fires going. + +Von Ritter had said to me that during the two weeks in camp the men had +used up all their tobacco, and that their nerves were on edge for lack +of something to smoke. So I hunted up a native who owned a tobacco +patch, and from him, for three dollars in silver, I bought three hundred +cigars. I told Von Ritter to serve out six of them to each of the men of +D Troop. It did me good to see how much they enjoyed them. For the next +five minutes every man I met had a big cigar in his mouth, which he +would remove with a grin, and say, "Thank you, Captain." I did not give +them the tobacco to gain popularity, for in active service I consider +that tobacco is as necessary for the man as food, and I also believe +that any officer who tries to buy the good-will of his men is taking the +quickest way to gain their contempt. + +Soldiers know the difference between the officer who bribes and pets +them, and the one who, before his own tent is set up, looks to his +men and his horses, who distributes the unpleasant duties of the camp +evenly, and who knows what he wants done the first time he gives an +order, and does not make unnecessary work for others because he cannot +make up his mind. + +After I had seen the mules watered and picketed in the public corral, +I went to look for the General, whom I found with the other officers at +the house of the Alcalde. They had learned news of the greatest moment. +Two nights previous, General Garcia had been attacked in force at Santa +Barbara, and had abandoned the town without a fight. Nothing more was +known, except that he was either falling back along the trail to join +us, or was waiting outside the city for us to come up and join him. + +Laguerre at once ordered the bugles to sound "Boots and saddles," and +within five minutes we were on the trail again with instructions to +press the men forward as rapidly as possible. The loss of Santa Barbara +was a serious calamity. It was the town third in importance in Honduras, +and it had been the stronghold of the revolutionists. The moral effect +of the fact that Garcia held it, had been of the greatest possible +benefit. As Garcia's force consisted of 2,000 men and six pieces of +artillery, it was inexplicable to Laguerre how without a fight he had +abandoned so valuable a position. + +The country through which we now passed was virtually uninhabited, and +wild and rough, but grandly beautiful. At no time, except when we passed +through one of the dusty little villages, of a dozen sun-baked huts set +around a sun-baked plaza, was the trail sufficiently wide to permit +us to advance unless in single file. And yet this was the highway of +Honduras from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and the only road +to Tegucigalpa, the objective point of our expedition. The capital lay +only one hundred miles from Porto Cortez, but owing to the nature of +this trail it could not be reached from the east coast, either on foot +or by mule, in less than from six to nine days. No wheeled vehicle could +have possibly attempted the trip without shaking to pieces, and it was +only by dragging and lifting our Gatling guns by hand that we were able +to bring them with us. + +At sunset we halted at a little village, where, as usual, the people +yelled "Vivas!" at us, and protested that they were good revolutionists. +The moon had just risen, and, as the men rode forward, kicking up the +white dust and with the Gatlings clanking and rumbling behind them, +they gave a most war-like impression. Miller, who had reconnoitered the +village before we entered it, stood watching us as we came in. He said +that we reminded him of troops of United States cavalry as he had seen +them on the alkali plains of New Mexico and Arizona. It was again my +duty to station our pickets and out-posts, and as I came back after +placing the sentries, the fires were twinkling all over the plaza and +throwing grotesque shadows of the men and the mules against the white +walls of the houses. It was a most weird and impressive picture. + +The troopers were exhausted with the forced march, and fell instantly +to sleep, but for a long time I sat outside the Town Hall talking with +General Laguerre and two of the Americans, Miller and old man Webster. +Their talk was about Aiken, who so far had accompanied us as an untried +prisoner. From what he had said to me on the march, and from what I +remembered of his manner when Captain Leeds informed him of the loss of +the guns, I was convinced that he was innocent of any treachery. + +I related to the others just what had occurred at the coast, and after +some talk with Aiken himself, Laguerre finally agreed that he was +innocent of any evil against him, and that Quay was the man who had sold +the secret. Laguerre then offered Aiken his choice of continuing on with +us, or of returning to the coast, and Aiken said that he would prefer to +go on with our column. Now that the Isthmian Line knew that he had tried +to assist Laguerre, his usefulness at the coast was at an end. He added +frankly that his only other reason for staying with us was because he +thought we were going to win. General Laguerre gave him charge of our +transport and commissary, that is of our twelve pack-mules and of +the disposition of the coffee, flour, and beans. Aiken possessed real +executive ability, and it is only fair to him to say that as commissary +sergeant he served us well. By the time we had reached Tegucigalpa the +twelve mules had increased to twenty, and our stock of rations, instead +of diminishing as we consumed them, increased daily. We never asked how +he managed it. Possibly, knowing Aiken, it was wiser not to inquire. + +We broke camp at four in the morning, but in spite of our early start +the next day's advance was marked by the most cruel heat. We had left +the shade of the high lands and now pushed on over a plain of dry, +burning sand, where nothing grew but naked bushes bristling with thorns, +and tall grayish-green cacti with disjointed branching arms. They +stretched out before us against the blazing sky, like a succession of +fantastic telegraph-poles. We were marching over what had once been the +bed of a great lake. Layers of tiny round pebbles rolled under our feet, +and the rocks which rose out of the sand had been worn and polished by +the water until they were as smooth as the steps of a cathedral. A mile +away on each flank were dark green ridges, but ahead of us there was +only a great stretch of glaring white sand. No wind was stirring, and +not a drop of moisture. The air was like a breath from a brick oven, +and the heat of the sun so fierce that if you touched your fingers to a +gun-barrel it burned the flesh. + +We did not escape out of this lime-kiln until three in the afternoon, +when the trail again led us into the protecting shade of the jungle. The +men plunged into it as eagerly as though they were diving into water. + +About four o'clock we heard great cheering ahead of us, and word was +passed to the rear that Miller had come in touch with Garcia's scouts. A +half hour later, we marched into the camp of the revolutionists. It was +situated about three miles outside of Santa Barbara, on the banks of the +river where the trail crossed it at a ford. Our fellows made a rather +fine appearance as they rode out of the jungle among the revolutionists; +and, considering the fact that we had come to fight for them, I thought +the little beggars might have given us a cheer, but they only stared +at us, and nodded stupidly. They were a mixed assortment, all of them +under-size and either broad or swarthy, with the straight hair and wide +cheek-bones of the Carib Indian, or slight and nervous looking, with the +soft eyes and sharp profile of the Spaniard. The greater part of +them had deserted in companies from the army, and they still wore +the blue-jean uniform and carried the rifle and accoutrements of the +Government. To distinguish themselves from those soldiers who had +remained with Alvarez, they had torn off the red braid with which their +tunics were embroidered. + +All the officers of the Foreign Legion rode up the stream with Laguerre +to meet General Garcia, whom we found sitting in the shade of his +tent surrounded by his staff. He gave us a most enthusiastic greeting, +embracing the General, and shaking hands with each of us in turn. He +seemed to be in the highest state of excitement, and bustled about +ordering us things to drink, and chattering, gesticulating, and +laughing. He reminded me of a little, fat French poodle trying to +express his delight by bounds and barks. They brought us out a great +many bottles of rum and limes, and we all had a long, deep drink. After +the fatigue and dust of the day, it was the best I ever tasted. Garcia's +officers seemed just as much excited over nothing as he was, but were +exceedingly friendly, treating us with an exaggerated "comrades-in-arms" +and "brother-officers" sort of manner. The young man who entertained me +was quite a swell, with a tortoise-shell visor to his cap and a Malacca +sword-cane which swung from a gold cord. He was as much pleased over it +as a boy with his first watch, and informed me that it had been used to +assassinate his uncle, ex-President Rojas. As he seemed to consider it a +very valuable heirloom, I moved my legs so that, as though by accident, +my sword fell forward where he could see it. When he did he exclaimed +upon its magnificence, and I showed him my name on the scabbard. He +thought it had been presented to me for bravery. He was very much +impressed. + +Garcia and Laguerre talked together for a long time and then shook hands +warmly, and we all saluted and returned to the ford. + +As soon as we had reached it Laguerre seated himself under a tree and +sent for all of his officers. + +"We are to attack at daybreak to-morrow morning," he said. "Garcia is +to return along the trail and make a demonstration on this side of the +town, while we are here to attack from the other. The plaza is about +three hundred yards from where we will enter. On the corner of the plaza +and the main street there is a large warehouse. The warehouse looks +across the plaza to the barracks, which are on the other side of the +square. General Garcia's plan is that our objective point shall be this +warehouse. It has two stories, and men on its roof will have a great +advantage over those in the barracks and in the streets. He believes +that when he begins his attack from this side, the Government troops +will rush from the barracks and hasten toward the sound of the firing. +At the same signal we are to hurry in from the opposite side of the +town, seize the warehouse, and throw up barricades across the plaza. +Should this plan succeed, the Government troops will find themselves +shut in between two fires. It seems to be a good plan, and I have agreed +to it. The cattle-path to the town is much too rough for our guns, so +Captain Heinze and the gun detail will remain here and co-operate with +General Garcia. Let your men get all the sleep they can now. They must +march again at midnight. They will carry nothing but their guns and +ammunition and rations for one meal. If everything goes as we expect, we +will breakfast in Santa Barbara." + +I like to remember the happiness I got out of the excitement of that +moment. I lived at the rate of an hour a minute, and I was as upset from +pure delight as though I had been in a funk of abject terror. And I was +scared in a way, too, for whenever I remembered I knew nothing of actual +fighting, and of what chances there were to make mistakes, I shivered +down to my heels. But I would not let myself think of the chances to +make a failure, but rather of the opportunities of doing something +distinguished and of making myself conspicuous. I laughed when I thought +of my classmates at the Point with their eyes bent on a book of tactics, +while here was I, within three hours of a real battle, of the most +exciting of all engagements, an attack upon a city. A full year, perhaps +many years, would pass before they would get the chance to hear a +hostile shot, the shot fired in anger, which every soldier must first +hear before he can enter upon his inheritance, and hold his own in the +talk of the mess-table. I felt almost sorry for them when I thought +how they would envy me when they read of the fight in the newspapers. I +decided it would be called the battle of Santa Barbara, and I imagined +how it would look in the head-lines. I was even generous enough to wish +that three or four of the cadets were with me; that is, of course, under +me, so that they could tell afterward how well I had led them. + +At midnight we filed silently out of camp, and felt our way in the dark +through the worst stretch of country we had yet encountered. The +ferns rose above our hips, and the rocks and fallen logs over which we +stumbled were slippery with moss. Every minute a man was thrown by a +trailing vine or would plunge over a fallen tree-trunk, and there would +be a yell of disgust and an oath and a rattle of accoutrements. The men +would certainly have been lost if they had not kept in touch by calling +to one another, and the noise we made hissing at them for silence only +added to the uproar. + +At the end of three hours our guides informed us that for the last +half-mile they had been guessing at the trail, and that they had now +completely lost themselves. So Laguerre sent out Miller and the +native scouts to buskey about and find out where we were, and almost +immediately we heard the welcome barking of a dog, and one of the men +returned to report that we had walked right into the town. We found that +the first huts were not a hundred yards distant. Laguerre accordingly +ordered the men to conceal themselves and sent Miller, one of Garcia's +officers, and myself to reconnoitre. + +The moonlight had given way to the faint gray light which comes just +before dawn, and by it we could distinguish lumps of blackness which as +we approached turned into the thatched huts of the villagers. Until we +found the main trail into the town we kept close to the bamboo fences +of these huts, and then, still keeping in the shadows, we followed the +trail until it turned into a broad and well-paved street. + +Except for many mongrel dogs that attacked us, and the roosters that +began to challenge us from every garden, we had not been observed, and, +so far as we could distinguish, the approach to the town was totally +unprotected. By this time the light had increased sufficiently for us +to see the white fronts of the houses, and the long empty street, where +rows of oil-lamps were sputtering and flickering, and as they went out, +filling the clean, morning air with the fumes of the dying wicks. It +had been only two weeks since I had seen paved streets, and shops, and +lamp-posts, but I had been sleeping long enough in the open to make +the little town of Santa Barbara appear to me like a modern and +well-appointed city. Viewed as I now saw it, our purpose to seize +it appeared credulous and grotesque. I could not believe that we +contemplated such a piece of folly. But the native officer pointed down +the street toward a square building with overhanging balconies. In the +morning mist the warehouse loomed up above its fellows of one story like +an impregnable fortress. + +Miller purred with satisfaction. + +"That's the place," he whispered; "I remember it now. If we can get into +it, they can never get us out." It seemed to me somewhat like burglary, +but I nodded in assent, and we ran back through the outskirts to +where Laguerre was awaiting us. We reported that there were no pickets +guarding our side of the town, and the building Garcia had designated +for defence seemed to us most admirably selected. + +It was now near to the time set for the attack to begin, and Laguerre +called the men together, and, as was his custom, explained to them what +he was going to do. He ordered that when we reached the warehouse I was +to spread out my men over the plaza and along the two streets on which +the warehouse stood. Porter was to mount at once to the roof and open +fire on the barracks, and the men of B and C Troops were to fortify the +warehouse and erect the barricades. + +It was still dark, but through the chinks of a few of the mud huts +we could see the red glow of a fire, and were warned by this to move +forward and take up our position at the head of the main street. Before +we advanced, skirmishers were sent out to restrain any of the people in +the huts who might attempt to arouse the garrison. But we need not have +concerned ourselves, for those of the natives who came to their doors, +yawning and shivering in the cool morning air, shrank back at the sight +of us, and held up their hands. I suppose, as we crept out of the mist, +we were a somewhat terrifying spectacle, but I know that I personally +felt none of the pride of a conquering hero. The glimpse I had caught of +the sleeping town, peaceful and unconscious, and the stealth and silence +of our movements, depressed me greatly, and I was convinced that I had +either perpetrated or was about to perpetrate some hideous crime. I had +anticipated excitement and the joy of danger, instead of which, as I +tiptoed between the poor gardens, I suffered all the quaking terrors of +a chicken thief. + +We had halted behind a long adobe wall to the right of the main street, +and as we crouched there the sun rose like a great searchlight and +pointed us out, and exposed us, and seemed to hold up each one of us to +the derision of Santa Barbara. As the light flooded us we all ducked our +heads simultaneously, and looked wildly about us as though seeking +for some place to hide. I felt as though I had been caught in the open +street in my night-gown. It was impossible to justify our presence. As I +lay, straining my ears for Garcia's signal, I wondered what we would do +if the worthy citizen who owned the garden wall, against which we lay +huddled, should open the gate and ask us what we wanted. Could we reply +that we, a hundred and fifty men, proposed to seize and occupy his city? +I felt sure he would tell us to go away at once or he would call the +police. I looked at the men near me, and saw that each was as disturbed +as myself. A full quarter of an hour had passed since the time set for +the attack, and still there was no signal from Garcia. The strain was +becoming intolerable. At any moment some servant, rising earlier than +his fellows, might stumble upon us, and in his surprise sound the alarm. +Already in the trail behind us a number of natives, on their way to +market, had been halted by our men, who were silently waving them back +into the forest. The town was beginning to stir, wooden shutters banged +against stone walls, and from but just around the corner of the main +street came the clatter of iron bars as they fell from the door of a +shop. We could hear the man who was taking them down whistling cheerily. + +And then from the barracks came, sharply and clearly, the ringing notes +of the reveille. I jumped to my feet and ran to where Laguerre was +sitting with his back to the wall. + +"General, can't I begin now?" I begged. "You said D Troop was to go in +first." + +He shook his head impatiently. "Listen!" he commanded. + +We heard a single report, but so faintly and from such a distance +that had it not instantly been followed by two more we could not have +distinguished it. Even then we were not certain. Then as we crouched +listening, each reading the face of the others and no one venturing +to breathe, there came the sharp, broken roll of musketry. It was +unmistakable. The men gave a great gasp of relief, and without orders +sprang to "attention." A ripple of rifle-fire, wild and scattered, +answered the first volley. + +"They have engaged the pickets," said Laguerre. + +The volleys were followed by others, and volleys, more uneven, answered +them still more wildly. + +"They are driving the pickets back," explained Laguerre. We all stood +looking at him as though he were describing something which he actually +saw. Suddenly from the barracks came the discordant calls of many +bugles, warning, commanding, beseeching. + +Laguerre tossed back his head, like a horse that has been too tightly +curbed. + +"They are leaving the barracks," he said. He pulled out his watch and +stood looking down at it in his hand. + +"I will give them three minutes to get under way," he said. "Then we +will start for the warehouse. When they come back again, they will find +us waiting for them." + +It seemed an hour that we stood there, and during every second of that +hour the rifle-fire increased in fierceness and came nearer, and seemed +to make another instant of inaction a crime. The men were listening with +their mouths wide apart, their heads cocked on one side, and their eyes +staring. They tightened their cartridge-belts nervously, and opened and +shot back the breech-bolts of their rifles. I took out my revolver, and +spun the cylinder to reassure myself for the hundredth time that it +was ready. But Laguerre stood quite motionless, with his eyes fixed +impassively upon his watch as though he were a physician at a sick-bed. +Only once did he raise his eyes. It was when the human savageness of the +rifle-fire was broken by a low mechanical rattle, like the whirr of a +mowing-machine as one hears it across the hay-fields. It spanked the air +with sharp hot reports. + +"Heinze has turned the Gatlings on them," he said. "They will be coming +back soon." He closed the lid of his watch with a click and nodded +gravely at me. "You can go ahead now, Captain," he said. His tone was +the same as though he had asked me to announce dinner. + + + + +IV + + +I jumped toward the street at the double, and the men followed me +crowded in a bunch. I shouted back at them to spread out, and they fell +apart. As I turned into the street I heard a shout from the plaza end of +it and found a dozen soldiers running forward to meet us. When they saw +the troops swing around the corner, they halted and some took cover in +the doorways, and others dropped on one knee in the open street, and +fired carefully. I heard soft, whispering sounds stealing by my head +with incredible slowness, and I knew that at last I was under fire. I no +longer felt like a boy robbing an orchard, nor a burglar. I was instead +grandly excited and happy, and yet I was quite calm too. I am sure +of this, for I remember I calculated the distance between us and the +warehouse, and compared it with the two hundred and twenty-yard stretch +in an athletic park at home. As I ran I noted also everything on either +side of me: two girls standing behind the iron bars of a window with +their hands pressed to their cheeks, and a negro with a broom in his +hand crouching in a doorway. Some of the men stopped running and halted +to fire, but I shouted to them to come on. I was sure if we continued +to charge we could frighten off the men at the end of the street, and I +guessed rightly, for as we kept on they scattered and ran. I could hear +shouts and screams rising from many different houses, and men and women +scuttled from one side of the street to the other like frightened hens. + +As we passed an open shop some men inside opened a fusillade on me, and +over my shoulder I just caught a glimpse of one of them as he dropped +back behind the counter. I shouted to Von Ritter, who was racing with +me, to look after them, and saw him and a half-dozen others swerve +suddenly and sweep into the shop. Porter's men were just behind mine +and the noise our boots made pounding on the cobblestones sounded like a +stampede of cattle. + +The plaza was an unshaded square of dusty grass. In the centre was a +circular fountain, choked with dirt and dead leaves, and down the paths +which led to it were solid stone benches. I told the men to take cover +inside the fountain, and about a dozen of them dropped behind the rim of +it, facing toward the barracks. I heard Porter give a loud "hurrah!" at +finding the doors of the warehouse open, and it seemed almost instantly +that the men of his troop began to fire over our heads from its roof. +At the first glance it was difficult to tell from where the enemy's fire +came, but I soon saw smoke floating from the cupola of the church on +the corner and drifting through the barred windows of the barracks. I +shouted at the men behind the benches to aim at the cupola, and directed +those with me around the fountain to let loose at the barrack windows. +As they rose to fire and exposed themselves above the rim of the +fountain three of them were hit, and fell back swearing. The men behind +the benches shouted at me to take cover, and one of the wounded men in +the fountain reached up and pulled at my tunic, telling me to lie down. +The men of B and C Troops were rolling casks out of the warehouse and +building a barricade, and I saw that we were drawing all of the fire +from them. We were now in a cross-fire between the church and the +barracks, and were getting very much the worst of the fight. The men in +the barracks were only seventy yards away. They seemed to be the ones +chiefly responsible. They had piled canvas cots against the bars of the +windows, and though these afforded them no protection, they prevented +our seeing anything at which to shoot. + +One of my men gave a grunt, and whirled over, holding his hand to his +shoulder. "I've got it, Captain," he said. I heard another man shriek +from behind one of the benches. Our position was becoming impossible. It +was true we were drawing the fire from the men who were working on +the barricade, which was what we had been sent out to do, but in three +minutes I had lost five men. + +I remembered a professor at the Point telling us the proportion of +bullets that went home was one to every three hundred, and I wished I +had him behind that fountain. Miller was lying at my feet pumping +away with a Winchester. As he was reloading it he looked up at me, and +shouted, "And they say these Central Americans can't shoot!" I saw white +figures appearing and disappearing at the windows of almost every house +on the plaza. The entire population seemed to have taken up arms against +us. The bullets splashed on the combing of the fountain and tore up the +grass at our feet, and whistled and whispered about our ears. It seemed +utter idiocy to remain, but I could not bring myself to run back to the +barricade. + +In the confusion which had ensued in the barracks when Garcia opened the +attack the men who ran out to meet him had left the gates of the barrack +yard open, and as I stood, uncertain what to do, I saw a soldier pushing +them together. He had just closed one when I caught sight of him. I +fired with my revolver, and shouted to the men. "We must get inside +those gates," I cried. "We can't stay here. Charge those gates!" I +pointed, and they all jumped from every part of the plaza, and we raced +for the barrack wall, each of us yelling as we ran. A half dozen of us +reached there in time to throw ourselves against the gate that was just +closing, and the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack yard. + +{Illustration: And the next instant I fell sprawling inside the barrack +yard} + +We ran straight for the long room which faced the street, and as we came +in at one end of it the men behind the cots fired a frightened volley at +us and fled out at the other. In less than two minutes the barracks were +empty, and we had changed our base from that cock-pit of a fountain to a +regular fortress with walls two feet thick, with rifles stacked in every +corner, and, what at that moment seemed of greatest importance, with a +breakfast for two hundred men bubbling and boiling in great iron pots in +the kitchen. I had never felt such elation and relief as I did over that +bloodless victory. It had come when things looked so bad; it had come +so suddenly and easily that while some of the men cheered, others only +laughed, shaking each other's hands or slapping each other on the back, +and some danced about like children. We tore the cots away from the +windows and waved at the men behind the barricade, and they stood up and +cheered us, and the men on the roof, looking very tall against the blue +sky, stood up and waved their hats and cheered too. They had silenced +the men in the cupola, and a sudden hush fell upon the plaza. It was +easy to see that many sympathizers with the government had been shooting +at us from the private houses. When they saw us take the barracks +they had probably decided that the time had come to wipe off the +powder-stains, and reappear as friends of the revolution. The only +firing now was from where Garcia was engaged. Judging from the loudness +of these volleys he had reached the outskirts of the town. I set half +of my force to work piling up bags of meal behind the iron bars, and, +in the event of fire, filling pails with water, and breaking what little +glass still remained in the windows. Others I sent to bring in the +wounded, and still others to serving out the coffee and soup we had +found in the kitchen. After giving these orders I ran to the barricade +to report. When I reached it the men behind it began to rap on the +stones with the butts of their rifles as people pound with their +billiard-cues when someone has made a difficult shot, and those on the +roof leaned over and clapped their hands. It was most unmilitary, but +I must say I was pleased by it, though I pretended I did not know what +they meant. + +Laguerre came to the door of the warehouse, and smiled at me. + +"I'm glad you're still alive, sir," he said. "After this, when you get +within seventy yards of the enemy, I hope you will be able to see him +without standing up." + +The men above us laughed, and I felt rather foolish, and muttered +something about "setting an example." + +"If you get yourself shot," he said, "you will be setting a very bad +example, indeed. We can't spare anybody, Captain, and certainly not +you." I tried to look as modest as possible, but I could not refrain +from glancing around to see if the men had heard him, and I observed +with satisfaction that they had. + +Laguerre asked me if I could hold the barracks, and I told him that I +thought I could. He then ordered me to remain there. + +"Would you like a cup of coffee, General?" I asked. The General's +expression changed swiftly. It became that of a very human and a very +hungry man. + +"Have you got any?" he demanded anxiously. + +"If you can lend me some men," I said, "I can send you back eight +gallons." At this the men behind the barricades gave a great cheer of +delight, and the General smiled and patted me on the shoulder. + +"That is right," he said. "The best kind of courage often comes from a +full stomach. Run along now," he added, as though he were talking to a +child, "run along, and don't fire until we do, and send us that coffee +before we get to work again." + +I called in all of my men from the side streets, and led them across +to the barracks. I placed some of them on the roof and some of them on +tables set against the inside of the wall in the yard. + +As I did so, I saw Porter run across the plaza with about fifty of +his men, and almost immediately after they had disappeared we heard +cheering, and he returned with Captain Heinze. They both ran toward +General Laguerre, and Porter then came across to me, and told me that +the government troops were in full flight, and escaping down the side +streets into the jungle. They were panic-stricken and were scattering in +every direction, each man looking after his own safety. For the next two +hours I chased terrified little soldiers all over the side of the +town which had been assigned me, either losing them at the edge of the +jungle, or dragging them out of shops and private houses. No one was +hurt. It was only necessary to fire a shot after them to see them throw +up their hands. By nine o'clock I had cleaned up my side of the town, +and returned to the plaza. It was now so choked with men and mules that +I was five minutes in forcing my way across. Garcia's troops had marched +in, and were raising a great hullabaloo, cheering and shouting, and +embracing the townspeople, whom they had known during their former +occupation, and many of whom were the same people who had been firing +at us. I found Laguerre in counsel with Garcia, who was in high spirits, +and feeling exceedingly pleased with himself. He entirely ignored +our part in taking the town, and talked as though he had captured it +single-handed. The fact that the government troops had held him back +until we threatened them in the rear he did not consider as important. I +resented his swagger and the way he patronized Laguerre, but the General +did not seem to notice it, or was too well satisfied with the day's work +to care. While I was at head-quarters our scouts came in to report that +the enemy was escaping along the trail to Comyagua, and that two of +their guns had stalled in the mud, not one mile out from Santa Barbara. +This was great news, and to my delight I was among those who hurried out +to the place where the guns were supposed to be. We found them abandoned +and stuck in the mud, and captured them without firing a shot. A half +hour later we paraded our prizes in a triumphal procession through the +streets of Santa Barbara, and were given a grand welcome by the allies +and the townspeople. I had never witnessed such enthusiasm, but it was +not long before I found out the cause of it. In our absence everybody +had been celebrating the victory with aguardiente, and half of Garcia's +warriors had become so hopelessly drunk that they were lying all over +the plaza, and their comrades were dancing and tramping upon them. + +I found that this orgy had put Laguerre in a fine rage, and I heard him +send out the provost guard with orders to throw all the drunken men into +the public corral for lost mules. + +When he learned of this Garcia was equally indignant. The matter ended +with Laguerre's locking up Garcia's soldiers with our prisoners-of-war +in the yard barracks, where they sang and shouted and fought until they +were exhausted and went to sleep. + +There was still much drink left on requisition, but the conquering +heroes had taken everything there was to eat, and for some time I +wandered around seeking for food before I finally discovered Miller, +Von Ritter, and Aiken in the garden of a private house enjoying a most +magnificent luncheon. I begged a share on the ground that I had just +overcome two helpless brass cannon, and they gave me a noisy welcome, +and made a place for me. I was just as happy as I was hungry, and I was +delighted to find someone with whom I could discuss the fight. For an +hour we sat laughing and drinking, and each talking at the top of his +voice and all at the same time. We were as elated as though we had +captured the city of London. + +Of course Aiken had taken no part in the fight, and of course he made +light of it, which was just the sort of thing he would do, and he +especially poked fun at me and at my charge on the barracks. He called +it a "grand-stand play," and said I was a "gallery fighter." He said the +reason I ran out into the centre of the plaza was because I knew there +was a number of women looking out of the windows, and he pretended to +believe that when we entered the barracks they were empty, and that I +knew they were when I ordered the charge. + +"It was the coffee they were after," he declared. "As soon as Macklin +smelt the coffee he drew his big gilt sword and cried, 'Up, my men, +inside yon fortress a free breakfast awaits us. Follow your gallant +leader!' and they never stopped following until they reached the +kitchen. They're going to make Macklin a bugler," he said, "so that +after this he can blow his own trumpet without anyone being allowed to +interrupt him." + +I was glad to find that I could take what Aiken said of me as lightly as +did the others. Since the fight his power to annoy me had passed. I knew +better than anyone else that at one time during the morning I had been +in a very tight place, but I had stuck to it and won out. The knowledge +that I had done so gave me confidence in myself--not that I have ever +greatly lacked it, but it was a new kind of confidence. It made me +feel older, and less inclined to boast. In this it also helped out my +favorite theory that it must be easy for the man who has done something +to be modest. After he has proved himself capable in the eyes of his +comrades he doesn't have to go about telling them how good he is. It is +a saying that heroes are always modest, but they are not really modest. +They just keep quiet, because they know their deeds are better talkers +than they are. + +Miller and I had despatched an orderly to inform Laguerre of our +whereabouts, and at three o'clock in the afternoon the man returned to +tell us that we were to join the General in the plaza. On arriving there +we found the column already drawn up in the order of march, and an hour +later we filed out of the town down the same street by which we had +entered it that morning, and were cheered by the same people who eight +hours before had been firing upon us. We left five hundred of Garcia's +men to garrison the place and prevent the townspeople from again +changing their sympathies, and continued on toward Tegucigalpa with +Garcia and the remainder of his force as our main body, and with the +Legion in the van. We were a week in reaching Comyagua, which was the +only place that we expected would offer any resistance until we arrived +outside of the capital. During that week our march was exactly similar +to the one we had made from the camp to Santa Barbara. There was the +same rough trail, the jungle crowding close on either flank, the same +dusty villages, the same fierce heat. At the villages of Tabla Ve and +at Seguatepec our scouts surprised the rear guard of the enemy and +stampeded it without much difficulty, and with only twenty men wounded. +As usual we had no one to thank for our success in these skirmishes but +ourselves, as Garcia's men never appeared until just as the fight was +over, when they would come running up in great excitement. Laguerre +remarked that they needed a better knowledge of the bugle calls, as they +evidently mistook our "Cease firing" for "Advance." + +The best part of that week's march lay in the many opportunities it gave +me to become acquainted with my General. The more I was permitted to +be with him the longer I wanted to be always with him, and with no one +else. After listening to Laguerre you felt that a talk with the other +men was a waste of time. There was nothing apparently that he did not +know of men and events, and his knowledge did not come from books, but +at first hand, from contact with the men, and from having taken part in +the events. + +After we had pitched camp for the night the others would elect me to go +to his tent, and ask if we could come over and pay our respects. They +always selected me for this errand, because they said it was easy to see +that I was his favorite. + +When we were seated about him on the rocks, or on ammunition boxes, +or on the ground, I would say, "Please, General, we want to hear some +stories," and he would smile and ask, "What sort of stories?" and each +of us would ask for something different. Some would want to hear about +the Franco-Prussian war, and others of the Fall of Plevna or Don Carlos +or Garibaldi, or of the Confederate generals with whom Laguerre had +fought in Egypt. + +When the others had said good-night he would sometimes call me back on +the pretence of giving me instructions for the morrow, and then would +come the really wonderful stories--the stories that no historian has +ever told. His talk was more educational than a library of histories, +and it filled me with a desire to mix with great people--to be their +companion as he had been, to have kings and pretenders for my intimates. +When one listened it sounded easy of accomplishment. It never seemed +strange to him that great rulers should have made a friend of a stray +soldier of fortune, an Irish adventurer--for Laguerre's mother was +Irish; his father had been Colonel Laguerre, and once Military Governor +of Algiers--and given him their confidence. And yet I could see why they +should do so, for just the very reason that he took their confidence +as a matter of course, knowing that his loyalty would always be above +suspicion. He had a great capacity for loyalty. There was no taint in it +of self-interest, nor of snobbishness. He believed, for instance, in the +divine right of kings; and from what he let fall we could see that he +had given the most remarkable devotion not only to every cause for which +he had fought, but to the individual who represented it. That in time +each of these individuals had disappointed him had in no way shaken +his faith in the one to whom he next offered his sword. His was a most +beautiful example of modesty and of faith in one's fellowman. It was +during this week, and because of these midnight talks with him around +the campfire, that I came to look up to him, and love him like a son. + +But during that same week I was annoyed to find that many of our men +believed the version which Aiken had given of my conduct at Santa +Barbara. There were all sorts of stories circulating through the +Legion about me. They made me out a braggart, a bully, and a conceited +ass--indeed, almost everything unpleasant was said of me except that +I was a coward. Aiken, of course, kindly retold these stories to me, +either with the preface that he thought I ought to know what was being +said of me, or that he thought the stories would amuse me. I thanked him +and pretended to laugh, but I felt more like punching his head. People +who say that women are gossips, and that they delight in tearing each +other to pieces, ought to hear the talk of big, broad-shouldered men +around camp-fires. If you believe what they say, you would think that +every officer had either bungled or had funked the fight. And when a +man really has performed some act which cannot be denied they call him a +"swipe," and say he did it to gain promotion, or to curry favor with +the General. Of course, it may be different in armies officered by +gentlemen; but men are pretty much alike all the world over, and I know +that those in our Legion were as given to gossip and slander as the +inmates of any Old Woman's Home. I used to say to myself that so long as +I had the approval of Laguerre and of my own men and of my conscience I +could afford not to mind what the little souls said; but as a matter of +fact I did mind it, and it angered me exceedingly. Just as it hurt me at +the Point to see that I was not popular, it distressed me to find that +the same unpopularity had followed me into the Legion. The truth is that +the officers were jealous of me. They envied me my place as Adjutant, +and they were angry because Laguerre assigned one so much younger than +themselves to all the most important duties. They said that by showing +favoritism he was weakening his influence with the men and that he made +a "pet" of me. If he did I know that he also worked me five times as +hard as anyone else, and that he sent me into places where no one but +himself would go. The other officers had really no reason to object to +me personally. I gave them very little of my company, and though I spoke +pleasantly when we met I did not associate with them. Miller and Von +Ritter were always abusing me for not trying to make friends; but I told +them that, since the other officers spoke of me behind my back as a cad, +braggart, and snob, the least I could do was to keep out of their way. + +I was even more unpopular with the men, but there was a reason for that; +for I was rather severe with them, and imposed as strict a discipline on +them as that to which I had been accustomed at West Point. The greater +part of them were ne'er-do-wells and adventurers picked up off the beach +at Greytown, and they were a thoroughly independent lot, reckless and +courageous; but I doubt if they had ever known authority or restraint, +unless it was the restraint of a jail. With the men of my own troop I +got on well enough, for they saw I understood how to take care of them, +and that things went on more smoothly when they were carried out as I +had directed, so they obeyed me without sulking. But with the men of the +troops not directly under my command I frequently met with trouble; +and on several occasions different men refused to obey my orders as +Adjutant, and swore and even struck at me, so that I had to knock them +down. I regretted this exceedingly, but I was forced to support my +authority in some way. After learning the circumstances Laguerre +exonerated me, and punished the men. Naturally, this did not help me +with the volunteers, and for the first ten days after I had joined the +Legion I was the most generally disliked man in it. This lasted until we +reached Comyagua, when something happened which brought the men over to +my side. Indeed, I believe I became a sort of a hero with them, and was +nearly as popular as Laguerre himself. So in the end it came out all +right, but it was near to being the death of me; and, next to hanging, +the meanest kind of a death a man could suffer. + +When this incident occurred, which came so near to ending tragically +for me, we had been trying to drive the government troops out of the +cathedral of Comyagua. It was really a church and not a cathedral, but +it was so much larger than any other building we had seen in Honduras +that the men called it "The Cathedral." It occupied one whole side of +the plaza. There were four open towers at each corner, and the front +entrance was as large as a barn. Their cannon, behind a barricade of +paving stones, were on the steps which led to this door. + +I carried a message from Laguerre along the end of the plaza opposite +the cathedral, and as I was returning, the fire grew so hot that I +dropped on my face. There was a wooden watering-trough at the edge of +the sidewalk, and I crawled over and lay behind it. Directly back of me +was a restaurant into which a lot of Heinze's men had broken their +way from the rear. They were firing up at the men in the towers of the +cathedral. My position was not a pleasant one, for every time I raised +my head the soldiers in the belfry would cut loose at me; and, though +they failed to hit me, I did not dare to get up and run. Already the +trough was leaking like a sieve. There was no officer with the men in +the cafe, so they were taking the word from one of their own number, and +were firing regularly in volleys. They fired three times after I took +shelter. They were so near me that at each volley I could hear the sweep +of the bullets passing about two yards above my head. + +But at the fourth volley a bullet just grazed my cheek and drove itself +into the wood of the trough. It was so near that the splinters flew +in my eyes. I looked back over my shoulder and shouted, "Look out! You +nearly hit me then. Fire higher." + +One of the men in the cafe called back, "We can't hear you," and I +repeated, "Fire higher! You nearly hit me," and pointed with my finger +to where the big 44-calibre ball had left a black hole in the green +paint of the trough. When they saw this there were excited exclamations +from the men, and I heard the one who was giving the orders repeating my +warning. And then came the shock of another volley. Simultaneously with +the shock a bullet cut through the wide brim of my sombrero and passed +into the box about two inches below my chin. + +It was only then that I understood that this was no accident, but that +someone in the restaurant was trying to murder me. The thought was +hideous and sickening. I could bear the fire of the enemy from the +belfry--that was part of the day's work; the danger of it only excited +me; but the idea that one of my own side was lying within twenty feet +of me, deliberately aiming with intent to kill, was outrageous and +revolting. + +I scrambled to my feet and faced the open front of the restaurant, and +as I stood up there was, on the instant, a sharp fusillade from the +belfry tower. But I was now far too angry to consider that. The men were +kneeling just inside the restaurant, and as I halted a few feet from +them I stuck my finger through the bullet hole and held up my hat for +them to see. + +"Look!" I shouted at them. "You did that, you cowards. You want to +murder me, do you?" I straightened myself and threw out my arms, "Well, +here's your chance," I cried. "Don't shoot me in the back. Shoot me +now." + +The men gaped at me in utter amazement. Their lips hung apart. Their +faces were drawn in lines of anger, confusion, and dislike. + +"Go on!" I shouted. "Fire a volley at that belfry, and let the man who +wants me have another chance at me. I'll give the word. Make ready!" I +commanded. + +There was a pause and a chorus of protests, and then mechanically each +man jerked out the empty shell and drove the next cartridge in place. +"Aim!" I shouted. They hesitated and then raised their pieces in a +wavering line, and I looked into the muzzles of a dozen rifles. + +"Now then--damn you," I cried. "Fire!" + +They fired, and my eyes and nostrils were filled with burning smoke, but +not a bullet had passed near me. + +"Again!" I shouted, stamping my foot. I was so angry that I suppose I +was really hardly accountable for what I did. + +"I told you you were cowards," I cried. "You can only shoot men in the +back. You don't like me, don't you?" I cried, taunting them. "I'm a +braggart, am I? Yes. I'm a bully, am I? Well, here's your chance. Get +rid of me! Once again now. Make ready," I commanded. "Aim! Fire!" + +Again the smoke swept up, and again I had escaped. I remember that +I laughed at them and that the sound was crazy and hysterical, and +I remember that as I laughed I shook out my arms to show them I was +unhurt. And as I did that someone in the cafe cried, "Thank God!" And +another shouted, "That's enough of this damn nonsense," and a big man +with a bushy red beard sprang up and pulled off his hat. + +"Now then," he cried. "All together, boys. Three cheers for the little +one!" and they all jumped and shouted like mad people. + +They cheered me again and again, although all the time the bullets from +the belfry were striking about them, ringing on the iron tables and on +the sidewalk, and tearing great gashes in the awnings overhead. + +And then it seemed as though the sunlight on the yellow buildings and on +the yellow earth of the plaza had been suddenly shut off, and I dropped +into a well of blackness and sank deeper and deeper. + +When I looked up the big man was sitting on the floor holding me as +comfortably as though I were a baby, and my face was resting against +his red beard, and my clothes and everything about me smelt terribly of +brandy. + +But the most curious thing about it was that though they told everyone +in the Legion that I had stood up and made them shoot at me, they never +let anyone find out that I had been so weak as to faint. + +I do not know whether it was the brandy they gave me that later led me +to charge those guns, but I appreciate now that my conduct was certainly +silly and mad enough to be excused only in that way. According to the +doctrine of chances I should have lost nine lives, and according to +the rules governing an army in the field I should have been +court-martialled. Instead of which, the men caught me up on their +shoulders and carried me around the plaza, and Laguerre and Garcia +looked on from the steps of the Cathedral and laughed and waved to us. + +For five hours we had been lying in the blazing sun on the flat +house-tops, or hidden in the shops around the plaza, and the government +troops were still holding us off with one hand and spanking us with the +other. Their guns were so good that, when Heinze attempted to take up a +position against them with his old-style Gatlings, they swept him out +of the street, as a fire-hose flushes a gutter. For five hours they had +kept the plaza empty, and peppered the three sides of it so warmly that +no one of us should have shown his head. + +But at every shot from the Cathedral our men grew more unmanageable, +and the longer the enemy held us back the more arrogant and defiant they +became. Ostensibly to obtain a better shot, but in reality from pure +deviltry, they would make individual sallies into the plaza, and, facing +the embrasure, would empty their Winchesters at one of its openings as +coolly as though they were firing at a painted bull's-eye. The man who +first did this, the moment his rifle was empty, ran for cover and was +tumultuously cheered by his hidden audience. But in order to surpass +him, the next man, after he had emptied his gun, walked back very +deliberately, and the third man remained to refill his magazine. And +so a spirit of the most senseless rivalry sprang up, and one man after +another darted out into the plaza to cap the recklessness of those who +had gone before him. + +It was not until five men were shot dead and lay sprawling and uncovered +in the sun that the madness seemed to pass. But my charging the +embrasure was always supposed to be a part of it, and to have +been inspired entirely by vanity and a desire to do something more +extravagantly reckless than any of the others. As a matter of fact I +acted on what has always seemed to me excellent reasoning, and if I went +alone, it was only because, having started, it seemed safer to go ahead +than to run all the way back again. I never blamed the men for running +back, and so I cannot see why they should blame me for having gone +ahead. + +The enemy had ceased firing shrapnel and were using solid shot. When +their Gatlings also ceased, I guessed that it might be that the guns +were jammed. If I were right and if one avoided the solid shot by +approaching the barricade obliquely, there was no danger in charging the +barricade. I told my troop that I thought the guns were out of order, +and that if we rushed the barricade we could take it. When I asked for +volunteers, ten men came forward and at once, without asking permission, +which I knew I could not get, we charged across the plaza. + +Both sides saw us at the same instant, and the firing was so fierce that +the men with me thought the Gatlings had reopened on us, and ran for +cover. + +That left me about fifty feet from the barricade, and as it seemed a +toss-up whichever way I went I kept going forward. I caught the combing +of the embrasure with my hands, stuck my toes between the stones, and +scrambled to the top. The scene inside was horrible. The place looked +like a slaughter-yard. Only three men were still on their legs; the +rest were heaped around the guns. I threatened the three men with my +revolver, but they shrieked for mercy and I did not fire. The men in the +belfries, however, were showing no mercy to me, so I dropped inside the +wall and crawled for shelter beneath a caisson. But, I recognized on the +instant that I could not remain there. It was the fear of the Gatlings +only which was holding back our men, and I felt that before I was shot +they must know that the guns were jammed. So I again scrambled up to +the barricade, and waved my hat to them to come on. At the same moment +a bullet passed through my shoulder, and another burned my neck, and +one of the men who had begged for mercy beat me over the head with his +sword. I went down like a bag of flour, but before my eyes closed I saw +our fellows pouring out of the houses and sweeping toward me. + +About an hour later, when Von Ritter had cleaned the hole in my shoulder +and plastered my skull, I sallied out again, and at sight of me the men +gave a shout, and picked me up, and, cheering, bore me around the plaza. +From that day we were the best of friends, and I think in time they grew +to like me. + +Two days later we pitched camp outside of Tegucigalpa, the promised +city, the capital of the Republic. + +Our points of attack were two: a stone bridge which joins the city +proper with the suburbs, and a great hill of rock called El Pecachua. +This hill either guards or betrays the capital. The houses reach almost +to its base and from its crest one can drop a shell through the roof of +any one of them. Consequently, when we arrived, we found its approaches +strongly entrenched and the hill occupied in force by the government +artillery. There is a saying in Honduras, which has been justified by +countless revolutions, and which dates back to the days of Morazan the +Liberator, that "He who takes Pecachua sleeps in the Palace." + +Garcia's plan was for two days to bombard the city, and if, in that +time, Alvarez had not surrendered, to attack El Pecachua by night. As +usual, the work was so divided that the more dangerous and difficult +part of it fell to the Foreign Legion, for in his plan Garcia so ordered +it that Laguerre should storm Pecachua, while he advanced from the plain +and attacked the city at the stone bridge. + +But this plan was never carried out, and after our first day in front +of the Capital, General Garcia never again gave an order to General +Laguerre. + +After midnight on the evening of that first day Aiken came to the hut +where we had made our head-quarters and demanded to see the General on +a matter of life and death. With him, looking very uncertain as to the +propriety of the visit, were all the officers of the Legion. + +The General was somewhat surprised and somewhat amused, but he invited +us to enter. When the officers had lined up against the walls he said, +"As a rule, I call my own councils of war, but no doubt Mr. Aiken has +some very good reason for affording me the pleasure of your company. +What is it, Mr. Aiken?" + +Instead of answering him, Aiken said, with as much manner as that of +General Garcia himself, "I want a guard put outside this house, and I +want the men placed far enough from it to prevent their hearing what +I say." The General nodded at me, and I ordered the sentries to +move farther from the hut. I still remember the tableau I saw when I +re-entered it, the row of officers leaning against the mud walls, the +candles stuck in their own grease on the table, the maps spread over +it, and the General and Aiken facing each other from its either end. It +looked like a drumhead court-martial. + +When I had shut the door of the hut Aiken spoke. His tone was one of +calm unconcern. + +"I have just come from the Palace," he said, "where I have been having a +talk with President Alvarez." + +No one made a sound, nor no one spoke, but like one man everyone in the +room reached for his revolver. It was a most enlightening revelation of +our confidence in Aiken. Laguerre did not move. He was looking steadily +at Aiken and his eyes were shining like two arc lamps. + +"By whose authority?" he asked. + +We, who knew every tone of his voice, almost felt sorry for Aiken. + +"By whose authority," Laguerre repeated, "did you communicate with the +enemy?" + +"It was an idea of my own," Aiken answered simply. "I was afraid if +I told you you would interfere. Oh! I'm no soldier," he said. He was +replying to the look in Laguerre's face. "And I can tell you that there +are other ways of doing things than 'according to Hardie.' Alvarez's +officers came to me after the battle of Comyagua. They expected to beat +you there, and when you chased them out of the city and started for +the Capital they thought it was all up with them, and decided to make +terms." + +"With you?" said Laguerre. + +Aiken laughed without the least trace of resentment, and nodded. + +"Well, you give a dog a bad name," he said, "and it sticks to him. So, +they came to me. I'm no grand-stand fighter; I'm not a fighter at all. +I think fighting is silly. You've got all the young men you want to stop +bullets for you, without me. They like it. They like to catch 'em in +their teeth. I don't. But that's not saying that I'm no good. You know +the old gag of the lion and the little mousie, and how the mouse came +along and chewed the lion out of the net. Well, that's me. I'm no lion +going 'round seeking whom I may devour.' I'm just a sewer rat. But I can +tell you all," he cried, slapping the table with his hand, "that, if it +hadn't been for little mousie, every one of you lions would have been +shot against a stone wall. And if I can't prove it, you can take a shot +at me. I've been the traitor. I've been the go-between from the first. I +arranged the whole thing. The Alvarez crowd told me to tell Garcia that +even if he did succeed in getting into the Palace the Isthmian Line +would drive him out of it in a week. But that if he'd go away from the +country, they'd pay him fifty thousand pesos and a pension. He's got the +Isthmian Line's promise in writing. + +"This joint attack he's planned for Wednesday night is a fake. He +doesn't mean to fight. Nobody means to fight except against you. Every +soldier and every gun in the city is to be sent out to Pecachua to trap +you into an ambush. Natives who pretend to have deserted from Alvarez +are to lead you into it. That was an idea of mine. They thought it was +very clever. Garcia is to make a pretence of attacking the bridge and +a pretence of being driven back. Then messengers are to bring word that +the Foreign Legion has been cut to pieces at Pecachua, and he is to +disband his army, and tell every man to look out for himself. + +"If you want proofs of this, I'll furnish them to any man here that +you'll pick out. I told Alvarez that one of your officers was working +against you with me, and that at the proper time I'd produce him. Now, +you choose which officer that shall be. He can learn for himself that +all I'm telling you is true. But that will take time!" Aiken cried, as +Laguerre made a movement to interrupt him. "And if you want to get out +of this fix alive, you'd better believe me, and start for the coast at +once--now--to-night!" + +Laguerre laughed and sprang to his feet. His eyes were shining and the +color had rushed to his cheeks. He looked like a young man masquerading +in a white wig. He waved his hand at Aiken with a gesture that was part +benediction and part salute. + +"I do believe you," he cried, "and thank you, sir." He glanced sharply +at the officers around him as though he were weighing the value of each. + +"Gentlemen," he cried, "often in my life I have been prejudiced, and +often I have been deceived, and I think that it is time now that I +acted for myself. From the first, the burden of this expedition has been +carried by the Foreign Legion. I know that; you, who fought the battles, +certainly know it. We invaded Honduras with a purpose. We came to obtain +for the peons the debt that is due them and to give them liberty and +free government. And whether our allies run away or betray us, that +purpose is still the same." + +He paused as though for the first time it had occurred to him that the +motives of the others might not be as his own. + +"Am I right?" he asked, eagerly. "Are you willing to carry out that +purpose?" he demanded. "Are you ready to follow me now, to-night--not to +the coast"--he shouted--"but to the Capital--to the top of Pecachua?" + +Old man Webster jumped in front of us, and shot his arm into the air as +though it held a standard. + +"We'll follow you to hell and back again," he cried. + +I would not have believed that so few men could have made so much noise. +We yelled and cheered so wildly that we woke the camp. We could hear the +men running down the road, and the sentries calling upon them to halt. +The whole Legion was awake and wondering. Webster beat us into silence +by pounding the table with his fist. + +"I have lived in this country for forty years," he cried, with his eyes +fixed upon Laguerre, "and you are the first white man I have known who +has not come into it, either flying from the law, or to rob and despoil +it. I know this country. I know all of Central America, and it is a +wonderful country. There is not a fruit nor a grain nor a plant that you +cannot dig out of it with your bare fingers. It has great forests, great +pasture-lands, and buried treasures of silver and iron and gold. But it +is cursed with the laziest of God's creatures, and the men who rule +them are the most corrupt and the most vicious. They are the dogs in +the manger among rulers. They will do nothing to help their own country; +they will not permit others to help it. They are a menace and an insult +to civilization, and it is time that they stepped down and out, and made +way for their betters, or that they were kicked out. One strong man, +if he is an honest man, can conquer and hold Central America. William +Walker was such a man. I was with him when he ruled the best part of +this country for two years. He governed all Nicaragua with two hundred +white men, and never before or since have the pueblo known such peace +and justice and prosperity as Walker gave them." + +Webster threw himself across the table and pointed his hand at Laguerre. + +"And you, General Laguerre!" he cried, "and you? Do you see your duty? +You say it calls you to-night to El Pecachua. Then if it does, it calls +you farther--to the Capital! There can be no stopping half-way now, no +turning back. If we follow you to-night to Pecachua, we follow you to +the Palace." + +Webster's voice rose until it seemed to shake the palm-leaf roof. He +was like a man possessed. He sprang up on the table, and from the height +above us hurled his words at Laguerre. + +"We are not fighting for any half-breed now," he cried; "we are fighting +for you. We know you. We believe in you. We mean to make you President, +and we will not stop there. Our motto shall be Walker's motto, 'Five +or none,' and when we have taken this Republic we shall take the +other four, and you will be President of the United States of Central +America." + +We had been standing open-eyed, open-mouthed, every nerve trembling, and +at these words we shrieked and cheered, but Webster waved at us with an +angry gesture and leaned toward Laguerre. + +"You will open this land," he cried, "with roads and railways. You will +feed the world with its coffee. You will cut the Nicaragua Canal. And +you will found an empire--not the empire of slaves that Walker planned, +but an empire of freed men, freed by you from their tyrants and from +themselves. They tell me, General," he cried, "that you have fought +under thirteen flags. To-night, sir, you shall fight under your own!" + +We all cheered and cheered again, the oldest as well as myself, and I +cheered louder than any, until I looked at Laguerre. Then I felt how +terribly real it was to him. Until I looked at him it had seemed quite +sane and feasible. But when I saw how deeply he was moved, and that +his eyes were brimming with pride and resolve, I felt that it was a mad +dream, and that we were wicked not to wake him. For I, who loved him +like a son, understood what it meant to him. In his talk along the trail +and by the camp-fire he had always dreamed of an impossible republic, +an Utopia ruled by love and justice, and I now saw he believed that the +dreams had at last come true. I knew that the offer these men had made +to follow him, filled him with a great happiness and gratitude. And that +he, who all his life had striven so earnestly and so loyally for others, +would give his very soul for men who fought for him. I was not glad that +they had offered to make him their leader. I could only look ahead with +miserable forebodings and feel bitterly sorry that one so fine and good +was again to be disillusioned and disappointed and cast down. + +But there was no time that night to look ahead. The men were outside the +hut, a black, growling mob crying for revenge upon Garcia. Had we not +at once surrounded them they would have broken for his camp and murdered +him in his hammock, and with him his ignorant, deceived followers. + +But when Webster spoke to them as he had spoken to us, and told them +what we planned to do, and Laguerre stepped out into the moon-light, +they forgot their anger in their pride for him, and at his first word +they fell into the ranks as obediently as so many fond and devoted +children. + +In Honduras a night attack is a discredited manoeuvre. It is considered +an affront to the Blessed Virgin, who first invented sleep. And those +officers who that night guarded Pecachua being acquainted with Garcia's +plot, were not expecting us until two nights later, when we were to walk +into their parlor, and be torn to pieces. Consequently, when Miller, +who knew Pecachua well, having served without political prejudice in +six revolutions, led us up a by-path to its top, we found the government +troops sleeping sweetly. Before their only sentry had discovered that +someone was kneeling on his chest, our men were in possession of their +batteries. + +That morning when the sun rose gloriously, as from a bath, all pink and +shining and dripping with radiance, and the church bells began to clang +for early mass, and the bugles at the barracks sounded the jaunty call +of the reveille, two puffs of white smoke rose from thecrest of El +Pecachua and drifted lazily away. At the same instant a shell sang over +the roofs of Tegucigalpa, howling jeeringly, and smashed into the pots +and pans of the President's kitchen; another, falling two miles farther +to the right, burst through the white tent of General Garcia, and the +people in the streets, as they crossed themselves in fear, knew that El +Pecachua had again been taken, and that that night a new President would +sleep in the Palace. + +All through the hot hours of the morning the captured guns roared and +echoed, until at last we saw Garcia's force crawling away in a crowd +of dust toward the hills, and an hour later Alvarez, with the household +troops, abandoning the Capital and hastening after him. + +We were too few to follow, but we whipped them forward with our shells. + +A half-hour later a timid group of merchants and foreign consuls, led by +the Bishop and bearing a great white flag, rode out to the foot of the +rock and surrendered the city. + +I am sure no government was ever established more quickly than ours. +We held our first cabinet meeting twenty minutes after we entered the +capital, and ten minutes later Webster, from the balcony of the Palace, +proclaimed Laguerre President and Military Dictator of Honduras. +Laguerre in turn nominated Webster, on account of his knowledge of +the country, Minister of the Interior, and made me Vice-President and +Minister of War. No one knew what were the duties of a Vice-President, +so I asked if I might not also be Provost-Marshal of the city, and I was +accordingly appointed to that position and sent out into the street to +keep order. + +Aiken, as a reward for his late services, was made head of the detective +department and Chief of Police. His first official act was to promote +two bare-footed policemen who on his last visit to the Capital had put +him under arrest. + +The General, or the President, as we now called him, at once issued a +ringing proclamation in which he promised every liberty that the people +of a free republic should enjoy, and announced that in three months he +would call a general election, when the people could either reelect +him, or a candidate of their own choice. He announced also that he would +force the Isthmian Line to pay the people the half million of dollars it +owed them, and he suggested that this money be placed to the credit of +the people, and that they should pay no taxes until the sum was consumed +in public improvements. Up to that time every new President had imposed +new taxes; none had ever suggested remitting them altogether, and this +offer made a tremendous sensation in our favor. + +There were other departures from the usual procedure of victorious +presidents which helped much to make us popular. One was the fact that +Laguerre did not shoot anybody against the barrack wall, nor levy +forced "loans" upon the foreign merchants. Indeed, the only persons who +suffered on the day he came into power were two of our own men, whom I +caught looting. I put them to sweeping the streets, each with a ball and +chain to his ankle, as an example of the sort of order we meant to keep +among ourselves. + +Before mid-day Aiken sent a list, which his spies had compiled, of +sympathizers with Alvarez. He guaranteed to have them all in jail before +night. But Laguerre sent for them and promised them, if they remained +neutral, they should not be molested. Personally, I have always been of +the opinion that most of the persons on Aiken's list of suspects were +most worthy merchants, to whom he owed money. + +Laguerre gave a long audience to the cashier of the Manchester and +Central American Bank, Limited, which finances Honduras, and assured him +that the new administration would not force the bank to accept the paper +money issued by Alvarez, but would accept the paper money issued by the +bank, which was based on gold. As a result, the cashier came down the +stair-case of the Palace three steps at a time, and later our censor +read his cable to the Home Bank in England, in which he said that +Honduras at last had an honest man for President. What was more to the +purpose, he reopened his bank at three o'clock, and quoted Honduranian +money on his blackboard at a rise of three per cent. over that of the +day before. This was a great compliment to our government, and it must +have impressed the other business men, for by six o'clock that night a +delegation of American, German, and English shopkeepers called on the +President and offered him a vote of confidence. They volunteered also to +form a home-guard for the defence of the city, and to help keep him in +office. + +So, by dinner-time, we had won over the foreign element entirely, and +the consuls had cabled their several ministers, advising them to advise +their governments to recognize ours. + +It was a great triumph for fair promises backed by fair dealing. + +Although I was a cabinet minister and had a right to have my say I did +not concern myself much with these graver problems of the Palace. + +Instead, my first act was to cable to Beatrice that we were safe in +the Capital and that I was second in command. I did not tell her I was +Vice-President of a country of 300,000 people, because at Dobbs Ferry +such a fact would seem hardly probable. After that I spent the day very +happily galloping around the town with the Provost Guard at my heels, +making friends with the inhabitants, and arranging for their defence. I +posted a gun at the entrance to each of the three principal streets, and +ordered mounted scouts to patrol the plains outside the Capital. I also +remembered Heinze and the artillerymen who were protecting us on the +heights of Pecachua, and sent them a moderate amount of rum, and an +immoderate amount of canned goods and cigars. I also found time to +design a wonderful uniform for the officers of our Legion--a dark-green +blouse with silver facings and scarlet riding breeches--and on the +plea of military necessity I ordered six tailors to sit up all night to +finish them. + +Uniforms for the men I requisitioned from the stores of the Government, +and ordered the red facings changed to yellow. + +The next day when we paraded in full dress the President noticed this, +and remarked, "No one but Macklin could have converted a battery of +artillery, without the loss of a single gun or the addition of a single +horse, into a battalion of cavalry." + +We had escorted the President back to the Palace, and I was returning +to the barracks at the head of the Legion, with the local band playing +grandly before me, and the people bowing from the sidewalks, when a girl +on a gray pony turned into the plaza and rode toward us. + +She was followed by a group of white men, but I saw only the girl. When +I recognized even at a distance that she was a girl from the States my +satisfaction was unbounded. It had needed only the presence of such an +audience to give the final touch of pleasure to my triumphant progress. +My new uniform had been finished only just in time. + +When I first saw the girl I was startled merely because any white woman +in Honduras is an unusual spectacle, but as she rode nearer I knew that, +had I seen this girl at home among a thousand women, I would have looked +only at her. + +She wore a white riding-habit, and a high-peaked Mexican sombrero, and +when her pony shied at the sound of the music she raised her head, and +the sun struck on the burnished braid around the brim, and framed her +face with a rim of silver. I had never seen such a face. It was so +beautiful that I drew a great breath of wonder, and my throat tightened +with the deep delight that rose in me. + +I stared at her as she rode forward, because I could not help myself. If +an earthquake had opened a crevasse at my feet I would not have lowered +my eyes. I had time to guess who she was, for I knew there could be +no other woman so beautiful in Honduras, except the daughter of Joseph +Fiske. Had not Aiken said of her, "When she passes, the native women +kneel by the trail and cross themselves?" + +I rode toward her fearfully, conscious only of a sudden deep flood of +gratitude for anything so nobly beautiful. I was as humbly thankful as +the crusader who is rewarded by his first sight of the Holy City, and I +was glad, too, that I came into her presence worthily, riding in advance +of a regiment. I was proud of our triumphant music, of our captured +flags and guns, and the men behind me, who had taken them. + +I still watched her as our column drew nearer, and she pulled her pony +to one side to let it pass. I felt as though I were marching in review +before an empress, and I all but lifted my sword-blade in salute. + +But as we passed I saw that the look on her face was that of a superior +and critical adversary. It was a glance of amused disdain, softened only +by a smile of contempt. As it fell upon me I blushed to the rim of my +sombrero. I felt as meanly as though I had been caught in a lie. +With her eyes, I saw the bare feet of our negro band, our ill-fitting +uniforms with their flannel facings, the swagger of our officers, +glancing pompously from their half-starved, unkempt ponies upon the +native Indians, who fawned at us from the sidewalks. + +I saw that to her we were so many red-shirted firemen, dragging a wooden +hose-cart; a company of burnt-cork minstrels, kicking up the dust of +a village street; that we were ridiculous, lawless, absurd, and it was +like a blow over my heart that one so noble-looking should be so blind +and so unjust. I was swept with bitter indignation. I wanted to turn in +my saddle and cry to her that beneath the flannel facings at which she +laughed these men wore deep, uncared-for, festering wounds; that to +march thus through the streets of this tiny Capital they had waded +waist-high through rivers, had starved in fever camps, and at any hour +when I had called on them had run forward to throw cold hands with +death. + +The group of gentlemen who were riding with the girl had halted their +ponies by the sidewalk, and as I drew near I noted that one of them wore +the uniform of an ensign in our navy. This puzzled me for an instant, +until I remembered I had heard that the cruiser Raleigh was lying at +Amapala. I was just passing the group when one of them, with the evident +intent that I should hear him, raised his voice. + +"Well, here's the army," he said, "but where's Falstaff? I don't see +Laguerre." + +My face was still burning with the blush the girl had brought to it, and +the moment was not the one that any man should have chosen to ridicule +my general. Because the girl had laughed at us I felt indignant with +her, but for the same offence I was grateful to the man, for the reason +that he was a man, and could be punished. I whirled my pony around and +rode it close against his. + +"You must apologize for that," I said, speaking in a low voice, "or I'll +thrash you with this riding-whip." + +He was a young man, exceedingly well-looking, slim and tall, and with +a fine air of good breeding. He looked straight into my eyes without +moving. His hands remained closed upon the pommel of his saddle. + +"If you raise that whip," he said, "I'll take your tin sword away from +you, and spank you with it." + +Never in my life had anyone hurt me so terribly. And the insult had come +before my men and his friends and the people in the street. It turned +me perfectly cold, and all the blood seemed to run to my eyes, so that +I saw everything in a red haze. When I answered him my voice sounded +hoarse and shaky. + +"Get down," I said. "Get down, or I'll pull you down. I'm going to +thrash you until you can't stand or see." + +He struck at me with his riding-crop, but I caught him by the collar and +with an old trick of the West Point riding-hall threw him off into the +street, and landed on my feet above him. At the same moment Miller and +Von Ritter drove their ponies in between us, and three of the man's +friends pushed in from the other side. But in spite of them we reached +each other, and I struck up under his guard and beat him savagely on the +face and head, until I found his chin, and he went down. There was an +awful row. The whole street was in an uproar, women screamed, the ponies +were rearing and kicking, the natives jabbering, and my own men swearing +and struggling in a ring around us. + +"My God, Macklin!" I heard Von Ritter cry, "stop it! Behave yourself!" + +He rode at our men with his sword and drove them back into ranks. I +heard him shout, "Fall in there. Forward. March!" + +"This is your idea of keeping order, is it?" Miller shouted at me. + +"He insulted Laguerre," I shouted back, and scrambled into the saddle. +But I was far from satisfied. I, Vice-President, Minister of War, +Provost-Marshal of the city, had been fighting with my fists in the open +street before half the population. I knew what Laguerre would say, and I +wondered hotly if the girl had seen me, and I swore at myself for having +justified her contempt for us. Then I swore at myself again for giving +a moment's consideration to what she thought. I was recalled to the +present by the apparition of my adversary riding his pony toward me, +partly supported and partly restrained by two of his friends. He was +trembling with anger and pain and mortification. + +"You shall fight me for this," he cried. + +I was about to retort that he looked as though I had been fighting him, +but it is not easy to laugh at a man when he is covered with dust and +blood, and this one was so sorry a spectacle that I felt ashamed for +him, and said nothing. + +"I am not a street fighter," he raged. "I wasn't taught to fight in +a lot. But I'll fight you like a gentleman, just as though you were a +gentleman. You needn't think you've heard the last of me. My friends +will act for me, and, unless you're a coward, you will name your +seconds." + +Before I could answer, Von Ritter had removed his hat and was bowing +violently from his saddle. + +"I am Baron Herbert Von Ritter," he said "late Aide-de-Camp to his +Majesty, the King of Bavaria. If you are not satisfied, Captain Miller +and myself will do ourselves the honor of calling on your friends." + +His manner was so grand that it quite calmed me to hear him. + +One of the men who was supporting my adversary, a big, sun-burned man, +in a pith helmet, shook his head violently. + +"Here, none of that, Miller," he said; "drop it. Can't you see the boy +isn't himself? This isn't the time to take advantage of him." + +"We are only trying to oblige the gentleman," said Miller. "The duel is +the only means of defence we've left you people. But I tell you, if +any of you insult our government again, we won't even give you that +satisfaction--we'll ride you out of town." + +The man in the pith helmet listened to Miller without any trace of +emotion. When Miller had finished he laughed. + +"We've every means of defence that an American citizen needs when he +runs up against a crowd like yours," he said. He picked up his reins and +turned his horse's head down the street. "You will find us at the Hotel +Continental," he added. "And as for running us out of town," he shouted +over his shoulder, "there's an American man-of-war at Amapala that is +going to chase you people out of it as soon as we give the word." + +When I saw that Miller and Von Ritter were arranging a duel, I felt no +further interest in what the man said, until he threatened us with the +warship. At that I turned toward the naval ensign to see how he received +it. + +He was a young man, some years older than myself, with a smooth face and +fair, yellow hair and blue eyes. I found that the blue eyes were fixed +upon me steadily and kindly. When he saw that I had caught him watching +me he raised his hand smartly to the visor. + +I do not know why, but it made the tears come to my eyes. It was so +different from the salute of our own men; it was like being back again +under the flag at the Point. It was the recognition of the "regular" +that touched me, of a bona-fide, commissioned officer. + +But I returned his salute just as stiffly as though I were a +commissioned officer myself. And then a strange thing happened. The +sailor-boy jerked his head toward the retreating form of my late +adversary, and slowly stuck his tongue into his cheek, and winked. +Before I could recover myself, he had caught up my hand and given it a +sharp shake, and galloped after his friends. + +Miller and I fell in at the rear of the column. + +"Who were those men?" I asked. + +"The Isthmian Line people, of course," he answered, shortly. "The man +in the helmet is Graham, the manager of the Copan Silver Mines. They've +just unloaded them on Fiske. That's why they're so thick with him." + +"And who was the chap who insulted Laguerre?" I asked. "The one whose +face I slapped?" + +"Face you slapped? Ha!" Miller snorted. "I hope you'll never slap my +face. Why, don't you know who he is?" he exclaimed, with a grin. "I +thought, of course, you did. I thought that's why you hit him. He's +young Fiske, the old man's son. That was his sister riding ahead of +them. Didn't you see that girl?" + + + + +V + + +The day we attacked the capital Joseph Fiske and his party were absent +from it, visiting Graham, the manager of the Copan Mines, at his country +place, and when word was received there that we had taken the city, +Graham urged Mr. Fiske not to return to it, but to ride at once to the +coast and go on board the yacht. They told him that the capital was in +the hands of a mob. + +But what really made Graham, and the rest of the Copan people, and the +Isthmian crowd, who now were all working together against us, so anxious +to get Fiske out of Honduras, was that part of Laguerre's proclamation +in which he said he would force the Isthmian Line to pay its just debts. +They were most anxious that Fiske should not learn from us the true +version of that claim for back pay. They had told him we were a lot of +professional filibusters, that the demand we made for the half-million +of dollars was a gigantic attempt at blackmail. They pointed out to him +that the judges of the highest courts of Honduras had decided against +the validity of our claim, but they did not tell him that Alvarez had +ordered the judges to decide in favor of the company, nor how much money +they had paid Alvarez and the judges for that decision. Instead they +urged that Garcia, a native of the country, had submitted to the decree +of the courts and had joined Alvarez, and that now the only people +fighting against the Isthmian Line were foreign adventurers. They asked, +Was it likely such men would risk their lives to benefit the natives? +Was it not evident that they were fighting only for their own pockets? +And they warned Fiske that while Laguerre was still urging his claim +against this company, it would be unwise for the president of that +company to show himself in Tegucigalpa. + +But Fiske laughed at the idea of danger to himself. He said a +revolution, like cock-fighting, was a national pastime, and no more +serious, and that should anyone attempt to molest the property of +the company, he would demand the protection of his own country as +represented by the Raleigh. + +He accordingly rode back to the capital, and with his son and daughter +and the company's representatives and the Copan people, returned to the +same rooms in the Hotel Continental he had occupied three days before, +when Alvarez was president. This made it embarrassing for us, as the +Continental was the only hotel in the city, and as it was there we had +organized our officers' mess. In consequence, while there was no open +war, the dining-room of the hotel was twice daily the meeting-place of +the two opposing factions, and Von Ritter told me that until matters had +been arranged with the seconds of young Fiske I could not appear there, +as it would be "contrary to the code." + +But our officers were not going to allow the Copan and Isthmian people +to drive them out of their head-quarters, so at the table d'hote +luncheon that day our fellows sat at one end of the room, and Fiske and +Miss Fiske, Graham and his followers at the other. They entirely ignored +each other. After the row I had raised in the street, each side was +anxious to avoid further friction. + +As I sat in the barracks over my solitary luncheon my thoughts were +entirely on the duel. + +It had been forced on me, so I accepted it; but it struck me as a most +silly proceeding. Young Fiske had insulted my General and my comrades. +He had done so publicly and with intent. I had thrashed him as I said I +would, and as far as I could see the incident was closed. But Miller and +Von Ritter, who knew Honduras from Fonseca Bay to Truxillo, assured me +that, unless I met the man, who had insulted me before the people, our +prestige would be entirely destroyed. To the Honduranian mind, the fact +that I had thrashed him for so doing, would not serve as a substitute +for a duel, it only made a duel absolutely necessary. As I had +determined, if we did meet, that I would not shoot at him, I knew I +would receive no credit from such an encounter, and, so far as I could +see, I was being made ridiculous, and stood a very fair chance of being +killed. + +I sincerely hoped that young Fiske would apologize. I assured myself +that my reluctance to meet him was due to the fact that I scorned to +fight a civilian. I always classed civilians, with women and children, +as non-combatants. But in my heart I knew that it was not this prejudice +which made me hesitate. The sister was the real reason. That he was her +brother was the only fact of importance. Had his name been Robinson or +Brown, I would have gone out and shot at the calves of his legs most +cheerfully, and taken considerable satisfaction in the notoriety that +would have followed my having done so. + +But I could never let his sister know that I had only fired in the air, +and I knew that if I fought her brother she would always look upon me as +one who had attempted to murder him. I could never speak to her, or even +look at her again. And at that moment I felt that if I did not meet her, +I could go without meeting any other women for many years to come. She +was the most wonderful creature I had ever seen. She was not beautiful, +as Beatrice was beautiful, in a womanly, gracious way, but she had the +beauty of something unattainable. Instead of inspiring you, she filled +you with disquiet. She seemed to me a regal, goddess-like woman, one +that a man might worship with that tribute of fear and adoration that +savages pay to the fire and the sun. + +I had ceased to blush because she had laughed at us. I had begun to +think that it was quite right that she should do so. To her we were +lawless adventurers, exiles, expatriates, fugitives. She did not +know that most of us were unselfish, and that our cause was just. +She thought, if she thought of us at all, that we were trying to levy +blackmail on her father. I did not blame her for despising us. I only +wished I could tell her how she had been deceived, and assure her that +among us there was one, at least, who thought of her gratefully and +devotedly, and who would suffer much before he would hurt her or hers. I +knew that this was so, and I hoped her brother would not be such an ass +as to insist upon a duel, and make me pretend to fight him, that her +father would be honest enough to pay his debts, and that some day she +and I might be friends. + +But these hopes were killed by the entrance of Miller and Von Ritter. +They looked very grave. + +"He won't apologize," Miller said. "We arranged that you are to meet +behind the graveyard at sunrise to-morrow morning." I was bitterly +disappointed, but of course I could not let them see that. + +"Does Laguerre know?" I asked. + +"No," Miller said, "neither does old man Fiske. We had the deuce of +a time. Graham and Lowell--that young Middy from the Raleigh--are his +seconds, and we found we were all agreed that he had better apologize. +Lowell, especially, was very keen that you two should shake hands, but +when they went out to talk it over with Fiske, he came back with them +in a terrible rage, and swore he'd not apologize, and that he'd either +shoot you or see you hung. Lowell told him it was all rot that two +Americans should be fighting duels, but Fiske said that when he was +in Rome, he did as Romans did; that he had been brought up in Paris to +believe in duels, and that a duel he would have. Then the sister came +in, and there was a hell of a row!" + +"The sister!" I exclaimed. + +Miller nodded, and Von Ritter and he shook their heads sadly at each +other, as though the recollection of the interview weighed heavily. + +"Yes, his sister," said Miller. "You know how these Honduranian places +are built, if a parrot scratches his feathers in the patio you can hear +it in every room in the house. Well, she was reading on the balcony, and +when her brother began to rage around and swear he'd have your blood, +she heard him, and opened the shutters and came in. She didn't stay +long, and she didn't say much, but she talked to us as though we were so +many bad children. I never felt so mean in my life." + +"She should not have been there," said Von Ritter, stolidly. "It was +most irregular." + +"Fiske tried the high and mighty, brotherly act with her," Miller +continued, "but she shook him up like a charge of rack-a-rock. She told +him that a duel was unmanly and un-American, and that he would be a +murderer. She said his honor didn't require him to risk his life for +every cad who went about armed, insulting unarmed people--" + +"What did she say?" I cried. "Say that again." + +Von Ritter tossed up his arms and groaned, but Miller shook his fist at +me. + +"Now, don't you go and get wrathy," he roared. "We'll not stand it. +We've been abused by everybody else on your account to-day, and we won't +take it from you. It doesn't matter what the girl said. They probably +told her you began the fight, and--" + +"She said I was a cad," I repeated, "and that I struck an unarmed man. +Didn't her brother tell her that he first insulted me, and struck me +with his whip, and that I only used my fists. Didn't any of you tell +her?" + +"No!" roared Miller; "what the devil has that got to do with it? She was +trying to prevent the duel. We were trying to prevent the duel. That's +all that's important. And if she hadn't made the mistake of thinking you +might back out of it, we could have prevented it. Now we can't." + +I began to wonder if the opinion the Fiske family had formed of me, on +so slight an acquaintance, was not more severe than I deserved, but I +did not let the men see how sorely the news had hurt me. I only asked: +"What other mistake did the young lady make?" + +"She meant it all right," said Miller, "but it was a woman's idea of a +bluff, and it didn't go. She told us that before we urged her brother on +to fight, we should have found out that he has spent the last five +years in Paris, and that he's the gilt-edged pistol-shot of the _salle +d'armes_ in the Rue Scribe, that he can hit a scarf-pin at twenty paces. +Of course that ended it. The Baron spoke up in his best style and said +that in the face of this information it would be now quite impossible +for our man to accept an apology without being considered a coward, and +that a meeting must take place. Then the girl ran to her brother and +said, 'What have I done?' and he put his arm around her and walked +her out of the room. Then we arranged the details in peace and came on +here." + +"Good," I said, "you did exactly right. I'll meet you at dinner at the +hotel." + +But at this Von Ritter protested that I must not dine there, that it was +against the code. + +"The code be hanged," I said. "If I don't turn up at dinner they'll +say I'm afraid to show myself out of doors. Besides, if I must be shot +through the scarf-pin before breakfast to-morrow morning, I mean to have +a good dinner to-night." + +They left me, and I rode to the palace to make my daily report to the +president. I was relieved to find that both he and Webster were so deep +in affairs of state that they had heard nothing of my row in the Plaza, +nor of the duel to follow. They were happy as two children building +forts of sand on the sea-shore. They had rescinded taxes, altered the +tariffs, reorganized the law-courts, taken over the custom-houses +by telegraph, and every five minutes were receiving addresses from +delegations of prominent Honduranians. Nicaragua and Salvador had both +recognized their government, and concession hunters were already cooling +their heels in the ante-room. In every town and seaport the adherents of +Garcia had swung over to Laguerre and our government, and our flag was +now flying in every part of Honduras. It was the flag of Walker, with +the five-pointed blood-red star. We did not explain the significance of +the five points. + +I reported that my scouts had located Alvarez and Garcia in the hills +some five miles distant from the capital, that they were preparing a +permanent camp there, and that they gave no evidence of any immediate +intention of attacking the city. General Laguerre was already informed +of the arrival of Mr. Fiske, and had arranged to give him an audience +the following morning. He hoped in this interview to make clear to him +how just was the people's claim for the half million due them, and to +obtain his guaranty that the money should be paid. + +As I was leaving the palace I met Aiken. He was in his most cynical +mood. He said that the air was filled with plots and counter-plots, and +that treachery stalked abroad. He had been unsuccessful in trying to +persuade the president to relieve Heinze of his command on Pecachua. He +wanted Von Ritter or myself put in his place. + +"It is the key to the position," Aiken said, "and if Heinze should sell +us out, we would have to run for our lives. These people are all smiles +and 'vivas' to-day because we are on top. But if we lost Pecachua, every +man of them would turn against us." + +I laughed and said: "We can trust Heinze. If I had your opinion of my +fellow-man, I'd blow my brains out." + +"If I hadn't had such a low opinion of my fellow-man," Aiken retorted, +"he'd have blown your brains out. Don't forget that." + +"No one listens to me," he said. "I consider that I am very hardly used. +For a consideration a friend of Alvarez told me where Alvarez had buried +most of the government money. I went to the cellar and dug it up and +turned it over to Laguerre. And what do you think he's doing with it!" +Aiken exclaimed with indignation. "He's going to give the government +troops their back pay, and the post-office clerks, and the peons who +worked on the public roads." + +I said I considered that that was a most excellent use to make of the +money; that from what I had seen of the native troops, it would turn our +prisoners of war into our most loyal adherents. + +"Of course it will!" Aiken agreed. "Why, if the government troops out +there in the hills with Alvarez knew we were paying sixty pesos for +soldiers, they'd run to join us so quick that they'd die on the way of +sunstroke. But that's not it. Where do we come in? What do we get out of +this? Have we been fighting for three months just to pay the troops who +have been fighting against us? Charity begins at home, I think." + +"You get your own salary, don't you?" I asked. + +"Oh, I'm not starving," Aiken said, with a grin. "There's a lot of loot +in being chief-of-police. This is going to be a wide-open town if I can +run it." + +"Well, you can't," I laughed. "Not as long as I'm its provost marshal." + +"Yes, and how long will that be?" Aiken retorted. "You take my advice +and make money now, while you've got the club to get it with you. Why, +if I had your job I could scare ten thousand sols out of these merchants +before sunrise. Instead of which you walk around nights to see their +front doors are locked. Let them do the walking. We've won, and let's +enjoy the spoil. Eat, live, and be merry, my boy, for to-morrow you +die." + +"I hope not," I exclaimed, and I ran down the steps of the palace and +turned toward the barracks. + +"To-morrow you die," I repeated, but I could not arouse a single +emotion. Portents and premonitions may frighten some people, but the +only superstition I hold to is to believe in the luck of Royal Macklin. + +"What if Fiske can hit a scarf-pin at twenty paces!" I said to myself, +"he can't hit me." I was just as sure of it as I was of the fact that +when I met him I was going to fire in the air. I cannot tell why. I was +just sure of it. + +The dining-room at the Continental held three long tables. That night +our officers sat at one. Mr. Fiske and his party were at the one +farthest away, and a dining-club of consular agents, merchants, and the +Telegraph Company's people occupied the one in between. I could see her +whenever the German consul bent over his food. She was very pale and +tired-looking, but in the white evening frock she wore, all soft and +shining with lace, she was as beautiful as the moonlit night outside. +She never once looked in our direction. But I could not keep my eyes +away from her. The merchants, no doubt, enjoyed their dinner. They +laughed and argued boisterously, but at the two other tables there was +very little said. + +The waiters, pattering over the stone floor in their bare feet, made +more noise than our entire mess. + +When the brandy came, Russell nodded at the others, and they filled +their glasses and drank to me in silence. At the other table I saw the +same pantomime, only on account of old man Fiske they had to act even +more covertly. It struck me as being vastly absurd and wicked. What +right had young Fiske to put his life in jeopardy to me? It was not in +my keeping. I had no claim upon it. It was not in his own keeping. At +least not to throw away. + +When they had gone and our officers had shaken hands with me and ridden +off to their different posts, I went out upon the balcony by myself and +sat down in the shadow of the vines. The stream which cuts Tegucigalpa +in two ran directly below the hotel, splashing against the rocks and +sweeping under the stone bridge with a ceaseless murmur. Beyond it +stretched the red-tiled roofs, glowing pink in the moonlight, and beyond +them the camp-fires of Alvarez twinkling like glow-worms against the +dark background of the hills. The town had gone to sleep, and the hotel +was as silent as a church. There was no sound except the whistle of a +policeman calling the hour, the bark of the street-dogs in answer, and +the voice of one of our sentries, arguing with some jovial gentleman who +was abroad without a pass. After the fever and anxieties of the last few +days the peace of the moment was sweet and grateful to me, and I sank +deeper into the long wicker chair and sighed with content. The previous +night I had spent on provost duty in the saddle, and it must have been +that I dropped asleep, for when I next raised my head Miss Fiske was +standing not twenty feet from me. She was leaning against one of the +pillars, a cold and stately statue in the moonlight. + +She did not know anyone was near her, and when I moved and my spurs +clanked on the stones, she started, and turned her eyes slowly toward +the shadow in which I sat. + +During dinner they must have told her which one of us was to fight the +duel, for when she recognized me she moved sharply away. I did not wish +her to think I would intrude on her against her will, so I rose and +walked toward the door, but before I had reached it she again turned and +approached me. + +"You are Captain Macklin?" she said. + +I was so excited at the thought that she was about to speak to me, and +so happy to hear her voice, that for an instant I could only whip off my +hat and gaze at her stupidly. + +"Captain Macklin," she repeated. "This afternoon I tried to stop the +duel you are to fight with my brother, and I am told that I made a very +serious blunder. I should like to try and correct it. When I spoke of +my brother's skill, I mean his skill with the pistol, I knew you were +ignorant of it and I thought if you did know of it you would see the +utter folly, the wickedness of this duel. But instead I am told that I +only made it difficult for you not to meet him. I cannot in the least +see that that follows. I wish to make it clear to you that it does not." + +She paused, and I, as though I had been speaking, drew a long breath. +Had she been reading from a book her tone could not have been more +impersonal. I might have been one of a class of school-boys to whom she +was expounding a problem. At the Point I have heard officers' wives use +the same tone to the enlisted men. Its effect on them was to drive them +into a surly silence. + +But Miss Fiske did not seem conscious of her tone. + +"After I had spoken," she went on evenly, "they told me of your +reputation in this country, that you are known to be quite fearless. +They told me of your ordering your own men to shoot you, and of how you +took a cannon with your hands. Well, I cannot see--since your reputation +for bravery is so well established--that you need to prove it further, +certainly not by engaging in a silly duel. You cannot add to it by +fighting my brother, and if you should injure him, you would bring cruel +distress to--to others." + +"I assure you---" I began. + +"Pardon me," she said, raising her hand, but still speaking in the same +even tone. "Let me explain myself fully. Your own friends said in my +hearing," she went on, "that they did not desire a fight. It is then my +remark only which apparently makes it inevitable." + +She drew herself up and her tone grew even more distant and disdainful. + +"Now, it is not possible," she exclaimed, "that you and your friends are +going to take advantage of my mistake, and make it the excuse for this +meeting. Suppose any harm should come to my brother." For the first time +her voice carried a touch of feeling. "It would be my fault. I would +always have myself to blame. And I want to ask you not to fight him. I +want to ask you to withdraw from this altogether." + +I was completely confused. Never before had a young lady of a class +which I had so seldom met, spoken to me even in the words of everyday +civility, and now this one, who was the most wonderful and beautiful +woman I had ever seen, was asking me to grant an impossible favor, was +speaking of my reputation for bravery as though it were a fact which +everyone accepted, and was begging me not to make her suffer. What added +to my perplexity was that she asked me to act only as I desired to act, +but she asked it in such a manner that every nerve in me rebelled. + +I could not understand how she could ask so great a favor of one she +held in such evident contempt. It seemed to me that she should not have +addressed me at all, or if she did ask me to stultify my honor and spare +the life of her precious brother she should not have done so in the same +tone with which she would have asked a tradesman for his bill. The +fact that I knew, since I meant to fire in the air, that the duel was a +farce, made it still more difficult for me to speak. + +But I managed to say that what she asked was impossible. + +"I do not know," I stammered, "that I ought to talk about it to you at +all. But you don't understand that your brother did not only insult me. +He insulted my regiment, and my general. It was that I resented, and +that is why I am fighting." + +"Then you refuse?" she said. + +"I have no choice," I replied; "he has left me no choice." + +She drew back, but still stood looking at me coldly. The dislike in her +eyes wounded me inexpressively. + +Before she spoke I had longed only for the chance to assure her of my +regard, and had she appealed to me generously, in a manner suited to +one so noble-looking, I was in a state of mind to swim rivers and climb +mountains to serve her. I still would have fought the duel, but sooner +than harm her brother I would have put my hand in the fire. Now, since +she had spoken, I was filled only with pity and disappointment. It +seemed so wrong that one so finely bred and wonderfully fair should feel +so little consideration. No matter how greatly she had been prejudiced +against me she had no cause to ignore my rights in the matter. To speak +to me as though I had no honor of my own, no worthy motive, to treat me +like a common brawler who, because his vanity was wounded, was trying to +force an unoffending stranger to a fight. + +My vanity was wounded, but I felt more sorry for her than for myself, +and when she spoke again I listened eagerly, hoping she would say +something which would soften what had gone before. But she did not make +it easier for either of us. + +"If I persuade my brother to apologize for what he said of your +regiment," she continued, "will you accept his apology?" Her tone was +one partly of interrogation, partly of command. "I do not think he is +likely to do so," she added, "but if you will let that suffice, I shall +see him at once, and ask him." + +"You need not do that!" I replied, quickly. "As I have said, it is not +my affair. It concerns my--a great many people. I am sorry, but the +meeting must take place." + +For the first time Miss Fiske smiled, but it was the same smile of +amusement with which she had regarded us when she first saw us in the +plaza. + +"I quite understand," she said, still smiling. "You need not assure me +that it concerns a great many people." She turned away as though the +interview was at an end, and then halted. She had stepped into the +circle of the moonlight so that her beauty shone full upon me. + +"I know that it concerns a great many people," she cried. "I know that +it is all a part of the plot against my father!" + +I gave a gasp of consternation which she misconstrued, for she +continued, bitterly. + +"Oh, I know everything," she said. "Mr. Graham has told me all that you +mean to do. I was foolish to appeal to any one of you. You have set out +to fight my father, and your friends will use any means to win. But I +should have thought," she cried, her voice rising and ringing like an +alarm, "that they would have stopped at assassinating his son." + +I stepped back from her as though she had struck at me. + +"Miss Fiske," I cried. What she had charged was so monstrous, so absurd +that I could answer nothing in defence. My brain refused to believe +that she had said it. I could not conceive that any creature so utterly +lovely could be so unseeing, so bitter, and so unfair. + +Her charge was ridiculous, but my disappointment in her was so keen that +the tears came to my eyes. + +I put my hat back on my head, saluted her and passed her quickly. + +"Captain Macklin," she cried. "What is it? What have I said?" She +stretched out her hand toward me, but I did not stop. + +"Captain Macklin!" she called after me in such a voice that I was forced +to halt and turn. + +"What are you going to do?" she demanded. "Oh, yes, I see," she +exclaimed. "I see how it sounded to you. And you?" she cried. Her voice +was trembling with concern. "Because I said that, you mean to punish me +for it--through my brother? You mean to make him suffer. You will kill +him!" Her voice rose to an accent of terror. "But I only said it because +he is my brother, my own brother. Cannot you understand what that means +to me? Cannot you understand why I said it?" + +We stood facing each other, I, staring at her miserably, and she +breathing quickly, and holding her hand to her side as though she had +been running a long distance. + +"No," I said in a low voice. It was very hard for me to speak at all. +"No, I cannot understand." + +I pulled off my hat again, and stood before her crushing it in my hands. + +"Why didn't you trust me?" I said, bitterly. "How could you doubt what +I would do? I trusted you. From the moment you came riding toward me, +I thanked God for the sight of such a woman. For making anything so +beautiful." + +I stopped, for I saw I had again offended. At the words she drew back +quickly, and her eyes shone with indignation. She looked at me as though +I had tried to touch her with my hand. But I spoke on without heeding +her. I repeated the words with which I had offended. + +"Yes," I said, "I thanked God for anything so noble and so beautiful. To +me, you could do no wrong. But you! You judged me before you even knew +my name. You said I was a cad who went about armed to fight unarmed +men. To you I was a coward who could be frightened off by a tale of +bulls-eyes, and broken pipe-stems at a Paris fair. What do I care for +your brother's tricks. Let him see my score cards at West Point. He'll +find them framed on the walls. I was first a coward and a cad, and now +I am a bully and a hired assassin. From the first, you and your brother +have laughed at me and mine while all I asked of you was to be what you +seemed to be, what I was happy to think you were. I wanted to believe +in you. Why did you show me that you can be selfish and unfeeling? It is +you who do not understand. You understand so little," I cried, "that I +pity you from the bottom of my heart. I give you my word, I pity you." + +"Stop," she commanded. I drew back and bowed, and we stood confronting +each other in silence. + +"And they call you a brave man," she said at last, speaking slowly and +steadily, as though she were picking each word. "It is like a brave man +to insult a woman, because she wants to save her brother's life." + +When I raised my face it was burning, as though she had thrown vitriol. + +"If I have insulted you, Miss Fiske," I said, "if I have ever insulted +any woman, I hope to God that to-morrow morning your brother will kill +me." + +When I turned and looked back at her from the door, she was leaning +against one of the pillars with her face bent in her hands, and weeping +bitterly. + +I rode to the barracks and spent several hours in writing a long letter +to Beatrice. I felt a great need to draw near to her. I was confused and +sore and unhappy, and although nothing of this, nor of the duel appeared +in my letter, I was comforted to think that I was writing it to her. It +was good to remember that there was such a woman in the world, and when +I compared her with the girl from whom I had just parted, I laughed out +loud. + +And yet I knew that had I put the case to Beatrice, she would have +discovered something to present in favor of Miss Fiske. + +"She was pleading for her brother, and she did not understand," Beatrice +would have said. But in my own heart I could find no excuse. Her family +had brought me nothing but evil. Because her father would not pay his +debts, I had been twice wounded and many times had risked death; the +son had struck me with a whip in the public streets, and the sister +had called me everything that is contemptible, from a cad to a hired +cut-throat. So, I was done with the house of Fiske. My hand was against +it. I owed it nothing. + +But with all my indignation against them, for which there was reason +enough, I knew in my heart that I had looked up to them, and stood in +awe of them, for reasons that made me the cad they called me. Ever since +my arrival in Honduras I had been carried away by the talk of the Fiske +millions, and later by the beauty of the girl, and by the boy's insolent +air, of what I accepted as good breeding. I had been impressed with his +five years in Paris, by the cut of his riding-clothes even, by the fact +that he owned a yacht. I had looked up to them, because they belonged to +a class who formed society, as I knew society through the Sunday papers. +And now these superior beings had rewarded my snobbishness by acting +toward me in a way that was contrary to every ideal I held of what +was right and decent. For such as these, I had felt ashamed of my old +comrades. It was humiliating, but it was true; and as I admitted this +to myself, my cheeks burned in the darkness, and I buried my face in +the pillow. For some time I lay awake debating fiercely in my mind as to +whether, when I faced young Fiske, I should shoot the pistol out of his +hand, or fire into the ground. And it was not until I had decided that +the latter act would better show our contempt for him and his insult, +that I fell asleep. + +Von Ritter and Miller woke me at four o'clock. They were painfully +correct and formal. Miller had even borrowed something of the Baron's +manner, which sat upon him as awkwardly as would a wig and patches. I +laughed at them both, but, for the time being, they had lost their sense +of humor; and we drank our coffee in a constrained and sleepy silence. + +At the graveyard we found that Fiske, his two seconds, Graham and +Lowell, the young Middy, and a local surgeon had already arrived. We +exchanged bows and salutes gloomily and the seconds gathered together, +and began to talk in hoarse whispers. It was still very dark. The moon +hung empty and pallid above the cold outline of the hills, and although +the roosters were crowing cheerfully, the sun had not yet risen. In the +hollows the mists lay like lakes, and every stone and rock was wet and +shining as though it had been washed in readiness for the coming day. +The gravestones shone upon us like freshly scrubbed doorsteps. It was +a most dismal spot, and I was so cold that I was afraid I would shiver, +and Fiske might think I was nervous. So I moved briskly about among +the graves, reading the inscriptions on the tombstones. Under the +circumstances the occupation, to a less healthy mind, would have been +depressing. My adversary, so it seemed to me, carried himself with a +little too much unconcern. It struck me that he overdid it. He laughed +with the local surgeon, and pointed out the moon and the lakes of mist +as though we had driven out to observe the view. I could not think of +anything to do which would show that I was unconcerned too, so I got +back into the carriage and stretched my feet out to the seat opposite, +and continued to smoke my cigar. + +Incidentally, by speaking to Lowell, I hurt Von Ritter's feelings. It +seems that as one of the other man's seconds I should have been more +haughty with him. But when he passed me, pacing out the ground, he +saluted stiffly, and as I saluted back, I called out: "I suppose you +know you'll catch it if they find out about this at Washington?" And he +answered, with a grin: "Yes, I know, but I couldn't get out of it." + +"Neither could I," I replied, cheerfully, and in so loud a tone that +everyone heard me. Von Ritter was terribly annoyed. + +At last all was arranged and we took our places. We were to use pistols. +They were double-barrelled affairs, with very fine hair-triggers. Graham +was to give the word by asking if we were ready, and was then to count +"One, two, three." + +After the word "one" we could fire when we pleased. When each of us had +emptied both barrels, our honor was supposed to be satisfied. + +Young Fiske wore a blue yachting suit with the collar turned up, and no +white showing except his face, and that in the gray light of the dawn +was a sickly white, like the belly of a fish. After he had walked to his +mark he never took his eyes from me. They seemed to be probing around +under my uniform for the vulnerable spot. I had never before had anyone +look at me, who seemed to so frankly dislike me. + +Curiously enough, I kept thinking of the story of the man who boasted he +was so good a shot that he could break the stem of a wine-glass, and how +someone said: "Yes, but the wine-glass isn't holding a pistol." Then, +while I was smiling at the application I had made of this story to +my scowling adversary, there came up a picture, not of home and of +Beatrice, nor of my past sins, but of the fellow's sister as I last saw +her in the moonlight, leaning against the pillar of the balcony with +her head bowed in her hands. And at once it all seemed contemptible and +cruel. No quarrel in the world, so it appeared to me then, was worth +while if it were going to make a woman suffer. And for an instant I was +so indignant with Fiske for having dragged me into this one, to feed his +silly vanity, that for a moment I felt like walking over and giving him +a sound thrashing. But at the instant I heard Graham demand, "Are you +ready?" and I saw Fiske fasten his eyes on mine, and nod his head. The +moment had come. + +"One," Graham counted, and at the word Fiske threw up his gun and fired, +and the ball whistled past my ear. My pistol was still hanging at my +side, so I merely pulled the trigger, and the ball went into the ground. +But instantly I saw my mistake. Shame and consternation were written +on the faces of my two seconds, and to the face of Fiske there came a +contemptuous smile. I at once understood my error. I read what was in +the mind of each. They dared to think I had pulled the trigger through +nervousness, that I had fired before I was ready, that I was frightened +and afraid. I am sure I never was so angry in my life, and I would have +cried out to them, if a movement on the part of Fiske had not sobered +me. Still smiling, he lifted his pistol slightly and aimed for, so it +seemed to me, some seconds, and then fired. + +I felt the bullet cut the lining of my tunic and burn the flesh over +my ribs, and the warm blood tickling my side, but I was determined he +should not know he had hit me, and not even my lips moved. + +Then a change, so sudden and so remarkable, came over the face of +young Fiske, that its very agony fascinated me. At first it was +incomprehensible, and then I understood. He had fired his last shot, he +thought he had missed, and he was waiting for me, at my leisure, to kill +him with my second bullet. + +I raised the pistol, and it was as though you could hear the silence. +Every waking thing about us seemed to suddenly grow still. I brought the +barrel slowly to a level with his knee, raised it to his heart, passed +it over his head, and, aiming in the air, fired at the moon, and then +tossed the gun away. The waking world seemed to breathe again, and +from every side there came a chorus of quick exclamations; but without +turning to note who made them, nor what they signified, I walked back to +the carriage, and picked up my cigar. It was still burning. + +Von Ritter ran to the side of the carriage. + +"You must wait," he protested. "Mr. Fiske wishes to shake hands with +you. It is not finished yet." + +"Yes, it is finished," I replied, savagely. "I have humored you two long +enough. A pest on both your houses. I'm going back to breakfast." + +Poor Von Ritter drew away, deeply hurt and scandalized, but my offence +was nothing to the shock he received when young Lowell ran to the +carriage and caught up my hand. He looked at me with a smile that would +have softened a Spanish duenna. + +"See here!" he cried. "Whether you like it or not, you've got to shake +hands with me. I want to tell you that was one of the finest things I +ever saw." He squeezed my fingers until the bones crunched together. +"I've heard a lot about you, and now I believe all I've heard. To stand +up there," he ran on, breathlessly, "knowing you didn't mean to +fire, and knowing he was a dead shot, and make a canvas target of +yourself--that was bully. You were an ass to do it, but it was great. +You going back to breakfast?" he demanded, suddenly, with the same +winning, eager smile. "So am I. I speak to go with you." + +Before I could reply he had vaulted into the carriage, and was shouting +at the driver. + +"Cochero, to the Barracks. Full speed ahead. Vamoose. Give way. Allez +vite!" + +"But my seconds," I protested. + +"They can walk," he said. + +Already the horses were at a gallop, and as we swung around the wall +of the graveyard and were hidden from the sight of the others, Lowell +sprang into the seat beside me. With the quick fingers of the sailor, he +cast off my sword-belt and tore open my blouse. + +"I wanted to get you away," he muttered, "before he found out he had hit +you." + +"I'm not hit," I protested. + +"Just as you like," he said. "Still, it looks rather damp to the left +here." + +But, as I knew, the bullet had only grazed me, and the laugh of relief +Lowell gave when he raised his head, and said, "Why, it's only a +scratch," meant as much to me as though he had rendered me some great +service. For it seemed to prove a genuine, friendly concern, and no +one, except Laguerre, had shown that for me since I had left home. I had +taken a fancy to Lowell from the moment he had saluted me like a brother +officer in the Plaza, and I had wished he would like me. I liked him +better than any other young man I had ever met. I had never had a man +for a friend, but before we had finished breakfast I believe we were +better friends than many boys who had lived next door to each other from +the day they were babies. + +As a rule, I do not hit it off with men, so I felt that his liking me +was a great piece of good fortune, and a great honor. He was only three +years older than myself, but he knew much more about everything than +I did, and his views of things were as fine and honorable as they were +amusing. + +Since then we have grown to be very close friends indeed, and we have +ventured together into many queer corners, but I have never ceased to +admire him, and I have always found him the same--unconscious of himself +and sufficient to himself. I mean that if he were presented to an +Empress he would not be impressed, nor if he chatted with a bar-maid +would he be familiar. He would just look at each of them with his grave +blue eyes and think only of what she was saying, and not at all of what +sort of an impression he was making, or what she thought of him. Aiken +helped me a lot by making me try not to be like Aiken; Lowell helped me +by making me wish to be like Lowell. + +We had a very merry breakfast, and the fact that it was seven in the +morning did not in the least interfere with our drinking each other's +health in a quart of champagne. Nearly all of our officers came in while +we were at breakfast to learn if I were still alive, and Lowell gave +them most marvellous accounts of the affair, sometimes representing me +as an idiot and sometimes as an heroic martyr. + +They all asked him if he thought Fiske had sufficient influence at +Washington to cause the Government to give him the use of the Raleigh +against us, but he would only laugh and shake his head. + +Later, to Laguerre, he talked earnestly on the same subject, and much to +the point. + +The news of the duel had reached the palace at eight o'clock, and the +president at once started for the barracks. + +We knew he was coming when we heard the people in the cafes shouting +"Viva," as they always did when he appeared in public, and, though I was +badly frightened as to what he would say to me, I ran to the door and +turned out the guard to receive him. + +He had put on one of the foreign uniforms he was entitled to wear--he +did not seem to fancy the one I had designed--and as he rode across the +Plaza I thought I had never seen a finer soldier. Lowell said he looked +like a field marshal of the Second Empire. I was glad Lowell had come +to the door with me, as he could now see for himself that my general was +one for whom a man might be proud to fight a dozen duels. + +The president gave his reins to an orderly and mounted the steps, +touching his chapeau to the salute of guard and the shouting citizens, +but his eyes were fixed sternly on me. I saw that he was deeply moved, +and I wished fervently, now that it was too late, that I had told him +of the street fight at the time, and not allowed him to hear of it +from others. I feared the worst. I was prepared for any reproof, any +punishment, even the loss of my commission, and I braced myself for his +condemnation. + +But when he reached the top step where I stood at salute, although I was +inwardly quaking, he halted and his lips suddenly twisted, and the tears +rushed to his eyes. + +He tried to speak, but made only a choking, inarticulate sound, and +then, with a quick gesture, before all the soldiers and all the people, +he caught me in his arms. + +"My boy," he whispered, "my boy! For you were lost," he murmured, "and +have returned to me." + +I heard Lowell running away, and the door of the guard-room banging +behind him, I heard the cheers of the people who, it seems, already knew +of the duel and understood the tableau on the barrack steps, but +the thought that Laguerre cared for me even as a son made me deaf to +everything, and my heart choked with happiness. + +It passed in a moment, and in manner he was once more my superior +officer, but the door he had opened was never again wholly shut to me. + +In the guard-room I presented Lowell to the president, and I was proud +to see the respect with which Lowell addressed him. At the first glance +they seemed to understand each other, and they talked together as simply +as would friends of long acquaintance. + +After they had spoken of many things, Laguerre said: "Would it be fair +for me to ask you, Mr. Lowell, what instructions the United States has +given your commanding officer in regard to our government?" + +To this Lowell answered: "All I know, sir, is that when we arrived at +Amapala, Captain Miller telegraphed the late president, Doctor Alvarez, +that we were here to protect American interests. But you probably know," +he added, "as everyone else does, that we came here because the Isthmian +Line demanded protection." + +"Yes, so I supposed," Laguerre replied. "But I understand Mr. Graham has +said that when Mr. Fiske gives the word Captain Miller will land your +marines and drive us out of the country." + +Lowell shrugged his shoulders and frowned. + +"Mr. Graham--" he began, "is Mr. Graham." He added: "Captain Miller is +not taking orders from civilians, and he depends on his own sources +for information. I am here because he sent me to 'Go, look, see,' and +report. I have been wiring him ever since you started from the coast, +and since you became president. Your censor has very kindly allowed me +to use our cipher." + +I laughed, and said: "We court investigation." + +"Pardon me, sir," Lowell answered, earnestly, addressing himself to +Laguerre, "but I should think you would. Why," he exclaimed, "every +merchant in the city has told me he considers his interests have never +been so secure as since you became president. It is only the Isthmian +Line that wants the protection of our ship. The foreign merchants are +not afraid. I hate it!" he cried, "I hate to think that a billionaire, +with a pull at Washington, can turn our Jackies into Janissaries. +Protect American interests!" he exclaimed, indignantly, "protect +American sharpers! The Isthmian Line has no more right to the protection +of our Navy than have the debtors in Ludlow Street Jail." + +Laguerre sat for a long time without replying, and then rose and bowed +to Lowell with great courtesy. + +"I must be returning," he said. "I thank you, sir, for your good +opinion. At my earliest convenience I shall pay my respects to your +commanding officer. At ten o'clock," he continued turning to me, "I am +to have my talk with Mr. Fiske. I have not the least doubt but that +he will see the justice of our claim against his company, and before +evening I am sure I shall be able to announce throughout the republic +that I have his guaranty for the money. Mr. Fiske is an able, upright +business man, as well as a gentleman, and he will not see this country +robbed." + +He shook hands with us and we escorted him to his horse. + +I always like to remember him as I saw him then, in that gorgeous +uniform, riding away under the great palms of the Plaza, with the +tropical sunshine touching his white hair, and flashing upon the sabres +of the body-guard, and the people running from every side of the square +to cheer him. + +Two hours later, when I had finished my "paper" work and was setting +forth on my daily round, Miller came galloping up to the barracks and +flung himself out of the saddle. He nodded to Lowell, and pulled me +roughly to one side. + +"The talk with Fiske," he whispered, "ended in the deuce of a row. Fiske +behaved like a mule. He told Laguerre that the original charter of the +company had been tampered with, and that the one Laguerre submitted to +him was a fake copy. And he ended by asking Laguerre to name his price +to leave them alone." + +"And Laguerre?" + +"Well, what do you suppose," Miller returned, scornfully. "The General +just looked at him, and then picked up a pen, and began to write, and +said to the orderly, 'Show him out.' + +"'What's that?' Fiske said. And Laguerre answered: 'Merely a figure of +speech; what I really meant was "Put him out," or "throw him out!" You +are an offensive and foolish old man. I, the President of this country, +received you and conferred with you as one gentleman with another, and +you tried to insult me. You are either extremely ignorant, or extremely +dishonest, and I shall treat with you no longer. Instead, I shall at +once seize every piece of property belonging to your company, and hold +it until you pay your debts. Now you go, and congratulate yourself that +when you tried to insult me, you did so when you were under my roof, at +my invitation.' Then Laguerre wired the commandantes at all the seaports +to seize the warehouses and officers of the Isthmian Line, and even +its ships, and to occupy the buildings with troops. He means business," +Miller cried, jubilantly. "This time it's a fight to a finish." + +Lowell had already sent for his horse, and altogether we started at a +gallop for the palace. At the office of the Isthmian Line we were +halted by a crowd so great that it blocked the street. The doors of the +building were barred, and two sentries were standing guard in front +of it. A proclamation on the wall announced that, by order of the +President, the entire plant of the Isthmian Line had been confiscated, +and that unless within two weeks the company paid its debts to the +government, the government would sell the property of the company until +it had obtained the money due it. + +At the entrance to the palace the sergeant in charge of the native +guard, who was one of our men, told us that two ships of the Isthmian +Line had been caught in port; one at Cortez on her way to Aspinwall, and +one at Truxillo, bound north. The passengers had been landed, and were +to remain on shore as guests of the government until they could be +transferred to another line. + +Lowell's face as he heard this was very grave, and he shook his head. + +"A perfectly just reprisal, if you ask me," he said, "but what one +lonely ensign tells you in confidence, and what Fiske will tell the +State Department at Washington, is a very different matter. It's a good +thing," he exclaimed, with a laugh, "that the Raleigh's on the wrong +side of the Isthmus. If we were in the Caribbean, they might order us to +make you give back those ships. As it is, we can't get marines here +from the Pacific under three days. So I'd better start them at once," he +added, suddenly. "Good-by, I must wire the Captain." + +"Don't let the United States Navy do anything reckless," I said. "I'm +not so sure you could take those ships, and I'm not so sure your marines +can get here in three days, either, or that they ever could get here." + +Lowell gave a shout of derision. + +"What," he cried, "you'd fight against your country's flag?" + +I told him he must not forget that at West Point they had decided I was +not good enough to fight for my country's flag. + +"We've three ships of our own now," I added, with a grin. "How would you +like to be Rear Admiral of the naval forces of Honduras?" + +Lowell caught up his reins in mock terror. + +"What!" he cried. "You'd dare to bribe an American officer? And with +such a fat bribe, too?" he exclaimed. "A Rear-Admiral at my age! That's +dangerously near my price. I'm afraid to listen to you. Good-by." He +waved his hand and started down the street. "Good-by, Satan," he called +back to me, and I laughed, and he rode away. + +That was the end of the laughter, of the jests, of the play-acting. + +After that it was grim, grim, bitter and miserable. We dogs had had our +day. We soldiers of either fortune had tasted our cup of triumph, and +though it was only a taste, it had flown to our brains like heavy wine, +and the headaches and the heartaches followed fast. For some it was more +than a heartache; to them it brought the deep, drugged sleep of Nirvana. + +The storm broke at the moment I turned from Lowell on the steps of the +palace, and it did not cease, for even one brief breathing space, until +we were cast forth, and scattered, and beaten. + +As Lowell left me, General Laguerre, with Aiken at his side, came +hurrying down the hall of the palace. The President was walking with +his head bowed, listening to Aiken, who was whispering and gesticulating +vehemently. I had never seen him so greatly excited. When he caught +sight of me he ran forward. + +"Here he is," he cried. "Have you heard from Heinze?" he demanded. "Has +he asked you to send him a native regiment to Pecachua?" + +"Yes," I answered, "he wanted natives to dig trenches. I sent five +hundred at eight this morning." + +Aiken clenched his fingers. It was like the quick, desperate clutch of a +drowning man. + +"I'm right," he cried. He turned upon Laguerre. "Macklin has sent them. +By this time our men are prisoners." + +Laguerre glanced sharply at the native guard drawn up at attention on +either side of us. "Hush," he said. He ran past us down the steps, and +halting when he reached the street, turned and looked up at the +great bulk of El Pecachua that rose in the fierce sunlight, calm and +inscrutable, against the white, glaring masses of the clouds. + +"What is it?" I whispered. + +"Heinze!" Aiken answered, savagely. "Heinze has sold them Pecachua." + +I cried out, but again Laguerre commanded silence. "You do not know +that," he said; but his voice trembled, and his face was drawn in lines +of deep concern. + +"I warned you!" Aiken cried, roughly. "I warned you yesterday; I told +you to send Macklin to Pecachua." + +He turned on me and held me by the sleeve, but like Laguerre he still +continued to look fearfully toward the mountain. + +"They came to me last night, Graham came to me," he whispered. "He +offered me ten thousand dollars gold, and I did not take it." In his +wonder at his own integrity, in spite of the excitement which shook +him, Aiken's face for an instant lit with a weak, gratified smile. "I +pretended to consider it," he went on, "and sent another of my men to +Pecachua. He came back an hour ago. He tells me Graham offered Heinze +twenty thousand dollars to buy off himself and the other officers and +the men. But Heinze was afraid of the others, and so he planned to ask +Laguerre for a native regiment, to pretend that he wanted them to work +on the trenches. And then, when our men were lying about, suspecting +nothing, the natives should fall on them and tie them, or shoot them, +and then turn the guns on the city. And he _has_ sent for the niggars!" +Aiken cried. "And there's not one of them that wouldn't sell you out. +They're there now!" he cried, shaking his hand at the mountain. "I +warned you! I warned you!" + +Incredible as it seemed, difficult as it was to believe such baseness, I +felt convinced that Aiken spoke the truth. The thought sickened me, but +I stepped over to Laguerre and saluted. + +"I can assemble the men in half an hour," I said. "We can reach the base +of the rock an hour later." + +"But if it should not be true," Laguerre protested. "The insult to +Heinze--" + +"Heinze!" Aiken shouted, and broke into a volley of curses. But the +oaths died in his throat. We heard a whirr of galloping hoofs; a man's +voice shrieking to his horse; the sounds of many people running, and one +of my scouts swept into the street, and raced toward us. He fell off at +our feet, and the pony rolled upon its head, its flanks heaving horribly +and the blood spurting from its nostrils. + +"Garcia and Alvarez!" the man panted. "They're making for the city. +They tried to fool us. They left their tents up, and fires burning, and +started at night, but I smelt 'em the moment they struck the trail. We +fellows have been on their flanks since sun-up, picking 'em off at long +range, but we can't hold them. They'll be here in two hours." + +"Now, will you believe me?" Aiken shouted. "That's their plot. They're +working together. They mean to trap us on every side. Ah!" he cried. +"Look!" + +I knew the thing at which he wished me to look. His voice and my dread +told me at what his arm was pointing. + +I raised my eyes fearfully to El Pecachua. From its green crest a puff +of smoke was swelling into a white cloud, the cloud was split with a +flash of flame, and the dull echo of the report drifted toward us on +the hot, motionless air. At the same instant our flag on the crest of +Pecachua, the flag with the five-pointed, blood-red star, came twitching +down; and a shell screeched and broke above us. + +Now that he knew the worst, the doubt and concern on the face of General +Laguerre fell from it like a mask. + +"We have no guns that will reach the mountain, have we?" he asked. He +spoke as calmly as though we were changing guard. + +"No, not one," I answered. "All our heavy pieces are on Pecachua." + +"Then we must take it by assault," he said. "We will first drive Garcia +back, and then we will storm the hill, or starve them out. Assemble all +the men at the palace at once. Trust to no one but yourself. Ride to +every outpost and order them here. Send Von Ritter and the gatlings to +meet Alvarez. This man will act as his guide." + +He turned to the scout. "You will find my horse in the court-yard of the +palace," he said to him. "Take it, and accompany Captain Macklin. Tell +Von Ritter," he continued, turning to me, "not to expose his men, but +to harass the enemy, and hold him until I come." His tone was easy, +confident, and assured. Even as I listened to his command I marvelled +at the rapidity with which his mind worked, how he rose to an unexpected +situation, and met unforeseen difficulties. + +"That is all," he said. "I will expect the men here in half an hour." + +He turned from me calmly. As he re-entered the palace between the lines +of the guard he saluted as punctiliously as though he were on his way to +luncheon. + +But no one else shared in his calmness. The bursting shells had driven +the people from their houses, and they were screaming through the +streets, as though an earthquake had shaken the city. Even the palace +was in an uproar. + +The scout, as he entered it, shouting for the President's horse, had +told the story to our men, and they came running to the great doors, +fastening their accoutrements as they ran. Outside, even as Laguerre had +been speaking, the people had gathered in a great circle, whispering and +gesticulating, pointing at us, at the dying horse, at the shells that +swung above us, at the flag of Alvarez which floated from Pecachua. +When I spurred my horse forward, with the scout at my side, there was +a sullen silence. The smiles, the raised hats, the cheers were missing, +and I had but turned my back on them when a voice shouted, "Viva +Alvarez!" + +I swung in my saddle, and pulled out my sword. I thought it was only the +bravado of some impudent fellow who needed a lesson. + +But it was a signal, for as I turned I saw the native guard spring like +one man upon our sergeant and drive their bayonets into his throat. He +went down with a dozen of the dwarf-like negroes stabbing and kicking at +him, and the mob ran shrieking upon the door of the palace. + +On the instant I forgot everything except Laguerre. I had only one +thought, to get to him, to place myself at his side. + +I pushed my horse among the people, beating at the little beasts with my +sword. But the voice I knew best of all called my name from just above +my head, and I looked up and saw Laguerre with Aiken and Webster on the +iron balcony of the palace. + +Laguerre's face was white and set. + +"Captain Macklin!" he cried. "What does this mean? Obey your orders. You +have my orders. Obey my orders." + +"I can't," I cried. "This is an attack upon you! They will kill you!" + +At the moment I spoke our men fired a scattering volley at the mob, and +swung to the great gates. The mob answered their volley with a dozen +pistol-shots, and threw itself forward. Still looking up, I saw Laguerre +clasp his hands to his throat, and fall back upon Webster's shoulder, +but he again instantly stood upright and motioned me fiercely with his +arm. "Go," he cried. "Bring the gatlings here, and all the men. If you +delay we lose the palace. Obey my orders," he again commanded, with a +second fierce gesture. + +The movement was all but fatal. The wound in his throat tore apart, his +head fell forward and his eyes closed. I saw the blood spreading and +dyeing the gold braid. But he straightened himself and leaned forward. +His eyes opened, and, holding himself erect with one hand on the +railing of the balcony, he stretched the other over me, as though in +benediction. + +"Go, Royal!" he cried, "and--God bless you!" + + + + +VI + + +I bent my head and drove my spurs into my horse. I did not know where +he was carrying me. My eyes were shut with tears, and with the horror +of what I had witnessed. I was reckless, mad, for the first time in my +life, filled with hate against my fellow-men. I rode a hundred yards +before I heard the scout at my side shouting, "To the right, Captain, to +the right." + +At the word I pulled on my rein, and we turned into the Plaza. + +The scout was McGraw, the Kansas cowboy, who had halted Aiken and myself +the day we first met with the filibusters. He was shooting from the +saddle as steadily as other men would shoot with a rest, and each time +he fired, he laughed. The laugh brought me back to the desperate need +of our mission. I tricked myself into believing that Laguerre was not +seriously wounded. I persuaded myself that by bringing him aid quickly +I was rendering him as good service as I might have given had I remained +at his side. I shut out the picture of him, faint and bleeding, and +opened my eyes to the work before us. + +We were like the lost dogs on a race-course that run between lines of +hooting men. On every side we were assailed with cries. Even the voices +of women mocked at us. Men sprang at my bridle, and my horse rode +them down. They shot at us from the doors of the cafes, from either +curbstone. As we passed the barracks even the men of my own native +regiment raised their rifles and fired. + +The nearest gun was at the end of the Calle Bogran, and we raced down +it, each with his revolver cocked, and held in front of him. + +But before we reached the outpost I saw the men who formed it, pushing +their way toward us, bunched about their gatling with their clubbed +rifles warding off the blows of a mob that struck at them from every +side. They were ignorant of what had transpired; they did not know who +was, or who was not their official enemy, and they were unwilling to +fire upon the people, who a moment before, before the flag of Alvarez +had risen on Pecachua, had been their friends and comrades. These +friends now beset them like a pack of wolves. They hung upon their +flanks and stabbed at them from the front and rear. The air was filled +with broken tiles from the roofs, and with flying paving-stones. + +When the men saw us they raised a broken cheer. + +"Open that gun on them!" I shouted. "Clear the street, and push your gun +to the palace. Laguerre is there. Kill every man in this street if you +have to, but get to the palace." + +The officer in charge fought his way to my side. He was covered with +sweat and blood. He made a path for himself with his bare arms. + +"What in hell does this mean, Macklin?" he shouted. "Who are we +fighting?" + +"You are fighting every native you see," I ordered. "Let loose up this +street. Get to the palace!" + +I rode on to the rear of the gun, and as McGraw and I raced on toward +the next post, we heard it stabbing the air with short, vicious blows. + +At the same instant the heavens shook with a clap of thunder, the sky +turned black, and with the sudden fierceness of the tropics, heavy drops +of rain began to beat upon us, and to splash in the dust like hail. + +A moment later and the storm burst upon the city. The streets were swept +with great sheets of water, torrents flowed from the housetop, the +skies darkened to ink, or were ripped asunder by vivid flashes, and +the thunder rolled unceasingly. We were half drowned, as though we were +dragged through a pond, and our ponies bowed and staggered before the +double onslaught of wind and water. We bent our bodies to theirs, and +lashed them forward. + +The outpost to which we were now riding was stationed at the edge of +the city where the Calle Morizan joins the trail to San Lorenzo on +the Pacific coast. As we approached it I saw a number of mounted men, +surrounding a closed carriage. They were evidently travellers starting +forth on the three days' ride to San Lorenzo, to cross to Amapala, where +the Pacific Mail takes on her passengers. They had been halted by our +sentries. As I came nearer I recognized, through the mist of rain, +Joseph Fiske, young Fiske, and a group of the Isthmian men. The storm, +or the bursting shells, had stampeded their pack-train, and a dozen +frantic Mozos were rounding up the mules and adding their shrieks and +the sound of their falling whips to the tumult of the storm. + +I galloped past them to where our main guard were lashing the +canvas-cover to their gun, and ordered them to unstrap it, and fight +their way to the palace. + +As I turned again the sentry called: "Am I to let these people go? They +have no passes." + +I halted, and Joseph Fiske raised his heavy eyelids, and blinked at me +like a huge crocodile. I put a restraint upon myself and moved toward +him with a confident smile. I could not bear to have him depart, +thinking he went in triumph. I looked the group over carefully and said: +"Certainly, let them pass," and Fiske and some of the Isthmian men, who +appeared ashamed, nodded at me sheepishly. + +But one of them, who was hidden by the carriage, called out: "You'd +better come, too; your ship of state is getting water-logged." + +I made no sign that I heard him, but McGraw instantly answered, "Yes, it +looks so. The rats are leaving it!" + +At that the man called back tauntingly the old Spanish proverb: "He +who takes Pecachua, sleeps in the palace." McGraw did not understand +Spanish, and looked at me appealingly, and I retorted, "We've altered +that, sir. The man who sleeps in the palace will take Pecachua tonight." + +And McGraw added: "Yes, and he won't take it with thirty pieces of +silver, either." + +I started away, beckoning to McGraw, but, as we moved, Mr. Fiske pushed +his pony forward. + +"Can you give me a pass, sir?" he asked. He shouted the words, for the +roaring of the storm drowned all ordinary sounds. "In case I meet with +more of your men, can you give me a written pass?" + +I knew that the only men of ours still outside of the city were a few +scouts, but I could not let Fiske suspect that, so I whipped out my +notebook and wrote: + +"To commanders of all military posts: Pass bearer, Joseph Fiske, his +family, servants, and baggage-train. + +"ROYAL MACKLIN, + + "Vice-President of Honduras" + +I tore out the page and gave it him, and he read it carefully and bowed. + +"Does this include my friends?" he asked, nodding toward the Isthmian +men. + +"You can pass them off as your servants," I answered, and he smiled +grimly. + +The men had formed around the gun, and it was being pushed toward me, +but as I turned to meet it I was again halted, this time by young Fiske, +who rode his horse in front of mine, and held out his hand. + +"You must shake hands with me!" he cried, "I acted like a cad." He bent +forward, raising his other arm to shield his face from the storm. "I +say, I acted like a cad," he shouted, "and I ask your pardon." + +I took his hand and nodded. At the same moment as we held each other's +hands the window of the carriage was pushed down and his sister leaned +out and beckoned to me. Her face, beaten by the rain, and with her hair +blown across it, was filled with distress. + +"I want to thank you," she cried. "Thank you," she repeated, "for my +brother. I thank you. I wanted you to know." + +She stretched out her hand and I took it, and released it instantly, and +as she withdrew her face from the window of the carriage, I dug my spurs +into my pony and galloped on with the gun. + +What followed is all confused. + +I remember that we reached the third and last post just after the men +had abandoned it, but that we overtook them, and with them fought our +way through the streets. But through what streets, or how long it took +us to reach the palace I do not know. No one thing is very clear to me. +Even the day after, I remembered it only as a bad dream, in which I saw +innumerable, dark-skinned faces pressing upon me with open mouths, and +white eyeballs; lit by gleams of lightning and flashes of powder. I +remember going down under my pony and thinking how cool and pleasant it +was in the wet mud, and of being thrown back on him again as though I +were a pack-saddle, and I remember wiping the rain out of my eyes with a +wet sleeve, and finding the sleeve warm with blood. And then there was a +pitchy blackness through which I kept striking at faces that sprang out +of the storm, faces that when they were beaten down were replaced by +other faces; drunken, savage, exulting. I remember the ceaseless booming +of the thunder that shook the houseslike an earthquake, the futile +popping of revolvers, the whining shells overhead, the cries and groans, +the Spanish oaths, and the heavy breathing of my men about me, and +always just in front of us, the breathless whir of the gatling. + +After that the next I remember I was inside the palace, and breaking +holes in the wall with an axe. Some of my men took the axe from me, and +said: "He's crazy, clean crazy," and Van Ritter and Miller fought with +me, and held me down upon a cot. From the cot I watched the others +making more holes in the wall, through which they shoved their rifles +and then there was a great cheer outside, and a man came running in +crying, "Alvarez and Heinze are at the corner with the twelve-pounders!" +Then our men cursed like fiends, and swept out of the room, and as +no one remained to hold me down, I stumbled after them into the big +reception-hall, and came upon Laguerre, lying rigid and still upon a +red-silk sofa. I thought he was dead, and screamed, and at that they +seized me again and hustled me back to the cot, telling me that he was +not dead, but that at any moment he might die, and that if I did not +rest, I would die also. + +When I came to, it was early morning, and through the holes in the +plaster wall I could see the stars fading before the dawn. The gatlings +were gone and the men were gone, and I was wondering if they had +deserted me, when Von Ritter came back and asked if I were strong enough +to ride, and I stood up feeling dizzy and very weak. But my head was +clear and I could understand what he said to me. Of the whole of the +Foreign Legion only thirty were left. Miller was killed, Russell was +killed and old man Webster was killed. They told me how they had caught +him when he made a dash to the barracks for ammunition, and how, from +the roof, our men had seen them place him against the iron railings of +the University Gardens. There he died, as his hero, William Walker, had +died, on the soil of the country he had tried to save from itself, +with his arms behind him, and his blindfolded eyes turned upon a +firing-squad. + +McGraw had been killed as he rode beside me, holding me in the saddle. +That hurt me worse than all. They told me a blow from behind had knocked +me over, and though, of that, I could remember nothing, I could still +feel McGraw's arm pressing my ribs, and hear his great foolish laugh in +my ears. + +They helped me out into the court-yard, where the men stood in a hollow +square, with Laguerre on a litter in the centre, and with the four +gatlings at each corner. The wound was in his throat, so he could not +speak, but when they led me down into the Patio he raised his eyes and +smiled. I tried to smile back, but his face was so white and drawn that +I had to turn away, that he might not see me crying. + +There was much besides to make one weep. We were running away. We were +abandoning the country to which some of us had come to better their +fortunes, to which others had come that they might set the people free. +We were being driven out of it by the very men for whom we had risked +our lives. Some among us, the reckless, the mercenary, the adventurers, +had played like gamblers for a stake, and had lost. Others, as they +thought, had planned wisely for the people's good, had asked nothing in +return but that they might teach them to rule themselves. But they, too, +had lost, and because they had lost, they were to pay the penalty. + +Within the week the natives had turned from us to the painted idols of +their jungle, and the new gods toward whom they had wavered were to be +sacrificed on the altars of the old. They were waiting only until the +sun rose to fall upon our little garrison and set us up against the +barrack wall, as a peace offering to their former masters. Only one +chance remained to us. If, while it were still night, we could escape +from the city to the hills, we might be able to fight our way to the +Pacific side, and there claim the protection of our war-ship. + +It was a forlorn hope, but we trusted to the gatlings to clear a road +for us, and there was no other way. + +So just before the dawn, silently and stealthily the President and the +Cabinet, and all that was left of the Government and Army of General +Laguerre, stole out of his palace through a hole in the courtyard-wall. + +We were only a shadowy blot in the darkness, but the instant we reached +the open street they saw us and gave cry. + +From behind the barriers they had raised to shut off our escape, from +the house-tops, and from the darkened windows, they opened fire with +rifle and artillery. But our men had seen the dead faces of their +leaders and comrades, and they were frantic, desperate. They charged +like madmen. Nothing could hold them. Our wedge swept steadily forward, +and the guns sputtered from the front and rear and sides, flashing and +illuminating the night like a war-ship in action. + +They drove our enemies from behind the barricades, and cleaned the +street beyond it to the bridge, and then swept the bridge itself. We +could hear the splashes when the men who held it leaped out of range of +the whirling bullets into the stream below. + +In a quarter of an hour we were running swiftly through the sleeping +suburbs, with only one of our guns barking an occasional warning at the +ghostly figures in our rear. + +We made desperate progress during the dark hours of the morning, but +when daylight came we were afraid to remain longer on the trail, and +turned off into the forest. And then, as the sun grew stronger, our +endurance reached its limit, and when they called a halt our fellows +dropped where they stood, and slept like dead men. But they could not +sleep for long. We all knew that our only chance lay in reaching San +Lorenzo, on the Pacific Ocean. Once there, we were confident that the +war-ship would protect us, and her surgeons save our wounded. By the +trail and unmolested, we could have reached it in three days, but in the +jungle we were forced to cut our way painfully and slowly, and at times +we did not know whether we were moving toward the ocean or had turned +back upon the capital. + +I do not believe that slaves hunted through a swamp by blood-hounds have +ever suffered more keenly than did the survivors of the Foreign Legion. +Of our thirty men, only five were unwounded. Even those who carried +Laguerre wore blood-stained bandages. All were starving, and after the +second day of hiding in swamps and fording mountain-streams, half of our +little band was sick with fever. We lived on what we found in the woods, +or stole from the clearing, on plants, and roots, and fruit. We were no +longer a military body. We had ceased to be either officers or privates. +We were now only so many wretched fellow-beings, dependent upon each +other, like sailors cast adrift upon some desert island, and each worked +for the good of all, and the ties which bound us together were stronger +than those of authority and discipline. Men scarcely able to drag +themselves on, begged for the privilege of helping to carry Laguerre, +and he in turn besought and commanded that we leave him by the trail, +and hasten to the safety of the coast. In one of his conscious moments +he protested: "I cannot live, and I am only hindering your escape. It +is not right, nor human, that one man should risk the lives of all the +rest. For God's sake, obey my orders and put me down." + +Hour after hour, by night as well as by day, we struggled forward, +staggering, stumbling, some raving with fever, others with set faces, +biting their yellow lips to choke back the pain. + +Three times when we endeavored to gain ground by venturing on the level +trail, the mounted scouts of Alvarez overtook us, or attacked us from +ambush, and when we beat them off, they rode ahead and warned the +villages that we were coming; so, that, when we reached them, we were +driven forth like lepers. Even the village dogs snapped and bit at the +gaunt figures, trembling for lack of food, and loss of sleep and blood. + +But on the sixth day, just at sunset, as we had dragged ourselves to +the top of a wooded hill we saw below us, beyond a league of unbroken +jungle, a great, shining sheet of water, like a cloud on the horizon, +and someone cried: "The Pacific!" and we all stumbled forward, and some +dropped on their knees, and some wept, and some swung their hats and +tried to cheer. + +And then one of them, I never knew which, started singing, "Praise God, +from whom all blessings flow," and we stood up, the last of the Legion, +shaken with fever, starving, wounded, and hunted by our fellow-men, and +gave praise to God, as we had never praised Him before. + +That night the fever took hold of me, and in my tossings and turnings +I burst open the sword-wound at the back of my head. I remember someone +exclaiming "He's bled to death!" and a torch held to my eyes, and then +darkness, and the sense that I was being carried and bumped about on +men's shoulders. + +The next thing I knew I was lying in a hammock, a lot of naked, brown +children were playing in the dirt beside me, the sun was shining, great +palms were bending in the wind above me, and the strong, sweet air of +the salt sea was blowing in my face. + +I lay for a long time trying to guess where I was, and how I had come +there. But I found no explanation for it, so I gave up guessing, and +gazed contentedly at the bending palms until one of the children found +my eyes upon him, and gave a scream, and they all pattered off like +frightened partridges. + +That brought a native woman from behind me, smiling, and murmuring +prayers in Spanish. She handed me a gourd filled with water. + +I asked where I was, and she said, "San Lorenzo." + +I could have jumped out of the hammock at that, but when I tried to do +so I found I could hardly raise my body. But I had gained the coast. I +knew I would find strength enough to leave it. + +"Where are my friends?" I asked. "Where are the Gringoes?" + +But she raised her hands, and threw them wide apart. + +"They have gone," she said, "three, four days from now, they sailed away +in the white ship. There was a great fighting," she said, raising her +eyes and shaking her head, "and they carried you here, and told me to +hide you. You have been very ill, and you are still very ill." She gave +a little exclamation and disappeared, and returned at once with a piece +of folded paper. "For you," she said. + +On the outside of the paper was written in Spanish: "This paper will +be found on the body of Royal Macklin. Let the priest bury him and send +word to the Military Academy, West Point, U. S. A., asking that his +family be informed of his place of burial. They will reward you well." + +Inside, in English, was the following letter in Aiken's handwriting: + +"DEAR OLD MAN--We had to drop you here, as we were too sick to carry +you any farther. They jumped us at San Lorenzo, and when we found we +couldn't get to Amapala from here, we decided to scatter, and let each +man take care of himself. Von Ritter and I, and two of the boys, are +taking Laguerre with us. He is still alive, but very bad. We hope to +pick up a fishing-boat outside of town, and make for the Raleigh. We +tried to carry you, too, but it wasn't possible. We had to desert one +of you, so we stuck by the old man. We hid your revolver and money-belt +under the seventh palm, on the beach to the right of this shack. If +I'd known you had twenty double eagles on you all this time, I'd have +cracked your skull myself. The crack you've got is healing, and if you +pull through the fever you'll be all right. If you do, give this woman +twenty pesos I borrowed from her. Get her to hire a boat, and men, +and row it to Amapala. This island is only fifteen miles out, and the +Pacific Mail boat touches there Thursdays and Sundays. If you leave here +the night before, you can make it. Whatever you do, don't go into the +village here or land at Amapala. If they catch you on shore they will +surely shoot you. So board the steamer in the offing. Hoping you will +live to read this, and that we may meet again under more agreeable +circumstances, I am, + +"Yours truly, + +"HERBERT AIKEN." + +"P.S. I have your gilt sword, and I'm going to turn it over to the +officers of the Raleigh, to take back to your folks. Good luck to you, +old man." + +After reading this letter, which I have preserved carefully as a +characteristic souvenir of Aiken, I had but two anxieties. The first +was to learn if Laguerre and the others had reached the Raleigh, and the +second was how could I escape to the steamer--the first question was at +once answered by the woman. She told me it was known in San Lorenzo that +the late "Presidente Generale," with three Gringoes, had reached the +American war-ship and had been received on board. The Commandante of +Amapala had demanded their surrender to him, but the captain of the +ship had declared that as political refugees, they were entitled to the +protection they claimed, and when three days later he had been ordered +to return to San Francisco, he had taken them with him. + +When I heard that, I gave a cheer all by myself, and I felt so much +better for the news that I at once began to plot for my own departure. +The day was Wednesday, the day before the steamer left Amapala, and I +determined to start for the island the following evening. When I told +the woman this, she protested I was much too weak to move, but the risk +that my hiding-place might be discovered before another steamer-day +arrived was much too great, and I insisted on making a try for the first +one. + +The woman accordingly procured a fishing-boat and a crew of three men, +and I dug up my money-belt, and my revolver, and thanked her and paid +her, for Aiken and for myself, as well as one can pay a person for +saving one's life. The next night, as soon as the sun set, I seated +myself in the stern of the boat, and we pushed out from the shore of +Honduras, and were soon rising and falling on the broad swell of the +Pacific. + +My crew were simple fishermen, unconcerned with politics, and as I +had no fear of harm from them, I curled up on a mat at their feet and +instantly fell asleep. + +When I again awoke the sun was well up, and when I raised my head the +boatman pointed to a fringe of palms that hung above the water, and +which he told me rose from the Island of Amapala. Two hours later we +made out the wharves and the custom-house of the port itself, and, lying +well toward us in the harbor, a big steamer with the smoke issuing from +her stacks, and the American flag hanging at the stern. I was still weak +and shaky, and I must confess that I choked a bit at the sight of the +flag, and at the thought that, in spite of all, I was going safely back +to life, and Beatrice and Aunt Mary. The name I made out on the stern of +the steamer was Barracouta, and I considered it the prettiest name I +had ever known, and the steamer the handsomest ship that ever sailed the +sea. I loved her from her keel to her topmast. I loved her every line +and curve, her every rope and bolt. But specially did I love the flag +at her stern and the blue Peter at the fore. They meant home. They meant +peace, friends, and my own countrymen. + +I gave the boatmen a double eagle, and we all shook hands with great +glee, and then with new strength and unassisted I pulled myself up the +companion-ladder, and stood upon the deck. + +When I reached it I wanted to embrace the first man I saw. I somehow +expected that he would want to embrace me, too, and say how glad he was +I had escaped. But he happened to be the ship's purser, and, instead of +embracing me, he told me coldly that steerage passengers are not allowed +aft. But I did not mind, I knew that I was a disreputable object, but +I also knew that I had gold in my money-belt, and that clothes could be +bought from the slop-chest. + +So I said in great good-humor, that I wanted a first-class cabin, the +immediate use of the bathroom, and the services of the ship's barber. + +My head was bound in a dirty bandage. My uniform, which I still wore +as I had nothing else, was in rags from the briers, and the mud of the +swamps and the sweat of the fever had caked it with dirt. I had an eight +days' beard, and my bare feet were in native sandals. So my feelings +were not greatly hurt because the purser was not as genuinely glad to +see me as I was to see him. + +"A first-class passage costs forty dollars gold--in advance," he said. + +"That's all right," I answered, and I laughed from sheer, foolish +happiness, "I'll take six." + +We had been standing at the head of the companion-ladder, and as the +purser moved rather reluctantly toward his cabin, a group of men came +down the deck toward us. + +One of them was a fat, red-faced American, the others wore the uniform +of Alvarez. When they saw me they gave little squeals of excitement, and +fell upon the fat man gesticulating violently, and pointing angrily at +me. + +The purser halted, and if it were possible, regarded me with even +greater unfriendliness. As for myself, the sight of the brown, impish +faces, and the familiar uniforms filled me with disgust. I had thought +I was done with brawling and fighting, of being hated and hunted. I +had had my fill of it. I wanted to be let alone, I wanted to feel that +everybody about me was a friend. I was not in the least alarmed, for now +that I was under the Stars and Stripes, I knew that I was immune from +capture, but the mere possibility of a row was intolerable. + +One of the Honduranians wore the uniform of a colonel, and was, as +I guessed, the Commandante of the port. He spoke to the fat man in +English, but in the same breath turned to one of his lieutenants, and +gave an order in Spanish. + +The lieutenant started in my direction, and then hesitated and beckoned +to some one behind me. + +I heard a patter of bare feet on the deck, and a dozen soldiers ran past +me, and surrounded us. I noticed that they and their officers belonged +to the Eleventh Infantry. It was the regiment I had driven out of the +barracks at Santa Barbara. + +The fat American in his shirt-sleeves was listening to what the +Commandante was saying, and apparently with great dissatisfaction. As +he listened he scowled at me, chewing savagely on an unlit cigar, and +rocking himself to and fro on his heels and toes. His thumbs were stuck +in his suspenders, so that it looked as though, with great indecision he +was pulling himself forward and back. + +I turned to the purser and said, as carelessly as I could: "Well, what +are we waiting for?" + +But he only shook his head. + +With a gesture of impatience the fat man turned suddenly from the +Commandante and came toward me. + +He spoke abruptly and with the tone of a man holding authority. + +"Have you got your police-permit to leave Amapala?" he demanded. + +"No," I answered. + +"Well, why haven't you?" he snapped. + +"I didn't know I had to have one," I said. "Why do you ask?" I added. +"Are you the captain of this ship?" + +"I think I am," he suddenly roared, as though I had questioned his +word. "Anyway, I've got enough say on her to put you ashore if you don't +answer my questions." + +I shut my lips together and looked away from him. His tone stirred what +little blood there was still left in me to rebellion; but when I saw the +shore with its swamps and ragged palms, I felt how perilously near it +was, and Panama became suddenly a distant mirage. I was as helpless as a +sailor clinging to a plank. I felt I was in no position to take offence, +so I bit my lips and tried to smile. + +The Captain shook his head at me, as though I were a prisoner in the +dock. + +"Do you mean to say," he shouted, "that our agent sold you a ticket +without you showing a police-permit?" + +"I haven't got a ticket," I said. "I was just going to buy one now." + +The Commandante thrust himself between us. + +"Ah, what did I tell you?" he cried. "You see? He is escaping. This is +the man. He answers all the descriptions. He was dressed just so; green +coat, red trousers, very torn and dirty--head in bandage. This is the +description. Is it not so?" he demanded of his lieutenants. They nodded +vigorously. + +"Why--a-yes, that is the man," the Commandante cried in triumph. "Last +night he stabbed Jose Mendez in the Libertad Billiard Hall. He has +wanted to murder him. If Jose, he die, this man he is murderer. He +cannot go. He must come to land with me." + +He gave an order in Spanish, and the soldiers closed in around us. + +I saw that I was in great peril, in danger more real than any I had +faced in open fight since I had entered Honduras. For the men who had +met me then had fought with fair weapons. These men were trying to take +away my life with a trick, with cunning lies and false witnesses. + +They knew the Captain might not surrender a passenger who was only a +political offender, but that he could not harbor a criminal. And at the +first glance at my uniform, and when he knew nothing more of me than +that I wore it, the Commandante had trumped up this charge of crime, and +had fitted to my appearance the imaginary description of an imaginary +murderer. And I knew that he did this that he might send me, bound hand +and foot, as a gift to Alvarez, or that he might, for his own vengeance, +shoot me against a wall. + +I knew how little I would receive of either justice or mercy. I had +heard of Dr. Rojas killed between decks on a steamer of this same line; +of Bonilla taken from the Ariadne and murdered on this very wharf at +this very port of Amapala; of General Pulido strangled in the launch +of the Commandante of Corinto and thrown overboard, while still in the +sight of his fellow-passengers on the Southern Cross. + +It was a degraded, horrible, inglorious end--to be caught by the heels +after the real battle was lost; to die of fever in a cell; to be stabbed +with bayonets on the wharf, and thrown to the carrion harbor-sharks. + +I swung around upon the Captain, and fought for my life as desperately +as though I had a rope around my neck. + +"That man is a liar," I cried. "I was not in Amapala last night. I came +from San Lorenzo--this morning. The boat is alongside now; you can ask +the men who brought me. I'm no murderer. That man knows I'm no murderer. +He wants me because I belonged to the opposition government. It's +because I wear this uniform he wants me. I'm no criminal. He has no more +right to touch me here, than he would if I were on Broadway." + +The Commandante seized the Captain's arm. + +"As Commandante of this port," he screamed, "I tell you if you do not +surrender the murderer to me, your ship shall not sail. I will take back +your clearance-papers." + +The Captain turned on me, shaking his red fists, and tossing his head +like a bull. "You see that!" he cried. "You see what you get me into, +coming on board my ship without a permit! That's what I get at every +banana-patch along this coast, a lot of damned beach-combers and +stowaways stealing on board, and the Commandante chasing 'em all over my +ship and holding up my papers. You go ashore!" he ordered. He swept his +arm toward the gangway. "You go to Kessler, our consul. If you haven't +done nothing wrong, he'll take care of you. You haven't got a ticket, +and you haven't got a permit, and you're no passenger of mine! Over you +go; do you hear me? Quick now, over you go." + +I could not believe that I heard the man aright. He seemed to be talking +a language I did not know. + +"Do you mean to tell me," I cried, speaking very slowly, for I was +incredulous, and I was so weak besides that it was difficult for me to +find the words, "that you refuse to protect me from these half-breeds, +that you are going to turn me over to them--to be shot! And you call +yourself an American?" I cried, "and this an American ship!" + +As I turned from him I found that the passengers had come forward and +now surrounded us; big, tall men in cool, clean linen, and beautiful +women, shading their eyes with their fans, and little children crowding +in between them and clinging to their skirts. To my famished eyes they +looked like angels out of Paradise. They were my own people, and they +brought back to me how I loved the life these men were plotting to take +from me. The sight of them drove me into a sort of frenzy. + +"Are you going to take that man's word against mine?" I cried at the +Captain. "Are you going to let him murder me in sight of that flag? You +know he'll do it. You know what they did to Rojas on one of your own +ships. Do you want another man butchered in sight of your passengers?" + +The Commandante crowded in front of the ship's captain. + +"That man is my prisoner," he cried. "He is going to jail, to be tried +by law. He shall see his consul every day. And so, if you try to leave +this harbor with him, I will sink your ship from the fort!" + +The Captain turned with an oath and looked up to the second officer, who +was leaning over the rail of the bridge above us. + +"Up anchor," the Captain shouted. "Get her under weigh! There is your +answer," he cried, turning upon me. "I'm not going to have this ship +held up any longer, and I'm not going to risk the lives of these ladies +and gentlemen by any bombardment, either. You're only going to jail. +I'll report the matter to our consul at Corinto, and he'll tell our +minister." + +"Corinto!" I replied. "I'll be dead before you've passed that +lighthouse." + +The Captain roared with anger. + +"Can't you hear what he says," he shouted. "He says he'll fire on my +ship. They've fired on our ships before! I'm not here to protect every +damned scalawag that tries to stowaway on my ship. I'm here to protect +the owners, and I mean to do it. Now you get down that ladder, before we +throw you down." + +I knew his words were final. From the bow I heard the creak of the +anchor-chains as they were drawn on board, and from the engine-room the +tinkle of bells. + +The ship was abandoning me. My last appeal had failed. My condition was +desperate. + +"Protect your owners, and yourself, damn you!" I cried. "You're no +American. You're no white man. No American would let a conch-nigger run +his ship. To hell with your protection!" + +All the misery of the last two months, the bitterness of my dismissal +from the Point, the ignominy of our defeat and flight, rose in me and +drove me on. "And I don't want the protection of that flag either," I +cried. "I wasn't good enough to serve it once, and I don't need it now." + +It should be remembered that when I spoke these words I thought my death +was inevitable and immediate, that it had been brought upon me by one of +my own countrymen, while others of my countrymen stood indifferently by, +and I hope that for what I said in that moment of fever and despair I +may be forgiven. + +"I can protect myself!" I cried. + +Before anyone could move I whipped out my gun and held it over the +Commandante's heart, and at the same instant without turning my eyes +from his face I waved my other hand at the passengers. "Take those +children away," I shouted. + +"Don't move!" I yelled in Spanish at the soldiers. "If one of you raises +his musket I'll kill him." I pressed the cocked revolver against the +Commandante's chest. "Now, then, take me ashore," I called to his men. +"You know me, I'm Captain Macklin. Captain Macklin, of the Foreign +Legion, and you know that six of you will die before you get me. Come +on," I taunted. "Which six is it to be?" + +Out of the corners of my eyes I could see the bayonets lifting +cautiously and forming a ring of points about me, and the sight, and my +own words lashed me into a frenzy of bravado. + +"Oh, you don't remember me, don't you?" I cried. "You ought to remember +the Foreign Legion! We drove you out of Santa Barbara and Tabla Ve +and Comyagua, and I'm your Vice-President! Take off your hats to your +Vice-President! To Captain Macklin, Vice-President of Honduras!" + +{Illustration: I sprang back against the cabin} + +I sprang back against the cabin and swung the gun in swift half-circles. +The men shrank from it as though I had lashed them with a whip. "Come +on," I cried, "which six is it to be? Come on, you cowards, why don't +you take me!" + +The only answer came from a voice that was suddenly uplifted at my side. +I recognized it as the voice of the ship's captain. + +"Put down that gun!" he shouted. + +But I only swung it the further until it covered him also. The man stood +in terror of his ship's owners, he had a seaman's dread of international +law, but he certainly was not afraid of a gun. He regarded it no more +than a pointed finger, and leaned eagerly toward me. To my amazement I +saw that his face was beaming with excitement and delight. + +"Are you Captain Macklin?" he cried. + +I was so amazed that for a moment I could only gape at him while I still +covered him with the revolver. + +"Yes," I answered. + +"Then why in hell didn't you say so!" he roared, and with a bellow +like a bull he threw himself upon the Commandante. He seized him by +his epaulettes and pushed him backward. With the strength of a bull he +butted and shoved him across the deck. + +"Off my ship you!" he roared. "Every one of you; you're a gang of +murdering cutthroats." + +The deck-hands and the ship-stewards, who had gathered at the gangway to +assist in throwing me down it, sprang to the Captain's aid. + +"Over with him, boys," he roared. "Clear the ship of them. Throw them +overboard." The crew fell upon the astonished soldiers, and drove +them to the side. Their curses and shrieks filled the air, the women +retreated screaming, and I was left alone, leaning limply against the +cabin with my revolver hanging from my fingers. + +It began and ended in an instant, and as the ship moved forward and +the last red-breeched soldier disappeared headforemost down the +companion-ladder, the Captain rushed back to me and clutched me by both +shoulders. Had it not been for the genial grin on his fat face, I would +have thought that he meant to hurl me after the others. + +"Now then, Captain Macklin," he cried, "you come with me. You come to my +cabin, and that's where you stay as long as you are on my ship. You're +no passenger, you're my guest, and there's nothing on board too good for +you." + +"But I don't--understand," I protested faintly. "What does it mean?" + +"What does it mean?" he shouted. "It means you're the right sort for me! +I haven't heard of nothing but your goings-on for the last three trips. +Vice-President of Honduras!" he exclaimed, shaking me as though I were a +carpet. "A kid like you! You come to my cabin and tell me the whole +yarn from start to finish. I'd rather carry you than old man Huntington +himself!" + +The passengers had returned, and stood listening to his exclamations, in +a wondering circle. The stewards and deck-hands, panting with their late +exertions, were grinning at me with unmistakable interest. + +"Bring Captain Macklin's breakfast to my cabin, you," he shouted to +them. "And, Mr. Owen," he continued, addressing the Purser, with great +impressiveness, "this is Captain Macklin, himself. He's going with us as +my guest." + +With a wink, he cautiously removed my revolver from my fingers, and +slapped me jovially on the shoulder. "Son!" he exclaimed, "I wouldn't +have missed the sight of you holding your gun on that gang for a cargo +of bullion. I suspicioned it was you, the moment you did it. That will +be something for me to tell them in 'Frisco, that will. Now, you come +along," he added, suddenly, with parental solicitude, "and take a cup of +coffee, and a dose of quinine, or you'll be ailing." + +He pushed a way for me through the crowd of passengers, who fell back in +two long lines. As we moved between them, I heard a woman's voice ask, +in a loud whisper: + +"Who did you say?" + +A man's voice answered, "Why, Captain Macklin," and then protested, in a +rising accent, "Now, for Heaven's sake, Jennie, don't tell me you don't +know who he is?" + +That was my first taste of fame. It was a short-lived, limited sort of +fame, but at that time it stretched throughout all Central America. I +doubt if it is sufficiently robust to live in the cold latitudes of +the North. It is just an exotic of the tropics. I am sure it will never +weather Cape Hatteras. But although I won't amount to much in Dobbs +Ferry, down here in Central America I am pretty well known, and during +these last two months that I have been lying, very near to death, in the +Canal Company's hospital, my poor little fame stuck by me, and turned +strangers into kind and generous friends. + + + +DOBBS FERRY, September, 1882 + + +September passed before I was a convalescent, and it was the first of +October when the Port of Sydney passed Sandy Hook, and I stood at the +bow, trembling with cold and happiness, and saw the autumn leaves on the +hills of Staten Island and the thousands of columns of circling, white +smoke rising over the three cities. I had not let Beatrice and Aunt Mary +know that I was in a hospital, but had told them that I was making my +way home slowly, which was true enough, and that they need not expect to +hear from me until I had arrived in New York City. So, there was no one +at the dock to meet me. + +But, as we came up the harbor, I waved at the people on the passing +ferry-boats, and they, shivering, no doubt, at the sight of our canvas +awnings and the stewards' white jackets, waved back, and gave me my +first welcome home. + +It was worth all the disappointments, and the weeks in hospital, to +stick my head in the ticket-window of the Grand Central Station, and +hear myself say, "Dobbs Ferry, please." I remember the fascination with +which I watched the man (he was talking over his shoulder to another man +at the time) punch the precious ticket, and toss it to me. I suppose +in his life he has many times sold tickets to Dobbs Ferry, but he never +sold them as often as I had rehearsed asking him for that one. + +I had wired them not to meet me at the station, but to be waiting at the +house, and when I came up the old walk, with the box-hedges on either +side, they were at the door, and Aunt Mary ran to meet me, and hugged +and scolded me, and cried on my shoulder, and Beatrice smiled at me, +just as though she were very proud of me, and I kissed her once. After +ten minutes, it did not seem as though I had ever been away from home. +And, when I looked at Beatrice, and I could not keep my eyes from her, I +was filled with wonder that I had ever had the courage to go from where +she was. We were very happy. + +I am afraid that for the next two weeks I traded upon their affection +scandalously. But it was their own fault. It was their wish that I +should constantly pose in the dual roles of the returned prodigal and +Othello, and, as I told them, if I were an obnoxious prig ever after, +they alone were responsible. + +I had the ravenous hunger of the fever-convalescent, and I had an +audience that would have turned General Grant into a braggart. So, every +day wonderful dishes of Aunt Mary's contriving were set before me, and +Beatrice would not open a book so long as there was one adventure I had +left untold. + +And this, as I soon learned, was the more flattering, as she had already +heard most of them at second-hand. + +I can remember my bewilderment that first evening as I was relating the +story of the duel, and she corrected me. + +"Weren't you much nearer?" she asked. "You fired at twenty paces." + +"So we did," I cried, "but how could you know that?" + +"Mr. Lowell told us," she said. + +"Lowell!" I shouted. "Has Lowell been here?" + +"Yes, he brought us your sword," Beatrice answered. "Didn't you see +where we placed it?" and she rose rather quickly, and stood with her +face toward the fireplace, where, sure enough, my sword was hanging +above the mantel. + +"Oh yes," said Aunt Mary, "Mr. Lowell has been very kind. He has come +out often to ask for news of you. He is at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We +like him so much," she added. + +"Like him!" I echoed. "I should think you would! Isn't that bully," +I cried, "to think of his being so near me, and that he's a friend of +yours already. We must have him out to-morrow. Isn't he fine, Beatrice?" + +She had taken down the sword, and was standing holding it out to me. + +"Yes, he is," she said, "and he is very fond of you, too, Royal. I don't +believe you've got a better friend." + +Attractive as the prodigal son may seem at first, he soon becomes a +nuisance. Even Othello when he began to tell over his stories for the +second time must have been something of a bore. And when Aunt Mary gave +me roast beef for dinner two nights in succession, and after dinner +Beatrice picked up "Lorna Doone" and retired to a corner, I knew that I +had had my day. + +The next morning at breakfast, in a tone of gentle reproach, I announced +that I was going out into the cold world, as represented by New York +City, to look for a job. I had no idea of doing anything of the sort. +I only threw out the suggestion tentatively, and I was exceedingly +disgusted when they caught up my plan with such enthusiasm and alacrity, +that I was forced to go on with it. I could not see why it was necessary +for me to work. I had two thousand dollars a year my grandfather had +left me, and my idea of seeking for a job, was to look for it leisurely, +and with caution. But the family seemed to think that, before the winter +set in, I should take any chance that offered, and, as they expressed +it, settle down. + +None of us had any very definite ideas as to what I ought to do, or even +that there was anything I could do. Lowell, who is so much with us now, +that I treat him like one of the family, argued that to business men my +strongest recommendation would be my knowledge of languages. He said +I ought to try for a clerkship in some firm where I could handle +the foreign correspondence. His even suggesting such work annoyed me +extremely. I told him that, on the contrary, my strongest card was +my experience in active campaigning, backed by my thorough military +education, and my ability to command men. He said unfeelingly, that +you must first catch your men, and that in down-town business circles +a military education counted for no more than a college-course in +football. + +"You good people don't seem to understand," I explained (we were holding +a family council on my case at the time); "I have no desire to move in +down-town business circles. I hate business circles." + +"Well, you must live, Royal," Aunt Mary said. "You have not enough money +to be a gentleman of leisure." + +"Royal wouldn't be content without some kind of work," said Beatrice. + +"No, he can't persuade us he's not ambitious!" Lowell added. "You mean +to make something of yourself, you know you do, and you can't begin too +early." + +Since Lowell has been promoted to the ward-room, he talks just like a +grandfather. + +"Young man," I said, "I've seen the day when you were an ensign, and +I was a Minister of War, and you had to click your heels if you came +within thirty feet of my distinguished person. Of course, I'm ambitious, +and the best proof of it is, that I don't want to sit in a bird-cage all +my life, counting other people's money." + +Aunt Mary looked troubled, and shook her head at me. + +"Well, Royal," she remonstrated, "you've got very little of your own to +count, and some day you'll want to marry, and then you'll be sorry." + +I don't know why Aunt Mary's remark should have affected anyone except +myself, but it seemed to take all the life out of the discussion, and +Beatrice remembered she had some letters to write, and Lowell said he +must go back to the Navy Yard, although when he arrived he told us +he had fixed it with another man to stand his watch. The reason I was +disturbed was because, when Aunt Mary spoke, it made me wonder if she +were not thinking of Beatrice. One day just after I arrived from Panama, +when we were alone, she said that while I was gone she had been in fear +she might die before I came back, and that Beatrice would be left alone. +I laughed at her and told her she would live a hundred years, and added, +not meaning anything in particular, "And she'll not be alone. I'll be +here." + +Then Aunt Mary looked at me very sadly, and said: "Royal, I could die so +contentedly if I thought you two were happy." She waited, as though she +expected me to make some reply, but I couldn't think of anything to +say, and so just looked solemn, then she changed the subject by asking: +"Royal, have you noticed that Lieutenant Lowell admires Beatrice very +much?" And I said, "Of course he does. If he didn't, I'd punch his +head." At which she again looked at me in such a wistful, pained way, +smiling so sadly, as though for some reason she were sorry for me. + +They all seemed to agree that I had had my fling, and should, as they +persisted in calling it, "settle down." A most odious phrase. They were +two to one against me, and when one finished another took it up. So that +at last I ceased arguing and allowed myself to be bullied into looking +for a position. + +But before surrendering myself to the downtown business circles I made +one last effort to remain free. + +In Honduras, Laguerre had told me that a letter to the Credit Lyonnais +in Paris would always find him. I knew that since his arrival at San +Francisco he had had plenty of time to reach Paris, and that if he +were there now he must know whether there is anything in this talk of a +French expedition against the Chinese in Tonkin. Also whether the Mahdi +really means to make trouble for the Khedive in the Soudan. Laguerre was +in the Egyptian army for three years, and knows Baker Pasha well. I was +sure that if there was going to be trouble, either in China or Egypt, he +could not keep out of it. + +So I cabled him to the Credit Lyonnais, "Are you well? If going any more +campaigns, please take me." I waited three restless weeks for an answer, +and then, as no answer came, I put it all behind me, and hung my old, +torn uniform where I would not see it, and hid the presentation-sword +behind the eight-day clock in the library. + +Beatrice raised her eyes from her book and watched me. + +"Why?" she asked. + +"It hurts me," I said. + +She put down her book, and for a long time looked at me without +speaking. + +"I did not know you disliked it as much as that," she said. "I wonder +if we are wrong. And yet," she added, smiling, "it does not seem a great +sacrifice; to have work to do, to live at home, and in such a dear, +old home as this, near a big city, and with the river in front and the +country all about you. It seems better than dying of wounds in a swamp, +or of fever in a hospital." + +"I haven't complained. I'm taking my medicine," I answered. "I know you +all wouldn't ask it of me, if you didn't think it was for my good." +I had seated myself in front of the wood fire opposite her, and was +turning the chain she gave me round and round my wrist. I slipped it +off, and showed it to her as it hung from my fingers, shining in the +firelight. + +"And yet," I said, "it was fine being your Knight-Errant, and taking +risks for your sake, and having only this to keep me straight." I cannot +see why saying just that should have disturbed her, but certainly my +words, or the sight of the chain, had a most curious effect. It is +absurd, but I could almost swear that she looked frightened. She +flushed, and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. I was greatly +embarrassed. Why should she be afraid of me? I was too much upset to ask +her what was wrong, so I went on hastily: "But now I'll have you always +with me, to keep me straight," I said. + +She laughed at that, a tremulous little laugh, and said: "And so you +won't want it any more, will you?" + +"Won't want it," I protested gallantly. "I'd like to see anyone make me +give it up." + +"You'd give it up to me, wouldn't you?" she asked gently. "It looks--" +she added, and stopped. + +"I see," I exclaimed. "Looks like a pose, sort of effeminate, a man's +wearing a bracelet. Is that what you think?" + +She laughed again, but this time quite differently. She seemed greatly +relieved. + +"Perhaps that's it," she said. "Give it me, Royal. You'll never need any +woman's trinkets to keep you straight." + +I weighed the gold links in the hollow of my palm. + +"Do you really want it?" I asked. She raised her eyes eagerly. "If you +don't mind," she said. + +I dropped the chain into her hand, but as I turned toward the fire, I +could not help a little sigh. She heard me, and leaned forward. I could +just see her sweet, troubled face in the firelight. "But I mean to +return it you, Royal," she said, "some day, when--when you go out again +to fight wind-mills." + +"That's safe!" I returned, roughly. "You know that time will never +come. The three of you together have fixed that. I'm no longer a +knight-errant. I'm a business-man now. I'm not to remember I ever was a +knight-errant. I must even give up my Order of the Golden Chain, because +it's too romantic, because it might remind me that somewhere in this +world there is romance, and adventure, and fighting. And it wouldn't do. +You can't have romance around a business office. Some day, when I was +trying to add up my sums, I might see it on my wrist, and forget where +I was. I might remember the days when it shone in the light of a +camp-fire, when I used to sleep on the ground with my arm under my head, +and it was the last thing I saw, when it seemed like your fingers on my +wrist holding me back, or urging me forward. Business circles would not +allow that. They'd put up a sign, 'Canvassers, pedlers, and Romance not +admitted.'" + +The first time I applied for a job I was unsuccessful. The man I went to +see had been an instructor at Harvard when my uncle was professor there, +and Aunt Mary said he had been a great friend of Professor Endicott's. +One day in the laboratory the man discovered something, and had it +patented. It brought him a fortune, and he was now president of a +company which manufactured it, and with branches all over the world. + +Aunt Mary wrote him a personal letter about me, in the hope that he +might put me in charge of the foreign correspondence. + +He kept me waiting outside his office-door for one full hour. During +the first half-hour I was angry, but the second half-hour I enjoyed +exceedingly. By that time the situation appealed to my sense of humor. +When the great man finally said he would see me, I found him tilting +back in a swivel-chair in front of a mahogany table. He picked out Aunt +Mary's letter from a heap in front of him, and said: "Are you the Mr. +Macklin mentioned in this letter? What can I do for you?" + +I said very deliberately: "You can do nothing for me. I have waited one +hour to tell you so. When my aunt, Mrs. Endicott, does anyone the honor +to write him a letter, there is no other business in New York City +more important than attending promptly to that letter. I _had_ intended +becoming a partner in your firm; now, I shall not. You are a rude, fat, +and absurd, little person. Good-morning." + +I crossed over to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and told Lowell and the other +watch-officers in the ward-room of my first attempt to obtain a job. +They laughed until I hoped they would strangle. + +"Who the devil do you think you are, anyway," they cried, "going around, +insulting millionnaires like that?" + +After leaving the cruiser that afternoon, I was so miserable that I +could have jumped into the East River. It was the sight of the +big, brown guns did it, and the cutlasses in their racks, and the +clean-limbed, bare-throated Jackies, and the watch-officer stamping the +deck just as though he were at sea, with his glass and side-arms. And +when the marine at the gate of the yard shifted his gun and challenged +me, it was so like old times that I could have fallen on his neck and +hugged him. + +Over the wharves, all along my way to the ferry, the names of strange +and beautiful ports mocked at me from the sheds of the steam-ship lines; +"Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and the River Plata," "Guayaquil, Callao, and +Santiago," "Cape Town, Durban, and Lorenzo Marquez." It was past six +o'clock and very dark. The ice was pushing and grinding against the +pier-heads, and through the falling snow the tall buildings in New York +twinkled with thousands of electric lights, like great Christmas-trees. +At one wharf a steamer of the Red D line, just in from La Guayra, was +making fast, and I guiltily crept on board. Without, she was coated in +a shearing of ice, but within she reeked of Spanish-America--of coffee, +rubber, and raw sugar. Pineapples were still swinging in a net from +the awning-rail, a two-necked water-bottle hung at the hot mouth of the +engine-room. I found her captain and told him I only wanted to smell a +ship again, and to find out, if where he came from, the bands were still +playing in the plazas. He seemed to understand, and gave me a drink +of Jamaica rum with fresh limes in it, and a black cigar; and when his +steward brought them, I talked to him in Spanish just for the sound of +it. For half an hour I was under the Southern Cross, and New York was +3,000 miles astern. + +When I left him, the captain gave me a bag of alligator-pears to take +home with me, and I promised to come the next day, and bring him a new +library of old, paper novels. + +But, as it turned out, I sent them instead, for that night when I +reached the New York side, I saw how weakly and meanly I was acting, and +I threw the alligator-pears over the rail of the ferry-boat and watched +them fall into the dirty, grinding ice. I saw that I had been in rank +mutiny. My bed had been made for me and I must lie in it. I was to be a +business-man. I was to "settle down," and it is only slaves who rebel. + +The next day, humble and chastened in spirit, I kissed the rod, and +went into the city to search for a situation. I determined to start at +Forty-second Street, and work my way down town until I found a place +that looked as though it could afford a foreign correspondent. But I had +reached Twenty-eighth Street, without seeing any place that appealed to +me, when a little groom, in a warm fur collar and chilly white breeches, +ran up beside me and touched his hat. I was so surprised that I saluted +him in return, and then felt uneasily conscious that that was not the +proper thing to do, and that forever I had lost his respect. + +"Miss Fiske would like to speak with you, sir," he said. He ran back to +a brougham that was drawn up beside the curb behind me, and opened the +door. When I reached it, Miss Fiske leaned from it, smiling. + +"I couldn't help calling you back, Captain Macklin," she said, and held +out her hand. + +When I took it she laughed again. "Isn't this like our last meeting?" +she asked. "Don't you remember my reaching out of the carriage, and +our shaking hands? Only now," she went on, in a most frank and friendly +manner, "instead of a tropical thunder-storm, it's a snow-storm, and +instead of my running away from your shells, I'm out shopping. At least, +mother's out shopping," she added. "She's in there. I'm waiting for +her." She seemed to think that the situation required a chaperon. + +"You mustn't say they were my shells, Miss Fiske," I protested. "I +may insult a woman for protecting her brother's life, but I never fire +shells at her." + +It did not surprise me to hear myself laughing at the words which, when +she spoke them, had seemed so terrible. It was as though none of it had +ever occurred. It was part of a romantic play, and we had seen the play +together. Who could believe that the young man, tramping the streets on +the lookout for a job, had ever signed his name, as vice-president of +Honduras, to a passport for Joseph Fiske; that the beautiful girl in +the sables, with her card-case in her hand, had ever heard the shriek of +shrapnel? + +And she exclaimed, just as though we had both been thinking aloud: "No, +it's not possible, is it?" + +"It never happened," I said. + +"But I tell you what has happened," she went on, eagerly, "or perhaps +you know. Have you heard what my father did?" + +I said I had not. I refrained from adding that I believed her father +capable of doing almost anything. + +"Then I'm the first to tell you the news," she exclaimed. She nodded at +me energetically. "Well, he's paid that money. He owed it all the time.' + +"That's not news," I said. + +She flushed a little, and laughed. + +"But, indeed, father was not to blame," she exclaimed. "They deceived +him dreadfully. But when we got home, he looked it up, and found you +were right about that money, and so he's paid it back, not to that +odious Alvarez man, but in some way, I don't quite understand how, but +so the poor people will get it." + +"Good!" I cried. + +"And he's discharged all that Isthmian crowd," she went on. + +"Better," I said. + +"And made my brother president of the new company," she continued, and +then raised her eyebrows, and waited, smiling. + +"Oh, well," I said, "since he's your brother--'best.'" + +"That's right," she cried. "That's very nice of you. Here comes mother. +I want you to meet her." + +Mother came toward us, out of a French dress-maker's. It was one of the +places I had decided against, when I had passed it a few minutes before. +It seemed one of the few business houses where a French linguist would +be superfluous. + +I was presented as "Captain Macklin--who, you know, mother--who fought +the duel with Arthur--that is, who didn't shoot at him." + +Mrs. Fiske looked somewhat startled. Even to a trained social leader it +must be trying to have a man presented to you on a sidewalk as the one +who did not shoot your son. + +Mrs. Fiske had a toy dog under one arm, and was holding up her train, +but she slipped the dog to the groom, and gave me her hand. + +"How do you do, Mr.--Captain Macklin," she said. "My son has told me a +great deal about you. Have you asked Captain Macklin to come to see us, +Helen?" she said, and stepped into the brougham. + +"Come in any day after five," said Miss Fiske, "and we'll have tortillas +and frijoles, and build a camp-fire in the library. What's your +address?" + +"Dobbs Ferry," I said. + +"Just Dobbs Ferry?" she asked. "But you're such a well-known person, +Captain Macklin." + +"I'm Mr. Macklin now," I answered, and I tried to shut the door on them, +but the groom seemed to think that was his privilege, and so I bowed, +and they drove away. Then I went at once to a drug-store and borrowed +the directory, to find out where they lived, and I walked all the way up +the avenue to have a look at their house. Somehow I felt that for that +day I could not go on asking for a job. I saw a picture of myself on +a high stool in the French dressmaker's writing to the Paris house for +more sable cloaks for Mrs. Fiske. + +The Fiske mansion overlooks Central Park, and it is as big as the +Academy of Music. I found that I knew it well by sight. I at once made +up my mind that I never would have the courage to ring that +door-bell, and I mounted a Fifth Avenue stage, and took up my work of +reconnoitering for a job where Miss Fiske had interrupted it. + +The next day I got the job. I am to begin work on Monday. It is at +Schwartz & Carboy's. They manufacture locks and hinges and agricultural +things. I saw a lot of their machetes in Honduras with their paper stamp +on the blade. They have almost a monopoly of the trade in South America. +Fortunately, or unfortunately, one of their Spanish clerks had left +them, and when I said I had been in Central America and could write +Spanish easily, Schwartz, or, it may have been Carboy--I didn't ask him +which was his silly name--dictated a letter and I wrote it in Spanish. +One of the other clerks admitted it was faultless. So, I regret to say, +I got the job. I'm to begin with fifteen dollars, and Schwartz or Carboy +added, as though it were a sort of a perquisite: "If our young men act +gentlemanly, and are good dressers, we often send them to take our South +American customers to lunch. The house pays the expenses. And in the +evenings you can show them around the town. Our young men find that an +easy way of seeing the theatres for nothing." + +Knowing the tastes of South Americans visiting New York, I replied +severely that my connection with Schwartz & Carboy would end daily at +four in the afternoon, but that a cross-town car passed Koster & +Bial's every hour. I half hoped he would take offence at that, and in +consequence my connection, with Schwartz & Carboy might end instantly +and forever; but whichever one he was, only laughed and said: "Yes, +those Brazilians are a queer lot. We eat up most of our profits bailing +them out of police courts the next morning. Well--you turn up Monday." + + + +DOBBS FERRY, Sunday, Midnight + + +It's all over. It will be a long time before I add another chapter to +my "Memoirs." When I have written this one they are to be sealed, and +to-morrow they are to be packed away in Aunt Mary's cedar chest. I am +now writing these lines after everyone else has gone to bed. + +It happened after dinner. Aunt Mary was upstairs, and Beatrice was at +the piano. We were waiting for Lowell, who had promised to come up and +spend the evening. I was sitting at the centre-table, pretending to +read, but watching Beatrice. Her back was turned toward me, so I could +stare at her as long as I pleased. The light of the candles on each side +of the music-rack fell upon her hair, and made it flash and burn. She +had twisted it high, in a coil, and there never was anything more +lovely than the burnished copper against the white glow of her skin, +nor anything so noble as the way her head rose upon her neck and sloping +shoulders. It was like a flower on a white stem. + +She was not looking at the music before her, but up at nothing, while +her hands ran over the keyboard, playing an old sailor's "chantey" which +Lowell has taught us. It carries with it all the sweep and murmur of the +sea at night. + +She could not see me, she had forgotten that I was even in the room, +and I was at liberty to gaze at her and dream of her undisturbed. I felt +that, without that slight, white figure always at my side, the life I +was to begin on the morrow, or any other life, would be intolerable. +Without the thought of Beatrice to carry me through the day I could not +bear it. Except for her, what promise was there before me of reward or +honor? I was no longer "an officer and a gentleman," I was a copying +clerk, "a model letter-writer." I could foresee the end. I would become +a nervous, knowing, smug-faced civilian. Instead of clean liquors, I +would poison myself with cocktails and "quick-order" luncheons. I would +carry a commuter's ticket. In time I might rise to the importance of +calling the local conductors by their familiar names. "Bill, what was +the matter with the 8.13 this morning?" From to-morrow forward I would +be "our" Mr. Macklin, "Yours of even date received. Our Mr. Macklin will +submit samples of goods desired." "Mr." Macklin! "Our" Mr. Macklin! Ye +Gods! Schwartz any servitude, I would struggle to rise above the most +hateful surroundings. + +I had just registered this mental vow, my eyes were still fixed +appealingly on the woman who was all unconscious of the sacrifice I was +about to make for her, when the servant came into the room and handed +me a telegram. I signed for it, and she went out. Beatrice had not heard +her enter, and was still playing. I guessed the telegram was from Lowell +to say he could not get away, and I was sorry. But as I tore open the +envelope, I noticed that it was not the usual one of yellow paper, but +of a pinkish white. I had never received a cablegram. I did not know +that this was one. I read the message, and as I read it the blood in +every part of my body came to a sudden stop. There was a strange buzzing +in my ears, the drums seemed to have burst with a tiny report. The shock +was so tremendous that it seemed Beatrice must have felt it too, and I +looked up at her stupidly. She was still playing. + +The cablegram had been sent that morning from Marseilles. The message +read, "Commanding Battalion French Zouaves, Tonkin Expedition, holding +position of Adjutant open for you, rank of Captain, if accept join +Marseilles. Laguerre." + +I laid the paper on my knee, and sat staring, scarcely breathing, as +though I were afraid if I moved I would wake. I was trembling and cold, +for I was at the parting of the ways, and I knew it. Beyond the light +of the candles, beyond the dull red curtains jealously drawn against the +winter landscape, beyond even the slight, white figure with its crown +of burnished copper, I saw the swarming harbor of Marseilles. I saw the +swaggering turcos in their scarlet breeches, the crowded troop-ships, +and from every ship's mast the glorious tri-color of France; the flag +that in ten short years had again risen, that was flying over advancing +columns in China, in Africa, in Madagascar; over armies that for Alsace +Lorraine were giving France new and great colonies on every seaboard +of the world. The thoughts that flew through my brain made my fingers +clench until the nails bit into my palms. Even to dream of such +happiness was actual pain. That this might come to me! To serve under +the tri-color, to be a captain of the Grand Armee, to be one of the army +reared and trained by Napoleon Bonaparte. + +I heard a cheery voice, and Lowell passed me, and advanced bowing toward +Beatrice, and she turned and smiled at him. But as she rose, she saw my +face. + +"Roy!" she cried. "What is it? What has happened?" + +I watched her coming toward me, as someone projected from another life, +a wonderful, beautiful memory, from a life already far in the past. I +handed her the cablegram and stood up stiffly. My joints were rigid and +the blood was still cold in my veins. She read the message, and gave a +little cry, and stood silent, gazing at me. I motioned her to give it to +Lowell, who was looking at us anxiously, his eyes filled with concern. + +He kept his head lowered over the message for so long, that I thought +he was reading it several times. When he again raised his face it was +filled with surprise and disapproval. But beneath, I saw a dawning look +which he could not keep down, of a great hope. It was as though he had +been condemned to death, and the paper Beatrice had handed him to read +had been his own reprieve. + +"Tell me," said Beatrice. Her tone was as gentle and as solemn as the +stroke of a bell, and as impersonal. It neither commended nor reproved. +I saw that instantly she had determined to conceal her own wishes, to +obliterate herself entirely, to let me know that, so far as she could +affect my choice, I was a free agent. I looked appealingly from her to +Lowell, and from Lowell back to Beatrice. I still was trembling with the +fever the message had lit in me. When I tried to answer, my voice was +hoarse and shaking. + +"It's like drink!" I said. + +Lowell raised his eyes as though he meant to speak, and then lowered +them and stepped back, leaving Beatrice and myself together. + +"I only want you to see," Beatrice began bravely, "how--how serious it +is. Every one of us in his life must have a moment like this, and, if +he could only know that the moment had come, he might decide wisely. You +know the moment has come. You must see that this is the crisis. It +means choosing not for a year, but for always." She held out her hands, +entwining the fingers closely. "Oh, don't think I'm trying to stop you, +Royal," she cried. "I only want you to see that it's final. I know that +it's like strong drink to you, but the more you give way to it--. Don't +you think, if you gave your life here a fairer trial, if you bore with +it a little longer--" + +She stopped sharply as though she recognized that, in urging me to a +choice, she was acting as she had determined she would not. I did not +answer, but stood in silence with my head bent, for I could not look at +her. I knew now how much dearer to me, even than her voice, was the one +which gave the call to arms. I did indeed understand that the crisis had +come. In that same room, five minutes before the message arrived, I had +sworn for her sake alone to submit to the life I hated. And yet in an +instant, without a moment's pause, at the first sound of "Boots and +Saddles," I had sprung to my first love, and had forgotten Beatrice +and my sworn allegiance. Knowing how greatly I loved her, I now could +understand, since it made me turn from her, how much greater must be my +love for this, her only rival, the old life that was again inviting me. + +I was no longer to be deceived; the one and only thing I really +loved, the one thing I understood and craved, was the free, homeless, +untrammelled life of the soldier of fortune. I wanted to see the shells +splash up the earth again, I wanted to throw my leg across a saddle, +I wanted to sleep on a blanket by a camp-fire, I wanted the kiss and +caress of danger, the joy which comes when the sword wins honor and +victory together, and I wanted the clear, clean view of right and wrong, +that is given only to those who hourly walk with death. + +I raised my head, and spoke very softly: + +"It is too late. I am sorry. But I have decided. I must go." + +Lowell stepped out of the shadow, and faced me with the same strange +look, partly of wonder, and partly of indignation. + +"Nonsense, Royal," he said, "let _me_ talk to you. We've been shipmates, +or comrades, and all that sort of thing, and you've got to listen to me. +Think, man, think what you're losing. Think of all the things you are +giving up. Don't be a weak child. This will affect your whole life. You +have no right to decide it in a minute." + +I stepped to its hiding-place, and took out the sword my grandfather had +carried in the Civil War; the sword I had worn in Honduras. I had hidden +it away, that it might not remind me that once I, too, was a soldier. It +acted on me like a potion. The instant my fingers touched its hilt, the +blood, which had grown chilled, leaped through my body. In answer I held +the sword toward Lowell. It was very hard to speak. They did not know +how hard. They did not know how cruelly it hurt me to differ from +them, and to part from them. The very thought of it turned me sick and +miserable. But it was written. It had to be. + +"You ask me to think of what I am giving up," I said, gently. "I gave up +this. I shall never surrender it again. I am not deciding in a minute. +It was decided for me long ago. It's a tradition. It's handed down to +me. My grandfather was Hamilton, of Cerro Gordo, of the City of Mexico, +of Gettysburg. My father was 'Fighting' Macklin. He was killed at the +head of his soldiers. All my people have been soldiers. One fought at +the battle of Princeton, one died fighting the king at Culloden. It's +bred in me. It's in the blood. It's the blood of the Macklins that has +decided this. And I--I am the last of the Macklins, and I must live and +die like one." + +The house is quiet now. They have all left me to my packing, and are +asleep. Lowell went early and bade me good-by at the gate. He was very +sad and solemn. "God bless you, Royal," he said, "and keep you safe, +and bring you back to us." And I watched him swinging down the silent, +moon-lit road, knocking the icicles from the hedges with his stick. I +stood there some time looking after him, for I love him very dearly, and +then a strange thing happened. After he had walked quite a distance from +the house, he suddenly raised his head and began to whistle a jolly, +rollicking sea-song. I could hear him for some minutes. I was glad to +think he took it so light-heartedly. It is good to know that he is not +jealous of my great fortune. + +To-night we spared each other the parting words. But to-morrow they must +be spoken, when Aunt Mary and Beatrice come to see me sail away on the +French liner. The ship leaves at noon, and ten days later I shall be in +Havre. Ye gods, to think that in ten days I shall see Paris! And then, +the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean, Singapore, and, at +last, the yellow flags and black dragons of the enemy. It cannot last +long, this row. I shall be coming home again in six months, unless the +Mahdi makes trouble. Laguerre was three years in the Khedive's service, +and with his influence an ex-captain of the French army should have +little difficulty in getting a commission in Egypt. + +Then, after that, I really will come home. But not as an ex-soldier. +This time I shall come home on furlough. I shall come home a real +officer, and play the prodigal again to the two noblest and sweetest and +best women in God's world. All women are good, but they are the best. +All women are so good, that when one of them thinks one of us is worthy +to marry her, she pays a compliment to our entire sex. But as they are +all good and all beautiful, Beatrice being the best and most beautiful, +I was right not to think of marrying only one of them. With the world +full of good women, and with a fight always going on somewhere, I am +very wise not to "settle down." I know I shall be very happy. + +In a year I certainly must come back, a foreign officer on leave, and +I shall go to West Point and pay my respects to the Commandant. The men +who saw me turned out will have to present arms to me, and the older +men will say to the plebs, "That distinguished-looking officer with the +French mustache, and the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor, is Captain +Macklin. He was turned out of here. Now he's only a soldier of fortune. +He belongs to no country." + +But when the battalion is drawn up at retreat and the shadows stretch +across the grass, I shall take up my stand once more on the old parade +ground, with all the future Grants and Lees around me, and when the flag +comes down, I shall raise my hand with theirs, and show them that I have +a country, too, and that the flag we salute together is my flag still. + +THE END + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Captain Macklin, by Richard Harding Davis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN MACKLIN *** + +***** This file should be named 6015.txt or 6015.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/1/6015/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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