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diff --git a/old/68379-h/68379-h.htm b/old/68379-h/68379-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 29ac25b..0000000 --- a/old/68379-h/68379-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4937 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - Under Blanco’s Eye, by Douglas Wells—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.pminus1 {margin-top: -0.25em;} -.p1 {margin-top: 1em;} -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -.sectionheader{text-align:center; - font-size:x-large; - font-weight:bold} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} - -.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid; - padding-top: 0;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -.boxtitlepage{ - max-width: 31em; - padding: 0em; - border: 0em solid black; - margin: 0 auto; - margin-top:1em} - - -.boxdate{ - max-width: 28em; - padding: 0.05em; - border-top:0.05em solid black; - border-bottom: 0.05em solid black; - margin: 0 auto; - margin-top:1em} - -.boxlist{ - max-width: 25em; - padding: 1em; - border: 0em solid black; - margin: 0 auto; } - -.displayinline{display:inline-block; line-height:1} - -.boxcontents{ - max-width:20em; - padding: 1em; - border: 0em solid black; - margin: 0 auto; } - -.pcontents{ - text-align:left; - text-indent:-2em; - padding-left:2em; - margin-top: 0.1em; - margin-bottom: 0.1em; -} - -.psection{ - text-align:center; - margin-bottom:-0.1em;} - -.hangindent{ - text-indent: -2.8em; - padding-left: 2.8em; - text-align:left;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} - -img.w100 {width: 100%;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -/*CSS to set font sizes*/ -/*font sizes for non-header font changes*/ -.xxlargefont{font-size: xx-large} -.xlargefont{font-size: x-large} -.largefont{font-size: large} -.smallfont{font-size: small} -.cheaderfont{font-size:medium} -.boldfont{font-weight:bold} -.sansseriffont{font-family:sans-serif} - -/* Illustration classes */ -.illowp48 {width: 48%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp48 {width: 100%;} -.illowp49 {width: 49%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp49 {width: 100%;} -.illowp62 {width: 62%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp62 {width: 100%;} -.illowp68 {width: 68%;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Under Blanco's eye, by Douglas Wells</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Under Blanco's eye</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Or, Hal Maynard among the Cuban insurgents</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Douglas Wells</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 23, 2022 [eBook #68379]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER BLANCO'S EYE ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp48" style="max-width: 102.75em;"> - <img id="coverpage" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover." /> -</div> - -<div style="padding-top:4em"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2> - -<p>The Table of Contents was created by the transcriber and placed in -the public domain.</p> - -<p><a href="#TN_end">Additional Transcriber’s Notes</a> are at the -end.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="boxcontents"> -<p class="xlargefont center boldfont">CONTENTS</p> -<p class="psection">First Part.</p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I. “The Only American in Havana.”</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter II. Juan Ramirez Introduces Himself.</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Chapter III. “Spanish Evidence.”</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Chapter IV. At the Prefatura.</a></p> -<p class="psection">Second Part.</p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Chapter V. “A Spaniard of Honor!”</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter VI. Cuba’s New Recruit.</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Chapter VII. The Temptation of Pedro.</a></p> -<p class="psection">Third Part.</p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Chapter VIII. “As Gomez Would Speak.”</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">Chapter IX. Battle in Earnest.</a></p> -<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Chapter X. Under Cuba’s Flag.</a></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center largefont">VOL. 1 NO. 1 <span style="padding-left:0.75em; padding-right:0.75em">NEW YORK, MAY 7, 1898</span> 5 CENTS</p> - -<p class="center pminus1">STREET & SMITH Publishers.</p> - -<p class="center xxlargefont">STARRY FLAG WEEKLY</p> - -<p class="center largefont">THRILLING STORIES OF OUR VICTORIOUS ARMY</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp62" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/cover_illo.jpg" alt="Cover illustration." /> -</div> - -<div class="center"> -<p class="displayinline"><span style="font-size:2em; padding-right:0.5em">UNDER BLANCO’S EYE</span></p> - -<p class="displayinline" style=" font-size:0.75em">OR HAL MAYNARD AMONG<br /> -THE CUBAN INSURGENTS</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="boxtitlepage"> -<p class="center nobreak" style="font-size:3.5em">Starry Flag Weekly</p> - -<p class="center smallfont nobreak"><em>Issued Weekly—By Subscription: $2.50 per year. Entered as Second Class Matter at the N. Y. Post Office.</em> -<span class="smcap">Street & Smith</span>, <em>81 Fulton -St., N. Y. Entered According to Act of Congress, in the Year 1898, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.</em></p> - -<div class="boxdate"> -<p class="center">No. 1. <span style="padding-left:2.5em;padding-right:2.5em">NEW YORK, May 7, 1898</span> Price Five Cents.</p> -</div> - -<h1 class="nobreak"><cite>Under Blanco’s Eye</cite>;</h1> - - - -<p class="center pminus1" style="line-height:3">OR,<br /> -<span class="largefont boldfont"><cite>HAL MAYNARD AMONG THE CUBAN INSURGENTS</cite></span></p> - -<p class="center">By DOUGLAS WELLS.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="nobreak sectionheader" id="CHAPTER_I">First Part.</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“THE ONLY AMERICAN IN HAVANA.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“Stop!”</p> - -<p>A boy of some eighteen or nineteen -years rushed frantically out upon a wharf -bordering the harbor of Havana.</p> - -<p>“Hold on!”</p> - -<p>Elbowing his way through the dark-skinned -crowd, he reached the string-piece, -now waving his arms wildly.</p> - -<p>At the top of his voice came the fervent -appeal:</p> - -<p>“Don’t leave me behind!”</p> - -<p>Unheedful of the Spanish crowd about -him, the boy gazed anxiously at the fast -receding stern of the United States -steamer Fern.</p> - -<p>That crowd was bent on mischief. It -had jeered itself nearly hoarse when the -little steamer left her berth.</p> - -<p>Now it saw in this shouting, gesticulating -youth a closer victim of their -sport.</p> - -<p>“Swim!” jeered one low-browed, -dirty Spaniard.</p> - -<p>To this came an echoing shout of:</p> - -<p>“Make him swim!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Throw the Yankee dog into the -harbor. He will find company in the -sailors of the Maine!”</p> - -<p>A yell went up—a yell that was partly -derisive and partly defiant.</p> - -<p>It had one effect that the victim was -quick to notice—it utterly drowned out -his appealing shouts to those on the deck -of the Fern, causing him to gasp:</p> - -<p>“Am I the only American left behind -in Havana?”</p> - -<p>It looked like it.</p> - -<p>Further from the pier, nearer every -moment to the entrance of Havana harbor -went the Fern, the last of the United -States steamers to leave Cuba’s capital -city on that memorable afternoon of the -ninth of April, 1898.</p> - -<p>Aboard the Fern was that sturdy -American hero, General Fitzhugh Lee.</p> - -<p>Up to the last moment he had served -the interests of the United States and her -citizens as consul general at Havana.</p> - -<p>Now, when the state of affairs there -had become intolerable, General Lee had -sailed on the Fern.</p> - -<p>After indomitable efforts extending -over several days, he had succeeded in -shipping, as he believed, the last American -in that danger-infested city.</p> - -<p>Then, and not until then, had General -Lee stepped aboard the Fern.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[2]</span></p> - -<p>His coming had been the signal for the -start. A moment later the little steamer’s -prow was cutting the muddy, blood-stained -waters of Havana harbor.</p> - -<p>Close to the wreck of the United States’ -once proud battleship Maine passed the -Fern.</p> - -<p>Standing on deck, General Lee and his -immediate party had bared their heads in -silent respect and grief for the two hundred -and sixty-six sailors whom Spanish -treachery had destroyed.</p> - -<p>General Lee believed that he had succeeded -in bringing the last American -away.</p> - -<p>He certainly had, so far as he knew. -He had done his duty like an American.</p> - -<p>Yet, all unknown to him, one American -remained behind—Hal Maynard, the -boy who now stood watching the receding -Fern with a look of mingled anxiety and -wistfulness.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Hal uncovered. His glance -had rested on the Stars and Stripes at the -steamer’s stern.</p> - -<p>It was a courageous thing to do—to -salute the hated Yankee flag in this -stronghold of that flag’s bitterest enemies.</p> - -<p>But Hal did it, without bluster or hesitation.</p> - -<p>There was a choking sensation in the -boy’s throat; tears glistened in his eyes.</p> - -<p>“My country’s flag,” he murmured -brokenly. “May God always bless your -folds, and protect them! May those Stars -and Stripes soon come back here, and -float a supreme warning that treachery -and tyranny can never flourish in the -New World!”</p> - -<p>It may be that some of the Spaniards -grouped about him heard him. If so, -they did not understand, or it would have -been worse for this American boy.</p> - -<p>“The senor does not like our climate!”</p> - -<p>Jeeringly the words were uttered.</p> - -<p>Half turning, Maynard gazed unto the -speaker’s eyes.</p> - -<p>The latter was a Spaniard, a peon or -laborer. Ragged, barefooted, dirty, he -had the appearance of a man half-starved.</p> - -<p>The fellow’s tattered sombrero rested at -an angle on his head. His gleaming, -glittering eyes, made brighter by that -nondescript illness, slow starvation, had -an ugly light in them.</p> - -<p>In whatever direction Maynard turned -he saw others like this fellow—thousands -of them.</p> - -<p>Every wharf and pier, every building -near the water front, every available spot -of view was crowded by Spaniards who -had come out to watch the departure of -America’s consul general, and, watching, -to jeer.</p> - -<p>It was no use to gaze longer after the -Fern, yet Hal Maynard found himself -unable to stir.</p> - -<p>“If I never see the flag again, I must -see it to the last to-day,” he murmured.</p> - -<p>“Senor does not like our climate?” -again jeered the fellow at his elbow.</p> - -<p>Hal made no answer, not even turning -this time.</p> - -<p>But his tormentor would not quit.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it is our people that the -senor does not like? I have heard that -there were some Americans who do not -love the Spanish!”</p> - -<p>Still Hal stood with his eyes fastened -on the flag.</p> - -<p>“If the senor is a good friend of -Spain,” continued the fellow, with mocking -insinuation, “he will shout, ‘viva -Espana!’”</p> - -<p>Long live Spain? Hal Maynard would -have died a dozen deaths sooner than -utter such a detestable wish!</p> - -<p>Those black, gleaming eyes were -fastened on him pitilessly, until—until -the tormentor found himself ignored.</p> - -<p>Then he swiftly turned to his fellow -Spaniards.</p> - -<p>“Here is an American!” he cried.</p> - -<p>A laughing chorus greeted the announcement.</p> - -<p>“He wanted to go home!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[3]</span></p> - -<p>More laughter greeted this stupid sally.</p> - -<p>“And now,” continued the announcer, -“he is crying to find himself left here -with us!”</p> - -<p>“There is yet time for him to swim -after the vessel!” jibed another Spaniard.</p> - -<p>“Or let him cruise home on the -Maine!”</p> - -<p>At this there was a cyclonic burst of -laughter.</p> - -<p>Instantly the other Spaniards began to -cast about for sayings which the crowd -would regard as being witty.</p> - -<p>Hal Maynard’s eyes flashed.</p> - -<p>A fight would be helpless—hopeless, -leaving him only the fate of death at the -hands of this jibing, vicious mob.</p> - -<p>Yet no sooner was the word “Maine” -uttered than he turned once more to -where the wreck of the Maine lay and -lifted his hat with a motion of reverence.</p> - -<p>It was grit—clear grit! That much -even the Spaniards could appreciate.</p> - -<p>It was a defiance, too, and in a moment -angry murmurs went up.</p> - -<p>“Let us see if a Yankee pig can swim!”</p> - -<p>“And if he steers toward that battered -iron scow, we can shoot him from the -wharf.”</p> - -<p>“As we will shoot all Yankees who -dare to come here after this!” shouted -another.</p> - -<p>Hal faced them, head erect and shoulders -thrown back.</p> - -<p>He fully expected to be thrown into -the muddy water, but he did not propose -to flinch.</p> - -<p>For a moment the crowd hesitated, -ready to follow any caprice, but waiting -for a leader.</p> - -<p>After waiting a moment for the attack, -Hal felt a sudden thrill of misgiving.</p> - -<p>His hand had touched, accidentally, -on something under his coat.</p> - -<p>That recalled him to his duty, to the -reason for his being in Havana, to the -cause of his being left behind.</p> - -<p>Hidden away in his clothing was a -bag. It contained two thousand dollars, -the property of another, confided to his -care.</p> - -<p>“This mob is made up of worthless -fellows,” muttered the boy. “They don’t -know any better than to do as they are -doing. They are so ignorant that not one -in a dozen of them would know his own -name in print. They shall not make me -forget my duty. Since there is no American -ship here, I will try to find an English -one.”</p> - -<p>Then, ignoring the crowd that surged -about him, he turned again to scan the -line of wharves.</p> - -<p>Less than a quarter of a mile away lay -a brig from whose masthead floated the -Union Jack of Great Britain.</p> - -<p>“I shall be safe there,” murmured -Hal. “I can leave Havana on that -craft. It may even be that the brig is -bound for an American port.”</p> - -<p>His mind made up, he turned to leave -the wharf, meaning to walk along the -river front until he came to the brig’s -wharf.</p> - -<p>But his original tormentor put himself -fairly in the boy’s path.</p> - -<p>“Where is the Yankee pig going to -root?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>Other murmurs went up.</p> - -<p>“Do not let him leave us!”</p> - -<p>“Not until he has cried ‘viva Espana!’”</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen,” said Hal, trying to -speak calmly, “I find that I am not on -the right wharf. Will you allow me to -pass?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, senor!”</p> - -<p>“Way for the gentleman!”</p> - -<p>“Let the Yankee pig find his wallow!”</p> - -<p>Click-clack! click-clack! Way on the -outskirts of the crowd a man had picked -up a cobblestone, on which he now began -to whet his knife.</p> - -<p>It was a most suggestive sound. The -crowd roared with merriment, craning<span class="pagenum">[4]</span> -their necks to see whether this Yankee -blanched.</p> - -<p>But Hal, though he knew that a spark -would be sufficient to touch off a mine of -Spanish mob-treachery, retained his composure.</p> - -<p>“I am in a hurry, if you please,” he -said, trying to edge his way through.</p> - -<p>The crowd pretended to make way, yet -each Spaniard took pains to get only -more in the way.</p> - -<p>They were playing with him, as a cat -does with a mouse, enjoying their sport -with true feline ferocity.</p> - -<p>One of the crowd suddenly divined our -hero’s purpose.</p> - -<p>“He wants to reach that English ship. -The gringo fancies he will be safer there -than with us. Let us convince him that -our hospitality is genuine.”</p> - -<p>Still laughing, the crowd made way for -Hal to pass off the pier, but the instant -that he tried to walk along the shore in -the direction of the bridge, he found -himself confronted by the dense ranks of -a barring crowd.</p> - -<p>“No, no, senor! Straight back into -Havana.”</p> - -<p>“I guess I might as well go to a -hotel,” Hal acquiesced, inwardly. “From -there, an hour later, I may be able to get -a closed carriage to the brig.”</p> - -<p>There was a driver within call. To him -Hal signaled.</p> - -<p>The jehu came up, but on hearing the -name of the hotel, he shook his head and -scowled.</p> - -<p>“No, no, senor,” he protested, “I cannot -drive Yankees.”</p> - -<p>“I will walk, then,” rejoined Hal.</p> - -<p>But the crowd protested that he must -ride.</p> - -<p>“If the senor will pay three fares,” -declared the jehu, “I will take him.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” muttered Hal, stepping -into the carriage.</p> - -<p>“Ha! Senor Maynard, wait! I must -see you!” cried a man, making his way -through the crowd.</p> - -<p>“Vasquez!” thrilled the boy, recognizing -his accoster.</p> - -<p>Then, for the first time that day, Hal -Maynard turned pale.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">JUAN RAMIREZ INTRODUCES HIMSELF.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Senor Vasquez, a middle-aged Spaniard -with the air of a prosperous merchant, -pushed his way through to the carriage.</p> - -<p>The crowd, scenting as if by instinct -some new trouble for the boy, made way -for the newcomer.</p> - -<p>Vasquez’s eyes glittered. He regarded -the boy with a look of evil triumph, -though his manner, as he stepped into -the carriage, was faultlessly diplomatic.</p> - -<p>“You will excuse my intrusion?” he -begged.</p> - -<p>“I shall have to,” was Hal’s cold rejoinder.</p> - -<p>“I was anxious to see you. This meeting -has given me great pleasure.”</p> - -<p>Then, lowering his voice, he added:</p> - -<p>“Senor Maynard, your employer owes -me, as you know, two thousand dollars. -I must have that money at once.”</p> - -<p>“If Mr. Richardson owes you anything,” -replied Hal, “he will pay it.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! Do you think I am so simple? -Senor Richardson left yesterday for Key -West.”</p> - -<p>“I repeat,” came firmly from Hal, -“that, if he owes you anything he will -pay it.”</p> - -<p>“And I, my dear young friend,” rejoined -the Spaniard, “assure you that I -mean to collect from you. You have the -money. I know it.”</p> - -<p>Hal tried not to start at this cool piece -of assurance.</p> - -<p>“I know,” continued Senor Vasquez, -in the same low tone, “where you collected -the money. I know just how much -you collected, and can tell you, to a<span class="pagenum">[5]</span> -peseta, just how much you carry in a certain -bag. Ha! my friend, you do not -seem happy over my knowledge. But a -trustworthy man of mine has followed -you. You see that there is no use denying -what my faithful agent told me.”</p> - -<p>“But did he tell you,” smiled Hal, -coolly, “where I took that bag?”</p> - -<p>Senor Vasquez changed color and hesitated.</p> - -<p>That was enough to show observant -Hal that his “bluff” had a chance of -winning.</p> - -<p>“If he did not tell you that,” resumed -the American, “go back and cane your -agent for a sleepy fellow. Senor Vasquez, -if you meant to wrest the money from me -by force, you should have employed a -better agent.”</p> - -<p>Maynard’s manner was so cool and convincing -that for a moment the Spaniard -was staggered.</p> - -<p>“Ha!” he cried, suddenly. “Whatever -you have done with the money, you have -not had chance to send it out of Cuba, -and your last chance to do that is gone. -Perhaps you will conclude to tell me -where the money is.”</p> - -<p>“Assuredly not,” rejoined Hal, stoutly.</p> - -<p>“Now, if I were to make a few remarks -about you to the crowd which -surges about this carriage, do you know -what would happen to you?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied Hal. “I should -be in danger of being killed.”</p> - -<p>“Do you feel like taking the risk?”</p> - -<p>“If you were scoundrel enough, senor, -I should be compelled to take it.”</p> - -<p>Vasquez’s black eyes snapped dangerously.</p> - -<p>“I have only to say the word,” he -suggested.</p> - -<p>Hal was playing a desperate game. -The thought drove some of the color from -his cheeks.</p> - -<p>“Will you tell me where the money -is?” insisted the Spaniard.</p> - -<p>“Suppose that I did not know, how -could I tell you?”</p> - -<p>Vasquez snorted impatiently, then -beckoned to one of the leaders of the -mob, who quickly approached.</p> - -<p>“Your last chance, Senor Maynard,” -whispered the Spaniard.</p> - -<p>“I can tell you nothing.”</p> - -<p>As Hal uttered these words he expected -to be handed over to the Spanish mob.</p> - -<p>To his surprise Vasquez’s manner swiftly -changed.</p> - -<p>To the ring-leader Senor Vasquez said:</p> - -<p>“Pedro, I trust that your friends will -not molest this young man. He is in a -measure under my protection.”</p> - -<p>“Senor Vasquez’s words always carry -weight,” was the quick, respectful -answer.</p> - -<p>“My dear young friend,” went on the -Spaniard, “I may see you again. If we -do meet, I trust I shall find you more -gracious.”</p> - -<p>With that the Spaniard slipped quickly -from the carriage, and the driver, taking -the cue, turned up one of the streets into -the city.</p> - -<p>Jeers followed, but nothing else happened.</p> - -<p>“Vasquez is as slick as ever,” mused -Hal, sinking back on the cushion. “At -first, he thought he would frighten me. -Now perhaps he means to call upon me -at the hotel, try to convince me that he -saved my life, and thus work upon my -gratitude. If Senor Vasquez imagines that -he can persuade me to betray my good -old employer, he will wake up and find it -all a dream!</p> - -<p>“But first of all he will send his agents -out again, to see if he can get them on -the track of the place where the money -is. How my Spanish pirate would swear -if he knew that he had been within a foot -of the money all the while! Yet, because -I have fooled the fellow this time, I must -not underrate him. He is deadly!”</p> - -<p>Deadly, indeed! Vasquez, though a<span class="pagenum">[6]</span> -rich merchant, had seldom earned an -honest dollar.</p> - -<p>He belonged to a Spanish type that has -been common in Cuba. American merchants -and planters, especially those who -were new to the island, had been his -especial game for years.</p> - -<p>He sought the acquaintance of such -“new” Americans, tendered them his -services and goods, and charged exorbitantly -for both.</p> - -<p>Should an American planter protest, -the crop in one of his sugar or tobacco -fields was burned, nor was it long before -the planter learned that “irrepressible -friends of Senor Vasquez had rebuked a -grasping foreigner.”</p> - -<p>Should an American merchant protest -at Vasquez’s charges, something happened -to the “impudent merchant’s” -stores or warehouses.</p> - -<p>Yet Vasquez himself had always kept -on the safe side of the law, while cheerfully -ruining Americans.</p> - -<p>They were simply compelled to submit -to his extortions. One American, a -planter, who had resolutely resisted the -Spaniard, had been found dead, but the -crime could be fastened on no one.</p> - -<p>Just before the outbreak of the Cuban -rebellion, Henry Richardson had started -sugar plantations in the interior. He had -fallen into Vasquez’s hands at the outset, -and had been systematically plundered.</p> - -<p>Hal Maynard, who had come to Cuba -a year before as Mr. Richardson’s private -secretary, had detected the Spaniard in -several doubtful dealings.</p> - -<p>Naturally Vasquez’s feeling for our hero -was far from cordial.</p> - -<p>While Hal and his employer were still -in the interior, Vasquez had tried to involve -them in trouble with the Spanish -authorities.</p> - -<p>This menace Mr. Richardson had -dodged by paying a liberal bribe to the -officer commanding the nearest garrison.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, more dangers threatened -these two Americans.</p> - -<p>Then Consul General Lee’s call had -come for Americans to leave Cuba. Mr. -Richardson had gone the day before. Hal -had lingered long enough to collect two -thousand dollars due his employer. This -accomplished, he had traveled hastily to -Havana, meaning to leave there on the -historic ninth of April. We have seen -how he had reached there too late.</p> - -<p>The money that Vasquez claimed as -his due was the balance of an exorbitant -bill. He had already been paid far more -than he was entitled to.</p> - -<p>But he had hoped to overtake and -intimidate the American boy.</p> - -<p>The carriage drew up before the hotel -door, which appeared deserted as, indeed, -it was, for with money and food both -scarce in Havana, the hotels stand but a -poor show of patronage.</p> - -<p>“Your three fares, peon,” said Hal, -dropping a few coins in the driver’s -hand.</p> - -<p>“Four pesetas more,” insisted the -driver.</p> - -<p>Hal paid it, without protest, and disappeared -inside. He was quickly shown to -a room, and requested that his trunk be -sent up.</p> - -<p>“Although I ordered that sent here -from the interior,” he smiled, as he bent -over the box, “I expected to leave it behind.”</p> - -<p>Unlocking the lid, he examined the -articles in the trunk for some moments, -until a warning “Ss-sst!” reached his -ear.</p> - -<p>Rising quickly, Hal saw from whence -the signal had come.</p> - -<p>In the aperture made by an open skylight -overhead appeared the head of a -dark-skinned young man.</p> - -<p>His bright, restless eyes took in everything -in the room, our hero included.</p> - -<p>“You are an American?” he asked, as -Hal stepped under the skylight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[7]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Then I am your friend. But have -you an enemy?”</p> - -<p>“I—I fear I have.”</p> - -<p>“Look out of the window toward the -harbor. Then come back.”</p> - -<p>Hal quickly obeyed, returning with a -perturbed face.</p> - -<p>“You saw Senor Vasquez approaching, -with two officers and a squad of soldiers?”</p> - -<p>“Just that!” affirmed Hal.</p> - -<p>“The officers have a pretense, but -Vasquez will really seek your money. If -you have it not with you, or know a safe -hiding place, you will fool him, but if the -money is in your possession, it will surely -be taken from you.”</p> - -<p>Hal hesitated, regarding the speaker -with a look full of penetration.</p> - -<p>What he saw was the frank, pleasing -face of a youth of eighteen. Somehow, -Hal’s heart went out to the stranger.</p> - -<p>“If,” said the other, “you have the -money, and wish to save it, you can trust -it with me, senor.”</p> - -<p>“What could you do with it?” projected -Hal.</p> - -<p>“Drop it into one of my pockets,” -added the other, adding with a laugh:</p> - -<p>“No one would search such a thin, -ragged Cuban as I for the possession of -so much money. But think quickly, -senor, for Vasquez will be here in another -moment. Juan Ramirez is my name.”</p> - -<p>“A Cuban?” asked Hal.</p> - -<p>“See!” And Juan drew from a pocket -what could easily become his death-warrant—a -small Cuban flag.</p> - -<p>This he kissed with a simple, unaffected -air of devotion.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, I’ll trust you,” murmured -Hal. “I’ve yet to meet a Cuban thief!”</p> - -<p>R-rip! In a second he began to unbutton -his clothing, bringing out to view -from under his shirt a long, thin bag.</p> - -<p>“This contains two thousand dollars,” -he whispered.</p> - -<p>“And if anything happens to you, to -whom does the money belong?”</p> - -<p>“Henry Richardson, at Key West.”</p> - -<p>“He shall have it,” promised the -Cuban. “Hush! There are steps on the -stairs.”</p> - -<p>Like a flash, Ramirez vanished.</p> - -<p>“Have I been duped?” wondered Hal, -with a quick thrill of apprehension.</p> - -<p>Ramirez had looked like a fellow to be -trusted. Yet, if Hal had kept the money -about him, it would soon pass into the -hands of Vasquez, who would be able to -persuade the Spanish judges that his -claim was just.</p> - -<p>“If Ramirez has stolen it,” quivered -Hal, “all I can say is that I’d sooner see -him get it than Vasquez.”</p> - -<p>Tramp! tramp! tramp! Reaching the -head of the stairs, the soldiers were now -marching straight for his door.</p> - -<p>Whack! thump! The door was thrown -unceremoniously open, and the uniforms -of Spain filled the room.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“SPANISH EVIDENCE.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“This is the young man?”</p> - -<p>One of the two officers who appeared at -the head of a file of a dozen soldiers -turned and put the question to Senor -Vasquez.</p> - -<p>That consummate liar responded by a -nod of the head.</p> - -<p>Though Hal Maynard had not studied -his attitude, he stood at that moment a -typical young American.</p> - -<p>With feet rather spread, his hands -thrust into his trousers pockets, shoulders -manfully back and head inclining slightly -forward, he ignored Vasquez, but regarded -the officers with a rather indolent -look in which there was just a trace of -curiosity.</p> - -<p>“A visitation, I presume?” he said, -addressing one of the officers in Spanish.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[8]</span></p> - -<p>But the latter, barely looking at him, -turned to the other officer to command:</p> - -<p>“Search the trunk.”</p> - -<p>“It is locked,” said Hal, stepping -slowly forward. “Permit me to offer you -the key.”</p> - -<p>The officer who received it merely -grunted, and immediately knelt before -the trunk.</p> - -<p>Hal stood by looking on, until one of -the soldiers, after scowling at him an instant, -darted forward and gave the boy a -push.</p> - -<p>“If I am in your way,” retorted Maynard, -recovering his equilibrium, “won’t -you be kind enough to say so?”</p> - -<p>“Silence!” ordered the commanding -officer.</p> - -<p>Hal responded by a polite nod.</p> - -<p>“These officers don’t belong to the -mob, and they should be gentlemen,” he -murmured. “If they’re not, it’s not for -me to set them the example.”</p> - -<p>Flop! went a lot of Hal’s clothing, -strewed promiscuously over the floor.</p> - -<p>Slap! followed his linen.</p> - -<p>Smash! went a small hand mirror, -flung across the room so that it struck -the wall and landed on the floor in atoms.</p> - -<p>“May I ask a question, sir?” queried -Hal, turning to the officer in charge.</p> - -<p>“Silence!”</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” went on Hal, -imperturbably. “All I wanted to ask was -whether my property is to be ruthlessly -destroyed before a charge has been even -made against me?”</p> - -<p>“Silence!”</p> - -<p>“If I had committed any breach of -decorum in asking,” pursued Hal, calmly, -“please consider that I didn’t ask.”</p> - -<p>“Silence!”</p> - -<p>Thump! The butt of a soldier’s -musket landed forcibly in Hal’s stomach.</p> - -<p>“Ouch!” grunted the boy.</p> - -<p>“Silence!”</p> - -<p>“Not even allowed to express natural -emotion,” murmured our hero. He -couldn’t have talked much in his breathless -condition, just then, even if he -wanted to.</p> - -<p>He saw the soldier’s musket-butt aimed -at him, and dodged as nimbly as he -could.</p> - -<p>Click!</p> - -<p>Another soldier cocked his weapon, -aiming fully at the American’s head.</p> - -<p>At this the commanding officer smiled. -Some of the soldiers laughed softly. They -wanted to see the Yankee flinch, and -were sure that he would—for had not -their Havana newspapers told them that -all the Yankees were cowards?</p> - -<p>But Hal, who felt reasonably sure that -nothing short of violence on his part -would result in his death just then, did -not feel inwardly alarmed.</p> - -<p>Instead, he slowly folded his arms, -closed one eye, and with the other squinted -down the steel barrel that stared him -in the face.</p> - -<p>“Bah!” muttered he who had aimed, -now raising the muzzle of his piece. -“The Yankee pig doesn’t even know what -a gun is.”</p> - -<p>“Silence!” came sharply from the -commanding officer.</p> - -<p>“Well,” murmured Hal, under his -voice, “I am gratified to learn that somebody -else besides myself has to hold his -tongue. I wouldn’t like to do all the -shutting-up!”</p> - -<p>It was all a picnic, so he fancied, since -he was not only sure that the officers -would find nothing compromising, but -also sure that, whoever got the money, -Senor Vasquez would not.</p> - -<p>But the Spaniard, who had been narrowly -watching the boy, now interposed:</p> - -<p>“Captain, may a civilian subject suggest -that the accused has not yet been -searched?”</p> - -<p>“Senor,” replied the captain, bowing -slightly, “your loyal suggestion shall be -at once acted upon. I myself will make -the search.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[9]</span></p> - -<p>Thereupon the captain waved the -soldiers away, most of them withdrawing -to the corridor and doorway.</p> - -<p>“Stand beside the accused,” ordered -the captain, nodding at two of his men, -who accordingly ranged themselves on -either side of the American.</p> - -<p>“Senor,” said the captain, coldly, -“you will understand that what I am -about to do is a duty imposed upon me.”</p> - -<p>There was a trace of civility about this, -which caused Hal to reply politely:</p> - -<p>“If it is your duty, captain, I would -be the last one to urge you from it. But -I can tell you what I have about me. I -have a pocket knife and a sum of money.”</p> - -<p>“Money?” uttered Vasquez, becoming -alert at once. “It is mine—mine by -right!”</p> - -<p>“You are mistaken,” replied Hal, -coldly; “but if you need it you may -have it. I have only three pesetas.”</p> - -<p>“Three pesetas?” faltered the Spanish -merchant. He looked as angry as a man -who is being robbed, for three pesetas is -but about sixty cents.</p> - -<p>“You may have it,” rejoined Hal, -with mock generosity, “if the officer permits -me to present it to you.”</p> - -<p>Then he threw his hands up while the -captain went through his pockets.</p> - -<p>That officer looked a trifle ashamed of -his task, for an army officer is a gentleman, -at least by education.</p> - -<p>But Hal’s pockets, under the most rigid -search, showed no more than he had -mentioned.</p> - -<p>“Off with your clothes, senor,” came -the next command.</p> - -<p>Hal looked and felt a trifle surprised, -but saw that the order was a serious one.</p> - -<p>“Shall I er—er—withdraw to the closet -before disrobing?” he suggested.</p> - -<p>“Naturally not,” was the dry answer.</p> - -<p>There was no help for it. Hal had to -obey, which he did with the poorest grace -in the world.</p> - -<p>But he passed through this ordeal like -the others without mishap, and was curtly -informed that he could put on his clothing -again.</p> - -<p>This Hal did, next standing at ease -between the two soldiers.</p> - -<p>“Do you find anything?” asked the -captain, turning to his subordinate.</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” replied the lieutenant.</p> - -<p>“A mare’s nest, eh?” smiled the captain, -grimly.</p> - -<p>Hal duplicated the smile, but in a more -genial manner, then turned to look at -Vasquez.</p> - -<p>But that Spaniard suddenly darted over -to the trunk, knelt beside the lieutenant, -and began to help rummage among the -few remaining articles there.</p> - -<p>“Ha! Here is something,” announced -Vasquez, holding up a slip of paper.</p> - -<p>Hal looked on, wide-eyed, for he knew -well that no such paper had been among -his possessions when he packed them.</p> - -<p>Then he gave a gasp, for he realized -the Spaniard’s game at last. That scoundrel, -by some clever legerdemain, had -slipped a paper among Maynard’s effects.</p> - -<p>“Ho!” grunted the Spaniard, running -his eyes over the page. “This is a -note, apparently, from one of the comrades -of that bandit chief, Gomez.”</p> - -<p>He finished reading, while the captain -stood looking calmly on.</p> - -<p>“An American plotter!” screamed -Vasquez. “This is proof conclusive -enough to merit for him a dozen deaths -if that were possible!”</p> - -<p>He held the page in one hand, pointing -a denouncing finger at our startled -hero.</p> - -<p>“Let me see it,” commanded the captain. -“A letter relating to a filibustering -expedition, eh? This is, indeed, evidence. -So!” turning to Maynard. “You are -one of the Yankees who help his majesty’s -subjects to rebel.”</p> - -<p>“Upon my honor,” protested Hal, “I -know nothing about that letter.”</p> - -<p>“Your honor?” cried the captain.<span class="pagenum">[10]</span> -“Bah, you Yankee pig! Lieutenant, -bring him along under guard. To the -Prefatura.”</p> - -<p>To the Prefatura! To Havana’s police -headquarters? Over the door of that -grim building might well be written, -“All hope abandon, ye who enter here!”</p> - -<p>It was at the door of this building that -all trace had been lost of countless Cuban -insurgents, the members of their families, -and of others who had in any way been -suspected of sympathy with the cause of -the rebels.</p> - -<p>From here, in the late hours of night, -countless doomed ones had been led away, -ostensibly to imprisonment in Morro -Castle or Cabanas Fortress—with this -horrible peculiarity, that they had never -reached their destinations or been heard -from again!</p> - -<p>To the Prefatura! For an instant, contemplating -the letter which the captain -now held in his hand, Hal felt his heart -sinking utterly.</p> - -<p>“I was sure I could not be mistaken,” -murmured Senor Vasquez, softly.</p> - -<p>That voice aroused the American as the -bite of a snake would have done.</p> - -<p>“Senor Vasquez,” he cried, throwing -his head back proudly, “we have not -seen the end of this matter!”</p> - -<p>Then, bowing to the captain, Hal -stepped between the two files of soldiers -as they formed.</p> - -<p>Down the stairs they started. Vasquez -brought up the rear, gnashing his teeth.</p> - -<p>He had found no trace of the money.</p> - -<p>But perhaps he yet hoped to!</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">AT THE PREFATURA.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Hal marched through the main entrance -to the Prefatura.</p> - -<p>His bearing was as proud as ever.</p> - -<p>He could not have shown more fortitude -had he felt that the whole honor of -Old Glory was resting on his youthful -shoulders.</p> - -<p>He had marched for more than two -miles through the streets, his military -escort taking a roundabout course, as if -they enjoyed displaying this dangerous -captive to the excited populace.</p> - -<p>He had been jeered at, jibed at, made -the butt of hundreds of coarse jokes.</p> - -<p>At last he had reached the Prefatura. -Senor Vasquez still brought up the rear. -He carried himself with the air of one -who wishes it understood that he has -done his duty by his country.</p> - -<p>In the corridor of the Prefatura Hal’s -escort halted until it could be learned before -which official the prisoner was to be -taken.</p> - -<p>In the same corridor were other prisoners, -each under guard.</p> - -<p>There was only this difference: Hal -Maynard was erect, rosy, healthy-looking. -The other poor wretches, most of whom -were women, were plainly Cubans.</p> - -<p>Their invariably starved appearance -showed them to be reconcentrados—people -from the interior who had been driven -in by General Weyler’s infamous order, -and then left to starve.</p> - -<p>There was little, if any, acute terror in -their fates. They had suffered so much, -had witnessed so many atrocities, that -they were indifferent to what was yet to -come.</p> - -<p>Paris, during the Reign of Terror, was -not such a city of horrors as Havana has -lately been!</p> - -<p>Captain Tamiva, Hal’s chief captor, -still bearing the letter “found” in the -boy’s trunk, disappeared into one of the -numerous offices opening upon the corridor.</p> - -<p>He soon came back, ordering the -soldiers to take their prisoner in.</p> - -<p>Hal found himself arraigned before a -stern-looking, elderly Spaniard. Before -the latter, on his desk, lay the accusing -letter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[11]</span></p> - -<p>He looked up quickly, this official, -shot a penetrating look into the boy’s -face, and snarled out:</p> - -<p>“So you are another of the Yankee -pigs who root with our Cuban sucklings!”</p> - -<p>“I am an American citizen, certainly,” -replied Hal.</p> - -<p>“And a sympathizer, as I said.”</p> - -<p>“I have never held communication -with the insurgents.”</p> - -<p>“But this letter?”</p> - -<p>“I know nothing about it.”</p> - -<p>“It was found in your trunk.”</p> - -<p>“Though never placed there by me.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! Of what avail is lying? Do -you think you are talking to some of -your own stupid Yankees? Confess!”</p> - -<p>“How can I,” retorted Hal, “when -there is nothing to confess?”</p> - -<p>The official scowled, snorting impatiently:</p> - -<p>“Time is valuable. We have too many -cases like yours to attend to. The island -is full of treason. Instantly tell me all -you know about this letter, and the plans -at which it hints, or take the consequences.”</p> - -<p>“There is nothing that I can tell you,” -rejoined Hal, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Then take the consequences!”</p> - -<p>“I shall have to, since I can’t run away -from them.”</p> - -<p>“Very well. Then this is the disposition -of your case: At ten to-night you -shall be rowed across the harbor to Morro -Castle. Once in a dungeon there you will -be out of my jurisdiction, and thenceforth -under the eye of General Blanco.”</p> - -<p>All the while Senor Vasquez had stood -by looking silently on with his eager, -burning eyes.</p> - -<p>“One moment,” he now interposed. -“May I have a word with the prisoner.”</p> - -<p>“To one of such known loyalty as -Senor Vasquez,” replied the police official, -politely, “no favor can be refused.”</p> - -<p>Vasquez led our hero to the other end -of the room.</p> - -<p>“You are to go to Morro Castle,” -whispered the Spaniard, warningly. “Do -you know what that means?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” retorted Hal. “Solitary confinement -until——”</p> - -<p>“Until——” followed Vasquez, eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Until American sailors and soldiers -purify that loathsome place by planting -the American flag over it.”</p> - -<p>“Fool!” hissed Vasquez. “Do you -imagine you will ever reach Morro?”</p> - -<p>“I know only what that official said.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, let me tell you,” snarled -the Spaniard, “that you will only embark -in a boat that will start across the harbor. -By and by that boat will return without -you, but you will never have reached -Morro! You will never be heard from -again!”</p> - -<p>“And it is for this you have plotted?” -cried Hal, paling, but otherwise keeping -his composure.</p> - -<p>“If I have plotted,” murmured Vasquez, -rapidly, “it was for my own good. -You would not expect me to serve another -than myself, would you?”</p> - -<p>“No!” came the answer, with withering -sarcasm.</p> - -<p>“Now, my young friend,” went on -the plotter, dropping into a cooing voice, -“if I am a dangerous enemy, let us forget -that. I am also a good friend. Your employer -owed me the money which you -collected. Put me in the way of finding -that, and I have influence enough here to -secure your freedom.”</p> - -<p>“Now, listen to me,” retorted Hal, -spiritedly. “Whether my employer owes -you the money or not is nothing for me -to decide. But I will tell you this honestly: -I don’t know where the money is, at -this moment. If I wanted to play into -your hands, I simply couldn’t.”</p> - -<p>“You are lying!” gnashed Vasquez, -but a searching look into the boy’s face -soon convinced that shrewd judge of<span class="pagenum">[12]</span> -human nature that Maynard spoke the -truth.</p> - -<p>“I am not going to waste more time -on you,” went on the Spaniard, passionately. -“If you send for me before it is too -late, I will come. As you value even a -few more days of life, don’t tempt fate -by taking the trip across the harbor to-night!”</p> - -<p>Murmuring these words in the boy’s -ears, the scoundrel turned to dart way.</p> - -<p>As he did so, another man moved forward, -saying quietly:</p> - -<p>“I will speak with the prisoner now.”</p> - -<p>Hal did not know the speaker until -Vasquez stammered:</p> - -<p>“The British consul general!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied the visitor, Mr. Gollan, -“I was informed that a British subject -named Maynard had been arrested. I -hurried here only to learn that Maynard -is an American citizen. Is that the -case?”</p> - -<p>“It is, sir,” affirmed Hal.</p> - -<p>“Still,” smiled Mr. Gollan, “perhaps -I can do something. At the request of -my government, Consul General Lee -turned over to me this afternoon the -papers and duties of his office. Mr. Maynard, -can you suggest any service that I -can do you?”</p> - -<p>“Now, I should say so!” vented overjoyed -Hal. “I have been arrested on false -charges and a trumped-up paper. Can -you not demand to see that document?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied Mr. Gollan. -“Come with me.”</p> - -<p>Together they stepped before the official -who had just condemned Hal to -Morro Castle.</p> - -<p>“Do you mind my looking at the letter -on which this young man’s arrest was -ordered?” asked Mr. Gollan.</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” answered the official, -at the same time raising the paper from -his desk and handing it over.</p> - -<p>“Thank you.”</p> - -<p>As Gollan ran his eyes over the paper, -Hal stood looking on at the spectacle -that meant the turning point for his life -or death.</p> - -<p>Suddenly our hero started, uttered an -exclamation of astonishment, and snatched -the paper from Mr. Gollan’s hands.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon, sir,” came impetuously -from the boy, “but do you see this -other side of the sheet? It is one of Vasquez’s -own business letter heads! He has -blundered by not looking at the other -side of the sheet on which he wrote! It -bears out my charge that he trumped up -this letter, for, bear in mind, sir, it was -he who pretended to find it in my -trunk!”</p> - -<p>“Car-r-r-r-ramba!” exploded Vasquez, -first turning white, next purpling with -wrath.</p> - -<p>Back went the paper into the police -official’s hands.</p> - -<p>Senor Vasquez tried to explain; the -police official asked a half a dozen questions -in a breath, while Captain Tamiva -had much to say.</p> - -<p>But over all the hubbub arose Consul -Gollan’s voice:</p> - -<p>“As representative both of the interests -of Great Britain and the United States, I -ask for the instant release of this prisoner.”</p> - -<p>Too disconcerted to speak, the police -official could only nod his consent.</p> - -<p>Hal felt an arm thrust through his. In -a maze he was led down the corridor and -into the square.</p> - -<p>Then a hearty voice said:</p> - -<p>“My young friend, I am very glad to -have served you. I would advise you to -leave Cuba at once.”</p> - -<p>“I intend to,” responded Hal. “I saw -an English brig loading at one of the -wharves. I think I will try to get passage -on her.”</p> - -<p>“The Emeline Atwood—a good vessel,” -replied Mr. Gollan. “She is bound, -too, for Norfolk.”</p> - -<p>Then, after much hand-shaking and<span class="pagenum">[13]</span> -many protestations of thanks from Hal, -he turned down one of the side streets to -the water front.</p> - -<p>The narrow thoroughfares appeared deserted. -He walked quickly.</p> - -<p>“Now, that was stupid of me,” muttered -the boy, after going a quarter of a -mile. “Why didn’t I think to ask who it -was that took word to Mr. Gollan? Could -it have been Ramirez?”</p> - -<p>“Senor! senor!” whispered a voice -through the shutters of a window. -“Walk faster, and remember that you -are being followed!”</p> - -<p>Like a shot Hal halted, trying to catch -sight of his informant.</p> - -<p>“No, don’t stop! Don’t look this way, -or you’ll betray me,” came the whisper. -“But hurry! The deadliest danger hovers -over you in the next five minutes!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="nobreak sectionheader" id="CHAPTER_V">Second Part.</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“A SPANIARD OF HONOR!”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“Thanks!”</p> - -<p>The acknowledgment, softly uttered as -the warning, floated back over Hal Maynard’s -shoulder as he struck out on the -double-quick for the water front.</p> - -<p>Once he turned. Over his shoulder he -saw three indistinct figures following him -down the street.</p> - -<p>Fast as he was traveling, the pursuers -increased their speed until they seemed -likely to overtake him.</p> - -<p>“Is this more of Vasquez’s deadly -work?” groaned Hal. “Will he never -stop until he has destroyed me?”</p> - -<p>Cold perspiration oozed out on the -boy’s forehead.</p> - -<p>He broke into a swift run.</p> - -<p>At this gait, he calculated that less -than three minutes would bring him to -the English brig’s wharf.</p> - -<p>As he ran, he took a flying look over -his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Hardly more than two hundred feet to -the rear were the pursuers, their sandaled -feet moving without noise.</p> - -<p>“I can beat them,” thrilled Hal, putting -on an even better spurt of speed.</p> - -<p>Just ahead was the water-front street.</p> - -<p>Here, a swift turn to the right, and a -speedy dash would carry him to the -wharf he sought.</p> - -<p>Trip! Hal’s feet became entangled in -something stretched across the sidewalk.</p> - -<p>He plunged, then fell to the sidewalk, -measuring his full length there.</p> - -<p>More quickly than he could rise, a figure -darted out of the doorway.</p> - -<p>Across the boy’s body a man hurled -himself.</p> - -<p>“You’ll fight for it—sure!” vented -Hal, gripping the stranger by the throat.</p> - -<p>They grappled, struggled, breath coming -quick and short.</p> - -<p>Hal fought like a tiger. He quickly -placed himself on top of his assailant, but -could not wrench himself loose.</p> - -<p>Pit-patter-pat! Soft sandals struck the -sidewalk as the three shadows rushed -upon the scene.</p> - -<p>Not pausing an instant, they hurled -themselves into the melee.</p> - -<p>Many hands grappled the boy at once.</p> - -<p>Maynard fought with renewed fury, -but what could he do against so many?</p> - -<p>One seized him by either arm and -shoulder, another grasped his kicking -feet.</p> - -<p>“Help! help! help! Thieves!” roared -the victim, but his captor-carriers did not -even attempt to stifle his cries—the surest -way of proving that they had no reason -to fear interference.</p> - -<p>Hal’s first assailant now darted back -into the doorway, unlocking a door, -and making way for the squad to enter.</p> - -<p>Still kicking and squirming, Hal Maynard -was carried through the house and -out into a courtyard at the rear.</p> - -<p>Here he renewed his shouts, with no -other effect than to make his captors -smile maliciously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[14]</span></p> - -<p>At the rear of the yard a gate was unlocked.</p> - -<p>Hal Maynard involuntarily crossed a -second yard, after which those who carried -him entered another house.</p> - -<p>Here he was carried into one of the -rooms, and unceremoniously dumped -upon the floor.</p> - -<p>“You stay there,” muttered he who -appeared to be the spokesman, “unless -you are foolish enough to try to escape.”</p> - -<p>“What would be the use?” grated Hal, -inwardly. “They wouldn’t be so sure of -me if there was a dog’s chance to crawl -out.”</p> - -<p>The spokesman went out, but the other -three remained.</p> - -<p>Ting-a-ling-ling-ling! tinkled a bell in -another room.</p> - -<p>“A telephone,” conjectured Hal. -“Will Senor Enrique Vasquez be at the -other end of the wire?”</p> - -<p>Though he listened intently, he could -not hear the words spoken into the -receiver.</p> - -<p>Presently the fourth man came back.</p> - -<p>As Hal had not made any effort to get -up, his jailers now squatted upon the -floor, lighting paper cigarettes and puffing -incessantly.</p> - -<p>Minute after minute dragged by.</p> - -<p>Hal did not address a word to his captors. -Neither did he shout for help, for -he felt sure that he would not have been -left ungagged had they feared that his -voice would reach friendly ears.</p> - -<p>Nor did his captors speak, beyond an -occasional word addressed to one another.</p> - -<p>“Whatever is to be done, they are -merely the agents of some one else,” -cogitated Hal, his mind as busy as his -tongue was idle. “Vasquez bragged about -his agents. Are these some of them? If -so, they <a id="Ref_14" href="#BRef_14">are</a> not a lot to boast about!”</p> - -<p>His reflections were cut short by the -sound of the wheels of an arriving carriage.</p> - -<p>Then steps sounded in a hallway, next -at the door.</p> - -<p>The door opened, to give entrance to -Senor Vasquez, as Hal had expected.</p> - -<p>As the Spaniard’s burning gaze fell -upon the boy, his face darkened, though -his lips smiled.</p> - -<p>“Good-evening, Senor Maynard,” was -his greeting. “Did you think that you -had seen the last of me?”</p> - -<p>“Hardly,” gritted Hal. “I have always -heard that the devil is more busy -than successful.”</p> - -<p>“Take a seat, senor,” urged Vasquez, -pushing forward one of the few chairs in -the room. “As to you, my good fellows,” -turning to the four thugs who had vanquished -Hal, “you may step just outside -the door.”</p> - -<p>As almost anything was more comfortable -than the floor, Hal availed himself -of the chair.</p> - -<p>Next he turned a look of cool scrutiny -upon the Spaniard.</p> - -<p>Yet, if Hal looked cool, his appearance -was far from expressing his feelings.</p> - -<p>He fully realized that never before had -he been in such a critical situation.</p> - -<p>In fact, with such a foe as Vasquez, -who, under the circumstances could not be -placated, there was little hope that the -American could escape with his life.</p> - -<p>Senor Vasquez drew out a cigar, lighted -it, and puffed slowly for some time before -he began to speak.</p> - -<p>Yet, while thinking, his brow grew -blacker.</p> - -<p>“Senor Maynard,” he finally blurted -out, “are you not ashamed to be an -American?”</p> - -<p>Hal turned eyes that were wide open -with surprise upon the man pacing the -floor before him.</p> - -<p>“Ashamed of being an American?” -he repeated. “Senor Vasquez, are you -training for a humorist? How can any -American live without finding life one<span class="pagenum">[15]</span> -long thrill of pride that he is part and -parcel of the Stars and Stripes?”</p> - -<p>“Bah!” retorted Vasquez, impatiently. -“Shall I tell you what your greatest fault -is?”</p> - -<p>“If you care to.”</p> - -<p>“You Americans are not honest,” went -on the Spaniard. “You lie, cheat and -steal, always pouring the pesetas or dollars -into your pockets, and laughing at -the more simple more honest people of -other nations from whom you derive your -dishonest profits. Nowhere do you find -easier victims than the old-fashioned, -simple, trusting, generous, honest Spaniards.”</p> - -<p>“Of whom I suppose you are one?”</p> - -<p>“Of whom,” repeated Vasquez, sadly, -“I am one.”</p> - -<p>Hal could not keep back the burst of -laughter that sprang to his lips.</p> - -<p>“Why do you laugh?” demanded Vasquez, -angrily. “Because you have duped -me so easily?”</p> - -<p>“Because you have duped yourself so -easily,” retorted Hal, with spirit. “You -vaunt your honesty, you who have never -earned an honest dollar in your whole -career. You, a simple, trusting man, -when you cannot look back upon a single -month in twenty years when you -have not used the fear of fire or the assassin’s -knife to inforce the payment of -exorbitant claims against Americans who -were new to the island! When you look -into your own heart, Vasquez, can you -blame me for laughing at your pretenses?”</p> - -<p>But Hal did not laugh now. His voice -rang with a scorn and contempt that -were too deep for merriment.</p> - -<p>“Your employer owed me money,” -went on Vasquez, plaintively.</p> - -<p>“He has paid you far more than he -ever owed you. That I know from the -dealings I have had between you. As near -as I could place it, you have robbed him, -in three years, of at least twenty thousand -dollars more than you were entitled -to. Yet you prate about honesty!”</p> - -<p>“He owes me two thousand dollars,” -insisted the Spaniard, doggedly. “Senor -Richardson escaped from Cuba yesterday, -and left me sighing in vain for my -money. I find that you have collected, -within the last twenty-four hours, money -of his enough to pay me. Yet you refuse -to turn it over to me.”</p> - -<p>“Of course I refused,” voiced Hal. “I -should have been false to my trust if I -had paid over my employer’s money without -authority from him.”</p> - -<p>“And that is why I call you dishonest,” -cried Vasquez. “You have conspired, -you two, to defraud me of my -money.”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t conspire to have me sent to -Morro Castle, did you?” sneered Maynard.</p> - -<p>“Now,” resume the Spaniard, ignoring -all the inconvenient points in Hal’s -reply, “I have stated fully my grievance -against you. Do not think, you Yankee -pig, that you can hope to dupe me any -longer. You are now dealing with a -Spaniard of honor!”</p> - -<p>Vasquez drew himself erect and puffed -his chest out as if he believed his vainglorious -boast.</p> - -<p>Halting suddenly before the boy, he -glared at Hal with burning eyes, and -demanded, with a pause after each word:</p> - -<p>“Where—is—that—money?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Yet you had it.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly?”</p> - -<p>“Then what did you do with it?”</p> - -<p>“I shall never tell you,” retorted Hal, -with spirit.</p> - -<p>Now Vasquez’s passion escaped all -bounds.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you Yankees! Oh, you thieves!” -he declared, violently, pacing the room -like a caged hyena. “You hope to dupe -us, even when you are in our power.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[16]</span></p> - -<p>Then his voice became sarcastic, as he -went on:</p> - -<p>“Senor, do you know how we Spaniards -love you Yankees? Do you realize -what happiness it would give us to caress -you? To caress each and every one of -your people—to caress them so?”</p> - -<p>Pausing in his agitated walk, Vasquez -drew a knife, making a significant gesture -of cutting a throat.</p> - -<p>“That is the way we would like to -treat all you Yankees,” went on the -Spaniard. “No! I mistake. That would -be much too quick a punishment. We -must be more ingenious in our punishment -of the impudent Yankees—even as -I propose to deal with you now.”</p> - -<p>Under that fierce, malicious gaze, Hal -Maynard felt himself growing “creepy.”</p> - -<p>It did not afford him much satisfaction, -even, to see Vasquez put away his -knife, for the Spaniard’s word and manner -left little doubt that the knife would -be put aside only in favor of a more fearful -method of revenge.</p> - -<p>“Senor, I ask you, for the last time, -what did you do with the money?”</p> - -<p>“And I refuse to tell you a word.”</p> - -<p>“Did you understand that I was asking -for the last time?”</p> - -<p>“Yes!”</p> - -<p>Hal fairly hurled the short, defiant -retort.</p> - -<p>As Senor Vasquez realized that it was -too late for parley, he raised his voice, -shouting:</p> - -<p>“Pedro! Jose!”</p> - -<p>Instantly the door opened. Vasquez’s -four agents filed into the room.</p> - -<p>“Bind the pig! Gag him!” directed -the Spaniard, tremulously.</p> - -<p>These orders were swiftly carried out, -for, though Hal Maynard struggled manfully, -he was like clay in the hands of so -many desperate fellows. Weights were -tied to his feet.</p> - -<p>“He is ready,” voiced Vasquez, glaring -at last at his helpless foe. “Pedro, -open the shutters over there.”</p> - -<p>Out he was thrust, face down, his -startled eyes gazing down at the muddy -water of Havana harbor but a few feet -below him.</p> - -<p>“Ready, my good fellows?” quivered -Vasquez.</p> - -<p>“Ready, senor!”</p> - -<p>“Then drop him!”</p> - -<p>Through the darkness of the night -shot a human form.</p> - -<p>Plash!</p> - -<p>Hal Maynard’s bound and weighted -form sank below the foul waters.</p> - -<p>He had gone to share, in a different -way, the fate of the Maine heroes!</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">CUBA’S NEW RECRUIT.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Rub! rub! rub!</p> - -<p>Chafe! chafe! chafe!</p> - -<p>Under the shed over a wharf one -human figure bent over another.</p> - -<p>Rub! rub! rub!</p> - -<p>With the quiet but energetic heroism -of common humanity, the rescuer strove -to bring back the spark of life to a young -man only just snatched from the engulfing -waters.</p> - -<p>“It is odd, strange!” muttered the rubber, -pausing for an instant to look at the -lifeless figure. “Can it be possible that I -was too late—or that I am too clumsy?”</p> - -<p>He bent anxiously over the still figure.</p> - -<p>“It would be a great thing to fool -Senor Vasquez,” murmured the Cuban, -for such he was. “Moreover, I would like -greatly to save this American, who -trusted me even as I trusted him.”</p> - -<p>For some minutes more he continued to -chafe the wrists and body of Hal Maynard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[17]</span></p> - -<p>“A sip or two of brandy might save -him—but how shall one get brandy, -which costs twenty-five pesetas a bottle? -Perhaps——”</p> - -<p>But Juan Ramirez suddenly and resolutely -checked the thought that perhaps -he might be justified in using some of -the money intrusted to him by our hero.</p> - -<p>“He said that belonged to another. -Therefore he would not thank me to use -some of it to save his life.”</p> - -<p>Such was the simple creed of honor of -this Cuban.</p> - -<p>He was soon rewarded, however, by a -flutter of the eyelids, a sigh from the unconscious -one.</p> - -<p>“Santa Maria! He still lives!” cried -the Cuban, now overjoyed, and working as -if his own life depended upon the result.</p> - -<p>A minute later Hal Maynard opened -his eyes.</p> - -<p>Juan bent so low over him that, despite -the darkness, our hero recognized his -rescuer.</p> - -<p>“Ramirez?” he murmured.</p> - -<p>“At your service, Senor Americano.”</p> - -<p>“But I was dropped into the harbor—weighted.”</p> - -<p>“And I, senor, was fortunate enough -to be near by.”</p> - -<p>Hal blinked stupidly, having by no -means recovered his wits as yet.</p> - -<p>“Rest easily, and breathe freely,” -counseled the Cuban. “Do not try to -move yet. Do not even try to think.”</p> - -<p>Hal obeyed, lying there for two or -three minutes before he tried again to -speak.</p> - -<p>“Where are we now?” he asked, -finally.</p> - -<p>“Senor, I would caution you not to -speak above a whisper. We are both in -danger, if some unfriendly prowler should -overhear us. Let me raise you—so. -Now, do you see the building over yonder -that rests upon the water’s edge?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“It was from one of those windows -that you were dropped.”</p> - -<p>“And you——”</p> - -<p>“I was prowling near, senor. No -sooner did the scoundrels hear the splash -than they closed the window. It was then -that I dove into the harbor, swam to you, -and found you some ten feet below the -surface. It was a simple matter to cut the -ropes that bound the weights to you. -Then I brought you here. That is all, -senor.”</p> - -<p>“All?” echoed Hal, now sitting up. -“It seems to me, my friend, that you -make a very modest statement of your -noble action.”</p> - -<p>“Senor, to-day you trusted me. In -return I could not do less.”</p> - -<p>“And it was you, I am sure, who went -to the British consulate——”</p> - -<p>“I was there, senor.”</p> - -<p>“And it was you who lodged the information -that resulted in my release at -the Prefatura.”</p> - -<p>“It was I, senor, as you have guessed,” -Ramirez quietly replied.</p> - -<p>“You have been my good angel to-day,” -cried Maynard, gratefully.</p> - -<p>“I could not do less, senor, after a -stranger had trusted me.”</p> - -<p>“And it was you who warned me to-night -that I was being followed.”</p> - -<p>“Wrong this time, senor. It was a -friend of mine.”</p> - -<p>“Yet he worked at your instigation?”</p> - -<p>“True.”</p> - -<p>“And, finally, you have saved me -from certain death.”</p> - -<p>“All of which, Senor Americano, gives -me occasion to rejoice,” answered the -Cuban, simply.</p> - -<p>Hal now managed to get upon his feet. -No sooner did he find himself facing the -Cuban than he warmly grasped the latter’s -hand.</p> - -<p>“I owe you my life and the safety of -my money,” cried Maynard, impulsively. -“Yet I never saw you before to-day. -Pardon me if such great friendliness bewilders -me.”</p> - -<p>“I have done only what any Cuban<span class="pagenum">[18]</span> -would do for an American,” was the -quiet reply. “I offer you one more service -before leaving you. You were -bound to some ship?”</p> - -<p>“The British brig, Emeline Atwood.”</p> - -<p>“I know her berth. I will lead you -there. Once on board, you should be safe. -Come; I will show you the way, senor.”</p> - -<p>“Wait just one instant,” implored -Hal. “Ramirez, such friendship as you -have shown to-day is seldom met with. -Pardon me if I seek to learn something -about you.”</p> - -<p>“There is little to tell,” responded the -Cuban. “I love this people and their -island, for I am one of them. I have -done, as perhaps you have guessed, all in -my power to serve Cuba. You see, senor, -I do not hesitate to trust you. You will -wonder why one of my sentiments is not -in the Cuban army. I will answer that -question before you ask it. It is forbidden -to a Cuban to join our patriot army unless -he can bring with him a gun and -some ammunition. When I can do that, I -shall leave Havana and take to the long -grass where the insurgents, if not as -thick as locusts, are fighting as bravely -as lions. Beyond that I can tell you little, -except that I have no living relatives. -All have died of starvation, and my greatest -dread is that I shall starve before I -am ready to strike out for the long -grass.”</p> - -<p>Simple and brief as Ramirez’s statement -was, it was the eloquent account of -a patriot who would die for his cause and -country, and who would die with equal -cheerfulness, either of starvation in -Havana, or under arms in the field.</p> - -<p>There were tears in Hal’s eyes as he -heard the simple story.</p> - -<p>But Ramirez cut short his reflections -by saying:</p> - -<p>“Senor, not all of our danger is behind -us. If you are going to the English ship, -let me advise you that we should start at -once.”</p> - -<p>“Just one more question before we -go,” interposed Hal. “You spoke of a -gun and ammunition. Can they be obtained -here in Havana?”</p> - -<p>“When one has the price, senor.”</p> - -<p>“And what is that price?”</p> - -<p>“Well, if I had twenty-five dollars I -could buy a rifle and a pocketful of cartridges. -But, why speculate? Twenty-five -dollars is not to be found.”</p> - -<p>“You are right,” responded Hal. -“Let us find the brig.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez guided him from the wharf -and led him down a dark street, halting -every few steps to make sure that they -were not being followed.</p> - -<p>Of a sudden, the Cuban, every instant -alert, dragged our hero into a doorway.</p> - -<p>“Here comes the patrol,” whispered -Juan.</p> - -<p>Hal listened, yet it was some moments -before he could hear the tramp of soldiers.</p> - -<p>“Your hearing is wonderful,” he -whispered.</p> - -<p>“It is said,” replied Ramirez, “that -starvation quickens all the senses.”</p> - -<p>“And you are starving?” uttered Hal, -feeling as if he were choking.</p> - -<p>“Far from it,” was the answer. “I -ate a quarter of a loaf of bread the day -before yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“And since——”</p> - -<p>“I have had several drinks of water, -but it was warm and therefore not palatable.”</p> - -<p>Terrible as this statement was, it was -made quietly, without the least trace of a -desire to parade misery.</p> - -<p>Tears glistened in Hal Maynard’s eyes. -He was about to speak when Ramirez cut -him short by whispering:</p> - -<p>“I find that this door behind us opens. -That is fortunate, for otherwise we -would perhaps be captured.”</p> - -<p>Silently both moved into the hallway. -Trying not even to breathe, they listened<span class="pagenum">[19]</span> -as a score of Spanish regulars or volunteers -marched by.</p> - -<p>Only a few yards further on they heard -the command halt. Then followed a dialogue -between an officer and a belated -pedestrian.</p> - -<p>It was soon evident that the latter -could not give a satisfactory account of -himself, for they heard the officer break -in sharply:</p> - -<p>“Enough! Step in between the files. -You shall tell the rest of your story at -the Prefatura.”</p> - -<p>Tramp, tramp! sounded the squad, -marching on again. Ramirez listened -until long after Hal had heard the last -footfall.</p> - -<p>Then the door was opened once more, -and the pair stole out to the sidewalk.</p> - -<p>“We are safe,” breathed Ramirez. -“Walk quickly for a minute, and you -will be aboard your ship.”</p> - -<p>A prediction that was realized, for, -without further mishap, they reached the -wharf and walked its length.</p> - -<p>“Who comes here?” growled a gruff -voice.</p> - -<p>Hal’s heart gave a jump at sound of -the old, dear, familiar English tongue.</p> - -<p>“We are friends. I am an American,” -he replied, stepping in advance. “I -wish to speak with the captain.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll find him on board, sir,” replied -the sailor, more respectfully.</p> - -<p>“I must leave you, senor,” whispered -Ramirez, adding, when he saw Hal’s -look of surprise: “The money that you -intrusted to me I left with friends. Do -not be uneasy. In twenty minutes you -should see me back.”</p> - -<p>Before Hal could grasp his hand to -wring it, Ramirez had glided off in the -shadows.</p> - -<p>“Of all the true hearts in the world,” -gasped Maynard, admiringly. “Will he -come back? I wish I were as sure of -heaven!”</p> - -<p>Without a doubt regarding Ramirez, -our hero turned and went aboard the -brig.</p> - -<p>Only three words of introduction were -needed to secure a warm grasp from Captain -Blodgett’s hand:</p> - -<p>“I’m an American.”</p> - -<p>“And left behind, eh?” demanded the -captain. “We sail at midnight; Norfolk; -there’s plenty of room aboard.”</p> - -<p>“May I speak confidentially with you, -sir?” asked Hal.</p> - -<p>“Of course.”</p> - -<p>They conversed in low tones by the -rail for ten minutes. After that they -turned, looking shoreward.</p> - -<p>At length, Ramirez appeared. No -sooner did he reach the wharf than he -struck into a trot that did not slacken -until the Cuban reached the Atwood’s -deck.</p> - -<p>“Your money, senor,” announced the -breathless messenger.</p> - -<p>Diving under his jacket, he produced -a bag.</p> - -<p>“To my belief it has not been opened. -Nevertheless, senor, you will do me a -great favor to count the money, and thus -acquit me of all suspicion.”</p> - -<p>“At your request only I do so,” answered -Hal. “Captain, may we use the -table in your cabin?”</p> - -<p>“In more ways than one,” was the -hearty answer. “Follow me below, gentlemen.”</p> - -<p>There, upon the table the bag was -opened, the money poured forth.</p> - -<p>Not much time was required in the -counting. Two thousand dollars was -restored to the bag. The balance, sixty -dollars, Hal stowed away in his own -pockets.</p> - -<p>“My own money,” he announced. -“Ramirez, how can I ever thank you for -all your honesty and goodness?”</p> - -<p>“Since your people have been our -friends for three years,” came the reply, -“it is enough for me to know that I have<span class="pagenum">[20]</span> -served an American. And now I must -take my leave of this vessel.”</p> - -<p>“I also,” replied Hal, rising.</p> - -<p>“You?” echoed Ramirez, amazed, -while Captain Blodgett looked gravely on.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” rejoined Hal; “I am -going with you.”</p> - -<p>“With me, senor? Where, may I -ask?”</p> - -<p>“To the long grass, if you will take -me.”</p> - -<p>“You? Santa Maria! Do you mean, -senor, that——”</p> - -<p>He paused, utterly bewildered, but Hal -Maynard finished, quickly:</p> - -<p>“Ramirez, I saw a man when I met -you. I am anxious to prove my own -manhood. I offer myself as a recruit to -fight Spain!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE TEMPTATION OF PEDRO.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Had a bombshell exploded near the -Cuban, he could not have been more -excited.</p> - -<p>“You a recruit?” he gasped.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” laughed Hal. “Am I not -healthy enough, or do you fear that I -would run at the first fire?”</p> - -<p>“Senor, you would be a valuable recruit, -but you are not a Cuban.”</p> - -<p>“Is that a disqualification?”</p> - -<p>“But this rebellion is not your affair, -senor. You belong to a free people, and -have no need to fight for Cuba.”</p> - -<p>“There are already many Americans -who take a different view. With Maximo -Gomez and Calixta Garcia there are -scores, if not hundreds, of American citizens. -I have not heard that they make -poor soldiers. Ramirez, I owe my life to -you. You are a Cuban. Therefore, I owe -my life to Cuba. I have no family ties; -no obligation except to my employer. -Captain Blodgett has undertaken to deliver -the money to him. There is nothing -to hold me back. You have remained -in Havana because you did not have the -twenty-five dollars with which to buy a -gun. I have enough to buy two. Will -you take me to the insurgents, or will -you go alone?”</p> - -<p>Ramirez still hesitated for a moment; -next he darted forward seizing Hal’s -hand.</p> - -<p>“Senor, if you are in earnest, I will -show you the way.”</p> - -<p>“It is settled, then,” was all Hal Maynard -said.</p> - -<p>“Oh, this is glorious!” cried Ramirez, -his eyes becoming misty. “At last I am -to be able to join the Cuban army. More -than that, I shall take a comrade with -me.”</p> - -<p>“Here is all the money I have in the -world,” added Hal, turning his funds -over to Juan. “Henceforth, it belongs to -Cuba.”</p> - -<p>“Let us lose not a moment’s time,” -urged Ramirez, his eyes dancing with -delight. “Senor, I am afraid to move, -for fear I shall wake up and find it all a -dream. I cannot delay for a second.”</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless,” broke in Captain -Blodgett, “I hope you will dally here for -a little while. Young men, you are starting -into an island where starvation reigns. -Let me offer you a square meal—the last, -perhaps, that you will get for weeks to -come.”</p> - -<p>“I do not need food,” declared Juan, -trying to puff out his thin cheeks. “Happiness -will sustain me.”</p> - -<p>“I’m hungry, and not ashamed to say -so,” interposed Hal, with a laugh. “If -Captain Blodgett will do something to -relieve that, I beg you, my dear fellow, -to wait here a few moments.”</p> - -<p>Juan reluctantly consented. A bustling -steward soon had the table spread with -hearty food.</p> - -<p>Hal ate a hearty meal. Ramirez fed -like one famished.</p> - -<p>“Bah!” uttered the Cuban, rising in -disgust at last. “I have made such a wolf<span class="pagenum">[21]</span> -of myself that I am not fit to walk. But -to you, captain, I offer a thousand thanks -for your hospitality, and a thousand -apologies for the spectacle I have made of -myself.”</p> - -<p>“I shall hold together until to-morrow,” -murmured Hal, rising with a satisfied -air. “Captain, my most earnest -thanks.”</p> - -<p>Now the bustling steward came back -with two parcels of food which he helped -the young men to stow away under their -jackets.</p> - -<p>Captain Blodgett, hearty, if somewhat -taciturn, followed them to the deck, -slipping into Hal’s hand a receipt for the -money, which he undertook to forward -to its destination.</p> - -<p>“The best of good luck, lads,” came -in an earnest whisper from the English -captain, as he offered each a hand at the -same time.</p> - -<p>They stepped ashore, Ramirez acting -as guide.</p> - -<p>Of all that followed, during the next -two hours, Hal had, at the end of that -time, only the vague recollection that -follows a dream.</p> - -<p>But they reached the southern outskirts -of Havana without mishap; they trudged -along a dusty country road, dodging behind -trees or into the brush whenever -Ramirez’s acute hearing warned them of -the presence or approach of military.</p> - -<p>“Do you see those lights ahead?” -queried Juan, at last.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Those lights come from the Inn of -the Red Cavalier. It is the inn where -Spanish officers dine when they return -from the interior well provided with -plunder taken from those who had yet -something left to lose. Judging by the -sounds, there are officers dining there -now.”</p> - -<p>“A good place to keep away from, -eh?” queried Hal.</p> - -<p>“By no means, senor. Keep close to -me, and I hope to show you that such -places as the inn are useful to the insurgents.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez left the road, plunging into -the depths of a grove.</p> - -<p>The nearer he came to the inn the -more slowly he moved.</p> - -<p>Frequent bursts of laughter were now -audible from the inn.</p> - -<p>“They are happy, the Spanish fiends,” -muttered Juan, grating his teeth. “Yet, -senor, they are feeding on the very blood -of Cuba!”</p> - -<p>Rattle of dishes and clink of glasses -came to the ears of the listeners. Outside -the inn were tethered some two score of -horses, while soldiers lolled about over -the ground, some eating bread, while -others puffed at cigarettes.</p> - -<p>“Twenty of our own brave Cuban fellows -could stop that gayety forever,” -growled Ramirez, savagely.</p> - -<p>“But there are at least forty of the -enemy,” observed Hal.</p> - -<p>“It is no matter. Twenty of our men -would do. But hush! There is the gleam -of a soldier’s musket—a sentinel. Senor, -do not make a sound that will betray -us.”</p> - -<p>Forward, a foot at a time, moved the -pair, while not even a blade of grass rustled -under their feet.</p> - -<p>So quietly did they move, in fact, that, -aided by the darkness and shadow of the -grove, they gained a spot within less than -thirty feet of the pacing sentinel.</p> - -<p>Halting, Ramirez looked long and anxiously -at this uniformed son of Spain.</p> - -<p>When the Cuban placed his mouth -close against our hero’s ear, it was to -whisper:</p> - -<p>“Senor, that soldier is one whom I -know, for I have long had my eyes upon -him. If all goes well, we shall soon have -two guns. If I am deceived, our lives are -not worth a peseta. If you hesitate, go -back, and I will take the chance alone.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[22]</span></p> - -<p>“Go back?” whispered Hal. “Not -when you go forward!”</p> - -<p>Ramirez’s black eyes danced as he -nodded.</p> - -<p>Then, craning his neck forward, he -whispered, sharply:</p> - -<p>“Pedro! Pedro Escarillaz!”</p> - -<p>In an instant, the sentinel halted, turning -his head.</p> - -<p>“If money will do you any good, -Pedro Escarillaz, come here.”</p> - -<p>Quick as a flash, the soldier’s rifle flew -to his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Then, reconsidering, he walked slowly -toward the grove.</p> - -<p>“Who called?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Men who have money,” answered -Juan. “If you happen to be hungry, you -will be glad that we have called you.”</p> - -<p>Hal felt thunderstruck.</p> - -<p>“Is this Cuban crazy?” he wondered, -hardly knowing whether to run or stand -his ground.</p> - -<p>But the next second brought better -counsel.</p> - -<p>Up to the present, Juan had proven -himself very far removed from a lunatic.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Maynard felt cold shivers -running up and down his spine as he -realized that slight warning from this -sentinel would bring the whole Spanish -force down upon them.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” whispered the sentinel, -stopping squarely in front of them.</p> - -<p>He held the muzzle aimed at them, -ready to fire at the slightest sign of need.</p> - -<p>Yet that muzzle wavered slightly, as if -the Spaniard’s fingers, tightly gripping -stock and lock, were twitching.</p> - -<p>“The Spaniard is more afraid than I -am,” muttered Hal, inwardly. “I guess -it’s the wrong time for me to get rattled.”</p> - -<p>Though the talismanic word “money” -had brought the soldier a little off his -beat, it was plain that he feared some -surprise, for he not only gazed keenly at -his two accosters, but tried to peer over -their shoulders into the darkness beyond.</p> - -<p>“You called me?” he demanded, in a -voice that could not have been heard -twenty feet off.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Juan, coolly. “We -need your services. We can pay for -them. Could you use money if you had -it?”</p> - -<p>“Carramba!” muttered the fellow, his -eyes gleaming. “Could I not?”</p> - -<p>“Very well, Pedro Escarillaz; we do -not want much—only two rifles and a -hundred cartridges.”</p> - -<p>“Carr-r-r-r-rajo!” swore Pedro, under -his breath. “It is death to talk that -way.”</p> - -<p>“Then you cannot serve us?” demanded -Juan, in a voice that sounded all -but indifferent.</p> - -<p>“How much do you offer?” asked the -soldier, suddenly.</p> - -<p>“Fifty dollars.”</p> - -<p>“Fifty dollars for a gun and cartridges?” -repeated Private Escarillaz. -“It is too little.”</p> - -<p>“That would be altogether too much,” -retorted Ramirez, imperturbably. “The -price that I have offered must be for two -Mauser rifles and a hundred cartridges.”</p> - -<p>“Say seventy-five dollars,” proposed -the soldier, “and I may be able to help -you. But for less it cannot be done.”</p> - -<p>“Then, Pedro Escarillaz, I wish you -good-night,” answered Juan, performing -a half wheel.</p> - -<p>“Not so quick,” uttered the soldier, -warningly. “Suppose I were to call the -guard? You would lose your money and -your lives.”</p> - -<p>“True,” admitted Juan, composedly; -“but then your officers would get the -money, and you would get nothing. If -you make a trade with us—why, just -think what you could do with so much -money.”</p> - -<p>“If I only knew how to accomplish -it,” murmured Pedro, his dark eyes snapping<span class="pagenum">[23]</span> -at thought of the good times he -could have in Havana with so much -wealth.</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well,” said Juan, calmly, -“if you cannot do it, we have made a -serious mistake, and you have been a -great loser.”</p> - -<p>“Wait,” whispered Pedro. “In five -minutes the guard will be changed.”</p> - -<p>“And then——”</p> - -<p>“I will do my best.”</p> - -<p>Hal and Juan ensconced themselves -behind some bushes. In ten minutes -Pedro Escarillaz returned, trembling and -pallid.</p> - -<p>Almost in silence, the trade was made, -the traitor not daring to look into the -eyes of the purchasers.</p> - -<p>Silently as shadows, the two latest -recruits for Cuba stole off in the night.</p> - -<p>But Juan Ramirez seemed to have -grown a half a foot as he turned to his -American comrade, murmuring hoarsely:</p> - -<p>“Now, mi amigo, for the long grass! -Henceforth our only cry shall be ‘Viva -Cuba Libre!’”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="nobreak sectionheader" id="CHAPTER_VIII">Third Part.</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“AS GOMEZ WOULD SPEAK.”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“It is your turn, mi amigo!”</p> - -<p>“Ready!” responded Hal, rubbing his -eyes and then springing to his feet.</p> - -<p>As he did so, he caught up the Mauser -rifle which had lain at his side as he -slept.</p> - -<p>It was past sunrise. When he had lain -down, the earth was still wrapped in darkness.</p> - -<p>There had been a bargain that he -should sleep an hour, then rise and stand -guard while Juan snatched an hour of -refreshing sleep.</p> - -<p>Was it all a dream? Hal wondered, as -he surveyed the scene with alert eyes -while Juan had already commenced to -snore.</p> - -<p>A dream it certainly was not. The -rifle with which each was provided was -a reality. So was the small Cuban flag -which Juan now wore proudly pinned to -his tattered jacket.</p> - -<p>Havana was now many miles behind. -They were well up in the hills. Around -them all was verdure and bloom.</p> - -<p>This bit of wild forest beauty had -escaped the devastating hand of the -Spaniard.</p> - -<p>It was Easter morning, Hal remembered, -with a thrill. Surely, in this spot, -nature was doing floral honor to the day.</p> - -<p>Not a sound was heard save the calling -of the birds, the buzzing of insects. -Perched on a rise of ground, screened by -thick bushes, a foe might have stood -within a hundred feet and not discovered -them.</p> - -<p>“The only danger,” smiled Hal, -“would come from Juan’s snoring.”</p> - -<p>Amid all this solitude of nature, however, -Juan’s nasal notes did not seem a -source of danger.</p> - -<p>“Jupiter! What’s that?” muttered Hal, -suddenly.</p> - -<p>From his perch he had an excellent -view up a long, winding ravine.</p> - -<p>“The glint of the sun on steel, as sure -as I’m a sinner,” muttered the boy.</p> - -<p>Turning, he gave Juan’s nearer -shoulder a quick shake.</p> - -<p>“Ready, senor,” murmured the Cuban, -waking at once. “My hour is up, then?”</p> - -<p>“No, but something else is up,” whispered -excited Hal, pointing up the -ravine. “Look there!”</p> - -<p>Juan looked, and became instantly -awake.</p> - -<p>“The enemy!” he muttered, his eyes -flashing ominously. “Heaven be thanked -that at last we have guns. We can -fight!”</p> - -<p>“Fight that force?” demanded Hal, -aghast. “My friend, have you counted -their number?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[24]</span></p> - -<p>“I have.”</p> - -<p>“Well?”</p> - -<p>“They number at least sixty.”</p> - -<p>“No matter!” grated Juan. “We can -worry them. We shall be killed, of -course, but perhaps we can settle three -or four of their men first.”</p> - -<p>“See here,” remonstrated Hal. “I’m -ready for fighting, but not for suicide.”</p> - -<p>“It is the way we Cubans fight,” rejoined -Juan, proudly. “We care not what -the number of the enemy. We always -fire when we see one.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll fire, then, if you say so,” -agreed Hal. “If you asked my opinion, -though, I should say that we had better -wait until we have had a chance to offer -ourselves at the nearest Cuban camp.”</p> - -<p>Juan fixed his wide open eyes on our -hero for an instant.</p> - -<p>“I have no doubt you are right, mi -amigo,” he said, an instant later. “Our -Cuban blood is too hot. We lack the cool -judgment of you Americanos. Senor, will -you take command?”</p> - -<p>“Until we reach camp, if you wish it.”</p> - -<p>“I beg you to do so.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; though I warn you,” -smiled Hal, “that I shall not give the -order to attack thirty times our number.”</p> - -<p>Juan sighed, but remained silent.</p> - -<p>“They are going to march by within a -hundred feet of us,” whispered Hal, following -the course of the ravine.</p> - -<p>Juan grasped his rifle tightly to still the -trembling of his fingers.</p> - -<p>By this time, the head of the column -was within five hundred feet.</p> - -<p>At the head rode a half a dozen -mounted Spanish officers.</p> - -<p>Behind them marched a captain and -two lieutenants in command of the infantrymen.</p> - -<p>Tattered and dusty-looking were these -soldiers. Many of them limped, as if used -up by a long forced march. Just at the -foot of the hill from which Hal and Juan -glared from covert, the captain, at a sign -from one of the mounted officers, cried:</p> - -<p>“Halt!”</p> - -<p>It was a popular order, as the relieved -faces of the men instantly showed.</p> - -<p>“Break ranks.”</p> - -<p>Arms were stacked, four sentinels -mounted, and the horses tethered.</p> - -<p>Just at that moment, two dust-covered -troopers rode up the ravine from the -direction of Havana.</p> - -<p>They dismounted before the captain, -talking with him in quick murmurs.</p> - -<p>“My colonel,” called the captain, -saluting one of the mounted officers, “the -scouts tell me that there are none of the -enemy within forty miles.”</p> - -<p>“I do not believe there are any rebels -nearer, captain,” laughed the colonel. -“So let your poor fellows get some of -the rest they need so badly. True, we -have no breakfast to offer them, but I -have caught sight of a stream through the -trees. Let those who would like to take -a swim.”</p> - -<p>No proposition could have met with -greater favor. As with one accord, the -soldiers began to move off between the -trees, while the scouts cantered away.</p> - -<p>“You four,” cried the captain, selecting -a quartette of his men, “will hurry -up with your swim, and return here to -relieve the sentinels, that they, too, may -have a plunge.”</p> - -<p>With the men went their officers, nine -in number. The heat of the day made -cold water a luxury that could not be -resisted.</p> - -<p>Down in the camp, with the horses -and stacked arms, remained only the four -sentinels.</p> - -<p>Even these looked wistfully through -the trees as the shouts and plashing of -water came to their ears.</p> - -<p>“Jupiter!” whispered Hal, his eyes -beginning to sparkle. “I’m beginning to -feel some of the Cuban hot blood myself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[25]</span></p> - -<p>“If we could only capture that camp!” -murmured Juan, eagerly.</p> - -<p>To his intense delight, Hal made this -whispered reply:</p> - -<p>“By thunder, we’ll try it, if we go -under for it!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, my brave friend,” quivered Juan -Ramirez, “you have spoken as our brave -Gomez would speak!”</p> - -<p>For a few moments the heads of the -two youths bobbed together in earnest, -whispered conversation.</p> - -<p>When they had finished, Juan crept off -through the bushes with the stealth of an -Indian.</p> - -<p>He reached a spot twenty feet away -from our hero before he halted and signaled -back.</p> - -<p>Through the bushes the muzzle of -Hal’s rifle protruded.</p> - -<p>As he aimed at one of the sentinels, a -curious thrill swept over the American.</p> - -<p>He was about to take a life, and unfairly, -it seemed, since he must fire from -ambush upon an unsuspecting foe.</p> - -<p>Yet, even as he hesitated, the remembrance -came back to him of the evening -before, when a Spanish officer had proposed -to send him over the fatal ferry to -Morro Castle.</p> - -<p>The enemy would not hesitate; he -must not. Besides, war consists of killing; -war is gauged only by its successes.</p> - -<p>With these thoughts surging through -his mind, Hal Maynard steadied both -hands and vision.</p> - -<p>Crack!</p> - -<p>His rifle spoke, and the sentinel at -whom he had aimed dropped and lay -still.</p> - -<p>Crack!</p> - -<p>Juan had waited only for this signal. -Before the first sentinel had struck the -ground, the second had received his -death-wound.</p> - -<p>Crack! crack!</p> - -<p>Right on the heels of the first two -shots came the next pair.</p> - -<p>Before the last two sentries had time to -turn, run or fire, they had met their -fates.</p> - -<p>In a twinkling Hal was on his feet. -The fire of battle was in his blood; the -spirit of freedom possessed his soul as his -voice rang out full and clear!</p> - -<p>“By platoon, battalion charge!”</p> - -<p>An answering yell came from Ramirez -as that youth too leaped to his feet.</p> - -<p>Together they rushed down the hill-side, -shouting commands to an imaginary -battalion.</p> - -<p>Crack! crack! crack! crack! crack!</p> - -<p>Without stopping to aim, they fired -their repeating rifles through the trees as -fast as they could.</p> - -<p>“Viva Cuba Libre!” they shouted in -unison.</p> - -<p>Through the woods came the startled -yells of the bathing Spanish soldiers, just -out of range of vision.</p> - -<p>Reaching the ravine, Hal made for one -stack of rifles, Juan for another.</p> - -<p>Seizing each a rifle in either hand, -they commenced discharging them two at -a time in the direction of the creek.</p> - -<p>“Al machete! al machete!” (To the -sword!) roared Juan, keeping up a thunderous -rattle of musketry.</p> - -<p>“Surround the enemy!” thundered -Hal. “Give no quarter to Spaniards! -Every foe killed to-day is a foe the less -to meet to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>All the while the incessant banging of -guns rang out.</p> - -<p>To the startled bathers by the creek it -seemed as if they had fallen, naked and -unarmed, into fierce, one-sided battle.</p> - -<p>“Keep a-banging and a-shouting,” -muttered Hal, as he sped by Juan.</p> - -<p>Ramirez obeyed with a will, while -Hal, though he still continued to yell, -busied his hands by gathering up the -rifles an armful at a time.</p> - -<p>There was rope around in plenty among -the camp baggage.</p> - -<p>Working like a Trojan, Hal quickly<span class="pagenum">[26]</span> -had thirty of the rifles lashed upon two -of the horses.</p> - -<p>Juan turned and saw with blazing eyes -what his comrade had accomplished.</p> - -<p>“The Spaniards are running,” he -quivered. “If it were not so, we would -have them on our hands by this time.”</p> - -<p>And he worked like a beaver to help -Hal lash the remaining arms upon other -horses.</p> - -<p>There were many cartridge belts strewn -around. These, too, were lashed across -the saddles, as well as a few cases of ammunition.</p> - -<p>“Here are four less of the enemy for -our men to deal with,” cried Juan, -spurning with his foot the body of one of -the four slain sentinels.</p> - -<p>“It was a tremendous piece of cheek,” -blurted Hal, vaulting into one of the -saddles, and seizing the halters of two -led pack horses.</p> - -<p>“The Spaniards must still be running,” -chuckled Juan.</p> - -<p>“I imagine few of them stopped for -their clothes,” laughed Hal. “But -mount, my friend, mount! When the -enemy halt——”</p> - -<p>“It will be a half an hour before they -do,” derided Ramirez. “Oh, mi amigo, -you were born a master of strategy. It -was magnificent—that charge of a battalion -of trees—that fusilade fired by four -hands!”</p> - -<p>“Into saddle! forward!” urged Hal. -“It is our turn to laugh, now, but in -sixty seconds it may not be. When the -enemy discover the trick, rivers of blood -would not satisfy them!”</p> - -<p>Smiling grimly, with a full realization -of the peril, Hal Maynard urged his -mount into a trot.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">BATTLE IN EARNEST.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“Viva Cuba Libre!”</p> - -<p>Ramirez shouted that stirring battle-cry -with the full strength of his lungs.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s just glorious!” declared Hal, -turning his sparkling eyes upon his comrade. -“Two recruits, with six horses and -sixty rifles!”</p> - -<p>“Our comrades—that is, our comrades-to-be—will -embrace us!” uttered Juan.</p> - -<p>Click-clack! Hoofs rang out sharply -on the stony bed of the ravine.</p> - -<p>“Even if they turn to follow, we are -leaving the Spaniards behind,” cried -Juan.</p> - -<p>“Very likely; but what if we were to -encounter a second body of the enemy -here in this ravine? Our turn to laugh -would be over.”</p> - -<p>That thought urged them to greater -speed. When the ravine narrowed, Hal, -with two of the led horses in tow, took -the lead, Ramirez following closely.</p> - -<p>“Juan, my comrade!”</p> - -<p>“Si, mi amigo!”</p> - -<p>“We are coming out of the ravine. -There is a plain ahead.”</p> - -<p>Three minutes more of hard trotting -brought them out into open country, -dotted here and there with small groves -of palms.</p> - -<p>“Better halt,” advised Hal, reining -up.</p> - -<p>Ramirez did the same, without questioning.</p> - -<p>“Rope the horses abreast,” directed -Maynard. “You can ride on one side of -the line, I on the other. In that way we -can keep the brutes at a gallop, if -needed.”</p> - -<p>Dismounting, they quickly accomplished -this task. Within two minutes -they were once more in saddle.</p> - -<p>“You must be our guide,” suggested -Maynard, as he settled down in saddle.<span class="pagenum">[27]</span> -“Where shall we find the nearest Cuban -camp?”</p> - -<p>“I do not know,” replied the Cuban. -“I know where Major Alvaredo was the -day before yesterday, but—diablo!—the -Cubans are not likely to camp for two -hours in the same spot. All I can say, mi -amigo, is that we had better ride eastward, -trusting that we shall meet some -pacifico who can tell us the way more -particularly.”</p> - -<p>“Forward, then!”</p> - -<p>From a trot they broke into a gallop, -urging the pack horses on by liberal -lashing with ropes.</p> - -<p>In two minutes more our friends had -covered over half a mile.</p> - -<p>“I heard yells,” muttered Hal, looking -backward over his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Ramirez looked, too, then broke into -a hearty laugh.</p> - -<p>Back on a hill, near the mouth of the -ravine, they saw a sight calculated to inspire -mirth.</p> - -<p>Spanish soldiers, some of them nude -and many half-dressed, dotted the hill.</p> - -<p>In the first fright of surprise, these men -had fled. Then, finding that none of their -number were killed, and that no foe pursued, -they had halted, turned about.</p> - -<p>They had probably found their four -dead comrades, and must have divined, -from the absence of such footmarks as a -battalion would have made, that they had -been tricked.</p> - -<p>So they had pursued until now they -had reached a spot whence they were -able to see the exact strength of the -attacking force.</p> - -<p>Frantic shouts now rent the air, reaching -our young friends even at that distance.</p> - -<p>In the lead of all the Spaniards, Hal -could make out the uniform of the Spanish -colonel.</p> - -<p>“He seems mad,” observed Hal, quizzically. -“If those soldiers were close at -hand, unarmed though they are, they -would make things hot for us.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez nodded, his face darkening.</p> - -<p>“Mi amigo,” he suggested, tremulously, -“suppose we stop and give them -fight.”</p> - -<p>“With these horses and all these guns -destined for the insurgents?” demanded -Hal. “My friend—nit! We have no -right to risk losing such splendid supplies.”</p> - -<p>“At least,” begged Ramirez, “let us -halt and fire a half a dozen shots into -them.”</p> - -<p>“Fire at unarmed men?” retorted Hal. -“Not while I’m here to stop it.”</p> - -<p>“Mi amigo, you are right,” replied -Juan, with an air of self-reproach. “But -do not blame me. We have so much reason -to hate that uniform of Spain that we -cannot resist the temptation to fire upon -it wherever we see it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t blame you,” nodded Hal. -“But my grievances against Spain are of -such recent date that I can wait for fair -fight.”</p> - -<p>No attempt was made by the Spaniards -to pursue the pair across the plain. Such -a chase would have been futile, anyway, -for jaded men are no match for galloping -horses.</p> - -<p>In another half hour the foe were left -five miles to the rear.</p> - -<p>Our young friends, too, had come to -the end of the plain. Before them -stretched a gradual slope leading up into -the hills.</p> - -<p>“I think we can halt to breathe our -horses,” proposed Hal. “What do you -say?”</p> - -<p>Ramirez nodding, both threw themselves -out of saddle to stretch their legs.</p> - -<p>“It’s odd that we haven’t met a single -passer-by,” commented Hal.</p> - -<p>“What else would you expect?” demanded -the Cuban, shrugging his -shoulders. “Spain has burned down all -the country homes, and driven the people -into the cities. Even if pacificos had -the courage to remain out here in the -country, on what could they subsist? -There is not enough food out here to -feed a rat.”</p> - -<p>“They would have almost as much to -eat here as in the cities,” remarked Maynard, -growing misty-eyed over the remembrance -of the thousands of starving -Cuban reconcentrados he had seen in -Havana. “But we must go on, Juan. -The more I think, the hotter my blood -becomes. I shall not be happy until I -stand under the Cuban flag.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez stretched out his hand, grasping -our hero’s warmly.</p> - -<p>“I can never forget, mi amigo,” he<span class="pagenum">[28]</span> -murmured, huskily, “that it was you -who gave me the happiness of being able -to take to the long grass.”</p> - -<p>Mounting again, Hal gave the signal -to go forward. Up the slope they moved -at a jogging gait, being compelled once -more to lead their pack horses.</p> - -<p>Hal reached the highest land just in -advance of his comrade.</p> - -<p>Like a flash Maynard wheeled about.</p> - -<p>“Halt! Dismount! Don’t come to the -top,” he cried. “Tether your horses—so. -Follow me.”</p> - -<p>Rifle in hand, Hal led the way, Ramirez -following without a word.</p> - -<p>“Look down there,” cried Hal.</p> - -<p>In a valley to the northward rested -a squad of Spanish cavalry men, some -twenty in number, and commanded by an -officer.</p> - -<p>Ramirez looked, his eyes flashing with -hate.</p> - -<p>The enemy were dismounted, with -horses tethered.</p> - -<p>“We can fire now!” breathed the -Cuban. “Those men are armed.”</p> - -<p>“Wait!” warned Hal. “Come here. -Now look down there.”</p> - -<p>Down the southward slope of the hill, -less than half the distance away of the -dismounted cavalry was a sight that made -the Cuban’s blood boil still hotter.</p> - -<p>Four pacificos, their hands bound and -roped together, were slowly ascending the -grade.</p> - -<p>Ahead of them rode three Spanish -cavalrymen; behind the prisoners a like -number of guards.</p> - -<p>“What do you say now?” quivered -Hal.</p> - -<p>“The pacificos must be saved. They -are to be taken to Havana or shot. The -latter would be the most merciful fate.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez spoke jerkily, at the same -time swinging his rifle into position.</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” commanded Hal. “Those -fellows are coming this way. We can fire -straighter when they are nearer. If they -keep to their course, they will go by -within fifty feet of here.”</p> - -<p>“You command,” grumbled Ramirez, -“but it is hard to wait.”</p> - -<p>“It’s common sense,” declared the -American. “If we were to fire now, and -miss, the cavalry in the valley on the -other side of the hill could reach here before -the fight was over. We should be -killed, and all to no purpose.”</p> - -<p>“You have a plan?” questioned Ramirez.</p> - -<p>“Thunder, yes!”</p> - -<p>“If it works as well as the other did -my patience will be rewarded.”</p> - -<p>“Slip back to the horses. Get four -more rifles—loaded ones.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez vanished, though it hardly -seemed as if he had gone, before he was -back again.</p> - -<p>“Here they are, senor, and loaded.”</p> - -<p>“Good. Now crouch down, after -placing two of the rifles at my side and -two by your own side. Whatever you do, -don’t fire until I give the word.”</p> - -<p>Ramirez obeyed, though the suspense -made him tremble.</p> - -<p>His eyes flashed like jewels as he saw -the four Cubans and their guard come -nearer.</p> - -<p>“Surely they are near enough now to -open fire,” he whispered hoarsely.</p> - -<p>But Hal shook his head emphatically. -“No, no, my comrade! When we fire, -we must take no chance of missing. Now, -not another word, but you will hear me -whisper ‘fire’ when they are within a -hundred feet. You take the fellow in the -front rank on the extreme left.”</p> - -<p>Juan protruded the muzzle of one of -his weapons through the bushes that -screened them from sight.</p> - -<p>He shook so with impatience as to -make the bushes rattle.</p> - -<p>“Steady,” whispered Hal.</p> - -<p>Ramirez, by a tremendous effort at -patience, got a better grip on himself.</p> - -<p>Nearer, still nearer, came the six -troopers and their captives.</p> - -<p>Hal himself found it hard to restrain -the temptation to fire, though he held -himself in check to the last.</p> - -<p>But at last the whispered word came: -“Fire!”</p> - -<p>Two jets of flame shot out from the -bushes; two troopers reeled from saddle -and fell.</p> - -<p>Crack! crack! Two more were down.</p> - -<p>Crack! crack! A fifth trooper fell, all -within the space of five seconds.</p> - -<p>Ramirez, firing with the deadly aim of -hatred, had brought down all three of his -men, but Hal missed at the third shot.</p> - -<p>“Car-r-r-r-r-rajo!” vented the solitary<span class="pagenum">[29]</span> -remaining trooper, wheeling and putting -spurs to his horse.</p> - -<p>Crack! Ramirez fired again, bringing -this fellow down, too.</p> - -<p>Hal darted to his feet and started down -the slope, Ramirez posting after him.</p> - -<p>At the first sound of fire, the four -pacificos had thrown themselves to the -earth. Now they raised themselves, peering -eagerly at their rescuers.</p> - -<p>“You are friends of Cuba?” panted -Hal.</p> - -<p>A hot chorus in the affirmative answered -him.</p> - -<p>“You will fight with us? There are -more foes near.”</p> - -<p>“Si, si, si,” (yes, yes, yes) cried one -of the pacificos, while the other three -raised a tumultuous shout of:</p> - -<p>“Viva Cuba libre!”</p> - -<p>Hal and Juan instantly busied themselves -with freeing the quartette.</p> - -<p>“Follow us to the top of the hill at -your best speed,” yelled Maynard.</p> - -<p>He reached there ahead of the rescued -ones, faced them, and shoved into the -hands of each a rifle.</p> - -<p>As these were repeating weapons, each -still contained several shots.</p> - -<p>Below, on the other side of the hill, an -animated scene was going on.</p> - -<p>The squad, a few moments before lolling -on the grass, had now sprung into -saddle.</p> - -<p>Their officer was bawling himself -hoarse with his rapidly delivered orders.</p> - -<p>For a few seconds the squad seemed -uncertain whether to flee or fight.</p> - -<p>Hal kept his little force out of sight by -making them crouch behind the bushes.</p> - -<p>“I have waited a year and more for -such a chance as this,” sobbed one of the -pacificos, kissing the barrel of his rifle, -and Hal, looking the emaciated wretches -over, had no doubt that they would fight -to the last breath.</p> - -<p>Juan slipped back to where the horses -were tethered, returning with more cartridges.</p> - -<p>Hal, in the meantime, had restrained -the others from firing.</p> - -<p>“It would do little good at this range,” -he explained, “and from what I have -heard the Cubans are not so rich in ammunition -that they can afford to waste -any.”</p> - -<p>All the time he kept his eyes on the -squad below.</p> - -<p>Their officer had decided upon an attack, -for at a quick command from him -the troopers spread out in skirmish line -and advanced.</p> - -<p>Instantly the pacificos began to take -eager aim.</p> - -<p>“Don’t fire yet,” ordered Hal.</p> - -<p>“But senor,” pleaded one of the quartette, -“it is so hard to see the Spaniards, -and yet not fire!”</p> - -<p>“The best fighters,” rejoined Hal, -promptly, “are those who can keep cool -and obey orders.”</p> - -<p>“The senor is right, mi amigos,” -ejaculated Ramirez. “Twice he has restrained -my impatience, and in consequence -we won both times.”</p> - -<p>Bang! A line of fire ran along the -skirmish line below, the reports sounding -as one.</p> - -<p>Whish! whish! A tornado of whistling -bullets tore through the leaves of the -bushes that sheltered the little Cuban -force.</p> - -<p>“Oh, mi amigo!” suddenly groaned -Ramirez, turning white.</p> - -<p>For one of the bullets had struck Hal -Maynard.</p> - -<p>Up flew his hand to his forehead.</p> - -<p>In the next second he keeled back—stretched -out.</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. -<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER CUBA’S FLAG.</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“Ten lives shall not pay for that one!” -exclaimed Juan.</p> - -<p>But hardly were his words out when -Hal sat up, wiping away the blood from -his forehead.</p> - -<p>“I’m a long ways from dead yet,” he -gritted, wiping away the blood.</p> - -<p>Ramirez ran to his side.</p> - -<p>His nervous fingers glided swiftly over -the American’s forehead, making quick -examination of the wound.</p> - -<p>“Santa Maria be praised!” cheered the -Cuban. “The wound is not a deep one.”</p> - -<p>“Glancing bullet, likely,” muttered -Hal, rising to his knees, and picking up -his rifle once more. “The shock knocked -me over, I suppose. Perhaps fright had -something to do with it.”</p> - -<p>“Fright?” echoed Juan, indignantly. -“Nothing of the sort.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[30]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, I’m certainly feeling some -fright,” smiled Hal, his face more than -a trifle pallid as he took another look -down below at the squad trotting upward.</p> - -<p>They were just aiming for another volley, -those Spaniards, who were now hardly -more than an eighth of a mile away.</p> - -<p>“Down!” warned Maynard, himself -setting the example.</p> - -<p>He had no more than ducked when the -volley came.</p> - -<p>“Up!” quivered Hal. “Give ’em some -of their own medicine!”</p> - -<p>Six shots rang out, almost simultaneously. -Two saddles were emptied.</p> - -<p>“Keep a-pumping,” ordered Hal, -breathlessly, as he discharged his own -piece as fast as he could work the -mechanism.</p> - -<p>His own wound had been caused undoubtedly -by a glancing bullet, but this -is the most painful kind of injury. It -maddened him, made him utterly reckless.</p> - -<p>Five more saddles were quickly emptied -By this time the firing was general.</p> - -<p>Clack! clack! clack! rang the hoofs. -The cavalry, firing at will like their opponents, -were now within a few yards of -the top of the hill.</p> - -<p>The Cubans were overmatched. Hal -felt that the last few moments of his life -had come.</p> - -<p>Yet only one thought actuated him. -Before he closed his eyes he would send -as many Spaniards as possible to their last -account.</p> - -<p>Crack! crack! crack! Half of the -Spaniards were out of the fight by the -time the two forces came face to face at -little more than arm’s length.</p> - -<p>Bang! A ball from Juan Ramirez’s rifle -passed clean through the head of the -lieutenant in command, killing him instantly.</p> - -<p>“No quarter!” yelled Juan as the six -leaped to their feet for hand-to-hand -combat.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary!” thundered Hal. -“Any enemy who throws down his gun -must not be harmed!”</p> - -<p>A ball from a cavalryman’s revolver -sent one of the pacificos staggering back—dead.</p> - -<p>Hal immediately avenged by killing -the trooper.</p> - -<p>Now one of the enemy threw down his -sabre and revolver, crying for quarter.</p> - -<p>“Spare his life, then,” shouted Hal, -running forward.</p> - -<p>That command acted like magic. Not -another shot was fired, for not one of the -eight surviving Spaniards lost a second in -surrendering.</p> - -<p>This they followed up by dismounting -and submitting to being tied.</p> - -<p>Ramirez, with blood running from a -wound in his left shoulder, superintended -the work of tying.</p> - -<p>There were eight of the prisoners. As -soon as bound, they were ordered to remount, -and were next lashed to their -saddles.</p> - -<p>“The dogs!” vented Juan, gnashing -his teeth as he looked the troopers over. -“Of course they surrender, for the Cubans -treat their prisoners of war kindly, and it -is easier to surrender than to be shot. -Besides, these fellows know that the -Cubans cannot be bothered long with -prisoners and that they will be set free.”</p> - -<p>“This is horse fair day for us,” -laughed Hal. “Besides the horses which -the Spaniards ride, there are four more -below which appear to be uninjured.”</p> - -<p>This was the fact. Hal’s little command -now had eighteen horses in all.</p> - -<p>As soon as these had been corralled, -the field was gone over for every weapon -and cartridge that could be found.</p> - -<p>Fifteen minutes were thus consumed.</p> - -<p>At last Hal had time to think of the -pacifico who had been killed.</p> - -<p>He was dead beyond a doubt.</p> - -<p>“My brother,” huskily murmured another -of the pacificos.</p> - -<p>“He died nobly, in a good cause,” said -Hal, soothingly.</p> - -<p>“He died for Cuba!” cried the dead -man’s brother, throwing back his head -proudly. “I shall pray to the Almighty -that I may die in the same splendid -way.”</p> - -<p>Hal was ready to proceed, now, yet before -the start could be made there was -one sad duty to perform—the saddest that -belongs to war.</p> - -<p>A shallow trench was dug, and in this -the man who had been slain was laid.</p> - -<p>Then, while the rest stood by with uncovered<span class="pagenum">[31]</span> -heads, murmuring silent prayers, -two of the pacificos covered the still form -over.</p> - -<p>There was no time to bury the Spanish -slain.</p> - -<p>Indeed, the Cubans, embittered by -more than three years of suffering under -the infamous war methods of Spain, were -in little mood to do anything decent by -the remains of the slain foe.</p> - -<p>“The buzzards shall get them,” cried -Juan, disdainfully. “The buzzards alone, -in Cuba, do not go hungry!”</p> - -<p>As Hal’s little command and considerable -train moved forward, our hero heard -the story of the pacificos.</p> - -<p>Some fourteen months before they had -broken away from Havana. Since then -they had lived in hiding in the woods, -subsisting mainly on roots and fruit.</p> - -<p>Once in a while they had received morsels -of meat from passing bodies of Cuban -soldiers.</p> - -<p>But the law of the Republic of Cuba -forbade them to join the army without -weapons and ammunition, which was the -only reason they had remained pacificos.</p> - -<p>That very morning they had been surprised -and surrounded while sleeping.</p> - -<p>Incapable of resistance for lack of arms, -they had been forced to surrender.</p> - -<p>They were on their way to Havana -when rescued. Had their journey been -finished they would undoubtedly have -been shot in the prison yard of either -Morro Castle or the Cabanas Fortress.</p> - -<p>From these men Hal learned that the -Cuban commander, Major Alvaredo, was -supposed to be somewhere in the neighborhood, -though that officer’s exact location -could be only a matter of conjecture, -for the Cubans moved from point to point -with the speed of human lightning.</p> - -<p>“I shall volunteer to the first Cuban -commander I meet—no matter who he -is,” declared Hal.</p> - -<p>“Volunteer?” echoed Juan, smiling. -“It is too late for that, mi amigo! Judging -by the trail we have left behind, you -are already a full-fledged Cuban commander. -Never has so small a command -done handsomer work.”</p> - -<p>At noon they halted, in the midst of -one of nature’s blooming wildernesses. -Here there had been no plantations, no -homes, hence the blighting hand of Spanish -devastation had not left its mark.</p> - -<p>For the first time our hero remembered -the food with which Captain Blodgett had -provided Juan and himself the night before.</p> - -<p>It was brought to light now, and given -entirely to the three late pacificos. They -devoured it like famished creatures.</p> - -<p>“It seems as if I lived again,” declared -one of the poor, thin fellows, when he -had finished.</p> - -<p>“It is like a touch of Heaven,” said -the second.</p> - -<p>“The first real food I have touched in -weeks,” sighed the third. “With this in -my stomach I can fight for a week without -feeding.”</p> - -<p>It was still dangerous to delay. Hal -gave the word to start.</p> - -<p>It took an hour to cover the next five -miles, for the road was now all the way -up grade.</p> - -<p>It was near the top of a hill that Hal -was startled by a sudden sharp command -of:</p> - -<p>“Halt!”</p> - -<p>In the same instant our hero found -himself looking into the muzzles of a -dozen rifles.</p> - -<p>Yet the men behind those rifles were invisible -behind a dense tangle of green -foliage.</p> - -<p>“What do you want here?” came the -quick question.</p> - -<p>It was Juan Ramirez who answered:</p> - -<p>“We seek Major Alvaredo.”</p> - -<p>“And if he is not here?”</p> - -<p>“Then any Cuban officer will do, for I -know you to be Cubans. Send word to -your commander, please, that five recruits -wait to offer themselves.”</p> - -<p>“Major Alvaredo is here,” replied a -grave voice.</p> - -<p>Through a screen of leaves came a -short, wiry-looking man of middle age, a -bronzed, scarred veteran who, despite his -ragged attire, looked every inch the -trooper.</p> - -<p>One hand rested on the naked machete -that he wore dangling at his side; the -other hand touched lightly against a revolver.</p> - -<p>“You are recruits?” he asked, keenly -surveying the five, then gazing with intense -pleasure upon the horses, weapons<span class="pagenum">[32]</span> -and prisoners they brought him. “Judging -from appearances, you will be valuable -recruits. Where do you come from?”</p> - -<p>Major Alvaredo listened with an interest -that soon changed to amazement as he -heard of the doings of the morning.</p> - -<p>By the time that the narration was -over, he grasped our hero cordially by -the hand.</p> - -<p>“You are ten times welcome, senor,” -he cried. “You want to see service -against Spain? Carramba! you shall see -it. And if I mistake not, senor Americano, -my general, Calixta Garcia, will -receive you as something more than a -private soldier. You have won a commission, -if ever man did in our armies.”</p> - -<p>“If there is a commission going a-begging,” -smiled Hal, “it belongs to my -guide and mentor, Juan Ramirez.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, as to that,” smiled the major, -“there may be commissions enough for -two.”</p> - -<p>With that they were conducted into the -camp, where the major had about him -eighty of the most daring riders in Cuba.</p> - -<p>Thus our hero had gained the Cuban -ranks. He was destined to become one of -the most famous fighters of them all.</p> - -<p>That night Hal Maynard slept under -the flag of Free Cuba.</p> - -<p>But he dreamed of the coming of the -Stars and Stripes!</p> - -<p class="center p1">[THE END.]</p> - -<p class="p1">Cuba is the scene of splendid deeds! -The struggle of her people for the -Heaven-born boon of independence has -commanded the whole world’s admiration, -just as the Starry Flag Weekly’s -series of Cuban war stories will win -the hearty applause of all American -readers. Hal Maynard and Juan Ramirez -played manly, dashing parts in that hot-blooded -struggle. What was perhaps their -greatest exploit of all will be thrillingly -told by Douglas Wells in “Gomez’s Yankee -Scout; or, The Blow that Told for -Cuba,” which will be published complete -in next week’s Starry Flag Weekly, -No. 2. This series will embrace by far -the best Cuban war stories that will be -Published!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont">IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.</p> - -<p>It is the unchanging object of the publishers -of the STARRY FLAG WEEKLY to have the -best stories of adventure that can be procured, -regardless of expense or trouble. Following this -policy, the publishers decided some weeks ago to -send Mr. Douglas Wells to Cuba. Mr. Wells, -being an old campaigner, is accustomed to moving -on short notice. Within two hours of the receipt -of his orders he was speeding southward “under -light equipment.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Wells has spent many years of his eventful -life in the armed camps of the world. He has -spent many more years of his life in describing what -he has seen, in works ranging all the way from -history to romance. His long and varied experience, -powers of observation, and knowledge of -human nature have all greatly aided him in knowing -just what subjects to depict, therefore, on -reaching Havana he lost no time in getting to -work. In the face of many difficulties he succeeded -in obtaining permission to proceed into the -interior, and he was soon among the insurgents. -Then followed days of hard, rough riding, scant -sleep and poor and little food. He was received -by General Gomez, of the Cuban Army, and, -after witnessing much of the Cuban drilling and -some of the fighting made his way from the island -to Key West.</p> - -<p>Should war take place between the United -States and Spain all his stories will be written from -the front. Readers of the STARRY FLAG -WEEKLY will have the most accurate and truthful -pictures of the war, and those who are familiar -with this author’s thrilling style will understand -that, while there may be other Cuban stories published, -none will be equal to those which will -appear in the STARRY FLAG WEEKLY.</p> - -<p>Hal Maynard will be the hero, a bright, typical, -dashing American boy. As Napoleon once said -that every soldier of France carried in his knapsack -a marshal’s baton, so every American boy has implanted -in him the seeds of heroism, awaiting only -the sunshine of opportunity for development.</p> - -<p>Thus Hal Maynard will be the representative of -all American boys, and our readers, in following -his adventures, will see done exactly what they -would do themselves were they in the hero’s -place.</p> - -<p>Young Americans will do well to keep their -eyes on the STARRY FLAG WEEKLY. It will be -in these columns they will find the best and most -graphic stories of the war—stories that will be -written by an author who enjoys the somewhat -rare distinction of knowing what he is writing -about. Mr. Wells will not quit the front so long -as the fighting goes on. Who can describe so -well as he the march of great events this summer?</p> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter illowp49" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i036.jpg" alt="Book ad." /> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">STORIES BY A WAR CORRESPONDENT<br /> -<em>IN CUBA</em></p> - -<p class="center largefont p1">MR. DOUGLAS WELLS TO WRITE A<br /> -NEW SERIES FROM THE FRONT</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp68" style="max-width: 19.375em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i036a.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p class="center">MR. DOUGLAS WELLS</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="center p2">A WELL-KNOWN AND POPULAR AUTHOR ENGAGED BY THE</p> - -<p class="center pminus1" style="line-height:1.5"><span class="xxlargefont boldfont">Starry Flag Weekly</span><br /> -<span class="sansseriffont boldfont">TO DESCRIBE THE ADVENTURES OF AN AMERICAN BOY IN CUBA.</span></p> - - -<div class="boxlist"> -<p class="center pminus1">Young Americans will do well to keep their eyes on this publication. It will be in these columns they -will find the best and most graphic stories of the war. The following stories will appear in the order given:</p> - -<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">TITLES.</p> - -<p class="hangindent">No. 1. Under Blanco’s Eye; or, Hal Maynard -Among the Cuban Insurgents.</p> - -<p class="hangindent">No. 2. Gomez’s Yankee Scout; or, The Blow -That Told for Cuba.</p> - -<p class="hangindent">No. 3. The First Gun; or, Lieut. Hal Maynard’s -Secret Mission in Cuba.</p> - -<p class="hangindent">No. 4. Into Death’s Jaws; or, Defending the Stars -and Stripes.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 id="TN_end" style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2> - -<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors -have been corrected.</p> - -<p>The following change was made:</p> - -<p id="BRef_14"><a href="#Ref_14">p. 14</a>: are inserted (they are not)</p> - -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER BLANCO'S EYE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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