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Show I IJg WEBSTER I I lflri,ANS 1 mS& "Peter B.Kyne flf hp$$$ IvO) Author of "Cappy H W Ricks," The Valley 21 ' SRSISrS of thc Giant8" Etc m IB CHAPTER Xlll-i-Contlnued. H " 14 jja "I think bo. I daro say ltlcardo KB hopes to tnke Snrroa by surprise, bot- am tlo tho city garrison up In ho cunr- B tol and tho government pnlnco and tlicro beslcgo them. Having secured B. nominal control of a seaport, ho can Import arms and ammunition; also ho m can recruit openly, and at his lolsuro B; hunt down the outlying garrisons, llio W Sarros crowd doesn't suspect his prcs-M prcs-M enco In Sobrantc, and by a quick, sav-9 sav-9 ago stroko ho should bo ablo to Jerk this one-liorso government up by tho heels In jig time particularly Blnco H tho citizenry feci no loyalty toward flf, tho Sarros rcglino and are only kept mil 'n subjection through fear and lack I of a leader. I'm going to play Itlcar- do to win, If ho Inn't killed In tho opening row, for I'm certain ho'll lead bis men." "I daro say ho Is greatly llko his father not afraid to dlo for his country," coun-try," sho replied presently. "1 am in glad to bo hero when ho tnkes that BJ risk." HJ "Oh, hut you mustn't bo here," Web- mK ster protested. ft i "Why?" V "Becauso there'll bo street fighting IB probably of a despcruto character, I and I understand your countrymen go BJ ratlior 'war-mod nnd do things not IlsB sanctioned by Tho Hague tribunal. If thcru's n steamer In port nt tho tlmo I'll put you aboard her until tho Issue Is decided. I'm going to see Illcnr-do Illcnr-do tomorrow night nnd lenrn tho details de-tails of his plan of campaign; after that I'll bo ablo to uct Intelligently." ' ltlcardo Ituey, with Dr. Pncheco nnd Colonel Cnrnveo, woro engaged In ,pH consultation when Jack Webster, hav- BB lug left tho Hotel Mateo via his bed- Bfl room window In order to nrold pos- Bl slblc espionage nnd mndo his way to IH Kl Huen Amlgo on foot, was an- nounccd by Mother Jcnks. Tho thrco conspirators greeted him Joyously, ns Indeed they should, for his loyal friendship bad thus far been ono of Bt their principal bulwarks. "Well," Webster Inquired, after B greeting them and carefully closing BJ tho door behind him, "hero I am In BJ Buenaventura, marking tlmo and, llko jVt Mr, Mlcawbcr, waiting for something BJ to turn up." BJ "You will not bo required to wait BJ long," Colonel Carnvco assured him. "Thanks to your kindly ofllccs, tho Bl trap is already baited." pjj! "Our friend, Ituey, has, slnco our BBS first meeting, Insisted on dispensing Bl with my consent when using mo to IBBI promoto his enterprises, Colonel. Kg Strnngo to say, I hnvo been unnblo to BBI berate him for his Impudence. I was BBS down nt Leber's warehouse this after- BBS soon. You havo euough road-making BBfi tools consigned to mo thcru to build Bl a pretty fulr highway to tho gates of By tho government palace, I should say. BJI I hopo you havo nil pondered tho re- flf suit to me, an Innocent bystander, if BBI your enemies Bhould tnko a notion to BB open orfo of thoso cases of shovels." BflJJ Colonel Caravco favored him with a BBI benignant smile. "You forget, my Blf , friend, that I am second In command J lu tho Intelligence department, and BB that during tho nbsenco of your par- BBt tlcular friend, Raoul Burros, In Now BB Orleans, 1 am first In command. Since BB I already know what thoso cases con- Bft tnln, naturally I shall not take tho BK troublo to Invcstlguto." i "Well, Uint's a .comfort, Colonol." "You Imvo Investigated your mining concession, Webster?" ltlcardo Ituey ssked. Kfc "You bet." BM "What did you find?" Bjf "A couple of millions In sight." BJP ltlcardo shook his head slowly. "It Hi Is not in sight, old man," ho reminded BJ ' Webster. "Without our nld and you BB cannot havo our aid unless our rovo- BJ ltitlon Is successful, when you shall BJIf havo It freely your millions arc, Wml most positively, not In sight. If you IBLt want Uiobo millions, friend Webster, BB tuero ,s but "o way to get them H' and thnt Is to close your eyes nnd play our gnmo to the limit. 1 wonder If you'd go farther about $40,000 fur-J; fur-J; tbor, to bo exact." Bjj "I might, but I never go It blind for BJj a wad llko thnt. What's your trou- bio?" Hi "Tho indl Jdunl In chargq of tho Bl funds of tho revolutionary Junta In El New Orleans was murdered last night; BJT tho funds were deposited to his crcd- Bjf. It as agent In a certain hank, and bc- BjjF. fore the Junta cun obtnln legal pos- Br, sosslon of them again tho psychologl- Bjf. cat tlmo for their uso will havo passed. Hi "Wo have n steamer chartered, and flt 200 meu, whose business It Is to light . tinder any flag nt $3 gold per day Hfe, nnd no questions nsked. uro now mark- BJL lug time on tho Islo of Tines, off the ft const of (Julia, waiting for our steam- Bj. nr to rail for them and land them, BJ with their nttiM and ammunition and BJ six 75-inlll'inf r Hold Runs nnd come B? rtinid mo Jt.it' n Ban I'ruuo Homo J 8 nilw ' nit 'rfin tiiri BL "Wi ' nidii'nons uro now In Tampa, haying been shipped to our agent thcro on sight draft, with bill of lading attached; tho steamer is chartered char-tered and en routo to Tampa from Norfolk, Va and wo must pny tho owners (10,000 Uio day sho boglns taking tak-ing on her cargo, und $10,000 before Alio unloads It on lighters at San Bruno. "Wo must also pay 200 men ono month's pay in advance that Is, $30,-000; $30,-000; wo cannot meet this expense and still tako up Uiat sight draft now awaiting our attention In Uio bank at Tampa. "In return for this favor to tho provisional pro-visional government of Sobrantc, you shall havo tho noto of tho provisional government, signed by Uio provisional president, myself, and Uio provisional cabinet, Dr. Pachcco, Colonel Caravco, Cara-vco, and two other gcnUemcn whom you will meet In duo courso unless In Uiq Interim they should bo killed. And as a bonus for saving this country from a brutal dictator, who Is pillaging pillag-ing Its resources for his personal prof-It, prof-It, you shall havo n deed of gift to that mining concession you nnd your friend, Geary, nro bo desirous of working; work-ing; also tho tlUo shall klo certified by tho government nnd tho Supremo court of Sobrnnto and absolutely so-cured so-cured to you against fi(turo nggrcs-slon nggrcs-slon In thc event that tho now rcglmo should bo overthrown at somo future date. Also you hnvo my profound gratitude and that of my people." "Tell mo your plan of campaign," Webster suggested. "In a secret rendezvous In the mountains I havo 1,000 picked men my father's veterans. They nro firmed with modern rlllcs and machetes. Tho nltrnto company, which has been suffering suf-fering from heavy export duties Imposed Im-posed by Sarros, has loaned me all tho rolling stock of tho railroad for ono night. It will bo mobilized nt San Miguel do Padua by next Saturday night; my troops will nrrlvo late tho saino afternoon nnd entrain at once. . "In tho Interim nil tclcphono nnd telegraph communications with Due-nnventurn Due-nnventurn will bo severqd. Tho night previous our steamer will havo discharged dis-charged her cargo of men and munitions muni-tions nt San Druno; a chain of outposts out-posts will nt onco bo established nnd all communication with tho capital will bo shut off. "On Saturday night, also, Uio Consolidated Con-solidated Krult company's steamer, La Kstrcll(ta, will mnko port with 3ft Americans In her steerage. TIip.Ij men will bo rond-makera and miners. Imported by Mr. J. S. Webster, nnd In order to mako certain that they "Tell Mo Your Plan of Campalan." will come, you hnvo already ordered thtm by cable. Wo havo arranged with the port doctor to glvo La Hs-trelllta Hs-trelllta n clean bill of health the very ntght sho arrives. Hence tho ship's authorities will not bo suspicious, I hope, when wo remove our men after dark and houso them In Leber's warehouse, ware-house, where they will spend the night unpacking thoso spades, picks und shovels of yours and getUng the factory fac-tory grease off them. "At 4 o'clock In the morning various vari-ous citizens of Sobrante. with rebel-lion rebel-lion In their hearts, will begin to mobilize mo-bilize nt Leber's warehouse, where they will bo Issued rlllcs and ammunition ammuni-tion and where they will wait until tho ncUon Is opened to the south by the detachment from San Hruno, which, having marched from San Kruno Kru-no the night before, will hnvo arrived outside tho city, and will be nwnltlng the slgiml from me I will attack from tho west- cnutiou-ly "Now thorp are i(MXl government nwps lu the ,v n'ul ii urious itu louiiiei.ia on ttif outskirts, llicsccuu 1 tonments are te be rushed and set afire; I figure that tho confusion f our sudden attack will create a riot particularly when I do someUiingthat Isn't very popular as a war feature down this way, and Uint Is charge and keep on coming. "Tho government troops will start to fall back on the city, only to find themselves flanked by n fierce artillery artil-lery Hro from tho San Druno contingent contin-gent ; the troops from thc arsenal, the guards at tho palace and tho Fifteenth Fif-teenth regiment of Infantry, now stationed sta-tioned at tho Cuartel da Infnntcrln, next Uio government palace, will be dispatched post hasto to repulso tho attack, and 400 men, with tho machlno gun company watting In Leber's warehouse, ware-house, will promptly movo upon them from tho rear and capture tho arsenal. Thcro are a few thousand rifles and a lot of ammunition stored Uicro; 1 miss my guess If, as soon ns tho news of Its capture by tho rebels spreads through Uio city (and I shall havo men to spread It), I shall not havo a faw Uiousand volunteers eager to help overthrow Sarros. "Onco cut off from the nrscnnl nnd tho palace, Sarros must fight his way out of the city In order to hnvo tho slightest chance to suppress tho rebellion, rebel-lion, for ho will have no rcfugo In tho city. And with tho railroad and all 'tho rolling stock In our hands, without with-out a commissary for his troops, without with-out h huso of supplies, even should tho government troops fight their way through, they leave Uio city in my hands and I'll recruit and arm my men nnd hunt Uiem down llko Jack rabbits at my leisure. Onco let tho arsenal und tho palace fall Into my hands, onco let mo proclaim myself provisional provis-ional president, onco let Uio people knpw that ltlcardo Ituey, tho beloved, lives again In tho person of his son, und I tell you, Webster, this country is saved. How do you llko my plan of campaign?" "It couldn't bo any better If I had planned It myself. You might accept my suggestion and armor that little motor truck of mine. It arrived on yesterday's stoamefc" "And somo armor sheet steel with It sheet steel already loop-holed for tho bnrrcls of the two machlno guns It will carry I" Dr. Pachcco cried Joy ously. "Havo you provided a chauffeur, Doctor?" "I have Ukewlso an annored sheet-steel sheet-steel closet for him to sit In whllo chnff curing." "How about that loan to Uio Divisional Di-visional government?" ltlcardo demanded de-manded pointedly. Webster did not hcsltntc. After all, what was money to him now? Billy had gone away, his hopes ra'lscd high, already a millionaire after tho fashion fash-ion of mining men, who nro ever ready to count their chicks before they nro hatched, provided only they sco tho eggs. Besides, there was Dolores. Full well Webster realized that Billy, tossed back onco more Into tho Jaws of tho well-known wolf of poverty, would not hnva the courngo upon his return to Sobranto to ask Dolores to share his poverty with hlra; should tho revolution fall, ltlcardo Iluey would bo an outcast, a hunted mnn with a prlco on his head, and In no position to care for his sister, even should ho survive long enough to know ha had a sister. Sho would bo olono In tho world If he, John Stuart Stu-art Webster, failed her now more thnn ever sho needed a man's strength nnd affection to help her navigate tho tldo-rlps of life, for llfo to a woman, alono and unprotected nnd dependent upon her labor for tho bread she must citt, must contain, nt best, a full measure meas-ure of terror and despair aud loneliness. loneli-ness. Ho pictured her through a grim processional of years of skimping and petty sncrlllces and all because he, John Stuart Webster, had hesitated to lend a dreamer and an Idealist a paltry pal-try $ 10,000 without security. No, there was no alternative. If his friendship for Billy was worth a sou, It was worth $-10,000; If his silent, umqultcd lovo for Dolores Ituey was worthy of her, no sncrlflco on his part could bo too great, provided It guaranteed guar-anteed her happiness. "Itulncd again," ho sighed. "This Is only another of those numerous occasions oc-casions when tho tall goes with tho hldo. How soon do you want tho money?" ltlcardo Lulz Ruey leaned forward and gazed very earnestly nt John Stuart Stu-art Webster. "Do you really trust me that much, my friend?" ho asked feelingly. feel-ingly. "Romembor, I am asking you for J-10.000 on faith." "Old sport," John Stuart Webster answered, "you went overboard In Buenaventura harbor and took a chancu among thoso big, liver-colored, hnramer-headed sharks. And you did that becauso you had a cnuso you thought worth dying for. I never knew n mnu who had n causo that was worth dying for who would even es-pouso es-pouso a cause worUi swindling for. You win only I want you to under-stand under-stand ono thing, Rlcanlo: I'm not ilolng this for tho sake of saving that mining concession the Sarros government govern-ment guvo my friend, Oearv. I'm nbovo doing a thing like this for moneyfor mon-eyfor myself. It seoms to mo I must do It to guarnnteo the happiness of two people I love: My friend, Geary, aud Uio girl he's going to marry. I reject your promissory note und your promlso of a deed of gift for that concession, con-cession, und accept only your gratitude. grati-tude. There are no strings to this lonn, becauso It Isn't a loau at all. It's a bet. If you lose. I'll ,olp you get out of Uio country and absolve you of any Indebtedness to me. How-iver, How-iver, If you should win. I know you'll reimburse me from the national treasury." treas-ury." "And you da not desire a bonus?" "Nothing that will cost the if,Wns f this country ono penny of their heritage. I'm goiug to bet thu mon- cy-bct It, understand, not loan tt. Howcver, If you want to be a sport tfnd grant me a Httlo favor In return, you can." "Fire away." "After I give you this money, l don't want Uio doctor nnd tho colonel to kiss mo to Bhow how grateful Uiey are." "You wonderful fellow I Jack Webster, Web-ster, If I had a sister I should want her to marry you." "Show how llttlo you'd Uilnk of your sister staking her to a sentimental senti-mental Jackass. Shall I cable the money to New Orleans In tho morn-lag?" morn-lag?" "Thnt will do very nicely." "To whom shall I cable tho money?" mon-ey?" "Send It to the Plcnyuno National bnnk of New Orleans, with Instructions Instruc-tions to credit account No. 240, J. i:. P., trustee. In this llttlo gnmo we arc playing, my friend, It Is safer saf-er to deal In numbers and Initials rather than nnmes. Tho local cable ofllco leaks quite regularly." "Very well, ltlcardo. I'll attend to It first thing In the morning. Go to It and win, or there'll bo several new faces whining nround the devil, not tho least of which will be mine. When you chargo, remember you're charg- Informed Dolores Fully of His Interview. Inter-view. Ing for my $40,000 nnd go through with It. I worked rather hard for that $40,000, and If I must loso It, 1 do not want to do it In a half-hearted fight. Glvo me, at least, a bloody run for my money. I'll hnvo a reserved seat somowhero watching tho gnme." "If you'll tnko my advice, you'll go aboard La ICstrclllta and stay there until tho Issue Is decided. When the first gun Is fired, It signals the open season on mining engineers who butt In on affairs of state." "What I And mo with a healthy bet down on tho result I I hope I'm a better sport Uian that." "You're Incorrigible Bo careful, then, and don't get yourself potted by a stray bullet." "Shall I seo you fellows before tho blow-oft?" "I scarcely think so." "Then If you're through with me, I'll bid you all good-by and good luck. I'll havo dinner with you In the palace pal-ace Sunday evening." "Taken."' "May I bring a guest?" "By all means." Webster shook hands with tho trio nnd departed for his hotel. For tho first tlmo In many years ho was heavy of heart, crushed. "Neddy Jcromo wns right," ho soliloquized. "This Is tho last place on earth for mo to havo como to. I'vo mnde Neddy sore on me, and ho's lost patlcnco nnd put another an-other mnn In tho Job ho promised ino; I'vo raised Billy's hopes sky-high nnd hnd to bet $40,000 to keep them there; I'vo been fool enough to full In lovo with my friend's flancco; I'm a hu-man hu-man cat's paw, and Uie finest thing I enn do now Is to go out next Sunday morning with that machine gun company com-pany from Leber's warehouse and cet killed." h 'chapter XIV. Tho following morning Webster Informed In-formed Dolores fully of hs Interview with her brother and his confreres the night before, concealing from her only tho fnct that ho wns flnnnclng the revolution und his rensons for flnnnclng flnnnc-lng It. Ho was still depressed, nnd Dolores, observing his mood, forbore to Intrudo upon It. Accordingly slio clnlmed tho prerogative of her sex a slight headache and retreated to her room, In tho privacy of which she was suddenly very much surprised to find herielf weeping softly becauso John Stuart Webster was unhunnv and didn't deserve to be. It was Impossible, however, for Webster long to remain Impervious to tho note of ridiculousness underlying tho forthcoming tragic events. Hero was n llttlo 2x4 poverty-stricken hot-hod hot-hod of Ignorance and Intrigue calling Itself a republic, a llttlo stretch of country no larger than a couple of big western counties, about to Indulge In tho national pastime of civil war ami unable to do It except by graco 0uhllcI,,UmbI Clt,Z0D f " S',er re' F.k ?r.,'!,x """""l iKnorant, . quipped. Ill drilled seml-hrlgnnds calling call-ing themselves soldiers entrusted with her,,rr.;r,",nsm,eof,i,t'"-n" Sp:or;iaVioret'an('(,o'-'ou''-,'l How fnrdcall No wonder Rlcarflo, wlU his northern viewpoint, opproich-ed opproich-ed his patriotic task with gayety. almost al-most with contempt. And when Webster Web-ster recalled thnt tho about-to-be-born provisional government hnd casuully borrowed from him the sum of forty thousnnd dollars In order to turn tho trick borrowing it, forsooth, in much the same spirit -ns a commuter bonrd-Ing bonrd-Ing his train without tho neccssnry faro halls a neighbor and borrows ten cents his natural optimism asserted Itself and ho chuckled ns In fancy ho heard himself telling tho story to Ned-dy Ned-dy Jcromo nnd being branded a liar for his pains. "Well, I've hnd ono comfort over Blnco I first bow that girl," ho reflected re-flected philosophically. "Whllo I'vo never been so unhnppy In all my llfo before, or had to tenr my soul out by tho roots so often, things hnvo been coming my way so fast from oUicr directions di-rections thnt I hnven't hnd much opportunity op-portunity to dwell on the mntter. And for thoso compensating offsets, good Lord, I thank Thee." He was John Stuart Webster again when Dolores saw him next; during tho succeeding days his mood of cheerfulness nnd devll-may-caro Indifference Indif-ference novcr left him. And throughout through-out thnt period of marking tlmo Dolores Do-lores wns much In his society, n condition con-dition which ho told himself was not to his liking but which, nevertheless, ho could not obvlato without seeming Indifferent to her happiness. And to permit his friend's flancco to languish In loneliness and heart-break did not appear to John Stuart Webster as tho part of n truo friend or a courtly gentleman gen-tleman nnd ho remembered thnt 8h6 had once called him that. They rode together In the cool of tho morning; they drovo together on tho Malccon In tho cool of tho evening; chaperoned by Don Junn Cafctcro and a grinning Sobrnntcnn, they went shark fishing In Leber's launch; Uiey played dominoes together; they discussed, throughout tho long, lazy, quiet afternoons, after-noons, when the remainder of their world retired for tho siesta, books, art, men, women, and things. And not once, throughout two weeks of camaraderie, did thc heart-racked Webster forget for n slnglo Instant that he was thc new friend, destined to becomo tho old friend; never, to the girl's watchful eyes, did he betray be-tray the slightest disposition to establish estab-lish their frjcndly relntloi.s on a closer basis. Thus did tho nrrlval of Tho Day find them. Townrd sunset they rode out together along thc bny shore and noted far out to sea the smear of smoke that marked tho approach of Ia Kstrellltn on schedule time. "You will go aboard her tonight," Webster said very quietly to Dolores. "And you?" "I shall go aboard with you. I havo arranged with Don Juan for him to stay ashore and to come out In Leber's Le-ber's launch with tho first rcllnhlo news of the conflict. If ltlcardo wins tho cMy, ho wins Uie revolution, nnd you and I will then go ashore to dlno with him In tho pahuc If he loses tho city, ho loses the revolution, nnd wo will both do well to remnln aboard la Kstrelllta." "And In thnt event, whnt will becomo be-como of my brother?" "I do not know; I forgot to nsk him, but If ho survives, I lmnglno he'll hnvo senso enough to know ho's whipped nnd will retreat on Son Bruno, Bru-no, fighting n rear guard action, embark em-bark aboard tho steamer that brought his men Uicrc, nnd escnpo." "I'm worried nbout Mother Jenks." "I hnvo nsked Mother Jcnks to dlno with us nt 7:30 this evening, nnd hnvo ordered n carrlago to call for her. When sho comes 111 tell her everything; every-thing; then, If she wishes to stay ashore, let her. She's been through more than ono such fracas and doesn't mind them nt all, I daro say." And In this Webster wns right. Mother Jcnks listened In profound silence, si-lence, nodding her'npprovnl, as Webster Web-ster related to her tho story of tho advent In tho country of ltlcardo Ruey and his plans, but without revealing tho Identity of Andrew Bowers. At tho conclusion of his recital tho old publican merely said: "Gor' bll' mo!" After n sllenco sho added: "My sainted 'Knery used to s'y tho proper hodds for a white man In a bally row o' this nature was 40 to 1. Gor', but how my sainted 'Knery would henjoy bcln' 'ero this night to 'elp with tho guns." Sho sighed. "How nbout n llttlo bottle of wlno to drink pence to your sainted Henry nnd luck to Tho Cuuse?" Webster suggested. sug-gested. "That's wot I cnlls tnlkln'," Mother Jenks responded promptly, nnd Webster, Web-ster, gnzlng reflectively nt tho old lady's beard, wondered why she had uot been born n man. Dolores, fenrful for her benefactor's safety, urged Mother Jenks to accompany accom-pany them out nboord La Kstrellltn, but tho old diuno Indignantly refused, nnd when pressed for a reason gavo t with tho utmost frankness: "They'll bo tykln' Sarros, an' when thoy tyko Ira they'll bnck him ng'ln tho snmo wall he backed my sainted 'Enery and your father against, my dear. I'vo a notion that your father's son'll let Mrs. Col. -Enery Jenks como to the party." (TO BB CONTINUED.) |