Show The V Vale Ie ol of Aragon q By ly FRED McLAUGHLIN Author of ol The Blade of ht b by Bobbs CO I CHAPTER VIII Continued VilI-Continued Continued 9 9 Pin Pini brought the pistol to bear I upon me Do you speak thus to tome tome tome me your our colonel your commanding officer Under similar conditions my ray colonel I would speak so to Bolivar Boll Boli var himself hud had he fallen so lon V Io n a thing 1 I cannot Imagine for of ot allour all nil allour our officers I think Colonel Pini 1 Is I the only man who might have hare planned an act so vile rile Madness Aye a veritable madness madness mad mad- ness yet jet his eyes had offered Insult Insult In In- sult suit to the Senorita and I worshiped worshiped worshiped wor wor- herAu her Ah Au Loren she cried fear In her voice voice and and love lo I think as well veIl How ast vast a blunder Can Cano you o not not see see see- LiIl oren Loren well veur FIlls r F Ills voice was Icy menacing Ah Als Dulce asia rula I gasped I cannot think I love thee I Iery Very ery er pretty prett said Pini He Hel offered offered of ot- a n sour smile I have waited for such a time as this He lie thought a moment It Is the SenorIta Senorita Se- Se norIta no LamartIna-no no Then she shall see how bow we deal with Insubordination ordination a grievous crime At such a u time I may JUay be Judge and Jur Jury and executioner for It Is my myrI rI right ht II The pistol Is not made my colonel colonel colonel col col- col- col onel I said that may kill me In Instantly Instantly Instantly In- In and if I am given so much muchas as half halt a minute minute- No said Dulce no I She came forward arms outstretched toward the man who waited weapon weapon wea wea- pon non pointing at my heart An Anything Anything Any thing Colonal Pin but butI but to I thrust her aside No Nol I 1 I cried leaping toward him as the gun roared filling the room with thun tuna der Flame traversed my mr arm and sent the red hot pain palis coursing through my body My I right firm arm fell useless and the fingers of my left hand found his IsIs throat and held No matter what hat befell I knew that hat only death awai awaited ed me for this his attack attach upon a n superior regardless of the circumstances or orthe orthe orthe the provocation could mean but butone butone butone one thing a n court and n a a decree of death So with the weight of my bod body ody and the strength of ot my legs I held him against ag the wall while my fingers did their work vork I even en laughed a shrill maniacal outburst and I 1 talked Do you ou see Dulce my own how a craven crayen dies No Loren no it Is murder If you love loye me dear heart you ou will wIl not do 10 It It I But he lie offered Insult to thee I shall 1 I not riot l kill him lilal for that does he not deserve e deserve T Listen Loren do you ou not hear heart It t I N Now w there came to us the clear dear high ugh s of a bugle a lug hig ng electric summons I guess I Iam Iam am nm and have alwa always s 's been first a soldier for that call can to arms arias cleansed cd my mind of or hatred and lound toune a soldiers soldier's read ready acquiescence acquiescence cence cern In my heart Colonel Pini freed at last staggered staggered staggered stag stag- to the table and braced his lila swaying body with his hands You will pa pay for this Senor he lie rasped through a tortured throat Wild yells followed the call all of the he bugle bugl and Intermittent thudding thudding thudding thud thud- ding of guns then thon an orderly fusil fusil- lade ade I knew that the Spaniards laving having reformed b behind us to cut us off oft were Investing the city I expect to pay colonel and you will doubtless pay when Bolivar hears how you have thrown away the he fruits of a dearly bought vic vie tory After Arter this skirmish he lie said moving unsteadily toward the wreckage of the doorway th there ere will wm be n a court II I 1 shall be ready my colonel 1 I 0 S C C S S SAh Ah Ah Loren that you should have found me thus I am thankful that I 1 was able to o find Ond you at nil all 1 went to my knees and pressed m my lips ups against a n slim hand for my love hove for her has been the sort of ot worship that mortals offer up to saints Am I Inot Inot Inot not forgiven en Senorita that I was wasso wasso so blind as not to see through your masquerade e eShe She put her hand band upon my head It Is light again your our your hair I Iam Iam Iani am ani glad Lor Loren n. n The rhe tumult of ot conflict approached ap- ap and I 1 knew kne the- the force of Colonel Pini drunk with a n false i victory and too much wIne nine and Insufficiently In In- I sufficiently outfitted with guns and I ammunition were vere ere beaten and movIng may may- ing lag back Do they lose your lose your men 7 I nodded I am am sorry Spain does not belong be be- long hong In Venezuela I have seen You must go you jou ou must save your your- self Belt Your life life lite- Do you jou oU love lo me rue Dulce mla mIa 7 Now she came to her knees beside beside beside be be- side me Ah Loren mb there Is nothing In my life but love hove for thee I IThen Then you ou forgive A Aye e dear heart I Kiss me kiss me and hold bold me rue hold me close then Loren you are arc wounded there Is la blood Ah God Cod preserve thee 1 My arm only but I can hold thee well with one I laughed In Inan Inan an sin excess of happiness So SQ I J kissed the shining the te tear r e eyes es and the tender lips and I held her close to my heart again for I knew that this would be the end Defeat or vIctory victory vic vie tory for tor the forces of Bolivar nr m my fate was sealed scaled PoUto Polito I said lies Hes wounded but not seriously In an adobe house less Jess than two hundred meters meters met met- ers era south from here Now she clung to me face upraised upraised upraised up up- raised In pleading Is there blame In th thy heart Loren that should be fighting for the SpanIsh Spanish Span Span- ish IsIs 7 A eA soldier may not turn his back hack upon his country my sweet Polito owes his s service r to his king Bless thee my own Adios I CHAPTER IX The Spirit of th the Dead O OF Ii F TUB TIlE six hundred and fifty men who had gone so blithely to the Investment In of ot the thic town of Maracay scarce four hundred remained remained re re- re- re starvelings trapped In a n strip of Jungle Ie that lI lies s between tue we valenCia range ami am tile me sea blocked on the north by the se sea It Itself itself it- it self on the south by an army patrollIng patrolling pa pa- trolling the road rond that followed tI the e crest of the range and menaced In the rear by an ever approaching body hody of ot well accoutered and well- well fed Spanish troops Adolfo de deF deFuentes deFuentes F Fuentes entes himself led them and It must have ha afforded him a n deal of Joy If It we had bad Bolivar Monahan ventured Doctor Lindsay laugh laughed cd Does our Irish Venezuelan patriot who comes from Killarney and who therefore must believe In fairies Imn Imagine ine that General Bolivar might free us from this tills Impasse Sure said the tue Irishman at a I word from Simon Bolivar noU men will willI spring full armed like spirits out of the earth But nut we haven't the I spirit of Bolivar with us now now Instead In In- stead we have a spineless jellyfish I who sits and broods over his blun- blun cers lers knowing that we face starvation starvation star a tion or cap capture ure by the Puerto Cabello Cabello Ca- Ca bello garrison when the army b be he- behind hind us shall have pushed us westward west vest ward to the mouth mouths of this funnel of jungle that hol holds s us helpless Ten da days s before this a vastly superior superior su su- su- su force had pushed us out of ot l Maracay Fighting every foot of the way Ya we wc had been beaten back ever er back Eastward and northward north north- ward vard we ve had gone contending desperately desperately des des- hopelessly sly yet ct never givIng giving givIng ing up each ench night finding us farther farther far far- ther into the tue Spanish area mea weaker less able to endure with a n morale that wa with the slow gave e way passage passage passage pas pas- sage sag of time Between Colonal Pini Pinland and myself an armed truce existed Whether by some sonic miraculous turn of good fortune we won free or whether the malevolent male Jungle or the SpanIards Span- Span Spaniards lards claimed us the result to me inc would woul be bc the same for the friendship friendship friend friend- ship of a u few trusted aides of Bolivar Boil Boli var ar might never save me in a court because I was guilty guilt and could not offer a d defense Yet no apprehension of what Pini might do do to me could prevail nil against my happiness because I had s seen e. e the Senorita again aIn hind had tile tue tender cadences or of ncr her voice olce had won forgiveness As the days daj's went ent by the shoulders shoulders shoal shoal- ders of our soldiers drooped the tue light went vent out of their e eyes es and the flesh went off alT ff their bodies for food we had almost none find and the desperate heat of the overwhelming overwhelm overwhelm- In ing Jungle sickened them and the gloom and silence of ot this tills dread desolation entered their souls yet et that vital spark still burned within within with with- in them We came one day to a great rent In th the packed close trees and the Interlacing vines vInes vInes-of of our forest prison It was such a a path as some monster dragon of the deep emergIng emerging ing lag from the sea sen might have made In Its passa passage e through the jungle jun jun- gl gle yet we knew that no dragon of ot the deep existed knew that no animal might have laid these mighty trees fiat and pushed others out of its path paths I 1 recalled the day of the storm and the wreck of ot the Santa LucrecIa Lu- Lu crecIa and the dark bulk that had passed In the gloom as I fought for my life with the waves I remembered that the tremendous tremendous dous ious thrust of the wind had lifted the ocean Into the maze of ot woods and had bad deposited me In a tree The Santa Lucrecia Luerecia then had freed herself from the clutches of the reef and riding the elevated ele waters of ot the tidal wave had driven en over the tint flat floor of the Jungle which which lay only a n few feet fact above the level le of the sea sea and and had hind found at last a n grave In the forest whence It had c come me And the Santa Lucrecia I remembered hind had a cargo of arms and ammunition and food I J Colonel Pin said I In the Ufe long hong sll silence nce that had held us may not this small arm army of ot ours ours given given food and arms and und powder and ball ballwin ballwin wIn win through the tile lines of ot Spain It If I fill them with f food od and put weapons and ammunition Into their hands hands- Are you mad 1 he cried If I do these things s my colonel may I ask that this court will be forgot forgot- that my wounded arm and the broken door at Maracay and Maracay-and and the SenorIta v Lindsay and Captain Monahan may witness said Pini and he lie smiled my promise to forget et Maracay If you ou obtain the manna for these soldiers I will tell teU you then my colonel colonel colo cob nd nel that this tills path paths marks marl the first and last lund hind passage of th the Santa Lucrecia mind md If we only follow It we will rIhl come upon a store sufficient for an un army S S S S b S S For three days dayse e we ate ute and rested and caroused unmindful of ot the forces of ot Spain for tor we could have held this ship against an army And the lean Indians filled out like dogs at n a a feast and c eyes es brIghtened brightened bright brIght- ened and shoulders squared and patriotism flamed again and strength th came cume back to us us- us strength of ot body and mind and spirit spirit and and the will to win was ours and n a desire to pit against the enemy this renewed vigor that belonged to us We put nut away one more ore gargantuan gargantuan gargan gargan- tuan meal meal n a breakfast breakfast amId took each two pistols and a musket and sufficient t ammunition to carry us through a 0 score of skirmishes and then thene e we set the torch to the good goodship goodship goodship ship Santa Lucrecia In a n dozen different different different dif dif- ferent places We turned our faces sout southward toward the barrier range where an enemy a awaited waited us anti and with songs of victory on our our lips we drove onward up the tImbered timbered tim tIm- slopes while flumes flames spurted sk skyward from the doomed ship an and spreading Into the tIme Jungle le fashIoned fashioned fash fash- band a raging hell behind us We emerged from the cover coyer of ot the forest and fell Cell upon the thin line that held the time heights They must have considered us shrieking demons from the fiery pit that we had left for th they y broke crying out ont In the fullness of their terrors and cast their weapons away as useless against the Imps who had Just escaped escaped es es- es- es capeci from the blazing tumult that devoured the jungle On we went ever er southward down the forested Incline that led toward the vast ast basin of Lake Va Va- lencia East of ot Valencia Valencin we swept s across the fields that were checkered checkered check check- ered with green and brown Free d fi S Lindsay and Captain Monahan May Witness s Said Pini and He Smiled at nt last of ot enemy Interference we I sl skirted the lal lake e and bent our steps toward the town of near I. I which we ve knew would would lie Liethe lie liethe the lines of Bolivar DoU and where before the sun hind had set we fell exhausted ex exhausted ex cx- hausted but happy Into the arms of our own Verily the spirit of ot the dead had armed the living I IS S S S S S S S Storm clouds were gathering In Inthe Inthe Inthe the south ant and east and thunder rumbled along the crest of the Carabobo hills while we stood at attention waiting for General Bolivar Boli Boll var ar to pin upon the tle Jacket et of Colonel Colonel Colo Cob nel Pini the coveted Order of Lib He lIe complimented the colonel colonel col col- coi- coi onel ouch upon the courage of ot himself and his men In breaking through the Spanish lines and taking the town toun of Maracay and he lie offered mild apologies that Paez and Plaza had bad failed to help him hold tt It Fra Francisco touched m my elbow Do Donot Donot Donot not your fingers fingel's ache Garde do donot donot donot not those capable hl hands ds of yours Itch to take hold of Pini's throat Why should they said I. I for I knew that Monahan had talked did not Pini give ghe me my life For the Order of Liberators he lie said smiling a cherished decoratIon decoration decora decora- decoration tion and to think that a manlike man manlike like Pini PIn I should have baYe got it I As far ns as I am aims concerned FrancIsco our colonel may have haye It surely It will give gis-e e 1 him little Joy Now I remembered the look in Pini's e eyes es when they had bad rested on the Senorita and a flame of rage scorched me I wondered then If I 1 would not yet have to deal with the colonel and I hoped In my heart beart that 1 I would Has lies there been any news of the Senorita or of Francisco's finger I r knew was upon the Uie pulse of Venezuela None except that Adolfo Is now In command of ot the Valencia garrison gar gar- arrIson ar- ar rison and we may assume that the Senorita and amid her brother are there also ulso It Is good goodnews news my friend for Valencia is la scarce twenty miles from fi here hero With only a Spanish army of ot seven se or eight thousand soldiers barring barring- our way vay A simple thing Indeed he Jeered for la Ion Torre and Morales with all ull the available forces of ot Spain await us on the the plains of Carabobo Then risen we v meet them there Francisco Francisco Fran Fran- cisco A Aye He TIe thought a moment I think La Torre made mulu a n mistake when he dl did not |