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Show PTTTTTfftTfTfWTfffrTWTTfTMTTTTWTfw I Bat Z Jr Copyright ty I : Fred McLaughlin . w N u 8 j CHAPTER XI Continued -13- " Ola Jaw dropped, the fires of anger fn his eyes died down passion went '.'oat--of his face and a happy smile epread over It. 'Francois!" he cried. "None otLer, Bruglere." ITe held my . hands and laughed aloud In an excess of Joy ; he pat his arms around me. "We Rave you "up for lost, dear friend. What are you," Francol9 twins?" lie pointed to the still form of Madrella. "If you are Francois and yon are heyond a doubt who. In the name of God, Is that?" "Who Is he? He Is the man who killed Lestrange, and stabbed the frood Colonel Lopez. lie Is Captain Francois do VIgny, late of his majesty's maj-esty's service, and being dead b1 is, therefore, no more a fugitive from Justice!" "What a thing I" cried Bruglere. A wagon, escorted by a squad of soldiers, came from the garrison at Cuernavaca and carried away the body of Madrella. Bruglere told me that Louis Napoleon Na-poleon of France, who cared 'less for Mexico than he did for his mustache, mus-tache, had withdrawn all support, that the great republic to the north of ub, awakening slowly from a disastrous disas-trous civil conflict, had made a gesture ges-ture of displeasure, and the good Louis sensing his own danger from a rising tide of Prusslanism In the East had dodged, rie said that the feared attack of Juarez upon Cuernavaca Cuer-navaca had not materialized, and that Maximilian, needing badly the reinforcements rein-forcements he had sent, recalled them "Then Cuernavaca will fall, my friend," said L "and after that the city." . "I cannot say," said Bruglere, "my service, Francois, calls for fighting, not for thinking; and Maximilian still leans upon a large army." Bruglere seemed less Interested In Cuernavaca's problem than in ray own peculiar case. ."As be Is dead Madrella, I mean and Captain Vlg ny will be burled tomorrow or the day thereafter, who are you 1" I laughed. "I am not Pe VIgny, and I find substantial faults about the Identity of 'Madrella. so 1 cannot be that clever gentleman. Besides, a lady glorious La Anita, whom you have doubtless seen told Madrella that she didn't love him, and I do not cure to be one whom the senorita cannot love." "Could she love De VIgny?" Inquired In-quired Bruglere. "Ayel" "And De VIgny Is dead." He chuckled. .'Tour luck Is out, Fran cols!" . CHAPTER XII The Fall of Cuernavaca After the burial of Madrella as De Wgny I left the town of Cuernavaca, for I wanted to be alone; 1 tmd no wish to see people. I had lost an Identity, I had died disgraced, I luid lost La Anita because I had killed De VIgny and she had loved De VIgny. I had killed the man she loved, and to take his place I must face another an-other disgraceful death. There was orre solution, an easy one. I could still die De VIgny, and as she loved De VIgny, 1 might take awny with me wrapped up In raj soul a portion of that wondrous love of hers, to be . with me through all eternity. Yes, that was the easiest way and I had faced death too many times to fear It, The thing was too easy, the problem was solved, for surely such a love as hers could reach Into another world. My mind was made up; I would go home, I would take the hand of brave honest Pasqual lu mine and I would bid him good-by. I would thank lilrn and his lovely little Dolores for the many things that they had done for me; 1 would write a letter to my mother, and a letter to Anita, and then ... Now, approaching me at breakneck speed, a horseman came into view; and looking more closely, I recognized the "calico" pony and knew l he ridc-i for Pasqual. Why should he ride so swiftly, why should he hurry? Th-world Th-world held much for him. Wondering Wonder-ing thus. I waited He brought the pony to a sliding, dust-raising halt In front ol me. His eyes were wild with excitement and his tall body trembled 'Senor. the soldiers of Benito Juarez 1 They nre everywhere, senor; they approach mj house, they fill the valley and they line the ridges. There are mnny thou sands of them," Now I knew that Bruglere would get the lighting his service algnllied. and I feared that, so far as th, French were concerned. Cuernavaca would ha closed. Behind us came the clear notes of a hugle. The Cuernavuen garrison Mas preparing the frail skeleton ot a host that would have been required to hold the city against Juarez I had saved it once, and It had dropped hack Into a fool's dream of security Ah. well I The Mexican advance-guard, touch Ing the Freucb outposts, opened up an Intermittent firing, and the French and Belgians fired also ; and, for the first time In many months I heard the soft drowsy drone of speeding bullets The excitement of the battle got Into In-to my blood; I must see it, I must get Into It. I found a narrow water-bag water-bag fashioped from the skin of a goat. I filled It, and, with a drinking gourd, set out No one would stop a bent old man Intent, on giving wounded soldiers the blessing of a drink. The clash of contact came to me; the thudding of cannon and the rasping rasp-ing screech of n shell; the swift crash of musketry, the wild yells of sudden charges, and the shrill agon Izing scream of a wounded horse. It was nil so real to me, all so vivid; and I longed to be shoulder to shoulder shoul-der with the brave French and Bel glan lads who were waging a hopeless hope-less fight But I was nobody, I had no Identity, no country, no future, no ties. ... I was Just an oil man, following In the wake of a victorious vic-torious army, bearing a water-bag. Now I saw Leroux and Besancon. captains In the Juarl6t army. Thej led the center of that vast force, and I remembered their words: "Some day a great battle between the Empire Em-pire and the Republic will hang In the halance; then will come our opportunityand op-portunityand the Republic will lose! The city, scarce a half-mile away, lay before us, and between us and that goal an army barred the way Tbe right wing of the Liberal forces touched the bench to the cast of the city, the left wing spread across the valley, while the center held to the road. The wings were thrust forward for-ward like a great, swooping bird of prey. I could not but wonder how helpless the bird would he without that body ... . and Leroux and Besancon controlled the massed forces In the center which made up the body The two brave sons of France must have had the same thought also, for the center came apart opened grud ually as soldiers under orders of 'their two captains went : eastward toward the bench or westward toward the alley; leaving a gap that even t small force of French enterlnc quickly and turning might have put the Juarlst army to a grievous dls advantage. Now Leroux played "the game that he and Besancon had doubtless re hearsed. He stood out In the middle of that fatal opening in the Liberal position and. facing the Allied forces, fashioned a sort of bugle with his hands : "Come on," lie called In French ; "the way is open J Approach, son? of France, and win an empire!" I wrung my hands In Impotent mis ery. Why why did not they charge? Here was a chance to save the cltv to crush the Juarlst army, to capture possibly, the great general hlmsHf Men DIeu had they turned to stone? Surely they could henr him. Ipfs than three hundred meters distant. "Are you cowards." screamed Leroux; Le-roux; "why don't you move? Approachthe Ap-proachthe gate Is wide, the gate to freedom, to glory . . . Come In!" lie waited, expectant, but they did not move. Now his voice shrilled far above the clamor of Etrife : "Name of CI d are you dead on your feet, or do you stand out there to have 3011 r pictures taken; have you come to buttle or do you seek siesta?" The Mexican soldiers understood his gestures, If not his words. A dozen doz-en guns spoke behind him, and Leroux. Le-roux. raising his arms In final sup plication, fell. The promising gar closed again, and the body of the giant bird of prey moved on, I approached Leroux, lying beside the road. 1 raised his head and poured a gourd of cowl water down his throat. He opened his eyes. "I 1 thank yon." he whispered. "A glorious thing. Kene!" I cried. "It Is Francois do you know me?" Ho smiled a little. "Ever u clever rascal! C.eneral Juarez neer knew., for Madrella never mine. Well, we tried." He attempted to raise his head und failed, a film rame over his eyes "Why did they not come In, Francois with the way 6u easy?" I raised my eyes to the field of bat' lie. The Allied army had retreated Into the town, and the wings of the invading force had closed In. 1 knew that Maximilian had lost the last strategic gateway to the historic city "What do you see, Francois? Everything Ev-erything is black before me; tell me what you see." "I see," said !, "a man on yondei ridge who wigwags a signal with two flags." "What does he say. dear friend?" Rene's whisper was faintly audible I booked that message from across the valley: "Lamadrid is dead!" That was It . , . Colonel Ijumi diid, the commandant of the garrisoi; at Cuernavaca. had been killed. This, then, was why they hadn't charged Mon DIeu! I could not repress a sigh. "What Is It. Francois; what mes sage docs he semi? I cannot see. ; canr.ol hear the guns. Tell me quick ly I am going." "He says, Kene." 1 tied, "that tin- French have won aid that the Empire Em-pire la saved." 1 "Thank the good Godl" whispered Leroux, smiling and smiling, died. ' The' short, mild winter had gone and spring had come again; the sun at midday was hot, and the early morning had lost Its chill. We had broken ground for the spring crop Pasqual and I had sowed the seed, and now the tiny shoots were coming up. 'But In my heart there was no spring, no happiness, no rebirth. The fields, the horse, the plow, food and sleep that was my life.. I had be-, come. In very truth, a brother to the ox. They had put away De VIgny, had prayed for the salvation of his soul, und De VIgny was no more. I was only the husk of a human being, the empty shell from which Identity had long since, fled, from which the soul had been removed. Since the Mexicans had taken Cuer navaca and held It against the French I had never been to that city, though It was only a mile or two away. After the full of Cuernavaca Cuerna-vaca I had given up, a prey to bitter discouragement, and had 6c-t out on the road to Acapulco, where I had taken a snlllng ship for the Slates But when the Pacific port had dropped behind us, sinking In the mists of the ocean, the Irresistible lure of La Anita came back to me. and 1 knew that separated from her by so vast a distance I should die So I left the boat at Manzanlllo, and took the next one back to Acapulco where I labored for a pittance, load Ing ships with bales of cotton and bags of sugar and co(Tee. One night In an Acapulco rautinn I had hoard a dashing Mexican olll cer give a toast to the "Olorlous Ar reltanos the goddess of Cuerna vara!" Curenavaca? Then she had left the city? That sent me batk to the plantation of Pasqual, where I resumed my work In the fields. The knowledge that she was neni gave me consolation, yet 1 never won dered why she had come, nor had I ever gone to Cuernavaca to see her My mind could not conceive of my looking upon her again. I was deal & w 1' "What Is It, Francois; What Message Does He Send?" and she loved me; surely that was sufficient, for coming back to life would be no gain. Ah the years I lived In those few months I One day In April the Acapulco road suddenly tilled with people. The, traveled afoot, on the hack of burros, bur-ros, rnulps, horses, and even oxen; In wagons, in carts, In great, high wheeled "prairie schooners" that held a score or more, and In every con celvahle manner than man will travel hound, all. for Cuprnavacn. A wagon, filled wllh half drunken soldiers and drawn by two lean mules, stopped. "AI. vlejo old onel" they yelled 'Come on; we go to Cuernavaca. where the generals review the troops before we march upon the city I Ride with us!" I shook my head; whereupon, after some boisterous consultation, four of them descended from the wagon, climbed the fence, took me by the arms half dragging, half carrying me toward the wagon -laughing gaily nil the while. They deposited me. as they would have a bag of coffee. Into t lie hay-IIni I equipage and thrust a bottle Into my hands. "Drink, vlejo this Is Cuernavaca's . greatest day!" I drank. It was tequllla, the fiery poison that the Moxhan peou con shlers drink. It put a (lame Into my blood; the years fell away from tup. and I waved my hat at pa.ssers-by, and yelled, and whistled, and sang In hulf-dellilous fervor. So we came fo Cuernavaca, where 1 he Rtreots were, lined with people and where a holiday ilrft tilled the ulr J gained the impression; from what I heard that the menacing cloud of Imperialism, which had hovered over the land for three years, was gradually passing away, and the bright sun of freedom bad begun to shine again. The Empire had failed . the emperor had lost I From afar came faintly to us the sound of cheering; a ripple of applause ap-plause swept over the waiting crowd, punctuated by sharp cries of "Viva Viva Juarez 1 Viva Escobedol" As the carriage, drawn by a pair of magnificent black horses and containing con-taining two generals In gorgeous uniform uni-form came Into view, a booming voice roared at my ear: "Vlvji La Senorita Senor-ita 1" Now 1 looked and saw La Anita and her auntl Their backs to the driver, they faced the Mexican generals, gen-erals, and, although she smiled at the multitude, I thought her lovely face was very pale. All the old love came flack to me, burning me again like a flame, filling my empty soul with new resolve, A hat a wide-brimmed, high-crowned high-crowned sombrero hurled doubtless by some devout disciple of drink, sailed gracefully through the air and struck one of the nervous, high strung horses hitched to the glittering carriage, car-riage, lie. squealed, reared, plunged, filled his mate with his own fear, and the two beyond control of the driver and maddened by their own Increasing Increas-ing terror dashed away, plunging wildly, the frail equipage lurching like a tiny dory In a storm. She was In danger, La' Anita might be killed! I took no thought of consequences; con-sequences; my life and the spending of It was hers. As they sped by I launched my body at the racing horses reaching blindly. My fingers touched a strap clutching; the great ring that forms the end of n Mexican bit found Its way by good fortune Into my other hand, and, thanking God for the good strength that lie had given me, I held and held as the "pounding hoofs heat me down. Uue of the horses fell, and before he could find his feet again the crowd closed In. She was safe then, she was unhurt; and as the myriad faces above me wavered and were lost In the sen of blackness and came back again my heart sang, because she was safe, she was unhurt. Now 1 saw her. she wus coming toward to-ward me. and 1 was afraid. 1 tried to arise am failed, bo I lay, waiting She bent over me, fear and anxiety in the deep amber eys. Ah what a glorious belug she was! If I migh! die. with my eyes on that exquisite face that's all I asked; Just to look upon her while I died, fo enrry that picture away with me; to hold for ever. "How brave a thing, senor!" she said, and the music of her voice was sotlly soothing. "Are you hurt?" 1 tried to smile. "No," I said, searching tier face In eager hunger. At the sound of my voice a shadow of fear crossed her face, rested one brief Instant in her eyes. She touched her throat with slim fingers, as If to stifle a cry. "Monsieur!" she whispered, whis-pered, in the tone of awe that one might use In speaking to a ghost. I raised my hands toward her. "As you are no longer helpless. Anita mla, nor In the power of the French, may I tell you that I love you?" Now a nauseating dizziness came over me, a vast weariness possessed me; and. as her exquisite face faded sadly in a misty turbulent sea, and the shadows came, and darkness settled set-tled upon the world, 1 heard, as In "a dream just as 1 had heard in otu er dreams the voice of La Anita: "Francois Francois." and again, "Francois 1" . They moved me, under heavy guard, from the gloomy hospital where I had lain three weeks while ribs had healed and wounds had disappeared to the even more gloomy prison, where 'they cast me with scant ceremony cere-mony and less gentleness Into a cell with one barred, narrow window through which the morning sun came for an hoar or two. So, a prisoner, a spy, 1 waited. My heard had been removed, and with It the mantle of age; my Identity revealed. re-vealed. The trick I had played up on Juarez and Escobedo had doubtless doubt-less long since been discovered, and I was certain I would have to pay for that. A few days later the rising sun found, me on the Toluca road, with sturdy mountain ponies between my knees, and ten tatterdemalion soldiers as a guard, I had been exchanged to the French for an officer of equn.' rank, and was on my way to my trav csty of a trial. CHAPTER XIII The Coming of La Anita Through the window of the cell across the narrow hall I h watched the red sun go down behind the Sierra Sier-ra Agostlno. and had looked with m soid In my eyes, as the shades of Iwilisrlit fell, for this was my last aun set, this the last time that I might see ihe soft purple veil that come er're the itiirlit. , I had been found guilty ol murtlor In the death of Captain Lestrange, of resisting arrest and of making an unprovoked attack upon a superior officer In the person of Colonel Lopez, Lo-pez, and of desertion In that I had fled and had not returned to the service serv-ice of the Empire for more than half a year. My sentence, of course, was death. Anon, the silent guard appeared bringing my supper of baked chlva, frljolcs and tortillas; and with him came Neville and Bruglere, who sat mute or sighing deeply, and watched me -eat 'I cannot stand It, Francois," Neville Ne-ville said at last; "you eat the food as though you might enjoy It .and you face your last night with a dreamy Bort of smile upon your face. Are you mad, dear friend; has life been so unfortunate a thing a thing of such overwhelming sorrow that 3'ou leave It with a smile?" "Life has been a beautiful thing, Neville a glorious thing and I have lived It. No man has got more out of life than I." "Madness, Francois; you 'have lived ns a stupid old man so long your brain has dried. There are left so few of us, so very few; all In less than a year. Some day, Francois, 1 will have to tell your mother." Now, having finished this final meal of mine, I got up and put an arm across his shoulder. "There Is no man In all the world that I would rather have tell her than you. my friend. And you may tell her that I died for a love worth dying for and that I was happy. Now a little cheerfulness, Neville; Is It thus that you come to my death chamber and pull a sigh that fairly bends the bars of my cage?" A slow smile Bpread across hla handsome face, but a hurt lay deep In his eyes. "Do you know," he said, after a long silence, "that the emperor plans to break through the Liberal lines and make for the city or the sea?" "lie can do It," said Bruglere; "when?" "Tomorrow a forlorn hope. tie has but ten thousand men, and all of Mexico Is up In arms against him." "Tomorrow; ah I Not so forlorn a hope, Neville, An effort worthy of our emperor." "But ten thousand men," said Neville. Ne-ville. "Is enough, Xenophon led ten thousand thou-sand men across fifteen hundred miles of alien country and lived to write about It Shall Maximilian do less?" "If Lopez " I began, but stopped, because the sound of footsteps on the cobbled walk under my window came to us; footsteps and a voice a low musical voice that brought my heart Into my throat "Anita." I whispered, whis-pered, "would she come here?" "Aye," said Bruglere; "shall she Journey a hundred and fifty miles over this God-forgotten land to see you and pause at the portals of a prison? You do not know La Anita." "Mon DIeu," I gasped, "Mon DIeu: she would come here?" "Assuredly." Bruglere grasped my arm. "Shall she find you sad, Francois, Fran-cois, or happy? Shall we wait solemn, sol-emn, silent fearing death, or shall she find three merry soldiers of the Empire, facing light-heartedly anything any-thing that may come?" "1 thank you. dear friend. We must not hurt her. She shall (1ml us In Joyful celebration; we shall drink and laugh and sing!" We might have been at our actus tomed table at the Cafe Mlramon; we were laughing gaily together nud trying, vtlth woefully Inadequate voices, to sing when the guard brought her to the door and let her In Ah what a glory she brought Into that prison I She gave me her hand, a warm sweet smile on her lovely face "What wondrous friends you have, senor." "A good friend, senorita. Is a gift of God." "Then you nre twice blessed." She offered slim fingers to Neville, Bruglere Bru-glere cuught her swiftly In his arms and kissed her: then, while she stood, blushing prettily, said: "Francois Is thrice blessed, gracious lady, for he has a friend among the angels." "You should save your honeyed words for Colonel Lopez. lie Is beside be-side himself with fury." Brugiere laughed. "Our Frankenstein Franken-stein will hesitate before he builds another monster." "Yet he will do some desperate thing, I fear. No one may reach his majesty; I have tried." "The colonel," explained Neville, 'has thrown a cordon of his own creatures crea-tures around the emperor. I have striven for a week to gain the ear of Maximilian. No one may even approach ap-proach La Cruz. What Lopez Is planning plan-ning to do I cannot Imagine." "What the estimable colonel may choose to do," said Brugiere, "need concern us this night not at all. for what he docs wIP be stupid or dishonest, dis-honest, and neither stupidity nor dishonesty dis-honesty can avail him anything. Wher. the emperor hears the truth about Lopez Lo-pez we will have another chief of staff." TO UK CONTINUED.) IS BEST Your health is too important! jYou cannot afford to experiment with your delicate bowels when coated tongue, bad breath, headache, gas, nausea, fevcrishness, lack of appetite, no energy, etc., warn of constipation. This applies not only to grown people, but more particularly particu-larly to children. That's why a family doctor's laxative is always the safe choice. 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