Show THE VALE 1 by y FRED mclaughlin 6 T of the blade of af copyright by dobbs dobb merrill oo co L MOT THE STORY at nightfall in the old city of now new orleans in the ho year 1821 loren garde cards recently an officer under general jackson is surprised by the appearance of three figures in ancient spanish con com tume two tw men and ft a bomon whose chos beauty ene en hants chanta him its HB dentine t the e arrogance erro orro gance of tha 15 elder of the two men gar garde a fights a duel with him with swords and wounds him CHAPTER 1 I continued 2 the gathering circle had closed in to attend the tha wounded man who so I 1 judged from the volume of his groans had not received a mortal thrust who Is hla his majesty senor 1 I asked w adolfo do rm entes colonel in the spanish army under la torre who Is governor of venezuela then you go I 1 asked to vene lucja before ho he could answer my question it huge mulatto tit nt my elbow voiced a warning bellow do de Clin rIles beall licali ley cornel comal and a narrow shouldered pasty faced wharf rat amplified it it 11 shrill les lea gens darmes darme sIll I 1 if they should capture you senor polito said yet I 1 have only offered a mans deil defense true but the least Senor will be an awkward and infinite groces time and trials and an unfortunate wait while tile the senorita I 1 found ills his hand and davelt gave it a warm clasp you will convoy convey my regrets to tile alio senorita assuredly senor then adelos adios moon wealth ho he whispered andi turned around and broke through the curious crowd two taco of the charlies chariles barred my one received a stint stiff armed jab in the cheat that tumbled him over and over like a performing parra keet tire the other bent hla his body skillfully fully to evade a swinging fasi alst the then n h ho a fired firtik point blank at my face and missed which was nothing unusual at hil all for tile the gens darmes often miss now I 1 put my feet to tile pavement and gave gao myself over to the business of silent running while the chase roared behind me I 1 directed my iny steps eastward went north and cast again into rue hue royal and on and on ever deeper into tho the french quarter I 1 passed vino vine blanketed walls which I 1 knew concealed quaint mansions and beautiful courtyards As I 1 ran I 1 kept an eye searching for art an adventitious entrance that might lead to ono one of these bowers of beauty for the street itself offered no refuge I 1 found fl nally a arll grilled led gate which opening to my touch led under a graceful stone arch so low I 1 had bad it to bend my he hand 0 1 I to enter I 1 waited in tho the gloom of tho the artaway as sounds of the battue went by silent I 1 crouched tn in the lie stin shadows dows long after tile the noises of the futile chase had tied died away and waiting I 1 had a chance to view again the amazing events of this road mad night in fancy I 1 lifari heard again the music of the womans comans laugh and I 1 raw paw the slim allin hands that pressed upon her bosom that hut despairing cry of dolfo nilo into bent beat into my consciousness and a fit at of foolish trembling took possession of me I 1 started for the oval oal of light fight that showed me tile way to the street but stopped when figures turning in from the paved walk blocked the passage I 1 heard the rasping scratch of a kl key y in tho the lock of tile the iron gate and retreated warily socking seeking the friendly shades as four men advanced upon tue me along the gloomy passage I 1 came anon to a tiny courtyard in tile the middle of which a table stool stood hearing bearing glasses silver and a decanter or two over the table swung gwun a huge brass lamp yet the light it furnished was hardly brighter than that of the brilliant moon I 1 knew of course that the house would afford me m no safety so I 1 flattened ray my tall body in a narrow protecting apse in the brick wall that made up two sides of the courtyard standing straight and mo tl ti onless ouless in grotesque mimicry of some saint who lind find doubtless occupied this space in time long past I 1 held my breath as the four figures went by one was it swarthy heavy bodied brute who seemed to have the look of the sea about him another had the square shoulders and the alert mannor manner of a soldier while the third was evidently a merchant anti and a man 0 means for ills his manner anti and lie he sleek smoothness of ills figure held tho complacency of mental and physical eam case the fourth man gained and continued to hold my closest attention elro was latent intent power in the he poise of ala lithe body a look of the eagle in his eye a rich resonance in the commanding tones of hla his voice the suave host filled four ganasea gla ases with mi all amber fluid and proffering ono one to each of ills his guests with n light laugh suld mild this garden la is ours senores cenores Se nores where flowers of intrigue may bloom in safety therefore francisco ml he bowed to him of the commanding poise whereupon francisco raised his glass to simon bolivar he said his deep vibrant voice a sort of benediction the liberator of our people 11 I 1 they drank slowly standing and after a reverent silence murmured viva alvn viva and again vival simon bolivar I 1 had heard of him who already they were calling him the george washington of south america this amazing soldier statesman and patriot who when only p n youth had plumbed tho the depths of despair desp aar in the lie loss of a young and beautiful bride and had devoted ills hla life thereafter to the service of lit his s mother country venezuela I 1 gasped and held my breath again for fear they would discover roe me nothing but the gloom of the apse hid trie me had I 1 stepped forward one yard I 1 should have come within the glowing circle of the ho lamp and the silver light of the moon that filtered through tile the foliage so I 1 continued the imitation of a saint while the men finished three bottles of ladours La tours best it loosened their tongues so that the purpose of this midnight meeting stood revealed to mu me I 1 was aghast for although this naw new republic of the united states might have a very tender feeling and a definite sympathy for the struggling south amerlean Amerl ran colonies I 1 knew it would not countenance a revolutionary junta within its boundaries it was all too easy senores Re Se nores diego the complacent merchant was speaking within the long carefully twisted colls coils of tobacco are guns 10 b 4 r but his hl long arm camo came down swiftly ground tobacco in the kegs begs that wo we have loaded on the lie ship will burn with greater readiness ness than tobacco ever burned before it will explode 1 ile he laughed aloud ono barrel of lour flour will hold two score of pistols and even tile the innocent indian corn lins haa taken for traveling companions knives and bullets while each huge slab of salt pork carries within its greasy interior n halt half dozen machetes unloaded nt at la gualia guaira this interesting shipment will move unconsidered through the spanish lines and the natives who watt wait for simon bolivar will be in readiness fab A beautiful plan sald said francisco we will drink upon it th the swarthy eswarthy sailor suggested As I 1 watched them drink a chill of fear touched my spine and my tongue had an unfamiliar feel in my mouth looking upon tile the man whom nature had set apart to be a leader I 1 felt the thrust of ills his cold eyes over tile the edge of his wine glass ilow how long since my dear diego lie e asked then have you ion put another saint in tile the place reserved so long iong for san isadro lie ile had found me ino those sharp eyes of ills his had sought me out I 1 should I 1 run find and if so where there was only the house and the garden surrounded hy fly a wall too high for unassisted sealing scaling should I 1 offer resistance to these four men three of whore whom were doubtless armed or should I 1 surrender peaceably it seemed certain that the knowledge I 1 had acquired concerning concerN ng their intent would be my death warrant they could not let me go and then continue further with their plan of revolution while I 1 considered thus diego answered 11 1 I have put no saint in the place reserved for san isidro you jest amigo sinner or saint diego into francisco insisted thero there Is a fleure figure in the apse the figure la Is taller by a shoulder than san isidro and he la Is garbed na as tile the modern dantly dandy of new orleans ills calr too Is not the dark hair of the mexican patron but light lie laughed shortly and came to ills his feet ho la Is an american saint diego which Is strange for I 1 had always believed that the pagan americano Amerl cano had bad no saints fial nta lie ile must have had the eyes of a lynx and in his voice lay jay murder As the swarthy si arthy sailor came toward my hiding place the soldier drew a gleaming pistol not I 1 here ere not in here beret I 1 diego cried you cannot kill a man in my garden take him take him alive and move him to the river drown him but do not shoot him in my gardent dent I 1 senor sailor ills his bloodshot eyes staring stupidly thrust his dark face within range of my fist and I 1 swung swiftly it caught him film fair upon the point of a heavy chin tumbling backward he fell with sharp violence against the table which overturned with a resounding crash of glass catching the soldier in its fall precipitating elpi tating him film to his hands and knees the fighting biond of my sturdy norse father raced through my veins filling me with the lust for battle I 1 shot out of my retreat and striking wildly found the soft face of diego into which my fist sank sufficiently ile he went town down heavily to the pavement of the courtyard madness seized roe me again and I 1 laughed aloud the soldier was up again I 1 took ills his glancing blow upon the shoulder and gave him till nil I 1 had with one straight right then I 1 turned to face the last adversary francisco but his long arm came down swiftly and a pistol in his hand struck my unprotected head tile the trees and the liang hang ing lamp and the moon disappeared in a crimson sea I 1 groped blindly and found friendly hands that let me down gently t to 0 the flagstones flag stones CHAPTER II 11 N the santa lucrecia I 1 lived in a land of dreams of grotesque fancies where formless figures moved in silent aimlessness through half transparent fog I 1 heard the vaguest vagues echo of a voice the fragment of a sting song the lie shuffling of footsteps morning sunlight streaming through a narrow slatted porthole port hole bole stenciled a flaming pattern on the wall above my head I 1 was in a cabin of a ship for I 1 saw the heavy beams that held the floo the afterdeck and I 1 heard the gentle creal creak of blocks I 1 felt a painful throbbing in my head hand and raising a hand touched a bandage A figure moved in the cabin approached pro ached and leaned over me about the alie face so near my own there was a sort of unreal malformation one of the eyes was closed the liver colored nose was larger by far than any nose should be and a crooked the features all awry Is that a real face I 1 asked or have you too just returned from a hat bal ni masque asque whereupon the face swore a bitter spanish oath and I 1 knew the owner of it for the soldier now the tall form of francisco bent over me then you shoot me in the garden of the good diego nor drop me ma in the river arver smiling ng he shook his big head no however manuel was for slipping clipping a knife between your ribs Is manuel lie he of this dark face that resembles a bad dream yes senor lie ile chuckled ilia 1113 face Is even worse now if such could be lie ile thought a moment you flight senor as aa though you love to fight not at all though sometimes it I 1 la 3 true that thai we the blood of my mx father speaks to me if venezuela had a thousand sana men like you senor he said and the lame flame of tho patriot burned in his eyes she would win her independence Independent 6 out of hand I 1 found nothing to say to this find and dewent he went on deep anxiety in its ills eyes in your senor you spoke often to iller her ma majesty J who w ho seems to possess shining black curls and purple moonlight in her eyes can we have made so vast a blunder now in spite of the torture of my wounded head I 1 laughed and groaned and laughed again the ma majesty josty senor of the lady of my dreams lies only in her beauty I 1 saw her coming from a bal masque and she was garbed garbe as a queen you have taken no prince incognito only an american who has spent one mad night I 1 know knew that they would have killed me after our fight if they had intended to kill me at all so I 1 as fumed that for the present at lea least st I 1 was safe where do we go francisco and what may I 1 ask are your plans concerning me TO BE CONTINUED |