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Show K WEBSTER 1 fff-MM'SMAN HgfS( Peter B.Kune KSlww PfS Author of "Cappy K11h Wfy Ricks," "The Valley MMS? thc Giants," Etc pB ' ---'--"' Ml - KoN RICARDO RUEY. In Bluart Webster, mining- en-K en-K boards n, train In Death . Um-i California, on his way back Bv'llltntlon after cleaning up Bo He looks like a hobo. Then HEjcues a distressed lady, who E hl heart Hop over. Ho KsKales the off ending- man. Bho Elores Ituey In Denver he la Ed a S,000-a-year Job by a Eilltt friend, Edward J. Je-E Je-E He receives a delayed letter ' (,1s own particular pal, Silly E-, asking him to finance n EnlnlnK proposition In Central SSrica and ko fifty-fifty with Eon the profits. So ho atarta Bsobrante. Jerome goes with Eto the depot They meot the Sued lady on her way to the train. John tells Jerome the 1 BEn story. Jerome secretly sees Rrl, offering; her $10,000 If she Em John to take his Job Inatde EjEfnety days. Tho girl accepts. Ecene now shifts to Buenaven-" Buenaven-" Bobrante, where Geary has Bed for two montha on credit Edtd by Mother Jenks, keeper Ehottl and dramshop. Dolores lEEfc Henrietta Wllklna (Mother Ei) that ehe Is on her way to IBEjT tier. Mother Jenka haa been BSatW Dolores, who la tho Ehttr of former President Ruey BEjtiiirute, deposed and executed BBjfreildent Sarros. Mother Jenka BEjfi't want Dolores to find out BEflJ no longer respectable. o Em meets the steamer and trios Hn the girl back. Dut Doloreo BE tad salutes Mother Jenka as Hhtr." Hilly promptly falls In BEf with Dolores. Webster In BEj Orleans secures a stateroom Ba Eitrelllta by buying a ticket BEf mythical valet, "Andrew TajHtu." In Now Orleans Webster , BEf a young man from asiasal-men. asiasal-men. On the steamer ho finds nythlcal valet In his stateroom. liKMicctpts "flowers" on trust, BBjt learning hla Identity. At ?iHtTentura he assists the "valet" ,BBU1L He finds Billy In love tBBt Dolores, and like the good . BBr t bids farewell to his ro-BEf- Dolores astonishes him. J, Juio Cafetero tells him of n t to kill Mm. Billy leaves on ij Wohstcr falls More rjBBfr la love. ,BEHATER X Continued. iBj io BB free of tho door, Webster jBHJ1"' Inside tlio lobby for the ess to conclude hla prctfpt-BEfltnince. prctfpt-BEfltnince. When he did, Webster BBEh'n over with mild curiosity BEY") with great condescension. Hj"? Kontlemnn over tell the that ho Is nn Ill-mannered Btr he queried coolly In excel onl'h. "if no j deaira to glvo Hr Umt Inforinntlon, and to tell BEY1' his slzo alone prevents mo "tng him a nlco llttlo spank- "" u" rudo ono answered hotly. BEV features paled with anger, BEE"' with emotion and seemed HBYf1 what to do seeing which IBBF grinned at hlra tnntnllzlngly. IBBr-dded hlra. No Lntln-Amerl-BBWa the exaggerated ego of his H111 bear even a suspicion of BEY- T-'o omcer walked fiercely BE ''Coster and swung his arm BE the Intter's faco In nn efTort BY slap that was "meant." BEf " merely throw hock his hend BE0'" tho blow; hla long left BH10t out and bent down tho Bed Him n the Fountain. i tt!?8, R,mrU5 u,en Webster's , ;; i closed around tho oillccr's , Wm ),on" to mo thou Insolent i M' ." "ooned. nnd Jerked his mm lowani him. withered him i M" nn.iH. carried him, kicking ft"'K with futno rago. out ' MV1 ,l'o mill 80U8C.1 him In tho , K " T'tnre that will cool J c your hot head, I trust," ho admonished admonish-ed his unhappy victim, nnd returned to tho hotel. At tho desk ho paused. "Who was that person I Just bath. cdJ" he Inquired of the excited clerk. "Ah, senor, you shall not long be kept In Ignorance," thnt functionary Informed him. "Thnt Is tho terrible Captain liennvldes "Do you know, I had n notion It was ho?" Webster replied rumlnntlvcly. "Well, I supposo I'm In for n duel now," he ndded to himself as ho climbed the stairs to his room. "1 think that will bo most Interesting." John Stuart Webster changed Into dry clothing oud descended to the dining-room. Miss Ituey was- nlrcady seated at her table and motioned him to tho seat opposite her, and ns ho sat down with a contented little sigh, slio gazed at him with a newer and more alert Interest. "I hear you'vo been having adventures adven-tures again," sbo challenged. "The news Is all over tho hotel. I heard It from tho head waiter." "Coffee and pistols for two at daylight," day-light," he answered cheerily. "By tho way, I have made my will, Just to be on tho Enfo side. Will you be good enough to tnko chargo of It until nfter the funeral? You can turn it over to Billy then." fiho fell rondlly Into tho bantering spirit with which ho treated this serious se-rious subject. Indeed, It was quite Impossible Im-possible to do otherwise, for John Stuart Webster's personality radiated such a feeling of security, of nbsolutc, unbounded confidence In the future and disdain for whntcver of good fortune or til tho future might entail, thnt Dolores found It Impossible not to assimilate his mood. At seven-thirty, nfter n delightful dinner, tho memory of which Mr. i Webster was certain would linger under un-der his foretop long nfter every other memory hud departed, be escorted her to the open carriage he had ordered, and for two hours they cir cled uic .tiniecon wiiu me imiiu i Ituennventurn, listening to the music of the band, and, during the brief Intermissions, In-termissions, to the sound of tho waves lapping tho bench at tho foot of the broad ilrlvowny. "This' snld John Stuart Webster, nt ho wild goodnight to Dolores In the lobby, "Is the end of a perfect day." It wasn't, for nt thnt precise moment mo-ment n servant handed him n enrd, and Indicated n young man seutcd In an ndjacent lounglng-cbnlr, nt the somo tlmo volunteering the Information Informa-tion that tbu visitor had been nwnlt-Ing nwnlt-Ing Senor Webster's return for the past lunir. Webster glanced nt tho card and strode over to the young man. "I nm Mr. Webster, sir," ho announced civilly In Spanish. "And you nro Lieutenant ArredondoT Tho visitor rose, bowed low nnd Indicated In-dicated he was that gentlemnn. "I have called, Mr. Webster," ho stated In most excellent English, "In the Interest In-terest of my frk:nd nnd comrade, Captain liennvldes." "Ah, yes! The fresh llttlo rooster I ducked In the fountain this evening. Well, what does the llttlo squirt want now? Another ducking?" Arredondo flushed angrily but remembered re-membered tho dignity f his mission and controlled his temper. "Captain liennvldes has nuked me to express to you the hope that you, being doubtless a tnnn of honor" "Stop right there, Lieutenant. There Is no doubt about It. I nm n man of honor, nnd unless you are anxious to he ducked In tho fountain, you will he moro careful In your choice of words. Now then : You nru about to say thnt, lelng a man of honor" "You would nccord my friend the satisfaction which one gentleman never fnlls to accord another." "That lets mo out, nmlgo," Webster laughed. "liennvldes Isn't a gentlemnn. gentle-mnn. He's n cutthroat, a murdering llttlo blnck-and-tnn-hound. Do I understand un-derstand he wants m to flirW a duel with him?" Lieutenant Arredondo could not trust himself to speak, and tw li bowed profoundly. "Very well, then, Llcutcnnnt," Webster Web-ster agreed. "I'll fight him." "Tomorrow morning at flvo o'clock,." "Five minutes from now lr you auy so." "Captnln Rennvldes will bo grateful for your willing spirit, at least," the second replied bitterly. "You realize, of course, Mr. Webster, that as the challenged party, tho choice of weapons weap-ons rests with you." "Certainly. I wouldn't hnvo risked n duel If tho choice lay with tho other fellow. With your permission, my ilenr sir, we'll fight with Mauser rifles it a thousand ynrds, for tho reason that I nover know a Greaser that could lit tho broad side of a browery at aio range over two hundred nnd flft rnrds." Webster chuckled fiendishly Lieutenant Arredondo bit his lips lo tnger nnd vexation. "I cannot ngre o such nn oxtraordlnory duel." he omnlalned "It Is the custom In Sebranle for Cfntlemt ,0 ngM wUh" ,J?i df , up- y0" sneaking mur-?.' mur-?.' . Wcbstcr Mp,ot1 "There snt going to be any duel except o" n UTiTq yU wlghl ns w Me stick, 'Bl't,tpfromhcn,,,lUftrtt'nd Rick to plnln assassination. You and etmvldes have been sent out by your nrEV0 k'" - Bt Jour 'rders this very afternoon nt the en- rntu-e to the government pulace-ni.d tu Just not going to be killed. Heat ". hoy, uhlle me going Is good." Ho pointed toward the hotel door. "Out. you blackguard !" lie roared. "Vayn I" Llriiteimnt Arredondo rose and with signified mien started for the door. Webster followed, and as his visitor reached the portal, a tremendous kick. well plnced, lifted him down to tho sidewalk. Shrieking curses, he lied into the night; nnd John Stunrt Well- ster, with u satisfied feeling that something accomplished had earned a night's repose, retired to bis room his mauve silk pnjninas, and slept tho sleep of a health?, consclence-freo ninn. At about (ho same hour Neddy Jerome, playing solltnlro In tho Engineers' Engi-neers' club In Denver, wns tho recipient recip-ient of n cablegram which read : "it W. cnbles accepting reply rejecting re-jecting account Job filled otherwise beans spilled. Implicit obedience spells victory. "Henrlettn." Neddy Jerome wiped his spectacles, adjusted them on Ids nose nnd read this amazing message onco more. "Jumiwd-up JeliosoplintI" he murmured. mur-mured. "If she hasn't followed that madcap Webster clear to Uuennven-tural Uuennven-tural If she Isn't out In earnest to earn her fee, I'm an orung-outnngl Hy Uiunder, that's a smart woman. All right I I'll be Implicitly obedient." Twb hours later Neddy Jerome received re-ceived another cablegram. It was from John Stuart Webster and read as follows: "Hold Job ninety days at latest may bo back bffore. If satisfactory cable." Again Mr. Jerome had recourse to tho most powerful expletive at his command. "Henrietta knew he was going to cable aud bent the old sourdough sour-dough (o It," lie soliloquized. Ho was wrapped In profound ndmlratlon of her cunning for ns much as five minutes; min-utes; then he Indited this reply to his victim: "Time, tldo and good Jobs wnlt for no mnn. Sorry. Job already filled by better muti." Wlicu John Stunrt Webster received that cablegram tho following morning, he cursed bitterly not becnuso ho had lost the best Job that had ever been offered him, but because he had lost through playing n good hand poorly. Ho hated himself for his Idiocy. - CHAPTER XI. - For fully an hour nfter retiring John Stuart Webster slept tho deep, untroubled sleep of n healthy unwor-rlcd unwor-rlcd man; then ono of tho many sjiecics of "Jigger" which flourish Just north and south of tho equator crawled crawl-ed Tnto bed with him nnd promptly proceeded to establish Its commissary on tho Inner flank of tho Webstcrlan thigh, where the skin Is thin and tho blood closo to tho surfneo. As a consequence, con-sequence, Mr. Webster awoke suddenly, sud-denly, obliterated tho Intruder nnd got out of bed for tho purposo of anointing tho Injured spot with alcohol which being done, nn nctlvo search of tho bed resulted In the discovery dis-covery of threo moro Jiggers ami the envelopment of John Stunrt Webster's soul In the fogs of apprehension. "TIs nn evil land, filled with trouble," trou-ble," ho mused ns ho lighted a clgaret. "I wish mil were hero to udvlso me. He ought to be nblo to straighten this deal out nnd assure the higher-ups that I'm not butting In on their political affairs. Hut Hill's up-country and hero I nm tinder sur-vellianco sur-vellianco nnd tumble to leave the hotel to talk it oer with Andrew Ilowers, tho only other white expert I know of In town. And by tho way, they're after Andrew, tool I wonder what for." He smoked two clgnrcts, tho while ho pondered the various vlslhla aspects as-pects of tills dark mess In which ho found himself floundering. And fin-ally fin-ally he arrived at a decision. "These chaps aren't thorough," Webster decided. de-cided. "They'll see mo Pnfely to bed and pick mo up ngntu In the morning so I'll take a chance thnt the const Is clear, slip out now nnd tnlk It over with Andrew." Ho looked nt his watch eleven-thirty. eleven-thirty. Hurriedly ho dressed, strapped on his automatic pistol, dragged his bed noiselessly to tho open window nnd tied to tho bed-leg the ropo ho used to lash his trunk; then ho lowered low-ered himself out the window. The, length of rope permitted him to de-scail de-scail within a few feet of the ground. Wabster mndo his way to the street unnoticed and ten minutes later appeared ap-peared lieforo tho entrance of Kl Buen Amlgo Just as Mother Jenks wus bar-rln bar-rln It for the night. "I nm Mr. Webster," he nnnounced, "Mr. Geary's friend from the United States." Mother Jenks, having heard of him, wns of course profoundly flustered to meet this toff who bo carelessly wired his down-and-out friends pesos oro In lots of u tbousnnd. Cordially sho Invited In-vited him within to Btow a peg of her best, which invltntlon Mr. Webster promptly accepted. To your beautiful eyes," Webster toasted her. "And now would you mind leading mo to the qunrtors of Illlly'a friend Mr. Bowers?" Sho shuffled nwny, to return pros-Mitly pros-Mitly with tho news that Mr. Bowers wns In his room nnd would ho delighted de-lighted to recelvo Mr. Webster. Mother Moth-er Jenks led Webster to tho door, blocked, announced Un nnd fllecrcet-P fllecrcet-P withdrew. "My dear Webster I" cried Andrew Bowers enthusiastically, nnd ho drew his Into fellow-passenger Into the room. Webster observed thnt Andrew was not alone. "I want to seo you privately," he sold. "Didn't know you had compnny, or I wouldn't hnve Intruded." In-truded." "Well, I knew I hnd company, didn't I? Come In, voti crniy fellow, and neet soiiip good friends of mlno who nro very anxious to meet you." Ho turned to a toll, handsome, scholarly looking man of about forty, whoso features, dress and mnnner of wenrlng his whiskers proclaimed him n person-ngo. person-ngo. "Dr. Bllseo I'nchcco, I have tho honor to present Mr. John S. Webster, tho American gentleman of whom you hnve heard me speak." Doctor Pacheco promptly lenped to his feet and bowed with ostentntlous reverence then suddenly, with Latin Impulsiveness, he ndvnnced upon Webster, Web-ster, swept nsldo the Intter's outstretched out-stretched hand, clnsned John Stunrt Webster In fraternal embrace, nnd to the old sour-dough's Inexpressible horror, hor-ror, kissed him upon tho right check nfter which ho bncked off, bowed onco more, nnd said In Spanish: "Sir, my life Is yours." "It Is well he gavo It to you beforo you took It," Andrew snld In English, nnd he Inughed, noting Webster's confusion. con-fusion. "And this gentlemnn Is Colonel Pablo Caruveo." "Thunder, I'm In for It ngnln," Webster Web-ster thought and ho wns, for tlio nmlablo colonel embraced Webster and kissed his left cheek beforo turning to Andrew. "You will convey to our guest, In EnEMlftll. Dnn TMnt1n ADOiiranitn nt , Hv.. ...v(.uvt ioou uuvv w He Lowered Himself Out of the Win-dow. Win-dow. my profound hnpplness In meeting him," ho said In Spanish. "Tho Colonel snys you're nil to the mustard," Andrew at onco interpreted merrily. "Itnther a liberal translation," Webster Web-ster retorted In Spanish, whereat Colonel Col-onel Caruveo sprang up and chipped bis bunds In delight. "Your hnpplness, my dear Colonel," Webster continued, "Is extravagant grief compnred with my delight In meeting n Sobrautoun gentleman who has no desire to skewer me." Ho turned turn-ed to Andrew. "Whllo Introductions are In order, old -son, supposo you complete tho Job nnd Introduco yourself. your-self. I'm nlwnys suspicious of n mun with nn nllos." "Then behold the death of that Impudent Im-pudent fellow Andrew Bowers, Into valet de chnmbro to this eminent mining min-ing engineer nnd prince of gentlemen, Mr. John Stunrt Webster. Doctor Pacheco, will you ho good enough to perform the operation?" "This gentlemnn," said tho doctor, luylng bis hnnd on Andrew's shoulder, shoul-der, "Is Don Itlcardo Lulz Ituey, a gentleman, gen-tleman, n patriot, nnd tho futuro president presi-dent of our unhappy country." Webster put his hnnds on tho young nmn'fl shoulders. "Itlcardo, my Bon," ho asked enrncstly, "do you think you could glvo me somo llttlo hint of tho approximate date on which you will ntisumo olllce? By the nlno gods of war, I never wanted n friend nt court so badly ns I want ono tonight." Webster sat down and helped himself him-self from n box of cigars ho found on Itlcnrdo's bureau. "I feel I nm among friends at Inst," he announced between preliminary puffs "so listen whllo I spin n strange tale. I've been tho picture pic-ture of bad luck ever slnco I started for this Infernal this wonderful country coun-try of yours. In New Orleans I took a Sunday morning stroll tu Jackson square and came across two men trying try-ing to knlfo another. In the Interest of common decency I Interfered and won n sweeping victory, but to my uinazement tho prospective corpse took to his heels and ndviscd mo to do tho same-" Itlcardo Ruey sprang for John Stunrt Webster. "By acorgc," ho said In English. "I'm going to hug you, too. I really ought to kiss you, becnuso I'm thnt man you saved from assassination, assassina-tion, hut too long In tho U. 8 A., I supposo; I'vo lost tho customs of my country." "Oct out," yelled Webster, fending blm off, "By tho wny, Itlcardo I'm going to call you Ittck for short do you happen to have any' relatives in this country?" "Yes, a number of second and third cousins." "Coming down on tho steamer, 1 dldu't like to appear curious, but all Mie1iMWaaMMMiSB'llitT'"T'T',w11fMrt Ui time Z wanted to nak yen one question." "Ask It now." "Are you n 8obrnntcanV "I was born In this country nnd raised hero until I was fourteen." "But you're why, hang It, You're not a Latin?" "No, I'm a mixture, with Latin predominating. pre-dominating. My forebears wcro pure Cnstlllnns from Madrid, and crossed the Western ocean In cnrnvcls. It's been n matter of pride with tho house of Ituey to keep tho breed pure, but desplto all precautions, the fnmlly tree, has been grafted onco with n Scotch thistle, twlcv with the Illy of Franco, nnd onco with tho shamrock of Ireland. Ire-land. My mother wns nn Irish woman." "You alibi yourself perfectly, Itlcardo, Itlcar-do, and my curiosity Is nppoased. Permit Per-mit mo to contlnuo my tale," ho udded In Spanish, nnd forthwith ho relnted. with humorous detnll his ndventuro at tho gnngplnnk at tho steamer that had borno him nnd Itlcardo Ituey south. Rlcurdo Intormipted him. "Wo know nit about that, friend Webster, nnd we know tho two delightful gentlemen hnd been told oft to get you unofficially. Tho Sobrantcan revolutionary Junta nun iicnuquurivra in new uneaus. n la composed of political oxtlcs, for Sarros, tho present dlctntor of So- brnnto, rules with nn Iron hnnd, and has n cuto llttlo habit of railroading his enemies to tho cemetery vlu tho treason chargo nnd tho firing sqund. Ho killed my father, who wan tho best president this benighted country ever hud, nnd I consider It my Christina Chris-tina duty to nvengo my father nnd a pntrlotlc duty to tnko up tho task ho left unfinished the task of making over my country. "In Sobrontc, ns In most of tho countries coun-tries In Central America, there are two distinct classes of people the aristocrats and peons nnd tho aristocrat aristo-crat fattens on the peon, as he lias had a habit of doing since Adam. We haven't any mlddlo class to stand ns a buffer between the two which makes it a sad proposition. My father was an Idealist and a dreamer and he dreamed of reform in government nnd a solution of tho agrarian problem which confronts all Lattn-Amcrlca. Ho trusted ono Pablo Sarros, nn educated peon, who hnd commanded tho government gov-ernment forces under tho reglmo my father overthrew. My tender-hearted parent discovered that Sarros was plotting to overthrow him ; but Instcnd of having him shot, he mcroly removed hlra from command. Sarros gathered a handful of bandits, joined tho old government forces my father hnd conquered, con-quered, hired a couplo dozen Yankee artillerymen nnd ho won out. My father was captured and executed; the pnlaco was burned, and my sister perished per-ished In tho flames. I'm hero to pay off tho score." "A worthy ambition l So you organized organ-ized tho revolutionary Junta la Now Orleans, eh?" Itlcardo nodded. "Word of It reached Sarros, and ho sent IiIh brother Ilaoul, chief of tho Intelligence bureau, to In- VKHltirntn nml rotinrr. As fust OB ho vestigato anu report, as nisi as no reported, Colonel Cnrnveo reported to me. My father's son possesses u nnmo to conjure with. Consequently It wns to tho Interest of tho Sarros administration adminis-tration that I bo eliminated. They watched every boat; hence my schema for eluding their vigilance which, tlmnks to you, worked lko n charm." "But," Webster complained, "I'm not sitting In tho gnmo at all, nnd yet I'm cnught between tho upper aud nether millstones." "Thnt Is cnBy to explain. You Interfered Inter-fered that morning In Jackson square; then ltiioul Sarros met you going nhourd tho steamer for Buenaventura nnd you mnnhaildled him, nnd nntural-ly, nntural-ly, putting two and two together, he has concluded that you aro not only his personnl enemy but nlso u friend and protector of mlno nnd consequently consequent-ly nn enemy of tho state." ' "And ns a consequence I'm marked for slaughter?" "It would ho well, my friend," Doctor Doc-tor I'nchcco suggested, "to return to the United States until after Itlcardo and tils friends hnve eliminated your Nemesis." "How soon will thnt happy event trnnsplro?" "In about sixty dnys wo hopo to ho ready to strike, Mr. Webster." Colonel Cnrnveo cleared his throat "I understand from Itlcardo thnt you nqd nnothor American aro Interested In n mining concession, Mr. Webster." Webster nodded. "Is this n concession from n prlvato landholder or did your friend securo It from tho Sarros government?" "From tho government. Wo pay ten per cent, royally, on n nlncty-nlne-yenr lease, and that's all I know about It. I hnvo never seen tho property, nnd my object In coming wns to examlno It nnd, If satisfied, finance tho project." "If you will return to your hotel, my dear sir," Colonel Cnrnveo suggested, sug-gested, "and remain thero until noon tomorrow, I feel confident I cun guarantee guar-antee you Immunity from attack thereafter. there-after. I havo a plan to Influence my ussoclutes in tho Intelligence ofllce." "Bully lor you, Colonel. Glvo me sixty six-ty duys In which to operate, nnd I'll havo finished my Job in Sobrnnte nnd gotten out of It beforo that gang of cutthroats cut-throats wakes up to the fact that I'm gone. I thank you, air." "The lenst wo can do, slnco you have saved Rlcardo's llfo and rendered our cnuso a great service, Is to save your life," Colouel Cnrnveo replied. "Pull your hardware, you pretty pair of polecats I" (TC 1115 CONTINUED.) |
