Show the d VAL VALE ajeff ILA I 1 araka 3 an THE STORY in new orleans in 1821 loren garde recently an officer under general J jackson L akson Is surprised by the appear appearance ance in ancient span ish castu costume in e ol 01 two men and a woman w whose hose beauty enchants him resenting the arrogance ano arto gance of the elder of the two men garde gard e fights with rith him and wounds h him I 1 in he ile learns his opponent Is adolfo de fuentes colonel in the span ish army in venezuela garde overhears a plot to overthrow spanish rule in venezuela DIs covered he fights lights but Is over powered and made prisoner on the santa lucrecia ship bearing arms tor for the venezuelans on board are the conspirators the lady ot of his love her brother po lito and de do fuentes from the girl garde learns her name Is duice dulce lamartina Lamart lna he loves her but does not reveal his love the vessel Is to wrecked garde reaches the venezuelan shore alone he encounters a stranger and sees duice dulce the stranger captain monahan of the british legion under bolivar directs him to friends in caracas there sup piled plied by monahan with the se cret sign of the patriots he is welcomed at the revolutionary headquarters garde attends the wedding wadding of duice dulce and de fu entes duice dulce recognizes him and leaves de do fuentes at the altar she Is torn from garde s arms he ile escapes finding garde duice dulce tells him her wedding to de fuentes was to have been the price of garde s life they re veal their mutual love garde Is made prisoner from de fuentes he learns duice dulce has d sapp eared he Is rescued from prison by a revolutionist manuel and with polito sets out for bolivar Bo livars camp they are intercepted by by venezuelan soldiers garde dis covers his companion of the n night ight has been duice and Is dis in eyed by his lack of perception D duice ulce escapes but garde Is s seized iced 1 CHAPTER VI continued 11 1 I had seen so much of violence and of death since land ag ng in tas ON unhappy country that already I 1 had become hardened calloused so that I 1 seemed to be only an onlooker in this my own execution and I 1 found myself taking very little interest in it I 1 found one principal regret that I 1 had come so near to loves fulfillment and had failed tet yet I 1 had taken her away from de fuentes and she had put her life into my hands I 1 smiled at the thought of her masquerade had I 1 penetrated her disguise earlier how beautiful that silver night would have been well I 1 had won a portion of her love I 1 hugged that consolation to my heart as the cynical colonel gave give a crisp order that caused the two indians to release me and to stand clear so an errant bullet might not find them I 1 am ready senor said I 1 I 1 want you to know he said slow ly his eyes upon the fine bay horse that had carried me from caracas that I 1 believe every word you have told me I 1 believe you are loren garde an american and that you have come to offer service to general bolivar I 1 believe manuel sent you here and that he furnished the mount for you but your own act in per aye aiding alding the spanish to escape condemns you it makes no difference who he Is if he Is a spanish officer your life Is forfeit the men of bolivar must be made of sterner stuff I 1 am sure his excellency himself would never condone such an act if there Is something you wish to say A few loiterers had gathered to watch the execution and one a tall commanding figure that seemed fa disengaged itself from the group francisco I 1 cried francisco perez aqui I 1 though I 1 had fought the scheming patriot at every turn I 1 was sure he stood my friend who Is it he asked it Is I 1 garde san isidro dont you remember me I 1 was on the santa Luc lucrecia and in new orleans I 1 have dyed my hair francisco strode forward a half smile softening the grim lines of his face he ile held up his hand wait colonel pint 1 he said I 1 know this man colonel pint scowled NN what hat of it francisco has he not yes my colonel he has committed a grave offense and he should pay with his life but I 1 would talk to him first it if he Is from manuel he might have things to tell us he ile Is an americano Amerl cano who has merely followed the luire of a lovely lady does the lady then bring him here no said I 1 for I 1 had brought the lady did the lady send the spanish officer with you colonel pint laughed this dauphin whose safety ety no colonel my companion was the senorita duice dulce lamartina Lamart lna mother of G d I 1 francisco gasped and pini rim s high laughter beat out over the hills A builder of fairy tales said pint could the americano Amen cano have entered caracas and ridden away with the lady whom fuentes intended to marry can you believe so wild a story I 1 waited my colonel said francisco at last this young americano Amert cano Is sot not the type of man who lies easily though the tale Is hardly cred ble if he has sent back to safety the lady whom he followed to caracas he must have had good reasons for so doing why wh the cratty manuel has directed them to the I 1 nes of the revolution we do fc A L by FRED mclaughlin author of the blade of copyright by bobbs merrill co ce I 1 not know nor can we question man alan uel who enjoys the faith and the love of bolivar I 1 think therefore the safest move ft ill be to take hira him to the general who hearing his story will decide his fate colonel pint smiled N very cry well ell francisco but if bolivar ap his execution the horse la Is mine kemem ber her I 1 shall not forget francisco said and it if the great simon does not ap prove I 1 fear for thee my colonel be cause the viking nurses a healthy hatred CHAPTER VII simon bolivar As the three of us rode slowly down the beach toward camatagua Cama tagua where bolivar had his headquarters I 1 gave to francisco an account of all that had befallen since the waves had cast me into the jungle the sun was high when we approached at last the in significant town of camatagua Cama tagua which because of the presence of the lib aerator had assumed an aspect of great importance bolivar had become in my tion a sort of superhuman influence a mortal barrier reef upon which the attacks of spain had broken and spent their force I 1 wondered what manner of man he was this being to whom the eyes of venezuela were turned in fervent hope for whose safety and success prayers had been offered up in many thousands of hum huni ble homes whose ranks were filled with patriots eager to spend their lives in his service and who has been called by our own brilliant henry clay the washington of south amer lea there he Is francisco cried before us lay a spacious brown rock house with red tiled roof and pillared porch the home no doubt of some prosperous spanish planter the liberator a tiny figure indeed stood beside one of the massive stone columns just why I 1 had expected to ze am arit ak k 11 11 he radiated a vibrant sort of en ergy orgy that seemed to deaden my es find a person of enormous size I 1 do not know unless it be that I 1 could not imagine so many units of greatness so many talents in a man of normal proportions Is that bolivar I 1 asked and I 1 had come to offer ce to this man I 1 francisco smiled at the evident con cern in my voice the bullfrog my young garde judges one by the length lenth of one s hop or the resonance of one s voice for the bullfrog only hops or s the giant in nd my fr end may not seek the body of a g ant too true francisco I 1 agreed for had I 1 exercised my muscles less and my brain more I 1 should not have hane spent my I 1 fe in tool fool sh blunden dismounting I 1 walked between the republican officers toward tic tl e house and bolivar descended the two rock steps and stood waiting on the flag stones they released my arms and I 1 of unconscious salute his ills keen black eyes went over me in swift scrutiny lie ile rad abed a vibrant sort of energy that seemed to deaden my faculties at last he spoke and I 1 noticed that his voice though a trifle harsh was musical it would seem pint that the solders sold ers of spain are improving aye general ga sa d colonel pint he ile considered my aukward height and I 1 suspect the comfortable breadth of my shoulders lers then he turned to francisco if we had a thousand like that exactly what I 1 have said to him excellency rel I 1 ed francisco bolivar sighed and colonel lini lint be gan the tale of my in sad venture which lost nothing in the telling As I 1 had only to wait I 1 studied the man who rho was mas to be my judge the man whom south america now calls the greatest military genius of the ages gen simon bolivar was sl in with narrow chest and a spare body his ills legs were too thin for the grenadier boots that he wore his hands were tiny and his teeth were white and well formed ills hair was black his skin sallow and his eyes were a pierc ing black his ills head was very large and his nose like the nose of able men was long there was a calmness about him that might have been con mental and physical repose or it may have been complete control I 1 neer nener knew when pint had finished his story the general whose eyes showed no hint of friendliness addressed me who Is this dianish officer senor whose safety seemed so dear a than thing to you whose I 1 fe you value above e your own senorita duice dulce lamartina bolivar p nehei a long upper up lip be tween thumb and forefinger would she be the lady whom colonel adolfo de fuentes journeyed to new orleans to meet and whom he expects to marry yes excellency may I 1 assume then that though you come presumably to offer service to me you would aid the fiancee of colonel fuentes menace the world seemed suddenly filled with it I 1 was lost not because she is the fiancee of colonel fuentes excellency I 1 es sayed a faint smile but because she was his fiancee I 1 had hoped if bolivar smiled it was so swift a trans tion that only imagination might have caught it in time of war senor may the regard that a solder sold er bears for a lady be sufficient inducement 9 no excellency admitted it itis Is difficult to explain a sudden terror seized us francisco s clear ind voice broke woke in may I 1 speak a word for this man general who because of an overwhelming love for the senorita lamartina has blundered into trouble and out olt again a dozen times I 1 have told you about garde the young amer leano and capt monahan I 1 am sure there is monahan now he will tell you also the red haired irish soldier turned at the two stone posts that had once been a gate and approached it was good to see that freckled smiling face again he ile saluted general bolivar bolivar then he took my hand in an iron grip the viking I 1 he cried I 1 knew yon you would come to us some time where s the girl the girl sure the senorita lamartina didn t you tell me that you d bring her I 1 laughed so I 1 did monahan and sent her back again monahan turned to bolivar whose knowledge of I 1 anglish was limited and went ment back to spanish again I 1 met this man on the maracay karacay road general and showed him a way to enter caracas because as a rival of colonel fuentes he could help us I 1 even gave h in money he ile prom sed with tp cal american boastfulness boastful nes that he would not only d sar range the ng of de fuentes b it that when he left the city he would bring the lady with him he tells us that he lid said boll var grimly bet et the tale that he brin brings now monahan looked at me with wonder in h s ees garde he gabled gai ed can si ch ell a th ng I 1 d d d sarran sar range e the wed ling said I 1 and tt e senorita it d as her broiler baroti er accompanied me why man uel net should have sent her Is a thing I 1 cannot fathom bet et I 1 know she de s red to leave caracas if I 1 cannot find belief I 1 shrugged shrug ed my shout ders hopelessly A s lence fell upon us a deep sig n filant silence that was ras broken sud denly by the swift drumming of a horse s hoofs upon the hard road the speed ng mount came to a slid ng halt and a swarthy figure dropped to the ground TO BB BE CONTINUED |