Show ta ahe ccase va le of Arac L so josz p by fred hc laughlin cathor su thor 5 9 c cohe blade of f wal W iv I 1 ay BU co THE STORY at nightfall in the city of new orleans in 1821 loren garde re cantly an officer under general jackson Is ID surprised by tho the ap bearance pe arance cf c three figures in ancient spanish coR costume tume two men and a woman whose beauty enchants him resenting the arrogance of the elder of the two men garde bights a duel with him with swords ew orila and wounds him ho flo learns his opponent is adolfo do de fuentes colonel in the spanish army in venezuela garde fleeing from gens gene dearmes dear overhears a plot to overthrow spanish rule in venezuela discovered and threatened he fights but Is overpowered garde finds himself a prisoner on the santa lucrecia s ship bearing contraband arms and ammunition tor for the vene on board are the conspirators spira tors torn the lady of his love her brother polito and de fuentes an attempt to seize the ship hip falls from the girl garde bearns learns her name Is dulce lamartina he loves her but does not reveal his love the vessel Is wrecked and garde reaches th the 0 venezuelan shore alone making his bis way inland he encounters a atran stranger g er awaiting t ing the arrival of ha the S santa ant luc lucrecia recia he tells him of tho the wreck and sees dulce dates with do fuentes and polito CHAPTER ill continued 6 he pulled at his pipe his broad shoulders shaking with laughter 1 I am monahan he said cald at length captain in the british legion under gen simon bolivar the liberator will be deeply interested when I 1 tell him about the american senor garde who loves the intended of colonel de fuentes and who villo rides the wings of the storm alone when his ship comes to grief bolivar can use such men my friend there was a frank friendliness about this transplanted patriot something that called for confidence so I 1 began with the cabildo and completed my account with bucayan Tu cayan skipping shipping only those portions which dealt with the senorita lamartina Lamart lna and failing utterly in my deletions for when I 1 had done he said so the blond loren lore 11 W will I 1 I 1 hie himself to caracas whither the dark beauty his ladylove Is bound and he will find there all the power of spain in venezuela against him it Is worth a try at least I 1 said of course but you go not to a love tryst but to fight a battle with death 1 I hive fought such battles before as you have also no doubt I 1 have hare been too close to death in the past to fear it now he chuckled that yellow thatch of yours will sink you for it cres your identity to all and sundry I 1 touched my chin which bore about a weeks growth of corn colored whisker 1 I fear you are right if you might suggest T ile he picked up tip a stone and hurled burled it into the foliage of a nearby near by tree and half a dozen objects resembling our huge green walnuts thudded to the ground lie ile crushed one under the heavy sole of a grenadier boot the juice of this pulp Is an excellent dye he explained it will make your hair and beard a very dark brown and it will give to your too fair skin the deep bronze of a man who has spent his life with ships As the pigment will last some weeks you need have no fear of it fading before the spaniards are prepared to hang bang you so using a broad flat rock as a mortar we crushed from the thick pulpy covering of a number of the half ripe nuts a quantity of pale liquid which on drying left my skin a reddish brown and my hair and beard nearly black you have funds he questioned none the leathern wallet containing a small quantity of money and a few papers of purely personal value was taken from the pocket of my jacket while I 1 lay unconscious on board the santa Lucre lucrecia ela the good francisco probably did it ILI then said monahan laughing as it a friend of francisco I 1 would proffer pr affer such financial aid as you may require lie ile placed ten silver pieces the size of f our american dollar into my hand this will hw brg you a hat bat and clothes that be less identifying and pay for food anil and quarters in caracas for at least a fortnight lie he sighed 1 I think your need of food and quarters will hardly last so long then abruptly 1 I 1 1 I cannot diss dissuade Lude you from this mad mission I 1 shook my head and he went on it if caracas Is your goal I 1 might tell you that la in the humble home of senor tomas carraseo carrasco which lies less legs than two hundred meters south of san jacinto plaza you will find aln safe lodgment to and in the cantina callina merida presided over by the faithful carrizal a few patriots sometimes gather I 1 am sure that when you have had further farther opportunity to study the methods of spain in venezuela you will III come to us though you will need a vast amount of luck to get into caracas and safely out again and these few patriots who sometimes rather in the menage of 0 carrial how bow shall I 1 know them lie he extended his right hand band third sneer finger folded into the palm that in shaking hands Is the sign used by members of the Soc ledal an organization founded by simon bolivar and miranda nearly ten years ago ile he pressed my hand in a warm firm grip 1 I think I 1 dball not see you again too many forces are against you but he erred for I 1 was destined to fight side by side with captain monahan through a bitter campaign against the spanish I 1 was yet to meet the moving spirits of that famous and mi british legion which did so much to win from ferdinand VII independence for venezuela and halt half of south america as well hardy souls veterans most of them of the napoleonic wars who after the tall fall of the corsican could not go back to the peaceful pursuits of man but chained to the chariot of mars must needs follow the lure of the sword CHAPTER IV A wedding disarranged As I 1 set out that morning on the road to caracas and on the road to adventures beyond my wildest dreams the cool blue dome of the sky was unmarked by a cloud the sun swung overhead and went swiftly down the western path as I 1 trod the smooth stones that formed the road the it ill take some cumana camana rum I 1 said to carrizal Carrl zal short twilight came and went and a golden moon pushed above the timbered range rame that lay beyond caracas in the moonlight I 1 bent my steps toward the city where I 1 hoped to find the lady in white the gracious lady who had come into my arms to find protection from the storm the city of caracas stronghold of spain in venezuela and the key to its control lies iles in a vast fertile basin called the vale of aragon the north rim of which forms a barrier between the city and the sea As I 1 came in sight of the city a morning sun emerging from the mists of the east touched the red tiled roofs with gold it was a city of beauty a city of dreams it held for me the present as well as the future my mad worship would not permit me to consider the dangers that might beset me I 1 saw only the face of her whose life I 1 hoped was to be bound up with mine for ever I 1 had reached a tiny roadside store on the outskirts of the city before I 1 realized that no plan had been made no thought of what I 1 m might ight do after I 1 had entered this the headquarters 0 of the spanish forces in Veter venezuela nela I 1 went into the store traded five sll all i ver pieces for clothes and the privacy of a room where I 1 might change and came out again garbed in the coarsen coarse brown two piece suit and the blue turban like cap affected by many of tile the french sailors of the islands tile the road I 1 had taken led to the plaza san jacinto jacento Jacl nto where I 1 turned south and asked my way to the home of tomas carrasco which proved to be a red and brown browd rock and adobe structure of considerable size tomas was noncommittal non committal his dark eyes surveyed me with grave concern and after assuring himself of my strangeness he be announced aued sorrowfully but with unmistakable firmness that he had no quarters that might be offered to travelers expressing my disappointment in halting spanish I 1 offered my hand band in parting salute As he be grasped it vastly relieved I 1 folded my third finger into the palm ne ile gasped his swarthy face went an ashen gray and his sharp eyes searched my face ile he turned my hand and aad studied it it there Is a comfortable room for you senor and food A chiva lately baked frijoles golden brown tortillas hortillas tor tillas the sauce of papaya fruit luscious peaches from froin my own garden oranges and melons from coro wine from madeira and rum from camana cumana and a house of safety senor if there 43 g Is anything you might require you are very kind tomas I 1 said A dozen listless loiterers loiter ers sat at tables or leaned against the bar as I 1 entered and made nay riy way toward carrizal mr who stood behind the bar he considered me with the calculating eye of a man who anticipates a sale I 1 gave the subject of my order careful thought I 1 did not dare to ask for american whisky and wine was still considered a european drink while I 1 pondered thus a familiar voice came to me there Is no ruria rum la in au all tile the world senor like rum from cumana camana 11 ill take some cumana camana rum ruca I 1 said to carrizal as another voice agreed with the connoisseur of rum the connoisseur whose back was turned to me turned at the sound of my voice turned swiftly the mug of rum poised between the bar and his face he opened a wide mouth that still showed traces of the bruises from my fist and let lei out a great laugh that fairly rattled the windows senor loco he cried the sea has given up its dead I 1 stared aghast for manuel stood before me manuel who twice had stopped my fist with parts of his face and who could therefore have hava had no love tor for me my thoughts were racing wildly manuel belonged to bolivar yet the spanish captain alvarez according to the senorita dulce had called him a good sailor and dulce dolee had said lie was stupid name of G dl d and here was manuel in caracas drinking and visiting boldly in a saloon less than a square from the plaza free in the city as unconcerned as though he were strolling along the levee in the sate safe city of new orleans are you not mistaken senor I 1 ventured Is there anything about me that should make you call we me crazy now he went off into another convulsion slon of merriment did the sea water dye thy whiskers he roared and that yellow thatch of thine speak up senor loco and tell us how you came here and why 1 I had bad made an unpropitious entry into the stronghold of spain I 1 had failed ere I 1 had begun and I 1 had failed by a grotesque twist of fate because of the misplaced enmity of those who should have been my friends ali ah well I 1 could at least show them the Anle american rican indifference toward death it Is manuel I 1 said no manuel the sailor who does not like the flavor of my fist I 1 smiled extending my hand ile he too found my third finger folded into the palm ills mug of rum clattered to the floor the grin disappeared from his face and the evil light that had bad been in his eyes faded lie he drew in a harsh hissing breath and spat out a spanish oath manuel anuel I 1 cried has this fine cumana camana rum touched your brain ot or do you merely jest with a poor french sailor stranded at la guaira guaida and seeking employment in caracas manuels left eyelid dropped and raised quickly again and his face was blank 1 I think I 1 should offer apology to you ton senor I 1 must have been in error for you cannot be the senor loco whom I 1 saw fall from the deck of the santa Luc lucrecia no man could have lived in that raging sea yet I 1 have seen you somewhere or perhaps tile the rum has put a fancy in my head TO BE BB CONTINUED |