Show THE STORY at nightfall in the city of new orleans in 1821 loren garde recently an officer under general jackson Is surprised by the appearance pei pe arance rance of cl three figures in ancient spanish costume two men and a woman whose beauty enchants him resenting the arrogance of bf the elder ol of the two men garde fights a duel with him ivah swords and wounds him lie learns his opponent Is adolfo do de fuentes F aites colonel in the spanish army army in venezuela garde fleeing from gens delardes de del annes armes 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 Luc a ship bearing contraband arms anti and ammunition tor for the vene zue lans on board are the conspirators spira tors the lady of his love her brother polito and do da fuentes an attempt to seize the ship falls from the girl garde carde learns her name Is dulce lamartina ile he loves her but does not reveal his love the vessel Is wrecked and garde roaches reaches the venezuelan shore alone making hla his way inland he encounters enco untera a stranger awaiting the arrival of the sinta santa lucrecia Luc lie ile tells him of the wreck and sees dulce with de fuentes and polito CHAPTER ill III continued Continue cf fi 6 lie he pulled at his pipe his broad shoulders ders shaking with laughter 1 I am monahan lie said fit 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 rides the wings of the storm alone when his ship conies canies to grief bolivar qan can use such men my friend 11 there was a frank friendliness about tills this transplanted patriot something that called for confidence so I 1 began with the cabildo and completed my account wath bucayan Tu cayan skipping only those portions which dealt with tile the senorita lamartina Lamart lna and f failing a illig utterly in rny my deletions for when I 1 had done ho he said so the blond loren will lile hie himself to caracas whither the dark beauty his ladylove Is bound and lie he will find there all tile 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 have fought such battles before as you have also no doubt I 1 have been too close to death in the past to fear it now lie ile chuckled that yellow thatch ot of yours will sink you for it cries 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 1 you might suggest lie ile picked up a stone and hurled it into the foliage of a nearby near b by tree and half a dozen objects resembling our huge green walnuts thudded to the ground ife crushed one under the heavy sole of a grenadier boot the juice of this pulp is an excellent lye dye lie 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 mail who has spent his life with ships As aa the pigment will last some weeks you need have no fear of it fading before the spaniards are prepared to liang hung you so using a broad flat rock as a tm 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 lie he questioned none the leathern wallet containing a small quantity of money and a few papers of purely personal was taken from the pocket of my jacket while I 1 lay unconscious elow on board tho the santa lucrecia Luc the good francisco probably did it then said monahan laughing as a friend of francisco I 1 would proffer such financial aid as you may require ile he placed ten silver pieces the size of our american dollar into my hand this will b bw rj you a hat and clothes that shall be less identifying and pay for food and ti f in caracas for at least a fortnight lie ile sighed 1 I think your need of food and quarters will hardly last so long then abruptly 1 I I 1 cannot dissuade you from tills this mud mild mission I 1 shook my head and he went on on it if caracas Is your goal I 1 might tell you that in the humble home of senor tomas carrasco which lies less than two hundred meters south of san J acinto plaza you will find safe lodgment and in the cantina merlda merida presided over by the faithful carrizal Carrl zal a few patriots sometimes gather I 1 am sure that when you have had further opportunity to study the methods of spain in venezuela you will come to us though you will need nead a vast amount of luck to get into caracas and safely out again and these few patriots who sometimes gather in the menage of carrizal how shall I 1 know them ile he extended his right hand third finger folded into the palm that in shaking hands ts Is the sign asod by members of the dad an organization founded by simon bolivar and miranda nearly ten years ago lie pressed my liand hand in a warm firm grip 1 I think I 1 shall not see you again too many forces are against you but lie he erred for I 1 was destined to fight side by side with captain monahan through ough a bitter campaign against the spanish I 1 was yetto yet to meet the ARN V F ill take some cumana camana rum I 1 said to carrizal Carrl zal moving spirits of that famous and mi british legion which did so much to win from ferdinand VII independence for venezuela and half of south america as well hardy souls veterans most of them of the napoleonic wars who after the 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 0 f the sword CHAPTER IV A wedding disarranged As aa I 1 set out that morning on the road to caracas and on the road to adventures bey beyond ond my wildest dreams the cool blue dome of chesky the sky gasun 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 short twilight came and add went and a golden moon pushed above the timbered range that lay beyond caracas in tile the moonlight I 1 bent my steps toward the city where I 1 hoped to find tile 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 tile the key to tta its control lies 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 roots roofs with gold it was a city of beauty a city of dreams anaa it held for me the present as well as aa the future my mad worship would not permit me to consider the dangers that might beset ine mo 1 l saw baw odily on lythe the face of her whose life I 1 hoped was to b be blind bd und u up ethl 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 might do after I 1 had entered this the headquarters of the spanish forces in venezuela I 1 went into the store traded five silver pieces for clothes and the privacy of a room where I 1 might change and came out again garbed in the maxe coarse brown two piece suit and the blue turban like cap affected by many of the F reach french sailors of the islands the road I 1 had taken led to the plaza san jacinto Jacl nto where I 1 turned south and asked my way to the home of tonus tomas carrasco which proved to be a red and brown rock and adobe structure of considerable size tomas was noncommittal non committal his lils dark eyes surveyed me with grave concern and after assuring himself of my strangeness he announced sorrowfully but with unmistakable firmness that lie ho had no quarters that might be offered to travelers expressing my disappointment in halting spanish I 1 offered iny my hand in parting salute As he grasped it vastly relieved I 1 folded my third finger into the palm lie ile gasped his swarthy face went an ashen gray and his sharp eyes searched my face lie ile turned my hand and studied it there Is a comfortable room for you senor and food A celya lately baked frijoles golden brown tortillas hortillas tor tillas the sauce of papaya fruit luscious peaches from my own garden oranges and melons from coro wine from madeira and rum from cumana camana and a house of safety senor if there Is 19 anything you fou might require P 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 my way toward carrizal who stood behind the bar ile he considered me with the calculating eye of a man who anticipates a sale I 1 gavette gavet gave the be subject of my order careful ka reful thought I 1 did not dare to ask for far american whisky and wine wits was still considered a european drink while I 1 pondered thus a familiar voice came to id me there Is no rum in all the world senor like rum from cumana camana ill take some cumana camana rum rom imald I 1 said to carrizal Carrl zal 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 ile he opened a wide that still showed traces of the bruises from my fist and let out a great laugh that fairly rattled the windows benr senor loco ahe he cried the sea has given up its dead I 1 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 had no love 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 had said he was stupid name of G d dt I 1 and here was manuel in caracas dr inking drinking and visiting boldly in a saloon less than a square from the plaza free in the city as aa unconcerned as though bough hewers he wera strolling along the levee in the safe city of new orleans are you not mistaken senor I 1 ventured Is there anything about me that should make you call me crazy now he went off into another coni con aulsion of merriment did the sea water dye thy whiskers he roared and that abat yellow thatch bt speak up senor loco and tell us how you came here and why I 1 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 in my y friends ah ab well I 1 could at least show them the Amerl american dan 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 his mug of rum clattered to the floor the grin disappeared from his face and the evil light that had been in his eyes faded he drew in a harsh hissing breath and spat out a spanish oath manuel I 1 cried has this fine cumana camana rum touched your brain or do you merely jest with aboor a poor french sailor stranded at la gualia guaira and seeking employment in caracas manuels left eyelid dropped and raised quickly again anahis and hla face wits was blank 1 I think I 1 should offer apology to you senor I 1 must have been lu in error for you cannot be the senor loco whom I 1 saw tall fall from the tha deer deck of the santa lucrecia Luc no man could have lived in that raging sea yet I 1 have seen peen you somewhere or perhaps the rum lias has puta put a fancy ilmy in my hoad head TO BB CONTINUED |