Show thelme gill L ot a 6 ara amadon by FRED mclaughlin author of the blade of Pl cardy copyright Copi rIght by dobb bobba merrall co service I 1 THE STORY in the city of new orleans in 1821 loren garde recently an officer under general jackson la Is surprised by the app appearance earan e of three figures fagu es in ancient sp spanish asislo costume two men and a woman whose beauty enchants him resenting the arrogance of the elder of the two men garde fights a duel with him with swords and wounds him he learns his opponent la Is adolfo dil de fuentes Fuen teg colonel in the spanish army in III venezuela garde overhears a plot to overthrow spanish rule in venezuela discovered he lights fights but Is overpowered garde inda finds himself a prisoner on the santa banta lucrecia bu crecia ship bearing arms and ammunition for the venezuelans Venezuela ns on board are the conspirators the lady of his love her brother polito and de puentes entea I 1 om the girl garde learns her name Is dulco dulce lamartina ile he loves her but does not reveal his love the vessel is wrecked and garde reaches the venezuelan shore alone yle he e en 1 1 counters a stranger and nd s sees e e dulce with de fuentes and polito learning his history the stranger who Is captain monahan of the british legion under Do bolivar livar urges garde to join the venezuelans Venezuela ns but his mind la Is set on again seeing dulce monahan directs him to friends in caracas there garde supplied by mono mona han with the secret sign of fhe he patriots Is welcomed at the revolutionary headquarters CHAPTER IV continued 7 clever rogue I 1 lie knew that the encircling loiterers loiter ers most 0 of f whom were doubtless spanish sympathizers must be appeased so he had delivered the task of lying over to me now pedro carrizal broke in again yes senor frenchman tell us where you saw our amiable manuel and tell us why lie he dislikes the flavor of your fist assuredly said 1 I mixing mendacity and truth we had some words at la gualia guaira and manuels knife by chance was slower w er than my fist therefore my lungs are still intact in tact while Us lili teeth as you might see are hardly company front the swarthy sailor offered a sour smile at this and the crowd laughl laughing ng went back to card games and drinks again manuel turned to carrizal Carrl zal and bestowed another wink 1 I would speak with tills this fellow sailor privately pedro whereupon Were upon the bartender ushered us through a massive door and closed it after us and manuel standing with his back against it drew a gleaming knife from his belt how come you here senor I 1 taw saw you fall into the sea the sea was kind to me manuel as well as the wind and that knife you hold might still be slower than my fist your life Is forfeit in caracas s senor garde when that dye has been removed the colonel fuentes will be pleased to see you for he loyes you not at all neither will the cause of revolution suffer in your passing and when I 1 tell him of my masquerade as sin san esidro in new orleans and what I 1 saw alq heard manuel swore and then laughed your interest I 1 think Is not with venezuela nor with spain never spain manuel for I 1 have looked upon the dead city of tuca auca yan lie he replaced his knife in the scabbard at his belt 1 I have heard of what morales did to bucayan Tu cayan it la Is merely ono one of the many payments that we will have to make to purchase freedom but freedom at any price Is cheap my heart suddenly warmed to this earnest patriot 1 I met an irish soldier on the anad I 1 said captain monahan cae oiin or of the british legion who offered me hla his trust he helped me change the complexion of my jace face and halt hair and lie he referred me to tomas carrasco and the cantina merlda 11 and add the sign of the dad paerl ot fee 1 lie ile gave me that as well your life in tills this city senor will not be worth a sliver silver real when fuen tog tes finds you out ile he has little cause to love one ode who ln in the space of a an n y hour vanquishes him with the sword and steals the heart of his lady how can you know that manuel I 1 cried hopefully A mere matter of logic a simple thing indeed new orleans was filled one brilliant moonlit night with the hue bue and cry of the chase and the quarry was a tall hatless hat lesa fair hatred haired man who had stabbed the noble colonel fuentes luring during the course of a duel in the place darmes we found hiding in the lipse apse reserved for san isidro such a man mail who afterward refused to leave the santa lucrecia Luc at the safe orrt of deludes tho the jaaj came to see him in his prison and sought him out again in the fury of the storm the lady journeys to caracas and the viking dyes his hair aud and beard and face and follows tier her only to put his big foolish head into a noose until the noose tightens then manuel I 1 sala said my foolish head Is safe it is a long way from spain to the cathedral andi intend the sailor gave himself over to boisterous laughter but the cathedral lias has been reached senor the journey ended for the senorita norita Sc dulce lamarsna Lamart Lam ardna lna will be married today at high noon which is within the hour to colonel adolfo de fuentes Iu entes military aide of la torre name of G dl the truth said manuel L it catches you no 2 ile he grinned how will your efficient fists take care of such a situations situation will you push over the big cathedral or we can at least manuel goto go to the wedding madness senor I 1 surely you would not do so wild a thing I 1 why not Is not the wedding a public affair I 1 have taken care of myself for many years manuel and expect to do so many more it if you hesitate to accompany me or fear that eyll evil might befall not at all lie he cried in high good humor now 1 I miss it tor for the finest ship in the indies I 1 As we entered the soft gloom of the cathedral my heart was wag beating a swift tattoo against m my y ribs my breathing was waa the labored abo red breath of the spent runner and my body shook in the palsy of arrant fear I 1 had bad be y I 1 A are senor 11 gun gunto to cherish a faint hope that a portion of the senoritas Seno ritas love had been bestowed upon me she had come to my prison had tried to save me she had sought me out in the fury furj of the storm arid and tile the light in her hel eyes when she had bad found me all ah I 1 but who was adolfo what had lie he done to win her why should she marry this drunken spaniard whose loves were legion when I 1 had saved her and brought tier her to those in the lifeboat adolfo had tried to kill me A wild rage possessed me de fuentes would never marry her I 1 would throw myself upon him at the altar I 1 would put my fingers around his throat and hold bold them there until lie he died and all the powers in the great cathedral would not stop me I 1 would tear A quieting hand band was laid upon my arm and manuels warning whisper came to me do you shake the roof from the building fool one Is watched here As hii att moved slowly down the wide aisle i 1 could see that the spacious loiis chamber was wag filled an usher seated us less than twenty feet from the altar we thanked him and settled at last listened to the suppressed murmur that went up from the waltin waiting crowd yonder said manuel manucl pointing a prudent thumb Is morales who acts for la torre I 1 studied the cold dignified man who bore bora with evident vincnt pride the gaudy trappings or of his rank had I 1 never seen the city of I 1 should have disliked this cynical spaniard whose face was set in a mask of cruelty and whose eyes were yelled veiled by heavy lids half closed as though to conceal his crafty thoughts thou ghis this man then with the power of spain at his call had laid his hand upon a city and hid had destroyed till all the life it held it been a gesture of war I 1 remembered for not a man in bucayan ark was armed A deed of senseless brutality no less this dost destruction st ruction of a helpless town and the slaughter of 0 its people if morales represented spanish methods method sin in venezuela the cause of bolivar I 1 reasoned was just hot anger burned within me the racing blood pounded at my tein temples ples and falling failing to trembling again I 1 gripped my my angera and ground my teeth in a fury of impotence the glorious lamartina was marrying the aide of this monster and the colonels emulation of the butcher had earned for him already a reputation as in famous as that of his chief now manuel touched my arm careful my friend he whispered such malignant looks III become a wedding if you would conserve your life you must control your face I 1 had come to realize at last that behind the face of the swarthy and clever manuel lay thoughts most beautiful and profound and I 1 wondered vaguely what manner of man might be this bolivar the father of the revolution wherein lay his hold upon his people francisco had said to me if vene zuela lueia nan had a thousand men like you senor she would win her independence out of hand well wily why not could this game we call life offer to me any more fascinating sport japort and if bolivar were half the man that his amazing power over the people of venezuela seemed to indicate then service under him would be a glorious thing the swelling murmur of the throng was stilled with startling suddenness and a silver thread of music tilled filled the aar it t deepened into the slow harmony of a march and in time with it came a muffled sound of footfalls I 1 bow bowed edmy my head for I 1 dared not look they were coming down the aisle ae side us after an interminable wait the priests deep voice filled the cathedral with toneless sound I 1 heard nothing of what he said sad I 1 could not even raise my eyes she was marrying him marrying that craven spaniard wherein had I 1 failed had I 1 followed her for this to sit jilly idly while slie she gave herself in marriage to adolfo to wait in muted impotence while another man 7 I 1 lifted my head at last and looked at them they stood before the tall serene black robed priest adolfo in the brilliant uniform of his rank with his arm free now and she in white as fair and as pale as a illy polito garbed as a lieutenant in the service of his majesty ferdinand VIT VII stood beside tier lier his head swathed in a bandage and other around his throat my mad worship drew my eyes to her downcast face and held them there I 1 saw again the tender curve oi of her cheek check and the sweetly pointing chin which trembled else my eyes were playing me false tiny black curls touched an ear and caressed tier her neck and tier her bosom rose and fell in an emotion beyond her con control troi the incongruous thought came to me that she seemed just like a little girl about to cry I 1 looked and looked filling my soul with her beauty I 1 gripped the carved bench in front of me and held myself rigid concentrating every faculty into the intensity of my regard polito offered something to the colonel a ring I 1 supposed the calm father spoke to the senorita and she extended one slender hand it raised slowly as though it were lifting the weight oi of the world and her eyes came up with it I 1 searched her face eagerly now drinking in her loveliness I 1 would live thi this love of mine during the minute or two that she might still remain the senorita lamartina Lamart lna and then free of caracas 1 would seek forgetfulness in arms under the banner of bolivar for I 1 could never go hack back again to the peace and quiet ot of the great plantations dios said manuel in an anxious whisper she has seen now I 1 realized that the senorita dulce had found my eyes she was looking past the colonels shoulder tier her lips were parted tier her eyes wide color came and went in her face and a deep sigh escaped her with outstretched hand pointing in my direction she pushed past the prospective bridegroom and started down the carpeted aisle toward me she seemed like ilke one who moves in a trance her eyes unseeing tier her arms extended as though in supplication before she had taken two steps I 1 was on my feet and 14 in three strides stood before her catching the swaying figure as it fell with a childlike sigh she snuggled into the protection of my arms senor moon wealth she whispered in a tiny voice that ans drowned in the swelling spelling lamentations that oiled filled the cathedral she raised a hand wonderingly and touched my dark ened cited hair Is it the senor I 1 would none other what have I 1 done senorita hasten said a rasping v voice olce at my elbow you must escape save thyself manuel good friend J I 1 said they may do to me now the crowd was upon us in an overwhelming flood polito hla face as black as a thundercloud tore lore the precious burden from my arms soldiers barked orders women screamed and children cried shrilly thrusting bodies propelled me swiftly toward the wide doorway out of which we tumbled in a scrambling 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