Show the efte vale of aramori by fred frea author of the blade of oj tr by bobbi merrill co service Ser nce THE STORY in the th city of now new orleans in 1821 loren garde recently an officer under general jackson la it surprised by the appearance in ancient spanish costume of two men am and 1 woman w hose beauty enchant nc hanta s h him M res resenting e the arrogance r 0 of f th the elder of the two men garde fights with him and wounds him ile he learns his opponent Is adolfo do de fuentes colonel in the spanish army in venezuela garde overhears a plot to overthrow spanish rule in ve venezuela 11 azuela discovered he fights but la Is overpowered and mado prisoner on the santa luerecia Luc Lve recia ship bearing arms for the venezuelan venezuelans ns on board are the conspirators conspirator the lady of his love her brother polito and do de fuentes ru nice from the girl garde lea learns r ns her name Is dulce lamar alna ile he loves he her r but does not reveal his love the vessel Is wrecked and garde reaches the venezuelan shore alone ile he encounters a stranger and sees dulce the Bt stranger ranger who Is captain monahan of the british legion under bolivar urges garde to join the Venezuela ns but his mind Is set met on again seeing dulce Bio monahan nahan directs him to friends in caracas there sup plied piled by monahan with the secret sign of the patriots he Is welcomed at the revolutionary headquarters garde attends the wedding of dulce and de fuentes dulco dulca recognizes him and leaves do de fuentes at the altar she Is torn from gardes arms ile he escapes finding garde dulce tells him her wedding to do de puentes fuentes was to have been the price of gardes life they reveal their mutual love garde Is in made mad prisoner I 1 CHAPTER V continued you toil offer doubtful compliment it would not have been clever at all your majesty it if you were unfamiliar with the language of nay my native land then you are not lourdez So urdez he eald christened timoleon moleon Tl of course not timoleon moleon Tt was only a screen I 1 am loren garde and my father owns plantations near new orleans you have followed the senorita from new orleans not so senor byet set you are here aye but by no wish of mine did I 1 leave new orleans now he brought another charge against me you have made a fool of me before the people of caracas 1 I have arrived upon this earth too late to make a fool of you senor anger blazed in his eyes died then he be smiled yet his smile was a less pleasing thing than his anger the recklessness of the condemned eh I 1 have seen it in men who are looking upon death if the dead city of bucayan Is a fair example I 1 am sure you have seen much of tt it bucayan Tu cayan Is only a hint of what we intend to do to revolutionary venezuela they understand only the rule of force yet the rule of force senor said 1 I has always been a rule of failure that Is a lesson spain has never learned ue ile showed white teeth in a grim smile what lesson then do you gain from bucayan Tu cayan which we destroyed st tile the last man in that dead city a graybeard patriot died in my arms and with ills his last breath he cried viva Boli bolivar varl 1 it if a lesson Is desired carrascal Carr acal adolfas Adol fos face went pale and his manner for an instant was that of a hunted animal carraca barraca Car raca indeed senor the reign 0 of f murder in venezuela Is net nearly irly over and your judgment tells you ou that it Is though ambition speaks another language spain has destroyed the wealth of bolivar a passing thing mini in any case but this spirit alil ah I 1 A rebel III 1 cried adolfo adoldo some day we will hang him in the plaza san jacinto Jacl nto spain has sought bolivar r now for just ten years senor and f failed ailed you will have to deal with bolivar and when you do when we shoot you senor amerl cano tomorrow morning in the plaza before the great cathedral simon will lose another patriot Is it not so my fathers arm Is long I 1 said he has powerful friends in amerle america a chief among them being gen andrew jackson who will doubtless be our next president I 1 have sent a letter to my father and it if aught befalls inep ine me P ball bah I 1 spain in venezuela can III afford to lose the friendship of the united states adolfo grinned we stand to lose lone no friendships by executing a revolutionist ti a man caught in the act of mutiny a half mad french sailor named Tl moleon lourdez So urdez who brought a sa sacrilege crile ge upon the church we know nothing of loren garde son of the wealthy senor cards of new orleans friend of andrew jackson I 1 was silent tor for the simple reason that I 1 had nothing to say for I 1 knew that his stand might seem a logical thine for what purpose did the senorita lamartina Lamart lna visit you today she came to offer me an invitation to her wedding ile he snarled does the droll amerl cano imagine that tile the noble lady of spain might love him yone one never knows yet loving you why should she wed me A question colonel which you yourself might answer adolfas Adol fos laughter rang through the house assuredly she ehe does not love you she must have her sport and the lovelorn americano Amerl cano offers himself you do not understand women eh senor lie he combed his black beard with heavy fingers the poor loco carries his heart upon ills his sleeve yet it required it a gorgeous lie ile to br bring ingher her to the altar with you adoldo swore softly she she told you that aye said I 1 filled with a large conceit when the senor puentes fuentes tried to stab a stupid ladrone in the city of new orleans he be lost his ladylove carrascal Carr acal he cried reaching tor for a weapon as I 1 swung upon his jaw the bitterness that was in my heart find he H cried out tn in pain at my blow ing full expression in violent action he fell back against the wall his right hand crime came up swiftly bearing a pistol but I 1 struck his elbow and the gun clattered to the floor now holding him against the wall with my left hand at his throat I 1 drew back my right arm 1 I have dreamed pt of a time when I 1 should get my fingers on that fat neck of thine adolfo and hold them there until the breath shall leave thy illy body I 1 have pictured that cynical face of thine as a punch ing bag tor for my fist so sol I 1 ile he cried out in pain at my blow the senorita told me this afternoon adolfo that tomorrow she would wed thee I 1 laughed 1 I shall see to it that thou dost not make a handsome bridegroom but my little minute was over all too quickly for the guards rushed in and dragged me away from him lie he caressed a bruised jaw with tentative fingers tried a couple of teeth that were doubtless loose spat a crimson blob upon the floor and filled the air with a sulphurous flow of profanity I 1 laughed aloud tills this day adolfo has had the falness ot of a lifetime and tomorrows sun will find me ready yet life he said thickly might still be sweet to you there Is yet a way to win freedom you may save your life on oa conditions I 1 waited that you leave caracas tonight and la gualia guaira tomorrow and what else senor I 1 am waiting that you tell me now where the senorita lamartina Lamart lna Is name of G d senor I 1 do you mean the americano Amerl cano Is 13 doubtless a clever actor if he will tell me where I 1 may find the senorita he will see the way made open for a safe journey to new orleans it came to me then that adolfo h hesitated esl to bring about my exec execution n and hoped thereafter to win the Seno senoritas ritas love you and she bile must have had bad some understanding he be continued if for or within the hour after site she had bad returned to the home of the senora mendoza we discovered that she had disappeared ns as completely as though some mythical air god eod had carried her away polito greatly agitated because of her aided in the search but to no avail we have i comb combed ed the city tor for hours with no success if you would win your freedom you will tell us whither she has gone it if not the morrow shall find and you facing a firing squad I 1 knew adolfo would never keep his word even had I 1 been anble to give hire him any information inthe senorita doe doeschot do escot snot care to keep you advised of her plans surely you cannot expect me t very well lie said we will place you for the night in a safe little cage that we may count on finding you tomorrow morning sol so with four guards on each side and colonel fuentes bringing up the rear we ve marched out of the house of tomas carrasco crossed tile the patio and berit bent our steps toward the gloomy pile 11 of weathered stone whose dun geon illie chambers had held so many unfortunates CHAPTER VI A silver night As we marched along my mind was filled with slid sad uncertainties grim forebodings bo dings regrets tor for half accomplished tasks I 1 would have like to live to see the independence li of venezuela uela find and I 1 found myself wishing that I 1 might have been spared to meet the liberator simon bolivar tile the extraordinary man who vi ho had instilled in the hearts of his people a deathless love of independence and I 1 wanted to see the senorita again to tell her ot of my love now flow could she have covered up so completely nil all the signs of her escape the city of caracas was vas new to her to have haie left caracas would have been to leave n tran trail anyone might have followed and to have secreted herselle her hersel seirin ln the city the thing was impossible for the lie men of la torre lorre could have searched scorched every corner of 0 tt it in an hour even polito was in the dark As ve ne approached the menage of pedro carrizal Carrl zal sounds of hilarity came from the Inter interior lor loud laughter and snatches natches 8 of song we had come opposite when the door rew flew open and a man stood swaying in the lighted way war when he saw us ua he be uttered a wild yell and toppled forward to the sidewalk even as the soldiers roared in high glee over the fall of the tipsy celebrant a torrent of men poured from the opened doorway and tell fell upon my guards before they could bring their guns to bear I 1 turned to meet adolfo whose pistol pointed at my head my fingers found his bis wrist and thrust his arm high as he sent a harmless bullet into the air then I 1 drove a fist into his broad face ali ah the tingling joy it t gave gae met me I 1 lie ile went down and I 1 threw myself upon him fingers groping for its ills throat adolfo cried aloud he swore he gasped he writhed lie he clawed vainly at my wrists and kicked and twisted his unwieldy body I 1 heard a shrill voice shrieking anathemas ana themas a rasping voice that my own jovn and it ea gave e me a grievous shock that I 1 had fallen so low hands were laid upon my shoulders dragging me from my victim lot let me alone I 1 cried let me kill 1111 mull him I 1 no senor 1131 liin anuel III leaped to my feet come come quickly lie caught my arm and led me away cut but we must help them ile he laughed shortly not at fill all they need no help it Is the soldiers who will be crying for md aid we ran swiftly for three minutes and stopped in a darkened alley where manuel opened a package which had been secreted under a shed disclosing a uniform put pit it on quickly senor in two minutes you must be a captain la in his maje service TO BE CONTINUED |