Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-16

NicaraZu1ns. Which OF the three IS the Di8Se3t
liar the rea Ter must Judge for hinsef.-R. b.
The young naval officer came into this
world with two eyes and two arms: he
left II with but one of each, but the re-
manning eye was ever quick to see, and the
remaining arm ever strong to seize Even
his blind eye became useful on one his
torical occasion. But the loss of eye or
arm was as nothing to the continual loss
of his heart, which often led him far affeld
In the finding of it,; vanquished when he
met the women: invincible when he met
the men; in truth, most human hero, and
81 so We all love Jack, the we, in this in
stance, as the old joke has it, embracing
the women.
In the year 1850 Britain ordered Col.
Poison to invade Nicaragua. The task i'm
posed on the gallant colonel was not an
onerous one, for the Nicaraguans never
cared to secure for themselves the military
reputation of Sparta. In fact some years
after this. single American. Walker. with
few Californian rifles under his COM
mand, conquered the whole nation and
made himself president of 1t and perhaps
would have been dictator of Nicaragua to-
day If his own country had not laid him
by the heels. 1t is no violation Of history
to state that the entire British feet was
not engaged in subduing Nicaragua, and
that Col. Poison felt himself amply pro-
vided for the necessities of the crisis by
sailing into the harbor of San Juan del
Norte with one small ship. There were
numerous for ,ificationS at the mouth of the
river, and In about an hour after landing
the colonel was in possession of them all.
The flight of time, brief as 1t was, could
not be compared in celebrity with the flight
Of the Nicaraguans. who betook themselves
to the backwoods with an impetuosity sell
dom seen outside Of race course. There
was no loss of life so far as the British
were concerned, and the only casualties
RI ho
caught through the overheating Of them
selves in their feverish desire to explore
Immediately the interior Of their beloved
country He who bolts and runs away
will live to bolt another day. was the
motto of the Nicaraguans. So far so good,
or so bad. as the case may be.
The victorious colonel now got together
fotilla of some half a score of boats or
more. and the f1otilla was placed under
the command of the young naval off e.,
the hero of this story. The expedition pro-
which runs for eighty miles, or there
abouts, from Lake Nicaragua to the salt
water The voyage was a sort of marine
picnic Luxurious vegetation on either
side, and no opposition to speak of. even
from the current of the river itself for
Lake Nicaragua is but 100 feet above the
&C river S0 miles long
As the hotilla approached the entrance
TO the lake, caution increased, for 1t was
rot known how strong Fort San Carlos
pi'Nt- tort, perhaps the only
one in the country strongly built, stood at
once on the shores of the lake and the
bank of the stream. There was one chance
IN thousand that the speedy retreat of
the Nicaraguans had been merely a device
to lure the British into the center of the
country. where the little expedition of 200
sailors and marines might be annihiatei
In these circumstances Col. Poison thought
IL well. before coming in sight of the fort
to draw up his boats along the northern
bank OF the San Juan river. sending out
scouts to bring in necessary information
regarding the stronghold. The young
naval officer all through his life was noted
Tor his energetic and reckless courage so
1t was not to be wondered at that the
age OF twenty-five found him impatient
with the delay. 10th to lie inactive in his
boat until the scouts returned so he re-
SoiVed upon an action that would have
justly brought court-martial upon his
head had knowledge of it come to his
superior officer. He plunged alone into the
tropical thicket. armed only with two pis-
tolls and cutlass. determined to force his
way through the rank vegetation along the
bank of the river and reconnoiter Fort San
Carlos for himself. If he had given any
thought to the matter, which 1t Is more
man iikely ne did not. he must have known
mat ne ran every risk of capture and
death. for the native of Cenral America
then as now, has rarely shown any hesita-
ton about shooting prisoners of war. Our
young friend therefore had slight chance
for his life il cut of from his comrades.
and In the circumstances even a civilized
nation would have been perfectly within
It's right In executing him as a spy
After leaving the lake the river San Juan
bends south and then north again. The
scouts had taken the direct route to the
Tort across the land. but the young officers
theory was that IL the Nicaraguans meant
10 night they would place an ambush in
the dense Jungle along the river. and from
TINS place OF concealment harass the hotil-
Ia before 1t got within gunshot Of the fort
This ambuscade could easily fall back upon
the fort II directly attacked and defeated
ms, the young man argued. was what he
himself would have done had he been In
command of the Nicaraguan forces SO II
naturally occurred to him to discover
whether the same idea had suggested itself
to the commandant at San Carlos.
Expecting every moment to come upon
this ambuscade. the boy proceeded, pistol
IN hand. with the utmost care crouchiny
under the luxuriant tropical foliage, tun-
the dark alleys of vegetation, rooted In by
the broad leaves overhead. Through cross
alleys he caught glipmses now and then
OF the broad river. Of which he was desir-
Gus to keep within touch. Stealthily cross
Ing one of these riverward alleys the young
fellow came upon his ambuscade and was
struck motionless with amusement at the
form it took. Silhouetted against the shin
ing water beyond was a young girl. She
Kheit at the very verge of the low cruml-
Eng cliff above the water, her left hand,
outspread, was on the ground. her right
rested against the rough trunk of a palm
tree, and counterbalanced the weight OF
her body, which leaned far forward over
the brink. Her face was turned sideways
toward him. and her lustrous eyes peered
'ntenfly down the river at the British flo
una stranded along the rivers hank 80
intent was her gaze, 30 confident was she
that she was alone. that the leopard liko
e approach of her enemy gave her no hint
OF attack Her perfect profile being toward
hlm he saw her cherry-red lips move
silently as If she were counting the boats
ana impressing their number upon her
memory. A woman In appearance, she was
at TINS date but sixteen years old, and the
GREATNESS young man who stood like a
statue regarding her thought he had never
seen vision Of such enhancing beauty
ana, as have before intimated, he was a
Judge OF feminine loneliness Pulling him
sen together. and drawing a deep but silent
breath. he went forward with soft tread.
ana the next instant there was a grip of
steel on the wrist of the young girl that
rested on the earth With cry of dismav
sne sprang to her feet and confronted her
assaiiant, nearly topping over the brink az
she oid so, but he grasped her firmly and
rev her step or two up the arcade. AS
ne heid her left wrist there was In the Air
the hash OF a stiletto. and the naval or.
ncers distinguished career would have end
ed that had ba