The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-12
LOVE BORN OF WAR.
Romantic Episode in the Recent
Campaign in Porto Rico.
HOW AN AMERICAN OFFICER WON
SPANISH BRIDE.
Happy Courtship of Lieutenant Terril1 of
Kentucky and Beautiful Maxia An
tonlus--Cupid on the Battlefield.


tonlus-Cupid on the Battlefield.
Tt is queer romance that comes out of
the war with Spain, its soens laid in
Porto Rico. and it's denouement the mar.
riage of an American officer to Spanish
girl.
In the early days of the invasion OF Por-
to Rico, Lieutenant Terrill, stalwart
young Kentuckian, was in charge OF
detachment of soldiers guarding the
hacienda Of Captain Jesu Antonius, near
Ponce, from attack by insurgents. A
little procession filed out of the woods
and up the hill. A torn handkerchief
waved from branch the bearer had cut
in the woods. 1t was a pitiful flag of
truce, and the lieutenant ordered his men
to lower their guns. AS the procession
came nearer it could be seen that the men
bore litter. The Kentuckian and his
men went to meet them.
II surrender, Americana; 1t is final.
said the man on the litter, with a grim
attempt at joke.
Lieutenant TerIill moistened the old
mans lips from a canteen. He bade his
own men relieve the tired men who car
ried the liter. He 1oosened the coat that
seemed too tight for the heaying chest of
the Spaniard in his death agony.
You have protected my home and my
little ones Thanks! Thanksl''
And SO they had carried Captain An
tonius to his home He had begged that
they let him rest upon the veranda.
81 am too tired. can go no further. !"
he said. IT want TO die on the hacienda,
but in the sunshine. Call Maxia.
She had come and kissed his hands and
wept as frightened child. He had petted
and soothed her and then turned to the
big man who wore the uniform of the
enemy.
s'You have been generous foe. Keep
this coat. 1t will remind you of Span
lard death wound and his Trunks
Americana, the darkness and the cold
are come. Kiss me, my friend. Adios =
RESCUE OF LIEU TIN AN TERRILL
Lieutenant Terrill was ordered to
Guayama the day after the death Of the
Spanish captain. IS
Carefully packed in his meager luggage
was coat of Spanish army pattern with
an officers badge and the rents and the
blood stains made by four American bull
let's. The withered, yellow duenna had
brought it to him. She bowed and for
got to cross herself when she went away.
IerriIi did something foolish for
oh off xuh no
that coat among his belongings. He
looked upon the breast of the coat for the
stain of lear drops from the pretty Seno-
rita Maxia's eyes. He plusEed like any
girl. He called himself sentimental
fool He strobe about and smoked furi-
ously.
The yellow fend had been let loose at
Ponce, and people ware dying by the
SCORE It was foolhardy for Lieutenant
1errill to wander there from Guayama.
There were more dangers than that OF
elbow fever threatening visitors to
Ponce. 1t he'd been abandoned by Amer
can soldiers. and Spanish sympathizers
had resumed their tyranny. Lieutenant
1eIrill could give no satisfactory reason
for his visit to Ponce. He was not apt at
inventions, and lad he told them that a
fancy to he nearer the lovely senorita
Maxia Antonius had been the moving
cause of his journey they would
have jeered at him for his presumption.
They cried "Spy Spy" And SO Lieu
tenant Terrill was thrown into prison.
He was not allowed to send a message
to his regiment nor to his home. While
not incomunicado he was SO despised and
feared as a spy that no one In Ponce
would be the bearer of a word from him.
The jailer was insolent, and the guards
made CHASTITY pantomime of blindfolded
man before line OF men who were aim
M ,xfA fac Of nd in, fba
kentuckian called himself fool, and
smoked vigorously.
One day there was a distur bance out
side the jail. There were Spanish soldiers
They were armed with Mauser
cities. At their head walked young.
graceful figure, whose bent head was
gracefully draped with lace mantilla.
The outline of the olive cheek showed
through. He had seen that cheek rested
against a bearded, dead face. Beside her
walked a withered, yellow duenna.
His jaiIer unlocked the Goor. His man.
per was most deferential.
ssYou are free, Senior Americana.
Senorita Antonius was just behind the
jailer.
s.I-you--it is pleasant that you are
free. senor,' she stammered. "You were
good to my dear father" and tear
trickled through her long, black lashes.
AND CUPID STEPS IN.
Kentuckians are not laggards either in
love or war. Lieutenant Terrill grasped
the senorita's hand with both of his, even
while the duenna gasped and the Spanish
soldiers looked as though ready to aim
Mauser rifles.
"Pleasaut to be free. Senorita, but
heavenly to owe it to you" he cried, even
while the olive face turned crimson.
They walked to the nearest hotel, the
lieutenant and the senorita and the duen-
ma, the guard having dispersed, because
no longer necessary
Senorita Antonius shyly told how
Spanish color sergeant, who was one of
her suitors, had boosted that an American
had been found prowling insanely and
alone about Ponce, and that he had been
imprisoned and would be shot as spy,
though the color sergeant's opinion was
that he was lunatic; how she had sus-
pected that the lunatic was her late pro-
tector and her fathers friend; how she
had been able, through the influence of
her dead fathers name, to secure his re-
lease; and-well, how glad she was. She
looked very sweetly at him then beneath
n 7 ! T