The Winslow mail., 1898-12-17

would very soon have chance to test
his emotions" she answered.
McDuff smiled, feeling the weight OF
his war pass in his inside pocket.
I'VE all expect to get to Cuba inside
two weeks" he said.
The girl looked at her watch.
ct is now II O'clock" she said. "At
half-past II Lieut.. Brown starts for
Cuba On a tug loaded with ammunition
and rifles. He has so Cubans and a few
of our regulars under him and will
try hard to make a landing. You see,
Mr.. McDuff, that it is considered tai
ent i'll the army to be able to talk a
great deal without telling anything"
Sandy had no reply ready for this
statement He wondered how she
came to know it all. But he did not
ask. He only remarked upon the late
ness of the hour and went off toward
his rooms in town.
Three evenings later McDuff re-
turned from hot ride and went up
on to the second balcony to cool off.
He unbucllled his leggings. pulled a
cigar from one pocket and a news
paper from another and dropped into
steamer chair. The first thing he
saw was an account of the landing of
the tug Lilly on the Cuban coast, of
fierce fight with Spanish cavalry and
of the heroic behavior of Lieut. TT. c.
Brown and his men. The report also
said that a newspaper correspondent
with the party had escaped capture
only through the bravery and skill of
this same young Brown, who had freed
the man, single-handed, from the
clutches of three Spaniards. The enc
my was defeated, the arms and ammu-
milton safely landed, and even now the
Lilly was on her return trip to Port
Tampa.
McDuff Immediately refastened his
1eggings and went around to call on
the girl in white and blue. He found
her in rustic chair, under clump of
yellowstemmed bamboo. He took
back all the evil he had said and
thought of Brown, and then praised
him highly.
''He was more successful on both his
other expeditions of the same kind"
she replied. "They never had to fire a
shot before"
McDuff was painfully surprised.
''Why didn't he tell me that he had
been landing Cubans ever since the
declaration of WARP" he groaned.
A week went by and still the troops
were not ordered on board the trans
ports, and still the war correspondents
waited for the countersigning of their
passes. McDuff grew tired OF rushing
about all day asking people what they
knew, SO he decided to lie low and do
some work. He found that if he tried
to write during the day he lost too
much flesh, and at night he was nearly
killed by divers insects. So he turned
out few hundred words every morn
ing before breakfast, and spent the
rest of his day reading w. Clark Rus
sells icy novel, "The Frozen Pirate.'>
This and an outfit of white duck cloth
ing kept him fairly cool.
One night, much to his surprise, he
received a call from Second Lieut..
Brown. As they shook hands he no
ticed an expression on his visitors face
"a shadow about the eyes which had
llOU DScu lucJc DIT lllClI ldSO luCCllllS
They sat down, and McDuff spoke
about Browns rescue of the war COR
respondent.
Yes" replied the officer, cit made
good newspaper story; but am sor-
ry it came in my way. Remember
what the colonel said the other night
about killing man? Well, the colonel
was right. One of the three fellows
who had hold of the correspondent
was young captain-a man who had
received his education in America. He
and l were very close friends once.
About five years ago he went home to
Spain, and last week | shot him while
he was looking straight into my eyes
just beginning to recognize me. The
man I rescued wasn't worth that,
think"
Then Brown put his face in his hands
and cursed the necessity of warn,
Y. Independent.