Middletown transcript., 1899-08-05
McDuff smiled, feeling ths weight of
bis war pass In his inside pocket.

ACDuA cMtACug tCChtnk buO Y
bis war pass In his inside pocket.
"We all expect 10 get 10 Cuba insid
two weeks" he said.
4 The i'll louked at her wa.ch.
''it is now eleven O'clock she said
.AG half-pas eleven Lieutenant Brown
starts for Cuba on d Tug loaded witt
ammunition AID rties. lie has tifl.
Cubans and few of Uur regulars under
hlm aud will tIy hard to make 4 land
my. You see, Mr.. McDuf, tnat 1t j,
able lu talk a great deal Without telling
any thing."
Sandy had no reply ready for this
statement. lie wondered how she camt
To know lt all. But be did { ask.
He only remarked upon The lateuess ui
Tue huuI aud " ent OFT toward his rooms
in town.
Three evenings la,er McDuff rt-
turned from hot Tide, and went up
on to the second balcony to cool Lff.
He unbuckled his legglngs, pulled u
cigar from one pocket and a newspaper
from ano;her, and dropped into y
steamel-c chair. Tie lirst thug he saw
was All account of Lhe landing of The
tug IL lly' on The Cuban coast, Of u
fierce fight with Spanish cavalry, and
of the heruic behavior Of Lieut.. III. G.
Brown and his. The report also
said that q newspaper correspondent
with The party had escaped capture
only through the bravery and skill of
this same young Brown, wh1 had feed
the man, slngle-handed, fIom the
clutches Of three Spaniards. The enemy
was defeated, the arms and ammuni-
tion safely landed, aud even now the
Lilly" was on her return trip to Port
Tampa.
McDuff immediately refastened his
leggings and went around to Call ON the
girl in white and blue. He fuuud her
in rustic chair, under clump of yell
lOw.stemmed bamboo. He took back
all the evil be 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
shot before"
McDuff was painfully surprised.
why didn't be tell me that be had
been landing Cubans ever since the
declaration of war?" 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
] g work. lie found that if he tried
20 write during the day he lost too
much flesh, and at night he was nearly
killed by divers insects. So be turned
)ut a few hundred words eve ) morn
ng before breakfast, and spent the
est of his day reading w. Clark Rus
'ell's icy novel, "The Fnz4n Pirate"
This and an outfit of white duck cloth
ng kept him fairly cool.
One night, much to his surprise, he
ecelvt a call from Second Lieutenant
Brown. As they shook hands he no.
iced an expression on his visitors face
a shadow about the eyes which had
lot been there at their last meeting.
They sat down, and McDuff spoke
bout Browns rescue of the war cor
espondent.
"Yes," replied the officer, sit made
good newspaper story; but am sorry
came In my way. Remember what
be colonel said the other night about
illing manP Well, the colonel was
ight. One of The three fellows who
ad hold Of the correspondent was q
oung captain-a man who had receive
his education In America. He and
were very close friends once. About
We years ago he went home to Spain, ,
nd last week shot him while he was ,
boxing straight into my eyes-iust be- !
inning to recognize me. The man ;
sscued wasn't worth that, think"
Then Brown put his face in his
ands and cursed the necessity of war. :
THEODORE ROBERTS, in 'The Inde-
endent."