The Chilhowee echo. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1899-19??, 1899-12-02

Old Pedro welcomed him with open
arms, and there was peace and tran
guilty in the house of MARITIME. The
son rode with the father over the plant
alton, through the long lanes fanked
with waving cane, where the black men
and the brown men and the women of
various hues would soon be swinging
their machetes from starlight to star.
light. But there came day when the
father rode alone and in moody silence,
his swarthy face still darker with grief
and anger.
Ramon was gone again! He had
stolen away in the night and was again
in the insurgents camp. Pedros
wrath knew no bounds; his hatred of
the insurgents was kindled anew, and
he redoubled his efforts to protect the
plantation from their raids. He was
determined that they should not carry
away so much as single stalk of cane,
if ceaseless vigil could prevent it. The
place was very well protected on the
river front, and on the road toward
Guimaro and Caracusey he had built
barricades and established strong out
posts. The danger of raid was from
the North, where the valley meets the
hills, and the hills rise into mountains,
and the mountains melt into sky line
of blue and purple. On the road to La
Bocas and Magua and Buena Vista, Pc
dro established ambuscades and placed
on guard trusty men, well armed, and
who had instructions to give no warn
irg, but to shoot whoever approached
without giving proper signal.
The insurgents had no commissary;
they needed no quartermaster; they
made out no formal ration returns;
there was no red tape to their requi-
sitions for supplies; they made no
acquisitions, except by stealth or force.
A days rations might consist of plan
tain, potato, stalk of cane, banana
or mountain rat. If their MIDNIGHT
rtids were lucky they might have beef
for breakfast, and the corral of La Cen
trail or some other ranch would be one
lS,is peer q
bugle seldom sounded mess call; the
dinner hour was not noted in the regu-
lar order of the day; it occurred when
ever there was anything to eat. Young
Ramon's object in apparently deserting
the insurgents aud returning to his
faith er's house was to ascertain where
it would be easiest to effect an entrance
to the plantation without detection, and
to gather such information as might be
of use to him in leading successful
raid on the place. In the eyes of some
of the insurgents he who could safely
or undetected lead them into corral of
fat cattle or into well stocked larder
or commissary was greater than he who
took city.
One night after the moon had gone
down into the sea behind the hills to-
ward Trinidad a small band of insur-
gents emerged from their mountain re-
treat and rode swiftly and silently to-
ward La Central. They rode Indian
file until near the border of the cane
field nearest Buena Vista, when they
swung from right to left in an irregular
column of twos and were passing up the
gentle slope, with the evident purpose
of entering the field at point left of
the gate, when half dozen Winchester
riot guns and as many Mausers flashed
and roared upon the still night air from
the dark recesses of the dense cane, and
when the insurgents hastily turned and
rode away, four riderless ponies fol-
lowed after, and the green grass was
turning red beneath four bodies that
were growing stiff in the moonlight.
The sun had scarcely touched the
tops of the tallest palms when Pedro
rode out to see the result of his mems
volley, they having promptly retreated,
as is their custom, without waiting to
see the effect of their fire. The sight
of the four bodies filed the old Cata.
lonian with delight. ''Esta bien! Esta
bien" he declared to his grinning at
tendants, with approving nod. Smiling
with satisfaction, he roughly turned
over one of the bodies with his foot and
looked into the staring, sightless eyes
of-Ramon, his son The smile of sat
isfaction changed to look of horror a:
the old man cried, GAY de min' and
staggered away from the scene.
T When the sun goes down in Cuba it i:
dark; there is no twilight. Two weeks
after Ramon MARITIME had met death
through the instrumentality of hi:
father handful of insurgents dashed
down the trail and entered the Nortf
gate just as the sun, like great rec
disk, had melted into the blue waters o
the Caribbean. They tarried but a mo
ment, and when they rode away towart
the River de Ay there was blood OF
their machetes, and old Pedro Martin,