Hutchinson gazette., 1901-08-08

General v said one OF his compan
Ions, you have a plan"
Yes" he said a desperate one. One
that grievos me, but which seemi
necessary. am convinced that We
cannot recapture the CASTLE"
Then what do you propose?"
ITO blow II up Under the castle ia
a powder magazine. No one but my
self, my wife and daughter know OF
It's existence. There Is a way to reach
1t that alone know. There is a secret
passage to my castle from the river.
We will enter here and lay powder
train, and blow the enemies of the
republic of the earth"
Silently they worked their way
along, keeping sharp lookout for tho
sentinels Of the enemy.
They carried lanterns, but these
were not lighted. They were for use
In the secret passage.
Salvorez succeeded In guiding his
men to the entrance, They entered.
Look" said Medworth, clutching
Tempest's arm, "a light"
What he saw was the cleaning,
dancing reflections of lantern on the
walls near him.
Some one Is coming" said Tenn
pest; keep quiet"
They heard the sound OF footsteps.
then OF voices.
Come" said Medworth, In q whis-
per, "let us see II they are enemies or
friends"
Following the light, It was not diff
cult for them to find Salvarez and his
companions.
do not get too near" said Med
worth.
1T is Salvarez," said Tempest
"Never mind II It is," replied Med
worth, whose mind was acute and alert
again.
by keeping in the shadow we can
easily watch them, and we may learn
something that will prove to be an adj
vantage"
Tempest knew what was in his COM
panion's mind, and subsided. They
stealthlly followed salvarez and his
officers, keeping always in the darkest
shadow. AS there was no light ex-
cept from the lanterns the officers car
ried, they could not, of course, see
beyond the range of their
rays, while the Americans, standing
out Of reach Of the dull flame, could
easily discern every move the Vene-
zuelans made
Salvarez led the way direct to where
a wall Of masonry seemed to effectu-
ally obstruct the passage.
But the general, after feeling around
a moment, found loose stone and re-
moved It, 1t was then easy to make
an opening large enough for man to
enter.
Salvarez led the way. The others
followed close after him,
Medworth and Tempest remained at
the wall, peering through the opening
to see what the Others were doing.
salvarez led the way straight to a
round powder magazine made Of ce-
ment.
The Americans did not know what
this was, and the Venezuelans spoke
In so low a tone that nothing could be
gained from their conversation,
But Medworth and his companion
we're not left long in ignorance of the
errand that had brought salvarez un-
der the walls of his castle.
"They are going to fire the maya
zine" said Medworth That's pow
der"
The officers worked a while at the
making a connection. Then
they carefully laid a train Of powder
from 1t toward the hole they had made
in the foundation wall.
Medworth and Tempest kept back in
.he shadows and let them complete
heir arrangements.
1T Is ready" said Salvarez at last.
Much as / love my home, / love my
more. / sacrifice my castle
hat the enemies of the republic shall
30 destroyed. Tonto and AIDA, when
we are safely away, touch match TO
he powder and flee for your lives out
If the passage Come, you others, let
IS hurry, so that the work Of ven
yeance may not long be delayed"
He, with four of his companions,
started away, leaving the other two to
)bey his orders.
"Now!" said one of these, after a
'ew minutes spent In waiting.
Nov" said Medworth, aloud.
The Americans made a rush, The
.wo officers found themselves seized in
he iron grasp Of men more powerful
han they.
Take the lantern! Take the
said Medworth,
One of the officers had taken a
metallic matchbox from his pocket.
Nedworth seized this. Tempest grasped
,ne of their lanterns, leaving them one
% light their way out of the passage.
"Now CO." said Medworth to the
Tell General Salvarez that
lis plot has been discovered, Tell him
lot to try this game again"
Released from the hands of the