The Washington times., 1904-10-02
CHAPTER zxvIu-Continued.

seemed to seize hold of me; and / ielt
a neartsiclzness which almost made me
wish 90 close my eyes, forget the past
and lose consciousness never 10 wake
again.
..WeU. it may De fortunate. then
he continued. thinking only OF hlmselI.
"a woman can Doe the ruin of man il
she's a mind 20 be. Here / am In the
Mexican army. making fighting my
business and it's all come ABOUT OH ae-
count Of woman
ii seemed TO DE that a great deal
came about ON account OF ''a woman"
thought of all j had gone through and
the circumstances which led 10 my be-
ine where j then was
As ne finished speaking, Moore turned
abruutIy away. he never told me more
OF his life but during the few minutes
we had been talking together i had
come 10 know the man as probably no
one else knew him
There is a bond of sympathy between
some souls which draws them close TO
each other. j was dram 10 MIN by
tie which was more than friendship
and country. ] knew his secret. / had
been permitted TO see into his heart.
and he had given me his confidence
Under the rough exterior OF the soldier
7 had perceived the finer feelings of the
man
AS we watched the ships we presently
saw men disembaEking from the sara
toga into small boats. What this meant
neither of as was able TO explain
s'You shall seel You shall seet " eE-
claimed Moore. They know what they
are about Tt is possible that they are
going 20 take possession OF those Mex
1cau ships. It would be just like our
boys TO so right ou board and take
them II they want them. il looks
strange, though, that they would sur
render without a show VI fight he
added. in tone of disappointment.
The ships had not surrendered, ana
the Americans were not gong 20 take
possession OF them. Not FAR away lay
the Indianola and the Wave both OF
which had been chartered by the Lib
erals and htted out for service We
could see that they were now being
cleared Tor action, and very soon the
men who had left the Saratoga were
taken gu board.
Captain Jarvis had sent "a force OF
eighty men. together with a command
ing officer. 10 "a I1e charge -of each BOAT
.sTnat is business exclaimed Moore,
as lac saw the men taken on board
Those fellows are bluecoats, real Yankee
bIuecoats, and they know something OF
naval warfare. The Liberals have made
a great stroke in getting them TO night
their boats. BY the eJernals and Cen
eral Scott. Ia give two months pay 10
De with thems old boys. every one OF
them. win warrant YOU has smelt pow
der. IT'S the men behind the guns that
win naval victories. 1t viii be quickly
over depend upon it-a -roadzide OF TWO
viii settle the business and make them
haul down their dag."
In his eageuess 10 see al that was
going on. he rau from oHc point of view
10 another. anxious TO secure the best
possible position for watching the en-
gagemeut. which i- was now evident was
soon 10 take place. Totally ODiIvi0us 10
anything that was going ou about him.
he was keeuIy alive 90 every movement
made 10y the ships.
There were many eyes turned seaWard.
An The officers ana men at the fort eE-
cept those whose post of duty detained
them elsewhere, Were watching the
ships, and from the house tops and
aIouE the waterfront were thousands OF
spectators. There was no question now
but what there would ba an engagement,
and there was much speculation as 10
the efficiency OF the different ships, and
how long the action would last.
The sight was one OF interest An was
activity aboard the ships They were
plainly visible from most points. Even
the men az the guns could be seen, and
the officers. as they gave commands.
The superiority OF the American sail
ors was al once apparent by the way
they handled their ships and maueu-
vered for position. The IudiauoIa and
the Wave both obtained an advantage
over the other boats in posl-lou-they
standing well out iu deep water. The
1Iiram0n and the Habaua were handled
awkWardIy and were slow iu getting
ready for action.
Suddenly came the deep boom Of one
or the IudiauoIa's guns. The shot fell
a little short OF the Habaua. buJ the gun
was trained higher next time. THE
Wasp was brought into position but Ile
Iudial1Ia Ied iu lhe action
Again and again sheets of fame leapt1
from her open ports until the ship was
eu-aIuUed iU smoke, but her guns were
EtiI active and solid shot was sent
against the enemy.
The HahaHa received most OF the fire
of her guns. A bT0adaida crashed
through her r.EE.1s and auarhar s#a.
her decks. She seemed 90 Doe almost 81
the mercy NJ her antagonists. even "a
the beginning gf rla eEga cement. Iiel
guns were handled poorly
THE General LiEau1u was so badly
managed that she sat into shallow Wa
ter and ran aground She was urae
ideally out of ta- night. an soon struc.
her laG-
THAT'S IN. that's Busigrss.' ] heard
Moore cry, as the Habaua ceased firing
cit is what 4 told you- The IEdianoIs
has men behind her guns who know
how 10 handle them.
il was soon seen Lhat The enemy WeT
81 mo- condition 10 offer amy further re-
siztance. A shout went up from TIA.
crowds GA the Wharves from those 0i
the houserops, and from the soldiers q
IRE FORT The victory was won. TIA.
city was safe on the water front
viva AezicO! Viva independence
Viva La HeDubuca.f shouted Moore
and the people everywhere seemed ID
take ~ the cry until il echoed iron