The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-11-08
A BATTLE IN THE STORM.

A BATTLE IN THE STORM.
 I was in command of party aboard a seagoing tug fitted out to carry arms and munitions of war to the revolu- tionary army of Salgada, which you'll find on the map of the east coast of South America if you look good and hard. The government we were fight ing against had organized a stiff block ade along the coast and had fast gum boats and torpedo craft looking for us, and they wanted us bad.
 We rev0lutionists had plenty of men, but we were shy of rifles, cart ridges, and field pieces, and if we could land this cargo speak of it meant putting 4OOO well armed men and two batteries in the field.
 So here we were, Wallowing along in heavy weather, the crazy old tub load ed down plumb near to her matches, and fifty patriots of Salgada sparddled all oyer her decks.
 Our boilers were leaky, and our coal was poor. We had been out week and still had three hundred miles to run where we were to make a landin' by night If we didn't get blown out of water this side of it. There were no cabins or shelter for my party, and our decks were fairly awash, and every sad7eyed patriot was seaslck all the time. Coal was strewd In sacks all over the decks, and washin' to and fro among the coal and rusty rifles and matchetes and mildewed saddle-bags was this band of soldiers of Salgada.
 We'll, I'm rambling some, but I want ed to give you notion of what the proposition was before I fetched in my pal and shipmate, Perez Morales. He Wsa a lieutenant and my right hand man, slim laughing black-eyed lad of nineteen or twenty that never dropped his nerve. or cared whoop what was coming next.
 He was the son of a rich coffee plant CT back in the Salgada mountains, and he'd been going to school for two years at a military college up here in Ohio. He was quick as a cat and hard as nails, with drillin' and playin' football, and such warlike diversions.
 After sundown on this day speak of, I hunted up young Morales, my side partner.
 My son." says I, lit looks as if our fellow patriots was showing signs of life, though they're not exactly ani- mated. Let us mount couple of twelve-pound field pieces, fore and aft, and try to break in gun crews for 'em We can't put up what you'd call a 1 spirited action, but if we get over hauled at sea, let's be ready to give a little back talk.'
 Morales jumped at the notion as happy as if he'd received bunch of letters from home He had done his time as a cadet artilleryman, and had medals for marksmanship-and I'd pulled a lanyard or two myself.
 So we hoisted two guns from the hold. One twelve-pounder we mounted up in the bow, and the other we 1ashed aft on the overhang It was tough job, but Morales kept us going strong, working like little cyclone, singing the battle hyns of Salgada, and ham, mering action into the patriots, who were still shaky in their legs.
 After we finished Morales came aft with me to a pile of coalsacks on the overhang, which was my palatial state room, and we smoked cigarettes and talked awhile for the moon was full and the air soft as velvet
 On deck forward a revivin' patriot was picking at guitar, and a couple of his shipments were singing Spanish love songs in high quivverin' tenor voices.
 As for my young comrade Morales, he just had to let out his heart to me that night. Of course there was girl, and she in the town of Rio de Contas, thirty miles from the little bay where we were hoping to land. This town was held by 2,000 government troops but this cut no ice with Perez Morales We were going to march our fifty br-r-aye patriots against Rio de Contas ''pronto," quick, right away, cut oul way through the enemy and carry OH the beautiful senorita,
 l was less than ten years older than him, but felt as if it was boy talk ing to his daddy There was none toe good for this Perez Morales, who was all alive and boiling with patriotism and love and romance and hot blood
 Abooh hAlullSHI lilG WCdtlDA SN' dirty again and soon it began to blow One squint at the needle told me that we were in for heavy weather, and the worst yet. Long before daylight the tug was hove to, but she was that crammed with cargo and coal there was no life in her. The seas were washin' clean aorost her, and ham, merlin her till you couldn't hear your self think,
 I thought we were plenty bad enough off, but when day broke we found our troubles hadn't fairly begun. We could make out vessel, hove to a mile ol so away, low and lean and gray, a yes sel of war, showing no colors.
 It was a remarkably funny thing ladies and gentlemen, and somewhat dtturbin.' If this was a Salgada gun boat, then she was crushin' in searcf of us to sink with all hands, And here we were in plain sight, within easy