The Washington times., 1906-05-06


against the boys hand The admir-
Il gave no heed TO the wor VI or the
movement Braced against the helm.
ne was holding the sIoop dead on her
shoreward course His dull face was
lit almost TO intelligence BY some IN
ternal conceit. that seemed to AZ
ford him Joy. and found utterance in
another parrot-liks cackle.
That is why they do t." he naId.
$50 you viii not see the guns. They
hre-boumi-and you fall dead. With
your face 70 the wall Yes"
The admiral called a sudden or
der to his crew. The 1.-THE. silent Ca
ribs made fast the sheets they held
and slipped down the hatchway into
the hold Of the sloop. When the
last one had DISAPPEARED, Don Sabas,
Ike a big, brown leopard. leaped,
closed and fastened the hatch, and
stood. smiling.
No rifles. If you please, dear ad-
miraL 1t was q whimsey Of mine
once to compile a dictionary Of the
Carib lengua- So I understood your
order. Perhaps you viii now"
He cut short his words, for he
heard a sharp swish" Of iron scrap
ing along tin The admiral had
drawn his cUtlass. and was darting
upon him The blade descended,
and It was only by show Of surpris-
ing agility that the large man es-
capped, with only q bruised shoulder,
the glancing weapon He was draw
ing his pistol as he sprsng, and,
the next instant, he shot the Rd-
miral down
Don ssbas stopped over him and
rose again
'En el coraZon,- he said briefly.
-Senores. the navy Is abolished
Colonel Rafael sprang 70 the helm;
the other officer hastened TO loose
the mainsail sheets. The boom
swung round; Fl Nacional described
a fluent curve and began to tack
industriously for the Salvador.
Strike that flag. senor." called
Colonel Rafael Our friends on the
steamer will wonder why we are
sailing under It"
We'll said" cried Don Sabas.
Advancing TO the mast, he lowered
the flag 10 the deck where lay its
too loyal supporter. Thus ended
the minister Of wars little piece OF
sfter-dinner drollery, and by the
same hand that began it.
Suddenly Don Sabas gave q great
cry OF Joy and ran down the slant
ing deck 70 the side Of Colonel
Rafael. Across his arm he car
ried the flag Of the extinguished
navy.
"Afire, mirei senior All, Diosi
Already can I hear that great bear
OF an Oestreicher shout 'Du hast
mein herr gebrochenl' BIire, OF
my friend. Herr Grunitz, Of Vienna,
you have heard me relate. That
man has travelled TO Ceylon for an
orchid-tO Patagonia for q head
dress-to Benares for a slipper-to
Mozambique for a spearhead TO add
TO his famous collections. Thou
knowest, also. amigo Rafael, that I
have been a gatherer of curios. Ny
collection Of battle flags Of the
worlds navies was the most COM
plete IN existence until last year.
Then Herr Grunitz secured two, oh,
so rare specimens One OF a Bar
barry state. and one Of the Max
aroorOos. a tribe on the west coast
Of Africa. I have not those, but
they can be procured But this
flag, senor-do you know what II
is2 Name Of God, do you know?
See that red cross upon the blue
and white ground, You never saw
II befOre2 Seguramente. no II is
the marine flag OF your country.
Mire, This rotten tub we stand
upon is its navy-that dead cOcka-
too lying there was its commander
that stroke of cutlass and single
pistol shot a sea battle. All a piece
of absurd fOOlery, I grant yOu-but
authentic. There has never been
another flag ike this, and there
never will be another. No. II is
UNIQUE in the whole world. Yes.
Think OF what IL means to a col
lector Of hagst Do you know Colo
mel mio, how many golden crowns
Herr GrUnitz would give for this
fag? Ten thousand, likely. Well.
a hundred thousand would not buy
il Beautiful flag, Only flag, Lit
tie devil of a most heaven-born
flag, O-he, old grumbler beyond
the ocean. Wait till Don Sabas
comes again to the KOnigin StTasse-
He viii let you kneel and touch
the folds of it with one finger.
O-he! old spectacled ransacker OF
the world"
Forgotten was the impotent revo-
tuition. the danger, the loss, the gall
Of the defeat. Possessed solely by
the inordinate and unparalleled pas
sion of the collector, he strobe up