The Jasper news., 1908-12-10


angry exclamations of surprise and
Indignation. BY most remarkable
display OF authority they were brought
into subsection again, the commanding
general, man at almost retiring age,
rising before them and holding up
warning hand. Gentlemen, he said
quietly rebuking them, our first dut.
is that OF obedience
"The officers, looking at one anotl
er, settled into their seats, and in a!
most an instant the silence in tn,
room had grown painful. The go,
ernor, still holding his papers befort
him, slowly continued:
Fearing trickery on the part Of
prospective enemy, / doubted the all
thenticity of my instructions. / used
secret code which has never gone
beyond the hands of the most conf
Dental men in my department, and to
my surprise received absolute cob.
firmation. To you of the army Will
say that before this verification was
received, your general and here he
turned to his white-haired confrere,
had been the recipient of a command
from the secretary Of war of the
United States couched in almost the
same terms
"At the conclusion of his speech
this fine old man sank back into his
chair with bowed head as II the dis
grace of his country was his own
There was more or less dignified dis
cussion participated in by the Older
officers present; but Interrupted now
and then by some Of the younger men,
who favored totally ignoring the or
ders and defending the islands to the
death. The cooler heads among them
prevailed, and at last 1t was recog.
nized that there was no alternative
save absolute and unqualified surren
| der. tt..,..s-4
Before the meeting could be official
ly dispersed the sullen boom of gun
came heavily from the sea, reverberat
ing through the room. The men
sprang to their feet and rushed to-
ward the exit, knowing that war was
upon them, but that their hands were
tied as hopelessly as though bound
with manacles of steel.
There, within range of their own
heavier guns, floated formidable feet
from japan. Even while their con-
ference was in progress, cruiser after
cruiser and floating forts of steel had
crept up over the horizon. The jap
anese gunners were testing their
range; but no damage had been done.
l saw procession of crestfallen men,
| going as If to funeral, enter their
fortress gates and silently gather
round the great Flagstaff, from which
floated hitherto unsullied banner. A
| grim old man grown gray In war and
SCARED with the marks OF many bat.
ties, walked to the halyards, gave
them pull and brought flutterng to
the ground the flag under which he
had fought so valiantly. A colonel OF
his staff took from the hands OF an
orderly cloth of white, the emblem
the world over of defeat with or with.
out honor, fastened it into the idle
loops and pulled 1t aloft.'
"The general, warrior no longer,
but a heart-broken old man, turned
away from his colleagues, walked
across the parade, and the door of his
quarters closed upon him. Several
other members of his staff did like
wise, and still others stood silent OH
the ramparts, watching the outcome
of this event. The Ihips ceased firing
and, as IL perplexed by this unwar
ranted outcome, seemed to be COM
municating with each other. dexter
ously wigwagging signal after signal
A torpedo boat destroyer Ilowly sepa
rated itself from the flotilla and came
suspiciously nosing its way toward the
land, winding in and out as II fearing
floating mines or sunken engines Ol
destruction.
"As 1t neared the shore, 1t was seer
that on its black deck stood the ad
miral of the fleet, together with hi;
staff. They were met at the landing
by deputation of officers, both clyi
and military, who escorted them t.
the fort. No one can depict the ex
pressions, half surprise and half in
quiry, which overspread the coun
, tenances of this insignificant invading
force@A party Of less than ten mel
without arms was actually accom-
plishing the most remarkable con
quest in all history.
"At the entrance to this city o
masonry and steel, equipped will
silent monsters of warfare, embodyir;
all the latest and most formidable in
struments of offense and defense
. ] Icfa cI oh ,f h.