The Washington times., 1911-04-25
CHAPTER XVII (Continued)

Rojas were victorious; the
Iegions of the regulars, the mer-
cenaries of Malone, were shat
tered and fugitive, making forc the
sea coast At the very mono tha'
the lie was being accepted, RoJas was
said to be within ten miles of Guayana'
heading his triumphant army OF pa
triots; by morning he would have as
possessed Malone, and the rule OF I'll
eiringo would be a thing of the past
Vive Ia libertad, indeed! Blessings IN
Vulnerable upon Uncle Xtmenes. VINO
had called him to this royal feast! pal
vador swore joyfully, took long s"te
al his flask of pulque, and passed II "
n corporal of militia with whom ne hwau w
been discussing the fortunes Oh "oi
The corporal heard. received the iiaeH
v,dth a wink. and drank the health Vi
president Roias, perking his head oe-
risivaIv toward the efftgy or Malore'
which he guarded, with his company :,
ne comrades were doing the saIne' anu
.,,air Captain looked on with coniPia00'I
indulpence and a watering moutn' pull SoiriS
one offered him bottle neI ~, sotto
GOOD luck TO the insurgents so'lo
The exhibition OF fireworks continue1i, ls.i
aAch fresh offering being halleo VIII WIZ
salNos of cheers; f,II! Inc the oe dear people
Htere so pleased with the pretty, pretty
skyErockets, the lovely Roman canaies;;
nSovided for them by their PreslqelIII
But the colonel commanding the bT ua
dogs overheard a fragment OF the ne,
and frightened his belt, feeling 10 aSsute re
himself that his sword lay smooIhly ~
lis scabbard. He glanced toward tne
cafes, and noted that feminine GuaSana GI8s. ~ =
was hastily leaving for home; just az
sIre height of the evening. IDS eyes
A>rroved. He turned in his sadnle aiIa
snake one sharp word, Wmch piouS
every man in the ranLs TO instant aI-
tention. e. , ,,a
AS vet all knew the rumor for ne:
vet all half believed 1t. because ihey
wished to. Ere long that happened ",IcLl
made il seem well-night the truth. Men
shook sage heads as a courier; nI, n
despatched and riding a tagged pony
dashed up to the Green House, ana dls,
mounted. Five minutes after ne NAG
entered. a newly conscr1pteo regir1em5S ,ea5
fceived its orders for the road. ii nau
waited under arms since noon, and the
march was begun with no delay.
Now. the Federal Barracks lie to the
north oS the plaza; to reach the southeI-
IL road, the Paseo de la 1ndepeoencia'
one must either cross the plaza or make
a tedious detour. The colonel OF the
regiment determined upon crossing the
plaza. with no thought for the crowd
or with no care for the consequences.
The head or the column debouched
r1pon the public square and came TO a
halt. The colonel, a former lieutenant
in the German army: rode ahead order
ing the police to clear way. They
oteyed, doing his bidding so far as they
n Ight. The result was that two com
paries of infantry protruded into the
crowded square. like the head Of a
snake The regiment came to malt:
the nopulace would recede no further,
the police were able TO do no more.
And then-then the spark tipped into
The powder barrel.
The celonel's horse, maddened by the
lights. the noise and the sputter of the
fireworks, reared and plunged, and
finally managed to kick a peon. The
peon fell unconscious. One of his: com
rades threw a stone: It struck the
coloneTs cheek. tearing shallow
wound. He swore frightfully-and the
rabble laughed.
About the bandstand there was cheer
ing; men looked to see the cause. A ma,
tive had sprung to the platform ana
seized one of the Roman candles. He
was drunk. He pointed the fre-belching
tube directly, at the rearing horse; &c,
diablo al gringo! Vive la libertad!'
An answering roar of applause swept
the plaza and enGouraged him: pr.s,-
dente Rajas! Vive la liber-
His screams were drowned In shouts.
Sporadic scuffles with the police were
already on in parts of the plaza.
Inc German rose III Slii uDSB III a
ing his revolver.
"Seize dot man. he thundered.
"Shoot him! Shoot
4 shot rang out, 1t is true. and from
the ranks But the bullet was not for
the patriot: it passed through the heart
OF the German colonel. He swayed dtz-
lilly for a moment, then fell from his
saddle.
hand. staring at the disorder about the
bandstand. Salvador put out his arm
and caught the bottle.
Fish, he cried good naturedly. DO
The militiaman turned his eyes and
gazed into the muzzle of Salvador's shiny
my brother" continued Salvador,
smiling, II will give you one real for
"Take it," said the militiaman prompt
ly. And keep your money! ViVe Ia
libertadl''
statue of Malone was disarmed.
The major of the conscrtpted regiment
was a young American. He assumed
the command promptly.
TenShuni' he shouted And the
captains renested his orders down the
lire. Ready! Load"'
Some one in the crowd fred a revolver.
The american caught at his breast and
fcll to the ground.
BY now the plaza was storm-sWept
sea of upturred. infamcd faces; the
cries blended rising and falling with
the thunder of surf upon rocky snort.
The colonel Of the Bulldogs drew his
saber, glancing behind him. The guards
were now aligned in full force: though
their number was but some 400 all told.
'Ten-shunI' roared the colonel:
-'Clear the plaza, Use the edge, men!
Draw sabers! Forward-charFer'
The rabble had kept something of a
respectful distance from the Bulldogs;
hence they had space to gather momen-
tum. They crashed upon a palpitating
mass of human beings that screamed
with terror. vainly struggling to escape
The sabers rose and fell, Pickering in
the pretty lights. Revolver firing became
general; one or two saddles were emp
tied
But in the face of that merciIess car
mage the people slipped away like thin
water, leaving the plaza bare to the
bandstand, the statue of the Iiberator,
and the motionless regiment.
"Confound the fool Dutchmanr'
ing of the German ex-lieutenant. "Why
doesn't he fire upon them?"
The guards moved at trot across the
cleared space and halted, facing the in
fantry, behind whom the frantic mob
was Taving.
Young?"
"pead," replied native captain sui
lenS.
Then ] take command"
He chuked and gurgled. his head fall
ing forward; bullet had passed
through his throat. From the ranks of
the militia rang volley. .withering the
ranks of the Bulldogs: then another,
o,d +ba1y turpad and fad