The Washington times., 1911-11-12
CHAPTER III.
The Land of'Manana.

Ine Land OF Manana.
~ I'VE weeks after the meeting Of
~ Quexores and Sparhawk Id New
York, four men and q gloomy
faced youth stood together on
the forward deck of a cranky. asth-
cupied more than thirty hours In ira
versing the Iquipuil and Durango rivers
from Ailariz to Lake Calistar, q distance
OF about 200 miles.
One OF the members OF this little
youth was McCann. Two Of the others
were typical railway pioneers-men
whose names were scarcely less known
n !, the Northwestern States sa Of ~ North sr
They were men Of action who had
come to the front as Sparhawk's lieu.
tenants in those strenuous days when
Richard Beaufort, the young president
hawk and his little legion crashing
through the wilderness Of the cas-.
cades In. that memorable fight against
time and traitors that resulted IN the
tension from wapiti Falls to Tacoma;
The men were William Handley, civil
engineer, and Tom Connerton. ex-chief
Of the A., M. and p. railway police.
nths as ana hdss daepsr s9mPsr Sors the same Feia
ton that Is borne by the second
thought, to the human brain. His per-
ceptive faculties, though no more keen
root in the cerebral soil, developed
more slowly, and bloomed into flowers
of Judgment of SURPRISING perfection.
BY the time Handley's judgment was
ripe, however. sparhawk's had Yielded
Sparhawk was wont to act first and
argue afterward. Handley argued first,
and then acted, performing both func.
tions without unnecessary waste OF
time
Tom Connerton. tall, broad d-shouldcr-
ed, long-limbed. and quick of eye and
ear, was of the stun Of which Western
sheriffs are made. His head was large
wore that expression of gravity which
is habitual with all really great
fighters.
Though he was only forty years of
ready mixed with white.' for his chill.
gray eyes had looked into the flashing
barrels of many revolvers and rifles,
and In his muscular body several leaden
balls had found lodgment from time to
time. Few persons who knew Silent
| Tom" Connerton had ever seen any
| light other than an occasional twinkle
Of humor in those calm. gray eyes
| of his.
Anger never entered them. Many
| men had seen his numbering figure III
| fight display the agility Of q mount
ain lion, but whether he fought with
odds in his favor or against him
| whether he fought with his hands OF
his guns, is aspect was always the same
-as imperturbable as IL he was only
half interested in the task he had in
hand.
The fifth Of the party was Sam
several years before, had succeeded in
machine that he had created-an auto.
mobile. In describing this wonderful
piece of mechanism to his friend. Dick
Beaufort: on one occasion. sparhawk
Young wanted me to capitalize q
| company to put 1t on the market.
had a few thousands handy Just then
SO I looked into the thing. Investiga.
had calmly proceeded TO violate the
patent rights of nearly everybody who
had invented things that ran on wheel,
and We're propelled by oil. electricity
The freak would run backward. for.
ward or sidewise with equal facility. Il
Is one Of the greatest works of art and
ground d, covsreIs ": s that ever happened ;.
do is to start the electric battery. Wher
this fails get up steam. Should this e
back on you, why, you may hitch up t.
IF there is no mule handy. all hand,
can car. get get on and push I've named 4
Sam Young had done valiant servic,
on the . A.. T snns p Thas at ae he Sss Ssa Gas pre
pared to render II again was apparen
from the fact that on the deck of tn,
humping; vibrating vessel that wal
redoubtabie Skate" itself, with a pill,
Of spare tires beside 1t.
Besides the four persons who wer,
now accompanying sparhawk to Vail
destined to play an important part IL
the strange railway drama upon whicl
the curtain was about to rise. The fiftl
was Joseph Varley. who. while a pas
hawk had left Colon, had studiousi,
avoided the Americans while he was oil
shipboard. and had disembarked whel
the vessel touched at the port Of Sal
hawk. he had now established quarter
In the capital OF Quincatan.
Thus far the journey of Sparhawk ant
his conPa mons had been without an!
cupboard had been as monotonous a.
life on shipboard usually is. The Incl
dent that had excited the most interes
was the presence on the vessel OF
singularly young woman, who had beeI
kept isolated by an elderly man anc
woman who travelled with her.
The young woman's name appeared OF
the passenger list as Barbara Webster
and those of her companions as Colone
Garcia Mosquera nd--Senora MosQuera
The three were wont to take their meals
In the saloon with the other passengers
but after leaving the table they usual,
| returned to their staterooms.
| Occasionally. however. Miss Webster
Leaning on the arm of Mosquera, wonl;
be seen taking q constitutional on th
promenade deck. but II on those occa
| sions any persons, male or female, fel
tempted to take advantage Of tina
freedom Of the ship which permits
one stranger to address another with
out the formality Of an introduction
the temptation was quickly put to fliGh
by the scowling brow, flashing eyes ant
naughty mien of Colonel Mosquera
whose upturned military mustache ant
pointed white beard would fairly bris
| tie with indignation.
Miss Webster, who appeared to b,
| about twenty-five years OF age, wa,
somewhat above the medium height O.
women. AS has been said, she wa.
singularly beautiful, but hers was Z
type of beauty that is rarely seen il
the drawing rooms of northern coun
tries.
So great was the mass Of her bIacl
hair that 1t would have been difficult
| to say whether her head was large OIL
small. Her forehead. though neither
broad nor high. was exquisitely round
| ed, and the oval face and Grecian nos,
| were almost classic.
But the most striking attributes OF
the beauty of the fair voyager wer,
/ L.